ASSESSMENT
A Balanced Assessment for Student Success
Our project balances helpful formative assessments with meaningful summative assessments to create deep learning opportunities for our students. After learning about gender from scientific, sociological, and cultural perspectives, our students will bring the community together by creating and performing creative and educational performance pieces. Leading up to performance, students will document their learning each week in a digital learning journal. Scroll down to see more details on our assessments.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Because this unit deals with difficult and controversial topics, we have centered our assessment practices around formative assessment - both for the teacher to understand where the students are coming from, and so modify their emphases in future activities, and for the students to understand their own biases and perspectives. We begin with a Know-Wonder-Learn Chart to which we will continuously refer throughout the weeks.
We have also included multiple reflective exit-slips (particularly at the conclusion of every discussion-heavy class, and following all guest speakers). We also require students to weekly reflect on their learning in their Digital Journal, discussed below.
Finally, we also employ multiple conferences, check-ins and peer feedback sessions. The teachers will be fully present during all discussions and group work, assessing the general process of student development. Conferences can be scheduled for groups to check-in with the teacher as the performance date approaches. Structured peer feedback on both the Digital Journal (through a handout) and the performance piece (through a dress rehearsal) will inform students on how to make improvements.
PERFORMANCE PROJECT
Summative Assessment
After learning the ins and outs of gender and reflecting on how it impacts their lives, students will work in small groups to create an interdisciplinary performance piece that will be shared with the community. The performance piece will serve to both demonstrate understandings of gender as well as educate others about how gender impacts our interpersonal relationships.
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For this assessment, an emphasis will be placed on community learning. Students will be given a choice of medium to work with provided that:
a) it integrates core understandings from the unit about gender and relationships
b) it is perform-able and educational
Options may include: a dramatic skit, a musical piece, an art installation, a performative poetry reading, an interpretive dance, etc.
In preparation for our community gathering, students will work together to find ways to get the entire community involved in their work. Our community gathering will be planned and organized by students with support and guidance from teachers. Students will organize the entire logistics of the event, including finding and booking a gathering space, fundraising, working with a budget, decorating the venue, ordering pizza, and promoting their event for others. Students will invite their families, friends, and communities to join them in celebrating their learning, thereby providing them with a model of how to organize events that can make a positive change in the world around them.
DIGITAL JOURNAL
Formative & Summative Assessment
At the end of each week, students will create a critical response to the weekly essential question showing evidence of their evolving understandings. Students will use a variety of media forms when responding including (but not limited to) written responses, visual responses, oral responses, and video responses. The journals will be shared at the end of each week with teachers and peers for formative assessment and peer feedback. Students will be encouraged to use their creativity in crafting their responses, and their reflections will be used to inform their final performance piece.
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The journal must include:
1 response from each week (6 total)
at least 1 written response (500 words)
at least 1 response consisting of visual images
at least 1 oral response (either video or podcast, 5 mins)
a "letter to yourself" - your final reflection will be a letter to the pre-project you about your development
The rest are up to you!
An example of a student journal can be found here