Designing and Using Performance Tasks: Enhancing Student Learning and Assessment

Stretch student thinking with performance-based tasks. With waves of high-stakes assessments rolling through the education waters, many educators feel tied to teaching to the test. But there is a bright side. With the increased attention on assessment outlined in The Every Student Succeeds Act comes a surge of interest in designing performance-based tasks—an important key in unlocking your students’ readiness for career and college. Designing and Using Performance Tasks: Enhancing Student Learning and Assessment walks you step-by-step through the process of incorporating performance tasks as a tool to teach, monitor, and extend student learning. This book will help youMake instructional decisions based on student performance of learning tasksLearn all about the different kinds of performance tasks and the benefits of eachIncorporate learning progressions as an integral part of planning performance tasksClose the "knowing–doing" gap by focusing on considerations for successful implementationIf you’re ready to engage your students in unique and innovative ways, grab a copy of this book to guide you and your students in applying their learning—and your teaching—to real-world situations."Teaching using performance tasks was, by far, was the most difficult type of teaching strategy for me to learn. When I began my teaching career, not many people were using this strategy, but I was fortunate to have a mentor who understood the process and was willing to teach me, two very rare occurrences in the teaching world. Thank heavens for Tracey Shiel, who has the ability to communicate the process so well and in such a manner that you enjoy reading about it at the same time – another rare event in education! I know from experience, students who learn using this strategy retain the information for longer periods of time giving teachers a stronger base upon which to build." Pamela L. Opel, Teacher Gulfport School District Read more