Transcript Document 7285966

Formative
Assessment Institute
FAI
Survey Results
September 2007
Please Identify Your Position:
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
Teacher
32
36.8%
36.0%
36.0%
Instructional
Facilitator
32
36.8%
36.0%
36.0%
Administrator
17
19.5%
19.1%
19.1%
Other
6
6.9%
6.7%
6.7%
Please Identify Your Position: Other
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6-12 literacy coordinator
School Psychologist
Title I Math/Elem
Data Administrator
Secondary Instructional Strategist
(SPED)
Districts Participating in Survey
(This information will be used for grouping and
determining differentiated instructional groups)
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Carbon Co SD #1
Converse #1
FCSD #25
Fremont #24
Fremont Co. S.D. #1
Fremont County District # 14
Johnson County SD #1
Laramie County SD #1
Lincoln County #1
Natrona
NCSD #1
Park County SD #1
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Platte #2
SCSD #1
Sheridan #1
Sheridan Co School Dist2
Sublette County #1
Sweetwater County SD #2
Weston County SD #1
Sweetwater County SD #2
Washakie County #1
Differentiation of the groups is necessary to
meet individual district needs. Select the
grouping you feel would be most beneficial.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
Per formative assessment
strand (such as learning
targets) – teams travel
together
28
33.3%
31.5%
31.5%
Per formative assessment
strand (such as learning
targets) – teams are divided
up
0
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Grade level (Elementary,
Middle School, High School)
15
17.9%
16.9%
16.9%
Teacher/Instructional
Facilitator/Administrator
17
20.2%
19.1%
19.1%
Ability level determined by
criteria – teams stay together
16
19.0%
18.0%
18.0%
Ability level determined by
criteria – teams divide up
based on need
4
4.8%
4.5%
4.5%
Other
4
4.8%
4.5%
4.5%
Select the one response that you believe to be
the most appropriate for each question.
Not Asked
Not
Answered
Not App
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Topic
The strategies used by the presenters were
appropriate in helping me attain the goals(s) and/or
outcomes of this professional development
experience.
12
61
9
2
1
4
0
This professional development offered sufficient and
appropriate opportunity for networking.
21
57
5
1
1
4
0
I gained knowledge and skills to implement this
professional development into my job.
15
54
12
3
1
4
0
The level of difficulty of the content was appropriate.
16
58
5
4
1
5
0
The presenters were knowledgeable and effective.
17
53
11
3
1
4
0
The handouts and materials were adequate and useful.
21
55
4
3
2
4
0
The Formative Assessment Institute Wikispace
(website) will be useful to me.
15
52
7
1
7
7
0
I know the five levels of learning targets
and develop assessments accordingly.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
2
2.4%
2.2%
2.2%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
21
25.3%
23.6%
23.6%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
45
54.2%
50.6%
50.6%
Have not worked
with this area
15
18.1%
16.9%
16.9%
I have unpacked the standards and know
what to assess at all different levels of
Bloom’s.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in this
area and do not need
additional training
18
21.7%
20.2%
20.2%
I Feel comfortable with
this area but need
follow-up training
22
26.5%
24.7%
24.7%
I have some knowledge
about this area
32
38.6%
36.0%
36.0%
Have not worked with
this area
11
13.3%
12.4%
12.4%
I write learning targets for
every unit I teach.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
14
17.5%
15.7%
15.7%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
23
28.8%
25.8%
25.8%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
24
30.0%
27.0%
27.0%
Have not worked
with this area
19
23.8%
21.3%
21.3%
My students know, in advance, what their
targets are for every unit.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
14
17.5%
15.7%
15.7%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
25
31.3%
28.1%
28.1%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
25
31.3%
28.1%
28.1%
Have not worked
with this area
16
20.0%
18.0%
18.0%
I work with other teachers to discuss
learning targets and student
accountability.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
9
10.8%
10.1%
10.1%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
35
42.2%
39.3%
39.3%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
25
30.1%
28.1%
28.1%
Have not worked
with this area
14
16.9%
15.7%
15.7%
No matter what content area I teach, I work
with students during every unit to discuss
strong and weak student work examples.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
12
15.4%
13.5%
13.5%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
32
41.0%
36.0%
36.0%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
21
26.9%
23.6%
23.6%
Have not worked
with this area
13
16.7%
14.6%
14.6%
I have developed rubrics for student
work and they are posted in my
classroom.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
17
22.4%
19.1%
19.1%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
25
32.9%
28.1%
28.1%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
