1. McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. What Students Need to Know and Documentation That Shows Student Learning

2. 3-2  What do today’s students need to be able to do to be productive, competitive, and informed learners in the 21st century?  Being literate in two or more languages?  Mathematical processing? What level of computation and analysis is necessary?  Technology?  Problem-solving/critical thinking skills, personal wellness, or interpersonal-based goals?

3. 3-3  Curriculum guide: reflects a school district’s organized plan of goals and learning outcomes expected to be acquired by students from grade to grade.  It serves as the list of learning requirements students are expected to meet before graduation.  Curriculum guides directly reflect mandated requirements at the state and/or national levels regarding expected student proficiency and skill development.

4. 3-4  Typically included:  Standards: broad statements of goals and competencies that students are expected to acquire  Benchmarks: specific learning goals expected to be accomplished by a specified time, usually certain grade levels  These learning goals are written and supported by professionals in academic content areas (e.g., science, math, language arts) and endorsed through professional associations that eventually appear as specific knowledge and skill expectations through identified learning targets and outcomes for students in your classroom.

5. 3-5  An educational goal is a broad statement of what students are expected to be able to do.  Goals can be written so that they are general or very specific  Usually require an extended period of time to acquire.  Goals are rarely accomplished within a short period of instructional time (e.g., day, week, or perhaps even a month).  Educational objectives are designed based on broader educational goals, but are more narrow statements of expected student performance. They are to be achieved upon completion of an instructional unit of study.

6. 3-6  The term learning outcome is often used interchangeably with learning target.  An outcome is usually viewed as a desired effect  A learning target is an anticipated aim or mark to be acquired  Before a student reaches the level of an identified learning target, broader guiding instructional elements are involved.  For instance, students’ progress in the classroom is examined relative to the educational goals that are identified.

7. 3-7  Matching learning tasks with the processing skills that are needed to complete those tasks and accurately measuring that connection is very important.

8. 3-8  Benjamin Bloom’s differentiated levels of cognitive processing have been recognized and hierarchically ordered within his taxonomy of educational objectives (Bloom 1956, Bloom, Hastings & Madaus, 1971).  The original taxonomy of cognitive domain includes six major categories  1) knowledge; 2) comprehension; 3) application; 4) analysis; 5) synthesis; 6) evaluation.  The cognitive categories are placed in ascending order based on growing complexity and abstraction (Krathwohl 2002).  All of the aforementioned cognitive skills are necessary to master if students are to become effective learners.

9. 3-9  Bloom’s Taxonomy Categories and Expected Learner Actions  CategoriesPotential Learner Actions  Knowledge  define, memorize, repeat, record, list, recall, name, relate, collect, label, specify, cite, enumerate, tell, recount  Comprehension  restate, summarize, discuss, describe, recognize, explain, express, identify, locate, report, retell, review, translate  Application  exhibit, solve, interview, simulate, apply, employ, use, demonstrate, dramatize, practice, illustrate, operate, calculate, show, experiment

10. 3-10  Analysisinterpret, classify, analyze, arrange, differentiate, group, compare, organize, contrast, examine, scrutinize, survey, categorize, dissect, probe, inventory, investigate, question, discover, text, inquire, distinguish, detect, diagram, inspect  Synthesiscompose, setup, plan, prepare, imagine, produce, hypothesize, invent, incorporate, develop, generalize, design, originate, formulate, predict, arrange, contrive, assemble, concoct, construct, systematize, create

11. 3-11  Evaluation  judge, assess, decide, measure, appraise, estimate, evaluate, infer, rate, deduce, compare, score, value, predict, revise, choose, conclude, recommend, select, determine, criticize  Source: Dr. A. T. Wyatt, McMurry University. Reprinted with permission.

12. 3-12  Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) revised Bloom’s taxonomy by incorporating the cognitive process across four knowledge dimensions.  The four knowledge dimensions indicate what kind of knowledge is to be learned in an objective or goal  Factual knowledge, Conceptual knowledge, Procedural knowledge, and Meta-cognitive knowledge  Six dimensions of the cognitive process reflect what the learner should be able to do with that knowledge  Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create

13. 3-13 Start with Your Needs and Those of Your Students

14. 3-14  Assessment involves the use of evidence collecting measures and techniques.  However instructional questions guide and direct the student learning process.  Basic instructional questions need to be addressed and answered before a lesson plan or learning activity is taught.

15. 3-15  It’s difficult to collect unlimited amounts of data.  Only collect necessary information that serves a purpose for you and students.  As the teacher, you must decide what questions to address before instruction is provided.  And you must also decide what data to collect and how it is to be collected and reviewed.

16. 3-16  What is the primary purpose and focus of the intended lesson?  Must identify:  Reason to cover selected information  Reason to develop specific skills  How to use the information  How it connects with current and future lessons  What are your students supposed to get and retain because of this educational experience?

