[SS350 Assignment] Assessment Classification Activity (Made 2024 Fall Semester)

This assignment was based around a textbook chapter surrounding the Age of Exploration.

Assessment Classification Activity – SS350  

Instructions: Let’s look at the textbook chapter on canvas, Chapter 13: The Age of Exploration. We  have already developed learning objectives and essential questions, so now it is time to design our  assessments. Using this template, create 1 summative assessment, and 1 diagnostic and 1 formative  assessment for each of the 3 sections in the textbook. You may work together with a partner on this  assignment.  

WHOLE CHAPTER ASSESSMENT

Summative Assessment: How will you evaluate students’ post-instruction learning in relation to the  objectives? How will you determine mastery? 

Specific Plan: 1. Explain the test’s structure to the students and how they must complete it to get full points. 2. Ask the students for any questions they might have about the test and provide them with 5 minutes to check their notes before the test and to prepare themselves mentally. 3. Hand out the test to all students and encourage them to raise their hands if they need help with something that would not invalidate the test. Tell students to raise their hand, also, if they are done with the test. 4. Collect the tests throughout the class as students finish and set them aside to be graded later to avoid making the students feel judged.

Assessment Strategy – The test would consist of, probably, four boxes with short answer questions at the top, along with a word bank at the very top of the test. Students would be instructed to look over all of the short answer questions before starting the test because the nature of the test will make that the most efficient way to complete it. Students will be required to answer the short answer questions while making use of the names, places, and terms found in the word bank, showing that they know the meaning and importance of each word in the bank and that they know the answer to the question asked, or, if a more open ended question, have well developed thoughts about it.

Evidence of Student Understanding - This assessment will allow a teacher to see not only that their students are aware of the meanings of different words and terms from the chapter, but also that they understand their importance and connection to the topics discussed within the short answer questions. It is more important to display an understanding of contextual importance than to get a specific definition perfectly correct, something that doesn’t engage critical thinking in the least. This should be graded in a way that rewards contextual understanding even more than getting exact details right. The gist of the answer is what matters most here, the connections showing a valid understanding being more important than simply defining a word and answering a short question at the same time.

Student Feedback - As mentioned above, students will be graded on much more than just their knowledge of the specific meanings of vocabulary terms, and the answers to the short answer questions will not even be the focus, as important as both of those things still are. The goal of this is the show an understanding of the chapter as a whole, as an interconnected series of events and collection of people and places, and the grading will be based on this. The margins will have praise for correct and creative connections and critique for more questionable ones, but will always provide constructive feedback, either encouraging continued good work or providing corrected information and suggestions for how to better find connections between different things in the future. This should be short, but detailed, and should never condemn the student in any way. Anything that students struggle with should be talked about one on one at a later date or should be reincorporated in future lessons if enough students struggled with it on this test. If the students are judged as struggling with drawing connections between different people, places, terms, and the questions provided, teachers should create assignments to push students to do research and should include information on connecting disparate ideas together during their future lessons as well.

SECTION 1 ASSESSMENTS

Diagnostic Assessment: How will you assess prior learning or diagnose readiness for the planned  lessons?  

Specific Plan:

1. The teacher will read the story of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the Sun, to their students. 2. The teacher will ask students what they found most interesting about this story. 3. The teacher will ask the students what they can interpret about the Aztecs based on this story.

Formative Assessments: How will you assess student progress and provide feedback throughout the  lessons? 

Specific Plan: You will be seeing this specific plan again. 1. Students will be told that it is time for an exit ticket which should be turned in as they leave the classroom. 2. Students will be handed the exit ticket having to do with Chapter 13 Section 1 and will be instructed to complete the exit ticket within the next 5-10 minutes. 3. As students leave the teacher will hold out a basket at the door in which they will be instructed to place their exit ticket as they leave.

Assessment Strategy – For me, consistency is the spice of life, so I want all of my formative assessments to be in the same rough format. I want them to be different from each other, but I believe that a consistent format is for the best. The format should be as an exit ticket, roughly the size of half a sheet of paper, which will include ~3 sections on it, each with a question or mini-assignment for the students to answer or do. Ideally, 1 of these will be a closed ended short answer question, another will be an open ended short answer question, and another will be a way for students to express creativity as well as their understanding of the material. For this section, I believe a closed ended question about the goals of different European nations interested in the Americas would be best. I think the open ended question should ask about the students beliefs in regards to the way the Aztecs and Inca were treated and what they would like to have seen be done instead. I think the creative assignment should be a venn diagram of the Inca, the Aztec, and the Spanish, comparing and contrasting their cultures.

Evidence of Student Understanding - This will act as a cross section of the section, requiring an understanding of the different European nations interested in the Americas, of the pre-columbian civilizations of South America, and of the students’ own beliefs regarding different cultures and ways of life. It will give students a chance to reflect on the actions taken, possibly, by their ancestors, and ask themselves what they would do instead. This will show empathy and critical thinking skills as well as just an understanding of the content being taught directly. They will display understanding of the cultures of the various groups discussed, their beliefs, their wants, and their actions, all of which are of the utmost importance to me. I will be able to judge if they misunderstand any of these facets through these questions and this will allow me to rectify those issues later on.

Student Feedback - I will grade this exit ticket based on if the students show an understanding of the content discussed and also based on the depth of their probing into their own beliefs and the beliefs of those involved. If they go too shallow, I will be able to provide constructive criticism on the edges of the exit ticket before I return it to them, allowing them to understand where they faltered whilst also allowing me to highlight where they succeeded as well.

