Resources/Strategies for Assessment

Presented to: Rami Kamel, PED 3141

Due Nov 26th 2020

I believe there are many ways other than testing to assess student understanding and learning,

Personally, I rather enjoy taking a test, however, I know many students find tests very stressful.

Many students feel stressed because they are striving for that A, while others hate tests because

they know they can’t possibly achieve an A. Therefore, for the purpose of this assignment, I

plan to skip references to tests, quizzes, or other high-pressure situations.

1. Games

Description and Implementation:

To be more specific in this instance, ‘quiz games.’ We know these popularly as

Jeopardy, Family Feud, or recently Kahoot. However, I would like to add to these: Bomb

Games. An example of a Bomb Game can be downloaded from my Google Drive here. This is

my Pokémon bomb game (apologies, slide 16’s answer is incorrect) and it’s been very popular

with all my Japanese and Korean students grades 3 – 6. An explanation of how to use the

PowerPoint game is provided on slide 1, or you can full-screen it to learn the game. It is not

hard. Students play in groups, taking turns to choose a letter and answer the associated question

(images match questions, or questions are based on the image) and then receive a random

Pokémon (points 1 – 5) or an event (includes: Random Legendary Pokémon (6 to 10 points),

switch points, steal 3 points, Rock Paper Scissors for 5 points, or Team Rocket (all teams lose all
points – this is always a big hit.) The slides can all be edited, so the teacher is meant to delete

previous photos, questions, and answers and write in their own target learning goals before play

(prep time: roughly 1 hour). I would use a game like this as a fun way to re-cap at the end of a

unit. It would be particularly useful as well to make a game like this using exactly the questions

on a upcoming test. Play time is 20 – 30 minutes depending on how the teacher MC’s the game.

Supports Student Learning:

This is activity is merely a test presented with colour and cute cartoon images, so it

supports student learning by reviewing the material previously learned in a low-stakes

environment. When using this in class, each student is meant to pick a question and answer it,

however I have always allowed students’ groups to help the answerer (if needed) to always get it

correct. Since there is no penalty in the game, I would suggest providing hints if a particular

question were too hard.

Strengths:

This is a fun game and especially younger children get very into it. After answering a

question there is a pause (length depends on teacher’s click of the slide) as students wait to see

what Pokémon they caught, adding tension to the mix. There are also random point awards, so

the highest and lowest level students are all on a level playing field, reducing stress, and allowing

students to simply participate for fun. There has always been full engagement with my grade 3

and 4 classes. As such, they are often shouting out answers together, or if they do not know,

they have no worries asking teammates for the answer. As a digital game, this is also presently

more useful than ever since there is no touching and can be played together-but-apart.

Weaknesses:
 This type of game lacks interaction and simultaneous participation. That is to say, one

group at a time plays; one player at a time answers. It is still fun for older grades; however, it

gets old fast because of this. For younger children, this seems not to be such an issue as they are

excited to see what each team gets. This can be adjusted by choosing more age-appropriate

‘bomb games’ for older students. I have seen celebrity-based bomb games for teenagers.

Research:

There is no shortage of research that praises the game as an effective tool for assessment.

For example, this paper in particular mentions the use of digital games and online interactive

software in regards to games for assessment. It specifies “The increased user engagement in

assessments that can be promoted in these contexts through “fun” and interactive game design

approaches is further presumed to increase the validity of the assessments compared to typical

paper and pencil assessments that can be repetitive and boring (Shute & Rahimi, 2017)” which is

my goal.

Further exploration:

Bomb Games can be found for free on various teacher websites. They are especially

popular among ESL teachers in Korea and Mainland China. I get mine from www.waygook.org.

This website was created in 2006 specifically for English teachers in the Province of

Jeollanamdo in South Korea to share their material with each other, but it has gained a lot of

popularity over the years due to its free to access material and simple format. There is

admittedly a lot potentially irrelevant material to sift through, but there are also a lot of great

ideas to build upon, steal, and improve.

Description and Implementation:

These are a post-class self-evaluation by students of themselves and/or the material they

were expected to learn that class. In courses at U Ottawa, they are referred to as “Exit Tickets”.

Students are expected to fill out a brief questionnaire with questions that vary from teacher to

teacher. Some examples might be: How do you feel after this lesson? Are there any questions

you have left? If so, what? Is there anything you were left unable to understand? What did you

like most/least?

I would not use these in every class, honestly (especially for classes such as P.E. or art).

As I will mention below, I find them to be quite time consuming compared to their usefulness.

They may be better paired exclusively with more traditionally challenging classes such as math

and science.

Supports Student Learning:

Post class reflection helps students to consider their feelings about class and address what

might have caused negative feelings as well as what brought positive feelings. Reflection is also

a good chance for students to consider whether or not they feel confident that they have really

mastered the knowledge they were supposed to, and how they might find help if not.

Strengths:

Reflection improves students’ active mental engagement by asking them to fully consider

the class that they were just physically present for. It is also an important tool (if used as such)

to help students learn about their own feelings and what triggers a particular feeling in
themselves. Students can also use this as a means to ask a question they were unable to ask

during class for some reason (eg: too shy).

