Effective Feedback & Formative Assessment: Strategies for Student Learning, Schemes and Mind Maps of Acting

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Facilitator Guide

Module 6:

Acting on Evidence of Student Learning

READING AND WRITING

Facilitator Guide

Module 6: Acting on Evidence of Student Learning

Through this module, participants will learn about strategies to take pedagogical action to move student learning forward toward the Learning Goals, characteristics of effective feedback, and ways to promote effective peer and family feedback.

This module includes materials for:

• An approximately one-hour professional learning session, including a PowerPoint presentation and this facilitator guide.
• An approximately one-hour teacher collaboration activity session, including a PowerPoint presentation and a teacher collaboration facilitator guide

Module 6 Learning Goals

Participants will understand:

• Strategies to take pedagogical action based on evidence of student learning
• Characteristics of effective feedback
• How to use formative assessment to strengthen teaching practice

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Table: Agenda

Section Time Section 1: Introduction 5 minutes

Section 2: Review: Formative Assessment Process 5 minutes Section 3: Taking Pedagogical Action 15 minutes Section 4: Characteristics of Effective Feedback 20 minutes Section 5: Formative Assessment Process and Teaching Practice 10 minutes Section 6: Tying it All Together 5 minutes

What you will need:

• Module 6: PowerPoint presentation
• Taking Pedagogical Actions in the Formative Assessment Process handout

Facilitator preparation:

• Preview the slides and read the slide notes carefully.

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Section 1: Introduction

Table: Slides 1–

Slide # Guidance Slide Image 1 Title slide

2 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. As you have seen in Modules 1–5, understanding where we, as learners, are heading and how we will know if we are successful is essential for teaching and learning and is a key aspect of quality assessment practices. At the end of this presentation, you should understand:

• Strategies to take pedagogical action based on evidence of student learning
• Characteristics of effective feedback
• How to use formative assessment to strengthen teaching practice

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Section 2: Review: Formative Assessment Process

Table: Slides 4–

Slide # Guidance Slide Image 4 Section Introduction slide

5 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. This definition of formative assessment comes from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). If participants engaged in Modules 2, 3, 4 and 5, facilitators may want to acknowledge that they have seen this definition in previous modules. Ask participants to read and reflect on this definition. Next, facilitate a brief discussion in which participants consider this definition in the context of what it says about acting on evidence of student learning in the formative assessment process. Consider using some of the following questions to support the discussion.

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image

• What words or phrases in this definition address acting on evidence of student learning in the formative assessment process?
• What does this definition, taken as a whole, tell you about acting on evidence of student learning in the formative assessment process? Some key things to notice might be the following:
• This definition flags using evidence to improve student understanding for two purposes, disciplinary learning and becoming self-directed learners.
• The definition emphasizes that formative assessment is planned and ongoing and acting on evidence of learning isn’t something that happens primarily by accident or spontaneous inspiration.
• The definition emphasizes that students and teachers both elicit and use evidence of student learning. Acting on evidence is not just for teachers. For more information on this definition, including the reasoning behind it, refer to this document: https://ccsso.org/resource-library/revising- definition-formative-assessment

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image Formative assessment is ultimately about what comes next for students to move toward their Learning Goals. Students and teachers need to work together so that they all understand their next steps. 7 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. As discussed in previous modules, self-directed learners need to understand what they are learning and how to get there. Learning Goals and Success Criteria work in tandem to help students understand where they are going with their learning so that they can actively manage their own learning. If a lesson is a journey that students and teachers take together, Learning Goals represent to students the destination of their journey, signaling clearly what they are learning and why it is important. Success Criteria demonstrate to students what it looks like to be successful in achieving the Learning Goals. Success Criteria represent the check points along the route, giving students specific information to understand their progress and make adjustments to move their learning forward. Learning Goals and Success Criteria are essential tools for students to understand where they are in their learning so that they can become self-directed learners. As we consider how to take pedagogical action based on evidence of student learning, Learning Goals and Success Criteria serve as a critical guide. For more information on Learning Goals and Success Criteria, see Module 3 in this series. Facilitators may want to note for the purposes of this presentation, the word “lesson” may refer to the learning plan for a single class period or could reflect a learning plan that covers several days. It’s a coherent set of learning opportunities focused on the same content and goals.

