Unit 3: Developing Math Journals for Students
Welcome to Unit 3!
Ideas for Developing Assessment Activities
In developing any form of assessment activity, Clarke identifies two questions that best help us to think about the assessment.
- Will this assessment give me the information about a student's mathematical understandings that I need and am looking for?
- Will this assessment significantly increase my workload in an unmanageable way?
In order to develop the most beneficial student assessment, teachers must consider these two questions very carefully. Through the careful consideration of these questions, the identification of the best method of assessment will be completed. Teachers should be certain to maintain the consistency of instruction through the proper development of a matching assessment. In many ways, assessment of practical activity can be a great way of measuring student understanding. Practical activities have been shown to increase the motivation and engagement of students, as well as their ability to transfer conceptual understandings and skills to outside contexts. This links directly back to the usage of mathematical projects completed with the use of a mathematical learning journal. In this method of assessment, student learning is more visible as well as their ability to use their mathematics literacy skills in understanding in communicating their processes and learning. Self-reflection and tracking of learning processes is considered a form of student self-assessment. A key style of assessment that shifts some of the responsibility of learning into the hands of the student.
Self-Assessment
The key characteristic of value to student self-assessment is that students have control and ownership of their learning. STudents need to understand the connections between instruction and assessment. In many ways, this shift in responsibility can help students to demystify the idea of assessment and better integrate their assessment results into their future learning. One method of this student self-assessment if the student mathematics learning journal.
