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INTRODUCINGFORMATIVEASSESSMENTPROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTGUIDE

Introduction

Researchshowsthatteachingismoreeffectivewhenitassessesandusespriorlearningsothattheteachingmaybeadaptedtotheneedsofstudents(Black&Wiliam,1998)1.Priorlearningmaybeuncoveredthroughanyactivitythatoffersstudentsopportunitiestoexpresstheirunderstandingandreasoning.Thisprocess,oftenreferredtoasformativeassessment,maybedefinedas:

"…allthoseactivitiesundertakenbyteachers,andbytheirstudentsinassessingthemselves,whichprovideinformationtobeusedasfeedbacktomodifytheteachingandlearningactivitiesinwhichtheyareengaged.Suchassessmentbecomes‘formativeassessment’whentheevidenceisactuallyusedtoadapttheteachingworktomeettheneeds."(Black&Wiliam,1998,p.91)1

Thismoduleconsidersthedifferentwaysthiscanbedoneandfocusesonthefollowingquestions:

• Howcanproblemsbeusedtoassessperformance?

• Howcanthisassessmentbeusedtopromotelearning?

• Whatkindsoffeedbackaremosthelpfulforstudentsandwhichareunhelpful?

Activities

ActivityA: Whatisformativeassessment?......................................................................................3ActivityB: Teachers'ownexperiencesofformativeassessment....................................................4ActivityC: Principlesandstrategiesforformativeassessment.......................................................5ActivityD: Analysestudents’responsestoproblem-solvingtasks..................................................6ActivityE: Observingformativeassessmentinaction.....................................................................7ActivityF: Theeffectsoffeedbackonstudentlearning...................................................................9ActivityG: Exchangingexperiences................................................................................................11Time

Approximately3hours(ortwo1½hoursessions)plusteachingtime

Acknowledgement:

Inpreparingthismaterial,weacknowledgethepermissionsgivenbytheBowlandCharitableTrusttoadapttheprofessionaldevelopmentresources,BowlandMaths(www.bowlandmaths.org),thattheyhadpreviouslyfundedtheUniversityofNottinghamtoproducefortheUK.Thisincludesmanyofthehandoutsandmostofthevideoextracts.AdditionalresourceswerealsoadaptedfromImprovingLearninginMathematics,agovernmentfundedprogramintheUKandfromtheMathematicsAssessmentProjectfundedbytheBillandMelindaGatesFoundation.

©2010CentreforResearchInMathematicsEducationUniversityofNottingham,adaptforFaSMEdbyAfricanInstituteforMathematicalSciencesSchoolEnrichmentCentreandUniversityofDuisburg-Essen.

1Black,P.,&Wiliam,D. (1998). Inside theblackbox: raising standards through classroom assessment. London:King's College London School of Education 1998.


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Researchtohelpyourplanningforthismodule

Black,P.,&Wiliam,D.(1998).Insidetheblackbox:raisingstandardsthroughclassroomassessment.King'sCollegeLondonSchoolofEducation.NowpublishedbyGLAssessment:

http://shop.gl-assessment.co.uk

Thisshortbookletoffersasummaryoftheextensiveresearchliteratureintoformativeassessment.Itshowsthatthereisclearevidencethatusingformativeassessmentraisesstandards,andsuggestshowformativeassessmentcanbeimproved.Thisbookletisessentialreadingforallteachers.

Black,P.,&Harrison,C.(2002).Workinginsidetheblackbox:Assessmentforlearningintheclassroom.King'sCollegeLondonSchoolofEducation.NowpublishedbyGLAssessment:


Inthisbooklet,theauthorsdescribeaprojectwithteachersinwhichtheystudiedpracticalwaysofimplementingformativeassessmentstrategiesandtheeffectthishadonlearning.Thesectiononfeedbackandmarking(pages8-9)areparticularlyrelevanttothismodule.

Black,P.,Harrison,C.,Lee,C.,Marshall,B.,&Wiliam,D.(2003).Assessmentforlearning:Puttingitintopractice.Buckingham:OpenUniversityPress.

