Dobson Kevin Capstone

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Promoting Student Voice through Formative Assessment to

Create Greater Inclusion in a Project Based Learning Environment
Kevin Dobson
University of San Diego
Dobson, 1
Dobson, 2
Table of Contents
Abstract... 5
Introduction. 6
Classroom Context & School Culture..... 7
Needs Assessment... 8
Research Question 11
Sub Questions... 11
Literature Review.. 12
What is Formative Assessment?... 12
How to use Formative Assessment in a Meaningful Way 14
The Impact of Teacher Behavior in Promoting an All-Inclusive Learning Environment 16
Final Takeaways from the Review of Literature.. 17
Phase One Action & Assessment Plan.. 19
Phase One: Methodology.. 19
Establish Rules.. 19
Promote Group Work 19
Phase One: Assessment Plan 21
Phase One: Timeline. 22
Phase One: Implementation.. 22
Establishment of Classroom Rules... 22
Warmup Activities 23
Sketchnote Group Projects.... 26
Phase One: Data Results... 31
Phase One: Reflection... 36
Dobson, 3
My Learning for Phase Two. 37

Phase Two: Questions... 37
Phase Two Action & Assessment. 38
Phase Two: Methodology..... 38
Promoting Collaboration... 38
Breaking down Classroom Barriers.. 38
City X Project... 39
Projects Relevance to 21st Century Skills 39
Phase Two: Assessment Plan 40
Phase Two: Timeline.... 41
Phase Two: Implementation. 41
Introducing City X.... 42
Designing a Prototype for City X Citizens... 43
Escape Room Collaboration. 49
Finalizing City X... 54
Phase Two: Data Results.. 58
City X Project Analysis 61
Escape Room Analysis. 62
Unit Summative Assessment Analysis......................... 62
End of Unit Survey Results.. 63
Phase Two: Conclusion & Next Steps.. 66
Summary of Key Findings from Phase Two. 66
Phase Three Plan... 67
Conclusion.... 69
Limitations 70
Dobson, 4
Reflection.. 70
References. 74
Dobson, 5
Abstract
In such a diverse classroom as my own I felt that it was essential to search for ways to create a
more inclusive learning environment. A key step in this process was recognizing that student
voice is one of the most powerful tools to move a class forward. Creating avenues for students to
safely express their ideas and feelings without the threat of losing points off their grades was a
fundamental goal of mine throughout this work.
I initially began my action research project by having students create their own goals and
classroom rules. As the action research project moved on, I sought to identify ways in which
formative assessment can be employed to enhance greater learning outcomes. This required
flexibility and a real willingness to listen to students. In addition, there came the realization that
students must be given explicitly clear directions and held accountable for upholding the
established rules and for achieving their goals. I also sought ways to incorporate and engage
students through technology and collaboration with a consistent emphasis placed on student
learning. Through scaffolded learning experiences and student reflections the class demonstrated
tangible growth both on the individual and group level.
Dobson, 6
Introduction
For the past four years I have taught high school social science. This year, I have been hired at a
new school much closer to my house and one that has received numerous accolades as one of the
top charters in the state of California. The school emphasizes cross curricular collaboration and
places a real focus on technology. The site also emphasizes project based learning which is
incorporated in some form into all classes. The school's mission and purpose stems from its five
pillars which include: building leadership, global
thinking, cultural diversity, technical savy, and
critical thinking. These pillars are engrained
throughout the campus in the curriculum, through
student learning outcomes, and through
professional development. The technical savy pillar has caused the campus to invest heavily in
technology. As a result, I have been able to expand my curriculum while utilizing a more modern
pedagogical approach. The technology available includes the electronic devices and cellphones
that students frequently bring with them to class. Almost 92% of my seventh grade students as
demonstrated by the survey results above have their own personal computers and or cell phones.
In addition, to these devices, we also have daily
access to a Chrome Cart and can utilize iPads upon
request. Our site also has a media center where
students can work with iMacs. In addition, 7th and
8th grade has access to our own 3D printer. Virtually all students in my seventh grade classes
have access to technology at home which has allowed me to utilize Schoology to a greater degree
than past years. This resource is used for homework and other class assignments throughout the
Dobson, 7
year. It is also where students and parent can access grades and upcoming assignments. While
my class curriculum is not a fully blended learning environment I do frequently look for
opportunities to engage students through Schoology as there is virtually endless opportunities to
engage students within this system. These include class discussions and digital reflections to
name a few.
Classroom Context & School Culture

The Natomas Unified School District (was) named the second most diverse school district in the
nation in a 2009 New York Times study, is located just minutes north of downtown Sacramento
and the State Capitol in Californias Central Valley (Natomas Unified School District 2016).
While some time has passed since this notoriety, the district continues to be among the most
diverse in the country. Although, I work at a charter school within the district, my student
population remains representative of the district as a whole. Currently, I teach 87 seventh
graders. Of these 87, 32 speak a second language. I also have two students who were born in a
country outside of the United States. My class has a range of ethnicities present which includes:
Punjabi, Hmong, Filipino, Latino, Ukrainian, African American, Chinese, and Caucasian. Many
of the students have traveled abroad and are bilingual. As a result of teaching world civilizations,
a big focus on my end is creating a community of learners where diversity is celebrated and
students are encouraged to share their experiences with the hope of connecting the students
personal experiences with the classroom curriculum.
While I have utilized PBL in my classroom in years past I have not made it as much of a focal
point in my course as I am now doing this year. Nelson (2010) acts as a great starting point for
Dobson, 8
successfully conducting project based learning in the classroom by providing a list of six
common traits that should be present within the classroom. Many of my colleagues have
expanded on his work and even implemented some aspects of student self-evaluation in their
own classrooms. One teacher has even attempted to go gradeless where students reflect on
their work and have a discussion with the teacher where they reach a consensus on what their
grade should be. While I am not quite ready to commit to such dramatic changes in my own
classroom I do recognize the impact self-evaluation can have on student learning. This view is
supported by the work of Spector et al. who notes the significant impact self-evaluations can
have on student learning (2016). I also hope that through this process I can shape my own
classroom practices so that students truly recognize that they have a meaningful voice in shaping
the direction of the class. Finally, I feel that I am in an ideal setting to implement such a project.
While this is something that I have never attempted before; my current site not only allows but
encourages teachers to take risks in their classrooms. On top of all this I am working with
several colleagues to investigate alternative assessment methods. I hope that this project may
shed a new perspective for these conversations which ultimately should lead to greater student
learning outcomes on our campus.
Needs Assessment
The school model welcomes an approach where students are able to be engaged digitally. This is
based not only on my students access to technology but also the school pillar which has
Dobson, 9
channeled a large amount of funds to purchasing a wide range of digital tools. The collaboration
amongst staff members at the site is simply remarkable. This has led to unbelievable learning
opportunities that span across content areas and even into other areas of the school such as the
campus media center and library. As a result of this strong school culture, student achievement
has been exceptional. This is demonstrated by the fact
that our school routinely outperforms all other sites in
our district and surrounding area on state
performance indicators. Unfortunately, some students
do not seem to fully comprehend or value the
diversity that exists at our site. This was evident in some of the reflections that students provided
following our first project where students created their own museum exhibits based on their
culture and identity. While the reflections were moving students described how the project made
them view each other in ways they had not previously considered (See Figures 1.1- 1.3). With
this in mind I hope to expand on this progress as the
year moves on and as this project develops.
With all of the group work, collaboration, and

student achievement I was a bit shocked when I
looked over my initial survey results. Almost 30%
of my students noted that they did not feel
comfortable asking questions in class. In addition,
24% noted that they did not feel important in the
classroom. Lastly, and probably the most shocking
to me was that only 58% felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. This to me clearly
Dobson, 10
demonstrated the need for greater opportunities for the students to have a voice especially in a
classroom that emphasizes culture and connectedness as a major theme during the year.
Being new to the site and teaching 7th grade social studies I am in a unique perspective to not
only participate in the current school culture but also expand on the existing work. Based on
conversations with my administration they have identified cultural awareness and community
engagement as an area that could receive more attention. As a result they have noted that this
project could prove valuable in promoting students world views. Again, my hope is to
encourage students to recognize the existing diversity in the class as strength. Moreover, the
pillars, cultural awareness and global thinking, leaves the door wide open for a project focused
on promoting student voice.
The research question that I will be focusing on for my capstone seminar is how can I utilize
formative assessment in a PBL classroom to promote student learning and reflection? As a result
of my sites emphasis on technology, I would love to look at the existing opportunities for this
formative assessment to take place through a digital medium. With this in mind I have placed
less emphasis on summative assessments and more on formative assessment this school year.
This change has taken place based on the realization that with PBL, a majority of the learning
takes place during the actual creation phase of the project. I am curious how I can promote
student voice and individual reflection in my classroom to promote a more inclusive learning
environment. Ultimately, my hope is that this will encourage students to think less about an
actual grade and more about the actual learning process. As many of us know, a great deal of
learning actually takes place by making mistakes. By deemphasizing a letter grade and
promoting the learning process student learning will hopefully improve.
Dobson, 11
Figure 1.1. Museum Project Reflection
Research Question
How can I utilize formative assessment in a PBL classroom to promote student learning and
reflection?
Sub Questions:
How can formative assessment create a more inclusive learning environment?
How can I incorporate technology into formative assessment?
Dobson, 12
Literature Review
The work for this project will be situated in the socio-cultural framework advocated by Lev
Vygotsky (1962) in which learning environments act as a zone of proximal development where
student growth can ultimately take place. This statement is made all while considering the
Constructivism Theoretical Framework where learners construct information based on prior
knowledge or experiences. DA (2016) investigated the effects of the theoretical framework in a
group learning environment. Therefore, this project will expand on the work completed by DA
by investigating students own individual understanding of self and how that, ultimately can lead
to student voice and engagement in a PBL classroom. A tremendous emphasis during this project
will be placed on the impact of formative assessment in this process. As Alkharusi, Aldhafri,
Anabhani, and Alkalbani (2014) note, assessment alone will not improve student self-efficacy.
Therefore, this review will delve into other contributing factors that shape student self-efficacy in
relation to promoting student voice. The literature review begins with an overview of formative
assessment and its implications in a project based learning environment. From there I discuss
how formative assessment can be employed in a meaningful way. I conclude the literature by
looking at other teacher behaviors that play a pivotal role in creating an inclusive learning
environment where all students can succeed.
What is Formative Assessment?

