The document discusses assessment for learning. It defines assessment for learning as assessment that occurs during the learning process to inform teaching and help students. Some key points made include: - Assessment for learning allows teachers to understand students' thinking and identify misconceptions in order to adapt teaching accordingly. - Formative assessment tools mentioned include questioning, self-assessment, peer assessment, tests/quizzes, and feedback. - Intentional dialogue in the classroom is important to elicit students' ideas and understanding. Teachers should ask challenging questions and give students time to think and discuss responses. - Hinge-point questions are used diagnostically at key points to check understanding and determine the next steps in teaching.

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Curriculum and Pedagogic Studies
Assessment for Learning
Dr. Sushma Singh (Core Academic Unit DOE Delhi)
After reading this we will be able to know the:
I. Assessment for learning
Dylan William: “Learner do not always learn what a teacher teach. That is why the most important
assessment does not happen at the end of the learning, it happens during the learning, when there
is still time to do something with what you find out”
• Assessment for learning allows teachers to get evidence about what’s going in your
learner’s mind.
• Assessment for learning allows teacher to get inside the learner’s head and see some of
what they are learning.
• Helps to structure what students need to learn in a particular lesson.
• Helps learners focus on what they need to know and how they can demonstrate this
knowledge.
• Helps to assess which students can do the work and which can’t.
• Allow learner to use one another as a resource for learning.
• Provides teacher with feedback from the student so that he can [plan differentiation better.
• Provides teacher with feedback so that he can plan how to challenge students and move
their learning forward.
• Is assessment that happens as learning is taking place so that teacher can adapt and change
what he is doing?
• Talk is at the heart of most assessment for learning strategies because this is how students
learn.
Creating the classroom culture, where the actual difficult ideas come to the surface so they reveal
their misconceptions, is important. It’s particularly giving opportunity for student to work in pairs,
where they can use peers as a resource, or to allow them to compare with others before there’s any
class discussion that really helps drive this type of pedagogy.
Classroom assessment is a combination of opportunities for a acting on evidence. We can use these
formatively to drive learning forward and sometimes in a more summative way to report on the
previous learning.
The key characteristics of formatively-driven classroom are:
Objective-1
•Distinction between
‘Assessment of Learning’ and
‘Assessment as Learning’
Objective-2
•Different types of
Assessment tools
Objective-3
•Developing and
Maintaining a
Comprehensive Learner
Profile
1. Questioning 2. Self and Peer
assessment
3. Formative use of tests and
quizzes
4. Feedback

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With the students playing an active role in the learning and assessment cycle. To make
these aspects work well in the classroom, specific strategies have been incorporated such
as: using boards to quickly collect the range of answers from the class so teacher find out
what students know, partly know, and don’t know. This can be used as evidence to decide
on next steps. Assessment for learning is therefore less about using a range of techniques
and more about an underlying philosophy related to classroom, the approaches teacher uses
and students’ role within it.
Assessment for learning helps teacher probe understanding, and provides the evidence for
teachers to decide what the learner needs to take their learning forward. To make it work
effectively in the classroom, teachers need to encourage learners to talk more, and also to
compare their ideas with others. Which means that not only they need to listen to their
peers, but also a teacher need to listen more effectively to what the learners actually say.
Teacher should avoid closing down those discussions, because sometimes it takes a while
for a range of ideas to come to the surface for teacher to examine.
So the focus should be not to chasing correct answers, but rather teacher need his learners
to express their true understanding so teacher can see how they are developing scientific
ideas, actually formulating a range of contexts. The teacher can then use this feedback to
decide on what action to take or what guidance to give to help learners improve.
At the same time, learners can voice their ideas and begin to see how others respond to
these. And this allows them to build understanding at the same time as developing a more
critical approach to science.
Encouraging more talks;
The primary functions of assessment for learning are to:
One approach to support this is:
Challenge Questions: Those are based on either misconceptions or area of ambiguity in
science. It is through these questions that teacher prompt thinking, and this leads to active
discussion that provides a way of drawing out the evidence of learning from the students.
Share: the focus should be on “not chasing the correct answer” and should involve all
students in learning
Characteristics of interactive dialogic classrooms:
Interactive
dialogue
Collaborative
learning
Self-
regulation
1. Promote to domain-specific dialogue
2. Give learners formative feedback
3. Helps teacher understand what learners think

