Students need to participate in at least one Assess Your Learning lesson during each half of the course to receive credit for seminary graduation.
If students do not attend any Assess Your Learning lessons during the semester, you will need to provide them with the appropriate Assess Your Learning lesson located in the appendix of the seminary teacher manual. “Assess Your Learning, Part 1” can be given to students to make up the assessment for the first half of the course. “Assess Your Learning, Part 2” can be given to students to make up the assessment for the second half of the course. Invite students to record their responses to each of the assessment activities. Encourage them to also share their responses that are not too personal with a parent, sibling, or Church leader. This opportunity for students to share can allow the Holy Ghost to teach and testify to them about truths of the gospel and invite them to take additional steps in their Christ-centered discipleship. When they return it to you, you might also invite them to share one or two of their responses if they are not too personal.
At times, you may need to adapt the Assess Your Learning lessons. Because of school schedules, students may not have studied a lesson that an Assess Your Learning lesson refers to. There also may be times when a truth was especially meaningful to students but not addressed in the Assess Your Learning lesson. In these cases, you may decide to replace one of the activities in the Assess Your Learning lesson with an activity you create to help students assess their understanding or progress on that topic.
The following steps can help you to adapt or create an effective assessment activity.
Step 1: Begin by identifying the purpose of the lesson you would like to assess.
Each lesson purpose is listed in the last sentence of the introductory paragraph to that lesson and in the overview document for the week.
Step 2: Consider what students could do to assess their growth and learning for that lesson’s purpose. Examples include the following:
Understanding: Students could teach or explain a doctrinal concept verbally or in writing. This could be accomplished in various ways, such as in response to a scenario or a journal prompt.
Feelings, attitudes, or desires: Students may have been invited in a previous lesson to assess their feelings, attitudes, or desires through a journal entry, survey, or other method. If so, students could be invited to complete that activity again. They could then compare their responses from the previous lesson to their responses during the Assess Your Learning lesson.
Application: Students could review what they felt impressed to do or a plan that they created as part of a lesson. They could then reflect on how they have acted on their plan. A few willing students could share their experiences if they are not too personal. They could even demonstrate something they have done, such as using the FamilySearch Family Tree app or using a scripture study skill.
Try to find ways to make activities meaningful and enjoyable. Also, provide plenty of time for students to reflect on and assess their growth. Activities should not lead students to compare their growth with other people but help them assess their own experience. Some students may be disappointed with their current growth. Help them understand that these assessments should never be seen as final. Rather, students should always be encouraged to consider what the next step in their learning or growth might be and how they can turn to the Lord for help.
Note: Seminary teachers can enhance upcoming Assess Your Learning lessons by including assessment activities related to Life Preparation categories that students have recently studied in seminary. They can either add these activities to the Assess Your Learning lessons or replace existing assessments. You can find suggested assessments for each category of Life Preparation lessons in the appendix of the seminary teacher manual.