Key Requirements for Effective Assessments

Requirements for Effective Assessments

Backyard Nature PBL Alignment of PBL Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Assessment in the traditional classroom consists of regurgitating information that has either been presented in class or obtained through reading a textbook or other information presented to the students. In Backyard Nature, most of the formative assessments will be based on the evaluation of the ongoing work of the students' own reflections on discoveries and findings during their exploration of  the nature trail. Using the students' journals, lab notebooks, and teacher observations will allow for an evaluation of the knowledge that the students' are gaining and their ability to apply that knowledge to real world situations.

One statement in the EdTech542 "Authentic Assessment" section of the Moodle site, pretty much sums it up as far as the goal of PBL assessment.

Taken from: (EdTech542, Authentic Assessment, 5/3-6/5/16)

In order to be a meaningful part of learning, assessments should done as part of the learning process, incorporated into the learning, instead of as a separate entity. In Backyard Nature, students will be using Blogger in order to keep a journal of their discoveries, as much as technology availability will permit. They will also keep a handwritten and illustrated journal as a back-up. The journals will be evaluated for understanding of key concepts throughout the process to ensure that the students are gaining an understanding of key plant concepts and learning goals.

In an article titled "Assessment Through the Student's Eyes", the author states that "Assessment for learning provides both students and teachers with understandable information in a form they can use immediately to improve performance." "When we use assessment for learning, assessment becomes far more than merely a one-time event stuck onto the end of an instructional unit. It becomes a series of interlaced experiences that enhance the learning process by keeping students confident and focused on their progress, even in the face of occasional setbacks." (1) 

By using ongoing authentic assessment it will become apparent immediately if a student is struggling, providing the opportunity to intervene and assist the student right away. I find that this generation of students has difficulty staying on track, even when presented with rubrics. By monitoring their progress throughout the investigation of the plants on the nature trail, I will be able to detect students losing sight of the project goals and re-direct them so that they can experience success.

On the BIE site, the article titled "Hangout Recap: Assessment in Project Based Learning",  had a great outline of the questions addressed during their Hangout. "At the end of our Hangout, Erika reminded us of our take on Project Based Learning in, “Main Course Not Dessert.” Assessment is part of the main course and not something that happens after. As educators we should use both formative and summative assessments throughout the project and not just at the very end." (2) 

Assessing students throughout the learning process is the only way to lead them on a successful journey of discovery. Testing at the end of a unit or project only, does not aide in the learning process because at that point the student who has been lost throughout the unit is already behind and now feels like a failure. Testing at the end does not aide in the learning process, which is our goal as educators.

Key requirements for successful PBL assessment include the constant monitoring of student progress and achievements, assessing authentic work, immediate feedback to students on their work, the use of rubrics that students have had input in creating, and ongoing teacher coaching, assisting, and redirecting when necessary. Teacher planning and design of authentic assessments, based on standards and goals is imperative. The initial training of the students in the understanding of their goals, end products, and overall expectations is crucial. The success of a project will be the product of the whole team, students, teachers, parents, administration, and the community, understanding and embracing the PBL learning process.

Work Cited:

1. (2010). Assessment Through the Student's Eyes - ASCD. Retrieved May 30, 2016, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may07/vol64/num08/Assessment-Through-the-Student's-Eyes.aspx. 
2. (2014). Hangout Recap: Assessment in Project Based Learning | Blog - BIE. Retrieved May 30, 2016, from http://bie.org/blog/hangout_recap_assessment_in_project_based_learning.

Reflection - Project Ideas, Tools, and Resources

Project Thoughts, Tools, and Resources

As I work on developing my PBL, Backyard Nature, I realize more and more how the process will constantly be changed, tweaked, and improved, and that I will never know exactly how the project will work until the students are actually progressing through it. I can imagine that each time a PBL is used, it would be changed and improved. Having said that, it has also become apparent that even though the steps that I am taking to develop the PBL are numerous,  using the planning and development process developed by BIE will clearly help the project to run more smoothly. I have to wonder though, will public school teachers have the time to do this type of design and planning and still meet the needs of the standardized tests on which schools are judged?

For plant identification, the Resources that I have found interesting are NH Wildflowers, The Appalachian Mountain Club's Guide and Habitats of NH. These three websites will help students to identify the plants and trees along the trail. The "NH Wildflowers" guide has an easy to use search function, images, detailed information about the flower, and a guide to wildflower leaves. The "AMC Guide" is a colorful guide for tree identification. "Habitats of NH" has useful information that will assist students in identifying trees. Although the images are black and white, they will be useful in helping students to identify the leaves and fruits of various species.
Technology tools that will be required are tablets or phones for Internet access while on the trail. An interesting app that I found is "Garden Answers Plant Identifier". This Android app can instantly identify 20,000 plants by taking a picture. The "Google Map Pedometer" is a tool that will allow the students to create a map of the trail to use in the Trail Guide that they will produce. Endomondo or a similar walking app will help to mark distances on the trail. Digital cameras, laptops and printers will also be necessary tools for research, design, and creation of the plant labels and the trail guide.

