Motivating Students through Assessments that Encourage Learning

Source:

Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work

by Robert Marzano, © 2006 Presented by: Marianne Mitchell and Jonathan Tanner Area 4 ALTs

Today’s Focus

 The purpose and theories regarding motivation  Assessments & the continuum of improvement  Establishing assessment goals  Tracking student progress  Adjusting learning experiences based on student needs  The conditions of effective feedback J

Today’s Essential Question…

How can teachers use assessments to strengthen student motivation?

J

The Conditions of Motivation:



Connections



Choice



Competence



Challenge

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Motivation: What should we ask ourselves?

The

Wrong

Question: How do I motivate my students?

The

Right

Question: How do I set up the conditions so that my students will be self-motivated?

M

Motivation and Interest

MOTIVATION is an interaction of a complex set of dynamics which dispose students to be motivated or highly resistant to motivation .

Five bodies of research and theory represent these dynamics: 1. Drive Theory 2. Attribution Theory 3. Self-worth Theory 4. Role of Emotions 5. Self-System M

Motivation and Interest The Research

Drive Theory Attribution Theory Self-Worth Theory Role of Emotions

The Premise

Motivation is a result of 2

competing forces

: the striving for success and the fear of failure.

The Experts

John Atkinson Individuals learn to

explain success or failure

in certain ways.

Self-acceptance

is one of the highest human priorities.

Emotions

are primary motivators that often override a person’s system of values and beliefs relative to their influence on behavior.

Bernard Weiner Martin Covington Joseph LeDoux Self-System Individuals have a

hierarchy of unique needs

and aspirations which define them as whole human beings.

Abraham Maslow

A Continuum of Improvement … Step One:

Continuously

Monitor

Student Learning and

Adjust

Learning Experiences Accordingly

Step Two:

Use

Formative Assessment

to Monitor and

Encourage

Student

Learning Step Three:

Establish

Grading Practices

(Policies) that

Accurately Reflect

Student

Learning Step Four: Align

Reporting

Forms & Procedures

to the Grading

Practices

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A Continuum of Improvement… Step One: Track Learning Goals Step Two : Formative Feedback Step Three: Grading Policies Step Four: Report Cards, etc

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Step One:

Continuously Monitor Student Learning… Setting Specific Goals + Tracking Student Progress J

Marzano’s research shows that…

“Setting specific goals for student achievement and then tracking progress regarding those goals is one of the most powerful actions a teacher, school, or district can take.” J

Tracking Learning Goals

1.

Identify

grade level or course learning

goals each grading period

.

for 2. Construct

rubrics

, or other types of

common scales

, for each learning goal.

3. Formally and informally

assess each learning goal track

at least once

every two weeks

of

each student’s score

keeping on each learning goal. J

Tracking Learning Goals (cont.)

4. Have

students

keep

track

of

their progress

on each goal; use the data as the basis for

teacher/student interactions

about student progress.

5. Teachers should

periodically aggregate the data

by grade level / course and meet with their

horizontal team

to discuss student progress and how it might be improved.

J

Today’s Essential Question…

How can teachers use assessments to strengthen student motivation?

J

Step One Continued…

Continuously Monitor Student Learning AND, Adjust Learning Experiences Accordingly J

The Foundational Principles for Learning

1. Students learn in different ways.

2. Students learn in different time frames.

J

Adjust Learning Experiences Accordingly



Differentiate:

 Content (What you teach)  Process (How students come to understand)  Products (How students demonstrate knowledge)  Learning Environment (The way the classroom feels and functions) 

Consider:

 Readiness (Current knowledge of students)   Interest (What students enjoy learning about) Learning Profile (Students’ preferred mode of learning) J

A Continuum of Improvement… Step One: Track Learning Goals Step Two : Formative Feedback Step Three: Grading Policies Step Four: Report Cards, etc

M

John Hattie’s Research on Teacher Feedback Indicates that…

“The most powerful single innovation that enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest prescription for improving education must be ‘dollops’ of feedback.” “…providing students with specific information about their standing in terms of particular objectives increased their achievement by 37 percentile points.” M

Generalizations from the Research on “Providing Feedback”

1. Feedback should be “

corrective

” in nature.

2. Feedback should be

timely

.

3. Feedback should be

specific

to a criterion.

4. Students can

effectively

provide their

own

feedback.

M

“Feedback That Fits” Source:

“Feedback That Fits” by Susan M. Brookhart published in

Educational Leadership, a journal of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (www.ASCD.org)

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Conditions of Effective Feedback & Assessment

“ Like most things in education, classroom assessment enhances student achievement under certain conditions only.” Marzano M

Conditions of Effective Feedback & Assessment

1. Feedback from classroom assessments should provide students with a

plan

for improvement. 2. Feedback from classroom assessment should

encourage

students to improve.

3. Classroom assessment should be

formative

in nature.

4. Formative classroom assessments should be quite

frequent

.

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Condition #1

Feedback from classroom assessments should provide students with a clear picture of: - their progress on learning goals,

and

- how they might improve M

Condition # 2 Feedback from classroom assessments should encourage students to improve.

Failure avoidant Success oriented Feels controlled by external forces Believes success results from effort.

Condition #3 & Condition #4 Frequent Formative

Formative Assessments

Formative assessments

are defined as any activity that can be used to “provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which [students’] engage.”

(Black and William as quoted in Marzano)

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The Bottom Line

What we assess, how we assess, and how we communicate the results send a clear message to students about: -what is worth learning -how it should be learned -what elements of quality are most important, and -how well we expect them to perform. J