20
26.3%
22.5%
22.5%
Have not worked
with this area
14
18.4%
15.7%
15.7%
I meet regularly with my peers to
discuss strong and weak student work.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
18
23.4%
20.2%
20.2%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
28
36.4%
31.5%
31.5%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
20
26.0%
22.5%
22.5%
Have not worked
with this area
11
14.3%
12.4%
12.4%
I use a protocol of looking at student
work in meetings with my peers.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
13
16.7%
14.6%
14.6%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
20
25.6%
22.5%
22.5%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
22
28.2%
24.7%
24.7%
Have not worked
with this area
23
29.5%
25.8%
25.8%
My students know my expectations of
strong and weak student work.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
15
19.7%
16.9%
16.9%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
29
38.2%
32.6%
32.6%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
23
30.3%
25.8%
25.8%
Have not worked
with this area
9
11.8%
10.1%
10.1%
I use descriptive feedback to help
students better hit their learning target.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
10
12.7%
11.2%
11.2%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
40
50.6%
44.9%
44.9%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
21
26.6%
23.6%
23.6%
Have not worked
with this area
8
10.1%
9.0%
9.0%
I use descriptive feedback to reflect on
student strengths and weaknesses.
Choice
Count
Percentage of
Sample Answering
Percentage of
Sample Asked
Percentage of
Total Sample
I am an expert in
this area and do
not need additional
training
12
15.2%
13.5%
13.5%
I Feel comfortable
with this area but
need follow-up
training
33
41.8%
37.1%
37.1%
I have some
knowledge about
this area
25
31.6%
28.1%
28.1%
Have not worked
with this area
9
11.4%
10.1%
10.1%
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc).
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The food was great! I felt the breaks were most useful when on our own
during a set amount of time to do a task. Overall, the Institute was enjoyable
in all areas.
Food was wonderful, room was crowded. Breaks ever hours are wonderful.
Given the large number of participants, I feel that the conference went as
well as could be managed. Smaller areas to work with our own team would be
preferred but the space is just not available. Breaks were important, and I
found that they were built in regularly.
I felt the logistics were handled quite well given the number of participants in
attendance.
Food was great! Thanks. The room was too crowded. The breaks were
adequate.
It was hard to hear at times in the room with so many people. The food was
great. Breaks were fine. I heard several people mention offering bottled
water.
Handled well for the amount of participants.
I am more of a meat and potatoes guy but things were OK.... The
survey...administrator can't answer them like a teacher??
It was pretty crowded in the room, and more restroom area was needed. I
was impressed with the food and also impressed at how quickly the lines went
through - although, it was difficult to get back to the table to actually eat.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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Well done
The food was great. but the training room was a little small
I thought that separating into smaller groups was more effective. It
allowed for more discussion and fewer side bar conversations.
Room and food were fine. It is a long way to Lander.
The room was crowded, could the meetings be split into different dates
for different districts. The food was adequate. The breaks were ok,
but some of the word time was too long for assigned tasks to be
completed, and therefore turned into too much break time.
Facilities and schedule were adequate.
Excellent food and timing for breaks / lunch.
I was fine with all of the above.
Every thing was good except the size of the room--it was way too
crowded and noisy for team talking--we couldn't even hear from one end
of our tables to the other during discussion without yelling, which added
to the mayhem.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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It was a little crowded.
The room was very crowded. Food and breaks were fine.
Need to find a way to control the noise. Sidebar conversations distract
from the presentation. Perhaps different seating combined with break
out rooms would help. Thanks for bringing in the soda machine!
The room, food, and breaks were all wonderful!
I felt things were well planned and comfortable. The food was terrific.
No problems. Breaks every hour or so are good. The food was excellentthe hotel needs to be commended.
A bit crowded as far as moving in and out, etc., goes, but workable. Food
was fine (except for breakfast on two days). Breaks were fine.
It's nice to have tiomely breaks from sitting so long. Thank you for the
Diet Pepsi!
I thought everything was just fine except for the congestion on the last
day during the lunch line in the hallway.
