introducing formative assessment handouts
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FormativeAssessmentinScienceandMathematicsEducation
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INTRODUCINGFORMATIVEASSESSMENTHANDOUTSFORTEACHERS
Contents
Handout1:Theimportanceofformativeassessment....................................................................2Handout2:Difficultieswithformativeassessment........................................................................3Handout3:Principlesandstrategiesforformativeassessment.....................................................5Handout4:Problem-solvingintheclassroom................................................................................7Handout5:Countingtrees..............................................................................................................8Handout6:Catsandkittens..........................................................................................................12Handout7:Suggestionsforquestions..........................................................................................16Handout8:Formativeassessmentinaction.................................................................................17Handout9:Theeffectsoffeedbackonstudentlearning.............................................................18Handout10:Aformativeassessmentlessonplan........................................................................20Handout11:Exchangingexperiences...........................................................................................23
Acknowledgement:
Inpreparingthismaterial,weacknowledgethepermissionsgivenbytheBowlandCharitableTrusttoadapttheprofessionaldevelopmentresources,BowlandMaths(www.bowlandmaths.org),thattheyhadpreviouslyfundedtheUniversityofNottinghamtoproducefortheUK.Thisincludesmanyofthehandoutsandmostofthevideoextracts.AdditionalresourceswerealsoadaptedfromImprovingLearninginMathematics,agovernmentfundedprogramintheUKandfromtheMathematicsAssessmentProjectfundedbytheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation.
©2010CentreforResearchInMathematicsEducationUniversityofNottingham,adaptforFaSMEdbyAfricanInstituteforMathematicalSciencesSchoolEnrichmentCentreandUniversityofDuisburg-Essen.
FormativeAssessmentinScienceandMathematicsEducation
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Handout1:Theimportanceofformativeassessment
Therearetwomainpurposesofassessment:
• Summativeassessment-tosummariseandrecordoverallachievementattheendofacourse,forpromotionandcertification.Most‘highstakes’testsandexternalexaminationsaredesignedforthispurpose.Summativeassessmentisalsousedtoevaluatetherelativeeffectivenessofaparticularcourse,teachingmethod,orevenaninstitution.SummativeassessmentissometimescalledAssessmentofLearning.
• Formativeassessment-torecogniseachievementsanddifficultiesatthebeginningorduringacourse,sothatteachersandstudentscantakeappropriateaction.Thistypeofassessmentformsanintegralpartofalllearning.FormativeassessmentissometimescalledAssessmentforLearning.
Thepotentialofformativeassessmenttoimprovelearning
Thereisawealthofresearchevidencethatsetsoutthecaseforformativeassessment.ThisissummarisedbyBlackandWiliaminseveralaccessiblepublications(seebelow),mostofwhicharefreelydownloadablefromtheInternet.Theseresearcherssetouttofindoutwhetherornotimprovingformativeassessmentimproveslearning.
“Wecheckedmanybooksandnineyears'worthofmorethan160journals,andearlierreviewsofresearch.Thisprocessyielded580articlesorchapterstostudy.Wepreparedareviewusingmaterialfrom250ofthesesources.All…studiesshowthat…strengthening…formativeassessmentproducessignificant,andoftensubstantial,learninggains.Thesestudiesrangeoverages,acrossseveralschoolsubjects,andoverseveralcountries…”(BlackandWiliam,1998)1.
Recommendedreading
Black,P.,&Wiliam,D.(1998).Insidetheblackbox:raisingstandardsthroughclassroomassessment.King'sCollegeLondonSchoolofEducation.NowpublishedbyGLAssessment:
http://shop.gl-assessment.co.uk
Thisshortbookletoffersasummaryoftheextensiveresearchliteratureintoformativeassessment.Itshowsthatthereisclearevidencethatusingformativeassessmentraisesstandards,andsuggestshowformativeassessmentcanbeimproved.Thisbookletisessentialreadingforallteachers.
1PaulBlackandDylanWiliam,"AssessmentandClassroomLearning,"AssessmentinEducation,March1998,pp.7-74.
