Bergenfield Public Schools New Teacher Academy

April 11, 2011Formative Assessment:

The Five Key Areas

““Formative Assessment has the Formative Assessment has the power to produce unprecedented power to produce unprecedented

improvements in student improvements in student achievement in our schools.”achievement in our schools.”

Dylan WiliamDylan Wiliam

Learning Intentions for Today

Gain an understanding of formative assessment and summative assessment

Learn the 5 key areas of formative assessment and how formative assessment moves learning forward

Experience formative assessment techniques

Enter Card

What do you know about formative assessment?

What would you like to come away with from this presentation?

Think, Jot, Pair, Share

Assessment MemoryClassroom Practices

Formative Assessment Is…Formative Assessment Is…A process of accumulating information about a student’s progress to help make instructional decisions that will improve his/her understanding and achievement levels.

Depicts student’s life as a learner

Used to make instructional adjustments

Alerts the teacher about student “early warning signs”

Allows students to build on previous experiences

Provides regular feedback

Provides evidence of progress

Aligns with instructional/curricular outcomes

5 Key Areas5 Key AreasImportance of stating learning intentions & modeling criteria for success

Questioning for understanding

Eliciting feedback to monitor and adjust instruction

Developing the self-directed learner

Common assessments

Learning Intentions

Learning Targets

Goals

Objectives

Essential Learning

Content Standards

Benchmarks

“If we don’t begin with clear statements of the intended learning, we won’t end with

sound assessments.”

Stiggins, Arter, J.Chappuis, S. Chappuis 2006

Learning Intentions

Focus on student learning rather than product/activity

Stated at the beginning of the lesson

Used to refocus during the lesson

Used to assess at the end of the lesson

Plan for future lessons

Characteristics of High Quality Learning Intentions

Focus on what will be learned rather than what will be doneFocus on “active learning” rather than imparting knowledgeAre lesson sizedStated in an age-appropriate and student friendly languageSMART Goals- small, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-limited

Transform this learning target into a student friendly version

Students will compare and contrast elements of text.

Age: 9 years old/4th grade

It may sound like this…

I can identify and describe similarities and differences between the characters, setting, problems and solutions of the stories.

Teaching 7th graders how to make good inferences

Define the word inference.

Student friendly language: “ I am learning to make good inferences. This means I can use information from what I read to draw a reasonable conclusion.”

Stiggins, Arter, J.Chappuis, S. Chappuis-Classroom Assessment for Student Learning, 2006

How might the same learning intention be stated for 2nd graders?

“ I can make good inferences. This means I can make a guess that is

based on clues.”

BenefitsTeachers

Identify what to assess

Intentional teaching

Curriculum alignment

Streamline content

Clear and well defined learning targets foster assessments that measure exactly what is being learned

Students

Must know where they are going in their learning

Need clear and well defined targets in oder to get a “bull’s eye”

Understand expectations

Know how to progress toward learning target

“When students understand the intended learning, they are set up

for productive self-assessment and goal setting.”

Stiggins, Arter, J Chappuis, & S. Chappuis

Success Criteria which helps identify expectations for students

Clear verbal statements

Visual supports/examples

Modeling of both weak and strong work

Modeling the process with students as guided practice

Built in time for discussion and clarification

Sample Learning Intentions Sample Learning Intentions ActivityActivity

“We learn:10% of what we read,20% of what we hear,30% of what we see,50% of what we hear and see,70% of what is discussed with others,80% of what we experience personally, and95% of what we teach to someone else.”

William Glasser

Promoting Student Learning through Quality Questioning

Quality Questions are seldom by Chance!

Introducing… DALTON

Research on Teacher Questioning Behavior

What do we know about teacher questioning behavior?

Teachers estimated that they ask 15 questions in every 30 minutes.

When observed, the data showed that teachers asked 50.6 questions.

How many questions do your students ask?

Teachers reported that students in their classes were asking about 10 questions in 30 minutes.

Observers found that students only posed 1.8 questions in 30 minutes.

What questions will “hook” students’ interests about content and skills?

What are the characteristics of effective questions?

1. Questions are purposeful.

One common context for classroom questions is recitation.

Usually low level questions

Students are rarely engaged in deep thinking about a topic.

Purpose of recitation questions is to…

Review for a test

Comprehension of a passage

Homework completion

Cueing students on important content

Get students to talk

Opportunities for drill and practice

Modeling good questioning

Recall of information

Another classroom context for questioning is discussion

Practice to think out loud

Respect diverse points of view

Improve listening skills

Provide opportunities to support students’ ideas

Students make connections that will move information to long term memory

2. Quality Questions have a clear content focus.

When constructing questions that have a clear content focus just remember…

“What’s worth teaching”

4. Quality Questions are Clear and Concise

Do students know what the teacher is asking?

Is the question grammatically correct?

Does the question have a single focus?

