Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
Where Am I? – Learner Assessment
Ernie Vela
University of Texas Brownsville
Summer I 2012
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
Introduction
In an effort to meet the demands of a multicultural classroom, an instructor must
construct a lesson that will be used and understood by all in attendance. The question will then
be: “How much do you already know and do you know how to implement it?” This information
can be obtained through a pre-assessment and then by using a post-test one can ascertain whether
or not the student has retained the information necessary to progress through other areas within
the social studies curriculum. One of the curricular areas that need constant reinforcement is
map reading the ability to locate areas using coordinate pairs. This part of the social studies
curriculum is tested year after year till the time the student graduates from high school.
Models of Assessment and Timing
Our purpose in creating and implementing assessments is to determine whether an
individual has the prior knowledge, or fundamentals, necessary to begin a new lesson (preassessment). Another source of information for an assessment will be to determine if the student
was able to retain the necessary information to continue on to the next step within the curriculum
(post-test). We will be constructing a criterion-referenced assessment instrument to make the
necessary determinations on prior knowledge and then another to check for retention of
information at the end of the lesson.
Preassessment
The preassessment will include questions that will determine the student’s prior
knowledge and understanding of certain geographic vocabulary. The assessment will be used as
a measure for understanding and should in no way be used to alter a student’s average or grade.
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
Any question that is missed by many students will be subject to review or emphasis before the
lesson begins.
1. _______________ indicate political boundaries, roads and highways, human movement,
and rivers and other waterways.
a. Colors
b. Scale
c. Lines
d. Symbols
2. ________________ represent such items as capital cities, battle sites, or economic
activities.
a. Lines of Longitude
b. Lines
c. Labels
d. Symbols
3. ________________ are words or phrases that explain various items or activities on a
map.
a. Lines of Latitude
b. Colors
c. Lines
d. Labels
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
4. ________________ shows which way the directions north(N), south(S), east(E), and
west(W) point on the map.
a. Compass rose
b. Colors
c. Legend or Key
d. Lines
5. A __________________ shows the ration between a unit of length on the map and a unit
of distance on the earth. A typical one-inch scale indicates the number of miles and
kilometers that length represents on the map.
a. Colors
b. Scale
c. Lines
d. Labels
6. _________________ show a variety of information on a map, such as population density
or the physical growth of a country.
a. Lines
b. Symbols
c. Labels
d. Colors
7. A _____________________ lists and explains the symbols, lines, and colors on a map.
a. Labels
b. Legend or key
c. Lines
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
d. Symbols
8. These are imaginary, north-south lines that run around the globe.
a. Lines of latitude
b. Lines of longitude
c. Legend or key
d. Labels
9. These are imaginary, east-west lines that run around the globe.
a. Lines of latitude
b. Lines of longitude
c. Legend or key
d. Labels
10. The use of coordinates of longitude and latitude to give a specific location.
a. Symbols
b. Labels
c. Absolute Location
d. Relative Location
11. _____________________ describes where a certain area is in relation to another area.
a. Relative Location
b. Absolute Location
c. Symbols
d. Labels
The purpose of the preassessment is to determine if the student knows the basic
terminology necessary to comprehend their application on geography lessons. This will by no
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
means be a determining factor on whether or not the final objective will change. The final
product still remains the same although the educator may need to take an extra step in order to
ensure the students have a strong foundation with which to build on.
Postassessment
The postassessment will include multiple choice questions and short answer questions
which will require the use of Google Earth. The questions will not be in any particular order and
will not require a rubric since the students will be able to answer many of the questions with a
broad range of flexibility.
Directions: Using Google Earth, answer the following questions.
1. What is the absolute location of Rome, Italy? ___________________
2. What major metropolitan city is relatively north of Austin, Texas?
_____________________
3. What is located at 61 degrees 13 minutes N, 149 degrees 54 minutes W?
_____________________________
4. What is located at latitude 38° 53’ 42” longitude 77° 2’ 10”? _____________________
5. Write one important fact about the absolute location 46°51′10″N 121°45′37″W
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. What four states share borders with Texas?
A.______________B._______________C._______________D.____________________
7. What body of water is relatively located east of Egypt? __________________________
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
8. What continents have the majority of their land north of the equator?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. What is the absolute location Cairo, Egypt? ____________________________________
10. What countries share a border with Spain?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
This small, yet effective postassessment will implement all the terminology that has been
taught from the beginning of the geography lesson and will determine if the student knows how
to properly implement the terminology within a given assignment. All the problems on the
postassessment are worth 10 points with the multiple response questions being divided amongst
the total possible answers into 10 points.
Rubric and Exemplar
Since the postassessment questions are straight forward, there is no need to create a
rubric for this particular exam. Some of the other assessment questions allow for some
flexibility for the student to select some topics of interest and keep them from a feeling of
examination constraints and information regurgitation. The exemplar will give the students a
sample of what is being looked for as part of a valid answer. One exemplar will be for shared
border lines amongst states.
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
Sample Question:
What states share the same border with the state of Florida?
Answer:
Alabama and Georgia
Sample Question:
What island is south of Florida (relative location)?
Possible Answers:
Cuba, Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, any island as long as it is due south of Florida
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
Sample Question:
What is the absolute location of Madison Square Garden?
Possible Answers:
40 degrees 44 minutes 54.24 seconds North (+-20 seconds)
73 degrees 59 minutes 26.88 seconds West (+-20 seconds)
4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, New York
Conclusion
The students will be able to interact with Google Earth and use its basic functions to
determine the best possible answer for many of the questions on the exam. Although there is
some leeway on what some of the answer may be, it will be sufficient for this level of students to
Where Am I?—Learner Assessment
have some variations to their answer. The student will be able to use the terminology correctly
and also be able to maneuver through a program that can be utilized not only in a social studies
class but also as a resource for information.