Letter to Administrator Syllabus Rubric and List of Critera In this section, we have provided you with the following tools to help you acquire professional development credit for this workshop. If you are interested, we suggest that you print these items and discuss them with your administrator. Constructivism Rubric This rubric is for your administrator to use to assess your completion of the assignment in the Implementation section of this workshop.

1. Discovery Phase

The teacher guides activities that generate questions and hypotheses related to the underlying concepts in the lesson plan.

The teacher guides some activities that generate questions and hypotheses related to the underlying concepts in the lesson plan.

The teacher does not guide activities that generate questions and hypotheses related to the underlying concepts in the lesson plan.

2. Concept Introduction

The teacher builds a bridge to the underlying concepts in the lesson plan, focusing on students' questions and hypotheses, and then helps them frame their own design experiments.

The teacher attempts to build a bridge to the underlying concepts in the lesson plan but does not focus extensively on the students' questions and hypotheses in order for them to generate their own design experiments.

The teacher introduces the concepts in the lesson plan through a lecture method and designs experiments for the students to implement without their input in the design process.

3. Concept Application

The students work on new problems that are set in a different context and within different parameters, and enable them to apply the concepts they studied earlier in the lesson plan.

The students work on new problems that allow them to apply the concepts they studied earlier in the lesson plan but the new problems are similar to the earlier ones and do not have unique applications.

The students work on the same problems that the teacher provided for them earlier, so that they are not making connections between old and new concepts and are not learning how to apply their knowledge.

4. Learning Structures

The students are engaged in structured learning activities that foster dialogue among students and engage them in hands-on, interactive learning.

The students are engaged in some learning activities that allow them to dialogue with each other and engage them in hands-on, interactive learning.

The students are not engaged in activities that allow them to dialogue with each other and engage them in hands-on, interactive learning.

5. Student Assessment

Students are given the opportunity to share their thinking with others and demonstrate their solutions to questions and hypotheses they constructed earlier in the lesson plan.

The students are given a few opportunities to share their thinking with others and demonstrate their solutions to questions and hypotheses they constructed earlier in the lesson plan.

The students are not given any opportunity to share their thinking with others and they demonstrate their thinking only to the teacher and only on paper and pencil tests.

6. Student Reflection

The students use multiple formats to reflect upon and assess their imaginative growth, attitudes, skills, and content knowledge.

The students use only few formats to reflect upon and assess their imaginative growth, attitudes, skills, and content knowledge.

The students are not given any opportunity to reflect upon or assess their imaginative growth, attitudes, skills, or content knowledge.

7. Authentic Assessment

The project assessment methods provide multiple options for students to demonstrate what they know and to creatively and meaningfully present their understanding of knowledge to others.

The project assessment methods allow few options for students to demonstrate what they know and to creatively and meaningfully present their understanding of knowledge to others.

The project assesses students through teacher-designed tests that determine the student's degree of academic proficiency in discrete, isolated skills and tasks.

List of Assessment Criteria This suggested list of criteria can be used as a guide for an administrator when determining the level of integration of the workshop topic into the overall school curriculum over a greater period of time. This list can also be used as a guide for teacher self-assessment. The degree to which the teacher is knowledgeable about constructivist theory. The degree to which students construct their own understanding of knowledge. The degree to which experiential learning is integrated into the classroom. The degree to which experiments are integrated into the curriculum. The degree to which problem solving is integrated into the curriculum. The degree to which the lessons build on students' prior knowledge. The degree to which the students reflect on "how" they learn. The degree to which students ask questions in the classroom. The degree to which students explore the "bigger concepts." The degree to which students reflect on the activities they just completed. The degree to which new information is integrated with previous information in the curriculum. The degree to which the teacher prompts student learning by posing questions. The degree to which the teacher guides, not directs, student learning . The degree to which constructivist learning is integrated into collaborative and cooperative learning activities. The degree to which student curiosity is accounted for in lesson design. The degree to which classroom learning is dynamic and ever-changing. The degree to which primary resources are used in the classroom. The degree of dialogue between teacher and student and student and student. The degree to which student assessment is based on process-driven methods. The degree to which students learn how to learn. The degree to which students set their own goals in relation to their learning. The degree to which hands-on activities are integrated into the curriculum. The degree to which students test and try things that don't work in order to discuss the underlying reasoning behind knowledge construction. The degree to which students provide peer feedback to each other. The degree to which student expertise is integrated into the lesson plans.