Assessments Used

 
 
 
KWL
We first introduced students to the KWL chart, which consists of a column for what they KNOW, what they WANT to know, and what they LEARNED.  Students, then independently used them after the problem-solving lesson, the a lesson using the graphic organizer to web their science chapter, and a powerpoint that they created for explaining a section of the chapter. This assessment clearly helped students see what they had learned and helped the teachers see instruction from their eyes.  We talked with them about their KWLs. Many said that they had done them as a whole class, but they had never individually done one. Five students said they found it extremely difficult to do the KWL by themselves. Eighteen felt good about filling in the KWL. Six students really liked it and wanted to do more often.  An interesting comment on what I learned was a student said, "I now can answer all of my questions from the W column."  That is a powerful reflection for that student to realize.  We sometimes go from one content idea to another without understanding how much we have learned.

 
 
 
Teacher Created Tests
I created student tests to be taken indivdually periodically throughout the project to measure student understanding, which was a goal to improve comprehension, attitude toward reading during the lessons, and higher order thinking.They were done with paper and pencil. The purpose was to give students feedback about their progress and direct teacher instruction. An example of a test follows:

Please write three complete sentences with the proper punctuation for each of the three questions:

1. Using the directions above write about three scienc facts that you learned from this lesson.
2.  Did you enjoy reading during this lesson. Why or why not?
3. Select any fact from the lesson that you think is important to compare and evaluate it.

The first set that we handed back were not very good; however, each set has improved greatly. Students needed to understand what was expected in this type of assessment. They are not accustomed to writing about their experiences. The teacher really liked this, because he said students stated things that he would never have interpreted from an end of the chapter assessment.  The assessments indicate that they are retaining facts from the reading with the technology incorporated and can organize and evaluate their learning. 

 
 
 
PMI
An assessment tool to measure attitudes and information that students acquired in a PMI, which has students in one column tell something positive that they learned from the reading, in the middle column the students tell something minus about what they learned, and the last column is the I for something interesting that they learned. An example is below:
 
Positive

Sedementary rocks form at the bottom of a river.

 
Minus

Igneous rock doesn't contain fossils because it is formed from hot liquid rock. It would melt fossils.
Interesting
Earth's crust is divided into large sections called plates. These plates move around on top of the mantle. This is called plate tectonics.
This assessment makes students process information, but it also clearly follows the science goals or whatever else content goals that you want to address.  This particular one was 12.E.3a Analyze and explain large-scale dynamic forces, event and processes that affect the Earth's land, water, and atmospheric systems. We discussed this with the students as we did the PMIs. Parents were able during conferences to see what his/her/their student(s) had covered. It is a powerful way to keep everyone informed. The assessment further confirmed that the technology was truly helping improve reading mastery.