CheckingforUnderstanding

FormativeAssessmentTechniquesforYourClassroom ByDouglasFisher&NancyFrey

ChapterOne WhyCheckforUnderstanding?
Mostlikelyapersonspeakingmostlikelycheckedseveraltimesduringthelecturebyusing commonpromptsasAnyquestion?Didyouallgetthat?Everybodyunderstand?orDoes thatmakesense?Ratherthanrespondtothesequestions,mostlearnerswillsetquietly,and thelecturerdoesntknowwhethertheyunderstand,theyaretooconfusedtoanswer,they thinktheygetit,ortheyaretooembarrassedtoshowtheirlackofunderstandinginfronof others.Suchgeneralquestionsaresimplynotsufficientindeterminingwhetherornot studentsgetit. WhatisCheckingforUnderstanding? Isanimportantstepintheteachingandlearningprocess.Unlessyoucheckforunderstanding, itisdifficulttoknowexactlywhatstudentsaregettingoutofthelesson.Researchsuggestsitis importanttoidentifyandconfrontmisconceptionsthatcaninterferewithlearning.Theis processcorrectsmisconceptionsandimproveslearning.Italsoprovidesamodelforgoodstudy skills.Whenteacherscheckforunderstandingthenstudentsbecomemoreawareofhowthey shouldbeselfregulatingthemselves. WhatCheckingforUnderstandingisNot Itisnotthefinalexamorstateachievementtests.Thesearesummativeinnatureandnot whatthisisabout.Itisasystematicapproachtoformativeassessment.Itisforteachersto providestudentfeedbackthroughouttheteachingandlearningprocess.Teachersshouldbe checkingforunderstandingevery15minutes. HowisCheckingforUnderstandingRelatedtoOtherTeachingInitiatives? UnderstandingbyDesign:AsignificantpartoftheUnderstandingbyDesignmodelcenterson theuseofassessmentsthatfocusonstudentunderstanding,WigginsandMcTigheBecause understandingdevelopsasaresultofongoinginquiryandrethinking,theassessmentof understandingshouldbethoughtofintermsofacollectionofevidenceovertimeinsteadofan eventasinglemomentintimetestattheendofinstruction.(1988,p.19) DifferentiatingInstruction:Teacherscandifferentiatethecontent,process,orproductsthey useorexpectfromstudents.Assessmentservesacriticalroleinteacherdecisionmaking. Teachersneedtouseawidevarietyofassessmentsystems(regularlycheckourstudent

understanding)toknowwhetherornotourinstructionalinterventions,modifications, accommodations,andextensionsareworking. ClosingtheAchievementGap:TheNorthCentralRegionalEducationalLaboratoryanalysis suggeststhattheachievementgaphasthreedimensions:(1)factorscontributingtothegap, suchaspoverty,race,andteacherquality;(2)multiplecontextsinwhichtheachievementgap exists,suchasinschoolfactors;and(3)time,asstudentprogressthroughtheireducationfrom preKtograde12andbeyond. Breakthrough:Thiscallsforashiftinschoolculturethatusesdatatomakedecisionsinorder topersonalizeinstruction.Acriticalpayapproachrequiresteacherstoknowthecurriculum deeplyandtobeknowledgeableofthewaysinwhichlearnerprogresscanbecheckedalong theway(checkingforunderstanding)usingcriticalpathanalysis. Conclusion: Oftenourchecksforunderstandingareimplementedtoolate,attheendofaunit.Howoften doesonlythenumberofcorrectresponsesdefinethosechecks?Checkingforunderstanding shoulddothefollowing: Alignwithenduringunderstandings(UnderstandingbyDesign) Allowfordifferentiation(Differentiation) Focusongapanalysis(ClosingtheAchievementGap) Leadtopreciseteaching(Breakthrough)

