When it comes to assessment, the title is a fair question to ask. As districts in our region take a look at their assessment practices, a number are taking steps to help their educators and students see assessment in an ever more meaningful way.
One of our districts, Carmel Central School District in New York, is looking to make key changes to their assessment design at the high-school level. After engaging in conversation with one of their leaders, Janet Warden, I came to understand that they have identified six key steps to making more meaning from the assessments they utilize.
Seek purpose. Every change must have a rationale, particularly if we hope that change will stick. We can get at that rationale by reflecting on key questions. When focusing on assessment, some of those questions could be:
- “What purpose do our current assessment practices serve?”
- “Why change the assessment process now?”
- “How does it benefit learners if we assess them differently?”
- “By making changes, do we come closer to teaching students more about what we value? More about what they value?”
These questions are a few of the ones that can be considered as a way to drill down into the true “why” of an assessment redesign. And in the end, as my Carmel colleague made very clear, “The ‘why’ should always lead back to how learners will benefit.”
Find a buddy. The leader I mentioned recognized that this change can’t be made alone, and that along with having her own staff on board, she’ll be utilizing the support of other leaders in the region to help check her thinking and provide guidance as she helps her district move forward. She also recognized that there is much we can do ourselves, and sometimes it is beneficial to bring in the assistance of someone with tremendous expertise in a given area. Whether the “buddy” is a colleague or someone with unique experience, most initiatives are most successful when we have people to lean on.
Begin with the end in mind. Whether you are a backwards-planning guru, or simply value the benefit of always keeping end points as a guide for any and all work, there is value to focusing on the finish line, even when we are just leaving the starting gate. In curriculum design, starting with where we want to be at the end allows us to make sure that our instruction mirrors the content and skills that we will expect students to have mastered when they are assessed. Therefore, if we redesign our assessment measures to be better indicators of what students will need to be the leaders of tomorrow, then our instruction will also shift. And likely, for the better.
Freshen up. Building capacity is never easy. And Carmel’s leadership recognizes the impact new resources can have on the community of learners. Whether reading a new text, engaging in a protocol based on a journal article or sharing thinking openly with a team, it is important for us to always be mindful of new ideas, ways to think differently about something or steps to take to add to our understanding.
Give enough time. My colleague recognizes that change takes time, and she realizes that shifting assessment design isn’t something that can happen overnight. With that in mind, she is thinking long-term and big-picture, willing to start the initiative in earnest with a fresh year next September, and recognizing that for some, this shift will be years in the making. Taking the long-view not only supports the different learning cycles we each embody, but it also builds investment. The more time we devote to an initiative, the more opportunity we have to build capacity, and the more likely the initiative will be seen as foundational to (all) our work.
Shift the paradigm. One of the most helpful ways to make change is to encounter a paradigm-shifting moment. When we see others engage in practice that we never thought possible, it makes us wonder if we can, in fact, make that shift too. To that end, my colleague is interested in taking some of her teachers to observe instruction and assessment in other districts, with the hope that her team will see other ways to continue to support students and learning.
As we discussed her plans and hopes for the district, it occurred to me that this process was not only a great way to begin thinking about further making meaning of the assessments that are designed and used, but it is also a great process in general to make meaning. Through asking “Why?,” buddying up, considering endpoints and shifting our learning while continually adding to it, with enough time, there is a way to make meaning out of everything.
Fred Ende (@fredende) is the assistant director of Curriculum and Instructional Services for Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Fred blogs at www.fredende.blogspot.com, Edutopia, ASCD EDge and SmartBrief Education. His book,Professional Development That Sticks is available from ASCD. Visit his website:www.fredende.com.