Bennett (2011) describes formative assessment as an opportunity to assess learning. Formative
assessment can be present in a wide range of forms. Ruiz-Primo (2011) note that formative
assessment can be presented in the following ways, (a) oral evidence (e.g., students questions
and responses, listening to what they say in small groups, having conversations with students),
Dobson, 13
(b) written evidence (e.g., notes in science notebooks), (c) graphic evidence (e.g., drawing,
graphs, drawing concept maps), (d) practical evidence (e.g., observation of students conducting
an experiment and measure the mass of an object), and (e) non-verbal evidence (e.g., body
language, body orientation) (p. 15). Ruiz- Primo also argues that the ability to implement
formative assessment in the classroom is one of the strongest indicators of effective teaching.
Moreover, Popham (2011) states that, When this process is well implemented in the classroom
it can essentially double the speed of student learning (p. 35). As a classroom educator we must
take a long hard look at our implementation of formative assessment if we are serious about
improving student learning outcomes.
This type of assessment is usually performed during the learning process rather than at the end.
The focus of the assessment can, vary from conceptual understanding (e.g., does the student
understand relative density?) to practical (e.g., can the student measure the mass of an object
using a triple-beam balance?) to social (e.g., are all students participating in the conversation?)
(Ruiz-Primo, 2011, p. 15). Therefore, formative assessment is employed during the build up to
more cumulative or summative assessment models. In any classroom, formative assessment
plays a vital role. However, even greater emphasis is placed upon it in a project based learning
environment where the learning usually takes places throughout the actual project
implementation rather than at the end of the unit. Nelson lists six common traits of successful
PBL environments. These include: 1. Student-centered; 2. Ill-structured contextualized problems;
3. A multi-disciplinary focus; 4. Stressing self-regulation and collaboration; 5. Reflection and
evaluation; and 6. Closing analyses. Throughout the project based learning process teachers can
implement formative assessment to check for student comprehension of key concepts. Moreover,
Dobson, 14
teachers can troubleshoot problem areas and provided the needed scaffolding for students to
succeed. During a closing analysis or concluding reflection teachers can employ formative
assessment to promote student voice. McCarthy (2015) notes several opportunities to promote
student voice which include coaching students to ask meaningful questions, morning meetings,
journaling, surveys, and establishing protocols for feedback and reflection (Establishing a
Culture of Student Voice, 2015). Again, a key component of formative assessment is to present
students with consistent and meaningful feedback that ultimately leads them to higher order
thinking which in turn improves learning. In a project based learning classroom this means that
consistent teacher feedback should ultimately lead students to be able to judge the quality of their
own work and be able to monitor themselves throughout the production phase of the project
(Ruiz-Primo). It is also essential that this assessment model is flexible; in that it is driven not just
by teacher questions, but also student interactions (Bellack, Kliebard, Hyman, & Smith, 1966).
How to use Formative Assessment in a Meaningful Way

Formative assessment should not be limited to interaction between educators and their students.
Both self-assessment and peer assessment can be meaningful forms of formative feedback
(Spector et al., 2016, p. 59). With this in mind Ateh and Wyngowski (2015) argue that the new
Common Core State Standards offer a variety of opportunities to enhance formative assessment
in the social studies classroom. Specifically, when analyzing primary and secondary sources
teachers can employ formative assessment checks to act as a type of benchmark before students
progress to higher order thinking skills that are built into the standards. In this way, formative
assessment provides scaffolded feedback for the students as they gradually move toward
proficiency of the standards. Students who work in groups can collaborate as they seek
Dobson, 15
comprehension of complex texts. Moreover, peer and self-evaluations can be meaningful

opportunities for students to grow as a community of learners. Sadler argues for the importance
of rubrics in this process. Sadler stresses that they can also help students judge and comment on
their learning, which helps them understand the goal of the rubrics in relation to the established
criteria (as cited in Mendez & Tirado, 2016, p. 190). When employed in this way students begin
to see rubrics as a useful tool not just for their final grade but also as a tool to monitor their
progress within the unit of work. Brookhart (2013) continues by describing the crucial role
rubrics can play in creating a welcoming classroom. They should promote creativity and learning
rather than rigid lists or checklists to be followed by students that ultimately reward those that
follow directions the best. Giving students choice and flexibility within a lesson can allow for
individual expression and greater student learning outcomes (Brookhart, 2013). Only through
formative assessment can we as educators identify student needs.
Before such a transformation can take place teachers must develop an assessment environment in
the classroom. In such an environment, students should be provided, ongoing and clear
feedback about their learning progress and about areas in which they can improve in order to
enhance their self-efficacy beliefs in regard to their ability to accomplish the assessment tasks
(Alkharusi et al., p. 850). Differentiating the mediums in which this feedback is presented is also
beneficial to student learning outcomes as it ultimately reinforces and strengthens the intended
behaviors. In my own classroom, Schoology provides one such platform with the individual
comments section when students submit assignments digitally.
Dobson, 16
The Impact of Teacher Behavior in Promoting an All-Inclusive Learning Environment

Classroom assessments can play a pivotal role in shaping students perceptions of assessment
tasks which tends to influence their perceptions of their own ability to perform the tasks
(McMillan & Workman, 1998). Students perceptions of assessment tasks are determined in
part by the teachers assessment practices in the classroom, which, in turn, activate students
beliefs about their self-efficacy in the performance of the tasks (Brookhart, 1997; McMillan &
Workman, 1998; as stated in Alkharusi et al., p. 839). With this being said, we must seek ways to
create assessment models that are non-threatening and encourage students to reach the intended
learning targets. Unfortunately, teachers verbal remarks or written feedback during the learning
process can, when employed incorrectly, retard the learning process.
Alkharusi, Aldhafri, Anabhani, and Alkalbani, (2014) argue that grades should ultimately be
determined by a wide variety of academic achievement data including formative assessment. In
addition, rather than judgmental feedback about their academic performance students should be
given continuous and informative assessment feedback which clearly outlines students strengths
and weaknesses. Moreover, teachers should grade academic work, not effort or neatness.
Ultimately, effort and neatness can be praised. Through such a setting student self-efficacy and
motivation will be improved. Another essential concept to consider during formative assessment
is the language choices we make as educators. Our words as Ford-Connors, Robertson, and
Paratore (2015) note can serve to effectively broaden (or narrow) equality and inequality of
students educational opportunities (p. 51). Breaking down the barriers that sometimes exist
between teachers and students can also be useful in promoting equality in the classroom.
Edutopia provides a useful example of an in class survey meant to promote student voice that is
Dobson, 17
regularly employed at Trinidad Garza Early College High School (Student Surveys, 2016). In
this instance the teacher consistently incorporates student voice into the final unit reflections. He
then uses the feedback he receives through this formative assessment to guide his lesson plans
for the next unit. Through this work student recognize that they play a meaningful role in
shaping the direction of the class.
Final Takeaways from the Review of Literature

In summary, a large portion of this project will be to create an environment within my own
classroom that allows my students the medium to have a voice in the classroom. Before this can
be accomplished students must feel welcomed and see themselves as important contributors to
the overall direction of the class. By increasing student self-efficacy student engagement and buy
in will likely follow. While the research is rich with the benefits of formative assessment the
particular implementation of such a strategy would be depended on the needs of the specific
classroom. Moreover, I will focus on the application of technology when implementing
formative assessment in my own classroom. This has not been a major focus of research outside
of several articles which looked at larger software devices for online learning. My schools
emphasis on technology makes it an ideal learning environment for such a project.
To begin I wanted to build off of the work that I conducted in our first unit of the year. The first
unit was to not only establish the theme for the year which centers on culture and connectedness
but it was meant to provide students an opportunity to appreciate the diverse backgrounds
present in the class. In addition, it gave the students an opportunity to reflect on their past
experiences as they sought to identify what makes them who they are. This was accomplished
through the personal museum exhibits described in the introduction. This also set the stage for
Dobson, 18
the group work that would take place throughout the year as we jumped head first into project
based learning. My hope was that with this solid foundation established we could refer back to
these projects to encourage greater collaboration. Also, through the project my hope was that
barriers would be broken down within the classroom as students shared their personal stories
which would ultimately lead to greater opportunities for student voice. Building off of the work
of DA I sought to strengthen this connection by displaying several of the projects from each
class around the room. In addition, I noted some key points brought up during the student
reflections to model the type of environment we hope to create in the classroom. I also thanked
the class as a whole for being so honest during the projects.
Dobson, 19
Phase One Action & Assessment Plan

