using assessment data for improving teaching practice acer conference 17 - 18 august 2009 professor...
TRANSCRIPT
Using Assessment Data for Improving Teaching Practice
ACER Conference17 - 18 August 2009
Professor Helen TimperleyFaculty of EducationUniversity of Auckland
Formative assessment for students
Allows them to answer the questions
Where am I going?How am I doing?Where to next?
Hattie & Timperley (2007)
Formative assessment for TEACHERS
Allows them to answer the questions
Where am I going?
How am I doing?
Where to next?
Required Conditions
• Relevant assessment data
• Beliefs, knowledge and skills of teachers
• Beliefs, knowledge and skills of school leaders
Relevant Assessment Data
• Provides teachers with curriculum relevant information about;– Where their students are at– What their students need to learn next– In a timely manner
• Can be of many different kinds
Beliefs, knowledge and skills of teachers
• Inquiry habit of mind– Data can inform teaching and learning (not labels
for students)
• Sufficient knowledge of the meaning of the data to make appropriate adjustments to practice
• Sufficient pedagogical content knowledge to make relevant adjustments to practice
Beliefs, knowledge and skills of leaders
• Skilled enough to have conversations about the data with teachers;
• Inquiry habit of mind– Data can inform teaching and learning
• Know enough to lead the changes required for teachers to use data;
• Engage in systematic evidence-informed cycles of inquiry
Relationships of Respect and Challenge
• Context for learning is social if to have a system change rather than patches of brilliance– Probing meanings, challenging interpretation
of the evidence and reasoning– Respect for the capacity of all to learn and
improve
Relationships of Respect and Challenge
Inquiry Habit of MindUsing Relevant Data
Evidence-informed Conversations
Evidence-Informed Conversations about Data
Earl and Timperley (2000)
How the Process Can Work: Two Sources of Evidence
1. The theoryProfessional Learning and Development Best
Evidence Synthesis iteration (2008)
2. The practiceLiteracy Professional Development Project (LPDP)
in NZ– 300 schools– On average 2-3 times expected rate of progress– Bottom 20% 3-4 times expected rate of progress
What knowledge
and skills do our students
need? What knowledge and skills do we
as teachers need?
What has been the
impact of our changed actions? Deepen
professional knowledge and
refine skillsEngage students in new learning experiences
Teacher inquiry and knowledge-building cycleto promote valued student outcomes
Teachers Inquiring into Students’ Knowledge and Skills
• What do the students already know?
• What sources of evidence have we used?
• What do the students need to learn and do?
• How do we build on what they know?
Within the LPDP Project
• Students assessed using assessment Tools for Teaching and learning (asTTle)
• Facilitated interpretation of how to score it and what the results mean with teachers and leaders
-at the same time as …
What knowledge
and skills do our students
need? What knowledge and skills do we
as teachers need?
What has been the
impact of our changed actions? Deepen
professional knowledge and
refine skillsEngage students in new learning experiences
Teacher inquiry and knowledge-building cycleto promote valued student outcomes
Teachers Inquiring into Own Knowledge and Skills
• How have we contributed to existing student outcomes?
• What do we already know that we can use to promote improved outcomes for students?
• What do we need to learn and do to promote these outcomes?
• What sources of evidence / knowledge can we utilise?
Within the LPDP Project• With expert facilitators, the teachers:• Relate student data to programme
emphases;• Respond to a scenario of (mostly
ineffective) practice and discuss results;• Interpret a set of hypothetical data and
discuss different interpretationsFacilitators also observe teaching practice
and analyse it with teachers
What knowledge
and skills do our students
need? What knowledge and skills do we
as teachers need?
