Using Assessment to Support Teaching
and Learning in the Classroom
Cornelius Young
corneliusyoung@pdst.ie
087-6539013
The Professional Development Service for Teachers is funded by the
Department of Education and Science under the National Development Plan
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Cooperative
Learning
Assessment
for Learning
Leadership
Development
EAL
Inclusion
ICT in
Teaching &
Learning
Classroom
Management
Learning
Styles
Differentiated
Strategies
School
Planning
Active
Learning
Problem
Solving
Mental Maths
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Certificate
Applied
Post-primary
Languages
Business &
Enterprise
Subjects
Professional
Development
Service for
Teachers
Maths
Planning
Portfolio
Assessment
Post Primary
Sciences
Child
Protection
Reflective
School
Cultural &
Environmental
Subjects
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Year
Practical
Maths
Transfer from
Primary to
Secondary
Reading
Recovery
Tús Maith
Reading
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Spreag an
Ghaeilge le
Spraoi
Leading
Planning
Professional Development Service for Teachers
T.J. Ó Ceallaigh
Regional Coordinator
tjoceallaigh@pdst.ie
(087) 9135319
Cliodhna Breen
Regional Advisor
cliodhnabreen@pdst.ie
(087)1255610
Cornelius Young
Regional Advisor
corneliusyoung@pdst.ie
(087) 2699754
Elaine O' Connor
Regional Advisor
elaineoconnor@pdst.ie
(086) 8205916
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Sharing the Learning Intentions
Compare different modes of Assessment and
describe how they can be applied in your
teaching

Describe how you can develop Questioning
skills in Assessment for Learning in your
classes

Describe the benefits of Peer and Self
Assessment and how they can be applied in
your class

l...

Professional Development Service for Teachers
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment for Learning
What am I
learning?
How will this
inform my
teaching?
Professional Development Service for Teachers
K-W-L Chart
Know already
Want to Know
Learnt
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
What do you understand by
‘Assessment’
• How do you assess your
students currently?
• What is the purpose of
assessment?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment is the process of gathering
information about children’s learning
Feedback
Screening
Certification
Purpose of
Learning
Diagnosis
Learning
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment in education is about
gathering, interpreting and using
information about the processes and
outcomes of learning.
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Schemes of assessment should:
• Provide information about what students know and what
they can do
• Enhance the quality of learning
• Measure progress made by students
• Certify achievement
• Motivate
• Supply information for teachers, students and parents
that enables them to direct future strategies for teaching
and learning
• Allow and encourage students to become reflective and
independent learners
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Types of Assessment
OF
Assessment
FOR
Learning
AS
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Traffic Lighting
Can Not Understand
Not Too Sure
Clear Understanding
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Traffic Lighting
• To get an overview of the
understanding of the class
• Topic checklists are completed at
the start of a topic and the
information used by the teacher to
structure the planned learning greens first, reds later
• At the end of the topic, students
re-traffic light their understanding
of the learning outcomes and list
what they need to do - make the
basis of a revision lesson
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment OF Learning
Summative Assessment
• Happens after the learning takes place
• Information is gathered by the teacher
• Information is usually transformed into
marks or grades
• Looks back on past learning
• Comparison with the performance of
others
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Summative Assessment
• Tests
• Practical exercises
Purpose:
• To find out what pupils know, understand
and can do (do not know, understand...)
• What progress have they made?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment FOR learning
Formative assessment
• An integral part of the learning process
• Clarifies for students what is to be learned and
what success would look like.
• Give useful and timely feedback to students
• Comparison with aims and objectives is
important
• Helps students to identify the next steps they
need to take and who can help them.
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Formative Assessment
• Questioning
• Feedback (marking and oral)
• Peer and Self Assessment
Purpose:
• To help pupils learn
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment ‘processes’...
Traditional / typical:
instruct
instruct
instruct
instruct
then assess
assess
AfL:
assess
instruct
assess
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment OF
Learning
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
Assessment FOR
Learning
An integral part of
learning process
Information is shared
with learner
Information is available
on quality of learning
Comparison with aims
and objectives is
important
Looks forward to the
next stage of learning 20
Professional Development Service for Teachers
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Assessment AS Learning
Enables students to:
• Identify and reflect on elements of their
own learning
• Set their own learning targets
• Practice self and peer assessment.
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Research Findings OECD 2005
Formative Assessment
“The achievement gains associated with formative
assessment have been described as among the
largest ever reported for educational
interventions”
Formative assessment also improves equity of
student outcomes. Schools which use formative
assessment show not only general gains in
academic achievement, but also particularly high
gains for previously underachieving students
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Research Findings OECD 2005
Formative Assessment
• Attendance and retention of learning are also
improved, as well as the quality of students’
work
Formative Assessment: Improving Learning in
Secondary Classrooms (OECD 2005)
• Whole school evaluation and subject inspection
now recognise formative assessment as critical
to effective teaching and learning
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
AfL is characterised by five
principles:
1. Sharing the Learning Intention
2. Sharing the Criteria for Success
3. Quality Questioning based on Criteria
for Success
4. Providing Feedback based on Criteria
for Success
5. Peer & Self Assessment
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Sharing the Learning Intentions
Compare different modes of Assessment and
describe how they can be applied in your
teaching