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Handout2:Difficultieswithformativeassessment
Theresearchliteraturesuggeststhatformativeassessmentpracticesarebesetwithproblemsanddifficulties,asoutlinedbrieflybelow.
Definition
WithinFaSMEdformativeassessmenthasbeen‘defined’asadeliberateprocessofgatheringinformationaboutstudents’understandingsandusingthisinformationtoadaptteaching.However,thereisstillagenerallackofclarityaboutwhatformativeassessmentactuallyis.Forexample,therearesome(particularlypublishers)whousethetermtorefertoaninstrumentsuchasadiagnostictest.Inreality,eachoftheseperspectivesisperhapsanoversimplification;theprocessperspectiveunderplaystheimportanceoftheinstrumentandtheinstrumentdefinitionappearstoignoreprocess.Further,definitionsofformativeassessmentgenerallydonottakeintoaccounttheimportanceofthesubjectarea(e.g.mathematicsorscience)wheninfactformativeassessmentwithindifferentsubjectareascanlookverydifferent.
Difficultandtime-consuming
Doingformativeassessmentwellisdifficult.Whilstitisrelativelyeasytogatherdataintermsof,forexample,students’responsestoquestionsinclassroomorstudents’selfreportedconfidencelevels,itismuchmoredifficulttointerpretthisdataintermsofthestudents’actualunderstanding.Thisrequirestheteachertoconsidercarefullyresponsesofthestudentsintermsoftheirownknowledgeaboutmathematics,thecurriculum,priorexperienceoftheclassandthelearningtrajectoryoftheindividualstudentandtomakeaninferenceaboutthestudent’sunderstanding.Theteacherthenneedstoprovideusefulfeedbacktoeachstudent,whichagainrequiresconsiderableexpertiseandthought.Itisalmostimpossibleforteacherstoprovidedetaileddescriptivefeedbackforeachstudentmorethanoccasionally.Providingmeaningfulfeedbackistime-consumingandrequiressignificantandsustaineddedicationfromtheteachers.
Planningandcoverage
Formativeassessment,bydefinition,requirestheteachertoactontheinformationheorshereceivesfromthestudents,usuallybyadaptingteaching.Thismightmeanabandoningpreviousplansforthelessonandmakein-the-minutedecisionsaboutwhattodonext.
Teacherssometimescomplainthat,iftheyareseriousaboutreactingtothedatatheycollectabouttheirstudents’understandings,thentheymayhavetodwelllongeroncertaintopicareasthanenvisaged,whichmeansthattheymaynothavetimetocoverthewholesyllabus.
Accountability
Inmanycountries,schoolsworkwithinacultureofaccountabilityandseniormanagersrequireevidenceofsomekindofobjectivemeasurementofstudents’performanceateachlevel.Formativeassessment,byitsfleetingnature,doesnotprovidethatkindofaccountability.Thismeansthatschoolmanagershavelimitedwaysinwhichtheycanmonitorformativeassessmentandhencetheyfeeluncomfortableaboutteachersusingit.
Expectations
Manyparentsdonotknowwhatformativeassessmentis.Inmanycultures,parentstendtoexpectformal(summative)testsandgradesthroughouttheschoolyear.
Toalargeextent,aformativeassessmentclassroomrequirescommitmenttotheprocessbystudentsaswellasteachers.Studentsneedtotakeresponsibilityfortheirownlearningbyrespondingtofeedbackfromtheteacherortheirpeers.Inmanyclassrooms,studentsarereluctanttodoso,wantingrathertobetoldwhattodoandexpectinggradesandmarks.
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Howfararethedifficultiessummarisedherevalidinyourcontext?
Ifanyare,thenwhatcouldbedoneaboutthem?
“Iknowitmakessensetoassessstudentsaswegoalong,buthowcanI,inthemidstofalesson,knowwhateachofmy30studentsisthinking?”
Howwouldyouanswerthisteacher?
