maria pairitz's
community of teachers portfolio
xi. evaluating students' learning
evidence
Effectively creating and utilizing a wide array of formal and informal assessment strategies as a means of providing feedback and instruction that is targeted and specific to each individual students' needs is critical to shaping the quality of students' learning experiences and processes. Understanding and valuing that evaluating students' learning is an integral, ongoing component of the instructional process and final student product is essential for educators. Through the following collection of evidence, I believe demonstrate my competence in evaluating students' learning in meaningful and effective ways.
The evidence I have collected include a pre-assessment activity from Intro to 3D, evaluation and feedback given to AP Drawing/2D projects, results and reflection on a unit test I created for my wheel throwing unit, a variety of formative assessments, evaluation and feedback given to Intro to 3D students, insights from various texts, and excerpts from my journal.
These pieces of evidence are important because they have taught me how evaluating students' learning is not something done at the summation of a lesson, unit, or semester, but rather a tool to be used to enhance instruction and student learning. I have also learned how to develop projects that allow students to authentically engage in and demonstrate their knowledge that is appropriate for a variety of artistic abilities.
I will use these experiences and pieces of evidence in my future teaching. I have reflected on and assessed what strategies for evaluating students' learning were most effective and helpful for students and myself. I am a huge proponent for the authentic performance opportunities which is why I enjoy AP Drawing/2D's portfolio based on a chosen theme. For student teaching, I actually plan to adapt the format of AP Drawing/2D portfolios to the curriculum for Intro to 3D when I student teach. I believe students in the Intro class are capable of creating a portfolio of work that can feed into their AP portfolio should they choose to continue art courses in the future.
Patterns I observe in my choices of assessment strategies included being mostly dependent on forms of informal/formative assessments as a means of gauging student progress. I also noted that in classrooms where I have better relationships and one on one interaction with students, I am able to provide more specific feedback on final projects as opposed to other classes where I do not get as much one on one time.
I believe I have met personal and required expectations for this teaching competency. The experiences and artifacts I have collected for this expectation reflect my ability to successfully integrate and implement a variety of assessment strategies and tools in my curriculum. I am confident I have reached Ready to Teach for this expectation.
Paper Shoe Pre-Assessment: Intro to 3D
I think pre-assessments are sometimes the most overlooked and underrated forms of student assessment. I was really impressed with Ms.O's pre-assessment for her Intro to 3D classes. She gives students paper, scissors, and tape and asks them to create a 3 dimensional shoe without any instruction or assistance. They have one class period to work on it. These shoes are then used to determine which students have a prior experience working 3 dimensionally and what students may need extra support. It is also used to show progress from the beginning of the semester to the end as their final project is a paper relief sculpture.
Another form of pre-assessment that I also liked involved placing a bucket full of random supplies and materials and asking students to create a sculpture in one class period. Ms. Osborne does this for her AP 3D students. This serves as a warm up for the semester and also serves as a marker to refer back to and see individual progress throughout the year.
I will not underestimate or dismiss the value of pre-assessments. I plan to use some form of pre-assessment at the beginning of each of my units. For example, I am in charge of designing the clay unit for the Intro to 3D class this semester and plan on demonstrating 4 handbuilding techniques and then having a clay day play day where students demonstrate the techniques for me and I can assess what handbuilding techniques they need help with and which ones they are sufficient in. Then I can compare their initial handbuilding techniques with the ones they chose to use in their project and see progress from the beginning of the unit to the end.
Ceramics 1 Wheel Unit Test
Wheel Unit Test Students Were Supposed to Take
Wheel Unit Test Key
Wheel Unit Test Students Took on Accident
(click to view full images)
Noted main occurrences of mistakes
Noted changes I would make to the test
This is the first unit test I have personally developed on my own and it provided a lot of insights. First of which to make sure that you make sure to print out the test with the correct modifications for students to take. I had made a unit test at the before I taught the unit and then edited to the test to make sure it reflected what we had actually covered. I believe it is important for teachers to frequently look back on what they have created for a test and modify it each semester according to what was emphasized, what was added or taken out of the unit, etc. to make sure that we are asking our students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills over what was actually covered. It is also important to keep track of which test is the original and which one has been modified so you don't give the wrong test to your students. This may seem like a silly observation, but I learned a lot from that mistake.