Describe how you can develop Questioning
skills in Assessment forWhat
Learning
in your
is the
Criteria for Success?
classes
1.

Describe the benefits of2.clarifying the
Learning Outcomes at the beginning of a
3.
lesson

...
Professional Development Service for Teachers
How well can you draw?
• The NCCA has devised
a short course called
Houseology.
• As a student sitting the
first exam, your task is to
draw a house and give it
a name
• You have 40 seconds
• Best of luck
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Success criteria
Grade D
• The house has at least two windows
Grade C
• The house has a door, roof and a chimney
Grade B
• The drawing is three dimensional in nature
Grade A
• The house has a name that reflects its features
• At least two decorative techniques have been
used including smoke coming from the chimney
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Sharing the Learning Intention
• Students should have clear notion of learning intention of
each lesson (put on board at start of class)
• The learning intention is what you hope students will
know, understand or be able to do by the end of
lesson
Examples:
- By the end of this lesson you should be able to
separate sand, salt and water
- By the end of this lesson you should be able to
understand the character of ….
- By the end of this lesson you should be able to
draw a diagram of …
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Success Criteria
How will I know whether I've achieved the learning
intention?
We are learning to use effective adjectives in our
writing...
• What I am looking for is that you have used at
least 5 effective adjectives in your paragraph
• What I am looking for is that you have used at
least 4 adjectives which describe the jungle
Professional Development Service for Teachers
LCA Graphics & Construction 2008
Professional Development Service for Teachers
LC English 2008 Ordinary
CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT
The tasks set for candidates in both Paper 1 and Paper 2
will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria:
Clarity of Purpose (P) 30% of the marks available for the
task
Coherence of Delivery (C) 30% of the marks available for
the task
Efficiency of Language Use (L) 30% of the marks available
for the task
Accuracy of Mechanics (M) 10% of the marks available for
the task
Professional Development Service for Teachers
What Contribution
can Questioning
Make to Learning
Learning Intention
How would you
define a good
Question…
Criteria for Success
Professional Development Service for Teachers
A Quick Test!!!!
'Corandic is an emurient grof
with many fribs. It granks from
corite, an olg which carps like
lange.............'
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Good use of questions
• How would you define a good question? (Why
do you ask questions in class?)
–
–
–
–
Causes students to think
Promotes discussion
One to which every child has an answer
One which has a purpose
• Some students, for various reasons, do not
answer in class, how do you encourage these
students to answer in class?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Count
Define
Find
Analyse
Apply
Illustrate
Choose
Choose
Judge
Compare
Classify
Label
Conclude Compose
Make
Construct
Critic
Name
Decide
Debate
Perform
Demonstrate Design
Predict
Describe
Discuss
Produce
Develop Distinguish
Rank
Differentiate
Draw
Recite
Examine
Evaluate
Relate
Identify
Rewrite
Integrate
Select
Justify
Select
List
Summarise
Organise Role-play
Outline
Show
Paraphrase
Write
Plan
Teach
Prepare
Explain
Prove
Identify
Quote
Report
Rate
Review
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Knowledge
Count, Define, Describe, Draw,
Find, Identify, Label, List,
Match, Name, Quote, Recall,
Recite, Sequence, Tell, Write
Comprehension
Conclude, Demonstrate, Discuss,
Explain, Generalise, Identify,
Illustrate, Interpret,
Paraphrase, Predict, Report,
Restate, Review, Summarise,
Tell
Application
Apply, Change, Choose,
Compute, Dramatise,
Interview, Prepare, Produce,
Role-play, Select, Show,
Transfer, Use
Analysis
Analyse, Characterise, Classify,
Compare, Contrast, Debate,
Deduce, Diagram, Differentiate,
Discriminate, Distinguish,
Examine, Outline, Relate,
Research, Separate,
Synthesis
Compose, Construct, Create,
Design, Develop, Integrate,
Invent, Make, Organise, Perform,
Plan, Produce, Propose, Rewrite
Evaluation
Appraise, Argue, Assess, Choose,
Conclude, Critic, Decide,
Evaluate, Judge, Justify, Predict,
Prioritise, Prove, Rank, Rate,
Select,
Professional Development Service for Teachers
BLOOM’S REVISED TAXONOMY
Creating
Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things
Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.
Evaluating
Justifying a decision or course of action
Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging
Analysing
Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships
Comparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, finding
Applying
Using information in another familiar situation
Implementing, carrying out, using, executing
Understanding
Explaining ideas or concepts
Interpreting, summarising, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining
Remembering
Recalling information
Recognising, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
AfL – questioning
type of questions...
Professional Development Service for Teachers
AfL – questioning
what? who? when? how many? state...
one word type answers
useful to check who learned facts
Professional Development Service for Teachers
AfL – questioning
can you be sure that? what would happen if?
how would you explain? what does that tell
you? what is wrong with saying?
answers longer & more varied
useful to promote thinking skills
Professional Development Service for Teachers
How can we encourage
students to ask questions?
Working in pairs, list below 2 strategies for
encouraging students to ask or formulate
questions.
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Use of Questions
When looking at questioning in the classroom we
should consider:
– Wait time
– Variety of questioning
– Developing key questions (for key stages of the
lesson)
– Quality of questions (why does..? Could you
explain..?)
– Well thought out questions
– Involving more than one student in the answer
