Assessing Projects : Using Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning Gauging Learner Needs | Encouraging Self-Direction and Collaboration | Monitoring Progress | Checking Understanding | Demonstrating Understanding
Assessment Strategies
Assessing Projects (CD)
Assessing Projects* (online)
Assessment Resources
Changing Assessment Strategies
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Guidelines for Developing and Using Different Methods of Assessment
These assessment strategies provide valuable information to both teachers and learners. Each strategy offers unique methods and instruments. The key is to understand their different purposes, how they can be structured, and finally, what to do with the results. Assessment strategies can be broken into five main categories. It is not necessary to use all methods within a category, but all categories should be included in an assessment plan.
Strategies for Gauging Learner Needs >
Use these strategies prior to the project to help determine a learner’s background experiences, skills, attitudes, and misconceptions. These strategies help to assess each learner’s learning needs and assist learners in making connections between what they already know (prior knowledge) and what they will be learning.
Strategies for Encouraging Self-Direction and Collaboration >
Use these strategies to assess the ability of learners to take ownership of their learning, demonstrate interpersonal skills, produce higher-quality work, understand feedback, and assess classmates' work.
Strategies for Monitoring Progress >
Use these strategies to help learners stay on-track during a project. Learners become more self-managing when they are provided with these assessment methods and instruments as they complete open-ended tasks. These strategies also assist in determining when and where learners need extra help or additional teaching. Many of these strategies provide documentation of learning growth over time.
Strategies for Checking for Understanding and Encouraging Metacognition >
Use these strategies to check for learner understanding as they progress through the project. Learners also use these strategies to think about their own learning. The same method can be used for both purposes, but it is important to provide explicit questions and prompts to help learners think about what and how they are learning.
Strategies for Demonstrating Understanding and Skill >
Use these strategies to assess learner understanding and skill at the end of the project. Two different types of strategies are in this category:
- Products and performances
- Portfolios and learner-led conferences