The pilars in the room hampered viewing of screens...possibly more
screens for viewing. Food was excellent...gained weight. Breaks were
timely
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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The room was not the best place for a large group. We learned to get around it.
The overall conference was well designed. The parking lot theme was great.
Breaks were spaced well as it kept us fresh and able to continue on.
A bit crowded for working in groups, but you only have so much space so this may
not be correctable.
The training room was a bit crowded, but the food was awsome. I enjoyed the
smaller groups on the last day, however, I feel strongly about keep same districts
together.
I don't feel we were treated like adults or professionals. Unfortunately, not all of
the attendees acted like professionals or adults.
Room was a little crowded; this was OK, except made it difficult for team
discussion due to noise level. **Survey - would have liked an option for "time to
work in this area", instead of "need follow-up training", which was the closest
answer provided.
Fine
The facility was just fine; the food was very good...breaks...perfect. Thank you
Thank You. I think it went well. It is hard to come back in that big of group
after only a few minutes of talking. The group is so large. Maybe we can be given a
couple of discussion items at a time in order to keep transition times at a minimum.
It went much better when the big group was divided into three groups. We were in
the back and had difficulties hearing and seeing at time.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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The room was too small to accommodate the number of people that were
there. There was not much room to move.
The food was great. The rooms, though crouded, were comfortable. I
thought the smaller group format, was a bit more participant friendly,
though I would had likes to stay with my team. There were sufficient
breaks. Nice job!
I think it is a real opportunity for such a large group of people to gain
additional and new knowledge. I have no complaints other than trying to
keep school or district teams together so they can match the
information to their individual needs and knowledge levels.
It was a large room and because of this seems easy for those of us at
the back to get side tracked. The breaks and food were good.
The group was too large the first two days to be effective, but the last
day break out sessions were wonderful
I thought the training room was fine. Lots of folks in one space, but it
worked. The food was OUTSTANDING. I complimented the cooking
crew several times. More frequent breaks with strict time lines.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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There are so many people crammed into that space, that at times it felt like
we were falling all over each other. In the afternoon it was too warm and we
sat for longer periods of time.
Not many outlets for laptops available.
Space was pretty cramped... I always felt like I was tripping over someone,
their chair or their laptop cords.
I felt we had plenty of breaks and the food was great. I liked being grouped
with the people from my district, but when we were broken into the three
smaller groups, it seemed more focused and individual questions could be
addressed.
The room was fine. The breaks could be a bit longer because of lack of
enough bathrooms, or just put in a few more to allow for that.
Too large a group for the facility.
I felt somewhat cramped in that the room was overly crowded, and it was not
easy to move around. It was also extremely loud, and when working in groups,
I couldn't hear what was being said on the other end of the table. There
were times I gave up trying to hear and just sat.
The training room was a little cramped but did not cause me any discomfort.
The breaks were more than adequate and were greatly appreciated. Over all
I was very pleased with the logistics.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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Food good Sometimes we had an activity break and then another activity
I think that is too much movement in a roll
The room was a bit crowded, but workable. The speaker system had some
glitches, however the staff was flexible and handled this inconvenience
with grace. The food was good and the lines moved fairly well. The breaks
were fine, not too long, not too short.
Great training!
Logistics were great.
The logistics were great other than the issue of the noise in one large
room when we had our team work time.
Great location and well thought out breaks and information.
Room was fine, maybe cut the breaks down to 10 minutes so we can get
done quicker, felt like a lot of wasted time was spent on introductions and
breaks
Everything was very good. Presenters need to use the microphones.
The facilities were good considering the large group size. It seemed like
we took a lot of breaks. I would rather work hard and get out earlier.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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I thought the Institute was set up well, food was great, breaks were
fine, facility is fine. It was fabulous.
I felt that everything was well instituted.
Need some drinks that don't have caffeine.
The space was very limiting--noise level and crowded.
Day three was the best with grouping and activities planned. Day one
and two were informative and necessary but delivery could have been a
bit more diverse.
Room was too small for that big of a group.
Food was great, the room was cramped but that is understandable, and I
appreciated the timing of the breaks.
More frequent breaks or opportunities to change state. I realize this is
difficult with such a large group, but it might help keep people focused.
