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RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics, but does not have the time to develop them from scratch.

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https://v.gd/TcbGcu

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When I participated in peer assessment in this course I sometimes had the feeling participants are afraid to offend each other. So they just say compliments, but do not move past the first or second step of feedback ladder. When I was giving a feedback I also worried that maybe  my words could upset another teacher. And I also do not feel very competent in PBL approach, so I do not feel I have the rights to criticize other people's work.

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Feedback ladder - really important, also for the P2P activities during this course

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Peer Assessment: Reflections from Students and Teachers

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So, how do you do peer assessment? This video describes one way to implement effective peer assessment in the classroom. Watch as teachers and students from IS 223 (Brooklyn, NY) describe peer assessment and reflect on its benefits.

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20 simple assessment strategies we can use every day

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20 simple assessment strategies we can use every day

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contributed by Saga Briggs

The ultimate goal of teaching is understanding.

But sometimes it's easier to talk than to teach, as we all know, especially when we need to cover a lot of material in a short amount of time. We hope students will understand, if not now then before test time, and we keep our fingers crossed that their results will indicate we've done our job.

The problem is, we often rely on these tests to measure understanding and then we move on. There isn't always time to address weaknesses and misunderstandings after the tests have been graded, and the time to help students learn through strategies to ask great questions is gone.

Below are 22 simple assessment strategies and tips to help you become more frequent in teaching, planning, and curriculum design.
22 Simple Assessment Strategies & Tips You Can Use Every Day 1. An open-ended question that gets them writing/talking
Avoid yes/no questions and phrases like "Does this make sense?" In response to these questions, students usually answer 'yes.' So, of course, it's surprising when several students later admit they're lost.

To help students grasp ideas in class, ask open-ended questions that require students to write and talk. They can reveal more than you would've thought to ask directly.
2. Ask students to reflect
During the last five minutes of class, ask students to reflect on the lesson and write down what they've learned. Then, ask them to consider how they would apply this concept or skill in a practical setting. Exit ticketsmake it easy to administer and review student answers.
3. Use quizzes
Give a short quiz at the end of class to check for comprehension.
4. Ask students to summarize
Have students summarize or paraphrase important concepts and lessons. This can be done orally, visually, or otherwise.
5. Hand signals
Hand signals can be used to rate or indicate students' understanding of content. Students can show anywhere from five fingers to signal maximum understanding to one finger to signal minimal understanding. This strategy requires student engagement and allows the teacher to check for understanding within a large group.
6. Response cards
Index cards, signs, whiteboards, magnetic boards, or other items are simultaneously held up by all students in class to indicate their response to a question or problem presented by the teacher. Using response devices, the teacher can easily note the responses of individual students while teaching the whole group.
7. Four corners
A quick and easy snapshot of student understanding, Four Corners allows student movement while permitting the teacher to monitor and assess understanding.

The teacher poses a question or makes a statement. Students then move to the appropriate classroom corner to indicate their response to the prompt. For example, the corner choices might include "I strongly agree," "I strongly disagree," "I agree somewhat," and "I'm not sure."
8. Think-pair-share
Students take a few minutes to think about the question or prompt. Next, they pair with a designated partner to compare thoughts before sharing with the whole class.
9. Choral reading
Students mark text to identify a particular concept and chime in, reading the marked text aloud in unison with the teacher. This strategy helps students develop fluency; differentiate between the reading of statements and questions; and practice phrasing, pacing, and reading dialogue.
10. One question quiz
Ask a single focused question with a specific goal that can be answered within a minute or two. You can quickly scan the written responses to assess student understanding.
11. Socratic seminar
Students ask questions of one another about an essential question, topic, or selected text. The questions initiate a conversation that continues with a series of responses and additional questions. Students learn to formulate questions that address issues to facilitate their own discussion and arrive at a new understanding.
12. 3-2-1
Students consider what they have learned by responding to the following prompt at the end of the lesson: 3) things they learned from your lesson; 2) things they want to know more about; and 1) questions they have. The prompt stimulates student reflection on the lesson and helps to process the learning.
13. Ticket out the door
Students write in response to a specific prompt for a short period of time. Teachers collect their responses as a "ticket out the door" to check for student understanding of a concept taught. This exercise quickly generates multiple ideas that could be turned into longer pieces of writing later.
14. Journal reflections
Students write their reflections on a lesson, such as what they learned, what caused them difficulty, strategies they found helpful, or other lesson-related topics. Students can reflect on and process lessons. By reading student work-especially -types of learning journals that help students think-teachers can identify class and individual misconceptions and successes. (See also
15. Formative pencil-paper assessment
Students respond individually to short, pencil-paper formative assessments of skills and knowledge taught in the lesson. Teachers may elect to have students self-correct. The teacher collects assessment results to monitor individual student progress and to inform future instruction.

