MASD Professional Development Assessment Prompts- LEQ 2

LEQs How can I create effective assessment prompts for my lessons? How do assessment prompts assist me in lesson development? How do assessment prompts assist me in gathering evidence of student learning?

Before we begin with LEQ 2… Thanks for the feedback you provided and please remember to help your facilitator generate a list of questions for us to address during the next Professional development session. Facilitators should send this list to Dr. Leidy once they have been compiled. There were several questions from last time that Dr. Leidy and Julie Huff feel need to be addressed before we proceed.

Question 1: What’s the difference between the APs at the top of the lesson, and the ones at the bottom of the lesson? The APs at the top of the page are to be written in KUD form (the “what”) and the ones at the bottom are to be written in a way that drives your formative assessment (the “how”). More later!

Question 2: How is distributed practice different than using Assessment prompts? In a skill based lesson, you may have a lot of informal distributed practice, but few formal checks for understanding - APs will help you to design a tool through which you gather the formative assessment data that drives future instruction.

LEQ 2: How do assessment prompts assist me in lesson development? AP1: Assessment prompt tasks are ordered within a lesson according to the most logical flow of student learning. AP2: Teachers must determine a question or task to elicit evidence of student learning. AP3: Students apply what they have learned during a lesson in an assignment.

Formal Definition Assessment Prompts are designed to gather evidence of learning throughout the lesson and to help teachers adjust future instruction to meet the needs of the students.

Lesson Activation Read the vignette provided by your facilitator, then discuss it with a partner before you co-write the answers to the questions on the back of the passage. You will have 7 minutes for this activity- at that time, the presentation will commence automatically.

Where did the teacher go wrong? Formative assessment was not an important part of the planning process. The students could not be helped to find a focus in the lesson. Content and activities unrelated to the objective were included. The student engagement that was planned for was of a very low level.

How do APs assist you in the planning process? They force you to think according to the Wiggins/McTighe Backwards Design Model. Identify what students need to Know, Do and Understand. Plan instruction that prepares them to demonstrate this knowledge, understanding and skill prior to the assessment. Assess their competency at critical stages to determine if upcoming instruction needs to be adjusted.

How do APs assist you in the planning process? If I know that students are going to need to know an important term to answer my LEQ, it’s natural to stop and check for understanding of that term before I move on to deeper understanding or application.

For example… Here are a set of related standards that I thought might feed into an LEQ regarding DNA. Explain that the information passed from parents to offspring is transmitted by means of genes which are coded in DNA molecules. Explain the basic process of DNA replication. Describe the basic processes of transcription and translation. Explain how crossing over, jumping genes, and deletion and duplication of genes results in genetic variation. Explain how mutations can alter genetic information and the possible consequences on resultant cells.

These words look important… …so I had better remind myself to address them in my teaching. Explain that the information passed from parents to offspring is transmitted by means of genes which are coded in DNA molecules. Explain the basic process of DNA replication. Describe the basic processes of transcription and translation. Explain how crossing over, jumping genes, and deletion and duplication of genes results in genetic variation. Explain how mutations can alter genetic information and the possible consequences on resultant cells.

As it turns out, these standards deal with two areas: the form / use of genetic information AND the process by which mutations result in genetic variation. If I tried to write just one LEQ, I’d probably need more than 4 assessment prompts to address all of the lingo contained in these standards- so they should probably be distributed into at least 2 LEQs. The first three standards are common to the form / usage of genetic information, so I’ll choose just those for my first question. When I write my LEQ, it will need to be broad enough to deal with all of these ideas, so many of the details from the standards will only be apparent in my assessment prompts.

LEQ: How does DNA’s form allow for the efficient use of genetic information in the production of protein molecules? AP1: (KNOW) Genetic information is coded into DNA, and organized into subunits called genes. AP2: (UNDERSTAND) The structure of DNA allows it to be easily copied during the process of replication. AP3: (DO) Transcribe DNA into RNA, then translate that code into a sequence of amino acids to form a polypeptide.

How do I plan my instruction according to these prompts? Focus on the learning specified in your APs. Design graphic organizers that help your students to document what they have learned along the way. Build formal checks for understanding in at each point where a KUD learning should be apparent. Determine how you will go about assessing their knowledge, understanding, or skill and plan for the student activity that will allow them to succeed.

What does the learning look like? Written in KUD format What will you accept as evidence of learning? AP1: (KNOW) Genetic information is coded into DNA, and organized into subunits called genes. Using their class notes as a guide, students will correctly label a diagram showing the structure of DNA. Accuracy will be evaluated by pair checking with teacher as facilitator.

Facilitators, please help! Pass out the Assessment Prompt Planning worksheet so that teachers can refer to the sample during the next segment. The presentation will commence in 1 minute!

Lesson Summary Step 1: Review the Example on the Planning worksheet provided by your facilitator Step 2: On the other side of the example, enter the LEQ you were asked to bring in the space provided at the top of the page. Step 3: Write assessment prompts for your LEQ in the KUD form in the first column, then develop checks for understanding to be placed in the second column- please do this quietly and independently! Step 4: Trade with a partner, and ask, “Is it realistic that she/he could gather evidence in this way?” Step 5: Discuss what you have seen with your partner and beyond.

In the following professional development hour of CPPD, we’ll be working on the remaining question: How do assessment prompts assist me in gathering evidence of student learning? If you need assistance in the development of your assessment prompts, ask… SOMEBODY!

This professional development will self destruct in… 10 seconds