'A' May be for Assessment but Descriptive Feedback is for Assessing Student Work

When I think back at my experiences with assessment as a student I immediately visualize a report card with letter grades. I remember there were comments but they are only blurs in my mind next to what seemed of the most importance, the number or letter highlighted in bold next to each subject. It is saddening to realize I don’t remember what I learned or how it helped me to further develop my education and curiosity because for some reason, all importance had landed solely on a percentage.

My favorite piece of assessment information that we have learned in all of our classes is as follows:

‘The purpose of assessment is to improve student learning’

The reason for my appreciation for this statement is three fold. The first reason is quite simple: this purpose makes students focus on assessment the exact opposite from my focus as a student. It is not focussed on a grade it is focussed on using feedback to find find ways to expand students learning and understanding. Rather than looking for mistakes made by the students this encourages teachers to find holes in their own teaching and ask themselves, ‘what have I missed in my teaching? What should I focus more of my lessons on to improve the students understanding?’.

The second reason stems directly from the first; when teachers are cognizant that the purpose of assessment is to improve student learning it will encourage them to stop placing individual students in a particular grade range and always assigning them that mark. Instead, it will encourage teachers to be looking for ways to constantly help their students improve regardless of whether they are progressing at higher or lower levels.

Finally, it encourages continuous growth. When students don’t feel like they are branded with a particular grade and when they are not constantly focussed on a big circled percentage on the front of their page they will likely become more engaged and excited about progressing their own learning. This purpose encourages learning for learning and helps promote a positive and uplifting classroom environment.

One of the best ways of improving student learning and promoting all of the mentioned benefits is by only assigning number and letter grades when it is absolutely necessary. Instead, as we discussed in class, teachers should be focussed on providing descriptive feedback. Descriptive feedback occurs when teachers provide written examples of strengths and areas of growths on student work. This lets the students know exactly what they have done right and what they still need to work on. It is direct, it is easy for the students to understand and it levels the playing field as all students will have areas of strength and need. Rather than comparing letter grades with their friends students will be focussed on how they could have improved their work.

A great way to work on creating descriptive feedback is through collaboration with other teachers. As we all know, one brain is great but two brains are better. This week we watched a few videos which demonstrated the benefits of math conversations. The more we communicate and conference with our peers the more perspective we will have on the progression of our students and the more detailed feedback we will be able to provide them.

Assessment is (in my opinion) one of the most difficult aspects of becoming a teacher. Before teachers college, whenever I thought about becoming a teacher I was excited about helping to provide those ‘ah ha!’ moments and about being there when a fabulous idea was created and having the opportunity to assist in bringing it to fruition. Assessment was likely, for many of us, not the focus of our enthusiasm because we knew the stress it could cause to students. However, when I think about assessment now I am not as worried. Assessment has moved from something scary to something exciting. It is a way to collaborate with my peers and improve student learning.

Technology Takes the Reigns

This week our in class lesson was an exploration of blended learning. Blended learning is the combination of online experiences and face to face learning. We were provided with a small booklet outlining a list of activities and were expected to move through the activities independently. The activities required us to research certain topics and make connections between them and our prior knowledge. The instructions were detailed enough for us to navigate independently but still required critical thinking to make connections. They also enabled us to work on our technological and research skills. At the end of the independent activities we were required to pair up and create a Tellagami that summed up what we had discovered through the activities.

We were in the classroom, surrounded by our peers and had access to our teacher but our internet explorations allowed us to reach far outside the classroom walls. We worked independently to gather our base knowledge but were able to consolidate and expand by conferencing with our peers. Blended learning allowed us to maintain the personal connection many learners require but still work on independent work and self-regulation. We had our in class expectations as well as an opportunity to expand our technological understanding.

Similar to cross-curricular teaching, which is praised for allowing students to make connections between topics and experience a variety of learning through one experience, blended learning should be praised for incorporating a vast amount of opportunity for student growth. It can include moments of in person communication and virtual communication, independent and teamwork as well as the expansion of research and 21st century skills.

In the first year of teachers college we took a tech course that focussed heavily on Gamification in the classroom. Gamification encourages learning through play; more and more frequently it is being encouraged as an online component. One of the most important aspects of teaching is providing the best ways to promote engagement; this means understanding the needs, likes and dislikes of each student and finding ways to adapt learning to suit those needs. Gamification and play in the classroom is one of the best ways to incorporate blended learning and promote engagement in the classroom. Students are growing up in a technological world; many of them already spend much of their time online exploring the internet or playing games. By including it in their lessons and their learning we are ensuring an activity that they will be interested in but that will also expand their technological toolbox. As math is a difficult subject to engage students in, it is especially important to find ways to encourage students to take a personal interest in their learning. Gamification, play and online learning are great ways of delivering expectations in an engaging format. There are also an abundance of online platforms that can be used as resources, practice or individual math exploration. For example, Youcubed is a website that has tools, tasks and tips that can be used to assist math learning in the classroom. Opening your classroom to the online world really expands the amount of math opportunities you can offer your students.