Students as Assessors
During a classroom observation in Mr. T’s room, he announced a pop-quiz. Students’ faces quickly turned sour and murmurs of anxiety could be heard. A short while later, when I observed Ms. M’s classroom it was obvious that students approached assessment with curiosity and an open mind. So, what’s the difference in how they plan and manage assessment?
Ms. M. told the students what
the learning targets were at the beginning of class. She explained how they
would be evaluated at the end of the unit. During learning, the students
weren’t aware that they were continually being assessed. They thought that the
ball toss review was for fun. As students used trackers to record their
learning they liked the helpful notes and stickers Ms. M. put on their papers.
They didn’t mind making the changes and corrections she recommended because
they knew it would improve their final scores.
When it came time for the
test in Ms. M’s room, students prepared by writing test questions and quizzing
each other. Sometimes they played games such as bingo or jeopardy. On the test
they often had a choice of questions. They could complete 20 of the selected
choice, 2 of the matching, pick 10 fill-in, and had a choice of essays, case
studies, and problems to solve. Sometimes they watched a brief video or
reviewed a website as part of the unit test. One time, Ms. M. even asked them
to write case studies for the test.
When students have this
type of engagement, empowerment, preparation, and ownership of assessment, their
scores on local tests improve. The school noted that her students’ scores on
standardized tests were higher. Was it confidence, a flexible mindset,
or just good teaching - what do you think?
posted by Assessment Network @ 4:35 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Ms. M. is clearly an excellent teacher. She establishes a relationship of mutual trust and respect with her students. She communicates expectations and requirements up front and presents no surprises. Thus, students are free to open their minds in learning without the stress of the unexpected pop quiz.
Students who learn in an environment like Ms. M.'s classroom are empowered to learn. They also become intrinsically motivated and this leads to deeper learning. Furthermore, Ms. M. allows students choice in their assessments which sets them up for success. The students have an opportunity to share what they know in a way that best suits them. Thus, assessments themselves almost become differentiated to each individual student.
If Ms. M allowed the students choices about which questions they were going to answer in order to demonstrate their understanding, she was supporting their self-efficacy. I learned in my educational psychology class that self-efficacy is positively correlated with higher performance. Therefore, she demonstrated good teaching by allowing them that choice.
In order to release control by giving students those kinds of choices she is also demonstrating flexibility. Good teachers open themselves up to "out of the box" thinking like this. It requires a certain amount of confidence as a teacher to share control with students. I saw some teachers who were part of a study on the effectiveness of formative assessment admitting that they had some misgivings of the chaos that could ensue when students were allowed to do most of the talking in the classroom, for instance.
Therefore, the teacher was demonstrating confidence, a flexible mindset and good teaching.
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