TEXAS REGIONAL COLLABORATIVES for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching

Conference for the Advancement of Science TeachingDallas, Texas

November 17-19, 2011

Kathleen JeremiassenFormative Assessment for

Engagement & Learning

Formative Assessment for Engagement & Learning:

PART of the WHOLE

Kathleen JeremiassenIrma Dru Hutchison Elementary

Lamar CISD

“. . . the most basic elements of an effective lesson:an essential, clearly defined learning objectivefollowed by careful modeling or a clear sequence of steps, punctuated by:

efforts during the lesson

to see how well

students are paying attention

and/or

learning the material.”

-- Mike Schmoker, Results Now

Sounds simple, right?

Attention Notice taken of

someone or something; the regarding of someone or something as interesting or important.

Engagement Cognitive -consists of beliefs

and values: rigor through higher level experiences and relevance through meaningful work

Emotional - consists of motivation and feelings: establishing relationships, classroom environment

Behavioral - consists of habits and skills: procedures, transitions, expectations

VS

Reality Check?

How do the learning experiences we provide make our students feel?

WHAT ARE FAs?

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS are:– quick checks for understanding– aligned with the daily objective – to provide evidence of learning

WHY USE THEM?

ENGAGEMENT:• TEACHER-TO-STUDENT• STUDENT-TO-TEACHER• STUDENT-TO-STUDENT

HIGHER ORDER THINKING UNCOVER MISCONCEPTIONS UNCOVER PRIOR KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCT NEW KNOWLEDGE

ONGOING ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

WHAT IS IT FOR THE TEACHER?

• Monitor student progress• Evaluates own practice• Evaluates engagement• Assesses small parts of learning• Engages students in higher order thinking &

constructive products• Higher performance on summative

assessments

WHAT IS IT FOR THE STUDENT?

• Self-reflection• Self-evaluation• Student centered engagement• Student constructed learning, higher order

thinking & authentic products• Pieces together parts of learning objectives • Prepares success on summative assessments

Whoever is doing most of the talking….

ends up doing most of the learning.

WHAT THEY PRODUCE:

• Non-threatening results for students– Lowers the stakes for taking risks– Creates environment for learning

• Direct and Immediate Feedback – Teacher and student

• Structured Information – Links instruction/activity to learning

• Intervention– Identifies weaknesses in student learning– Narrows the learning gap

Examples of Formative Assessment for Learning:

• Individual White Boards• Think Pair Share or Elbow Partners• Four Corner Instruction• Admit Slips and Exit Slips• Response logs for reflective thinking• Graphic Organizers: Mind Maps, T-chart, Frayer Model• Post-it Note responses• Active Votes/”Clickers” • Foldables• Illustrations• Yes/No, True/False, Green/Yellow/Red Cards• Interactive Note Booking• Popsicle stick questioning

Group Efficacy

Build community through shared learning experiences

Do they work in a 5E model? Yes!Learning

CycleTarget Formative Assessment

Engage“The Newbie

Know”

Front load Lesson with

Event or Question

Engage students prior knowledge, illuminate misconceptions & connect ideas before lesson to inform instruction,

Explore“Check &

Fix”

Hands-on Experience

Clarify new understanding, make new connections from observations and inference within the lesson to inform instruction

Explain“Mastery

Check”

Construct Explanation

Construct explanations of new understanding, & connections to learning objective

Elaborate“Bloom’s Stretch”

Apply & Reflect

Use metacognition to reflect on learning, challenge students to apply new knowledge & skills to new situations or related concepts under learning objective or Big Idea

Evaluate“Jell-O Test”

Assessment Students assess their own knowledge, skills & abilities through reflection, questions, or performance test

Now Let’s Try Some!

Commit and Toss

• Provide student time to answer Prompt• Students “commit” to an answer and “toss”

their response in the room (multiple choice, checklist, open response, T/F…)

• Students responses are now anonymous and are shared

• No response is “right” or “wrong”, just an idea to be explored--Paige Keeley, et. al activity sample

I used to think, but now I know…

• Students reflect on their misconceptions or prior knowledge and determine their new thoughts and understanding based on a classroom lesson or experience

I used to think…

But now I know…

Foldable

I think, We Think

• Provide students time to write down what they think

• Provide students time to share in small group and explore each others thinking, report to whole class common thoughts – “Our Class Thinks”

Try: How are Weathering & Erosion interrelated?

Concept Cartoon

• Students look at cartoon and choose science concept that best matches their understanding

• Students justify answer with a written or verbal response

By Emma Baker, www.millgatehouse.co.uk

Annotating Student Drawings• Students draw a concept and annotate to

show meaning and understanding• Visual representation helps students make

sense of their own understanding

Felice Frankel, PI; Picturing to Learn

Try: Life Cycle or Food Web

Free Sites for Creating Cartoons

• MakeBeliefsComix.com• MarvelKids.com’s Create your Own Comics• Pixton• ToonDoo• Strip Generator• Pikistrips

Annotate a Photograph

http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/climate/2a.html

What is happening in this picture?

