Assessment-Understanding by Design-Differentiated Learning

1. Assessment-Understanding by Design-Differentiated Learning

2. Backward design and assessment What exactly are we teaching? What are the critical thinking questions [essential questions-big ideas-thinking challenges What do we want students to understand? This year? Five years from now? What skills do we want students to learn? This year? Five years from now? Teachers: identity desired results/outcomes. Overall and specific expectations Learners can explain, interpret, apply, analyze, shift perspective, display, reflect, self-assess

3. Effective Classrooms and Changing Paradigms • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U Changing Education Paradigms-Ken Robinson (animate) Full talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdS4hSa0s Teachers attend to four elements: Whom they teach (students) Where they teach (learning environment) What they teach (Ministry curriculum/content/skills) How they teach (instruction-pedagogy) • Understanding by Design+ Critical Thinking Challenges+ Differentiated Learning + Authentic Assessment= Designed to teach so that students succeed (quality curriculum + quality instruction) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8F1SnWaIfE

4. Purpose of Assessment? What are we assessing? Why are we assessing? For whom are the results intended? How will the results be used? 21st century needs: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/expert21/skills_strategies.htm http://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/differentiated-instruction

5. Assessment serves different purposes: diagnostic, formative, summative Diagnostic Assessment: These pre-assessments assist teachers in planning delivery of curriculum and guide Differentiated Instruction examples: skill checks, knowledge surveys, non-graded pre-tests, learning preferences etc. Formative Assessment: Occur concurrently with Instruction. Provides information to guide teaching and learning for improving achievement. examples: ungraded quizzes, oral questioning, observations, draft work, think-alouds, student-constructed concept maps or charts, dress rehearsals, peer responses, report reviews

6. Steps to prepare for unit/lesson planning According to Tomlinson/McTighe Stage one: Establish goals: Understandings and Essential Questions [knowledge and Skills] Stage two: Assessment evidence: performance tasks and other [Key Criteria] Inauthentic work: fill in the blank, multiple choice, recall, solved contrived problems Authentic work: examine evidence, debate controversial issues, solve problems, interpret, purposeful writing. Stage three: Lesson Planning

9. Teaching Responsibly Attending to an open/flexible/supportive teacher-student relationship contributes to student learning Attending to an open/flexible/supportive learning environment builds confidence and context for learning Attending to students backgrounds and individual needs builds bridges and connects learners and content Student readiness-student interest for motivation-student learning profiles Feedback: often, be specific (is clear), flexibility and make adjustments, allow for reflection