40 Alternative Assessments for Learning When people think of assessment, pencils and bubble sheets may be the first things that come to mind. Assessment does not always have to involve paper and pencil, but can instead be a project, an observation, or a task that shows a student has learned the material. In the end, all we really want to know is that the skill was mastered, right? Many teachers shy away from alternative assessments because they take extra time and effort to create and to grade. The project card and rubric can be run on card stock (one on each side of the page), laminated, and hole punched with other alternative assessment ideas. Here are 40 alternative assessment ideas to get you started! Alternative Reading Assessments 1. Create a bookmark to match the theme of the last book read. 2. Put together a group of 5 things from the story of the week. 3. Students can make a stuffed animal that matches the theme of the story read. 4. Summarize the story by designing a business card (this will be harder than it sounds). 5.
14 Bloom's Taxonomy Posters For Teachers 14 Brilliant Bloom’s Taxonomy Posters For Teachers by TeachThought Staff Bloom’s Taxonomy is a useful tool for assessment design, but using it only for that function is like using a race car to go to the grocery–a huge waste of potential. In an upcoming post we’re going to look at better use of Bloom’s taxonomy in the classroom, but during research for that post it became interesting how many variations there are of the original work. While a handful of the charts below only show aesthetic changes compared to others, most are concept maps of sorts–with graphic design that signifies extended function (power verbs), detail (clear explanations), or features of some sort (Bloom’s Taxonomy tasks by level). The follow simple, student-centered Bloom’s graphics were created by helloliteracy! The following “Bloom’s pinwheel” comes from Kelly Tenkley and ilearntechnology.com:
Two Handy Web Tools to Create and Draw on Maps Somebody sent me an email earlier this week asking for web tools to create and draw on maps. Below are two of the tools that I know of but you can also check this collection of map tools I have published a few months ago it also features some other good applications to use while working on maps with your students. 1- Scribble maps Easily draw on maps and then share them with friends, completely for Free! Simple enough to be used by children, but powerful enough to be used by GIS professionals - Scribble Maps is the easiest way to draw and share maps with friends. Watch the video below to learn how to use Scribble maps Quickmaps allows users to draw a quick map.
6 Steps To A Flipped Classroom by Josh Corbat, TeachThought Intern Students today are vastly different from when we were in their shoes. We were brought up on the age-old tradition of lecture, practice, and assessment. Think about it. Self-Directed Learning is the new learning. Students in the age of iPads and Google have been doing this since before they could walk. The Flipped Classroom model (or blended learning model, if that is your cup of tea) is based on very simple, logical principles. My advice to the teacher deciding whether or not to take the leap to the Flipped Classroom is just this: If you decide to go for it, there is no turning back. If you’ve made it this far, I’m guessing you’re truly interested in giving this a try. At any rate, here is one approach to flipping your classroom. Step 1: Decide which technology you will use. Low tech or high tech? The videos themselves are not meant to be worthy of the silver screen. There are so many ways you can flip your lectures. Step 3: Make your videos!
Teaching Critical Thinking I just came across a 2007 article by Daniel T. Willingham “Critical Thinking: Why is it so hard to teach?” Critical thinking is very commonly found in lists of learning outcomes for general education or even at the institution level. In practice, it’s very difficult to even define, let alone teach or assess. The article is a nice survey of the problem. I just came across a 2007 article by Daniel T. The approach I've taken in the past (with the FACS assessment) I've simplified 'critical thinking' into two types of reasoning that are easy to identify: deductive and inductive. For example, solving a complex but familiar physics problem by applying a multi-step algorithm isn’t critical thinking because you are really drawing on memory to solve the problem. Applying a multi-step algorithm is deductive "follow-the-rules" thinking. In the quote above, the creation of a new algorithm exemplifies critical thinking--this is precisely inductive thinking, a kind of inference. A Model for Thinking
How To Use Bloom’s Taxonomy To Write Learning Outcomes By: Scott Davis Business Analyst, Pearson It is often quite difficult to relate inputs to outcomes in the world of education. Traditionally, much work has been done to develop and provide inputs into the process of education. These inputs, such as a textbook, an assessment, a learning technology or platform, a course, a qualification, a high-stakes test or professional development for teachers are put into the hands of an educational leader, a skillful teacher, or an eager student. And, for all of the investment, expertise, and care that go into their creation, that has typically been where the involvement ends. If we are going to really understand how we might be impacting student learning we must do two things. It may be difficult to know where to start in writing a student learning outcome. The committee identified three domains of educational activities or learning (Bloom, 1956): The domains are further subdivided, starting from the simplest behavior to the most complex. Bloom, B.
