MODERATION

MODERATIONMRLC Summer InstituteWarren Nickerson1Intended Learning OutcomesMRLC facilitators will understand the value and purpose of collaborative moderation of student workbe able to facilitate strategies for teacher moderation for both formative and summative purposesreflect on and plan for moderation of overall judgement of literacy and numeracy achievement across a range of sources of evidence

2AGENDAIntroduction to Moderating Teacher JudgementsModerating Literacy EvidenceModeration across multiple sources of evidenceClassroom ProfilesSummative Assessment: Numeracy, Reading Facilitating Horizontal ModerationFilm clip example from writingHands on exercise: Grade 4 writingFacilitating Vertical ModerationExample: Building a continuum for problem-solvingHands-on: Discuss criteria for problem-solving

3Introduction to TeacherModerationunderstand the nature and purposes of collaborative moderation of student work.4MODERATIONModeratemoderari"to regulate, mitigate, restrain, temper, set a measure, keep (something) within measure,"[verb] to preside over in order to bring about reasoned judgement; to act as a moderator

DELIBERATE

Moderate opinions

Moderate in the VERB sense, rather than moderate in the adjective sense.

Moderation can be LESS FORMAL, ONGOING in the case of professional learning / collaboration within a school. It can be quick does not need to be drawn out.

Moderation can also be MORE FORMAL, as is the case with grade 12 ELA tests where there is some weight to the judgement (30% of the final grade)

Moderation can also be INTERNAL (within a school) or EXTERNAL (outside body checking a sample of work, such as the International Baccalaureate program does)

Moderation can also be HORIZONTAL (across subjects in a grade, or across a wide range of evidence from one student) or it can be VERTICAL (across grades or ages)

The purpose of moderation can be FORMATIVE (for students or for their teachers) or it can be SUMMATIVE (summing up for a report card and reporting to parents or education authorities).5Why does moderation matter?Andy Hargreaves The Fourth WayFirst: 60s and 70s pockets of innovation, overvalue of teacher autonomySecond: 80s testing and accountabilityThird: 90s data-driven decision-makingFourth: establish platforms for teachers to initiate their own changes and make their own judgments on the frontline, to invest more in the change capacities of local districts and communities, and to pursue prudent rather than profligate approaches to testing.6Purpose and Benefit of ModerationScan the first two pages of the resource Teacher Moderation: Collaborative Assessment of Student Work from Ontario [LINK]In a group of four, summarize an idea from the reading that you found relevant or significant to the context in which you work. Record these on paper.If appropriate, add other benefits that you see from the moderation process.7Moderation across multiple sources of evidenceWhats the GOAL here?8Overall Teacher Judgement (OTJ) (summative)Given enough collaborative moderation, teachers should be able to talk about their own students work in relation to common assessment criteriaTheir opinions of student proficiency should be moderated by multiple sources of evidenceThis approach is being used in New Zealand and is referred to as OTJ overall teacher judgement9Summing up the evidence in mathematics

CLICK THE PICTURE ITS HYPERLINKED10Do you have sufficient evidence to make inferences?

Is there enough evidence from a range of sources to show:Multiple dimensions of achievementEvidence from across subject areas curricularStudent voice / self-assessmentObservations / checklists / notesLearning conversationsInformation from an common or standardized assessment tool

Additional reading [link] by Lorna Earl11Planning a Range of EvidenceTerm 1Term 2Term 3ReadingWritingMathematicsAssessment Plan

12Summing up the evidence in reading

CLICK THE PICTURE ITS HYPERLINKED13THE CLASSROOM PROFILEView and discuss example of the Classroom Profile Process outlined by Faye Brownlie

14HORIZONTAL (within grade level) MODERATION GOAL: learn to facilitate strategies for teacher moderation for both formative and summative purposesExamples from literacyHow do teachers internalize the criteria to the point where they can apply in CONSISTENTLY to evidence of student achievement?15Horizontal ModerationGathering and interpreting achievement evidence from one or more students in the same gradeCan focus on literacy and numeracy evidence from across subject areasA common assessment task can provide rich professional discussionE.g., Teachers discuss at what level students are achieving a standard.E.g., A teacher assesses whether a student is performing at grade level based on multiple sources of evidence

16Example of Horizontal ModerationView and listen to teachers deliberate about student writing:

CLICK THE PICTURE ITS HYPERLINKED17You Try: Horizontal ModerationRefer to the steps from the Ontario handout Teacher Moderation: Collaborative Assessment of Student Work (page 3) to practice horizontal moderation with a sample of grade 4 impromptu writing. INITIAL SORT Good, better, bestIndividually, use the MRLC IEYE and / or the BC Performance Standards to describe the qualities of each sample. Record your level and comments on the handout entitled Moderation DiscussionAs a group, share and compare your assessment of each sample and decide how each sample illustrates the writing traits for a grade 4 student. Come to a consensus on a level for each sample.18VERTICAL (across grade level) MODERATION What Professional Learning opportunities give teachers an understanding of DEVELOPMENT?19Vertical ModerationDeliberating about evidence of student achievement across grade levels in relation to a continuum of progress and achievementCan provide a focus for each grade level and a sense of a common mission across the schoolE.g., Regie Routman whole-school, common, demand-writing prompt

20Example of Vertical Moderation

21Professional Learning IdeasChoose a focus that spans grade levels (personal response to reading, problem-solving in math, conducting an experiment)Set a whole-school common assessment task Can be same task, different topicsGather samples and sort quality of student work along a continuum of complexity (novice, apprentice, proficient, advanced)Set cut points every two or three grades (e.g. 3,5,7, 9)22Problem-SolvingTry assessing the samples provided according to the criteria providedSamples taken from BC Performance Standards (Numeracy) Additional Tasks and Student Samples, Grade 5 https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/n5atss.pdf 232400:00:00.8700:00:00.70