ASSESSMENT MATTERS: Working Together in Response to our Students

This module is designed for small group facilitation and is intended for literacy leaders, literacy coaches (learning partners) and classroom teachers. It has been developed based on a collaborative inquiry cycle about literacy learning and reading assessment conducted in two secondary schools in York Region District School Board.

There are two learning goals identified for the module:

1. Professional Learning: to consider how collaborative inquiry supports teacher professional learning

2. Reading Instruction and Assessment: to examine how reading assessment impacts responsive instruction

Facilitators may select from a range of delivery options depending on the learning needs of their particular group.

Delivery options include: using the entire module with participants completing materials in large and small group settings; completing one 60 minute session with a focus on the first goal (Professional Learning); or completing two 60 minute sessions with a focus on the second goal (Reading Instruction and

Assessment).All three delivery options include session outlines for facilitators as well as suggested handouts (available in this guide).

NOTES TO FACILTATORS

o It is recommended that facilitators preview the entire module and follow each of the prompts in advance.

o Please note that recommended readings have been suggested for facilitators to complete prior to sessions to help you support anticipated discussions with participants.

o To encourage learners to continue exploring the key ideas of the sessions, possible next steps have also been provided.

DETERMINING HOW TO USE THE MODULE

Consider: Who is your audience? Audiences may include, but are not limited to: literacy leaders; literacy teachers (learning partners); lead teachers/department heads; department members; cross-curricular teacher group(s).

Consider: What is your audience’s learning goal(s)? o If the entire module meets the needs of your group, simply follow the cycle and the

prompts provided on the screen. Handouts may be accessed online or printed in advance for participants. An outline has been provided (Session A) for the facilitation of this option.

o If you would like to focus on only one learning goal, select the one which is most pertinent for your group.

1. Professional Learning includes a facilitation guide designed for one 60 minute professional learning session (Session B).

2. Reading Instruction and Assessment includes a facilitation guide designed for two 60 minute professional learning sessions (Sessions C & D). It is recommended that both sessions are completed to support participants meeting this learning goal.

o Note: Literacy leaders and coaches may be particularly interested in the reflections of the coaches involved in this project. These reflections can be found in the Taking Stock: Teacher Moderation and the Stepping Back: Reflecting and Further Refining Practice sections. The arrows marked “Literacy Leaders reflect” lead to short discussions on the opportunities, challenges and rewards of learning together.

FACILITATOR GUIDE: SESSION A Entire Module

Suggested length of session: 60 minutes

Facilitators may wish to read related research in advance of this session. The articles Professional Learning Communities: A model for Ontario schools” and “Teacher Moderation: Collaborative Assessment of Student Work” may be accessed from the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/PLC.pdf or http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Teacher_Moderation.pdf

There are two learning goals identified for the module: 1. Professional Learning: to consider how collaborative inquiry supports teacher professional

learning2. Reading Instruction and Assessment: to examine how reading assessment impacts responsive

instruction

Materials Required: Computer with internet connection (to show the introduction of the module) It is recommended that participants completing the entire module are provided the tools to do so

in a self-directed manner. It is ideal if each person (or partnership) has access to a computer with an internet connection as well as a way to listen to the audio (likely headphones if working near others).

LCD projector Speakers For each participant:

o Appendix 2 (From this guide—also available for download during the module)o Appendix 4 (From this guide—also available for download during the module)

MINDS ON

Begin the module. Press pause at the end of the overview of the description of the learning cycle and provide time for participants to discuss the following question with a partner, “Given our present context, what elements of this cycle will be of particular interest to us?” Allow participants time to discuss their predictions which will help them make connections and navigate the module more effectively.

ACTION

While individual viewing of the remainder of the module will work well, it is recommended that you partner your participants and have them complete the module by viewing and discussing the questions together.

Before asking participants (individually or with a partner) to continue exploring the module on their own, it is recommended you do the following:

1. Demonstrate how to navigate the module. Show how you can return to the Main Menu by clicking on the picture of the learning cycle; advance by clicking on the arrows; and play video by rolling your mouse over the image and using the play and pause features that are embedded.

2. Provide participants with copies of Appendix 2 and 4. You will want to mention that there are other materials available for download during the module (such as more information on Teacher Moderation and other supports for instruction).

