Monitoring & Assessment of

LearningETP410 Teaching and Learning 1

School of EducationCharles Darwin University

Prepared for ETL120 T&L 2 (2007) by Karen Sinclair Updated August 2013

Principles of learner centered planning careful preparation balanced with flexibility planning based on how students learn planning considers individual diversity analysis of current achievements are

aligned with curricula next steps in levels of difficulty presented in a lessonGroundwater-Smith, Ewing and

Le Cornu (2003:189,192–193)

Principles of planning continued… Is negotiable with students and other

stakeholders involves attention to detail and resources should actively engaged students in a learning

process not a one off event learning must be purposeful or students won’t

“get it” during your lessons planning is a recursive, consultative process

Planning –types of documented planning you will experience

Long term programming = long range predictions ata school or in a teacher’s program file concerning student learning outcomes, goals, objectives- a Philosophy of Teaching & Learning fits in this section of a teacher’s overall programming records…

Medium term programming = an Overview of “units of work” and other extended learning sequences that students engage with during a school term (ten weeks in the NT context).

Short term planning can seem to overlap with medium term planning where curricula goals apply for a period of time: refers to a single lesson plan (or learning experience) which is located within a lengthier plan; lessons can span 15-20 minutes up to 120 minutes.

An example - NT Curriculum Framework Driving Principles

‘key structures and principles of curriculum as designed and presented to students (NTCF , 2002, Overview, pp 2 – 3).

These are1. A developmental approach2. Students employ ‘critical processes’ to participate and contribute to

a changing world3. Collaboration and partnerships within the education community

help contextualise learning for a good fit between students’ desires to learn (personal, private and communal agendas) and the accredited curricula goals (public and the societal values and agendas.

What principles drive the published curriculum that you use? Driving principles set the scene for

“catalyst principles to be operationalised” within the planning, design and implementation of quality programs.

The two catalyst principles that the NTCF advocated in the 2002 version of curriculum were

Flexibility Inclusivity.

Goal Principles (Futures) The driving principles generate a forward

moving model where progressing toward achievement of a goal is focal. See the Goals of the Melbourne Declaration (MCEETYA, 2008) for nationally authoritative directions in 2013 with regard curriculum and schooling

http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/national_declaration_on_the_educational_goals_for_young_australians.pdf

Commonly used terms & acronyms Monitoring Curriculum-based assessment

& curriculum-based measures Standards Commercial tests Diagnostic assessment Formative assessment Summative assessment Culminating performance Strategy , approach,

taxonomy, moderation NAPLAN

Scores Ratings, Tallies, Spider

graphs Symbol systems (e.g.

Smilies with varying expressions)

Portfolios Rubrics Assessment Approaches Evidence ACARA

What is a pedagogic strategy?

A pedagogic strategy is A single method or set of techniques Has a published name Recognisable elements when applied across different settings and contexts and which Found effective in theory and research When strategically employed by an educator to facilitate an aspect of student learning.

Assessment,monitoring and reporting In the Australian education context assessment refers

to a judgment about the extent to which the learner has achieved a defined learning outcome

Monitoring = purposefully gauging how well learners are progressing toward achieving defined curricula goals or outcome based on evidence

Recording and reporting means systematically collecting and communicating data obtained from monitoring and assessing during a lesson or series of lessons which are connected to the same goals

Useful supplementary reading Mac Naughton and Williams, 2004, Techniques for teaching young

children 2nd edition NSW: Pearson/Prentice-Hall

Northern Territory Curriculum Framework online at http://www.education.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/2392/ntcf_overview.pdf [Updated version accessed August 2013]

Groundwater-Smith, Ewing and Le Cornu, 2003, Teaching Challenges and Dilemmas, Chapter 11 Investigating, assessing and reporting student learning.