ThisbookgivesafulleraccountoftheearlierbookletsInsidetheblackboxandWorkinginsidetheblackbox.Itdiscussesfourtypesofaction:questioning,feedbackbymarking,peer-andself-assessmentandtheformativeuseofsummativetests.Thesectiononfeedbackandmarking(pages42-49)isparticularlyrelevanttothismodule,whilethesectiononpeerandself-assessment(pp49-53)isrelevantformoduleImprovingstudentcollaboration. Hodgen,J.,&Wiliam,D.(2006).Mathematicsinsidetheblackbox.King'sCollegeLondonSchoolofEducation.

NowpublishedbyGLAssessment:


ThisbookletappliestheabovefindingsspecificallytoMathematics.ItconsiderssomeprinciplesforMathematicslearning,choiceofactivitiesthatpromotechallengeanddialogue,questioningandlistening,peerdiscussion,feedbackandmarking,andselfandpeerassessment.Thisbookletisessentialreadingforallmathematicsteachers.


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ActivityA:Whatisformativeassessment?

Thedifferenttypesandpurposesofassessment

Startthisactivitywithagroupdiscussionaboutthedifferenttypesandpurposesofassessment.Youmightliketousethequestionshereasastartingpoint.

• Whydoyouassessstudents?

• Whatdifferentpurposesdoyourassessmentsserve?Makealist.

Theirlistofreasonsmightinclude:diagnosingdifficulties;celebratingachievement;motivatingstudents;selectingstudentsforclasses;maintainingrecordstokeepteachersandparentsinformedofprogress;toassessteachingmethods.

Tosummarise,therearetwomainpurposesofassessment:

• Summativeassessment-tosummariseandrecordoverallachievementattheendofacourse,forpromotionandcertification.Most‘highstakes’testsandexternalexaminationsaredesignedforthispurpose.Summativeassessmentisalsousedtoevaluatetherelativeeffectivenessofaparticularcourse,teachingmethod,orevenaninstitution.SummativeassessmentissometimescalledAssessmentofLearning.

• Formativeassessment–torecogniseachievementsanddifficultiesatthebeginningorduringacourse,sothatteachersandstudentscantakeappropriateaction.Thistypeofassessmentformsanintegralpartofallteachingandlearning.FormativeassessmentissometimescalledAssessmentforLearning.

Thepotentialofformativeassessmenttoimprovelearning

Brieflymentiontheresearchevidencethatsetsoutthecaseforformativeassessment.ThisissummarisedbyBlackandWiliaminseveralaccessiblepublicationsforteachers(seep.2),mostofwhicharefreelydownloadablefromtheInternet.Theseresearcherssetouttofindoutwhetherornotimprovingformativeassessmentimproveslearning.

“Wecheckedmanybooksandnineyears'worthofmorethan160journals,andearlierreviewsofresearch.Thisprocessyielded580articlesorchapterstostudy.Wepreparedareviewusingmaterialfrom250ofthesesources.All…studiesshowthat…strengthening…formativeassessmentproducessignificant,andoftensubstantial,learninggains.Thesestudiesrangeoverages,acrossseveralschoolsubjects,andoverseveralcountries…”(BlackandWiliam,1998)2.

Thismodulewillexaminetheimplementationofformativeassessment,basedonthisandotherresearch.GivetheteacherseachacopyofHandout1:Theimportanceofformativeassessment.Notethatthishandoutincludesreferencetooneofthefourresearchpublicationsonpage2ofthisguidance.Youmightliketorefertotheotherthreeinyourdiscussions.

2Black,P.andWiliam,D.(1998)."AssessmentandClassroomLearning",AssessmentinEducation,pp.7-74.


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ActivityB:Teachers'ownexperiencesofformativeassessment

Whatdoteachersknowabouttheirstudentsandwhatactiondotheytakeasaconsequence?

Askparticipantstoworkinpairsforthisactivity.Askthemtothinkaboutthefollowingquestionsandtodiscusstheirresponseswiththeirpartners.

• Whatstrategiesdoyouusetofindoutwhatyourstudentsknowandunderstand?

• Thinkoftwostudentsinyourclass,onewhoisparticularlystrongandonewhoisfindingtheworkverydifficult.Takeitinturnstodescribethestudents'strengthsanddifficultiestoyourpartner,inasmuchdetailaspossible.

• Howdidyoubecomeawareofthesestrengthsanddifficulties?Onwhatevidencedoyoubaseyourjudgments?Testresults?Memoriesoforalresponsesduringlessons?Observationsofthestudentworking?Writtenwork?

