Student centered assessment

I have thought about several things during this module. It has made be more aware that students can be a bigger part of the assessment process. It does not have to be just the teacher doing the main assessment. I use students to assess each other but only in a very quick way such as thumbs up, or thumbs down. I now realize that they are capable of taking on a bigger role in the assessment process such as filling out the similiar rubric that I will use when grading the project. I will not use the peer assessment as their final grade but it can be a part of their grade. How well did they assess each other? That question can be part of my rubric.

My Unit

Title: Physical Fitness
Description: After learning various physical fitness activities and fitness vocabulary students will create and perform a physical fitness routine. Students will be assessed using a rubric. A weekly blog about the outside physical activities of the students will be kept.
CFQ's:
Essential:
In what ways do we change? or How do our decisions affect us?
Unit questions:
Why is physical fitness important?
Does physical fitness make a difference?
Content questions:
What is the target heart rate zone?
What are the 5 components of physical fitness?
List 3 activities that improve cardiovascular endurance?
What fitness component does push ups and sit ups improve?
Why is flexibility important?

Module 1 reflection

This module has made me think about my role as an instructional designer in the following ways...
I need to try and make more of my lessons relate to the everyday experiences of the students I teach. They need to see the connection between what is being taught and how it is connected to their lives outside of school. As teachers we sometimes plan our lessons without really thinking about how the students can use the information outside of class. We have to realize that their learning continues past the time they spend in our class. Having them create group projects that gets them to think about the lesson content in a different way is important. Who knows they may even get more out of it and enjoy it more!