Supporting Deeper Learning

How Can We Develop Teaching that

Ensures Success in the 21st Century?

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

2

The Changing Demand for Job Skills

“Deeper

learning”

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

THINK critically & solve

complex problems

COMMUNICATE effectively

WORK collaboratively

LEARN how to learn…

…through mastery of rigorous academic content

DEEPER LEARNING

APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO NEW CHALLENGES

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

The Path to Deeper Learning:

Metaphors from the Trenches

He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.

He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.

Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame.

She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Reform of Curriculum, Teaching, and

Assessment is Underway World Wide

…The goal is less dependence on rote

learning, repetitive tests and a ‘one size fits

all’ type of instruction, and more on engaged

learning, discovery through experiences,

differentiated teaching, the learning of life-

long skills, and the building of character

through innovative and effective teaching

approaches and strategies…

-- Singapore Education Minister

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 2005

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Goal of Common Core State Standards

Fewer

Higher

Deeper

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions

for Postsecondary Success 7

College &

career

readiness

competencies

Common Core State

Standards

SBAC or PARCC

Assessment

Research Experimentation Communication Collaboration

Use of technology ,

etc.

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

How Can We Support

Teaching for Deeper Learning?

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

NINE LESSONS FROM THE LEARNING SCIENCES (RAND, 2013)

5. Teach students to learn to learn

6. Address misunderstandings directly

7. Promote teamwork as a process and outcome

8. Exploit technology to support learning

9. Foster students’ creativity

How Teachers Can Support

Deeper Learning 1. Make it relevant to students’ concerns

2. Teach through the modes of inquiry in the disciplines

3. Simultaneously develop lower- and higher-order skills

4. Teach for transfer

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Dependent learners Independent learners

rely heavily on the teacher are self-reliant

cannot make decisions about their

learning

can make informed decisions

about their learning

do not know their own strengths

and weaknesses

are aware of their strengths and

weaknesses

do not connect classroom learning

with the real world

connect classroom learning with

the real world

think that the teacher is wholly

responsible for their learning

take responsibility for their own

learning

do not know the best way to learn

something

know about different strategies for

learning (generally and personally)

do not set learning goals. plan their learning and set goals.

work only when extrinsic motivators

such as grades or rewards are

offered

are intrinsically motivated by

making progress in learning

do not reflect on how well they are

learning and why

often reflect on the learning

process and their own progress

characteristics of dependent and independent learners

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Teaching for Student Agency

1. Create complex, authentic tasks worth doing

2. Plan for choice and inquiry

3. Connect tasks to authentic assessments

4. Build effective scaffolding that supports competence, confidence, and motivation

5. Support self- and peer-assessment and revision

6. Build reflection & extension into learning

7. Enable collaboration & peer learning

8. Develop social-emotional skills

9. Identify strengths, learning styles, and goals with students

10. Support student decision making, social responsibility, and leadership

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

What Kind of Schools Can Support

Deeper Learning?

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

How Can Schools

Support Deeper Learning?

Commonality & personalization

Problem- and project-based instruction

Authentic assessment

A culture of revision

and redemption

A focus on talent

development

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

USING ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENT & TEACHER LEARNING

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

3 Things We Must Do to Support

Deeper Learning in the U.S.

1. Redesign Assessment

-- Fewer, higher, and deeper

-- More performance-based

-- Educationally useful and usable

2. Involve Teachers in Assessment

3. Redefine Accountability

-- From test-and-punish to

support-assess-and-improve

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Current Tests Focus

on Lower-Level Skills

After NCLB, most states phased out

performance assessments.

RAND study of 17 states’ tests: Only

2% of math items and 21% of ELA

items assess higher-order skills.

16

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Side Effects of High-Stakes

Multiple-Choice Testing on Teaching

“I have seen more students who can pass [the

test] but cannot apply those skills to anything if

it’s not in the test format. I have students who

can do the test but can’t look up words in a

dictionary and understand the different

meanings…. As for higher quality teaching, I’m

not sure I would call it that. Because of the

pressure for passing scores, more and more

time is spent practicing the test and putting

everything in the test format”

-- A Texas teacher Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

CST Math Item

Testing Standard 25.1

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

“To be helpful in achieving the learning goals laid out in the Common Core, assessments must fully represent the competencies that the increasingly complex and changing world demands…. To do so, the tasks and activities in the assessments must be models worthy of the attention and energy of teachers and students.”

-- The Gordon Commission

19

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

CCSS Assessments Should Offer Greater Depth

SBAC Research Task: Nuclear Power

Conduct research on the

pros and cons of nuclear power. Summarize what you have learned, evaluating the credibility of sources.