Both student and teacher can quickly assess whether the student acquired the intended knowledge and skills. This is a formative assessment, so a grade is not the intended purpose.
16. Misconception check
Present students with common or predictable misconceptions about a concept you're covering. Ask them whether they agree or disagree and to explain why.
17. Analogy prompt
Teaching with analogies can be powerful. Periodically, present students with an analogy prompt: "the concept being covered is like ____ because ____."
18. Practice frequency
Check for understanding at least three times a lesson, minimum.
19. Use variety
Teachers should use enough different individual and whole group techniques to check understanding that they accurately know what all students know. More than likely, this means during a single class the same technique should not be repeated.
20. Make it useful
The true test is whether or not you can adjust your course or continue as planned based on the information received in each check. Do you need to stop and start over? Pull a few students aside for three minutes to re-teach? Or move on?
21. Peer instruction
Perhaps the most accurate way to check for understanding is to have one student try to teach another student what she's learned. If she can do that successfully, she clearly understood your lesson.
22. "Separate what you do and don't understand"
Whether making a t-chart, drawing a concept map, or using some other means, have the students not simply list what they think they know, but what they don't know as well. This won't be as simple as it sounds-we're usually unaware of what we don't know.

They'll also often know more or less than they can identify themselves, which makes this strategy a bit crude. But that's okay-the goal isn't for them to be precise and complete in their self-evaluation the goal is for you to gain insight into what they do and don't know.

And seeing what they can even begin to articulate on their own is an excellent starting point here.
Saga Briggins wrote this post and was first published by on opencolleges.edu.au; 20 Simple Assessment Strategies You Can Use Every Day

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22 Simple Assessment Strategies You Can Use Every Day

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Here are 22 simple assessment strategies and tips to help you become more frequent in your teaching, planning, and curriculum design.

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1. Build assessment into the project flow - lots of little check-ins to see where the students are.
2. Checking the understanding shows the teacher what our next steps should be.
3. Build in chances for self and group assessment.
4. End project with a product or performance.
5. Present work to an audience beside the class.

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Embedding Assessment Throughout the Project (Keys to PBL Series Part 5)

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Assessment can be integrated seamlessly into project-based learning. Find tools for measuring student understanding from the beginning to the end of a project. More resources at: https://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/pbl-planning

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As I work at the waldorf school we practice mostly formative assessment. At our school twice a year we write report card, where every teacher describes how the student has managed, what s/he has learned, what are his strengths and  where s/he should learn more.
As to the approach in my country, the Ministry of Education recommends not to give grades until class 3 and the goal is to switch to formative assessment. What is really interesting, that Russian schools start giving grades early, already in the class 1, but Estonian schools tend to postpone it.

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"Assessment should not only be about giving a grade at the end but it should be an on-going process, where teachers and students alike assess their learning as they work on the projects."
This corresponds well with waldorf education and also with our state politics. The Ministry of Education recommends not to give grades at least till class 3, but provide written description of student's progress. What is interesting, often parents demand the grades, they are sure that giving grades make children learn and without grades they won't do anything

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10 fun-filled formative assessment ideas

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10 fun-filled formative assessment ideas

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Formative assessment: you've heard about it, you've read the research, and you've probably tried it out in your classroom.

