Peer Assessment

Peer assessment is a vital component of the PBL projects.  For the student conducting the evaluation they get to look at the work that their peers have done and make connection back to their own work and how they might improve their work the next time.  For the student receiving the assessment, it is good to hear feedback from others going through the same process with the knowledge that they will get time to make changes before submitting it to the teacher.  The goal though is to develop a culture within the classroom that makes students feel comfortable critiquing/complementing the work of other's as well as receiving critiques/compliments about their own work as well.

There is no one cookie cutter method that will work with all classes and all grade levels.  A lot of developing the culture and attitude necessary is dependent on the personalities in the class.  Working in the elementary levels, I have used a a variety of different methods to promote peer assessment:

1.   Two Stars and a Wish:  Students write down two things their peer did one and one thing they would like to change.
2. Story Editing:  Essentially have the students read over each other's stories and edit them.
3. Surveys:  I've sometimes had groups create surveys for the other students which focus on their work.  The students then have to take that data and analyze it.
4. Interviews:  I've also had the students sit with their peer evaluator and have a discussion about their work.  This is a nice method as it allows the students to delve deeper in different areas.

A quick search on Google will reveal a plethora of different resources and strategies.  The key is to find method(s) that work for you and your students.  Remember, that just because it worked with one group of students, does not mean it will work for the next.  

Reflection

The PBL unit that I have been working on over the past several months is almost done.  I has been an interesting process to create the unit and ensure that I am using the correct terminology.  It has also been interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two PBL and PYP.  However, as we approach the end it is time to discuss reflection on the unit.

Reflection is probably the area where I see the biggest difference between PBL and PYP.  In a PYP planner there are several areas that are devoted to reflection with guiding questions to help people develop good critical reflections about their units.  However, I have not seen such structure within a PBL unit (please correct me if I'm wrong).

That being said there are some key questions that need to be answered when discussing reflection on a unit

Who will you involve in the process?

This is a tricky question to answer because ideally anyone who was involved in the unit should have a voice in the reflection process including students, teachers, specialists, curriculum coordinator, etc.  What will your process look like?

The process of reflection can be varied.  Ideally teachers begin the process by gathering evidence from the students of both successes and struggles with the unit.  This can be done through pictures, videos, notes, etc.  Once this is done teachers should spend some time individually reflecting on the unit and structuring their thoughts.  Finally, the teachers and curriculum coordinator should meet to write out the reflection in a formal manner.  Ideally there is a series of questions that will be asked.  If there are other individuals who have been a vital part of the unit, then there ideas should be collected and included as well.

Please note that this is one way to structure the reflection process and there are a variety of others.  The key is to find what works best for you and your school.  For example, instead of meeting with the curriculum coordinator to write out the reflection, teachers may find it better for them to write out the reflection for the coordinator to read on their own.

Is it just a one-time assessment?

Reflection is an ongoing process of evaluation, revising, and asking questions.  What worked best today?  What could I change?  How could this be made better?  As such, the assessment of a PBL unit is an ongoing process.  While the formal written reflection part may be written up in one sitting, the informal evidence gathering and thinking is an ongoing process throughout the unit.