One of the things that is always tough, is getting a clear picture of what a student has actually learned. The days of just throwing a multiple choice test to gauge learning are past. While some students are able to use those forms of assessments to showcase their learning, others do not perform well with those mediums and others know enough to game the system. At the end of the day, those assessments do not show enough of what a student knows. I've really leaned into portfolios as a way for students to showcase their work and truly demonstrate what they have learned. By adding the use of Adobe Express to the use of Seesaw, I have created a workflow that has students completing projects and then creating media to showcase their projects and then posting it all on Seesaw for me to assess and for their parents to see as well. Here is an example of the workflow I mentioned.
Step 1: Seesaw
We use Seesaw as our LMS in the Middle and Elementary School. Every students has their Seesaw account and teachers create their class for students to join. From there, a teacher posts an Activity that outlines what the assignment is going to be. You can set a due date, add images, videos, templates, etc. to help break down the Activity is a way that helps students understand the assignment and how to complete it. Here is an example,
I break down the different parts of the assignment and then I make sure to be very clear on what that project needs to have at the end. This really helps all students, but particularly neurodivergent students who can get lost in the text at times.
Once the students have completed the assignment, they post it to Seesaw and it will appear like the image below.
I can like the post to let the student know I have seen it and I can leave a comment. I leave a short comment here and then we would have a 1:1 conversation to reflect on their work. It does take time, but that feedback on their work is so helpful when they tackle the next project. With the correct settings in place, parents could like and comment on the video as well. With even more settings turned on, students from the class can see other student work as well. Since I use this as a 1:1 student/teacher portfolio, I leave this off so I can freely comment on student work without other students seeing what I have written about the project.
Here is the video if you are itching to watch it,
The reason I am excited to showcase this on my website is the addition of Adobe Express and all of the upgrades that have taken place over the past few months. Generative AI features and Animate from Audio are just a couple of the reasons that Adobe Express has increased the level and quality of student work this year. I have students that are normally shy using the Animate from Audio feature to give a voice to their work through silly animated creatures. Parents have told me how much the of Express has given a creative outlet for their children in a way that used to be stifled because they did not feel they were "good enough" at art or design. Adobe Express is giving these students a chance to showcase what they have learned if fun and creative ways that make a different to how they feel about what they have created. With that, student engagement is higher and I am able to better assess what students do and do not understand.
I understand that many schools use different LMS platforms for their classes and maybe they use other design software as well. The principles are still the same. By giving students a better way to make meaning and demonstrate understanding along with a system to aggregate their learning, educators can get a better sense of what learning looks like for that student. Over time, an entire portfolio of projects, writing, presentations, etc, can be collected and showcase the type of growth that can be hard to see month to month, but jumps out at everyone when we pull back and see that growth over a greater period of time.
Seesaw and Adobe Express works for me and many other teachers in my school and across the country. At a minimum, I hope you will consider how a portfolio approach to student assessment that includes media creation could support all of the diverse learners in your classroom and school.
Do you give a cumulative final exam at the end of the school year? Is it mandated by your school? If not, why do you assess your students that way?
Final Exams and the weight they hold on final grades has been something that has bothered me for a while. At a previous school, the final exam was worth 20% of the student's overall grade. One bad exam day and, poof, there goes your average. If you have earned an A for the class, why should you have to take the exam when it only serves to penalize you for small lapses in memory or a missed bubble on a test sheet? If the final exam is designed to assess what you know and you have shown what you know throughout the year, what is the point? Regurgitating a whole year's worth of information is not a meaningful assessment of what a student knows. I gave projects as a final exam for as long as I could until I was forced to give the common final exam at my previous school. My challenge for teachers who are not required to give a common final exam is try something different.
Traditional exams fail to assess what all students know. They are great at assessing type "A" personality students who can cram for an exam, spit out the information, and then move on to the next test. The rest of us need something different. An opportunity to shine in a way that can still be assessed, but also removes the anxiety of an all or nothing exam.
I am very lucky to be working with schools that are actively moving away from the traditional assessment approach and are embracing Project Based Learning. Teachers feel much more excited about projects than they do MC tests. The students feel the exact same way. Here are some quick start tips for those interested in using a PBL approach to the end of the year assessment.