Phase One: Methodology
Establish Rules
To begin our next unit I decided to have the students establish some rules to govern behavior
both in the classroom and when working digitally in groups. To create these rules I plan on
having each of the nine groups contribute three to five rules that they felt are important to them
when working in groups whether it is digitally or in the classroom. From this list I plan to delete
any repetition and then eventually group them into larger categories. Ultimately, I would have
the students create a poster for each category which would then be posted prominently in the
room and could then be referenced as we moved through group work. My hope is that by having
students create the rules they will have a greater sense of responsibility and ownership within the
classroom. This assignment would also be a perfect example of what Alkharusi (2014) described
as nonthreatening assessment.
Promote Group Work

With the first group project I am hoping to see how the students will work in groups and I am
curious to see how the first unit on culture and connectedness would translate into positive peer
interactions. While this may sound like wishful thinking for a seventh grade classroom my hope
is that some of the structural frameworks present in the classroom will ultimately lead to greater
acceptance. Moreover, I plan on focusing on my own interaction and communication with
students and how this affects the overall outcome of the group projects. As recommended by
Alkharusi et al. I will need to provide students with continuous and informative assessment
feedback which clearly outlines their strengths and weaknesses. Through formative assessment,
Dobson, 20
specifically impromptu check-ins, I plan on implementing appropriate scaffolding so that the

students can successfully create a digital sketchnote. Building on the work of Alkharusi et al. I
will also incorporate student reflections into the overall grade for the project. The technological
focus of this first project goes hand and hand with our school wide learning goals. Moreover,
students will be given an entire class period to explore a variety of apps so that they ultimately
will have choice in the application they use. I plan on using formative assessment as a means to
share out group findings to the class as a whole.
Upon completion students will be asked to reflect on the project and identify what worked well
as well as noting some areas for improvement within their group. This idea builds off of Spector
et al. who described the importance of both self-assessment and peer assessment in the learning
process. Through this reflection I plan to adjust and make changes for the next unit project. My
hope is that we can build off of the first individual projects then through formative assessment
and student reflections create a more inclusive learning environment where students not only feel
welcomed but also encouraged to share and participate within the class
Simultaneously, along with the sketchnote group project I would like to continue to expand on
the warm up writing activities that we conduct in the classroom. One area where I see some
overlap that will lend itself to promoting student voice is through modeling responses and
actively participating in the writing with students. In addition, getting students to share their
responses and then providing positive affirmation through group praise of the work completed by
these individuals can also create a more welcoming classroom environment. Ultimately, students
will reflect on their work through a self-grading rubric. This combined with the sketchnote
Dobson, 21
project should provide ample opportunities to increase student voice. Again, through formative
assessment methods I plan on adapting and adjusting in order to provide the scaffolding
necessary for students to succeed.
Phase One: Assessment Plan

The effectiveness of the formative assessment will be assessed in a variety of ways. First off,
student work samples in the form of classroom rules and the final sketchnotes will be analyzed
for their effectiveness. In addition, the classroom rules that will be created will allow us to
establish classroom norms and provide students a legitimate say in the direction of the class. The
effectiveness of the students to complete the sketchnote projects will provide some indication of
the success or failure of the interventions put into place.
I will also rely on classroom observations to determine the success or failure of the group work
and the adherence to the created classroom rules. These classroom observations will stem from
the formative assessment that takes places throughout the unit. This will also determine the need
for scaffolding and further instruction in order to achieve the intended learning outcomes.
A rubric will also be utilized to assess the final group projects but the real measure of success
may come from the final student reflections. These student reflections can also be analyzed to
identify the success of the overall formative assessment and the effectiveness of the group work.
For me personally, this final reflection stands out as being an opportunity to provide insight into
the students perceptions of the current class and of the effectiveness of their group work.
Dobson, 22
Phase One: Timeline
Bi-weekly warmup activities beginning the week of September 12th

o Individual warmup reflections Due: September 29th
Begin Sketchnote group projects September 21st

o Students explore various apps during class period and identify limitations of
various apps
o Students begin tangible group work on September 23rd as they take notes and
begin planning of actual sketchnote
Sketchnote projects Due: September 28th
Individual sketchnote reflections Due: September 30th
Phase One: Implementation

Establishment of Classroom Rules
My classroom is set up in a way that is conducive to collaboration and group learning. As
discussed in the introduction, a major emphasis of my site is project based learning. Students are
seated at tables of three to four students. Each table also has flexible seating options where the
students are able to choose whatever seat they like at their own table. Each table usually rotates
seats each week. Therefore, the culture and design of the class really hinges on the ability to
collaborate and problem solve with their peers.
Following the first project, students almost unanimously noted a new found respect and
understanding for each other. To begin phase one, I found it important to first establish some
ground rules to govern our class moving forward with the hope of continuing the mutual respect
Dobson, 23
created through the first project. In order to promote student voice, I decided that these rules
should come from the students themselves. In so doing, I the thinking was that students would be
more invested in the rules since they had a direct role in creating them. To establish the overall
class rules I had each table group compile a list of rules that they felt were important when
collaborating and working online. I offered minimal instruction and really let the students
brainstorm their own ideas. I then went around the room for each class and had each of the
groups state what they felt was their most important rule. This list was compiled into a Google
Document. From there, I deleted any repetition that existed between classes. Next, I grouped the
rules by common themes. The themes that emerged were as follows: respecting others,
assignment rules, personal reminders, and classroom rules. I then printed the Google Document
and had students work in groups during our morning production period to create posters. These
posters were then hung prominently on the wall and would govern our class as we moved
through the rest of the year.
Figure 3.1. Classroom Rules
Warmup Activities
For warmup activities, or bell ringers as I call them in my classroom, my goal is to reinforce
concepts covered during the day before or in the previous nights homework. In some cases they
Dobson, 24
are used to provide students the opportunity to engage the students with the days material
usually through a small written prompt. The bell ringers in of themselves act as a type of
formative assessment where I can informally gauge student comprehension. For these writing
activities each class has their own drawer where their composition notebooks are stored.
Moreover, I usually time the students work which generally ranges between four and eight
minutes depending on the prompt. These are conducted usually once or twice a week depending
on the unit and the topics being covered.
In years past, I have graded these randomly throughout the semester for a participation grade.
Students were graded on the clarity and detail of their responses rather than if the information
was necessarily correct. Again, the rationale behind this was that, these are meant to help
determine where student comprehension stands rather than punish the students for information
they may not be clear on. I also circulate the room as students work on their responses to assist
students and receive formative assessment. After the timer alerts students that the time is up, I
will usually utilize cold-calling to hear student responses in hopes of gauging the class overall
comprehension of the specific topic.
During the first several bell ringers of the unit students completed the activities and they
continued to be beneficial in determining student comprehension. The bell ringers included
questions on their prior knowledge of Rome and their interpretation of a primary source
document. However, I recognized that students were not necessarily as engaged in these warmup
activities as I would have liked. In response to this, I decided to attend a professional
development hosted by Area 3 Writing Project which works in collaboration with UC Davis. The
Dobson, 25
specific seminar I attended was titled Think, Ink, Share! Connecting and Collecting Ideas for
Polished Writing. From the seminar I learned several new strategies that centered on
incorporating creative writing pieces into students bell ringers and the importance of
incorporating student reflection into the final grading process. I also learned several strategies to
help improve student stamina with writing. For the final bell ringer I used a creative writing
prompt which would also set the stage for the next project. The prompt was, You have just
crash landed on a foreign planet Students were then required to write non-stop for five
minutes completing the story.
Following this bell ringer, students were given the final reflection sheets where they graded and
reflected on the work they completed with the bell ringers during the month. I graded the
students solely on their reflections and added comments to encourage the work students had done
which supports the feedback recommendations provided by Alkharusi et al. (2014).
Overwhelmingly, students noted that their favorite bell ringer, and the one they were most proud
of was, the final creative writing piece. This was also confirmed by the observations I made on
the day of the bell ringer where students literally did not want to stop writing. In addition,
students were eager to share and in fact, some were disappointed that I only selected three
students to share their responses. I also modeled the writing process for students and shared my
response by reading aloud just as the students did in an effort to break down some of the barriers
described by Ford-Connors, Robertson & Paratore (2016). In addition, to build on the overall
classroom theme of inclusion, the class gave positive affirmation to all students that shared by
clapping three times at the end of their stories. This positive affirmation was meant to help create
Dobson, 26
the type of learning environment described by Spector et al. (2016) where all students feel
welcomed and willing to participate.
Sketchnote Group Projects

