How do you assess your students when they are working on a wide range of projects varying in scope and complexity?
Is a student who is struggling with a challenging project learning less or participating less than a student whizzing through an easier project?
For maker projects the process is a lot more valuable than the end result. Gaining insight into the learning process is crucial for formative assessment yet its difficult to check up on the progress of each and every student in a timely manner.
Occasionally throughout the last several months I have asked my students to reflect on their learning using a "self-interview" blog post. I typically provide a short series of questions geared towards promoting reflective thought. Students were Somewhat resistant to this at first, self-reflection doesn't come naturally. Slowly, with practice, it has become a habit that they are used to.
I refer to this as a self-interview because its all about asking yourself questions. My students are allowed to complete their self interviews using and format that they choose. Some prefer to type, some use a series of white-board photos, others prefer to use video.
My grade seven students are not yet at stage where they can be asked to just reflect. They need guiding questions to tease out a authentic reflection.
Maker projects present an added challenge because each student is at a different phase of their project and at any given time they are all working on totally different things.
I created a self interview flow chart geared towards maker projects to provide my students the guidance that they need to reflect on their learning. A flow chart is a useful tool because it is flexible enough to apply to students at different stages of progress.
Is a student who is struggling with a challenging project learning less or participating less than a student whizzing through an easier project?
For maker projects the process is a lot more valuable than the end result. Gaining insight into the learning process is crucial for formative assessment yet its difficult to check up on the progress of each and every student in a timely manner.
Occasionally throughout the last several months I have asked my students to reflect on their learning using a "self-interview" blog post. I typically provide a short series of questions geared towards promoting reflective thought. Students were Somewhat resistant to this at first, self-reflection doesn't come naturally. Slowly, with practice, it has become a habit that they are used to.
I refer to this as a self-interview because its all about asking yourself questions. My students are allowed to complete their self interviews using and format that they choose. Some prefer to type, some use a series of white-board photos, others prefer to use video.
My grade seven students are not yet at stage where they can be asked to just reflect. They need guiding questions to tease out a authentic reflection.
Maker projects present an added challenge because each student is at a different phase of their project and at any given time they are all working on totally different things.
I created a self interview flow chart geared towards maker projects to provide my students the guidance that they need to reflect on their learning. A flow chart is a useful tool because it is flexible enough to apply to students at different stages of progress.