assessment in it's many guises

Assessment In It’s Many Guises…

Hunting Assumptions About Assessment

in Secondary Schools…

Presented by Jonathan Vervaet@jonathanvervaet

March 31st, 2014 – SFU Secondary Module

“If students have not been told where they are going, it is

unlikely that they will arrive.” – Shirley Clark

Learning Intentions“I can find evidence of current

assessment research in my initial practice.”

Learning Intentions“I can identify ways to use

assessment to inform my instructional decisions .”

Learning Intentions“I can become curious about

something in the research I want to inquire further into.”

“Assessment is the beginning and the end of my teaching. It defines my culture, my relationships, my learning community, my values, and my beliefs about teaching and learning.” - Matt Rosati

Motivation 2.0

True or False:

Rewarding an activity will get you more of it. Punishing an activity will get you less of it.

Harlow (1949)

Radical finding, there was a third drive.

The performance of the task provided intrinsic reward.

The monkeys solved the problem simply because they found it gratifying to solve

the puzzle.

2Harlow (1949)

Rewarded the monkey with raisons.

“Introduction of food in the present experiment served to disrupt performance, a phenomena not

reported in the literature.”

The monkeys made more errors and solved the puzzles less frequently.

Deci (1969) – Carnegie Melon

Soma Block Experiment

Deci (1969)

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Group A No reward

CashReward

No reward

Group B No reward

No reward

No reward

Deci (1969) – Carnegie Melon

Soma Block Experiment

“When money is used as an extrinsic reward for some activity, the subjects lose intrinsic interest for the activity.” Rewards give you a short term boost, but the effect wears off and can reduce long term

motivation.

Commissioned vs. Non-Commissioned Art

Blood Donations

Rewards transforminteresting tasks into drudgery.

Offering an award signals that the task is undesirable.

Focus on Short Term vs. Long Term Benefits

When goals are imposed and incentivized…

Focus is narrowed on achieving only that goal.

and…

and…

Here’s the kicker…

It leads to unethical behaviour in an attempt to

reach the goal.aka..

Cheating…

When rewards do work…With routine and mechanical tasks.

You can’t undermine intrinsic motivation in

boring tasks.

Any extrinsic reward should be unexpected

and offered only after the

task is completed.

TOO MANY REWARDS CHANGE “NOW

THAT...” TO “IF /

THEN...”

If it is true that carrot and stick motivators don’t

work and often do harm, what are the implications for us as teachers in our grading and assessment

practices?

Instructional Design

The Science of Learning

Instructional Design

90% of what we know about the brain we have learned in approximately the last 2 years

Instructional Design

The same will be true 10 years from now

Carol Dweck (2006)

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.

Fixed – Believe they have to work with whatever intelligence they have because it

can’t be increased.

They resist novel challenges if they can’t succeed immediately.

They’d rather not try than be perceived as dumb.

Carol Dweck (2006)

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.

Growth – Believe intelligence can be built through life.

See working harder as a way to improve.

They persist and try a wide variety of solutions when given novel tasks.

Carol Dweck (2006)

Csikzentmihalyi (1990)

Flow Theory – The exhilarating moments when

we feel in control, full of purpose, and in the zone.

Csikzentmihalyi (1990)

Skill Level

Challenge Level

Daniel Pink (2009)

Autonomy – People need autonomy over task (what they do), time (when they do it), team (who they do it with), and technique (how they do it).

Daniel Pink (2009)

Mastery – Becoming better at something that matters.

Daniel Pink (2009)

Purpose – Humans want to make a contribution and to be part of a cause greater and more enduring than themselves.

Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom

Assessment

When carried out effectively, informalclassroom assessment with constructive feedback will raiselevels of attainment.

We know from research that effectiveassessment for learning can Improve student achievementsubstantially, and helps low achievers themost.

Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

The effect sizes, that is the student gains in learning triggered by formative assessment, were among the largest ever reported for educational interventions.

Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

Formative Assessment:

5 Key Strategies…

sometimes 6!

Dylan Wiliam “Embedded Formative Assessment” (2011)

Formative Assessment:1.Learning Intentions and Success

Criteria2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence

of Learning3.Feedback that Moves Learning

Forward4.Peer Assessment5.Student Ownership of Learning

Formative Assessment:1.Learning Intentions and Success

Criteria2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence

of Learning3.Feedback that Moves Learning

Forward4.Peer Assessment5.Student Ownership of Learning

Formative Assessment:1.Learning Intentions and Success

Criteria2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence

of Learning3.Feedback that Moves Learning

Forward4.Peer Assessment5.Student Ownership of Learning

Formative Assessment:1.Learning Intentions and Success

Criteria2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence

of Learning3.Feedback that Moves Learning

Forward4.Peer Assessment5.Student Ownership of Learning

Formative Assessment:1.Learning Intentions and Success

Criteria2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence

of Learning3.Feedback that Moves Learning

Forward4.Peer Assessment5.Student Ownership of Learning

Summative Assessment

Preparing for the ‘TEST’

Summative Assessment Activities- Students demonstrate knowledge /

skills on which they have had opportunity to practice

- Are based on known criteria- Focus primarily on individual student

performance- Usually broader – integrate important

skills and knowledge- Inform report cards

Ken O’Connor, How to Grade for Learning

Triangulation of DataDamien Cooper, Talk About Assessment

Performance Task, Oral Conference, Written Test Data

Authentic Tasks = What Big People DoGrant Wiggins

The Benefits of Formative Assessment

Constantly weighing the pig won’t make it fatter...

The Latin root word for assessment is "assidere" which means to sit beside.

"We must constantly remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of evaluation is to have students become self evaluating. If students graduate from our schools still dependent upon others to tell them when they are adequate, good, or excellent, then we’ve missed the whole point of what education is about.”

- Costa and Kallick (1992)

Contact Information

Jonathan VervaetEmail:

jonathanvervaet@gmail.comTwitter: @jonathanvervaet

Blog: jonathanvervaet.wordpress.com