Response to Discussion 2

Respond to the discussions

Rosa

To evaluate the effectiveness of the instruction and the knowledge gained by the students, formative and summative assessments must be balanced (Chappuis and Stiggins, 2017). In my school, the balance between formative and summative assessments is promoted in all content areas by requiring teachers to administer the district Florida Standards Quiz (FSQ) at the middle of the unit and the Unit Standardized Assessment (USA) at the end of the unit. Although both assessments result in a grade, the FSQs results are also utilized to determine which benchmark needs to be retaught before moving forward with the unit. Likewise, the USA's results are used to plan for future instruction. In my classroom, I analyze FSQs results to determine if the students need extra instruction or practice of specific skills and USAs results to identify those benchmarks that I will include at the Florida Standardized Assessment (FSA) review. In addition, I evaluate the students' understanding of the instructed skills at the end of the lessons through a brief review discussion or a ticket-out-of-the-door. By doing this, I can provide the students with feedback on their progress and clarify any concerns/confusion. By evaluating students at the end of the lesson, I can determine where to go next with the instruction (reteach, review, enrich) and appropriate homework to provide extra practice.  

To support learning, Chappuis and Stiggins (2017) identify seven strategies. Strategies 1 through 3 are known as "enablers" (p. 34) because they provided the necessary information to understand learning expectations better. Strategy 1. Provide a clear and understandable vision of the learning target (p. 32) allows students to understand better the purpose of the instruction and how the activities link to the learning goal. In my school, teachers must display the learning scales for the current unit somewhere visible in the classroom. At the beginning of each unit, I introduce the learning goal, benchmarks, and expected outcomes by providing each student with a copy of the learning scale. I first explain the learning goal, and then we break down the benchmarks and identify the academic vocabulary and foundational skills needed to achieve mastery. Consequently, the students have a clear understanding of the skills they are expected to master at the end of the lesson. Strategy 2. The use of examples and models of strong and weak work (p. 32) supports students in differentiating between high- and low-quality work to better understand how to act upon the feedback on assignments and self-evaluate their learning by guiding students in analyzing the quality of their quality various artifacts.  Every year, we host a writing Bootcamp where the students can identify, analyze and evaluate work samples and provide feedback on improving those identified as low-quality products. In the classroom, I have the students analyze and evaluate writing samples as a whole class to model the process, in small groups to provide each other feedback, and independently when teaching about written reading responses and essays. Strategies 3. Offer regular descriptive feedback during the learning (p. 32) allows the teacher to provide feedback about strengths and areas of improvement so the students can have the opportunity to improve their skills through extra practices before earning a grade. Alongside feedback on daily assignments, my school promotes data chats at least after the students complete their FSQs to discuss their learning targets. The classroom teacher or an administrator can do data chats.

Strategies 5 and 6 are known as "floaters" (p. 34) because they can happen at any time during the instructional process to reinforce the students' skills. Strategy 5. Use evidence of student learning needs to determine the next steps in teaching (p. 33) supports teachers in making instructional decisions based on students' progress. After delivering the instruction, teachers evaluate student's performances to determine the next instructional steps. Besides the instructional choices that I make in my classroom based on students' performance, twice a month, I meet with the Reading/ELA team to discuss instructional approaches based on student's data analysis after determining the students' needs.  Strategy 6. Design focused instruction, followed by practice with feedback (p. 33), calls for teachers to plan lessons based on the areas of weakness identified in strategy 5. After identifying the areas of needs, teachers provide students with the opportunity to practice those specific skills, considering provided feedback. Since all our students receive special education services, one of their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) accommodations is differentiated instruction to support the goal of opportunities to practice skills after direct instruction and necessary modifications. All teachers in my school are held accountable for the implementation of this goal in their classrooms.

Lastly, Chappuis and Stiggins (2017) identify strategies 4 and 7 as "destination" (p. 34) strategies because they support teachers in assisting students to achieve mastery of the learning target. Strategy 4. Teach students to self-assess and set goals for the next step (p. 33) and Strategy7. Provide opportunities for students to track, reflect on, and share their learning progress (p. 34) empowers students to own their learning by allowing students to self-evaluate their gained knowledge and set their own learning goals. During data chats, the students can identify strengths and weaknesses not only of their learning but also of the instruction. Also, students use their learning scales to determine where they are concerning the learning goal in that scale by providing evidence for their reasoning (completed assignments, test results, grades).

Louis

ormative and summative assessments can both be used to assess students in many ways. Formative assessments are known as the supportive function in which assessments are used to gather information to improve learning in the future (Chappius, Stiggins,2017). Summative assessments are known for providing feedback on student achievement to understand the effectiveness of information presented (Chappius, Stiggins, 2017). 

In my school, formative and summative assessments are both utilized. When it comes to formative assessments, the teachers normally use these assessments in the form of bell ringers, exit tickets and quizzes. Utilizing these types of assessments allows us to be able to figure out what is that the students know and do not know. This helps with modifying any lesson plans for the future. 

When it comes to summative assessments, we normally utilize these in the form of state standardized assessments. In Florida we take the FSA, in which this assessment is given at the end of each school year. The results from this assessment helps determine the core courses that each student will be placed in for the following school year. Also, this will give the school an average grade in which this determines our students progress. 

When it comes to 7 strategies of assessment for learning, I will say my school has a few opportunities. We utilize student friendly targets, continuous descriptive feedback, teach one facet at a time, and model strong and weak work. Student friendly targets and continuous feedback are usually given to our students in the form of data chats. We usually go over state standardized assessment scores with each student, so that they are aware of the strengths and weaknesses. Teaching one facet at a time and modeling strong and weak work is something we do often along with data chats. 

