Formative Assessment and Professional Learning Communities

1
Formative Assessment andProfessional Learning
Communities
2
So What are we doing Right Now?
3
Dean Norris-Jones

• English Department Head
• Reynolds Secondary School

Sanjai Sundher

• Math Department Head
• - Reynolds Secondary School

4
What is Formative Assessment?

• Formative assessment happens when the feedback
  from learning activities is actually used to
  adapt the teaching to meet the learners needs.
• Black and Wiliam

5
Formative Assessment Strategies in English
6
Formative Assessment Strategies in English

• 1. Team-Teaching Strategies

7
Formative Assessment Strategies in English

• Team-Teaching Strategies
• Cross-Grade Groupings

8
Formative Assessment Strategies in English

• Team-Teaching Strategies
• Cross-Grade Groupings
• Student-Developed Rubrics

9
Formative Assessment Strategies in English

• Team-Teaching Strategies
• Cross-Grade Groupings
• Student-Developed Rubrics
• Comment-Based Assessment

10
Formative Assessment Strategies in English

• Team-Teaching Strategies
• Cross-Grade Groupings
• Student-Developed Rubrics
• Comment-Based Assessment
• Self and Peer-Assessment

11
Formative Assessment Strategies in English

• Team-Teaching Strategies
• Cross-Grade Groupings
• Student-Developed Rubrics
• Comment-Based Assessment
• Self and Peer-Assessment
• Exemplars

12
Formative Assessment Strategies in Math
13
Formative Assessment Strategies in Math
Exit Passes
14
Rubric
15
Test Reflection
During Test After Test
16
What are Professional Learning Communities?

• To create a professional learning community,
  focus on learning rather than on teaching, work
  collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable
  for results.
• Rick Dufour (2008)

17
What are Professional Learning Communities?

• PLCs operate under the assumption that the key
  to improved learning in students is continuous,
  job-embedded learning for educators.
• Dufour, Dufour, Eaker and Many (2006)

18
Professional Learning Communities at Reynolds
Secondary School

• Professional Development Days
• In BC public schools, there are a few days set
  aside each year to use for educational
  improvement.

19
Professional Learning Communities at Reynolds
Secondary School

• Learning Initiatives
• - Is a district run program which allows for
  collaboration outside of the school with a focus
  on formative assessment strategies and
  implementation. This is a shared experience.

20
Professional Learning Communities at Reynolds
Secondary School

• Conversations
• School run lunch time meetings where teachers
  meet to discuss articles, strategies and lesson
  planning.

21
Professional Learning Communities at Reynolds
Secondary School

• Departments as PLCs
• Collaborative teaching
• Grade-wide writes
• Common assessment

22
Professional Learning Communities at Reynolds
Secondary School

• Network of Performance Based Schools (NPBS)