Who’s Doing the Thinking? ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING =EQUALS= FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT What do you think of when you hear the term: Formative Assessment? What are some examples? What is it NOT? Formative assessment is embedded, no rubrics, written/oral responses, notebook entries, response sheets, probes, questioning

Effective teaching requires knowing what students are learning Substantive body of research shows: Formative assessment can significantly improve student learning Features of formative assessment that affect student achievement are missing from many classrooms There is a need in our classrooms for purposeful & varied assessment techniques (connected with instruction & learning) Why are good assessment practices vital in the classroom? Informs teaching and learning Measures/documents student achievement

Knowledge is constructed and connected to other knowledge There is a need to find a balance between: Assessment OF learning with Assessment FOR learning Students do not begin (science) learning as blank slates waiting to be filled with knowledge External accountability VS Informing instructional planning & decision making Which one ultimately affects student learning? What is effective assessment for one purpose doesn’t necessarily effectively serve another purpose.

Effective assessment practice requires immediate feedback to students Teachers need guidance: To understand the opportunities that exist to formatively assess their students To remember that students bring a variety of different ideas to their learning To connect student thinking with specific ideas from the standards To provide learning experiences that bridge students’ thinking & the scientific concepts

Get students thinking about their thinking Teachers need to spend more time understanding what students think prior to instruction and using that information to design learning opportunities…. Why don’t they? Ultimately, this helps students develop deeper conceptual understanding. This is due to the “mile wide, inch deep” coverage of content which is due to low scores on standardized tests. This all equals superficial understanding.

Teachers are the most important link in the chain that connects Assessment – Instruction - Learning Teachers need to provide ongoing feedback and stimulus for deep thinking via Rich formative assessment techniques to Inform instruction & affect learning In brief summary…. This is hardly anything a high-stakes test 1-2 times/year can provide

Formative Assessment Classroom Techniques Need a focus shift from effective teaching to effective student learning Formative Assessment Classroom Techniques FACTs Purposefully designed and used to examine student thinking Used to get kids thinking about their thinking Makes student thinking ‘visible’ – to themselves, peers, & teacher Allows the teacher to continuously gather information on student thinking & learning So how do we effectively assessment student learning – along the way – formatively?

More Facts about FACTs Easily embedded into classroom instruction Used to assess before & throughout learning process Improves student learning Provides opportunities to learn Accommodates a range of learning styles Can be used to differentiate instruction Encourages classroom discourse

What does a Formative Assessment Centered Classroom look like? 4 Classroom Examples: What do all of the classroom snapshots have in common? Do the strategies in each example serve an instructional, assessment or learning purpose? What is the evidence that students are learning? Each of the following scenarios gives a glimpse into different techniques teachers use to promote student thinking, uncover students ideas, & use information about their students progress in learning to improve and guide their instruction. Read classroom examples in groups or aloud as whole group. Keeping in mind some questions.

Uncovering Student Ideas Examples of FACTs and Probes Whiteboarding – Batteries, Bulbs, & Wires probe Four Corners – Ice Cold Lemonade probe Card Sort – Is it Melting? probe Commit & Toss – Solids & Holes probe Human Scatterplot – Mirror on the Wall probe Sticky Bars – Giant Sequoia Tree probe P-E-O-E – Ice Cubes in a Bag probe

Uncovering Student Ideas Batteries, Bulbs, & Wires Kirsten has a battery and a small bulb. She wonders how many strips of wire she will need to connect the battery & the bulb so that the bulb will light. What is the smallest number of wire strips Kirsten needs to make the bulb light up? A. One strip of wire B. Two strips of wire C. Three strips of wire D. Four strips of wire Draw a picture to support your thinking. The use of whiteboards supports a classroom environment that encourages student generated ideas. Research shows that when students use whiteboards, their discussions are more animated, on task, and draw upon higher-level thinking. Use to facilitate a whole class discussion – line up boards for a silent walk through’ first Presentation skills Volleyball VS. Ping Pong conversation (student to student to student VS. student to teacher to student)