ChapterTwo UsingOralLanguagetoCheckforunderstanding
MisusesofOralLanguageintheClassroom Regardlessofthesizeoftheschool,itsdemographics,theageoftheteachingstaff,orany otherfactorthatwecanthinkof,orallanguagewillbeusedintheclassroom.Peoplewilltalk andlistenthatsagiven. Poverty,Language,andPerceivedSkillLevel: Inclassroomswithincreasednumbersofpovertystudents;teacherstalkmoreandstudents talkless.Englishlanguagelearnersareaskedeasierquestionsornoquestions.Classeswith highachievingstudentstalked55percentoftheclasstimeincomparisontolowachieving classes,teachersmonopolizedclasstimetalking80percentofthetime. GenderDifferences: Girlsspendlesstimetalkinginclassastheygetolder.Someevidenceshowsteacherscallon boysmoreoftenthangirlsandtheyuselongerwaittimewithboys. TheInitiateRespondEvaluateModel:

Thismodelofquestioningdominatesclassroomdiscourse.Thisinteractionfocusesonguess whatsintheteachersheadorwhattheteacheralreadyknows,notoncriticalthinkingbythe wholegroup. OralLanguageStrategiesinCheckingforUnderstanding: AccountableTalk: Thisisaframeworkforteachingstudentsaboutdiscourseinordertoenrightheseinteractions. Thisisdescribedasagreementsstudentsandtheirteachercommittoastheyengageinpartner conversations. Stayontopic Useinformationthatisaccurateandappropriateforthetopic Thinkdeeplyaboutwhatthepartnerhastosay Studentaretaughthowtobeaccountabletooneanotherandtotheirlearningbyusingfive indicatorsofaccountabletalk; 1. Pressforclarificationandexplanation 2. Requirejustificationofproposalsandchallenges 3. Recognizeandchallengemisconceptions: 4. Demandevidenceforclaimsandarguments: 5. Interpretanduseeachothersstatements NoticingNonverbalCues: Studentsoftenhavesimplelooksontheirfaces,throwinghandsintheair,etc. ValueLineups: Studentsareaskedtoevaluateastatementandinstructedtolineupaccordingtotheirdegree ofagreementordisagreementwiththestatement.Afterformingasingleline,thequeueis thenfoldedinhalfsothatthestudentswhomoststronglyagreedanddisagreedwithone anotherarenowfacetoface.Studentsthendiscusstheirreasonsfortheirpostionsandlisten toperspectivesofothers. Retellings: Invitingstudentstoretellwhattheyjustheardorread.Studentsneedtobetaughtthe proceduresofreteling. ThinkPairShare: Thisisacooperativediscussionstrategythatallowsstudentstodiscusstheirreponseswitha peerbeforesharingwiththewholeclass. 1. Think:Teacherengagesstudentstothinkaboutaquestion,prompt,reading,visual,or observation. 2. Pair:Studentspairupanddiscusstheirresponses 3. Share:Teacheraskspairstosharetheirthinking.

MisconceptionAnalysis: Throughgroupdiscussionsandteacherleadingdiscussionquestionsthatleadtoworking throughmisconceptions. WhipAround: Theteacherposesaquestionoratask;typically,studentsareaskedtomakealistofatleast threeitems.Studentsthenindividuallyrespondonascrappieceofpaper.Studentsstandand areaskedtogiveoneoftheirresponses.Studentslistentoothersancheckofftheoneson theirliststhatothersgive.Studentssitdownwhenallthreeoftheiritemshavebeenused.

