What are Assessment for Learning strategies?

Research has identified a number of classroom strategies that are particularly effective in promoting
formative assessment practice.

Assessment for Learning strategies are:

 the strategic use of questioning

Questioning is used not only as a pedagogical tool but also as a deliberate way for the teacher to find
out what students know, understand and are able to do.
 effective teacher feedback
Effective teacher feedback focuses on established success criteria and tells the students what they have
achieved and where they need to improve. Importantly, the feedback provides specific suggestions
about how that improvement might be achieved.
 peer feedback
Peer feedback occurs when a student uses established success criteria to tell another student what they
have achieved and where improvement is necessary. Again, the feedback provides specific suggestions
to help achieve improvement.
 student self-assessment
Student self-assessment encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning. It
incorporates self-monitoring, self-assessment and self-evaluation.
 the formative use of summative assessment
Summative assessment is a necessary aspect of education. Formative use can be made of summative
assessment, both before and after the assessment event.

Describing assessment for learning

Assessment for learning should use a range of approaches. These may include:

 day-to-day activities, such as learning conversations

 a simple mental note taken by the teacher during observation

 student self and peer assessments

 a detailed analysis of a student’s work

 assessment tools, which may be written items, structured interview questions, or items teachers make up

themselves.
 Assessment for learning in
practice
AFL emphasises the creation of a learner-centred classroom with a
supportive atmosphere, where students are not afraid to make
mistakes and learn from them.
We are going to look at five approaches or strategies that you can
use in a lesson or programme of study.

1. Questioning
Questions are a quick and important way of finding out what your
learner understands about a subject. You can use this information
to plan their teaching.

There are two main types of question: closed and open.

A closed question requires a short answer, such as remembering a

fact. The answer is usually right or wrong.
For example, a Geography teacher might ask: ‘What is the capital
of Peru?’

On average, teachers only wait 0.9 seconds after asking a question

before taking an answer from a learner. Mary Rowesuggests that
increasing ‘wait time’ to three seconds improves the quality of
answers.

One way to help increase ‘wait time’, and to ensure the whole class
is actively engaged, is to ask your learners to write down the
answer to a closed question on a piece of paper, mini whiteboard or
tablet, and hold it up. This immediately gives you feedback about
who understands, who does not, and therefore what the next steps
in the learning might be.

A good strategy to use if a learner gets the answer wrong is to

make this into a positive event. You could say: ‘I’m glad you said
that, as I’m sure lots of other students have the same
misunderstanding.’
In an AFL classroom, finding out what learners do not know is as
valuable as finding out what they do know. This knowledge will help
you to see what material your learners need to spend extra time on
to make sure that they all understand.

Open questions need longer answers, and often require the learner
to provide an opinion.
E.g. A Physics teacher might ask: ‘What will happen to the flow of
water through a hose pipe if a smaller nozzle is fitted to it? Explain
how this relates to the study of voltage, current and resistance in a
simple electric circuit.’

Open questions like this allow all learners to try to answer the
question and be part of a discussion. You can then facilitate this
discussion, asking questions to develop the discussion such as ‘Tell
me more about that’ and ‘Why do you think that?’

‘Dialogic teaching’ is a term that describes on-going talk between

teachers and learners, which leads to effective learning. If you
discuss ideas with your learners, you can get a clearer view of what
understanding your learners have about a topic, and put right any
misunderstandings.

2. Feedback
Feedback is the process in which learners come together with their
teachers to discuss where they are in their learning, where they
want to be in their learning, and how they are going to get there. It
usually involves looking at a particular piece of work done by the
learner. Feedback can be described as the ‘bridge’ between
teaching and learning.

The aims and objectives of any assignment must be clearly

understood by both the teacher and the learner. You can help by
providing ‘success criteria’ before your learners start work.

Feedback might involve marking. However, a learner may only

remember the mark/grade and not act on any comments to improve
their work. In an AFL classroom, a teacher will give ‘comment only’
feedback on their learners’ work. If you do want to add a grade, give
this later on, so that the learners read the comments before they
receive the grade. Effective feedback depends on task-focused
comments, rather than ego-focused comments.

