Student+Performance


 * 1st Grade Evaluation Tools**:

__Process Evaluation__: Young students are generally eager to participate in class activities. They are excited learners that usually need little prompting to engage with materials and assignments. Observation and discussions should be used to evaluate the first grade students' acquisition of the inquiry process. You can assess their engagement and skill level of the inquiry process by observing how they connect ideas, apply the given information and develop questions. Talking briefly with each student as he/she works on the final project is a great way to meet individually, pose a few critical thinking questions and see what skills have been learned and what areas need more practice. Assigning a specific letter grade is not necessary for the process evaluation. Noting satisfactory participation and using this assessment to form new inquiries that will help students gain skills in deficient areas is more important.

__Product Evaluation__: I created an evaluation checklist through 4Teachers.org. I used a template that was provided for K-1 writing projects. I used some of the provided evaluation measures such as grammar, writing conventions and word use. I modified the "Ideas" section to include specific indicators about the "Create a Flag" project. This is a very basic checklist that assesses rudimentary skills. However, it can be used to ensure that students are meeting common, basic skills and including important elements in their individual projects. Use this checklist as a guideline for basic skills and conventions. Assess student's inquiry skills through participation, observation and question development.

Create a Flag Checklist


 * 10th Grade Evaluation Tools**:

__Process Evaluation__: Assessing the process component of an inquiry can be difficult since each student will experience the process differently. However, it is very important to ensure that students comprehend the process that they have gone through to complete the inquiry. It is the process, not the product, that leads to further inquiries and life-long learning skills. Evaluating the students process should be approached through engagement and participation, rather than assigning specific grades or points. You can determine if students have fully grasped an inquiry skill by posing questions and observing. Here are a few ideas of what students should be able to do at the end of the inquiry process:
 * Able to find, evaluate and use information to meet the inquiry components.
 * Ask and address open-ended questions.
 * Weave concepts, ideas and information together into new, meaningful knowledge.
 * Apply what they have learned to real world situations.

Set up individual conferences with each student during Days 6-8. Use the conferencing log to evaluate their process.



__Product Evaluation__: I used 4Teachers.org to develop student evaluation and assessment tools. Students should receive the checklist and group rubric at the beginning of the inquiry. They can use these tools as references to help guide the basic information process. Students should ensure that they include all elements of the checklist in their work, but it should also be made clear that these are //BASIC// requirements. The checklist is designed to help students be mindful of information organization, citations, types of sources, and blog appearance. It also includes questioning and real-world connection components to reinforce the inquiry skills that are being emphasized. The checklist is meant to be a tool to help students and teachers ensure that basic research and presentation skills are met. Assessing students' information inquiry skills requires observation of students' work processes, discussion of question development, reflection opportunities, students information use and ability to weave concepts.

The group rubric is an assessment tool for the final fiesta project. It is intended to give students guidelines for their participation, contributions and information skills. Again, it addresses many basic research skills. However, students need to be able to easily implement these group skills in order to successfully use their information inquiry skills.

Both of these assessment tools can be modified for class and individual needs.

Blog/Final Project Checklist Group Rubric

You can also complete another conferencing log with each group during Days 11-12 to ensure that they are on track for the //Fiesta// component.