3. Allow sufficient time for participants to direct themselves through the module and indicate when they are to re-group to consolidate their learning.

CONSOLIDATION

Bring the participants back together and have them arrange themselves in groups of 2 or 3.Debrief the viewing of the module in small groups and discuss the following: How does the module support and extend the learning of our department/school/system? How are students likely to benefit from a collaborative focus on student learning? Have groups share their ideas with the larger group.

Note to facilitators: It is recommended that facilitators discuss next steps for participants that will support their practice and learning. Some suggested next steps for this session include: asking participants to work in partners to identify their own learning goals and action plans related to an area examined in the module, using one of the reading assessment tools in the module and then engaging in a teacher moderation session.

FACILITATOR GUIDE: SESSION B – PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Suggested length of session: 60 minutes

Facilitators may wish to read research on the elements of effective professional learning communities in advance of this session. Please see the article “Professional Learning Communities: A model for Ontario schools” available from the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/PLC.pdf

Materials Required: Computer with internet connection (to show elements of the module) LCD projector Speakers For each participant:

o Appendix 1 (From this guide)o Appendix 2 (From this guide-also available for download from the module)

MINDS ON

Advance the module to the slide which outlines the collaborative inquiry cycle and select the “Taking Stock: Teacher Moderation component.” This starting point in the module reveals a quotation and asks participants to discuss with a partner: How might more eyes and brains change the ways we assess, plan and deliver instruction to support student learning?

Have participants discuss the quotation with a partner. Facilitate the sharing of 1 or 2 ideas with the larger group.

ACTION

Distribute the protocol teachers used in this inquiry (Appendix 2). Provide time for participants to review.

Advance to the next slide so participants can hear the description of the teacher moderation process used in the inquiry.

Advance to the next slide. Provide a copy of Appendix 1 for participants to record their observations. Select one (or more) of the teacher moderation sessions to view in small groups:

Activate Prior Knowledge (English) (runs 1 min. 35 sec.) Use Context to Find Meaning (History) (runs 1 min. 50 sec.) Engage with Appropriate Texts (Geography)(runs 1 min. 44 sec.)

Ask participants to note what they see and hear on their organizer. Have participants share some observations with the larger group.

Ask participants to discuss the following: What procedures or norms would we put in place to ensure that teacher moderation is a safe and effective process? What role can school leaders and literacy coaches (learning partners) play to support this process? Have a scribe list the suggested norms.

CONSOLIDATION

Debrief the viewing of the teacher moderation session(s) in small groups and discuss the following: How does the session support and extend the learning of the classroom teacher and the literacy teacher (learning partner)? How are students likely to benefit from this collaborative inquiry?

Note to facilitators: It is recommended that facilitators discuss next steps for participants that will support their practice and their learning. Some suggested next steps for this session include: Read the article “Lesson Study” in Professionally Speaking, March, 2010 and consider engaging teachers in this job-embedded learning experience. http://professionallyspeaking.oct.ca/march_2010/features/lesson_study/default.aspx

Facilitator Guide: Session C – Reading Instruction and Assessment

Suggested length of session: 60 minutes (Participants will later complete session D)Facilitators may wish to read or review the “Think Literacy Expert Panel on Student Success” in advance of this session. The document can be accessed at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/literacyreport.pdf

Materials Required: Computer with internet connection (to show elements of the module) LCD projector Speakers For each participant:

o Appendix 3 (From this guide)A copy of his/her relevant curriculum documents

MINDS ON

Advance the module to “Getting Started: Developing a Shared Understanding”. PAUSE the module here.

Ask teachers to discuss the quotation with a partner. In small groups, consider the following question: What benefits exist for students and teachers when all teachers embrace this idea?

Play the slide for a description of the reading process.

ACTION

Distribute the viewing organizer (Appendix 3) for each participant.

Ask participants to preview the organizer and prepare to take notes in the first column based on what they will hear during the video about both questions: Where is reading required in your curriculum? What “texts” do students access in your subject area?

Advance the module by clicking “next”.

After participants have watched the video, ask them to individually complete the second column of the organizer and then share their ideas with a partner.

Direct participants to examine their own curriculum documents to uncover the explicit (directly stated) and implicit (indirectly stated) reading expectations. Note key ideas in the next column of their organizer.