• Inwhatwaysdoyourassessmentsofthesestudentsaffectyourlessonplanning?Giveexamples.

Whatdifficultiesdoteacherencounter?

IssueparticipantswithcopiesofHandout2:Difficultieswithformativeassessmentandaskthemtoworkthroughthedifficultiesonthehandoutinthesamepairs.Theycanmakeanoteoftheirresponsestothefollowingquestionsontheirhandouts.

• Howfararethedifficultiesonthehandoutvalidinyourcontext?

• Ifanyare,thenwhatmaybedoneaboutthem?

• Howwouldyouanswerateacherwhoasksthefollowing?Whatapproacheswouldyousuggestthattheyuse?

• “Iknowitmakessensetoassessstudentsaswegoalong,buthowcanI,inthemidstofalesson,knowwhateachofmy30studentsisthinking?”


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ActivityC:Principlesandstrategiesforformativeassessment

IssueparticipantswithacopyofHandout3:Principlesforformativeassessment.Theideaspresentedherearealldrawnfromresearchintoformativeassessment.

• BearinginmindthedifficultiesdiscussedinActivityB,howwouldyousuggestthatyourformativeassessmentpracticesbeimproved?

• DiscusstheprinciplesandstrategiesoutlinedonHandout3.

• -Whichofthesedoyoucurrentlyuseinyourownteaching?-Whichdoyoufindmostdifficult?Why?

• Whatotherprinciplesorstrategiesdoyouthinkareimportant?

ShowtheteachersthevideofoundontheMathematicsAssessmentProjectwebsite3.Beforeyoudothis,tellthemthatyouwantthemtoconsider,astheywatch,whatformativeassessmentstrategiestheteacherused.Inparticular,askthemtofocusonhowteachersgatheredinformationabouttheirstudents’currentlevelsofunderstanding.

Video:Usingformativeassessmentstrategies

ThisvideodemonstrateshowsometeachersinEnglishschoolsusedarangeofapproaches,includingminiwhiteboards,postersandobservations,toassessstudentsinformally.

Holdadiscussionaboutwhatthegroupnoticedandaskthemhowwelltheythinktheseapproachesworkintermsofformativeassessment.Emphasise,however,thatgatheringinformationisnotformativeassessment;itisimportantthatteachersusetheirownknowledgeofmathematics,teaching,thestudents’learningtrajectoriesandknowledgeoftheindividualstudentstomakeinferencesaboutthestudents’understandingsandtousethisinformationtoinformteaching.

NOTE:ThemoduleTechnologyforFormativeAssessmentdiscussesnotonlythenon-digitaltechnologies(e.g.miniwhiteboards)showninthevideo,butalsosomedigitaltechnologiesthatcanbeusedtohelpmakethethinkingofthestudentsvisible.Youmightliketorefertothatmoduleatthisstage.

3http://map.mathshell.org/pd/modules/1_Formative_Assessment/html/videos_c1.htm


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ActivityD:Analysestudents’responsestoproblem-solvingtasks

Inthisactivity,teachersareprovidedwithtwoproblemstogetherwithfourstudentresponsestoeach.Thetasksare:CountingTreesandCatsandKittens.Thesetasksuseavarietyofmathematicalcontent,butbothfocusonproblemsolvingandmodellingskills.Often,suchtasksprovemoredifficultthantheindividualelementsofmathematicalcontentwouldsuggest,asstudentsarerequiredtochooseandcombinetechniquesinnon-routineways.

Brieflydiscussproblem-solvingtaskswiththegroup,particularlypointingoutthatitisdifficulttoassesstheprocessskillsinvolvedinproblemsolvingusingtraditionalsummativeassessment.Usingformativeassessmentallowsteacherstomonitorstudents’progress,however.

Giveteachers:

Handout4:Problem-solvingintheclassroom(briefdiscussionaboutproblem-solvingandasummaryofwhatisinHandouts5,6and7);

Handout5:Countingtrees(aproblemsolvingtaskwithfoursampleresponsesandsomequestionsforteacherstorespondto);

Handout6:Catsandkittens(aproblemsolvingtaskwithfoursampleresponsesandsomequestionsforteacherstorespondto);

Handout7:Suggestionsforquestions(alistofgenericquestionsrelatedtothefourphasesinvolvedinproblem-solvingreferredtoinHandout4).

