Evaluate 1.1.3 The summative assessment

During my time teaching AP US History in Brick and Mortar several  years ago, my fellow teacher and I would co plan and create common assessments. Below is an example of an assessment we would have used:

Ch. 30 & 31 Quiz

DIRECTIONS: Write the answer to each question below in the space provided.  (100pts)

 

1. The factor that played a key role in the economic downturn of 1974 and 1975?

A. the oil crisis of 1973 -1974

B. the rapid doubling of national debt

C.  the Iran Hostage Crisis

D. Watergate

E. the Vietnam War

 

2. All of the following are examples of the economic problems of the United States in the early to mid 1970s except:

A. American steel dropped from 60 to 17% of the global annual production

B. the US standard of living dropped to 5^th in the world

C.  dependence on foreign oil grew to 1/3^rd of total annual consumption

D. silicon valley lost its production edge to Japan

E. failure of Ford’s anti-inflation policies

 

3. The MOST important factor in the 1976 presidential election was

A. how cute the presidential nominees were

B. the ongoing economic crisis

C. the public’s mistrust of the government

D.  the runaway growth of national debt

E. the government abuse of the environment

 

4. The three mile island incident led to

A. massive antinuclear protests

B. more stringent laws against chemical dumping

C. creation of the atomic energy commission

D.  the halting of the building of nuclear power plants

E. increased nuclear testing in the United States

 

5. President Carter’s greatest foreign policy achievement was

A. the Panama Canal Treaty

B. ending the Iran Hostage Crisis

C.  ending the oil crisis

D. the Camp David Accords

E. ending the Cold War

 

6. The one event that contributed the MOST to the defeat of Carter in the 1980 presidential election was

A. The Love Canal Incident

B. The Three Mile Island incident

C. The Iran Hostage Crisis

D. The Failure of the Camp David Accords

E. Carter’s support of the ERA

 

7. Supply side economics (Reaganomics) favored

A. increased government spending to stimulate the economy

B. the proliferation of the rich

C. high interest rates

D. moderate tax cuts

E. economic aid to the poor

 

8. During the Reagan years, all of the following suffered severe economic reductions EXCEPT

A. urban aid

B. education

C. health care

D. defense

E. environment

 

9. All of the following were supporters of the New Right Movement EXCEPT

A. Billy Graham

B. Phyllis Schlafly

C. Jerry Falwell

D. Jesse Helms

E. Henry Kissinger

10. The major drug problem in the 1980s

A. heroin

B. LSD

C. crack cocaine

D. marijuana

E. mushrooms

 

11. George H.W. Bush, supported all of the following EXCEPT

A.     The Americans with Disabilities Act

B.     Tripling the budget for the war on drugs

C.     The invasion of Panama to capture General Noriega

D.     The family leave bill

E.     The funding of new prisons

 

12. The United States’ response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was to

A.     Organize immediately an alliance to force Iraq out.

B.     declare war on Iraq in January 1991

C.     swiftly bomb the Iraqi’s out of Kuwait

D.     recognize Iraq as a Bulwark against Iran

E.     demonize Saddam Hussein in November justify an attack

 

13. The Persian Gulf War

A.     was fought almost exclusively by traditional means

B.     brought greater freedom to minorities in Iraq

C.     led to the capture of Saddam Hussein

D.     produced extensive ecological damage

E.     had surprisingly few civilian deaths

 

14. In the 1992 campaign, Clinton adopted all of the following positions EXCEPT

A.     be tough on crime

B.     reduce the bureaucracy

C.     privatize Social Security

D.     cut taxes for the middle class

E.     reforming welfare

 

15. All of the following are true of Silicon Valley EXCEPT

A.     its early firms began by relying on military contracts

B.     it had no real competition anywhere

C.     it benefited from having a cheap, non-union labor pool

D.     its growth exploded with the consumer electronics revolution

E.     it boosted the greatest concentration of new wealth in the US

 

