Assessment
Assessment within MoE
Jenny Lewis - To read the full report click here
We need to incorporate high quality assessment as part of our practice when using MoE, both to help children move forward their learning and also to provide evidence of the impact that MoE has on their learning
Mary James, from the Institute of Education, has created a model of 3rd generation assessment that has underlying principles closely connected those of MoE . It is, therefore, a valuable model that can be used as a basis for developing meaningful assessment for learning in classrooms where MoE is being used.
The following is a brief summary of both the teaching and assessment implications of Professor James’ model:
TEACHING IMPLICATIONS OF 3G
Underpinnings: the socio-cultural or ‘situated’ view of learning
- Teachers need to create environments in which people can be stimulated to think and act in authentic tasks.
- Access to tools is important.
- Activities that a learner can complete with assistance so that the ‘more expert other’ can scaffold learning.
- Tasks need to be collaborative.
- Students need to be involved in the generation of problems as well as solutions.
- Teachers and students become a learning community and jointly solve problems.
- Most valued outcome is engaged participation in ways that others find beneficial
IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT
- Assessment alongside learning.
- Done by the community.
- Assessment of group learning as well as of the individual.
- ‘In vivo’ studies of situated problem solving.
- Achievement captured and reported through narrative accounts and audio-visual media.
- Holistic and qualitative judgement.
The teaching implications show how well this type of assessment fits in with the pedagogy of MoE .The following are some examples of assessment for learning practices that can be used within MoE ; they are mostly based on the 3G model but some will be familiar as valued 2G practices that are also effective and share some of the 3G principles.
1, Ongoing dialogue: probably the most valuable AFL tool within MoE as it has direct impact both on individual and group learning and is situated right in the middle of the learning as it happens. This will involve the children talking to each other and to adults in a variety of contexts and is where some of the higher level thinking / listening and speaking skills that move both individual group learning forward emerge. It is not always easy to ‘capture’ this, but it can be done with a Dictaphone or video or by making notes. Photographs can also be taken which are later annotated with the children who can talk about what was happening and how they were saying/ feeling at that moment
2. Time made for reflection built into each session: (see the many examples of reflective questioning that can be used in Michael Bunting’s ‘Questions, Questions’ booklet). This can involve self and peer assessment as well as assessment of groups or the whole team using tools such as continuums (place yourself on a line in relation to …
3. Ongoing portfolio containing notes, transcriptions of dialogue, annotated photographs, reflections, magic moments etc. Blog diaries are invaluable but very time consuming (for examples, visit: www.moeplanning.co.uk/community/blogs), so a portfolio capturing ‘highlights’ might be a more manageable way of recording how the class community develops while working in this way. (This will obviously be a record of the work of the imaginary community as well as the real one!). This could also contain samples of children’s writing, pictures, maps, plans et
4. Teacher’s notes: most teachers keep some sort of ongoing record of the individual children in their class. This can be used to note down any particular role they have played within the MoE work as you would in other areas of their work. (‘Today B organised and led the electrical safety team - huge boost to self esteem!’ Parent/child questionnaires assessing the impact of MoE on their learning
5. Evidence of children’s work. This could be class, group or individual. Although many of the tasks involved in MoE are collaborative, the children will also be producing individual pieces of work that can be used for assessment purposes in a more conventional way. It is interesting to compare individual pieces of work both from in and out of the context of MoE work to evaluate its impact on children’s writing, particularly in relation to engagement, purpose and motivation