Forget Recess, Let’s Keep Working

1. Forget Recess, Let’s Keep Working Making Performance Tasks a Part of Your Classroom Presented by Betsey Kennedy

2. Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself. - John Dewey

3. What are Performance Tasks? • Open Ended, Multi-Step Problems • Require application of information, understanding, and prior knowledge • Resemble excellently designed projects • Replicate real life situations

4. What AREN’T Performance Tasks? • Simple activities that are easily completed • Activities where students just follow specific instructions • Something that happens for everything you teach • Combine performance tasks with more traditional means of teaching and assessing

5. Why use Performance Tasks?

6. Why use Performance Tasks? • Just being knowledgeable is no longer enough • Ask students to apply their knowledge • Provide students with challenging, engaging tasks • Provide meaningful assessment data • Provide opportunities for students to learn and practice high-level abilities • Multiple standards addressed at one time

7. One approach Has one right answer Provides necessary practice, but is disconnected from real life application Various approaches are possible Focus shifts from the answer to the justification of the approach and solution Requires application of knowledge to solve an authentic problem Performance Task Activity vs.

8. Activity or Performance Task Sort

9. One approach Has one right answer Provides necessary practice, but is disconnected from real life application Various approaches are possible Focus shifts from the answer to the justification of the approach and solution Requires application of knowledge to solve an authentic problem Performance Task Activity vs.

10. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution.

11. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 7 minutes left

12. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 6 minutes left

13. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 5 minutes left

14. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 4 minutes left

15. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 3 minutes left

16. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 2 minutes left

17. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. 1 minute left

18. Sample Performance Task • Miss Weber has a very energetic puppy. Max, the puppy loves to play outdoors, so Miss Weber decided to build a pen to allow Max to be outside while she is at school. She just happens to have 50 feet of fencing in her storage shed that she can use for the pen. • What are some of the ways she can set up the pen that uses all of the fencing? • What are the dimensions of the rectangular pen with the most space available for Max to play? • Write a letter to Miss Weber explaining her choices and which pen you would recommend she build. Be sure to show how you made your decisions and include a mathematical representation to support your solution. TIME’S UP!

19. Performance Learning Environments • Students actively engaged in the learning process • Students work side-by-side with teachers • Deadlines • Standards of performance

20. Problems Arise • Classroom Management • Sequential Checklists • Materials Availability • Teacher Support • Time • Classroom Time • Teacher’s Time

21. A New and Improved Bloom’s Taxonomy New Old

22. Types of Performance Tasks • Retelling Tasks • Compilation Tasks • Mystery Tasks • Journalistic Tasks • Design Tasks • Creative Product Tasks • Persuasion Tasks • Judgment Tasks • Scientific Tasks

23. One-Pager Visual ImageDirect Quote Representing from the text Topic Important Question 2 sentences that can be answered about important by reading the text ideas from the text

24. Sample Retelling Task:Silent Movies of the 1920s

25. Sample Creative Product Task:Science Magic Show

26. Sample Creative Product Task:Mad Scientist Day Experiments

27. Technology and Performance Tasks • Wikis • Webquests • Movie Maker Projects • Podcasts • Think.com

28. Performance Tasks:Civil War Museum

29. Performance Tasks:Holocaust Documentary

30. Performance Tasks:Think.com

31. Criteria for Selecting Performance Tasks • Does the task truly match the outcome(s) you’re trying to measure? • Does the task require students to use critical thinking skills? • Is the task worth the time it takes? • Does the task measure several outcomes at once? • Is the task feasible?

32. SciencePerformance Task • You are part of a committee responsible for building a skate-park in your neighborhood. Right now, you are designing a ramp and speed bump. • Use the materials you have been given to design a ramp that will allow the skateboarder (marble) to make it over the speed bump just by rolling down the ramp.

33. SciencePerformance Task • There are a few restrictions to your design: • The distance from the top of the ramp to the end of the speed bump may be no longer than 100 cm. • The speed bump must measure 10 cm tall. • Record your data to share with the skate park planning committee.

34. Designs for Performance Tasks: GRASPS • Goal: What does the student have to do? • Role: Who is the student in this scenario? • Audience: Who will see this? • Situation: What has created the need for this task? • Product: What will you create? • Standards (Criteria for Success): How will the work be evaluated?

35. Designs for Performance Tasks: A Role Performance • In this task, you are seeking an answer to the question… • You are to act as a(n)… • Whose point of view or perspective is… • As such, you are expected to… • You are then expected to… • You will know you have successfully finished when… • Challenges you may encounter are… • Resources you can depend on are… • You will need… • The final completion date is…

36. Designs for Performance Tasks: A Problem-Based Performance • The situation is… • The problem is… • Your task is to… • You will know you have successfully finished when… • Challenges you may encounter are… • Resources you can depend on are… • You will need… • The final completion date is…

37. Design Time • Select one of the performance tasks templates. • Using one or more of your grade level standards, develop a performance task that you would use with your class. • Select a representative to share the task you created with the rest of the group. • Post it to the wiki to share your ideas. https://performancetasks.wikispaces.com/

38. Scoring • Rubrics are a must! • Sort the final products into stacks according to general criteria on the rubric. • What understandings, misconceptions, or problems in thinking are evident from the work? • Use self-assessment and peer assessment

39. Get it all • elizabeth.kennedy@cobbk12.org • Wiki with all documents and website links https://performancetasks.wikispaces.com