Alternative Assessments in Algebra 1

Everywhere we turn in education, teachers are being asked to have students produce examples of their learning rather than just regurgitating facts.

Educational buzz words that have circulated over the years are authentic assessments and alternative assessments. The purpose of an alternative assessment is to showcase a student’s understanding of the concept beyond what traditional quizzes and tests show, which in turn promotes deeper learning and engagement for the student. Some teachers have students write letters to state senators, create portfolios of their artwork, or design an experiment. But the big question for math teachers is how can we incorporate alternative assessments into our classes for additional insights of our students’ learning?

One solution that has worked incredibly well in my classroom is a Gallery Walk. I allowed this assessment to take the place of a regular multiple choice, matching, or fill-in-the-blank quiz. For the explanation, I will focus on the Properties of Real Numbers Gallery Walk.

First, I wanted students to engage in a dialogue over the properties of real numbers, so I allowed students to work in groups of 2 or 3. Some years I assigned the groups and others I let students pick their groups. After using both ways, both group selection methods worked for me.

Next, I only provided 2 days in class for students to complete the assignment. I did not want students using class time as a social hour instead of learning and working, so I limited their time. At first, I was concerned that 2 days was not going to be enough time. Surprisingly, I received better final products with only providing 2 days versus 3 days. I did not ask my students, but I think the shorter time frame caused an urgency in my students to work rather than socialize.

Finally, I provided them with a loose structure of what to complete and a deadline. For example, on the first day, I told the students they needed to have a property picked out to focus on, an explanation of the property, and at least 4 examples of the property. 

The second day was participating in the gallery walk and then creating the finished product.

Some of you are wondering “what is a gallery walk?” Well, it is simple. In this alternative assessment, students walk around the room (either in their groups or individually) and fill out a quick questionnaire about other projects in the room. It’s very similar to walking through an art museum with a friend. You look at a piece of art and then discuss it with whomever is with you at the museum. 

After the gallery walk, groups are able to see what feedback might help them earn a higher grade. The students take that feedback and decide to use it (or not) when finishing up their final product.

A word of caution, I highly suggest going over what appropriate feedback looks like with your students before setting them loose in the gallery walk. I made a slide and projected it during the gallery walk with some examples for students to follow.

The final products for all my classes were displayed for a few weeks. Once, I had a student turn in a video of the reflexive property and he permitted me to show other classes his video. I loved hearing all the conversations that occurred because of the final products.

This simple gallery walk had students talking and thinking about the properties of real numbers more than a simple quiz. I truly believe students understood the properties more because I allowed them the opportunity to dive into the meanings of the properties rather than having them memorize facts.

Other topics you could easily use with a Gallery Walk are real-world word problems for equations, inequalities, systems of equations, and systems of inequalities.

If you want to see the exact alternative assessment I wrote about, you can click here.