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Foghlaim
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Forbairt
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Assessment for
Learning (AfL)
Enhancing Teaching and
Learning
in the Classroom
Workshop One - 2013/14
©PDST 2014
Key Messages
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Assessment is at the heart of effective
teaching and learning
Assessment information is used to identify
learning needs and adjust teaching
Three interrelated and complementary
approaches support student achievement:
 Assessment of learning
 Assessment for learning
 Assessment as learning
©PDST 2014
Learning Outcome:
Enable participants to use assessment to enhance
teaching and learning in the classroom.
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Success Criteria:
 Define assessment
 Distinguish assessment of, for and as learning
 Know the key elements of assessment for learning
 Write learning outcomes
 Suggest activities/tasks to achieve the learning
outcomes
 Devise success criteria
 Focus on effective feedback
©PDST 2014
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©PDST 2014
Defining Assessment
“Assessment in education is about
gathering, interpreting and using
information about the processes and
outcomes of learning”.
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“It takes different forms and can be
used in a variety of ways...”
Assessment in the Primary School Curriculum –
Guidelines for Schools. NCCA 2007 p.7
http://www.juniorcycle.ie/About.aspx
©PDST 2014
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School Self Evaluation (SSE)
The SSE Guidelines recommend that schools:
 Use a range of assessment methods – not just
those linked to state exams
 Involve students in the assessment of their
work
 Monitor and correct students work
 Provide constructive feedback to students.
 Use assessment information to inform
planning
 Have a written policy on assessment
©PDST 2014
Continuum of assessment
NCCA, 2007
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©PDST 2014
Learning Outcome:
Enable participants to use assessment to enhance
teaching and learning in the classroom.
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Success Criteria:
 Define assessment
 Distinguish assessment of, for and as learning
 Know the key elements of assessment for learning
 Write learning outcomes
 Suggest activities/tasks to achieve the learning
outcomes
 Devise success criteria
 Focus on effective feedback
©PDST 2014
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Assessment OF
Learning (Summative)
Happens after learning
takes place
Information is gathered
by teacher
Information is usually
transferred into marks
Comparison with
performance of others
Looks back on past
learning
©PDST 2014
Assessment FOR
Learning (Formative)
An integral part of
learning process
Information is shared
with learner
Information is available
on quality of learning
Is linked to learning
outcomes and success
criteria
Looks forward to the next
stage of learning
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Reflect on Current Practice
Assessment of and for learning.....
Source: “Putting Assessment for Learning into Practice,” David Spendlove, 2009)
©PDST 2014
Assessment for Learning (formative) is not an
attack on assessment of learning (summative
assessment).
These are complementary approaches - it’s about
getting the balance right.
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It is the teacher who decides the balance and
timing of formative and summative assessments;
(“Putting Assessment for Learning into Practice,” David Spendlove, 2009)
©PDST 2014
Assessment for Learning (AfL)
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Enables teachers and students to focus on three
key questions 1. Where are students now in their learning?
2. Where are students going in their learning?
3. How will students get to the next point in
their learning?
NCCA Assessment Guidelines p9.
©PDST 2014
Assessment for Learning:
Key Elements
1.
2.
3.
4.
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5.
Learning Outcomes and Success Criteria
Effective Feedback
Effective Questioning
Self assessment - Students as owners of
their own learning
Peer Assessment - Students as
Instructional resources for each other
Assessment for learning strategies need to be
phased into practice over time.
AfL Assessment for Learning – A Practical Guide 2010 p38
©PDST 2014
Junior Cycle Framework
Key Skills
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Literacy
Numeracy
©PDST 2014
Learning Outcomes
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Learning Outcomes are an explicit
description of what a learner should
know, understand and be able to do as
a result of learning.
(Learning and Teaching Institute, Sheffield Hallam University)
©PDST 2014
Learning Outcomes
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We Are Learning To
write a letter/report
design an experiment
add fractions with
mixed numbers
©PDST 2014
Learning Outcomes
“Lessons are guided by syllabus-linked learning
outcomes that are shared with the students.”
SSE Guidelines
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Example: Students will be able to:
Plan a balanced breakfast menu for two
Demonstrate understanding of the concept of plate
tectonics
Explain how the respiratory system works.
©PDST 2014
Devising Learning Outcomes
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State learning outcomes simply and clearly.
Learning Outcomes should be capable of
being validly assessed – a verb should be
used in the statement.
 Plan a balanced breakfast menu for two
 Demonstrate understanding of the concept of
plate tectonics
 Describe the environmental effects of a natural
disaster
©PDST 2014
Separating the Learning Outcome
from the Context of Learning
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The context of learning is simply the actions,
activities and/or tasks students will be doing to
achieve the Learning Outcome.
