Teaching, Learning and Assessment for Adults: Improving Foundation Skills Janet Looney Making Connections Glasgow, Scotland 29 April 2008

The Classroom as “Black Box” RESOURCES ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIREMENTS RESULTSRESULTS PRINCIPLES FOR PROVISION INDIVIDUAL, SOCIAL & ECONOMIC FACTORS GUIDELINES AND TOOLS LEARNING OBJECTIVES, CURRICULA, PATHWAYS

Why should policy-makers focus on teaching, learning and assessment? Policy-makers can provide more effective leadership and make better investments with an understanding of “what works” in practice Increasing awareness that instructors need support if they are to help learners achieve high- quality outcomes

Formative Assessment as the starting point Formative Assessment refers to the frequent assessment of learner understanding and progress to assess needs and to shape teaching and learning Formative assessment has been shown to have positive impacts on learner achievement across countries and age groups (school-age and university) Formative assessment implies a profound change in classroom cultures

Methods Reviews of international research (English, French, German, Spanish) Case studies of exemplary practice [Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, England, France, Norway, Scotland, and the United States] Country background reports (6 case study countries + Australia, New Zealand and Spain)

Policy Support Increased funding A stronger focus on holding programmes acountable for learner outcomes A stronger focus on strengthening instructor professionalism A commitment to learner-centred provision Pathways for learner progression Varying degrees of support for formative assessment

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment Techniques: Feedback, Questioning and Scaffolding Developing Learner Autonomy Recognising Learning Progress The Steps of the Learning Journey

Step 1: First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals F i r s t S t e p s : D i a g n o s i n g L e a r n i n g N e e d s a n d S e t t i n g G o a l s First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Identifying learner capacities and needs, and the depth and nature of any barriers to learning Identifying learner motivations and goals, and developing learning plans or contracts

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Step 2: Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment

Building rapport and creating a “safe” environment Negotiating learning goals and methods Using dialogue to promote participatory and democratic learning Structuring dialogue to meet specific learning goals Using dialogue to establish what learners do and do not know and to adjust teaching Creating opportunities for peer learning Step 2: Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment Step 3: Techniques: Feedback, Questioning and Scaffolding

Step 3: Techniques: Feedback, Questioning and Scaffolding Techniques of formative assessment have been shown to have a significant impact on achievement school-age and university learners when practiced systematically There is little research on impact of different formative assessment techniques for adult foundation skill learners But, a rich literature based on practitioner wisdom and small-scale empirical studies

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment Techniques: Feedback, Questioning and Scaffolding Step 4: Developing Learner Autonomy

Step 4: Developing Learner Autonomy Adult education is a process through which adults aim to gain independence from the instructor Learners define what they want to learn as well as how Peer and self-assessment, learning- to-learn are key strategies for building learner autonomy Many adult learners also engage in independent learning (non-formal and informal)

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment Techniques: Feedback, Questioning and Scaffolding Developing Learner Autonomy Step 5: Recognising Learner Progress Recognising Learner Progress Recognising Learner Progress

The emphasis is on “measuring the distance travelled” toward goals Instructors and learners use tools to track progress Summative and formative assessment are most effective when aligned

First Steps: Diagnosing Learning Needs and Setting Goals Relationships within the Classroom: Dialogue and Peer Assessment Techniques: Feedback, Questioning and Scaffolding Developing Learner Autonomy Recognising Learning Progress The Steps of the Learning Journey

OECD Policy Principles 1.Promote active debate on the nature of teaching, learning and assessment 2.Strengthen professionalism

OECD Policy Principles, cont. 3.Balance structure and flexibility: Formative assessment as a framework 4.Strengthen learner-centred approaches

OECD Policy Principles, cont. 5.Diversify and deepen approaches to programme evaluation for accountability 6.Devote the necessary resources 7.Strengthen the knowledge base

Challenges for the Adult Foundation Skill Sector 1.All key players – policy-makers, programme leaders and instructors, as well as researchers – can do more to support change within classrooms 2.Practice should, to the extent possible, draw upon evidence-based approaches and techniques 3.The field, at both programme and policy levels, needs to be accountable not only for results, but also for learning from successes and failures

Thank You