Formative Assessment: Why Feed-Forward is Important Douglas Fisher www.fisherandfrey.com

1. Formative Assessment:Why Feed-Forward is ImportantDouglas Fisherwww.fisherandfrey.com

2. I’ll go back to school and learn more about the brain!

3. 400+ Page text “Somites are blocks of dorsal mesodermal cells adjacent to the notochord during vertebrate organogensis.” “Improved vascular definition in radiographs of the arterial phase or of the venous phase can be procured by a process of subtraction whereby positive and negative images of the overlying skull are superimposed on one another.”

4. I don’t know how you’re going to learn this, but it’s on the test.

5. Quick, Build Background!

6. Expand Understanding Through Reading

7. Reading Increasingly Difficult Texts

8. Read “Non-Traditional” Texts • To date, over 100 YouTube videos! • PBS (The Secret Life of the Brain) • Internet quiz sites about neuroanatomy • Talking with peers and others interested in the brain

9. But, the midterm comes 17 pages, single spaced

10. Besides Some Neuroanatomy, What Have I Learned? • You can’t learn from books you can’t read (but you can learn) • Reading widely builds background and vocabulary • Interacting with others keeps me motivated and clarifies information and extends understanding • I have choices and rely on strategies

11. TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY “I do it” Focus Lesson Guided Instruction “We do it” “You do it together” Collaborative “You do it alone” Independent STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY A Structure for Instruction that Works

12. Formative Assessment • Feed up - establishing purpose • Feed back - providing students with information about their success and needs • Feed forward - using student performance for “next steps” instruction and feeding this into an instructional model Water, water everywhere …

13. Establishing Purpose • Why? • Focuses attention • Alerts learner to key ideas • Prevents side trips and maximizes learning time • Can be used in formative assessment • Types • Content goal (based on the standards) • Language goal (vocabulary, language structure, and language function) • Social goal (classroom needs or school priorities)

14. What is a content purpose? • An analysis of the content standard • Focuses on what can be accomplished toward the grade-level standard TODAY (in other words, it’s not the standard) • It is a learning goal, not an activity (can be written as a goal or objective)

15. What is a language purpose? • An analysis of the language demands of the task • An understanding of the way students demonstrate their thinking through spoken or written language

16. Three Types of Language Purposes • Vocabulary: (specialized, technical) • Structure: (the way the vocabulary is used in sentences to express ideas) • Function: (the intended use of those ideas) These language purposes build upon one another over a series of lessons.

17. Samples • Language Arts • C: Describe how a character changes in a story. • L: Use sensory detail to give readers a clear image of the character and the changes. • Math • C: Determine reasonableness of a solution to a mathematical problem. • L: Use mathematical terms to explain why an answer is reasonable.

18. Samples • Science C: Identify the steps in the life cycle of a frog. L: Use signal words to describe the life cycle of a frog. • Social Studies C: Identify the causes of the Revolutionary War. L: Explain the meaning of “taxation without representation” to a peer and summarize the meaning in writing.

19. ELD Lesson: Day 1 Why Do People Celebrate? C: Become familiar with traditions of a Thanksgiving celebration. L: Listen to a Thanksgiving story and recall and retell the main points (families come together, prepare food, eat food together, enjoy each other’s company).

20. ELD Lesson: Day 2 C: Identify common nouns of people (mom, dad, sister, brother, etc.) and match word cards to picture cards. L: Use picture cards to support partner conversation naming people in the family who come together for celebrations.

21. ELD Lesson: Day 3 C: Name actions that take place during a family celebration (e.g., set the table, cook the food, wash dishes). L: Assemble word cards (verb/object) to create phrases and read the phrases to one another.

22. ELD Lesson: Day 4 C: Identify future tense verbs (will, eat, go) related to family celebrations. L: Apply a language frame (“What will your ____ do on ____?”) in conversation lines, then write three original sentences using the frame.

23. ELD Lesson: Day 5 C: Use past tense verbs (regular and irregular) (e.g., did, ate, went) related to family celebrations. L: Apply language frame (“What did your ___ do on ____”?) in conversation lines and then write three original sentences in response to the frame.

