The document discusses formative assessment and its importance in education. It provides 3 key strategies for formative assessment: 1) using learning intentions and success criteria to define expectations for students; 2) designing activities to elicit evidence of student learning; and 3) providing feedback to move learning forward. The document emphasizes that formative assessment should be ongoing, ungraded, and focused on giving descriptive feedback to help students improve rather than evaluative feedback or grades. When implemented effectively with feedback, formative assessment can substantially improve student achievement.

3. “If students have not been told
where they are going, it is
unlikely that they will arrive.”
– Shirley Clark

4. Learning Intentions
• I can find evidence of current
assessment research in my own
practice.
• I can become curious about
something in the research I want
to inquire further into.
• I can outline the key principles of
formative assessment and
articulate what that looks like in
practice.

5. Instructional Design
The Science of Learning

6. Instructional Design
90% of what we know about the brain we have
learned in approximately the last 2 years

7. Instructional Design
The same will be true 10 years from now

8. Carol Dweck (2006)
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.
Fixed – Believe they have to work with
whatever intelligence they have because it
can’t be increased.
They resist novel challenges if they can’t
succeed immediately.
They’d rather not try than be perceived as
dumb.

9. Carol Dweck (2006)
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset.
Growth – Believe intelligence can be built
through life.
See working harder as a way to improve.
They persist and try a wide variety of solutions
when given novel tasks.

10. Csikzentmihalyi (1990)
Flow Theory – The
exhilarating moments when
we feel in control, full of
purpose, and in the zone.

11. Csikzentmihalyi (1990)
Skill Level
Challenge
Level

12. How is the science
of learning
connected to
assessment?

13. “Assessment is the beginning and the end
of my teaching. It defines my culture, my
relationships, my learning community, my
values, and my beliefs about teaching and
learning.” - Matt Rosati

14. Inside the Black Box: Raising
Standards Through Classroom
Assessment

15. When carried out effectively, informal
classroom assessment
with constructive feedback will raise
levels of attainment.
We know from research that effective
assessment for learning can
Improve student achievement
substantially, and helps low achievers the
most.
Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

16. The effect sizes, that is the student gains in
learning triggered by formative assessment,
were among the largest ever reported for
educational interventions.
Source: Black and William, Inside the Black Box 1998

17. Formative Assessment:
5 Key Strategies…
sometimes 6!
Dylan Wiliam “Embedded Formative
Assessment” (2011)

18. Formative Assessment:
1.Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence
of Learning
3.Feedback that Moves Learning
Forward
4.Peer Assessment
5.Student Ownership of Learning

19. Formative Assessment:
1.Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence
of Learning
3.Feedback that Moves Learning
Forward
4.Peer Assessment
5.Student Ownership of Learning

20. Learning Intentions:
What are we
learning?
Vs.
Learning Activities:
What are we doing?

21. Learning Intentions
 I can statements…
 try and use child
friendly language
 separate from the
activity instructions
 make it visible
 discuss with students
why they are learning it

22. The
Lighthouse

23. Most students can
hit the target if they can
see it clearly and if it
stays still.
-Rick Stiggins

24. What does good look like?
What
does
good look

25. Success Criteria
and the Use of
Performance
Standards

26. Reading Performance Standard
Grade 2

27. Beginning
Developed
Accomplished
Exemplary

28. Formative Assessment:
1.Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence
of Learning
3.Feedback that Moves Learning
Forward
4.Peer Assessment
5.Student Ownership of Learning

29. Determine
Acceptable Evidence

30. Processing Activities
What are you going to have
students do to develop key
skills and meet learning
outcomes?

31. Provide students places and
opportunities to:

32. “Hold their thinking”
Practice without penalty
Ask questions
Talk about what they are learning
Reflect
Be metacognitive

33. Social Studies 9: Final Project
Enduring Understandings Learning Intentions Essential Questions
Identity is shaped by many different
and connecting factors. It is used to
identify one as distinct from others
and also as part of a homogenous
group.
I can assess how identity is shaped by:
- family
- gender
- belief
- ethnicity
- nationality
What makes us who we are?
How is art a reflection of culture?
What role does ethnicity play when
people interact?
Colonialism exploits natural resources.
Early contact allowed for an
exchange of technologies and
goods.
I can analyse the reasons for initial
exploration and settlement of North
America.
I can analyse the relationship between
Aboriginal people and Europeans.
I can assess how economic systems
contributed to the development of
Canada.
I can analyse the effects of colonialism
on trade and conflict.
I can assess the impact of the fur trade
on exploration and settlement.
Why do people explore?
What is at the root of conflict?
How do people make decisions?
How does a desire for power and
wealth affect relationships?
Present day institutions are based in
the past.
Institutions and ideas are rooted in
historical struggles / accomplishments
I can analyse the roots of present-day
regional, cultural and social issues
within Canada.
What do we see in our society today
that is clearly influenced by our history?
What can we expect in our future
based on where we’ve been in the
past?
People are generally capable of
improving themselves and their lives.
As ideas of around rights develop
people are more likely to attempt to
fight for those rights in the form of
armed revolts.
Science is used to uncover / discover
the natural of human behaviour.
I can analyse the ideas of the
Enlightenment thinkers and speculate
how their ideas can contribute to
revolution and conflict.
Are rules necessary for civilized
societies to exist?
Are people generally good or bad?
Change in history is often rooted in
violence.
The average citizen in society has a
powerful voice.
I can analyse the factors that
contribute to revolution and conflict.
I can analyse the contribution of the
American, English and French
Revolutions in the development of
democratic concepts.
What constitutes a Rebellious Act?
Do people have the right to rebel
against a government they don’t like?
What are the roots of democracy?
When is democracy actually
democratic?
Does democracy exist?
Is democracy realistically attainable?
Is democracy necessary to ensure the
rights of people are upheld?
How much violence is justified in
securing a better future?

