ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTSPRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOM

LEIGH STOVALL,

7TH GRADE CIVICS/GEOGRAPHY TEACHER

HEWITT-TRUSSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

TRUSSVILLE, ALABAMA

Am I in the right place?

Want to assess your students’ ability to

think and make connections at higher

levels? Come learn how alternative

assessments encompass CCRS and

allow students to apply learning in

authentic situations.

CHANGING YOUR THINKING/MINDSET

My course of study objectives changed in the past few years and

now include higher order verbs like:

Compare

Classify

Explain

Evaluate

Illustrate

Apply

Appraise

With verbs like this, I have to think about - how do I measure

mastery of these high level concepts?

And…What does mastery even mean?

WHAT IS MASTERY?

“is a term that all educators use and believe they understand well. But when pressed to describe precisely what it

means to "master" a concept, skill, or subject, everyone has a different definition. “

In education settings, we verify mastery by asking individuals to respond to a series of questions or to perform a

sequence of tasks. We then judge the adequacy of their responses or performance as measured against specific

criteria. So in essence, we determine mastery through some form of assessment.

If mastery means being able to demonstrate a particular level of skill on a complex task, then students need to

know the criteria by which their performance will be judged and the level of skill that will be expected. Students

can work toward mastery only if they know what is involved and how mastery is defined. Educators also can do

much to facilitate students' adoption of mastery goals (Midgley, 2002). In Search of a Useful Definition of Mastery

Thomas R. Guskey and Eric M. Anderman

http://www.be.wednet.edu/cms/lib2/WA01001601/Centricity/Domain/18/In%20Search%20of%20a%20Useful%20Defin

ition%20of%20Mastery.pdf

Is mastery of an objective only measurable through a test question?

What other ways can students show that they have mastered ?

RICK WORMELI

According to Rick Wormeli, Successful Assessment is Authentic in Two Ways

• The assessment is close to how students will apply their learning in real-world

applications (This is not mandatory, but nice if it happens).

• The assessment must be authentic to how students are learning (mandatory)

When we assess students through more than one format, we see

different sides to their understanding.

IS MASTERY OF AN OBJECTIVE ONLY MEASURABLE

THROUGH A TEST QUESTION?

With higher level verbs to assess- we must consider different options.

“It is important to realize that certain item types are better suited than others for measuring particular learning objectives. For example, learning objectives requiring the student to demonstrate or to show may be better measured by performance test items, whereas objectives requiring the student to explain or to describe may be better measured by essay test items.” http://cte.illinois.edu/testing/exam/test_ques.html

For which types of objectives should we consider using an alternative assessment?

Those that require a written element

Those that assess understanding and ability to apply principles.

Those that assess the ability to think critically.

Those where problem solving is involved.

Those that test the ability to select relevant facts and principles and then integrate them toward the solution of complex problems.

WHAT OTHER WAYS CAN STUDENTS

SHOW THAT THEY HAVE MASTERED AN OBJECTIVE?

Have you given an oral test?

Have you done a poster or tri-fold project?

Have students created test questions?

PRESENTATIONS

I imagine many of you have already used a Presentation as a

“test” grade.

Presentations allow students to conduct short research,

projects, gather relevant information from multiple sources,

determine central ideas, integrate visual information, and

compose an informational text– ALL common core standards.

Most educators use rubrics to grade these.

IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TAKE TO THE PLUNGE,

HERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO ASSESS LEARNING

THAT ARE NOT A TEST

LET’S LOOK AT THESE

Storyboard

Synectics

Writing Frame

Political cartoon

Socratic Circle

Simulations

Solving a Community or

Geographic Problem

Public Deliberation

STORYBOARD/COMIC STRIP/GRAFFITI BOARD

This option offers artistic and creative students the

opportunity to express their comprehension.

Students use visual images to represent their learning.

SYNECTICS

Use synectics to help students to make figurative connections using evidence to

support their reasoning.

Students will use the information they’ve learned.

Students should write down their explanation and be prepared to share.

http://opi.mt.gov/pdf/MBI/14Summer/Dotter/VisualSynectics.pdf

https://iseewhatyoumean.wikispaces.com/Visual+Synectics

IN SUM, I THINK THE FUTURE OF CHINA IS MOST LIKE…

Choose one of the

pictures provided and

explain in a FEW

COMPLETE SENTENCES

why you think that image

best represents your

thoughts.

WRITING FRAME

“Writing frames are structures or overviews that provide learners with the amount of

scaffolding they need to complete effective pieces of writing. The goal of writing frames

is for the flow of writing to become internalized by the writer so that a physical frame

is no longer necessary.”

A Chronological Order Frame:

At the end of _______, what happened was that _________. Prior to this, __________. Before that, however, __________.

This whole sequence of events began when __________. The most important event to occur was __________ because

_______.

http://iss.schoolwires.com/cms/lib4/NC01000579/Centricity/Domain/3015/Frames%20Article%20with%20Content%20Examples.pdf

You can use/create writing frames to help poor writers to use evidence to support a claim

POLITICAL CARTOONS

Using political cartoons in class enhances the discussion and helps students recognize point of view, techniques used to influence among many things.

Why not allow students to show their learning of an objective through analyzation of a political cartoon?

