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