Creating Formative Assessment for Daily Use and Getting

Creating Formative Assessment for Daily Use and Getting Everyone to Work Collaboratively By: Deborah Pacheco Chandler

Video • I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate||Spoken Word. sulibreezy https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=De. VF_G_p-Y

Objective: The goal is …. v. To provide some insights from research and practices of formative assessment. v. To give teachers guidance, ideas, resources and an understanding that formative assessment is collaborative between the teacher and students to develop a shared knowledge about their current learning status and what they need to do to progress in their learning.

Teacher & Student Partnership v When teachers join forces with their students in the formative assessment process, their partnership generates powerful learning outcomes. Teachers become more effective, students become actively engaged, and they both become intentional learners. v Several researchers (e. g. , Black & Wiliam, 1998, Sadler, 1989) have identified essential elements of formative assessment. These include the following:

Essential Elements of the Formative Assessment Process v Identifying the gap is the process of defining the difference (the “gap”) between teacher and learner to identify learning goals and outcomes and criteria for achieving these. v Feedback (i. e. , rich conversations between the teacher and student) gives the teacher information needed to identify the current status of a student’s learning as well as the specific next steps that he or she can take to improve. Student feedback and reflection can alert the teacher of the need to modify instructional approaches. v Learning progressions are used by the teacher to break a learning goal into smaller, more manageable sub-goals. The teacher identifies a student’s location on the learning continuum and works collaboratively with the student to set a series of smaller goals. v Involving students in decisions about their own learning and in selfassessment helps students to engage in reflection and build their metacognitive skills (the process of developing self-awareness and the ability to self-assess).

What Is Formative Assessment? v An active and intentional learning process that partners the teacher and the students. v Teachers need to be engaged in a continuous process of gathering evidence, making judgments, and adjusting/differentiating instruction with all students when a class, course, or unit begins.

Intentional Learning Teachers and Their Students Actively and Intentionally Engage in the Formative Assessment Process When They Work Together to do the Following (Brookhart, 2006): v. Focus on learning goals. v. Take stock of where current work is in relation to the goal. v. Take action to move closer to the goal.

Research Studies Show… v Teachers become more effective, students become actively engaged, and they both become intentional learners. v Formative assessment is a learning process and a learning partnership. v Formative assessment provides students and teachers with the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. v Formative assessment process helps both teachers and students gauge student understanding all along the way.

Learning Partnerships v Formative assessment raises teacher quality and creates learning partnerships between students and teachers that make a huge difference in what happens every day and every minute in the classroom. v Keep in mind that the formative assessment is a learning process for all learners in the school—the students, the teachers, and the administration and like any other reframing of what happens in classrooms, will take time to grow and develop.

Formative Assessment Process is Guided by Three Questions v. Where am I going? v. Where am I now? v. What strategy or strategies can help me get to where I need to go? Teachers can display the questions in their classrooms and remind their students to think about them before, during, and after each learning experience. These central questions guide everything the teacher does, everything the student does, and everything teachers and their students do together.

Guide Teachers The Questions Can Also Guide Teachers As They v Plan their lessons, v Monitor their teaching, and v Help their students become self-regulated learners.

Purpose of Formative Assessments v The primary purpose of formative assessment is to improve learning, not merely to audit it. v Formative assessment is both an "instructional tool" that teachers and their students "use while learning is occurring" and "an accountability tool to determine if learning has occurred" (National Education Association, 2003, p. 3). v The operative word in this definition is process, in that formative assessment is happening throughout the learning, as opposed to summative assessment, which is often a one-time event that occurs at the end of a learning unit and is used to make judgments about student competence.

Side By Side Formative Summative v Carried out while learning is in progress—day to day, minute by minute. v Focused on the learning process and the learning progress v Viewed as an integral part of the teaching-learning process. v Collaborative—Teachers and students know where they are headed, understand the learning needs, and use assessment information as feedback to guide and adapt what they do to meet those needs. v Carried out from time to create snapshots of what has happened. v Focused on the products of learning. v Viewed as something separate, an activity performed after the teaching learning cycle. v Teacher directed—Teachers assign what the students must do and then evaluate how well they complete the assignment.

Misconceptions of Formative Assessments #1“Formative assessment is a special kind of test or series of tests that teachers learn to use to find out what their students know” FACTS: v Formative assessment is not a test item, a test, or a series of tests. v Formative assessment is an intentional learning process teachers engage in with their students to gather information during the learning process to improve achievement. v Formative assessment is a learning partnership that involves teachers and their students taking stock of where they are in relation to their learning goals.

Misconceptions of Formative Assessments #2 “Formative assessment is a program that teachers adopt and add to what they already do” FACTS: v Formative assessment is not a prepackaged program or set of techniques that teachers adopt and enact. v Formative assessment is a philosophy of teaching and learning in which the purpose of assessing is to inform learning, not merely to audit it. v The formative assessment process is a fundamental reframing of the work teachers and students do day to day and minute by minute in the classroom.

Misconceptions of Formative Assessmetns #3 “Any practice that gathers information for the purpose of improving programs or improving teaching is a part of formative assessment. ” FACTS: v To be considered part of the formative assessment process, information gathered must be used to inform the learning of current students. v Although the quality of teaching rises as a result of formative assessment, the intended outcome must be to raise the learning and achievement of the students currently in the classroom on the concepts, processes, and skills that formed the basis for the assessment.

Why Formative Assessments Work The research is clear, formative assessment works because it has a direct effect on the two most important players in the teaching-learning process: the teacher and the student In too many classrooms, teachers and their students are flying blind. v Teachers cannot point to strong evidence of exactly what their students know and exactly where their students are at. v The lack of detailed and current evidence makes it difficult for teachers to provide effective feedback that describes for students the next steps they should take to improve Students are operating in the dark as well v Without the benefit of knowing how to assess and regulate their own learning, they try to perform well on assignments without knowing exactly where they are headed, what they need to do to get there, and how they will tell when they have arrived

Effects on Teacher Quality Engaged in the formative assessment process, teachers learn about effective teaching by studying the effectiveness of their own instructional decisions. However, despite professional development efforts focused on training teachers to use best practices in their classroom, studies clearly show that… v Teachers do not always teach in ways that research supports as best practices for student learning. v Instead, teachers teach in ways they believe to be best, often ignoring the findings of educational research. v Teachers' beliefs not only determine what they do in the classroom but also influence what they count as evidence that learning has occurred. And unless professional learning experiences help teachers examine their working assumptions about how students learn and how good teaching supports learning, they will not make meaningful changes in their teaching practices (Moss, 2002; Schreiber, Moss, & Staab, 2007).

Teachers Improve The Quality Of Instruction Each element of the formative assessment process helps educators assess v what they are doing in their classrooms, v why they are doing it, and v how their choices are affecting their students. And because the formative assessment process requires teachers to use information about student learning to guide and promote student achievement, it helps their instructional decisions become increasingly intentional and scientifically based. The ability of formative assessment to promote and sustain active teacher inquiry that is both systematic and intentional is exactly why it can have a significant effect on daily classroom practices. Simply put, formative assessment situates powerful professional learning in the heartbeat of the classroom and encourages educators to approach their teaching as "intentional learning" (Moss, 2001).

Effects on Student Learning The effects of the formative assessment process on students are just as dramatic because it engages students in learning how to learn. v Students learn more, learn smarter, and grow into selfaware learners who can tell you exactly what they did to get to exactly where they are. v They learn to gather evidence about their own learning and to use that information to choose from a growing collection of strategies for success. v And students not only learn how to take ownership of their learning but also increasingly view themselves as autonomous, confident, and capable.

The Role of Feedback Formative assessment with appropriate feedback is the most powerful moderator in the enhancement of achievement (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Teacher Feedback, given in written annotations such sticky notes, etc. , and in oral comments in conferencing, is what provides the guided practice struggling learners need to apply newly learned skills (Pathey-Chavez, Matsumura, & Valdes, 2004).

Information Gained v Teachers can use results of formative assessments to adjust their teaching strategies and match students with appropriate materials and learning conditions. Information gained from formative assessment can help a teacher determine (1) how to group students, (2) whether students need alternative materials, (3) how much time to allocate to specific learning activities, (4) which concepts need to be re-taught to specific students, and (5) which students are ready to advance.

