Formative Assessment - Bear Creek Elementary August 28th, 2013

Formative Assessment and Assessment for LearningPresented by: Jonathan Ver vaetAugust 28 t h , 2013Bear Creek E lementary, Surrey

“If students have not been told where they are going, it is

unlikely that they will arrive.” – Shirley Clark

Learning Intentions• I can find evidence of current

assessment research in my own practice.

• I can become curious about something in the research I want to inquire further into.

• I can outline the key principles of formative assessment and articulate what that looks like in practice.

Instructional Design

The Science of Learning


90% of what we know about the brain we have learned in approximately the last 2 years


The same will be true 10 years from now

Carol Dweck (2006)

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.

Fixed – Believe they have to work with whatever intelligence they have because it

can’t be increased.

They resist novel challenges if they can’t succeed immediately.

They’d rather not try than be perceived as dumb.

Carol Dweck (2006)

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.

Growth – Believe intelligence can be built through life.

See working harder as a way to improve.

They persist and try a wide variety of solutions when given novel tasks.

Csikzentmihalyi (1990)

Flow Theory – The exhilarating moments when

we feel in control, full of purpose, and in the zone.

Csikzentmihalyi (1990)

Skill Level

Challenge Level

How is the science of learning

connected to assessment?

“Assessment is the beginning and the end of my teaching. It defines my culture, my relationships, my learning community, my values, and my beliefs about teaching and learning.” - Matt Rosati

Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom

Assessment

When carried out effectively, informalclassroom assessment with constructive feedback will raiselevels of attainment.

We know from research that effectiveassessment for learning can Improve student achievementsubstantially, and helps low achievers themost.

Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

The effect sizes, that is the student gains in learning triggered by formative assessment, were among the largest ever reported for educational interventions.

Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

Formative Assessment:

5 Key Strategies…

sometimes 6!

Dylan Wiliam “Embedded Formative Assessment” (2011)

Formative Assessment:1.Learning Intentions and Success

Criteria2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence

of Learning3.Feedback that Moves Learning

Forward4.Peer Assessment5.Student Ownership of Learning





Learning Intentions: What are we

learning? Vs.

Learning Activities:

What are we doing?

Learning Intentions

I can statements… try and use child

friendly language separate from the

activity instructions make it visible discuss with students

why they are learning it

The Lighthouse

Most students canhit the target if they

can see it clearly and if it stays still.

-Rick Stiggins

What does good look like?

What does good look like?

Success Criteria and the Use ofPerformance Standards

Reading Performance Standard Grade 2

Beginning DevelopedAccomplishedExemplary





Determine Acceptable Evidence

Processing ActivitiesWhat are you going to have students do to develop key

skills and meet learning outcomes?

Provide students places and opportunities to:

“Hold their thinking”Practice without penalty

Ask questionsTalk about what they are learning

ReflectBe metacognitive

Performance Tasks





Formative Assessment=

Descriptive Feedback Informs the student

Informs the teacher

Informs Learning

Marks or levels tell students more about their success or failure than about how to make progress in their learning.

“Is this for marks?”

The Benefits of Formative Assessment

Constantly weighing the pig won’t make it fatter...

Assessment is done

with, and not to,

students to help them

grow in their

learning.

The Latin root word for assessment is "assidere" which means to sit beside.

Types of Feedback

Evaluative – communicates a judgment made by the

teacher

Descriptive – describes what the student did or

can do next time in a way that makes the student

more competent and more confident

What to comment on…

- the focus of the assignment

- a pattern of errors

- the thing that is most holding the student back in their learning

- a quick fix

- a strength the student can build on

Then What?

Students must be given the opportunity to apply the feedback by

trying again.Source: Black and Wiliam. Inside the Black Box,

1998

Feedback should be more work for the recipient than the donor.

Source: Wiliam. Embedded Formative Assessment, 2011





Peer Assessment

Student self - reflection on the helpfulness of feedback. 45

Peer Assessment

Student self-reflection on the helpfulness of feedback

46





Metacognition

Thinking about thinking…

Self monitoring and regulation.

Reflection:

I used to think… But now I think…

Formative

Assessment for Learning

Ongoing

To determine learning needs

Ungraded and Descriptive Feedback (uses

words)

Provides feedback to students and teacher to promote learning

Summative

Assessment of Learning

Occurs at the end of a learning progression

Graded to determine achievement level

and for reporting

Evaluative

Levels or Marks

Formative (for)

Examples:

-Oral questioning

-Draft work

-Reflections

-Portfolio reviews-Peer /self assessments

Summative (of)

Examples:

- Inquiry projects

-Presentations

-Grade conferences

-Portfolio reviews

-Tests and quizzes

"We must constantly remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of evaluation is to have students become self evaluating. If students graduate from our schools still dependent upon others to tell them when they are adequate, good, or excellent, then we’ve missed the whole point of what education is about.”

- Costa and Kallick (1992)

Inquiry

Your Student

s

21st Century Skills

Equals

Inquiry

You

“We know that sustained, collaborative, inquiry based professional development

can help teachers develop new understandings and approaches.”

Grade wide, interdisciplinary teaching teams working on shared goals can

make a significant difference in student learning.

Teaching is not rocket science. It is, in fact, far more complex and demanding work than rocket science.

- Richard Elmore (Professor of Education Leadership at Harvard Graduate School of Education)

Contact Information

Jonathan VervaetEmail:

[email protected]

Twitter: @jonathanvervaet