Assessment
Essential Questions
• What does it look like to triangulate evidence of learning in a hybrid environment?
• How can we plan and facilitate authentic, formative feedback loops for learners?
• How might we broaden our definition of what evidence looks like?
Key Ideas
• The principles of quality assessment remain constant for learning in schools and in hybrid contexts.
• It is necessary to plan for the triangulation of assessment evidence (conversations, observations and products).
• Learners can represent their learning in many ways.
• Strategies that engage students in the collection, organization and presentation of evidence of their learning are powerful.
Activate: Learning vs. Work
This isn't a chicken or or the egg dilemma, but it is a mindset. Ron Ritchhart, author of Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, challenges us to consider a historic metaphor in education - work, and how that metaphor manifests itself in the cultures our schools. Read a short passage of his book here. As we made the shift to a hybrid learning environment, the concept of work or task completion was sometimes confused with more significant goals for learning and student engagement. Read this math teacher's reflection here.
When we begin to consider the implications of this metaphor in the context of a hybrid learning classroom, it challenges us to think about what really matters most with our assessment practices.
The language we use to describe learning and assessment is critical. Our word choice as educators indicates importance for learners and it helps them select words to best describe their own thinking (metacognition). Ron Richart challenges us to consider the metaphor of "learning versus work" in schools. As you reflect on this idea, consider the language you typically use in the classroom in the context of this metaphor. What terms or words fall under each category?
Use the two buttons below to share your thinking in the collaborative word clouds on what words describe "work" and what words describe "learning".
Acquire:
The concept of triangulation is critical to the practices of quality assessment; however, the mechanisms and strategies we use, and students use, to gather evidence over time need to look different in a hybrid learning environment.
As you watch/listen the following brief description of triangulation of learning, consider the ways you have traditionally gathered evidence of student learning, and how you might consider new strategies to include observations, conversations and products. More importantly, think carefully about how you might empower students to be actively engaged in this process as well.
Want more?
Check out this quick read and useful collection of tools.
Adding to our Toolkit
Some tools that may help students and educators gather diverse evidence of learning over time include:
Digital Portfolios
The key to successful implementation of any student portfolio (digital or not), is getting really clear on the purpose. Collecting Evidence and Portfolios: Engaging Students in Pedagogical Documentation is a great resource to help educators sort out purpose. Click here to see a summary of some common portfolio purposes. Some digital containers you might consider include:
Google Tools and Extensions
If your learners are already using Google for Education tools, your are likely already familiar with a variety of applications that can support assessment practices. Some specific tools and/or extensions you may want to explore further include:
Comments (available in Docs. Slides and Sheets).
Here is a link to brief video that demonstrates basic commenting functions in Google Docs.
This handy extension enables users to easily leave recorded verbal feedback in Google Docs. This is especially helpful for offering timely, descriptive feedback and it in a hybrid environment, the personalization of audio feedback helps learners feel more connected to their teacher.
This application enables users to screencapture video and audio from their device. This is certainly a helpful tool for teacher demonstration. Moreover, in the context of assessment for learning, Screencastify is a great tool for students to capture and explain their thinking in many ways. It might be as simple as explaining the process by which learners solved a math problem, or more complex, as students walk their teacher through various representations of learning. Videos are easily linked to digital portfolios as artifacts.
Flipgrid
Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics," and their students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display. Grids can be shared with classes, small groups, or any collection of users interested in a common strand of questions. Flipgrid is a great tool to check for understanding, have students share reflections of learning and gather feedback from others.
Please note: Flipgrid is a Microsoft product and available to teachers in Central Okanagan Public Schools through single sign-on (tied to your standard SD23 email). From the Flipgrid homepage, click Educator Login, then select Microsoft Login.
Apply:
Reflecting on our assessment practices and exploring new ways to help guide teaching and learning are key professional competencies. As we consider the possibilities of a hybrid learning environment, with students sometimes learning remotely, it causes us to pause and consider how we might employ strategies to facilitate quality assessment practices in new and innovative ways As mentioned previously, the Principles of Assessment remain constant; however, the context of our learning environments continue to shift.
Think about some of the ideas presented here and reflect on your previous teaching & assessing in a hybrid environment. What are the one or two things you would like to try this year?