Unit Assessment

Learning may be assessed in several ways:

Team Portfolios
Throughout the unit, teams keep a portfolio of their work, enabling the educator and participants to assess their learning. At the conclusion of the unit, teams select from their portfolios four or five works that illustrate their accomplishments and learning, and that show the breadth and depth of their understanding. These completed portfolios may be displayed at the final celebration in Activity 13: Community Celebration .

KWLR chart
Throughout the unit, the group uses a KWLR chart to record participant questions and the new concepts they learn throughout the unit. The chart has four sections in which participants record:

  • K - What We Know
  • W - What We Wonder
  • L - What We Have Learned
  • R - What Resources We Have

This chart also provides a vehicle for participants to revisit the unit’s guiding question with deeper and deeper understanding as they progress through the unit activities.

Rubrics
A rubric is a scoring guide that articulates the expected outcomes of learning activities. It differentiates different levels of student performance and can help guide student achievement.

You may use the following Team Work Rubric and the Process Skills Rubric to assess participant work at the end of the unit or at checkpoints along the way. We have also included rubrics within two of the activities - Activity 7: Watershed Web Search and Activity 9: Salmon and Steelhead Life Stories Web Search . If you want to create your own rubric, you might try RubiStar, an online tool for writing rubrics. (http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php)

Team Work Rubric

  Excellent Adequate Unsatisfactory

Leadership

  • Team member produced many new ideas.
  • Team member initiated organization of tasks.
  • Team member offered focus and direction for project.
  • Team member produced some new ideas.
  • Team member participated in organization of tasks.
  • Team member was passive.
  • Team member produced few new ideas.
  • Team member tended to do only what others told him or her to do.

Support

  • Team member helped other team members when asked.
  • Team member listened to others’ ideas.
  • Team member checked with others and offered help if needed.
  • Team member helped other team members when asked.
  • Team member listened to others’ ideas.
  • Team member did not help others.
  • Team member criticized project or other group members.

Work Habits

  • Team member was always prepared to work, met deadlines for tasks, and worked hard.
  • Team member was willing to make up for work others didn’t do and to spend extra time to complete the project.
  • Team member was prepared to work, met deadlines for tasks, and usually worked hard.
  • Team member did not complete tasks, or otherwise hindered progress.

Adapted from “Peer Collaboration and Teamwork” Rubric Example, in Project Based Learning Handbook: A Guide to Standards-Focused Project Based Learning for Middle and High School Teachers. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education, 2003.

Process Skills Rubric

  Excellent Adequate Unsatisfactory

Applying

  • Participant actively sought ways to apply concepts or skills to new situations or problems.
  • Participant gave several examples for applying a new concept or skill.
  • Participant demonstrated ability to apply concepts or skills to new situations or problems.
  • Participant did not demonstrate ability to apply concepts or skills to new situations or problem

Analyzing

  • Participant demonstrated a clear understanding of the concepts or skills.
  • Participant identified relationships between concepts or ideas.
  • Participant used his or her analysis to teach the concepts or ideas being studied.
  • Participant demonstrated a clear understanding of the concepts or skills.
  • Participant identified relationships between concepts or ideas.
  • Participant did not demonstrate an understanding of the concepts or skills.
  • Participant did not demonstrate ability to identify relationships between concepts or ideas.

Synthesizing

  • Participant combined more than one idea, image, or object to form a cohesive whole.
  • Participant’s synthesis was unique.
  • Participant combined more than one idea, image, or object to form a cohesive whole.
  • Participant did not demonstrate ability to combine more than one idea, image, or object to form a cohesive whole.

Adapted from “Critical Thinking” Rubric Example, in Project Based Learning Handbook: A Guide to Standards-Focused Project Based Learning for Middle and High School Teachers. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education, 2003.