17. 3-17  What instructional activities are going to take place in order for the learners to meet the intended lesson outcomes?  Selected learning activities designed to help explain, illuminate, and expand content understanding should be directly connected to and enhance students’ acquisition of the goals and outcomes of the lesson.  Anything less than a direct instructional “hit” becomes an excursion that misses the instructional target and results in the students being less prepared relative to the set outcome(s) of the lesson.

18. 3-18  What evidence is needed to confirm that the students acquired the desired outcomes from the lesson?  Consistent with NCLB, direct evidence of student learning impact (academic and behavioral) must be demonstrated.  Educators must now recognize that evidence needs to be collected and used to show student progress.  Critical to determine what kinds of data need to be collected. This is where each educator decides on how the different forms of assessment are used and integrated within the instructional plan and classroom setting.

19. 3-19  Does instruction-learning-assessment alignment exist within the lesson?  Always ask: “Do I have evidence that my students have acquired the desired learning goals of the presented lesson?”  If Yes, then a teacher can be confident that instructional success and impact has been obtained with the lesson.  What questions would you add?

20. 3-20 Multiple Ways to Demonstrate Progress

21. 3-21  The terms information and data are often used interchangeably. Evidence is comparable to these terms, yet it does exceed them in meaning.  Evidence: implies correctness or rightness to what is collected; proof that helps confirm the finding. Educators are no different than other professionals in their need to find confirmatory evidence of effectiveness and impact.  Teachers need to know that students have learned the desired goals of the lesson; in essence, teachers must seek out and collect confirmatory evidence that desired progress toward (perhaps even mastery of) intended outcomes has been met.

22. 3-22  Academic achievement is demonstrated through skill observations, test performance(s), problems that are correctly solved, or by homework that is completed.  These discrete behaviors and skills that are directly observable and measurable are referred to as empirical evidence, and this evidence is used in the confirmation that a specific construct (e.g., learning or achievement) is being measured and acquired.  It is important that we as educators are aware of these assumptions and recognize the limits of the data and information that we collect and then attribute to various concepts.

23. 3-23  Now recognizing these limitations doesn’t necessarily weaken the constructs.  In fact, it could be argued that these concepts are actually strengthened because it forces us to carefully select our confirming data sources.  Also requires us to appropriately rely on multiple sources of supportive information to justify those confirmations.

24. 3-24  A clear evidence trail needs to exist which can be followed by anyone who reviews the learning progress of the students in the classroom.  Pieces of evidence (e.g., tests, projects, observations, etc.) collected at different times during the instructional lesson serve as progress pictures or performance snapshots.  As this information is collected, it can be reviewed individually as well as cumulatively so that adjustments or modifications can be made as necessary.

25. 3-25  As the learning process continues, reliance on more than one sample of evidence is needed.  Multiple sources of data become essential.  Repeated measurements over time show student’s relative progress can be tracked and proper modifications made during the instructional process.

26. 3-26  Three major sources of evidence collection are usually involved:  1) Observation  2) Questioning and/or Interviewing  3) Student Generated Work  These sources often overlap.  These sources shouldn’t be considered mutually exclusive.

27. 3-27  Informal Observation (anecdotal observation/records) is an observation that typically occurs at random times without preset notions of what to look for or why.  Advantages:  The teacher is not predisposed to just look for something in particular.  What behaviors or problems emerge during the observation may represent true concerns for that student, especially if a pattern can be demonstrated.  This approach provides a technically unbiased viewing of a student’s behavior.

28. 3-28  Disadvantages:  The collection process is nonspecific and can be very cumbersome.  Information may or may not be recorded during an informal observation. Notes can be collected without any focus or direction.  Considerable time demands are often required.  Collected pieces of information can get jumbled and easily rearranged without a consistent recording process.  Difficult to compare results between separate observations. The ability to extend any collected findings to other settings and situations is quite limited.

29. 3-29  To generate more meaningful and stronger empirical-based data that has greater accuracy, permanency, and functional utility, more structured formal observation recordings, complete with data collection and recording requirements, are needed.  Must also recognize that even with highly systematic procedures, an absolute and complete recording of a student’s behavior can never really be accomplished.  That is why several observations must take place over a period of time before a “representative sample of the behaviors” begins to emerge (Sattler 2002).

30. 3-30  Observations, and the data that are generated from them, are considered most effective when intended behavioral targets have been clearly identified and defined.  This allows the observer to focus on the identified behavior(s) while at the same time avoiding other nonessential behaviors during the recording period.

31. 3-31  As Sattler (2002) has stated, “Observational methods are particularly useful for (a) studying behaviors that have a relatively high frequency; (b) assessing global behaviors such as aggression, social withdrawal, sociability, and attention; and (c) evaluating a child’s progress over time. Systematic observation in a naturalistic setting may not be the method of choice for some behaviors, particularly those that occur infrequently, covertly, or only in response to some specific stimuli” (p. 86).

32. 3-32  Since teachers deal with academic and behavioral problems that demonstrate high or consistent rates of occurrence, formal observation formats can be helpful for documentation purposes, as well as collecting data on how effective changes in instructional practices are on the identified concerns.