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In interactive dialogic classroom teacher would expect to see intentional dialogue being
utilized to help develop formative practices.
This quiz consists of six multiple choice questions about intentional dialogue used in such
classrooms. Depending on teachers choice of answer teacher will receive feedback based
upon the educator’s own responses to the question. This quiz is designed to help learner
reflect. Teacher may find that there is room for discussion in respect of several of examples,
so the teacher should not be disheartened if teacher do not agree with the educator’s best
choice of answer.
Responses then discuss:
As teacher takes this quiz, students can be asked to make some notes about where their
responses differ from the educator’s perspective. Next step teacher can discuss responses
Quiz rules:
1. Which of the following stimulates classroom dialogue
Challenging question is one that cannot be answered immediately but requires the learner to work
on a series of smaller questions or activities before they return to have a stab at answering it. This
type of question encourages refection on experience and challenges learner’s beliefs and attitudes
about the subject, about themselves, and attitudes about themselves, and about learning and when
used with students can stimulate dialogue and allow thinking to express.
2. Which of the following is most likely to improve classroom discussion?
Allowing students to discuss their ideas and thinking with a peer before a classroom discussion
takes place is most likely to improve classroom discussion. This is because it enables all learners
to think and engage in the activity helping to increase their confidence in putting forward their
thoughts if asked.
3. Which of the following is the most important effect of increasing the “wait time” between
teachers asking a question and taking an answer?
1. Quiz don’t count towards course scores, it is just to help learner to learn.
2. Learner can skip questions and come back to them later if he wishes.
3. Learner may take as many attempts as he wish to answer each question
I. Organizing group according to ability
II. Asking students to write down ideas
III. Providing definitions on the board as a prompt
IV. Challenging questions
I. Make dialogue pacey with few gapes
II. Ask students to share ideas in a pair before giving answers.
III. Repeat questions if only a few students raise their hands.
IV. Allow students to work in friendship groups
V. Keep taking answers until teacher get the one he want

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Allowing “waits time” helps both the teacher and the students identify understanding therefore
allowing the teacher to take action and sort out problems.
4. Which of the following is most important role for the teacher to undertake during
intentional dialogue?
The teacher will want to listen to the answers that pupils are providing so they can consider pupil’s
possible reactions to the questions. Teachers can then also being does this response tell me about
their understanding? Because it’s the unusual answers that sometimes help teachers get to the heart
of the misunderstanding. Teachers need to plan how to use the evidence subsequently, because it’s
through the careful use of this evidence and deciding on next steps that formative action occurs.
And it’s this that will drive learning.
5. Which of the following are types of questions teacher may use during intentional dialogue?
Challenging question: Is one of the types of questions teacher will plan to use to facilitate
intentional dialogic classroom.
Differentiated questions; facilitate intentional dialogue as part of an interactive dialogic classroom.
Questions that increase in cognitive demand facilitate intentional dialogue.
Open question facilitate: intentional dialogue as part of an interactive dialogic classroom
6. What will teachers be wanting to identify from pupils when they use intentional dialogue?
I. Teacher is more likely to get a correct answer
II. More wrong ideas are ‘aired’
III. The teacher can select who might be able to answer correctly
IV. Answers tend to be in sentences rather than single words
V. Students listen better to the answers given.
I. Steer towards the correct answer
II. Ask for responses to the question from the students most likely to be able
to give correct answer.
III. Listen to the pupil discussions
IV. To provide the correct answer if pupils are unable to come up with it
between them
V. To keep asking the question until the correct response is elicited.
Select all the answers which are correct
I. Challenging questions
II. Differentiated questions
III. Questions that increase in cognitive demand
IV. Recall questions
V. Open questions
Select all the answers which are correct
I. Who can answer the quickest?
II. Who knows the correct answer?
III. What prior knowledge pupils have?
IV. What alternative ideas pupils have?