Online journal articles and reference texts of your own choosing via CDU Library’s e-reserve or via SUMMONS search engine online to access full text articles which are totally up-to-date (free journal access for CDU staff and students)

Communicating Plan opportunities to communicate with

students as individuals about their learning. If you don’t plan for it, it probably won’t happen in an equitable way.

Students should know what outcomes they are working toward achieving, how they are expected to demonstrate progression through a learning sequence, and the criteria by which their achievements (and struggles) will be judged.

Reflect on your own planning How will students know that they are progressing at school? What interesting, concrete (visual/tactile/auditory) or online systems

of monitoring and reporting will be shared between you and them, on a daily/regular basis?

Are you planning to display class charts with students’ names and records of performance summarised on them? Or do you consider putting student’s records on public display a breach of their privacy? (Links to your Philosophy)

Will the strategies you adopt for documenting children’s learning lead you (or them) to unfair comparisons of one another’s performances at school?

How will students acquire empowerment and agency via the learning journey you design and present them?

Planning reflections…continued What sustainable work practices can you employ to help all

your students acquire evidence of progression with respect their program outcomes?

Will your planning reflect a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning? How will you individualise learning?

We know that play and playful activities are especially important in the primary years of school. Strategies for monitoring and assessment of student learning will therefore also necessitate scheduling routine time frames where your role is to learn what knowledge and skills are expressed through children’s self-directed play activity. Observation techniques are useful in this regard.

Links to Learning Design (Use the Learning Management & Dimensions of

Learning manuals if you have them )

The Dimensions of Learning manual (Marzano & Pickering, 2006) presents strategies that support achievement of outcomes.

The manual categorises the stages of knowledge acquisition and purposeful application in everyday learner contexts.

Use this to check consistent alignments between the focal DoL(s) and the eight LMQs in the Learning Management manual by (Smith, Lynch and Knight, 2007).

NTCF Principles of assessment Authentic epistemology and ontology are coherent

and connected with curricual goals from students’ perspectives

Self-monitoring enable learners to set goals, track and review their own progress; research emphasises the power of self monitoring but younger children need to be shown and taught how

Rigorous knowing the methods and criteria being used for the judgments that are being made; triangulating judgments using different stakeholders for greater validity

NTCF Assessment Principles continued…

Valid and reliable activities relate to specific learning outcomes and varied methods are used;

Fair and equitable the manner of assessment is sensitive to, and inclusive of, the circumstances of every learner e.g. learning styles, culture, ethnicity, abilities, disabilities, gender, age, socio-economic status and linguistic background

Abstract: Learning how to learn: the dynamic assessment of learning power by Ruth D. Crick

This article introduces the notion of the assessment of 'learning power' as an important station in a mentored learning journey, which begins with the motivation and identity of the person who is learning, and moves through the awareness and development of the power to learn, to the publicly valued competencies and funds of knowledge of the formal curriculum.

A recommended read about assessment in schools during a governmental phase in education service delivery (Refer to the references list)

The seven dimensions of learning power are described, and the article reports on the findings of a qualitative study in which sixteen teachers were provided with learning power assessment data for their students as individuals and as whole groups.

There were ten pedagogical themes which underpinned the teaching and learning encounters in those classrooms; these are briefly described.

Learning power profiles have been used with nearly nine thousand students since 2003 and data from school-based development projects are referred to. The profiles are a valid tool for describing HOW WELL students learned. Crick’s article explains how she managed assessment and reporting (LMQs 7 & 8, Smith, Lynch & Knight, 2007)

Dynamic assessment of learning power serves three pedagogical purposes.

First, it reflects back to the learner what they say about themselves in relation to their personal power to learn.

Second, it feeds back to the teacher focused data about student learning, which can be used for diagnosing what is needed for students to move forward in the larger learning journey.

continuedThird, it provides scaffolding for ways in which the

students encountered the formal content of the curriculum.

All of these operate together through the shared, and sometimes locally created, language stimulated by the learning dimensions, and through metaphors, icons and heroes which carry meaning in the classroom.