– No Hands Up
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Effects of
Increased Wait Time
•
•
•
•
Longer answers
Decreased failure of response
Increased confidence of response
Students challenged and/or
improved answers of other students
• More alternative explanations
offered
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Read the extracts
carefully and answer
the following questions:
• What is the teacher
doing with his
questioning?
• What is the lesson like
for the learners?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Subject Specific
From a few
Questions for a
Topic you are
Covering tomorrow
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Classroom Strategies:
Ask Better Questions
– Ask fewer questions.
– Variety of questions
– Sequence questions.
• Involve more than one
student in the answer
• Involve the whole class.
– Prepare key questions
• Think, pair, share, square.
– Developing key
questions (for key stages
of the lesson)
– Quality of questions (why
does..? Could you
explain..?)
– Well thought out
questions
• Wait-time (1 and 2)
• Try no hands up.
• Traffic lights
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Question Stems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How can we be sure that ...?
What is the same and what is different about …?
Is it ever/always true/false that …?
Why do ____, ____ and ____ all give the same answer?
How do you ….?
How would you explain …?
What does that tell us about …?
What is wrong with …?
Why is _____ true?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Feedback through marking
• How clear is the feedback we give the students?
–
–
–
–
‘you must try harder’
‘develop these ideas further’
‘good work keep it up’
‘more detailed needed here’
• How does the student interpret the feedback?
– ‘a tick means he probably likes it’
– ‘there is a lot of writing at end this means it is bad’
– ‘this is one of my best because my hand writing is
neat, I checked my spellings and I put in the date’
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Feedback
Teacher marking
[peer assessment]
[self assessment]
[summative as formative]
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Examples of Ineffective
Feedback
• “Good work.” “Well done!”
• “Needs more effort!”
• C+ or 67%
More Effective Feedback
“You’re paragraph has a
clear and engaging topic
sentence. Provide at least
three details from the text
to support your opinion.”
Guidelines
1. Descriptive rather than evaluative
2. Focused on the learning goals and the success criteria
3. Limited to a few traits or characteristics of student
performance
4. Timely
5. Implemented by students and monitored by the teacher
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Study 1:
4 schools, 12 classes
Lesson 1 work given, marked as follows:
• 4 classes awarded marks
• 4 classes given comments only
• 4 classes awarded both marks and
comments
Question: Which set of classes performed
best?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
• 2nd piece of work given. Students told they’d get
same kind of feedback
• Students given marks only made slight/no gain
• Students given comments only scored, on
average, 30% more on second occasion
• Students given both mark and grade made no
progress
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Study 2 –200 students
Feedback given on first piece of work as
follows:
•
•
•
•
¼ of students given comments
¼ students given grades
¼ students given praise
¼ given no feedback at all
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
2nd piece of work done and
examined
• Those given comments had improved
substantially
• Those given grades and praise had made
no more progress than those given
absolutely no feedback
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
AfL – feedback
A
B
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Effective Feedback
Feedback is most effective when it
confirms the students:
•
Strengths
•
Weaknesses
•
where to go Next
(S.W.N.)
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Feedback and Motivation
• Timing of feedback is crucial
• Minimal intervention promotes better learning
• Feedback should focus on what needs to be
done to improve, rather than on how well the
student has done
• Feedback should be designed to lead students
to believe ability is incremental, not fixed.
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Peer and Self Assessment
• Self Assessment
– Students are involved in and responsible for
assessing their own piece of work (students know
criteria for success)
• Peer Assessment
– Students are involved in assessment of the work of
other students (students have to have a clear
understanding of what to look for in their peers’ work)
• Peer and self assessment are often considered
together. Peer assessment can help self
assessment. By judging the work of others,
students gain insight into their own performance.
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Self assessment
•
•
•
•
•
Traffic lights system
Mark own work using marking scheme
Use checking sheets
Graphic Organisers
Flash Cards
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Self Assessment
• Children looking at their own work in a
reflective way - metacognition
• Whole class, group , individual
• Criteria must be agreed beforehand by the
teacher
• Fosters independence and motivation and
positive classroom climate
• Can be shared with other parties
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Self assessment - How
• Writing process- drafting, revising, editing
and publishing
• Choosing the best samples of his/her work
to include in a portfolio
• Creating, talking about, and recording
musical compositions
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Peer assessment
• Mark own work in small groups using text-books
• Group marking of questions - Compare answers
and decide which is the best answer
• 1 + 1 = Students in groups given a problem or
similar exercise and asked to present findings to
class – peers asked to identify one learning
point and make one suggestion to improve
Caroline O’Brien Clip
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Sharing the Learning Intentions
Compare different modes of Assessment and
describe how they can be applied in your
teaching