Whether you're a formative assessment newbie or a veteran, these techniques can help spice up how you check for understanding in the classroom. They range from the classics, like exit slips, to ideas you may have never thought to try.

This post was inspired by Todd Finley's big, printable list, " 53 Ways To Check For Understanding".

1.

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10 Fun-Filled Formative Assessment Ideas

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Whether you're a formative assessment newbie or a veteran, these techniques can help spice up how you check for understanding in the classroom. They range from the classics, like exit slips, to ideas you may have never thought to try.

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How to weaken students' confidence and independence

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How to weaken students' confidence and independence

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Ohhhh, many ways, actually it's much easier than strengthening confidence and independence.
Criticizing in public; calling names; constantly giving the tasks that are too difficult; allowing only one way of solving the problem or doing the task; comparing students; be sure that there are only 2 opinions in the world - the teacher's and the wrong one! Never take into consideration students' opinion and preferences.

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We know that it is possible to develop resilience in our students through a combination of setting out the right environment, building positive relationships, and offering space for independent decisions.
A very powerful video with lots of good advice. There is a lot I need to take into consideration while planning my lessons.

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Resilience is a quality that helps us through daily stressors and major life crises. While some of our resilience is associated with inborn personality traits, there’s much you can do to develop your resilience level, and the resources below can help.

It appears that you have a lot going for you already – several of your answers indicated a sense of resilience, but there's room for improvement. You can build your own inner and outer resources to make yourself more resilient in the face of stress. The resources below can help you with this, and can help others in your life as well. Enjoy!

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Actually this video is the reminder of the material we studied at the teacher's academy. Vigotsky's closest development zone.

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This story does not have a happy ending yet, but still I would like to share.
3 years ago I decided I neededd a driving licence and started learning. It was so difficult! For the first time in my life I felt like a very bad student, who does not understand anything and cannot do anything correctly. Besides, I was pregnant and my older child just turned one. So I took 20 lessons and was feeling absolutely hopeless. Then the baby was born and I needed to take a break.
Now, 3 year later, I understood that I really need to learn this skill. I enrolled again, I am in the process and my current teacher says that I am not that hopeless.
However, I am sure that in life it is sometimes wiser to quit, not to proceed with trying to enter the closed door.

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https://www.sometics.com/en/sociogram
http://teamup.aalto.fi/
https://www.edmodo.com/
https://www.pixton.com/

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Ideas for activities to develop collaboration in the classroom

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Ideas for activities to develop collaboration in the classroom

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CREATING CLASSROOM RULES TOGETHER. All of us need to establish general rules of conduct for our class. And it is very important to make our students want to follow them. From my experience, especially for young pupils, it is very positive to give them an active role in the creation of those rules! In fact we do it every year. I start by presenting to them the ones I consider to be the most essentials, and then, through thoughtful discussion and with the use of visual material, I work with my pupils to create a set of rules. As pupils propose each rule, I use a big piece of paper to write down the initial list. This list, which becomes our starting point, usually, ends to be very long. So, the next step is to decide all together and select only a few of them (those that contribute to successful learning and an orderly environment). The last step is to decide with the pupils' help what the consequences will be for breaking those rules. Rules are, finally, copied on a big carton and are signed by everyone (class "contract"). This carton is attached on the wall and serves as a reminder and a reference table. hide

