NBPTS Workshop ~ Authentic Assessment

1. NBPTS Workshop ~Authentic Assessment

2. This Afternoon’s Agenda • The Philosophical Question • Defining Assessment • How do we assess? • Assessment methods • Self-reflection • Critical thinking & problem solving • Portfolios • Activity: Self-evaluation • Rubrics for assessment • Activity: Authentic student work • Summary

3. The Philosophical Question . . . Consider the following questions: • Do our students all learn at the same pace - If not, why is that ? • Is learning a personal activity - If not who else should be involved ? • Do our students understand best by “soaking up” knowledge in a passive environment? If not, how do you think they learn best? What do you think?

4. Your responses

5. Learning is an active, interpretive process; knowledge is not transmitted but actively built up by each person utilizing his or her own prior experiences to make sense of new information. So the $64,000 question is . . . Based on your answers . . .

6. . . . What in heavens name are educators doing basing our entire evaluation on the standardized and passive assessment of large homogeneous groups of same-aged children? (ANSWER: Reliability and validity of measurement)

7. The Role of Assessment “Assessments of student achievement can be broad or narrow. The measure of this is really a reflection of the school district’s definition of education. When an educational program is perceived primarily as the mastery of skills and cognitive data, standardized achievement tests can be used exclusively to determine progress.

8. . . . When education is defined more broadly, measures of achievement become more personal and more affective in nature. Achievement tests . . . do not address a student’s ability to perform.” Wiles, J. & Bondi, J. (1993, p. 105). Curriculum Development: A Guide to Practice. New York: Macmillan.

9. Goals of Evaluation • To help the child understand himself more accurately. • To equip the student with greater facility in self-evaluation • To provide meaningful feedback to the teacher concerning his/her selection of instructional methods of teaching techniques. • To provide a basis for improvement of the curriculum. • To supply the teacher with information that will make subsequent decisions about the student’s total welfare more accurate • To make decisions relative to grouping practices for instruction. • To aid in administrative decisions concerning system-wide policies, overall curriculum, school-parent decisions, etc. • To inform parents and other members of the community in reference to what the school is trying to accomplish. -Stiggins

10. What is authentic assessment? “Authentic assessments focus on the process and continuum of learning, not just the outcomes, and they take into consideration many more facets or dimensions of a student’s progress than standardized tests.

11. . . . Authentic assessments are based more on performances – on demonstrations of knowledge skills and attitudes The feedback from authentic assessments helps teachers modify or adapt the instructional process to better meet the needs of the students.” Kronowitz, E. (1999, p. 97). Your first year of teaching and beyond. New York, Longman.

12. Where does the NBPTS stand on the issue of assessment? “Accomplished teachers understand the strengths and weaknesses of different assessment methods, base their instruction on ongoing assessment and encourage students to monitor their own learning” [Italics added]

13. The NBPTS standards also say . . . “Regular observation and assessment of students guide teachers short term and long term decision making. Accomplished teachers assess students on an ongoing basis and use multiple and evaluation methods, formal and informal to read and interpret student behavior and work.”

14. “Accomplished teachers do not rely on a single method of assessing students . . . They create their own tools for evaluation for evaluation including journals, portfolios, demonstrations, exhibitions, oral presentations, and videotapes.” What methods do you use?

15. Your methods for assessing students

16. “As they help students improve, [accomplished] teachers encourage them to set high goals for themselves and teach them how to evaluate their own progress towards these goals. They encourage students to take active roles in, and increasing responsibility for their own learning, in part by having them share their thinking and their reflections.” How have you encouraged students to monitor their own learning (successes, areas for improvement, etc.)?

17. Our Ideas for encouraging the self-reflective student

18. “[Accomplished] teachers focus on gauging students conceptual understanding , critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities – not just their capacity for memorizing facts and figures” In what ways do you promote critical thinking / problem-solving?

19. How do you promote critical thinking and problem-solving in your students?

20. A Portfolio Is . . . . . .a process involving a careful and conscious selection of various materials that authentically represent what a student or indeed a teacher has learned and accomplished over an established period of time.

21. What should go in a student portfolio? Written artifacts – essays, journal entries, art in all media, creative musings!, original works, etc. Self-reflective pieces – autobiographies, debate positions, problem-solving and critical thinking evidence, hypothesis & conclusions from experiments, videos, DVDs, etc. Assessment – tests, projects, presentations, performances, teacher comments, etc. What else?

22. Other ideas for a student portfolio

23. Mock-Example of Self Evaluation Spelling Words for Practice Test Vygotsky Cooperative Inconsistencies Reinforcement Kounin Monitoring Communicative Transitions Recitational Onomatopoeia

24. Spelling Words for Practicing Evaluation

25. Student Interest Survey • I’m very proud that I __________________________________________. • A reward I like to get is ________________________________________. • My two favorite TV programs are__________________________________. • One thing I do very well is _______________________________________. • My favorite school subject is _____________________________________. • When I read for fun I like to read stories about _______________________. • One of my better accomplishments has been __________________________. • If I had ten dollars I’d spent it on __________________________________. • When I have free time I like to ____________________________________. • I know that I can _______________________________________________. • I enjoy _______________________________________________________. • Something I want to do more often is ________________________________. • If I could go anywhere, I would go to _________________________________. • One of the things I like best about myself is ___________________________. • A good thing my teacher could do for me is ____________________________. • My favorite game is ______________________________________________. • In school work my beat talent is _____________________________________. • Something I really want is _________________________________________. • An important goal for me is to ______________________________________. • If I did better in school, I wish my teacher would _______________________. • If I could get the chance, I would like to try ___________________________. • I feel satisfied when I ___________________________________________. • I spend most of my money on _______________________________________. • The thing I like to with my friends is _________________________________. • I like it when my parents give me ____________________________________.