Learning Outcome
Context of Learning
Write clear instructions
How to bake a cake
Present an argument for or
against a controversial
proposition
Identify metaphors
Four corner discussion on the
statement, “student benefit
should be reduced”
Lake Isle of Inisfree
Identify the parts of an organ
Dissection of heart
©PDST 2014
Separating the Learning Outcome
from the Context of Learning
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The context of learning is simply the actions,
activities and/or tasks students will be doing to
achieve the Learning Outcome.
Learning Outcome
Context of Learning
Demonstrate a good general
knowledge of, and an
appreciation for, the
uniqueness of each age and
civilisation (K,A)
Study of Greek and Roman
civilisation
©PDST 2014
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©PDST 2014
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If the learning outcome is free of context it can
illustrate to students that there are many reasons
for learning the concept
Learning Outcome
with Context
What students
thought they were
learning
Learning Outcome
without Context
What students
thought they were
learning now
To write
instructions to
make a sandwich
“I would learn how
to make a
sandwich”
To write
instructions
“We would be
learning how to
write instructions”
To know why
Samuel Pepys is
important in
understanding the
events of the Great
Fire of London
“We would be
learning about
what happened and
what he wrote. We
would also learn
how to put a fire
out.”
To know how
primary sources
help us to find out
about the past
“We would learn
how other people
lived in previous
centuries.”
From Clarke, S. (2005) Formative Assessment in Action:
Weaving the elements together
©PDST 2014
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©PDST 2014
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http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=qw-Efx6gj-U
©PDST 2014
Workshop Activity
Use the subject-based statements on the worksheet to:
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1. Write a clear learning outcome
2. Identify a context of learning (task/activity/teaching
approach etc.)
Learning Outcome
Context of Learning
Identify metaphors
Lake Isle of Innisfree. Key
skills
©PDST 2014
Success Criteria
Success Criteria suggest ways to achieve a learning
outcome.
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“How will I know when I have learned?”
“How will I know when I have achieved the learning
outcome?”
The learning outcome and the success
criteria need to be visually displayed
WILF - What I’m Looking For
©PDST 2014
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©PDST 2014
Success criteria can be a
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 series of steps/sequence of instructions
 list of options/menu from which the
students can choose
 list of “remember to” prompts
 visual aide memoir
©PDST 2014
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©PDST 2014
Success Criteria – menu/list of options
 Learning Outcome:
Create a written character portrait
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 What will you need to do to achieve this?
(Success Criteria)
Include some or all of the following
 Appearance
 Hobbies and interests
 Personality traits
 Attitude to self/others
 Occupation
 How others respond to the character.....
©PDST 2014
Success Criteria
“remember to” use prompts
We are learning to :
Make a Clear Poster
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Success Criteria – Remember to:
Make all your letters the same size
Use dark colours
Don’t use yellow
Put pictures around the edge not the middle
Check that you have copied all the words and dates
correctly
©PDST 2014
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFLnNJeV90
©PDST 2014
Writing Success Criteria
THINK - What are the elements of the topic I’m
going to teach?
Example
Learning Outcome
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Describe the environmental effects of
earthquakes
Success Criteria
 State one effect on each of the following:
 Human Life
 Man Made Structures
 The Natural Environment
©PDST 2014
1st Year Business Studies: Syllabus Link:
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Enterprise: Transportation and Delivery Systems;
Factors affecting choice of delivery systems
Learning
Outcome
Context of
Learning
Success
Criteria
Students will be able to
evaluate the main types of
transportation which are
suitable for transporting
goods
In pairs, students will write
a report for a company
involved in selling goods
abroad, advising them of
the best method of
transporting their goods
abroad.
Present a report that will:
Explain the four main
types of transport (road,
rail, sea and air)
Explain the factors that a
company should take into
account when choosing a
suitable form of transport
Recommend a method of
transporting goods abroad
©PDST 2014
3rd Year History. Syllabus link: Understanding
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the modern world; International History in the
20th Century; Nazi Germany
Learning
Outcome
Context of
Learning
Success
Criteria
Students will be able to
evaluate the role of women
in Nazi society
Describe in detail, in diary
form, the lifestyle of a
woman in Nazi Germany
Students will be able to:
identify the role of
women in Nazi society
Discuss the changes that
have taken place in the
lifestyle of women as a
result of Hitler’s rule
©PDST 2014
Workshop Activity
Write success criteria for the learning
outcomes previously identified!
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Learning
Outcome
©PDST 2014
Context of
Learning
Success
Criteria
Effective Feedback
“Feedback is among the most powerful
moderators of learning”
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Hattie, 2012
©PDST 2014
Effective feedback
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Oral – most powerful impact
Marks/grading only- does little to improve
learning
Written comment - quality more important
than frequency
©PDST 2014
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Principles of Effective Feedback
Involves more work for receiver than the
giver
 Timely
 Clear and focused
 Attached to the learning outcomes and
success criteria
©PDST 2014
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Concrete, specific and useful; therefore it
is actionable.
