Day 3 presesntation morning

MA EDUCATION

LEARNING & ASSESSMENT

FRIDAY 12TH JUNE 2015

Learning Outcomes

Be able to…

Explain what is meant by learning and how this links to relevant theory.

Explain what is meant by assessment and recognise potential barriers.

Research assessment in your own educational context.

We are happiest and most successful when we learn, develop, and work in ways that make best use of our natural intelligences.

What does Guy Claxton say?

‘We want our learners to have competence, confidence and self-esteem so that they can become better learners and better young adults both within the school and when they leave’.

‘Good learners stick with things when they are difficult, they ask questions and they say if they don't understand something. They are good at sharing with other people, and they like to sit down and think things through.’

Resilience – this is the emotional aspects of learning and being able to persist when things get difficult, managing distractions, noticing and persevering.

Resourcefulness – the cognitive aspects of learning and being able to deploy a variety of learning strategies such as questioning, making learning links, imagining, reasoning and capitalizing on all the tools available to help us with our learning.

Reflectiveness – this is the strategic aspect of learning. To be able to think about learning and about how we may develop as learners. Within this aspect we focus on planning where we are going with our learning, what we will need and the action we will take to get there. We will also look at revising and being flexible in our approach to learning and getting to know ourselves as a learner – how we learn best and being able to talk about the learning process.

Reciprocity – this is the social aspect of learning. It focuses on interdependence knowing when it’s best to learn on our own or with others. Collaboration, empathy and listening and imitation are all aspects covered in learning about reciprocity.

What is this thing called Assessment?

“Weighing the pig doesn’t fatten it”Black and Wiliam (1998)

(Derek) Rowntree (1987: 1) says of assessment:

if we wish to discover the truth about an educational system, we must look to its assessment procedures.' In addition, ‘assessment is important because students cannot avoid it’.

(David) Boud (1995: 35) says:

'Students can, with difficulty, escape from the effects of poor teaching, they cannot (by definition if they want to graduate) escape the effects of poor assessment'.

Assessment

What will effective assessment produce?

Barriers

Why assess?

Why Assess ?• To match learning experiences to the learner’s

needs• To seek to measure progress• To generate effective ‘feedback’ to learners• To enable relative and absolute judgements• To ‘build-in’ a competitive dimension into the

learning environment for students• To measure competencies across a wide range

of skill-sets• To rank student performance• To discover future potential of the learner

Why Assess ?

• Assessment without purpose• Unclear assessment focus/objectives• Overuse (too frequent in the learning cycle)• Inappropriate and unreliable assessment methods• Demotivating for less successful learners• Potential for ‘Unhealthy’ levels of competition to

develop in the learning environment

As Long (2000: 47) notes, “assessment is…a major part of the educational process, and without it, teaching would be a rather unfocused activity. The fact remains, however, that a great deal of testing is implemented with only limited justification”.

Can you identify any potential constraints/difficulties relating to assessment?

Types of Assessme

nt

Diagnostic

Used to diagnose the level of learning that has been achieved by students.

Generally used at the beginning of a course to determine the level at which teaching or support may be required.

Can be used at the end of a lecture, or a series of lectures, to see if students have comprehended the information conveyed.

Diagnostic assessment does not provide a tool to enhance student learning unless it has an element of feedback within it, unless it becomes formative.

Types of Assessme

nt

Formative

This occurs during a course, and provides feedback to students to help them improve their performance

The feedback need not necessarily be derived from the tutor, but can be from students' peers or external agents. Involving students in peer assessment aids students in understanding and using the assessment criteria (Bradford, 2003).

'Giving feedback on another student's work, or being required to determine and defend one's own, not only increases a student's sense of responsibility and control over the subject matter, it often reveals the extent of one's misunderstandings more vividly than any other method' (Ramsden, 1992).

Types of Assessme

nt

Summative

May or may not include feedback

The main difference between this form of assessment and that which is purely formative is that grades are awarded.

The grade will indicate performance against the standards set for the assessment task, and can either be part of in-course assessment, or assessment at the end of a course or module.

Boud (2000:160) says that assessment activities 'have to encompass formative assessment for learning and summative for certification'. Brown et al., (1997) provide a list of weak practice in assessment. This of course can also act as a checklist against which assessment programmes can be evaluated.

What can we assess ?• Factual InformationKnowledge

• ‘How’ to do thingsSkills

• The Ability to use information

Understanding

Fleming and Chambers (1983) found that nearly 80 per cent of all questions in school tests dealt only with factual information. It seems that this penchant for factual information is due to ‘the ease of using simple knowledge-based assessments, since tests which incorporate children’s use of skills and understanding tend to be time-consuming to design and implement’ (Long, 2000: 47).

