Adaline’s Race Topic Presentation “Life on Native American Reservations”

This was a student-created assignment that tasked high school Sociology students with
developing a PowerPoint presentation about a racial topic and given a short lecture/discussion
session with the class. This was Adaline’s product.

How this work shows growth in student learning:

This sample shows the product of research performed by Adaline on her topic. Her research
and the research done by her classmates expanded their knowledge of racial topics, which
they explored with little guidance from me. Students, such as Adaline, were engaged in their
topics and were eager to share their findings. This contributes to the pursuit of become a
lifelong learner.

Why the sample was chosen:

Adaline’s presentation was chosen because it was exceptionally well-organized, contained

great information, and was presented with enthusiasm and clarity. She was constantly
researching this topic and went above and beyond the requirements. Additionally, her
presentation was selected because this project opened up her mind to new ideas about her
topic as was expressed to me.

How this work has an impact on student learning:

This work not only allowed Adaline to expand on her knowledge, but through her
presentation, she was able to provide the same information to her classmates. She also
brought to light many social issues within the Native American population and American
society in general. A project such as this can generally motivate students to take an interest in
their learning and offers a more attractive alternative to standard classroom lecture and note-
taking session.

How this work enhances my ability to understand and assess student work:

This work improves my ability to understand and assess student work in many ways. This
project acts as the major grade for the race unit and becomes a portfolio, a display of all of the
work performed by the student over the duration of the subject matter. This improved my
ability to assess students over a large amount of time instead of merely relying on the final
product for evaluation. It allowed by to make many informal assessments, making notes as
students worked and as they presented. Additionally, this project allows me to see the growth
of students’ content knowledge and ideas over time. Aside from Adaline’s work I saw many
other students’ opinions and attitudes change over the course of a few work, with no coaxing
from me.