Rockingham County-UNH Coop. Extension and the Division of Forests and Lands are both resources that will be used to reach out for a professional connection and a potential mentor or guest speaker. UNH advised the school on prior garden projects and they were extremely helpful to the students. The inclusion of professionals from the field will increase the authenticity of the project and reinforce the local connection.

Work Cited:
1. (2014). Resources | Project Based Learning | BIE. Retrieved May 24, 2016, from http://bie.org/resources.

Driving Question - Characteristics

Backyard Nature PBL Driving Question

The Backyard Nature PBL is based on an authentic problem, the loss of the plant identification labels, and by replacing them,  the walking experience of everyone using the nature trail will be enhanced. According to the concepts that we were asked to keep in mind in this week's course reading, this driving question fits all of the criteria of a quality driving question. It is open-ended, provocative, gets to the heart of the subject, is challenging, interesting, and meets the standards. 

Open-Ended

The driving question allows students to discuss ways that they can create an understanding of the natural beauty that exists on the nature trail. 

Provocative

Students will see themselves as teachers and designers and feel pride and ownership in a part of the school that everyone enjoys using.

Get to the Heart of the Subject

The question addresses the need to create an understanding of the native plants on the nature trail, which is the end product of the PBL.

Is Challenging

Students will have decide on the best course for locating and labeling the plants, the most suitable materials for creating the labels, and design techniques for the labels and plant guide, and coordinating a community walk. All of these skills will involve prior knowledge, research skills, artistic talent, engineering and math knowledge, and lots of teamwork.

Is Interesting

Students will be working on a project that will enhance the quality of a part of the school grounds that they use and enjoy. This will make the project authentic to the students and increase their interest in completing it and in doing their best work.

Meets the Standards

The PBL driving question will meet the standards for the 3rd grade plant unit and the 4th grade NH studies.

Sub-Questions

1. What is a native plant?
2. What is an endangered plant?
3. What technology tools will your group need?
4. What features will we use to identify the trees and plants?
5. How will we record our findings?
6. What materials would be best to label the plants?
7. How will we create the labels?
8. Where will the labels be placed?
9. What is needed to showcase the marked trail?
10. How can we organize a community walk to showcase your work?

The sub-questions can be used by the groups to create the entire unit. They will be used as a guide to lead the groups through their research, planning and design process.

PBL Discoveries

Project Based Learning Idea Search

To say that the amount of material available regarding PBL is overwhelming would be an understatement. Individuals have put an unbelievable amount of work into developing their projects and thankfully have been willing to share them. I was able to find many projects that interested me and would fit into the curriculum that the various grade levels currently teach at my school.

There were many project based learning sites and projects that I found that contained similar ideas to what I plan on developing in my PBL. I've listed some of my favorites here with a brief description of what their content. Eco-Friendly Landscaping Project is a high school level project in which students teamed up with a company called WestEd in order to help them create environmentally friendly landscaping.  PBL Learning Science Lesson Plans is on the HubPages site and is a great site that has a variety of PBL science projects, neatly organized by the branches of science. Schoolyard Habitat Project is an example of a project that I was able to locate on the HubPages site and is the PBL that I am going to use as a guide for my PBL. A Home for Everyone is a PBL in which the students explore living things in their local environment. Ideas from each of the above projects will assist me in developing my own project.

PBL would fit perfectly into my teaching style as I am a very visual and hands-on learner and teacher. I'm hoping that as the Tech Integrator I can inspire other teachers to share in my excitement and co-develop and teach some PBL projects. With all the curricular demands placed on classroom teachers, anything "extra" is very often avoided, understandably. My goal will be to target a couple of teachers who I know are comfortable trying new ideas and begin there. I really liked the article, "Why PBL Hasn't Gone Mainstream (And What We Can Do About It)" which highlights four ideas to help bring PBL into mainstream education. (2) These ideas include:

1. More efficient ways to introduce PBLs.
2. Establishing PBL communities for idea sharing. 
3. Schools "creating that environment, providing a roadmap, and nurturing the PBL experience" (2) 
4. The adoption of 21st century tools in teaching.

Beginning Ideas For My PBL - Backyard Nature

(1)

Nottingham School's nature and cross country trail used to have all of the flora clearly marked so that walkers could explore and learn about the various native plants along the way. Over the years, the signs have disappeared. In NH, 3rd graders study the town's history and plant science and 4th grade studies state history. As either a combined 3-4 project or a 3rd grade project (I haven't figured out exactly how that will work yet.), the students will work to beautify the trail, identify the plants, and recreate the plant species labels along the trail. My initial thought is that the 3rd grade will do the initial identifying and marking and the 4th grade, in conjunction with their art curriculum, create the trail markers and the maps. This project would involve integrating science, mapping, technology, engineering and art.

