When was the last time you did something for the first time?

This week I had two of those exciting moments when I got to create my very first Assessment Rubric and when I got to learn about WebQuests!

      I am pretty sure that almost every teacher has used check lists, at least mentally. On the other hand, the use of other alternative assessment like Rubrics is quite new to me. Considering that I crave knowledge, new means motivating in my dictionary.

After reading about Holistic Rubrics, which score student’ performance as a whole, and analytical Rubrics, where scales are divided into separate categories representing different dimensions of performance, I find them as very useful tools in order to evaluate in a more subjective way. Nonetheless, since I had never used them I imagined them difficult to create. Little I knew about rubistar.com. This website made my job so easy that I intent to use rubrics in the future. Other kind of rubrics is Primary Trait Rubrics. They allow teachers and students to focus on one aspect of language performance. This is why the author considers them as a relatively quick and easy way to score writing or speaking. The last alternative assessment tool is Multitrait Rubrics. They allow to rate performance on three or four dimensions and several aspects are scored individually.

      Susan Gaer’s "Less Teaching and More Learning" got my complete attention from the very beginning. I especially enjoyed the Folktales project. Project Based Instruction works because it appeals to students’ feelings. To my mind, learners will be motivated if we plan projects that are meaningful for them. Gare’s examples of PBL were very carefully planned and, as she points out, there are three crucial elements to design successful PBLs: the project must be geared to the population, the students must see value in a project and flexible timelines are necessary.

       Another first for me: WebQuests. It turns out that they are inquiry-oriented activities that use resources on the World Wide Web. As mentioned at zuna.com, these web based projects help students to develop critical thinking skills and they often include a cooperative learning component. As I read different WebQuests at questsgarden.com, I became more familiar with this interesting concept, I might as well go ahead and create one just for the fun of it…and it wouldn't hurt to get the extra points, don't you think?

Sources:

 http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/assessing/alternative.htm

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=385.html

http://zunal.com/zunal-help/help-about-whatiswebquest.php

http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=385.html

http://questgarden.com/

Thanks for reading!