1. Running head: ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 1
Assessment Used to Drive Instruction
Danielle Kawcak
Walden University
EDUC 6731: Assessment for Student Learning EDUC 6731
Dr. Paul Trautman
May 18, 2013

2. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 2
Assessment Used to Drive Instruction
The consideration of developed background knowledge and understanding is highly
essential when teaching for understanding. If we do not have a clear view of what students know
regarding a concept prior to diving into a unit, we may lose valuable opportunity to build upon
their previous knowledge while we are doing what we think to be building that initial basis.
Another alternative downfall may be that teachers assume students have background knowledge
to build upon that they do not actually have. These scenarios both prove to valid and essential
reasonings for the necessity of pre-assessments throughout education. Furthermore, the ability
for students to become self-directed learners based on their understandings is more importantly
an essential life skill. The authors of Why we need self-directed learners highlight the
importance of self-directed learning by stating, “Both teachers and students must become
continual and internally driven learners” (Costa, A.L., & Kallick, B., 2004). This ensures the
need for purposeful assessment to be used as an avenue for learning for teachers and students.
Based on my experiences with young students, I make it a point to value the background
knowledge of each student. Students have various experiences and familiarities that affect many
aspects of their learning. Determining student strengths and needs related to a concept before
will benefit student learning through focused direction and thorough connection processes. As I
reflected upon the assessments/methods for assessment I have created to implement during my
unit, I found there was no option for direct parent involvement throughout the course of the unit.
I will further develop the unit with an additional parent/family extension for students with that
support to connect their learning to learning that may be fostered at home as well. As a
beginning step in this process, not only to assess student knowledge, experience and engagement,
but also to determine parent engagement, I have created a learning exercise that we will use as a

3. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 3
piece of initial assessment for students to engage in at home. Additionally, parents/families are
asked to complete a questionnaire relating to their child's experience with force and motion. If I
found it to be appropriate based on student families' abilities to do so, I would ask that parents
take their student to each local park to determine, discuss and record differences in slides
throughout the town parks and how these differences altered the child's experience of sliding
down each. Unfortunately, due to lack of transportation and many high-need based families
within the district I am currently in, this will not be an assessment opportunity that I will
implement at this time. However, this could also be a field trip based learning experience for all
students in the beginning of the unit. Please find attached these documents of assessment for
learning. From the completed responses, I am able to determine the complexity of experiences a
child has had with various aspects of force and motion, the use of student vocabulary outside of
school as well as willingness of parent involvement throughout this unit of learning. These will
all be factors that heavily direct instruction, learning opportunities and further assessment
options throughout the implementation of the unit.
Additionally, students will begin the process of completing a KWHL chart as a basis to
determine what their group learning goals will be and to assess their current understanding of
force and motion as related to slide structure and develop a sense of the needs that they will need
to address throughout their learning experiences. These KWHL charts will be formulated
through deep discussion and questioning with peers and myself. From this assessment, students
will be driving their own learning as they will understand their needs, determine how they might
meet those needs and thus learn from the experiences. I will use these assessments in great part
as a means of providing and facilitating learning opportunities to students based on their area of
need. Additionally, students will be continually collaborating to address further areas of student

4. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 4
need. Thus, the questioning of understanding from peers and myself will provide necessary
feedback for students to reflect upon their learning and articulate what they have learned
(Davies, A., 2007).
A highly valuable and effective form of assessment in any classroom is deep questioning.
Encouraging students to ask critical questions of themselves during learning as well as be able to
critically formulate relevant and thorough responses to questions asked of them. As a main
means of formative assessment in my classroom, students develop a dependence on thorough
questioning to guide their learning. The value of this questioning is not just beneficial to the
educator but most essentially to the student. Asking critical questions of one's peers promotes
critical thinking by all who are involved. This critical thinking may then be connected to other
learning experiences and thus develop a community of learning based on student, teacher, family
and community collaboration. Oral questioning is highly evident in my every day classroom
practices but thoroughly used as a means of assessment within this Force and Motion unit.
Students will not only ask questions of each other but they will also be asked questions by their
investor to further drive their learning. Of this formative assessment, students will be able to
reflect deeply upon their learning and experiences to further develop understanding of the
concept.
In addition to thorough, developed questioning practices, students will be consistently
assessed based on observations of student interaction during play with materials, peers and
situations. Student play at the kindergarten level is essential for developmental growth and
certainly a critical component for learning cause and effect through trial and error relationships
(Graue, E., 2011). This observation during play will guide my instruction as I will be able to

5. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 5
develop an understanding of the depth of understanding individual students have pertaining to
cause and effect relationships with an emphasis on force and motion.
The importance of purposeful assessment that is used to drive instruction is ever more
evident to me now as I see the vital role it plays in unit implementation. Just as we are to use
initial assessments as an initial indicator of knowledge and understanding that students are
beginning the unit with, formative assessment throughout continues to drive that instruction
down the individualized avenues it must follow to reach specific student needs. The
implementation of these assessments has given me an idea of student engagement, student
knowledge and understanding as well as an insight to student experiences beyond their time in
school. With this information, I have the capability to provide learning experiences that will
capitalize of individual student strengths as well as meet student needs.

6. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 6
References
Costa, A.L., & Kallick, B. (2004). Assessment Strategies for Self-Directed Learning. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Davies, A.. (2007). Ahead of the curve: Involving students in the classroom assessment process.
Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Graue, E.. (2011). The early and elementary years/Are we paving paradise?. Educational
Leadership, 68, 12-17. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
leadership/apr11/vol68/num07/Are-We-Paving-Paradise%C2%A2.aspx.
Student At-Home Learning Opportunity

7. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 7
Please do these activities with your child at home and then record their response to each
question and have your child illustrate their response in the given box.
1. Jump as high as you can. What happens after you jump into the air?
2. Throw an object up towards the sky. What happens after you throw it up?
3. Try to slide something heavy on the ground. How did you try to move it? What worked well?
What did not? Why?
Student/Family Learning Opportunity
Please go with your child to each of the listed parks. While you are at the park, please have your
child explore any slides that are there. Have them slide down it then come explain their

8. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 8
experience while you write it in the given area. Also, have the child do a quick but neat
illustration of each slide structure in the given box.
North Park-
Explanation of experience:
Why?
City Park-
Explanation of experience:
Why?
Loudy Simpson Park-
Explanation of experience:
Why?
Parent Questionnaire of child's experience with force and motion
Parents, please fill out this questionnaire with most possible accuracy. This will help
me to determine experiences children will be taking on as we learn about force and
motion.
Thank you!

9. ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 9
How often does your child play on playground equipment outside of school hours?
Has your child ever been sledding? If so, how often?
-Have different sleds been explored during this experience?
Has your child ever been to a water park that they were able to experience water rides?
Has your child ever been to an amusement park and experienced such rides as a roller coaster,
etc.?
How does your child deal with trial and error relationships at home? (If something does not
work, what do they do?)

10. Running head: ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 10
Walden University M.S. in Education Program
Formative Evaluative Criteria for Applications and Reflective Essays
Quality of Work
Submitted
Work reflects
graduate-level
critical,
analytical
thinking.
A: Exemplary
Work
A = 4.00 (60)
A- = 3.75 (55)
All of the
previous, in
addition to the
following:
B: Graduate
Level Work
B+ = 3.50 (50)
B = 3.00 (45)
B- = 2.75 (40)
All of the
previous, in
addition to the
following:
C: Minimal Work
C+ = 2.50 (35)
C = 2.00 (30)
C- = 1.75 (25)
F: Work
Submitted but
Unacceptable
F = 1.00
Adherence to
Assignment
Expectations:
The extent to
which work
meets the
assigned
criteria.
All parts of the
assignment
exceed
expectations.
All parts of the
assignment are
completed.
Most parts of
assignment are
completed.
The assignment
does not fulfill the
expectations.
Integrates
additional
material and/or
information.
Topics are fully
developed.
Topics are not
fully developed.
Key components
are not included.
The work is
presented in a
thorough and
detailed manner.
The work is
presented in an
appropriate
manner.
The work is
presented with
minimal detail.
The work is
presented with no
detail.
Demonstrates
exceptional
breadth and
depth.
Demonstrates
appropriate
breadth and
depth.
Demonstrates
minimal depth
and breadth.
Work lacks
breadth and depth.
Assimilation
and Synthesis of
Ideas:
The extent to
which the work
reflects the
student’s ability
to understand
the assignment’s
purpose and
analyze material
in videos,
Demonstrates
the intellectual
ability to
explore and/or
implement key
instructional
concepts.
Demonstrates a
clear
understanding of
the assignment’s
purpose.
Shows some
degree of
understanding of
the assignment’s
purpose.
Shows a lack of
understanding of
the assignment’s
purpose.
Demonstrates
insightful
reflection and/or
critical thinking.
Demonstrates
careful
consideration of
key instructional
concepts.
Generally applies
theories,
concepts, and/or
strategies
correctly.
Does not apply
theories, concepts,
and/or strategies.