Describe how you can develop Questioning
skills in Assessment for Learning in your
classes

Describe the benefits of Peer and Self
Assessment and how they can be applied in
your class

...

Thank you for your
contributions during the
session
Please complete and return the
evaluation Forms.
Cornelius Young
corneliusyoung@pdst.ie
087-6539013
The Second Level Support Service is funded by the Department of
Education and Science under the National Development Plan
69
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Thinking Skills Table
A
B
C
D
Students'
actual use
of thinking
skills
Uses strategies
and can selfevaluate
strategies'
effectiveness; will
try new one if
needed
Will use new
strategy if
teacher
prompts
Will use
strategy only
when directed
by teacher.
Requires
teacher direct
contact and
modelling of
specific strategy
to use
Students'
awareness
of strategy
use
Student has 3 or
more strategies in
his/her repertoire
specifically taught.
Student has 2
strategies in
his/her
repertoire
specifically
taught.
Student is
aware of
generic
strategies
(study, ask,
etc.)
No strategy
awareness.
Students'
awareness
of their own
thinking
Student is lucid
and able to
expound on his
metacognitive
strategies.
Student can
verbalise
some thought
processes
behind
thinking.
Student
verbalises
awareness of
thinking but not
actual 'self-talk'
or analysis of
thinking.
Student has no
understanding
of
metacognition.
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Graphic Organisers
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Flash Cards
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Continuum of assessment
Professional Development Service for Teachers
KWL
• Know
• Want
• Learnt
(KWHL -How)
Professional Development Service for Teachers
PMI diagram
• Plus
• Minus
• Interesting
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Talk Partners
3 things learnt
• Easy
• Difficult
• Future learning
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Check lists
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Thumbs up – thumbs down
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Other Self assessment tools
•
•
•
•
•
WWW EBI
Ladder
2 stars and a wish
Numerical scale of understanding 1-5
Prompts –
– the most important thing I learnt was
– what I found difficult was
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Conferencing
• Sharing of knowledge and understanding
of the child’s work
• Simple conversation or planned meeting
• Encourages listening, openness and
feedback
• Could concern a single product of learning
or a general learning experience
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Portfolio
• Collection of child’s work
–
–
–
–
shows improvement
shows range of work
shows strengths and interests
shows best work
• Evidence of progress across a strand, strand
unit or a theme or topic
• Hard copy and / or electronically (e-portfolios)
• Can represent AfL and AoL
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Concept mapping
• Graphic organisers or picture summaries
of the child’s understanding of ideas and
the relationships between ideas.
• Rich insights into children’s learning and
mis –conceptions
• Used at the beginning, middle or end of a
unit of work
• Good for children with learning difficulties
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Teacher Observation
• Immediate and accurate information
• Learning needs
• How pupils acquire and master different
skills
• Ability to transfer skills and knowledge
• How a pupil collaborates with others
• Different types
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Teacher as Observer
Some Early at Risk Indicators 4 (Numeracy)Class:
Number
Concept
Pupil 1
Pupil 2
Pupil 3
Pupil 4
Pupil 5
Pupil 6
Recognising
and naming
of numerals
1-5
Concept
Naming
Development five
shapes
Naming of
five colours
Professional Development Service for Teachers
•
•
•
•
Teacher Designed Tasks and
Tests
Oral assignments
Individual tasks
Group tasks
Paper and pencil
tests
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Guidelines for Written Tests
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
identify purpose at outset
relate to pupil’s interests
start with easy question