ChapterThree UsingQuestionstoCheckforUnderstanding
EffectiveQuestioningTechniques: Constructingeffectivequestions: Thisisnotatwostepprocess(questionandanswer) 1. Formulatethequestion(recognitionquestionfirsttobounceotherquestionsfrom) 2. Formatthequestion(Choral,partner,individual,etc.) 3. Givewaittime 4. Scaffoldquestionifstudenthasproblem. 5. Givefeedbacktorespondingstudentorgroup(praise,affirmationofcorrectresponse, orelaborationonanswergiven) ProvidingNonverbalSupport: Eyecontact;lookdirectlyatthespeakerandmaintaineyecontact. Facialexpressions;Useavarietyofappropriatefacialexpressions.Uschassmilingor demonstratingsurpriseorexcitement. Bodyposture;Usegesturessuchashandsignals;maintainbodyposturethatsignifies opennesstostudentsideas. Physicaldistance;adjustyourpositionintheclassroomaccordingtoyourconditionof instruction;forexample,moveclosertoastudentwhoisspeaking(ortoastudentwho islessengaged) Silence;Bequietwhileastudentisspeaking;dontinterrupt;honorwaittimesaftera studentstopsspeaking Verbalacknowledgments;Usebrief,appropriateverbalacknowledgmentssuchasGo ahead,Yes,orIunderstand. Subsummaries;Restateorparaphrasethemainideaspresentedbystudentduring lengthydiscussions. DevelopingAuthenticQuestions: PrepareinadvancequestionfromavarietyofBloomslevels.

InstructionalPracticesThatPromoteParticipation: ResponseCards: Indexcards,signs,dryeraseboards,magneticboards,orotheritemsthataresimultaneously heldupbyallstudentsinclasstoindicatetheirresponsetoaquestionorproblempresentedby theteacher. HandSignals: Studentsusehandsignalstoindicatetheirunderstandingofcontentinformation.Similarto responsecardsbutuseasignaltoindicatetheiranswerinsteadofacardorboard. AudienceResponseSystems: Technologybasedresponsesystemsallowstudentstocomparetheirthinkingwithothersina safeenvironmentmorequickly. ReQuest: Alsocalledreciprocalquestioningwasdesignedtoteachstudentstoaskandanswerquestions astheyread.Firstteacherhasstudentsreadasectionoftext.Thenstudentsaskteacher questionsaboutthetextjustread.Thentheyreadmoreandteacheraskesquestionsto students.Thisisalternatedthroughoutthereadingprocessofcontent. SocraticSeminar: 1. Refertothetextwhenneededduringthediscussion.Notatestofmemory. 2. Itsokaytopasswhenaskedtocontribute. 3. Donotparticipateifyouarenotprepared. 4. Donotstayconfused:askforclarification 5. Sticktothepointcurrentlyunderdiscussion;makenotesabouttheideasyouwantot comebackto 6. Dontraisehands;taketurnsspeaking. 7. Listencarefully 8. Speakupsothatallcanhearyou 9. Talktoeachother,notjusttotheleaderorteacher 10. Discussideasratherthaneachothersopinions. 11. Youareresponsiblefortheseminar,evenifyoudontknowitoradmitit.

ChapterFour UsingWritingtoCheckforUnderstanding
Writingclarifiesthinking.Teacherscandeterminewhattheirstudentsknowbyanalyzing studentswriting.Tocheckforunderstandingonemustlookathowtheformandthecontent interact.Themessageitselfaswellashowwellthemessagewasconveyedareinterrelated.

MisusesofWritingintheClassroom: Shouldneverbeusedapunishmentforproblembehavior.Writinghasalsobeenusedtolabel andsortstudents. WritingstrategiestoCheckforUnderstanding: InteractiveWriting: Firstthewritersdiscussatopicandagreeonamessage.Thistakesideasandmovestospoken words.Theneachwriterinthegroupisaskedtowriteapieceofthemessage.Aftereach personfinishestheentiregroupreadsitaloudasyougo.Whileonepersoniswritingthe teacherorleaderdoesmini(skilledbased)lessonsusingthewrittenresponsesofar. ReadWritePairShare: Readasectionofmaterials,thenwritearesponsetothesection,discussesitwithapartnerand finallysharetheirideaswiththewholegroup.BuildsonThinkPairShare. SummaryWriting: Theseareoftenusedashortinformationpieceswrittenasstudentsexitorenterclassbasedon thelearningthatjustoccurred. RAFT: Role:Whatistheroleofthewriter? Audience:Towhomisthewriterwriting? Format:Whatistheformatforthewriting? Topic:Whatisthefocusofthewriting?

