APST 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Focus Area 5.1: Assess student learning

Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.

My Interpretation: Create different forms of assessment strategies such as formative and summative tasks to assess the level of student learning and understanding.

How I Integrated the Standard: During my practicum, I implemented a range of summative and formative tasks such as tests, quizzes, practical reports and investigations for my classes. I used the formative tasks such as quizzes of Kahoots to informally asses student learning and understanding. Using the reports generated by Kahoots I could see the areas of teaching I needed to improve on. The homework booklets for Chemistry allowed m to gauge student undertsanding weekly.

Vineetha informally assessed students by posing questions to them and setting formative tasks that allowed her to gauge students’ level of understanding of the topic. She also summatively assessed students on a number of tasks including practicals, reports, tests and assignments.

- Kristie Abbott and Nam Tran, Blackfriars Priory School, Final Placement Report

Focus area 5.2: Provide feedback to students on their learning

Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning.

My Interpretation: Capacity to provide timely and useful feedback to students regarding their tests, quizzes or assignments to allow them to improve their work.

How I Integrated the Standard: When providing feedback, I tried to use a number of different platforms to relay the information to students. I provided feedback through Education Perfect and on assessment tasks. I also provided instant verbal feedback to students, by getting them to critically analyse their work and look for ways to improve. In my feedback, I tried to be very detailed to ensure students had a clear idea on how to enhance their future work. I gave students the opportunity to hand-up drafts for summative assignments which was returned to them promptly and with detailed feedback.

She marked work promptly and provided students with detailed feedback.

- Kristie Abbott and Nam Tran, Blackfriars Priory School, Final Placement Report

Focus area 5.3: Make consistent and comparable judgements

Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.

My Interpretation: Engage in moderation with colleagues to be objective and consistent when grading assessments to support student learning.

How I Integrated the Standard: Throughout my Chemistry and Biology Curriculum and Methodology courses, I engaged in moderation with peers and supervisors. This was done to a range of feedback and assessment strategies, including informal and formal, formative, and summative approaches to assess student learning in the subject area and for various curricula. I also engaged in moderation with my mentors at Blackfriars either formally or informally.

Excellent participation in workshop moderation process. Student work shows a number of clear annotations, some are general, but summary (at end of each task) is very good.

- Elizabeth Arthur, Biology Curriculum and Methodology B, Moderation Assessment

Focus area 5.4: Interpret student data

Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.

My interpretation: Use a variety of strategies to understand and interpret student assessment data to improve teaching practices and enhance student learning.

How I Integrated the Standard: During my practicum, I used a number of informal (low-stakes assignments) such as quizzes, thumbs up/thumbs down and Education Perfect. I also gathered data through observations in the classroom when the students are doing work or group discussions. The data from observations then leads me to adjust pacing for the whole class or scaffold for those students who are still struggling. Summative assessments such as practical reports and end-of-unit science exams, allowed me to measure the growth of individual and whole-group learning. If a large number of students don’t do well on a high-stakes assessment, I can reflect back on the teaching and make necessary adjustments in the future.

Focus area 5.5: Report on student achievement

Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement.

My Interpretation: Use assessment data and other diagnostic tools to write clear and respectful reports to parents and carers on the learning progress of their child.

How I Integrated the Standard: As I was not allowed access to SEQTA due to Blackfriar's privacy policy, I had to think about different strategies to report on student achievement. Mostly, I would draft emails/SEQTA messages and send it to my mentor who would upload them into SEQTA. Phone calls, emails and SEQTA messages were used to communicate with parents about their child's progress in class.

Vineetha maintained accurate and extensive records of student achievement, and was able to adequately follow up issues of non attendance and failure to submit assignments. She used authentic assessment effectively, in the forms of rubrics which is consistent with what is widely used by Blackfriars staff to assess the Australian Curriculum and the South Australian Certificate of Education.

- Kristie Abbott and Nam Tran, Blackfriars Priory School, Final Placement Report