Prior to beginning the sketchnote project I discovered a list of possible iPad apps that could be
utilized for the project. These included Adobe Draw, Paper53, Educreations, and Google
Drawings. On day one of our project, during our block period, I introduced the concept of a
sketchnote and showed clips from Ovenell-Carters A Sketchnote Primer (2014). The video
demonstrated some key concepts which were built into the grading rubric. The five main
elements of a sketchnote, which included text, boxes that hold text, lines and arrows, doodles,
and flow to the page, were written on the board and reinforced through the video example. I
emphasized that a majority of the grade would come from the students creativity and the ability
to teach the class about their specific area of focus. Lastly, to obtain information for the project
students primary point of reference was their textbook. This acted as a starting point for their
research although there was a component built into the rubric that required students to explore
other resources as well. Following the sketchnote video and explanation of the rubric I allowed
the students to have 45 minutes where they simply explored the various apps. Following the 45
minutes students collaborated with their groups and discussed the positives and negatives of each
app they had explored. From this collaboration the groups were forced to select one app to utilize
going forward.
The next class period was spent coming up with research and revisiting the five main elements of
a sketchnote. The groups were pretty much left to work on their own as I circulated the room. I
Dobson, 27
assisted with technical issues and pointed groups towards relevant information as was needed.
What stood out from my class observations on this day was that several students became quite
proficient with their specific apps. As students discovered new features they shared their findings
with me which then gave me an opportunity to focus the class and describe the specific finding.
With each class period my own proficiency grew with the apps which enabled me to further
assist other students. This process of growth for me was something that I emphasized with the
class as we went through the process of learning together.
Through the day, I recognized that some groups immediately developed a plan and assigned
specific roles to each individual in the group. On the other hand some groups remained more
disjointed and still seemed to be in the exploring stage of learning as they doodled on the various
apps. For these groups I continued to check in and pressed for more information on their
projects. With this being said I was hesitant to really intervene in a meaningful way that could
disrupt the overall group progress at such an early stage. I did have to pull one group member
aside and have a talk with her after she became increasing frustrated with another member of her
group and yelled out shut up. During this conversation she was obviously frustrated due to
what she perceived was a lack of cooperation from her group members. At the end of the day I
was also able to speak with the other group members and get their input on the situation. Overall,
I left feeling like some progress had been made within this group.
The next class period was on Monday. After considering the progress made during the last class
and the limited amount of time left in the project I felt that it was important to address several of
the issues that presented itself during the last class. I started off each class reminding the students
Dobson, 28
of the end goal of the project. I also outlined on the board a course of action that seemed to work
for several of the groups during the previous day and noted that this was just a suggestion based
on what seemed to work thus far. Prior to the start of the one specific class where the students
had the argument I pulled the group members aside and stressed the importance of working
together and putting aside their differences. Unfortunately, one of their group members was
absent which left the main two individuals who had gotten into the argument with even greater
work and responsibility than before. I also encouraged the class as a whole to find each others
strengths and to work through differences. To do this I brought up the work completed by the
students during our first project. I emphasized the need really lean on the differences that exist
within the groups. Overall, the day went pretty smoothly. There were two groups that struggled a
bit getting started but after some assistance they were able to get moving in the right direction.
At the end of this class the only group I was concerned about was the one that I had spoken with
prior to the start of the period. While they actually worked really well together and seemed to be
able to put aside their differences the absent group member had their digital file so they were
forced to start from scratch. With one class period left they would really have to continue
working together in order to complete the assignment.
On the last class day of the sketchnote project I started off class by recognizing some positive
group behaviors that I had witnessed the day before. This included groups that had divided tasks
based on the strengths of the various group members and those that had been able to persevere
through some technology related challenges. On this final day I spent most of the time rotating
around the room and asking groups to explain their designs. I also offered suggestions for those
that I wanted a bit more detail on their sketchnotes. As groups finished their actual design I
Dobson, 29
encouraged groups to practice their presentations for the following day. The group that faced the
most challenges with their project. The good news was that all three of them continued to work
together to create their sketchnote. Based on my observations it was the best work that they had
done during the entire course of the project. Nonetheless, at the end of the class their project
remained unfinished and they would have to collaborate outside of school in order to complete
their work on time.
On the final day of the project during the presentations I was blown away by the end products of
the groups. Unfortunately, the one group that faced the early troubles turned out to be the only
group that did not turn their project in on time out of all the classes. As for the rest of the class,
their projects hit the nail on the head in terms of creativity and their ability to relay the
information to the class as a whole. The overall comprehension of the topic was reinforced
through the presentations where students were able to describe their topics to the class and
explain their sketchnote representations.
As for the group that faced the most challenges they ultimately did complete the sketchnote and
their presentation a couple days later. Based on their experiences I looked forward to their post
reflections which I hoped would provide them an opportunity to debrief and talk through some of
the challenges they faced. Despite, the end product being late I was quite impressed by the
improvement that I witnessed with this group. Through their difficulties I was also impressed
with their ability to open up and articulate their challenges with me in person.
Dobson, 30
Following the presentations I provided the class, time to begin working on their final reflections
which were presented digitally through Schoology. Students who did not finish in class were
required to complete the reflections at home for homework.
Activity
Timeline
# of Students per class Learning Outcomes
Bell Ringer
1-2 times per week for Approx. 30
Engage students in
5-8 minutes.
upcoming topics,
assess and determine
prior knowledge, and
comprehension
Sketchnote
9/21-9/30
Approx. 30
Introduce students to
Two 125 min block
group work and the
periods and three 45
concept of
min periods
sketchnoting using
iPads. Students will
explore general topics
on the Roman empire
by delving into their
textbooks and other
digital resources
Table 3.1. Summary of Phase One Implementation
Dobson, 31
Phase One: Data Results

I have chosen to analyze the data using a qualitative methodology due to the fact that I am
investigating opinions and attitudes towards the classroom. As Ferrance (2000) notes, nonquantifiable data such as this is best measured by noting important elements or themes.
After analyzing the bell ringers to determine if there was any preference between males and
females in the class it became evident that an overwhelming majority of the class regardless of
gender enjoyed the creative writing piece. 32 of the 41 males in the class and 30 of the 43
females in the class noted that the creative writing bell ringer was their favorite. Bell ringer # 3
received the second most likes as it was tied to a review game that we played in class.
Bell Ringer #
# of Males
# of Females
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
32
30
Table 3.2. Bell Ringer Data

The reflection questions for the class revolved around the work they completed in their groups
and was intended to push them forward for future group projects. In addition, it was meant to
give the students the opportunity to reflect on their experiences while informing me of areas for
improvement as we moved into our next project. The questions were as follows:
1. What worked well for your group?
Dobson, 32
2. Did everybody participate equally?

3. Are you happy with the end result?
4. What did not work well within your group?
5. What can you do differently next time?
From the responses several trends began to emerge. First students noted improvement within
their groups as the project went on. Students also noted strategies that they would like to
implement in the future that reinforced some of the ideas I expressed on the second and third
days of the project. These strategies would also be a great starting point to bring up to the whole
class as we move on to other projects.
Groups Demonstrated Improvement
At the beginning of our project nobody wanted to work together and people were goofing
around until we all worked together and it turned out very good
The thing that didnt work well within our group was coming up with what we are going to
draw. But after we got past that part it went well. When we work in groups again we would
divide and conquer more because we got stuck at parts for too long
Something that worked well for our group was that we were really cooperative. We worked
together really well, and split up the parts so that everyone had the same amount of work.
Some things my group and I did well were brainstorming ideas, communicating, focusing on
the project, and all playing a roll. Instead of dictating each other, we let our ideas be heard within
our table team.
Well at the beginning of the project, not everyone was on task, but towards the end we
improved.
Table 3.3. Reflection Samples Group Growth
Dobson, 33
Areas to Improve
I can plan it out next time of what part people should do and create a team leader.
I would really try to include the people in my group and communicate with each other. I would
really ask my group members what they think.
Something I would do different would be not waiting to the last minute to do it. I would also
change how we did the jobs because you dont need to have two people doing the same job.
If I were to do this over again I would be more open minded to ideas. I think I wanted it done
my way and the way I wanted it done. I will try to be more open minded.
We did not really participate equally. Something that we could do differently next time is make
a plan, make jobs for like drawing, researching, and more.
Table 3.4. Reflection Samples Areas to Improve
These findings tended to align with the formative assessment feedback I received from the
groups during the project. For this first group project I wanted to stay as far removed from the
group dynamics as possible so that students could work through their differences. While I did
intervene with the one specific group discussed above, all groups were able to complete high
quality projects. Moreover, the scoring rubrics supported these findings which demonstrated that
most groups were able to work through their differences with the project. The class average was
a 93% even with the outlier group that had a 50% reduction in their grade due to it being late.
Figure 3.2. Sketchnote Grade Statistics
Figure 3.3. Sketchnote Example
Dobson, 34
Dobson, 35
Dobson, 36
Phase One: Reflection

While I want to continuously encourage leadership within groups it may be useful to provide
more structure in regards to assigning specific jobs to the group members. Another option could
be creating jobs and then allowing the groups to select from the list as they work on their
projects. With this being said, taking such an approach may not allow the students to work
through some of the challenges they faced with this first group project. I feel that incorporating
more creative writing pieces into the bell ringers and then sharing student work is also a valuable
opportunity to grow as a class. Moreover, the establishment of classroom rules and norms was a
success but, revisiting them throughout the unit could also help move the class forward.
Through both the individual reflections and informal discussions with students they noted that
they enjoyed the project especially drawing and exploring with new apps. This was telling for me
as it revealed that students seem to have a preference for projects that require creativity
especially when it involves using new technology. Continuing to find ways to incorporate these
concepts into my class will be important to keep students engaged moving forward.
I feel that phase one certainly addressed how formative assessment in a PBL classroom can
promote student learning and reflection. The bell ringer reflection sheet and the reflection
questions at the end of the unit, proved to be valuable opportunities for students to deconstruct
their experiences and set new goals for future projects. Establishing the classroom rules and
norms also proved to be a valuable opportunity in creating a more inclusive learning
environment. With that being said I need to consistently reinforce and emphasize these to
encourage student growth.
Dobson, 37
My Learning for Phase Two

For phase two I would love to build off of the work completed during phase one and continue to
promote student voice through personal reflections. While the reflections worked well I still feel
that students need more opportunities to shape the direction of the class as a whole. Keeping in
alignment the with my sub questions I would like to illicit such reflections through a digital
medium. In addition, I would like to provide a bit more scaffolding during group work to assist
some of the groups that were a bit slow starting off. While I considered assigning specific roles
to students within the groups I feel that this is not yet an area of need as I would like to see
continued growth and leadership within the pre-established groups. By assigning roles I feel that
this may stifle the overall growth that I am hoping to facilitate.
Phase Two: Questions

How can formative assessment create a more inclusive learning environment?
How can I incorporate technology into formative assessment?
Dobson, 38
Phase Two Action & Assessment

