Assessment for Learning Tools and Activities

Links to Tools and Activities Comment-only marking Exemplar Work Student Marking Traffic Lights Self-assessment Targets Articulate then Answer Might Open and Closed Questions Two stars and a wish Incorrect answer discussion Question Stems Peer Marking Group feedback Generate and Answer Discuss Words Post-It Multiple Choice Cards Mini-Whiteboards Quick Draw Dominos Tarsia Puzzles Crosswords

Comment-only marking Comment-only marking provides learners with a focus for progression instead of a reward or punishment. See Geoff Petty’s Medals and Missions. Comments could be made in Moodle or on assessed work. Moodle is useful as it can track the changes and show improvements as the learner progresses. Comments should make it clear how the learner can improve. Plan activities and work with feedback in mind – let the design assist the process.

Exemplar Work When setting learners a piece of work, show them examples that make it clear what it is they are being asked to do – and what they need to do in order to meet the assessment criteria. Learners could mark exemplar work using the assessment criteria. This will help model what is being asked for and how it relates to the process of assessment. You can choose good and poor pieces of work so learners can see the difference.

Student Marking By taking part in the process of assessment, learners gain a deeper understanding of topics, the process of assessment and what they are doing in their own work. This helps to make them more aware of ‘what learning is’ and thus see their own learning in this way. Learners could self- or peer- mark homework or assessments. This could be done in pairs or individually with a student friendly mark-scheme.

Traffic Lights Use traffic lights as a visual means of showing understanding. Learners have red, amber and green cards which they show on their desks or in the air. (red = don’t understand, green = totally get it etc.) Learners self-assess using traffic lights. The tutor could then record these visually in their mark book. Peer assess presentations etc. with traffic lights Use traffic light cards with assertive questioning to show understanding of the group Templates found here – Welsh, English & True/FalseWelshEnglishTrue/False

Self-assessment Targets Learners give themselves targets based on their self-assessment. Learning goals can be set from assessed work and then recorded in the eILP and revisited during 1-1 sessions or in class. They could be compared to tutors targets and the two brought to consensus if necessary.

Articulate then Answer Give learners the opportunity to articulate their thinking before answering. You could : Give 30 seconds silent thinking before any answers Let Learners brainstorm in pairs first for 2-3 minutes Get learners to write some thoughts down before answering Tell learners to discuss with their neighbour first

Might When questioning insert the word ‘might’ to give learners more opportunity to give fuller answers and explore possible solutions. For example – What is the meaning of democracy? – What might the meaning of democracy be? The first infers a single know answer whereas the second is more open.

Open & Closed Questions Closed questions usually require a one word or short answer, they can be useful when checking basic understanding of a topic. Open questions, however, facilitate the use of abstract thinking skills and encourage learners to discuss the topic and thus improve their learning.

Two Stars and a Wish When learners self or peer assess ask them to give two stars (positive points) and a wish (something to improve) Template can be found herehere

Incorrect Answer Discussion Use incorrect answers as the start of a discussion point. Respond to the answer with: ‘That’s interesting can you explain how you got to that answer?’ Get other learners to discuss if they agree or disagree with the answer and explain why they think that way. This could be linked with the traffic lights so you can get the opinion of the whole class.

Peer Marking Learners mark each others’ work according to assessment criteria (or marking scheme). This activity encourages learners to reflect on the answers and they can see model answers.

Group Feedback This can be used in conjunction with peer marking. Group learners after peer marking and then give them time to create feedback that covers the main issues arising from the work. This makes the feedback more manageable and less repetitive. Feedback

Generate and Answer When preparing for exams learners could generate their own questions and model answers. This helps learners to think about the assessment as well as material. The questions could then be given to others in the group and used in conjunction with peer marking. Question Cubes can be used to help focus learners. Templates can be found here.here

Discuss Words When engaged in discussion look at key words and how they are being used. Is everyone using the word in the same way? Does everyone understand the definition of the word?

Post-It Post-it notes are great for group and individual activities. They can also be used to evaluate learning. In groups, pairs or individually get learners to answer the following questions: What have I learnt? What have I found easy? What have I found difficult? What do I want to know now? You don’t have to use all questions at one!

Question Stems Good question stems that can be used to assess learning: Why does…? What if…? How would you…? Could you explain…? What might…? Examples can be found here here

Multiple Choice Cards Laminate sets of cards so every member of the group has one set with A, B, C and D written on them. Ask multiple choice questions and get learners to hold up their answers. TemplateTemplate for Multiple Choice Cards ExampleExample of Multiple Choice quiz in Smart notebook Help sheet Help sheet of creating Multiple Choice Quiz

Mini-White Boards These can be used to get answers from individuals, pairs or small groups. Ask questions and get learners to write or draw their answer on the board and hold it up You get immediate feedback from the whole group

Quick Draw Split the learners into small teams Have a set of questions ready for each team. One learner, from each team, comes to the front to get the first question. They take it back to the group and come up with an answer. They bring the answer back to the front, tutor checks and if it is correct they get the second questions First team to answer all questions correctly wins. Example of Quick Draw questions (and template)

Dominos Spreadsheet software can be used to create a set of dominos based on the topic. (See your learning mentor for support with this idea.) The dominos could be key words and definitions for example. Split class into groups They deal the domino cards between themselves and take it in turns to try and put their dominos down Alternatively they could collaborate and try and get the dominos to match up. Examples can be found here – Religious Studies Religious Studies – Maths Maths – Computing

Tarsia Puzzles A group activity where learners work together to match up questions and answers or key words and definitions to form a tarsia puzzle. This software can be downloaded for free from the internet or from the Skills for excellence site. Example can be found here

Crosswords Crosswords can be used as a starter activity to get the learners thinking about the subject. They can be used to consolidate learning during a topic or as a final assessment of understanding once the topic is completed. Examples can be found here – English English – Computing Computing The software can be found in the net apps folder on the desktop.