supporting powerful formative assessment

Supporting Powerful Formative Assessment

Jeanette GrishamAdrienne SomeraNWESD

Introductions

Develop an operational definition of formative assessment

Understand the 5 key strategies for effective formative assessment

Implement formative assessment strategies and techniques in your classroom

Community Norms

Our Collective Commitments

Capturing our thinking…

Formative Assessment

Definition

Essential Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

Frayer Model

Formative or Summative?

Sort the vignettes and post your choices on the poster

What was your

A Ha?

Capturing our thinking…

Formative Assessment

Definition

Essential Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

Frayer Model

What is the research behind formative assessment?

20 years of research has found that when classrooms regularly engaged in effective formative assessment...

• Students make significant learning gains – especially lower achieving students

• Teachers tend to be more reflective about their practice and more in touch with their students’ learning

• The process can improve student achievement more than other learning interventions including one-on-one tutoring, reduced class size or cooperative learning

Black and Wiliam (1998) and others (e.g., Shepard et al., 2005)

Source: Siobhan Leahy & Dylan Wiliam (2009). From teachers to schools: scaling up professional

development for formative assessment

“… across a range of different school subjects, in different

countries, and for learners of different ages, the use of

formative assessment appears to be associated with considerable improvements in

the rate of learning.”

Break

Formative assessment

Summative assessment

Assessment for Learning

Process not ProductProgressing toward a standard not meeting a standardInvolves students not reporting about studentsOccurs during the learning not after the learning

Operational Definition

Assessment for learning happens while learning is still underway. These are the assessments that we conduct throughout teaching and learning to diagnose student needs, plan our next steps in instruction, provide students with feedback they can use to improve the quality of their work, and help students see and feel in control of their journey to success.

-Rick Stiggins

Practice in a classroom is formative to the extent that evidence about student achievement is elicited, interpreted, and used by teachers, learners, or their peers, to make decisions about the next steps in instruction that are likely to be better, or better founded, than the decisions they would have taken in the absence of the evidence that was elicited.

~Black and Wiliam

Capturing our thinking…

Formative Assessment

Definition

Essential Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

Frayer Model

Formative AssessmentFive Key Strategies

What is the difference between strategies and techniques?

StrategyTechnique

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Sharing Learning

Expectations

Know what kinds of learning expectations are represented in the curriculum

Master the targets ourselves

Make learning expectations clear to students

Sharing Learning

Expectations

How do we make the target clear?

Strong and weak examples

I can explain that erosion is happening when material is removed from the environment, and I can correctly identify examples of erosion.

Student Friendly Language

Different types of expectations

Learning Goals

“What I Learned”

Performance Goals

“What I Did”

Students given learning goals perform significantly better than students who are given performance goals.

Black and William, 1998; Sheppard, 2001

Try it• On your sentence strip; write the standard as a student friendly learning expectation

• Once you have written your expectation, find the other people in the room who have the same standards and compare

Try your own:

• Begin with state standards

• Clarify learning expectation for yourself

• Communicate the learning expectation using student friendly language

How do we share targets with students?

Some misconceptions…

Misconception #1: Informing the students of the learning target

by telling them what it is or by writing it on the board is sufficient.

Misconception #2: Simply sharing a rubric with students will

ensure they understand the criteria for success.

TechniquesFor Sharing Learning Expectations

Dylan WiliamWashington Educational Research Association workshop June 2009

Lunch!

Back at 1:00

Progressing Toward a Standard

Learning Progression: A learning progression is a sequenced set of subskills and enabling knowledge that, it is believed, students must master en route to mastering a more remote curricular aim. (Popham 2008)

A Learning Progression Model:

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Learning Progressions: What it is and what it isn’t……

38

Zoom in on learning progression

Developing a Learning Progression

40

Let’s Get Started!

42

So what does a learning progression look like?

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enabling knowledge or subskill

enabling knowledge or subskill

enabling knowledge or subskill

enabling knowledge or subskill

enabling knowledge or subskill

target

formative assessment for

learning

formative assessment for

learning

formative assessment for

learning

formative assessment for

learning

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All Insects have characteristics that perform certain functions.

Insects share some common features, yet vary in other way.

Insects go through changes in their life cycle.

Insects show similarities and differences in their life cycle.

Insects have characteristics that help them survive in a wide variety of places.

Insects have unique structures,

behaviors, and basic needs. They are all related, yet

have lots of variations and

complex life cycles.

Given a list of structures, students can match their associated functions.

Students can complete a T-chart comparing and contrasting a list of features.

Students can correctly

sequence an insect’s

metamorphic changes within

its life cycle.

Students can identify the differences

between complete and

incomplete metamorphic life

cycles.

Science Learning Progression

Given a list of insect features,

students are able to identify how each helps the insect survive.

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Formative or Summative?

Sort the vignettes and post your choices on the poster

Exit Cards

• I used to think…• Now I think…• I am still wondering…

Supporting Powerful Formative Assessment: Day 2

Please sit in new groupsand

introduce yourselves to each other

Review Exit Cards

• I used to think…• Now I think…• I am still wondering…

How are you feeling?

Any burning issues?

Remember…

53

Let’s Get Started!

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Step 1: Choose Target

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“Grain Size”

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Step 2: Identify all precursory skills and knowledge (building blocks).

Write your skills and knowledge this way!

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Building Block Practice

• Can you identify building blocks that a student would need to know to meet the target?

.

.

Insects have unique structures,

behaviors, and basic needs. They are all related, yet

have lots of variations and

complex life cycles.

