A Whole School Approach to Assessing Personal and

Interdisciplinary Learning

Let’s Get Essential ConferenceSchool Library Association of Victoria

Jennifer Bryce

VICTORIAN ESSENTIAL LEARNING STANDARDS

Discipline based

eg:

English

LOTE

Mathematics

Science

Humanities

Arts

Interdisciplinary and Social/ Personal

eg:

Communication

Thinking processes

Interpersonal Development

Personal Learning

CROSS-CURRICULARCROSS-CURRICULAR

What do we mean by ‘cross-curricular skills’?

• Context independent– not tied to a particular domain of knowledge;– independent of particular curriculum boundaries;– independent of skills specific to particular occupations or

industries

• Learned and practised within particular contexts, but transferable from one context to another

• Complex combinations of cognitive and affective elements– Mayer Committee: ‘combination of knowledge, skills and

understanding’;– not ‘atomistic behaviours’

Example from the National Goals of Schooling:

Schooling should develop fully the talents and capacities of all students. In particular, when students leave schools they should:

have the capacity for, and skills in, analysis and problem solving and the ability to communicate ideas and information, to plan and organise activities and to collaborate with others

Why is ‘cross-curricular’ important these days?

Economic: work-related(eg Mayer Key Competencies)

Information age: knowledge-related

(eg National Goals of Schooling)

VELS (Interdisciplinary/ Social &Personal)

What are the main challenges posed by a cross-curricular approach to learning?

Secondary school teachers are not used to working outside their curriculum areas;

Interfaculty communication

‘It makes you think about students in a different way.’

Some benefits mentioned by teachers:

Helps students with ‘special learning needs’ to become independent learners;

It creates an opportunity ‘to move in what is otherwise a very static picture’

Provides possibility of recognition for students regarded as ‘failures’ in discipline areas.

Development of cross-curricular skills encourages a focus on the ‘whole’ student

(often lost in secondary schools) a means of drawing

together people with significant roles in students’ education

a means of putting into practice some current beliefs about pedagogy – eg the learning that takes place outside the classroom should be valued

What is a ‘whole school’ approach to assessment?

Aims to produce a whole school or common view of a student in a single, integrated report

Combines the views of teachers and, if appropriate, other personnel who are in a position to judge a student’s performance

People other than classroom teachers may contribute to the assessment – eg librarians, sports coaches, the school principal,

employers May include student self assessment.

Assessment for ‘Working with Others’:

Music teacher: A

Maths teacher: B

SOSE teacher: D

Assessment for ‘Working with Others’:(using the Whole School Assessment package)

Music 9

Maths 6

SOSE 5

Art 4

Employer 5

What teachers have said about ‘Whole School Assessment’:

It acknowledges teachers’ professional judgment;

Teachers make judgments most of the time they teach;

Know students – have a ‘gut feeling’;

Contributing to an overall judgment – not assessing in isolation

OVERVIEW OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT PROCESS [ACER Software]

Professional Development

Set up software – Excel files to teachers

Teachers assess

Overall assessor

Reporting

The program manager:

• Sets up the data base and enters the main details

• Integrates teachers’ assessments (Excel files) into the data base

• Prints students’ reports

• Extracts analyses of the assessments to provide appropriate whole school data.

The teachers:Have a shared understanding of the cross-curricular skills to be assessed.Enter their assessments into an excel file with the names of students they are to assess, produced by the program manager.Assess each student on the agreed cross-curricular skills using a 9-point scale, making a global impression judgement, assisted, if they wish, by level descriptors.

The overall assessor(s):

• Reviews the assessments of teachers, using the software.

• Establishes the final assessment for each student on each cross-curricular skill.

Students’ reports:

• provide a synthesis of teachers’ judgments

• indicate the amount of agreement about a student’s cross-curricular skills

• can show the group average and range of scores (but this is optional)

Generic Skills Level 4 Level 5 Level 6

Codes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Written communication

Mean & Range I [] I

Oral communication

Mean & Range I [] I

Logical reasoning

Mean & Range I [] I

Interpretive reasoning

Mean & Range I [] I

Planning & organising

Mean & Range I [] I

How might this process be applied to assessing the VELS?

Assume that we have a Year 9 class and that we are looking at ‘Thinking Processes’

Standards : 1. Reasoning, processing and inquiry, concerned with

framing questions, gathering information and making judgements about the worth of the information;

2. Creativity, concerned with generating imaginative solutions to problems; and

3. Reflection, evaluation and metacognition which is concerned with thinking processes and tools.

Start with professional development:

Shared understanding of ‘standards’?

Teachers might look at an example of a Yr 9 student’s ‘imaginative solution’ to a problem and consider whether that student would be graded Level 4/5, 5/6 or 6.

Standard Level 4/ 5Below expected achievement

Level 5/6Expected achievement of Year 9

students

Level 6Above expected achievement

Codes 1 low 2 med 3high 4 low 5 med 6 high 7 low 8 med 9 high

The student The student The student

Reasoning, processing & inquiry

is aware of different question types and can use a limited range of them

uses a range of question types generates questions that explore a variety of perspectives

locates and selects information from a range of sources with guidance

locates and selects relevant information from varied sources

discriminates in the way they use a variety of sources

can distinguish fact from opinion and develop reasoned arguments supported by evidence

can evaluate evidence, taking into account a range of points of view

can make informed decisions based on their analysis of various perspectives and sometimes contradictory information

Teachers could use a schema like this(Thinking Processes, Year 9) : [hypothetical]

Personal Learning, Year 6: [hypothetical]Standard Level 3/4

Below expected achievement

Level 4Expected achievement of Year 9 students

Level 4/5Above expected achievement

Codes 1 low

2 med

3 high

4 low

5 med

6 high

7 low

8 med

9 high

The student The student The student

The individual learner

can identify strategies that will enhance their own learning

has preferred learning styles and uses strategies that will promote their learning.

uses an expanded repertoire of learning strategies appropriate to particular tasks

is aware of their learning strengths and weaknesses

can monitor and describe their progress in learning

can identify their strengths and weaknesses and take action to address weaknesses.

with assistance can set own learning goals

can negotiate learning improvement goals and justify learning choices that they make

seeks and responds to feedback from peers, teachers and other adults.

A ‘Whole School’ approach to assessment:

Librarian

Self assessment

Employer

Englishteacher

Maths teacher

IT teacher

STUDENT