Assessment is for Learning

The following slides are quick explanations of some of the most common Assessment is For Learning techniques and thinking skills activities that are being used in different departments within Shawland’s Academy.

• Brainstorming• Diagnostic Questioning• CUBE Strategy• Extended Reading• Extended Writing• Fair Questioning• Hot Seating• Jigsawing• Mind Maps• No Hands Up• Open Questions• Plenary• Post Box• Rubrics• Starter Quiz• Teacher Demonstration• Think Time• Think, Pair and Share• Traffic Lights

• Using Wrong Answers• Wait Time• Exemplar• Modelling• Sharing Criteria• Success Criteria• WALT, WILF• Comment Only Marking• Merit Stamps• Next Steps• No Marks Homework• Oral Feedback• Self Assessment• Summative Assessment• Targeting Comments• Two Stars and a Wish• Critical Friend• Evaluation• Peer Assessment• Next Steps• Wipe Boards

Assessment is For Learning

Thinking Skills• Classification• Concept Maps• Fact or Opinion• Five Ws• Flow Charts • Fortune Lines• Hot Potatoes• Layered Decision Making• Living Graphs• Living Maps• Making Predictions• Memory Maps• Mind Movies• Most Likely To• Mysteries• Odd One Out• Reading Photographs• Taboo• Venn Diagrams• Dominoes• Paired Crosswords

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Brainstorming

A means of solving a problem, developing a strategy, or generating ideas by asking individuals or a group to get together and produce as many thoughts on a topic as they can in a short space of time.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Click to see an example from Glasgow City Council

Diagnostic Questioning

Aims to reveal an underlying problem in learning or to find out about a learner's ways of learning, in order to help them achieve learning aims.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

CUBE Strategy

An acronym for: Circle the words that tell you what to do; Underline the key words; Box any sources you have to refer to; Explain in your own words what you have to do.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Click here to see an example

Fair Questioning

A wide, open and inclusive approach to receiving responses to questions. Questioning which takes appropriate account of pupils' experience, including school work and social and cultural background; or that which does not aim to 'trick' them into providing answers based on ignorance of the topic.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Hot SeatingA process where a pupil sits on a particular chair or seat to answer questions, and his or her responses become the basis for assessment by the teacher and/or other pupils.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Jigsawing

Different groups or individual pupils work on different aspects of a learning task or research project, perhaps using different resources. They are expected to know their part of the work well enough to teach it to others. The pooled learning then constitutes a totality to which the different groups or individual pupils have contributed separate elements.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Click here to see an example

Post Box

A strategy to discover potential areas of misunderstanding, involving the use of a ‘post box’, where pupils can post questions anonymously. A box is set up as the 'post box' into which pupils 'post' questions. The teacher collects the 'post', reads the questions at random and addresses any misunderstandings in session with the whole class.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

RubricsA set of graded criteria, often in the form of a grid, which describe the essential quality indicators of a piece of work or product, in order for it to be accurately assessed. Rubrics provide learners with learning intentions and success criteria, and can also be useful for encouraging interactive dialogue about quality.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Teacher Demonstration

A modelling exercise in which the teacher works through the different stages of an activity, emphasising the stages of the process and the criteria for success.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Think Time/Wait Time

A strategy also referred to as wait time. Time given to learners to reflect critically or creatively on a question or problem, or to pose another question.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Click here to see an example from Glasgow City Council

Think, Pair and Share

An activity to encourage higher-order thinking that involves pupils thinking individually, then pairing with a partner, then sharing ideas with the wider group. Think time or wait time is followed by discussion with a partner. The pair then share pooled ideas with the whole class..

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Click to see an example

Traffic LightsA means of self-evaluation that displays how well a pupil has understood a topic or activity based on the colours of a traffic light. Green means 'I can do this'; amber means 'I'm reasonably confident'; and red means 'I need assistance'.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Using Wrong Answers

A teaching strategy where wrong answers are valued and used to explore areas of misunderstanding.

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Why is this wrong?

Click here to see an example

Classification

In groups pupils are given a number of statements. They then have to decide which statements belong to which category.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Concept Maps

Pupils are given a number of statements, they then have to link up related concepts and justify the relationship

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Fact or Opinion

Pupils work in pairs or groups, studying different statements. They have to decide what are facts and what are opinions. They must justify each either in a report or classroom discussion.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Fact or Opinion?

