Such A Neat Lesson! ... How Do I Assess My Students?

In agriculture education, every day is different. We could be welding in one class, cleaning rabbit cages in another, and learning the FFA creed in a different period. With so much variability, how can we effectively evaluate or assess our students? So much of what students are gaining and learning cannot be accurately portrayed in a formal written exam. (And no one wants to read 26 papers on why students think the Creed is important, we want to HEAR it right?!) There are many examples of ways to assess students.

I personally found this weeks reading assignments to be VERY VALUABLE, and am going to share my top 4 "Nuggets" of awesome that I am going to take with me as a student teacher, and hopefully in the future in my own classroom!

1)  PORTFOLIOS aren't just to hold resumes

Students might turn in a portfolio as a final assignment. This could include concept maps, photographs, journal entries, evidence of investigation, a short literature review, etc. This suggestion, in an article written by FL extension, suggested protfolios as a summative assessment for laboratory learning. This could be from a field trip, in the shop, in the greenhouse, etc. Students could also verbally present their portfolio to the class.
What a great way to hone skills in writing, presenting and speaking!

2) Students can have more than one grade

 Wait what,... this is a little mind boggling to me! Not all learning is the same, nor can it be measured the same, so WHY do we try to give students one CUMULATIVE grade?

In an article presented by Jung and Guskey about "Grading Exceptional Learners," they discuss how to grade English Language Learners (ELLs) and students with disabilities. They introduce this novel idea to me... three separate grades... on:

- PRODUCT: ex. final reports, projects, portfolios, presentations
- PROCESS: ex. effort, behavior, work habits, punctuality, class participation
- PROGRESS: ex. student improvement (educational growth)

This is very intriguing to me, and I am curious to see what this would look like for all learners!

3) RUBRICS: aren't just for the teacher!

Rubrics not only help teachers to grade students fairly and efficiently, they also guide students. By providing a clear structure of expectations for students, they can focus on the real objectives of the assignment. THEREFORE, it is vital to have rubrics that accurately portray the goals and expectations for the project, presentation, assignment, etc.

Aaaaaand super neat that I can design my own INTENTIONAL and PURPOSEFUL and CONCISE  rubrics online: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=NewRubric


4) CONCEPT MAPS! simple yet effective concept!




So we have all certainly heard of concept maps, but I would be lying if I have ever considered them as formative or summative assessments. I LOVE that students can be INDIVIDUALS and CREATIVE in concept maps. These help to link up prior knowledge to new information to experiences, etc. Very simple, yet effective concept... concept maps.

Wow, learning so much, and have so much more to learn!
Thanks for Reading

-Sarabeth