3d: Using Assessment in Instruction

Congratulations to this week's comment winners: Angie and Carly!  A morning beverage will be coming your way this week.  We love hearing your classroom connections to the components of Danielson.  We are looking forward to hearing from everyone each week.  

NEW CONTEST ALERT!!  

We will provide PLC treats to the first team that has FULL participation in commenting this week. 

This week we are focusing on Component D of Domain 3: Using Assessment in Instruction.  Assessment has evolved over the last few years and it no longer signals the end of instruction.  While it is important to know if students have learned what we set out to teach at the end of a unit, assessment for learning along the way is an important part of classroom instruction.  In order to assess student learning for the purposes of instruction, teachers must have a "finger on the pulse" of a lesson, monitoring student understanding and offering appropriate feedback to students.

Teacher actions in monitoring student learning may look very similar to those used in monitoring student behavior, but have a fundamentally different purpose:

Similarly, the questions you ask for the purpose of monitoring learning are fundamentally different from those used to build understanding:

Monitoring student learning and feedback are strengthened by a teacher's skill in making mid-course corrections and adjustments, seizing a teachable moment, or using student interests to enrich an explanation.

The elements of component 3d are: 

Connections to the
Personalized Learning Elements
from
The Institute @ CESA 1

• Assessment criteria
• It is essential that students know the criteria for an assessment.  At its highest level, students themselves have a hand in articulating the criteria.
• Monitoring of student learning
• A teacher's skill in eliciting evidence of student understanding is one of the true marks of expertise.  This is not a hit-or-miss effort, but is planned carefully in advance.  Even after planning carefully, however, a teacher must weave monitoring of student learning seamlessly into the lesson, using a variety of techniques.
• Feedback to students
• Feedback on learning is an essential element of a rich instructional environment; without it students are constantly guessing at how they are doing and at hoe their work can be improved.  Valuable feedback must be timely, constructive, and substantive and must provide students with the guidance they need to improve their performance.
• Student self-assessment and monitoring of progress
• The culmination of students' assumptions of responsibility for their learning is when they monitor their own learning and take appropriate action.  Of course, they can do these things only if the criteria for learning are clear and if they have been taught the skills of checking their work against clear criteria.
• Lesson adjustment
• Experienced teachers are able to make both minor and (at times) major adjustments to a lesson, or mid-course corrections.  Such adjustments depend on a teacher's store of alternate instructional strategies and the confidence to make a shift when needed. 

Shelly uses questioning to assess student understanding during a science lab.

In a proficient classroom...

Students appear to be aware of the assessment criteria, and the teacher monitors student learning for groups of students.  Questions and assessments are regularly used to diagnose evidence of learning. Teacher feedback to groups of students is accurate and specific; some students engage in self-assessment.  If impromptu measures are needed, the teacher makes minor adjustment to the lesson and does so smoothly. 

Sarah works with a small group to assess their readiness.

What might this look like? 

• The teacher confers during small group or independent work, offering suggestions to students.
• The teacher uses specifically formulated questions to elicit evidence of student understanding.
• The teacher asks student to look over their papers to correct their errors; most of them engage in this task.

In a distinguished classroom...

Assessment is fully integrated into instruction, through extensive use of formative assessment.  Students appear to be aware of, and there is some evidence they have contributed to, the assessment criteria. Questions and assessments are used regularly to diagnose evidence of learning by individual students.  A variety of forms of feedback, from both teacher and peers, is accurate and specific and advances learning.  Students self-assess and monitor their own progress.  The teacher successfully differentiates instruction to address individual students' misunderstandings.

Carly has students use their arm to show where they hear "th" within a word.
She is able to quickly identify misconceptions with this formative assessment.

What might this look like?

• The teacher reminds students of the characteristics of high-quality work, observing that the students themselves helped develop them.
• While students are working, the teacher confers, providing specific feedback to individual students.
• The teacher uses exit tickets to elicit evidence of individual student understanding.
• Students offer feedback to their classmates on their work.
• Student evaluate a piece of their writing against the rubric or writing checklists and confer with the teacher about how it could be improved.

Things to reflect upon...

• Are the standards of high quality work clear to your students?
• How do you collect evidence of student learning?
• How do you use the evidence to plan responsive instruction?
• How do you involve students in in assessment of their own work?
• How do you provide specific and timely feedback?

* Much of this work about the Danielson Framework comes directly from a "Teachscape" information document called "Framework for Teaching."

Comment question of the week:

How do you use assessment for learning to drive flexible grouping?

Remember to encourage your team to comment as well! 

Check out STEM Community Day's Cardboard Challenge!  

It was a great day!

Danielson Domain 2b: Establishing a Culture of Learning

Beverage winners for this week are DeeDee and Sarah M!  We really appreciate the comments you posted to our blog.

This week’s Danielson focus is component 2b: Establishing a Culture of Learning

A “culture for learning” refers to the atmosphere in the classroom that reflects the importance of the work undertaken by both students and teacher. It describes the norms that govern interactions among individuals about the activities and assignments, the look of the classroom, and the general tone of the class. A classroom with a strong culture for learning is characterized by high cognitive energy, by a sense that what is happening there is important, and that it is essential to get it right. There are high expectations for all students, and the classroom is a place where the teacher and students value learning and hard work.

