SBA and the HKIEd experience

1. SBA and the HKIEd experience Dr Jane Lockwood Ashley Hazell Yildirim Centre for Language in Education(CLE) Hong Kong Institute of Education 14 March 2008

2. An Overview • Our Context • Curriculum & Assessment Innovation • Formative Assessment at CLE Objectives - Tasks - Descriptors - Feedback • Challenges (for Instructors & Students) • The Way Forward • Q & A

3. The HKIEd CLE Context • CLE in HKIEd • BEd undergraduates • Foundation Bridge Access • Curriculum innovation: Genre-based approach • Assessment innovation: Formative evaluation • ‘Cultures of Assessment’ (Prof. Liz Hamp Lyons)

4. CLE Professional Development on SBA • 1st Panel discussion of CLE SBA trainers: Personal responses to formative assessment pedagogy. • 2nd Coordinators & Instructors discussion: Designing, implementing & improving tasks for FA purposes related to Curriculum. • 3rd PD session with Prof. Liz Hamp Lyons: Facilitating discussion on issues in assessment and ways forward.

5. English Language Curriculum Innovation: A Genre-Based Approach • Familiarizing students with different text types within genres (spoken & written) • Guiding students through the top-down process • Creating situations in the classroom for real-life tasks • Communicating with the reader in a purposeful way • Importance of grammar & vocabulary in context

6. Assessment Innovation • Assessment for Learning (Formative) v Assessment of Learning (Summative) • Achievement v Proficiency (descriptors) • Learningobjectives&tasks • Teacher / Student / Peer Involvement • Evaluation – Feedback to Feed forward

7. Assessment for Learning: 5 strategies • Clarifying and sharing learning intentions and criteria for success. • Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, and learning tasks. • Providing feedback that moves learners forward. • Activating students as the owners of their own learning. • Activating students as instructional resources for one another. The “big idea” binding these strategies together is that teachers use evidence of learning to adapt instruction to meet student needs. Source: Dylan Wiliam (SBA HKU training modules website)

8. Challenges at CLE HKIEd • Curriculum development & constraints • Task development – designing / adapting • Meeting the curriculum objectives • Challenging students • De-mystifying FA & Communicating its role in learning to stakeholders • Administering & integrating FA • Fairness • Standardisation – Grading - Moderation • Teacher involvement –Student Involvement • Feedback approaches / principles • Practicality • Time Line • Teacher knowledge & awareness

9. The Way Forward • Evaluating the curriculum, learning and assessment  • Reflecting & Improving  • Ongoing PD of teachers • Stakeholder “buy-in” • Learning v Assessment “culture” in schools

10. Useful References & Further Reading • Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2003). Assessment for learning. New York: Open University Press. • Cheng, W., & Warren, M. (1997). Having Second Thoughts: Student perceptions before and after a peer assessment exercise. Studies in Higher Education, 22(2), 233-239. (this article can be downloaded from ILN) • Genesee, J & Upshur, John A. Classroom-based Evaluation in Second Language Education • James H. McMillan. (2003). Understanding and Improving Teachers' Classroom Assessment Decision Making: Implications for Theory and Practice. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice 22:4, 34-43. (this article can be downloaded from ILN) • Torrance, H. & J. Pryor. 1998. Investigating formative assessment: Teaching, learning and assessment in the classroom. Buckingham UK: Open University Press. • http://web.hku.hk/~sbapro/new.html • http://www.carla.umn.edu/assessment/ • http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/assessment/feedback/index.html

11. Q & A Forum • Your reactions • Your concerns • Your contexts • Your way forward

12. Thanks to the CLE PD team • Ms Blanche Chu • Ms Helen Lavender • Mr Lloyd Norris