Formative Assessment in Online Learning

Whether you are new to formative assessment or you are just hearing about it, it can seem daunting to apply it to online learning.  The more I dive into formative assessment the more I am convinced that online learning environments are the perfect place for formative assessment.   

Before I introduce Formative Assessment in Online Learning environments, I stress to other educators that formative assessment is NOT:

• Time-saving
• Creating quizzes with multiple hints, self-generating responses, responding to journals, designing custom instruction/assessment all take a lot of time to do well.
•  A way to reduce contact with the student:

o    The more feedback given the more the student is likely to contact you throughout the course as the communication is strengthened/encouraged/needed.

Giving assignments without a mark assigned, Feedback Only!

In a Ruth Butler study (1998) involving feedback to students in three groups of a similar age and ability. There were three different groups:

Group 1: Feedback as marks or grades;  
Group 2: Comment-only feedback;   
Group 3: Marks or grades alongside comments.

Her conclusion was that the progress (as improved exam results) was greater for students in the comment-only group, with the other two groups showing no real progress at all. http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/giving-effective-student-feedback/

“If we say this is for practice and we hold you accountable [by assigning a mark] for the practice, then it wasn’t really practice,” he said. “You almost want kids to make mistakes on formative assessments because that’s how you figure out your next teaching cues. Once we attach a grade, students try to hide their weaknesses.”
Scott Filkens, “Beyond Standardized Truth”

 I know what you are thinking; “My students won’t do it if it isn’t for marks!”  That may be true to some extent but with the lockdown features of online platforms, the task becomes much easier.  In our school, we have used the advanced grading rubrics in assignments and changed the settings so the marks don’t show but the criteria for each assignment and feedback is still visible to the student.

Scaffolding, Scaffolding, Scaffolding…

Below is a before and after shot of my manicure unit.  I feared that by adding in more assignments I would overwhelm the students but I found the opposite occurred.  The more I could break an assignment down into small manageable chunks (about 20 min each), the better the students worked.

Before I was not giving the student the opportunity to show their learning, get feedback, learn from their mistakes, and show their learning again.

Self-Reflection

• Feedback shouldn’t take the place of self-reflection. Self-Reflection is actionable by the student whereas Feedback by the teacher doesn’t have to be.
• It is better if the student can self-assess and identify their own strengths and weaknesses as this will help them to be an active participant in their learning.
• Ideally, formative assessment will have a component of both Self-Assessment and Teacher Feedback that can be applied to future learning.

Video Feedback

Research has shown that the most influential form of feedback is verbal. http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/giving-effective-student-feedback/  Our school uses Adobe Connect, regardless of whether or not the student is in the meeting, the video can be videotaped and sent as an online link.

Quizzes

Online quizzes can be an excellent way to test a student's prior knowledge and give immediate feedback.  If a student scores low on a pre-skill quiz you can set your course up to open different content and learning than would open for a student who scores high on the pre-test quiz. 

Are the students even reading/watching the feedback?

In Inside the Black Box, Black and Wiliam found that “for assessment to be formative, the feedback information has to be used”. In other words, students need to be accorded the time and opportunity required to act on the feedback.http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/giving-effective-student-feedback/

One way we have assisted the students to engage in their feedback and self-assessment is to have them complete a Pre Final Assignment Assignment: Making Sure I don’t keep Making the Same Mistakes,  where they identify areas of strength and weakness throughout the unit by going through the teacher feedback and their own self-reflections before completing the final assessment.  



Feedback versus Praise in an Online Class

   by  giulia.forsythe 

In an online learning environment it becomes abundantly clear that face to face communication virtually disappears, body language and tone are no longer seen and heard, and a teacher's 'wining personality' is no longer an effective way to motivate students.  When conducting a feedback survey for students and support persons' in regards to our divisions online learning two comments in particular really stood out to me:

• Another thing that would be very helpful is a lot of positive feedback because I know for me positive feedback helps me to keep pushing when I am stuck and cant get focused
• I find there is not much feedback given by teachers, but when it is, it is useful. The students look for it!