Finally have participants summarize their responses to the questions in the last column and share with a partner.

CONSOLIDATION

Group participants strategically to share their learning. Depending on your purpose, you may arrange subject-specific groups or cross-curricular groups. In their new groups, have participants share some of their thinking from their organizer. Have groups discuss the following: What strategies do we already

use to support students before, during and after reading? How do we find out where students are as readers so we can determine which strategies are a match for their strengths, needs and interests?

Note to facilitators: It is recommended that facilitators discuss next steps for participants that will support their practice and learning. Some suggested next steps for this session include: visit the Think Literacy Subject-Specific library and ask participants to explore the document for subjects they teach and select two or three strategies that would support their students as readers. Think Literacy subject specific resources can be accessed at:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/studentsuccess/specific.html

Teachers may also work with a partner to co-plan, co-teach and de-brief a lesson that attends to the reading and content expectations of a course.

Facilitator Guide: Session D – Reading Instruction and Assessment

Suggested length of session: 60 minutes (Participants will have previously completed session C)Facilitators may wish to read the introduction to reading strategies in Think Literacy at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/studentsuccess/thinkliteracy/files/Reading.pdf and / or “Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level: A Guide to Resources”available at http://www.sedl.org/pubs/reading16/6.html

Materials Required: Computer with internet connection (to show elements of the module) LCD projector Speakers If possible, provide participants with access to computers so individuals or small groups can make

choices throughout the module to respond to their strengths, needs and interests. For each participant:

o Appendix 4 (from this guide—also available for download during the module) which includes five pages of tools and supports used in the inquiry:

Reading Comprehension Strategies Self Assessment Classroom Observations—Reading Behaviours It Says-I Say-And So Graphic Organizer It Says-I Say-And So Strategy Possible Conversations/Observations/Products

MINDS ON

Remind participants of the consolidation question from session C: How do we find out where students are as readers so we can determine which strategies to are a match for their strengths, needs and interests?

Ask participants to share how they currently collect evidence about their students as readers.

Advance the module to “Moving Forward: Planning Assessment for Learning”. This section of the module provides an overview of the assessment tools and supports. Play the next four slides in this section for the group (the last slide in this section will be a 54 second video).

ACTION

Distribute copies of the supports and assessment tools(Appendix 4). Ask participants to work in small table groups to discuss how they could support their current practice using all or parts of the tools provided?

Advance the module to “Responding to Assessment: Targeted Instruction”and review the quotation. Advance the module then ask participants to select the lesson that is of most interest to them:

Activate Prior Knowledge (English) (runs 4 min. 47 sec.) Use Context to Find Meaning (History)(runs 5 min. 21 sec.) Differentiate by Text & Check for Understanding (Geography) (runs 5 min. 17 sec.)

View the selected lesson with the following question in mind: What instructional decisions has the teacher made to support students?

CONSOLIDATION

Debrief the viewing of the lesson in small groups and discuss the following questions: What role did assessment play in the teacher’s instructional decision making? What benefits are there for students and teachers when assessment information is used in

planning cross curricular reading instruction?

Note to facilitators: It is recommended that facilitators discuss next steps for participants that will support their practice and learning. Some suggested next steps for this session include: using or adapting the reading assessment tools to gather student evidence, engaging in teacher moderation, identifying and using specific literacy strategies to meet the needs as evidenced in the student work.

Professional Learning Appendix 1

Professional Learning in a teacher moderation session

Looks like Sounds like

Looks like Sounds like

Looks like Sounds like

Professional Learning Appendix 2Teacher Moderation Protocol

Phase 1 - Setting the ContextWhat is the context of the work? What texts(s) were used to conduct the assessment?

Phase 2 - Observation What do we see in the work that is good? What strengths can we see?

Phase 3 - Analysis What gaps are evident? What is missing? What do we still need to see?What additional information can we provide related to the student performance? Do we have evidence from observations and / or conversations with the student?

Phase 4 - Offer Suggestions Focus - What 1 thing do we think we should focus on as we move forward?Instructional Strategies - What strategies might help the student to move in that direction?

Phase 5 - Plan Feedback for StudentWhat feedback can we provide for this student?