Weaknesses:

This is a very time-consuming activity. A well-made and meaningful reflection sheet

would take roughly 5 minutes to do. Five minutes seems like nothing, but that is more than 10%

of a 45-minute lesson. There is only so much time in the day to do everything, and these 5

minutes add up fast. Another weakness is that many students do not really take this activity

seriously, especially when given multiple-choice answers (eg: different emojis to represent

feelings) – which many reflection sheets use as a means to correct the time issue. Students may

simply circle without thought (especially, often circling all best or worst responses every time)

and pass the sheet to the front.

Research:

In class PED 3121 we are required to read Windschitl et al., which is repeatedly suggests

making use of the exit ticket system to ensure students are not lost or falling behind.

In my private life, I have also witnessed this as an essential ending to every class in

Japan. However, it is my own personal experience which led me to perceive the weaknesses of

this system and wonder how it may be better implemented. I did not see many students seriously

consider their reflection sheet, and often the teacher would instruct the students what to write (to

save time), so I felt that defeated the point of the reflection in the first place.

Further Exploration:
 This website has many cute and creative versions of the exit ticket, all with different

goals or uses.

3. Posters

Description and Implementation:

“Posters” could more broadly be any informative visual or ‘model’. Students can make

these models themselves, to represent, mind-map, or review course material. Despite some

criticisms in our class readings (see below), I do find models and posters to be useful tools for

students to apply what they have learned in a concise and visually compelling manner. In the

past, I found students were highly engaged by posters in language classes, where visuals could

bridge the gaps in vocabulary and grammar to help students express themselves. Students often

want to talk about their holidays (here I am referring to time away from school, not specific

religious or cultural events) but lack the ability. This form of visual story telling can help

students feel more positive about the challenge of communication in a foreign language. Posters

are also a good way for students to share what they have learned with others, for example taking

concepts from class about how to protect the environment and creating a display that could be

put up around the school.

Supports Student Learning:

Models are a useful means of learning for students because they make use of visuals as

well as words to explain concepts and complex information. Models can engage students by

appealing to a broader range of learners. Some students may not be strong readers; therefore, a
model can quickly and concisely summarize expected learning goals with visuals to aid in

understanding. Here, the model is meant to aide the viewer.

The creation of posters also helps bridge these low floor high ceiling gaps well by

allowing each student to convey what they know in different ways that are best suited to their

abilities. In this context, students may also feel more comfortable and excited to work in groups

as opposed to alone.

Strengths:

Models can be a great opportunity for students to work in groups to “think pair share”

ideas and co-create a unique piece of work relating to the course material. This allows higher

level students to help lower level students think through material and understand concepts.

Models also allow students to use their own particular area of expertise (for example: artistic

ability, design, font writing) to add to a project when they may still be learning the information

they are working on.

Models can also be used as a work in progress. Students can be encouraged to revisit

previous creations throughout a unit to update, revise, and improve upon their original work.

This would constitute an exercise in understanding the value of revision and reduce pressure on

students to be correct every time, the first time.

Weaknesses:

Models tend to be posters. “Posterizing” is cautioned against in Windschitl et al Chapter

6 (PED 3121). This writer makes the case that posters merely represent ideas that are already

fully described in the curriculum, but do not require the students to solve a problem. I take this
criticism with a grain of salt, as in this case, the criticism is specifically in reference to a science

class (not all classes).

Research:

As mentioned above, Windschitl et al. talks about the value of ‘models’ in chapters 6 and

7 of their book.

Further Exploration:

Here you can find a variety of different kinds of posters and model ideas that can be used

in the classroom. And this website goes into more depth regarding how posters are useful and

some examples of how one might use a poster in different classes.

4. Peer instruction

Description and Implementation:

This may take the form of presentations, think-pair-share, group work, or something

else. Essentially, it is the ability of one student to explain a particular learning point to

another/others clearly and fully. If a student is able to instruct another, then (in theory) they have

understood and mastered the target subject matter. Often peer instruction is imagined as

presentations. Personally, I am not a fan of asking for solo student presentations. I think this is

just too much pressure. Even group presentations in front of the class can be very daunting for

some people. That said, I think recent developments of online classes and the use of creating

videos (instead of presenting live) are great alternative ways for students to instruct each other

and enjoy getting creative with multimedia. In elementary school, this could be used as a cross-

curricular activity: having students use computer class time to learn how to stitch together a
video from various clips to be shown to the class. While videos are generally disengaging

(passive learning) for many students, the mere fact that the video is presented by people the

viewers know would garner enough attention to make the effort worth while and validating as

well as informative. In such a scenario, group work would be called for, thereby relieving some

of the workload from each member.

Supports Student Learning:

The image to the right has been presented in a few

classes at U Ottawa. This diagram shows that students who

teach others do not just learn the material, but also

understand and remember what they are teaching. The

learner is also more apt to understand a peer’s explanation

than a teacher, as the peer speaks at the same level as the

learner: using words and syntax which are familiar for the listener. When students teach each

other, it is by default done in ‘child friendly’ language.