34. Performance
Tasks

35. Formative Assessment:
1.Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence
of Learning
3.Feedback that Moves Learning
Forward
4.Peer Assessment
5.Student Ownership of Learning

36. Formative Assessment
=
Descriptive Feedback
Informs the student
Informs the teacher
Informs Learning

37. Marks or levels tell students more
about their success or failure than
about how to make
progress in their
learning.
“Is this for marks?”

38. The Benefits of Formative Assessment
Constantly weighing the pig
won’t make it fatter...

39. Assessment
is done
with, and
not to,
students to
help them
grow in
their
learning.

40. The Latin root word for assessment is
"assidere" which means to sit beside.

41. Types of Feedback
Evaluative – communicates a
judgment made by the teacher
Descriptive – describes what the
student did or can do next time
in a way that makes the student
more competent and more

42. What to comment
on…
- the focus of the assignment
- a pattern of errors
- the thing that is most holding
the student back in their
learning

43. Then What?
Students must be given the opportunity to
apply the feedback by trying again.
Source: Black and Wiliam. Inside the Black Box, 1998
Feedback should be more work for the
recipient than the donor.
Source: Wiliam. Embedded Formative Assessment, 2011

44. Formative Assessment:
1.Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence
of Learning
3.Feedback that Moves Learning
Forward
4.Peer Assessment
5.Student Ownership of Learning

45. Peer Assessment
Student self - reflection on the helpfulness of
feedback. 45

46. Peer Assessment
Student self-reflection on the helpfulness of
feedback
46

47. Formative Assessment:
1.Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
2.Activities Designed to Elicit Evidence
of Learning
3.Feedback that Moves Learning
Forward
4.Peer Assessment
5.Student Ownership of Learning

48. Metacognition
Thinking about thinking…
Self monitoring and regulation.

49. Reflection:
I used to think…
But now I think…

51. Portfolio Collection
Criteria for Selection Samples of Work
Process: Choose an assignment that
had a number of steps you had to
complete in order to be successful.
Improvement: These assignments
should clearly show improvement in
some area of your learning. You may
wish to compare two assignments.
Perseverance: These are assignments
that at first you found difficult but
worked hard at, without giving up,
and eventually were successful.
Risk Taking: These are assignments
in which you moved out of your
comfort zone and tried something new
or unexpected.
Favourite: These are your favourite
assignments you completed in this
period of time.
Something of Personal
Significance: These are any
assignments that are significant to you
in anyway.
Burn it: This is an assignment that
you wish you could burn and never
look at again.

52. Student Reflection Sheet
Assignment Title: Date:
The attached evidence is (ex. first draft, outline, notes, brainstorming, reflection,
WIN, project, reading log etc.):
This piece of work shows:
___ a process
___ improvement
___ perseverance
___ risk taking
___ one of my favourites
___ something of personal significance
___ something to burn!
How does this piece of work meet the criteria?
Two or three reasons I chose to highlight this piece in my portfolio are:
Some things I learned by completing this assignment are:
If I were to do this assignment again I would:

53. Formative
Assessment for Learning
Ongoing
To determine learning
needs
Ungraded and Descriptive
Feedback (uses words)
Provides feedback to
students and teacher
to promote learning
Summative
Assessment of Learning
Occurs at the end of a
learning progression
Graded to determine
achievement level
and for reporting
Evaluative
Levels or Marks

54. Formative (for)
Examples:
-Oral questioning
-Draft work
-Reflections
-Portfolio reviews
-Peer /self
assessments
Summative (of)
Examples:
-Inquiry projects
-Presentations
-Grade conferences
-Portfolio reviews
-Tests and quizzes

55. "We must constantly remind
ourselves that the ultimate
purpose of evaluation is to
have students become self
evaluating. If students
graduate from our schools
still dependent upon others
to tell them when they are
adequate, good, or
excellent, then we’ve
missed the whole point of
what education is about.”
- Costa and Kallick (1992)

57. Inquiry

58. Your
Students

59. 21st Century
Skills

60. Equals

61. Inquiry

62. You

63. “We know that sustained, collaborative,
inquiry based professional development
can help teachers develop new
understandings and approaches.”

64. Grade wide, interdisciplinary teaching
teams working on shared goals can make
a significant difference in student
learning.

66. Teaching is not rocket science. It is, in
fact, far more complex and demanding
work than rocket science.
- Richard Elmore (Professor of Education Leadership at Harvard
Graduate School of Education)

67. Contact Information
Jonathan Vervaet
Email: jonathanvervaet@gmail.com
or
Twitter: @jonathanvervaet