Reading

Assessment is a critical component in any global project. It will help you and your students improve learning and will help you explain the value of your project to administrators, parents and the outside community. This review and extension of the assessment information presented in Module 2 will help you improve your project. Take a look at this brainstormed list of the role of assessment to project based learning. Next, it is important to understand the difference between assessment and grading. Take a look at Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's information on "Assessing Student Progress".

How, then, will you know what your students have learned? Begin with base line data. A quick and motivating way to do this is to use a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart to introduce your global project. Begin with some essential questions such as:

What We Know: (List all information given even if it isn't totally accurate. Later you will revisit this to check for changes in perception.)

1. What do you know about your partner school's country (state, city)?

2. What do you know about the project topic?

What We Want to Know:

1. What do you want to know about your partner school's country (state, city)?

2. What do you want to know about your partners?

3. What do you want to know about the project topic?

What We Learned:

Revisit the above sections of the chart frequently and add a column to list what students have learned. Make this part of an ongoing discussion. Update the other two columns. The What We Know Column may become a "What We Thought We Know Column". As you do this you may want to add a column: "What We Still Need to Find Out".

Keep this chart posted on your wall throughout the project and revisit it with your students frequently. As you look at the formative assessment model consider the higher order thinking skills you want you students to learn and to use.