Formative Assessment and Quality Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms and Schools: A

Community of Professionals  Coquitlam/Burnaby PNS

April 21, 2011 Presented by Faye Brownlie

Learning  Inten+ons  

•  I  understand  the  power  of  collabora+on  in  improving  student  learning.  

•  I  can  iden+fy  ‘quality  teaching’  and  explain  what  aspects  of  it  make  a  difference  in  inclusive  classes.  

•  I  can  find  more  ways  to  embed  forma+ve  assessment  into  my  prac+ce.  

•  I  have  a  plan  to  try  something  new  to  me.  

How  the  world’  best  performing  school  systems  come  out  on  top  –  

Sept.  2007,  McKinsey  &  Co.  

1.  GeOng  the  right  people  to  become  teachers  

2.  Developing  them  into  effec+ve  instructors  

3.  Ensuring  that  the  system  is  able  to  deliver  the  best  possible  instruc+on  for  every  child  

McKinsey  Report,  2007  

•  The  top-­‐performing  school  systems  recognise  that  the  only  way  to  improve  outcomes  is  to  improve  instruc+on:    learning  occurs  when  students  and  teachers  interact,  and  thus  to  improve  learning  implies  improving  the  quality  of  that  interac+on.  

How  the  world’s  most  improved  school  systems  keep  geOng  beWer  –

McKinsey,  2010  

Three  changes  collabora+ve  prac+ce  brought  about:  1.  Teachers  moved  from  being  private  emperors  to  

making  their  prac+ce  public  and  the  en+re  teaching  popula+on  sharing  responsibility  for  student  learning.  

2.  Focus  shiYed  from  what  teachers  teach  to  what  students  learn.  

3.  Systems  developed  a  model  of  ‘good  instruc+on’  and  teachers  became  custodians  of  the  model.  (p.  79-­‐81)  

Good  to  Great  Systems  

•  Focus  on  the  professionalism  of  teachers  •  The  values  and  behaviors  of  the  educators  propel  the  system  forward  (not  centrally  controlled)  

•  Develop  common  language  about  the  craY  of  teaching  

•  Teacher  and  administrator  coaches  

Great  to  Excellent  Systems  

•  Learning  communi+es:    peer-­‐led  support  and  accountability  

•  Focus  on  student  learning    •  Move  to  school  and  teacher  self-­‐evalua+on,  away  from  standardized  tests  

•  Open  up  classroom  prac+ce  –  de-­‐priva+ze  •  Ac+on  research  •  Collabora+ve  prac+ce  among  educators  •  Encourage  innova+on  in  teaching  

Richard  Allington,  U.  of  Tennessee  IRA  Conven+on,  2011  

“We  now  have  good  evidence  that  virtually  every  child  who  enters  an  American  kindergarten  can  be  reading  on  level  by  the  end  of  first  grade.”  

4  cardinal  principles  

•  Matching  difficulty  level  of  texts  with  student  development  

•  Not  was+ng  reading  period  +me  on  set  up,  workbooks,  test  prep.  or  test  taking  

•  Allowing  children  to  select  what  they  read  •  Engaging  children  in  daily  literate  conversa+ons  about  their  reading  

The teeter totter

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kids curriculum

Engagement  

•  A  worthy  task  •  Choice  •  The  end  in  mind  

Approaches •  Assessment  for  learning  •  Open-­‐ended  strategies  •  Gradual  release  of  responsibility  •  Coopera+ve  learning  •  Literature  circles  and  informa+on  circles  •  Inquiry  

It’s All about Thinking – Brownlie & Schnellert, 2009

Assessment for Learning Learning  inten*ons   Criteria   Descrip*ve  feedback  

Ques+ons   Self  and  peer  assessment   Ownership  

Asking  good  ques+ons  

Critical thinking & Problem-Solving

•  How  much  forest  must  be  removed  to  create  a  4-­‐lane  highway  15  km  long?  

•  How  can  you  figure  it  out?  

•  What  thinking  skills  do  you  use?  

It’s  all  about  thinking  in  math  &  science  –  Brownlie,  Fullerton,  Schnellert  

•  How  much  forest  must  be  removed  to  create  a  4-­‐lane  highway  15  km  long?  

•  How  can  you  figure  it  out?  

Critical thinking & Problem-Solving

Documen+ng:  

-­‐sharing  with  others  -­‐reflec+ng  

Learning  Stories  based  on  the  work  of  Margaret  Carr  &  Wendy  Lee,  New  Zealand  

Megan  Fraser  &  Giovanni  Thiessen,  Burnaby  

•  A  story  •  Documenta+on  

•  Makes  the  ordinary  significant  

•  Ini+ated  by  the  child  •  Only  the  ‘good’  reported  •  Supported  with  pictures  

Child: Karma Teacher: Megan Fraser Date: January 15, 2011!