Here is an example of ego-focused feedback: ‘Great work Melanie,

the best in the class.’ This kind of feedback can make strong
learners complacent, thinking that they do not have anything to do
to improve. They might also be scared of trying something they find
difficult in case they lose their high place. Weak learners can feel as
if there is nothing they can do to get better.

You should aim to provide feedback to each learner that praises

task-focused aspects of their work, but also contains targets about
how to improve their learning.
E.g. ‘Ali, you have written a good introduction to your story. Now,
can you think how you can make the description of the main
character more striking?’

Reflection
Think about a time when you gave feedback to a learner that could
be described as more ego-specific than task specific. What might
you have done differently?

Want to know more?

In this video, Dylan Wiliam explains why task-focused feedback is
more effective than ego-focused feedback.

There are some good examples of how to give effective feedback in

different subject areas on http://www.teachthought.com.

In this handout, by the RAPPS project, you will find lots of

suggestions for different ways of giving classroom feedback.

3. Peer assessment or peer feedback

Peer feedback, or peer assessment, is the process by which
learners assess each other’s work and give each other feedback.
This feedback is based on an understanding of what makes a
successful piece of work. The teacher is vital to this process, as
teachers know their learners and can help them to develop
their critical and reflective thinking skills.
Giving learners independence is a great way for them to take
responsibility for their own learning. Peer feedback also helps
learners to develop their social skills and to use higher-level skills
such as thinking critically and analytically.

A successful peer feedback session requires learners to 'think like a

teacher' for each other. Each learner will apply the success criteria
to another learner’s work, and make value judgements based on
these. The learner then has to give their partner ideas for how to
improve the work. In doing this, they will both be increasing their
own understanding of what makes a successful piece of work.

At primary school level, the theory behind AFL is the same, but the
tasks might be different, to reflect the different stages of the
pupils’ cognitive development. For example, learners could use
pictures to describe positive and negative aspects of the work.

4. Self-assessment
‘Students need to learn for themselves how they move up to the
next level … they need to internalise the process. Learning cannot
be done for them by the teachers.’ (Mary James, 1998)

In self-assessment a learner evaluates their own work, and thinks

about their own learning. This helps them to make sense of what
the teacher says, relate it to previous learning and use this for new
learning. Ultimately, self-assessment enables learners to set their
own learning goals and be responsible for their own learning.
However, be aware that learners cannot become reflective learners
overnight. It takes time and practice to develop these skills, and the
role of the teacher is crucial in encouraging this.
6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning
1. Diagnostic Assessment (as Pre-Assessment)

One way to think about it: Assesses a student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and
skills prior to instruction.

Another way to think about it: A baseline to work from

2. Formative Assessment
One way to think about it: Assesses a student’s performance during instruction, and
usually occurs regularly throughout the instruction process.

Another way to think about it: Like a doctor’s “check-up” to provide data to revise
instruction

3. Summative Assessment

One way to think about it: Measures a student’s achievement at the end of instruction.

Another way to think about it: It’s macabre, but if formative assessment is the check-
up, you might think of summative assessment as the autopsy. What happened? Now
that it’s all over, what went right and what went wrong?

4. Norm-Referenced Assessment

One way to think about it: Compares a student’s performance against other students (a
national group or other “norm”)

Another way to think about it: Group or “Demographic” assessment

5. Criterion-Referenced Assessment

One way to think about it: Measures a student’s performance against a goal, specific
objective, or standard.

Another way to think about it: a bar to measure all students against

6. Interim/Benchmark Assessment

One way to think about it: Evaluates student performance at periodic intervals,
frequently at the end of a grading period. Can predict student performance on end-of-
the-year summative assessments.

Another way to think about it: Bar graph growth through a year
 They include ideas on collecting information, the strategic use of questioning, giving
feedback, and introducing peer and self-assessment.

Collecting information

Draw a face

At the end of an activity or lesson, ask learners to draw a face to show how
confident they are about the topic. Smiley face = ready to move on, neutral face =
fairly confident, sad face = not confident, need to review.

Summary sentence

Ask learners to write one sentence to summarise what they know about the topic at
the start or end of a lesson. You could focus this by telling them to include e.g. what
or why or how etc.

