Planning for Formative Assessment Online Workshop

Who will find this workshop useful? Teachers Syndicates / departments AtoL facilitators How to use this workshop: To update, review and/or reflect on formative assessment practice. As a focus for professional development in exploring formative assessment. To support AtoL in-depth programmes in schools.

What words should I use? In assessment, as in all areas of education, there are some terms that need to be clarified if they are to be used consistently and effectively in practice. What do we want students to know and be able to do as a result of this learning experience? Learning outcomes or intentions What will the quality or standard of work be in order for students to achieve the learning outcome / intention? Achievement criteria or success criteria What kind of learning experience will be appropriate to achieve the learning outcomes / intentions? Context or task

The first active element of formative assessment is … Sharing the learning outcomes or learning intentions with students at the beginning of a lesson. Research shows that: not only are students more motivated and task-oriented if they know the learning outcome of the task, but they are also able to make better decisions about how to go about the task. The learning outcome needs to be clear and unambiguous, and explained to students in a way that they can understand.

Where do learning intentions come from? Learning intentions or outcomes are not selected at random – rather they arise from the evidence that we already have about students’ learning. When we know where students are at in their learning we can identify the next step to move the learning on. The learning outcome or intention will reflect this learning shift, showing the students what they are aiming for. The success criteria will then provide them with a clear picture of what their work will be like if it is to meet the stated intention.

So how does this work in practice? Click on the picture to work through an example based on a NEMP art task

Triceratops: A NEMP art activity

Dinosaurs - triceratops Context Animals from long ago - dinosaurs Learning outcome To complete an observational drawing Using the picture on the next page as a model, draw a triceratops (in the original task a plastic model was used) Your Task Before you start, make a note of the key elements of an observational drawing that you would be looking for in a student’s work Successcriteria

Finished? When you have completed your drawing, use the marking schedule on the following page to assess your own work. You can also use the examples of student work to ‘level’ your drawing.

Marking schedule the triceratops – observational drawing Skills Key Attributes Mark Main features of observed object Main parts and features observed and recorded. Different parts appropriately shaped and in reasonable proportions 4 Very high 3 Quite high 2 Moderate 1 Low 3-dimensional quality Appropriate placement and size of near and far features. Use of shading Detail Fine detail of features observed and included. Appropriate tonal marking (texture, pattern, line) Expressiveness Lifelike quality. Confident treatment of the subject.

NEMP marking schedule The triceratops – low range

NEMP marking schedule The triceratops – mid range

NEMP marking schedule The triceratops – high range

More about criteria How do your criteria match with those used by the NEMP team? How would it have assisted you to have had these criteria before commencing the task? What are the implications for your classroom? Click here to return to the Workshop

Sharing achievement criteria Students’ understanding of the task and their achievement will be maximised if achievement criteria as well as the learning outcome(s) are shared with them prior to the lesson. These criteria need to be the main focus of the feedback given to students.

Task, learning outcomes, and achievement criteria Teachers need to separate the task instructions clearly from the learning outcomes and achievement criteria. Otherwise the students can begin their work without knowing clearly the difference between what you want them to do and what you want them to learn.

Task, learning outcomes, and achievement criteria Task:: Students work in pairs to count piles of objects and match them with numeral cards. Learning intention: We are learning to recognise numbers to 10. Success criteria: “So what we’re looking for is that you can say the names of all these numbers.”

The purpose of success criteria What are we looking for? The learning outcome is “using effective adjectives” – it does not give students the achievement criteria or how they will be assessed. The success criteria might be “what you’re looking for is using interesting adjectives just before a noun”.

Learning intentions and success criteria Students can be involved in creating the criteria. Learning intentions and success criteria need to be displayed. We are learning to… We’ll know we’ve achieved this because…

Learning outcome Success criteria To order stories We know we’ve achieved this because… It will make sense It will retell the story we heard Success criteria

Summary of steps Clarify the learning intentions at the planning stage. Make it an expectation for students. Explain the learning outcome in ‘child speak’ if necessary. Invite students to say how we will know this has been achieved. Write the success criteria. Clarify with “Why is this an important thing to learn?” (big picture). Get students to read out the learning outcome and the achievement criteria.

How can outcomes and criteria be displayed? Some possibilities: A wipe-clean whiteboard, with headings written in permanent marker. The outcomes and criteria can then be written up after discussion. A page on a flip chart, with headings and speech bubbles. The outcomes and criteria for the lesson are written or tacked onto the bubbles. Student ‘know and do’ sheets Your ideas – what would work in your classroom or curriculum area?

Teacher planning formats that work Planning formats need to emphasise the learning outcomes or intentions. Shirley Clarke says that the widest column represents the most important aspect on a planning sheet. An example: Learning outcome/ intention Context / task Achievement criteria (what students will need to do to achieve the outcome) Organisation details Notes to inform future planning Make this the biggest column To be able to create an effective characterisation Describe a friend Describe person X including: hobbies and interests extrovert / introvert attitude to self / others likes / dislikes typical behaviour

Critiquing planning formats How well do your planners support formative assessment practice? Are learning outcomes/intentions clearly stated? Is the context specified? Do the criteria give clear indications as to what students need to do to achieve the outcomes? Remember that some formats work better for some than for others!