Aboriginal Education and Assessment for Learning

1. Aboriginal Education and Assessment for Learning Chas Desjarlais And Renee Diemert

2. Making Connections • Our goals district wide and school wide are to connect the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement with Assessment for Learning (AFL) • The goal of our presentation today is to: • Clearly outline practical ways to incorporate AFL strategies within the classroom • How to bridge the district goals with school goals

3. Why Focus on Aboriginal Learners?

4. Why focus on Urban Aboriginal students? • To create positive educational experiences for Aboriginal students and their families. • Reduce systemic racism • Breakdown barriers in learning and communication • Improve cultural sensitivity and understanding • Implement career programs, mentoring programs and post-secondary training • Poverty and illness among many Aboriginal families contributes to: • High absenteeism • High drop-out rates and 30% graduation rate • High unemployment rates among Aboriginal youth and adults

5. Connections to Assessment for Learning at District level Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement • Signed in June 2009 to create a document that embodies a shared commitment to promote the success of Aboriginal students. Goals: • Belonging • Mastery of Skills • Culture and Community

6. Belonging Research evidence shows . . . “Students are more likely to succeed when they feel connected to schools” Goal • To increase Aboriginal students sense of pride, self-esteem, belonging, place, acceptance and caring in schools (AEEA) Action Implemented • Connections Tool • Friendship Circles • District Aboriginal Student Council • Aboriginal Focus School

7. Connections Tool

8. Mastery of Skills at the District Level • We need to inspire our students… • Start career exploration early to help guide students on a career path to start investigating their options • Develop more out of school support program such as: • cultural programs, sports and recreational activities • homework clubs/tutoring programs • work experience in the community • mentoring programs • Students should be taught tools for choice so that each student can find success in his or her own way

9. Culture and Community • To increase cultural knowledge, empathy, awareness, and appreciation of Aboriginal histories, traditions, and contributions. • To decrease racial incidents and comments reported by Aboriginal students. • Continue to develop leadership opportunities for Aboriginal staff and students to share their culture • First Peoples Festival at the Museum of Anthropology on April 23 and 24

10. District and AFL Goals Unite • How do we connect district goals with AFL ? • What are you learning? • Students in charge of their own choices around learning, cultural engagement, recreational activities and career planning • How is it going? • Connections Tool engages teachers to learn how their Aboriginal students are doing inside and outside the classroom • Where to next? • Create strategies around student engagement at school and in the community • Develop solutions to support academic learning styles

11. Assessment for Learning: Connections to the Classroom • What are you learning? Where are you going with your learning? • Assessment for Learning Strategies: • Provide clear learning intentions and outcomes in an unit overview • Have students create their own learning questions as what they hope to learn from the unit • Connect learning outcomes to next unit, so students know where they are going in regards to their learning • Record and post learning intentions, either on the board or within powerpoint/prezi on a daily basis

12. Assessment for Learning: Connections in the Classroom • How is it (your learning) going? • Clear Criteria is crucial for students to understand how their learning is going and how their work will be assessed • Effective strategies are: • Connect criteria to learning intentions through the use of rubrics • Review assessment rubric with students prior to task • Provide examples of student work and a range so students have something concrete to refer to and use as a guide • Provide a checklist so students can stay focused on task at hand and self-monitor their own progress

13. Assessment for Learning: Connections in the Classroom • Where to next? • Descriptive feedback and peer and self-assessment plays an important role in giving students the necessary feedback in order to improve their learning • Effective strategies are: • The use of rubrics is very helpful in providing descriptive and evaluative feedback • Rubrics are concrete and help students understand where their strengths and weaknesses lie and where they need to go in order to improve • Peer and self assessment: important for students to articulate feedback that will help strengthen their own learning and that of their peers

14. Assessment for Learning: Connection in the Classroom • Overview with students that feedback needs to be descriptive rather than judgmental, get them to use language used in the rubric and provide a framework for effective feedback such as the ‘sandwich’ technique

15. In summary . . . By implementing Assessment for Learning strategies at the school level with support from the District staff, we hope to: • Improve attendance and graduation rates • Create a feeling of safety and comfort • Increase the number of students completing BC First Nations Studies 12 along with First Peoples English 12 • Increase leadership opportunities in fine arts, academics, and athletics • Develop Friendship Circles in your school to bring the Aboriginal students together along with teachers • Create mentoring opportunities for students in the community through work experience

16. Resources • Vancouver School Board Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement • http://www.vsb.bc.ca/sites/default/files/school-files/Programs/VSB_AEEA.pdf • J. Halbert and L. Kaser (2011). Key Questions for Learner Engagement. • C. Cameron (2008). Assessment for Learning Six Strategies.