UseHandout4toexplainwhattheteachersshoulddonext.

Ifyouareworkingwithalargergroupofteachers,dividethemintosmallergroupstoworkthroughanddiscussHandout5,6and7.AskeachgrouptoreadthroughthetasksonHandout5andHandout6andthentochoosethetaskthatwouldbemostsuitableforaclasstheywillsoonteach.

• ConsiderthefourstudentresponsesinHandout5andHandout6.

• Whatdoeseachstudent’sresponsetellyouabouthisorhercapacitytouseeachoftheprocessesrequiredinproblemsolving:represent,analyse,interpretandevaluate,communicateandreflect?

• Whatquestionsyoucouldusetohelpthesestudentsmoveon?(RefertothegenericquestionsinHandout7)

Note:TheprofessionaldevelopmentmoduleImprovinglearningthroughquestioningalsoconsiders,insomedetail,waysinwhichteacherscanrespondtostudents’answerstoproblem-solvingtasks.ThelistofquestionsincludedonHandout7couldalsobeusedthere;youshouldchoosewhenyouwanttouseitandatwhichstageyouwanttoholdadiscussionaboutformativeassessmentandproblem-solving.


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ActivityE:Observingformativeassessmentinaction

ExplaintothegroupthatyouwillbeshowingthemtwovideoclipsofthreeBritishteachers:Andrew,DominicandAmy.Theytaughtthelessonsreferredtoinpreviousactivities,CountingTreesandCatsandKittens.TheyalsotaughtalessoncalledSecurityCameras,whichcanbefoundontheMathematicsAssessmentProjectwebsiteatthisaddress:http://map.mathshell.org/lessons.php?unit=6305&collection=8.

Inanearlierlesson,theseteachershadaskedstudentstoattemptoneofthetasksindividually,withnohelp.Theythencollectedintheirstudents'responses,assessedtheworkqualitativelyandpreparedwrittenfeedbackintheformofquestions.

Inthefirstvideo4,theteachersdiscussthefeedbacktheygaveonthethreetasks,andalso,importantly,howtheyfeltandwhattheylearned.

Video:Teachersdiscussingfeedback

GivetheteachersHandout8:Formativeassessmentinaction,onwhichtheyshouldwritetheirresponsestothevideo.

• Theteachersdiscussthecommentsandquestionstheywroteontheirownstudents’work.

• Towhatextentdotheircommentsresonatewithyourexperience?

4http://map.mathshell.org/pd/modules/1_Formative_Assessment/html/videos_d1.htm


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Thesecondvideoclip5istakenfromthefollow-uplesson.Inpairs,studentshavecomparedtheirworkandmosthavesolutionsthataredifferenttothoseoftheirpartners.Explainthatinthevideo,theywillsee:

• Andrewexploringhowstudentsrespondtohisfeedbackonthe"countingtrees"problem;

• Amylisteningto,thenquestioning,individualsastheytrytosharetheirideasandproducejointsolutionstothe"securitycamera"problem;

• Dominiclisteningtopresentationsfromstudentsontheirmethodsandreasoningforthe"catsandkittens"problem;

• Amyconcludingherlessonbyaskingstudentstodescribehowtheyhaveusedherfeedbacktoimprovetheirwork.

Askthemtolookoutforthedifferentkindsofassessmentsusedbytheteachers.

Video:ObservingFormativeAssessment

• Watchthevideoandconsiderthefollowingquestions:

• Whatdifferentkindsofassessmentcanyousee?

• Whatisthepurposeofeachkindofassessment?

• Whatdoboththeteachersandstudentslearn?

Holdadiscussion,referringtheteacherstothequestionsonHandout8,andaskingthemtowritedownsomenotestoeachofthequestions.Youmightliketorefertothefivekeystrategiesforformativeassessment(seeHandout3):

• Clarifying/Understanding/Sharinglearningintentionsandcriteriaforsuccess,

• Engineeringeffectiveclassroomdiscussionsandotherlearningtasksthatelicitevidenceofstudentunderstanding,

• Providingfeedbackthatmoveslearnersforward,

• Activatingstudentsasinstructionalresourcesforoneanother,

• Activatingstudentsasownersoftheirownlearning.5http://map.mathshell.org/pd/modules/1_Formative_Assessment/html/videos_e1.htm


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ActivityF: Theeffectsoffeedbackonstudentlearning

Sofarwehavefocusedontheteachers’roleinprovidingassessmentfeedback,mainlyintheformofquestions,tostudents.Inthisactivitywewillconsidertheusestudentsmakeofdifferenttypesoffeedbackandtheimpactthishasontheirlearning.

