Middle Years Assessment Policy Student Engagement

1. Middle Years Assessment PolicyStudent Engagement

2. Advance Organizer:Why Engagement? • How has the role of school changed? • What about the Middle Years Learner? • What does the Research tell us about Student Engagement? • What does the Research tell us about Assessment? • What are some of the Instructional and Assessment Strategies that make a Difference?

3. Purpose of School has Changed from to Ranking/sorting Learning for all Goal: Independent, self-directed learners

4. y 0 x Mean The Mountain Ranking and Sorting

5. Moving the Mountain Higher Learning for All

6. The Middle Years Learner

7. Research – Based Human Developmental Continuum Adapted from Thomas Armstrong, 2006

8. Circle of Needs Power Belonging Freedom Fun

9. Purposes of Behaviour • All human behaviour is purposeful. • Meeting basic needs is behind all behaviour.. • Trouble ensues when needs are not being met or when needs are in conflict. • Survival (Safety) • Belonging (Love) • Power (Efficacy) • Fun (Sense of Accomplishment) • Freedom (Choice) (Gossen, Glasser)

10. Mindsets make a big difference! • The Fixed Mindset • Don’t make mistakes • Don’t work hard • If you make mistakes, don’t try and repair them • The Growth Mindset • Take on challenges • Work hard • Confront your deficiencies and correct them adapted from Carol Dweck

11. What Influences Mindsets? The Kind of Feedback Students Receive. • Praising intelligence Praising the student who quickly finished and got the right answer for being smart is actually contributing to the Fixed Mindset and is detrimental to long term achievement. • Recognizing effort, effective strategies employed, and perseverance through descriptive feedback Praising the student for working hard, applying what they learned in the past and persevering even when a task is difficult contributes to the Growth Mindset. (Descriptive feedback - what the teacher has seen and heard the student do or say.) adapted from Carol Dweck

12. Beliefs • Mission of School is to Promote Maximum Success – Learning for All, Not Ranking and Sorting • All Students Can Learn - But they don’t all start at the same place, learn at the same rate or reach the same level • Learning Doesn’t Happen Because Adults Demand It – Learners must want and feel able to learn, see learning as worth the effort

13. Activity • Turn to your neighbor(s) • Share three ideas that have been presented, so far • What are the implications of what we have talked about, so far, for • Teacher • Students • Schools • Be prepared to share you thoughts

14. Levers for Learning Assessment Engagement

15. Engagement

16. What does brain research tell us is necessary for engagement? • Novelty brains are wired to pay attention to new things • Challenge proximal zone • Feedback descriptive, within thirty minutes • Coherence fits with what is known • Sufficient Timeto go deep, construct new knowledge Eric Jensen

17. Engaging Work • Differences in engagement affects effort that students are prepared to apply to their school work • Effort affects achievement at least as much as ability • Teachers can affect engagement by creating work that has engaging qualities Philip Schlechty , 2002 Working on the Work

18. Clear Criteria Clear Criteria Product Focus Product Focus No Fault Practice No Fault Practice Relevant Content Relevant Content Organization of Knowledge Organization of Knowledge Affirmation & Affiliation Affirmation & Affiliation Novelty &Variety Novelty &Variety Choice Choice Authenticity Authenticity Design of Engaging Work

19. Design Elements of Engaging Work Affirmation Recognition of work and worth Affiliation Working with others towardsa common goal Safe No fault practice Clear Criteria Clear description of quality Choice Sharing decision making (empowerment) Authenticity Real life expectations– meaningful, valuable Relevant Content Enduring, necessary for future learning, important in real life Organization of Learning How/Where learning fits Novelty & Variety Brain is hard-wired to pay attention to anything new

20. Remember that the person doing the work is growing the dendrites. Pat Wolfe, 2001

21. Assessment

22. Assessment is Changing because we know more about • how students learn (constructivism) • brain research • supporting learning through feedback • importance of engagement/motivation • impact of classroom assessment on learning

23. The Research Black and Wiliam (1998), synthesized results from 250 international studies on classroom assessment, and concluded that • involving students in assessment, and • increasing the amount of descriptive feedback while decreasing evaluative feedback has a more powerful impact on learning than any educational innovation ever documented.

24. The Research Effect Size • .5 – 1.0 standard deviation score gain • 1.0 S.D. equals • 35 percentile points • 2 to 4 grade equivalents • Largest gains for low achievers, but all do better

25. Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind • WNCP developed • Manitoba lead province in development • Endorsed and released January 2006 • Applies K-12

26. STIGGINS, DAVIES, SUTTON, BLACK & WILIAM, O'CONNOR FOR OF AS OF FOR WNCP WNCP

27. Are Involved Understand Learning Goals Receive and Use Descriptive Feedback Know Criteria for Success Essentials of Classroom Based Assessment Research shows increases in student achievement and motivation when students

28. Activity • Create a small of group of 3 or 4 • Discuss the benefits and the challenges that teachers face when putting the puzzle pieces into action in their classrooms • Be prepared to share some of your thoughts

29. AS FOR Assessment Learning OF Traditional Assessment Pyramid OF FOR Assessment Learning AS Reconfigured Assessment Pyramid Shifting the Balance

30. Do more • Explain purpose and relevance of learning • Provide choice and scaffolding toward responsibility • Provide opportunities to learn with others • Specific, descriptive feedback • Self-assessment related to criteria

31. Do less • Testing • Drill and practice for test taking • Self-evaluation (grading own work) • Comparison of students re: test results • Competition for marks

32. Levers for Learning Assessment for and as learning Achievement Engaging work Intrinsic Motivation

33. Synthesis of the Research Bob Marzano’s On Learning Synthesis of the Research Factors Influencing Achievement 1. Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum 2. Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback 3. Parent and Community Involvement 4. Safe and Orderly Environment 5. Collegiality and Professionalism School 6. Instructional & Assessment Strategies 7. Classroom Management 8. Classroom Curriculum Design Teacher 9. Home Environment 10. Learning Intelligence/ Background Knowledge 11. Motivation Student

34. Strategies that Work • Identifying similarities & differences • Summarizing & note-making • Re-enforcing effort & recognition of progress • Creating and using non-linguistic representations like graphic organizers • Using the elements of cooperative learning

35. Strategies that Work • Establishing clear goals for students • Providing, timely, descriptive feedback • Generating, testing, hypothesizing ideas • Using questions, cues, and other advance organizers Marzano

36. Elements of Effective Middle Years Programming Appropriate Role Models & Positive Relationships Developmentally Appropriate Assessment Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum Social Emotional Development Physical & Emotional Safety Engaging Work Metacognitive Development Health & Wellness Student Voice Adapted from Thomas Armstrong, 2006

37. Motivation and Achievement • Students may hit the target today or they may not. • What is crucial is that they remain willing to return and try again tomorrow. Stiggins

38. References • Armstrong, Thomas. The Best Schools. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2006. • Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York, NY: Random House, 2006. • Gossen, Diane, and Judy Anderson.Creating the Conditions. Chapel Hill, NC: New View, 1995. • Jensen,Eric. Teaching with the Brain in Mind. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 1998 • Marzano, Robert.Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001. • Schlechty, Phillip C. Working on the Work. San Francisco: Josse-Bass, 2002. • Stiggins, Rick, Judith A. Arter, Jan Chappuis, and Stephen Chappuis. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It Right—Using It Well. Portland, OR: Assessment Training Institute, 2004.