UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN
Grant Wiggins and Jay Mc Tighe
Chapter 8
Criteria and Validity
“The criteria would specify the conditions that any performance must meet to be successful; they define, operationally, the task requirements”. (173)
Grant Wiggins and Jay Mc Tighe
Chapter 8
Criteria and Validity
“The criteria would specify the conditions that any performance must meet to be successful; they define, operationally, the task requirements”. (173)
If we try to articulate every piece of reading we have already read from this book, I can say that every word is closely linked and articulated in order to make my job as a teacher better. Now, my horizon is broader and clearer, full of understanding light. We must be completely clear about WHAT we are assessing and HOW we are assessing. And there lies a huge problem because unfortunately sometimes we mix learning goals with assessment methods and as a result, the criterion is mixed as well. I have to consider assessment as a means of getting valuable information to be used for improving the teaching and learning, and the criteria to be used when assessing must be as clear as possible in order to assess what is supposed to be assessed.
“We have to be sure that the performances we demand are appropriate to the particular understandings sought. Could a student perform well on the test without understanding? Could a student with understanding nonetheless forget or jumble together key facts? Yes and yes — it happens all the time. We want to avoid doubtful inferences when assessing any student work, but especially so when assessing for understanding”. (183)
In determining whether an assessment is truly valid evidence of a student’s understanding, the authors argue that we teachers should ask ourselves how likely it is that “a student could do well on this performance task, but really not demonstrate the understandings [we] are after” or whether “a student could perform poorly on this task, but still have significant understanding of the ideas and show them in other ways” (184). Therefore, when we conceive an instrument to measure understanding and a criterion to assess such instrument, we must assure that such work has been thought in depth, has been carried out thinking on the actual goals, and has considered the purposes set when planning the whole cycle (teaching/learning – assessing – interpretation of the results – teaching/learning).
“We are not born effective teachers, but we need to be effective from the start”
What you have mentioned regarding instruments to measure understanding and the criterion to assess those instruments is true, but also complex.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had many problems choosing instruments to measure understanding when I have the time to do it. However, when there isn't enough time I have to prepare objective tests, and don't get valid evidence of students' understanding.
Regarding the criterion, to be honest I haven't worked much on it. As I mentioned in my comment, I am given the rubric to assess my students.
Angelina:
ReplyDeleteProducing successful and valid results regarding assessment is an indispensable task which is closely connected to the learning cycle i.e. Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. As in any cycle, there is not an end to the process. Most of the time, teachers confuse themselves thinking about assessment as a duty which has to be done in the last phase of the cycle. Nevertheless, as you mentioned in your post, we are not born effective teachers, but we need to be effective from the start.
Providing students with tools to be able to be more autonomous is also necessary to accomplish the pursuit of effective understanding.
Thanks
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Angi,
ReplyDeleteStraight to the point my friend “We are not born effective teachers, but we need to be effective from the start”. As you mention, readings have been very effective tools to reflect on our practices and how valid and reliable these are (unless for me...).
Now we can join all the pieces and start thinking clear enough to provide our students effective teaching – learning proceses and assess what we really expect from them: understanding for life. Of course it is not an easy task to carry out but I think we have the possibility to take the risk and momitor very needed step to design understanding.
Dear Angie,
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly a complex issue to deal with when we speak about establishing a clear criteria of assessment.
One of the main concerns is when the teacher decides to pursue assessment, which is usually at the end of the process.
It is simpler for marking purposes to carry out only one than doing more.
When the process is assessed, and students get used to be put into practice and demonstrate thay they know and are able to transfer what they know, understanding is going to be somehow assured.
Yet, the main constrain is the time limit and the overwork this demands from the teacher. How many teachers would be willing to do so?
As you mention at the end of your post, when designing an instrument, "we must assure that such work has been thought in depth, has been carried out thinking on the actual goals, and has considered the purposes set when planning the whole cycle (teaching/learning – assessing – interpretation of the results – teaching/learning)" it sounds so simple to carry out, it is so evident when put this way. I was working with some teachers yesterday, and they had to take a test and all the time were complaining about how difficult, unfair, not clear it was. I used that to see what they thought about evaluation, and I realised that they had no idea about how to create a proper instrument (me neither really..) It was nice to see their points of view as primary teachers. They were really convinced about testing content because the school demanded to develop this type of tests. I'm sure you as primary teacher are going to make the change ;).
ReplyDeletexxx
Claudio
Hi Angelina!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I would wish to have that understanding light you are talking about. It is true that as you said, every bit of reading we have done is leading us to the way of effective teachers. Nonetheless, that road is not always so clear and we doubt. As we get more and more knowledge and understanding many questions blur our path. At that point is when we need to share our experiences, doubts, and points of view with the rest of our colleagues. The way I see all this is that we need to start working as a team, because sharing is the key.
My dear,
ReplyDeleteThis chapter has been particularly interesting for most of us since we have seen in our classrooms this phenomenon of students with understanding who do not use the language properly... Perhaps, they are quite critical whenever using their Spanish and feel frustrated trying to give an opinion because don't know how to use English as a means of communications. However, you know what...? This something to be glad and lollop around like happy dogs because it means 50% of our huge job as teachers is done... In this M.A. we have been taught English is just a tool to make students be thinking units, upright citizens... good people! and if they already have that ability, we just have to teach them a couple of chunks and collocations and that's it... The problems and the sleepless nights begin when students do not know how to argue, think, critizice, evaluate, apply (you know... Bloom's) and what is even worse... still say he HAVES.
Concerning the rubrics, I had never before thought of using more than one per student... and it is an incredible idea I will start using in a debeate in one of my courses next Friday.
I should work on the criteria now...
The one about to die salutes you!
As you refer in your comments, it is essential we as teacher to be aware about the existing differences among the aspects which assessment involves. As you mentioned before the main purpose of assessing is to get information that allows us to perceive how much understanding the students have achieved through the application of our teaching practices. In simple words it is a mean to receive permanent feedback which gives us a parameter to make the necessary adjustments, according to each case. However before thinking in designing an assessment instrument we have to think what we are going to assess. This refers to the coherence that must exist in order to detect the weaknesses and the strengths developed in the process by the students.
ReplyDeleteDear Angelina,
ReplyDeleteIt seems so easy to get confused when assessing, since we think we are on the right track but we are definitely nowhere.
We sometimes assess something that we shouldn't. I still don't know where we lose the focus, but we certainly do when improvising an assessing devise at the last minute, creating frustration and uncertainty in the student and a chaos for marking in ourselves.
“We are not born effective teachers, but we need to be effective from the start”
ReplyDeleteDear Angie,
Your quotation above made reflect on tha resposability we face as teachers to become effective. It is true that the experience we accumulate over the years helps us become more effective. Hoever, the sooner we become effective the better. it is certainly time-consuming and tiring to use the Backward design. but it is just a mstter practice. We cannot overlook the aspect of assessment. It is a shame that many teachers, for example, opt only for objective tests.