{"id":257,"date":"2015-11-23T21:52:34","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T01:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/timrollwagen\/?p=257"},"modified":"2015-11-23T22:22:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-24T02:22:38","slug":"finding-a-new-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/timrollwagen\/2015\/11\/23\/finding-a-new-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Clearing the fog: Taking a closer look at Assessment and Feedback"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How will your students receive, accept, and apply feedback?<\/p><\/div>\n

When I think back to my years in high school, I remember essays, tests, pop quizzes, and the occasional assignment. Aside from<\/p>\n

the projects and labs that we did in Physics and Chemistry, rarely was I asked to design my own project, reflect on how I was learning or being assessed, and never did I ever conference with a teacher about my learning. Last year, I worked through a Project-Based Learning<\/a>\u00a0unit where I gave constant feedback daily and students created questions, delved into subjects of their own choice, and made connections to the curriculum. \u00a0In the end, I handed them a rubric with a grade and some comments on it. How were they supposed to learn from a piece of paper? \u00a0It was during this unit, where I realized that I needed to re-evaluate how I give and\u00a0more importantly,<\/em>\u00a0use feedback.<\/p>\n

In the process of Design Thinking (See @lmcbeth<\/a>’s post here<\/a>), the empathizing piece is so important. How do I design a project that pushes 21st-century students to engage their interests and work to their own potential? Then, how do I create a system of feedback that is both constructive and immediate with an assessment process that allows for student reflection and learning? Ideally, learning FROM the rubrics, comments and feedback I provide on a continual basis.<\/p>\n

My goal is to devise a feedback process that is more immediate, can be applied to any type of assessment, and is clearly visible along the way. Ideally, I’d like to redesign my classroom as well – with feedback and assessment in mind.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>

My challenge – perhaps this is two action plans in one. The design thinking process allowed me to break down my problem and see it more clearly. The immediate feedback through collaboration at Cohort 21 was exactly what I needed.<\/p><\/div>\n

Most recently, I have reached out to both @ddoucet<\/a> and my Director in Teaching and Learning (Dave Krocker) to discuss making rubrics and post-assessment feedback more effective. From these conversations, my co-teacher and I redesigned the rubric (A great post on how to build a more meaningful rubric<\/a>\u00a0on Edutopia), asked students to submit self-reflections based on where they sat – Below<\/strong>, At<\/strong>, or Above<\/strong> standard. The key here was asking students ‘Why?”. Some responses…<\/p>\n