Empowering Students v There is a significant body of evidence linking formative assessment with student achievement. v By encouraging student reflection on their learning and by involving students in decisions related to next steps in reaching their learning goals, both motivate and empower students in the assessment and learning process. v Formative assessment help teachers improve the quality of instruction help students reach their full potential.

Forms of Formative Assessments v Forms of assessment can range from performance-based assessments to reflection journals to multiple-choice items. They can take the form of checklists, rubrics, written papers or oral presentations, graphic organizers, Socratic questioning, etc. v They can also be teacher observations of student performance, teacher questioning/class discussions, analysis of student work, student selfassessment, KWLs, and student journals, among other informal assessments. v The following approaches are useful for assessing students’ knowledge about a given topic as well as their writing skills:

Examples of Formative Assessments v Quick Write: As a pre- or post-assessment tool, 1 - to 3 -minute quick writes on a topic or big idea can be revealing. Student responses often show what they do or do not understand about a topic, and they provide the teacher with insights into the reasoning processes that students are using. v Graphic Organizers: These include items such as Venn diagrams, word/idea webs or concept maps, cause/effect charts, flowcharts, and sequence charts. Graphic organizers can be used to assess prior knowledge, record learning during a lecture or class reading, or organize knowledge after learning. v Cloze Writing: The cloze procedure consists of fill-in-the-blank activities for sentences and paragraphs that can be used to assess knowledge. Facilitative supports, such as a vocabulary bank, can be used for sentences. For a more extended response, students can be given a short story (for example) for which they must write a one-paragraph ending. The brainstorming for this activity can be done in pairs or small groups, and then each student can write his or her own one-paragraph ending.

Examples of Formative Assessments v Think-Pair-Share or Write-Pair-Share: These types of activities ensure that everyone has a chance to talk and process their thinking. Ask for two minutes of silence while each student considers his or her response to a prompt, text, lecture, etc. Then, have students take turns sharing their reflections with a partner. Some reflections can then be shared with the whole group. v Entry/Exit Cards: As students enter class, they respond to a prompt displayed on the board or a flipchart (e. g. , a sentence or short paragraph) related to the topic of that day’s lesson. Alternatively, students can be asked for an “exit card” that provides insight into what they learned from the day’s activities or what they predict might follow.

Examples of Formative Assessments Student Reflection: The teacher can encourage students to reflect on their accomplishments as well as their challenges by asking students to answer questions that spark critical thinking: v What was your task, the ultimate goal, or the outcome for this activity? v What are some important concepts and ideas that you discovered/learned? Why are they important? v How did you solve the problem or task? Did you reach your goal? Explain. v Would you make changes if you had to do it again? Explain.

Examples of Formative Assessments v Short Tests and Quizzes These are either from textbooks or devised by the teacher. These are informal, can be fun and marks can be simply recorded. Used with care they can become part of every day teaching and learning. v Homework Exercises These vary in purpose, design and complexity. ‘Purpose’ is the key word here. Students will make good use of homework if they feel it is useful, for example, preparation of material for a class discussion, seeing how a piece of writing ends, developing a skill, are all appealing tasks.

Examples of Formative Assessments v Skills Assessment using Formal Assessment Criteria These may be the foundation for many skills-based courses. v Observation of Performance This is often used in the arts such as music and skill assessment such as team and leadership exercises.

Examples of Formative Assessments v Assignments This term spans a vast range of tasks but an example might be individual research assignments say for a group project. A very useful and increasingly used method, especially in conjunction with homework. May involve library and internet investigations, visits and interviews. v Projects Increasingly used in modern education as it is felt that developing your own learning material/methods gives you an ‘ownership’ of your own learning experience. The assessment methods of the various project components need careful design and clear communication to the students.

Examples of Formative Assessments v Written Questions / Exercises with Short, Extended or Multiple-choice Answers. Very widely used. Easy to design, mark and assess. v Simulations, Business Games. Almost guaranteed to produce lively learning sessions! Can teach a number of skills imaginatively and effectively. The better ones contain useful directions to possible methods of assessment. v Conferencing / Reviews / Audit. This involves sitting down with learners and reviewing their written work/homework/progress in general. A very useful and beneficial process for teachers and students. Can be used to introduce care, involvement and motivation into the teacherlearner relationship.

