Assessing+Problem+Based+Learning+(Feb+3-+March+2)

= Required Spring 2011 Online Course = February 3-March 2

Participant will be able to:

 * ====define and distinguish formative and summative assessments ====
 * ======effectively use assessment data to inform and improve instruction ======
 * ======develop effective assessments for problem-based learning ======

Please begin by taking 10 minutes to review the assignments in this course.

=Module 1-Understanding Assessments as Tools for Learning (February 3-February 17) =
 * ======What are formative assessments (including e-Portfolios)? ======
 * ======Why do we use them? ======
 * ======What do we do with them? ======

__Readings (apprx. one hour) __
Read the following article, //"Learning to Love Assessment//": @http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec07/vol65/num04/Learning-to-Love-Assessment.aspx

Read the following article to help you better understand and appropriately use assessments, both formative and summative. //"The Best Value in Formative assessment//" @http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec07/vol65/num04/The-Best-Value-in-Formative-Assessment.aspx

Open the five links in the resource below to learn more about tying assessment to the learning objectives Assessment: Adopting, Adapting, or Developing an Aligned Assessment for Your Lesson

Click on the link below and read pages 1-3 (up to "Australia"). The article describes e-portfolios as authentic assessment and appropriate for problem-based learning. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www.adobe.com/education/pdf/acrobat-eportfolios-wp.pdf

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Click on the link below and read the section, WHY USE E-PORTFOLIOS AS AN ASSESSMENT IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING? The article describes how e-portfolios are ideal for assessing problem-based learning. Note: the article refers to project-based learning, but the description fits problem-based learning. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/454064/implementing_projectbased_learning_and_eportfolio_assessment_in_an_undergraduate_course/

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reflection (4-5 paragraphs) (apprx. 50 minutes) (Due by February 17, 2011) __
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">After reading the articles and reviewing the resources above, begin thinking about how you currently use formative assessments in your classroom. On the discussion board, post an example of a formative assessment that you have used in your classroom. Include the assessment by copying it into your post. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">In your post, address the following questions: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 1 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 2 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 3 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 4 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 5 Discussion Board
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What is the assessment- what was it designed to assess? To what learning objective does it relate? During what part of the lesson was it administered?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What format did you use to collect the results?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How did you organize and analyze the results?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What did the results tell you specifically about your students' levels of attainment of the learning objective?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How did you use those results to plan and improve subsequent instruction?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How was feedback on the data provided to your students and how did you amend your instruction to account for for individual student needs?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What were the most successful aspects of your formative assessment?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What areas of your formative assessment need improvement?

=<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Module 2 Using Formative Assessment Data as a Tool for Guiding Instruction(February 18-March 2) =


 * ======What do formative assessments look like?======
 * How do the results of formative assessments guide and improve instruction?
 * How can formative assessments be used as tools to improve student learning?

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Examples (15 minutes) __
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Take 15 minutes to browse through the following articles that give examples of formative assessments and assessments used in Problem-Based Learning. You may want to bookmark these for future reference. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Formative assessments <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://nstacommunities.org/blog/2010/02/02/formative-assessments/ <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www.lincoln.k12.or.us/Files/Formative%20Assessment%20Strategies.pdf <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Types of assessment used in Problem-Based Learning <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www.globalschoolnet.org/web/pbl/plan/assess.htm <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reflections <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">@http://www.edutopia.org/student-reflection-blogs-journals-technology <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Using Data (apprx. one hour) __
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Read the three articles below to see examples of how teachers use formative assessment data to guide instruction. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Read the article below to learn how to use assessment in your problem-based learning unit. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reflection Response (apprx. 45 minutes) (due by Monday, February 28, 2011) __
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Please re-visit the discussion board for your region where you posted your initial Reflection from Module 1. Read through your colleagues' posts, and select one that you feel would help you better implement formative assessments in your classroom. Please post a reply to one of your colleagues initial reflections in your region's discussion board. Your post should concentrate on the following element(s): use of data, feedback, collection method, and analysis of data. Use the resources from this course when you compose your reply addressing the following:
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What elements of assessment addressed in their post did you find valuable?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Why do you feel that these elements of assessment would be useful to your instruction?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How would you implement these elements of assessment into creating formative assessments in your problem-based STEM unit?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Provide specific examples of how the use of these elements of assessment will contribute to your student students' attainment of learning goals you assessed?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How will you record and analyze information from your formative assessments? (Please include a sample form that you designed to record data that shows attainment of objectives/content. Please email this form to your instructional coach.)
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How will you use this element(s) of assessment to guide your subsequent instruction?

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 1 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 2 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 3 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 4 Discussion Board <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Region 5 Discussion Board

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Optional Assignment (3 hours) __
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">In order to earn an additional three individualized professional development hours, create and submit to your instructional coach two different types of formative assessments (pre-test, reflection, warm-up, constructed response, student response clicker assignment, anecdotal observation of students, exit ticket, quiz, journal, concept map) that you will use as a part of your STEM problem-based unit. Each assessment must be aligned to the lesson's learning objective.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Please describe specifically (2-3 paragraphs per assessment) how you applied the information from this course to creating these assessments by answering the following questions. Cite specific resources or information from colleagues' posts that you used, and use quotations where appropriate.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What is the assessment- what was it designed to assess? To what learning objective does it relate? During what part of the lesson was it administered?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How will you collect the results?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How will you analyze the results ?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How will you use the results to plan and improve subsequent instruction?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">How will you provide feedback on the data to your students and provide for individual student needs in your instruction?

__<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Optional Resources __
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">list of articles found in a 2008 issue of ed leadership. @http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec07/vol65/num04/toc.aspx <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">PBL Rubrics @http://sdmasterteachers.wikispaces.com/file/view/PBL+Assessment+Article.pdf <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Video from Edutopia: Comprehensive Assessment: An overview <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Article fro Eductopia: Healthier Testing Made Easy: The Idea of Authentic Assessment <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Webquest on Authentic Assessment Assessment Toolbox <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Article/video: what is an authentic assessment The Case for Authentic Assessment <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">E-Portfolios: @http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/eportfolios.htm <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reflection: @http://kbarnstable.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/16-outcomes-of-reflection/ Rubrics- Designing rubrics to build complex understandings.