I especially liked the format of this test because it put the information in context. Instead of having the vocabulary in a box and asking students to match it to the correct definition, I wrote a story and asked students to fill in the blanks. In this way, they are demonstrating their knowledge of the the vocabulary and their knowledge of the process of and steps of throwing a cup on the wheel. I think I might change the true or false section next time because I don't think that type of question really shows the reasoning behind their answer and whether or not they truly understand why something is true or false.
I was most excited about the short response question: "Pottery production has evolved from laboriously hand making vessels to a manual potter's wheel, to an electric wheel due to the demand for a more efficient way to create pots. Identify a modern day product that has evolved due to necessity. Describe the origin of the product and its current use." I liked creating this question because it asks students to connect wheel throwing to their own personal experiences outside of the art class and connect it to the larger context of invention from societal necessity. As this was supposed to be a more conceptual question, I was a little disappointed when responses came back that were examples that we had discussed in class. I wanted students to begin to think along those lines before the test so they weren't totally thrown off by the question, but I think I'll have to clarify that they come up with their own example for the test just to show that they processed and absorbed the bigger picture instead of just regurgitating an answer.
I am also a believer in allowing students to demonstrate their mastery, so I am all for allowing them to retake or revise a test or response. A majority of students forgot to indicate what necessity was behind the invention of their chosen product, so I wrote a note asking more specifically why this product needed to be invented and inviting them to answer my questions and turn it back in for full points, but not a lot of students did. I don't know if they just didn't think a few points was worth the effort or what, but I think I might just give them a 0 for the whole test if they don't revise their answers, make it more of a pass/fail kind of deal.
Otherwise, I think this was a valuable learning experience being my first summative assessment.
Anytime, Anywhere: Student Centered Learning for School and Teachers
Chapter 2: Making Assessment Student Centered
Anytime Anywhere is a resource for teachers seeking to create a curriculum and classroom environment that is student-centered. Chapter 2 specifically looks at how assessment can be not only for measuring student learning, but also promoting student learning. Student-centered assessment includes qualities such as being individualized, motivating, engaging, and encourages regulation of their own learning. Formative assessment, as shown in my evidence, tends to be more student-centered in nature than summative assessment. Self assessment also promotes self-regulation, so to help develop that skill, I always include a section for students to fill out what they feel they have earned on the project rubric and then defend that score with written evidence (see Zoomorphic Vessel Rubric). Self-assessment is also important because it requires students be aware of the goals and tasks and checking their progress. Other important forms of assessment that promote student-centered learning are portfolios. While portfolios are mainly for AP students, I do require students in other art classes to document their projects with professional photographs and submit a portfolio of their semester's work at the end so we can see individual growth in aesthetics, manipulation of the mediums, and ideas.
Peer assessment is also integral in art classes as we have group critiques at the end of each project. This allows students to learn from others and feel like their responses to an artwork are just as important as mine as the teacher.
And the last form of students-centered assessment I will touch on (although there are many others) is exhibition. Exhibition allows students to display mastery of content in a public space. There are several opportunities for exhibition of artwork including scholastic art contests, local galleries, and school district art shows. This allows students an authentic context for their work to be shown off.
Sticky Note Assessments
Recently, Danielle and I have been taking note of the some absence of skills that AP students should have/should be developing before they go to college. I urged that AP students should learn how to draw from life, so we set up a week long unit on drawing models from life. The photos above represent one of our first attempts at a sustained drawing. I had them leave their boards out so I could look at them during prep period. I took the opportunity to leave sticky note feedback that they could see the next day. I also recorded recurring issues within the class as a whole which included: 1. Cutting off the figure and/or squishing the lower half of the figure to fit it all in before the lower half got cut off. 2. Waiting to draw the stool until after the figure was established so the stool is also squished or not including it at all. 2. Not establishing value throughout the piece instead of small sections.
There were many others, but the next day, I chose to focus my instruction on the top three issues by describing them, explaining how those came to be an issue, and ways to avoid such issues. This then guided their second attempt at an extended figure study and they definitely were more aware and were consciously taking steps to try and avoid such issues.