Pair share

At the end of a lesson learners share with their partner:

 Three new things they have learnt

 What they found easy
 What they found difficult
 Something they would like to learn in the future.

Traffic lights

Give learners red, yellow and green cards (or they can make these themselves at
home). At different points during the lesson, ask them to choose a card and put it on
their desk to show how much they understand (red = don’t understand, yellow =
partly understand, green = totally understand).

Post-its

Use post-it notes to evaluate learning. Give to groups, pairs or individuals and ask
them to answer questions. For example:

 What have I learnt?

 What have I found easy?
 What have I found difficult?
 What do I want to know now?

Draw a square

When a learner has finished a worksheet or exercise, ask them to draw a square on
the page. If they do not understand well, they colour it red, if they partly
understand, yellow and if everything is OK, green.

Not clear
 At the end of an activity or lesson or unit, ask learners to write one or two points
that are not clear to them. The teacher and class discuss these points and work
together to make them clear.

Thumbs up!

Check class understanding of what you are teaching by asking them to show their
thumbs. Thumbs up = I understand; thumbs half way = I understand some; thumbs
down = I don’t understand.

KWL

At the beginning of a topic learners create a grid with three columns – what they
know; what they want to know; what they have learned. They start by
brainstorming and filling in the first two columns and then return to the third at the
end of the unit.

Most ……. thing

Ask learners what was the most, e.g. useful, interesting, surprising, etc. thing they
learned today or in this unit.

A, B, C, D cards

Give learners four cards: A, B, C, D (or they can make these themselves at home).
Ask questions with four answers and ask them to show you their answers. You could
do this in teams too.

Mini-whiteboards

Ask learners to write their answers on mini-whiteboards or pieces of paper and show
it to you (or their peers).

Observing

Observe a few learners every lesson and make notes.

The strategic use of questioning

Questioning helps teachers identify and correct misunderstandings and gaps in

knowledge. It gives teachers information about what learners know, understand and
can do.

Use open questions

Closed questions only ask learners to recall. Use open questions to encourage the
use of thinking skills, communication and eliciting more information. Examples of
good question stems:

 Is X important?
 Why is X important?
 Why does…?
 What if…?
 How would you…?
 Can you explain…?

Use ‘might’

When questioning, use the word ‘might’ to encourage learners to think and explore
possible answers. For example, ‘Why do teachers ask questions?’ and ‘Why might
teachers ask questions?’ The first question seems like there is one correct answer
known by the teacher, but the second question is more open and suggests many
possible answers.

Wait time

Tips:

 Give 30 seconds silent thinking before any answers.

 Ask learners to brainstorm in pairs first for 2-3 minutes.
 Ask learners to write some notes before answering.
 Ask learners to discuss with a partner before answering.
 Use think, pair, share.

Use higher order thinking skills (HOTS)

Don’t ask, e.g. ‘Is flour uncountable?’ Ask, ‘Why isn’t flour countable?’ Then learners
don’t only recall, they reason too.

Prompt

Prompt for more information, e.g. ‘Why do you think that?’ ‘Persuade me!’

Bounce

Ask learners to build on each other's answers. E.g. ‘Maria what do you think about
Javier’s answer?’

Giving feedback

Comment-only marking

Only write comments on learners’ work, and don’t give marks or scores. This helps
learners to focus on progress instead of a reward or punishment. They will want a
mark, but encourage them to focus on the comments. Comments should make it
clear how the learner can improve. Ask if they have any questions about the
comments and make time to speak with individual learners.

Feedback sandwich

Use a feedback sandwich to give comments. An example of a feedback sandwich is:

 Positive comment, e.g. ‘I like … because …’

 Constructive feedback with explanation of how to improve, e.g. ‘This is not quite
correct – check the information with …….’
 Positive comment, e.g. ‘You have written a very clear and ………’

Time in class to make corrections

Give learners time in class to make corrections or improvements. This gives learners
time to focus on the feedback that you or their peers have given them, and make
corrections. It also tells learners that feedback is valuable and worth spending time
on. And, it gives them the opportunity to improve in a supportive environment.