16. The boom of the 1990s

A.     left a higher percentage of people in poverty than ever

B.     allowed women to earn much more compared to men

C.     did little to close the gap between the best and poorest paid

D.     promoted real improvement  in race relations

E.     closed the gap between the best and poorest paid citizens with the increase in minimum wage

 

17. Which event happened last?

A.     George W. Bush defeated Al Gore for president

B.     President Clinton is re-elected

C.     Republicans announce “Contract with America”

D.     Impeachment trial of President Clinton

E.     Terrorist attack New York City and the Pentagon

 

18. All of the following were elements of Reagan’s foreign policy EXCEPT

A. American intervention in the third world

B. funding national security programs

C. reduction of nuclear weapons

D. cold war patriotism

E. the Star Wars Program

 

19. The leader who initiated in reforms in the Soviet Union

A. Konstantin Cheropov

B. Mikhail Gorbachev

C. Yuri Andropov

D. Leonid Breschnev

E. Vladimir Putin

 

20. All of the following were involved in the Iran-Contra affair EXCEPT

A. John Poindexter

B. William Casey

C. Muamar Qaddafi

D. Ronald Reagan

E. Oliver North

 

The format of the test is identical to that of an AP exam. We used inspiration from past published exams to help students prepare for the ultimate goal of the course, passing the AP exam. As a team we met to discuss the different levels of questions and their authenticity for the AP exam format.
When creating an exam we need to establish the validity and of the exam. Validity is making sure the exam aligns to the standards. We need to make sure our exams are not swamped with level 1 and 2 questions, but a broad variety. Reliability is making sure that the test is fair no matter to which class it is issued to.

During my time as a virtual school teacher we did not create our assessments; this was up to the curriculum team. We did this because no matter which online teacher a student received they would be receiving the exact same course and same testing material. Many brick and mortar schools are going to this same approach. The standards are the same no matter the teacher, which means assessments should be equal among colleagues. Collaborating and teaming together allows for the standards to be assessed in similar fashions and ensure validity and reliability of the teaching.

Evaluate 1.1.2 Quality Feedback

The biggest advice I can give with feedback is to make it personal to students. Obviously there are tools to allow feedback to be entered rather quickly, but it's the one on one connection that creates a great online school.

Feedback should always include the following:
1. The student's name
2. What the student did right
3. What the student needs improvement on with specifics

Below is an example of feedback I might leave for a student on an assignment. The assignment requires students to conduct an interview or imaginary interview with someone in the naturalization process. They are to ask the questions provided as well as create 3 questions of their own. At the end of the assignment they are to answer two reflection questions over the naturalization process. Johnnie completed the first half of the assignment, but forgot the reflection.

Thank you for your submission Johnnie!  Your naturalization interview was amazing! You did a great job interviewing your friend on their experience with the naturalization process. Please remember to include your two paragraph reflection of the interview and process as well for full credit. Add this and resubmit for more points. Thanks! Mrs Lee

Evaluate 1.1.1 Formative Assessment

When developing a course the units and assignments should flow together. When a student opens up module 1 the first thing they should see is a pre test. Once completing the pre test they will dive into the readings, videos, and tutorials. As they work through the course different assignments will be embedded along the way. These will consist of activities such as essays, presentations, quizzes, and exams. Ultimately they are used as check points along the way to ensure mastery of the material before the student reaches the end of the module to take the module exam. Student's need check points along the way to ensure mastery. In an online setting the module exam and final exam should be password protected. As the student works through the lessons they are submitting their assessments and receiving feedback. Typically at the end of the unit the student will call the teacher where the material can be discussed and reviewed. At that point the teacher can assess the student's knowledge and either allow the student the password for the exam or give tutorials of what needs to be redone before accessing the exam.

An example of an assessment is below:

Media and Politics

Let’s put your knowledge to work! You have been studying how media evolved over time and how political messages function. Now help your local paper create a news article that will help everyone understand the function media has in politics.

Steps: 

1. Choose a campaign video or political cartoon of your choice.

2. Analyze the political message delivered by your chosen media item. Explain the background of your media choice and explain what bias the message reveals and how.