What can we assess?• Factual InformationKnowledg

e

• ‘How’ to do thingsSkills

• The Ability to use informationUnderstanding

Anything missing?

APTITUDE 

Aptitude assesses the potential for future attainment

You are an Ofsted inspector…

What you expect to see / hear / experience in:

1. An outstanding school’s approach to assessment?

2. The approach to assessment of a school that Requires Improvement?

Your own research

Create questionnaires for…

1. Senior leaders2. Teachers3. Students

…in order to gather information on a school’s approach to assessment and to help you consider how to improve.

Assessment in our own context

• What does the research say makes the greatest difference to learning? (Hattie 2003; 2009; 2012)

• How well do students “know how well they are performing and what they need to do to improve”? (Attfield)

Homework…

1). ‘Assessing Without Levels’

Read the article and summarise how 3 schools have adapted to this challenge. What are the key messages from schools?

2). Creating an assessment task

Working with another member of your Department, write or adapt an assessment that takes into account Multiple Intelligences, including clear success criteria.

Reflect on whether the collaborative approach strengthened the clarity of the work.

All material to be posted to your blog

Two Assessment Scenarios

Assessment of/for learning?

Summative/Formative?

Feedback

DRAW A CORRIDORAssessment for learning

Assessment & Curriculum Design

‘Assessment for learning is… the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there.’

Assessment Reform Group (2002)

WHAT IS THE CURRICULUM?“SEEK NOT FOR ANY DEFINITION OF CURRICULUM.

THERE IS NO SUCH ELIXIR.” HUGH SOCKETT

BUT most agree a curriculum is ……

All planned and unplanned learning experiences in an educational institution

Planned curriculum

Delivered curriculum

Experienced curriculum

“what students learn as they experience the gap

between what we say and what we actually do.”

Do our assessment methods capture aspects of skills and knowledge which have been acquired via the ‘hidden curriculum’? [and SHOULD they?].

”What students learn as they experience the gap between what we say and what we actually do.” (Jodi Skiles)

IS LEARNING A SOCIAL ACTIVITY?

“Learning relies on interactions with others”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

How accurate do you think it is? Explain and give examples to clarify your position.

What implications does your response to this statement have for how you think about your role?

An understanding of social and organisational psychology can be applied to help establish the students as a resource for one another's learning.

“Learning is fundamentally

a social process”

 Applying Psychology in the Classroom(Leadbetter, Morris, Timmins, Knight, Traxon 1999)Cambridge Journals online

In 1965, Tuckman produced one of the most quoted models of team development.

You can see from the diagram that Tuckman has used the connection between task and relationships to describe the current ‘state’ of a team.

How does understanding your team help you to plan for effective and lasting change?

TUCKMAN: Forming, Storming…

‘Tuckman’s (cited in Bush and Middlewood, 2006:115) classic model of team development assumes four stages of growth:

• Forming• Storming• Norming• Performing

Each of these stages has a potential learning dimension as members engage in mutual adaptation and the team moves from initial formation to successful operation.’

In groups summarise each stage in terms of what this might look like as you lead a team through change in a school setting. Feedback to whole group.

TUCKMAN: Forming, Storming…

Tuckman and Jensen’s Stage Model Forming: Observing and ‘sussing out’ the setting and its requirements / Working out the rules / Making sense of other people / Building up familiarity/ (A time of low conflict.) Storming: Having taken the situation in, vying for position in the social hierarchy / vying for role (leader, clown, expert, agony aunt …)/ (A period of turbulence.) Norming: Establish norms, roles, etc. / A classroom culture (‘the way we do things round here’) develops / A hierarchy of power and influence emerges. Performing: (If the previous stages have been negotiated successfully) the group is now ready and able to get on with the job of learning. If negative norms have been established, there will be conflict over what and how group members perform. Effective performance of group tasks is unlikely. Adjourning: If the group has normed and performed well, its ending will be stressful and cause turbulence. The ending of an unsuccessful group will be a great relief, leading to the release of hitherto suppressed anger and anxiety. Either way, the ending needs to be carefully managed if the expression of the contingent emotions is to be a positive experience for group members.

CRAFTING THE GROUP

• How important is ‘group cohesion’ in the context of ‘learning success’ in your own professional practice?

• What strategies [if any] do you employ to develop & strengthen ‘group cohesion’ and identity?

• How, if required, could you measure the quality of group cohesion in teaching sessions?

Teachers’ professional characteristics –

What personal strengths/competencies can you identify in your delivery of effective learning and assessment?