Don’t erase corrections

Tell learners you want to see how they have corrected and improved their written
work before they hand it to you. Don’t let them use erasers, instead tell them to
make corrections using a different colour so you can see them, and what they have
done to make improvements.

Introducing peer and self-assessment

Share learning objectives

Some examples:

 Use WILF (what I’m looking for).

 Point to the objectives on the board.
 Elicit what the success criteria might be for a task.
 Negotiate or share the criteria
 Write these on the board for reference.
 Two stars and a wish

A useful activity to use when introducing peer or self-assessment for the first time is
‘two stars and a wish’:

 Explain/elicit the meaning of stars and a wish related to feedback (two good things
and one thing you wish was better/could improve).
 Model how to give peer feedback using two stars and a wish first.
 Role play the peer feedback, for example:

- ‘Ah this is a really nice poster – I like it!’ (Thank you)

- ‘I really like it and I think you included most of the information.’

- [Look at the success criteria on the board]

- ‘Hmm, but there is no title for your poster so we don’t know the topic.’

Feedback sandwich (see above)

This is a useful activity when learners are more confident in peer and self-
assessment. Model how to give feedback first.
 Write the following text on the board:

- I like... because

- I think next time you should... because...

- ... is good because...

 Elicit from your learners what a feedback sandwich is from the text on the board
(what is good and why, what could be better and why, what is good and why).
 Given an example like this:

"The poster gives all the necessary information, which is good but next time you
should add a title so we know the topic. The presentation is good too because it is
clear and attractive."

Learning wall

Make a ‘learning wall’ where learners can post positive feedback about others.

Peer check

Ask learners to read each other’s written work to look for specific points, such as
spelling mistakes, past tense verbs, etc. During speaking activities such as role plays
and presentations, ask learners to give each other feedback on specific points, e.g.
how interesting it was, whether they understood what was said and any questions
they have.

Self-assessment prompts

Examples:

 Choose one thing in your work you are proud of. Tell the whole group why. You have
one minute.
 Discuss which of the success criteria you have been most successful with and which
one could be improved and how. You have three minutes.

Three things

At the end of the lesson, ask your learners to make a list of two things they learned,
and one thing they still need to learn.

I have a question

At the end of the lesson, ask your learners to write a question on what they are not
clear about.

Journals

Ask your learners to keep a learning journal to record their thoughts and attitudes to
what they have learned.

Portfolios
 Ask learners to keep a file containing samples of their work. This may include work
done in class, homework, test results, self-assessment and comments from peers
and the teacher.

Reflection time

At the end of the lesson give learners time to reflect and decide what to focus on in
the next lesson.

Setting goals

After feedback, encourage learners to set goals. Tell them they have identified what
is good, what is not so good, and any gaps in their knowledge. Now they need to
think about their goal and how they can reach it. Ask them to work individually and
answer the questions:

 What is your goal?

 How will you achieve it?

Personal goals

Ask learners to set personal goals, for example: ‘Next week I will read a short story’.

Self-assessment forms

Work with learners to create self-assessment forms or templates that they can use
to reflect on an activity or lesson. For younger learners, something like the form
below would work:

My writing is …… This task was ……..

 very good! (two smiley faces)  interesting! (two smiley faces)

 good. (one smiley face)  OK. (neutral face)

 not great, but OK. (neutral  boring! (sad face)

face)

Below is an example for higher level or older learners:

I can write an email giving news and information

How true are these? Circle the best number(3 = true, 2 = partly true, 1 = not true)

I can write an email giving news and information

How true are these? Circle the best number(3 = true, 2 = partly true, 1 = not true)
I enjoyed the writing task. Why/Why not? 3 2 1

I answered all parts of the question 3 2 1

I used paragraphs 3 2 1

I used linking words 3 2 1

I used a range of vocabulary and phrases 3 2 1

I checked my spelling and punctuation 3 2 1

I used the correct verb tenses 3 2 1

What I did well:

Something I think I need to work on next time:

Teacher’s comments:

Some of the activities listed here are taken and adapted

from: www.tes.com/teaching-resource/assessment-for-learning-toolkit-6337093