Strengths:

For the Learner: It is easier to understand a peer. There is also less pressure when being

explained to by a friend than a teacher. When the teacher explains, there can be a sense of fear

or shame if not understanding, but among friends there is a sense of freedom to question or ask

questions about what is being heard.

For the Instructor: It is a chance to show off what they have learned. A sense of personal

pride can be achieved, and confidence is gained. The pyramid above also shows how the student
who explains is far more likely to retain the information that they impart than if they had not had

an opportunity to teach.

Weaknesses:

Students who are struggling, low level students, shy students, and others may feel very

intimidated by the onus of being expected to teach others. Especially a class presentation form

of educating may be incredibly daunting to some. An accommodation for this problem may be

for students who feel particularly burdened by this task to simply teach the teacher one-to-one

when they are not being observed by peers. Another accommodation could be allowing students

to present a written form of explanation rather than an oral one.

Research:

My apologies. I wrote everything above based on classroom conversation, lectures,

readings, and presentations. I originally first saw that pyramid in a professor’s lecture slides, so I

never questioned it. However, the moment I went to Google to research this approach to

learning and assessment, this article from the New York Times was the first item I came across.

It was pretty scathing, and I took it with a grain of salt, knowing that news makes their money

from over-exaggeration and clicked their citations. There, I read a better explanation that “the

reported percentages [of the above image] are impossible to interpret or verify without

specifying at least the method of measurement, the age of the learners, the type of learning task,

and the content being remembered (p. 10). Despite the lack of credibility, this formulation is

widely quoted, usually without attribution, and in recent years has become repeatedly conflated

with Dale’s Cone, with the percentage statements superimposed on the cone, replacing or

supplementing Dale’s original categories.” Regardless, of criticisms, I still perceive the activity
of teaching others for assessment (in various forms) as a valuable tool in the classroom. No

resource is a one-stop-shop, and likewise I wouldn’t gage student learning/assessment solely on a

single strategy.

Further Exploration:

This website has several ways that peer instruction can be used in the normal classroom,

without need for large scale projects. Simple activities like Think Pair Share and giving

Feedback are great ways students can learn to think and work with each other in any class.

5. Rubrics

Description and Implementation:

All the above forms of assessment, in fact, come with multiple sub-categories, ideas, or

variations. Therefore, for my final resource, I would like to mention rubrics as a form of

managing the content already provided. Assessment takes the form of assignments and activities

and tests throughout the year, but since our school system is a graded one, it is important to have

a clear base for guidelines and expectations. However, I find rubrics in our University courses

tend to be very convoluted and can be difficult to read or just overwhelming to the reader. A

simpler version of this for elementary students could simply be a checklist of expectations

and/or requirements. A quick checklist at the top of student assignments can provide a useful

safety net and guideline for students, as I will discuss further below.

Supports Student Learning:

Rubrics give students a clear understanding of expectations on any given task.

Following a checklist allows students to quickly ensure they are meeting the goals at any

given time, and also helps guide them when they hit a mental roadblock. These measures reduce

student anxiety around the common phrase “what does the teacher want!?” and improve certainty

as they can quickly compare their work with expectations. Checklists can be used not only on

work sheets, but can also be written on the board when it is clear students are struggling to keep

in mind details of a task at hand. Fewer questions means more time for production.

Weaknesses:

A rubric or checklist may limit a student’s creativity if the parameters of format are too

constraining. This may also reduce students’ desire to explore a topic further, as they will see

that they have completed X, Y, and Z, and assume that therefore there is no need for deeper

investigation or that there is no point to further researching a topic.

Research:

Checklists are suggested in Windschitl et al Chapter 6 (PED 3121). The author writes in

detail about how to use and implement these in student assignments.

Research would like to point out that rubrics are not a means of assessment, but rather a

tool to aid in assessment, not the assessment itself. This article found that rubrics may require

being understood themselves in order to be of any use. While this article also recognizes that

people like myself have preconceived feelings about rubrics based on previous events and the

need to work past that, but does note that the rubric format itself is useful both for students and

the marker.
Further Exploration:

For more information about the benefits of rubrics and how to create an effective rubric,

check out this website. They also have many examples of different rubrics for different

purposes.

Bonus Resource!

Description and Implementation:

While this resource may better be implemented for older students, I would also argue that

by grade 5 or 6, students will already be well on their way to familiarizing themselves with the

internet. As such, it may be a useful tool in the classroom by the end of elementary school and I

am sure I could find a use for it once or twice a year.

Supports Student Learning:

This resource would be a great way to re-energize or engage a class on a rainy day, or

when the teacher knows they are fighting an uphill battle against a dry topic that students may

not feel terribly excited by.

Strengths:

It only requires a few moments of time but garners full attention of the class during low

energy moments.

Weaknesses:

It likely has very little educational value apart from attention-grabbing

Resources and Further Exploration: