Assessment-Understanding by Design-Differentiated Learning

Backward design and assessment

What exactly are we teaching?What are the critical thinking questions [essential

questions-big ideas-thinking challengesWhat do we want students to understand? This

year? Five years from now?What skills do we want students to learn? This

year? Five years from now?Teachers: identity desired results/outcomes.

Overall and specific expectationsLearners can explain, interpret, apply, analyze,

shift perspective, display, reflect, self-assess

Effective Classrooms and Changing Paradigms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4UChanging Education Paradigms-Ken Robinson (animate)Full talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdS4hSa0s

Teachers attend to four elements:Whom they teach (students)Where they teach (learning environment)What they teach (Ministry curriculum/content/skills)How they teach (instruction-pedagogy)

Understanding by Design+ Critical Thinking Challenges+ Differentiated Learning + Authentic Assessment= Designed to teach so that students succeed (quality curriculum + quality instruction)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8F1SnWaIfE

Purpose of Assessment?

What are we assessing? Why are we assessing?

For whom are the results intended?

How will the results be used? 21st century needs:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/expert21/skills_strategies.htm

http://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/differentiated-instruction

Assessment serves different purposes: diagnostic, formative, summative

Diagnostic Assessment: These pre-assessments assist teachers in planning delivery of curriculum and guide Differentiated Instruction

examples: skill checks, knowledge surveys, non-graded pre-tests, learning preferences etc.

Formative Assessment: Occur concurrently with Instruction. Provides information to guide teaching and learning for improving achievement.

examples: ungraded quizzes, oral questioning, observations, draft work, think-alouds, student-constructed concept maps or charts, dress rehearsals, peer responses, report reviews

Steps to prepare for unit/lesson planning

According to Tomlinson/McTigheStage one: Establish goals: Understandings

and Essential Questions [knowledge and Skills]

Stage two: Assessment evidence: performance tasks and other [Key Criteria]

Inauthentic work: fill in the blank, multiple choice, recall, solved contrived problems

Authentic work: examine evidence, debate controversial

issues, solve problems, interpret, purposeful writing.Stage three: Lesson Planning

Teaching Responsibly

Attending to an open/flexible/supportive teacher-student relationship contributes to student learning

Attending to an open/flexible/supportive learning environment builds confidence and context for learning

Attending to students backgrounds and individual needs builds bridges and connects learners and content

Student readiness-student interest for motivation-student learning profiles

Feedback: often, be specific (is clear), flexibility and make adjustments, allow for reflection