Phase Two: Methodology
Promoting Collaboration
Building on the work completed in phase one, I want to continue to promote student voice
through an end of unit reflection. In addition, I want to continue to develop the group work that
has already taken place. The group project for this phase of the unit will be more detailed and
labor intensive. As a result, I will need to consistently monitor the progress of groups and the
comprehension of content as they work to complete the project. At the heart of this next project
is problem solving through collaboration. This will be tied to extensive research on the fall of the
Roman Empire. Scattered through this project will be smaller collaborative opportunities
including a two day escape room activity that will take place both in my classroom and in the
campus media center. Ultimately, students will be provided a summative assessment to measure
their overall comprehension of the content material.
Breaking down Classroom Barriers

Using the methods demonstrated in Student Surveys (2016) and by McCarthy (2015) I
recognize that I can still do more to promote student voice in a meaningful way. As discussed
previously, the ability to break down the barriers that sometimes exist between teachers and
students can be useful in promoting equality in the classroom. To achieve such a lofty goal time
is needed to consistently reinforce established norms and to provide students opportunities to not
only be engaged but also comfortable participating. Allowing students to reflect on their first unit
and having them have a voice in the type of classroom activities we participate in in the future
can help create this type of environment. Building off of the examples provided in the Edutopia
Dobson, 39
article and to create the inclusive learning environment discussed in the literature review I will
create an in class survey meant to promote student voice (2016).
City X Project
This will be the last project for our unit on the fall of Rome. It will also be the largest and most
involved group project thus far this year. The project has been adapted from cityxproject.com but
I have included a variety of other elements to make it more compatible with our existing
classroom unit. The theme of the project is Too Big to Fail. Students will be required to work
extensively with Google Drive and Tinkercad using both iPads and Chromebooks. Ultimately,
students will need to create a Weebly website to present their group projects. Following the
creation of their Weebly site the group will present their site to the class as a whole.
Projects Relevance to 21st Century Skills

This project allows students numerous opportunities to engage in 21st century skills as outlined
by Abbott (2014) including critical thinking, problem solving, research skills, oral and written
communication, collaboration, and global awareness among others. I will use this phase to
continue to assess my students with a wide range of formative assessments as outlined by RuizPrimo (2011). This will include listening to individual and groups of students and by having both
formal and informal conversations with students.
To further emphasize student voice I will look to employ a variety of platforms where students
can reflect on their own individual contributions as well as their overall group performance. In
Dobson, 40
addition, I hope to further emphasize the norms established during phase one and further expand
on them by providing students an opportunity to shape future activities.
Phase Two: Assessment Plan

The effectiveness of phase two will be assessed in a variety of ways. Again, classroom
observations will be utilized to determine the needed interventions and the success of group
work. These observations will help to determine the effectiveness of the formative assessment
employed. At the end of the unit a small summative assessment will also take place which also
will determine the effectiveness of the earlier formative assessments.
Student work samples in the form of their Weebly websites will also be used to determine the
success of the large group projects. The students will be graded from a rubric that has a selfassessment component. In addition, the students will be participating in an escape room activity
that will be a collaborative activity with our campus media center. Their ability to succeed with
the activity will not be graded but it will be a testament to their growth within their groups. This
too will be observed as a form of assessment.
Following the project students will have the opportunity to reflect on the work they completed.
These assessments will provide me with the opportunity to identify trends and see the
effectiveness of the group work. In addition to the self-reflections a survey will be administered
which will serve two purposes. First again it will provide students an opportunity to reflect on
their experiences and secondly it will provide them with an opportunity to offer suggestions for
future units.
Dobson, 41
Phase Two: Timeline
City X Project will begin September 29th

o City X Project concludes October 21st
Media center collaboration October 17-18th
Project debrief and personal reflections October 24-25th
Summative assessment October 26th
Phase Two: Implementation

For phase two students would begin another project based learning experience that would be
comprised of three main components. First, students would need to discuss the advances and
contributions Rome made to a specific topic. Then, students would need to identify the causes of
Romes fall and relate them to current events in America. Then, during the final stage students
would have to use critical thinking skills to develop a plan of action to prevent the same things
that happened to Rome from happening to an imaginative city in space known as City X. In
addition, using the City X website students would have to create an invention using Tinkercad to
solve two specific problems that citizens of City X are facing. I introduced the project through
the lens that the students are Earths top historians and innovators and are therefore being called
upon for this tremendously important project.
My hope with the project is that students would not only be able to develop an understanding of
the required curriculum but also apply their knowledge to a make believe scenario thus
demonstrating both creative thinking and understanding of the content material. In addition, to
further emphasize student comprehension and their creative thinking skills students would come
Dobson, 42
together to solve numerous tasks built into a two day escape room challenge that would be a
collaboration between myself and the campus media center.
To begin phase two I used the bell ringer described at the end of phase one to get the students to
creatively think about what it would be like to start a new civilization in space. This
corresponded nicely with all the media coverage over the presidents recent remarks about
landing on Mars by the year 2030.
Introducing City X
Following the bell ringer warm up activity students were introduced to the project. I have
included the initial slide below. My hope was to engage students in the project by taking an
outside the box approach. Based on the feedback from phase one I recognize the need to
encourage students to be creative through technology. The four areas that students would need to
address in their final presentations were as follows: 1. Discuss the contributions Romans made to
your particular area of focus. 2. Determine the cause of Romes fall and relate it to the current
state of affairs in the United States. 3. Develop a plan of action so that City X does not commit
the same mistakes. 4. Help the citizens of City X with their problems by designing a prototype
that they can implement. Understanding that this was a lot to throw at the students on day one I
emphasized that we would be addressing each of these tasks individually and then ultimately
presenting them all through a Weebly website. I also did not hand the students their rubric yet
since I did not want them to jump ahead and begin working on all four areas at once.
Dobson, 43
I chose Weebly as the medium to present their final projects so that students would be given the
opportunity to practice working with the program since it is the same site they must use for their
final eighth grade portfolio projects next year. In addition, this would be a great opportunity to
build their understanding of Weebly before their trimester book projects which also would be
presented on the platform. At the end of the first day, I explained that City X has a 3D printer
available to them. We concluded class by watching a short video on the power of 3D printing
and how it is being utilized around the world in a variety of fields ranging from engineering to
the medical profession. We do have two 3D printers on our campus however, I did not
necessarily plan on utilizing it for the project; instead, this was more of an opportunity for the
students to begin to familiarize themselves with the technology.
Designing a Prototype for City X Citizens

The next class period students worked with whiteboards to design a prototype for the citizens of
City X. I started class by commenting on the work they completed with their last project. I
emphasized the need to work together and discussed how this was a much larger and more
involved project. I explained that although we would have a good deal of class time to complete
the project they would still need to utilize their time wisely to get done in time. In addition, I
discussed that the groups who moved through the sketchnotes successfully almost all made a
plan where each group member had a responsibility. To encourage group work during this first
day I shared the City X brainstorming guidelines that were presented online. These included the
following rules: Dont judge, go for quantity, build on the ideas of other, and encourage wild
ideas. During this period I circulated the room and helped answer questions students had. As the
class progressed some groups were moving ahead much easier than others. From my
Dobson, 44
observations I decided that it was important to bring everyone together at the end of the period to
discuss what was working and what was not. After receiving input from various groups I
emphasized the importance of first identifying the problem that the citizen were having and then,
creating a list with as many possible ideas that they could think of.
During the next class students began to investigate Tinkercad while others continued to
brainstorm a solution for their citizens problems. I again emphasized what I had said the Friday
before that groups should make a list of all the possible solutions before moving ahead with a
single design. Again, I circulated the room and helped students with Tinkercad related questions.
In addition, there were some groups who were still struggling with their solution. For these
groups I helped them write out some idea and encouraged everyone to share at least one idea.
Then with the groups input they eliminated options that were already invented or that they saw as
not necessarily solving the issue. By the end of our second full day of the project it seemed like
most groups had developed a viable solution to at least one of their problems.
Figure 4.1. Students using Tinkercad
Figure 4.2. Student Tinkercad Example
Dobson, 45
Dobson, 46
Based on the progress that was made I decided to focus day four on gathering research for the
project. To start class we again revisited the initial slide describing the project requirements. In
addition, I handed students a hard copy of the rubric. I hoped that this class period would be used
to determine Romes contribution to their particular area of focus. Before we started the research
I shared with the students EARS notes. EARS notes provide students the opportunity to analyze
documents while also requiring them to keep track of the sources they are incorporating into
their project. In addition, it was a major area of focus on the rubric since I wanted to encourage
research skills during this project. I reiterated what was stated in the rubric and emphasized to
the groups that all factual information used in their project needed to be included in their EARS
notes. This handout, also utilized in their language arts class, was another opportunity for
students to practice working with a medium that will be used extensively in their other classes.
During this class students were working with iPads as well which meant that they would be
unable to access Tinkercad. This again was an attempt to keep students focused on this one
particular task rather than working ahead or jumping around with the other tasks.
At the start of our next class I again revisited the rubric and the project requirements. This was
our first block period and the last major opportunity to work on the project before our October
break. I emphasized this point to students and emphasized the need to get a significant amount of
their project completed. I also made clear that aside from the next day we would not have many
more opportunities to work on the project since the week we returned from break would be spent
primarily focused on the escape room activity. During this class I encouraged students to
continue their EARS notes as they moved on to the other requirements of the project. While
students worked in their groups I again circulated around the room and answered questions as
Dobson, 47
needed. One particular group was still working on their solution for the citizens of City X. For
this group I immediately had everyone stop what they were working on and had the group come
together and focus on completing this one specific task. After about 10-15 minutes of working
with the group they had a solid list of ideas. I then assigned them roles based on what they said
they wanted to focus on for the remaining time in the class. While I do not necessarily like
getting that involved during group work I was able to assess where they were at compared to
other groups and witnessed that everyone was not on the same page. Due to the information I
received through the formative assessment in the form of student observations and discussions I
felt that it was imperative for me to take a more active role in redirecting the group. About 15
minutes after my one on one interaction, I again observed the group and realized that not all
members were staying on task. As a result, I again redirected the group and emphasized the lack
of remaining time left for the project. With these observations in mind I would have to pay extra
attention to this group to ensure that they completed their project by the due date.
On the final day before break I started class by reiterating the schedule going forward. I also
wrote out on the board a plan of action when looking to determine the causes of Romes fall. I
focused this discussion on the fact that they could not compare Rome to America until they had
first determined what the causes of Romes fall was. In addition, I noted that this needed to be
identified before students could develop a plan of action for City X. I also emphasized the fact
that all factual information presented by their group needed to be in their EARS notes. During
this class students worked surprisingly well given the fact that it was the day before our break.
Most groups remained on task despite a few students who had to be redirected. I continued to
check in with groups and answer any questions the students had. Towards the middle of the class
Dobson, 48
I shared with the class a webpage from History.com that numerous groups were using to identify
the causes of Romes fall. This was meant to help some of the groups that were struggling to
move forward. With about five minutes left in class I got everyones attention and thanked the
class for all of their hard work during the week. I again went over the timeline for the project and
added that there was no homework over break. With that being said I encouraged groups who
felt that they were behind to do a bit of work over the break.
Following our four day break we returned to class on a block period day. This allowed us to
refocus on the project and ensure that all groups were on the right path. During this class period I
started off by going over the project requirements. I also wrote out on the white board a plan of
action when identifying the cause of Romes fall. I again emphasized that groups use the
History.com resource that I had suggested before break. Lastly, I noted that students would only
have one more block period to work on the project before the due date. As a result, I encouraged
the groups to work diligently. During the class period I circulated the room and periodically
stopped the group work to share resources that students had discovered while working on the
project. This included a way to add editors to their Weebly page and a way to embed their
Tinkercad designs onto their Weebly pages. With about ten minutes left in class I again got
everybodys attention and expressed the lack of remaining time on the project. I encouraged
groups to spend some time working on the projects if they felt that they were not going to finish
during the final block period the following week.
Dobson, 49
Escape Room Collaboration

