Using Formative Assessment and Feedback to Improve Student Learning: A Tool for New and Early Career Teachers Kimberly Thomas, Ed.S.

Purpose Describe a program for preparing early career teachers Discuss formative and summative assessment Explain learning targets Explain the alignment between assessment, learning targets, benchmarks, and instruction Discuss the Lesson Architect Share examples from teachers using the Lesson Architect

ACP (Alternative Certification Program) Is a nine month program Based on the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices (FEAPS) Focuses on classroom management sound instructional planning/design Designed collaboratively with UWF and three regional school districts (Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa) Provides pathway to certification for non-certified teachers employed by three districts

ACP Create portfolios using assignments Provide specific feedback to each student on each assignment Includes Competency 2 of Florida Reading Endorsement Award certification upon successful completion of program passing three Florida certification exams Can be awarded 6 credit hours toward online M.Ed. at UWF Over 400 students have successfully completed the program

The Process

Formative and Summative Assessment

Formative and Summative Assessments Formative Assessments Coaching students to hit a series of learning targets to achieve the final learning targets Making students a partner in their learning Descriptive feedback and part of instruction Summative Assessments A judgment, usually communicated by a grade or score, about how well students achieve the final learning targets Evaluative feedback and after instruction

Assessor Formative Assessments Summative Assessments Teacher Students as self-assessors of their status on the learning target Peers of students as part of the instructional activity Summative Assessments Teacher only

Assessment Tools Formative Assessments (Descriptive and Part of the Instruction) Selected response test as part of instruction Performance assessment as part of instruction Verbal communication on an instructional task students complete during class or for homework Written communication on an instructional task students complete during class or for homework Questioning techniques Minute paper Red, Green, Yellow Etc. Summative Assessments (Evaluative) Selected response test (multiple choice, true false, matching, fill-in-the-blank) Performance assessment (writing, speaking, producing, etc.)

What do results tell us? Results tell us about the quality of our process. As part of our process we Must have measurable goals (learning targets) that are clearly communicated to students Must have good tools (summative assessments) that are clearly communicated to students to measure learning targets Must have blocks of instruction that scaffold learning so that students can achieve the overall learning targets Must have ways to provide continuous feedback to students on each block of instruction Must have ways to help them when they are not achieving a particular block of instruction Must create ways to harvest the wins when they achieve each step of the way

What does the research say about getting results? FEEDBACK and COMMUNICATION OF EXPECTATIONS ARE IMPORTANT

Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam (1998) synthesis of the research Students of teachers using formative assessments to coach students to achieve the learning targets scored higher on standardized tests than those students of teachers who did not practice this assessment approach. The biggest gains occurred with the lowest performing students.

More from a teacher… A teacher in a British secondary school conducted an experiment. She assessed students in writing in three classes in this way She provided a grade only. She provided a grade and narrative feedback. She provided feedback only. What students scored the highest on the end of year writing assessment?

3 to 1 3 compliments 1 criticism Positive! 2 to 1 2 compliments Neutral 1 to 1 1 compliment 1 criticism Negative Source: Tom Connellan, “Inside the Magic Kingdom”, pgs 91-95

What else do results tell us? Results tell us how well our students have achieved the overall learning targets. So, why are we assessing?

Learning Targets

What are Learning Targets? Define what students will know and be able to do when they complete a lesson. Should be written to align to benchmarks for each lesson. Should include a capability verb and action item. May stem from benchmarks. apply letter-sound knowledge to decode unknown words quickly and accurately in context

Qualities of Sound Learning Targets Capability Verb * Describes the type and level of performance * Verb indicates the skill you will be assessing * Examples-state, identify, infer, compare * Non-examples-know, understand, think Action Item * Describes what action students will do ______ the steps of the scientific method ______ the letter “A”

Learning Targets How do we write them in clear and measurable terms? [Bloom’s capability verbs] Measurable Measure one thing Build from simplest to most difficult How do we apply learning targets?

Reading Learning Target Main Idea – How can we chuck this skill? Knowledge Define main idea. Define supporting details. Given a passage, identify the main idea. Given a passage, identify the supporting details. Reasoning Explain why the ___, is the main idea of the passage. Distinguish between the main idea and the supporting details in a passage. After reading a passage without a main idea, re-write the paragraph to include a main idea. Given three passages, evaluate each to determine the paragraphs that include a main idea.

More Examples of Learning Targets Recognize the qualities of a good learning target. Using capability verbs and action items, create learning targets. Define the content of a given standard. State what it means to “chunk” or scaffold instruction. Transform standards into learning targets that scaffold instruction.

How do we determine results? Weekly Learning Targets Use summative assessments to judge student performance. Include summative assessments in student’s grade. Learning Targets Use summative assessments (benchmark tests and/or performance assessments) on all weekly learning targets. Include summative assessments in a student’s grade – consider weighting the benchmark assessment higher or replacing other grades with this assessment in your grading process if students demonstrate higher scores at the benchmarking time.

How do we get results? From our weekly learning targets we create daily learning targets Scaffold the building blocks of learning. Coach students by providing continuous feedback to help them correct mistakes and harvest their wins along the way. [Remember 3 to 1.] Use formative assessments to determine how well students are doing.

Instruction

Aligning the Pieces

Chunking or Scaffolding Instruction Determine what students need to know at various levels before achieving a learning target at a higher level. For example, if you want students to be able to apply the scientific method to solve a “real” word problem, students would need to be able to * define each component of the scientific method * describe how each component connects to the other, and * distinguish when the scientific method has been applied correctly.

Using the Lesson Architect How do we get results? Using the Lesson Architect lessonarchitect.uwf.edu

Examples from the Lesson Architect LT: Identify the use of poetic devices in song lyrics. Benchmark: Analyze poetry for the ways on which poets inspire the readers to share emotions such as the use of imagery, personification, and figures of speech, including simile and metaphor; and the use of sound, such as rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and alliteration. Assessment: Group discussion, rubric, and self assessment. Instruction: Review previous lesson (Intro to Poetry); read lyrics to popular song; allow students to guess author, poetic devices, and meaning of poem; class discussion; listen to song to gain deeper meaning.

Examples from the Lesson Architect LT: Define non-contact forces. Benchmark: Knows that many forces act at a distance. Assessment: Vocabulary pretest, anticipation guide, lesson quiz. Instruction: Review previous day’s instruction, take vocabulary pretest, complete anticipation guide in groups, discuss vocabulary terms and content, teacher demonstration of concepts.

What Have We Learned? An effective teacher is determined by how well our students achieve. We must Determine when and how to use formative and summative assessments. Coach students to succeed by providing continuous feedback on how they achieve each block of instruction and harvest their wins using 3 to 1. Create weekly learning targets that direct how we develop our daily learning targets. Create clear ways to measure the weekly learning targets and communicate the learning targets and how they will be measured to students. Create building blocks of instruction that align to the daily learning targets, standards, and assessment.

Institute for Innovative Community Learning Questions? Kimberly Thomas Institute for Innovative Community Learning kthomas@uwf.edu