In AP studio courses, we use the same rubric for all projects. This evaluates their composition, use of elements/principles, execution of idea/content, intent/voice, and quality/craftsmanship on a 1-4 scale, similar to how they will be evaluated when they submit their AP portfolios for scoring at the end of the year.
What I find difficult with the AP class is comparing what one student has accomplished to another. Since this is a rigorous course designed for high caliber student artists, it's hard to know where to draw the line between college level work and recognize that they are still developing artists.
I made sure that my comments provided detailed, specific feedback that would help them continue to develop their craft in projects to come. I also made sure to use phrases like "as a viewer" whenever I made a comment on something that was confusing, or could use more attention in their piece. This phrase points out that my observation is as a viewer of art, not as the teacher or authority. I hope that this helps them understand that just because it is something I am pointing out, doesn't mean that it is a suggestion they NEED to take or that they need to alter their piece. Art is tricky that way. You don't want to influence the direction of their work too much, but you also want to make sure they are growing in their skills. So hopefully by including the phrase "as a viewer" I can get them to understand that these are observations any other viewer may or may not make and it's not just because I'm the teacher and am supposed to be this "authority" of "good" and "bad" art.
I can definitely understand why some teachers have defaulted to "Good job!" or "Great effort!" when giving written feedback because it takes a lot of time and energy to write comments specifically for each student. I will have to make sure I develop a strategy where I don't run into feedback burnout. Possibly having meetings during class in which I can give verbal feedback, or downloading a system on my computer where it can transcribe audio that I can cut and paste into the feedback section of canvas, something that will allow me to continue giving intentional and helpful feedback to my students.
Formative Assessments
Each student has a row and they take pictures of their art and print them out as they go. This allows students to see all their pieces together and determine if it is cohesive or not.
Each student has a row and they take pictures of their art and print them out as they go. This allows students to see all their pieces together and determine if it is cohesive or not.
Above are a few examples of formative assessments that I've used in various classes. The first two images are pictures of the AP Drawing/2D concentration boards. Each student has a row where they tack a small photo of a finished work to be included in their final portfolio. This is a good visual for students and myself as it helps us see pacing in terms of who is on track to complete 12 pieces by the end of the semester and who is not. It also serves as a way for students to see how cohesive their concentration is. As most of these artworks are large, there isn't ever a time where we look at all 4, 9, or 12 pieces all out together at the same time. Having small photographs helps the students and myself see if any changes need to be made to a particular piece or rearranged or taken out completely to make sure it fits in with the storyline or visual cohesiveness of the portfolio.
The next three images are student examples of vision boards for my ceramic unit in Intro to 3D. Before students started their zoomorphic vessel they had to complete a vision board that included three different views of their chosen animal, images of a vessel they wanted to morph with their animal, and sketches and annotations of what they planned to morph and how they planned to build it. The vision boards are counted into their final grade and they show me that they have thought through the technical and aesthetic choices of the construction of their zoomorphic vessel and serve as a guide for them as they are building.
The rest of the images are related to my wheel unit in ceramics 1. One form of formative assessment I used was during my demonstration. I created a notes sheet for them with two columns. The first column was for them to jot down their observations while I threw on the wheel silently. I didn’t tell them anything I was doing so they could hone in on their observation skills and be more engaged in the process of creating their knowledge of how to work on the wheel instead of me walking them through everything step by step and half paying attention. When I finished the first demo, I reset my wheel and then asked them to walk me through their observations from beginning to end. When they told me their observations I was able to clarify and give additional information that they then wrote down in the adjacent column. I collected the notes at the end of class so I could give points for participation and see what steps students had grasped and what steps I would need to go over more in depth. I gave back their notes the next day for personal reference when they started throwing on the wheel.
The other formative assessment I used during this unit involved asking students to select a cup to mimic on the wheel and then to sketch the cup and draw relationships between different parts of the cup so they could understand how slight changes in proportions can create a whole new silhouette. This helped helped me see if they understood proportional relationships in ceramics.
The last form of formative assessment that I used, as is used by most art teachers, was observation. During the work days in class, I was constantly scanning the room to make sure students were on task and going to individual students and talking them through the struggles or witnessing their successes. I would like to create a better system for keeping track of my observations so I have a running record that I can look to instead of trying to remember what student C was doing during class last Thursday as I'm inputing grades for participation.