SECTION 2 ASSESSMENTS

Diagnostic Assessment: How will you assess prior learning or diagnose readiness for the planned  lessons?  

Specific Plan:

1. Ask students if they know how slaves were originally obtained. 2. Encourage students to theorize further, whether the correct answer was previously given or not. 3. Inform students of the true origin of African slaves and provide them with the appropriate context. 4. Ask students to discuss amongst themselves their opinions of this as it pertains to the question of “fault” or “victimhood” as they had understood it, or if such things even exist in such a scenario or any scenario at all.

Formative Assessments: How will you assess student progress and provide feedback throughout the  lessons? 

Specific Plan: 1. Students will be told that it is time for an exit ticket which should be turned in as they leave the classroom. 2. Students will be handed the exit ticket having to do with Chapter 13 Section 2 and will be instructed to complete the exit ticket within the next 5-10 minutes. 3. As students leave the teacher will hold out a basket at the door in which they will be instructed to place their exit ticket as they leave.

Assessment Strategy – For me, consistency is the spice of life, so I want all of my formative assessments to be in the same rough format. I want them to be different from each other, but I believe that a consistent format is for the best. The format should be as an exit ticket, roughly the size of half a sheet of paper, which will include ~3 sections on it, each with a question or mini-assignment for the students to answer or do. Ideally, 1 of these will be a closed ended short answer question, another will be an open ended short answer question, and another will be a way for students to express creativity as well as their understanding of the material. I believe that the optimal closed ended short answer question would be something that asks what was transmitted during the triangular trade and why. I believe that the optimal open ended short answer question would be something that asks the students what their thoughts are on the role of Africans in the slave trade, and what they believe this means in regards to Europe’s role in it (this also allows them to further their ideas developed at the start of the class period). I think the best kind of creative assignment for the exit ticket would be one that sees the students putting themselves in the shoes of a merchant planning to trade with the New World, and having to put together a list of actions to take in order to make it a successful venture.

Evidence of Student Understanding - These exit ticket questions and the assignment will showcase a cross section of the students’ understandings of the triangular trade, the morality of slavery, the thought processes of those involved, and their own beliefs in regards to guilt and victimhood. It will allow them to tackle complicated moral quandaries and showcase that they understand the beliefs of those involved and the reasons the actions that were taken were taken. It will give them a chance to show that they understand both sides of the story while also sharing their personal beliefs about the whole situation. As a teacher, I will be able to see what information from the lesson they bring into their answers and what things they leave out, allowing me to potentially change future lesson plans to focus on the weaker areas of their understanding.

Student Feedback - I will grade this exit ticket based on if the students show an understanding of the content discussed and also based on the depth of their probing into their own beliefs and the beliefs of those involved. If they go too shallow, I will be able to provide constructive criticism on the edges of the exit ticket before I return it to them, allowing them to understand where they faltered whilst also allowing me to highlight where they succeeded as well.

SECTION 3 ASSESSMENTS

Diagnostic Assessment: How will you assess prior learning or diagnose readiness for the planned  lessons?  

Specific Plan:

1. What a short video on Jane Elliott’s Blue Eyes / Brown Eyes experiment. 2. Discuss the implications of it with the class and ask them to draw connections between it and things they have personally witnessed, both in real life and outside of it.

Formative Assessments: How will you assess student progress and provide feedback throughout the  lessons? 

Specific Plan: Students will be told that it is time for an exit ticket which should be turned in as they leave the classroom. 2. Students will be handed the exit ticket having to do with Chapter 13 Section 3 and will be instructed to complete the exit ticket within the next 5-10 minutes. 3. As students leave the teacher will hold out a basket at the door in which they will be instructed to place their exit ticket as they leave.

Assessment Strategy – For me, consistency is the spice of life, so I want all of my formative assessments to be in the same rough format. I want them to be different from each other, but I believe that a consistent format is for the best. The format should be as an exit ticket, roughly the size of half a sheet of paper, which will include ~3 sections on it, each with a question or mini-assignment for the students to answer or do. Ideally, 1 of these will be a closed ended short answer question, another will be an open ended short answer question, and another will be a way for students to express creativity as well as their understanding of the material. For a closed ended question I believe something asking about what the role of religion was during the European rule of South America would be the best option. For an open ended question I think asking students what they believe the implications of the racism and the encomienda system (which I would have focused on here moreso than in Section 1 for, I believe, obvious reasons) are for modern South America, connecting their thoughts with knowledge they have of the continent and the nations that occupy it would be best. For a creative assignment I think there is no better choice than one that asks students to fill out a class pyramid of South America during this period of time.

Evidence of Student Understanding - These exit ticket questions should showcase that students understand the impact of religion on colonial Latin America, the impact Colonial Latin America has had on present Latin America, and the way colonial Latin America was set up, three things which combine to give a pretty good cross section of Section 3. This also gives them a chance to tie in their knowledge of current events which I would hope to be passively fostering in the background of my classes in preparation for questions like the open ended one asked here. Understanding how my students view the different aspects of this era will also allow me to see where my teaching failed to emphasize and where it succeeded so that I can cater further lessons to make up for any missteps I may have made.

Student Feedback - I will grade this exit ticket based on if the students show an understanding of the content discussed and also based on the depth of their probing into their knowledge of current events and geopolitics, and the beliefs of people from colonial Latin America. If they go too shallow, I will be able to provide constructive criticism on the edges of the exit ticket before I return it to them, allowing them to understand where they faltered whilst also allowing me to highlight where they succeeded as well.