My main assessments in this unit were their Engineering Journals and exit slips.

The criteria for these two components were always clearly laid out in writing and I would verbally explain them as well.  The two exit slips were mainly self and group reflections on their ability to work together and their sense of how it went building a boat in a group.

The Engineering Journal keeps a chronological record of this entire design process and allowed for students and parents to follow along easily when looking back or flipping through the journal. A large part of my learning goal was to understand the design process. Since this journal is a reflection of that process, this is a great tool for keeping progress and assessing students.

Additionally one of my goals was to hone skills required for group work. Although the journals are written independently, they share much of the same work within groups. If students have different reflections of their work in groups within a group, that is telling to me. The journals hold students accountable for keeping track of their own records, yet take the high stakes of of doing it all alone, and contributes to the importance of working in a team.