 3. In conclusion discuss how media has changed over time and how this has changed the political arena.

 

Create 4.1.3 Aggregating Lesson Material

1. Schoology is a user-friendly site. You can create and share academic content and uses the cloud-based system that so many people are using now. It is an LMS system and allows for online classroom development. It is a free source which is beneficial for many schools on tight budgets.

2. Drupal is another free source that allows for creation of courses, basic websites, discussion boards, and blogs. It has a wide variety of options beyond course creation.

3. Edmodo is another free format that looks similar to most social media formats. It is more of a sharing source where viewers can share and present information.

Create 4.1.2 Principles of Building Portable Learning

Interactive Timeline:

Using the link above students are able to create their own timeline with details and images. This is a great took to reinforce dates and sequences of events in history. It is free for all and an amazing tool for teachers and students. Also teachers can create timelines to save and share for students. They can also create timelines and turn them into interactive assignments by leaving out information for students to locate.

Quizlet is a fantastic tool to create flashcards and a variety of other options. It is free to create flashcards, but you must pay to access other options. It's a great tool for reinforcing vocabulary or key events in history lessons.
My flashcards: Password american

Create 4.1.3 Aggregating Lesson Material
Edmodo- This is a free way for students and teachers to come together and collaborate. Students prefer edmodo due to the fact it functions much like their other social media and they already have that skill set.

Blackboard-This allows you to create lessons, courses, and student centered activities. It also has their classroom feature for synchronous learning environments.

Moodle-It is similar to blackboard and free platform that allows you to build courses and lessons for students.

Create 3.1.3 Locating resources

The best way to accomplish this task is using the Creative Common Search Engine. It allows you to search your topic through a variety of ways.

I chose the American Revolution as my topic.
The image was located at http://openclipart.org/detail/168134/boston-tea-party-by-johnny_automatic

Using the Google source on the Creative Commons Search Engine I was able to find the following text using the US History website: http://www.ushistory.org/us/11a.asp
 "British Strengths and American Weaknesses
The British seemed unbeatable. During the previous 100 years, the British had enjoyed triumph after triumph over nations as powerful as France and Spain. At first glance, the odds were clearly against the Americans. A closer look provides insight into how the underdogs emerged victorious."

The multimedia I was able to find was through the YouTube search on Creative Commons:American Revolution Music

Create 3.1.2 Fare Use and Teach Act

Fair use must align to the following purposes:

1. The purpose and character of the use
2. The nature of the work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
4. The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

 A great example for this is a teacher can not photo copy an entire book to avoid buying a class set, but they are able to photo copy select paragraphs for student use. This effects our role as an educator because it is our responsibility to set an example for our students. Stealing is not acceptable.

The teach act follows the following guidelines:

1. The institution must be an accredited, non-profit educational institution.
2. The use must be part of mediated instructional activities.
3. The use must be limited to a specific number of students enrolled in a specific class.
4. The use must either be for ‘live’ or asynchronous class sessions.
5. The use must not include the transmission of textbook materials, materials “typically purchased or acquired by students,” or works developed specifically for online uses.

The teach act is much more specific for educators and the use of material. We want to make sure as educators we are delivering reliable content in an appropriate manner. We need to be aware of what we are sharing, its sources, and our rights to use it.

Create 3.1.1 Open resources and creative commons


We have a variety of sources available to us as educators. We have Open Educational Resources and Create Commons. OER are not licensed and have no regulations of use in the classroom. They are there for education purposes. Create Commons  are more structured resources with licensing. The user must reference the work and not use for commercial purposes.

Typically OER are much more usable in a classroom setting.

Create 2.1.3 Differentiation assessment

I have often used Blackboard as a key differentiation tool. It is also a great tool for legality reasons as well. Doing oral quizzes with students is typically on the phone. What do you do when you have a student who is severe autistic and has trouble verbalizing. Well for legality reasons I could have them join me in a blackboard session and record it. We can turn on video to we can verify it is the student typing. We can post questions and have students write responses versus verbalizing. I can record the session for legality reasons and store for reference.

