Section IV: Assessment Tools
1. Unit contains pre- and post-assessment and items are aligned with goals and objectives.
With the standards in mind, the main goal and objective of this unit is to provide students with the skills to work with clay in order to make two hand built projects while learning problem-solving skills and understanding the importance of planning. At the beginning of the unit the students are covered contains questions about clay techniques and vocabulary as well as three higher order questions. These three questions were as follows:
· Why is research important and where else would you use these skills outside of art?
· Why is reflection important in understanding and improving one’s creativity?
· Why is managing your time well important? How can you apply what time management skills you learn here with clay to other areas of your life?
At the end of the unit students were given the same questionnaire and then compared to their original answers to see improvements in knowledge and new knowledge gained. In section six you can see the data put into a chart and read a full analysis. Below is the questionnaire given to all students before the unit.
With the standards in mind, the main goal and objective of this unit is to provide students with the skills to work with clay in order to make two hand built projects while learning problem-solving skills and understanding the importance of planning. At the beginning of the unit the students are covered contains questions about clay techniques and vocabulary as well as three higher order questions. These three questions were as follows:
· Why is research important and where else would you use these skills outside of art?
· Why is reflection important in understanding and improving one’s creativity?
· Why is managing your time well important? How can you apply what time management skills you learn here with clay to other areas of your life?
At the end of the unit students were given the same questionnaire and then compared to their original answers to see improvements in knowledge and new knowledge gained. In section six you can see the data put into a chart and read a full analysis. Below is the questionnaire given to all students before the unit.
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2. Pre and post assessment items are either identical or parallel.
Both the pre and post assessment “Show Me What You Know” questionnaires are identical. They may have slightly different formant, but all questions asked are exactly the same.
3. A variety of assessment tools are utilized (e.g. traditional, authentic, self-assessment, summative, formative, transformative, and peer assessment).
The pre and post assessments in this unit took a more traditional or written form in the shape of a quiz or questionnaire. However, throughout the unit there are one on one check ins during studio work time to assess if students are on track or following the correct methods, self-reflection/self-assessment, discussions, and even a class critique after one of the projects. The critique is done to give each student peer assessments/feedback and help them reflect on their clay journey thus far to improve their next project.
4. The expectations of alignment, clarity, and developmental appropriateness of all assessments are explained graphically and/or in essay form.
The chart below demonstrates where every objective and assessment used in the hand building unit aligns with the Content Standards, Literacy and Numeracy Standards, and Democracy & 21st Century Skills. Both the objectives and standards that I use not only align with the standards but also with each other in a way that allows more cross over from each concept in order to create more connections in the students brains to allow for the maximum retention. For example, in the fifth lesson the students get the chance to explore through inquiry about hard slab construction. The lesson is assessed through self-evaluation of their work and completion of their project on time. This assessment combined with the completion of the project crosses the content, literacy/numeracy, and democracy standards. This also allows for differentiation within this unit while still covering the same materials so that all students have equal access.
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