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In interactive dialogue classrooms teacher will be using intentional dialogue to engage all pupils
in the class in discussing their ideas, not just those who answer quickly. The teacher will also want
to listen and encourage all pupils’ to air their ideas and thinking, instead of looking for correct
answers to be given. To do this the teacher may more around and listens in to pupils’ discussions,
to gain a greater idea of what pupils ‘do and do not know, along with any alternative ideas that
may be aired. The teacher may decide on key points they wish to share, or pupils’ ideas they then
highlight to the whole class.
It is useful for teachers to identify what prior knowledge. Pupils have so they are better placed to
plan the learning for pupils. However, teachers in classrooms where formative practices are
embedded will want to establish the prior knowledge levels of all pupils. This will then help the
teacher to be better placed to make decisions about what to do next for the pupils in the class.
Good Classroom Talk:
Ensuring classroom talks that enables teachers to tap into student thinking is central to assessment
of learning
It is not always easy to set up with all classes. Good classroom talks require teachers to;
Ideas to develop interactive dialogic classroom;
Students need to develop their skills so that they participate better in group discussions. There are
number reasons why a class finds group discussion difficult for this class can be reorganized into
new groups, thinking carefully about the composition of each group so shy students have
supportive peers to make them feel comfortable, students who tend to dominate conversations are
placed with peers who will also put forward their ideas to help get these new groups functioning
there are number of approaches which will lead to better discussion during activities.
Sharing, depth and Confidence; Assessment for learning is a formatively-driven classroom we
would expect to see:
Emphasizes should be on one aspect of formatively-driven practice is the development of
interactive dialogic classrooms. In such learning environments classroom talk helps both the
teachers and student learn; as co-owners of the process.
Introducing Diagnostic Questions:
A diagnostic question is any question where you do not need to have students explain their
answers for you do not need to have students explain their answers for you to makes sense
1. Produce good
questions that spark off
ideas.
2. Group students in a way
that encourages them to share
ideas
3. Listen into student
discussion, noting strengths and
weaknesses
4. Make decisions about which student
ideas to feedback to the whole class.
1. Using questions and activities to collect information on what students do don’t and partly
understand.
2. From the evidence, that is what the students say and do, teachers making judgments about where
students are in their learning and so plan the next steps more effectively
3. Students dialogue, a carefully planned questions help teachers focus in on specific, problems and
difficulties.
4. At the same time, this process reveals to students where their strengths and weaknesses lie in a particular topic, so that
they can see where they need to make particular effort to move their learning forward.

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of their responses. It means if they get it right, they have the right thinking, and if they get
it wrong, they have the wrong thinking ideally, wrong responses are indicative of particular
misconceptions.
Activity: one possibility for exploring the way you currently use dialogue and questioning
is to work with a trusted colleagues. Ask him to sit in one of your lessons and time how
much you spend talking and how much your student talk, you may find the results of the
proportional time you are talking surprising.
Check list:
Reviewing classroom dialogue
Think-pair –share:
Planning for learning formative assessment:
Planning to identify learners’ thinking, clarify learning goals and fine tune your teaching to
progress your students’ understanding both in and between lessons. Plan based on learner’s starting
points, use success criteria, and develop your classroom questioning to adjust your teaching
approach and respond to student learning. You’ll also look at medium-term planning and the
benefits of working with colleagues as you change your practice.
What topics will you cover?
Intentional dialogue:
Write a rich question to use in an upcoming lesson. Make your question challenging for your class,
as it is these that are likely to promote discussion and provide you with a better understanding of
1. How much time were you as the teacher talking and how much time were students talking?
2. How many closed questions did you ask? How many open questions did you ask?
3. Were your questions in the main recall or challenging ones?
4. How much time after a question was posed, were students given time to think and/or discuss it?
5. How many student ideas did your questions elicit?
1. Planning together
evidence about
students’ learning.
2. Planning to address
misconceptions.
3. Collecting evidence
to inform your
teaching.
4. Planning to
respond to student
understanding during
lessons.
5. Medium-term
planning to respond to
student understanding
across lesson.
1. Planning together
evidence about
students’ learning.
2. Planning to address
misconceptions.
3. Collecting evidence
to inform your
teaching.
4. Planning to
respond to student
understanding during
lessons.
5. Medium-term
planning to respond to
student understanding
across lesson.

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what student think. Rich questions require student discussion, either in groups of as a class, and
you will need to decide what you will do as the teacher during the activity. As well as choosing
the question, you will need to plan how you are going to gather evidence of student thinking. How
are you going to set the activity up? When, where and how long will the discussion take?
The characteristics of Hinge Point Questions:
A hinge is a point in a lesson when you need to check if students are ready to move on, and if yes
in which direction. A hinge-point question is a diagnostic question that a teacher asks. His students
when he reaches the hinge, responses to which give teacher evidence about what he and his
students need to do next. Hinge point question are designed to help the teacher to check on leaning,
at t point where they feel most students have developed the necessary conceptual understanding,
so that they can decide what to do next?
II. Assessment Tools
1. 1. Questioning Analysis
Science class age 13-14 years)
Teacher: a painter has difficulty
trying to get the led off a paint box.
Is it better for him to use a longer,
shorter, wider or stronger
screwdriver to upraise the lid off?
Hands up for longer? Shorter?
Wider? Stronger? So most of you
have gone for stronger or longer
Chinna: Why stronger?
Chinna: Then he can push more on it. Do not worry about it breaking.
Jonny: If it is stronger it will make the force bigger
Teacher: And the longer group?
Pummy: Longer makes the force bigger
2. Questions to Support Intentional Dialogue
‘Rich questions’ for intentional dialogue
A rich question is one that cannot be answered immediately, but requires the learner to
work on a series of smaller questions or activities before they return to attempt to answer
it.

