help
Classroom in Woodson HS
 quteassesneed
Girma G. Tessema
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Assessment 

Need-assessment
 Project on cladogram
 Selected response
 Self-assessment

Need assessment
In my philosophy of education, I have indicated that my lesson plans were prepared based on the needs of students. How and in what ways does a teacher finds out the needs of his students are the questions to be answered. Assessment planning is a natural part of all teachers' work. Need assessment planning  involves identifying what materials to include in teaching a particular topic. It will save time and energy and helps to avoid including undesirable materials in the lesson plans. OR on the other hand a teacher may need to spend more time researching to include relevant information and materials to fulfill the needs of his students, based on their needs and background knowledge.
I was able to spend a few minutes to conduct a mini-survey by asking questions to find out how much they know on ecology before I completed preparing my lesson plans. Some of the questions were:
1. What is ecology?
2. From where did you get the information?
3. What is meant by ecosystems? Biosphere? etc. Generally, I have at least forwarded one question from each chapter and found out that students have some back ground knowldge on ecology either from their previous classes or from their reading. This helped me to focus on some chapters where I taught it was important for the students to gain adequate knowledge.

Assessments of students

Assessment is processes that measures the outcomes of students' learning, in terms of knowledge acquired, understanding developed, and skills gained. It serves many purposes:

  • provides the means by which students are graded, passed or failed.
  • provides the basis for decisions on whether a student is ready to proceed, to qualify for an award or to demonstrate competence to practice.
  • enables students to obtain feedback on their learning and helps them improve their performance.
  • enables teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching. Further more, assessment plays a significant role in the learning experience of students.

In this page, and in the consecutive links, I am presenting, how assessment could be implemented in a project-based learning. The role of self-assessment in cooperative learning will be demonstrated from my experience in Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. Different educators have forwarded their opinion regarding the role of assessment or project-based assessment. Some of these points are indicated here.

Project-based assessment:

  • helps teachers develop more complex relationships with their students by providing concrete pieces of work for students and teachers to discuss, as well as opportunities for formal and informal conversations about the work.
  • helps students answer the questions "Am I getting it?" and "How am I doing?" Early and frequent feedback from the teacher and peers will also provide students with the practice and the knowledge to better assess themselves and find answers to these questions.
  • can help make content connections clear. And can be used by teachers to prompt students to make connections between their their teaching and the subject matter.
  • engages students directly in the evaluation of their own work. Student reflections should be more than just commentary on what the students have done-should incorporate feedback and move forward.
  • helps teachers plan their next steps. By documenting and reviewing student progress, and checking for conceptual understanding. Teachers gain insights into what the students are learning and what needs to be addressed before moving on.
  • helps students plan their projects, class presentations, design reviews, conversations with teachers and group members, and teacher response to students is a valuable feedback to help them plan their next step. Please visit link to project.