Five Ws

What? Where? Who? When? and Why? Pupils come up with as many questions as they can on a particular topic, and answer these, or each others, using different resources. Then they must use theses questions to write a report.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Flow ChartsThis helps represent sequences of events either known or unknown. In pairs of groups pupils are given a statement. They then have to think of the sequence of events that lead to the statement.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Fortune LinesStudents are given a line graph with time on the horizontal, and ‘happiness’ on the vertical. Next, some form of historical data, such as a diary, dated letter extracts, quotes, made-up or real, placed on cut-out cards, or as text, are provided and need to be placed on the graph in the most suitable position.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents PageTime

Hap

pin

es

s

Hot Potatoes

Software that enables you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Layered Decision Making

Pupils are given a question, such as where a new industry should be located. They are then given a series of statements to consider, such as closeness to motorways, settlements etc. The pupils have to decide how these would influence the initial statement.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Living Graphs

Students are given a line graph and a number of separate statements relating to the context of the graph. They have to decide where on the graph it was most likely to have occurred.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Living Maps

Similar to living graphs, but using real O.S maps or sketches. The task is simply to be able to interpret the map well enough to place the statements given, cut out on card, in suitable places – and to be able to justify their location.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Making Predictions

Students examine resources or watch a short video clip, and then have to think about what happens next.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Memory Maps

Groups take it in turn, one at a time within each group, to come out and study the master map for about 12 seconds. They go back and begin to draw their version of it, giving instructions to number two in that group as to where to concentrate on looking next time. All group members go up 3 or 4 times each.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Mind MoviesTeacher selects a passage of text relevant to the work being done. Students can be invited to close their eyes if this helps imagine the scene. At a certain point, the teacher stops, and asks the students to run the ‘mind film’ on a bit further to see what they perceive happening next. Sounds can be played to aide thinking. This can then be discussed in pairs, or written up as a report.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Click here to see an example

Most Likely To

Involves presenting students with a list of options and requires them to identify which they think are most likely to be representative of a given situation, activity or location.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Click to see an example

MysteriesEvidence on 20 to 30 slips of paper is given to pupils. Pupils must decide what the relationship is between the statements. To solve a ‘Mystery’ the groups must produce a reasoned argument and support it with evidence contained on the data slips and drawn from their wider understanding and knowledge.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Click here to see an example

Odd One Out

The strategy uses a very simple format in asking students to pick out the odd one from a list of words, numbers, pictures or symbols.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Click to see an example

Reading Photographs

Pupils work individually, in pairs or in groups. They are given photos and captions. They have to match up the correct picture with the right caption.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Click here to see an example from Glasgow City Council

Taboo

A game involving describing given words without being able to use those which most naturally come to mind.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Click here to see an example

Venn DiagramsStudents are given separate but overlapping words, and a number of different statement cards. They have to decide where these statements fit on the diagram.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Dominoes

This is a game that can be used inthe classroom to reinforce pupil understanding of aparticular topic.Pupils work in pairs/groups and the aim is tomatch up the correct words with the correctdefinitions.

Click here to see an exampleBack to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Paired Crosswords

This is a technique that is particularly beneficial to bilingual pupils to reinforce their understanding of key terminology. However it can also be used as a revision exercise for all pupils.

Pupils work in pairs. One pupil has all the ‘across’ words the other has all the ‘down’ words. The pupils take it in turn to describe each word to their partner.

Click here to see an exampleBack to Thinking Skills Contents Page

C = circle the words that tell you what to do.

U = underline the key words

B = box any sources that you have to refer to

E = explain in your own words what you have to do

Choose one of the three soil types and, with the aid of the

reference diagram provided, describe and explain the

processes which have contributed to its formation.

Study reference Diagram Q4

Back to Assessment is for Learning Contents Page

Mind Movie – Sound Effects

Hurricane Mind Movie

You are in bed…fast asleep. You wake up suddenly with the clap of thunder. The winds are so strong that you hear your windows shaking. Without any warning the room is shaking and you can hear noise of people screaming outside… it is terrifying.

The most frightening part is the sound. This is not a dull rumble of thunder. This is a deafening, roaring sound coming from everywhere…it sound like the end of the world. Other sounds break in: Windows shattering, the house creaking, people crying.

You realise that the horrendous creaking all around you is the building you live in. Walls, ceilings and floors look like they will collapse at any moment. The deafening sound of the winds get stronger and stronger. The rain gets louder and louder.

You realise that you must get out of this house and find somewhere safe. Everything is rattling, and you try to open the door, but it slams shut in the winds, your hear the sound of the windows breaking and you try for the door again, this time you get out, but it is pitch dark.

What happens next…?

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

MYSTERY

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Can you unlock the mystery?

• In your group, decide the best way to sort out the information.

• Remember there is no right answer! As long as you can justify your answer, that is fine!

• Write your opinion – make sure you include your reasoning. Say things like ‘and so..’ or ‘because..’ or ‘and this shows that…’Information Cards

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page

Next

• What factor’s influence charities decisions to give aid to countries?

• List the 3 factors you think would have most influence and explain how they might affect people.

Back to Thinking Skills Contents Page