To be honest I hadn't given much thought to the type of feedback I was giving my students.  Sometimes it was very detailed and specific and sometimes it was simply a written 'well done'.  I am a firm believer in timely feedback, my personal policy is that assignments get marked and returned within 3 days of being handed in.  However; if I am to look further into the feedback issue being graded in a timely fashion is not the same as receiving timely feedback.  If a student hands in an assignment and I have it graded with an 80% that says 'well done', where is the motivation, where is the information on how to improve, where even is the feedback on what went well so that it can be repeated in the future? 

There is all kinds of research on effective feedback but the more I thought about it I wasn't even sure I understood the term feedback, or feedback versus praise, feedback versus advice, and feedback versus marking.  I was taught to give a feedback sandwich: what went well, what needed to be improved, followed by what went well. Perfect right?  Maybe not, I recently read an article on the 'feedback sandwich' that said:

One of the most common mistakes instructors make is to use the “feedback sandwich” with students. Their feedback starts with the good, then stating the real issues with the work, and ending with something good again. Here again, the model is used under the belief that it keeps up the student’s spirits, but in reality it only confuses the message. The student reads only the positive at either end and ignores the real message in the middle that they need to hear in order to improve, or they recognize the dissonance between the conflicting messages and wonder how they really did. “Gee,” they say to themselves, “the beginning and the end tell me this is great, while the middle says that there are all sorts of problems, so which is it?” The feedback sandwich can even reduce respect for the instructor since students will soon learn that no matter what they hand in, the instructor will praise it along a predictable formula, making the feedback meaningless and something to be ignored. - See more at: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/praise-undermining-student-motivation/#sthash.zfwBgi2Z.dpuf

 Yikes, here I thought I was doing it right the whole time!  My search for effective feedback has lead me to more questions than answers but it will be leading my professional growth for the foreseeable future.  Below are just a few of my findings and food for thought on how to improve online teaching through effective feedback.

What is feedback?  Feedback is information about how we are doing in our efforts to reach a goal. source  For example:  Your artwork uses the rule of thirds well with placement of the trees along the focal points.  I was unsure of where your focus was with the ground or sky since the horizon was in the middle of the artwork.  Note: In order for effective feedback there needs to be a clear goal!

What is praise? Praise has to do with approval or admiration of someone or something. For example:  I really liked your point of view in the article.  With this example in particular you can see where the student would pick up quite quickly on looking for what the teacher likes and doesn't like when doing their assignments rather than focusing on their own learning.  

What is advice? Advice is a recommendation.  Sometimes a subtle nudge: You may want to try to put the horizon line on the top third of the page. Sometimes not so subtle: Your horizon line is in the middle of the page. Follow the rule of thirds!! The problem with advice as pointed out by Grant Wiggins is that "As coaches, teachers, and parents, we too often jump right to advice without first ensuring that the learner has sought, grasped, and tentatively accepted the feedback on which the advice is based.... Students become increasingly insecure about their own judgment and dependent on the advice of experts"

It is abundantly clear that, especially in an online environment where communication can be limited, feedback needs to be given top priority to ensure student motivation and connection to their learning. We need to make sure that students are not looking to please their instructor or given advice without understanding. If students are to truly engage in their learning and set goals for their own improvement feedback needs to be specific, directed towards their learning goal, and free of praise.

One of the most common mistakes instructors make is to use the “feedback sandwich” with students. Their feedback starts with the good, then stating the real issues with the work, and ending with something good again. Here again, the model is used under the belief that it keeps up the student’s spirits, but in reality it only confuses the message. The student reads only the positive at either end and ignores the real message in the middle that they need to hear in order to improve, or they recognize the dissonance between the conflicting messages and wonder how they really did. “Gee,” they say to themselves, “the beginning and the end tell me this is great, while the middle says that there are all sorts of problems, so which is it?” The feedback sandwich can even reduce respect for the instructor since students will soon learn that no matter what they hand in, the instructor will praise it along a predictable formula, making the feedback meaningless and something to be ignored. - See more at: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/praise-undermining-student-motivation/#sthash.zfwBgi2Z.dpuf

