Core Competency
Development
Using assessment for learning practices to facilitate student
learning in the core competencies
What are core competencies?
The core compe te ncie s are se ts of inte lle ctual, pe rsonal and social and e motional
proficie ncie s that all stude nts ne e d to to de ve lop in orde r to e ngage in de e p le arning and
life -long le arning.
The core compe te ncie s along with lite racy and nume racy foundations and e sse ntial
conte nt are at the center of the redesign of curriculum and assessment. The y are
e mbe dde d in e ach discipline and are a of le arning and are activate d through the le arning
e xpe rie nce s and activitie s.
The Core Competencies are:
●
Communication
●
Thinking - Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking
●
Personal and Social
What are core competencies?
Competencies “ in action” :
Competencies come into play when students are engaged in “doing” in any area of
learning. This includes activities where students use thinking, collaboration, and
communication to solve problems, address issues, or make decisions.
We can make students aware of their use and development in the core
competencies by making it explicit when we are engaged in “using” them and by
providing opportunities to reflect on them.
What are core competencies?
How do we ensure core competencies development is
being made explicit in our classroom learning
experiences?
Answer:
We can use assessment for learning practices!
Assessment For Learning
What is assessment for learning?
Any assessment for which the first priority in its design and practice is to serve the
purpose of promoting pupil’s learning. (Black and Wiliam, 20 0 1)
Assessment For Learning
Clear Learning Intentions: let students know (in a language they can
understand) what they are expected to learn.
1.
2.
Criteria: work WITH learners to develop criteria of what quality looks like.
Descriptive Feedback: increase descriptive feedback (ongoing dialogue
around improvement in learning that causes thinking) and decrease evaluative
feedback (numbers, letters, and “good job”).
3.
Assessment For Learning
*Big Six Assessment For Learning Practices (Cameron, Jensen)
4.
Powerful Questions: increase quality “thinking” questioning to go deeper and
show evidence of learning. Move away from factual routine questions. TALK LESS,
ASK MORE.
Self and Peer Assessment: Scaffolding of learning of self- and peer
assessment in a supportive, collaborative environment enables learners to become
thoughtful about all aspects of their learning. Heidi Andrade writes “If students
produce it, they can assess it; and if they assess it, they can improve it.”
5.
Student Ownership: centres on metacognitive awareness and action.
Metacognition is enhanced only when students have explicit understandings
related to all other aspects of AFL – and are able to take ownership for their
learning as a result. Black and Wiliam add, “Have the learner become aware of
his/her own thinking – what are my strengths? What do I need to get better at?
What is my next step?”.
6.
Assessment For Learning
Big Six Assessment For Learning Practices (Cameron, Jensen)
Classroom Example:
Using assessment for learning practices to facilitate
development in: communication facet #1: connect and
engage with others to share and develop ideas
Note: Grade 3/4 (fifteen grade 3s and nine grade 4s)
Timeframe: September - December
Classroom Example
Identify Learning Intentions/Goals
● Ide ntify stude nt ne e d
●
Ide ntify the core compe te ncy that aligns with the
inte nde d le arning for the unit of
study/se que nce /routine
Considerations
● What discipline are you working in; what curricular
compe te ncie s are you focusing on in the unit; what
core compe te ncie s are re quire d/will be
e xpre sse d/will be de ve lope d in the course of the
unit?
● What will your stude nts ne e d to le arn and de ve lop
and do in orde r to e ngage with the conte nt and/or
activitie s?
● Use the profile s and de scriptions to de te rmine
whe re you will be gin with your stude nts.
My Story: Ide ntify Stude nt Ne e d
The e xpe ctations I have for my class is that all stude nts
will conne ct and communicate to e xte nd thinking and
de ve lop ide as. Establishing classroom talk structure s is
the re fore ne ce ssary if I e xpe ct my stude nts to succe ssful
think and share , re fle ct and coach othe rs.
photos
Base d on my me asure of the spe aking and liste ning
be haviours in my classroom, and my de cision to focus on
the communication compe te ncy face t #1: “conne ct and
e ngage with othe rs to share and de ve lop ide as”, I
de te rmine d I would focus on “active liste ning” And
“communicating cle arly” as a starting point in de ve loping
the communication skills of my stude nts.
All stude nts know that the le arning inte ntion: “use talk to
e xte nd and de e pe n thinking” is use d in all are as of the
curriculum.
Develop Criteria
Work WITH learners to develop
criteria for what the the facet of
the core competency looks like
● Use crite ria-se tting
proce ss
○ brainstorm,
○ sort and cate gorize ,
○ summarize
*Se e Anne Davie s
My Story: De ve lop Crite ria
We use d the co-cre ating crite ria proce ss to cre ate
crite ria for “active liste ning” and “communicating
cle arly”.
The stude nts inte ract with the crite ria on a daily basis.
The crite ria for “liste ning” and “communicating cle arly”
provide s stude nts with the foundation for se lf re gulation
and se lf re fle ction. By conne cting and e ngaging with
othe rs, stude nts are also acce ssing the thinking and
pe rsonal and social compe te ncie s.
Brainstorm
Here you see the “communicating clearly”
brainstorm chart. Students brainstormed their
ideas about what communicating clearly looks
like. The bottom part of the chart shows the ideas
that I coached out of them, as they did not come
to them on their own.
Sort and Categorize
After brainstorming, we looked at the ideas and
determined which ones were similar and could
be put together.
Summarize
Together, we summarized the
ideas and created a new chart.
The students have ownership of
the criteria. It is real and
meaningful because they were
involved in creating it.