While the escape room activity was slated to being the following Monday I decided to dedicate a
period of time on Friday priming the students for what was ahead. We started class with a 3D
tour of ancient Rome. I pointed out key components of the city including aqueducts and the
architecture of prominent Roman buildings. Following the video I shared several intriguing facts
about Roman engineering. After this, we analyzed what the message of a Roman mosaic possibly
was and sought to identify why Romans would use such a medium to relay a message. Following
a class discussion on mosaics we watched a brief video by the University of Chicago which
demonstrated how Roman mosaics were actually constructed. Following the video on pieces of
cardboard the classes created their pseudo mosaic. Due to time constraints our makeshift mosaic
would be more like a puzzle that each period contributed to. During the escape room activity one
of the tasks would be to reassemble the puzzle. Using two large pieces of cardboard the first
period class traced their designs. Second period then colored in the drawings and finally, fourth
period cut out the drawings. This was the first time where all classes collaborated together and in
the end they came up with some pretty neat designs. Throughout the day students continued to
pop their heads into the class to see the progress of their creations.
On Monday students were broken into five groups. I started off class by setting the stage for the
escape room activity. I explained that each group would have individual tasks to complete. Upon
completion they would all have to come together. If completed in time they will save Rome. If
not, Rome would fall. It was therefore up to them to save the empire. To begin the activity each
of the five groups were given playdough, a scroll with instructions, a dixie cup of ball bearings,
and a solo cup full of water. The scroll directed students to the first activity which was named the
Dobson, 50
aqueduct challenge. Using only the materials they had available to them they had to create an
aqueduct that was at least three feet tall and three feet in length that filtered out the ball bearings
and brought clean drinking water to the city of Rome. In this case Rome was represented by a
white bucket with pictures of Rome taped to the sides located in the middle of my classroom. In
addition to the materials on their desks students were able to select from a collection of
cardboard and paper towel rolls to create their aqueducts.
Figure 4.3. Aqueduct Challenge Collaboration
Figure 4.4. Aqueduct Challenge
Figure 4.5. Creating Aqueducts
Dobson, 51
Figure 4.6. Tinkering with Designs
Figure 4.7. Obtaining Materials for Designs
The excitement was palpable as students rushed around the room in search of just the right pieces
of cardboard. At first students played with various concepts. Some groups began to question if
the task was even possible. After making an announcement that there was only 30 minutes left
Dobson, 52
and they still had another activity to complete the excitement only increased. Eventually one
group was able to successfully create their aqueduct, followed by another, and then another. The
remaining groups frantically finished their designs as the groups who had success worked on
their next activity.
The next activity was again presented in the form of a scroll which was a riddle that needed to be
solved. The order that the groups finished this second activity would determine the order in
which they selected their media center activity the following day. At the end of the class all
groups completed the aqueduct challenge but only a handful of groups had successfully
completed the riddle.
At the start of the next class I explained that only the groups that finished with the riddles would
be going to the media center where more activities needed to be completed in order to save the
empire. Pretty quickly and with a little help in some cases groups were able to complete their
riddles and move on to the media center. Once in the media center groups were able to choose a
track to follow based on the order in which they arrived. This determined what activities they
needed to complete.
Each of the tracks was meant to discuss one of the causes for the fall of Rome. Track one was
centered on the economy and required students to answer a riddle which then led them to a
location to another scroll. This next scroll required the group to locate a specific amount of
Roman coins that were scattered throughout the media center. To demonstrate inflation we
would increase the amount of coins required to complete the activity. Track two was meant to
Dobson, 53
depict political instability. The first riddle prompted students to another scroll where they were
then told to create several tangram images. Track three covered social issues in Rome and upon
completion of their initial riddle students were then prompted to find books in the library on
Roman and Greek gods as well as a book related to Christianity. Track four required students to
solve another riddle before they were prompted to create a Rota board and the pieces necessary
to play the game. They then had to beat the Ostrogoth leader, aka me, in a game. Track five was
meant to represent the Barbarian invasions. After they solved their riddle they had to save
Romes culture by finding the hidden mosaic pieces and putting it back together.
After students completed their two activities they had to brainstorm how to prevent a Barbarian
invasion. When completed they were free to help other groups complete the tasks. With about
five minutes left in class or whenever all groups had completed all of the components we came
together as a whole class. We then shared out several things that led to the fall of Rome. Students
were then asked what their best solutions were to these problems. I then made the final
determination if they had in fact saved Rome.
Figure 4.8. Day Two Roman Escape Room
Dobson, 54
Overall, all groups and classes finished their activities except for the first period class that were
unable to locate the final mosaic piece. Nonetheless, students had some exceptional solutions
which were shared when we came together at the end of the period. The excitement
demonstrated by the students was also remarkable. Every student in the class seemed to find a
way to contribute and get involved in the activity. This was a ton of work but it was an extremely
rewarding experience as we moved into our final period working on our City X projects.
Finalizing City X
On the final day of the project most groups were well on their way to completing the activity.
Nonetheless, I felt that it was important to again go over the project requirements at the start of
class and to again discuss the importance of the EARS notes. During the class period I spent at
least five to ten minutes with every group and had them demonstrate where they stood with the
project. I checked over their completed work and made suggestions where necessary. I also
discussed specifically what was left for each group to accomplish. After all of the meetings
through the day there were really only two groups that were disjointed or that had a lot of work
left. I spent more time working with these groups to come up with an action plan so that when
they left they had a tangible plan to complete the remaining work for the assignment. At the end
of the day it was clear that first period was well on their way to being complete with the project.
With that being said the second period class was a little behind and some of the groups would be
forced to complete their projects over the next two nights.
Dobson, 55
On the night before the project was due I did have several emails regarding the project. One
group in particular was having issues since they could not get ahold of their other group member
to access their website. Another group requested a digital copy of the EARS notes so that they
could upload what they had handwritten on to their Weebly site. Lastly, one group had been
struggling to finish their project since their one partner was absent for the last week of the
project. They already only had three people in their group and with his absence were reduced to
two. They had worked diligently all week but still found that they were behind. I received an
email from them with all the work they had completed and they asked for an extension. Due to
the extenuating circumstances I allowed them to turn in their project on Monday which gave
them the weekend to finish things up. The websites were submitted through our Schoology portal
and into a Google form.
Overall, the presentations were incredibly creative. I informed the students at the start of the
presentations to pay particular attention to the reasons that caused the fall of Rome and the
similarities between Rome and America as they would be two topics on our final summative
assessment. The students seemed most animated about their solutions to the City X problems.
Numerous times during the presentations students raised their hands and asked the groups
presenting about their designs. Some of the designs presented evoked numerous questions about
how the designs would work or what could be changed to make them more efficient. Several
groups really ran with the City X idea and epitomized what I was looking for. I had hoped by
being a bit vague on how they presented their ideas it would lead to a wider range of presentation
ideas. Most groups took the safe route and created Google slides or Google docs which they then
Dobson, 56
embedded onto their Weebly pages. However, there were several groups that created videos
using animoto and YouTube to present their information.
Dobson, 57
Activity
Timeline
# of Students per class Learning Outcomes
City X
9/29- 10/21
Approx. 30
Students will explore
(1 Week October
the connections
break situated in the
between Rome and
middle of the project)
America while
utilizing 21st century
skills to build their
understanding of
Rome. Ultimately
they will apply their
knowledge of Rome
to a hypothetical city.
Escape Room
10/17- 10/18
Approx. 30
Collaboration
Engage students in a
scavenger hunt type
activity where they
will build on their
understanding of the
causes of Romes fall.
Students will be
forced to work
together to solve a
variety of tasks.
Table 4.1. Summary of Phase Two Implementation
Dobson, 58
Phase Two: Data Results

