Recently my Geography 11 class completed a field work project where the task was to compare and contrast land use for two different streets in town or to examine changes in land use over time for one region of town. They collected data in person, through historical documents, or with Google Maps. As part of the assessment process the students were asked to determine the criteria for each aspect of the project. I was present and provided prompts when necessary. They first determined the to be evaluated which included: layout and presentation, discussion of results, conclusions, maps and graphs. Later in the process I would add a section for personal initiative and overall quality. They then wrote what a complete aspect would look like and assigned possible point values for each section. They marked a sample assignment that I had created using their rubric. In the discussion that followed their understanding of the marking process and their criteria for what constituted a good answer both seemed to have improved. I will have to see if the quality of the work is improved when I mark their final products. I did see that they were better at staying on class when they had work classes as they knew exactly what they were to do and how they would be marked.
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