From this lesson I really like the toondoo website. This is just like a ticket out the door in a typical classroom. This would make a great transition to make sure students are understanding the reading and larger picture before the formative assessments.

toondoo interactive comics

Create 2.1.2 Differentiation

Differentiation in a classroom requires teachers to put thought into the learning process. In a virtual setting this is a different ball field. I have two years of high school online teaching experience. During this time I have truly had to think about how material is presented and how can we help students reach mastery of the material. IEPs are great tool to begin with on how to differentiate for your students. Online format is great for many IEPs because extended time is already built in since it is during the students time!

I have often used Blackboard as a key differentiation tool. I  like to make HELP videos for students. Blackboard is a great tool to use to create videos for students to use as supplemental material. You can pull information from the texts that students read in the lesson module and create a review, more direct approach of presentation, or supplemental material. It allows you to transform the "book words" into a live presentation to the students. Using visuals you can present the material in a different format for a variety of learning styles.

Differentiation is not dumbing down the material. It is finding a variety of ways to present the material to a student. It is finding the best way for a student to master the material. Prezi's are also a fantastic way to create a self paced way for student to be presented the information in a different setting.

Create 2.1.1 Web Tools

Presentation: There are a variety of web 2.0 tools for presentations. We need to encourage students to venture away from the traditional Power Point, which is the go to replacement for the old poster board presentation.
Smore, Prezi, and Glogster are amazing tools to help students venture out of their comfort zones.

Sharing: When we think storing documents we think flash drive. We can branch out from this to group sharing sites and collaboration. Drop box is an amazing tool for sharing and sharing large amounts with others. Google Docs is also a fantastic way for student to store data.

Discussion: How do we bring people together for mass communication. Beyond a professional Facebook account, we need ways to have professional discussions. Twitter is great for short snip its. Edmodo is a great professional discussion website that is valued for teachers. Goggle hangout is also an upcoming sharing site.

Create: 1.1.2

Content Mapping:
A content map is the direction of the lesson. It's the road map you are creating to have students reach a certain point. Typically in a brick and mortar classroom teachers have control of this direction and speed to a certain extent. In most virtual settings I have seen the intuitions establish positions known as curriculum designers. They are creating the over all flow of the course and map and the teachers are there as the facilitators. We need to determine the key points that students need to travel through to gain mastery of the material and standards.


A simple concept map would look like the following: Courtesy of AP Government

Create 1.1.1

Time Management
List five time management tools in your blog and briefly describe their use and relevance to the online world. Does the tool relate to personal, professional, or a combination of both?

I could write a book on this subject. In my previous online teaching experience I had 24 hours to return phone calls and 48 hours to grade material. The best teachers who last the longest are the type A teachers that stay organized in their 8am-8pm on call time and now how to turn it off when the day is done. All of these tools relate to both personal and professional. As a virtual teacher at home those lives will overlap. It is key to maintain how much they are overlapping and how to still have work/life balance.

1. Google Voice-This is a necessity-I can answer texts to students either at my computer or on smart phone. I can instantly see who called and what their needs are without listening to numerous voicemails. It is key to staying on top of communication

2. Flash Appointments-Having this on your homepage allows students to make direct appointments that will immediately log into your outlook calendar. I am open for students calling whenever they need, but planning ahead for phone quizzes is a great time saver for both me and then so we are not playing phone tag.

3. Weekly schedule: I follow a weekly schedule every week. With my previous job every M, T, W, Th, F I was performing the same tasks. I knew when to be calling non working students, when to be grading, when to contact students for removal. I had a plan and I followed it.

4. Drop Box: easy way to maintain your files, rubrics, grading notes, etc

5. Outlook calendar: I keep all meetings, appointments, and everything tied into my calendar for key events.

Communicate 4.3.1

Reflect upon the importance of utilizing a synchronous session to “create a true classroom culture” online. How does integrating synchronous learning sessions within the online environment assist in developing a learning community for students? Discuss this question at length in your blog.


