When you start to modify the curriculum and provide choice in assessment tasks, it may be confusing as to how you will mark the individual students. The assessment process and product will differ between your students but you are able to use the same criteria for all [15]. Rubrics are one of the easiest methods for marking student work as they are clear and explicit about what the teacher is looking for. It is important to always give the marking criteria when you set the task so that students are aware of the expectations before they begin. There are five main steps to follow when preparing assessment criteria:

 

1. “Define the learning objective.

2. Identify the concepts or skills students need to demonstrate.

3. Identify the levels of performance and their point values.

4. Identify the criteria for each level of performance and create table.

5. Create a grading system based on possible points earned.” [16]

 

For example, the class will be doing an assignment on the importance of the Rosetta stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student learning contracts are an effective way to differentiate the curriculum for gifted (or otherwise advanced) students [17]. A contract further challenges the student by allowing them to research something they are interested in (whether it be an extension of the curriculum content, or something extracurricular) whilst their classmates work on material that the gifted student has already mastered. It is the responsibility of the teacher to determine that the student has a firm grasp of the core curriculum before allowing the contract to be made. The teacher should oversee the creation of the contract, but it is up to the student to develop the tasks and assessments. This will ensure that they are interested in the activities and have motivation to work through them. For gifted students, it is important to remember that they can become quite immersed in their work and will need guidance to have the work completed by certain deadlines. Whilst the contract should be followed, allow the student some freedom to adjust the activities as they go when their interest or focus changes, as long as they are still meeting the outcomes of the contract. Monitor the student’s progress as they go to check that they are staying on task. You might ask them to keep a journal of their progress and to sign off when they have finished certain steps along the way. A good contract should be detailed in terms of your expectations of them, but also be open ended enough so that they student does not feel constricted. Using learning contracts will provide students with extra responsibilities which will develop their skills in time management and working to a deadline. They can enhance research skills, problem solving abilities and methods of presenting information.

 

The key points to using learning contracts are:

 

• Let student choose the content to be researched and the question to answer

• Let them decide how the final product will be presented

• Try not to limit their creativity, but assure that they adhere to appropriate time limits

• Be clear about your expectations and marking criteria

• Students must understand that they need to work on whole class activities when you ask them to- include “non-negotiable” tasks in the contract, for example, reading time at the beginning of the lesson

• Closely monitor the student’s progress to see if they need extra support, or more difficult work

• Make it clear that to be allowed to work on their contract, they have to put in good effort- if they continuously fail to meet your expectations, the contract will be revoked

 

Here is an example of a contract template that you can download and adjust to suit your student.