Brain Ninjas

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student assessment

The Sweetest Way to Teach Self-Assessment

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A set of cupcake posters hangs on a bulletin board in a classroom. Teach students to self-assess with this rubric that helps take the burden of feedback off your teacher shoulders and helps students truly understand the quality of their work.

Here’s the truth: students don’t always know what “good work” looks like.

They turn in an assignment, you hand it back with feedback, and you can see the confusion in their eyes. “But I thought it was done?” they say. Or worse, they’re genuinely proud of work that’s only halfway there, completely unaware that there’s so much more they could do to make it shine.

Sound familiar?

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How to Assess French as a Second Language

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If you're teaching French as a Second language, it can be a challenge marking or grading progress. We made a list of all the ways to assess French (but many are general assessment strategies) that will definitely help you out. Come take a read to see how to assess FSL lessons.

Many French teachers struggle with how to assess French in their upper elementary classes. This is especially challenging for teachers who aren’t feeling confident with their own French skills.

Assessing French is the same as assessing many other subjects that are taught in school, but the degree of progress can vary greatly between students. Here are some of the ways we assess French in our classroom.

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How to Give Student Feedback That’s Amazing

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We try to give students feedback that makes them do the thinking. It's more than a judgment call. Come learn how to take feedback off your teaching plate, but still give students valuable suggestions to improve their work.

How much thinking do you do before you give student feedback?

When I was in grade four I had a teacher tell me that I would have to work very hard if I wanted to be a writer when I grew up because my writing wasn’t very good.

That tiny sentence said in passing one day after I’d shared a story I wrote on my own, has stuck with me for all these years. When you give a student feedback, it sticks with them, even when you don’t think it will. You need to make sure your feedback helps them become better students and guides them without being ultra-judgy and destroying their self-esteem.

This can be a challenging task (especially when we’re overwhelmed with things to get done). Keep reading to find out how you can master the art of giving students feedback.

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