A Learning Story! !Observation Focus

EXPRESSING AN IDEA OR A FEELING: In a range of ways (specify). For example: oral language, gesture, music, art, writing, using numbers and patterns, telling stories.!!

!The story…

Karma, today you were taking the ‘hospital project’ to an entirely different place… you began to represent what you were learning about through play, stories and conversations with a new medium: paint.

This idea came to you entirely independently, rather than in response to another students’ idea or an invitation from me.

You were entirely focussed as you created with black and red paint, paper and brush.

I asked what you were working on and you told me, “It’s a heart, but not the shape kind; it’s the real kind and that black stuff, it’s disease.”

What’s happening… Karma, you engage with the world through your senses… you do not always internalize the ideas of others, but rather prefer to touch, taste, smell, listen, and smell for yourself. You represent this engagement in an equally unique way (through images and movement), and as you do so, you appear to be engaged in that conversation with ideas using your whole body!

What’s next… Karma, I understand that a strength for you is that you have an ability to understand things on a deeper level when you have physically engaged with them. I need to remember to provide you with opportunities to learn things in this way. For example, how can I engage your body and senses to help you develop literacy and numeracy skills? Perhaps painting? Sculpture? Scented play doh? Water on chalkboards?

!

A Learning Story!

Isabel’s Violin Feb. 17, 2011

Isabel’s plan was to make a violin during our Choices time. She seemed to have a very clear idea of how she wanted to make it and the materials she wanted to use. She asked for a stick to make the bow and grabbed a large white piece of paper to draw the violin. I thought it was very interesting that Isabel chose to draw each part of the violin as a separate picture (e.g. the body, the neck, the pegs, etc.) When I asked her about it, she said she was going to cut them all out and then put the parts together to make her violin. Just like a puzzle! Isabel stayed very focused and motivated on her project; she kept working on her violin for our entire Choices time! Naturally, she was very proud of her creation! Thanks for sharing your learning with us, Isabel! We love seeing how you think and create.

What it means…

Isabel, you are working like a designer, engineer and artist! I can tell you know a lot about violins! How did you learn so much about them? You have a clear idea about the shape, size and parts of the instrument, and you know how they piece together. You really enjoy working with materials and I have learned that you always have a plan in your mind! You have shown me that you need a lot of time to work and it is important for you to be able to finish your projects.

What’s next...

Other children were also very interested in making instruments today and made them in different ways. I would like to bring in some real instruments and books to share with the class -- it makes such a difference when you get to touch, hear and see how instruments work! I am curious to find out how this might influence their drawings, creations and play.

Learning  Story  Evi  Kurina,  Riga,  Latvia  

•  Chem  9  •  Summary  lesson  before  the  test  

•  Coaching  •  New  to  working  in  groups  •  New  to  working  with  Learning  Inten+ons  •  What’s  the  story?    What  should  we  no+ce  about  you  as  a  learner?  

What  worked?  

•  Par+cipa+on  in  the  small  groups  •  Inclusion  of  all  members  

•  Quiet  voices  •  Engagement  and  interest  

•  Learning  inten+ons  

What  didn’t?  

•  Task  too  complex  for  the  alloWed  +me  •  Students  needed  support  with  how  to  read  the  labels  

What’s  Next?  

•  Feedback  on  what  made  the  groups  work  well  

•  Explicit  lesson  on  how  to  read  labels  

AFL  –  guiding  the  teaching,  guiding  the  learning  –  Michael  Campsall,    

Comox  Valley,  Gr.  5/6  

•  Backwards  Design:    Heritage  Fair  Projects,  non-­‐fic+on  research  wri+ng  

•  Thinking  skill:    ques+oning  •  Gradual  release:      – Viewed  images    –  In  groups  generated  ques+ons  – Categorized  ques+ons  

•  Thinking  skill:    wri+ng  •  Analyzed  student  wri+ng  – Created  a  drop-­‐down  menu  with  coloured  spreadsheet  

– Analyzed  data  – 3  areas  of  need  

•  Voice  •  Sentence  transi+ons  •  Sentence  beginnings  

•  Gradual  release  – Build  an  essay  together,  with  Michael  modeling  first,  then  working  together  

–  Introduc+on,  paragraphs  (lead,  support,  conclusion),  conclusion  

•  Chose  Heritage  Fair  topic,  researched,  took  notes  around  juicy  ques+ons,  wrote  

•  Students  chose  1  paragraph  to  revise  AFTER  1-­‐2  mini-­‐lessons  on  the  skill  –  i.e.,  voice  

•  Students  self-­‐assessed  and  peer-­‐assessed  with  rubric  

•  Adapta+on:    a  few  kids  wrote  with  partners  – At-­‐risk  partnership  scaffold  –  Teacher  chooses  a  bullet  from  rubric,  students  read  paragraph  and  search  for  evidence  –  ‘which  describes  yours’  

r  

e  

Assessment for Learning Learning  inten*ons   Criteria   Descrip*ve  feedback  

Ques+ons   Self  and  peer  assessment   Ownership  

Structures  Maria  Yioldassis,  gr.  3,  West  Vancouver  

•  Brainstorm  what  is  known  about  structures  •  Categorize  •  With  partner,  pose  ques+ons  

•  Guiding  ques+ons,  1  /chart  paper:      How  do  different  materials,  forces  and  shapes  affect  the  stability  and  strength  of  different  structures?  

