Assessment is a constant. It comes in many forms and that is no different in PBL. The authors emphasize active learning and with this also comes active assessment. We use both formative and summmative assessments throughout the process. To understand prior knowledge of students in the assessment process you have to know your students and ask the poignant questions that get to the heart of what they know and what they want to know. Formal "testing" is not the only way.
Achors are important because everyone is starting from a different place. And this helps hold us accountable for just how far in the end that they've traveled in their journeys of discovery. You want to have quality in the learning experiences and not testing for the sake of testing but to determine which direction to lead them in.
You can assess students by having them grade/assess themselves, by having them manipulate something in the projects, or create something with their information. You can have portfolio assessment and anecdotal assessment. Another way to assess, is to simply ask them what they've learned. This could be done orally in a paper, or in a creative way. A play, a presentation, a poem, podcast etc.
Summarizing an synthesizing what they've learned is also important and figuring out what questions they still have would guide future inquiry and learning.
When doing our school garden project, you have to have ways to assess the students involved. Was it through the excel graphs that they created on plant growth? Was it through the collaborative process with penpals in Chile?
I love all of the different ways of evaluating students! How great would it be if we weren't so dependent on standardized testing. There are so many other options that every student can benefit from! Great summary!
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