Chapter 5

 Chapter 5: Design Complex Tasks

    On chapter 5 it talks about high quality performance based assessments. Performance based learning is where the students are required to do something and it can be a range of possibilities as to what that might be. "All performance-based task integrate and apply multiple skills, concepts and strategies, whether it's learning to drive a car or composing a five paragraph essay." (Hess, pg 95) There are seven characteristics to performance based assessments that are common. The first one is 'PBAs have open-ended context', this is when prompts or situations that are given to students are open ended and guided by questions. These situations are not to be answered by one single path, rather the students need to justify the path they took using supporting evidence and reasoning. Next, 'PBAs productively challenge students', this is where the open-ended questions cause the students to test different options and stretch their thinking. 'PBAs uncover thinking',  this is where the students have to dig more into their thinking \, coming up with questions, alternative strategies and completing task. Number 4 is 'PBAs promote authentic doing and sharing' this s when products that the students are doing are reflecting on real-world skills. Teachers use this to get kids thinking and connecting to people outside the classroom. Next, 'PBAs that stretch thinking integrate academic knowledge, personal skills and input', this is when the students are planning and collaborating with other students and are have their peers to critique them and work on their self reflection skills. Sixth 'PBAs that stretch thinking require far transfer, the process that the students are using they learn from trial and error and this results in a learning stretch. Lastly, 'PBAs that stretch thinking spark reflective and metacognitive thinking', "Unlink traditional test that ask for recall and near transfer of skills and concepts, performance assessments require students to reflect on what they have done in the past." 

    I found an article from eLearning Industry that talks about performance based assessments and what they are and what the benefits of them are. "Performance based assessments are an objective way to monitor learners' levels of understanding." (learning Industry) In this article they talk about the importance of the why we should do these types of assessments, this approach allows the students to use what they know and apply is to real world scenarios, instead of just testing their knowledge on that one topic and not how to actually apply it. Some of the many benefits are, real-world application where the students have to knowledge to test out on real life scenarios, next, it helps with their critical thinking skills, it requires the children to look at the scenario and figure out how to approach the problem at hand. It has a more personalized learning factor that allows students to show what they know in different ways that best suits their learning abilities. It promotes student motivation because as most traditional assessments can be stressful for children, performance-based is not because it is actively getting the student involved in the activity. Lastly, it promotes collaboration. Students are working together to create solutions to a problem and they all have to contribute, this is something that will help them when they are in a job later on and are required to work with other people. 

https://elearningindustry.com/what-is-performance-based-assessment

Hess, Karin. (2019). Rigor by design, not chance: Deeper thinking through actionable instruction and assessment. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).