Student Centered Assessments

This module has helped me think about student-centered assessment in the following ways......I now believe that they can be more helpful, than I originally thought. I have never been very fond of the student centered assessment because of the nature of the middle school student. However, today....we determined that the students could do the group assessment individually. That way they would be more honest and upfront. Their assessments would be between them and the teacher. I also saw the validity in student assessments of modeling. The teacher would model certain behaviors and the students would assesss the behaviors with a rubric. This could be time consuming, but very beneficial, because the students would quickly see what they could or could not do when completing the project (presentation), etc.

American Revolutionary Perspectives in South Carolina

The students will learn about the roles that Americans and British played leading up to the American Revolution, during the war itself, and the aftermath of the war. The primary players will be Patriots, Loyalists (Tories), partisans, women, African Americans, Native Americans, and US political and military leaders. Students will develop power points that reflect the timeline that set the war in motion (ex: taxes, edicts, and skirmishes) The students will then develop step books that chronicle the major battles and patriot leaders of the American Revolution in SC. The students will be assigned as a player during or before the war and blog in character. He/she will be observing and writing about their characters experiences, feelings, and beliefs. The culminating event of the unit will be a newspaper articles written also from the different perspectives. The students will use the blog material to develop an article that supports his/her position. These articles will support or dissuade citizens from joining in the “New Government” of the United States.


Essential Question
Liberty vs. Loyalty?



Unit Questions
How did your location, background, and belief system affect your feelings on the American Revolution?
What impact did SC battles have on the American Revolution?
How did differences of opinion in SC create a “civil war” in the midst of the American Revolution?


Content Questions
Define: a-Tory b-Patriot c-Redcoat d- Loyalist e-Partisan
How would you describe the typical SC political leader during the American Revolution?
In SC where were most of the Tories/Loyalists located and why?
How did British military tactics influence the citizens of SC?
What incentives affected the Native Americans and African Americans decisions during the American Revolution?
How did the secession of battles in SC affect the success/or failure of the British in SC?
What role did the Partisans play in the success of SC American Revolutionary battles?
What roles did the women of SC play during the American Revolution?

My Role as a Instructional Designer

As each year passes, my role as a teacher changes. In the last five years those changes have been unreal!!! We have become instructional guiders, instead of instructional leaders. Or at least that is where we should be headed. This class shows many ways to use the computer as a guide. The student becomes more responsible for the work and in turn takes more pride. We all know that ownership of a project is very gratifying! I hope this makes my students push and expect more from themselves!!! That is my goal after completing this class...I will be the instructional designer and they will be the workers! :)

First attempt at blogging

So today, I start my blog!!! This is the first blog I have ever done, so bear with me. :)