1. Quality Assessment Tasks for Quality Work Samples
Implementing COGs Workshop
School Based Assessment and Reporting Unit
Curriculum Directorate
NSW Department of Education & Training
NSW Public Schools – Leading the Way

2. Aims Quality Assessment Importance of task design
Key elements of task design
Coding Assessment Tasks using QT elements
The workshop will focus on these 4 areas.

3. What is Assessment?
Assessment is the process of collecting evidence of student learning in order to estimate an individual’s (or a group’s) current level of attainment.
Discuss this statement ‘What is assessment’ Is there anything that the group wants to add?

4. Purposes of Assessment
Teachers need to be clear about what they are
assessing and why.
Assessment provides information for participants in
the teaching and learning process.
The better the task, the more effective the
teaching and learning which follows.
Assessment takes many forms in schools and
classrooms:
Formal and informal observation and discussion with students
Formal assessment tasks
Formative monitoring and adjustment of teaching
Summative assessment at key points
Comparing evidence of achievement against syllabus standards.
This slide covers all of the possible purposes for assessment for teachers. Highlight the different forms. The informal observations are just as important as the formal. Each of these gives a variety of opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know & can do.

5. A Quality Teaching Focus
What do you want the students to learn?
Why does that learning matter?
What are you going to get the students to do (or produce?)
How well do you expect them to do it?
Teachers need to focus their teaching and assessing around these 4 questions from the Quality Teaching Framework.
Ensure teachers have copies of the 2 NSW Quality Teaching Framework Assessment documents.

6. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice
What do you want the students
to learn?
Consider:
Key concepts in KLA outcomes and content
How do key concepts relate to each other?
What does this question mean if we are using the COGs units? Discuss the components of the COGs units that address this question.

7. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice
Why does that learning matter?
Consider:
Does the learning have meaning in the world beyond the classroom?
How does the learning link to prior learning?
How does the learning in one task link to the learning in another?
As a group discuss the COGs units & how they are planned as a whole school approach (spiralling curriculum). Each string in each stage links the same string in the next stage. How has your school planned the teaching of the COGs units across the school so that the learning links to prior COGs units? The COGs units are written so that within each unit the learning links form one task to another and within one KLA to another. What happens if we do not teach the unit in the order that it is written in, or we still teach our HSIE unit from previous years? How does this learning link?

8. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice
What are you going to get the
students to do (or produce?)
Consider:
How will students demonstrate their deep understanding of key concepts? (Assessment should be tied to these concepts.)
Which products or performances will be most meaningful to students?
Discuss the importance of this question in regards to assessment. Where are the assessment opportunities in the COGS units? Is what I am assessing linked to the teaching & learning? How do I provide opportunities in various forms. In pairs brainstorm what assessment strategies you have used in your classroom over the last fortnight. What elements of the Quality Teaching framework where they based in?

9. Quality Teaching Assessment Practice
How well do you expect them to
do it?
Consider:
High expectations for student performance and/or product.
How will students know what a quality product or presentation looks like?
How will they know when they have achieved the outcomes?
How will each teacher provide opportunities for all students to demonstrate what they know and can do? Discuss what information students are given as to what is expected and how well? Could this be improved and how?

10. Quality Learning Environment
QT Dimensions
Intellectual Quality
Quality Learning Environment
Significance
Discuss the 3 Dimensions of the QT framework. What Dimension do we focus on, where could we raise our focus. Is there some assessment tasks or KLAs that lend themselves to one of the dimensions mor3e than another?

11. Intellectual Quality Deep knowledge Deep understanding
Problematic knowledge
Higher-order thinking
Metalanguage
Substantive communication
In groups of 4 look at each of the elements in the Intellectual Quality Dimension and along with the QT framework assessment guide, discuss the elements that you have been focusing on this term. Discuss where you might focus on next term.

