Project Template

For Assessing Course-Related Learning and Study Skills, Strategies, and Behaviors, the Productive Study-Time Logs would be the most beneficial CAT for our project. When working in groups, the issue of time-off-task arises frequently. To combat this problem, the Study-Time Logs would come in handy. Students could be required to fill one out at the end of each lab session to identify how much time was spent on task and on what specific topics. However small, this could provide some structure and goals for students to meet while working on the Baseball project.

Self Assessment of Ways of Learning

In Assessing Students' Self-Awareness as Learners, I feel that the Self-Assessment of Ways of Learning CAT would be the most beneficial for our project. In our baseball project, students will be often times working in cooperative groups and must be able to solve and model mathematical situations in various ways. It would be nice to know the different learning styles of the students so that appropriate groups can be made to maximize learning. This CAT would also allow me to select certain activities and approaches to teaching a lesson according to certain students' learning styles.

Everyday Ethical Dilemmas

The Everyday Ethical Dilemmas CAT would be especially interesting and useful in our Baseball project. The topic of cheating, especially the use of steroids in baseball, has been a topic of much debate and controversy over the past few years. Students could anonymously write about their feelings towards cheating and steroid abuse in baseball and in general life. Students could discuss how players using illegal, performance enhancing drugs affect areas of mathematics such as probability, statistics, baseball trajectories (quadratics) and various areas of biology and chemistry.

Project Prospectus

I would use the Project Prospectus for our Baseball project. During this project, students will be confronted with the task of designing a ballpark, selecting a player roster, modeling flights of balls, and the like. In each situation, it will be beneficial for students to make a Project Prospectus so as to identify tasks that need to be accomplished as well as areas they need help in. This CAT, in my opinion, serves as a check to keep students accountable, organized, and on track in order to finish the required parts of the project.

Documented Problem Solutions

The Documented Problem Solutions is great for assessing problem solving skills in our baseball lesson. Students will have to take their knowledge of mathematics in their textbooks and apply it to various problems regarding baseball. In many cases there will not be a "correct" answer to a problem but rather a mathematically correct approach to an answer to a problem. This CAT will help me, as a teacher, identify where students are weak in their math skills and in their problem solving skills.

Concept Map

A concept map would be an effective CAT for our Baseball project. Students could complete a concept map after completing different sections of our project. For example, after working on building a player roster or modeling flights of balls, students would make a concept map with themes such as linear functions, quadratic functions, the graphs of these functions, statistics and the sort. The concept maps will enable students to look back at the concepts learned and notice how each is/is not tied to one another.

Misconception/Preconception Check

I would use the Misconception/Preconception Check CAT for my project. Mathematical topics that will be covered include linear and quadratic functions, areas, volumes, probability and elementary statistics. It is important that I quickly identify what students know/don't know so optimize my limited instructional time. I don't want to hammer away at a probability concept if students already know it and I don't want to rush through functions if students are weak in this area.

	4 points - A	3 points - B	2 points - C	0 to1 points - D or F
Attendance and Use of Class Time (20%)	Shows up and is ready to work almost every day. Notifies instructor beforehand of necessary absences. Student stays focused on project during class. Student meets all intermediate deadlines.	Shows up most of the time with at most two unexcused absences. Student is occasionally off task and not always prepared to work. Some intermediate deadlines slip.	Shows up occasionally and with three or more unexcused absences. Student is routinely off task and unprepared to work. Many intermediate deadlines are not met.	Rarely or never shows up to class. Student is completely unproductive during class time.
Final Project Report (40%)	Report communicates technical ideas clearly and with appropriate terminology. All ideas and decisions are justified with references to information that was taught along with information through articles or outside resources. Thoughts are well organized, and paper adheres to grammar and style guidelines.	Report is unclear in places but for the most part hangs together. There are some gaps in the biological terminology or wrong reasoning is used as far as biological concepts. Some typographical and grammatical errors persist.	Report is difficult to follow and demonstrates poor command of subject matter. The student does not demonstrate and adequate knowledge of the biology taught and does not use it to back up their arguments in the final project. A significant amount of grammatical and stylistic mistakes are present.	Report is plagiarized or has no real biological backing.
Project Presentation (40%)	Presentation clearly demonstrates a great knowledge of biological topics that pertain to the body. Understands what it takes to maintain an athletes body and what does into it internally and externally . Students deliver a well prepared and interesting presentation, and handle questions competently. Work is rich with biological ideas.	Presentation is not always clear in some areas and lacks some biological ideas or uses them incorrectly. Students’ presentation reveals gaps in content, preparation or style. Work is competent but limited.	Presentation is difficult to follow and lacks significant biological ideas. Basically makes arguments with not much to back up them as far as the biology goes. Students are ill prepared and have no visual aids. Students fail to demonstrate content mastery.	Presentation contains no biological ideas and students are completely unprepared.