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Linapokuja suala la tathmini, kichwa ni swali la haki la kuuliza. """Wakati wilaya katika mkoa wetu zinaangalia mazoea yao ya tathmini, kadhaa zinachukua hatua za kuwasaidia walimu na wanafunzi wao kuona tathmini kwa njia yenye maana zaidi." Shule ya Carmel Central School District, New York, imepanga kufanya mabadiliko makubwa katika mfumo wa masomo ya shule ya sekondari. Baada ya kuwasiliana na Janet Warden, mmoja wa viongozi wao, nilielewa kwamba wametambua hatua sita muhimu za kufanya maana zaidi kutoka kwa tathmini wanazotumia. Tafuta kusudi. Kila mabadiliko lazima yawe na sababu, hasa ikiwa tunatumaini kwamba mabadiliko hayo yatadumu. Tunaweza kuelewa sababu hiyo kwa kufikiria maswali muhimu. "Kwa hivyo, kwa kuzingatia tathmini, baadhi ya maswali haya yanaweza kuwa: ""Ni kusudi gani la mazoea yetu ya sasa ya tathmini?"" ""Kwa nini kubadilisha mchakato wa tathmini sasa?"" ""Je, ina faida gani kwa wanafunzi ikiwa tunawaathiria tofauti?"" ""Kwa kufanya mabadiliko, je, tunakaribia kuwafundisha wanafunzi zaidi juu ya kile tunachothamini?" "Kwa nini ""kuchunguza"" ni muhimu zaidi kuliko ""kuchunguza"" - ni njia ya kutafakari kwa njia ya kutafakari kwa njia ya kutafakari kwa njia ya kutafakari kwa njia ya kutafakari." Na mwishowe, kama mwenzangu Carmel alivyoeleza waziwazi, <unk>Kwa nini<unk> inapaswa daima kuongoza nyuma kwa jinsi wanafunzi watafaidika. <unk> Tafuta rafiki. Kiongozi niliyemtaja alitambua kuwa mabadiliko haya hayawezi kufanywa peke yake, na kwamba pamoja na kuwa na wafanyakazi wake mwenyewe ndani, ataitumia msaada wa viongozi wengine katika mkoa kusaidia kuangalia mawazo yake na kutoa mwongozo wakati anasaidia wilaya yake kusonga mbele. Pia alitambua kwamba kuna mengi ambayo tunaweza kufanya sisi wenyewe, na wakati mwingine ni muhimu kumsaidia mtu mwenye ujuzi mkubwa katika eneo fulani. Iwe "mwenzi" ni mwenzake au mtu mwenye uzoefu wa kipekee, mipango mingi hufanikiwa zaidi wakati tuna watu wa kutegemea. Anza kwa kufikiria mwisho. Kama wewe ni guru wa mipango ya nyuma, au tu thamani ya faida ya daima kuweka mwisho pointi kama mwongozo kwa ajili ya kazi yoyote na wote, kuna thamani ya kuzingatia mstari wa kumaliza, hata wakati sisi ni tu kuondoka mlango wa kuanza. Katika muundo wa mtaala, kuanzia na mahali tunataka kuwa mwisho huturuhusu kuhakikisha kwamba mafundisho yetu yanaonyesha maudhui na ujuzi ambao tutatarajia wanafunzi kuwa na ustadi wakati wa tathmini. Kwa hiyo, ikiwa tutafanya marekebisho ya vipimo vyetu kuwa viashiria bora vya kile wanafunzi watakachohitaji kuwa viongozi wa kesho, basi mafundisho yetu pia yatabadilika. Na, yaelekea, kwa ajili ya mema. Fanya upya. Kujenga uwezo si rahisi kamwe. Na uongozi wa Carmel unatambua athari ambazo rasilimali mpya zinaweza kuwa nazo kwa jamii ya wanafunzi. Iwe ni kusoma maandishi mapya, kushiriki katika itifaki kulingana na makala ya jarida au kushiriki kufikiri wazi na timu, ni muhimu kwetu kuwa daima makini na mawazo mapya, njia za kufikiri tofauti kuhusu kitu au hatua za kuchukua kuongeza kuelewa kwetu. Mpe wakati wa kutosha. Mfanyakazi mwenzangu anatambua kwamba mabadiliko huchukua muda, na anatambua kwamba kubadilisha muundo wa tathmini si kitu kinachoweza kutokea usiku mmoja. Kwa kuzingatia hilo, anafikiria kwa muda mrefu na picha kubwa, tayari kuanza mpango kwa umakini na mwaka mpya Septemba ijayo, na kutambua kwamba kwa wengine, mabadiliko haya yatakuwa miaka katika kufanya. Kuchukua mtazamo wa muda mrefu sio tu inasaidia mizunguko tofauti ya kujifunza kila mmoja wetu anajumuisha, lakini pia inajenga uwekezaji. Kadiri tunavyojitolea kwa mpango, ndivyo tunavyoweza kujenga uwezo, na ndivyo tunavyoweza kuona mpango huo kuwa msingi wa kazi yetu. Badilisha mtazamo. Njia bora ya kufanya mabadiliko ni kukutana na mabadiliko ya paradigm. Tunapoona wengine wakifanya mambo ambayo hatukuwahi kuwazia kuwa yanawezekana, tunajiuliza kama tunaweza kufanya mabadiliko hayo. Kwa kusudi hilo, mwenzangu anapenda kuchukua baadhi ya walimu wake kuchunguza mafundisho na tathmini katika wilaya nyingine, na matumaini kwamba timu yake itaona njia nyingine za kuendelea kusaidia wanafunzi na kujifunza. """Tulipokuwa tukizungumzia mipango yake na matumaini kwa wilaya, ilinipata kwamba mchakato huu haukuwa tu njia nzuri ya kuanza kufikiria juu ya kufanya maana zaidi ya tathmini ambazo zimebuniwa na kutumika, lakini pia ni mchakato mzuri kwa ujumla wa kufanya maana." Kwa kuuliza, kwa nini, kufanya urafiki, kuzingatia mwisho na kubadilisha kujifunza kwetu wakati wa kuongeza daima, na wakati wa kutosha, kuna njia ya kufanya maana nje ya kila kitu. Fred Ende ni Msaidizi Mkurugenzi wa Programu ya masomo na Huduma za Mafundisho kwa Putnam, North Westchester, BOCES, Yorktown Heights, NY, na anaandika blogi kwenye www.fredende.blogspot.com, Edutopia, ASED, EDGE na SmartBrief. Kitabu chake, Maendeleo ya Ufundi ambayo Sticks inapatikana kutoka ASCD. Tembelea tovuti yake: www.fredende.com. Kama makala hii? Kujiandikisha kwa ASK SmartBridge kupata habari kama hii katika sanduku lako la barua, au angalia wote SmartBridge elimu jarida, kufunika kazi na elimu ya kiufundi, uongozi wa elimu, elimu ya hisabati na zaidi.