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/political-cartoons/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf

SOCRATIC CIRCLE

Socratic Circles require students to

1. Read and annotate a text

2. Create discussion points and questions to involve themselves in the dialogue

I divide this assessment into 4 grades

Annotation of text

Inner Circle Participation

Outer Circle Feedback (Listening and taking notes)

Reflection- Final thought on topic

Laura Hinds presented this yesterday- here handouts are online

Prep Work:

Read, Analyze, and Annotate the

text. Prepare discussion questions.

Good discussion questions can’t be

answered with a YES or NO and

there is no “right answer.”

A good discussion question sparks

a good conversation and allows

everyone to share out their own

opinion or interpretation of the

text.

There will be two different groups. By the end of class, you will participate in both groups.

Inner Circle: The inner circle is where the conversation takes place. The teacher will start the group with a question. It is then

the job of the students in the inner circle to keep the conversation flowing. After giving the first question, the teacher shouldn’t

have to speak again.

- Use your Annotated text and the discussion questions you’ve keep the discussion flowing.

- Listen respectfully to what all the students are saying

- Encourage all other students to participate (When asking a question, you can direct it towards someone who hasn’t spoken

yet. This may help them join the conversation).

- Try not to dominate the conversation

- Disagree respectfully. This is not a debate and the goal is not to be right or prove others wrong.

- Explain why you think what you think! Don’t just say you agree or disagree, explain WHY you feel that way.

Outer Circle: The outer circle observes the conversation taking place in the inner circle and completes feedback form.

- Do not talk while in the outer circle.

- Listen carefully to the ideas being presented.

- Focus on who is asking good questions; who speaks the most, who leads the group, etc

- Fill out the Outer Circle Feedback form while listening.

SIMULATIONS

A simulation allows students to demonstrate knowledge of a concept by

applying it a class structured activity.

Mock Trial (Laura Hinds presented yesterday- Handouts are online)

Survivor/Shipwrecked/Lost – an experiment in creating your own country

Black Friday Shopping

Mock Peace Summit

Family Budget

SIMULATION- IMPORTANT

Clear objectives/learning targets

Specific rubric as guideline

Teacher keeps anecdotal notes through simulation.

Participation points

Group Evaluation

SOLVING COMMUNITY/GEOGRAPHIC PROBLEM

Applying a problem-solving model to a geographic issue,

including the development of sound arguments for specific

actions on the issue.

Allow students to investigate, find evidence, and create a

persuasive letter to solve an issue.

Scaffold this process for students

DAY 1

Today, you and your group will discuss the following issues and decide which of the two you prefer to solve. You

may change to a different table to join a different group with similar interests.

How should Trussville repurpose the old Middle School?

What should Trussville do with the old stadium?

New businesses that we need in Trussville and where they can be located.

Ideas for how to use the old Food World building

Place for new elementary schools and why that would be the best place.

Using Trussville Tribune and AL.com, research the two issues you’ve chosen by reading current articles

surrounding the problem.

After reading the articles, pick one issue.

Now, your group should create a 3 question survey. The survey questions should center on solving the problem.

Part 2- Day 2 -

Using the Brainstorm Thinking key and results from your survey, identify solutions for your geographic issue.

Use your top 3 possible solutions to complete the “Problem/Options” graphic organizer.

Part 3- Letter: Write a letter on a piece of notebook paper to a local official outlining a

potential solution. (30 pts) Day 3

On the table, you can see a copy of a business letter and a list of city leaders.

Each of you will write letter to a local official outlining a potential solution.

In your letter you should:

State the problem and how affects our city.

What actions should be taken to solve the problem (including details from graphic organizer)?

Why these actions should be taken?

Note: your solution does not have to be the same as the group’s solution, but does need to rational.

PUBLIC DELIBERATIONS

“Deliberation is an approach to politics in which citizens, not just experts or politicians, are deeply involved in community problem solving and public decision making. Working with trained facilitators who utilize a variety of deliberative techniques, citizens come together and consider relevant facts and values from multiple points of view; listen to one another in order to think critically about the various options before them and consider the underlying tensions and tough choices inherent to most public issues; and ultimately seek to come to some conclusion for action in the form of a reasoned public judgment.” http://cpd.colostate.edu/about-us/what-is-public-deliberation/

My colleagues and I were trained in public deliberation at the Mathews Center in Montevallo, AL.

http://mathewscenter.org/resources/

How do Citizens Talk about Public Issues?

Some Key Characteristics of Debate, Dialogue, and Deliberation

Debate

(Taking a side)

Dialogue/Discussion

(Socratic Circle)

Deliberation

(Finds a solution)

Contest Explore Choose

Compete Exchange Weigh

Argue Discuss Decide

Promote opinion Build relationships Make decisions

Persuade Understand Understand

Seek majority Seek understanding Seek integrative decision

Dig in Reach across Find common ground

Choose solution Develop understanding Framed to make choices

FINDING AN ISSUE TO RESOLVE

https://www.nifi.org/

PUBLIC DELIBERATION

Planning, planning, planning

Making a clear goal of mastery

Making a rubric for student expectations

Structuring the question they answer

Creating diverse groups for them to discuss with other

Making sure there is enough time to do it all.