Performance based learning encourages homeschool students to do activities that help them acquire knowledge and apply it practically in life situations. This allows the children to develop skills and practice them in a meaningful manner. Based on the assignment the homeschool student can learn to work more independently or learn to collaborate and work with siblings. Here’s how you can make performance based assessment relevant to homeschool students.
Present a Topic
Ask them to study up on a topic and then present it to the rest of the homeschool class. They can get as creative as they want with the presentation. It can be a computer based powerpoint presentation or a dramatic performance of the historical event. Give them all the scope for innovation and praise them for whatever in depth research reflects in the presentation. Remind them that this has no right or wrong answer. Each person represents the topic based on what they feel is important.
Give a Problem to Solve
This can be a life situation based project. Think of a problem that occurs regularly in the home. For instance chores not being done regularly by everyone, or people not waking up on time each day. Now ask the homeschool students to set forth proposals about how this particular problem could be solved effectively. When they are ready to give their solutions, have a debate with the rest of the class about just how effective they think the solution actually will be. Give extra points for logical thinking and critical analysis of the issue.
Long Term Project
Being excited about a one time event is quite different from being motivated to continue with a long term project. Present the homeschool students with a project that lasts over a couple of months. See how they pick up the skills to work effectively on the project. Are they able to persuade others around them to join in? Can they effectively communicate their need to collaborate with their siblings and other family members? Observe the performance on the project over the long term duration to see what improvements they are able to make.
