1. Feedback for Learning Assessment for Learning Workshop Portage la Prairie School Division Facilitators: Brigitte Heppner, Faye Maly, and Donna Mueller “ "The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest prescription for improving education must be ‘dollops of feedback’.” Hattie, 1992
Today’s presentation is meant to be a lead up to our next session on grading and reporting.

2. Clear Targets for Today’s Session:
Look at the current research findings on feedback as it relates to assessment for learning
Make connections between clear targets, setting criteria and descriptive feedback
Explore four different categories of feedback
Look at practical strategies that promote descriptive feedback in the classroom
Have time with our colleagues to reflect on today’s learning.
Balanced into two parts –
First half of presentation WHAT AND WHY about descriptive feedback– looking at current research and hearing from the experts
Second half will focus on HOW practical classroom applications.

3. Education is a journey…….
Teaching is dynamic and ever changing – that’s what we signed up for! As teachers we are always learning and we will never be finished learning, nor will we ever know everything there is to know. It’s a journey

4. Seven Strategies of Assessment FOR Learning
Where am I going?
1.  Provide a clear statement of the learning target
2.  Use examples and models of strong and weak work (exemplars)
Where am I now?
3.  Offer regular descriptive feedback
4.  Teach students to self-assess and set goals
How can I close the gap?
       5. Design focused lessons
         6. Teach students focused revision
         7. Engage students in self-reflection:
let them keep track of and share their learning
Assessment for Learning - Each an area of study in their own – not a checklist.
Today we are going to focus on strategy 3.Offer Regular Descriptive Feedback.  Over the course of our learning on assessment we will be looking at each area in more detail.
When preparing this was really surprised to find out how much research and information there is on this topic. We can’t talk about descriptive feedback without talking about clear targets and criteria – so today we will hopfully tie all three together
This is not a checklist, each area is an area of study on it's own and will take some time to understand in it's entirety.
This is also not an initiative or bandwagon,. Assessment for Learning strategies are these are highly researched ways of teaching that promote and immensely improve learning through student engagement.  It is simply put -  best teaching  practices. 

5. Anchor activity
Find your elbow partner for the day. Introduce yourself.
Task:
Build a structure using the materials provided.
Use as much of the material as possible.
You will have 5 minutes
And go! cooltimer
Start morning off with a group activity we will refer back to throughout the day. This might be a sample of a typical classroom challenge that’s engaging and fun for students.

6. Table Group Discussion
Did the feedback given help or hinder you?
Could you do better next time?
Were you engaged in the activity?
What did you learn?
What information were you missing?
1 person from your table group please be ready to share.
cooltimer
Students can be very engaged but not have a clue about what we want them to learn…or …they may have learned something, but it’ s not what we wanted or it’s different for everyone..
Need to connect the learning target to the activity.
Takes a minute – We are continuing our work on structures. Today we are going to look at ways of building stability into free standing structures
Without purpose target set out first – loss of direction, difficult to give feedback that is meaningful to students – we will refer back and work with this sample throughout the session.
Reminds me of my teaching – often do FUN activities – they didn’t know why, I din’t always know why…they were Jr. High we were having fun….sometimes I knew why but I didn’t tell them – the mark was a surprise….I didn’t know about feedback and targets….. guilt

7. Set the Stage – Assessment for Learning
Rick Stiggins Intro
First of two videos we will look at.
Summary of what feedback for learning involves

8. Key Point
Work done in the pre-planning phase sets the stage for the learner. Setting criteria and connecting the activity to the outcome gives the learner focus and reason. Once this is accomplished, students and teachers can use the criteria for launching into effective feedback that is focused on the learning target(s).
We will go into setting criteria later in the presentation – first we will look at some research on feedback

9. Excerpts from “Feed Back…Feed Forward: Using Assessment to Boost Literacy Learning” by Anne Davies.
The brain research tells us that our brains require feedback to learn (Pinker, 1997; Sylwester, 1995; Jensen, 1998). Classroom assessment research tells us that when we involve students in the assessment process, increase the amount of descriptive feedback students receive, and decrease the amount of evaluative feedback they receive, students learn significantly more (Black and Wiliam, 1998).
Results rival that of small class size studies if used as a matter of routine!

10. Think of it this way……
Feedback for our brain is a bit like fats in our body. Some kinds of fats clog up our arteries and increase our cholesterol to dangerous levels while other kinds of fats lower our cholesterol.

11. nourishes the learning brain.
Evaluative Feedback
Descriptive Feedback
performance standards with numbers to indicate ratings, 8/10, checks on a checklist, letter grades
are like the fats that clog our arteries but instead of shutting down the blood flow, they shut down the learning brain.
feedback that is specific about what is working and points out next steps in the learning –
nourishes the learning brain.

