change, innovation, and assessment
DESCRIPTION
July 10, 2014 presentation at Simon Fraser University.TRANSCRIPT
RETHINKING STUDENT LEARNING
and COMMUNICATING STUDENT
LEARNING TO PARENTS
Antonio Vendramin – Principal, Cambridge Elementary, Surrey
Blog: abvendramin.com School Blog: cambridgelearns.comTwitter: @Vendram1n School Twitter: @CambridgeLearns
Intentions
To help you gain a better understanding of:
• Innovation in schools• The rate of change in education• Changes to B.C.’s Curriculum and Assessment• Importance of descriptive feedback• Shifts in how we communicate student learning
Slide by Bill FerriterThe Tempered Radicalblog.williamferriter.com@plugusin
YOUNGENTREPRENEURSPOWERPLAYSHOW
How many countries in the world?
• 1900: 53• Today: 196South Sudan– formed in 2011
How many words in the English Language?
• Changes EVERY year.• Expanding by 8,500 words per year
Obsolete or New?
• GROAK:
• OBSOLETE
• To silently watch someone while they are eating, hoping to be invited to join them.
Obsolete or New?
• OMNISHAMBLES:
• NEW
• A situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of
blunder and miscalculations.
Obsolete or New?
• APRICITY:
• OBSOLETE
• The sun’s warmth on a cold winter’s day.
Obsolete or New?
• HUGGER MUGGER:
• OBSOLETE
• To act in a secretive manner.
Obsolete or New?
• SQUEE:
• NEW
• Used to express great excitement.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot
read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and
relearn.”
-Alvin Toffler
FACT:
• Rate of CHANGE
• Students don’t need more FACTS, they need critical SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, and an intimate knowledge of themselves and others as learners.
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/
“Evaluate the accuracy, reliability, and relevance of information.”
B.C.’s New CurriculumSKILLS and COMPETENCIES
Creative and Critical ThinkingCommunicationPositive personal and cultural identityPersonal and Social awareness and responsibility
OUTCOMESExample: Grade 4 Math15 Concepts – Down from 24 Learning Outcomes
SUMMATIVE FORMATIVE
Measure Purpose Improve Learning
Public/Parent/Student Audience Student
% # Symbol Form Descriptive
Event Timing Minute-by-Minute Day-by-Day
Judge Role Coach
FOCUS on ASSESSMENT
• Intentions• Criteria• Questioning• Self and peer
assessment• Ownership• Descriptive
feedbackSource: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/the-six-secrets-of-a-happy-classroom-2086855.html
Youtube: “The Classroom Experiment”
“The research on feedback shows that much of the feedback students receive has, at best, no impact on learning and can actually be counterproductive...for example, by giving scores, grades, or other forms of
report that encouraged comparison with others.”
“The studies where feedback was most effective were those in which the feedback told participants not just what to do to improve but also how to go about it.”
-Dylan Wiliam
MYTH: If we don’t give letter grades, students will not be motivated or engaged.
Slide by Bill FerriterThe Tempered Radicalblog.williamferriter.com@plugusin
“Giving grades or marks for every piece of work leads to inevitable complacency or
demoralization. Those students who continually receive grades of, say, B or above become
complacent. Those who continually receive grades of B- or below become demoralized.”
-Shirley Clarke (2005)
Letter Grades:
• Do not inform learning.• Tend to reduce students’ interest
in the learning itself. • Tend to reduce students’
preference for challenging tasks.• Tend to reduce the quality of
students’ thinking. (Kohn, 1999)
What would bettercommunication of student learning
look like?
• Evidence is Descriptive• Emphasis on FORMATIVE assessment:
Ongoing rather than an “event”• Based on learning outcomes and criteria that
parents and students understand• Convenient
Looking back at our Intentions…
To help you gain a better understanding of:
• Innovation in schools• The rate of change in education• Changes to B.C.’s Curriculum and Assessment• Importance of descriptive feedback• Shifts in how we communicate student learning
RETHINKING STUDENT LEARNING
and COMMUNICATING STUDENT
LEARNING TO PARENTS
Antonio Vendramin – Principal, Cambridge Elementary, Surrey
Blog: abvendramin.com School Blog: cambridgelearns.comTwitter: @Vendram1n School Twitter: @CambridgeLearns