Transcript Classroom Expectations

Formative Assessment
Workshop at Qatar University
April 27-28, 2009
Dr. Karma El Hassan
OIRA, AUB.
Outline
• Assessment for Learning
• Purposes of Assessment
• Principles and uses of formative assessment
 Definition
 Steps & cycle
 Key features
• Role of effective feedback
• Formative assessment
tools/techniques/strategies.
• Classroom assessment techniques (CATs).
• Use of formative assessment results for
improvement
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Assessment for Learning
• A process of collecting information and data to
 Provide feedback for instructors to




improve teaching methods
evaluate extent of attainment of goals/objectives
determine extent of student learning
Measure efficacy of teaching methods
 Provide feedback to students on
 extent of their learning
 Provide students with
 Grades
 Motivation
 Ability to diagnose their strengths & weaknesses
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Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
• The three primary components of any course
are
 the curriculum (the "content"),
 the instructional methods used to deliver the
curriculum, and
 the assessment techniques with which our
success in attaining course goals is evaluated
• These three components are bound together by
the goals set for the course.
• The importance of setting course goals-articulating them and writing them down-cannot be overstated
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Course Development Road Map
Course Development
Formalize

Course Goals
Refine  into
Measurable
Student
Outcomes
 Assign
Level of Expertise
Select
Curriculum
CATs
Design  & deliver
Instructional Methods
 Conduct
Assessment
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Course Development Road Map
• Formalize course goals, then "directions" are as
follows:
 translate goals into Measurable Student
Outcomes
 determine Levels of Expertise required to
achieve outcomes
 select both Curriculum and Classroom
Assessment Techniques
 choose and implement Instructional Methods
 conduct Assessment and evaluate--were
measurable student outcomes realized?
 Use results to provide feedback to students and
to improve learning
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Characteristics of Effective
Assessment in Higher Education
(Angelo
& Cross, 1993)
• Focuses on the processes as well as on the
products of instruction.
• Assesses what we teach – and what we expect
students to learn.
• Actively involves both teachers and students.
• Uses multiple and varied measures.
• Provides information for improving learning.
• Is carried out at various key points.
• Provides useful, timely feedback
• Is an intrinsically educational activity
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Purposes of Assessment
• Educational assessments serve following
purposes:
 To support learning (formative)
 To certify achievements of learners (summative)
 To diagnose learning difficulties
 To evaluate quality of programs, curricula,
institutions, etc.
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Characteristics of Formative and
Summative Classroom Assessment
Characteristics
Purpose
Formative
Summative
Provide ongoing feedback to improve learning Document student at the end of an
instructional segment
When Conducted
During instruction
After instruction
Student Involvment
Encouraged
Discouraged
Student Motivation
Intrinsic,mastery-oriented
Extrinsic,performance-oriented
Teacher Role
To provide immediate,specific feedback
To measure student learning and
and instructional correctives
give grades
Cognitive Levels Emphasized Deep understanding,application,and reasoning Knowledge and comprehension
Level of Specificity
Highly specific and individual
General and group-oriented
Structure
Flexible,adaptable
Rigid,highly structured
Assessment Techniques
Informal
Formal
Effect on Learning
Strong,positive,and longlasting
Weak and fleeting
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Formative Assessment
• Set of skills and activities undertaken by
instructors to provide feedback to students to
enhance their motivation and learning.
• Formative assessment helps support the
expectation that all children can learn to high
levels and counteracts the cycle in which
students attribute poor performance to lack of
ability and therefore become discouraged and
unwilling to invest in further learning.
• Promotes a culture of success not clouded by
talk about ability, competition, and comparison
with others.
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Formative Assessment Steps
• Formative assessment involves establishing
 Where learners are in their learning.
Engineering effective
 Classroom discussions
 Tasks
To elicit evidence of learning.
 Where they are going. Clarifying
 learning intentions
 Criteria for success
 What needs to be done to get there.
 Identifying gap
 Providing feedback that moves learners forward.
 Make necessary instructional adjustments
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Formative Assessment Cycle
Feedback to Students
Immediate
Specific
Instructional Correctives
Next Steps
Student Activities
Evaluations of Student Progress
Informal Observation
Questioning
Student Self-Evaluations
Peer Evaluations
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Key Features of Formative
Assessment
• Blends assessment and instruction, therefore
assessment for learning.
• Linked to a learning progression that clearly articulates
the sub goals of the ultimate learning goal.
• Essential components include:
 Clear targets and criteria for success
 High quality feedback linked to goals & criteria for
success
 Ongoing interaction with students regarding learning
goals, outcomes, achievement, and adjustment in
learning activities.
 Student engagement in self- and peer-assessment.
• In self-assessment, students monitor their own learning
against criteria
• In peer-assessment, students analyze each other’s
performance against the criteria and provide
constructive feedback to each other. Act as Instructional
resources for one another.
 Use of results to adjust teaching
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Effective Feedback
• Feedback given as part of formative assessment helps
learners
 become aware of any gaps that exist between their
desired goal and their current knowledge, understanding,
or skill and
 guides them through actions necessary to obtain the
goal .
• Most helpful type of feedback
 Is linked to learning outcomes & criteria for success
 Focuses on task not the student
 provides specific comments about errors
 provides specific suggestions for improvement, and
 encourages students to focus their attention thoughtfully
on the task, the process, and learning strategies rather
than on simply getting the right answer.
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Effective Feedback
•
Use reflective non-evaluative descriptive
feedback that