Can a student take action to the following
examples of feedback?
“Good job!”, “B+”, “I’m so pleased with
your essay!”
©PDST 2014
User friendly: understandable language;
concentrate on one or two key elements of
performance
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Too much feedback can be counterproductive
©PDST 2014
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• Ongoing!!
Feedback only works formatively if the
student has opportunity to improve to better
achieve the learning outcome. In summative
assessment the feedback is too late.
©PDST 2014
Effective Feedback Techniques
Three Questions:
asking the students to reflect
on their work and move it forward
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Spot your own mistake
©PDST 2014
Marking Work
Success and Improvement
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 Underline/put a star beside/highlight/
remark on the two best aspects of the
work.
 Indicate where an improvement
could be made (the ‘wish’).
 Should be done against the learning
outcome and/or success criteria.
©PDST 2014
‘Closing the gap’ prompts
 A reminder Prompt (e.g. use more adverbs and
adjectives here. )
 A scaffolded prompt (e.g. Use some adverbs to
describe how he fought.
Jason tried_________ to distract him but the dragon ______ly used
his strength to get past. Jason stabbed his sword _______ly into the
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dragon’s nearest side.
 An example prompt –Give two examples and ask
student to “improve the fight by using one of
these or your own”
©PDST 2014
‘Closing the gap’ prompts
 A reminder Prompt (e.g. use a quote to back up
your opinion )
 A scaffolded prompt (e.g. Use some adverbs to
describe how he fought.
Hector tried_________ to distract him but Achilles ______ly used his
strength to get past. Achilles stabbed his sword _______ly into
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Hector’s body.
 An example prompt –Give two examples and ask
student to improve their opinion by using one of
these or your own
©PDST 2014
Feedback vs Advice
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• Feedback must be linked to the learning
outcome and success criteria as well as
moving the learning forward, otherwise it
tends to become either a judgement or
advice.
• Can you spot the difference?
©PDST 2014
You need more examples in your report
I’d like you to find two other quotes to
support your argument.
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I really enjoyed reading your short story
Good job: B+
©PDST 2014
Feedback using
Learning Outcomes and Success Criteria
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• Learning Outcome – Design a tourist
brochure
• Context – choose your own/assigned
• Success Criteria – Include
 A map(s) showing the location of at least five famous
tourist attractions
 Interesting and relevant information
 Pictures/drawings
 Brochure clear and well laid out
• Feedback – oral/written using the LO &SC
©PDST 2014
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Assessing Progress During Lessons
Asking key questions:
to measure student progress in learning
orally
to generate class discussion
use open questions
higher order questions
©PDST 2014
Strategies for Effective Questioning
• Use ‘open’ rather than ‘closed’
questions
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– E.g. Is Iago or Othello responsible for
Othello’s downfall?
©PDST 2014
Strategies for Effective Questioning
• Change the question into a statement:
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Instead of asking: “Who was most
responsible for the Irish Civil War?”
Make a statement: “DeValera was
responsible for the Irish Civil War.”
©PDST 2014
Strategies for Effective Questioning
Invert the question
e.g.: “Is Ireland a republic?”
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Change to:
“What does it mean for a country to
become a republic?”
©PDST 2014
Strategies for Effective Questioning
Insert the word “might” into the question
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“What is the meaning of socialism?”
“What might be the meaning of socialism?”
©PDST 2014
Strategies for Effective Questioning
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Start your questions with
“why” or “how”
Instead of asking: “What is a prime
number?”
Ask: “Why is 7 a prime number and 9 a
composite number?
©PDST 2014
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Strategies for Effective Questioning
Start your questions with
“why” or “how”
Instead of asking: “What was life like
under the Taliban?”
Ask: “How were the lives of men and
women
different under the Taliban?”
©PDST 2014
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Assessment
It is essential that teachers
ensure that AfL does not
become a set of teaching tips
that ultimately fall into
unthinking routines of traffic
lights, two stars, WALT boards,
success criteria and so on.
AfL – A Practical Guide (N. I Curriculum) pii
©PDST 2014
For Next Time
Plan and teach lesson to include:
 Sharing learning outcomes with students
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 Agreeing success criteria with students, and the
 Provision of effective written/oral feedback
 If possible, note one or two questions that
generated dynamic class discussion
©PDST 2014
Forbairt
Foghlaim
www. pdst. ie
© PDST 2014
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Please cite as: PDST, PowerPoint Presentation Title, 2014
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