33. 3-33  A narrative record involves the chronological recording of an event as it is taking place.  It is usually set within an identified setting or school event for a specified amount of time.  Information can be recorded in general terms with limited details or in great detail relative to specific conditions or specific target behaviors (e.g., time on task, quality of classroom work, student-to-student interaction, etc.).  The observer has considerable flexibility to focus in on specific issues as they evidence themselves during the observation.

34. 3-34  Interval recording or time sampling involves the recording of specific pre-identified behaviors based on set time segments or intervals.  The observational period is broken up into segments of time, usually of short duration (e.g., 10 or 20 second intervals).  During each segment the identified behavior(s) is recorded if it is observed.  Two forms of interval recording can be used during an observation.  Whole interval recording requires that the behavior occur throughout the entire time interval.  Partial interval recording only requires that the behavior occur at some point during the time interval in order for it to be recorded.

35. 3-35  Event recording is similar to interval recording because specific behaviors are pre-selected for examination.  Event recording is not dependent on time for documentation, but on the behavior itself.  This approach is useful with behaviors that possess clear beginning and end points and generate student products that can be easily observed and recorded.

36. 3-36  Checklist: a listing of the essential parts and elements of specific behaviors or skills can be provided.  It can be determined if the student is demonstrating some or all of the required sub-skills needed.  It can also serve a diagnostic function in helping to identify any skill problems that might be demonstrated during the observation.  A checklist review can provide confirmatory evidence of successful learning and skill acquisition.

37. 3-37  Ratings allow for the examination of identified behaviors based on a predetermined scale, usually involving a range of point values (e.g., 1–5 or 1–10).  Designed to quantify the impressions of an observer, as well as provide an indication of the degree or magnitude of the observed behavior(s).  One of the most common rating scale formats used involves the scale of 5 (always), 4 (frequently), 3 (sometimes), 2 (seldom), 1 (never).  Benefits of this approach is that information can be added to the observation that makes it more robust because more detail can be provided.

38. 3-38  Direct questioning involves the collection of evidence through the verbal responses of students; a discussion or a dialogue with an intended purpose.  It serves as a quick and authentic way to confirm students’ understanding of presented material, use of procedures, skill execution, as well as to confirm progress.  Used within or as follow-up to a lesson, teacher directed questioning can generate valuable learning feedback.  Can result in skill correction while the learning event is actually taking place.

39. 3-39  Pre-determined “probing questions” with a specific instructional purpose can be constructed in order to assess:  Higher level processing skills;  Different areas of knowledge/cognition as described in Bloom’s taxonomy.  However, an important instructional recognition must be acknowledged when asking questions of students.  Students will naturally provide responses that are needed to answer the questions that are asked.

40. 3-40  If asked basic knowledge or comprehension questions, then those are the types of responses that will be generated by students.  If asked higher level processing questions, then those types of responses must be generated by the students.  As the teacher, you have complete control over the level and type of questions that are asked of your students.

41. 3-41  An interview is a directed conversation where specific information is obtained from the interviewee.  Teachers rarely engage in formal interviews due to the extended time that is required to complete an interview.  During the course of the school day, teachers are sometimes able to visit with students, for a limited period of time, to review progress or address other school issues.  Through these informal mini-interviews or sessions, teachers can collect information to directly help and assist those students.

42. 3-42  The mini-interview format is typically associated with the mental health field and is used by some medical schools in the selection of physician candidates and other health field professionals (Eva, Reiter, Rosenfeld, & Norman 2004a, Eva, Reiter, Rosenfeld, & Norman 2004b)  It has implications and usage in the classroom.  For example, during a mini-interview, questions that are particular to a specific child can and should be asked.  In the process, in-depth and valuable information can be obtained.

43. 3-43  What students produce and generate as a matter of their classroom work is the gold standard of student learning evidence.  Rely on student production as a critical indicator of their general progress and ability to generalize the material.  Student products meet the requirements of empirical evidence as they have recognizable beginning and end points:  Generate tangible, concrete constructions that can be examined;  Reflect the direct work and effort of the individual;  They can address the accountability mandate of “show me.”

44. 3-44  Student products represent multiple skills and talents that involve different output responses such as:  Verbal performances  Written expression performances  Traditional test performances  The use and collection of a variety of student products is important.  Allows for a more accurate and detailed evaluation of a student’s progress, especially with skills that are expected to develop over time.

45. 3-45  When students produce an individual response or product, it is referred to as a constructed response. This is a work and personal product that is generated solely by a student in response to a given question or instructional request.  Writing a paper falls in the constructed response category since each student must construct an original text response to meet the requirements of the assignment.

46. 3-46  The other type of student product is referred to as the selected response.  This format is used predominantly in classroom tests or exams.  A student is required to pick out or select the correct response from a set of provided potential responses.  This approach is used with many standard test items including true/false, matching, and multiple-choice items.