One of the most common mistakes instructors make is to use the “feedback sandwich” with students. Their feedback starts with the good, then stating the real issues with the work, and ending with something good again. Here again, the model is used under the belief that it keeps up the student’s spirits, but in reality it only confuses the message. The student reads only the positive at either end and ignores the real message in the middle that they need to hear in order to improve, or they recognize the dissonance between the conflicting messages and wonder how they really did. “Gee,” they say to themselves, “the beginning and the end tell me this is great, while the middle says that there are all sorts of problems, so which is it?” The feedback sandwich can even reduce respect for the instructor since students will soon learn that no matter what they hand in, the instructor will praise it along a predictable formula, making the feedback meaningless and something to be ignored. - See more at: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/praise-undermining-student-motivation/#sthash.zfwBgi2Z.dpuf

One of the most common mistakes instructors make is to use the “feedback sandwich” with students. Their feedback starts with the good, then stating the real issues with the work, and ending with something good again. Here again, the model is used under the belief that it keeps up the student’s spirits, but in reality it only confuses the message. The student reads only the positive at either end and ignores the real message in the middle that they need to hear in order to improve, or they recognize the dissonance between the conflicting messages and wonder how they really did. “Gee,” they say to themselves, “the beginning and the end tell me this is great, while the middle says that there are all sorts of problems, so which is it?” The feedback sandwich can even reduce respect for the instructor since students will soon learn that no matter what they hand in, the instructor will praise it along a predictable formula, making the feedback meaningless and something to be ignored. - See more at: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/praise-undermining-student-motivation/#sthash.zfwBgi2Z.dpuf

One of the most common mistakes instructors make is to use the “feedback sandwich” with students. Their feedback starts with the good, then stating the real issues with the work, and ending with something good again. Here again, the model is used under the belief that it keeps up the student’s spirits, but in reality it only confuses the message. The student reads only the positive at either end and ignores the real message in the middle that they need to hear in order to improve, or they recognize the dissonance between the conflicting messages and wonder how they really did. “Gee,” they say to themselves, “the beginning and the end tell me this is great, while the middle says that there are all sorts of problems, so which is it?” The feedback sandwich can even reduce respect for the instructor since students will soon learn that no matter what they hand in, the instructor will praise it along a predictable formula, making the feedback meaningless and something to be ignored. - See more at: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/praise-undermining-student-motivation/#sthash.zfwBgi2Z.dpuf

Reflective Learning Walks in an Online Classroom

Learning Walks are a reflective practice where teachers get the chance to observe other colleagues in a non-evaluative non-judgmental setting.  The teachers doing the walk through are looking for specific objectives and noting how they are met.  "The walkers are the learners. The focus is not on the teacher but on what the walkers are reflecting on and how they will improve their own practice."

Typically a learning walk is lead by a person who is good at keeping on task and steering conversation away from evaluative or judgmental comments. The leader will take about 4 other teachers through others classrooms in the following manner:

·         10 minute walk through a colleague’s classroom.

·         2 minute debriefing in the hallway (Sample Reflective Online Learning Walk Discussion Guide)

·         10 minute walk through another colleague’s classroom.

·         2 minute debriefing in the hallway

·         10 minute walk through another colleague’s classroom.

·         2 minute debriefing in the hallway

·         15 minute large group reflection (Sample 15 Minute End of Learning Walk Reflection ‘I Statements’ ,scroll to last page)

In no way are reflective walks meant to be evaluative or judgmental.  They are simply for reflection of what best practices are occurring and the ‘walker’ reflects on what they see from their other colleagues to improve their own practice.

What not to say during a 2 minute debriefing:

·         I liked how…..

·         I didn’t like when….