Based on my observations made during the projects students seemed to struggle comprehending
what the project was asking of them. As the unit went on I emphasized the areas of confusion.
Initially, students seemed caught up on the fact that they had to focus on one specific area of
focus. The students had thought that this area was connected to the other parts of the project
rather than a separate component. By focusing the first couple of class periods on one single
component at a time these problems seemed to be alleviated.
As the project went on the most confusion seemed to revolve around the second and third
components of the project. Task two asked students to determine the causes of Romes fall and
to relate these causes to the current state of affairs in America. The third task asked students to
come up with a plan of action to prevent these causes from happening again. Students had
difficulty differentiating between these tasks and figuring out a way to present their information.
To address this, I modeled on the board what I was looking for and directed the students to links
that other groups had found useful.
During the project students really seemed willing to communicate with me in person and through
email. During the project I received emails from a third of the 24 groups. The email topics for
these 8 groups are listed below.
Dobson, 59
Email Topics
Two Groups: Upload question with Weebly
Asking to check completed work
Name of textbook for a citation
Curious how to add group members as editors to
weebly
EARS notes were lost
Group member sick asking for extension
Digital copy of EARS notes
Table 4.2. Email Topics
After the presentations the most common area where students lost points was for not including
all of their findings into their EARS notes. Moreover, some groups did not have two different
types of sources in their project despite me emphasizing this in class. One way that I feel I could
have better supported students with this would have been to schedule a day in the media center
where they would have gained access to more resources for their project. Both the difficulties
faced with tasks 2 and 3 as well as the trouble with the EARS notes came out during the student
reflections. The most commonly noted responses are placed in the table below.

Project Debrief Question
Response Theme
# of Responses
Nothing
31
Confusion that turned to
21
understanding
What part of the confused you?
What should be dropped from

the project?
What should be dropped from

the project
EARS notes
Romes contribution (task 1)
Weebly
Solution to Romes problem
Nothing
25
Different group
13
EARS notes
10
Tinkercad
10
Weebly
City X Problem
Nothing
21
EARS notes
13
Fall of Rome
Contribution (task 1)
Citizen X problems
Rome vs America (task 2)
Table 4.3. Reflection Results
Dobson, 60
Dobson, 61
The most common response for both of the first two questions was nothing. This may not
necessarily be accurate given the fact that students are still in the first couple months of school
and therefore may be unwilling to criticize assignments or provide authentic feedback since they
are still getting to know me. With this in mind I really wanted to demonstrate that I took the
students responses seriously. Therefore, during the next class I showed students the original
rubric with all of the changes I planned to make for next year. I also made a point to thank them
for their honest reflections.
City X Project Analysis

The final grades for the project were quite encouraging. Overall, the average grade was an 89%.
The one group that lost the most points were missing several key components of the project
including thorough EARS notes and a completed Weebly site. The assignment statistics are
provided in figure 4.9.
Figure 4.9. Project Statistics
Dobson, 62
Project Examples
http://survivingincityx.weebly.com/
http://cityxeducationandrecreation.weebly.com/
http://tiko-megacorp.weebly.com/
http://cityxproject2016.weebly.com/
http://cityxclairemilanrishaanlarry.weebly.com/
Table 4.4. Weebly Examples
Escape Room Analysis

The escape room activity was observed to determine whether or not the students could complete
the assigned tasks in the allotted time period. As mentioned above, first period completed all of
the tasks except they could not find the final puzzle piece in the library. Recognizing that they
would not finish in time I brought the class together and still conducted the final debrief of the
activity. Students were able to articulate solutions to the final problems which focused on the
causes of Romes fall. This was the ultimate measure of student comprehension but due to them
not finding the final puzzle piece they technically did not complete the escape room. As for my
other two classes they both went all the way to the wire in terms of time but both were able to
complete the activities.
Unit Summative Assessment Analysis

Following the City X project students had their summative assessment on our Rome unit. The
questions built off of the activities completed during the unit. These activities included the
Dobson, 63
sketchnotes, the escape room activity, and the City X project. These along with direction
instruction and several homework assignments were meant to build student comprehension. The
overall grades were a bit lower than I was hoping with the average sitting at an 82% as is
demonstrated by table 6 below. Nontheless, these results did demonstrate that a large majority of
students comprehended the unit material.
Figure 4.10. Summative Assessment Statistics
End of Unit Survey Results

The final end of unit survey was interesting on several fronts. First off students noted that the
class activities kept them engaged. Only one student noted that they were rarely engaged in the
class. The chart does demonstrate that there is some room for growth however as only 36% noted
that they were fully engaged throughout the whole unit.
Dobson, 64
I was most encouraged by the responses that indicated that nearly 80% of the students felt
comfortable asking questions. This was a huge improvement over the 56% that stated they were
comfortable in the initial needs assessment at the start of the school year. Moreover, despite the
fact that many students verbalized a desire to change groups many felt comfortable
communicating and working with their current group members. With the project I wanted to
encourage student voice but in so doing create a greater sense of community in the classroom.
The results certainly indicate that my class is headed in the right direction.
Figure 4.11. End of Unit Survey Results Engagement
Figure 4.12. End of Unit Survey Results Comfort in Class
Figure 4.13. End of Unit Survey Results Group Work
Dobson, 65
Dobson, 66
Phase Two: Conclusion & Next Steps

When looking back at all the data and my own observations it became clear that my first period
class seemed to be doing the best work within their groups. I feel that this speaks to the fact that I
have them for productions which is a fifteen minute period to start the day where silent reading
and other school wide activities can take place. During this time I feel that this class has grown
together by sharing what they are reading out loud with the class and by sharing every Monday
what they did over the weekend. These more informal conversations with the students have
seemed to help them develop a greater understanding of one another which has translated to
greater learning outcomes.
Ultimately, this speaks to the time commitment necessary to create an inclusive learning
environment. It is not something that simply happens overnight. Moreover, the classroom
dynamics must be cared for and maintained throughout the year. I would be eager to see the
impact that the end of unit survey and reflections have on students going forward given the fact
that I will be implementing the suggestions they offered.
Summary of Key Findings from Phase Two

As I mentioned at the end of my Phase 2 implementation creating an inclusive learning
environment where all students feel welcomed and encouraged to share their ideas does not
happen overnight. I need to continuously seek ways to engage my students while providing them
meaningful opportunities to share their thoughts, feelings, and concerns. Seeing the difference
that the production period has had on my first period I need to continue to incorporate activities
that help build a positive classroom culture into my other two classes.
Dobson, 67
With this overall idea of building an inclusive learning environment I must continue to seek new
ways to encourage group work between students that may not necessarily interact outside of the
classroom. To do this, I would love to continue exploring group dynamics and activities which
bring groups together. This is a challenging task with middle schoolers but a critical skill
nonetheless. Middle school years tend to be some of the most transformative years for students.
Teaching students to appreciate diversity and to genuinely listen to others can provide the
students with skills that will last them a lifetime.
Phase Three Plan