•  With  partner,  move  and  pose  3  ques+ons  •  Choose  ques+on  •  Find  appropriate  informa+on  sheet  

•  Read  and  highlight  •  Answer  ques+on  

A  Change  Journey  –  Jacob  Martens,    gr.  8  science,  11  physics  

•  Self-­‐regula+on  •  Inquiry  and  cri+cal  thinking  

•  engagement  

•  Jacob’s  blog:    hWp://martensvsb.wordpress.com  

The  challenge…  

•  Framing  essen+al  ques+ons  

•  Being  too  reduc+ve  

Criteria:    Physics  11  Checkpoints  Jacob  Martens,  Vancouver  

•  Exemplary:  Complete  &  in  depth  understanding  of  concepts.  Answers  are  correct,  with  elegant  solu+on  strategies.    

•  Accomplished:    Solid  understanding  of  concepts.    Most  answers  are  correct.    Solu+on  strategy  has  few  errors.  

•  Developing:    Basic  understanding  of  concepts.    Errors  and  inconsistency  reveal  some  missing  elements.    

•  Beginning:    Does  not  demonstrate  basic  understanding  of  concept.    Substan+al  errors  and/or  omissions.  

•  Criteria:    Michelle  Wood,  West  Van,  Science  10  IRP    

Criteria:    Exemplary        Accomplished      Developing      Basic  

Concept  #11  Solve  problems  involving  the  law  of  conserva*on  of  energy.  

A  50.  kg  girl  slides  down  a  5.0  m  long  playground  slide.    The  top  of  the  slide  is  2.0  m  above  the  ground  and  the  boWom  of  the  slide  is  0.5  m  above  the  ground.  

 How  fast  would  one  expect  her  to  be  moving  at  the  boGom  of  the  slide?      

     

E                                                              A                                                                        B                                                                                    D  

Map  for  improvement:  drawing,  formulas  given,  working  shown,  correct  calcula+on,  sig  figs,  answers  clearly  indicated.            

Concept  #9  Relate  work  done  to  energy  transforma*on.  

In  the  ques+on  above,  the  girl  reaches  the  boWom  of  the  slide  moving  at  1.5  m/s.  How  much  “work”  was  done  on  the  girl  by  the  force  of  fric+on?  

E                                                                A                                                                            D                                                                      B  

Map  for  improvement:  drawing,  formulas  given,  working  shown,  correct  calcula+on,  sig  figs,  answers  clearly  indicated.  

•  On  the  back  of  this  sheet  please  use  the  concepts  learned  in  this  unit  to  explain  why  the  girl  is  moving  slower  than  expected.  

Kinema+cs  

•  The  future  loca+on  and  mo+on  of  objects  can  be  predicted  based  on  their  past  loca+on  and  mo+on.    

B    D    A   Learning  Inten*ons  -­‐  Knowing  

I  can  define  and  relate  the  terms:    clock  reading,  posi*on  and  event.  

I  can  differen+ate  between  a  clock  reading  and  a  *me  interval.  

I  can  define  and  relate  distance  and  average  speed.  

I  can  define  and  relate  displacement  and  average  velocity.  

I  can  differen+ate  between  scalars  and  vectors.  

I  can  define  instantaneous  velocity  and  instantaneous  speed.  

B    D    A   Learning  Inten*ons  -­‐  Doing  

I  can  solve  problems  involving:    displacement,  +me  interval,  and  average  velocity.  

I  can  construct  posi+on-­‐+me  graphs  based  on  data  from  various  sources.  

I  can  use  posi+on-­‐+me  graphs  to  determine:            •displacement  &  average  velocity            •distance  travelled  &  average  speed            •instantaneous  velocity  

I  can  construct  velocity-­‐+me  graphs  based  on  data  from  various  sources.  

New  Resource!  

•  An  Integrated  Inquiry  Based  Unit  of  Study  using  Stz’uminus  Legends,  Stories  and  Heroes  as  a  focus  for  our  inquiry  –  Donna  Klockars  

•  PLOs  from  English  First  Peoples  Pilot  Program  10  

•  Lesson  sequences  applicable  anywhere  •  Core  Learning  Resources  •  www.corelearningresources.com  

The teeter totter

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kids curriculum

Goals

Plan

Rationale

Planning

What do we want to develop/ explore/change/ refine to better meet the diverse needs of diverse learners?

Why are we choosing this focus?

How will we do this?