Formative assessment is the most important type of assessment in my opinion because it shows the work and progress that is behind the final product. For example, one student could have a stellar project for my unit but didn't have good work ethic in class, didn't plan or reflect on the project, or participate in class, etc. So just because they produced something awesome doesn't mean they should automatically get an A just as a student who didn't produce the greatest work but was actively engaged and intentional during their in class work time doesn't deserve a D.
Intro to 3D Totem Pole Project
Evaluation and Feedback
I had the opportunity to evaluate student totem pole projects for Ms. O's ceramic unit in Intro to 3D. I found when I was grading the totem poles I kept leaning on the same sentences or phrases for every single feedback I gave. I think it was hard for me to give individualized feedback for this project because 1. this is their first taste of clay so even if the projects are "bad" they get full credit if they completed it and used full class time to work on it 2. because they all began to blend together. There were 60 totem poles and a lot looked similar in some senses. 3. because I don't know them individually as well as I know the AP students. I had to work hard to make sure I gave feedback specific to each student on the totem pole project, but I think some of that will be easier when I work with them on a consistent basis and can put a face to the project I'm grading.
I don't really have any complaints about the rubric for this project. What I enjoy about this rubric is that it gives specific, measurable goals that I can check off. Compared to the AP rubric where the same rubric is used for each project, this rubric is specific to this project. I think that both rubrics work for the situations used. Intro to 3D needs more specific rubrics as they are creating the same project whereas AP needs the same rubric and standards for each project because they are each creating their own theme and focusing on different technical and aesthetic aspects that are unique to the individual.
Another aspect I appreciated about this rubric is that it allowed a section for students to self critique their work. They would give themselves the scores they believe they deserved and then have to provide evidence for why they deserve the scores they gave themselves. I did not include photos of this section of the rubric.
The final task for the EdTPA asked us to select three focus students to assess patterns within the class and provide targeted feedback to. We were asked to provide qualitative and quantitative evidence of student performance and use our analysis to inform our next steps in instruction. The commentary document provides further detail and reflection on this piece of evidence.
Journal Excerpts
In AP we continued to work on drawing models from life. We had them set their drawings out for us to look at during prep. I wrote little notes on sticky notes for areas to improve and things they did successfully. I noticed that there were a lot of common errors (squishing the figure onto the page, drawing the fingers individually instead of focusing on the full structure first, not adding establishing value all over the page, etc.) so I think I will address those issues before they start their final drawings tomorrow!
Another busy day! Students are starting to turn in projects and I'm realizing that there are some gaps between my original project objectives and the end assessment. For one, I haven't included a part in the self-assessment that asks them to explain how their spirit pod reflects their identity. I think we got a little away from that concept, but they still created great products. Another gap is that one of the objectives was to consider how the object would be displayed, so while they did a good job considering this in their final photos, I don't have an explicit check box on the rubric that assesses their display of the object. Other than that, I feel like it is a solid assessment.
Patterns I'm noticing in the self-assessment is that a lot of students are commenting on how their final product doesn't look like their original sketch and taking points off for that. From this information, I know that I didn't explain thumbnail sketches well enough to them and the idea that these sketches are for them to explore ideas and things change, new ideas pop up during the creation of your project, and your project doesn't have to look anything like the original sketch. So I'm going to make sure I address that in the next project's conceptualization stage.
Today I addressed all of the missing assignments and failing grades I'm seeing. At first I was doubting myself, wondering if I wasn't clear about my expectations or instructions for submitting assignments on Canvas but I realized I have done literally anything and everything I could to make sure they had time in class to complete assignments and submit on canvas, to verbal and visual reminders. Sooooo it's their problem. I have decided to structure my grading as follows: if they submit their assignment on time and I need them to redo certain parts or they forgot something, I mark it as an F. This alerts them that it's something they need to pay attention to and fix rather than seeing a B or a C and being complacent. I give them a week to redo and resubmit the assignment for full points. Then if students did not turn in on time, they receive a 0 and have a week to submit it with deducted points for lateness. So far marking things I want them to resubmit or retry so they can work towards mastery of a concept or technique as an F has done a great job in catching their attention. I of course had a flood of students who had individual circumstances that prevented them from turning in on time or completing an assignment so I got overwhelmed with trying to remember who was absent, who's digital device was dead that day, or who didn't have their camera, etc. My mom said I should keep folders that students put written requests or notes about special circumstances on the particular day of certain assignments so I can keep track of all the nuances.