12. Quality Learning Environment
Explicit quality criteria
Engagement
High expectations
Social support
Students’ self-regulation
Student direction
In groups of 4 look at each of the elements in the Quality Learning Environment Dimension and along with the QT framework assessment guide, discuss the elements that you have been focusing on this term. Discuss where you might focus on next term. Which elements are not in the assessment guide, why do you think this is so?

13. Significance Background knowledge Cultural knowledge
Knowledge integration
Inclusivity
Connectedness
Narrative
In groups of 4 look at each of the elements in the Signifcance Dimension and along with the QT framework assessment guide, discuss the elements that you have been focusing on this term. Discuss where you might focus on next term.

14. Task Design
How do you design a task that produces quality worksamples?

15. Importance of Task Design
Evidence of learning is only as good as the
task allows.
Too simple / too difficult issue
What you know and record is limited by the task itself
Student progress is defined by it
Too often we look at student’s work and comment that the student’s haven’t done what was asked or the standard is not what was expected. Quite often it is not the student, but the assessment task did not allow the students to demonstrate what they know & can do.
Teachers bring along examples of assessment tasks that have done this term. In small groups discuss the points above. As a larger groups discuss the groups findings.

16. Setting Appropriate Assessment Tasks
One of the keys to successful teaching and learning is the aligned curriculum.
The learning outcomes are clear.
The learning experiences(face-to-face and virtual) are designed to help students achieve those learning outcomes.
This is a process teachers should follow when designing an assessment task.
Learning outcomes are the syllabus outcomes- what is it I have taught and am I assessing how well?
The assessment tasks allow the students to demonstrate their achievement of those outcomes.

17. Teaching and Learning Program
What do I want my students to learn?
Teaching and Learning Program
Outcomes
How do I want them to learn it?
Learning experiences
How will I know they have learnt it?
Assessment Events
These 3 questions are asked as you plan, teach and assess. Some teachers backward map from the assessment task, while others map form the outcomes first. Both ways must take into account the syllabus outcomes and the learning experiences. You shouldn’t assess what you haven't taught.

18. Reflection
Can you explain how the assessment tasks you currently use relate to unit learning outcomes?
What quality teaching aspects are apparent? How do you know?
Do students know and understand the marking criteria?
How much guidance do students get in completion of tasks?
In small groups discuss each of these questions.

19. Activity – Coding an assessment task Stage 2: Effects of Growth and Change
HSIE
ENS2.6 Describes peoples interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments
• uses maps to locate reference points
• locates and describes physical, political and cultural areas
• states positive and negative effects of environmental changes.
CCS2.2 Explains changes in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on different individuals, groups and the environment
• Identifies and describes positive and negative effects of changes in the local area
• Suggests changes of lifestyle as a result of changes to the local area.
Creative Arts: Visual Arts
VAS2.1 Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by choosing among aspects of subject matter
• creates an imagined landscape of the local area.
VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter
• experiments with techniques to represent an aerial view of the local area
Mapping changes in the local area
• Display a topographic map of the local area and copy for students’ use. Identify the different natural and built features. Discuss:
- what is a map?
- what is the purpose of the map?
- what do you find on a map?
- what can you tell from a map?
• Students study the map and discuss what the symbols and markings represent.
• Talk about the things a map needs e.g. heading/title, key or legend and explanation of symbols used to represent features.
• Locate well know features e.g. river, creek, main roads, areas of industry, towns, high ground/mountain.
• Discuss what the topographical map tells you about the local area. Ask questions such as:
- why do you think there are lots of …?
- what would happen if there was a lot of rain?
- why are there few buildings on the mountain?
- why is there little natural bush/a lot of natural bush?
- Summarise the knowledge gained from the map.
• Compare the topographical map to the aerial photographs used in the previous lesson. What features are the same or different?
• If aerial photographs of different eras are available, identify changes that have occurred to the local area over time e.g. changes to the natural and built environment can easily be seen.
• Why might these changes have occurred?
• What positive or negative effects would these changes have on the local environment and on the people who lived there?
This is an example of a Stage 2 COGs units. You may notice that for this teaching and learning experience there is no formal assessment.