ChapterFive UsingProjectsandPerformancestoCheckforUnderstanding
Theopportunitytoapplylearningtoanovelsituationhastensthetransferoflearning.Blooms workontaxonomyofknowledgewastodefinewaysinwhichatransferoflearningcouldoccur. Tasksassociatedwithapplication,analysis,synthesis,andevaluationarefrequentlydesignedas projectsorperformances. MisusesofProjectsandPerformancesintheClassroom: Thesetasksshouldbeseenasmorethanjustafunorrewardingpayoffforhavinglearnedall thatstuff.Homeschoolcommunicationsometimeslacksandmanyaprojectiscompletedbya parentorothersiblingandlittlelearninghasoccurredforthestudentasaresult.

DesignPrinciplesforProjectsandPerformances LearningAppropriateGoals: Anessentialquestionshouldcultivatetheprojectswork.Whatdoyouwantstudentslearn fromdoingtheproject? ScaffoldsforStudentandTeacherLearning: Provideasmallerproblemlearningassignmentbeforeassigningamajorproject.Thisgives boththestudentandtheteachersomelearningfromandexperienceinordertomakethe largerprojectmoresuccessful. FrequentOpportunitiesforFormativeAssessmentandRevision: Buildinincrementalassessmentstopreventdifficultiesinpoorendresultsforhardstudent work.Buildstagesoftheprojectandconferwithstudentsafter/duringeachstage.Checklists aregreatforstudentstostayontrack. SocialOrganizationsThatPromoteParticipationandaSenseofAgency: Tomakegroupworkmoresuccessfulthereneedstobebothindividualandgroup accountability.Peerfeedbackcanbehelpfulforstudentswhenrunningitpastatrustedfriend. EffectiveTechniquesUsingProjectsandPerformances ReadersTheatre: Studentsreaddirectlyfromscriptstotellastoryorinformanaudience.Helpingstudentsbuild theircharacterdeepensthelearningthatoccurs. MultimediaPresentations: Learnerscansharewhattheyknowastheycombinetext,graphics,video,sound,andeven animation. ElectronicandPaperPortfolios: Acollectionofitemsintendedtoreflectabodyofwork.Theyarenotascrapbookofrandom ephemeragatheredduringtheschoolyear.Attheirbest,theycanprovideanotherwayto checkforunderstanding.StudentsmustchoosetheevidencethatBESTillustratestheir learning. VisualDisplaysofInformation: ClassroomInstructionThatWorks,Marzano,PickeringandPollockfourvisualdisplays (nonlinguisticrepresentations)themostunderusedinstructionalstrategyofallthosereviewed. Butevidenceshowsthatusingthesemethodshelpswithagreaterdegreeofcertainty. Graphicorganizers: TheseareeffectivewithallstudentsbutespeciallywithEnglishLearners,Backgrounddeficient students,andstudentswithmedicalconditions.

 Inspiration: Digitalprogramhelpingstudentsbuildgraphicorganizerswiththeknowledgethattheyrecord butalsowillmovetoalinguisticoutlineformatwithsamecontent. Foldables: ThreedimensionalinteractivegraphicorganizersdevelopedbyZike(1992).Studentscan manipulateconceptsandinformationinwaysthatarefarmorekinestheticthanordinary worksheets. Dioramas: Miniaturemodelsofascenefromthephysical,social,bilolgical,ornarrativeworld,traditionally builtinsideashoeboxturnedonitsside.Foldablesforpreferredbecauseoftheirversatility. Performances: Againperformancesgivestudentsopportunitiestodemonstrateknowledgeatahigherlevel.

