Assessment by Design

1. Assessment by Design Hazlet Township Public Schools Professional Development Day October 11, 2010

2. Workshop Objectives Big Ideas: UbD, Assessments Essential Questions: How does Understanding by Design influence curriculum, teaching, and assessment? What are authentic assessments? What is the importance of common assessments?

3. “To understand…is to see [meaning] in its relations to other things, to note how it functions, what consequences flow from it…Acquiring information can never develop the power of judgment.” John Dewey (How We Think, 1910)

4. Understanding by DesignGoals • Genuine understanding/higher order thinking skills • Transfer and meaning, not coverage • Working in stages (3) • Reflection and Review

5. Compare Plan Models • Traditional Sample • Focused on activities • Largely knowledge and skills-based • Assessments at end, traditional Q&As • UbD Model Sample • Assessments at outset, based on meaning, evidence-based • Balance of skills, knowledge and understandings • Activities all focused on achievement of goals

6. Understanding by DesignMethodology Stage 1: Desired Results What long term transfer goals are targeted? What meanings should student make in order to arrive at important understandings? What essential questions will students explore? What knowledge and skill will students acquire? What established goals/standards are targeted? Wiggins & McTighe, 2010

7. Understanding by DesignMethodology Stage 2: Evidence What performance and products will reveal evidence of meaning-making and transfer? By what criteria will performance be assessed, in light of Stage 1 desired results? What additional evidence will be collected for all desired results? Is evidence aligned among the stages? Wiggins & McTighe, 2010

8. Understanding by DesignMethodology Stage 3: Learning Plan What activities, experiences and lesson will lead to achievement of the desired results and success at the assessments? How will the learning plan help students with acquisition, meaning making and transfer? How will the unit be sequenced and differentiated to optimize achievement for all learners? Wiggins & McTighe, 2010

9. Understanding by DesignSequence • Identify Big Ideas (Goals) • Assessments=Desired Results • Essential Questions • Skills, knowledge and understanding • Develop Learning Plan Exercise: Differentiate among S, K, and U.

10. FAQ Aren’t skills and knowledge as important as understanding?

11. Focus on Assessment Why do we assess students?

12. Focus on Assessment How do we assess students?

13. Why commonassessments? Focus on Assessment

14. Authentic Assessments Authentic (adj) defined: • Worthy of acceptance • Conforming to an original so as to produce essential features; not false. • True to one’s personality, spirit or character Mirriam-Webster Dictionary 2010

15. Authentic Assessments • A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills -- Jon Mueller • "...Engaging and worthy problems or questions of importance, in which students must use knowledge to fashion performances effectively and creatively. The tasks are either replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals in the field." -- Grant Wiggins (1993). • "Performance assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered." -- Richard J. Stiggins (2000).

16. Traditional Assessments=Post/Ad Hoc Educational Philosophy for TAs: 1. A school's mission is to develop productive citizens.2. To be a productive citizen an individual must possess a certain body of knowledge and skills.3. Therefore, schools must teach this body of knowledge and skills.4. To determine if it is successful, the school must then test students to see if they acquired the knowledge and skills. *forced-choice multiple-choice tests, fill-in-the-blanks, true-false, matching *students recall information to complete the assessment *curriculum drives assessment; knowledge becomes the curriculum that is delivered, and assessments are developed and administered to determine if acquisition of the curriculum occurred. Mueller, 2010

17. Authentic Assessments=By Design Educational Philosophy for AAs: 1. A school's mission is to develop productive citizens.2. To be a productive citizen, an individual must be capable of performing meaningful tasks in the real world.3. Therefore, schools must help students become proficient at performing the tasks they will encounter when they graduate.4. To determine if it is successful, the school must then ask students to perform meaningful tasks that replicate real world challenges to see if students are capable of doing so. *assessment drives the curriculum; teachers first determine the tasks that students will perform to demonstrate their mastery, and then a curriculum is developed that will enable students to perform those tasks well, which would include the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills (i.e. backwardsplanning) Mueller, 2010

18. Traditional and Authentic Assessments

19. Authentic Assessments An authentic assessment usually includes a task for students to perform and a rubric by which their performance on the task will be evaluated. Examples: http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/authentictaskexamples.htm

20. Try it Brainstorm an authentic assessment: • Nutrition pyramid: What is healthful eating? • Variables: How can we determine an unknown given certain information? • Pursuasive writing: What techniques and language are used? • The election process: How is voting an essential cornerstone of a democracy?

21. FAQ Do I have to choose between traditional and authentic assessments? Some mix of the two will best meet your needs. Ex. a pilot needs a background of knowledge to be tested in a written exam (traditional), but has to have monitored experience in the air (authentic).

22. Mission + Initiatives Mission: the rudder “self actualized…” Initiatives: the route Data-driven, differentiated, 21st century instruction The destination: improved student learning Authentic, personalized, holistic instruction

23. The Benefits of Technology Communicate * Collaborate * Share http://hazletteachers.wikispaces.com/ We are not alone!

24. References Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath & Co. Mueller, J. (2010). Authentic assessment toolbox. Accessed at jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm Stiggins, R.J. (2000). Student-centered classroom assessment. Merrill Publishing. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2010). Workshop on UbD by the Sea. Handouts discussed: Typical vs. UbD 3rd grade unit plan New UbD template (blank and with descriptions) Authentic Assessment samples from LAL and Math PP outline PowerPoint by Marc Natanagara