Using the Six Facets of Understanding to Evaluate Student Learning: Modeling and Implementing Best Practice

1. Using the Six Facets of Understanding to Evaluate Student Learning:Modeling and Implementing Best Practice Pamela Luft, Ph.D. Kent State University March 16, 2005 Charting the Course Together: Collaborative Assessment in Preparing Ohio’s Educators pluft@kent.edu Transition Services Preparation & Training

2. The Pressure for Assessment • Federal Requirements • Goals 2000 & America 2000 • NCLBA • AYP • Proficiency Tests • State and District Requirements • Use of Ohio Curriculum Standards • Grade-level Proficiency Tests Transition Services Preparation & Training

3. Teacher Preparation Programs • Professional Accreditation • NCATE • Outcomes-based measures using 6 - 8 assessments. • Council for Exceptional Children: KSU’s Assessments • Praxis I & II • Clinical and Field Experience • Assessment and IEP Development • Behavior Change Project • Curriculum Based Measurement • Classroom-Based Unit Plan • Portfolio Transition Services Preparation & Training

4. Outcomes-Based Assessments • States and Districts • Schools are under increasing pressure to raise student outcomes based on state standards. • Higher Education’s Responsibility: • To prepare their graduates to incorporate standards into their teaching. • To document outcomes based on these standards. Transition Services Preparation & Training

5. Conceptually Focused & Assessed Teaching Units • Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998) • Based upon research on learning and teaching (http://www.ubdexchange.org/resources.html). • Uses “backward design” process • Incorporates multiple assessments to ensure “understanding” Transition Services Preparation & Training

6. Unit Design Process • Stage One: Begin with Needs • Incorporate external standards • “Unpack” them into meaningful and teachable chunks. • Review the standard for those elements that are • (a) worth being familiar with, • (b) what is important to know and understand, and • (c) what is authentic and relevant and of life-long value to the student. • Identify student needs that are: • Life-long and enduring • Relevant and authentic • Address key misperceptions or misunderstandings Transition Services Preparation & Training

7. Unit Development cont. • Stage One: Identify Overarching Questions • Review key unit elements: • Standards that are at the heart—the “core” of the content • Reflect life-long, enduring, and authentic student needs • Synthesize these into overarching and enduring understandings • Develop inquiry-based unit questions • These focus and link the unit assessments and teaching activities to the overall unit goals Transition Services Preparation & Training

8. Unit Development cont. • Stage Two: Identify Comprehensive Assessments • Plan a variety of assessments that demonstrate achievement of overarching understandings • Use the Six Facets of Understanding • Review to ensure sufficient evidence that demonstrates the unit understandings • Stage Three: Develop Instruction • Plan lessons and activities that prepare students for the assessments that demonstrate their understanding Transition Services Preparation & Training

9. Development Summary • Use Stage One’s: • overarching and enduring understandings, • which incorporate and unpack external standards, • To plan Stage Two’s: • assessments to collect evidence of these understandings, • across the Six Facets, • Which are supported by Stage Three’s: • learning experiences and instructional activities • that ensure that students have the necessary skills and knowledge • to fully and effectively demonstrate these understandings • across each of the Six Facets. Transition Services Preparation & Training

10. Six Facets of Understanding Transition Services Preparation & Training

11. Unit-Based Teaching • Good teaching should aim for depth, rather than superficial breadth (TIMMS report) • Develop instruction based on unit themes • Broad themes can address the comprehensive nature of standards • Unit themes support redundancy of learning, to • increase depth of understanding • allow expansion and extension of related skills and knowledge—the standards • Unit themes link individual tasks and activities to reduce fragmentation and build these broader knowledge and skill learnings. Transition Services Preparation & Training

12. Instructional Unit • Deaf Education course • Choose one theme for course units • Use the three stages of unit design • Stage One: • ODE Standards • K-12 student needs across all instructional areas and theme • Stage Two: • Assessments across the Six Facets • Stage Three: • One lesson plan for each content area Transition Services Preparation & Training

13. Dual AssessmentExperience • Course evaluation • Understanding of UbD as evidenced by the unit and other course projects across the Six Facets • Implementation • Use of UbD process and Six Facets for the unit design and assessment of learning Transition Services Preparation & Training

14. Course Assessments • Course Rubric • Unit Assignment Transition Services Preparation & Training

15. Assessment Skills Learned • Assessment across multiple facets of understanding • Value of thorough evaluation • Synthesis of state standards and student needs into unit addressing life-long skills • Multiple assessment experience and perspective • Application with own unit and for evaluating students—imposer • Utilization for evaluating coursework—receiver Transition Services Preparation & Training

16. Programmatic Evaluation: NCATE and CEC Outcomes • Classroom Based Unit Plan • Thorough learning of rubric use and development through: • Their own teaching unit with K-12 students • Their project’s evaluation • Course-based evaluation becomes NCATE portfolio evaluation • Data is accumulated across program Transition Services Preparation & Training

17. Unit Rubric • The Six Facets of Understanding document both knowledge and skill aspects of unit design and instructional planning • Factual and declarative knowledge (Facets 1-2) • Procedural knowledge (Facet 3) • Abilities to synthesize and evaluate oneself and others (Facets 4-6) • Implementation of NCATE rubric • Utilized the six assessment facets with a 3-point rubric • Special Education program chose this as a framework, pending implementation decisions throughout the College Transition Services Preparation & Training

18. NCATE Application • Rubric: • 3 = Exemplary • 2 = Satisfactory • 1 = Unsatisfactory • Tasks: • Students will explain (Facet 1) and give examples or analogies (Facet 2) to show how use of the three steps of unit design, and the six facets help to ensure that students “truly understand” a unit. • Students will develop an integrated teaching unit (Facet 3), using the three stages of backward design, incorporating the six facets of understanding, with lesson plans that provide the skills each student will need (Facets 4 & 5) to successfully complete the facets and demonstrate understanding of key unit outcomes. • Student will reflect on strengths and needs initially perceived and later evidenced through the unit development process; will identify two areas for improvement prior to student teaching (Facet 6). Transition Services Preparation & Training

19. Programmatic Implementation • Use of e-portfolios • Assignments loaded on college server and locked • Instructor uses e-rubric to grade • NCATE search accumulates individual assignments with grades across program • Technical support • Undergraduate technology course assigns individual server space • Graduate workshops TBD Transition Services Preparation & Training

20. Issues Still Pending • Student passes course but fails NCATE project • Locating student files: • Must use exact assignment name— instructor cannot retrieve otherwise • Student can revise own version but course and NCATE version are locked Transition Services Preparation & Training

21. Project Implementation • OSERS-funded Transition Services Preparation for Teachers of D/HH Students • Unit development process that integrates transition skills • Life-long, authentic, and relevant needs integrated into content-area instruction • Year One: Backward design process • Year Two: Documentation of outcomes • Year Three: Research-drive unit topics • MS-IEPsHS-IEPs • Career Awareness Career Exploration Transition Services Preparation & Training

22. More Information • KSU’s Special Education Program NCATE evaluation: http://sped.educ.kent.edu/Files.htm • Unit RubricUnit Directions • More information on utilization of unit design rubric—see Teaching Units: http://www.educ.kent.edu/fundedprojects/TSPT/grant.htm Transition Services Preparation & Training

23. References • National Center for Educational Statistics (2003). Trends in international mathematics and science study (TIMSS). Washington, DC: Author. Available online: http://nces.ed.gov/timss/. • Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Transition Services Preparation & Training