TeacherProfessional

Characteristics

ProfessionalismThinkingPlanning and setting expectations

LeadingRelating to others

‘the underlying dispositions and patterns of behaviour that drive what teachers do – these are related to fundamental values, commitments and attitudes’…

Professionalism Challenge and support: a commitment to do everything possible for each student and enable all students to be successful. Confidence: the belief in one’s ability to be effective and to take on challenges. Creating trust: being consistent and fair; keeping one’s word. Respect for others: the underlying belief that individuals matter and deserve respect.

Thinking Analytical thinking: the ability to think logically, break things down, and recognise cause and effect. Conceptual thinking: the ability to see patterns and links, even when there is a lot of detail.

Planning and setting expectations Drive for improvement: relentless energy for setting and meeting challenging targets, for students and the education services. Information seeking: a drive to find out more and get to the heart to things; intellectual curiosity. Initiative: the drive to act now to anticipate and pre-empt events.

Leading Flexibility: the ability and willingness to adapt to the needs of a situation and change tactics. Holding people accountable: the drive and ability to set clear expectations and parameters and to hold others accountable for performance. Managing students: the drive and the ability to provide clear direction to students, and to enthuse and motivate them. Passion for learning: the drive and ability to support students in their learning, and to help them become confident and independent learners.

Relating to others

Impact and influence: the ability and the drive to produce positive outcomes by impressing and influencing others. Team working: the ability to work with others to achieve shared goals. Understanding others: the drive and ability to understand others, and why they behave as they do.

Examine your professional practice and identify three examples of your own work in respect of the five ‘professional characteristics’ as outlined by Hay McBer.

Professionalism ThinkingChallenge and support Analytical thinkingConfidence Conceptual thinkingCreating trust Respect for others

Planning and setting expectations LeadingDrive for improvement Flexibility Information seeking Holding people accountable Initiative

Managing studentsRelating to others Passion for learningImpact and influenceTeam workingUnderstanding others

Clarity

Relate to your own

professional practice

Order

Standard

Fairness

Participation

Support

Safety

Interest

Dimensions of Classroom Climate

The Hay McBer key dimensions of classroom climate

Clarity How each lesson relates to the broader subject, as well as clarity regarding the aims and objectives of the education service

Order Discipline, order and civilised behaviour are maintained in the classroom

Standards A clear set of standards as to how students should behave and what each student should do and try to achieve, with a clear focus on higher rather than minimum standards

Fairness The degree to which there is an absence of favouritism, and a consistent link between rewards in the classroom and actual performance

Participation The opportunity for students to participate actively in the class by discussion, questioning, giving out materials, and other similar activities

Support Feeling emotionally supported in the classroom, so that students are willing to try new things and learn from mistakes Safety The degree to which the classroom is a safe place, where students are not at risk from emotional or physical bullying, or other fear-arousing factors Interest The feeling that the classroom is an interesting and exciting place to be, where students feel stimulated to learn

Social Dynamics Teacher Communication

Classroom layout and organisation

Conclusions:How does Learning and Assessment happen in

classrooms?

Climate

For Learning

Teaching Skills

Classroom Climate

TeacherProfessional

Characteristics Hay McBer measures of

teacher effectiveness

Teaching Skills

Classroom Climate

TeacherProfessional

Characteristics

the underlying dispositions and patterns of behaviour that drive what teachers do – these are related to fundamental values, commitments and attitudes;

the ‘micro-behaviours’ or the specific skills of teaching – these can be identified and learned;

an ‘output measure’ of the collective perceptions of students about working in a particular teacher’s classroom – this relates very strongly to students’ motivation to learn and work to the best of their ability.

Factors that contributed to the pupils’ learning

Making the learning objectives and learning outcomes clear to pupils

Placing the learning objectives in a longer-term context

Allowing time to think before answering questions Providing oral feedback which helps move pupils on Requiring pupils to self and peer assess Training pupils how to work collaboratively Familiarising pupils with the summative assessment

criteria Focusing feedback on specific targets for

improvement Allowing pupils to demonstrate their understanding

in different ways

‘Peer and self assessment by pupils, far from being a luxury, is in fact an essential component of formative assessment. When anyone is trying to learn, feedback about the effort has three elements: recognition of the desired goal, evidence about present position, and some understanding of a way to close the gap between the two. All three must be understood to some degree by anyone before he or she can take action to improve learning.’

R. Sadler cited in Inside the Black Box

‘Assessment for learning is at its best when learning is shaped as evidence of pupils’ understandings and misconceptions are being revealed during dialogue. To do this well teachers need to draw upon their knowledge of their subject, of pedagogy and most importantly of the pupils themselves.’

Harrison, Black and Hogden