26. Insect Poster Checklist Name _________________ Insect _________________ 1. Draw and color an insect. 2. Label the drawing. 3. Write 3 facts in sentences. 4. Add a title and your name. 5. Make the poster attractive. Tompkins, G. (2000). Teaching writing: Balance process and product. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill

27. The ABC Book Project Name_________________________________ Your Letter _________ As you create your page for our class ABC book on ancient Egypt, check off each item on this assessment checklist. Keep the check list in you project folder and turn I in with your project. __ 1. Brainstorm a list of at least three things beginning with your letter and then choose the word for your page. __ 2. Research your word and gather information in a cluster. __ 3. Write a rough draft paragraph explaining the word for your page at the computer station. Begin with ________ is for _________. __ 4. Design your page and sketch an illusion. __ 5. Share your paragraph in writing group and revise based on feedback that you receive. __ 6. Edit your paragraph and proofread for spelling errors. __ 7. Print out your paragraph at the computer station. __ 8. Add illustrations. Tompkins, G. (2000). Teaching writing: Balance process and product. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill

28. Tompkins, G. (2000). Teaching writing: Balance process and product. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill

29. Tompkins, G. (2000). Teaching writing: Balance process and product. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill

30. Tompkins, G. (2000). Teaching writing: Balance process and product. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill

31. My Inquiry Proposal My question for investigation is __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ The materials I will need are __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ I may need help with __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ Date ________ Plan Accomplishment I plan to show my results by _________________________________________ We agree to the above plan : ___________________________ ____________________ Student signature & date Teacher signature & date ___________________________ Parent signature & date

32. Students’ Names Total Skills Identifies Ideas from Different Resources Classifies Information by Fact and Opinion Sequences Ideas/Events Uses Chronology Defines Concepts Locates Relevant Data Uses Evidence to State Generalizations Applies Generalizations to New Situations Makes Inferences Based on Data Identifies Cause-and-Effect Relationships Judges Reliability of Information Makes Judgment Based on Consequences Code: 1 = Poor, 3 = Average, 5 = Superior Lemlech, J. (2002). Curriculum and Instructional Methods for the Elementary and Middle School. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall

33. Reads and Interprets the Following Maps: Climate Demographic Historical Physical Political Product Relief Transportation Vegetarian Students’ Name Code: Awareness = A, Mastery = M Lemlech, J. (2002). Curriculum and Instructional Methods for the Elementary and Middle School. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall

34. Demonstrates Locomotor Skills Movements Walk Run Jump Skip Hop Gallop Students’ Name Code: Yes or No Lemlech, J. (2002). Curriculum and Instructional Methods for the Elementary and Middle School. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall

35. Comprehension – Individualized Reading Program Skills Identifies Main Idea Explains Cause and Effect Explains Emotional Reactions Predicts Story Outcome Uses Pictures/Written Material to Make Inferences Identifies Fact, Make-Believe, Opinion Distinguishes Between Relevant and Irrelevant Information Discusses Story in Personal Terms Students’ Name Code: Awareness = A, Mastery = M Lemlech, J. (2002). Curriculum and Instructional Methods for the Elementary and Middle School. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall

36. Singing Skill Sings Rhythmic Patterns Sings Short Song Sings Songs with Syncopated Rhythm Sings in Minor Mode Sings Songs Changing Meters Sings with Variety of Tone Qualities Sings Expressively Students’ Names Code: Accurately/Appropriately = A Inaccurately/Inappropriately = 1 Lemlech, J. (2002). Curriculum and Instructional Methods for the Elementary and Middle School. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall

37. Group Activity: In your content and/or grade related groups consider a set of authentic student work for a particular area of content. Consider: 1) How you would diagnose the areas for improvement reflected in the work 2) Brainstorm ways to modify your planning. 3) Then design your assessments and how you would demonstrate that you have influenced these students’ personal and academic growth Afterwards we will report out.

38. This afternoon we have discussed the ways in which you use authentic assessment in your teaching. . . Consider all the red prompts you have discussed and responded to. You challenge is twofold: • To be able to articulate your rationale for using authentic assessment in your practice, and • To consider ways of documenting the use of multiple evaluative pedagogies in your accomplished practice. Hopefully today has helped you as you set your own high goals!

39. So let’s tie this back into your preparation . . . Teaching portfolios “provide teachers with a structure for documenting and reflecting on their practice. By collecting an array of information about their teaching over time in authentic contexts, teachers can build a broad and textured picture of their practice.” Wolf, K., Whinery, B. & Hagerty, P. (1995). Teaching portfolios and portfolio conversations for teacher educators and teachers. Action in Teacher Education, (17)1, 30-39.

40. So let’s tie this back into your preparation . . . Teaching portfolios “provide teachers with a structure for documenting and reflecting on their practice. By collecting an array of information about their teaching over time in authentic contexts, teachers can build a broad and textured picture of their practice.” Wolf, K., Whinery, B. & Hagerty, P. (1995). Teaching portfolios and portfolio conversations for teacher educators and teachers. Action in Teacher Education, (17)1, 30-39.