michigan’s*algebra*i*and*formative*assessment professional
TRANSCRIPT
Michigan’s Algebra I and Formative Assessment Professional Learning Series
Valerie Mills, [email protected] Series Goals: 1. To explore and build knowledge around the use of the formative assessment process as indivisible from the daily work of planning, teaching, and reflecting.
2. To explore ways in which the work of teaching, utilizing formative assessment strategies, is enhanced with collaborative planning and reflection on instruction and student’s work products.
Notes:
• Four Case Study/Lesson Study Cycles (Tasks, Questioning, Peer Feedback, Descriptive Feedback)
• 20 Participants Working with a Partner • End of Series Reflection Question - Sample responses organized around the series goals
Ø Review the four-lesson planning/reflection documents you and your partner designed this year. Work with your partner to identify two shifts you have made with respect to your formative assessment practices over the course of the year. Illustrate your ideas by referencing selections from your planning and reflection documents or video.
Goal 1: Knowledge and Use of Formative Assessment Students as owners of the learning S “The second big shift is students are as much a part of the process as the teacher. Sessions 3 and 4 (Peer and Descriptive Feedback) were the most difficult for us because we never thought of how students would be more involved. Those two sessions helped us to identify ways in which students could actively use the feedback to push their growth.”
Thinking about the importance of lesson planning S We’re focused and specific in our lesson planning in regards to the rubric and the end goal. In the first lesson general descriptions were given for the task students would engage in and what the teacher might be looking for. By session 3 our planning included more specific language for questioning throughout the lesson/activity that would build on student understanding and thinking.
Thinking about effective questioning S One of the biggest things that I see a big shift in is the effective use of questioning strategies to a higher level. We were a little bit scattered across the five levels of the rubric earlier on in the year, but we have seen progression to the higher levels of progressing and extending later on in the year. We felt like we were doing pretty well with the integration of questioning and using this evidence to drive the lesson in different directions based on student questions and inferences, but felt that we could progress on wait time and getting more students engaged based on these questions. The questions we asked were not as strong, where students had to actually synthesize an answer, as opposed to just answering calculation questions. During session two when teaching inequalities I would sometimes just teach open and closed circles without actually getting students to know what that means. This time around I tried to push this actual thought process and had a list of numbers that were “greater than two”, but could keep having students find an even closer number…..3, 2.5, 2.1, 2.0001, 2.0000000005, etc. This was also very apparent during the descriptive feedback section where open ended questions were emphasized both verbally and written. This gave students a chance to reflect upon their own work and change their ideas based on the systematic questions and not just look at a score and be done.
Goal 2: Shifts In Beliefs Around the Utility of Collaboration Thinking about reflection and collaboration S We never talk about lessons in between teaching them. Sometimes we meet as a department to talk about tasks we have given, but to talk about a lesson and then go back and teach it differently and then evaluate it again has been transformational. We can’t do this on a daily or even weekly basis, but it has made us more aware of what is happening in the classroom. That being said, we have developed a note taking routine that we try to complete at the end of a lesson. In the last few minutes of class we try to take quick notes to reference before the next lesson or to use at a later a date. This quick self- eval has given us notes to look back on when we have a time to talk about specific lessons.
Thinking about collaboration S The second shift I think was concerning collaboration. We often meet with each other to
discuss where we are in terms of content, but rarely get to discuss how we are teaching the content. Working together on the planning/reflection documents allowed us to bounce ideas off each other and improve upon best practice in our classroom. Just coming up with the questions we would ask the students and sharing ideas about how the questions should be phrased was extremely helpful. Another aspect of collaboration was with the whole group setting, sitting with the other groups and bouncing ideas off the other school teams helped to give us fresh ideas. Watching the other videos and seeing their interpretation of the formative standards was encouraging. I remember one video where the teacher pasted common student mistakes from an exit ticket onto large paper. The students had to work silently and write their feedback on the paper around the mistake.
“I loved how Margaret clarified different parts of the FARROP rubric. I also loved practicing using the FARROP rubrics after watching classroom videos.” “Today’s training pulled together that you cannot fit formative assessment practices into old models of planning and instruction.”
Margaret Heritage book study – Formative Assessment. Making It Happen in the Classroom. (2010) https://www.amazon.com/Formative-‐Assessment-‐Making-‐Happen-‐Classroom/dp/1412975042 Margaret Heritage book study – Formative Assessment in Practice. A Process of Inquiry and Action. (2013) https://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9781612505510 “The sharing of Julie's experience (a high school teachers) with formative assessment supported me most as a learner. Her personal experience helped me to reflect on my own teaching and gave me some ideas on how I can implement formative assessment and student agency in my classroom.” Formative Assessment Insights Course This online course has 5-‐6 modules and runs approximately 5-‐6 months for completion. Participants can take the course individually or as a group. The course can be purchased and implemented at a school/district level. https://fa-‐insights.wested.org/ “I appreciated hearing from a teacher who started where I was, and has ended up where I want to be. It helped me define my goals better.” SAAL Grant – Student Agency in Assessment & Learning This grant was implemented utilizing 2 school districts that were originally part of the FAI pilot course and part of the state level COP on formative assessment. http://nextgenlearning.org/blog/power-‐student-‐agency-‐assessment-‐and-‐learning https://www.assessmentforlearningproject.org/grantees-‐wested “This experience helped me focus on how I will approach observing my peers. NO OPINIONS. NO BIAS.” “I got a lot of insight into what I am already doing well and what I need to work on.” The Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation – Resource Library The Resource library contains multiple resources on formative assessment as well as modules that can assist teachers in planning for learning goals and success criteria, building blocks, and planning instruction and formative assessment in ELA and math. http://www.csai-‐online.org/resources?csai-‐developed=1&sort_by=views “I think that before today, I had thought that these were ideas I could “throw” in here and there. I now realize formative assessment will require a major shift in my teaching.”
References
Links to Learn From
TEACHTOLEAD.org
NBPTS.org and ASCD.org
Logic Model- bit.ly/2rzIWU3
1 Teach to Lead
msde-fame.blogspot.com
Formative Assessment for
Maryland Educators (entering
Cohort 4)
3 FAME
bit.ly/SDCOE_FA
We promote the use of data to
make instructional decisions
and monitor student progress
5 SDCOE
bit.ly/MSDE_PL
Empowering MD educators to
develop world-class students,
who are life-long learners.
7 MSDE PL
bit.ly/MDCMPC
The Maryland Collaborative
Model for Peer Coaching.
2 Maryland CMPC
usethefarrop.wordpress.com
This site is intended to provide
a foundation for FARROP
implementation .
4 Use the FARROP
bit.ly/FAST_SCASS
The Formative Assessment for
Students & Teachers State
Collaborative on Assessment &
Student Standards
6 FAST SCASS
@MDFormative @CCPSAssmt
@BCPSFormative
@MD_Proflearning
@FANSDiego_SDCOE
Melissa Spadin
NCSA 2017