As a prior virtual teacher I understand the importance of synchronous sessions or live lessons as I call them. First we must entice students to attend these sessions. Yes we as teachers know that they will enhance their education experience, but as a student on a virtual setting they see it as a reason they aren't in the classroom to begin with. Do we require students to attend a certain number, do we offer extra credit for attendance? These are all guidelines that the virtual school would need to establish.

Once we have enticed the students attend how do we lay out our lessons. My lessons last no longer than 1 hour and preferably 45 minutes. I previously taught government online. It was a four chapter course. When the teachers offered live lessons we created a team calendar of a variety of topics. We had module starter options for each module, module reviews, primary source sessions, test taking skills, and final exam review. I always taught our chapter 3 starter and our final exam review session. Final exam review was pretty straight forward review game and answering questions for students. The starter lessons are more exciting. Students are attending to get help and overview of the chapter. We would go over briefly the lessons within the chapter and what they will see coming up. We then dove into 2-3 assignments that I considered "toughies". In this time we went over the material in an interactive approach and students left the lesson with their activities started, but had to complete on their own. I used Blackboard and students would be interactive during these times by writing on the whiteboard, chat box, or even taking over the microphone and asking questions.

Live lessons are key to a virtual school. How will we earn the respect of the education community if we are only robots and not interacting with our students? Live lessons is the true heart of a virtual school. It's where we connect with our students and take on the traditional "teaching" role again and not just a facilitator moving students through pre made material.

Communication 4.2.3

What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective?

How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?

How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?

Discussion forums should be included within the course to have students interacting with each other. I believe it should be on a limited bases within each module and not with each assignment. The function is to get students brainstorming, thinking, and interacting. It is a teaching tool when aligned appropriately to the content. It should be an extension of the content and lead to interactive discussions just as if we were in a classroom. They are effective when students are debating or bouncing ideas off each other for projects, etc. They can become ineffective when students are given direct questions. Often discussion postings need to be open ended to lead to more expansive discussions. When facilitating a form the teacher should also be in the discussion helping students dig deeper and question their responses. They are also there to monitor any misbehavior and abuse of the forum.

Communicate 4.2.2
Digital Images: www.photofunia.com
Audio Feedback: www.evernote.com
Animation Feedback: www.abcya.com


Students often get tired of reading teachers comments. So how do we keep them motivated or provide them the necessary information to help them achieve mastery status? We need to make it fun. We can do digital images, audio, or active animation to capture their attention and relay an important message to them.

The biggest job of the teacher is to provide adequate feedback to the student so they know how they are progressing and where they need to go. Whatever way we need to use to capture our students attention we should be willing to go. Keeping it fun often gets students more active in their learning rather than reading a paragraph of why they made a certain score.

Communicate 4.2.1

 

I used a lesson from a previous course I taught.

 

Standards: would need to align to Georgia. (lesson currently from previous State I taught in)

SS.912.C.2.12 Explain the changing roles of television, radio, press, and Internet in political communication.

SS.912.C.2.13 Analyze various forms of political communication and evaluate for bias, factual accuracy, omission, and emotional appeal.

LACC.910.WHST.4.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

 

Lesson:

Time to put your knowledge of the evolving role of the media in political messages to work! You’ve been asked by a popular news organization to create a web article for their official website that will help the public understand the role media plays in politics. Your product will first explain your analysis of a media item and then describe how the role of media in politics has changed over time.

Steps:

1. Choose a political cartoon or campaign video to analyze (list will be provided).  

2. Analyze the political message delivered in your chosen item. In two well-written paragraphs, explain the background of the image or video and explain what bias the message reveals and how. 

 

3.. Write a third well written paragraph that answers the following question, in your own words. How have the media changed over time, and how has this affected political communication?
 