Work cited:

1. Retrieved from https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5263/5617460238_2d1a4ea549_o_d.jpg.

2. (2016). Why Project Based Learning Hasn't Gone Mainstream (And ... - EdSurge. Retrieved May 16, 2016, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-04-23-why-project-based-learning-hasn-t-gone-mainstream-and-what-we-can-do-about-it.

Overview of Project Based Learning

Reflections & Questions About PBL Resources

Resource 1: Buck Institute for Education (BIE) 
Gold Standard PBL (1)

2 Separate related components:
   1. Essential Project Design Elements
   2. Project Based Teaching Practice

Image taken from: bie.org








BIE states that PBL:

• Makes school more engaging
• Improves learning
• Builds success skills for college, career, and life
• Helps address standards
• Provides opportunities for students to use technology
• Makes teaching more enjoyable and rewarding
• Connects students and schools with communities and the real world

I agree, that this would be an amazing way for the students to learn, but are public schools ready to transition to this? My questions/comments to these statements would be:

• With all the focus on standardized testing, will this prepare students to perform well?          PBL and Standardized Tests? It Can Work! (2) - According to an article in Edutopia, "...PBL projects can not only serve as a scaffold for these tests, but also prepare our students for college, career, and life!" As in current classroom work, skills that the students need in order to be successful on the standardized tests can be embedded into the PBL lessons.
• How do teachers ensure that students are learning what they need to know?                          How Do I Get High-Quality Student Work in PBL? (3) John Larmer lists some things that will help to ensure successful PBL: 

1. Use of rubrics and exemplars
2. Effective formative assessment
3. Enough time
4. Authentic subject matter
5. Classroom/school cultivated a culture of quality

• Will this model of learning prepare students for college or will they arrive at colleges with the expectation that they learn/test under the "old school" model?                                                  
• What will it take to get schools to support the change and will they be ready to support the challenges it will involve?                                                                                                        

Resource 2: Edutopia - 5 Keys to Rigorous PBL (4)

Series of 6 Videos

1. Real World Connections - Use a driving question to address a real world problem. Students choose the path that they want to take in order to explore the problem. They decide who outside of the school would be good to connect with in order to work on the problem, and by bringing in an outside expert will make the project more real and personal for the students. Taking students out into the community, having people visit the classroom and using the Internet are all feasible options for making connections. 
2. Building Rigorous Projects - Use PBL for the "meat" of the assignment, not as an extra. Design the projects with the standards in mind. Also, the final exam requirements need to be kept in mind when designing the PBL. Accountability for the meeting the standards is still important. Students will learn to use critical thinking and collaboration skills,  and to be creative, while they are learning. Students will not only obtain the knowledge that they need, but learn to apply that knowledge at the same time.
3. Structuring Collaboration for Student Success - Teacher needs to plan ahead by properly grouping the students, teach them about teamwork (language used, roles, responsibilities, processes), supply outlines, how to use each other, respect for each other, teacher is a facilitator, create agendas so that the students are able to be more independent and guide themselves.
4. Facilitating Learning in a Student-Centered Environment - Scaffold all of the lessong so that the students know exactly what to do. Supply clues, ideas, guidance, but the students do the work. Introduce a topic in a way that the students will want to discover more about it. Students need to work together to find answers. Build in opportunities for the students to reflect and have conversations with their piers in order to build knowledge and understanding. Have learning goals for every day so that students can track their progress so that they know that they are learning. 
5. Embedding Assessment Throughout the Project - Keep track of where students are as they work through the project to be sure that they are on track. Perform a lot of small formative assessments, such as: checking in to see how the students feel about reaching their daily target; checking for understanding; opportunities to assess themselves and their teammates. The culminating event, product, idea, or solution is the true test of understanding and knowledge.

One of my concerns that I mentioned after the first resource was if this approach would prepare students for their future educational experiences. I was glad to hear in the second video that exams are still required, because I think that this is still a skill that students will need in high school and college. 

PBL does require a lot of planning and preparation of a different type than what classroom teachers are used to. It would seem that if a school was going to change over to this model, administration should commit to a lot of professional development for the teachers to ensure that it is implemented properly. Unfortunately, many times schools "jump" into new methods without supplying the needed training for teachers.

Work Cited

1. (2015). Why We Changed Our Model of the “8 Essential Elements of PBL” - BIE. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://bie.org/object/document/why_we_changed_our_model_of_the_8_essential_elements_of_pbl.
2. 
   
   (2012). PBL and Standardized Tests? It Can Work! | Edutopia. Retrieved May 11, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/PBL-and-standardized-tests-andrew-miller.
3. (2013). How to Get High-Quality Student Work in PBL | Edutopia. Retrieved May 11, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/high-quality-student-work-pbl-john-larmer.
4. (2015). 5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning | Edutopia. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/video/5-keys-rigorous-project-based-learning.

EdTech542-Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning

(2014). Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning - YouTube. Retrieved May 9, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzCGNnU_WM.