sfu symposium / keynote october 3rd, 2013

Assessment and Grading

Presented by: @jonathanvervaet

SFU SymposiumOctober 3rd, 2013

How the worlds best schools come out on top.

Individual Teachers•Aware of areas to grow in their practice•Gain understanding of best practice that is

research based (meta-analysis)•Are motivated to improve•Have high expectations•Have a shared purpose

“If students have not been told where they are going, it is

unlikely that they will arrive.” – Shirley Clark

Learning Intentions“I can become curious about

something in the research I want to inquire further into.”

Learning Intentions“I can outline the key principals of AFL and articulate what that

looks like in practice.”

In schools today, diversity is the norm….

Proficient Readers Research

Successful readers – regardless of age – are active, purposeful, strategic, and metacognitive.

Proficient Readers Research

They construct meaning and learn from text by using cognitive strategies before, during, and after reading.

“No matter what grade level you teach, no matter what content you teach, no matter what you teach with, your goal is to improve students’ comprehension and understanding.”

“Student learning is enhanced when teachers at all grades, teaching all subjects, see themselves as teachers of literacy.”

Instructional Design

The 8 Cognitive Functions Good Readers Use

1. Setting a purpose / Reading with purpose in mind

2. Activating background knowledge to enhance understanding

3. Monitoring comprehension and awareness of how to repair comprehension problems

4. Determining what’s important

5. Making inferences and drawing conclusions

6. Visualizing mental images7. Synthesizing and accurately

summarizing information8. Making connections

“Assessment is the beginning and the end of my teaching. It defines my culture, my relationships, my learning community, my values, and my beliefs about teaching and learning.” - Matt Rosati

Our Traditional System

• Students are penalized if the don’t learn fast enough... Even though we know learning is an individual / developmental process.

• What you do at the beginning of the course will always count against you... Despite the fact the student might now understand what they did wrong and how to prevent it in the future.

• Grades include all student attributes... Even though we know grades should reflect the student’s ability to meet PLOs.

Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom

Assessment

When carried out effectively, informalclassroom assessment with constructive feedback will raiselevels of attainment.

We know from research that effectiveassessment for learning can Improve student achievementsubstantially, and helps low achievers themost.

Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

The effect sizes, that is the student gains in learning triggered by formative assessment, were among the largest ever reported for educational interventions.

Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

Assessment for Learning

1. Learning Intentions2. Success Criteria

3. Descriptive Feedback4. Questioning

5. Peer / Self Assessment6. Ownership

FormativeOngoingUngraded and Descriptive (uses words)Provides feedback to students and teacher

Examples:-Oral questioning-Draft work-Reflections-Portfolio reviews-Peer / self assessments

SummativeOccurs at the end of a

learning progressionGraded to determine

achievement levelEvaluative

Examples:- Inquiry projects

- Presentations- Grade conferences- Portfolio reviews- Tests and quizzes

Assessment for Learning

1. Learning Intentions2. Success Criteria

3. Descriptive Feedback4. Questioning

5. Peer / Self Assessment6. Ownership

Learning Intentions: What are we

learning? Vs.

Learning Activities:

What are we doing?

Learning Intentions

I can statements… try and use child

friendly language separate from the

activity instructions make it visible discuss with students

why they are learning it

Most students canhit the target if they

can see it clearly and if it stays still.

-Rick Stiggins

Assessment for Learning

1. Learning Intentions2. Success Criteria

3. Descriptive Feedback4. Questioning

5. Peer / Self Assessment6. Ownership

Determine Acceptable Evidence

Performance Tasks

What does good look like?

What does good look like?

Success Criteria and the Use ofPerformance Standards

Beginning DevelopedAccomplishedExemplary

Reading Performance Standard Grade 2

If students don’t understand the words usedin the rubric,it might as well be written in a foreign language.

Assessment for Learning

1. Learning Intentions2. Success Criteria

3. Descriptive Feedback4. Questioning

5. Peer / Self Assessment6. Ownership

Formative Assessment=

Descriptive Feedback Informs the student

Informs the teacher

Informs Learning

Descriptive Feedback

Another way of thinking about feed back is…

What’s working?How do I know?

What’s not?Why not?

What’s next?What is the fix?

Self and Peer Assessment

Student self-reflection on the helpfulness of feedback

Carol Dweck (2006)

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.