20. Activity – Coding an assessment task Stage 2: Effects of Growth and Change
HSIE
ENS2.6 Describes peoples interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments
• uses maps to locate reference points
• locates and describes physical, political and cultural areas
• states positive and negative effects of environmental changes.
CCS2.2 Explains changes in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on different individuals, groups and the environment
• Identifies and describes positive and negative effects of changes in the local area
• Suggests changes of lifestyle as a result of changes to the local area.
Creative Arts: Visual Arts
VAS2.1 Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by choosing among aspects of subject matter
• creates an imagined landscape of the local area.
VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter
• experiments with techniques to represent an aerial view of the local area
 English
 TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.
TS2.4 Identifies common organisational patterns and some characteristic language features of a few types of predictable spoken texts.
Mapping changes in the local area
• Display a topographic map of the local area and copy for students’ use. Identify the different natural and built features. Discuss:
- what is a map?
- what is the purpose of the map?
- what do you find on a map?
- what can you tell from a map?
• Students study the map and discuss what the symbols and markings represent.
• Talk about the things a map needs e.g. heading/title, key or legend and explanation of symbols used to represent features.
• Locate well know features e.g. river, creek, main roads, areas of industry, towns, high ground/mountain.
• Discuss what the topographical map tells you about the local area. Ask questions such as:
- why do you think there are lots of …?
- what would happen if there was a lot of rain?
- why are there few buildings on the mountain?
- why is there little natural bush/a lot of natural bush?
- Summarise the knowledge gained from the map.
• Compare the topographical map to the aerial photographs used in the previous lesson. What features are the same or different?
• If aerial photographs of different eras are available, identify changes that have occurred to the local area over time e.g. changes to the natural and built environment can easily be seen.
• Why might these changes have occurred?
• What positive or negative effects would these changes have on the local environment and on the people who lived there?
After looking at pictures of buildings from the local area, and participating in an excursion to observe the buildings, the students will design and make a building of the future. When their building is completed the students will give a presentation outlining the reasons for their choice of design/structure
Assessment Strategy
The teacher:
observes students
observes interaction and discussions between students regarding their designs and structures
Assessment Criteria
The student:
sketches buildings in their local area from pictures
uses their understanding and knowledge of buildings in the local area to create their own building of the future
outlines reasons for design/structure choices through oral presentations
After looking at pictures of buildings from the local area, and participating in an excursion to observe the buildings, the students will design and make a building of the future. When their building is completed the students will give a presentation outlining the reasons for their choice of design/structure
Teachers added an assessment task that builds & shows evidence that address the Creative Arts outcomes and provide opportunities for teachers to collect this evidence from the students within the learning experience. Notice the assessment task allows for the students to outline the reasons for their choice.
Using the QT assessment guide, what elements have these teachers focused on? In groups discuss your selection and justify your decisions. In a larger group discuss.

21. Work sample
Using the previous slide, discuss these worksamples. Has this student achieved the outcomes and if so how well on a five point scale?

22. sketches buildings in their local area from pictures
Assessment Criteria
The student:
sketches buildings in their local area from pictures
uses their understanding and knowledge of buildings in the local area to create their own building of the future
outlines reasons for design/structure choices through oral presentations
This is an example of the model created from the previous slide’s sketch. Note that the reasons given within the oral presentations is not included, in our example, but what would this look like in your classroom?
In groups you may wish to moderate the worksamples on the 2 slides to decide whether the student is ‘at’ . ‘above’ or ‘below’ using the syllabus standards defined in the unit of work. Discuss and justify to your colleagues your decision.