In my initial phase I investigated ways to use formative assessment to promote student learning
and reflections. The positive impact this had on my classroom led to phase two where I sought
ways to create a more inclusive learning environment. Ultimately, both of these had a powerful
impact on promoting student voice and shaping the direction of the class. However, staying in
line with creating a more inclusive learning environment I would like to improve the peer to peer
feedback that takes place in my class. Since we do so much group work in the class this will
benefit the students tremendously while also allowing them to see their peers as essential
partners in the learning process.
I recently attended a professional development on giving students specific targeted areas to focus
on while providing feedback to their peers and the impact this can have on a class. While the
workshop emphasized feedback relating to writing there would certainly be overlap with some of
the less writing intensive activities that we conduct in my class. My hope is that through phase
three students would begin to see that student voice is not just limited to student and teacher
Dobson, 68
communication but that it also extends to their peers as well. The end goal would be to create the
type of growth mindset described by Carol Dweck (2006) which creates lifelong learners while
ultimately resulting in higher quality work.
Dobson, 69
Conclusion
When I set out on this action research project I wanted to investigate the ways in which I can
utilize formative assessment in a PBL classroom to promote student learning and reflection. I
also wanted to identify how formative assessment could create a more inclusive learning
environment for all students while searching for as many ways to build technology into these
assessments. Overall, I feel that my class took some excellent steps towards becoming a more
inclusive learning environment. This was evident by the growth demonstrated in phase two of
the project from the initial needs assessment. My classroom structure places a large focus on
group work which can certainly be a challenge for students during the tumultuous middle school
years. With this being said, I observed real growth from students both individually and as groups.
Moreover, during the action research project I incorporated numerous opportunities for student
voice throughout the individual classroom projects which helped shape the classroom activities
going forward. Thanks to formative assessment, I was able to be more responsive to the needs of
my students.
Based on the work of Perks and Middleton (2014), I also recognized that student voice is not
limited to just those times where the students are providing feedback to me as the teacher. As a
result there is a need to continually build into our units more time for peer to peer feedback that
is both targeted and specific. This aligns directly with the professional development workshop I
noted at the end of phase two and could be a great starting point for phase three.
I also recognize as Iyengar and Lepper (2000) point out that limited choices work better than an
unlimited range of options for students. With this in mind, I must continue to provide students
Dobson, 70
the opportunity to have a say in the type of activities we have in our class within the scope of the
existing course structure. Moreover, providing students with specific areas to focus on will
enable their feedback to be much more impactful. This is something that I feel has gone well thus
far as was demonstrated by the student reflections on our City X projects. Continuing to look for
opportunities for student voice and then using this to shape my assignments is something that
will ultimately help me to continue to grow as an educator. Not only does this allow students a
tangible say in shaping the direction of the class but it also allows me to structure the course in a
way that is engaging for the students.
Limitations
When considering the limitations that I faced, the amount of time spent on the project
immediately comes to mind. Although there was definitive student growth, 12 weeks is simply
not enough time to really measure the success of a project with as large of a scope as mine. I can
only imagine the ups and downs that would have revealed themselves if the project was spread
out over the course of an entire school year. Despite these limitations, I feel that there are still
valuable lessons that could be applied to any classroom looking to increase student voice.
Allowing students a platform to reflect on their practice and reflect on the work they completed
has been proven time and again to improve student learning. Moreover, I feel my project
provides a brief yet powerful glimpse into the effects that project based learning can have on
student engagement and student learning.
Dobson, 71
Reflection
Reflecting on the work completed thus far this year I am still surprised at all that I have
accomplished. Not only have a gained tremendous insight into my classroom practice but I have
also learned a great deal about my students. The research conducted with this project has opened
my eyes to remarkable work taking place by educators all around the globe. I have also gained
valuable insight into my classrooms. Through this process I have learned that no two classes or
groups for that matter will function alike. Therefore, the ability to successfully employ formative
assessment allows educators the opportunity to make changes and provide scaffolding for all
learners to succeed. This requires flexibility and a real desire to listen and understand the
students at an individual level.
In addition, to this project I have also been working on a second masters as I look to obtain my
administration credential. This has without a doubt been the busiest point of my entire life.
However, it has been a tremendously rewarding time as I have continued to grow and
consistently improved my own practice. I feel that many of the same skills that I have acquired
through this project can translate directly into any administration role I may have in the future.
The ability to listen and make changes to ensure success is certainly not limited to working just
with students.
While this was a rewarding project for me I immediately recognize that my classroom
environment is unique. First off, my current site offers more access to technology than any site I
have ever before worked at. This has allowed for almost seamless integration of activities such as
the ones I conducted. Students use iPads and Chromebooks on an almost daily basis in my
Dobson, 72
classroom and therefore, I did not need to spend as much time teaching students the basics when
it comes to technology. Also, this made collecting data extremely efficient as I could
immediately see student responses through Google forms and quickly identify trends. This type
of formative assessment allowed me to make changes much quicker than I would have been able
to otherwise. Moreover, Schoology allowed me to collect statistics on digital assignments which
also provided me the opportunity to alter my practice during the course of the unit. If students
struggled with a topic I was quickly able to identify what that was and go back and reteach or
reemphasize key themes.
I am also tremendously fortunate to work with a phenomenal group of kids. The students are
always willing to run with my new ideas and the projects I put in place. I do not take this lightly,
and I frequently thank my students for the work they do. Sticking with the theme of the project I
also point out when I have learned something new which has certainly been the case with this
project. This year in particular I have focused on creating a more student centered learning
environment. I am by no means an expert in this field and I am quick to point out to my students
that I am always willing to hear feedback as I continue my growth alongside them. Lastly, the
structure of my site allows for a tremendous amount of cross curricular collaboration. For our
unit on Rome student vocabulary terms were reinforced in their language arts class while Roman
numerals were integrated into their math classes. I was also able to collaborate with our media
center which proved to be a tremendous asset in creating the escape room activity. I recognize
that this is not always the case at other schools and this has certainly helped with both this action
research project and also improving my own teaching.
Dobson, 73
This project in particular has been extremely rewarding. My class as a whole has really improved
from the beginning of the year. Students are working together with their peers and are becoming
more comfortable sharing ideas with myself and the class as a whole. Through this project I have
gained valuable insight into ways of creating a more student centered approach to learning.
Analyzing and collecting data has also been a powerful driving force that has enabled me to
make informed changes to my class and curriculum based on tangible evidence.
There is still work to be done in my classroom to ensure all learners are succeeding and engaged
in the curriculum. I feel that with each unit reflecting on my own practice and sharing my
findings with students will be a powerful way to encourage student voice as we move forward.
My hope is that as the year progresses I will continue to see improved group work and student
learning. As I stress to my students, learning is a process and I look forward to continuing this
journey alongside my students.
Dobson, 74
References
Alkharusi, H., Aldhafri, S., Alnabhani, H., & Alkalbani, M. (2014). Classroom assessment:
teacher practices, student perceptions, and academic self-efficacy beliefs, Social Behavior
& Personality: An International Journal, 42(5), 835-855. doi:10.2224/sbp.2014.42.5.835
Ateh, C. M., & Wyngowski, A. J. (2015). The common core state standards: An opportunity to
enhance formative assessment in history/social studies classrooms. Clearing House: A
Journal Of Educational Strategies, Issues And Ideas, 88(3), 85-90.
Bellack, A. A., Kliebard, H. M., Hyman, R. T., & Smith, F. L. (1966). The language of the
classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Bennett, R. E. (2011). Formative assessment: a critical review. Assessment in Education:
Principles, Policy & Practice, 18(1), 5 25.
Brookhart, S. M. (2013). How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading.
Alexandria, US: ASCD. Retrieved from http://0-www.ebrary.com.sally.sandiego.edu
Community. (2016). Retrieved from https://natomasunified.org/community/
Consalvo, A. L., & David, A. D. (2016). Writing on the walls: Supporting 21st century thinking
in the material classroom. Teaching And Teacher Education, 6054-65.
doi:10.1016/j.tate.2016.08.005
DA, N. d. (2016). Consideration on class communication and state of togetherness in class
within the framework of constructivism. Journal Of Kirsehir Education Faculty, 17(2),
315-328.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Dobson, 75
Ferrance, E. (2000). Themes in education: Action research. Brown University: Educational

Alliance, 1-34.
Ford-Connors, E., Robertson, D. A., & Paratore, J. R. (2016). Classroom talk as (in)formative
assessment. Voices From The Middle, 23(3), 50-57.
Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform.
Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/hidden-curriculum
Iyengar, S., & Lepper, M.R. (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a
good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995-1006.
McCarthy, J. (2015, September 16). Establishing a culture of student voice. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/establishing-culture-of-student-voice-john-mccarthy
Mndez, S. s., & Tirado, F. (2016). Enhancing historical reasoning: A strategy including
formative assessment with systematic continuous feedback. International Journal Of
Educational Psychology, 5(2), 187-219. doi:10.17583/ijep.2015.1639
Nelson, E. (2010). Elements of problem-based learning: Suggestions for implementation in the
asynchronous environment. International Journal on E-Learning, 9(1), 99114.
Ovenell-Carter, B. (2014). A Sketchnote Primer. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIK9lhKoy5I
Perks, K., & Middleton, M. (2014). Navigating the classroom current. Educational Leadership,
72(1), 48-52.
Popham, W. J. (2011). Combating phony formative assessmentwith a hyphen. Education
Week, 30(21), 35.
Dobson, 76
Ruiz-Primo, M. A. (2011). Informal formative assessment: The role of instructional dialogues in

assessing students learning. Studies In Educational Evaluation, 37(Assessment for
Learning), 15-24. doi:10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.04.003
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional
Science, 18(2), 119-144.
Sadler, D. R. (1998). Formative assessment: Revisiting the territory. Assessment in education,
5(1), 77-84.
Spector, J. m., Ifenthaler, D. d., Sampson, D. s., Yang, L. y., Mukama, E. e., Warusavitarana, A.
a., & ... Gibson, D. d. (2016). Technology enhanced formative assessment for 21st Century
Learning. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 19(3), 58-71.
Student surveys: Using student voice to improve teaching and learning. (2016, June 14).
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/practice/student-surveys-using-student-voiceimprove-teaching-and-learning
Vygotsky, L. (1962). Thought and Language.

Dobson Kevin Capstone

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Dobson Kevin Capstone

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Promoting Student Voice through Formative Assessment to

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

My Learning for Phase Two. 37

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Classroom Context & School Culture

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

With all of the group work, collaboration, and

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Figure 1.1. Museum Project Reflection

Figure 1.2. Museum Project Reflection

Figure 1.3. Museum Project Reflection

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

What is Formative Assessment?

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

How to use Formative Assessment in a Meaningful Way

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

comprehension of complex texts. Moreover, peer and self-evaluations can be meaningful

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

The Impact of Teacher Behavior in Promoting an All-Inclusive Learning Environment

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Final Takeaways from the Review of Literature

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Phase One Action & Assessment Plan

Promote Group Work

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

specifically impromptu check-ins, I plan on implementing appropriate scaffolding so that the

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Phase One: Assessment Plan

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Phase One: Timeline

Bi-weekly warmup activities beginning the week of September 12th

Begin Sketchnote group projects September 21st

Sketchnote projects Due: September 28th

Individual sketchnote reflections Due: September 30th

Phase One: Implementation

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Figure 3.1. Classroom Rules

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Sketchnote Group Projects

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

# of Students per class Learning Outcomes

1-2 times per week for Approx. 30

Two 125 min block

group work and the

periods and three 45

Table 3.1. Summary of Phase One Implementation

PROMOTING STUDENT VOICE WITH FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Phase One: Data Results

Table 3.2. Bell Ringer Data