Indicators of Engaged Learning

Taken from the NCRTEC Learning With Technology Profile Tool at
http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm

Assessment
 Indicator  0  1  2  
 Performance -based Students primarily take pencil and paper tests with combinations of short answer and essay questions, emphasizing recall and discussion of facts.  Students conduct investigations or produce written or oral presentations for their teacher and class, and the teacher evaluates their performance.  Students conduct investigations or produce written or oral presentations for authentic purposes and audiences. The presentations are evaluated by the teacher, the audience, and themselves.  
 Generative Assessment standards are set by the teacher and shared with students, often after the work is graded. Assessment standards and tools are developed by the teacher and fully explained to students before they begin their work. Assessment standards and tools are discussed, created, agreed upon, and used by both the teacher and students to judge and report on the quality of their products and performances.  
 Seamless and Ongoing Assessment occurs after instruction and both teacher and students view it as separate from the instruction, e.g., students read and discuss a chapter and then take a unit test. The teacher defines assessment criteria at the beginning of instruction and uses them at designated check points and at the end of instruction. The teacher and students generate assessment criteria at the beginning of their instructional task and use that criteria to measure the process and products of their learning throughout their work as well as at the end. The teacher frequently checks for understanding by listening to student discussions and probing the depths of their knowledge while students engage in self-assessment.  

Instructional Model
 Indicator  0  1  2  
 Interactive Students respond to questions posed by the teacher and have some choices with regard to assignments and work. Students have opportunities to select among projects to match their interests with assignments. Students have frequent opportunities to communicate interests and problems to the teachers and other support staff as well as to design and plan their work.  
 Generative Students solve problems or respond to questions with unequivocal answers. Students work independently to review, summarize, and synthesize existing materials to solve problems and conduct research, without drawing their own conclusions. Students are engaged in research and problem solving where there are multiple perspectives and a variety of individual and team-based solution strategies, e.g., Socratic dialogue, brainstorming and categorizing, individual and group summarizing, and debriefing.  

 Created by Jim Andris, October 9, 1999.