REFERENCES

Westwood (older full text article) and Wu (YOU TUBE lecture) are my two most highly recommended scholars to view on the topic of assessment…

A FEW ARE ANNOTATED…Last Updated 2013

DET. (2012). A to E Reporting. Darwin: NT Government Retrieved from http://www.det.nt.gov.au/parents-community/assessment-reporting/a-e-reporting.Maher, M. (2010). Culturally responsive assessment and evaluation strategies for Indigenous teacher education students in remote communities of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Nitko, A. J., & Brookhart, S. M. (2007). How to craft performance tasks, projects, portfolios, rating scales, and scoring rubrics In A. J. Nitko & S. M. Brookhart (Eds.), Educational assessment of students (5th Edition ed., pp. 261-294). Upper Saddle, River, N.J: Pearson Education.

Pease, M. A., & Kuhn, D. (2010). Experimental Analysis of the Effective Components of Problem-Based Learning. Science Education, 57-86. UNESCO. (2012). Education and skills for inclusive and sustainable development beyond 2015: Thematic Think Piece. Online: United Nations Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/pdf/4_education.pdf.

Wirkala, C., & Kuhn, D. (2011). Problem-Based Learning in K–12 Education- Is it Effective and How Does it Achieve its Effects? American Education Research Journal 48 (5), 1157=1186.

ACARA. (2011). NAPLAN Achievement in Reading, Persuasive Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy: National Report for 2011. Sydney: Australian Government Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/assessment/assessment.html.

DET. (2012). Inclusive Curriculum Provision: Aligning with the Accountability and Performance Improvement Framework. Darwin: NT Government Retrieved from http://www.det.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2441/InclusiveCurriculumProvision.pdf.

Howard, J. (2012). The Efficacy Institute Inc. and the District of Columbia Public Schools 1998 to 2000. [A fascinating case study about economically disadvantaged students defying society's predictions to achieve great scores on NAPLAN style tests- read HOW they did it] The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and The W.K. Kellogg Foundation].

Sankar-DeLeeuw, N. (2004). Case studies of gifted kindergarten children: profiles of promise. Roeper Review, 26(4), 192-+. Learner profiles aren't always easy to observe and interpret- teachers CONSULT AND COLLABORATE as partners with parents, other colleagues and education-related professions Westwood, P. (1998). Reducing Educational Failure-The Mona Tobias Lecture. [Mona Tobias Award ]. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 3(3), 4-12. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED- OLD BUT GOOD

Crowther, I., 2003, Creating Effective Learning Environments 1st edition Australia: Thomson-Nelson

Davy, A., and Gallagher, J, 2001, Playwork – Play and Care for Children 5–15 3rd edition Australia: Thomson

Fleer, M. and Udy, G., 2002, Early Years Education in Australia, Year Book Australia 2002 Canberra Australian Bureau of Statistics. Online 06/09/07 http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/f4fce0c540f81d6bca256b350018730d?OpenDocument

Foreman, P. (ed), 2005, Inclusion In Action Australia: ThomsonGrossman, S., 1999, The Worksheet Dilemma: Benefits of Play-Based

Curricula Located online 06/09/07 at http://www.earlychildhood.com/articles.cfm

Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R. & Le Cornu, R., 2003, Teaching- Challenges and Dilemmas 2nd edition Australia: Thomson

continued King-Sears, M, 1998, ‘Best academic practices for inclusive

classrooms’, Focus on Exceptional Children, 29(7), pp. 1 – 22. Available in full text via CDU Library Databases (EBSCOHost)

Krause, K., Bochner, S. and Duchesne, S., 2003, Educational Psychology Australia: Thomson

Mac Naughton and Williams, 2004, Techniques for teaching young children 2nd edition NSW: Pearson/Prentice-Hall

New Basics – The Why, What, How and When of Rich Tasks New Basics Project. Education Queensland. Queensland Government Online 06/09/07 at http://www.education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics