1. Alignment between Pedagogy and Assessment Dr. Christine Tom Griffith University

2. Presentation overview The What – Alignment through Backward Mapping The Why – Alignment of Curriculum, Assessment and Pedagogy – Planning for learning The How – Assessment task, criteria and standards learning experiences Challenges 2

3. Alignment AssessmentCurriculum Pedagogy Backward mapping ensures the alignment of pedagogy with curriculum and assessment 3

4. CURRICULUM INTENT – the knowledge, skills, values, dispositions that should be taught and assessed ASSESSMENT & REPORTING - gathering evidence and evaluating what is learnt. Reporting learning achievements to the student as feedback; and to other stakeholders for a range of purposes PEDAGOGY – teaching and learning that makes sense of the curriculum and prepares students for success in the assessment tasks Alignment 4

5. Curriculum National expectations –Year level –Learning areas (subjects) –Content descriptors Learning Objectives –Achievement Standards or Learning Standards for each year level Discuss: How does this match your Curriculum? 5

6. Starts with what students are expected to learn and be able to do – Curriculum Assessment tasks – summative and formative - students demonstrate deep knowledge and understanding Pedagogy - Work ‘backwards’ to develop learning episodes and lessons that address the learning required of the assessment task – Lesson Plans Backward Mapping – aligning curriculum and assessment 6

7. Backward mapping: Alignment 1. What learning do you truly value enough to assess? 2. How do you want students to demonstrate their learning? 3. How are you going to teach them so they succeed in the assessment task? 4. How is assessment going to be incorporated into your pedagogy? 1.Clarify ALL learning ‘outcomes’ you want to assess 2.Design the assessment task and the grading tool 3.Plan the learning experiences that will enable your students to successfully complete the task 4.Include formative assessment practices can you integrate into your lessons/pedagogy that will assist in monitoring progress 4 steps to design your plan 4 questions to guide planning 7

8. Assessment Starting with the end goal, students actually learn what they were expected to learn What and how the curriculum is taught is matched with what and how it is assessed Students know the expected learning goals from the outset Students can monitor their progress towards those goals The summative assessment tasks should be: ‘An Invitation to Learn’ 8

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10. Group discussion: What are the requisites for developing such tasks? What are the implications for teachers? How can students benefit from tasks that are developed with this in mind? An Invitation to Learn 10

11. Learning Standards Backward mapping concept of Learning Standards Assessment tasks Standards guide the development of a course, unit and other learning experiences Promote consistency and commonality in teaching and learning – overcome disparities among and within schools 11

12. Planning, sequencing curriculum and instruction – coherence; consistency Learning episodes and Lesson plans addressing the assessment tasks Identifying the diverse needs of the students – learning styles; intellectual capacity Differentiated curriculum Focus on Higher Order Thinking Pedagogy – How can curriculum leaders support teachers in the implementing the following: 12

13. Lesson Planning – a Learning Experience Plan Where is the learning experience gauged? Focus on how formative assessment, monitoring and reviewing are incorporated into the plan Discuss how this model provided could be used by teachers for your summative assessment sample. 13

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15. The Why - Alignment Ralph Tyler (1947) – Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction Grant Wiggins and Jay Tighe (1990) – Understanding by Design To establish consistent learning goals for schools, teachers and students that reflect the knowledge, skills, conceptual understanding and work habits deemed to be most essential. 15

16. The How - Alignment Starting with the curriculum Designing the summative task – end of a learning episode Linking the criteria to the curriculum objectives Developing the marking rubric Plan the formative assessment for learning in the lesson 16

17. Pedagogy and assessment When teachers plan and apply the principles of backward mapping, they are enabling the following conditions:  Alignment between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment  Enhancement of the intellectual quality of student learning through targeting higher order thinking, authentic pedagogy and formative assessment strategies in lessons  Consistency of curriculum planning, delivery, marking/grading and reporting 17

