I have been giving a lot of thought about how to give my students more of a voice in their learning and in our classroom. Initially, I was focused on increasing their presence on our classroom blog through podcasts, videos, and blog posts. I even gave thought to asking my district IT to unblock Twitter so that we could create a class account (which I am still going to do). But never would assessment have crossed my mind. Fortunately, I took my thoughts to my PLN. Janine Campbell (@campbellartsoup) responded to my tweet about amplifying students' voices with rich insights and a couple articles that got the cerebral wheels turning. If you like what you read here, be sure to follow Janine on Twitter.
Assessment for learning is a pedagogical golden nugget. No one ever said that the teacher had to do it alone. Why not give your students a voice in how they are assessed? It might tell you more about where they are at than assessing your class conventionally.
Rubrics are my favorite way to assess student projects. I'm even pretty good at creating them. By doing so, I completely understand the assignment and learning outcomes for any given project. But do my students? Is there a way to better utilize rubrics as assessment of learning where students' voices are intensified. Yes!
Allowing students to create the criteria for assessment does just that. It doesn't just serve the purpose of better summative assessment. Student-created rubrics also provides a medium for formative assessment as well.
If my assignment is for students to analyze the effects of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on post-war America, I will be able to formatively assess the class' understanding of the main points of this event by the criteria that they suggest this assignment should be graded on.
I will know that I need to reteach aspects of this event in American history if students believe that including a description of John Wilkes Booth's escape from Ford's Theatre is a must have on our rubric.
If, instead, they insist that an analysis of how Lincoln's death either deterred or invigorated America's adoption of his core beliefs about equality be a main part of our rubric, then I know that these kids are ready for Harvard.
The main idea here is to give control of assessment criteria over to your students. Scary, huh? It doesn't need to be. If you have put in the work to establish a trusting, interdependent relationship with your kiddos, then they will raise the bar for themselves. It will show in how they choose to be assessed. Better yet, it will allow you to hear what they have to say about what they are learning.
Assessment for learning is a pedagogical golden nugget. No one ever said that the teacher had to do it alone. Why not give your students a voice in how they are assessed? It might tell you more about where they are at than assessing your class conventionally.
Rubrics are my favorite way to assess student projects. I'm even pretty good at creating them. By doing so, I completely understand the assignment and learning outcomes for any given project. But do my students? Is there a way to better utilize rubrics as assessment of learning where students' voices are intensified. Yes!
Allowing students to create the criteria for assessment does just that. It doesn't just serve the purpose of better summative assessment. Student-created rubrics also provides a medium for formative assessment as well.
If my assignment is for students to analyze the effects of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on post-war America, I will be able to formatively assess the class' understanding of the main points of this event by the criteria that they suggest this assignment should be graded on.
I will know that I need to reteach aspects of this event in American history if students believe that including a description of John Wilkes Booth's escape from Ford's Theatre is a must have on our rubric.
If, instead, they insist that an analysis of how Lincoln's death either deterred or invigorated America's adoption of his core beliefs about equality be a main part of our rubric, then I know that these kids are ready for Harvard.
The main idea here is to give control of assessment criteria over to your students. Scary, huh? It doesn't need to be. If you have put in the work to establish a trusting, interdependent relationship with your kiddos, then they will raise the bar for themselves. It will show in how they choose to be assessed. Better yet, it will allow you to hear what they have to say about what they are learning.
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