11. Running head: ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 11
readings,
discussions, and
apply presented
strategies.
Sources may
include, but are
not limited to,
scholarly
articles,
collegial
discussions, and
information
from
conferences, in
service, faculty
development,
and/or meetings.
To receive an A
paper, you must
use outside
sources.
Provides an in-
depth analysis
that is critical
and discusses
implications for
education.
Provides an
appropriate
analysis that
should be more
in-depth.
Ideas are unclear
and/or
underdeveloped.
Does not provide
an analysis.
Includes
information
from all the
required course
videos and/or
readings to
support major
points.
Includes specific
information from
course videos or
required readings
to support major
points. See
assignment below
for all required
resources.
Minimally
includes specific
information from
course videos or
required readings.
Does not include
specific
information from
course videos or
required readings.
Demonstrates
exceptional
inclusion of
major points,
using creditable
outside sources.
Does not use a
creditable outside
source to support
major points or
analysis
All ideas are not
supported by the
literature with
appropriate
citations and does
not use an outside
source
Does not use any
appropriate source
to support ideas or
analysis. Paper
lacks any citations
or references.
Written
Expression and
Formatting:
The extent to
which scholarly,
critical,
analytical
writing is
presented in
APA format,
that is written in
standard edited
English with
correct
grammar,
mechanics,
spelling,
organization,
etc.
The paper
represents
scholarly
writing.
The paper is well
organized and
represents good
writing.
The paper
somewhat
represents mature,
scholarly,
graduate-level
writing.
The quality of
writing is not
acceptable for
graduate level
work.
Correct APA
formatting and
style always
used throughout.
Correct APA
formatting is
mostly used.
APA formatting
is generally
followed.
The APA
formatting is not
acceptable for
graduate level
work.
The work is
unified around a
central purpose
with well-
developed ideas.
Ideas are clearly
and concisely
expressed.
Ideas are not
clearly and
concisely
expressed.
Major points do
not reflect
appropriate
elements of
communication.

12. Running head: ASSESSMENT FOR INSTRUCTION 12
The work is
logically
organized in
paragraph
structure with
clear transitions.
Elements of
effective
communication,
such as an
introduction and
conclusion, are
included.
Elements of
effective
communication,
such as an
introduction and
conclusion, are
not included.
There is no effort
to express ideas
clearly and
concisely using
the elements of
effective
communication.
Work is written
in compelling
and effective
standard edited
English.
Work is written
in standard edited
English.
Work is poorly
written, much in
non-standard
English, and not
sufficiently
edited.
Work is not
written in standard
English and not
acceptable for
graduate level
work.
Sentences are
effective,
varied, clear,
and concise,
with powerful
expression
evident.
Few, if any,
grammatical or
mechanical
errors.
Work contains
more than a few
grammatical or
mechanical
errors.
Work contains
many grammatical
or mechanical
errors, making it
difficult to
understand.
Grade: A Comments:
There are
important APA
and Walden
University
requirements
that must be
followed for
every paper:
• Correctly formatted title page.
• Correctly formatted running head and pagination.
• The use of Times New Roman, 12-point font only, every line double-
spaced, and one-inch margins on all four sides.
• APA essay style writing (except where explicitly stated), including an
introductory paragraph that explains the purpose of the assignment with a
well-formulated thesis statement; a body of evidence and analysis; and a
concluding paragraph that summarizes your ideas and discusses the
educational implications.
• Citations/reference entries for every idea/concept presented – even your
own.
• Correctly written reference entries.
Use of at least half of the required resources & one outside source.
It is expected that all applications and reflective essays will be submitted according to the
assignment due dates indicated. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the faculty member
if contacted by the student prior to the due date describing extenuating circumstances. Updated:
7-3-2012