OAME 2011-12 Leadership Conference

1. OAME 2011-12 Leadership Conference Creating Communities of Assessment Inquiry and Practice: A Vision for Leadership in Mathematics Pre-Adobe Connect Virtual Session October 2011 Chris Suurtamm & Connie Quadrini

2. Overview of this session • How the conference is organized • Why focus on dilemmas? • What learning might occur • PRIME leadership framework • Professional learning cycle

3. Organization of the conference • Evolution of new thinking in assessment – what and why? • Alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment • Formative assessment (Assessment for and as learning) • Summative assessment (Assessment of learning) • Next steps – moving into post-conference

4. Drawing on • NCTM Assessment Standards for School Mathematics • NCSM PRIME Leadership Framework • Growing Success • Ontario Ministry Mathematics Curricula • Current assessment literature • Current research in assessment

5. Focus on dilemmas • When teachers grapple with new ideas and enact them in their classroom, they run into dilemmas that they work at dealing with • Enacting change is a complex process and focusing on dilemmas in practice helps to value that complex practice

6. Alignment The mathematics that is taught, the way it is taught, and how it is assessed are deliberately and coherently aligned (NCSM) Alignment dilemmas • “I have the students investigate during instructional tasks but what does it mean to assess investigation?” • “Should I be assessing the overall or the specific expectations?”

7. Formative assessment Formative assessment is an essential learning process teachers engage in with their students to gather information during the learning process to improve achievement(Moss & Brookhart, 2009) • “I know observation is important but I have no good way of getting around to everyone. AND how do I record it all?” • “My students won’t take anything seriously unless there’s a mark on it!”

8. Summative Assessment “Assessment of learning is the assessment that becomes public and results in statements or symbols about how well students are learning.” (Western and Northern Canadian Protocol, p. 55 as cited in Growing Success p. 31) • “I have always used portfolios as a way of seeing what students have learned over the year. It’s been my summative assessment. But I’m not sure how this relates to the Achievement Chart and the curriculum expectation.” • “The way I would like to write my report cards and the way I’m expected to write my report cards by the board are two very different things.”

9. Conceptual dilemmas • Pedagogical dilemmas • Cultural dilemmas • Political dilemmas Looking at dilemmas another way Windschitl’sframework (2002))

10. Examples include discussions about: • different purposes of assessment • the role of formative assessment • the value of aligning instruction and assessment • what consistency really means • what it means to understand mathematics. Conceptual dilemmas arise as teachers attempt to understand the conceptual underpinnings of inquiry-oriented views of mathematics teaching and learning, and current views of assessment “I have the students investigate during instructional tasks but what does it mean to assess investigation?”

11. Examples include: • Finding ways to record observations • Finding time for problem solving activities • Designing a meaningful rubric that provides students with information but not constraints • Developing students’ ability to peer- and self-asses • Creating time to conference with students and provide feedback Pedagogical dilemmas arise as teachers create and enact new assessment opportunities. “I know observation is important but I have no good way of getting around to everyone. AND how do I record it all?”

12. Examples include discussions about: • student expectations with respect to marks • grappling with colleagues’ concerns about new approaches to assessment • the role of consistency in assessment practices among department members • parents’ and administrator’s understanding of assessment Cultural dilemmas focus on changes in classroom and school culture with regard to assessment practice Cultural dilemmas often arise when new assessment practices threatened existing cultural practices “My students won’t take anything seriously unless there’s a mark on it!”

13. Examples include discussions about grading and reporting such as : • matching assessment levels used on rubrics with required report card percentage grades • being restricted to pre-made report card comments • having to organize marks into four categories of knowledge and skills (that seem to overlap) Political dilemmas arise when teachers try to align their thinking and practice with provincial, district and school policies around assessment, particularly with regard to accountability “The way I would like to write my report cards and the way I’m expected to write my report cards by the board are two very different things. “

14. Conceptual dilemmas – dialogue, reading, research, etc. • Pedagogical dilemmas – workshops, dialogue with colleagues, resource development, etc. • Cultural dilemmas - communication with colleagues, administrators, parents, students • Political dilemmas – explanations and discussions of policies, challenging policies, rethinking policies Why look at dilemmas this way? They are addressed in different ways Note that dilemmas are interconnected

15. Thinking about your dilemmas and what new learning you hope to achieve Is it new learning connected to: • Alignment • Formative Assessment • Summative Assessment Are they: • Conceptual dilemmas – developing a better understanding of assessment • Pedagogical dilemmas – how to do it • Cultural dilemmas – views that differ from students, colleagues, admin • Political dilemmas – grappling with policies ? ?