Office of School Improvement Differentiated Webinar Series A Framework for Formative Assessment November 15, 2011 Dr. Dorothea Shannon Dr. Greg Wheeler Mrs.Thomasyne Beverly 1

The ultimate goal in school improvement is for the people attached to the school to drive its continuous improvement for the sake of their own children and students. - Dr. Sam Redding 2

Quote of the Day  The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual, and thus to feel justified in teaching them the same subjects in the same ways. - Howard Gardner 3

Today’s Agenda 1.Welcome (2 minutes) 2.Team reports and review of FA indicators (15 minutes) 3.A framework the formative assessment (30 minutes) 4.Activity/Discussion for participants related to FA (10 minutes) 5.Reflections/Assignment for the subsequent webinar (8 minutes) 4

Purpose To define formative assessment. To describe the formative assessment indicators each team has selected. To gain an understanding of the three components of the FA framework. To identify the four FA modules and the formats used to present each on Editure. 5

Team Reporting (10 minutes) Select one member of your team to respond to the prompt below: How many Formative Assessment Indicators did you select for your school’s improvement plan, which one are you starting with and why, and have accessed the Editure site? 6

What is formative assessment?  Take two minutes to develop a definition of formative assessment with your team.  Write your definition in the “chat box” and be prepared to explain your answer. 7

Source: Thomas R. Guskey, TeachFirst - Checking for Understanding Module FoExtended duration; Unlike the larger standardized assessments used by school districts to measure how their schools are achieving curriculum outcomes on a macro scale, more traditional forms of assessment regularly used within classrooms (such as quizzes, tests, and writing assignments) are valuable tools not only for measuring student performance, but also for guiding teachers in improving their own teaching methods. In contrast to generalized results of standardized tests, classroom assessments offer teachers immediate, individual pictures of each student’s abilities and can provide a map for the instruction of the class as a whole. What is often missed, when considering the value of such assessments, is the dual role they can play in benefiting both students and teachers. What the Research Says 8

A Framework for Formative Assessment (TeachFirst, 2010)  Establish the Learning Goals  The Essential Elements of Formative Assessment  Formative Assessment Strategies for Gathering Information 9

Establish the Learning Goals  Becoming highly skilled in the use of formative assessment is not enough, if what is being taught and learned is not in alignment with what students are ultimately expected to know and do. Therefore, “teachers must know the concepts, knowledge, and skills to be taught within a domain, the precursors necessary for students to acquire them, and what a successful performance in each looks like” (Heritage, 2007).  Equally important, teachers must clearly articulate the learning goals to students in language they can understand. If students don’t know where they are going, many will not get there. 10

The Four Essential Elements of Formative Assessment  Identify the gap between students’ current performance and the learning goal.  Provide ongoing feedback that tells the student where he is in the learning progression, where he needs to be, and the next step to move his learning forward.  Where the student is – “You worked well on supporting your claims with evidence. Now work on making sure the reader can follow the main points of your argument.” 11

Continued...  Where the student needs to go and WHY – “Dividing the major points of an argument into paragraphs helps readers to grasp each point. Putting the paragraphs in logical order helps readers connect the points into a seamless argument.”  Actively involve students in identifying gaps and deciding on next steps; scaffold students in self- and peer-assessment. 12

Continued...  Example – “Take out your ‘Stages of the Writing Process’ guidelines. Use it to assess what stage your draft is in. Then partner with a classmate and share your ‘stages’ self- assessments with each other. Help each other decide on next steps based on the ‘stages’ suggestions.” 13

Continued...  Specify next steps to close the gap in terms of success criteria (short-term goals) that are doable and manageable for the student.  Example – “Eventually you will be pulling all the ideas together into a research paper; but what I want you to work on right now is adding more detail to your outline by …” 14

Check for Understanding...  Take two minutes and write an example in the chat box of a teacher statement that contains the 4 essential elements of formative assessment. 15

The Editure/Teach First Formative Assessment Modules  Assessing for Learning  Checking for Understanding  Feedback  Understanding Misconceptions 16

Module Format  Research: Current research on the formative assessment concept  Models: Looking at formative assessment in action  Practice: Incorporating formative assessment strategies in lesson plans  Impact: Assessing the impact of formative assessment strategies on learning 17

Format continued...  Each module contains a power point presentation, an instructional conversation guide, and a guide for using the materials.  Material is intended for administrators and classroom teachers. 18

What was one idea I learned during today’s webinar that I plan to share with teachers at my school? 19

Team Assignments for Webinar Session 3 Be prepared to discuss how your school is implementing the FA professional development, what module you started with, which indicators you are working on, challenges and successes. Begin thinking about collecting artifacts to share during a web session. 20

Questions? Next web session December 13, 2011 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. 21