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Handout3:Principlesandstrategiesforformativeassessment
Formativeassessmentmaybedefinedas:"…allthoseactivitiesundertakenbyteachers,andbytheirstudentsinassessingthemselves,whichprovideinformationtobeusedasfeedbacktomodifytheteachingandlearningactivitiesinwhichtheyareengaged.Suchassessmentbecomes‘formativeassessment’whentheevidenceisactuallyusedtoadapttheteachingworktomeettheneeds."(Black&Wiliam,1998)
Maketheobjectivesofthelessonexplicit2
Sharetheobjectiveswithstudentsandfromtimetotimeaskstudentstoproduceevidencethattheycanachievetheseobjectives.
“MakeupanexampletoshowmethatyouknowandunderstandPythagoras’theorem.”“Thislessonwasaboutyoudecidingwhatmethodstouse.Showmewhereyoudidthis.”
Studentsmayfinditdifficulttoappreciatethatsomelessonsareconcernedwithunderstandingconcepts,whileothersaremoreconcernedwithdevelopingmathematicalpractices.
Makingobjectivesexplicitdoesn’tmeanwritingthemontheboardatthebeginningofthelesson,butratherreferringtothemexplicitlywhilestudentsareworking.Iftheobjectivesaretodevelopmathematicalpractices,theninplenarysessionsaskstudentstoshareandcompareapproaches,ratherthananswers.
Assessgroupsaswellasindividualstudents
Groupactivitiesallowmanyopportunitiestoobserve,listen,andquestionstudents.Theyhelptoexternalisereasoningandallowtheteachertoseequicklywheredifficultieshavearisen.Moreover,workingingroupshelpsstudentstopeer-assessandfunctionasinstructionalresourcesforoneanother.
Watchandlistenbeforeintervening
Beforeinterveninginagroupdiscussion,waitandlisten.Trytofollowthelineofreasoningthatstudentsaretaking.Whenyoudointervene,beginbyaskingthemtoexplainsomething.Iftheyareunsuccessfulthenaskanotherstudenttohelp.
Usedivergentassessmentmethods(“Showmewhatyouknowabout...”)
Convergentassessmentstrategiesarecharacterisedbyticklistsandcan-dostatements.Theteacherasksclosedquestionsinordertoascertainwhetherornotthestudentknows,understandsorcandoapredeterminedthing.Thisisthetypeofassessmentmostusedinwrittentests.
Divergentassessment,incontrast,involvesaskingopenquestionsthatprovidestudentswithopportunitiestodescribeandexplaintheirthinkingandreasoning.Thesequestionsallowstudentstosurpriseus-theoutcomeisnotpredetermined.
Changeteachingtotakeaccountofassessment
Aswellasprovidingfeedbacktostudents,goodassessmentfeedsforwardintoteaching.Beflexibleandpreparedtochangeyourteachingplansinmidcourseasaresultofwhatyoudiscover.
2Theseprinciplesareadaptedfrom:ImprovingLearninginMathematics,DepartmentforEducationalandSkills,2005
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Giveconstructive,usefulfeedback
Researchshowsthatrespondingtostudents’workwithmarksorlevelsisusuallyineffectiveandmayevenobstructlearning:itresultsinstudentscomparingmarksorlevelsanddetractsfromthemathematicsitself.Instead,usequalitativeoralandwrittencommentsthathelpstudentsrecognisewhattheycando,whattheyneedtobeabletodoandhowtheymightnarrowthegap.
Fivekeystrategies
Research3suggeststhatformativeassessmentusesfivekeystrategies:
1) Clarifying/Understanding/Sharinglearningintentionsandcriteriaforsuccess,2) Engineeringeffectiveclassroomdiscussionsandotherlearningtasksthatelicitevidenceof
studentunderstanding,3) Providingfeedbackthatmoveslearnersforward,4) Activatingstudentsasinstructionalresourcesforoneanother,5) Activatingstudentsasownersoftheirownlearning.
Whichoftheseprinciplesandstrategiesdoyouuseinyourownteaching?
Whicharemostdifficulttoimplement?
Whatotherprinciplesorstrategieswouldyouaddtothelist?
