Performance Tasks

Performance Tasks Build On Earlier Content Knowledge, Process Skills And Work Habits And Are Strategically Placed In The Lesson Or Unit To Enhance Learning As The Student Pulls It All Together.

They Are Both An Integral Part Of The Learning And An Opportunity To Assess The Quality Of Student Performance. When The Goal Of Teaching And Learning Is Knowing And Using, The Performance-Based Classroom Emerges.

Performance Tasks Examples

Performance Tasks Range From Short Activities Taking Only A Few Minutes To Projects Culminating In Polished Products For Audiences In And Outside Of The Classroom.

In The Beginning, Most Performance Tasks Should Fall On The Short End Of The Continuum. Teachers Find That Many Activities They Are Already Doing Can Be Shaped Into Performance-Learning Tasks.

Two Initial Concerns Of Teachers Moving Toward Performance-Based Classrooms Include The Amount Of Time Needed For Performance Tasks And The Subjectivity Traditionally Associated With Teacher Assessment And Assigning Grades.

The Initial Move To Any New Method Involves An Investment In Time. The Development Of Performance-Assessment Tasks Is No Exception. With A Little Practice, However, Teachers Find That They Can Easily And Quickly Develop Performance Tasks And Assessment Lists.

This Process Is Further Simplified As Teachers And Schools Begin To Collect And Maintain Lists Of Generic Tasks And Assessments That Teachers Can Adapt For Individual Lessons.

Teachers Find Assessment Lists A More Efficient Way Of Providing Feedback To Students Than Traditional Methods, Thus Saving Time In The Long Run. Finally, As Students Work With Performance.

Assessment, The Quality Of Their Work Improves; Reducing The Time Teachers Must Spend Assessing And Grading Student Work.