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Examples of rich questions;
1. What happens to sugar when you add it to water?
2. Which is the odd-one-out in acorn, coconut, strawberry and potato?
3. What is similar and what is different about respiration and photosynthesis?
4. Is it always true that metals are dense materials?
5. What is friction like on Moon?
6. There are 7 characteristics of living organisms, but are some of these more
important than others?
7. If there are 24 people in a room and everyone in a room shakes hands, how many
handshakes are there?
8. If you have only 5 paisa and 7 paisa stamp, what postages can be put on an
envelope up to 2 rupees? Which amounts to postage up to 2 rupees, can you not
do with just 5 paisa and 7 paisa stamps?
3. Hinge-point Questions
1. Which of these are simplifications of this fraction 8/12?
a. 3/2 b. 2/3 c. 4/6 d. 0.67
2. Look at these statements about roots of plants, which do you agree with?
a. Not all plants have roots, they are not necessary and do not do any thing
b. Roots hold the plant in place
c. Plants get everything they need to grow through their roots.
d. Plants absorb water and mineral through their roots
III. Portfolio
• A portfolio is a collection of evidence that is gathered together to show a student’s
learning journey over the time and to demonstrate their abilities (Butler 2006)
• A purposeful collection of intentionally chosen work of a student representing
performances over time and shows the learner’s efforts, growth and progress.

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• Collection of student work that demonstrates achievement or improvement
(Stiggius1994)
Purpose of a portfolio
Types of portfolio
Items of portfolio
Caption statement: is written comments in which teachers and students not the time
and date. A sample of caption statement is given below:
Name of the students: Rani
Skill certification
External assessment
Growth monitoring
Evidence of best work
Communication with Parents
1. Showcase
portfolio
•Collection of
students best work
and will help
students to gain
admission and
employment
2. Reflective
portfolio
•A vehicle for
helping teachers,
students and family
members think
about various
dimensions of the
student learning
efforts, attitudes,
learning strategies
and achievements.
3. Cumulative
portfolio
•Collected items for
a period of time
and is analyzed to
verify changes in
the product and
process associated
with student
learning.
4. Goal based
portfolio
•With pre-
established
objectives, and
students and
teacher then chose
items to match
those objectives
5. Process portfolio
•Documenting the
steps and processes
a student has
employed to
complete a piece of
work
1. Photographs of
Projects
2. Artistic
Creations 3. Reports
4. Classroom
Tests
5. Work Samples
6. Self - Recording
Graphs
7. Error and
Miscue Analysis
Summaries
8. Computer
Generated
Products
9. Awards and
Honors
10. Audio and
Video Recordings
11..Students
Family and
Teacher
Interviews
12. Caption
Statements

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Date:
Teacher comments: Rani completed the piece of work using a checklist that guided her in
creating and organizing the elements of story. I encourage her to elaborate on her story.
Student comment: I have been working on a story about Diwali celebrations. I feel good
about this item because I made up the story.
Evaluation Rubrics: On caption statement
Excellent Very Good Good
I. I. All the items have caption
statements.
II. II. All the caption statements
provide meaningful
information related to the
items presented, including
data, context and
description.
III. III. All the caption
statements are
grammatically correct and
presented in language that
other can understand.
IV. IV. All the caption
statements reveal evidence
of teacher and student
involvement.
I. I. Most of the items have
caption statements.
II. II. Most of the caption
statements provide meaningful
information related to the items
presented, including data,
context and description.
III. II. Most of the caption
statements are grammatically
correct and presented in
language that other can
understand.
IV. IV. Most of the caption
statements reveal evidence of
teacher and student
involvement.
I. I. Most of the items have
caption statements.
II. II. Most of the caption
statements provide meaningful
information related to the items
presented, including data,
context and description.
III. III. Most of the caption
statements are grammatically
correct and presented in
language that other can
understand.
IV. IV. Most of the caption
statements reveal evidence of
teacher and student
involvement.
Challenges and Benefits:
❖ Using portfolio as an evaluation tool can be time consuming.
❖ Collection of work samples, conferencing and evaluating the student progress is
challenging task.
❖ Provides flexibility, collaboration and documentation of students’ progress.
❖ Individualized, emphasize one’s best work and focuses on product.
❖ Students portfolio can be used in formative evaluation.

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