Rubric:

Content:	35-40 points   The work contains all of the required elements:   media item background of political message analysis of message for bias explanation of changing role of media	29-34 points   The work contains most of the required elements:   media item background of political message analysis of  message for bias explanation of changing role of media	20-28 points   The work contains some of the required elements:   media item background of political message analysis of message for bias explanation of changing role of media	0-19 points   The work contains few of the required elements:   media item background of political message analysis of message for bias explanation of changing role of media
Quality	35-40 points   article contains completely accurate and thoughtful information about the message and its bias. The evaluation changing role is justified	29-34 points   contains mostly accurate and thoughtful information its bias. The evaluation changing role  are mostly justified.	20-28 points   contains somewhat accurate and thoughtful information about  its bias. The evaluationchanging role of the media are somewhat justified.	0-19 points    contains inadequately accurate   information about the its bias. The evaluation for changing role of the media are inadequately justified.
21st Century presentation skills	17-20 points   The work is well organized, easy to read	14-16 points   The work is mostly organized, easy to read .	10-13 points   The work is somewhat organized, easy to read	0-9 points   The work lacks organization, ease of reading

Communicate 4.1.2

Rubrics-Below is a rubric for a student project in a government course. One item I would like to bring up and hopefully discuss in the GAVS process down the road is curriculum design. I have never been a part of a virtual school where teachers are designing their own courses and rubrics. I understand the freedom in the traditional setting, but as we move to a more uniformed curriculum, specifically in an online setting should the courses consist of the same assignments and same rubrics. Should virtual teachers be creating their own rubrics? I have always seen a curriculum team designing the courses and rubrics to keep uniformity within the virtual setting.

Rubric for President Project

Rubric for a President Research Project                 Student Name(s)_____________________________Final Grade________

	President Project Summary (for Classmates)	Information Seeking/Selecting and Evaluating	Analysis	Synthesis	Documentation	Project Power Point Presentation
4	Student(s) composed a thoughtful, well written summary that reflects challenging or provocative research. The summary applies AP Government concepts to provide analysis for each focused, specific task area.	Student(s) gathered information from a variety of quality electronic and print sources, including appropriate licensed databases. Sources are relevant, balanced and include critical readings relating to the thesis or problem. Primary sources were included (if appropriate).	Student(s) carefully analyzed the information collected and drew appropriate and inventive conclusions supported by evidence. Voice of the student writer is evident.	Student(s) developed appropriate structure for communicating product, incorporating variety of quality sources. Information is logically and creatively organized with smooth transitions.	Student(s) documented all sources, including visuals, sounds, and animations. Sources are properly cited, both in-text/in-product and on Works-Cited/Works-Consulted pages/slides. Documentation is error-free.	Student(s) effectively and creatively used appropriate communication tools to convey their conclusions and demonstrated thorough, effective research techniques. Product displays creativity and originality.
3	Student(s) composed a clearly written summary handout reflecting significant research. The summary applies AP Government concepts to provide insights for many specific task areas.	Student(s) gathered information from a variety of relevant sources--print and electronic	Student (s) product shows good effort was made in analyzing the evidence collected	Student(s) logically organized the product and made good connections among ideas	Student(s) documented sources with some care, Sources are cited, both in-text/in-product and on Works-Cited/Works-Consulted pages/slides. Few errors noted.	Student(s) effectively communicated the results of research to the audience.
2	Student(s) composed a summary reflecting readily available research. The summary lacks application of AP Government concepts to provide analysis of many specific task areas.	Student(s) gathered information from a limited range of sources and displayed minimal effort in selecting quality resources	Student(s) conclusions could be supported by stronger evidence. Level of analysis could have been deeper.	Student(s) could have put greater effort into organizing the product	Student(s) need to use greater care in documenting sources. Documentation was poorly constructed or absent.	Student(s) need to work on communicating more effectively
1	Student(s) relied on teacher-generated directions.  Summary lacks adequate research on specific task areas or application of AP Government concepts to the summary content.  .	Student(s) gathered information that lacked relevance, quality, depth and balance.	Student(s) conclusions simply involved restating information. Conclusions were not supported by evidence.	Student(s) work is not logically or effectively structured.	Student(s) clearly plagiarized materials.	Student(s) showed little evidence of thoughtful research. Product does not effectively communicate research findings.