Fa SMEd INTRODUCING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Fa SMEd PROFESSIONAL

Fa. SMEd INTRODUCING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT Fa. SMEd PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULE 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 1

Activity A: What is formative assessment? Fa. SMEd Discuss the following questions and think about a few specific examples: 1. Why do you assess students? 2. What different purposes do your assessments serve? Make a list. 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 2

Activity B(1): Teachers’ own experiences of formative assessment • • Fa. SMEd What strategies do you use to find out what your students know and understand? Think of two students in your class, one who is particularly strong and one who is finding the work very difficult. Take it in turns to describe the students' strengths and difficulties to your partner, in as much detail as possible. How did you become aware of these strengths and difficulties? On what evidence do you base your judgments? Test results? Memories of oral responses during lessons? Observations of the student working? Written work? In what ways do your assessments of these students affect your lesson planning? Give examples. 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 3

Activity B(1): Types of questions that develop thinking and reasoning Fa. SMEd On Handout 3: What types of questions develop thinking and reasoning? Record your ideas concerning the following questions: • What types of questions promote thinking and reasoning? • What examples have you recently used that stimulate students’ thinking? • What implications do these ideas have for your own practice? 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 4

Activity B(2): Difficulties of formative assessment Fa. SMEd Handout 2: Difficulties with formative assessment summarises research findings related to the challenges associated with formative assessment. • • • How far are the criticisms on the handout valid in your context If any are, then what may be done about them? How would you answer a teacher who asks the following? What approaches would you suggest that they use? “I know it makes sense to assess students as we go along, but how can I, in the midst of a lesson, know what each of my 30 students is thinking? ” 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 5

Activity C(1): Principles formative assessment Fa. SMEd • Bearing in mind the difficulties discussed in Activity B, how would you suggest that your formative assessment practices be improved? • Discuss the principles outlined on Handout 3: Principles formative assessment. • Which of these do you currently use in your own teaching? • Which do you find most difficult? Why? • What other principles do you think are important? 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 6

Activity C(2): Observing and analysing a lesson Fa. SMEd What formative assessment does the teacher use? 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 7

Activity D(1): Analyse students’ responses to problem-solving tasks • • Fa. SMEd Handout 4: Problem-solving in the classroom (brief discussion about problem-solving and a summary of what is in Handouts 5, 6 and 7); Handout 5: Examples of problem-solving tasks and responses (two tasks, each with four sample responses); Handout 6: Improving students’ responses through questioning (comments on the sample student responses with space for teachers to suggest questions to ask these students); Handout 7: Suggestions for questions (a list of generic questions related to the four processes involved in problem-solving above). 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 8

Activity D(2): Analyse students’ responses to problem-solving tasks • • Consider the four student responses in Handout 5: What does each student’s response tell you about his or her capacity to use each of the processes required in problem solving: • • • Fa. SMEd represent analyse interpret and evaluate communicate and reflect? Handout 6 comments on each of the sample student responses: • 24. 02. 2021 What questions you could use to help these students move on? (Refer to the generic questions in Handout 7) IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 9

Activity E(1): Observing formative assessment in action • Fa. SMEd To what extent do the teachers’ comments resonate with your experience? 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 10

Activity E(2): Observing formative assessment in action • • • Fa. SMEd What different kinds of assessment can you see? What is the purpose of each kind of assessment? What do both the teachers and students learn? 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 11

Activity F(1): The effects of feedback on student learning • • Fa. SMEd Which of their comments strike you as particularly important? What are the implications of their comments? 24. 02. 2021 IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 12

Activity F(2): The effects of feedback on student learning Fa. SMEd Handout 9: The effects of feedback on students’ learning. • The dangers of giving marks, levels, rewards and rankings • • The advantages of giving clear, specific, content-focused feedback • • 24. 02. 2021 What are the implications of this for your practice? What would happen if you stopped giving marks or levels on pupils’ work? Why are so many teachers resistant to making this change? What are the implications of this for your practice? Does this kind of feedback necessarily take much longer to give? IMPROVING LEARNING THROUGH QUESTIONING 13