59

Insects have unique

structures, behaviors, and

basic needs. They are all related, yet have lots of variations and complex life

cycles.

Insects share some common features, yet vary in other ways.

Building Block- True or False?

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Insects have unique

structures, behaviors, and

basic needs. They are all related, yet have lots of variations and complex life

cycles.

Insects belong to the Animal Kingdom.

Building Block- True or False?

61

Insects have unique

structures, behaviors, and

basic needs. They are all related, yet have lots of variations and complex life

cycles.

All Insects have characteristics that perform certain functions.

Building Block- True or False?

62

Knowing how to create a "good" question to use in a survey. Calculate

averages.

Deciding the kind of data you collected (numerical, categorical etc) in order to choose a correct graph to display the information ie: bar graph, line plot, etc

Taking raw data and organizing it into a data table or organized list

Correctly include all necessary components on the graph: title that represents the graph, x & y axis labeled with units, appropriate scale, graph is clear and easy to read

Collect and use information to

construct a graph.

Perform basic mathematical functions.

Survey a "representative" population

How to draw a trend line and calculate slope.

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Step 3: Determine if the building block is measureable.

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Step 4: Arrange all building blocks in a structurally defensible sequence.

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Sequence the building blocksWhat order do you think these building blocks should be taught to help student reach this target?

Knowing how to create a "good" question to use in a survey.

Survey a "representative" population

Deciding the kind of data you collected (numerical, categorical etc) in order to choose a correct graph to display the information ie: bar graph, line plot, etc

Taking raw data and organizing it into a data table or organized list

Correctly include all necessary components on the graph: title that represents the graph, x & y axis labeled with units, appropriate scale, graph is clear and easy to read

A

B

C

D

ECollect and

use information to construct

a graph.

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Step 4: Arrange all your building blocks in a structurally defensible sequence.

When you have an order, trade your sequence with another person at your table and review.

Dialogue Prompt: Do you agree with their sequence? Why or Why not?

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Knowing how to create a "good" question to use in a survey.

Survey a "representative" population

Deciding the kind of data you collected (numerical, categorical etc) in order to choose a correct graph to display the information ie: bar graph, line plot, etc

Taking raw data and organizing it into a data table or organized list

Correctly include all necessary components on the graph: title that represents the graph, x & y axis labeled with units, appropriate scale, graph is clear and easy to read

Collect and use

information to construct

a graph.

EB

D A

C

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Creating Your Own Learning Progression

.

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My Learning Progression

Prerequisite skills

Vocabulary

Step 1: Acquire a thorough understanding of the target curricular aim.

Step 2: Identify all requisite precursory sub-skills and bodies of enabling knowledge.

Step 3: Determine whether it’s possible to measure students’ status with respect to each preliminarily identified building block.

Step 4: Arrange all building blocks in a structurally defensible sequence.

Break

Re-examining our thinking

Formative Assessment

Definition

Essential Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

Frayer Model

Formative AssessmentFive Key Strategies

Eliciting Evidence

Designing classroom activities that elicit evidence of students’ learning

Why assess the building blocks? Why not only assess the final target?

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Is It Critical to Assess?

My Learning Progression

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Key Idea!• Keep a learning

progression sufficiently lean so that it is likely to be used. The only building blocks to include are those for which you plan to collect assessment evidence. –Popham

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Everyday classroom assessment is unique to our classroom context. It depends more on the skills, knowledge, and priorities you and your students have than on any particular protocol or strategy.

(Atkin and Cooey 2003, p.xi.)

Determine what evidence of student learning you need at each building block to inform your next steps.

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Dylan WiliamWashington Educational Research Association workshop June 2009

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My Learning Progression

Prerequisite skills

Vocabulary

What techniques for collecting evidence have do you use?

Sharing time

Give one-get one

Collecting evidence does NOT

equal grading

84

Revisit your learning progression and write the techniques (questions or tasks) you can use to collect evidence from students at each block

My Learning Progression

Prerequisite skills

Vocabulary

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Reflection• How can learning progressions be

incorporated into your regular practice?

Lunch!

Back at 1:00

Formative AssessmentFive Key Strategies

Feedback

Recommended Practices• Increased descriptive feedback,

reduced evaluative feedback

• Increased student self-assessment

• Increased opportunities for students to communicate their evolving learning during the teaching

The ultimate user of

assessment information is the student.

Researchers’ Quotes

“ ”

Effective Feedback…

Directs attention to the intended learning, pointing out strengths and offering specific information to guide improvement

Occurs during the learning process

Addresses partial understandingDoes not do the thinking for the studentLimits correctives to the amount of advice the

student can act on

Examples

Stretch Break

5 minutes

Formative AssessmentFive Key Strategies

Activating students as owners of their own learning and as learning

resources for one another

Self Assessment

Peer Assessment

TechniquesFor Self & Peer Assessment

When students are required to think about their own learning, articulate what they understand, and what they still need to learn, achievement improves. --Black and Wiliam, 1998

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Time to revisit your learning progression: are there any opportunities for peer or self assessment?

My Learning Progression

Prerequisite skills

Vocabulary

Re-examining our thinking

Formative Assessment

Definition

Essential Characteristics

Examples Non-Examples

Frayer Model

Please complete the reflection questions

Going Deeper:Follow-up sessions• February 9th Learning Progressions• March 9th Effective Feedback• March 23th Writing good

assessments/Standards Based Grading

Thank you

For additional support or information

Jeanette Grisham Adrienne Somerajgrisham@nwesd.org asomera@nwesd.org 360.299.4716 360.299.4052