My only suggestion is to keep in mind that some of us attending are
"vegetarian" eaters.
I did this already and sent it to you.
The food was great. The level of noise in the room was distracting but
I'm not sure the presenters could do any more about that.
Please give us some feedback about the
logistics of the Institute (training room,
food, breaks, etc). (Continued)
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It was a very large group, and I felt confined. The schedule, food and
location was good.
Logistics were fine.
The tables seemed to small to adequately use my computer. Other than
that it was fine.
Over crowded. I like to spread out and do authentic work.
The training room was great. The food was excellent and the breaks
were frequent enough for me.
Food for meals and breaks was excellent.
I think the logistics of the Institute worked well. The food was terrific.
It would be nice to have a bit more space in the room for all the people.
The group was too large, it did help to break the groups up on the last day
and work with us in smaller groups. Yet these smaller groups were kinda
big too yet better.
Adequate
The room was not big enough to accommodate all the participants. Breaks
and food were great.
Great
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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Unpacking the standards and working with my school level peers. Anytime
we could work together as our school was beneficial.
I enjoyed the keynote speaker, and the breakout sessions.
I learn best when examples of implementation of skills are provided. This
can be through video, written scenario, etc. The examples are most
appreciated when they cover a range of ages and skills.
I picked up the greatest amount on the first day and then the first half of
the 2nd day.
The chance to talk with teachers and other administrators about training
topics.
Sitting down together with a team and coming to a consensus about a plan of
action district-wide. Brainstorming ideas to promote/encourage a catalyst
for change.
Exploring the assessments are offered in our district and analyzing them.
We had pretty much done most of this session...We did learn at the
unpacking stage. I am still concerned folks are unpacking standards and the
PAWS descriptors are more important
The greatest opportunity came from the time spent with my district team.
Discussion with peers
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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Meeting with our groups and discussing how to better implement FA in our
schools
Since we have already unpacked our standards, probably the session regarding
the cognitive complexity (graphic organizer with topic, reasoning skills, etc.)
The presentation by Doctor Popham was great. The group work time was also
very helpful.
The learning targets and questioning sessions.
Opportunity for extended conversation with my team.
Bloom's Taxonomy and assessment matrix.
Setting student learning targets
The Standards Unpacking
I found the content helpful but the best learning occurred in meetings with
my coworkers.
I wish we could have worked on learning progressions from unpacked standards
or unpacked assessment descriptors. Without this piece, we will not design the
formative assessment system that will complement all of our Body of Evidence
work.
Chance to work as a district team to discuss learning targets and developing
essential maps and assessment plans
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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The greatest learning opportunity was talking with the people from my
district and discussing what needs to be done at home.
Being able to dialogue with my building team or with our district's team.
I would like to become an expert in learning targets and developing high
level assessments and questions based on Bloom's taxonomy.
Unpacking standards; Bloom's refresher (including verbs).
Unpacking the standards.
The assessment matrix and being able to discuss things with my team.
Working with our district group on the FAI forms: This was the most
useful portion of the training! Action Plan dist. ass. summ. assess
Ass matrix Action plan dist. writing Action plan
The discussion about summative and formative assessments was very
helpful to me.
The item that I appreciated was when we were discussing having
students rewrite the standard in their own words.
A basic understanding of FAI was quickly done.
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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FAI gave me a clearer picture of what formative vs. summative
assessments are. Learning the importance of the students knowing
where they are going was helpful.
Unpacking the standards with Bloom's Taxonomy
The break-out sessions; esp. the "legacy" session.
Unpacking standards
Hard look at what assessments are being used and how they can be used
more effectively.
The breakout session topics-- I loved hearing from Jim Popham too.
Visiting with other teachers.
I really think we benefitted from the time together to fill out the
assessment matrix, plan for assessment needs, practice unwrapping
standards and identify learning targets. Much of what was presented
was very useful to us.
Work on the definition of Formative Assessment in a way that staff got
a good hold of what it is and the benefits.
The greatest learning opportunity for me was the reflection I had on
good teaching practices.
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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See above comments
Working with our team on the assessment chart. That was an eyeopener.
I liked the session where we unpacked the standards and looked at
Bloom's taxonomy. The time to visit with our districts was invaluable.
