12/29/97
Water Pollution in Brazil and California:
A Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Study
| 8. Project Evaluation. |
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Ongoing Evaluation:
The Continuous Evaluation can change during the project to accurately reflect the effectiveness of the project and its changing dimensions. It rules the learning process during the project, and it will be updated and adjusted during the entire duration of the project
Collaboration between teachers to refine plan as necessary
Teacher/student created evaluation rubric of student work
Portfolio of created multimedia products and website
Student and teacher reflections
Formal Evaluation
The Formal Evaluation that follows the project timetable has pre established criterions
This involves:
Self Evaluation ( teachers, students and mentors) in each stage of the project each participating teacher will self evaluate with the criterions established by the team ( teachers, students, mentors). We suggest the following criterions:
a) Collaboration and participation in meetings, dialogs on line with ideas and materials, to accomplish the timetable, collaboration with others disciplines and disposition to learn other language (English or Portuguese)
b) Effective contributions to team for example significant research, creative solutions, acquired knowledge about water and learning, and teaching with technology;
Student Evaluation The students will be evaluated about content knowledge in biology, history, arts, geography, technology through tests, questionnaire, report, free dialogs, rubrics and checklists, etc.. . The teachers will evaluate the students about their knowledge in different areas ( scientific, ecological and artistic thinking), their concrete production and real result to society, mental association through questionnaire, analyze of artistic works,..
Teacher Evaluation The teachers will be evaluated on their collaboration, objectivity, new ways of using the technology in school system, real production comparing with purposes The students will be involved in the evaluation the teachers using student developed criterions . Teacher evaluation will include self assessment, student assessment,and mentor assessment. We suggest that the mentors evaluate the teachers and students.
Mentor evaluation
The mentors will evaluate the teachers and students. The teachers will evaluate the project, the mentors and students.
Comparative Data
There is a critical need for quantitative data that would suggest that this form of education is effective if these kinds of projects are to be adopted by other schools around the world. The American teacher is interested in comparing the standardized test scores of her students against the standardized test scores of other G.A.T.E program students in the district who participate in G.A.T.E. programs that do not involve technology integrated project based learning. At the time of this reporting (Dec. 1997) comparative data of last Spring's sixth grade students in the Oak Grove School District, using the ITAS indicates that Edenvale's sixth grade G.A.T.E. students scored higher on this standardized test that other G.A.T.E. students in the Oak Grove School District. While it is recognized that there are many factors that have contributed to this, the Edenvale sixth grade G.A.T.E. students were the only District G.A.T.E. students to have experienced four years of multimedia integrated project based learning involving collaborative projects with other schools.
The project is divided into the following steps:
Phase I. Self- introduction session for students
and planning the mutual project between teachers the both countries via
Internet.
Phase II. Discovery of the ecological problem
of water pollution through factual research, personal histories and impressions
that involved water
Phase III. Selection of the principal projects
and determining how to integrate these with each curriculum knowledge area
( planning session)
Phase IV. Developing of the project ( work
session)
Phase V. Evaluation.
This ongoing step will also be present in phases II and IV.The teachers will identify the students' knowledge about water through their artistic and multimedia production, research, commentaries,questionnaires, and dialogues with experts.The scientific concepts and the artistic and critical attitudes will be evaluated in a variety of ways. In these different steps the work will be compared and evaluate by the teachers and students of the two countries. Our students will create their own evaluation systems with their teachers. At the beginning of the project students and teachers will determine the criteria against which their research and projects will be compared. Student work will be evaluated by the extent that they have met the criteria. This is called a rubric.
Students will engage in reflective practice about their projects. They will discuss how science, art and technology are integrated through their study of water and water pollution, and how science, art and technology can act together to improve the environment. Students and teachers will publish their work and reflections on the web site and in other media.
