Standard+8

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__**8 Teachers know how to test for student progress **__ The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the pupil.

Evidence 8: [|Categories of Industry Assessment Lesson Plan] [|Sample Categories of Industry Movie- "A Corny Story"]

Rationale 8: In 8th grade social studies students are instructed in the four categories of industry (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary) used to study economics. Students need to be able to apply this knowledge by categorizing jobs into the appropriate category of industry. The planned assessment calls for students to create a digital story that shows jobs for each category of industry and includes audio explaining the connection between the picture and the category.

The digital story assessment was developed because it allows for informal assessment on the road to a formal assessment. The process of creating a digital story involves the creation of storyboards as a rough draft before moving into a software program. I can use the storyboards to informally gauge the student’s understanding and application of the concepts. From there, I can conference with the student about what parts need further development and provide direction to what resources to use to gain more understanding before moving on to Photostory or Moviemaker. The final assessment of a digital story to demonstrate application of categories of industry allows students to show me verbally and visually the connections they can make between the content and their thinking.

My hopes with this assessment are that the use of technology will create better engagement in the assessment process by the students and that being able to apply our content to the real world will create more desire to produce quality work. These predicted student outcomes will help motivate me to further develop other assessments in my course. High quality assessments will allow for increased student achievement.

KSD 8.K.2 The teacher knows how to select, construct, and use assessment strategies and instruments appropriate to the learning outcomes being evaluated and to other diagnostic purposes.

The topic of categories of industry is not too complicated a concept, but in the past, students have struggled to demonstrate understanding using a critical thinking multiple-choice test. However, they can usually verbalize an understanding. I chose to have the students use digital storytelling in order to capitalize on their ability to verbally explain. However, I desire them to show me the ability to think critically about the content. So, the search for photos of real world jobs that fit into each category and then putting that together in a digital story demonstrates for me their ability to apply their knowledge.

8.S.1 The teacher appropriately uses a variety of formal and informal assessment techniques (e.g., observation, portfolios of student work, teacher-made tests, performance tasks, projects, students self-assessments, peer assessment, and standardized tests) to enhance her or his knowledge of learners, evaluate students’ progress and performances, and modify teaching and learning strategies.

I use the storyboards for the digital story as an informal assessment to make sure the student is on the right road to showing me their thinking. When the student and I discuss the assessment then, I can show the student what instructional resources to use to re-learn parts of the content or how to better show their point. So, they are being assessed on content and communication. The final digital story then allows the students to put together their knowledge and thinking into an assessment using a tool they are familiar with and enjoy using because of its level of engagement.

8.D.1 The teacher values ongoing assessment as essential to the instructional process and recognizes that many different assessment strategies, accurately and systematically used, are necessary for monitoring and promoting student learning.

Learning is a process, and so is assessment. By using the storyboards for informal assessment and the digital story for a final assessment, I am able to witness a full journey of a students thinking from idea to product. It is accepted practice that all students learn in different ways and so it should therefore be determined that students demonstrate their learning best in different ways. The digital storytelling assessment allows for multiple areas of strengths to come into play so that students can be successful. From planning, to drawing, to writing to internet searching all students can find a strategy in the assessment to build on to show understanding and thinking on the categories of industry.