Fixed – Believe they have to work with whatever intelligence they have because it

can’t be increased.

They resist novel challenges if they can’t succeed immediately.

They’d rather not try than be perceived as dumb.

Carol Dweck (2006)

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.

Growth – Believe intelligence can be built through life.

See working harder as a way to improve.

They persist and try a wide variety of solutions when given novel tasks.

Carol Dweck (2006)

Csikzentmihalyi (1990)

Flow Theory – The exhilarating moments when

we feel in control, full of purpose, and in the zone.

Csikzentmihalyi (1990)

Skill Level

Challenge Level

Daniel Pink (2009)

Autonomy –over task, time, team, and technique.

Mastery – Becoming better at something that matters.

Purpose

Harlow (1949)

Radical finding, there was a third drive.

The performance of the task provided intrinsic reward.

The monkeys solved the problem simply because they found it gratifying to solve

the puzzle.

2Harlow (1949)

Rewarded the monkey with raisons.

“Introduction of food in the present experiment served to disrupt performance, a phenomena not

reported in the literature.”

The monkeys made more errors and solved the puzzles less frequently.

Deci (1969) – Carnegie Melon

Soma Block Experiment

Deci (1969)

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Group A No reward

CashReward

No reward

Group B No reward

No reward

No reward

Deci (1969) – Carnegie Melon

Soma Block Experiment

“When money is used as an extrinsic reward for some activity, the subjects lose

intrinsic interest for the activity.”

Commissioned vs. Non-Commissioned Art

Blood Donations

Marks & Grades asRewards and Punishments

Rewards transforminteresting tasks into drudgery.

Offering an award signals that the task is undesirable.

Focus on Short Term vs. Long Term Benefits

When goals are imposed and incentivized…

Focus is narrowed on achieving only that goal.

and…

and…

Here’s the kicker…

It leads to unethical behaviour in an attempt to

reach the goal.aka..

Cheating…

When rewards do work…With routine and mechanical tasks.

You can’t undermine intrinsic motivation in

boring tasks.

Any extrinsic reward should be unexpected

and offered only after the

task is completed.

TOO MANY REWARDS CHANGE “NOW

THAT...” TO “IF /

THEN...”

If it is true that carrot and stick motivators don’t

work and often do harm, what are the implications for us as teachers in our grading and assessment

practices?

Curriculum MappingLearning Intentions – PLOs

Big ideas / Enduring UnderstandingsEssential Questions

Concepts – Things to knowSkills / Strategies

Formative Assessments / Instructional ActivitiesSummative Assessment(s)

Resources

The Benefits of Formative Assessment

Constantly weighing the pig won’t make it fatter...

The Latin root word for assessment is "assidere" which means to sit beside.

Assessment is done

with, and not to,

students to help them

grow in their

learning.

"We must constantly remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of evaluation is to have students become self evaluating. If students graduate from our schools still dependent upon others to tell them when they are adequate, good, or excellent, then we’ve missed the whole point of what education is about.”

- Costa and Kallick (1992)

“Assessment is the beginning and the end of my teaching. It defines my culture, my relationships, my learning community, my values, and my beliefs about teaching and learning.” - Matt Rosati

The Paradigm Shift

• Learning vs. Teaching• Outcomes / Standards vs. Tasks• Quality vs. Quantity• If students learn vs. When students learn• Confidence vs. Anxiety• Practice vs. One Chance• Improvement vs. Coverage

Tom Schimmer

Reflection: How is seeing ourselves as learners important for us as teachers?

“Teaching is a vital and purposeful pursuit. We need to be working toward something and we need to know what that something is. Then we can consider how to best get there... I believe we should publish our goals and argue for their importance.”

- Jeffrey D. Wilhelm

#1 Priority

You must use the research to support your practice to avoid being a well intentioned “Enthusiastic Amateur.”

- Fullan and Hargraeves “Professional Capital”

Don’t come into the profession to replicate current practice. Strive for

excellence.

Teaching is not rocket science. It is, in fact, far more complex and demanding work than rocket science.

- Richard Elmore (Professor of Education Leadership at Harvard Graduate School of Education)

Contact Information

Jonathan VervaetEmail:

jonathanvervaet@gmail.comTwitter: @jonathanvervaet

Blog: jonathanvervaet.wordpress.com