It is likely that evaluation in this class will be handled quite differently than in other classes you've taken. That is because I am developing a very different approach to evaluating learning. You can help determine whether this approach works better for students.

In the first place, we think in terms of activities and appropriate feedback or response to activities, rather than in terms of "products." This means, for example, that there will be no individual grades on writing completed in the course. You will do a great deal of writing, reading, and thinking in this class, and you will need to be aware of how the class activities are unfolding and what your own efforts contribute to those activities. Some of these are individual activities, and others are collaborative. Many of the activities involve exploring new forms of writing and communicating via computers and networks. Part of your evaluation will involve your engagement with the environment, both social and technological, of the class. You will also need to establish how you are evolving towards your own goals as a reader and writer.

In the second place, you will be providing most of the evaluation yourself, based on your own and others' observations and interpretations of your learning across five dimensions: confidence, skills and strategies, knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the course, use of personal experience, and reflection. In documenting your own learning, you 1.) think about your development across these dimensions, 2.) consider the evidence from your own writing, as well as observations made by yourself, other students, and myself, and 3.) make interpretations and come to some conclusions about your own learning in this class, based on your goals for reading and writing. I'll try to assist you in making your observations and interpretations, and provide whatever support you need to make an accurate evaluation of your development in this course. One of the key ways I do this is through my comments on your ongoing writing. An Online Learning Record will help you coordinate your ongoing observations and evidence to account for your learning in the course. You should keep an updated copy and backup of your learning record on a disk separate from your other work. Please be aware of the way that absences can affect your final evaluation.

In the middle of the semester, then, I'll ask you to submit a portfolio which will include selections of your work providing some evidence of your learning so far, as well as your Online Learning Record. Your portfolio will include your estimate of the grade most appropriate for your activity in the course up to that point. I'll respond to your portfolio with comments to help you think about your goals for upcoming activities, and my estimate of the grade appropriate for the quality of your work so far. At the end of the course, you will once again submit a portfolio with your updated Online Learning Record and your final evaluation. This evaluation will provide the basis for your final grade in the course.

Questions? Email Peg Syverson: syverson@uts.cc.utexas.edu

The Online Learning Record is based on the California Learning Record. The California Learning Record (CLR), on which project student assessment materials have been based, is produced by the Center for Language in Learning, located in El Cajon, California. The CLR is adapted with permission from the Primary Language Record (PLR), developed and copyrighted by the Centre for Language in Primary Education, Webber Row, London SE1 8QW. The PLR has been used in London elementary schools since 1985 and is now being introduced in New York City. The CLR, since 1988, is being used in K-12 schools throughout California. Both centers collaborate to create the PLR/CLR assessment system for classroom use and for public accountability.