Formative/Summative Conceptual/Procedural Assessments and Ways of Thinking

What did you get out of the reading that you thought you could share with the group? Answers to Question 2 from Reading 1. Encourage just a few GSIs to share ideas—keep this part brief—just solicit a variety of ideas to lead into today’s discussion. Point out to the class the variety of lesson planning techniques that can be equally effective—but remind them that they’ve all taught for a few semesters (at least) now, so we want to spend the rest of the time thinking about some educational theories that could help provide some guidance/structure to novice instructors’ plans (AND they are useful for non-novice instructors, as well, because we all can improve if we consider teaching a lifelong process)

Three Aspects of lesson design 3 Three Aspects of lesson design 1. Measurable Goals: Identify desired results Aligned 2. Assessments: Determine acceptable evidence T 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction: Can Incorporate Tasks 3

4 More Specifically Setting Goals: What should students be able to DO with their learning? Aligned 2. Designing Assessments: What IS valid evidence of ability to meet the stated goal(s)? 3. Choosing Tasks/Examples: What learning experiences & instruction do students need to get there? 4

Less Effective Lesson Design 5 Less Effective Lesson Design Identify content to be acquired Without checking for alignment 2. Brainstorm lessons to teach the content I’m not 100% on this slide—basically I want to say “let’s help the proteges to not just ‘get by’ with an approach like this one’ let’s help them set goals, design assessments, and plan lessons that are aligned and efficient and effective. 3. Create an assessment to judge if students learned the content 5

Discuss Theory and Specifics 6 Discuss Theory and Specifics Setting Goals: What should students be able to DO with their learning? Aligned 2. Designing Assessments: What IS valid evidence of ability to meet the stated goal(s)? 3. Choosing Tasks/Examples: What learning experiences & instruction do students need to get there? 6

Ways to Assess Learning Goals Weighing all the evidence (not just the smoking gun) We are the judge – we don’t convict someone of understanding until we see ALL the evidence Variety of evidence – formative and summative assessments The photo album versus the snapshot. 7

Weighing all the evidence (not just the smoking gun) We are the judge – we don’t convict someone of understanding until we see ALL the evidence Variety of evidence – formative and summative assessments 8

Important to Use a Variety of Types of Assessments 9 Important to Use a Variety of Types of Assessments “Evaluation is a complex, multi-faceted process. Different tests provide different information, and no single test can give a complete picture of a student’s academic development. -- from CTB/McGraw-Hill Terra Nova Test Manual 9

10 Types of Assessment Summative Formative Assessment of learning "Summing up" a students' performance Evaluating student learning at the end of an instructional unit or specific time period. Assessment for learning: Formative assessment is part of the instructional process. Can provide information about what an individual student needs to practice, have retaught, or learn next Summative assessments are given periodically to determine at a particular point in time what students know and do not know. Formative: Taken at varying intervals throughout the course to provide info & feedback to inform and improve both the quality of student learning and the quality of the course and instruction http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html for more examples 10

The "Road Test to Get Drivers License" Analogy 11 The "Road Test to Get Drivers License" Analogy Summative: Final Road Test or Sports Game Formative: “Practice” driving or workouts Practice(1) + Practice(2) + … + Practice(n) n What if, before getting your driver's license, you received a grade every time you sat behind the wheel to practice driving? And your final grade was the average of all the grades you received while practicing? Motivated? Confident? Guidance? Final driving test (summative) is the accountability measure establishing if you have the driving skills necessary for a driver's license—not a reflection of all the driving practice that leads to it. The same holds true for classroom instruction, learning, and assessment. 11

Summative: At point in time what students are able to do 12 Forms of Assessments Summative: At point in time what students are able to do Formative: part of instructional process Observations & examples of student work Student diagrams, flow charts, concept map One minute paper Exit tickets (e.g. summarizing main points) Self & Peer Assessment Some homework/quizzes/classwork Can help teacher modify future lessons Can inform students of learning progress End-of-unit tests/quizzes End-of-semester exams Standardized tests Some homework/quizzes/classwork Grades used for accountability Prepared examples 12

Check Alignment of Assessments: To what extent do your assessments assess students’ understandings of lesson goals? Is there a range of assessments as opposed to a single task/test (photo album vs. snapshot)? Could a student be successful on the assessment package without truly understanding? (Benny) Could the student understand and not be successful on the assessment package? Acknowledge for time we can’t go deep here, but we may circle back to this later when talking about red flags with mentoring protégés. Emphasize, importance of aligning assessments with goals ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 13

Two different types of Understanding Procedural Understanding: Demonstrate rules without reasons Conceptual Understanding: Demonstrate knowing both what to do and why We choose tasks that are procedural or conceptual to align with procedural or conceptual goals we set. Because there are two different types of understanding we are trying to promote

Designing Your Lesson with Goals and Cognitive Demand in Mind: Compare & Contrast Make a convincing argument for or against the following statement: The sum of any 3 consecutive integers is divisible by 14. Does your argument constitute a proof? Why or why not? What would we expect students to do when successfully answering these questions? Have GSIs list features that are different between these two tasks (e.g., closed vs. open, procedural vs. conceptual)

Aspects of Effective Lesson Design 16 Aspects of Effective Lesson Design Setting Goals: What should students be able to DO with their learning? Aligned 2. Designing Assessments: What IS valid evidence of ability to meet the stated goal(s)? Wrap up discussion—ask what questions or thoughts the GSIs have about these three aspects as time allows 3. Choosing Tasks/Examples: What learning experiences & instruction do students need to get there? 16

Handout (20-30 mins)