The purposes of student assessment.
Assessing students on a regular basis in the class is extremely important to understand if the students understand the topic material, if they are improving and what strategies in teaching may or may not need to change. I believe in having a balance of assessment methods such as tests, activities, written response, and performance tasks. Every student is unique with different strengths and weaknesses and by having a balance of assessment strategies, every student should have the opportunity to shine. Listed below are example assessments that I have used in the classroom.
Create a Helmet
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In Science 20, students had to use their knowledge of physics to design a helmet for an egg that would protect it from hitting a wall. Students have to design the helmet, create it and then finally test it! Using the data from the test, students then had to find a number of variables such as acceleration, momentum, and velocity of the egg. This was a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge on the physics of collisions and to work and communicate together as a team.
Quizzes at the beginning of class
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I often give students a short quiz at the beginning of class to get a class sample of their strengths and weaknesses on the subject material. From this information, students know what they need to work on and I change my lesson to better suit the needs of the class. Small quizzes are a great way to gain insight on the true understanding of a topic because students must answer the questions without the support of friends, notes or outside sources.
Pig and Rat Dissections in Biology 20
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Dissections are a great way to assess student knowledge in Biology 20, Unit D: Human Systems. In this unit, students learn about the anatomy of the human body. Having students find discuss structures in other animals is a great way to test their knowledge in all levels of Blooms Taxonomy. I have had the opportunity to dissect both a rat and a fetal pig; this was a great experience for myself to see the similarities and differences between the two animals.
Poll Everywhere
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I have mentioned this site in other topics of my portfolio; however, I thought I would include this because it is a great way to get a quick, anonymous sample of the students understanding of a topic. I often use this in class because I find only certain students answer questions and other students are too shy to participate in the discussion.