What to say during a 2 minute debriefing:

·         I saw…

·         I heard…

·         This seems evidence of…

·         This leads me to think…

·         This supports the learning of the teacher or students by…

·          Source

In an online classroom I see this process as working in much the same way.  Rather than physically walking through each person’s classroom you could as a group of observers be given a set amount of time to log in to another teachers course. Then as a group you could still ‘walk through’ a course and have a 2 minute debriefing among the observers then move to another colleagues online class, debrief, then end with the reflection for the ‘walkers’. 

For reflective learning walks to be effective there needs to be a specific objective that you are looking for and observing.  In online learning there are so many places one could start:  clear objectives set out in course layout, community/presence, teacher voice, clear curricular objectives, connections to real world, connections to previous knowledge, etc.  The key will be in deciding which objective you will be looking for.  If I wanted to see how teacher presence in an online environment is demonstrated well then I would contact teachers who demonstrate mastery in this area and do learning walks through their courses. 

Resources

If you scroll to the end of the following link you will find a section from the book Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching talking about how cognitive presence, social presence, instructor presence, announcements, strategies/cooperative activities, instructor support, logistical presence, and one way instructional presence are central to creating effective online learning.

As well the last page on this link contains a sheet with ‘I Statements’ for the 15 minute reflection at the end of the learning walks.

The document below is an excellent resource for how to do Learning Walks with Templates for teachers when walking through face to face classrooms. It-itlearningwalks

Digital Curation/Content Curation in K-12 Education

There is a grand shift in resources available for students today.  Long gone are the days when the school library, which only contained books or magazines, was the only source for students to do research.  Filtering out what books you needed was a simple as asking the librarian where the section was on your given topic.  Today students have a plethora of resources at their fingertips on the web but the problem becomes how do they collect and filter through those resources in a meaningful way.  Content curation has become a powerful method for students to be able to think critically about what information is important and to organize the material in a way that makes sense to them.  It is also provides an opportunity to engage more of the learning styles of the students by having visuals for all of the content that they are collecting.

"Content curation is the process of collecting, organizing and displaying information relevant to a particular topic or area of interest." Wikipedia We have been asking our students to curate information in the form of research papers, bibliography's, posters, powerpoints, etc. for a long time, we just haven't called it curation before.  With the emergence of powerful web tools we are now able to have our students become curators in their learning in the digital world through Digital Curation.

I could spend an entire week researching and presenting different tools for content curation and still not have even scratched the surface.  Below I have included some links to a few different digital curation tools.  Finding the one that works for you may seem like choosing a random candy from a box  with your eyes shut but you have to start somewhere.

The basics for digital curation (once you have chosen which tool/platform you will use) is to

• Decide on a topic.  For example, World War 1.  It is important that you don’t have a bunch of content just thrown up all over your page. 
• Research and collect relevant key resources. Quality over Quantity.  This is where the filtering comes into play.  If you do a Google search for World War 1 you will get over 500 million sites.  That can be a bit overwhelming so make sure you are search savvy. 
• Narrow down what you are looking for into categories.  Sticking with the World War 1 theme, you could look for personal war hero stories, time lines, pictures, countries,  etc.  Then start with 3 good resources under each category.
• Upload your own original content.  Do you have pictures, documents, or a blog that is your own unique content?  Perfect, don’t forget that you have great resources to share too.
• Curate your resources.  Make it clear with whatever tool you are using what the content is.  If you are using something like pearltrees.com  then use relevant pictures for the covers of each collection.  Remember that a Content Curation is a rich visual tool.
• Share your curation.  Once you have done all that work in creating your specific content curation make sure to share it with others.  You know how we teachers are, let’s make it easy to find others resources, we all need a little help! Share, Share, Share!

I see content curation being used in education with students as an alternative or in addition to a bibliography.  Have your students create a content curation for any given topic and then have them upload relevant resources, videos, pictures, documents, etc. on their curation page.  This is the relevant piece for the student that will actively engage them in their learning and allow them to critically think about their resources and not be limiting to just text for their information.   If I were teaching a braiding unit in Cosmetology I might have them create a section on pictures of exemplars of braids, a video section with tutorials, and an ‘I’d like to try’ section.  That way rather than having me spoon feeding them the information they are finding content relevant to them and they become investigators  and invested in their own learning.