Write an evidence-based memo offering a recommendation about whether to support or oppose the plan, addressing both sides of the issue.

As chief-of-staff for a

U.S. Congresswoman,

you need to address a

proposal by a power

company to build a

nuclear plant in the

state, to be announced

tomorrow morning.

You must:

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Assessment Continuum

C-PAS

College

Ready

Assess-

ments

Narrow Assessment Assessments of Deeper Learning

CCSS

Assessments

(SBAC &

PARCC)

Common

Performance

Tasks

(Ohio,

WA, NH)

Student-

Designed

Projects (Envision, NY

Performance

Standards Consortium,

Singapore, IB)

Traditional

Tests

Des

crip

tions

Standardized,

multiple-

choice tests of

routine skills

Standardized

performance

tasks

(1-2 weeks)

that include

structured

inquiry and

demand more

integrated

skills,

including

collaboration

Exa

mple

s

Standardized

tests with m-c

& open-ended

items + short

(1-2 day)

performance

tasks of some

applied skills

Performance

tasks that

require

students to

formulate and

carry out their

own inquiries,

analyze &

present

findings, and

(sometimes)

revise in

response to

feedback

Longer, deeper

investigations,(2

-3 months) &

exhibitions,

including

graduation

portfolios,

requiring

students to

initiate, design,

conduct,

analyze, revise,

and present their

work in multiple

modalities Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

High School Biology Exam,

Victoria, Australia 3. When scientists design drugs against infectious agents, the term “designed drug”

is often used.

A. Explain what is meant by this term.

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Scientists aim to develop a drug against a particular virus that infects humans. The

virus has a protein coat and different parts of the coat play different roles in the

infective cycle. Some sites assist in the attachment of the virus to a host cell;

others are important in the release from a host cell. The structure is

represented in the following diagram:

The virus reproduces by attaching itself to the

surface of a host cell and injecting its DNA into the host

cell. The viral DNA then uses the components of host cell

to reproduce its parts and hundreds of new viruses bud off

from the host cell. Ultimately the host cell dies.

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Analysis and Application of

Knowledge B. Design a drug that will be effective against this virus. In your answer outline the

important aspects you would need to consider. Outline how your drug would

prevent continuation of the cycle of reproduction of the virus particle. Use

diagrams in your answer. Space for diagrams is provided on the next page.

________________________________________________________________

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Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Design and Scientific Inquiry

Before a drug is used on humans, it is usually tested on animals. In this case, the

virus under investigation also infects mice.

C. Design an experiment, using mice, to test the effectiveness of the drug you have

designed.

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________ Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

SINGAPORE EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT BOARD 25

To Assess Experimental Skills and

Investigations, Students…

Identify a problem, design and plan an

investigation, evaluate their methods and techniques

Follow instructions and use techniques, apparatus and

materials safely and effectively

Make and record observations, measurements, methods,

and techniques with precision and accuracy

Interpret and evaluate observations and experimental

data

SINGAPORE SCHOOL-BASED SCIENCE

PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

GCSE ICT Task (England)

Litchfield Promotions promotes bands and puts on performances in England. They need to be sure that each performance will make enough money to cover all the costs and make a profit. Many people need to be paid: the bands; sound engineers; and, lighting technicians. There is also the cost of hiring the venue.

Litchfield Promotions needs to create an ICT solution to ensure that they have all necessary information and that it is kept up to date. Their solution will show income, outgoings and profit.

Candidates need to:

1) Work with others to plan and carry out research to investigate how similar companies have produced a solution.

2) Clearly record and display your findings.

3) Recommend and evaluate a solution addressing the task requirements.

4) Produce a design brief explaining & critiquing your solution.

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Queensland’s System of

Assessments

Pre-Secondary Level Senior Level (Grades 11-12)

Curriculum

guidance Essential Learnings: Scope and sequence

guides, unit templates, plus assessable elements and quality descriptors (rubrics)

Syllabi for each subject outlining content and assessments

External

tests National tests of literacy and numeracy at grades

3, 5, 7, 9—centrally scored

Queensland Core Skills Test, grade 12

Locally

administered performance

tasks

Queensland Comparable Assessment Tasks

(QCAT): Common performance tasks at grades 4, 6, and 9—locally scored

Course assessments, outlined in syllabus—locally scored/externally moderated

Locally

developed assessments

Local performance assessment systems—locally

scored and externally moderated

Graduation portfolios—locally scored/externally moderated

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

28

Extended Experimental Investigation at the Senior

Level (Grade 11-12)

Over four or more weeks, students must develop and conduct an extended experimental investigation (lab or field based) to investigate a hypothesis or to answer a practical research question. The outcome of the investigation is a written scientific report of 1500 to 2000 words. The student must: • develop a planned course of action • clearly articulate the research question and provide a statement of purpose for the investigation • provide descriptions of the experiment • show evidence of student design • provide evidence of primary and secondary data collection and selection • execute the experiment(s) • analyze data • discuss the outcomes of the experiment • evaluate and justify conclusion(s)

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

The goal is Assessment

of, as, and for Learning

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Putting Standards into Action

“Standards documents, even elegant ones with

benchmarks and commentary, can affect

achievement only if the standards come to be held

as personal goals by teachers and students….

