
— Benjamin Franklin

My constructivist philosophy does not just influence the way that I teach, but also the way I assess my students.  I involve each and every student in the process of assessment, turning the tables on them, having the students assess their own skills, effort and results based on their own input.  

The successful learner has many of the following attributes:

  1. Changing and learning: being aware of our own development

  2. Meaning making: finding connections

  3. Creativity: risk-taking, lateral thinking and intuition

  4. Learning relationships: working both independently and collaboratively

  5. Strategic awareness: managing feelings and processes

  6. Resilience: determination and self-reliance


    Requirements for accountability:      

    1.  All work is done in short cycles (even long-term projects must evaluative short-term markers)

    2.  Teacher through curriculum and Common Core Standards sets the content-based goals of learning for the cycle.

    3.   Decisions about how the learning is to take place is the responsibility of the students (e.g. students can choose paper and pen exam, essays, websites, creative writing, artwork, portfolios and/or multi-media projects);

    4.  Progress is measured in terms of the questions the students are able to generate, not merely answers that they are able to regurgitate;

    5.  Students must participate in the measurement of their own progress (i.e. engage in some manner of self-assessment).


     Sample Student Report Card during my "Assessment for Learning" Pilot Program.
