John,

Thanks for raising your point about adding formative assessment to the
list of things to do as an instructor.  I also feel like it should be
integrated into the teaching process not an add-on.  Which is why I
replied "yes" to David's issue of paying more attention to formative
assessment.  Perhaps an area that needs much more PD support here in the
U.S.?
Aaron 

-----Original Message-----
From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Benseman John
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 5:42 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 186] Re: Formative Assessment
inInternationalEducation

In response to Aaron's posting about formative assessment being yet
another thing to add to teachers' already long list of tasks to do:
 

*	
	Black and Wiliam argue that formative assessment should
replace/improve what teachers already do, not just be added on top of
every thing else.
*	
	the point about formative assessment is to improve what we
already do as teachers and make better use of the information that we
get in the process
*	
	one of the attractions about formative assessment is that
teachers can improve/add to their teaching skills incrementally and not
have to change everything - they could for example focus on improving
their questioning skills before tackling students learning to review
each others' work

Two other points about formative assessment:

*	because it is fundamentally about generic aspects of teaching,
it has currency for all teachers, irrespective of the content of their
teaching, level etc. It is a very good strategy for professional
development because of its relevance across the board
*	being involved in developing formative assessment usually
involves peer observation for teachers, which is probably one of the
best prompts to critically review our own practices. My own interest in
formative assessment was initially prompted by carrying out an
observation study of 15 literacy and numeracy teachers (
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=10929&ind
exid=1028&indexparentid=1000 ), which really brought home to me the
importance of generic teaching skills such as questioning (eg teachers
asking questions and then supplying the answer themselves ('rescuing'
their learners so that they don't feel failures) about 2 seconds later)
and scaffolding off learners' responses.

Janet - it might be useful to outline what is going to come out of the
OECD study when it is published?

John

John Benseman PhD
 
Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ (based at Department of
Labour) DDI 04 915 4195 - Cell: 021 0489 143
 
Faculty of Education, The University of Auckland PB 92019, Auckland, NZ
*   j.benseman at auckland.ac.nz <mailto:j.benseman at auckland.ac.nz> 
(   0064 9 623 8899, ext 87161
7 0064 9 373 7455
Office location: Room 365, N Block, Epsom Campus

________________________________

From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Thu 7/09/2006 6:36 a.m.
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 184] Re: Formative Assessment in
InternationalEducation



 David,

I was struck by your last question in regards to my own work: Do we need
to pay more attention to formative assessment in the U.S.?

I would say- Yes.

With teachers that I've worked with- they always mention how the
standardized (summative) tests they are required to administer do not
really tell them what they need to be teaching.  Then we go another step
and talk about how formative assessments add to that picture of what
learners know and can do- thus giving them more information about what
to teach as well as helping to show progress.

Yet, some of the recurring themes many instructors seem to deal with-
especially in the U.S.- where many only work part-time are:
1) Having time (preferably paid) for: working with learners to assess
what they want to know and be able to do, understanding where they are
starting from, planning the lesson along with useful assessment(s), etc.
2) Not having much experience in developing a 'suitable' formative
assessment
3) Dealing with tensions for accountability (needing to show level gains
based on acceptable reporting measures for the federal government)

So does that mean education to understand the benefits and uses of
formative and summative assessments?  Professional development on
developing/creating assessments?  Educating legislators/funders about
issues with accountability and part-time staff?  All of these?

Aaron 

-----Original Message-----
From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:16 AM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 180] Formative Assessment in International
Education

Special Topics Discussion Subscribers,

We would like to hear from you.

What has been your experience with formative assessment?
Do you use formative assessment strategies in your classroom?
Have you done research -- qualitative or quantitative, including
classroom research -- on the effects of formative assessment? What did
you find?
Are you satisfied with using only summative (standardized per-post
NRS-required) assessment?
Do we need to pay more attention to formative assessment in the U.S.?

Our discussion ends soon so please post your answers or questions now.

Thanks.

David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net



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