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Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

Session 1: Effective Feedback:

                  Definition

"Academic feedback is more strongly and consistently related to achievement than any other teaching behavior… This relationship is consistent regardless of grade, socioeconomic status, race, or school setting… When feedback and corrective procedures are used, most students can attain the same level of achievement as the top 20% of students" - Bellon, Bellon & Blank

What is Effective Feedback?

For the 2016-2017 SHCPS Assessment Guide, click here.

Effective feedback is:

  • Goal referenced

  • Clear vision of excellence

  • Tangible and transparent

  • Actionable

  • User-friendly (specific and personalized)

  • Timely

  • Ongoing

  • Consistent

What is Evaluative Feedback?

Evaluative feedback involves a judgment by the teacher based on implicit or explicit norms.  Evaluative feedback may take the form of:

  • Approval:

    • "That's a good essay."

    • "You've done well"

  • Disapproval:

    • "That's not good enough"

  • Reward:

    • Gold stars

  • Punishment:

    • "Write it out again"

 

An emphasis on evaluative feedback can affect how students feel about themselves.  It can make the good students feel better (and possibly complacent) and the less able students feel worse (and the more sure that they will never be able to succeed).

What is Descriptive Feedback?

Descriptive feedback is the MOST effective.

Descriptive feedback:

  • Focuses on identified learning outcomes and makes specific reference to the student's achievement.

  • Looks towards improvement.

  • An example of descriptive feedback

    • "That's a good introduction because you have covered the main points we discussed at the beginning. Now... which points do you think you should expand on?"

 

Feedback is information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal.

Here are some examples of feedback:

  • A friend tells me, "You know, when you put it that way and speak in that softer tone of voice, it makes me feel better."

  • A reader comments on my short story, "The first few paragraphs kept my full attention.  The scene painted was vivid and interesting.  But then the dialogue became hard to follow; as a reader, I was confused about who was talking, and the sequence of actions was puzzling, so I became less engaged."

  • A baseball coach tells me, "Each time you swung and missed, you raised your head as you swung so you didn't really have your eye on the ball.  On the one you hit hard, you kept your head down and saw the ball."

Clarity - Vision of Excellence

  • Big Skill and strategic actions are communicated to the learners.

  • Anchor chart; rubric

  • Where is this learner now?

  • How will we close the gap?

  • Research your learners in order to determine what they know, and what they need to know.

  • Specific language that tells the learner what they are doing that they should do again (celebrate/reinforce).

  • Specific language that tells the learner what they need to change (prompt or teach).

  • Specific language that is connected to the strategic actions or knowledge that will support the learner as they make the needed changes (reference the anchor, use a mentor text).

  • Tone is one that indicates to the learner that you believe in them and that you will support all of them until they learn they become independent with the objectives.

  • Timely (immediate is best).

  • Follow up:  Notes are taken that capture the feedback given and allow for follow up either individually, small group or whole group based on the findings.  Notes all include other important findings that were not included in the teaching point for today but are worthy of follow up

  • Research, Decide, Reinforce/Remind/Re-teach

Ongoing Embedded Assessments

Ongoing Embedded Assessments assist teachers in knowing what scholars need throughout their daily instruction.  Assessments are planned as a part of each unit unpacking so they are a seamless part of the instructional experience.  Samples of ongoing embedded assessments include performance tasks and leveraging all ongoing data sources ( that will provide information about each scholar's progress toward mastery of the big skill of the unit.  The ongoing data review process is utilized to differentiate instruction in order to ensure success for all scholars.  If scholars do not respond to differentiated instructional approaches in tier one the data may be used to determine additional supports in tier 2.

(See unit unpacking protocol)

 

Definitions

  • Performance tasks: Demonstrate the big skill and purpose of the unit, assessment of process AND product. Designed to be the “chopped” moment. Students are given a task to demonstrate proficiency in one or two periods. Ex. Debate: day 1 read variety of articles and watch a video about government spying, form a theory and develop a stance for a mock trial: without support (show what they know). Aligns with PARCC performance task. One in the beginning and one at the end. Students may have shown mastery in the culminating task, but not here in the performance task phase where they are not supported.   

  • Formative assessment (ongoing data sources, always connected to the big skill): Mine for strategic actions that you can use to determine next steps for instruction. ex. Flash draft in their journals and might use this to see if they can identify the main ideas and supporting details of an article. These happen along the way throughout the arc of the unit.    

  • Culminating task/celebration, A.K.A GRASP (culmination of the learning): Demonstrate the big skill and purpose of the unit but given lots of support and coaching while working throughout the unit. The culminating task is focused on the big skill and purpose and learning by doing. These happen along the way throughout the arc of the unit. Students could demonstrate mastery here (because they’ve had support and coaching), but might not show it on the performance task.

 

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