Topic: Daily Participation/ Effort

Grade Level Category: 7-12

Strategy: Observation

Objective Being Assessed and/or Purposes for the Assessment:

1. Assess student participation
2. Assess student effort
3. Assess student cooperation
4. Assess student overall behavior

Materials Required:
Class Record Book

Description of the Activity:

• Bi-weekly observance of students in the classroom.
• Student performance is crucial to the success of student learning and to the effectiveness of your classroom.
• There are basically three types of structure in many classrooms which student participation can be observed. The three structures are:
  1. Teacher in Center (announcements of homework, explanation of procedures, lecture/note taking)
  2. Teacher on Side (class discussion of material, review of homework)
  3. Teacher Nearby (cooperative learning activities, working on homework)

Scoring Rubric:
Teacher in Center- Student follows along and takes notes
Teacher on Side- Student participates and listens attentively
Teacher Nearby- Student shows leadership and works well with others

2.0 Excellent Job in both areas
1.5 Lacking in one area
1.0 Lacking in both areas
0.5 Poor job in one area
0.0 Poor job in both areas

*This rubric is based upon assessing the students in either the Center, Side, or Nearby classroom structure; one can adjust if the class period involves more than one structure, just look at all areas being observed.

Extension:

1. Students may also assess one another after cooperative learning activities
2. You can decide to use this assessment as part of the student "grades" or just for your own personal evaluation of the class.
3. If the school in which you teach has block scheduling, it works well to assess the students every block day. Even if you aren't in a block schedule, you can still assess all students; you may want to observe half of the students each day.

Management Tip:
You may want to make a journal of specific comments regarding inappropriate student behavior. This gives you back-up regarding low scores.

References of Sources:
I suggest you may want to refer to other journal resources such as:

Carter, John A. and Dorothy E. Carter, The Write Equation- Writing in the Mathematics Classroom; Dale Seymour Publications, 1994.

McIntosh, Margaret E. and Roni Jo Draper, Write Starts; Dale Seymour Publications, 1997.



Return to the ASPECT Homepage.