Tag: assessment of learning

A performance of worth

Have you heard of “death by PowerPoint”? I am sure many of us have sat through a professional development session (or maybe a few) where the lecturer (sage on the stage) thought the most efficient way to promulgate their wealth of knowledge was via a PowerPoint presentation. They probably had way too much text on the screen and read most of the text from the screen. PowerPoint was never designed to be used like this. “Less is more” is certainly true when it comes to PowerPoint presentations. PowerPoint was designed to be a visual clue for the presenter to keep on task and also to provide a scaffold for the learner via minimal text on the screen. If in doubt, have a look at most of the presenters at TED Talks.

How many of us are guilty of inflicting “death by PowerPoint” on our students? At the end of the unit of work on multiculturalism, for example, how many of us have asked for the obligatory PowerPoint presentation for the student to demonstrate their knowledge? Don’t get me wrong, an end of the unit presentation is sometimes the best way to demonstrate knowledge … sometimes! In contemporary schools, there are a plethora of ways children can demonstrate their learning, especially using technology. However, that is the scope for another blog one day!

At the end of a unit of work, apart from all the formative assessment learning activities the students have been involved in, there may be a justifiable reason for a summative assessment such as a culminating activity. No, I am not going to suggest a PowerPoint presentation here! A summative assessment, as the name implies, is an “at end of work” or “summary” of their learning. It could be as simple as the “Learn” column on a KWL chart, or as comprehensive as a website the student has created or a performance through the Arts.

Closely aligned with my previous blogs on the “so what of learning” and a “call to action”, I propose we should consider a “performance of worth”. When designing the unit of work sometimes teachers work backwards and plan from the performance of work (summative assessment activity) through all the learning activities required back to the initial learning activity to pique interest and assess prior knowledge.

If you decide a summative assessment is warranted then let us consider what might be a performance of worth. The performance of worth is a double-edged sword. It has “worth” because it is, generally, an important assessment piece to gauge student learning. Secondly, it is of “worth” to the student as they demonstrate their learning. For example, if you have been studying basic electrical circuits in Science, you could give the children a worksheet where they have to identify circuits that would work or not work. Even better, you could ask them to use an app such as Explain Everything and explain why some circuits would not work and how to make them work. Even better and more engaging would be for the student to make a house with lights and alarms that are activated by pressure pads (aluminium strips to connect the circuit). The students would not only demonstrate their knowledge, but also the application of the knowledge which s a higher-order skill (Bloom’s taxonomy). See for example https://www.instructables.com/Electronic-Cardboard-House/

Again, I have nothing against PowerPoint, is used correctly, however, there are far more engaging and higher-order performances students can utilise to demonstrate their learning.

Assessment

In education, the term assessment refers to the wide variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students.

https://www.edglossary.org/assessment/

Assessment is a word that can drive fear into both students and teachers alike! The word “assessment” originally comes from the Latin words “ad” meaning to or at and “sedere” meaning sit, so the word means “to sit beside”.

In practice, this breaks down into three purposes — assessment for, as and of learning — each playing a different role in the classroom, from day-to-day check-ins to formal reporting.

Assessment is about the gathering of data to make judgements about student learning. The data can come from the students, teachers or from standardised tests. The purpose of assessment is to primarily gauge student learning. When planning a unit of work, teachers must be cognisant of the ongoing need to assess student learning and to revise their teaching plan accordingly. One of the first tasks in successful planning t is to know your stuents, so the first assessment task might be to assess prior knowledge to gauge “where the children are at” so the planning can be specific and targeted to the children’s needs.

Assessment for, as and of learning — the three purposes of assessment

The Three Types: Assessment For, As and Of Learning

Basically, there are three purposes of assessment — assessment for, as and of learning:

  • assessment for learning;
  • assessment as learning and
  • assessment of learning.

Assessment for learning involves the teacher making inferences about student progress to inform their teaching. The emphasis here is using mini assessment tasks to inform the teaching and to assist the student to learn more. It is about improving teaching and learning, rather than achieving a mark or a score. It can provide feedback to encourage the student to move forward and to improve.

Assessment as learning involves students reflect on their own learning to inform their learning goals. Assessment as learning encourages students to take responsibility for their learning and to be reflective. It requires students to ask questions about their learning, to refcelt and to modify their learning gaols in order to succeed.

Assessment of learning involves teachers using the evidence of student learning to make judgements about student progress towards the standards/outcomes/objectives/content descriptors as mandated by the educational authority.

The two types of assessment are formative assessment and summative assessment. As their names imply, formative assessment is ongoing assessment during the learning process and summative assessment usually occurs at specific periods, especially at the conclusion of a unit of work. Whereas formative assessment is primarily for the student and teacher, summative assessments are usually for external stakeholders, such as parents at report time or for government and educational jurisdictions.