Title: Using the Six Facets of Understanding to Evaluate Student Learning: Modeling and Implementing Best Practice
1Using the Six Facets of Understanding to Evaluate
Student Learning Modeling and Implementing Best
Practice
- Pamela Luft, Ph.D.
- Kent State University
- March 16, 2005
- Charting the Course Together Collaborative
Assessment in Preparing Ohios Educators - pluft_at_kent.edu
2The Pressure for Assessment
- Federal Requirements
- Goals 2000 America 2000
- NCLBA
- AYP
- Proficiency Tests
- State and District Requirements
- Use of Ohio Curriculum Standards
- Grade-level Proficiency Tests
3Teacher Preparation Programs
- Professional Accreditation
- NCATE
- Outcomes-based measures using 6 - 8 assessments.
- Council for Exceptional Children KSUs
Assessments - Praxis I II
- Clinical and Field Experience
- Assessment and IEP Development
- Behavior Change Project
- Curriculum Based Measurement
- Classroom-Based Unit Plan
- Portfolio
4Outcomes-Based Assessments
- States and Districts
- Schools are under increasing pressure to raise
student outcomes based on state standards. - Higher Educations Responsibility
- To prepare their graduates to incorporate
standards into their teaching. - To document outcomes based on these standards.
5Conceptually Focused Assessed Teaching Units
- Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe,
1998) - Based upon research on learning and teaching
(http//www.ubdexchange.org/resources.html). - Uses backward design process
- Incorporates multiple assessments to ensure
understanding
6Unit Design Process
- Stage One Begin with Needs
- Incorporate external standards
- Unpack them into meaningful and teachable
chunks. - Review the standard for those elements that are
- (a) worth being familiar with,
- (b) what is important to know and understand, and
- (c) what is authentic and relevant and of
life-long value to the student. - Identify student needs that are
- Life-long and enduring
- Relevant and authentic
- Address key misperceptions or misunderstandings
7Unit Development cont.
- Stage One Identify Overarching Questions
- Review key unit elements
- Standards that are at the heartthe core of the
content - Reflect life-long, enduring, and authentic
student needs - Synthesize these into overarching and enduring
understandings - Develop inquiry-based unit questions
- These focus and link the unit assessments and
teaching activities to the overall unit goals
8Unit Development cont.
- Stage Two Identify Comprehensive Assessments
- Plan a variety of assessments that demonstrate
achievement of overarching understandings - Use the Six Facets of Understanding
- Review to ensure sufficient evidence that
demonstrates the unit understandings - Stage Three Develop Instruction
- Plan lessons and activities that prepare students
for the assessments that demonstrate their
understanding
9Development Summary
- Use Stage Ones
- overarching and enduring understandings,
- which incorporate and unpack external standards,
- To plan Stage Twos
- assessments to collect evidence of these
understandings, - across the Six Facets,
- Which are supported by Stage Threes
- learning experiences and instructional activities
- that ensure that students have the necessary
skills and knowledge - to fully and effectively demonstrate these
understandings - across each of the Six Facets.
10Six Facets of Understanding
UbD Facet Facet Description
Facet 1 Explanation Sophisticated explanations and theories
Facet 2 Interpretation Interpretations, narratives, and translations
Facet 3 Application Use knowledge in new situations and contexts
Facet 4 Perspective Critical and insightful points of view
Facet 5 Empathy Ability to get inside another person's feelings
Facet 6 Self-knowledge To know one's ignorance, prejudice, and understanding
11Unit-Based Teaching
- Good teaching should aim for depth, rather than
superficial breadth (TIMMS report) - Develop instruction based on unit themes
- Broad themes can address the comprehensive nature
of standards - Unit themes support redundancy of learning, to
- increase depth of understanding
- allow expansion and extension of related skills
and knowledgethe standards - Unit themes link individual tasks and activities
to reduce fragmentation and build these broader
knowledge and skill learnings.
12Instructional Unit
- Deaf Education course
- Choose one theme for course units
- Use the three stages of unit design
- Stage One
- ODE Standards
- K-12 student needs across all instructional areas
and theme - Stage Two
- Assessments across the Six Facets
- Stage Three
- One lesson plan for each content area
13Dual AssessmentExperience
- Course evaluation
- Understanding of UbD as evidenced by the unit and
other course projects across the Six Facets - Implementation
- Use of UbD process and Six Facets for the unit
design and assessment of learning
14Course Assessments
- Course Rubric
- Unit Assignment
15Assessment Skills Learned
- Assessment across multiple facets of
understanding - Value of thorough evaluation
- Synthesis of state standards and student needs
into unit addressing life-long skills - Multiple assessment experience and perspective
- Application with own unit and for evaluating
studentsimposer - Utilization for evaluating courseworkreceiver
16Programmatic Evaluation NCATE and CEC Outcomes
- Classroom Based Unit Plan
- Thorough learning of rubric use and development
through - Their own teaching unit with K-12 students
- Their projects evaluation
- Course-based evaluation becomes NCATE portfolio
evaluation - Data is accumulated across program
17Unit Rubric
- The Six Facets of Understanding document both
knowledge and skill aspects of unit design and
instructional planning - Factual and declarative knowledge (Facets 1-2)
- Procedural knowledge (Facet 3)
- Abilities to synthesize and evaluate oneself and
others (Facets 4-6) - Implementation of NCATE rubric
- Utilized the six assessment facets with a 3-point
rubric - Special Education program chose this as a
framework, pending implementation decisions
throughout the College
18NCATE Application
- Rubric
- 3 Exemplary
- 2 Satisfactory
- 1 Unsatisfactory
- Tasks
- Students will explain (Facet 1) and give examples
or analogies (Facet 2) to show how use of the
three steps of unit design, and the six facets
help to ensure that students truly understand a
unit. - Students will develop an integrated teaching unit
(Facet 3), using the three stages of backward
design, incorporating the six facets of
understanding, with lesson plans that provide the
skills each student will need (Facets 4 5) to
successfully complete the facets and demonstrate
understanding of key unit outcomes. - Student will reflect on strengths and needs
initially perceived and later evidenced through
the unit development process will identify two
areas for improvement prior to student teaching
(Facet 6).
19Programmatic Implementation
- Use of e-portfolios
- Assignments loaded on college server and locked
- Instructor uses e-rubric to grade
- NCATE search accumulates individual assignments
with grades across program - Technical support
- Undergraduate technology course
assigns individual server space - Graduate workshops TBD
20Issues Still Pending
- Student passes course but fails NCATE project
- Locating student files
- Must use exact assignment name instructor cannot
retrieve otherwise - Student can revise own version but course and
NCATE version are locked
21Project Implementation
- OSERS-funded Transition Services Preparation for
Teachers of D/HH Students - Unit development process that integrates
transition skills - Life-long, authentic, and relevant needs
integrated into content-area instruction - Year One Backward design process
- Year Two Documentation of outcomes
- Year Three Research-drive unit topics
- MS-IEPs HS-IEPs
- Career Awareness Career Exploration
22More Information
- KSUs Special Education Program NCATE evaluation
http//sped.educ.kent.edu/Files.htm - Unit Rubric Unit Directions
- More information on utilization of unit design
rubricsee Teaching Units http//www.educ.kent.ed
u/fundedprojects/TSPT/grant.htm
23References
- National Center for Educational Statistics
(2003). Trends in international mathematics and
science study (TIMSS). Washington, DC Author.
Available online http//nces.ed.gov/timss/. - Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding
by design. Alexandria, VA Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.