An introduction to formative assessment by Irene Anderson

1. An introduction to formative assessment by Irene Anderson Media Studies Beacon Group

2. What is formative assessment? If we think of students as plants…

3. Summative assessment of the plants is the process of simply measuring them

4. The measurements might be interesting to compare and analyse but in themselves they do not affect the growth of the plants.

5. Formative assessment, on the other hand, is the garden equivalent of feeding and watering the plants - directly affecting their growth.

6. Cowie and Bell, 1999 Formative assessment is the process used by teachers and children to recognize and respond to pupil learning, in order to enhance that learning during the activity or task.

7. Black & Wiliam (1999) The research indicates that improving learning through assessment depends on 5 deceptively simple key factors:

8. Number 1 The provision of effective feedback to students

9. Number 2 The active involvement of students in their own learning

10. Number 3 Adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment

11. Number 4 A recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-esteem of students, both of which are crucial influences on learning

12. Number 5 The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve

13. Formative assessment strategies include the use of Learning Intentions Or Learning Outcomes

14. Formative assessment strategies include the use of Success CriteriaFormative assessment strategies include the use of

15. Formative assessment strategies include the use of Quality Questioning

16. Formative assessment strategies include the use of Quality learning conversations

17. Formative assessment strategies include the use of Feedback and Feed forward

18. Formative assessment strategies include the use of Self and peer assessment

19. Why Use Learning Intentions? “Many pupils do not have a picture (of the targets their learning is meant to attain) and appear to have become accustomed to receiving classroom teaching as an arbitrary sequence of exercises with no overarching rationale… When pupils do acquire such overview, they then become more committed and more effective as learners: their own assessments become an object of discussion with their teachers and with one another…” Black & Wiliam

20. Learning Intentions All these terms mean the same thing: • Learning intentions • Learning outcomes • Learning objectives

21. Learning Intentions What are we going to learn? They may be written like this: We are learning to … To be able to … To understand / explain / discuss etc Todaywe will be able to …

22. Getting learning intentions right Muddled learning intentions lead to: • Mismatched activities • Inappropriate focus • Awkward success criteria Examples: • To understand how camera angles help to create suspense in film NOT To understand how camera angles help to create suspense in The Matrix

23. Success Criteria How do we know we have met the learning intention? When success criteria are used … • the learning becomes more explicit • students can confirm, consolidate and integrate new knowledge • future learning is scaffolded • students can see what quality looks like Ann Davies

24. What does success criteria look like? • Learning Intention: To understand how camera angles help to create suspense in film Success Criteria: I can: • Give an example of how camera angles are used to create suspense • Comment on the effect of the example described • Support my comments with reasons and/or justify them • Analyse the use of camera shots by discussing their use in the film as a whole or other films

25. What does research tell us about feedback? Hattie’s meta analysis of influences on student achievement showed: • Average effect was .40 • Feedback was .79 • Only direct instruction and reciprocal teaching were higher • Students’ prior cognitive ability followed feedback

26. What is effective feedback? It should be: • about the work, not the student • Comments, not grades or marks • aimed at closing the gap between where the student is now and where he/she should be to achieve the standard • short

27. An example of feedback • To gain Merit you need to develop the effect of the low angle shot with more specific detail. • To gain excellence you need to consider how low angle shots are used elsewhere in the film or commonly used in other films of this genre. and improvement marking strategy

28. Further Reading Absolum, Michael. (2006) Clarity in the Classroom, Using Formative Assessment Hodder Education Clarke, Shirley. (2005) Formative Assessment in the Secondary Classroom Hodder Education Hawk, K. & Hill, J. (2001) The Challenge of Formative Assessment in Secondary Classrooms SPANZ Journal, September 2001.