Uncovering Student Ideas Ice Cold Lemonade It was a hot summer day. Mattie poured herself a glass of lemonade. The lemonade was warm, so Mattie put some ice in the glass. After 10 minutes, Mattie noticed that the ice was melting and the lemonade was cold. Mattie wondered what made the lemonade get cold. She had three different ideas. Which idea do you think best explains why the lemonade got cold? A. The coldness from the ice moved into the lemonade B. The heat from the lemonade moved into the ice C. The coldness & the heat moved back & forth until the lemonade cooled off. Ask students to think through their response, commit to their answer, and write their explanation – then move to the appropriate corner Students make their ideas public. By meeting in the corner with students who have similar ideas, students can further discuss and clarify their own thinking with others Teacher can visually see

Uncovering Student Ideas Is It Melting? The strips of paper you have in front of you each list a situation that causes changes in materials. Organize the strips into 2 categories: Melting and Not Melting Have students work in pairs or small groups – helps with justifying their own ideas & considering the ideas of others Categorizing helps students to understand that sometimes things don’t always fir neatly into groups Put on the wall and students can shift the cards/strips as their ideas change

Uncovering Student Ideas Solids & Holes Lance had a thin, solid piece of materials. He placed the material in water and it floated. He took the material out and punched holes all the way through it. What do you think Lance will observe when he puts the material with holes back in the water? A. It will sink. B. It will barely float. C. It will float the same as it did before the holes were punched into it. D. It will neither sink nor float. It will bob up & down in the water. Explain your thinking. Describe the ‘rule’ or reasoning you used to make your prediction. Commit & Toss is an anonymous technique used to get a quick read on the different ideas students have in the class – non-threatening. It provides a safe, fun, and engaging way for all students to report their ideas. Forced choice assessment Place in basket & pass – alternative. Allows students to see that a wrong answer can be just as valuable for building learning opportunities and constructing new ideas.

Uncovering Student Ideas Mirror on the Wall Adrienne placed a small, flat mirror against a wall. Standing close to the mirror, Adrienne could see her face from her eyebrows to her chin. Adrienne backed up five steps away from the mirror. Adrienne is now farther away from the mirror. How much of her face will Adrienne see in the mirror this time? A. She will see more of her face. B. She will see less of her face. C. She will see the same amount of her face. Explain your thinking. How confident are you in your response? Quick, visual way for teacher & students to get an immediate snapshot of students’ thinking & the level of confidence. Create a ‘floor graph’. Select response questions with 3 to 4 choices. Have students pick an answer and then decide how confident they are (low to high)

Uncovering Student Ideas Giant Sequoia Tree The giant sequoia tree is one of the largest trees on earth. It starts as a small seedling and grows into an enormous tree. Five children can stretch their arms across the width of the trunk of one of the large sequoia trees! Where did most of the matter that makes up the wood and leaves of this huge tree originally come from? A. sunlight E. oxygen B. water F. minerals C. soil G. chlorophyll D. carbon dioxide Anonymously recorded on a post-it – all post-its are arranged on wall/board as a bar graph Elicit students’ thinking beyond factual recall Remind students to record their own answer regardless of whether they think it is right or not. Provide time for discussion of data and what students think the class needs to do in order to come to a common understanding.

Uncovering Student Ideas Ice Cubes in a Bag You are having an argument with your friend about what happens to the mass when matter changes from one form to another. To prove your idea, you put three ice cubes in a sealed bag and record the mass of the ice in the bag. You let the ice cubes melt completely. Ten minutes later you record the mass of the water in the bag. Which of the following best describes the result? The mass of the water in the bag will be less than the mass of the ice in the bag. The mass of the water in the bag will be more than the mass of the ice in the bag. The mass of the water in the bag will be the same as the mass of the ice cubes in the bag. P-E-O-E: Predict, Explain, Observe, Explain again This probe is followed by the opportunity for students to test their prediction, observe the results, and modify their explanation

Types & Purposes of Assessment What’s the difference? Diagnostic Formative Summative Diagnostic: To identify preconceptions, lines of reasoning, & learning difficulties/misconception Formative: To inform instruction and provide feedback to students on their learning. Also promotes deeper student thinking. Summative: To measure & document the extent to which students have achieved a learning target NOTE: Diagnostic assessment becomes formative when the assessment data are used to inform instruction/improve teaching & learning Read example of Dr. diagnosing vs. treating

Take Home Messages Probes are assessments for learning Be clear about your purpose before choosing a probe and assessment strategy To be formative, you must not only gather data, you must use it! Work toward creating a classroom where all ideas, regardless of whether they are right or wrong, are valued Start small – keep it simple

Reflection of Formative Assessment I Used to Think  But Now I Know