1. A new(ish) perspective:
Assessment
A new(ish) perspective:
Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets and how feedback can influence student success

2. “My Aim is True”
Understand the theory of Growth/Fixed Mindsets, Flow and Proximal Development
Come away with strategies for assessment that promote student success, well-being, and save you time!

3. Intelligence: fixed or flexible?

4. In pairs select one person to be teacher/pupil
Decide on a simple maths or literacy problem to set
Pupils leave the room!
MINDSET EXPERIMENT!

5. Another way of thinking about how we assess…
Fixed and Growth Mindsets
The existing mindsets learners use to respond to feedback can dramatically alter the learning outcomes intended....
Consider: any students fall into these categories, you?
Professor Carol Dweck, ‘Mindset: a New Psychology of Success’, (2006)
Professor Guy Claxton, ‘Wise Up’ (1999)
Interested in ‘metacognition’, how people think about thinking, identity and intelligence
‘how do you know what to do when you don’t know what to do?’ Piaget
‘Zone of Proximal Development’ Vygotsky

6. Evidence of present condition
ASSESSMENT
For learners, feedback and assessment must have three crucial elements:
Evidence of present condition
Desired goal
Understanding of a way to close the gap between the two
This can take many forms
Includes what is often called ‘Assessment for Learning’
Formal/informal
Summative/Formative
Verbal
Written
Should include peer assessment
clearly related to success criteria
Not ‘monological’-one way

7. Concentrating on giving students detailed and developmental formative feedback is the single most useful thing we can do for our students…(Brown 2009).

8. Characteristics of Growth/Fixed Mindset Responses
So what does this mean for the way people respond to assessment? Your mindset?

9. FLOW and ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPEMT!

10. In pairs use the Fixed/Growth Mindset theory to reflect on strategies for assessment
Talk about students and real life situations; do you have students whose mindset presents a barrier to their learning and your teaching?
How could you promote growth mindsets with your approaches to assessment?

11. Save time on motivating and tackling disengaged or under-achieving students; deal with mindset first e.g. marking diagnostic
When verbally praising or feeding back to students focus on effort and their approach as well as the outcome
Be mindful of praising people for ‘being clever’ or ‘talented’
Always relate feedback to ‘real’ success criteria; e.g. instead of distinction-’professional standard’ (new BTEC)
Set tasks that require students to log their input over time e.g. Practise diaries, blogs that reflect on their effort and approaches
Plan activities that place students in their ‘Flow Zone’: offer menu’s of difficulty, differentiation, stretch and challenge BUT make it meaningful; flow occurs when people are at a comfortable limit of their abilitiy doing something they enjoy and find meaningful…
IMPLICATIONS

12. FGM Marking time saver...
For example, before collecting their work for marking at the start of a whole-group session, immediately issuing a pre-prepared1-sheet handout to the class covering:
Illustration of what is expected as evidence of achievement of each of the intended learning outcomes
Likely mistakes
Features of a good answer
Frequently needed explanations
Spend a few minutes de-briefing the whole group and talking them through the handout
Focus on the time needed to do this effectively
Focus on the approach needed

13. Practical Assessment
Using the BTEC criteria opposite ‘mark’ the student work you’re about to hear in the following ways…
Informal feedback
****-sandwich
Growth mindset based feedback
Written feedback
Grade?
How would you manage this as a peer-assessment activity?

14. Practical Assessment
In pairings that roughly reflect similar subject/faculty areas plan ‘real life’ assessments
Which tasks would you do?
How would you assess them?
Formatively?
Summatively?

15. Plenary Pyramid!

16. Brown S (2009) First level Assessment: Aligning perceptions and practice with purpose < (accessed 28th June 2010).
Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential. Constable & Robinson Limited.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Claxton, G. L. (2002) Building learning power: helping young people become better learners (Bristol,TLO).
See also portal: The Reading Room
Tummons (2011)Assessing Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector
Black and Wiliam (1998, 2000)
Journey to Excellence website: essment.asp
Bibliography