Differentiated Case Study – Animals in Danger

Emily Anderson, 001225440

October 7, 2020

The Students
Of the students listed: Wyatt, Matthew, and Abby would not need any differentiation.
They may need to ask some clarifying questions, but they should be able to for the most part
complete the project independently. All three enjoy independent work and creating visual and
tactile projects which is a basis for this assignment. Giving hints on where to start research could
be useful for Matthew to guide him but he could do the project largely alone.
Kaylee and Patrick would both need differentiation in this project. Kaylee does not enjoy
reading which is a large aspect of researching so maybe setting her up with some informational
videos to get her research from instead would be beneficial. Also explaining the assignment
orally as well as giving every student a copy could help Kaylee to understand what is expected
from her. Patrick has a hard time reading and comprehending so videos that can be played at a
slower speed with subtitles could help him do his research. Having an EA there to help him craft
sentences and arguments in writing would also be helpful. If there is not an EA available, giving
him a simpler assignment that focuses on facts rather than compelling arguments or allowing him
to create a brochure of pictures and orally explain his argument might be useful.
The Task and How I Would Change It
The rubric properly evaluates certain aspects of the performance task, but it is by no
means complete. The criteria is excellent and covers all of the learning objectives necessary for
this course but it lacks clarity in division among levels. The use of synonyms to express levels
seems rather subjective and can easily change depending on a teacher’s personal view of the
student. Instead of using words like “insightful” or “relevant”, I think that using more objective
indicators could be useful both student learning and also teaching grading to remove a level of
systematic error from the marking process (Griffioen, 2020). In terms of description of
threatening environmental conditions, excellent could be that they covered all of the
environmental conditions that affect this animal and move down for there by level with most,
some, few, none for each corresponding level. Having a rubric that only includes synonyms for
each level doesn’t actively engage a student when they receive the rubric back because there is
no active recipe (Wiliam, 2018) to get them from “complete” to “comprehensive” that they can
follow. This leaves the student’s stuck at their level with less ability to improve.
This performance task is engaging for a variety of reasons: Firstly, it is able to be tailored
to a student’s interests. Students can pick which animal to study. This allows them to have some
ownership over their learning and make sure they are interested and motivated to complete the
assignment. This can be linked to learner-centered ideology and student motivation (St. Georges,
2020). Secondly, it is a multi-step project that allows them to build on their learning in a visual
manner. A visual aid helps students better understand and organize their learning. This can help
with comprehension and research skills as well.
To make this task fairer for the class as a whole, I would add videos to the list of
resources they are allowed to use for students like Kaylee who may not enjoy reading. I would
also reformat the assignment handout to include a checklist of things that they students need to
include in their brochure, particularly because this is a Grade 3 assignment which often calls for
a little extra guidance. This would give students a good jumping off point, so they know where to
start on their research. These changes do not affect construct integrity it helps them complete the
learning outcomes with slightly more clarity and direction to progress their learning. The
students still must research and produce the assignment, they are just given structure to get there.
Another change I might add is the option to complete the assignment in a different modality.
Limit it to a brochure, poster, or movie. This way if students are not comfortable with their
writing abilities, for example Patrick, this way they can complete the assignment in another way
that still allows for the information to come across in a compelling and well-researched way.
There are a few effective formative steps built into this assignment. Students are given a
list of ways to research effectively. This helps guide their research and makes sure that they are
not way off base with where they are searching for information. It also contains a list of steps
that students should follow to complete the assignment given. These are both formative steps that
help guide students in their learning (Griffioen, 2020)
In addition, these steps could prove useful within this performance task: Prior to the
assignment of this performance task, students could brainstorm on the board all the animals that
are in danger within Alberta, this makes sure students are on the right track before beginning.
Another formative step that could take place could be creating a timeline for the students of what
to complete by what time. This would help the students stay on track and learn time management
skills. Having check-ins where students quickly explain their animal and modality to you as you
walk around the class could help you make sure all the students are on track. Finally, getting
them to copy and paste their links that they used for research into a word doc and hand it in with
the assignment (Griffioen, 2020)
Tying it to Our Learning
Working in Case Study Part A allowed me to gain insight into the other student’s
research on the virtual classroom at a deeper level than I could have from scanning it alone. It
also helped me gain a different perspective that I could not gain alone. Being able to talk over the
rubric and the ways that we each disagreed on its effectiveness was also eye-opening.
When doing performance tasks in the future, I will create a (as much as possible)
objective rubric as well as allow for varied (but limited) modalities in which to complete the
assignment. I will also provide a checklist of things I want to see and provide citation
instructions. Having check-ins to make sure students are on track will also be useful in making
sure everyone is on the same page before diving into the assignment.
Citations:
Griffioen, K. (2020, October 1). Seminar 4: How do we link assessment and learning?
[PowerPoint slides]. Moodle.
https://moodle.uleth.ca/202003/pluginfile.php/209976/mod_resource/content/0/Seminar
%204%20PPT.pdfhttps://moodle.uleth.ca/202003/pluginfile.php/209976/mod_resource/c
ontent/0/Seminar%204%20PPT.pdf\
Griffoen, K. (2020, September 24). Seminar 3: How do we identify and apply the principles of
effective performance task design? [PowerPoint slides]. Moodle.
https://moodle.uleth.ca/202003/mod/resource/view.php?id=56021
St. Georges, D. (2020, September 30). Ideology Presentation [FlipGrid]. Moodle.
https://moodle.uleth.ca/202003/mod/url/view.php?id=51842
Wiliam, D. (2018). Embedded Formative Assessment. Solution Tree Press.