Instruction and Assessment
Instruction and our Assessment is what most of us consider to be the fun part—how do we get our students to learn what we want them to learn, and how will we know if they have learned it? This is where we pre-assess, formative-assess and summative-assess; it’s where we differentiate; it’s where we plan activities, create presentations, lecture, meet with kids outside of class, and make connections around learning.
Designing Assessments
As soon as you have your KUD, your next step is to determine how students will show you what they know, understand, and can do at the end of the unit. Everything you do in class should lead up to this assessment--think of the summative assessment as the "big game" and all formative assessments, activities, and learning experiences as "practice". You are giving the students the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to succeed or excel in the big game.
Summative Assessment:
Your summative assessment (SA) should come at the end of the unit and should measure student knowledge, understanding, and skill based on what you have on your KUD. Most often, all students will complete the same SA--the differentiation will come during the unit; there are times, however, when the SA is differentiated based on interest, readiness, or learning style.
When you are determining whether to differentiate the product (the SA), consider what your KUD says. If writing a LEAF essay is an essential skill for the unit, then offering a non-writing option would not be appropriate.
Pre-Assessment:
In many cases, the Summative Assessment can be used as a pre-assessment. If your SA is a test, why not give the same test before the unit (modified, when necessary)? If your SA is an essay, have them write a "pre-essay" in class. The more specific your pre-assessment is, the more useful the data you get from it will be.
Pre-assessments don't always have to measure knowledge or skill, they can also help determine interest and learning style. If you know that half of your class is passionate about the topic and half would rather have a tooth pulled, that can help you determine how to proceed.
It's important to actually use the data use receive from the pre-assessment when planning activities and lessons. Students will quickly figure out whether you care what they already know or are interested in.
Perhaps even more important that the information you will receive from the pre-assessment, is the benefit to the students. Pre-assessments prime the brain for learning. Students are much more likely to learn that you want the to learn (and to learn it more efficiently) if you pre-assess.
Formative Assessments:
This is where most of your differentiation will occur. Your pre-assessment(s) will most likely show you that you have variances in student readiness, interests, and/or learning styles. If your goal is to ensure that all students achieve the knowledge, understanding, and skills that you laid out in your KUD, then you will need to differentiate. There are countless ways to do this, and different units will require different levels of differentiating. Sometimes, offering a choice during an activity is enough; sometimes more skill-based groupings will be necessary; sometimes homework will need to be tiered. Remember that it's about what they need in order to be prepared for the summative assessment, not what we need to teach. If they're not learning, it doesn't matter what we teach.
Formative assessment is practice, so should not be graded. It's a chance for the teacher to be the student's advocate, not the judge. Students need to feel safe to take risks with learning, and this will not happen if you grade their practice. Not grading practice, however, does not mean that you don't look at it. Feedback is vital to student learning.
Summative Assessment:
Your summative assessment (SA) should come at the end of the unit and should measure student knowledge, understanding, and skill based on what you have on your KUD. Most often, all students will complete the same SA--the differentiation will come during the unit; there are times, however, when the SA is differentiated based on interest, readiness, or learning style.
When you are determining whether to differentiate the product (the SA), consider what your KUD says. If writing a LEAF essay is an essential skill for the unit, then offering a non-writing option would not be appropriate.
Pre-Assessment:
In many cases, the Summative Assessment can be used as a pre-assessment. If your SA is a test, why not give the same test before the unit (modified, when necessary)? If your SA is an essay, have them write a "pre-essay" in class. The more specific your pre-assessment is, the more useful the data you get from it will be.
Pre-assessments don't always have to measure knowledge or skill, they can also help determine interest and learning style. If you know that half of your class is passionate about the topic and half would rather have a tooth pulled, that can help you determine how to proceed.
It's important to actually use the data use receive from the pre-assessment when planning activities and lessons. Students will quickly figure out whether you care what they already know or are interested in.
Perhaps even more important that the information you will receive from the pre-assessment, is the benefit to the students. Pre-assessments prime the brain for learning. Students are much more likely to learn that you want the to learn (and to learn it more efficiently) if you pre-assess.
Formative Assessments:
This is where most of your differentiation will occur. Your pre-assessment(s) will most likely show you that you have variances in student readiness, interests, and/or learning styles. If your goal is to ensure that all students achieve the knowledge, understanding, and skills that you laid out in your KUD, then you will need to differentiate. There are countless ways to do this, and different units will require different levels of differentiating. Sometimes, offering a choice during an activity is enough; sometimes more skill-based groupings will be necessary; sometimes homework will need to be tiered. Remember that it's about what they need in order to be prepared for the summative assessment, not what we need to teach. If they're not learning, it doesn't matter what we teach.
Formative assessment is practice, so should not be graded. It's a chance for the teacher to be the student's advocate, not the judge. Students need to feel safe to take risks with learning, and this will not happen if you grade their practice. Not grading practice, however, does not mean that you don't look at it. Feedback is vital to student learning.
Instruction
There is no specific formula for good instruction, though there are many research-based strategies and guidelines that can help us help students learn more effectively, efficiently, and with greater engagement. We have included some resources here that might be helpful.
Best Practices Differentiation
Best Practices Differentiation