GOOD MORNING!
Please find your school’s “What is
learning” poster and hang it on a
wall near your table.
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BUILDING LEADERSHIP TEAMS
(BLT)
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
SECONDARY BUILDINGS
Learning Assessment Process:
Educators Engaged in Responsive Teaching
Using Formative Assessments to “Form” Instruction
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SESSION’S LEARNING TARGETS AND
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS:
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Learning Targets:
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To deepen understanding regarding the LearningAssessment Process
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To gain clarity regarding making instructional
adjustments based on the use of formative assessments
Indicators of Success:
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Summarize understandings and points of uncertainty
regarding the Learning-Assessment Process
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Express applications of instructional adjustments for one’s
work
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CELEBRATIONS
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Our Growth and Success – Sharing Experiences:
Vonnie Houchin– Southwest MS
 Audra Nesland – North MS
 John Julius/Jocelyn Hafner – Stevens HS
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DISCUSS:
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5 min.
What have you seen, experienced,
or done regarding growth in
formative assessments?
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2
1
0
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THE NATURE OF LEARNING
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Learning:
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is active, not passive
involves conceptual changes of increasing complexity
is subjective, personal, and must be internalized
is contextualized and involves meaningful, real-world tasks
is social
is affective and is influenced by self awareness, beliefs about one’s
abilities, and motivation
is impacted by the learning task, and difficulty, relevancy,
authenticity, and novelty effect learning
is influenced by the learner’s development (ZPD)
involves reflection about learning.
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FORMING A PARTNERSHIP WITH STUDENTS
IN THE LEARNING-ASSESSMENT PROCESS
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The Rationale:
 Significant learning gains
 Students put forth more effort
 Greater sense of ownership
 Increased commitment to learning
 More engagement in learning
 Fewer discipline problems
 Increased student achievement
References: Black & Wiliam, 1998; Harlen & Deakin-Crick, 2003; Marzano,
1992, 2005; Sadler, 1989
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Expanding formative assessment practices to
systematically involve students acknowledges students’
contributions to their own success and gives them the
opportunity and structure to become active partners in
improving their learning (Chappuis, 2005).
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CONNECTIONS
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Clarification:
•Time Frame
•Formative Assessment
tool/strategy
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A QUESTION TO CONSIDER
 What’s
the connection between the types
of learning tasks the teacher plans and
designs and the principles of
constructivism?
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GAINING CLARITY
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On the front of the index card please record your
key understandings of the Learning Assessment
Process model
On the back of the index card list any points of
uncertainty you still have with regard to the
model
Share points of uncertainty with team members
and begin to build clarity
The trust group will be modeling this process.
They will be identifying each component as they
are presenting.
10 min.
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4
2
1
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SO WHAT?
 I’ve
assessed my students’ learning.
“So what?”
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INSTRUCTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS
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“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative;
when the guests taste the soup, that’s
summative.”
Robert Stake
“Formative assessment is not an end in itself, but
the beginning of better instruction.”
Carol Ann Tomlinson, 2008
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IMPLEMENTATION IDEAS FOR MARCH 5
Discuss your building’s celebrations
 Revisit how we learn and what is learning
 Introduce the principles of Constructivism
 Emphasize the importance of the partnership
between the teacher & student and the active
role students’ play in their own learning (see
slide # 8)
 Introduce the expanded Learning Assessment
Process
 Identify connections between the orange and the
expanded blue-green model
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IMPLEMENTATION IDEAS – CON’T.
Watch the video from the November BLT looking
through a “new” lens – making instructional
adjustments
 Use the effective instructional adjustments
handout to promote collaboration and sharing of
various strategies
 Model the Learning Assessment Process
 Plan for the development of Constructivism and
the Learning Assessment Process on an ongoing
basis (see slide 19)
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Improving educators’ knowledge, skills, and practices requires collaborative
opportunities to discuss, plan, study, inquire, reflect, and experiment. Since this
cannot occur during a few BLT sessions, a number of resources are provided to
assist in the development of Constructivism and the Learning-Assessment Process
on an ongoing basis:
1.
Springing into Active Learning by Zmuda (2008) - This article supports constructivist
principles and surfaces many issues about learning. Reflection and conversations about
these issues can shift the definition of what learning looks like, sounds like, and feels like
in secondary schools.
2.
Assessment Through the Student’s Eyes by Stiggins (2007) - This article builds
understanding of the emotional dynamics of the assessment experience from the student’s
perspective. Stiggins contends that the goal of formative assessment is to keep failure
from becoming chronic and inevitable in the mind of the learner. The article has
implications for issues associated with motivation, attendance, and drop outs.
3.
Learning Targets and Indicators of Success - This one-page summary provides rationale
and clarity about how to establish clear learning targets and indicators of success.
4.
Assessment For Learning: Help Students Turn Failure into Success - This scenario
illustrates how a teacher used assessment for learning in mathematics to help a
struggling student find the path to recovery from a chronic sense of failure. The tool
students use to learn from their performance is also provided.
5.
Since we know that just handing out an article doesn’t further learning, a number of
strategies for how to engage staff in comprehending text are provided.
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INTENTIONAL POWER
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Just as a windmill intentionally harnesses the power
of moving air to generate energy, the learningassessment process helps students intentionally
harness the workings of their own minds to generate
motivation to learn.
A synthesis of more than 4,000 research studies
concluded that when implemented well, the learningassessment process can effectively double the speed of
student learning (Wiliam, 2007).