Phase 6 - Recap So, what do we need in terms of support for the lesson planning?

Reading Instruction and Assessment Appendix 3

Viewing OrganizerThe teachers said …

I say … The curriculum says … and so …

Where is reading required in your curriculum?

What “texts” do students access in your subject area?

Reading Instruction and Assessment Appendix 4

Supports and Assessment Tools Used in the Inquiry

Reading Comprehension Strategies Self-Assessment

Strategy YES NOI’MNOT SURE

I looked over the reading task and used the title and subtitles to help me predict what the reading was about.

I thought about what I already knew about this topic before I began to read.

I noticed that I wasn’t really “getting it” and I re-read and thought about what I didn’t get the first time.

I created questions in my head and / or on paper about what I was reading while I was reading.

I made sketches or notes to help me visualize and summarize the ideas as I read.

I figured out the meaning of a difficult word by rereading the sentences before it and after it.

I connected what I read to something I have experienced, to something else I read or to something I have heard about.

I think one of the most important ideas in the reading is:

I think one of the most important reading strategies for this reading is:

Classroom Observations- Reading Behaviours

Student

NameP

(per

siste

d)

SS (s

low

star

t)

RR (r

equi

red

redi

recti

on)

TC (t

ask

clar

ifica

tion)

LR (l

eft ro

om—

was

hroo

m…

)

S(ex

trem

ely

slow

or s

topp

ed)

R (r

ushe

d)

AQ (a

sked

qu

estio

ns)

MT

(mar

ked

text

in

OT

(off

task

)

Anecdotal Comments

It Says—I Say—And So Graphic Organizer

Question It Says I Say And So

Read the question carefully.

Find information from the text that will help you answer the question. Try to use a direct quotation whenever possible.

Think about what you know about the question and/or the information in the text.

Combine what the text says with what you know to come up with the answer.

Adapted from the strategy found in Kylene Beers’ When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003). More details about the strategy, examples of its use and deconstruction can be found on pages 165-171.

It Says-I Say-And So Strategy

Purpose of the Strategy

This strategy from Kylene Beers provides a visual scaffold to help students organize their thoughts as they connect what is in the text to their prior knowledge. The structure of the organizer helps students to see the steps required in making an inference.

Using the Strategy

The teacher provides three or four critical questions which require students to make inferences from a text.

Model for students how to identify and use specific details from the text to complete the “It Says” column. This will help students to understand how important it is to identify a clear purpose in their own reading.

Demonstrate how to use what is stated explicitly in the text to answer the critical question and then proceed to show students how to connect what is stated explicitly to their own knowledge and background experiences. This information is used to complete the second column – “I Say”.

Finally, show students how the information in the first two columns of the organizer is put together (synthesized) to produce a rich, evidence-based answer to the question. We are helping students to see that we put together what is stated directly in the text with our own ideas to generate a fully developed and thoughtful response.

Benefits of the Strategy

The modelling of this strategy and the use of the organizer benefit students in a variety of ways. - the thinking processes required to infer are made visible for students- the organizer provides a visual scaffold and supports the development of metacognition- teachers can “see” student thinking and determine strengths and next steps

For More on this Strategy

The “It Says-I Say-And So” strategy comes from Kylene Beers’ When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003). More details about the strategy, examples of its use and deconstruction can be found on pages 165-171.

Inference- the ability to connect what is in a text with what is in the mind to make an educated guess about meaning and importance. Readers make “text-based inferences” from information supplied by the author and “knowledge-based inferences” from knowledge about the world.

Text - a means of communication that uses words, graphics, sounds, and/or images, in print, oral, visual, or electronic form, to present information and ideas to an audience (The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10. English. 2007. p.4)

Possible Conversations, Observations & Products

How might we assess students’ reading?

For more on triangulating conversations, observations and products, see Anne Davies’ book, Making Classroom Assessment Work (2007).

CONVERSATIONS

Samples may include:Student/student conference, student/teacher

conference, self-assessment, exit card

PRODUCTS

Samples may include:Double entry journal, test, quiz, portfolio, graphic organizer, notebook, report card

and/or provincial assessment data

OBSERVATIONS

Samples may include:Students’ observable behaviour during

reading task, reading skills checklist, oral reading, time on task