3. Quality Questions Engage Students at Varied and Appropriate Cognitive Levels.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Level 3-Create

Level 2- Use

Level 1-Recall

Johnny the Bagger activity

“Crossroad Questions”

“Can I go on with the lesson?”

Questioning ExampleIn which of the following diagrams is one

quarter of the area shaded?

A B C D

Professor Dylan Wiliam, ETS EUROPE July 2006

If every student responded A,B and D, the teacher can move on with the lesson. There is evidence that the students have an understanding of the concept.

4G’s Geometry Lesson

How can teachers respond when students respond

incorrectly?

Why is Wait Time so important?

Thinking takes timeOpens up the possibility of multiple answersFosters greater participation Answers often involve a 5 step process: listen to question, understand what is being asked, answer to self, answer out loud, rethink or revise question.

WAIT TIME 1-

The amount of time elapsed from posing the question and the student response

WAIT TIME 2-

The amount of time elapsed from the student response and the next spoken word (Teacher or Student)

Engaging All Students

All student response techniquesABCD and True/False Cards

No Hands Up

Popsicle Sticks

Whiteboards/ communicators

Think, Pair, Share/Turn &Talk

Testing Miss MalarkeyBy: Judy Finchler

ABC Activity- Recap

Feedback Skits

“To be formative, assessment must include a recipe for future

action.”Dylan Wiliam

Research Study- Israel

264 low and high ability grade 6 students in 12 classes in 4 schools; analysis of 132 students at the top and bottom of each class

Same teaching, same aims, same teachers, same class work

Three kinds of feedback: scores, comments, scores +comments

{Butler(1988) BR.J. Educ. Psychol.,58 1-14}

Research Study

Which group demonstrated gains?

A. Grade only

B. Comments only

C. Grade and comments

B. Comments only is the correct answer.

Formative Feedback

Identifies where the student is now

Identifies where the student needs to go

Compares the two levels and provides information about the gap

Provides a mechanism to close the gap

Feedback Strategies

Timing- Hear it and use it

Mode-Oral, written, demonstration

Audience- “Know your audience and talk with him/her or them.”

Amount- “ The Goldilocks Principle”

How to Give Effective Feedback

Focus feedback on task, process, self-regulation.

For example: “I saw you go back and rewrite that sentence. After you changed it, it reads better, doesn’t it?” “Why did you revise?”

Focus feedback on lesson objective

Use self-referenced feedback“Did you notice your wrote a complete paragraph? You had trouble with this in the last assignment.”

Continuation of Effective Feedback

Descriptive, non judgmental

Positive, not negative

Select 1 or 2 points and suggest small steps for improvement.

For example-”Next time you write a paragraph, try to make the last sentence a closing of the previous sentences.”

Check for understanding of feedback“Can you tell me the steps to take when solving a math word problem?”

Feedback Techniques

Dots on assignments

Red, yellow, green markers for homework

Focused grading based on students’ needs and teacher’s priorities

Two stars and a wish

Comment only marking

+, -, =

Assessments to ShareAssessments to Share

Developing the Self-Directed Learner

Student-led conferences

Problem-based learning tasks

Rubrics

Debriefing for learning

Self-reflection: learning logs, exit passes, 1-2-3 cards

As the Geese FlyAs the Geese Fly

Facts and Lessons for

Collaboration

Student-Led Conferences

Student-led conferenceRole-play

Fashion Designer for a DayFashion Designer for a Day

Teacher Testimonials“I am currently using white-boards

EVERYDAY in math. I love it and the kids want to do it for hours!” Marissa- 2nd Grade

Teacher“I use colored dots on their writing

assignments so that I can monitor who needs help in the small group setting without having

them ask in front of a group.” Nicole- 5th Grade Teacher

“I use the technique where kids put their heads down and raise their hands when their answer is called out. It always give me a quick

snapshot of who understands what we are doing.” Ellinor- 4th Grade Teacher

“I’ve moved down to Kindergarten, but I am still using many of the techniques for feedback such as white-boards, exit cards, and popsicle sticks. I think once you are used to it, it just becomes part of what you do. Now, I really need to have this information to move on.” Linda - Primary Teacher

“Formative assessment practices definitely inform my decision making when I am both planning and teaching lessons. For example, based upon children’s responses when doing heads down hands up, I know if the class is ready to move on or needs further reinforcement. If only a few kids consistently have wrong answers, then I know I need to provide extra help for them.” Melissa- 3rd Grade Teacher

Formative Assessment Formative Assessment refines what we are already refines what we are already doing (learning intentions, doing (learning intentions,

questions, and feedback) in questions, and feedback) in the interest of student the interest of student

learning.learning.

Summary & Recap

On-going Assessment:

A Diagnostic Continuum

What’s Next?

Creating an Action Plan

Mr. DeVore’s Do-Overby: David Puckett

COACH WOODEN ON SUCCESS