Assessment for Learning: Classroom Strategies to Improve Learning

NESA Winter Training Institute

New Delhi, January 30-31, 2010

Damian Cooper

(905) 823-6298

dcooper3@rogers.com

Session Outcomes Understand the critical role played by

“assessment for learning” in providing students with the information they need to improve

Learn about research-based “assessment for learning” strategies that are proving to be effective in improving student learning

Share with colleagues how these strategies may be appropriate to my own classroom

Changing Goals

Mean

Changing Goals

Range of Competent Achievement

If the new goal of education is success for all, then we have no choice but toDifferentiate Instruction & Assessment

Instruction Students bring different

knowledge & experience to school

Students learn at different rates

Students learn in different ways

Assessment Not all students are

able to demonstrate their learning in the same way

Not all students respond the same way to test pressure

Some students need more scaffolding than others

Assessment for Learning“Assessment for learning is any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the purpose of promoting students’ learning. It thus differs from assessment designed primarily to serve the purposes of accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying competence.” Black, Wiliam et al. 2004

Assessment of Learning

“Assessment of learning includes those tasks that are designed to determine how much learning has occurred after a significant period of instruction. The data from such assessments is often used to determine report card grades.”

Components of Assessment for Learning (Black & Wiliam, 1999)

• The provision of effective feedback to students

• The active involvement of students in their own learning

• Adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment

• Recognition of the profound influence assessment has on motivation and self-esteem

• The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve

Components of Assessment for Learning (Black & Wiliam, 2003)

Oral questioning

Marking as feedback

Peer and self-assessment

Formative use of summative tests

Components of Assessment for Learning (Wiliam, 2007)

Clarifying learning intentions and sharing criteria for success

Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, and learning tasks that elicit evidence of learning

Providing feedback that moves learners forward

Activating students as owners of their own learning

Activating students as instructional sources for one another

Components of Assessment for Learning, (Chappuis, ETS)

Clear learning targets Examples of student work Feedback Self-assessment & goal-setting Focus on one aspect of quality at a time Teach students focused revision Student self-reflection, tracking & sharing

learning

Time to Talk About Assessment

At your table, discuss which elements of assessment for learning are common to all the research

Components of Assessment for Learning (Cooper, 2007)

1. Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

2. Do I routinely communicate to students the standards they are aiming for before they begin work on a task?

3. Do I routinely have students self and peer assess their work in ways that improve their learning?

4. Does my questioning technique include all students and promote increased understanding?

5. Do I routinely provide individual feedback to students that informs them how to improve?

6. Do I routinely provide opportunities for students to make use of this feedback to improve specific pieces of work?

Assessment for Learning: am I already doing it?

1. Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

Math Class Learning Goal: You will demonstrate that you

understand the relationship between the numerator and the denominator in a fraction.

At the end of the lesson, Linda points to the poster on the classroom wall and asks her students: What did you learn in this lesson today?

Their exit slip is to answer on a “leaf” and post it on the “knowledge tree”

Linda told me that the most effective AFL strategy for her has been to write the learning goal for each day’s lesson on the board.

Assessment for Learning: am I already doing it?

1. Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

2. Do I routinely communicate to students the standards they are aiming for before they begin work on a task?

Clear Targets

Clarity of curriculum standards High quality assessment tasks Rubrics to describe what quality looks

like Anchors to show students what quality

looks like Checklists to enable students to monitor

their own progress

Time to Talk About Assessment

With your colleagues, respond to Jackie’s class in terms of ...

- what was effective

-what was ineffective

-what you would do differently

Assessment for Learning: am I already doing it?

1. Do I routinely share learning goals with my students so they know where we are heading?

2. Do I routinely communicate to students the standards they are aiming for before they begin work on a task?

3. Do I routinely have students self and peer assess their work in ways that improve their learning?

Formative Assessment StrategiesSelf and Peer Assessment

Self & peer check before submission

Circling, NOT correcting errors

1st. page marking ONLY

Portfolio reflection strips

Traffic Lights – peer Snowball and peer

assessment of essay

Math Class Pete has his students use “Traffic Light” signs at

the start of a lesson on equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages to assess prior knowledge.

Teacher: Do you know what the word “equivalent” means?

Students show either the red or green side of the “traffic light” in response.

He orally checks a sample of the “green” responses to see if they do, in fact, understand the term.

English Class

1. “Snowball” activity to activate students’ prior knowledge about writing an effective response to an essay question

2. Teacher consolidates this information on the board3. Teacher presents a sample answer on the board and

guides students as they assess it, using colour coding4. Students have 15 minutes to answer a sample essay

question5. Students exchange responses and use coloured pencils to

assess each other’s work

English Class – peer assessment guide

Underline in blue the best sentence. Explain why Underline in red the worst sentence. Explain why Underline in green a good choice of quote D Underline in purple a good explanation of the C effect of a quote Underline in orange a good link back to the B question Underline in pink 3 words you think I’d get A excited about Underline in brown anything you think is correct A+ but that I didn’t teach you

Grade

Why Involve Students in the Assessment Process?

Students: Develop understanding of what quality work

looks like Become independent monitors of their own

work Develop skills of metacognition Develop critical thinking skills Develop communication and interpersonal

skills

Time to Talk About Assessment

Discuss with your colleagues 1 of the self or peer assessment examples you’ve just heard about.

Discuss the pros and cons of the strategy? Does this approach have application to your

own classroom? How might you adapt the strategy to suit your

own situation?

Assessment for Learning:am I already doing it?

4. Does my questioning technique include all students and promote increased understanding?

Formative Assessment StrategiesChecks for Understanding

Thumbs Up! Traffic Lights –self Think. Pair. Share Oral questionning –

no hands Co-op hwk. take-up Ungraded quiz –

graded test

Individual white boards

Oral response circle – reciprocal teaching

Exit pass

Assessment for Learning:am I already doing it?

4. Does my questioning technique include all students and promote increased understanding?

5. Do I routinely provide individual feedback to students that informs them how to improve?

Provide tons of feedback …

Oral & written feedback tell students how to improve – marks DON’T

Establish classroom routines that create opportunities for teacher & peer feedback

Provide feedback ALONE on formative assessments; do NOT include marks

Feedback Needs to cause thinking: don’t provide the

“answer” Must not be evaluative Must direct students towards improvement Must make reference to specific quality

indicators (a rubric or checklist) Must include an expectation that it will be

implemented Must include strategies for checking that it

has been implemented

Formative Assessment StrategiesFeedback

Written feedback:

-done well

-done poorly

-try this next time Assignment-

focussed conferencing

Implementing feedback:

-mandatory

-feedback log

Assessment for Learning:am I already doing it?

4. Does my questioning technique include all students and promote increased understanding?

5. Do I routinely provide individual feedback to students that informs them how to improve?

6. Do I routinely provide opportunities for students to make use of this feedback to improve specific pieces of work?

Demand that feedback be acted upon … Include feedback logs in student work

books, binders, etc. Hold students accountable for showing

you “before” & “after” work Focus student conferencing around

feedback and how to act upon it …

Commitment to Action

Spend a few moments reflecting on today …. What was your most significant learning? What specific actions do you plan to take

immediately and/or between now and June 2010? Who will be involved? What results would you like to see from these

actions? How will you assess the effectiveness of these

actions?

Some final thoughts...

“Change is a process, not an event…

beware the implementation dip.” (Fullan) Don’t work alone. Collaboration will help you

problem solve and will improve the quality of your initiatives.

Be proactive - communicate with parents and students before changing your practice.