Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Assessing PBL Projects
One thought I have with assessing PBL projects after looking at this week’s resources and also thinking about my own experiences is how important it is to conduct formative assessments throughout the project. In the article “Artifacts and Understanding” it mentions that assessing PBL is different than traditional assessments because teachers are looking at the “construction of physical objects, multimedia presentations, computer programs, Web sites, videos, and other forms of communicating what they know.” The article refers to these as artifacts. Teachers just can’t wait until the end of the project to assign a grade in PBL or just give a test at the end of the unit. This is where the revision of the projects comes into play, and the teacher plays a pivotal role in guiding the students when they are still in the process of the project.
The article “Rubrics, Portfolios, and Tests, Oh My!” mentioned that some reasons many teachers are reluctant to assess group projects or use alternative assessments is because they can be “too time-consuming and impossible to manage.” Diane McGrath points out that although these types of assessments can be a challenge, she suggests “if you design your project so that teaching, learning, and assessment all work together, the multiple assessments will occur naturally.” The assessment can be a learning activity when done while the students are in the middle of the project. I will be starting this with my 5th grade FOCUS students as they begin the creating part of their Genetic Disorders PBL project. They’ll need some guidance along the way, and my co-teacher and I will be conducting informal assessments as the students are working. The author recommended not to think of it as testing the students, but rather the teacher is tracking what the students are doing and collaborating with them along the way.
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Your point regarding the formative assessments in "Artifacts and Understanding" was what I found to be most important in the article. I can see this causing the teacher to be more effective because it creates several "teachable" moments as they revise their work. I like the way you led into the next article dealing with PBL's being too time consuming. I can see where a teacher would be hesitant because of all the work that would go in to assessing projects that aren't as easy as grading a scantron. You have mentioned your Genetic Disorders PBL a few times and I am looking forward to reading about how they turn out. It sounds like a perfect example of what the readings pointed to this week. And I think you are taking the correct mindset regarding tracking the students rather than testing.
ReplyDeleteTying everything together at the end, I find it interesting that you believe the multiple assessments with lessen your workload. Perhaps this is true because the more you help them along the way, the better the project results will be at the end.
I completely agree with your comments about timely feedback for students and how this can be achieved through project-based learning. Having a stack of papers to grade can be so crushing as a teacher, because it feels like you never escape the paperwork. And then the feedback the student receives is days later, and can feel quite negative if they have not scored well on the assessment. I find the days that I do a quick assessment in class - a check in or informal observation - are the most meaningful days. I can give a student feedback immediately and they receive the reteaching or redirection they need right in the moment, and without feeling unsuccessful.
ReplyDeleteRubrics have also been a lifesaver in my classroom when creating projects for the students. It helps me to prioritize what I want students to learn from the activity when I begin with the end in mind, and I find that the student work is of higher quality when they have the rubric as they begin the task.