I also went through the rubric and clarified what I would be looking for in their project. I thought they were flying through this project, but almost all the classes asked if it would be due in two weeks or so when I thought they'd be done by Wednesday this week. It's good that it will take longer because I was planning on it though. I think the basic structure can be constructed very fast, but the smaller details are taking them longer. Still super engaged and focused though!
Today in Ceramics 1 I passed back their tests (the one's that they took the wrong version of) and went through the answers and which questions I omitted from the final score. As I mentioned before, a lot of them missed a point or two in the written response to the open ended question at the end of the test. I took the points off and then wrote a note saying if they answered a., b., and c. on a separate piece of paper I would give back points. Only two students took advantage of this. I think it was because it was only a point or two and not worth it in their eyes to try and master the concept. So next time I think I will give a 0 if they don't answer the question fully so then they are kind of forced to rewrite and turn it in for points.
I helped grade projects most of the day. I graded AP free choice projects and Intro to 3D Totem Pole projects. For the AP free choice I was able to make personalized comments at the bottom of the rubric, but I found when I was grading the totem poles I kept leaning on the same sentences or phrases for every single feedback I gave. I think it was hard for me to give individualized feedback for this project because 1. this is their first taste of clay so even if the projects are "bad" they get full credit if they completed it and used full class time to work on it 2. because they all began to blend together. There were 60 totem poles and a lot looked similar in some senses. 3. because I don't know them individually as well as I know the AP students. I had to work hard to make sure I gave feedback specific to each student on the totem pole project, but I think some of that will be easier when I work with them on a consistent basis and can put a face to the project I'm grading.
Intro to 3D had a quiz over their unit on clay and they all did very well! Meanwhile, I began to grade my quiz for the unit on the wheel for Ceramics 1 and realized that Ms. O and I had accidentally given them the wrong version. I had created the quiz before the unit and sent it to Ms. O. After the unit, I went back and modified aspects of the quiz to include concepts that I emphasized and get rid of information that I had cut out of the presentation or didn't go over in depth. I also created a review powerpoint for students specifically tailored to this quiz and had it available on Canvas. I guess I had forgotten to send Ms. O the modified version. It wasn't to tragically different from the original, but I was bummed because there was information and ideas I really wanted to see their responses to. I had to go through and make sure not to take away any points for parts of the quiz I didn't include in the review or go over in class. One part of the quiz was a written response. We had discussed examples of the topic in class, but I should've included in the quiz to provide an example we didn't talk about in class because a lot of them just regurgitated examples from class when it is supposed to be more of a conceptual part. Then, a lot of them didn't fully answer the question, so I took points away, but wrote on the test that if they answered A, B, and C on a different piece of paper and gave it to me, I would give their points back because I am more interested in mastery than performance in one moment of time. As I graded, I made sure to make not of parts that were repeatedly wrong for multiple students and I will discuss those in class with them next Wednesday. None of their scores were deeply affected by those lost points so I'm not too concerned, but I just want to clarify why the answers are what they are and why the interpreted the wording the way they did. So I learned a lot of lessons from giving my first quiz!
Today students got on the wheel for the first time! I opened class by quickly having them shout out a few key things to remember for each of the three steps of working on the wheel. Then I let them have at it! This then led to a series of observations that I will remember for next class. 1. Wetting the wheel head slightly creates a more secure connection of the clay to the wheel. The students used way too much water, so their clay slid right off when they tried to center. Ms. Osborne doesn’t have her students wet the wheel at all so I am going to adopt that method. 2. I told them to use water sparingly because usually beginners use way too much water and then the clay is too soft to work with. They took my note to the extreme and didn’t use ENOUGH water to the point where a lot of them complained that their hands were burning because of the friction of dry, spinning, clay against their hands. This also posed as a problem for centering because their skin was dragging across the clay instead of gliding across it. Ms. Osborne demos with A LOT of water so I may make sure to make a point to use a lot of water. 3. We definitely are not going to be able to make cups by the end of the week. I was way too ambitious and totally forgot what it was like to learn how to throw. I’ve been throwing for 8 years and I just really got good at it the past two. So while I think that it was good for them to have something to aim for, I definitely overestimated how fast they would master the wheel.