18. Pedagogy and assessment When teachers plan and apply the principles of backward mapping, they are enabling the following conditions:  Accountability for learning and teaching to students, parents, schools, systems and societies  Connecting the learning so that students understand the reason for learning and how it relates to the society and cultures in which they live.  Establishing professional learning communities and confident teachers 18

19. The How – Alignment Group Activity How well does the task invite students to learn? Starting with the task, how does it demonstrate alignment with the curriculum? Give examples of how the criteria align with the curriculum. How well do the criteria and standards align to the assessment task? How well do the standard descriptors for making judgments about the quality of the learning – (A – E) – align with the criteria? 19

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21. Australian curriculum – Content descriptors – Year 4 English Literature Examining Literature English Literature Creating Literature Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tension (ACELT1605)(ACELT1605) CreateCreate literary texts by developing storylines, characters and settings (ACELT1794)(ACELT1794) English Language Text structure and organisation English Literacy Interacting with others Understand how texts vary in complexity and technicality depending on the approach to the topic, the purpose and the intended audience (ACELA1490)audience (ACELA1490) Use interaction skills such as acknowledging another’s point of view and linking students’ response to the topic, using familiar and new vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch and volume to speak clearly and coherently (ACELY1688)point of viewspeak(ACELY1688) 21

22. ABCDE Constructs a well-reasoned picture book which is highly appropriate for Year 1 readers in terms of complexity and theme. Constructs a picture book which is suitable for Year 1 students in terms of complexity and theme. Complexity and theme are narrowly appropriate for Year 1 students in the constructed picture book. When reading picture book to Year 1 students, the student effectively and skilfully combines interaction skills such as tone, pace, pitch and volume to communicate clearly and coherently with the audience. When reading picture book to Year 1 students, the student competently uses interaction skills such as tone, pace, pitch and volume to communicate with the audience. When reading picture book to Year 1 students, the student uses interaction skills such as tone, pace, pitch and volume minimally which hinders communication with the audience. Engaging picture book is written with an insightful and meaningfully constructed story line, character development, setting and plot tension and is perceptively supported with appropriate illustrations. Picture book is written with a satisfactory story line, character development, setting and plot tension and is supported with appropriate illustrations. Picture book is written with unclear and unsubstantial story lines, character development, setting and plot tension and its illustrations vaguely support written content. Constructs a coherent picture book which is highly appropriate for Year 1 readers in terms of complexity and theme. Constructs a picture book which shows minimal consideration for the intended Year 1 audience in terms of complexity theme. When reading picture book to Year 1 students, the student purposefully combines interaction skills such as tone, pace, pitch and volume to communicate clearly and coherently with the audience. When reading picture book to Year 1 students, the student’s narrow use of interaction skills such as such as tone, pace, pitch and volume create disjointed communication with the audience. Engaging picture book is written with a purposefully constructed story line, character development, setting and plot tension and is thoughtfully supported with appropriate illustrations. Picture book is written with a superficial story line, character development, setting and plot tension and its illustrations disjointedly support the written content. Criteria ABCDE STRAND Language C1: The complexity and technicality of the picture book address the topic and intended audience STRAND Literacy C1: Uses relevant interaction skills such as tone, pace, pitch and volume when reading the picture book STRAND Literature C1: Writes and illustrates an engaging picture book using story lines, character development, settings and plot tension Marking Rubric 22

23. Challenges 23

24. Challenges Engaging learning experiences Authentic assessment Quality assessment Assessment for learning Evidence of learning 24

25. Alignment of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy Quality tasks.... – A quality task gathers valid evidence of student learning and must include: A Task sheet – outlining the key requirements of the task Criteria sheet – aligns to the learning outcomes and reflects the key focus of the task Standards descriptors – ‘how well’ the student demonstrates the learning Opportunities for feedback to the student Together these form the learning goals for future teaching and learning episodes 25

26. Reflection Think about this presentation. What were the key issues for you? Write a Headline that describes this experience from your perspective. Share 26

27. Alignment of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy allows learners to understand the what, the why and the how of their learning. Thank You 27