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Teaching Strategies That Create Assessment-Literate Learners
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Teaching Strategies That Create Assessment-Literate Learners

Foreword by Rick Stiggins



May 2018 | 248 pages | Corwin

Your go-to guide for using classroom assessment as a teaching and learning tool!

How can we bring students into the assessment process as full partners in ways that help them become owners of learning?

Becoming an assessment-literate learner means understanding where you are going as a learner, where you’re at now, and what you need to do to reach a learning goal. This book unpacks seven strategies of assessment for learning, along with the five keys of quality assessment, in a practical vision of quality assessment used to support and certify learning. With a focus on high-impact classroom practices, this book offers

  • Clear and relevant examples of assessment for learning strategies in specific subject matter contexts
  • Visual learning progressions for use in a self-assessment checklist and professional development
  • Additional material and examples on an author-created website

When we take a balanced approach to assessment and give students the tools and skills to support their own progress, students and teachers win. This book gives you the strategies and examples to make this possible.

“This is the book that practitioners have been waiting for: Assessment kept simple—its importance and how to do it, with plenty of support and templates to ensure success.”
—Ken Darvall, Principal
Tema International School


 
Foreword
 
Acknowledgments
 
List of Contributors
 
About the Authors
 
Chapter 1. Introduction to #assessmentliteracy
Assessment Literacy

 
Classroom Assessment: A Brief History of the Impact of the Field

 
Classroom Assessment: Today’s Dialogue About High-Impact Practices and Strategies

 
The Era of Rapid Response: Our Concerns About the Commercialization of Formative Assessment

 
Assessment Literacy: It’s About the Teachers and Their Leaders

 
 
Chapter 2. Contextualizing Assessment Within Curricula and Instruction
WHY, WHAT, and HOW

 
Backward Planning in a Proficiency-Based or Standards-Based Context

 
Designing Forward and Backward

 
Assessment Traps

 
Need for Assessment-Literate Leaders

 
What Is Effective School Leadership?

 
Types of School Leadership

 
Conclusion

 
Chapter 2 Appendix: U.S. History Assessment Task and Rubric

 
 
Chapter 3. The Convergence of Research and Practice: Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning Meets High-Impact Strategies
Learning Progressions for High-Impact Assessment for Learning Strategies: From Surface to Deep Practice

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 4. Clear Learning Targets: Clarity Is the Goal!
Clear Learning Targets: The Progression of Strategies for High Impact

 
Curriculum Context for Clear Learning Targets

 
A Primer on Cognitive Models: Identifying, Organizing, and Communicating Clear Learning Targets From Standards Documents

 
Classroom Strategies to Influence Clear Learning Targets: From “As Is” Standards to “I Can . . . This Means” Statements

 
Learning Progressions

 
A More In-Depth Look at Clear Learning Targets Using Next Generation Science Standards as an Example

 
Concept Maps and Deconstructing Standards

 
Combining Clear Learning Targets Strategies

 
Concerns About Creating Learning Progressions: Avoid the Traps

 
Grading, Scores, and Learning Progressions

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 5. Mapping, Visual Literacy, and Assessment for Learning
What Is Visual Literacy? Why Is It Important?

 
High-Impact Visual Learning Strategies: Mind Mapping, Concept Mapping, and Visual Representations

 
Primer: What Is a Mind Map?

 
Primer: What Is a Concept Map?

 
Mind Mapping in Practice

 
Concept Maps in Action

 
Using a Concept Map to Make Comparisons and to Understand Similarities and Differences of Concepts

 
Graphic Organizers + Concept Maps + Sketches = Fluent Visual Literacy

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 6. Putting Feedback Into Action
Giving and Receiving Feedback: Creating a Culture Receptive to Feedback

 
Using Objects to Understand How One Prefers to Receive Feedback

 
Educators Need and Deserve Formative Feedback, Too!

 
Conclusion

 
Chapter 6 Appendix: Earth-Sun-Moon System Pre-Self-Assessment and Teacher Feedback Case Study

 
 
Chapter 7. Metacognition, Self-Assessment, Goal Setting, and Reflection: GPA Matters! (Goals, Plans, and Actions, That Is!)
Meet Our Friend Ed

 
Fully Developed Rubrics

 
The Next Steps Rubric: A Bridge Between Standards and Fully Developed Rubrics

 
Clear Learning Targets

 
Descriptive Feedback

 
Self-Assessment and Goal Setting

 
Working in Concert With Fully Developed Rubrics

 
How and When to Use the Next Steps Rubric for Maximum Impact

 
Linking Metacognition and Student Success

 
The Anatomy of the Next Steps Rubric: Form, Function, and Flexibility

 
Educators Benefit From the Next Steps Rubric, Too!