My story: The Day to Day ‘Work’ of Engaging
With the Communication Core Compe te ncy
Interact with the criteria, set goals,
self and peer assessment, ongoing
feedback and learning
“Use talk to e xte nd and de e pe n thinking” is a
goal (and strate gy) in all are as of the curriculum:
math, re ading, writing and conte nt-are a inquiry
units.
Stude nts re fle ct re gularly: se lf, with othe rs, orally,
writing on re fle ction she e t.
Considerations
● Always share the core compe te ncy
focus/goal in e ve ry le sson
● Stude nts se t goals and re fle ct on the core
compe te ncy de ve lopme nt
Coaching strate gie s are taught, such as
que stions and prompts stude nts can use to
initiate and re spond to othe rs.
Use visuals, non-ve rbal signals to communicate
re fle ction to te ache r (e g. holding up finge rs,
shape s e tc.)
Ongoing Self and Peer Assessment
My Story: Example s of Te ache r Talk
Descriptive Feedback
Descriptive feedback is used by the teacher as
well as peers in the classroom in dialogue to
improve learning.
Teacher and students use the language from the
core competencies profiles, habits of mind and
class-generated criteria to provide feedback as
well as self-reflect in core competency
development.
Note: Education researcher John Hattie, in his book
“Visible Learning“, notes that using descriptive feedback
is THE single most powerful thing we can use to increase
student learning.
“You me t the crite ria for active
liste ning in today’s partne r talk
activity. I notice d that your body was
still and you we re looking at the
spe ake r”.
“I notice d whe n you share d your
thinking about the story, you
supporte d your ide as with re asons
why. You said: “....”. What you
share d today he lpe d me unde rstand
your thinking”.
My Story: Using Questions
Powerful Questions
Powerful questions are “thinking”
questions that probe one to go
deeper. They are generally openended that create opportunity for
expanded thinking and new
perspective.
Coaching Questions the students used with
each other to achieve the goal: “use talk to
extend and deepen thinking”:
Tell me more.
Prove it.
What is your thinking behind that idea?
Powerful questions provide
opportunities to develop
understanding of concepts and they
also provide learners opportunity for
insight into their own core
competency growth and development.
Have you considered….? Next steps: We
are building our collection of coaching
questions and will continue to add more as
we get more skilled at thinking, speaking
and coaching each other.
My Story: Starting the Proce ss of Writing the
Re fle ction
Afte r two months of focusing on “active
liste ning” and “communicating cle arly”, we
we re re ady to write our first re fle ction!
We starte d out by re fle cting and charting
what/whe re /whe n in our day we conne cte d
and e ngage d with othe rs. Be cause of the
structure d talk in our class, and the goal of
“use talk to e xte nd and de e pe n thinking”, the
stude nts e asily ide ntifie d ways in which we
conne cte d and e ngage d with othe rs.
Writing a Core Competency
Reflection
Students use the framework of “Four
Point Evidence” to write a reflection
that demonstrates learning in the core
competencies.
*Note: Four Point Evidence is adapted
from the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
(1988).
My Story: Writing the Reflection
The students were given the task:
“Use Four Point Evidence” to
demonstrate learning in “connecting
and engaging with others”.
Four Point Evidence
●What?
● So What?
● What’s the Conne ction?
● Now What?
Four Point Evidence
Collect Evidence
In preparation for writing a reflection
using “Four Point Evidence”, we spent
a week collecting evidence of when
we were engaged in active listening.
Considerations
● Whe re /whe n will stude nts find
e vide nce of the core compe te ncy
be ing “in action” in the ir day?
Four Point Evidence
Reflecting/Writing Process
My Story:
● Choose one pie ce of e vide nce
that de monstrate s use of the
compe te ncy
● Use the frame work to
de monstrate , re fle ct and plan for
future le arning
● Use the classroom talk structure
to pre pare stude nts for writing the
re fle ction
Considerations
● What le ve l of scaffolding will you
ne e d to provide in orde r for
stude nts to be succe ssful?
I guide d the stude nts through the
proce ss of writing the re fle ction. We
colle cte d e vide nce toge the r, and
re fle cte d and share d our thinking
through e ach ste p. We use d an
organize r and se nte nce -starte rs. I
mode le d e ve rything. My ultimate
goal is to move the m towards
inde pe nde nce .
Four Point Evidence
Reflecting/Writing Process
Student Samples of the Reflection
Student Samples of the Reflection
Each and every day, we continue to develop our
communication compe te ncy. Stude nts unde rstand that
communication is ke y to the ir own le arning and to the le arning
of the ir classroom community.
Nugent, Ng, George 2017
Four Point Evidence Card
For this task, I demonstrated
the Core Competency………..
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
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When I completed …..
When I learned …………
When I discovered………
When I participated in …..
When I found…………………….
When I worked on…...
This reminds me of …..
This is similar to…..
I can make a connection
to...
●
I think (this Core
Competency) is important
because…
●
Developing this (Core
Competency) helps me …
●
●
●
Now I wonder…
Now I think…
Now I want to know...
●
I will improve …...by…..
Nugent, Ng, George 2017
Four Point Evidence Card
For this task, I demonstrated
the Core Competency………..
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
When I completed …..
When I learned …………
When I discovered………
When I participated in …..
When I found…………………….
When I worked on…...
This reminds me of …..
This is similar to…..
I can make a connection
to...
●
I think (this Core
Competency) is important
because…
●
Developing this (Core
Competency) helps me …
●
●
●
Now I wonder…
Now I think…
Now I want to know...
●
I will improve …...by…..