24. Partner Talk How do I check for understanding during a lesson?

25. How often do you do this? • Everybody got that? • Any questions? • Does that make sense? • OK? Too often, we accept the answers of a few to serve as a check for understanding of all students.

27. Checking for Understanding is… • Formative • Systematic • Planned It is not… • Left until the end of the unit

28. Checking for Understanding involves… • Oral language • Questioning • Written language • Projects and performance • Tests • Common assessments and consensus scoring Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2007). Checking for understanding: Formative assessment techniques for your classroom. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

29. Checking for Understanding through Oral Language • Involves speaking and listening • Classrooms are often overwhelmed by teacher talk • In high-achieving classrooms, teachers spoke 55% of the time, compared to low-achieving classrooms, where teachers spoke 80% of the time (Flanders, 1970)

30. Retellings • Oral to Oral listens to a selection and retells it orally • Oral to Written listens to a selection and retells it in writing (summary) • Oral to Video listens to a selection and creates an I-movie • Reading to Oral reads a selection and retells it orally • Reading to Written reads a selection and retells it in writing (summary) • Reading to Video reads a selection and creates an I-movie • Viewing to Oral views a film and retells it orally • Viewing to Written views a film and retells it in writing (summary) • Viewing to Video views a film and creates an I-movie

31. Promoting Oral Language Accountable talk • Press for clarification and explanation: Could you describe what you mean? • Require justification of proposals and challenges: Where did you find that information? • Recognize and challenge misconception: I don’t agree because ... • Demand evidence for claims and arguments: Can you give me an example? • Interpret and use each other’s statements: David suggested … Institute for Learning, University of Pittsburgh

32. Using Questions to Check for Understanding

33. Questioning Habits of Teachers • Dominated by Initiate-Respond-Evaluate cycles (Mehan, 1979; Cazden, 1986) T: How do you calculate momentum? (Initiate) S: You multiply mass times velocity. (Respond) T: Good. (Evaluate). What is the law of conservation of momentum? (Initiate) If you doubt the pervasiveness of this pattern, listen to young children “playing school”!

34. Stage 1: Prepare the Question Identify instructional purpose Determine content focus Select cognitive level Consider wording and syntax Stage 2: Present the Question Indicate response format Ask the question Select Respondent Source: Walsh, J. A., & Sattes, B. D. (2005). Quality questioning: Research-based practice to engage every learner. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Stage 3: Prompt Student Responses Pause after asking question Assist non-respondent Pause following student response Stage 4: Process Student Responses Provide appropriate feedback Expand and use correct responses Elicit student reactions and questions Stage 5: Reflect on Questioning Practice Analyze questions Map respondent selection Evaluate student response patterns Examine teacher and student reactions Effective Questioning Processes

35. Checking for Understanding Through Writing • A tool for thinking • An opportunity to get a glimpse of student understanding • Provides a different dimension than multiple-choice items

38. Checking for Understanding through Writing • Interactive writing • Read, Write, Pair, Share • Summary writing • RAFT

39. RAFT in History Role: Marco Polo Audience: Potential recruits Format: Recruiting poster Topic: Come see the Silk Road!

40. RAFT in Geometry • Role: A scalene triangle • Audience: Your three angles • Format: A telephone call • Topic: Our unequal relationship

41. Checking for Understanding through Projects and Performances Science Fairs Readers Theater http://webquests.org Myspace.com project

42. Checking for Understanding Through Projects and Performances Oral presentations Collaborative learning Portfolios Foldables ™

43. Partner Talk • What projects or performances have you been involved with that were especially powerful for your learning?

44. Using Tests to Check for Understanding

47. Considerations for Test Design • More than “cataloging mistakes” • Match items with purpose • Multiple choice for item analysis • Short answer for recall of information • Dichotomous for sampling wide knowledge • Essay for organizing info, creative responses • Use it to plan future instruction!

48. Make Instructions Explicit

50. Checking for Understanding through Common Formative Assessments • To align instructional practice • To analyze student work • To make instructional decisions • Teacher-created or commercial?