Performance Based Assessment: Communicative Activities and Rubrics in Foreign Language Instruction Dr. Milena M. Hurtado Cumberland County Staff Development Workshop Aug. 18, 2010

As Dr. Barnes expressed, learning a foreign language should be about communicating and producing in the target language. With performance-based education teachers need to design instruction that is task oriented. Performance-based tasks require performance- based assessments in which the actual student performance is assessed through a product, such as a completed project or work that demonstrates levels of task achievement

How can we assess… Performance-based assessment has led to the use of a variety of alternative ways of evaluating student progress ( journals, portfolios, projects, rubrics, etc.) as compared to more traditional methods of measurement (paper and pencil testing). Today we will explore the use of rubrics as a viable means of evaluating students' performances in the foreign language classroom

Goals Design communicative activities that require the use of the four basic skills in the target language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Create rubrics to assess specific tasks

Communicative Activity and Rubrics 1)Write an assignment sheet/guidelines 2)Identify the main assessment categories for your rubric, based on your assignment sheet. 3)Create a rubric

My approach… Create a two or three part assignment: 1) oral activity that allows for communication (listening and speaking) in the target language during class time. 2)written activity (reading, writing) assigned as homework 3) oral/reading activity in the classroom.

Communicative Activity 1 “Interview with a Classmate” Level: elementary Goal: to practice the four basic skills of the target language, review vocabulary chapter 2, present tenses, etc. Vocabulary: greetings, introductions, interrogative questions Preparation: Students can be given a list of questions (handout, on blackboard) or have them come up with 8-10 questions to ask a classmate (great homework assignment after they have studied all the interrogative words)

Step 1: Oral activity guidelines In-class activity: With a partner take turns interviewing each other; -use the questions from the list in the textbook or handout (might have been assigned as homework) -make sure to write down your partner’s answers Have students report to other students/ to the whole class  Example: call on students and ask that in less than one minute they share 2-3 things they learned about his/her classmate

Step 2: Written assignment guidelines Composition: “Biography of my classmate” Write a word biography about your classmate. composition must be in paragraph form, typed, double-spaced, use varied vocabulary from chapter 2 (for example); use at least 8 verbs in the present tense. Revise your composition! Do not use online translators. These are the components you will use to assess the assignment “Biography of my classmate” Content, vocabulary, mechanics, etc.

Rubric for Activity 1 The written part of the activity is what you will assess with a rubric. Handout: Rubric for written assignment

Step 3: Reinforcement with a communicative activity Have students read their biography or part of it to the rest of the class without saying his/her name, and have the class guess who is being described. Other ?

Activity 2: Brochure of a Spanish- speaking Country You will have to do some preparation ahead of time, i.e. a webpage, handouts with some online resources (CIA World fact book). Level: intermediate (can be adapted to any level) Task: Create a brochure of a XX-speaking country -In groups of 3-4; pick a XX-speaking country, go online -Locate your country on a map. -Find information about Location, Geography, Government, Currency, Food, and Major Holidays.

Your ‘brochure” could be presented in many different ways: -a poster -an actual brochure -a power point presentation with X number of slides Regardless of the format, the ultimate goal is for students to do an oral presentation of their brochure. Although this is a group project, students can be given individual assessments. Handout: oral presentation rubric

Rubrics use specific criteria as a basis for evaluating or assessing student performances as indicated in narrative descriptions that are separated into levels of possible performance related to a given task (see sample rubrics). Starting with the highest level and progressing to the lowest, these levels of performance are used to assess the defined task. Each level describes degrees of proficiency and each level is assigned a value that rates the degree of proficiency or student performance. Rating scales are used; they can be numerical, qualitative, or a combination of numerical and qualitative.

Online tools Creating rubrics may seem intimidating but it’s not. Use the examples that are given to you; work with your colleagues on determining what ‘narrative’ needs to be included in your rubrics. This is a good website to create rubrics. Or a good starting point. n=NewRubric&module=Rubistar

Task In small groups: come up with one communicative activity and rubric Present activity and rubric to group

Questions?