Assessment+&+Curriculum

2013-2014 Proposed Programs:

Content-Rich Group Work for Upper Grades
Group Members: ** Bill H. **, Rick and Connie

Program Planning (40 mins): 1. Intro Session: Overall Design Pillars-
 * Content-Rich Group Work (periodic new content infusions)- emphasis here!
 * Backward Design (what are desired project parameters- groups make-up, activities, presentations)
 * Student Design Elements/ Choices Delegated to Students
 * Assessment Possibilities (indicators/ one group grade per group?/ individual assessment projects)

2. Break-Out Sessions (60 mins) (participants pick one to take part in, modeling students and teacher) 3. Reconvene/ Share Findings (20 mins) 4. Adjourn
 * Three Presenters (Bill, Connie, Rick's Presenter) preview their model projects

2011-12. Work on the topic of Assessment practices in CAIS schools.

Group Members:
Kate Knopp Connie Blunden

Program Plans:
Notes from February 20, 2012


 * __A. Dinner meeting on Homework.__**

How do you think about TIME, TYPE and INTENT when you design homework? Participants will fill out a brief on-line survey prior to the meeting. We will use a quick case study from each of three divisions, LS, MS and HS – to discuss how we can be more intentional about the purpose of homework in our classrooms.

Action steps: pick a day pick a place write the survey

(We could do this in early May 2012…)

Experience the flipped classroom for yourself – so you can better reflect on how it might be useful to student learning. After a keynote that describes a teacher’s experience with flipped instruction and its implications for assessment practices…
 * __B. A Flipped Workshop.__**

30 minute workshops (run by CAIS teachers?) on technologies that will push teachers to experiment with flipped instruction – which necessarily calls into question assessment practices. Slide Share You Tube creative commons podcasting Mac ILife suite ebooks

Action steps: locate the keynote speaker and the tech expertise to train folks with these tools.

C. Collaborate. Collaborate. Co-operate… but how will you grade the group work?

After a brief introduction to some of the issues in grading group work – we will share real life examples of ways teachers and students have assessed group projects and individual’s contributions to the collective work. What is the role of self-assessment here? How do you design student reporting about group behavior?

Action steps: We need to locate teachers who have struggled with this – have rubrics or list of skills they are trying to teach as students collaborate…


 * __D. How smart are your assessments? How good is your feedback?__**

I hour keynote speaker to frame issues… and establish a common language.

Bring your gradebook. Bring your tracking systems – to track homework and its quality, to measure the type and quality of participation in discussion, to record leadership in group work…

In small groups we will share how we keep records and how that collecting of data informs our teaching and student learning. // OR we could title 2 or three small groups to present tricks – 1. a chart for participation 2. using the curricular calendar to design your assessment structures. 3. how to keep track of in class work 4. how to design assessments that give students a chance to demonstrate what they know, you a chance to collect real data about their learning, and let you have a life outside of teaching.

Action Steps: we need a lit review here, I think. we need to find teachers with tricks we need to have a facilitator…