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image 8 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. As discussed in previous modules, evidence of student learning informs student and teacher decisions about next steps to move students toward their Learning Goals. A critical element of lesson planning is integrating strategies to gather evidence of student learning during the learning and then having the requisite tools and strategies at your fingertips to interpret and act on the evidence. Taking appropriate pedagogical action is dependent on eliciting meaningful evidence of student learning that is aligned to the Learning Goals and Success Criteria. For more information on eliciting meaningful evidence of student learning, see Module 4 in this series. 9 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. In the final module of this series, Acting on Evidence of Student Learning, we will focus on the third question in this cycle, “Where to next?” In the formative assessment process, students and teachers establish answers to the questions, “Where am I going?” and “Where am I now?” But the formative assessment process doesn’t stop with understanding where students are in their learning. Formative assessment is ultimately about using that information to answer the question, “Where to next?” so that students can move toward their Learning Goals. You may notice the dashed line that connects “act on evidence” to “elicit evidence of learning.” This reflects the iterative nature of formative assessment. After taking pedagogical action, it is important to elicit further evidence to determine if the action taken successfully

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Section 3: Taking Pedagogical Action

Table: Slides 10–

Slide # Guidance Slide Image 10 Section introduction slide

11 Note to facilitators: Participants may wish to reference the Taking Pedagogical Action in the Formative Assessment Process handout. Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. In the formative assessment process, students and teachers interpret meaningful evidence of student learning to get a clear picture of the current status of learning in relationship to the Learning Goals and Success Criteria. This information is used to inform teacher and student actions that respond to the evidence to help students take the next step in their learning. Effective decision making about appropriate and effective pedagogical action requires a strong understanding of student learning progressions. Teachers are already using the strategies we will discuss, but our focus today is on deepening teacher capacity to use these strategies intentionally and strategically to move student learning forward. These

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image individual actions may work in tandem with each other, but they should be deployed to achieve particular learning outcomes in response to a specific learning need. Each individual action is not intended to be used as a blanket teaching or instructional method. Pedagogical action can take a variety of forms and may happen in the moment or in a learning period that follows, but the action should be grounded in where students are in their learning, focused on the next steps in student learning and take place during learning. In the slides that follow, we will discuss some different strategies for pedagogical action. 12 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. Walk participants through the information on the slide about telling as a pedagogical action. Facilitators should draw attention to the “When to use it” section, emphasizing that telling should be used strategically only when students are stuck and providing specific information directly will eliminate a barrier and allow students to keep moving forward. Telling is not simply standing in front of a classroom and lecturing and shouldn’t be used to get in the way of productive struggle but to keep students from spinning their wheels.

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image 15 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. The examples on the slide offer situations when providing students with specific directions about what to do next may keep them moving forward toward their Learning Goals. Next, facilitate a brief discussion in which participants brainstorm examples of how they currently use the “directing” strategy in the classroom. If time is a consideration, hold all discussion until slide 25.

16 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. Walk participants through the information on the slide about explaining as a pedagogical action. Explaining is similar to telling in that it is providing information directly to students, but this action is focused on helping students develop their own understanding of something so that they can apply it to their learning. In contrast, telling should be used strategically only when students are stuck and providing them with specific information will eliminate a barrier and allow students to keep moving forward. Explaining can be effective when introducing an unfamiliar concept, clearing up misconceptions, describing a process or clarifying the steps of a specific learning strategy (such as note-taking).

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image 17 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. The examples on the slide offer situations when providing an explanation to students may help them build their understanding so that they can apply it to their own learning. Next, facilitate a brief discussion in which participants brainstorm examples of how they currently use the “explaining” strategy in the classroom. If time is a consideration, hold all discussion until slide 25.

18 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. Walk participants through the information on the slide about prompting as a pedagogical action. Facilitators should note that prompting is most effective when the teacher has a clear picture of the current status of the individual student’s learning. Prompting should not take the learning away from the student but should be used in a way that allows the student to successfully bridge to new learning.

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image 21 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. The examples on the slide offer situations when showing students what it looks like to apply a skill or process will help them move forward in their learning. Next, facilitate a brief discussion in which participants brainstorm examples of how they currently use the “modeling” strategy in the classroom. If time is a consideration, hold all discussion until slide 25.

22 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. Walk participants through the information on the slide about questioning as a pedagogical action. Facilitators should note that questioning as an effective strategy involves probing questions and exploration of ideas to uncover student thinking, not simply asking a question and moving on.

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Slide # Guidance Slide Image 23 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. The examples on the slide offer situations when questioning may help surface student learning and keep students moving forward toward their Learning Goals. Next, facilitate a brief discussion in which participants brainstorm examples of how they currently use the “questioning” strategy in the classroom. If time is a consideration, hold all discussion until slide 25.

24 Introduce the content on the slide by providing the following information. Walk participants through the information presented on the slide about feedback as a pedagogical action. Tell participants that feedback , both teacher-directed feedback and student feedback, is such a central element of the formative assessment process that we will explore this pedagogical action in greater depth later in the presentation.

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