Aha Moments on the Road to Better Teaching By Myron Dueck Change can be difficult. We find ourselves entrenched in old habits, and, therefore, much of what we do is simply what we have always done. A home-improvement friend of mine suggested that I get someone unfamiliar with my home to point out things that could use a little TLC. He suggested two changes for my home and, after I recovered from the subtle sting of criticism, I appreciated the analysis. Grading Smarter Starts with Awareness For many teachers, what stands in the way of change is not a lack of willingness but a lack of awareness. With that idea in mind, here are a few epiphanies I’ve had throughout my career that have helped me to see the need for change and enact it effectively. Improving Unit Plans I never noticed that my learning targets were hidden from sight and actually quite nebulous should anyone succeed in uncovering them. Based on Rick Stiggins’ work, I highlighted what students needed to know, reason, demonstrate, and produce. Improving Grading
Vitamin HB | My Favorite New Coffee Scrub!!! « huda beauty Vitamin HB | My Favorite New Coffee Scrub!!! Sun, 13 Nov 2011 DAILY DOSE | BODYBy Huda Heidi Kattan I know I loooove coffee scrubs (remember my HudaBeauty party with the little coffee scrub giveaways), but this one kind of takes the cake when it comes to pure awesomeness! Ingredients 1 Orange, Peeled 2 Cups Yogurt 2 Tablespoons Coffee Grounds 2 Tablespoons Honey Blend the yogurt, orange and honey together in a blender. 32 Characteristics Of High-Performing Classrooms 32 Characteristics Of High-Performing Classrooms: Spotting The Holes In Your Teaching by Terry Heick Instructional design is the strategic creation of learning experiences through intentional planning, sequencing, and data-based revision of learning. This process includes both the ways content is accessed, and the learning needs and objectives (and how they are determined) themselves. This puts instructional strategies, literacy strategies, curriculum mapping, standards unpacking, assessment design, digital literacy, and a dozen other facets of education beneath its umbrella. With that in mind, we’ve created the following 32 characteristics of higher-level instructional planning to help you spot the holes in your teaching. Technology Integration Cognitive Demand Lesson Planning Assessments Curriculum Mapping Learner Choice Classroom Management Student Support Image attribution flickr user flickeringbrad; 32 Characteristics Of A High-Performing Classroom
Bloom’s Taxonomy & The iPad The iPad – A Device To… Create Despite Steve Jobs having declared the iPad as a device for consuming media, students at Zeeland Public Schools (ZPS) continue to create engaging papers, presentations and multi-media products to demonstrate their deep understanding of the curriculum. Pic Collage, Story Creator, Corkulous, Scribble Press, Videolicious, Educreations, Evernote, Haiku Deck, and iMotion HD are just a small sampling of the amazing apps students at every grade level are using to synthesize their understanding. Consume Not only are students creating on the iPad, but teachers are generating their own products for their classes to consume. Collaborate & Communicate Collaboration and communication go hand-in-hand, and the 1:1 technology initiative at ZPS fosters these skills. Critical Thinking Metacognition and critical thinking reach new heights as our teachers challenge learners to evaluate their own work, that of their peers, and even that of people in other countries.
The Question Game: A Playful Way To Teach Critical Thinking The Question Game by Sophie Wrobel, geist.avesophos.de The Question Game: A Playful Way To Teach Critical Thinking Big idea: Teaching kids to ask smart questions on their own A four-year-old asks on average about 400 questions per day, and an adult hardly asks any. In A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas, Warren Berger suggests that there are three main questions which help in problem solving: Why questions, What If questions, and How questions. Regardless of the question, the question needs to be phrased openly and positively in order to achieve positive results – a closed or negative question only raises bad feelings against each other. Why questions help to find the root of a problemWhat If questions open up the floor for creative solutionsHow questions focus on developing practical solutions Learning Goal: A Pattern Of Critical Thinking Introducing The Question Game Evaluating Learning Progress
Bloom’s Taxonomy Re-imagine & Digital Blooms: different ways to approach learning I’ve long been a fan of Bloom’s Taxonomy…not necessarily for all the ways it has been pushed into different fads throughout the years, but instead for the way that it helps me (and my students) think about the learning process. It helps me approach the learning process in a more holistic way, ensuring that I don’t camp out in one way of thinking and evidencing learning for too long. I think it is human nature to get excited about one way of thinking and suddenly everything we do falls into that. It can be a little bit like the new car that you purchased, you begin to see that car everywhere because you have a new awareness of it. I’ve noticed myself doing the same in teaching. Bloom’s Taxonomy helps me to keep myself cognizant of all the different ways to approach learning. A few years ago, I created some different versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy for my students. You will notice that my images don’t have the traditional Bloom’s pyramid. And the digital version: Remember: Understand: Apply:
Bloomin' Apps This page gathers all of the Bloomin' Apps projects in one place.Each image has clickable hotspots and includes suggestions for iPad, Android, Google and online tools and applications to support each of the levels of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.I have created a page to allow you to share your favorite online tool, iOS, or Android app with others. Cogs of the Cognitive Processes I began to think about the triangular shape of Bloom's Taxonomy and realized I thought of it a bit differently.Since the cognitive processes are meant to be used when necessary, and any learner goes in and out of the each level as they acquire new content and turn it into knowledge, I created a different type of image that showcased my thoughts about Bloom's more meaningfully.Here is my visual which showcases the interlocking nature of the cognitive processes or, simply, the "Cogs of the Cognitive Processes". IPAD APPS TO SUPPORT BLOOM'S REVISED TAXONOMYassembled by Kathy Schrock Bloom's and SAMR: My thoughts
Take Action: Verbs That Define Bloom’s Taxonomy Bloom’s Taxonomy gets an active makeover in this infographic, which provides a way to think about how the actions involved in a class assignment might be categorized in the schema. Mia MacMeekin made this and many other interesting infographics, which can be found on her website, An Ethical Island. Check out the original link to the infographic. Katrina Schwartz Katrina Schwartz is a journalist based in San Francisco.