Some opportunities that we have are: (1) teach self-assessment and goal setting and (2) teach focused revision. I noticed that it is still a bit of a challenge with our seasoned teachers to allow the students to be in control of their own learning. I find that teachers are still setting expectations for their students, which may not be ideal for each student. If we implement these 2 within our school, this will help us be more responsible for completing their work and teachers can focus more time on supporting their students.

Elvirah

Discussion Two:

1. How are formative and summative assessments balanced in your school or classroom? 

My school focuses more on students' growth than scores. Formative assessments, such as SLGs (student learning goals), are done continuously to modify lessons to meet the learners where they are. Our classrooms are organized as on grade level or fast-paced. The fast-paced learners are those that score below grade level. Teachers are then able to create their lessons to cater to the level of the learners. If needed, teachers can modify lessons to cater to learners' developmental levels by diagnosing formative assessments. Our summative assessment is done 3 times a year (fall, winter, and spring) through MAP testing. Based on learners' scores, they are placed in the appropriate classrooms. This also means that some learners may move to a fast-paced or on-grade-level classroom in the middle of the school year. This guarantees that the learner's needs are consistently maintained as a priority. 

 

2. After reading the seven strategies of assessment for learning, describe how each of those strategies is (or are not) implemented in your school and which of those that are not implemented you would recommend for implementation. State why. Do not refer to the strategies by their number only; mention the name of the strategy, explain it, and then describe how they are or are not implemented

Where am I going?

Strategy 1: Provide Students with a clear and understandable vision of the learning target. According to the text, "Strategy 1 helps students develop a learning goal orientation and direct their effort to important features of the task. It also prepares students to think more deeply and accurately about what constitutes quality." (Stiggins, 2008). 

My school implements strategy 1 through the introduction of each new standard. At the introduction of each lesson, students are presented with standards. These standards are paired with learning targets. These learning targets are then converted into realistic goals learners can achieve. Learners are then given a mastery scale to pair with the standards. Throughout the instruction, learners are encouraged to mark their mastery level according to the Marzano proficiency scale.   This allows them to monitor their progress as I take formative assessments on their progress on the topic.

Strategy 2: Use examples and models of strong and weak work. The text states strategy 3 is having" students sort through and come to see what is and isn’t quality work we can share strong and weak models from anonymous student work" (Stiggins, 2008). 

The best way for learners to know how to produce adequate work is through modeling. As a teacher, I model what I expect of my students. As an ELA teacher, I modeled the writing process. As a math teacher, I modeled how to how to dissect word problems. These examples of modeling are among the few techniques all educators should implement in their instruction. Along with the teacher modeling technique, I have seen learners progress when paired with higher students. During this pairing, learners are able to witness and work together to provide the best work possible. After assignments are graded, students' work is presented anonymously as an example of what to do and what not to do. This leads to strategy 3. 

Where am I now?

Strategy 3: Offer regular descriptive feedback during the learning. 

Providing effective feedback to learners promptly is critical in their educational experience. My school focuses more on learners' growth than grades. Therefore, educators are encouraged to teach the learning targets of each standard. The teacher then works with students, continuously providing feedback, until the learners prove mastery of the target. This changes the focus of teaching from grades to mastery. According to our text, it supports the promotion of immediate direct feedback. The text says,  " Giving students time to practice after offering feedback allows them to grow with guidance" (Stiggins, 2008). This strategy provides learners with the lifelong technique that allows them to critique themselves to provide quality work. 

 

Strategy 4: Teach students to self-assess and set goals for the next steps.

Strategy 4 requires learners to utilize the techniques developed in strategies 1-3. As educators, our purpose is to educate our learners to learn independently using the techniques we have taught them. Our goal in using this strategy is to have our students become self-regulated learners. These learners set goals, self-assess their strengths and weaknesses, establish strategies to address the weaknesses, and plan steps to conquer challenges they may face. In my classroom, learners are encouraged to use these techniques for every learning target. This promotes a sense of independence for the learners, as well as a The Little Train That Could mentality "I think I can...I know I can". 

How can I close the gap?

Strategy 5: Use evidence of student learning needs to determine the next steps in teaching. 

Strategy 5 encourages teachers to "build a feedback loop into the teaching cycle, checking for understanding and continuing instruction guided by information about what students have and have not yet mastered."(Stiggins, 2008).   Educators need to analyze learners' data continuously. This allows educators to determine the best strategies in teaching learners. In my instructional environment, it has been determined that learners severely struggle in reading comprehension. This drifts into students being unsuccessful in other subjects. Therefore, students are given an SLG assessment 3 times a year. This allows the team to determine specific strategies that can be applied across all subject areas to provide students with the proper resources required to succeed.

Strategy 6: Design focused instruction, followed by practice with feedback. - Teachers are meant to"scaffold learning by narrowing the focus of a lesson to address specific misconceptions or problems identified in Strategy 5" (Stiggins, 2008).

All lessons I teach in my classroom setting are comprised of data analyzed from learners' formative assessments. My school does not follow a specific curriculum guide. We are a standards-based learning community. Therefore, we can design and modify lessons that address learners' level of mastery and provide immediate direct feedback. 

Strategy 7: students opportunities to track, reflect on, and share their learning progress. 

Educators should focus on the holistic well-being of learners and their ability to apply what is being taught to the real world. Students should also develop a way to understand themselves as a part of their learning process. In my classroom, learners are able to track their learning progress by using their Academic portfolios. Learners' academic portfolios are comprised of learning targets with standards per subject, mastery level charts, personal/academic goals, and steps to achieve their goals. The portfolio also has a section where learners can reflect on activities, list hobbies and talents. According to the text, "These kinds of activities give students the opportunity to notice their own strengths, to see how far they have come, and to feel in control of the conditions of their success"(Stiggins, 2008).  

These seven strategies all build on one another to develop better students and create more effective educators.