1. Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classroom Activities
2. Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classrooms
3. Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classroom Lesson
4. Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classroom Rules

Below are links to assessment tools and techniques along with specific geoscience examples and resources.

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1. We find it helpful to distinguish a 'dessert project' - a short, intellectually-light project served up after the teacher covers the content of a unit in the usual way - from a 'main course' project, in which the project is the unit. In Project Based Learning, the project is the vehicle for.
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Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classroom Activities

Topics Of Particular Interest

Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classrooms

• Large Class Assessment Learn more about assessment strategies that are particularly useful for large classes and see examples of how techniques were employed in geoscience classes.
• Using Technology Learn more about how technology can improve classroom assessment and see how techniques were employed in geoscience classes.

Don't Know Which Tool to Use? Look Through our Introductory Resources

• Assessment and Active Learning Strategies for Introductory Geology Courses(Acrobat (PDF) 390kB Mar8 05), David McConnell, David Steer, Kathie Owens, 2003, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 51, n. 2, March, 2003, p. 205-216, is a good, concise, introduction to assessment techniques.
• Primer on Assessment in the Geosciences is an in depth introduction to assessment created for faculty teaching introductory courses.
• OERL: Online Evaluation Resource Library website designed for professionals working on project evaluations.
• The Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International has conducted a number of projects creating assessment designs and examples for middle and high school students that are relevant to the geosciences, including:
  • PALS (more info) is an on-line, standards-based, continually updated resource bank of science performance assessment tasks indexed via the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and various other standards frameworks.
  • PALM' is currently being developed as an on-line, standards-based, resource bank of mathematics performance assessment tasks indexed via the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
  • Integrative Performance Assessments in Technology (IPAT) is a site developed for middle or high school teachers, school administrators, or evaluators who are interested in assessing how proficient students are using computer-based technology to carry out Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The site provides five pilot-tested assessment tasks: Car Crash, Solar Power, Choose a City, EPA Phoenix, and Predator-Prey.
  • Global Learning Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) includes classroom assessment tools that test students' deep understanding of GLOBE concepts and their ability to conduct and interpret GLOBE environmental investigations, set up for middle and high school teachers. The examples related to a number of educational standards.

Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classroom Lesson

Browse our collection of Assessment Resources.

Learning Links Main Pagemr. P's Classroom Rules

Dylan Wiliam’s book Embedded Formative Assessment is filled with a number of insights. The foundation of the book highlights the importance of formative assessment as a tool to improve teacher practice and ultimately improve student learning.

In the book, he provides the five strategies he believes are core to successful formative assessment practice in the classroom:

1. Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success. That means getting students to really understand what their classroom experience will be and how their success will be measured.

2. Engineering effective classroom discussions, activities, and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learning. This refers to developing effective classroom instructional strategies that allow for the measurement of success.

3. Providing feedback that moves learning forward. To accomplish this, teachers must work with students to provide them the information they need to better understand problems and solutions.

4. Activating learners as instructional resources for one another. Getting students involved with each other in discussions and working groups can help improve student learning.

5. Activating learners as owners of their own learning. Teaching students to monitor and regulate their learning increases their rate of learning.

At NWEA, we have a framework focused on four foundational formative assessment practices: clarifying learning, eliciting evidence, providing feedback, and activating learners. Understanding these four, key formative assessment practices can help educators determine which of the many strategies and tactics make sense for their classroom environment.