Collaboration with my school team
The second two days were the best as far as learning is concerned. The
time spend having conversations within our districts and schools was
the most helpful.
We're starting from ground zero, so unpacking standards was very
helpful. We are now moving to learning targets at our school.
Team time.
I gained the most when we trained in 3 different groups and when we
were in our principal, IF, and staff group.
Learning targets
I liked the breakout sessions best. The overview offered by Dr.
Popham was effective in spite of his cultural insensitivity.
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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Ability to work with our school's team.
Dialogue with about current assessments given in our district and how to
align curriculum with those assessments. Also the dialogue about how to
begin the process of realigning curriculum
I have to say I didn't learn much. It was all stuff we have covered
extensively in our district and building.
the learning targets were great, makes you rethink your teaching strategies
The interaction with the team.
The team activity looking at our district assessment system was really good.
I think working with our school team on the curriculum mapping and those
sorts of things was the most valuable.
The Blooms taxonomy section provided the greatest opportunity.
Keynote speaker.
Unpacking the standards and the brief mention of curriculum mapping.
Future goals....upcoming learning.
Looking at all of our district assessments both formative and summative and
seeing that we need to develop formative assessments and unwrap the
standards.
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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I felt the unpacking standards was very helpful.
I enjoyed unpacking the standards.
Popham's presentation was tremendous. One particular point, however,
stood out. His recommendation was to use the PAWS descriptions, not
the state standards, when designing instruction and assessment. Will his
recommendation be addressed and/or followed?
Working together as a district to determine which of our assessments
were summative and which were formative.
The morning of the second day of training is when I learned the most,
then it felt like we went backwards from there.
The first day was the most beneficial to me. The second and third day
was a review.
Keynote speaker; third day work
Unpacking the standards, writing things in kid language, "First Grade"
Unpacking standards.
Hearing Popham speak was powerful, as well as unpacking the standards.
In the September FAI training, what
area offered you the greatest learning
opportunity?
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Time to meet and discuss with team.
I liked how we were instructed on something and then we were allowed time
to try it out and practice as well as discuss things with our cohorts.
The Keynote speaker was great and entertaining. The small groups on the
last day were hard to get into because I did not know anyone in my group but eventually I met people and was able to share with educators from other
districts even though I was uncomfortable at first.
From a personal perspective, Dr. Popham's presentation was extremely
helpful. I learned more about the PAWS design and how it could be an
instructionally sensitive large scale assessment. I also appreciated the
discussion about the variety of definitions for formative assessments. This
really did provide a good foundation for the rest of the discussions. The
greatest learning opportunity from a District perspective was the time to
review and analyze our assessment matrix as well as work collaboratively to
decide on next steps.
I felt like we did not learn anything. This was not what we intended to get
from the institute. Our principal was there. He said we will give it one more
shot and if it is not on Formative Assessment we are done. We can be more
effective in our classrooms.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it be?
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Things were crowded and we needed more time to discussion the issues that were
most important to our districts.
Once the foundation was laid for our conference, I would have liked more time to
plan and reflect with my own district/building team.
Make it a two day presentation, the third day seemed to "drag" when compared to
the first two. I don't believe it was thy way due to the content presented, I was
just overloaded at that point in time.
Less lecture and more directed conversations, please.
I thought the "ice-breaker" activities could have been shortened. While great
learning takes place and there are good analogies for activities, we are away from
our students and need to maximize the learning time we have. Let's get to the
meat of the training:)
Have fewer participants. Could there be more opportunities to meet? Would
people be willing to adjust to different days?
it would be in Casper
It felt like you were shooting at a moving target - if I could change one thing, it
would be to have a solid plan with confident leadership. (I realize that you were
using formative assessment to try to best fit the days to the best use, but at
times it "felt" like you didn't know where you were going.)
I would take out the session on questioning.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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Receive one example of a specific learning target and what formative
assessments would be used.
I wish there was more basic information because I'm a first year
teacher in Wyoming, so I was unfamiliar with many aspects of the
discussions
I probably would have been helpful to have surveyed the potential
audience to know at what level they were comfortable with the material.
Differentiation would have been possible and the conference more
meaningful.
Most of what was presented was a bit of a review. We have been doing
PLCs for the last two years district wide. It does help to hear it again.