ChapterSix UsingTeststoCheckforUnderstanding
Inthiseraofaccountability,studentunderstandingisultimatelymeasuredbytests.Empathy forourstudentshouldbebalancedwithhardquestionsaboutourroleintheirapprehension andpossiblylackofpreparedness.Wecannotchangetestingbutwecancreateenvironments wheretestinginunderstoodbyteachersandstudents.Howtousethemandwhytouse certaintypesfordifferentpurposes. WhyUseTests? Testsandassessmentsarecommonlyusefordiagnosingindividualstudentneeds,informing instruction,evaluatingprograms,Providingaccountabilityinformation. MisusesofTestsintheClassroom: TheuseoftheIQtesthashelpedmoveusintoaneraofevaluationbutheldusbackfromtruly helpingstudents.Mosteducatorsmisusetestingtodooneormoreofthefollowing: Narrowthecurriculumbyexcludingsubjectmatternottested. Reducinglearningtothememorizationofeasilyrecalledfactsformultiplechoice testing. Devotingtoomuchtimetotestpreparationratherthanlearning. Mosthigherachievingschoolsinfusethecurriculumwithtestingandtestpreparationrather thanmakeitauniqueparttobeplacedin. UsingTeststoCheckforUnderstanding: Allsystemsforcheckingforunderstanding,includingtests,requireananalysisofstudent responsesinorderfortheteacherandstudenttomakeinstructionaldecisions.

MultipleChoice: Thesetestscanbeeasilyadministeredaswellasfinddetailedinformationaboutwhystudents aremakingerrors.Page106to108inbookgoesontoexplaintheprosandconsofmultiple choicetestquestionsaswellaswhatmakeamultipletestquestionandhowtoevaluateit. ShortAnswer: Thesearegenerallyconsideredeffectiveasameasureofstudentsabilitytoaccuratelyrecall specificinformation.Page109111outlinesdifferenttypesofclozetestsaswellasthepros andcons. DichotomousChoices(TrueandFalse): Studentsareaskedtoidentifyifadeclarativestatementistrueorfalse.Page112113explain theprosandconsaswellasusesofthesetypesofquestions. Essays(ExtendedResponse): Theserequirethestudenttoconsolidatetheirunderstandingofatopic,organizetheirthinking, andresentitintheformofwriting.Page114118explainprosandconsaswellasusesofthis typeoftest. Conclusion: AsTomllinson(1999)soaptlystates,Assessmentalwayshasmoretodowithhelpingstudents growthanwithcatalogingtheirmistakesTestsshouldbeusedtocheckforunderstandingand todeterminewhattodonext.

ChapterSeven UsingCommonAssessmentsandConsensusScoringtoCheckforUnderstanding
UsingDatatoImproveStudentAchievement: Lotsofwaystoimprovestudentachievement;hiringveteranteachers,purchasingnew curricula,providingafterschooltutoring,andsoon;Butitisreallywhattheteacherdoesthat isgoingtomakethedifference. AProtocolforUsingCommonAssessments: StepOne:PacingGuides Mustmeetanddecidewhatthetimelineisforthesequenceofcontentinstruction. StepTwo:InstructionalMaterialsandArrangements Teachersmustthenselectmaterials,strategies,approaches,andarrangementsthatenhanced thepacingofthecontent. StepThree:CommonAssessments Atpredeterminedpointsintheyearstudentsparticipateinacommonassessmentoftheir learning.

StepFour:ConsensusScoringandItemAnalysis Theresultsarepresentedbygradeorcoursenotteacher.Theyaredisaggregatedbysignificant subpopulationsandteachersdiscusssolutionsforthegaps. StepFive:RevisingPacingGuides,ReviewingAssessments,Reteaching,andForming InterventionGroups Becauseofstudentperformanceteachersrevisethepacingandinstructiontoenhancegreat learningnexttime.Thisstartsthecyclealloveragain. Thebookthengoesontogiveseveralexamplesofthecycleinuseanditssuccess.Pages125 132

Afterword CheckingYourOwnUnderstanding
Thissectionisforthereadertoevaluatewhattheylearned.Ihaveattachedthechartthat recapsallthestrategiesthatwerecoveredwithinthebook.