Conferencing Method Three points to watch when operating it as a method. v It can be time consuming as you have to give all students a review session. (If you do not – those who are omitted will feel rejected!) v If you do it in class you must ensure that those not involved have something useful to be getting on with. v Make notes on student performance immediately after the review, not during it.

Example Scenarios v. A teacher asks students in his 6 th grade social studies class to form pairs to generate three strategic questions that will help them better meet their learning target of describing how erosion has produced physical patterns on the earth's surface that have affected human activities.

Examples Scenarios v. Before a lesson on creating a family budget, a consumer science teacher states the goals for the lesson and asks the students to paraphrase the goals. v. In a high school English class, students use a rubric that they generated as a class to plan their essays, monitor their writing, and edit their drafts in order to meet the criteria for a successful essay.

Example Scenarios v In his feedback to a 1 st grade student, a teacher shows the student what she did correctly in her attempt to draw the life cycle of a frog. Then the teacher gives the student a strategy to use to improve the accuracy of her drawing before she turns in her final sketch. v A middle school student decides to use a story map to plan his short story depicting life in the Victorian era. It will help him reach his goal of improving the organization and sequencing of his story.

Resilient Learners v This combination of learning factors—ownership, autonomy, confidence, and capability—fortifies students with increased levels of resilience. Raising student resilience can derail a dangerous cycle for many students who attribute their failure to perform well on classroom tasks to a lack of academic ability. Judging themselves to be incapable of achieving and powerless to change things, they become discouraged and quit trying (Ames, 1992; Boston, 2002; Vispoel & Austin, 1995). v Resilient learners, on the other hand, bounce back from poor performances and adversities. They attribute their failures and their successes on learning tasks to factors within their control. They rebound rather than giving up in the face of a challenge. Resilient students believe in their capacity to adapt what they are doing and how they are doing it in order to succeed. v And although formative assessment has a significant effect on learning for all students, it "helps low achievers more than other students and so reduces the range of achievement while raising achievement overall" (Black & Wiliam, 1998). Formative assessment process is a compelling force for increasing student learning and closing the achievement gap (Moss, C. & Brookhart, S. 2009)

High Quality Formative Assessment v High-quality formative assessment blurs the artificial barriers between teaching, learning, and assessment to build a culture of collaborative inquiry and improvement in the classroom. v As this learning partnership grows stronger, conversations about learning become the rule of thumb rather than the exception to the rule. v The bottom line is that formative assessment fundamentally changes the quality and quantity of teacher-student interactions. v And every day, throughout the day, what happens in the classroom focuses squarely on student achievement.

CONCLUSION v With a significant body of evidence behind it, and strategies and techniques designed to empower students and teachers in the assessment and learning processes, implementing research-based formative assessment practice can engage students in reaching their full potential and closing their own achievement gaps and improve the quality of instruction in a way that brings teachers and students closer together through assessment. v The time to more fully embrace this promising strategy for improving student learning, especially for at-risk students, is now. v My hope is that this presentation will be helpful in aiding education leaders to strategize on a research-based, systemic approach and building the confidence of teachers interested in improving their formative assessment skills.

ACTIVITY By yourself, look at the picture and think about the following and write your answers. v What can you infer from the picture? v What kind of conflict is conveyed in the picture? v What is the mood in this picture? Explain your answer. v What is the tone of the picture? Explain your answer. v Share your thinking with a partner. (Write your notes on paper. )

THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK! v. How has the information shared from this presentation changed your view/thoughts about formative assessment? v. What questions do you still have regarding formative assessment? v. Do you feel confident you can incorporate formative assessments to your lesson plan with the resources given in this presentation?

References • Brookhart, S. & Moss. C. 2009. Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom. Books. Retrieved from. http: //www. ascd. org/publications/books/109031/chapters/The-Lay-ofthe-Land@-Essential-Elements-of-the-Formative-Assessment. Process. aspx • Stiggins, R. , & Chappuis, J. (2008). Enhancing Student Learning [Electronic version]. District Administration, 44(1). Retrieved June 24, 2008, from http: //www. districtadministration. com/View. Article. aspx? articleid=1362 • TEAL Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy. (2012). Just Write Guide. Retrieved from https: //teal. ed. gov/teal. Guide/formativeassessment