Going deeper into the process will be helpful. The other thing could be
taking a standard and unpacking it as a group then comparing to what
the trainers would say, or providing us with exemplars.
The amount of time spent to unpack standards. The amount of time
spent to look at the district assessment rubric - which really is done
based on state and federal guidelines and nothing is really negotiable.
Condense material into one full-day session. I felt the first day did not
have enough meat, and the next two days could have been merged into
an extended day session.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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Less introductory work, more meat!
Nothing
I know this was a basics training, but hopefully this survey will show that many of us
are far beyond the basics--perhaps we need to be divided into 2-3 groups with
different target goals.
Larger room.
The presenters would be experts in assessment rather than staff developers. They
were very nice and tried hard but they don't have the knowledge to move our state
and district forward. I want to understand how to determine learning progressions
from our unpacked standards. Once the skills are identified in learning progression I
want to develop formative assessments for the identified skills. We need experts to
answer our questions.
There were too many "elementary" game-like activities; I'd cut to the teaching of
the material and discussing with peers right away!
I feel the last day's break out sessions were not as effective. We were not able to
discuss with our district teams how it would be relevant to us. The groups were let
out at different times, and due to the reorganization of groups, districts no longer
had a "home base" to set there things and meet and discuss. We ate is small
clusters, where we could find room. I feel we get more out of it if we are allowed to
remain in district or building (teacher, IF, Admin.) teams.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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If I were in your shoes, I think I would do away with the parking lot where people
can put up whining comments. A parking lot or a question box for valuable questions
related to our content areas of learning would be fine. But an open ended parking
lot just allows people to whine.
Less time on establishing group protocols and crowd breakers. More time on
essential knowledge. Crisper pacing.
The Lead in Speaker's offensive joking about Native Americans.
Other people's complaining!
Working more with district committee. When we were broken into groups all but
two of PCSD#6 educators were in one group. I was one that was not with the
district and felt like I missed out on essential discussions.
I would limit the time on the "parking lot," specifically the talk about personal,
comfort needs. It is what it is. If there are discussion questions that are
pertinent to the group, then incorporate in the presentation or discussion times.
Possibly shortening the overall day to a maximum of six hours which includes the
lunch time.
Perhaps moving along a little more quickly. I am not from a teaching background,
but found the information easy enough to understand and more time on application
would be appreciated.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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Perfect world-smaller groups and keeping our district team together.
I'm not sure I know what I would change or if I would change anything.
Less "get to know each other" activities, esp. the group norms for
working in a large group - would have liked to have skipped this entirely.
Less time using metaphorical activities and examples. Eliminate the
parking lot.
Probably what I mentioned above... I would like to see us bring our own
assessments and use rubrics to evaluate them. It is so easy to say you
are doing the right thing but often we fall short at the application level.
Thank you for doing this.
The content of the training. You have a roomful of experienced and
recently trained teachers...going over ED101 for 3 days was frustrating
for us. Teach us how to make good formative assessments and how to do
it quickly so we can make those assessments as we are working with
students. That will be worth sitting for.
I would love to see us spend more time working together to unwrap
standards, identify learning targets, discuss assessment plans etc. Now
that introductions have been made, I think less time can be spent on
"getting to know you" activities."
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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Think the trainers did a good job. May want to have less breaks with the
understanding that if people needed to step out that was ok... then for the group as
a whole, could maybe finish sooner on a daily basis or the second day of the two day
sequence.
I would have liked my principal to be there as she would have offered the leadership
our team needed. She couldn't come because of staffing problems but I believe will
attend next time.
The large group
I would have made sure our building principals would have attended.
I would have liked more differentiation. There are many of us that have been to
the PLC trainings and most of the information presented was review. This
assessment training is a huge time commitment and I was ready to know more about
learning targets and learning various ways to write/use formative assessment.
Addressing the commitment to TIME is also relevant. I understand the importance
of showing strong/weak examples of student work to kids, but how do you convince
teachers that it is time well-spent and not just another intrusion upon their content
area time?
Get a speaker who knows his audience before comments are made just to get laughs
as Mr. Popham did with the Native American people, when in this area we try to
bring a positive relations with our communities on and off the Reservations and this
stupid person takes us back to square one. Please don't tell me that TIE supports
this!!