1. Identify the areas of growth and content you want to see in students.
Every content area has benchmarks that we want to see students reach. Identify the most important ones and outline them clearly for the students. Provide examples of assignments and/or readings completed during the year that connect to them.
2. Create a rubric that outlines how each benchmark can be recognized.
Rubrics should clearly lay out each area that a student will be assessed and what is needed for the teacher to recognize their work. Rubrics are not easy to create and will take time to get just right. Do your best and talk to students to make sure nothing is vague to them.
3. Give students the freedom to explore different mediums when creating their projects.
The more freedom many students have, the better the projects you will receive. Some students will need very strict guidelines to follow and other will excel when given complete freedom. You know which students those are in your class. Keep that in mind while support them through the process.
4. Give time for students to present to the class.
Student presentations allow the teacher to assess them using the rubric and also serve as a nice review of the material covered in class. Seeing the content over and over again in different formats can really help all students retain the information.
I have done this with my students I have received some of the very best projects I could hope for over the years. Here is one example that used interpretive dance to connect characters we encountered in our readings that year,
There are so many amazing possibilities for students if we give them a chance to showcase what they know in ways that go beyond the traditional exam. I hope more teachers out there will take a chance on doing things a little differently this year.
If you have any questions about Project Based Learning and how you might bring it to your classroom or school, feel free to reach out to me. My Summer is filling up, but I still have space if you want to connect.
Assessments are a big part of any class, but they are sometimes misunderstood. When people hear the word assessment, they think of a test. A test is an assessment, but not all assessments are tests. This is very important to remember as a teacher. There are multiple ways for a teacher to assess what a student has learned during class. That is why Project Based Learning can be a valuable tool for assessment.
When a Project Based Learning assignment is given in my class that gives students latitude to create a project that demonstrates understanding in a way that is meaningful to them, there can be a wide variety of projects that could be submitted. That leads to a common question from teachers,
"How can you equally assess a wide variety of projects?"
The answer is simple as well as a bit complicated. The simple part is rubrics. Rubrics can be written in a way that don't focus on the tools that are used to demonstrate understanding, but focus on the concepts that the students are trying to convey. That part is where things get complicated.
Rubrics are not an easy thing to throw together. I wish I had more instruction on rubric creation in college. That would have helped me so much in my journey. One of things about rubric writing that needs to be embraced is that the first few rubrics are not going to be great and you will have to get used to adjusting them to ensure they are assessing the correct things and awarding points.
One of the very first rubric creators I used was Rubistar. It allows for the creation of multiple columns and rows that can be filled with language they provide or edited language that better fits your needs. After reading a novel in one of my ELA classes, I might create a rubric that focuses on the student's ability to demonstrate understanding of themes, symbols, motifs, etc. When it came time for student presentations, it was easy to have the rubric in front of me and check off the boxes that matched how they demonstrated understanding. I would jot notes down and then discuss the rubrics with the students the next day.
I have found that as the year went on, the students became more comfortable with the rubric structure and improved their projects over time based on the feedback that was given. That growth is what you are looking for in a class and the rubrics support that growth.
In terms of adding a grade to the gradebook, assigning points to each row and column can be difficult and it is important to try and balance the rubric so one aspect does not make or break the entire project. Also, avoid adding columns/rows that focus on non-instructional issues. For example, do not award/deduct points for "neatness" or "turned in on time" or any other concept that is not about understanding the material. I created some terrible rubrics in my early PBL days that gave too many points for things that focused on the aesthetics instead of the content. Rookie mistakes I hope this post can help you avoid.
Rubrics opened up a world of communication with my students because it allowed for specific feedback that created better conversations when we were able to sit and discuss their work. The back and forth about the final project were strong because of the rubric and the fact that I was there with them throughout the process.
If you are exploring Project Based Learning and are worried about assessment, that is natural, but do not let it be the reason you do not give it a try. Below are some resources that can help you on your journey.
IUPUI - Creating and Using Rubrics - This site has a link to a bunch of other sites to support rubric writing and provide some great examples. Check this out if you are serious about using rubrics for assessment.
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