Learning new features is a great way to start something new and transform your teaching experiences. Last week, I explored Canvas and used Electronic Portfolios to assess students writing skills in the Spanish Immersion program. After testing this tool, receiving feedback from my peers and doing some research on digital assessments, I had come with other ideas on how to improve the e-portfolio assessment that I shared last week in my blog.
Reviewing curriculum standard: the idea of helping students develop their writing skills through poetry appreciation will be beneficial but I will need to implement better approaches to focus on the curriculum standard:
Show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment. The curriculum standard mentioned the importance of personal enjoyment and enrichment as they use the Spanish language. But how can I make the process less stressful for those students who struggle at writing or having others look at their work?
In the Spanish immersion program, students are fluent in the target language and have produced diverse activities in the past related to writing development; however, providing other options for learners that struggle is essential to help them succeed in the process.
More options for feedback: create different opportunities to submit work and provide feedback before posting any assignment in their electronic portfolio could be an option. Once students feel more confident with their writing, they will be ready to share their creations and received comments from their peers. Feedback through emails, one on one meetings or Google slide documents might be one way to support students.
Sharing rubric with students: another change I would make in the electronic portfolio assessment will be sharing the rubric with students to complete the activity and when providing feedback to peers.
This is an example of the rubric for the writing assessment I could include:
One of the strategies I used last year teaching K-4th grade was to combine reading experiences into writing opportunities. Students usually read short-stories or poems and reflected on their learning exploring vocabulary words, grammar structure, reading comprehension and crafting little poems. For Middle School students expectations may be higher since they already demonstrated knowledge in this area, but sharing the rubric with them will support them in language acquisition and writing.
Critical thinking and academic integrity: since academic cheating is becoming an issue with technology, transforming assessments will determine how students behave and understand the learning process. If learners have access to the rubric, they will develop other skills that benefit their critical thinking and self-assessment. When learners feel confident and proud of what they achieved in their work, they will realize why honesty is always valuable and appreciate. This way, they will also understand that transparency and academic integrity are expected in the virtual classroom.
According to Rettinger (2020), students need to connect with the purpose of the assessments to reflect a positive behavior towards learning. “You need to help your students understand why that assignment is there, why they’re doing what they’re doing, what their learning goals are — not just in a ‘learning outcomes’ way, but connecting to their own personal and professional growth”. In this regard, creating an electronic poetry portfolio will help students to explore other ways to be themselves and become independent thinkers. “When students don’t feel connected and a sense of belonging to the learning community, whether it’s online or face-to-face, they are more likely to detach from any sense of collective community responsibility or ethics” Douglas Harrison (2020). I think helping students to show their work on electronic portfolios will make them feel more connected with a learning community and understand the value of integrity.
References
Lederman, D. (2020, July 22). Best way to stop cheating in online courses? ‘Teach better’. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/07/22/technology-best-way-stop-online-cheating-no-experts-say-better?_ga=2.8007921.2111774729.1595514669-139725419.1594257992.
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