I am so glad it is Monday because tonight I meet with my Assessment and Evaluation course at 6:30 p.m. and we are having an Early Childhood Testing Showcase. It is the culminating activity for this course each year and I absolutely love it.
Let me share with you how the showcase works.
I selected eight early childhood tests that are used in educational and child-care settings from Appendix B of our textbook which is entitled, “Assessing Young Children” and is written by Gayle Mindes and Lee Ann Jung. The textbook is extraordinary and I have been using it since 2007 (updated editions, of course). But, I digress… so, I chose these tests and created a wiki. I listed the tests on the wiki and my students signed up for the test of their choice on a first-come, first-serve basis, and then the research began.
The instructions that I provided outlined all of the components of the presentation including a mock child study (something we have discussed in-depth in class) that detailed why the child would benefit from the test. I even required them to include “fictitious” test results that they will have to explain.
This activity highlights so many skills that they have learned during this semester as they have been presenting content from the chapter for 11 weeks of this 16-week semester. They have been discussing case studies for 11 weeks. They have been working on problem-solving activities for 11 weeks during our synchronous sessions in small groups and they have grown so much. Now, they get to pull all of their learning together–hard skills and soft skills to be a guest lecturer at our showcase!
Isn’t that exciting?
I can hardly wait.
You may be wondering why I require them to present each and every week that we come together in this course. Well, it is because I have witnessed the benefits year after year after year. So, if it is not broken…you know the rest.
Now, here are some specific benefits for the presenter and the listeners just in case you are considering incorporating student presentations in your courses:
Presenters
- Hone their speaking and writing skills.
- Learn how to organize information that is fluid, educational, and engaging for the audience.
- Build their confidence over time.
- Master skills that are useful in many professions.
- Showcase and reinforce their understanding of key concepts.
Listeners/Viewers
- Watch the concepts from the text come to life.
- Gain clarity.
- Employ their higher-order thinking skills of analysis, assessment, and evaluation through written or verbal peer reviews
- Reinforce their lerning through listening
- Practice the art of inquiry
And You? (I didn’t forget about you.)
- Can assess learning
- Determine if reteaching is necessary
- Create a student-centered environment
Use weekly presentations in your course whether it is synchronous or asynchronous. If it is asynchronous, your students can include them in their discussion board posts, their blogs, or their journals. Start incorporating them no matter what subject you teach.
So, yes, I am so thrilled about tonight but I am also sad because this is our final session of the semester. But, I am elated to be a part of this stimulating learning experience that will take place tonight. Oh, and I forgot to tell you that my students will be “grading” each other tonight, literally. The scores that they give their classmates will determine their grade for the showcase. THAT is the ultimate peer review, right?
If you are ready to jump to it and incorporate student presentations in your course but you just need ideas, perhaps, you should meet with me. Go to bit.ly/discoverwithkellie and set-up a discovery session. Let’s see how I might help you keep your students engaged.