3 Wiliam,D.,&Thompson,M.(2007). Integratingassessmentwithlearning:whatwill ittaketomakeitwork?InC.A.Dwyer(Ed.),TheFutureofAssessment:ShapingTeachingandLearning(pp.53-82).Mahwah,NJ:Erlbaum.
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Handout4:Problem-solvingintheclassroom
Situationsandproblemsarisingintherealworldareusuallymessyandcomplicated.Toaddressthem,andcometosomesortofsolution,weneedtosiftthroughtheinformationgiventochoosewhatisneeded,simplifyandmodelsituations,selectappropriateknowledgeandprocessesandtestwhethersolutionsappeartobereasonable.
Classroomproblemsolvingtasksaimtohelpstudentslearntheskillstheywillneedintherealworld.Theyoftenprovemoredifficultthantheindividualelementsofmathematicalcontentwouldsuggest,asstudentsarerequiredtochooseandcombinetechniquesinnon-routineways.Thereareusuallyarangeof‘goodenough’answers,makingitdifficulttoassessproblem-solving.However,formativeassessmentapproachescangivetheteacheragoodideaofthestudents’understanding.
Thefollowingphasesofproblemsolvingprovideausefulwayofanalysingstudents’workonthesetasks:
• Formulatequestions,chooseappropriaterepresentationsandtechniques.
• Reasonlogically,constructhypothesesandarguments,computeaccurately.
• Interpretandevaluateresultsobtained.
• Communicateandreflect.
Handout5:CountingtreesandHandout6:Catsandkittenspresentexamplesoftwotasks,eachwithfoursampleresponses.
Readthroughbothtasksthenchooseonetaskthatwillbemostsuitableforaclassyouwillsoonteach.Ifyouareworkingonthismoduleinagroup,itwillbehelpfulifeachparticipantchoosesthesametask,asthiswillmakethefollow-updiscussioneasier.
Considerthefourstudentresponses.Thinkaboutwhateachstudent’sresponsetellsyouabouthisorhercapacitytouseeachoftheprocessesrequiredinproblemsolving:represent,analyse,interpretandevaluate,communicateandreflect?Considerwhatyoucaninferfromtheirresponsesaboutwhattheydoanddonotunderstand.
Thehandoutsoffersomecommentsonstudents’responsestoeachofthetasks.Theyprovideaspaceundereachcommentforyoutosuggestquestionsyoucouldaskeachstudenttohelpthemimprovetheirresponses.Trytoframethishelpintheformoforalquestionsyoucouldaskintheclassroom.
YoumayfindithelpfultorefertothegenericquestionsgivenonHandout7:Suggestionsforquestions.
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Handout5:Countingtrees
CountingTrees
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Thisdiagramshowssometreesinaplantation.
Thecircles ● showoldtreesandthetriangles ▲ showyoungtrees.
Tomwantstoknowhowmanytreesthereareofeachtype,butsaysitwouldtaketoolongcountingthemall,one-by-one.
1. Whatmethodcouldheusetoestimatethenumberoftreesofeachtype?Explainyourmethodfully.
2. Onyourworksheet,useyourmethodtoestimatethenumberof:
• Oldtrees
• Youngtrees
Note:thistaskisalsodiscussedintheprofessionaldevelopmentmoduleStudentsbecomingassessors.
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Sampleresponse:Laura
Lauraattemptstoestimatethenumberofoldandnewtreesbymultiplyingthenumberalongeachsideofthewholediagramandthenhalving.Shedoesnotaccountforgapsnordoessheappeartorealisethatthereareanunequalnumberoftreesofeachkind.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskLaurathatwouldhelpherimproveherresponse?
Sampleresponse:Woody
Woodyusesasampleoftwocolumnsandcountsthenumberofoldandyoungtrees.Hethenmultipliesby25(halfof50columns)tofindanestimateofthetotalnumber.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskWoodythatwouldhelphimimprovehisresponse?
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Sampleresponse:Jenny
Jennyrealisesthatsamplingisneeded,butshemultipliesthenumberofyoungtreesandoldtreesinthelefthandcolumnbythenumberoftreesinthebottomrow.Sheignoresthecolumnswithnotreesinthebottomrow,sohermethodunderestimatesthetotalnumberoftrees.Shedoes,however,takeaccountofthedifferentnumbersofoldandnewtrees.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskJennythatwouldhelpherimproveherresponse?
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Sampleresponse:Amber
Amberchoosesarepresentativesampleandcarriesthroughherworktogetareasonableanswer.Shecorrectlyusesproportionalreasoning.Shechecksherworkasshegoesalongbycountingthegapsinthetrees.Herworkisclearandeasytofollow.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskAmberthatwouldhelpherimproveherresponse?
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Handout6:Catsandkittens
Hereisaposterpublishedbyanorganisationthatlooksafterstraycats.
Workoutwhetherthisnumberofdescendantsisrealistic.
Herearesomefactsyouwillneed:
Make sure your cat cannot have kittens.
Cats can’t add but
they do multiply!
In just 18 months, this female cat
can have 2000 descendants.
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Sampleresponse:Alice
Alicechosetorepresentthetaskusingatimeline.Shehasonlyconsideredthenumberofkittensfromtheoriginalcat.Thecomputationrequiredisaccurate.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskAlicethatwouldhelpherimproveherresponse?
Sampleresponse:Wayne
Wayneappearstofavouraminimalistapproach!Hestartswithwhatwouldbeatimeconsumingpictorialrepresentationwhichhethenabandonsinfavourofanumericalrepresentation.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskWaynethatwouldhelphimimprovehisresponse?
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Sampleresponse:Ben
Benhasdecidedtodrawa‘cattree’,andtriestocontrolfortime(withsomeerrors).Thecommunicationisreasonablyclear,allowingthereadertofollowtheargument,butthefinalanswerof9846isnotexplainedanddoesnotfollowfromthereasoning,since,again,onlythekittensfromtheoriginalcatareconsidered.Thenumberofkittensperlitterismadeexplicit.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskBenthatwouldhelphimimprovehisresponse?
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Sampleresponse:SallyandJanet
Twostudentsworkedonthistask,discussingandsharingtheirmethods.Theyusedaspreadsheet.
Wethink2000isabitmuchin18monthsbecauseevenifeachlitterwas6andnothingdiestherewouldbe1860thoughthatroundsto2000somaybeitsOK.Thecatpeoplewantownerstohavetheircatsnewturedsothattheyusethebiggernumbersothatpeoplesaythatisalotofcatsandrushtothevets.
SallyandJanetusedaspreadsheettocontrolforbothtimeandmultiplicationandtheirmethodisclearandeffective.
WhatquestionscouldyouaskSallyandJanetthatwouldhelpthemimprovetheirresponse?
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Handout7:Suggestionsforquestions
Formulatequestions,chooseappropriaterepresentationsandtools.
Whatquestionsmightyouaskaboutthissituation?Howcanyougetstartedonthisproblem?Whattechniquesmightbeusefulhere?Whatsortofdiagrammightbehelpful?Howcanyousimplifythisproblem?Whatisknownandwhatisunknown?Whatassumptionsmightyoumake?
Reasonlogically,constructhypothesesandarguments,computeaccurately
Wherehaveyouseensomethinglikethisbefore?Whatisfixedhere,andwhatcanyouchange?Whatisthesameandwhatisdifferenthere?WhatwouldhappenifIchangedthis..tothis...?Whatwillyoudowhenyougetthatanswer?Thisisjustaspecialcaseof...what?Canyouformanyhypotheses?Canyouthinkofanycounterexamples?Whatmistakeshaveyoumade?Canyousuggestadifferentwayofdoingthis?Whatconclusionscanyoumakefromthisdata?Howcanyoucheckthiscalculationwithoutdoingitallagain?Whatisasensiblewaytorecordthis?
Interpretandevaluateresultsobtained
Howcanyoubestdisplayyourdata?Isitbettertousethistypeofchartorthatone?Why?Whatpatternscanyouseeinthisdata?Whatreasonsmighttherebeforthesepatterns?Isthisapproachgoinganywhere?Canyougivemeaconvincingargumentforthatstatement?Thisisjustaspecialcaseof...what?Doyouthinkthatanswerisreasonable?Why?Howcanyoube100%surethatistrue?Convinceme!WhatdoyouthinkofAnne'sargument?Why?Whichmethodmightbebesttousehere?Why?
