Effective Assessment in Junior Social Studies

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!

Learning Intentions To build knowledge around Achievement Objectives To consider and develop effective assessment practices in Junior Social Studies To have time to reflect and critique an assessment task

NZC overview - considerations

What do you see as important when it comes to assessment in Social Studies?

Concepts in the Curriculum The Achievement Objectives are conceptual understandings The concepts are integrated within the AOs Concepts are the ‘big ideas’ Four conceptual strands

Structure of Knowledge

An example… Other key ideas to consider Values, Perspectives, Social Action Concepts to be explored cultural practices, interactions, culture, society, impacts Contexts To draw out the concepts – relevant, meaningful Achievement Objective (the Conceptual Understandings) L5 Understand how cultural interaction impacts on cultures and societies

Measuring Conceptual Understandings Approaches to Building Conceptual Understandings BES summary Exemplars udies/index_e.html

Building Conceptual Understandings Student ability to: 1. List, sort, label and define concepts 2. Identify further examples and non-examples 3. Demonstrate connections between multiple concepts 4. Transfer conceptual understanding to previously unseen/unknown 5. Taking action/making decisions examples based on new knowledge and understandings 6. Identifying a range of ways in which the concept may be interpreted

STUDENT 1 Burma is a country that struggles to get human rights. Basic human rights such as freedom of speech or religion and the right to have a fair trial are frequently breeched. Burma is governed by a military junta. This regime has been reluctant to have democratic elections. One person who is famous from Burma is Aung San Suu Kyi. She has worked to get human rights and democracy in the country but was put under house arrest for 15 years since She received the Nobel Peace Prize in She has had a lot of attention from global media and this helped to put pressure on the military to have more fair elections. She has received many prizes for her fight for human rights. Finally in May, 2012, she was elected to Parliament. She hopes to run for President in Defines human rights Gives examples of struggle for HR

STUDENT 2 Human rights are standards or dignities which are afforded to all human beings. While the exact nature of which human rights should be for all people is disputed, most people agree that the right to dignity, freedom and equal rights should be given to everyone in the world. This standard has been reinforced by documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was signed in 1948 stating 30 Articles which name and protect human rights. This helps to monitor the state of human rights in all countries. One country that human rights organisations regard to have wide spread human rights violations is Burma. Burma is governed by a military regime that has restricted democratic elections and has removed opposition to its regime, by imprisoning people - such as Aung San Suu Kyi. The human rights of minority groups in Burma are also of concern. Groups such as the Rohingya, a minority Muslim group, have had their citizenship removed (since 1982) and as many as Rohingya have been displaced from Western Burma. Their status without citizenship in Burma means they can no longer travel without official permission, they cannot own land, and they have to sign a commitment that they will not have more than 2 children. These are basic human rights which they now no longer have, but which we have in NZ. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution this month expressing their concern at the human rights violations against the Rohingya in Burma. They have lobbied the Burmese government to address this and release political prisoners, but at this stage, the Burmese government does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens. Definitions Examples Further examples and non-examples Connections between multiple concepts Eg. mobility, land ownership Range of interpretations

Progression of student learning and conceptual understandings What to consider… Conceptual understandings? Achievement Objective/s? Social Inquiry process – aspects? Perspectives? Values?

To develop conceptual understandings: Social Inquiry Asking questions Finding information from a range of sources Exploring values & perspectives Considering responses and decisions (social action) Reflecting and evaluating

Wood, 2013 Social inquiry goals

Values and perspectives

An example…The Rohingyas Assessment – through a Social Inquiry process AND Achievement Objective ‘Start with the end in mind’ (back mapping a unit of work)

Summative assessment The possibilities of Assessment schedules Compare the 3 schedules… 1.What are the strengths/challenges of these schedules? 2.What is missing? 3.How do these compare to your current school practice?

Overview Unit overview Pearltrees ( TakingITGlobal ( WordPress (

Teaching and learning

The importance of formative assessment Comes from the Latin verb ‘assidere’ meaning ‘to sit with’. In assessment, one should sit with the learner. This implies it is something we do with and for students and not to students (Green, 1998)

Improving learning through assessment… 1.Providing effective feedback to students. 2.Students’ active involvement in their own learning. 3.Adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment. 4.Recognising the profound influence of assessment on students’ motivation and self-esteem - both crucial influences on learning. 5.Ensuring pupils assess themselves and understand how to improve. Black and Wiliam

Self - evaluation Do you have confidence that every student in your class can improve? How well do you: Create a learning environment in your classroom? Share achievement information with students and co- construct clear learning goals with them? Use assessment information to feed back into teaching? Clarify learning outcomes with students? Involve students in self and peer assessment? Provide timely focused feedback? What evidence do you have for your self evaluation? Rate yourself from: 5 – I do this consistently well, to: 0 – I don’t do this at all

Success Criteria Shared understandings and knowledge about Achievement Objectives Considered approaches to develop conceptual understandings Reflected, developed and refined assessment for formative and summative purposes Shared ideas in regard to progressions within one curriculum level