•
Is immediate
gives details of why answers are correct or wrong.
tells learner what has been achieved,
specifies a better way of doing something,
provides prompts to enable improvements
gets learner to suggest ways to improve.
describes /demonstrates acceptable performance
Identifies strengths & weaknesses (vs. like/dislike)
Is tailored to particular student
Feedback can be public or private, oral or written.
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Effective Feedback
• “Formative assessment does make a difference
and it is the quality, not just the quantity, of
feedback that merits attention. By quality of
feedback, we have to understand not just the
technical structure of feedback (accuracy,
comprehensiveness, appropriateness) but also
its accessibility to the learner (as a
communication), its catalytic and coaching
value, and its ability to inspire confidence and
hope”.
Black and William (1998).
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Formative Assessment Techniques
•
Main means of conducting FA:
 teacher observation
 classroom questions and discussion
 analysis of tests and homework
 Assignments, projects, games & simulations,
interviews/conferencing.
•
Choice of tasks for classroom work and homework is important.
 Justified in terms of the learning aims that they serve,
 Novel and varied in interest, offer reasonable challenge,
help students develop short-term self-referenced goals,
focus on meaningful aspects of learning.
 Best work when opportunities for pupils to communicate
their evolving understanding are built into the planning.
 This will initiate the interaction through which formative
assessment aids learning.
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FA Strategies
• Invite students to discuss their thinking about a question or
topic in pairs or small groups, then ask a representative to
share the thinking with the larger group (sometimes called
think-pair-share).
• Present several possible answers to a question, then ask
students to vote on them.
• Ask all students to write down an answer, then read a
selected few out loud.
 Have students write their understanding of concepts
before and after instruction.
• Ask students to summarize the main ideas they've taken
away from a lecture, discussion, or assigned reading.
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FA Strategies
• Have students complete a few questions at the end of
instruction and check answers.
• Interview students individually or in groups about their
thinking as they analyze cases.
• Assign brief, in-class writing assignments.
•
Frequent short tests are better than infrequent long
ones.
• New learning should be tested within about a week of first
exposure.
• Portfolios may be used to analyze growth and progress
over time.
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Questioning as FA
• Ask questions that require students to think, explain, and
justify their answers and not those involving factual
information.
• Allow ‘wait’ time after asking question giving students
time to respond and to think.
• Try to involve all of learners in response (refer to previous
strategies)
• Some examples of questioning level
 Is it always true.....?
 How many different ways can you find to ...?
 What is same and what is different about ....?
 What is wrong with this statement?
 What other information is needed to solve this
problem?
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Classroom Assessment Techniques
(CATS)
• CATs are generally simple, non-graded, in-class activities
designed to give instructor and students useful feedback
on the teaching-learning process as it is happening.
• A good strategy for using CATs is the following:
 Decide what you want to assess about your students’
learning from a CAT.
 Choose a CAT that provides this feedback, and can
be implemented easily in your class.
 Explain the purpose of the activity to students, and
then conduct it.
 After class, review the results, determine what they
tell you about your students’ learning, and decide
what changes to make, if any.
 Let your students know what you learned from the
CAT and how you will use this information.
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Variations of CATs
1. Background Knowledge Probe
2. Minute paper
3. Muddiest point.
4. Retellings and/or one-sentence summary
5. Pros and con lists
6. Think pair share
7. Response chaining
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1. Background Knowledge Probe
• A sort, simple questionnaire given to students at
the start of a course, or before introduction of a
new unit, lesson, or topic.
• A few focused questions about concepts
students need to know to succeed in a course.
• It is designed to uncover students’ preconceptions.
• Data can be helpful in planning subsequent
sessions and in identifying supplementary
resources or assistance that might be needed.
• A variation is misperception check.
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2. Minute Paper
• The instructor simply stops class two or three
minutes early and asks students to respond
briefly to the following two questions:
 "What was the most important thing you learned
during this class" and
 "What important question remains unanswered
for you?"
• A quick and extremely easy way to collect
information on what students have learned
though focusing mostly on recall.
• Helps students focus more effectively during
lectures, if used repeatedly.
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3. Muddiest Point
• A simple and quick CAT to assess where
students are having difficulties.
• Asking students to jot down a quick response to
one question:
 What was the muddiest (most unclear, most
confusing) point in the lecture, reading,
assignment, etc.?
• Instructor can make use of responses
 to focus next class session and
 To identify which points to emphasize
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4. Retellings and/or One-sentence
Summary
• Retellings are new accounts or adaptations of a
text that allow students to consider information
and then summarize, orally, what they
understand about this information.
• Elements in retelling:





Key Ideas
Details
Sequence
Conclusion
Delivery
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4. Retellings and/or One-sentence
Summary
• Students are asked to summarize a large
amount of information into a one-sentence
summary
• Quick and easy way to assess students’ ability
 to organize information
 summarize their understanding
 Express ideas in their own language
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5. Pros and Con Lists
• Students create a list of pro and con outcomes
to a question or situation presented by the
instructor.
• Students demonstrate depth of knowledge by
identifying two sides of an issue.
• Helps students develop analytical skills and
Promotes higher-order thinking
• Particularly useful in humanities, social science,
or in applied fields where multiple solutions to
problems are possible.
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6. Think Pair Share
•
Think-Pair-Share and Write-Pair-Share
•
Think or write about your answer individually.
•
Pair with a partner and discuss your answers.
•
Share your answer (or your partner’s answer)
when called upon
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7. Response Chaining
• Response chaining begins by asking a question to which
a specific student responds.
• The instructor then asks the class as a whole to vote
regarding the accuracy of the student’s response using
three options:
Correct, Partially Correct, or Incorrect.
• The instructor selects a student who has voted correctly.
• If the original student’s response was incorrect, the
instructor asks the newly selected student to make the
necessary corrections in the first student’s response.
• If the original response was partially correct, the
instructor asks the newly selected student to identify what
was correct about the response and what was incorrect
and provide the missing correct information
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Use of Formative Assessment Data
• Once you have collected the students' responses, sort
and analyze the data.
• Look for any patterns. What is the most common
response?
• Identify where students are in the learning goals’
progression, and that indicates NEXT STEPS.
• Share at least some part of that analysis with your
students.
• Initiate instructional adjustments like
 Reteaching and scaffolding
 Trying alternative instructional approaches
 Offering more opportunities for practice & extending
experience
 Promoting dialogue, communication and reflection.
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Last Thoughts
•
Implementing formative assessment requires fundamental
changes & presents a challenge.
•
Two basic issues: Nature of teacher’s beliefs
 about learning
 About potential of students’ abilities
•
Improving formative assessment would impact several essential
elements:
 the quality of teacher/pupil interactions,
 help for pupils to take active responsibility for their own
learning,
 the particular help needed to move pupils out of the trap of
"low achievement," and
 the development of the habits necessary for all students to
become lifelong learners
•
Avoid the only real danger in classroom assessment--too much
data and not enough time or experience to know what to do with
those data.
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