So my experiences today showed me that even when you try to compensate for mistakes you KNOW students are going to make it can sometimes create a host of other mistakes that you can’t even foresee. So it was a good learning experience!
It also served a opportunity to see how assessing student's activities in the class contributes greatly to adjusting my lesson to help them succeed and to keep in mind for next semester. I addressed all of these observations and assessments the next day.
Mid semester grades are due this Friday so I spent a majority of my day helping Ms. O grade quizzes, projects, and assignments which was a great opportunity for me to gather evidence and experience for evaluating student learning. Grading the AP Drawing/2D projects from the assignment I had created for them was great practice for me. Ms. O allowed me to grade them since it was my project, so I appreciated she gave me that opportunity. I used a rubric she uses for all of their projects and then practiced writing descriptive feedback from my lesson during Lead in CoT. It was extremely difficult. Looking back, I did well describing what I was seeing "as the viewer." Whenever I made a comment on something that was confusing, or could use more attention in their piece, I made sure to point this observation out as a viewer of art, not "the teacher" or authority. I hope that this helps them understand that just because it is something I am pointing out, doesn't mean that it is a suggestion they NEED to take or alter their piece. Art is tricky that way. You don't want to influence the direction of their work too much, but you also want to make sure they are growing in their skills. So hopefully by including the phrase "as a viewer" I can get them to understand that these are observations any other viewer may or may not make and it's not just because I'm the teacher and am supposed to be this "authority" of "good" and "bad" art. The most difficulty I had grading was grading work that was not AP quality. I wanted to make sure I worded it in a way that was constructive even though the piece was obviously not given the fullest attention and care from the student. So I had to figure out some fancy wording to solve that dilemma. I made sure to address what I appreciated that they were trying to accomplish and then describe the reasons they didn't accomplish it. HERE are examples of the feedback I wrote.
Here are some of the pieces from the object morph project!
Ceramics 1 is working on their tile project. Ms. O and Osborne decided to have them do a practice tile through a collaborative project. On the board was a big sheet of paper with a grid and then a projected image of cells. So students selected a grid section and traced the design of their square and will create a ceramic tile of it. In the end, all the tiles will be grouted together as a single piece for the auction at the cancer gala in the spring (a big fundraising event in conjunction with their dance marathon for riley's). I like how this project is allowing students practice but also going towards a good cause. Definitely a good community outreach project I could see myself doing in my future teaching. It also serves as a great assessment tool so we can see what mistakes or troubles students are running into or share successes with the rest of the class before moving onto the final tile project.
While I introduced the assignment, I had them follow along on their own laptops so I could demo the process of posting images of their work to the discussion and how to reply to each others comments. I kept asking if they were doing okay, if they understood what they were doing, how much experience they have with canvas etc, and I was just met with blank stares or people who didn't even lift their faces up from their laptop, so I couldn't get a read to be able to assess whether or not they were understanding. I don't think they were being resistant or rude, I just don't think Ms. O asks for verbal feedback or eye contact when she's giving them info in class. When I have my own classroom, I would kindly ask and enforce that my class gives me verbal responses when I ask them questions so I can help them, because no eye contact or blank stares doesn't let me know what I need to help them with. I will also enforce active listening. I believe you can't fully receive information if you are not facing towards the teacher, sitting up straight, and giving eye contact. I am fine with doodling or fidgeting, but you can do that without looking at whatever you're drawing or fidgeting with. I draw from my experience as a color guard instructor where verbal feedback and active listening is expected. I know it's different in the classroom, but I do believe it makes a difference in how students receive information and their ability to apply it later on.
The last two periods were the jewelry classes which have very different vibes. The first one is crazy hectic and working at way different paces. A lot of them are freelancing and making their own projects in between assigned projects so there's a lot of individual questions and demonstrations that Ms. O and I have to fulfill because she wants them to keep pushing themselves, but today she had them pause, told the ones working ahead to review class materials and the ones a little behind to complete the project they were on so they could reconvene as a class and she could demonstrate new techniques to everyone, not just the ones working ahead. The second class is very quiet and slow, sometimes unmotivated. So two very different atmospheres.