For a teacher content curation would be a great way to organize your own resources for your students.  For younger grades or to direct them to the specific sites and sources that you have you could create your own content creation.  Share your content creation with parents.  In many content creation tools there is the option to have others suggest resources to post on the curation, open that up to students and parents to give suggestions.  The possibilities are endless.

I know for myself a content curation page is so much more engaging and I remember more about what I have read in a visual format rather than just having a list of websites pasted in a Word document (ironically I have a list below).   If the sound of Content Curation scares you, start small, try it will just one assignment as see where it takes you. 

If you have any examples of assignments or resources that you use in your classroom with digital curation please share them below.  I am very interested to see how others are using content curation and your comments on it’s effectiveness.

Simple and Effective Content Curation Tools for use in the classroom:

• pearltrees
• scoop.it
• Kapsul
• Pinterest  There is an excellent article here on The Pinterest Guide for Teachers

Top 10 Free Content Curation Tools for Teachers

The above list is by no means exhaustive, I just thought I would give you a small few places to start so that you aren't overwhelmed.

Other Resources:

Here is a link to a Content Curation on Content Curation tools using Pearltree

How to be an Effective Digital Curator
Below is what embedding a content curation using pearltree into a blog looks like.

Building Consensus for School Wide Professional Development

If you are a teacher then I am sure you have experience the same debates at your staff meeting on various school policies such as to wear hats or not to wear hats, to wear bandanas or not to wear bandanas, to have a mandatory sunshine fund or not to have a mandatory sunshine fund..... You get the idea, the issues are endless and getting consensus nearly impossible.  So how then does one go about deciding on a common Professional Development goal?  If we can't even decide if the students can wear hats or not in school how are we going to decide our yearly common professional development?

I was recently at an iNacol conference and was at a session that addressed just that.  It was so mathematical that it was brilliant!  It involved two surveys that the staff had to complete that took into account everyone's preferences and ideas and amalgamated the two into a solid number at the end that was hard to argue with.  I will try to explain this process as simply as I can (and it is not a difficult process which is what makes it so brilliant!)

Survey #1:  What is important to you as a staff?
Decide what is important as a staff with regards to professional development.  Make a list of 10 items (could be more or less but 10 is a nice round number).  The items could be things like: relates to other division initiatives, time efficiency, ease of implementation or data collection.

Below is a picture of a sample survey with just 3 items:

If everyone on your staff completes the survey and weighs the importance of all the items on the list then all you have to do is total the average weight for each category (Google forms will do this for you so you don't even have to get out your calculator for this stage:) and use that weighting in survey 2.



 

Survey #2: Use the Weights from the first Survey and apply them to each idea for Professional Development.

So let's say that of the three items my staff chose the average weights are as follows:

• Relevance to other division initiatives  8.2
• Time Efficient 9.5
• Easy to Collect Data 9

And as a staff we brainstormed the following professional development ideas:

• Incorporating Differentiated Assignments within units
• Incorporating Videos within each assignment
• Providing Choice for topics of study

We would then make the following table and have each staff member fill it out and find their brilliant number for each Professional Development Idea:
Incorporating differentiated assignments within units

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Weight (from survey)
Relevance to other division initiatives							X				8.2	57.4
Time Efficient						X					9.5	57
Easy to Collect Data										X	9	90
The Brilliant Number!												204.4

 

If you total everyone's Brilliant Number for each idea, the highest one wins!!

Everybody's ideas have been taken into consideration and the importance for each person has been taken into account, and voila the numbers don't lie.  The idea with the highest number is the best solution for the year and everybody's happy:)

I thought the idea was simple, precise, and was considerate of everyone's needs.

You can find the original slide show presented by Dan Tenuta and Kris Keckler: Best Leadership Practices by clicking the link.