Understanding by Design Stage 2 Determining Acceptable Evidence

Understanding by Design Stage 2: Determining Acceptable Evidence Summer UBD Workshop, Day 2 August 13, 2014

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS FOR THE WORKSHOP: Participants will come to understand that… 1. “Education is an itch, not a scratch. ” 2. Content and skills are the means while understanding is the end. 3. Understanding by Design (UBD) is a model that enables teachers to create purposeful, relevant, and meaningful learning experiences aimed to develop students’ critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and resilience.

UBD WORKSHOP OVERVIEW: 3 Stages in 3 Days

Essential Questions for Day 2 1. How do I design assessments that effectively measure learning goals and authentically engage students in real world tasks? 2. How do I create a balance between authenticity, efficiency, and practicality when designing assessments throughout a course?

Learning Objectives for Day 2 Participants will… 1. Determine the nature of evidence needed to reveal student understanding 2. Align the assessments within a unit with course/unit learning goals (and 6 facets of understanding) 1. Design the summative (authentic) and formative (authentic or traditional) assessments for at least one unit of instruction.

UBD WORKSHOP DAY #2: Pair Share: Bad Tests • What’s a “bad” test you can remember having taken, given, or heard about? – Think of one in-school example (e. g. SAT, common core assessment) and one non -school example (e. g. basketball lay-up drills, The Bachelor). • In your opinion, what made these tests “bad?

Activity Designer vs. Assessor Traditional Practice Backwards Design – Select a topic – Select learning objectives* – Design activities – Design assessments – Design and give assessments – Give grade or feedback and move on to new topic – Plan instruction/ differentiate – Use data to give feedback, re-teach, and/or move on

Thinking Like an Assessor Questions to ask yourself when designing an assessment: 1. What kind of evidence do you need? 2. What specific characteristics in students responses, products, or performances should you examine to determine the extent to which learning goals were achieved? 3. Does the proposed evidence enable you to infer a student’s knowledge, skill, or understanding?

Types of Evidence 1. Read over the types of evidence described on p. 152 -153. – – Performance tasks Academic prompts Quiz and test items Informal checks for understanding 2. Pair Share~ Discuss the following: – What are the characteristics of each evidence type? – Can you describe 1 -2 examples for each one? – How do these types of evidence correspond with summative, formative, authentic, or traditional assessments?

Types of Evidence: Do I Have a Balance? 1. Take out all assessment materials you have for your target unit, and categorize the types of evidence with the continuum below. • Which types to you have right now? • Which other types do you need? 2. Discuss with partner: – Type: Where would each assessment fall on the continuum below? (p. 152 -53) – Alignment: What kind of information are you looking to gather with each assessment? – Validity: Could someone do well on an assessment but not know what you want them to know? Could someone do poorly on an assessment but know what you want them to know? Informal Observations checks for & dialogues understanding Tests and quizzes Academic prompts Performance tasks

Aligning Evidence with Facets of Understanding 1. Turn to the chart on p. 162. 1. In order to design high quality assessments that assess for understanding AND align with your unit’s EU’s and EQ’s, you will complete your own chart.

Authentic or not authentic? ?

What’s an authentic assessment again? ? Informal Observations checks for & dialogues understanding Tests and quizzes Academic prompts Performance tasks An assessment task, problem, or project is authentic if it… • Involves a real-world task that asks the student to “do” the subject • Requires judgment and innovation • Assesses student’s ability to efficiently and effectively apply essential knowledge and skills to negotiate a complex and multistage task • Drives instruction • Provides on-going feedback • Assesses for understanding

UBD Stage 2 Planning Time Directions: Create the following for your target unit: 1. Authentic/Summative Assessment: brief description you’d give to students + criteria for acceptable evidence (e. g. rubric) 1. List/Brief Description of Formative Assessments: What information are you looking for– which EU/EK/ES does the assessment address? What will you do with the information you gather from this assessment?

UBD Stage 2 Planning Time TIP #1 See “Facet-related criteria” on p. 177. You may want to use these descriptors when designing your assessment materials and rubrics for students. TIP #2 Consider Adam’s unit on politics. How will his summative assessment provide the evidence he’s looking for? How will he use formative assessments to check for progress throughout the unit?

Formative Assessment of YOUR Assessment Self-Test of Assessment Ideas: 1. Turn to the checklist on p. 187 2. Take a few minutes to check the depth and validity of your unit final assessment 3. Reflection: What are your next steps in terms of refining your assessment’s validity and authenticity?

UBD WORKSHOP DAY 2: Recap and Preview • Day #2 Recap: Today in Stage 2, we determined the acceptable forms of evidence for the learning goals you identified yesterday. • Day #3 Preview: Tomorrow in Stage 3, we will focus on designing learning experiences, or the “how” in terms of scaffolding kids toward successfully performing on assessments, and exploring instructional strategies that best cultivate the 4 C’s & R. • Homework for Day #3: Print and bring a hard copy of your SUMMATIVE assessment (description handout + criteria)