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This example of Bloom's Taxonomy comes from B.Nagji of Halton District School Board in Ontario, Canada.
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My Criterion A Written Exams
A few years ago I was struggling to create written assessments for my music students to have in exam settings (this was for grade 10 moderation). My MYP coordinator showed me an exam format that was being used by Language A and which had been accepted by grade 10 subject moderators. I was intrigued, so I took the model and tweaked it a bit. The thing is, I wanted to have the basic knowledge and understanding questions, but I also needed to give the possibility of reaching the highest band in Criterion A. That meant I'd have to have some really deep, challenging questions as well. To help me, I turned to Bloom's Taxonomy, matching the bands roughly to the levels on the taxonomy.
Here is how the assessment works: - I have a certain number of basic knowledge / understanding questions that register as being band 1/2 - Next I have more challenging, understanding/applying questions that are roughly bands 3/4 - Next come even more challenging questions, which ask the students to analysis situations and apply what they know. Those are the questions for bands 5/6. - Finally, the students have some questions that require evaluation and creation. Those are my bands 7/8 questions. My coordinator showed me how to find a "best fit" for the answer. You take the results of all the questions and enter it into the box on the front page. Then you take a look at the front page and determine which answer is the best fit. For example, let's say a student got many 2/2, 4/4, 6/6, but a range of 7s and 8s. Well, that student will definitely be in the top band of Criterion A. But will they be awarded a 7 or an 8? That's when you look at the depth of answers and the number of bands. For example, if they get 7, 7, 7, and an 8, I'd award them a 7 for the entire assessment. However, if they got 8, 8, 8, and a 7, I'd have to look at the 7 closely and maybe go standardise with a colleague. That student might get an 8. The good thing about this format is that it is quite easy to standardise with colleagues because the boxes on the front page really show marks quite clearly. This assessment format is so helpful that I made one up for the drama teacher and now we both us it for our grade 10 moderation assessments. Question Tally
I made up a simple spreadsheet to show me how many questions I had per band. As you can see, I had 3 questions in band 1/2, three in band 3/4, three in band 5/6 and four in band 7/8. I wanted to make sure that the test had enough questions in band 7/8 to be able to truly say, "This assessment allows students to meet the top band. That wouldn't be possible if the test was stacked towards the easy questions in the lower bands.
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Creative Cycle Final Evaluation
I'm now getting into a habit of uploading all my resources three times.
1. Veracross, our homework website, so the kids can get it immediately.
2. Rubricon Atlas, our curriculum database, so the administration can get it immediately.
3. Weebly, because it's good to share!
So here is my latest file -- It's an example of how I want my final evaluations done. This is a file I made up one day while teaching grade 6 (who had never done a final evaluation before) and I thought it'd be good to simply give it to all the grades. Everybody needs a reminder sometimes. Enjoy!
1. Veracross, our homework website, so the kids can get it immediately.
2. Rubricon Atlas, our curriculum database, so the administration can get it immediately.
3. Weebly, because it's good to share!
So here is my latest file -- It's an example of how I want my final evaluations done. This is a file I made up one day while teaching grade 6 (who had never done a final evaluation before) and I thought it'd be good to simply give it to all the grades. Everybody needs a reminder sometimes. Enjoy!
| final_evaluation_example.pdf |
Rubric Samples
Over the years, I've found that Criterion A needs to happen twice, at the beginning and end of Criterion B. This is because Criterion A: Strand 3 is in the context of their own work. Thus, I'll have some sort of Criterion A (essay, test, project, in-class assignment, etc.) that will focus on Strands 1 & 2 (in context and terminology) and then after they have finished the creative cycle, I'll go back and make sure I hit Criterion A:S3. That's why in the Producer's unit, I've got ABCD_Evaluation - I wanted to make sure I hit A:S3. Now, not all my examples feature this. I'm growing every year in the MYP as I'm constantly fine-tuning.
One VERY important point to mention -- Though I am uploading my PDF versions, I only give my students the original datafiles. Why, you ask? Because the students are able to highlight the fields in the rubrics when doing self-assessments or peer-assessments. Then they can take a screen capture and drop that into their DWs. Last year I had an "old-school" teacher bemoan the use of technology in our school because students no longer needed the skills of copying notes off the board. I blinked a bit. Why do we need students copying notes off a board? The slow writers/typers take the entire period to copy and then do the actual classwork as homework. No... whether written questions or a rubric, I give the kids my datafiles so that they can quickly and efficiently drag and drop their task into their DWs and get to work.
One VERY important point to mention -- Though I am uploading my PDF versions, I only give my students the original datafiles. Why, you ask? Because the students are able to highlight the fields in the rubrics when doing self-assessments or peer-assessments. Then they can take a screen capture and drop that into their DWs. Last year I had an "old-school" teacher bemoan the use of technology in our school because students no longer needed the skills of copying notes off the board. I blinked a bit. Why do we need students copying notes off a board? The slow writers/typers take the entire period to copy and then do the actual classwork as homework. No... whether written questions or a rubric, I give the kids my datafiles so that they can quickly and efficiently drag and drop their task into their DWs and get to work.
Grade 6: Chinese Music
Grade 8: The Producers (Garageband)
Grade 10: Music Theatre
Because the students get their rubrics as datafiles, I don't worry about fitting to paper. I make my fonts 11 or 12, etc. For uploading to this website, though, I've had to reduce the font to 9. Sorry about that; I hope you have your reading glasses on.
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Grade 7: TOURISM
Grade 9: Instrumentalists, Arise! (Beginner Band)
Note: Yes, I have a band class. So many IBO music teachers believe that you can't teach music skills in MYP. Of course you can! I have a beginner band class that fits perfectly into the MYP.
Global Context: Health & Well-Being Fact: How can injuries derail potential success when playing instruments? Big Idea: How are proper playing positions integral to my health & well-being? Debate: Could some injuries actually be normal and accepted when learning a new instrument?
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Assessment Tools by Amy Keus is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.