23. Activity – Coding an Assessment Task Stage 2 – Machines
Creative Arts: Music
MUS 2.1 Sings, plays and moves to a range of music, demonstrating a basic knowledge of musical concepts
• demonstrates feeling for the beat through movement
• performs chant with accompanying movements
• performs rap ostinato patterns.
MUS 2.2 Improvises musical phrases, organises sounds and explains reasons for choices
• invents movement patterns to reflect song sequence
• creates rap ostinato pattern and graphic notation to represent it.
MUS 2.3 Uses commonly understood symbols to represent own work.
• devises graphic symbols to represent ostinato patterns
MUS 2.4 Identifies the use of musical concepts and musical symbols in a range of repertoire
• discusses musical features of the song.
Music and machines
•Select a chant about machines such as ‘My name is Joe’ from Sync or swing (DET):
-have students imitate machine-like movements (include the ones referred to in the chant)
-play the recording and have students discuss the song. Include reference to lyrics, accompaniment, beat, rhythm and the voice
-students suggest suitable movements to accompany the chant
-perform chant with accumulated actions as indicated in the lyrics
-introduce some spoken ostinato to perform with recording
-divide class into groups to devise their own rap ostinato patterns
-students devise graphic symbols to represent their ostinato patterns
-swap notation with other class members, perform and discuss effectiveness.
•Write a rap piece about a button factory or an office and perform for the class. Use the phrases developed at the beginning of the unit to help.
•Discuss machine noises found at home and create sounds to represent the machines:
-identify similarities and differences between identical machines
-divide into groups to represent a machine through sound and movement
-use body percussion to create the beat of the machine
-add movement and sound to represent the machine.
•Perform for the class.
 See attached Music Assessment sheets
Assessment strategy
The teacher:
• observes participation in class activities.
Assesses student performances
Assessment criteria
The student:
• performs chant accompanied by movements
• creates, performs and notates a rap ostinato pattern
• uses word patterns, syllables, rhyme and onomatopoeia
These criteria relate to outcomes MUS2.1, MUS2.2, MUS2.3, MUS2.4, WS2.9
Look at this learning activity in the COGS stage 2 unit. Copy the next slide and handout the assessment task? Using the QT Intellectual Quality Dimension, code the assessment task in small groups. As a whole group discuss each element and the coding given, why. Move on 2 slides, ask these questions & discuss as a whole group.

24. Activity – Coding an Assessment Task Stage 2 Machines
This assessment task was created as part of the learning activity. Using the QT Assessment Guide, have teachers working in groups. Each group looks at one of the dimensions & codes the assessment task for each of the elements. As a whole group discuss the findings. The next 3 slides are parts of the document that can be used when discussing. Teachers will need to have copies of the NSW Quality Teaching Framework Assessment Guide whilst they are completing this activity.

25. Discussion: Does that task allow students to demonstrate how much
they know?
Is it possible for a student to achieve “Above”?
How could the task be improved so that other QT
elements would reflect a 4 – 5 code?

26. Quality Teaching Elements
What elements of the Quality Teaching Framework are the focus of the assessment task? It is not necessary that every task has every element of the 3 Dimensions, however over the school year teaches should ensure that all elements are included within part of their assessment practices.

29. Summary elements : research indicators
The task must be based in the curriculum
Students need to know what is expected
Students need to see relevance
The task must be able to elicit optimal performance
Is the task accessible to all students?
When designing assessment task all of these indicators are important. Think of your recent assessment tasks, were all of these indicators present?

30. Activity Area Explanation / Practical expression
The task must be based in the in the curriculum
Students need to know what is expected
Students need to see relevance
The task must be able to elicit optimal performance
Is the task accessible to all students?
In small groups, plan how each of these indicators would be planned for & would look like? What KLA, what outcome? What is the explicit criteria? How is it relevant. Can all the students complete the task? Does it allow for students to show extensive knowledge, skills and understanding?

31. Steps to setting a quality assessment task
Read over the 4 QT questions and consider your responses.
Review the QT elements for each of the 3 dimensions.
Decide upon which elements are to be focused on in the assessment task.
(Start by choosing a small number!)
Design your assessment task and aim to code the focus elements highly (4 - 5).
Revisit the QT elements and check to see if you have achieved a high code.
Code the assessment task against all 18 elements and note other highly coded
elements.

32. Questions

33. Contacts kerry.long@det.nsw.edu.au 9886 7765 sadie.gow@det.nsw.edu.au