12. Feedback on learning - Dylan Wiliam
The focus of this video is feedback on learning. Dylan Wiliam reviews the importance of giving learners effective feedback as an integral component of formative assessment. (3-4 minutes)
Click on the link below.
VIEW VIDEO
Check our volume ahead of time – the presenter starts immediately.

13. Turn and Talk
What was one key point that caused you to reflect on your classroom practice with regards to assessment?
cooltimer

14. Key Terms
In Willams video he talks about two types of feedback, ego involving and task involving.
These terms are synonymous with the terms:
evaluative feedback or motivational (ego related )
descriptive feedback (task related)
-1996 Pat Tunstall and Caroline Gipps

15. Evaluative vs. Descriptive
Descriptive Feedback
Evaluative
Feedback
Describes features of work or performance
Relates directly to learning targets and/or standards of quality using exemplars, rubrics and/or samples
Points out strengths and gives specific information on how to improve
Provides strategies for moving forward
Promotes learning by increasing motivation
Formative assessment
Typically uses a single measurement
May compare students to each other
Does not give students information about specific elements (knowledge, skills) they perform well
May encourage competition
Sometimes linked to rewards vs. punishments
Stifles learning
Generally summative type of assessment

16. Feedback can be further broken down further into 4 types…
Motivational Feedback
Evaluative Feedback
Descriptive Feedback
Effective Descriptive Feedback

17. Motivational Feedback
Goal is to make the learner feel good.
Feedback that is intended to encourage and support the learner.
Does not give guidance on how to improve the learner’s reasoning.
“I like how you completed the assignment.”

18. Evaluative Feedback
Goal is to measure student achievement with a score or a grade.
Feedback that is intended to summarize student achievement.
Does not give guidance on how to improve the learner’s reasoning.
73%

19. Descriptive Feedback
Goal is to improve student achievement by telling the learner what steps to take in order to move forward in the learning process.
Feedback that is intended to tell the learner what needs to be improved.
Gives specific guidance as to how to improve the learners’ reasoning.
“You accurately found the number of students in 4th grade who said ice cream was their favorite. You now need to divide this number by the total number of students to get the percent who said ice cream was their favorite.”

20. Effective Descriptive Feedback
Goal is for students to internalize the effective feedback.
Feedback that is intended to be used by the learner to independently move their reasoning to the next level.
“I agree with the pattern that you have identified in the table. I am not convinced that the rule you wrote works for all the shapes in the table. How could you prove this?”

21. Types of Feedback - Summary
Motivational
Evaluative
Descriptive
Effective
Feedback is primarily motivational
Feedback is primarily evaluative
Descriptive feedback primarily tells the student how to correct their reasoning.
Descriptive feedback asks the student what to do to move their reasoning to the next level.
Purpose: to encourage and support the learner
Purpose: to measure student achievement with a score or a grade
Purpose: to improve learning by indicating to the student what needs to be improved
Purpose: to improve learning, by moving student reasoning to the next level
More
Summative
Formative
Activity 2 slide

22. Activity 2 Types of feedback
Types of Feedback - Activity 2
Complete the activity in small groups or partners.
Do a quick self reflection as to what types of feedback you most often use.
Cooltimer
Regroup and share

23. Key Research Findings

24. Hawk and Hill (2001)
The feedback teachers give needs to be of a high quality.
When feedback is given in writing, some students:
have difficulty understanding the points the teacher is trying to make
are unable read the teacher’s writing
can’t process the feedback and understand what to do next.
Asking a student to tell you what they think you are trying to say to them is the best way to check this out.

25. Wiliam (1999)
Findings from Ruth Butler’s research on 132 year 7 students:
Students given only marks made no gain from the first to the second lesson.
Students given only comments scored on average 30% higher.
Giving marks alongside comments cancelled the beneficial effects of the comments.
Research conclusion:
If you are going to grade or mark a piece of work, you are wasting your time writing careful diagnostic comments.

26. Clarke (2001) Findings from Clarke's research: Teachers give:
their students too many criteria making it very difficult for specific feedback to be given
too much information in their marking which students find overwhelming and difficult to take in.
Clarke suggests:
When giving written feedback that teachers highlight three successes in the student’s work and one area where some improvement is necessary.

27. Feedback… in summary
focuses on the learning intention of the task – clear target
occurs as the students are doing the learning
provides information on how and why the student understands or misunderstands
provides strategies to help the student to improve
assists the student to understand the goals of the learning.
Related article “Feedback That Fits” - Susan Bookhart
Article –
Feedback that Fits – Susan Bookhart

28. PART 2- APPLICATIONS
It is not reasonable to think that lengthy written descriptive comments on every piece of students work is the only way or even possible. In the next slides we will guide you through several ways to set criteria and assess students’ work without putting a mark on the paper.