The elements of component 2b are:

• Importance of the content and of learning

In a classroom with a strong culture for learning, teachers convey the education value of what the students are learning.

• Expectations for learning and achievement

In classrooms with robus cultures for learning, all students receive the message that although the work is challenging, they are capable of achieving it if they are prepared to work hard.  A manifestation of teachers’ expectations for high student achievement is their insistence on the use of precise language by students.

• Student pride in work

When students are convinced of their capabilities, they are willing to devote energy to the task at hand, and they take pride in their accomplishments.  This pride is reflected in their interactions with classmates and with the teacher.

In a proficient classroom:

The classroom culture is a place where learning is valued by all; high expectations for both learning and hard work are the norm for most students.  Students understand their role as learners and consistently expend effort to learn.  Classroom interactions support learning, hard work and the precise use of language.

What might this look like?

-The teacher communicates the importance of the content and the conviction that with hard work all student can master the material.-The teacher demonstrates a high regard for students’ abilities.

-The teacher conveys an expectation of high levels of student effort.-Students expend good effort to complete work of high quality.

-The teacher insists on precise use of language by students.

In a distinguished classroom:

The classroom culture is a cognitively busy place, characterized by a shared belief in the importance of learning.  The teacher conveys high expectations for learning for all students and insists on hard work; students assume responsibility for high quality by initiating improvements, making revisions, adding detail and/or assisting peers in their precise use of language.

What might this look like?

-The teacher communicates passion for the subject.

-The teacher conveys the satisfaction that accompanies a deep 

understanding of complex comment.

-Students indicate through their questions and comments a desire to 

understand the content.

-Students assist their classmates in understanding the content.

-Students take initiative in improving the quality of their work.

-Students correct one another in their use of language.

Thoughts about your practice:

What expectations do you hold for specific students?

How do you convey high expectations for all through personalized learning experiences?

How do you guide students to produce high quality evidence of learning?

What beliefs about learning are conveyed in words and actions from you as well

as your students?

The majority of the content of this post comes from "Framework for Teaching" from Teachscape.

Resources for Deepening Understanding of 2b:

Marzano Framework

Opening Minds by Peter Johnston

Article

This week’s comment question: As we spend our conference time setting goals for students, how have you engaged students to reflect on their own progress and work towards those goals?

2d: Managing Student Behavior

Congratulations to this week’s morning beverage winners, Will and Laurie!  Thanks for sharing your thinking!

Thanks for your focused and deep thinking on Monday as we reflected on our collaboration and teaming, developed our visions, and explored SLOs.  Remember to strive for True Teaming!  We hope you had some fun during our Minute to Win It break.  Congratulations to the winning team!

As students are settling into the school year and becoming more comfortable in your levels...  In order for students to be able to deeply engage with learning, the classroom environment must be orderly and productive, without being authoritarian.  Have standards of conduct been established in your classroom and your level?  Do students know what they allowed to do and what they can expect their classmates to do?

This week we are exploring Danielson’s Domain 2: Classroom Environment by focusing on Component 2d: Managing Student Behavior.  The elements that make up component 2d are:

• Expectations
• Expectations for student conduct have been established and that they are being implemented.
• Monitoring of Student Behavior
• Teachers are attuned to what’s happening in the classroom and can move subtly to help students, when necessary, re-engage with the content being addressed in the lesson.  At a high level, such monitoring is preventative and subtle.
• Response to Student Misbehavior
• Even experienced teachers find that their students occasionally violate one of the agreed-upon standards; how the teacher responds to such infractions is an important mark of the teacher’s skill.  Teachers try to understand why students are acting the way they are and respond in a way that respects the dignity of the student.  The best responses address misbehavior early in an episode, whenever possible.

In a proficient classroom for Managing Student Behavior:

Student behavior is generally appropriate.  The teacher monitors student behavior against established standards of conduct.  Teacher response to student misbehavior is consistent, proportionate, and respectful to students and is effective (Danielson rubric, 2013).

What might this look like?

• Upon a nonverbal signal from the teacher, students correct their behavior.
• The teacher moves to every section of the classroom, keeping a close eye on student behavior.

In a distinguished classroom, student behavior is entirely appropriate.  Students take an active role in monitoring their own behavior and/or that of other students against standards of conduct.  Teacher monitoring of student behavior is subtle and preventative.  The teacher’s response to student misbehavior is sensitive to individual student needs and respects students’ dignity (Danielson rubric, 2013).

What might this look like?

• A student suggests a revision to one of the classroom rules.
• The teacher notices that some students are talking among themselves and without a word moves nearer to them; the talking stops.
• The teacher speaks privately to a student about misbehavior.
• A student reminds her classmates of the class rule about chewing gum.

Things to reflect upon...

• Are clear standards of conduct established in your room and across your level?
• How do you reinforce positive behaviors?
• How do you respond to student misbehavior?
• Does student behavior allow them to fully engage in content?
• Do students keep one another accountable for their behavior?

* Much of this work about the Danielson Framework comes directly from a "Teachscape" information document called "Framework for Teaching."


Comment question of the week: What was one aha you had about teaming during Monday's work?
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