Jennifer Matosevic 

ED 3504: Evaluation of Learning 

Names: 
Date:  

Alberta Animal Protection 

The province is changing! As new homes and roads are being built, animals who call 
this land home are being placed in danger. Your task is to find a partner and research an 
Albertan animal that is being threatened and share your findings with the class. 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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Mind Map 

 
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Two Stars and a Wish 

*This is to be used as formative assessment before students hand in their projects. 
Students will be set in groups of four and peer evaluate each others projects when they 
are in a semi-complete state using the “Two Stars and a Wish” format shown below. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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Reflection 
 
Throughout this project, I have learned immense amounts about how to make

assignments accessible to all students. For this project in particular, it was really important for

me to incorporate choice into the assignment so that each student could express their findings in

a way that was unique to them and truly demonstrated their knowledge of the concept.

After careful observation of the videos and group discussion, I believe that the only two

students in my group of five who did not need differentiation are Leila and Alexa. In their

interviews, both students exhibited strong interest and independence in regards to their learning.

Both students mentioned that they enjoyed creativity in projects that they had completed in other

classes, so I attempted to redesign the assignment in a way that would allow them to utilize their

creativity.

Kayley, Matthew, and Henry were the students in my group that were identified for

differentiation, each with their own unique reason. As was evident in her interview, Kayley

struggles with reading and comprehension skills, so in terms of differentiation I have simplified

the language and added more visual elements like the check boxes in the Project Checklist.

Additionally, I have the students completing this assignment in pairs so if there is an aspect that

Kayley does not understand she will have a partner to ask for help. Making this assignment a

pairs activity was also a differentiation for Matthew. After watching his interview, I found that

Matthew was really closed off and required a significant amount of prompting in order to answer

the questions the interviewer asked. I was concerned that he either did not want to take part in

the interview project or that he had difficulty making friends. It is my hope that by having

 
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Matthew work with a partner it will encourage him to open up and be a fully participating

member of the class. Another differentiation I made for Matthew was that I ensured that there

was at least one video option in the Project list because I know that it is a choice that he would

excel at and enjoy completing. When it came to Henry, I knew he needed a different kind of

differentiation. In his interview, Henry exhibited that he is quite advanced in his reading and

comprehension skills, and overall really excited about learning. Within the assignment, I

ensured that the project portion was open-ended so that Henry could be creative and take his

research to the next level.

In this assignment, I included a mind map for a couple different reasons. I believe that

the mind map provides a solid template for students who are struggling in their research to build

upon. For the students in the class who are more advanced, it provides a good starting point but

allows them to branch out from the headings and learn more in depth.

I embedded two different formative assessments within the assignment, an informal

teacher check in and a “Two Stars and a Wish” template. Firstly, I have asked the students in the

assignment to check in with me before moving on to the project. This way I can ensure they

have thorough research and provide formative feedback. Secondly, with the “Two Stars and a

Wish” template, it is my intention to have the students utilize it as a formative assessment tool

and as a way for students to practice their peer assessment skills. I would have the students find

another group and show them their presentation so far, and then fill out the “Two Stars and a

Wish” form so that each group has some feedback with which they can improve their projects

before they present them to the class and hand them in. Both Davies and Wiliam, mention the

 
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positive benefits of this platform as a type of assessment, and it was after reading these chapters

that I decided to include it as a formative assessment in my redesigned assignment.

I have done my best to redesign this task for an entire class in mind. However, before the

assignment takes place I believe that the entire group of students I was assigned would benefit

from an aspect of outdoor education. I believe they would find it interesting to observe the

habitat that their animal could be living in. Additionally, it could help students to understand

why changes to that habitat could threaten their animal’s safety. It would also make the lesson

memorable, so when they begin the project it will hopefully spark the student’s memories and

assist them with their research.

When redesigning this assessment, it was really important to me to ensure that it was a

valid form of assessment for all of the students I was assigned. I focused specifically on the

construct validity of the assessment, and by providing choice in the kind of project they could

choose to complete I did my best to ensure that I was assessing only their knowledge and not

their ability to create the project. Moreover, I believe that my redesigned assignment has high

content validity; it effectively communicates the curriculum required. When we initially

discussed the different kinds of validity in class, I was intimidated by the thought of having to

ensure all my assignments had them. However, as I have begun to use them in practice I have

found that I really enjoy making sure that my assignments include them, so that ultimately my

students will benefit.

This assignment has been a fantastic learning experience for me and I hope to apply the

techniques that I have experimented with in my Professional Semester classroom.

   

 
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References 
 
Document Resources:
Davies, A. (2011). ​Making Classroom Assessment Work​ (Third ed.). Courtenay, BC:
Connect2Learning.

McDonald, A. (n.d.). Two Stars and a Wish Revising Post-It. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Two-Stars-and-a-Wish-Revising-Post-It-807155

Wiliam, D. (2018). ​Embedded Formative Assessment​ (Second ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution
Tree Press.

Photo References:
Parks Canada Agency, & Government of Canada. (2017, April 01). Species at Risk. Retrieved
October 10, 2018, from ​https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff/decouvrir-discover/eep-sar