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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Differentiate strands between administrators and teachers frequently
Dr. Popham was not worth whatever amount he was paid to come speak. His lecture
was boring, disjointed, MUCH too long and, at times, rather offensive.
I was in the perfect spot to plug in my computer, but I wonder how that is going
to work next time if more people bring their computers. There weren't very many
outlets. We had a couple of tables around us that continued to talk during
presentations, and that became very distractive on the last day. There isn't too
much that you can do when adults don't want to follow the norms.
I really did not like the unpacking of the standards. If they are well written to
begin with, why change the wording. It seemed tedious and would take a large
amount of time. Also, not everyone will replace each word the same. I think a
good teacher explains to the students what is expected anyway.
No keynote by James Popham.
The location..we need a larger space. Also, we seem to be covering the same
material, but with a slightly different twist every time. for instance...I have now
seen the Seinfield video clip at least 4 times in the last year and a half. We
continue to do the same ice-breakers, and the same group activities. This year, we
have gone through Marzano strategies twice. It would be more beneficial for me
if we covered more FAI strategies. I know what FAI is...but how exactly do you
change your lessons/teaching strategies on the fly? That's the information i was
looking for in this training.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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Stop side conversations! There were several times when the side discussions in
the back corner were very distracting.
room very noisy hearing was a problem
The unpacking of standards-- most of us have done that adnauseam.
Distance from home.
Smaller conference size- there are too many district teams involved.
I need to know the steps after you have the learning targets. What do formative
assessments look like? How do you use them in a collaborative team?
Less on background - more on formative assessments.
just shorter breaks, you could have probably done the first session in 2 days
I have a doctorate in education leadership with a focus on curriculum and
assessment and am a trainer/consultant for standards and assessments. I
personally would like to be in the "meat" of the assessment training sooner.
Finally, I would think the presentation would be a little more effective if it had a
little more "Wyoming" flavor to it. As a state, we are extremely assessment
literate and data savvy. I would recommend that you "customize" the professional
development work a little. Finally, The institute was "promoted" as being geared
more towards secondary (7-12) which is what our district honored. You may want
to adjust your delivery to account for your audience a little bit.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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For people who have had PLC training, it was all pretty repetitive.
I would change the size of the crowd.
I have no comment at this time.
More work communicating targets to students and giving descriptive
feedback.
See logistics above.
The training would be better if it was done in a smaller group session.
That is a big group to present to and the facilities do not
accommodate that many people.
Less getting to know you activities and more content.
Two days of training instead of three.
I think more attention should have been paid to differentiating the
presentation. Many of us have unpacked standards and are
comfortable with taxonomy models and would have preferred to move
on to something else.
More comfortable chairs.
To already have the groups split by need. The September institute
was a great deal of review.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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More information on formative assessment and how to help teachers
become better at it, not learning strategies.
Would have left out some of the "building context" stuff--e.g. first
afternoon and much of second day activities. p.s. I don't think your
choices above make much sense.
Work with your team. Spending too much time explaining what your
school does or doesn't do.
Three days was a little too long for training. I am looking forward to
the upcoming two day training opportunities.
Do away with parking lot-what a bunch of nonsense people complain
about!
Nothing - everything was good.
Each participant should be assigned to 2 small groups for activities.
One group could be their familiar district group - the second group
should be at our level matched with several districts - like elementary,
middle school, high school. We should switch back and forth doing
activities in both groups as needed. In this way we discuss and bond
with our district's participants and formulate programs that will work
for us. While with the other group we can share and step outside
ourselves to see how things work differently in other places.
If you could change one thing about the
September FAI training, what would it
be?(Continued)
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I would have brought my laptop.
Our District has done quite a bit with curriculum mapping, unpacking
standards, PLC's, and Blooms Taxonomy. Reviewing those concepts
would have been appropriate. It seemed as if we spent too much time
on some of them however so the activities dragged. I am confident
that now that you have this information about what we know about
designing formative assessments that you will be able to adjust.
Smaller groups work better for me as a learner.
We were very frustrated because we felt that the training was not
on Formative assessment but on models of teaching. We have all
taken several classes on Bloom's, and models of teaching. We want
Formative Assessment training.
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For further questions, please
contact Pam Lange at
[email protected]