APST 5:2 Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning.
APST 5:1 Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to access student learning
School Context
School Austin Cove Baptist College
Level Year 6
Related Subject Assessment
Stage of Schooling Primary School
Type Private School
Location Provincial
Level Year 6
Related Subject Assessment
Stage of Schooling Primary School
Type Private School
Location Provincial
Learning Context
Austin Cove Baptist College aims to offer a safe, caring and respectful environment which provides students with an opportunity to learn free from distractions and intimidation. It currently caters for students from Pre-Primary to Year 11 and is coeducational. Assessment in the year 6 classroom is predominately informal, however, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches are also used.
Illustration of Practice: Performance Assessment, Informal
Situation
During my PIP and PI placement at Austin Cove Baptist College, I have consulted my mentor teacher to ensure that I am utilising the right assessment processes that will support best learning outcomes. My teaching philosophy is fundamentally positioned in the authentic / transformative paradigm, so I discussed with my mentor teacher assessments that would allow students to be engaged, that were authentic - with an emphasis on doing, rather than paper and pencil tasks. My mentor teacher encouraged me to use this assessment approach, so I began to plan and organise authentic tasks (Performance Assessment) and activities for the year 6 students to be complete.
During my PIP and PI placement at Austin Cove Baptist College, I have consulted my mentor teacher to ensure that I am utilising the right assessment processes that will support best learning outcomes. My teaching philosophy is fundamentally positioned in the authentic / transformative paradigm, so I discussed with my mentor teacher assessments that would allow students to be engaged, that were authentic - with an emphasis on doing, rather than paper and pencil tasks. My mentor teacher encouraged me to use this assessment approach, so I began to plan and organise authentic tasks (Performance Assessment) and activities for the year 6 students to be complete.
Action
During week 6 and week 7 of term 3 this year, students were introduced to measurement in mathematics. Week 6 focused on millimeters, centimeters, metres and kilometers (linear measurement). Week 7 focused on capacity. I began to develop performance assessment tasks that would have a clear purpose (formative) and focus (process and product). I was more interested in the process assessment rather than the product assessment as I wanted to see students contemplate, solve and work collaboratively to solve the problems. I found using a performance assessment approach to learning changed what I did as a teacher in class, and what the students did too . Using performance assessment, textbooks become a resource for learning; they become a means to an end rather than an end in itself.
The assessment process involved diagnostic assessment to discover what students knew about measurement, especially there understanding of capacity, formative assessments during the activities and summative assessments to show me what each student had learnt at the completion of the lessons. The cooperative learning groups required students to find and collect information, compare, contrast and classify the information. It was a valuable learning experience for me to see students collaborate to complete the assessments.
During week 6 and week 7 of term 3 this year, students were introduced to measurement in mathematics. Week 6 focused on millimeters, centimeters, metres and kilometers (linear measurement). Week 7 focused on capacity. I began to develop performance assessment tasks that would have a clear purpose (formative) and focus (process and product). I was more interested in the process assessment rather than the product assessment as I wanted to see students contemplate, solve and work collaboratively to solve the problems. I found using a performance assessment approach to learning changed what I did as a teacher in class, and what the students did too . Using performance assessment, textbooks become a resource for learning; they become a means to an end rather than an end in itself.
The assessment process involved diagnostic assessment to discover what students knew about measurement, especially there understanding of capacity, formative assessments during the activities and summative assessments to show me what each student had learnt at the completion of the lessons. The cooperative learning groups required students to find and collect information, compare, contrast and classify the information. It was a valuable learning experience for me to see students collaborate to complete the assessments.
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Outcome
Using a performance assessment process permitted me to engage with the students and to observe directly to see if they understood why measurement is so important in the real world application. Students were working at the upper level of Blooms Taxonomy, that is, application, analysis and evaluation. Effectively managed cooperative learning not only develop essential lifelong interpersonal skills, it also gets the students to spend more time actively thinking. The slideshow example to the right gives a 'good picture' of the participation and engagement of the students during their performance assessments. |
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This is a marking rubric I used to assess a year 7 students performance. Rubrics help to support learning. They make assessing the students' work efficient, consistent, objective, and quick. Rubrics enable teachers to evaluate students' performance in situations that more closely replicate real life than an isolated test. Rubrics also help teachers to focus their own attention to the key concepts and standards that the students must obtain.
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Action Plan
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Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding. (Edutopia, 2014). During the last two years of my education degree, I have begun building a resource website for assessment that will help be a valuable tool to consult in my future teaching years. I will also collaborate with experienced teachers to develop a better understanding of assessment processes and learning outcomes.
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