What has been the
impact of our changed actions? Deepen
professional knowledge and
refine skillsEngage students in new learning experiences
Teacher inquiry and knowledge-building cycleto promote valued student outcomes
Deepen Professional Knowledge and Refine Skills
Three principles:• Focus on the teaching / learning links;
– Explicit that the purpose is to improve learning
• Integrate knowledge and skills– Curriculum, assessment, pedagogical– Theory and practice (over-assimilation)
– Multiple opportunities to learn and apply (1 – 2 years)
• Engage teachers’ existing ideas about students, assessment, curriculum and how to teach it
Three Fields of Knowledge(NCSL)
What Is KnownThe knowledge from theory, research and
best practice
What We KnowThe knowledge of
those involved.What practitioners
know
New KnowledgeThe new knowledge that we can create together through
collaborative work
Within the LPDP Project
• Students are the “touchstone” throughout;
• Facilitators work with school literacy leaders to develop teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge;
• Flexible but specific to develop adaptive expertise;
• Teachers’ beliefs (theories of practice) engaged
Promoting change in teachers’ beliefs and assumptions
Develop new
knowledge and skills
Current assumptions challenged
Make small changes to practices
Observe resulting improvements in
student outcomes
What knowledge
and skills do our students
need? What knowledge and skills do we
as teachers need?
What has been the
impact of our changed actions? Deepen
professional knowledge and
refine skillsEngage students in new learning experiences
Teacher inquiry and knowledge-building cycleto promote valued student outcomes
Judging Impact
• How effective is what we have learned and done been in promoting our students’ learning and well-being?– Means the use of assessment information on
a daily, weekly, term by term and annual basis
• Using a range of assessment tools
Assessment Information is NOT a single event
• Pervades all aspects of the cycle– Identifying what students need to learn– Identifying what teachers need to learn– Checking impact of changes to practice
Beliefs, knowledge and Skills of School Leaders
• Teachers cannot do it alone
• To lead effectively, leaders must know their class so they can:– Create a vision of new possibilities– Lead the learning– Organise the learning opportunities
0.27
0.84
0.42
0.31
0.42
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
5. Ensuring an Orderly andSupportive Environment
4. Promoting and Participating inTeacher Learning and
Development
3. Planning, Coordinating andEvaluating Teaching and the
Curriculum
2. Resourcing Strategically
1. Establishing Goals andExpectations
Effect Size
FIVE DIMENSIONS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIPDerived from Quantitative Studies Linking Leadership with Student Outcomes
If leaders are to lead the learning: Must know their class of teachers
• What do the teachers already know?
• What do the leaders need to learn and do to make a difference to teacher learning and valued student outcomes?
• How are the leaders systematically building on what the teachers already know and can do?
• How are they checking impact
What knowledge
and skills do our teachers
need? What knowledge and skills do we as leaders need?
What has been the
impact of our changed actions? Deepen
professional knowledge and
refine skillsEngage teachers in new learning experiences
Leaders’ inquiry and knowledge-building cycleto promote valued teaching practices and
student outcomes
Within the LPDP
• Literacy leaders willingly engage and recognise their need to learn if they are to teach others
• Principals less so– Tend to focus on structures and processes to
promote others’ learning
What about us as system leaders?
• Who is your class and how well do you know them as learners?
• What do we need to learn and do to make a difference in ways that impact on valued student outcomes?
• How are we systematically building on what those for whom we have responsibility already know and can do?
• How are we checking impact?
What knowledge
and skills does our class
need? What knowledge and skills do we
as system leaders need?
What has been the
impact of our changed actions? Deepen
professional knowledge and
refine skillsEngage our class in new learning experiences
System leaders’ inquiry and knowledge-building cycle
to promote valued teaching practices and student outcomes
Conclusion
• Teachers can use data to improve teaching practice in ways that work for students
• Requires – Curriculum-relevant assessments – All layers of the system to know their learners– Development of the beliefs, knowledge and
skills needed for each to enact their responsibility throughout the system
References
Earl, L. & Timperley, H. (2009). Professional Learning Conversations: Challenges in Using Evidence. Springer.
Timperley, H. & Parr, J. (2009). Chain of Influence from Policy to Practice in the New Zealand Literacy Strategy. Research Papers in Education, 24(2), 135-154,
Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H. & Fung, I. (2008) Teacher Professional Learnng and Development: A Best Evidence Iteration. http://educationcounts.edcentre.govt.na/goto/BES