 
Summary of the Next Steps Rubric

 
Other Self-Assessment, Goal Setting, and Reflection Tools

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 8. Diagnosing Student Learning Needs During the Learning Process
Using Questions to Diagnose and Improve Student Learning

 
Why Use Questioning?

 
What Does the Research Say About Questioning?

 
What Can I Do to Improve My Questioning Skills, You Might Ask?

 
Teaching Productive Discourse: Using Classroom Discussions Effectively to Diagnose Learner Needs

 
Visual Thinking Strategy: Classroom Discussion Protocol

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 9. The Whole Learner and Nothing But the Learner
A Key Standard of Quality: Assessment-Literate Learners

 
So, What Else About the Learner?

 
Deep Dive: What Is Grit?

 
Metacognitive Learning Strategies—A Deep Dive

 
Metacognitive Learning Strategies in Practice—From 21st Century Skills to Habits of Work and Learning

 
Learner’s Attributes and What She or He May Be Thinking

 
Mindset Celebrating Errors and Mistakes

 
Self-Handicapping

 
Deep Dive: Encounters With Learners

 
Conclusion

 
Chapter 9 Appendix: Metacognitive Strategies: Definitions, Effect Sizes, and Examples

 
 
Chapter 10. High-Impact Professional Learning Principles and Communities of Practice: Let’s Get It Right!
Standards for Professional Learning

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 11. Professional Learning Strategies and Tools for Creating Assessment-Literate Educators
Common Language and Vetted Resources

 
Interactive and Immersive Learning Strategies

 
Self-Assessment, Goal Setting, and Reflection Tools and Strategies

 
Simplify Sources and Displays of Evidence (Quicker Prompts)

 
Use of Modules: Bite-Sized Professional Development

 
Grow Assessment-Literate Leaders Within and Outside of One’s District and/or Partnership: Creating a Partnership of Partnerships

 
Finding the Sweet Spot: Embed Assessment Literacy Into Other Professional Development Initiatives: It Is the Plate!

 
Conclusion

 
 
Chapter 12. Assessing Student Growth and Teacher Effectiveness
Overview of Foundational Skills for Sound Assessment of Student Growth and Proficiency

 
Assessing What Matters Most in Social Studies-Historical Thinking Example: A Case Study in Student Growth Models

 
Conclusion

 
Chapter 12 Appendix: Historical Thinking and Summarizing

 
 
Chapter 13. The #assessmentliteracy Challenge
Take a Creative Deep Dive: Express-a-Book, Video, Podcast, or Article

 
Following the Flow of Ideas and Finding Your Happy Place

 
What Will Be Your Next Steps in Your Assessment Literacy Journey?

 
Chapter 13 Appendix A: What Is Quality? High-Impact Teaching Strategies Meet Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (1974)

 
Chapter 13 Appendix B: Art, Fear, and High-Impact Teaching and Learning Strategies

 
 
References
 
Index

"This is not just another book on formative assessment. Authors Anita Stewart McCafferty and Jeff Beaudry have taken a fresh and lively approach to showing what it means to be assessment literate as a learner, whether teacher or student. They have incorporated metaphors and visual representations to illustrate how assessment for learning strategies connect to research findings on high-impact practices and promote student engagement, metacognition, and a growth mindset. Threaded throughout are practical and inspiring classroom applications. This book is a must-read for anyone desiring to put the student at the heart of the classroom."

Jan Chappuis, Educational Consultant and Author

“We know how important it is for our students to be college and career ready. As an elementary school teacher you might wonder, does this apply to what I’m doing? A big part of the answer is that our students need to be self-directed learners. With this book, you will not only understand what that really means, but also learn how to help your students accomplish this goal.”

Susan D’Angelo, K-5 Math Program Specialist
Sarasota County School District

“This is a book that practitioners have been waiting for: Assessment kept simple—its  importance and how to do it, with plenty of support templates to ensure success.”

Dr. Ken Darvall, Principal
Tema International School

"What do we need more than assessment-literate teachers? Assessment-literate students. This book provides practical strategies and examples to dramatically improve the assessment literacy of both students and teachers. Its effectiveness is enhanced by high-impact visuals and numerous ‘Practitioner Spotlights’ that show clearly how teachers are already doing this. ??In addition, the development of assessment literacy in teachers is improving but still severely lacking in many teacher preparation programs. This book provides what is lacking in those programs and takes it a step further by showing how to develop student assessment literacy in addition to teacher assessment literacy."

Ken O'Connor, Educational Consultant and Author
Assess for Success Consulting, Inc

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