vary questions
use subject-verb-object structure
a single question per page
give key information in bold
» NCCA Guidelines 2007
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Consider
• What will be assessed ?
• How will it be assessed?
• How will the assessment be used?
• Do you use assessment to support
progress or identify failure ?
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Written tests
• Teach revision strategies and study skills (appropriate to
your subject)
• Help students to identify for themselves the topics they
most need to revise
• Consider the feedback to be given. It needs to be timely,
specific and include suggestions for ways to improve:
What was good about the work
Areas for improvement
Strategies for improving the work
• Avoid a competitive environment
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Homework
Possible approaches:
• Set the homework at the beginning of the lesson
(particularly effective for underachieving students)
• Provide written criteria for assessment in advance
• Provide exemplars to illustrate standards
• Encourage students to reflect on and improve their work
• Consider the type of feedback (marks / written feedback
/ both?
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
AfL as classroom practice
Plans new
learning
Gathers and
records
information about
what and how of
children’s learning
Using
assessment as
part of
teaching and
learning the
teacher...
Uses variety
methodologies
and strategies
Share learning
intentions
Explores
success criteria
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Planning for AfL (Goal setting)
Strategies
Description
What are we
learning to-day?
Give learning outcomes and purpose of
lesson at start of class in ‘pupil speak’
What am I
looking for?
Show at the outset what students will be
able/required to do to demonstrate
achievement of the learning goals: ‘you
will be able to answer..’ you will know..’
Traffic Light
Grouping
Differentiate lesson according to
difficulty of task by student self grouping,
Green (confident), amber (doubtful), red
(difficulties)
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Planning for AfL (Questioning)
Strategies
Description
Wait time
Systematically allow >5 seconds for all replies to
teachers questions, without interruption
No Hands Up
Select students to answer questions- no
volunteering/hands up
Distributed
Answers
Ensure all students get to answer questions fairly &
systematically calling
Open/Closed
Questions
Vary types of questions: some requiring thinking
and limit recall questions
Think, Pair,
Share
Pair students to discuss and plan questions
Traffic Light
Differentiate students by Green (Known), Amber
(unsure), Red (Not Known)
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
Watch the clip Hot Research
Assessment for Learning
Learning and write down
• Two things that you learned
• Two questions I still have
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Professional Development Service for Teachers
CHANGE
Our Lives
Discontinuity:
Digital Technology
We are here
TIME
© 2007 Marc Prensky
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Learning Preferences of
Digital Natives
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teamwork
Experiential activities
Use of technology
Multitasking
Goal orientation
Collaborative
• Digital Natives are
better at:
– Taking in varied
information
– Making decisions
quickly
– Multitasking
– Parallel processing
– Thinking graphically
(rather than textually)
Oblinger, Diana. “Understanding the New Student.” Educause
Review, 38.3 (2003): 36-42.
Professional Development Service for Teachers
Integrating Technology
• Digital Educational Resources
• Presentation Tools
• Generic and Specialised
Software
• Internet for Communication
• Virtual Learning Environment
• For Publication including
Internet
• Testing
• A range of hardware incl: IWB
• Creating resources eg:
simulations and Multimedia
presentations
• Creating text based work
including Portfolios, Blogs and
typed assignments
• Creating Visual
Representations eg:
Mindmaps, Storyboards and
video
• Sound Recordings eg:
Podcasts
• Producing Multimedia
Presentations
• Online collaboration