That will happen only if a concerted effort is made to

engage teachers and students in a massive and

continuing conversation about what students should

learn, what kinds of work they should do, and how

well they should be expected to do it.”

-- Lauren Resnick, “Standards for Education” (1995)

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

How Performance Assessment

Shapes Learning and Teaching

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Making Assessment Useful to

Students: The Student Profile

CCSS consortia test scores – by subject and claim

Grade point average (cumulative and by subject)

College Admissions tests (e.g., SAT, ACT)

Graduation portfolio

-- Social studies research paper

-- Science investigation

-- Mathematical modeling project

-- Literary analysis

-- Art exhibition

Classroom-administered performance tasks

Oral presentation / exhibition and scored discussion evaluation

Teacher rating of student note-taking and collaboration skills

Student self-report of aspirations and goals and actions taken to

achieve personal goals

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

< Knowledge, Skills, and

Dispositions > <

Stu

de

nt

Me

as

ure

s >

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Policy Contexts for

Performance Assessments

• Formative tools for diagnosis and instruction

• Components of summative assessments

• Scored component of course exams

• Assessments for proficiency-based decisions

• Graduation portfolios, including exhibitions

• Digital portfolios for college admissions/

placement / advisement

•Part of multiple measures assembled for

educator evaluation & school accountability

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

There are several key themes that emerge from an examination of these systems:

Common Practices Across

Leading-Edge Systems

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

1. The student assessment process is guided by common standards grounded in a thoughtful, standards-based curriculum. It is managed as part of a tightly integrated system of standards, curriculum, assessment, instruction, and teacher development.

Teaching and Learning are supported

by a coherent SYSTEM

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

2. A balance of assessment measures

includes evidence of actual student

performance on challenging tasks that

evaluate applications of knowledge and

skills.

Performance is Valued

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Teachers are Deeply Involved

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Through Scoring, Teachers Learn to…

Understand the big ideas in the discipline and

what is valued in the larger community

See well-designed tasks they can emulate

Evaluate student work based on standards

and evidence

Analyze how students approach problems,

their understandings and misconceptions

Consider, with colleagues, how to shape

teaching to improve performance

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Elements of a Teaching, Learning, and

Assessment System

Clear standards, useful curriculum frameworks

Tasks in ‘sit-down tests’ that are rich and

require application of knowledge

Curriculum-embedded tasks that ensure that

key skills are taught and practiced

Teachers involved in developing and scoring

tasks with training and moderation

Multiple measures of learning assembled and

used to inform learning and decisions for

students, teachers, and schools Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Recommendations

1. Ensure that assessment is embedded in a learning

system for both students and adults, connected to

curriculum, instruction, and professional development.

2. Include performance tasks as a part of state

assessment systems and involve teachers in the design, use, and scoring of these tasks.

3. Make sure that criteria and rubrics for scoring tasks

are clear and explicit for both students and teachers.

4. Involve teachers in collaborative scoring sessions with training and moderation to learn to score reliably,

and with opportunities to discuss the implications for

their teaching.

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Recommendations

5. Expand opportunities for teachers to engage in

analysis of student work – both their own and

other students to inform and guide their practice.

6. Provide teachers with coaching and

professional development to develop standards-

based instruction.

7. Build communities of practice engaged in

continuous improvement as part of new

accountability systems focused on using multiple

measures of meaningful learning.

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Rethink Accountability

Testing does not equal accountability

Genuine accountability to students and families is

based on providing

-- High quality teaching

-- Adequate resources for learning

-- Information that leads to real improvement & equity

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

A New Approach to Accountability

should include:

Resource

Accountability

Professional

Accountability

Meaningful Learning

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

Accountability must become

Reciprocal

Focused on capacity-building

Performance based

Part of a multiple measures judgment system

for all decisions regarding students, teachers,

and schools

From Test-and-Punish to

Support-Assess-and-Improve

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)

21st Century Learning for All

“What the best and

wisest parent wants for

his or her child, that

must the community

want for all of its

children. Any other

goal is narrow and

unlovely. Acted upon,

it destroys our

democracy.”

-- John Dewey

Presented at the P21 Summit on 21st Century Learning (www.p21.org)