Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Assessment

1. Assessment

2. Key messages Assessment is most beneficial when it enhances teaching and learning and includes pupils in the process Assessment is at the heart of teaching and learning

3. Assessment “… gathering, recording, interpreting, using and communicating information” Assessment in the Primary School ), NCCA, 2007

4. Process of Assessment

5. Assessment of Learning What grade? What score? What percent?

6. Assessment for Learning How will this inform my teaching? What am I learning?

7. Re-envisioning Assessment AssessmentforLearning AssessmentofLearning

8. Both can inform teaching and learning

9. Circular 24/03 The Staged Approach Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 1 Draw up a short simple plan for extra help within the classroom Diagnostic Assessment by L.S/R.T and Supplementary teaching if appropriate Consultation and an assessment of need by a specialist from an outside agency

10. Continuum of assessment

11. Consider • What will be assessed ? • How will it be assessed? • How will the assessment be used? . Do you use assessment to support progress or identify failure ?

12. Continuum of assessment

13. Self-assessment • children looking at their own work in a reflective way - metacognition • whole class, group , individual • criteria must be agreed beforehand by the teacher • fosters independence and motivation and positive classroom climate • can be shared with other parties

14. Self-assessment - how? • writing process- drafting, revising, editing and publishing • choosing the best samples of his/her work to include in a portfolio • creating, talking about, and recording musical compositions

15. KWL • Know • Want • Learnt • KWHL • How

16. PMI diagram • plus • minus • interesting

17. Traffic Lights

18. Talk Partners • 3 things learned • easy • difficult • future learning

19. Checklists

20. Thumbs up – thumbs down

21. Other self-assessment tools • W W W E B I • Ladder • 2 stars and a wish • Numerical scale of understanding 1-5 • Prompts – • the most important thing I learnt was • what I found difficult was

22. Conferencing • Sharing of knowledge and understanding of the child’s work • Simple conversation or planned meeting • Encourages listening, openness and feedback • Could concern a single product of learning or a general learning experience

23. Portfolio • collection of child’s work • shows improvement • shows range of work • shows strengths and interests • shows best work • evidence of progress across a strand, strand unit or a theme or topic • hard copy and / or electronically (e-portfolios) • can represent AfL and AoL

24. Concept mapping • graphic organisers or picture summaries of the child’s understanding of ideas and the relationships between ideas. • Rich insights into children’s learning and mis –conceptions • used at the beginning, middle or end of a unit of work • good for children with learning difficulties

28. Questioning

30. Teacher observation • Immediate and accurate information • learning needs • how pupils acquire and master different skills • ability to transfer skills and knowledge • how a pupil collaborates with others • different types

31. Assessment overview - activity

33. Teacher as Observer Some Early at Risk Indicators 1 : Motor Development

34. Teacher as Observer – Some Early at Risk Indicators 2: Perceptual Development

35. Teacher as Observer Some Early at Risk Indicators 3 :Oral Language Development

36. Teacher as Observer Some Early at Risk Indicators 4: Numeracy

37. Teacher as Observer – Subject/ strand or strand unit:

38. Teacher-designed tasks and tests • oral assignments • individual tasks • group tasks • paper and pencil tests

39. Guidelines for written tests • identify purpose at outset • relate to pupil’s interests • start with easy question • vary questions • use subject-verb-object structure • a single question per page • give key information in bold • NCCA Guidelines 2007

40. Standardised Test “ … contains standardised procedures for its administration and scoring and for the interpretation of its results. In practice, the term “standardised test” is most often applied to assessments that contain objectively scored items that are produced commercially by a test agency and that are norm-referenced” Supporting Assessment in Schools, NCCA, 2005

41. Tests available

42. Timing – When? Circular 0138/2006 Which classes? • end 1st / beg 2nd • end 4th / beg 5th During school year Informed by purpose • Autumn / Spring? WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH TO ASSESSMENT

43. Diagnostic tests ... identifies learning strengths and needs are individually administered teacher and child One to one give quantitative and qualitative information guide programme planning and instruction

44. Video Clip • What tools of assessment are used in this video? • Discuss these assessment tools in relation to your teaching experience

45. ICT is relevant to assessment in three particular areas: • the use of electronic portfolios in contributing to assessment • the use of ICT as an assessment tool, subject specific integrated learning systems diagnostic assessment software • the use of ICT for recording and analysing the results of assessment

46. Report cards

47. Key messages Assessment is most beneficial when it enhances teaching and learning and includes pupils in the process Assessment is at the heart of teaching and learning

48. “Assessment can be both enormously constructive in teaching and learning, and also enormously destructive.” Pollard and Tann