| A lot has already been said on the why, what and how of CCE. Your experience in implementing would also have helped in pieces of the puzzle falling in place. A concern with most teachers remains this, how do I assess an activity? How can I be objective?
Let’s first make a list of as many activities as we can put down.
Activities for Formative Assessment 
1. MCQ’s
2. Puzzles — word, math, problem solving
3. Quiz
4. Role Play
5. Debate
6. Group Discussion
7. Oral Questions
8. Dialogue writing
9. Interview
10. Peer Assessment
11. Report Writing
12. Diary/Journal Writing |
13. Working Models
14. Collage
15. Charts
16. Field trip
17. Seminar
18. Net Surfing
19. Data Collection
20. Collection of materials
21. Experiments
22. Portfolio,
23. Project
24. Flow Charts |
25. Graphic Organizers
26. Assignments
27. Worksheets
28. Class work
29. Home work
30. Survey
31. Observation, recording, reporting
32. Singing
33. Poetry / Creative Writing
34. Dance/Mime
35. Album Making
36. Just a Minute |
You will notice that the activities listed cover all the multiple intelligences.
Activities Organised by Multiple Intelligences
| Multiple Intelligences |
List of Activities |
| 1. Verbal |
debate, role play, group discussion, creative writing, just a minute |
| 2. Mathematical |
puzzles, worksheets, survey |
| 3. Visual – spatial |
working models, chart – making, album |
| 4. Musical – rhythmic |
role play, singing, dancing |
| 5. Kinesthetic |
role play, field trip, experiments, project |
| 6. Interpersonal |
group activity, role play, group discussion, project |
| 7. Intrapersonal |
assignment, home work, survey, interview, MCQ’s |
| 8. Natural |
nature walk, field trip, experiments, observation |
| 9. Spiritual |
group, individual, cultural activity |
Why Multiple Intelligences? – Choosing the Activities.
When we choose our 4-5 activities for an FA period, these should cover as many of the multiple intelligences as possible. They should not cater to a single intelligence – e.g. role play, debate, group discussion, just a minute, as it will be unfair to those who are not verbally strong.
The purpose of an FA is to allow a child to express himself or his learning in a way that he is comfortable with. Not all students have the interest and skill to learn by rote or repeat just what is there within the covers of the text book. We want our students to learn, not just study.
Let us also take care that the activities that students are going to do for other subjects are different and are not repeated.
Parameters for Assessment
So how do we assess any of the FA activities? It would be judicious to have a set of rubrics or parameters in mind for each activity. We can use the following heads to assess an activity.
| Head |
Parameters |
| Content |
a. Coverage
b. Relevance
c. Effective use of content
d. Correctness |
| Presentation |
a. Creativity
b. Neatness
c. The different media / material used |
| Attitude |
a. Towards the task
b. Punctuality
c. Towards teachers, classmates
d. Was the child able to work independently |
| Values |
a. Discipline, honesty
b. Team spirit
c. Sharing and helping
d. Time management |
| Life skills |
a. Interpersonal skills
b. Problem solving
c. Decision making
d. Critical and creative thinking |
Depending on the activity, we can shortlist the parameters required for assessment. Let’s look at an example.
An Example
Activity – Assignment, experiment
What does a plant require for growth? Prove it.
Parameters:
| 1. Coverage of content |
6. Punctuality of submission |
| 2. Correctness |
7. Was the child able to work independently |
| 3. Experiments done |
8. Attitude towards the task done |
| 4. Creativity/Originality of ideas |
9. Values exhibited |
| 5. Attitude towards the work |
10. Demonstration of life skills |
Each of these could be marked mentally on a 3 point scale. We can then allot marks depending on how many of the criteria were met – all, most, many, some, few. Gradually, with practice, this process of assessment becomes intuitive, while being scientific.
A Scientific and Objective Process
It is important that we assess through an objective and scientific process. Moreover, a fair process like this, helps in answering parents and students who want to know how the marks and grades were awarded. |