by Dimitra, Brussels
Jigsaw Reading

by Tereza, Brazil

This is a jigsaw reading activity I often use with my students, in order to give them the opportunity to collaborate and to feel they are valued regardless their learning diferences. Actually this strategy aims at differentiating learning. Firstly we brainstorm ideas and discuss the topic to be studied, e.g. Ancient Greek Myths. Next, I assign each  student to  a “home group” that reflects a range of different reading abilities. In this group, each student will be assigned a reading passage that I had prepared according to their reading level. They also have a task to accomplish, e.g. create a presentation for the class to share their learning. Following this, I tell students that each of them is an expert in a specific topic that will help his/her group to complete their task. So, they will gather with other experts in the same topic who are in other groups and together, with the help of graphic organizers, they will summarize what  they understood from the text. After that, they will return to their “home group”, who depends on their part to complete the task, and they will share what they did in the “expert group”. So, by participating in this jigsaw reading activity, each student feels valued because to accomplish the task, the whole group depends on his/her piece of information.
I often use Forum theatre techniques in my regular classes, and my students (16-19 years old) love them. One possible option: a few students have to act out a scene in front of the class. The topic can be either suggested by me, or by them; the important thing is that it should be engaging, else, the whole activity will fail. So, let's say, they have to act out a fight between a teenager and his/her parents.The actors are free to use their imagination to make a lively show (my only task meanwhile is to make sure their language is decent) :) Those who are watching the scene are encouraged to stop the action when they think it is necessary, and to suggest a different action. It is also possible that the actors themselves want to stop the action, and ask for help. Thus, someone else from the class can step in and take over a role, or even introduce a new character. What are the advantages? - 1) students practice their communication skills in a foreign language (I teach English); 2) they become more confident in front of a familiar 'audience'; they learn while playing; such activities develop the 4Cs - collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creative thinking. hide

by Margarita Dobreva, Bulgaria

There are some useful games to learn to collaborate effectively.  I specially use kahoot (team mode) and a game called "hedge a bet", where the students are divided into groups and they are ‘offered’ a sum of points (or fake money), let’s say 100 €. The teacher has a list of questions related to the topic he/she would like to revise. Students have to bet a part of their money before knowing the question. If they are right the money adds up to what they already have. If they are wrong the amount of money will decrease with the money they bet.  Bets are done without knowing how much money the other team will bet. The picture below shows an example of the questions I ask.

Many times I divide the class in groups of four, and give them four maths-word-problems. Each member of the team assumes a different role:   1. Read the problem and collect data.   2. Give ideas to solve the problem.   3. Write and develop ideas previously given by a peer.   4. Write the solution of the problem in suitable words and including measure units if they are necessary.   Then, they change roles the next problem.   At the end of the task they are provided with a rubric to make an assessment of their peers in each role.
I think this activity deals with empathy, and also remind the students the different steps to solve a problem

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2.4 Finding collaboration partners outside the classroom

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2.4 Finding collaboration partners outside the classroom

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Actually, there quite many possibilities to find collaboration partners outsider the classroom for our school. First of all, there are 8 Waldorf schools in Estonia, 2 Waldorf schools in Latvia and many in Finland and they are all potential partners. Schools sometimes visit each other to perform concerts or plays, sometimes field trips are organised. We could definitely take one step further and think of a project together. There also is a social home in the neighborhood, our students visit it with concerts on Christmas and other festivals. As to attracting experts, we could involve parents. I think that a problem with outside experts is that very few people are willing to work without being paid and being a part of a project IS work.

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2.3 Effective Collaboration for PBL inside the Classroom

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2.3 Effective Collaboration for PBL inside the Classroom

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Summary of the video - how to teach students to collaborate and work together, because team work does not come naturally, we must teach it.

Teach the kids how to best work together.

Offer tools to help students manage their time and task.

Teaching the child how to use each other.

Teaching how to talk to one another.

Use tabletop directions to keep kids focused.

Facilitate learning by moving among the groups

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The Nature of Collaboration in my Classroom

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The Nature of Collaboration in my Classroom

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After completing the survey I must admit that according to those criteria I have utterly failed and no real collaboration is happening in my classrooms. That is definitely something I must think about and also discuss with my colleagues. Collaboration skills are important and students really need them. I want to find out how this fits into Waldorf school curriculum.

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From the questionnaire.
1. Shared responsibility for tasks.
2. Students are required to work in groups or pairs most of the lessons.
3.  Students have to make substantive decisions when working together (decisions that will impact the result of their joint work)
4. Students' work is interdependent of each other.

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I have chosen these logos because they have everything I associate with collaboration - participants are together, everyone is equal and at the same time everyone is different

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Teaching Critical Thinking through PBL - an article

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Teaching Critical Thinking through PBL - an article

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Our mission is to realize the power and promise of 21st century learning for every student-in early learning, in school, and beyond school-across the country and around the globe.