29. Ten Ways To Assess Without Putting A Mark On Paper
Ideas taken from:
Setting and Using Criteria
By:
Kathleen Gregory, Caren Cameron, Anne Davies
1997

30. Strategies Proposed: Met, Not Yet Met Met, Not Yet Met, I Noticed
Sample Match
Performance Grid
More of, Less Of
N.B. (Pay Attention)
Specific Remarks
Using Acronyms
The Next Step
Key Questions

31. EXAMPLE
Using scenario 1 – Restaurant Owner
Met, Not Met, I Noticed

32. YOUR TURN - GROUP ACTIVITY
1. Each group selects from the remaining scenarios
As a group select a strategy (one of the sheets provided in the booklet)
Set criteria together for your scenario
4. Read the method for the strategy and try applying it to the scenario you’ve selected
Share a way you might be able to use this strategy in the classroom.
Select one person from your group who will be prepared to comment on: your strategy, the process of selecting criteria, and giving descriptive feedback and/or other ways to use the method.
Activity BLM cooltimer
Click on link above to show group what the activity sheet looks like. –
Read through it together – guidelines for setting criteria are attached on the back for your reference.
Have them get back into groups from earlier activity - 5 or 6 in a group
Note – there might be one or two that aren’t applicable to the situation you chose – that’s OK chose a different one.

33. It is not practical or necessary to set criteria for every single activity.
Spend time working on the performances, procedures or products you evaluate often to start with.
(i.e. classroom procedures, fire drills, title pages, presentations, performances, group work, problem solving, projects, writing, reading aloud, conversations, etc…)

34. Peer Feedback “Get students working harder
Peer Feedback “Get students working harder. School is not a place to watch old people get tired. The person working the hardest is growing the most dendrites! It’s about the learning” Anne Davies
Play video

35. Teaching students how to give descriptive feedback to one another is a powerful learning tool for the classroom. The following video could be used as a tool in early years classrooms to assist with teaching students how to give descriptive feedback

36. Use for students self-reflection on giving descriptive feedback. (i. e
                                                  Use for students self-reflection on giving descriptive feedback. (i.e. student presentation peer assessment)
Criteria For
Descriptive Feedback
1. I read the goal(s) or learning target
2. I compared the work with the learning target or goal
3. I gave at least one piece of advice as to how to improve the work to get closer to the goal.
4. I pointed out something I thought was good and why.

37. REFLECT Effective feedback in your classroom
Reflect on what you have just learned regarding the importance of effective descriptive feedback with a colleague.
What was one key point that caused you to reflect on your classroom practice with regards to assessment?
What will you take away from today’s session?

38. Other Related Articles
Feedback Feedforward - Using Assessment to Boost Literacy Learning - Anne Davies -An online journal article that summarizes key components of effective feedback.
Feed Up, Back, Forward – Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey ASCD November 2009

39. Donna, Brigitte and Faye
In closing….
On behalf of the Assessment Committee and your school administrator(s), thank you for learning and sharing with us today!
Donna, Brigitte and Faye

40. Assessment references
Cameron, C., Gregory K., Davies, A., (1997) Knowing What Counts – Setting and Using Criteria. Building Connections Publishing.
Clarke, S. (2001). Unlocking formative assessment: Practical strategies for enhancing pupils’ learning in the primary classroom. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Clarke, S. (2003). Enriching Feedback in the primary classroom. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Hawk, K. & Hill, J. (2001) The Challenge of Formative Assessment in Secondary Classrooms SPANZ Journal, September 2001.
Tunstall, P., & Gipps, C. (1996). Teacher feedback to young children in formative assessment: A typology. British Educational Research Journal, 22 (4).
Sutton, R. (1998). School-wide Assessment. Improving Teaching and Learning. New Zealand Council for educational Research. Wellington NZ.
Wiliam, D. (1999). Formative Assessment in Mathematics. The Mathematical Association. Equals. Summer Volume 5, Number 2.

41. Feedback That Fits Task 1:
Read article “Feedback That Fits” by Susan M. Brookhart on effective feedback.
Go for a break – coffee
When we return from break we will do a related activity
Go to next page for activity explaination

42. Perspective Lens Activity BLM -LINK
White Lens – pure white facts (information, details, truths)
Purple Lens – judgment (the downside, why it won’t work, what’s wrong with it)
Red Lens – just feel it (emotions, how do you feel, opinions, hunches)
Green lens – green and growing (possibilities, new ideas, where can this go?)
Yellow – sunshine and brightness (positive, the upside, constructive, what’s the potential)
Blue Lens – cool and controlled (pulls things together, summarizes, thinks about the thinking)
1.Get into teams of 6.
2.Each person selects a color and reads the article using that perspective.
3.Fill in the section of your chart as you read.
4.Stick to the perspective you agreed to.
5.Everyone in turn shares the perspective
6.Blue lens will report back to the larger group.