HKU SBA Seminar Series 2008 2009 Moving

HKU SBA Seminar Series 2008 – 2009 Moving Students Forward via Interactive Assessment The Impact of IA on Student Learning, Challenges Teachers Face Practising IA and the Way Ahead Nicole Tavares & Liz Hamp-Lyons Faculty of Education The University of Hong Kong 1

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The Study § Part of a much larger study to investigate what strategies for capacity-building are needed to help assessment-for-learning “take” in the junior secondary curriculum § 17 teachers in 7 schools, Grades 1 – 3 § Teacher action research, followed with focus group interviews with teachers and students http: //web. hku. hk/~sbapro/nov 24. html 3

The Theory § closely linked to work we have been doing with teachers of secondary-age learners in Hong Kong § in which we have been providing professional development to support the introduction of an innovative, teacher-delivered assessment drawing on the work of Black & Wiliam and the London Reform Group in assessment for learning. 4

Five key strategies of Af. L § Engineering effective classroom discussions § Providing feedback that moves learners forward § Sharing learning intentions and success criteria with learners § Activating students as owners of their own learning § Activating students as learning resources for one another § Dylan Wiliam, “Assessment for learning: Putting it into practice”, Scottish Education Festival 2005 5

Focus on one Af. L strategy § Engineering effective classroom discussions § Providing feedback that moves learners forward § Sharing learning intentions and success criteria with learners § Activating students as owners of their own learning § Activating students as learning resources for one another 6

Moving learners forward The Zone of Proximal Development § According to Vygotsky, all learning occurs in a range at and a little above the learner’s current level of knowledge and skill: this is the ‘zone’ in which development can be stimulated to occur – the zone of ‘proximal’ development. § The corollary of this is that learning will not occur if the distance between the learner’s current level and the level at which the teaching is pitched is too high. 7

The ZPD in applied linguistics § Vygotsky’s theory has been implemented as dynamic assessment in special education, and more recently by applied linguists, particularly Lantolf and Poehner (2004), Poehner and Lantolf (2005) and Poehner (2008). 8

The ZPD in language education § However, we see the concept of the ZPD as having more in common with work in assessment with children who are developing normally, for example by Stiggins (e. g. , 1998) in educative assessment, and by Wiggins (e. g. , 2004) on assessment as feedback. 9

ZPD and interactive assessment § Because the context in which we have been working is classroom-based and frequently involves groups in collaborative talk or in peer response to classmates, we describe what we are building as interactive assessment. 10

What is Interactive Assessment? § OUR CONTEXT § A very clear and carefully developed system of assessment for learning which emphasises formative uses of an eventual summative assessment: § Teachers engage students with thinking about their learning during the assessment process; § Assessment is one stage of the teaching, learning and assessing cycle in the classroom; § Every assessment is therefore for feedforward as well as for feedback. 11

Interactive Assessment § requires that teacher-assessors intervene during learners’ spoken performance in order to: § scaffold and support learners in producing an assessable performance that they know they are capable of in everyday settings; § stimulate and challenge them to reach a higherlevel performance than that being produced – to reach for a performance just at the edge of their ability. 12

Teachers moving forward § This new paradigm in assessment calls for a re-conceptualisation of the teacher’s role and strategy use as an assessor in the classroom-based assessment of normal language development and proficiency in school-aged children. § In our context these are Chinese-speaking children in English language classes. § BUT theory and much of the practice can be applied across subjects. 13

Teachers moving forward: Challenges faced Cycle 1 Before the Project Summative Teacher-as-Assessor Non-Intervention Cycle 2 of the Action-Research Study Formative + Summative Interactive Teacher-as-Mediator …………. …… Interruption Intervention Positive Intervention by the Teacher by Students Post-Task Feedback Concurrent Feedback Evaluative Feedback Informational Feedback for Feeding Forward ………… 14

Understanding Mediated Assistance Focus: (Textual) Structure Gesturing: Wait Time: X Too little Quality of Ideas Smiling/Nodding Too much Language to Organise Discourse? …… …… Questioning: Back-channelling, Probing & Prompting Questioning: Guide/Template Contextualised Spontaneous 15

An ESL Teacher Learning to Assess Interactively in an ‘Individual Presentation’ Context 16

Using IA Strategies Mediation and support via … § Guided Questioning § Graduated Probes and Prompts § Responsive Back-Channelling § Strategic Use of Wait Time § Non-Verbal Cues §…… 17

Positive Teaching, Learning & Assessment Attitude Right Degree of Challenge for the High-Ability Group? Teacher and Students as Engaged C ommunic a tive E LT E nvironment Co-Participants Reduced Helplessness among Low. Achievers Increased Support for Average Students 18

Enhancing Mediated Assistance Language Development: Accuracy? Focus: (Textual) Structure Quality of Ideas Language to Organise Discourse? Helpfulness & Correctiveness? Gesturing: X …… Smiling/Nodding Responsive to Learner Needs? Wait Time: Too little Too much …… Range vs Staging of Questions? Questioning: Back-channelling, Probing & Prompting Just-in-Time Questioning? Questioning: Guide/Template Contextualised Spontaneous 19

Major Challenges & Recommendations – 1 Challenges Nurturing Students’ Language Development Practical Recommendations 1 a) Teacher Modelling 1 b) Gesturing - ‘Thumbs-up’ Strategy 1 c) Flash / Cue Cards // Slips - he OR she? - 20

Major Challenges & Recommendations – 2 Challenges Handling Large Class Size & Nurturing Students’ Language Development Effective implementation of a range of formative assessment approaches in classrooms school-wide could be ‘as much as 20 times more cost-effective than class-size reduction programs’ (Wiliam, 2007) Practical Recommendations 2) Beginning with mini speaking tasks Ss/C as Attentive Observers & Thinkers; T as IA Model & Facilitator Ss/C as Participants; Focusing on more ‘controllable’ aspects T P –ed Ss as Peer Evaluators in Multiple Groupings 21

Major Challenges & Recommendations – 3 Challenges Teachers’ Language Awareness & Pedagogical Expertise Practical Recommendations 3) Ongoing Teacher Professional Development a) Af. L principles and practice b) SBA as an integral part of the curriculum c) IA and error-correction strategies d) Pedagogical content knowledge e) Catering for learner diversity f) Teaching skills – Just-in-time questioning, multiple groupings, … g) … … 22

Major Challenges & Recommendations – 4 Challenges Practical Recommendations 4) Teachers at a personal level a) Continuous practice and reflection b) Receptiveness and responsiveness to students’ feedback and needs 23

2009 Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination English Language Handbook for the School-Based Assessment Component (2007, p. 26) 24

25 2009 Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination English Language Handbook for the School-Based Assessment Component (2007, p. 31)