Assessment of Information

Literacy Learning

Assessment of Information

Literacy Learning

Fall 2012

What is assessment?What is assessment?• Definition– Assessment is the process of identifying,

gathering and interpreting information about students’ learning. The central purpose of assessment is to provide information on student achievement and progress and set the direction for ongoing teaching and learning.

– Assessment provides information for those involved in the teaching and learning process to compare what is known and can be demonstrated against standards.

http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/consistent_teacher/assessment.htm

Why assess learning?Why assess learning?

• To find out if they get what we’ve tried to teach them

• To find out if we taught them well enough

• To find ways of improving our teaching

• Other reasons?

Principle of AssessmentPrinciple of Assessment

• Supporting learning• Assessment supports learning by

focusing on the process of children and young people moving from where they are in their learning towards their desired goals. Assessment can also be used to identify and plan any support they will need to achieve these goals.• Principles of assessment

Forms of assessmentForms of assessment• 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 with other

students – Comparing evidence of achievement against

syllabus standards

The fundamentals of effective assessment

The fundamentals of effective assessment

• The British National Union of Students presents its principles:

More principles of effective assessment

More principles of effective assessment

Despite what it says about its use in higher education, this document contains a good summary of what assessment is

all about!

Is Assessment in an LMC effective?Is Assessment in an LMC effective?• Practice does not fit theory:

– Theoretically, the level of involvement in planning, teaching, and assessment should be no less than a partnership with other educators. However, the current practice of the instructional (including assessment) and curriculum roles in many school library media centers does not reflect the present theoretical and epistemological expectations of assessment in school librarianship articulated in professional literature and national guidelines . . .

– Thinking beyond the Disjunctive Opposition of Information Literacy Assessment in Theory and Practice School Library Media Research, vol. 7, 2004

What’s the problem?What’s the problem?• Impediments:

– Lack of time– Role perception conflict– Lack of teacher interest in

cooperation– Too many students to serve

• Thinking beyond the Disjunctive Opposition of Information Literacy Assessment in Theory and Practice School Library Media Research, vol. 7, 2004

– Others?

What is Authentic Assessment? What is Authentic Assessment? • Definitions

– A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills -- Jon Mueller

– “. . . Engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field.” -- Grant Wiggins -- (Wiggins, 1993, p. 229).

What Roles Can Library MediaCenter Staff Play in Assessment

Development?

What Roles Can Library MediaCenter Staff Play in Assessment

Development?

• Work with classroom teachers to develop learning goals and standards

• Develop resources and assessment tasks for classroom teachers

• Design your own assessments

The Co-Role of the LMSThe Co-Role of the LMS• Expanding the assignment and creating

a learning environment that allows authentic learning activities to become possible

• Facilitat[ing] the activity with the teacher so that many learning environments can be made available to students

• Provid[ing] input and evidence in the evaluation of the students[’] ability to process information into meaningful communication – Authentic Assessment by Daniel Callison,

School Library Media Activities Monthly 14, no. 5 (January 1998).

Types of authentic assessmentTypes of authentic assessment

1. Observations:– checklists of desired behaviors,

rubrics that identify criteria for successful performance and describe different levels of performance, and rating scales that place levels of performance along a continuum. • From

Working Smarter: Being Strategic About Assessment and Accountability by Violet H. Harada, based on Ann Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work

2. Products:– checklists that list criteria for

proficiency, rubrics that describe various levels of proficiency, and graphic organizers that organize and synthesize students’ work. • From

Working Smarter: Being Strategic About Assessment and Accountability by Violet H. Harada, based on Ann Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work

Types of authentic assessmentTypes of authentic assessment

3. Conversations:– formal and informal conferences,

logs to record thoughts and feelings about the content and process, and notes and letters to self-assess and seek feedback. • From

Working Smarter: Being Strategic About Assessment and Accountability by Violet H. Harada, based on Ann Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work

Types of authentic assessmentTypes of authentic assessment

Creating rubricsCreating rubrics• Ultimately, a good rubric is a

promise to the learner that the elements outlined in the rubric are the valued, and therefore gradable, elements.

• When developing a rubric, I [Joette Stefl-Mabry] encourage my graduate students to think about the areas in which they would like the student to develop proficiencies and then articulate how they will know that the student has developed these proficiencies.– Building Rubrics into Powerful

Learning Assessment Tools

Authentic Assessment?Authentic Assessment?• School Librarianship Exam

– Time: 3hrs1. Explain how you would amuse 478 small,

wet children for 57 minutes on a rainy lunchtime . . .

2. Your principal has instructed you to improve library usage rates amongst the maths classes within the next 2 weeks.

3. Create a poster that explains how senior students can have fun in the library.

4. An irate parent confronts you with a complaint regarding a lost book, and pulls a knife on you.– Warrior Librarian Gold Edition 2001

How did you do?How did you do?