Communicateandreflect
Whatmethoddidyouuse?Whatothermethodshaveyouconsidered?Whichofyourmethodswasthebest?Why?Whichmethodwasthequickest?Wherehaveyouseenaproblemlikethisbefore?Whatmethodsdidyouuselasttime?Wouldtheyhaveworkedhere?Whathelpfulstrategieshaveyoulearnedfornexttime?
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Handout8:Formativeassessmentinaction
Writingthesortsofcommentsandquestionsonstudents’workyoudidinActivityDistime-consuminganddifficult.
Inthevideotheteachersdiscusshowtheymadecomments.
Towhatextentdotheircommentsresonatewithyourexperience?
Inthesecondvideo,thethreeteachersaskstudentstorespondtothefeedbacktheyhavewrittenandthentoworkinsmallgroupstoconstructajointsolutiontotheproblem.
Inthevideo,youwillsee:
• Andrewexploringhowstudentsrespondtohisfeedbackonthe"countingtrees"problem;
• Amylisteningto,thenquestioning,individualsastheytrytosharetheirideasandproducejointsolutionstothe"securitycamera"problem;
• Dominiclisteningtopresentationsfromstudentsontheirmethodsandreasoningforthe"catsandkittens"problem;
• Amyconcludingherlessonbyaskingstudentstodescribehowtheyhaveusedherfeedbacktoimprovetheirwork.
Whatdifferentkindsofassessmentcanyousee?
Whatisthepurposeofeachkindofassessment?
Whatdoboththeteachersandstudentslearn?
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Handout9:Theeffectsoffeedbackonstudentlearning
Inthevideo,Andrew’sstudentsdiscusstheirresponsestothefeedbackcommentstheirteachergave.
Whichoftheircommentsstrikeyouasparticularlyimportant?
Whataretheimplicationsoftheircomments?
ReadthefollowingtwoextractsfromBlackandWiliam(1998)4andrespondtothequestionsthatfollow.
Thedangersofgivingmarks,levels,rewardsandrankings
“Wheretheclassroomculturefocusesonrewards,‘goldstars’,gradesorplace-in-the-classranking,thenpupilslookforthewaystoobtainthebestmarksratherthanattheneedsoftheirlearningwhichthesemarksoughttoreflect.Onereportedconsequenceisthatwheretheyhaveanychoice,pupilsavoiddifficulttasks.Theyalsospendtimeandenergylookingforcluestothe‘rightanswer’.Manyarereluctanttoaskquestionsoutoffearoffailure.Pupilswhoencounterdifficultiesandpoorresultsareledtobelievethattheylackability,andthisbeliefleadsthemtoattributetheirdifficultiestoadefectinthemselvesaboutwhichtheycannotdoagreatdeal.Sothey‘retirehurt’,avoidinvestingeffortinlearningwhichcouldonlyleadtodisappointment,andtrytobuilduptheirself-esteeminotherways.Whilstthehigh-achieverscandowellinsuchaculture,theoverallresultistoenhancethefrequencyandtheextentofunder-achievement.”
Whataretheimplicationsofthisforyourpractice?
4Black,P.,&Wiliam,D.(1998).Insidetheblackbox:raisingstandardsthroughclassroomassessment.London:King'sCollegeLondonSchoolofEducation1998.
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Whatwouldhappenifyoustoppedgivingmarksorlevelsonpupils’work?
Whyaresomanyteachersresistanttomakingthischange?
Theadvantagesofgivingclear,specific,content-focusedfeedback
“Whatisneededisacultureofsuccess,backedbyabeliefthatallcanachieve.Formativeassessmentcanbeapowerfulweaponhereifitiscommunicatedintherightway.Whilstitcanhelpallpupils,itgivesparticularlygoodresultswithlowachieverswhereitconcentratesonspecificproblemswiththeirwork,andgivesthembothaclearunderstandingofwhatiswrongandachievabletargetsforputtingitright.Pupilscanacceptandworkwithsuchmessages,providedthattheyarenotcloudedbyovertonesaboutability,competitionandcomparisonwithothers.
