April 10, 2008
Continuous Learning Cycle
By: Gwen Doty
A focused assessment plan follows a specific learning cycle to determine student understanding and teacher effectiveness. There are various stages of assessment and each stage would pose a unique purpose. Some assessments are used to assess student readiness before the learning begins. Some are used during the learning cycle to assess current understandings as teachers are providing the instruction. Others are implemented after the lesson has ended to determine how well students have understood the concepts that were presented. In planning assessment with a continuous learning cycle, the conscious and purposeful use of assessments for different stages of learning should be utilized.
1. Pre-Assessment
Pre-assessments determine what students already know as you are about to begin instruction on a new skill. This informs both the teacher and student regarding students’ current level of understanding. Teachers then have opportunities to adjust or customize the various assessments that will be used throughout the lesson or unit. Students are assessed at their own readiness level. This doesn’t mean that some students would not be accountable for learning the standard to the same degree as other students. It simply means that some students would need additional teaching, practice, and feedback before being expected to become proficient to the degree that the target or goal is requiring. Scores from pre-assessments would never be recorded in a grade book, as this tool is used to inform and guide instructional practices. Examples of pre-assessment formats would include whole class discussions with teacher questions, graphic organizer tools, journal entries, or a multiple choice format.
2. Informal Assessments
Informal assessments should be happening in conjunction with all stages of learning. These assessments involve multiple opportunities, especially in the beginning stages of learning, for teachers to monitor student understanding. During direct instruction, an effective teacher will stop every few minutes to assess how well students are learning. He might say, “Now turn to a partner and explain this concept in your own words.” As students are explaining to their partners, the teacher is walking around and listening to the level of understanding. This gives the teacher valuable information as they ponder the questions:
- Do I need to re-teach this content?
- Do I need to approach this differently or try a different teaching strategy that might make more sense to students?
- Do I need to work with a small group of students who need additional teaching?
- Which students know it and which students aren’t getting it?
- How will students be informed of their progress and specific areas needing improvement?
Another example of informal assessment would occur as students are working on a practice assignment following an initial lesson. Students at this point are not expected to have mastered the content or process, but as they practice, the teacher is assessing. Often these assessments are as simple as walking around the classroom with a checklist in hand. It might be sitting next to a student and saying, “Tell me how you arrived at this answer.”
Informal assessment could also take the form of student self-reflections. As an initial lesson is completed, students may be asked to share their new learning or their current understanding of the concept that was taught. They may be asked to share what was easy and what was difficult. Again, because students had not yet been given adequate practice with feedback, the informal assessment would not be used as a student grade.
3. Growth Assessments
Growth assessments are the next stage of effective assessment. As students gain more skill and higher levels of understanding, growth assessments measure degrees of learning. What distinguishes the growth assessment from the informal assessment is the expectation for the learning. Because growth assessments occur after students have had multiple informal assessment opportunities with teacher feedback, students are now expected to have gained skill and knowledge regarding the learning target. Examples of growth assessments would include essays, mini-presentations, kinesthetic activities, or selected response assessments. Growth assessments are often assessed with performance tasks that utilize a rubric for scoring. At this point, student scores may be included as part of the whole picture of student understanding that will lead to a grade.
4. Final Student Product
The final student product is the big finale and demonstrates the depth of student understanding of the goal. However, don’t mistake the word “final” as meaning “done” with the teaching or learning. Often, the final product is an accumulation of prior learning tasks. It might also take the form of a project, oral presentation, research paper, or demonstration. Although you will likely be converting student scores into grades, the final product is still informing you and the student. Perhaps you will be building on the newly taught concept in the near future. Or, based on assessment results, you may decide that you will go back and re-teach. Questions would arise such as:
- Do I still need to re-teach parts of the content to certain students?
- Will I need to revisit these concepts with students periodically in order to enhance retention of information?
- Will this learning enhance or be a preview for future learning?
Using these 4 stages of effective assessment ensure that students and teacher are continually apprised regarding levels of academic proficiency. Keep in mind that some assessments will be scored or graded, while other assessments can be used as a tool to measure student current understanding. Assessment formats, such as teacher observations, checklists, and oral questions and answers would many times function as information gathering assessments. A general guideline to follow entails using the pre-assessment and all informal assessments to inform and provide specific feedback to students. Use growth assessments and the final student product scores as a real measurement of student proficiency with the learning target. When the teacher designs assessment so that it truly flows naturally from the instruction and the student investigations, it isn’t difficult to motivate students. They will often not view the assessment task as an assessment at all, but simply as a learning activity. And that is the epitome of effective assessment – where the design of goals, instruction, activities, and assessment are viewed as a continuous learning cycle.
3 Responses to “Continuous Learning Cycle”
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LucianoL Says:
August 8, 2008 at 11:00 am
Ms. Doty,
Thanks for the info. It is clear and concise and very helpful.
Larry Luciano
JKF Says:
September 12, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Very interesting article.
bkopec Says:
December 2, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I would really like to learn more about formative and common assessments. Your article was very interesting and gave very helpful information. Are you aware of any workshops or additional training for my staff? Also, is there a “model” school that my staff and I could visit to observe how they develop and utilize assessments?