Assessment beliefs
In terms of doing assessments, I believe it is important that your instruction guides the students toward an end goal which can be analyzed to decipher whether or not they fulfilled the expectations of the assignment AND they employed creativity, personal artistic license, and took some risks in terms of experimentation with the material or concept. My goal is that each project has specific enough guidelines that the students know what is expected of them, but loose enough that they have plenty of room to make their projects pertinent and personal to themselves and their artistic identity. At the end of the day, what matters most to me is that the general concept and goals of the assignment are stated but each result will end up being unique to each student--especially because artistically students vary in their confidence and skill level so it is important that the assignment is transferable no matter the student's skill or confidence level. They should possess the capability to push themselves and create something meaningful--and growth will inevitably occur.
Currently in my Art History Studio course, the students were assigned a Afterlife Dream Home project. Each student was deemed with the responsibility to depict their ideal afterlife home. They could produce either a front facing drawing with or without perspective or a multi level blueprint floorplan. I did a demonstration of both perspective and watercolor techniques for the students because the course counts for humanity or art credits, not all students have taken an art class or are familiar with these techniques. Due to this, the guidelines for the project are very loose yet the final projects I have received were SO detailed and full of very interesting things about each student. They were able to meet the project at whatever skill or confidence level they were at in terms of structural composition.
Currently in my Art History Studio course, the students were assigned a Afterlife Dream Home project. Each student was deemed with the responsibility to depict their ideal afterlife home. They could produce either a front facing drawing with or without perspective or a multi level blueprint floorplan. I did a demonstration of both perspective and watercolor techniques for the students because the course counts for humanity or art credits, not all students have taken an art class or are familiar with these techniques. Due to this, the guidelines for the project are very loose yet the final projects I have received were SO detailed and full of very interesting things about each student. They were able to meet the project at whatever skill or confidence level they were at in terms of structural composition.
Methods
- Question of the Day
- Students respond to a question on Google Classroom at the beginning of each class which are sometimes fun random questions to get to know them, but alternate with reflective questions about their projects
- Progress-Check
- In the middle of larger projects, students upload their progress in order for me to get an idea of how they are following my calendar alongside if they need any assistance to complete their project
- Project Reflections
- Students respond to various questions on a worksheet about successes and challenges of their larger projects
- Mini Critique/Gallery Walks
- Upon project completion, I will upload all of their final images to a slideshow and students will respond to one artwork for the QOD--telling 2 positive things about the piece and 1 thing they think could be improved or added to make the project even better
Outcomes
Different assessment methods work better depending on the goals trying to be achieved and the type of information you are trying to collect. Depending on what kind of project or material we are completing, different assessment methods will benefit the students as well.
I am able to use the Colorado State Standards to inform what kind of criteria I need to assess my students on--especially when my lessons are connecting to other content areas such as math or history.
I am able to use the Colorado State Standards to inform what kind of criteria I need to assess my students on--especially when my lessons are connecting to other content areas such as math or history.
- Formative assessment is often used to determine individual learning needs especially in my art history studio where they exist on various skill levels and have different levels of confidence, alongside students with IEPs or 504s. Often when I do mid-project check-ins I am conducting formative assessments to analyze their progress and provide support for completion of the assignment if need be.
- Progress check (middle, high school)
- QOD check-in (K-12)
- Exit ticket (K-12)
- Summative assessment typically occurs at the end of a lesson or unit to determine student comprehension of multiple concepts. When students complete a project they are tasked with completing a final project reflection. Students are also tasked with recording notes during my history lecture/presentations in order to complete a final exam at the culmination of the quarter.
- Final projects (K-12)
- Final critiques (high school)
- Gallery Walk (K-12)
- Final project reflections (K-12)
- Final exam (middle, high school)
- Performance assessments tend to go hand-in-hand with art projects because the rubric lists a variety of elements which the students must exhibit in their final work such as perspective, media, quality/craftsmanship, etc. The students will be presented with a specific rubric for performance assessments so that the expectations are clear and achievable. I believe that performance assessments in art heavily rely on effort and the willingness to take risks and overcome challenges, so those details are at the forefront of my mind when I am grading performance based projects versus the execution of the method purely based on skill level since many students are at various levels when it comes to art making.
- Sketchbook assignments (middle, high school)
- Art projects (K-12)
- Scoring and Judging Strategies like I said previously, I heavily base my scoring and judging on effort and the accommodations each student requires. Knowing your students very well and being aware of their skill and confidence levels is integral in how you ultimately end up grading them. It is important that not only is the information differentiated for each student, but the expectations as well.
