Math Circles Assessment Templates
Download and customize these templates to your instructional and student needs. Assessment takes many shapes and I hope that you will find the range of assessment ideas helpful in your classroom. Some templates serve as a "sample" to give you guidance on how they might best be used.
1. General Assessment (beginning of year, middle of year, end of year)
Math Circles pre and post approach assessment (general) - see how your students are developing fluency in math vocabulary and problem solving strategies
2. Observation: The most valuable assessment is observing students as they apply strategies to problem solve. The teacher records observations on a weekly planning and assessment sheet during/after the math circle session.
Math Circles Weekly Planning Sheet
Math Circles Observation Sheet
3. Problem Solving Strategy Assessment: Throughout the year (usually at the end of a unit), I spent a week assessing students' problem solving strategies through pre and post assessments of skills specific to the unit just taught. It was a way for me to determine how well students were internalizing the problem solving template as well as their ability to apply problem solving strategies with new math concepts. I developed a rubric and recording sheet to track student progress. These three templates can be used together:
Math Circles assessment template (skill specific) - use this to customize pre and post assessments. Use word problems presented in your math curriculum unit assessments
Math Circles assessment rubric template - use this to monitor student progress in internalizing the DICE model
Math Circles assessment tracking sheet - this is student specific and lets you track pre and post growth. This is a simple graph that lends itself to student feedback, report card writing, a math portfolio, and parent feedback and conferences. Attach it to the pre and post assessment word problems (skill specific)
4. Portfolio: Finally, each child can have a binder with dividers where they keep their work from math circles. Students use a consistent math circle recording sheet. Over time, the binder becomes a portfolio of their problem solving work. The dividers are labeled with key vocabulary words. Ultimately, the binder grows throughout the year and can be used as a resource binder. It can also be used as a review before state tests. Students can practice explaining (in words - orally rehearse and then write) how they solved the problems (step-by-step). Also, they have examples of how math concepts are presented in word problems. This binder can travel with students as they move from grade to grade (almost as a math glossary) to help students see how problems become more complex over time. I also think that it is critical to build in reflection time to identify how previously solved problems can help them solve new, more complex challenges. I have begun to research the idea of a math journal as a way to extend this thinking.
1. General Assessment (beginning of year, middle of year, end of year)
Math Circles pre and post approach assessment (general) - see how your students are developing fluency in math vocabulary and problem solving strategies
2. Observation: The most valuable assessment is observing students as they apply strategies to problem solve. The teacher records observations on a weekly planning and assessment sheet during/after the math circle session.
Math Circles Weekly Planning Sheet
Math Circles Observation Sheet
3. Problem Solving Strategy Assessment: Throughout the year (usually at the end of a unit), I spent a week assessing students' problem solving strategies through pre and post assessments of skills specific to the unit just taught. It was a way for me to determine how well students were internalizing the problem solving template as well as their ability to apply problem solving strategies with new math concepts. I developed a rubric and recording sheet to track student progress. These three templates can be used together:
Math Circles assessment template (skill specific) - use this to customize pre and post assessments. Use word problems presented in your math curriculum unit assessments
Math Circles assessment rubric template - use this to monitor student progress in internalizing the DICE model
Math Circles assessment tracking sheet - this is student specific and lets you track pre and post growth. This is a simple graph that lends itself to student feedback, report card writing, a math portfolio, and parent feedback and conferences. Attach it to the pre and post assessment word problems (skill specific)
4. Portfolio: Finally, each child can have a binder with dividers where they keep their work from math circles. Students use a consistent math circle recording sheet. Over time, the binder becomes a portfolio of their problem solving work. The dividers are labeled with key vocabulary words. Ultimately, the binder grows throughout the year and can be used as a resource binder. It can also be used as a review before state tests. Students can practice explaining (in words - orally rehearse and then write) how they solved the problems (step-by-step). Also, they have examples of how math concepts are presented in word problems. This binder can travel with students as they move from grade to grade (almost as a math glossary) to help students see how problems become more complex over time. I also think that it is critical to build in reflection time to identify how previously solved problems can help them solve new, more complex challenges. I have begun to research the idea of a math journal as a way to extend this thinking.