Evaluation and Assessment

Multimedia Assessment

For this portion of the week's assignment, I chose a video to review finding the slope between two points on a graph and using the slope formula.  It was difficult finding a good video that covered what I was looking for that stayed within the time constraints.  I feel that in the future, I would probably make my own video to use.  Playposit was easy to use but I did run into issues with a question or two not saving initially.  It was probably user error and once I got over the learning curve, it seems quite easy.  I feel the video is not my best work and that is mainly due to the video itself.  I wanted to use a video that was about slope that I could use for remediation.  Slope is a difficult topic for 8th graders.  I feel that I squeezed some good questions out of the video but, like I said before, I feel I could have gotten more out of a video of better quality.  I can see the merit in this as it does a great job breaking up the video and asking questions when I want the student to take something away from it.  The questions do a good job of forcing the student to pay attention and think about what they are watching. 

https://www.playposit.com/listcode/612592/r62623

Video source: [Davitily]. (2008, June 10).  Finding slope given two points. [Video File].  Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMUk_XRvRQ

PBL Rubric

The idea of using the PBL approach in my classroom has been something my PLC partner and I have been tossing around lately.  I decided to build a rubric off of a PBL we found online about a topic we teach in the year that the students seem to have difficulty seeing the applications of with our normal approach.  The PBL can be found here: The Domino Effect (CC-BY-NC).  

The PBL requires students to complete questions based on researching the cost of pizzas of various sizes and toppings amounts and then draw conclusions on the price-per-topping.  The end result has the students presenting their findings to the whole group.  The overall goal is to help students understand the meaning of the slope and the y-intercept in a linear equation.  I used Rubistar to build my rubric.  I wanted to focus more on the math and the explanations with my rubric.  Rubistar is easy to use as it pre-populates the required fields and I can add, delete, or modify as needed.  This is helpful for me as I am absolutely terrible at building a rubric on my own.  The one time I tried without the support of a program such as this left a lot to be desired.  

The rubric I created can be found here: Domino Effect Rubric

Survey

I wanted to build a survey that could alter the way that I approach a set of questions I ask my students multiple times a week.  Each time a new learning target is introduced in my classroom, we take about 5 minutes to discuss the learning targets.  One of the ways that I get the students to think about the target is with a quick write.  I ask them a set of questions and they get 2 minutes to answer as much as they can.  Then, they discuss their answers with a seat partner before I ask random students to share out their answers.  I figured using an online survey could be a way to digitally mix it up while still getting the students to think about what they are about to learn.

Here is the survey

I like the idea of doing it online via google forms as I will get a copy of the responses and still require the students to discuss with a seat partner.  This will only increase the participation as it will hold the students accountable.  I could also display answers I see that are exceptional at the end of class and use it to further our end of class wrap-up discussion.