Ten-Two• For every 10 minutes of whole group

instruction, video, audio or other presentation = 2 minutes of reflection and summarizing

• Writing notes, drawings, key wordsTry: Write down what you have learned so far.

Fist to Five

• Students show their understanding on a scale from 0 to 5

• A fist means, “no clue”, 5 fingers means, “I understand completely and can explain it to someone”

Two Stars and a Wish• Teacher provides 2 positive

comments to reinforce what students know and 1 comment of encourages revision, correction or further improvement

Two things I liked (or noticed):

One thing I wish:

3, 2, 1• 3 key ideas I will remember• 2 things I am still struggling with• 1 thing that will help me tomorrow

Agreement Circles• Students stand in a circle as teacher reads a statement• Students who agree with statement move to the middle,

Students who disagree stay on the circumference• Students on the inside of circle face those on the circumference

and students pair share their thinking• Teachers ask for students to decide if their discussion changes

their mind or stays firm, students are asked to reposition themselves if they changed their mind• Goal is to get all students in center of circle or on the

circumference

Try: Is global warming occurring?

Agree

Disagree

Agreement Circle

Discussion

Refute or Defend

•Analyze statement•Refute or Defend• Justify

Try: Environmental sustainability is a global concern.

Missed Conception• Analyze statement about a science concept• Describe why people might think it is true• Help understand misconceptions and develop

learning empathy

Some people think that putting salt on icy side walks is a good practice because “salt will melt the ice.”

Give me Five

• Provide time for students to think about the lesson activity

• Five students share their reflection

Looking Back (&Forward)• Students summarize their learning of a

concept or skill• Explain how they learned it• Connect learning to process to new

knowledge or skill

What I Learned About…

How I Learned It…

Foldable

What I wonder…

Fact First Questioning• Turn questions around from

“What” to “Why”, “How”, “Explain the process…”– Elicits deeper thinking and richer

response and classroom discussion

• Provide wait time• Scaffold questions to support

student explanations and elaborations

Odd One Out•Find which doesn’t belong in the group• Justify•Similarities and differences•Relationships • forms, functions, cycles, behaviors,

patterns, properties…

Recognizing Exceptions

•Target overgeneralizations•Question asks for the exception

Analogies•Students attach own meaning to

scientific concepts, functions, structures, etc. to relate to something familiar.

Four Corners• Teacher posts four possible answers or ideas

for a question or a concept• Student move to the corner that matches

best with their understanding• Students discuss ideas in groups and share

with class

Teacher Feedback

• Germination of a seed• A blooming flower• Egg -> cracked egg -> chick

Picture Feedback

By Bill McBride

By Bill McBride

Achieve Through Community

Muddiest Point• Ask what part was most difficult or

unclear• Students respond on note card or sticky• Teacher prompts students, “Today we…”

Any Questions?

Point of Most Significance (POMS)

• Students reflect on lesson or experience and identify key points of lesson objectives & big ideas• Teacher prompts students, “Today

we…”Try: Write down the most significant points of Formal Assessments

Lastly… and this takes guts:

• “Hot Topic” interest Scale

•Parking Lot

Paige Keeley (and friends) books:

Resources• Science Formative Assessment by Page Keeley

• Uncovering Student Ideas in Science by Page Keeley

• Common Formative Assessments by Larry Ainsworth & Donald Viegut

• Working on the Work by Phillip Schlechty

• The Highly Engaged Classroom & Formative Assessment & Standard Based Grading both by Robert J. Marzano

• Bill McBride:http://billmcbride.pbworks.com

Extra Information

CAMPUS USE OF FAs:

1. Lesson planning: Focus FA on the standard or a skill (the verb in the objective).

2. Design FA to target Big Idea, Essential questions, Objectives

3. Build in Rubrics, formal or informal, to measure how well students show mastery of lesson objective.

4. Prepare for Intervention, have follow up time for remediation.

5. Discuss and Present at Team Meetings, PLCs & Vertical Team Meetings.

WHAT THEY ARE NOT!!

• Unit Objective instead of a lesson objective• Activity NOT focused on standard or a skill• What but no Why – No power verb set to the

objective in activity.• Not measurable – How will the teacher know

if the students “understand” or “know”?• Boring!

Now Let’s Try Some:• Commit and Toss• I used to think, but now I know• I Think, We Think, Our Class

Thinks • Concept Cartoon• Annotated Student Drawings• Annotate a photograph• Ten-Two• POMS• Muddiest Point• Fist to Five• Give me Five• Two Stars and a Wish

• 3, 2, 1• Agreement Circles• Refute or Defend• Missed Conception• Look Back• Fact First Questioning• Odd One Out• Recognizing Exceptions• Analogies• Four Corners• Teacher Feedback