Watchthevideo6ofAndrew'sstudentsastheydiscusstheimpactofassessmentfeedbackontheirlearning.Asktheteacherstomakeroughnotesabouttheirthinkingaboutwhatthestudentsaresaying.

Video:Studentsdiscussingimpactoffeedback

• Whichoftheircommentsstrikeyouasparticularlyimportant?

• Whataretheimplicationsoftheircomments?

DistributeHandout9:Theeffectsoffeedbackonstudents’learning.

ThishandoutpresentssomeresultsofresearchfromBlackandWiliam(1998)7intotherelativemeritsoffeedingbackassessmentinformationtostudentsindifferentforms.Inparticular,itcomparesthea)effectsoffeedingbackquantitativeinformationintheformofmarks,levelsandrankingswithb)theeffectsofofferingqualitativeinformationintheformofspecific,content-focusedfeedback.

Asktheteacherstoreadthehandoutandrespondtothequestions.

• Thedangersofgivingmarks,levels,rewardsandrankings

• Whataretheimplicationsofthisforyourpractice?

• Whatwouldhappenifyoustoppedgivingmarksorlevelsonpupils’work?

• Whyaresomanyteachersresistanttomakingthischange?

• Theadvantagesofgivingclear,specific,content-focusedfeedback

• Whataretheimplicationsofthisforyourpractice?

• Doesthiskindoffeedbacknecessarilytakemuchlongertogive?6http://map.mathshell.org/pd/modules/1_Formative_Assessment/html/videos_g1.htm

7Black,P.,&Wiliam,D.(1998).Insidetheblackbox:raisingstandardsthroughclassroomassessment.London:King'sCollegeLondonSchoolofEducation.


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Inyourfollow-updiscussion,emphasiseagainthatresearchshowsthatstudentsbenefitmostfromfeedbackthat:

• focusesonthetask,notongradesorscores;

• isdetailedratherthangeneral;

• explainswhysomethingisrightorwrong;

• isrelatedtoobjectives;

• makesclearwhathasbeenachievedandwhathasnot;

• suggestswhatthestudentcoulddonext;

• offersspecificstrategiesforimprovement.

Concludethismodulebydiscussingsomewaysofapplyingwhathasbeenlearnedinthisprofessionaldevelopmentmoduletoothermathematicslessons.

SuggesttotheteachersthattheyplantheirownformativeassessmentlessonforaproblemsolvingtasksuchasCountingTreesorCatsandKittens.Iftheywantfurtherideasforproblemsolvinglesson,theycouldvisittheMathematicsAssessmentProjectwebsite,wherethereareaboutthirtyproblem-solvinglessons.(ThereisahyperlinkprovidedinthePowerPointaccompanyingthismodule).

Itisimportantthattheymakethelesson‘theirown’buttheymightliketobasetheirplanontheoneprovidedinHandout10:Aformativeassessmentlessonplan.Teachersshouldbereadytoreportbacktothegroupinthenextprofessionaldevelopmentsession.


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ActivityG:Exchangingexperiences

Aftertheteachershaveimplementedtheirplannedlessonsintheclassroom,meettogethertodiscusswhathappened.BeginbyaskingtheteacherstoanswerthefollowingquestionsonHandout11:Exchangingexperiences.

• Considerthefollowingquestions:

• Whatworkedwellandlesswellintermsofformativeassessment?

• Whatdidyoulearnaboutthestudents’understandingfromtheinitialactivity?

• Howdidthestudentsrespondtoyourfeedback?

• Whatworkedwellandlesswellintermsofproblemsolving?

• Whataretheimplicationsofthislessonforyourfutureteaching?

Thenaskteacherstosharetheirexperiencesofteachingaproblemsolvinglesson,focusinginparticularonhowtheyusedformativeassessment.Someteachersmaywanttosharetheirstudents’workasexamplestohighlightlearningprogressionsordifficulties.Forthisreason,makesuretoasktheteacherstobringinterestingstudentsolutionswiththemtothissession.