As the pioneers in this movement, champions of the 4Cs (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity), and creators of the Framework for 21st Century Learning, P21 is the premier organization ensuring every child-without exception-experiences 21st century learning.

Now Creating Even Greater Impact

And now, as a part of Battelle for Kids, P21 has even greater ability to make tangible and immediate impacts.

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As the pioneers in this movement, champions of the 4Cs (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity), and creators of the Framework for 21st Century Learning, P21 is the premier organization ensuring every child-without exception-experiences 21st century learning. And now, as a part of Battelle for Kids, P21 has even greater ability to make tangible and immediate impacts.

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The first challenge for me would be to come up with the idea of the project connected to the real world, especially with the younger students. Another issue I am worried about is how to organize the collaboration and be  sure students are really learning in groups and not bullying one of their groupmates.

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Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning

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I was not able to add my thoughts to the Tricider, so I will outline some ideas here.
First of all, I've got the impression from the videos I have seen so far that to use PBL in the classroom, you classroom must be fully equipped with the latest technology and this is very often not the case in our country.
Another problem is teachers' education. I got my diploma in 2005 (not so long ago) and we did not learn a lot about PBL, although we have studied about new paradigms and concentrated on integrative (cross-curricular) approach.
Lots depends on the paradigm of education. Do we prepare the students for life or do we prepare them for final exams? At the moment it seems to me that everyone is more concerned with the exam and here PBL does not really fit in.
The school system. We have a strict time-table. The lesson in traditional school is 45 minutes, then students must move to the next room and switch to another subject. Not very helpful, when you are in the depth of discussion or creating something.
Many projects are cross-curricular, the teacher may need help from colleagues or even out-of-school experts and that can be very difficult to organize and/or finance. (Noone wants to work for free, you know)

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Propositions Project: 21st Century Skills

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Learn more about Project Based Learning (PBL) at : http://bie.org/. Instructors at Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco discuss the different 21st Century skills required to complete the Propositions Project where students produce political ads regarding a California Proposition of their choice.

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1.3 - Reflections on my current teaching practice

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1.3 - Reflections on my current teaching practice

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This year I teach 3 grades at the Waldorf school. I teach the 2nd class (8-9 years old), the 4th class (10-11 years old) and the 5th class (11-12 years old).  I teach English as a foreign language.
Working at the Waldorf school means teaching according waldorf methodics, which means only oral work till the 3rd grade, lots of songs, poems and games and a teacher as a leader. However, in the middle school this has to change, because the 5th class students are not really enthusiastic when they have a teacher standing in front of the class and trying to teach them something. At the moment the 5th class is a real challenge for me. I clearly see that the approach where teacher is active most of the time - giving tasks, explaining, leading the work - does not work for this class. Most students get involved, when they have to work independently or in pairs, especially doing written tasks. I do not think that the current approach could be easily complemented with PBL approach, but I am sure I need to change my teaching style in this particular class. So I think I could experiment with class 5 and the subject is English as a foreign language.

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After reading the article and watching the videos, I got the impression that PBL can be used mostly in High School. As stated in the article " To answer a Driving Question and create high-quality work, students need to do much more than remember information. They need to use higher-order thinking skills and learn to work as a team. They must listen to others and make their own ideas clear when speaking, be able to read a variety of material, write or otherwise express themselves in various modes, and make effective presentations." As I work mostly with the primary school, my question is how we can apply PBL with younger students, who are not yet good at reading, writing and basic math.
Another issue for me is that currently I work at a waldorf school, which means a special curriculum, lots of whole class activities, use of art in most of the subjects and almost no technology till class 8 (at least it is so in our school).
I am sure that PBL approach really helps to prepare for the 21st century challenges and I am looking for the ways to apply it with the younger students.

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Hi, everyone!
My name is Eleonora Lesina. I work  at Tallinn Waldorf school. This year  I teach English in the 2nd, 4th and 5th grades.
First time I heard about project as a high school student and since then I was very interested what the project really is. I hope the get some clarity through this course.