The E word

Evaluation:   How do we evaluate students when they come to the Challenge Centre?

When students attend the Challenge Centre it is not just an opportunity to have fun and play (although play is very important, and I will talk about play in another post).  

I am evaluation students over the four days of the program.  Because I only see them for three-four days on average, I try to get a "snapshot" of what they are doing in relation to the program objectives.  

In the past, I was very hesitant to do any type of formal evaluation, as my reasoning was that I only saw the students for 4 days, and I didn't really know them extremely well, and I felt that this was just a fantastic opportunity for them to try new projects and work with new ideas.  So, when a student finished the program, I wrote a paragraph on what the student did and how they did in a general format.

However, upon further reflection, I felt that this wasn't sufficient.  And, the team of teachers in the gifted education program did not feel that it was benefiting the students, as the information given back to the schools was general and vague.  So, last year our team got together and we brainstormed what our program is about and came up with objectives.  These objectives are clearly stated in the report card that I send home to the student and school.  

What are the objectives?

When a student attends the challenge centre, I am looking for a set of five behaviours or trends.

1.  Process:  how does the student handle the topic or area they are studying in the challenge centre?  Does s/he notice hidden relationships?  Improvise or adapt ideas?  Apply learning in unusual or unexpected ways?  Basically how does the student think.

2.  Motivation:  how motivated is the student in relation to the area of study?  Does s/he show energy, enthusiasm, and an interest in challenging him/herself?
Does s/he show persistence in overcoming obstacles in learning. Does s/he go beyond what is taught and initiate own learning?

3.  Problem Solving:  All of our challenge centres have problem solving embedded in the learning.  How does the student handle solving problems individually or in a group situation?  Does the student contribute to group-problem solving?  Does s/he employ a variety of unique problem solving strategies?

4.  Products:  although process is very important in learning, I also want to see that the student is able to create a project or product of some kind. This may be a piece of writing, it may be a poster-board filled with information, it may be a contraption that they build.  The students have a great deal of freedom to create products, however, the students are given lots of scaffolding and criteria to help them be successful with their creations. With regards to what they create, is s/he adventurous, take risks and experiment readily?  Does s/he execute ideas to completion that exceeds developmental level?

5.  Interpersonal Factors:   how do the students do on a social/emotional level in the program, particularly in that the student is being grouped with "like-minded" peers?  Does s/he communicate ideas effectively?  Does s/he give constructive feedback?  Does s/he demonstrate both cooperative and leadership skills?

I use a checklist that determines whether or not the student meets these objectives "rarely", "sometimes",  or "often".    If one of these objectives does not apply to a particular challenge centre, then I will check "not applicable".


As well, I write a paragraph detailing what the student has done in the program, and overall, how they performed, and what I observed.  


Are the students made aware of the objectives of the Challenge Centre Program?

The students are made aware of the language of the objectives, and the five areas they are being evaluated on.  I think it is very important not to put undue stress on students and tell them they are being formally evaluated while they are here.  So, when I tell them why they are here, I explain the type of learning that will go on in the program:  problem solving, lots of process work or how things are done, lots of thinking and interacting with others, creating things, working as a team, and being motivated to do their best and stretch their thinking.  


Each child does a self-evaluation while they are here, and furthermore,  they give me feedback so that I can improve upon what I do.  


The students are also made aware that a report will be sent home and to the school.


Why do I evaluate in a challenge centre program?

In the challenge centre, I am here to provide wonderful programming, but also to evaluate the child in terms of gifted/talented/enrichment education. I will provide added information about this child that sometimes is not evident in the classroom environment.   Is this a child who may need more servicing? Is this a child who has areas to work on or improve on in his/her learning?   Overall, how did this child do in relation to the expectations of a challenge centre program?

I am always interested in evaluation, so please contact me if you need more information, or want to continue the conversation!