Insummary,themessagecanbestatedasfollows:Feedbacktoanypupilshouldbeabouttheparticularqualitiesofhisorherwork,withadviceonwhatheorshecandotoimprove,andshouldavoidcomparisonswithotherpupils.”
Whataretheimplicationsofthisforyourpractice?
Doesthiskindoffeedbacknecessarilytakemuchlongertogive?
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Handout10:Aformativeassessmentlessonplan
Thefollowingsuggestionsdescribeonepossibleapproachtoaformativeassessmentlessononproblemsolving.First,studentsaregivenachancetotackleaproblemunaided.Thisgivesyouachancetoassesstheirthinkingandtoidentifystudentsthatneedhelp.Thisisfollowedbyformativelessoninwhichtheycollaborate,reflectontheirworkandtrytoimproveit.
Beforethelesson 20minutes
Beforethelesson,perhapsattheendofapreviouslesson,askstudentstoattemptoneoftheassessmenttasks,CountingTrees,CatsandKittensorSecurityCamerasontheirown.Studentsmayneedcalculators,pencils,rulers,andsquaredpaper.
Theaimistoseehowableyouaretotackleaproblemwithoutmyhelp.
Youwillnotbetoldwhichbitsofmathstouse.
Therearemanywaystotackletheproblem-youchoose.
Theremaybemorethanone'rightanswer'.
Don’tworryifyoucannotunderstandordoeverythingbecauseIamplanningtoteachalessononthisnextinthenextfewdays.
Makesurethatstudentsarefamiliarwiththecontextoftheproblem.
CountingTrees
• Doesanyoneknowwhatatreeplantationis?
• Howisaplantationdifferentfromanaturalforest?
• Theplantationconsistsofoldandnewtrees
• Howmightthearrangementoftreesinaplantationdifferfromthatofanaturalforest?
CatsandKittens
• Thisisapostermadebyacats’charity,encouragingpeopletohavetheircatsspayedsotheycan’thavekittens.Theactivityisaboutwhathappensifyoudon’thaveyourcatspayedandwhetherthestatementontheposteriscorrect.
• Isitrealisticthatonefemalecatwouldproduce2000descendantsin18months?Youaregivensomefactsaboutcatsandkittensthatwillhelpyoudecide.
RemembertoshowyourworkingsoIcanunderstandwhatyouaredoingandwhy.
Collectintheirworkandprovideconstructive,qualitativefeedbackonit.Thisshouldfocusongettingstudentstothinkandreason-aKeyProcessagenda.Don'tgivegrades,scoresorlevels!Writeonlyquestionsbelowtheirwork.Focusfeedbackonsuchissuesas:
Representing: Canyouthinkofadifferentwayoftacklinghisproblem?Whatsortofdiagrammightbehelpful?Whatassumptionshaveyoumade?
Reasoning:Howhaveyougotthisresult?Haveyoucheckedyourcalculations?Whatwouldhappenif...?
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Interpreting:Howcanyoutesttheaccuracyofyourestimate?Whatothersamplecouldyouhavechosen?
Communicating:Ifinditdifficulttofollowyourthinkinghere.Canyoupresentyourreasoningsothatsomeoneelsecanfolloweverystep?
Trytoidentifyparticularstudentswhohavestruggledandwhomayneedsupport.Alsolookoutforstudentsthathavebeensuccessful.Thesemayneedanextensionactivitytofurtherchallengethem.
ResourcesneededforthelessonYouwillneedthefollowingresources:
• Onecopyoftheproblemsheetperstudent
• Miniwhiteboards
• Largesheetsofpaperformakingpostersandfelt-tippedpens
• Calculatorsandrulers
CountingTrees
• Spare,largecopiesofthetreespictureforgroupstoworkontogether.
CatsandKittens
• Asupplyofgraphpaperorsquaredpaper(ifrequested)
Re-introducetheproblemtotheclass 5minutesBeginthelessonbybrieflyreintroducingtheproblem:
DoyouremembertheproblemIaskedyoutohaveagoatlasttime?
IhavehadalookatyourworkandIhavewrittensomecommentsatthebottomofit.
Todaywearegoingtoworktogethertryingtoimproveontheseinitialattempts.
First,onyourown,carefullyreadthroughthequestionsIhavewrittenonyourwork.Useyourmini-whiteboardstonotedownanswerstothesequestions.
Itishelpfultoaskstudentstowritetheirideasonalargesheetofpaperorminiwhiteboardusingfelt-tippedpen.Thishelpsyoumonitortheirworkandalsohelpsstudentstosharetheirideaslaterinthelesson.
Studentsworkalonerespondingtoyourfeedback 5minutesAllowthestudentssometimetoreflectonyourcommentsandwritetheirresponses.
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Studentsworkinpairstoimprovetheirsolutions 10minutesAskstudentstonowworkinpairsorthrees.GiveoutalargesheetofA3(atleast)paperandafelt-tippedpentoeachgroup.
NowIwantyoutoshareyourworkwithapartner.Takeitinturnstoexplainhowyoudidthetaskandhowyounowthinkitcouldbeimproved.NowIwanteachpairtoworktogether,comparingtheirideasandthefeedbackIhavegiven.Together,Iwantyoutotrytoproduceananswertotheproblemthatisbetterthaneachofyoudidseparately.
Goroundtheroom,listening,assessingtheirthinkingandmakinginterventionsaskingstrategicquestions.Consultacopyoftheprogressionstepsfortherelevantproblemanddecidewhichquestionswouldbemostappropriateformovingtheirthinkingtowardshigherlevelsofperformance.Usestrategicquestionslike:
Whatisknownandwhatisunknown?Whatareyouaskedtofindout?Howcanwesimplifythisproblem?Whatassumptionshaveyoumade?
Studentssharetheirapproacheswiththeclass 15minutesAskstudentstopresenttheirideasandapproachestotheclass.Focusontheirmethodsratherthantheiranswers.Astheyrespond,usetheprogressionstepstoassesstheirresponses.Inparticular,focusonthequalityofthereasoningandcommunication.
"Wedecidedtocountthedifferenttypesoftreesalongeachside,thenmultiplythesenumberstogether.""Wedrewatimelinealongthetopofthepaperandthendrewcatsunderneathtoshowwhentheygavebirth."
Asstudentspresenttheirideas,askotherstudentstocommenton:• Representing:Didtheychooseagoodmethod?• Analysing:Isthereasoningcorrect–arethecalculationsaccurate?• Interpreting:Aretheconclusionssensible?• Communication:Wasthereasoningeasytounderstandandfollow?
Studentscontinuewiththeproblem/oranextensionoftheproblem 20minutesEncouragestudentstoreturntotheproblemandcontinueworkingonitusingsomeoftheideasthathavebeenshared.Iftheyhavealreadyproducedagoodsolution,eitheraskthemtofindanalternativemethod,amoreconvincingreason,ortoexploreanextension.
CountingTreesIfInowshowedyouaverylargejarofSmarties,howcouldyouestimatethefractionthatarered?Writedownyoumethod.Canyouusewhatyoulearnedfrom“CountingTrees”?CatsandKittensCanyoufindasimpler,moreelegantwayofpresentingyourcalculationsto“CatsandKittens”?Canyouuseadiagramofsomekind?
Collectexamplesofstudents’workforthefollow-updiscussion.Trytoassesshowmuchstudentshavelearnedfromthesharingsession.
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Handout11:Exchangingexperiences
Whatworkedwellandlesswellintermsofformativeassessment?
Whatdidyoulearnaboutthestudents’understandingfromtheinitialactivity?
Howdidthestudentsrespondtoyourfeedback?
Whatworkedwellandlesswellintermsofproblemsolving?
Whataretheimplicationsofthislessonforyourfutureteaching?
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