Alignment
‘Constructive alignment’ starts with the notion that the learner constructs his or her own learning through relevant learning activities. The teacher’s job is to create a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes. The key is that all components in the teaching system - the curriculum and its intended outcomes, the teaching methods used, the assessment tasks - are aligned to each other. All are tuned to learning activities addressed in the desired learning outcomes. The learner finds it difficult to escape without learning appropriately.’ -John Biggs; Aligning Teaching for Constructivist Learning
Strategies available to teachers to assist alignment
The most significant notion that teachers should adopt is this: PLAN BACKWARDS.
Teachers and school need to ask some questions of their programme: What do you want your students to look like at the end of the year? Mid semester? at the end of the term? at the end of the week?
Educators can therefore align based on their vision of the future. The clue is to set the “there,” first. Then cut the path to that goal into smaller pieces, utilising contextualised examples and technologies along the way.
http://nde.doe.nv.gov/Assessment_WA_SG.htm#NWAHR
A standards-referenced approach provides the means by which students know what they are expected to learn and the standards against which they will be assessed. A standards-referenced approach will assist teachers by providing information related to student achievement in curriculum terms over time. A standards-referenced approach provides the capacity to do this because the assessment is against standards rather than different groups of students. Standards can assist students to think about their learning. An understanding of standards in a course can assist students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and how they do things.
Principles of effective feedback
As previously discussed, students benefit when they receive feedback about their progress. Meaningful feedback about progress towards achievement of course outcomes will enhance student understanding and assist teacher monitoring of student achievement and progress.
Examples and implications
QLD pedagogy alignment tool
The QCAR (Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting) Framework supports the alignment of curriculum, assessment and reporting. The framework supports teaching that is tailored to meet the unique needs of students, by providing teachers with direction and valuable resources to support them in their everyday work. The Framework supports teachers and schools in building a culture of “high expectations engaged learning and focused teaching” (Hill, 2003). It helps teachers to plan and provide opportunities for students to experience rich learning programmes that have relevance and application in the real world; Authentic Pedagogies. It also supports students to be active participants in their learning (Self-Regulation).
Implications
Good sense of pedagogy, some frameworks to apply, like NSW productive Pedagogy and school-based assessment policy understood by all are the practical keys to alignment, reporting and sound assessment.Maybe the solution is a double-edged assessment system?
Side 1: Accept that facts are important, and that an efficient way of assessing a massive amount of information is through multiple choice and short response examinations. We have learnt in previous sessions (refer to page 2 of this blog) that higher order thinking strategies can be applied to MCQ’s.
This first direction of assessment would ideally happen throughout a term or semester to assess how much raw knowledge students have gained, particularly important in cumulative subjects like maths and language, or where there is a pre-requisite of knowledge, maybe terminology. There is essentially this infrastructure in place, but maybe it is not used in ways to inform both student and teacher as it should. There is also a need to have professional development on item writing, particularly MCQ’s. From what I have seen, many exams have some poorly assembled questions.
Side 2: This is the direction that doesn’t yet exist in formal assessment strategy in most faculties or school. Perhaps it is mainly thought of as just regular day to day classroom activity, and undervalued? Either way, it should be more of a continuous assessment that happens along side the daily activity of learning vs the sporadic assessments as described in side 1. Assessments here should be authentic, contextualised and meaningful, based on student performance of various skill sets as well as high levels of thinking, such as create, perform and synthesise. Tasks should be highly engaging, and allow for student judgement and direction. The focus will not be on facts, but more on enduring understandings; life-long learning. Here, students won’t be required to have learnt verbatim concepts or terms, but they may be required to take on an authentic role in the study and solution searching issues.
Using an approach like this could assist in making sure all elements of the assessment are supported by curriculum and the true outcomes of education are reported and the results utilised in meaningful ways.
‘Constructive alignment’ starts with the notion that the learner constructs his or her own learning through relevant learning activities. The teacher’s job is to create a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes. The key is that all components in the teaching system - the curriculum and its intended outcomes, the teaching methods used, the assessment tasks - are aligned to each other. All are tuned to learning activities addressed in the desired learning outcomes. The learner finds it difficult to escape without learning appropriately.’ -John Biggs; Aligning Teaching for Constructivist Learning
Strategies available to teachers to assist alignment
The most significant notion that teachers should adopt is this: PLAN BACKWARDS.
Teachers and school need to ask some questions of their programme: What do you want your students to look like at the end of the year? Mid semester? at the end of the term? at the end of the week?
Educators can therefore align based on their vision of the future. The clue is to set the “there,” first. Then cut the path to that goal into smaller pieces, utilising contextualised examples and technologies along the way.
http://nde.doe.nv.gov/Assessment_WA_SG.htm#NWAHR
A standards-referenced approach provides the means by which students know what they are expected to learn and the standards against which they will be assessed. A standards-referenced approach will assist teachers by providing information related to student achievement in curriculum terms over time. A standards-referenced approach provides the capacity to do this because the assessment is against standards rather than different groups of students. Standards can assist students to think about their learning. An understanding of standards in a course can assist students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and how they do things.
Principles of effective feedback
As previously discussed, students benefit when they receive feedback about their progress. Meaningful feedback about progress towards achievement of course outcomes will enhance student understanding and assist teacher monitoring of student achievement and progress.
Examples and implications
QLD pedagogy alignment tool
The QCAR (Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting) Framework supports the alignment of curriculum, assessment and reporting. The framework supports teaching that is tailored to meet the unique needs of students, by providing teachers with direction and valuable resources to support them in their everyday work. The Framework supports teachers and schools in building a culture of “high expectations engaged learning and focused teaching” (Hill, 2003). It helps teachers to plan and provide opportunities for students to experience rich learning programmes that have relevance and application in the real world; Authentic Pedagogies. It also supports students to be active participants in their learning (Self-Regulation).
Implications
Good sense of pedagogy, some frameworks to apply, like NSW productive Pedagogy and school-based assessment policy understood by all are the practical keys to alignment, reporting and sound assessment.Maybe the solution is a double-edged assessment system?
Side 1: Accept that facts are important, and that an efficient way of assessing a massive amount of information is through multiple choice and short response examinations. We have learnt in previous sessions (refer to page 2 of this blog) that higher order thinking strategies can be applied to MCQ’s.
This first direction of assessment would ideally happen throughout a term or semester to assess how much raw knowledge students have gained, particularly important in cumulative subjects like maths and language, or where there is a pre-requisite of knowledge, maybe terminology. There is essentially this infrastructure in place, but maybe it is not used in ways to inform both student and teacher as it should. There is also a need to have professional development on item writing, particularly MCQ’s. From what I have seen, many exams have some poorly assembled questions.
Side 2: This is the direction that doesn’t yet exist in formal assessment strategy in most faculties or school. Perhaps it is mainly thought of as just regular day to day classroom activity, and undervalued? Either way, it should be more of a continuous assessment that happens along side the daily activity of learning vs the sporadic assessments as described in side 1. Assessments here should be authentic, contextualised and meaningful, based on student performance of various skill sets as well as high levels of thinking, such as create, perform and synthesise. Tasks should be highly engaging, and allow for student judgement and direction. The focus will not be on facts, but more on enduring understandings; life-long learning. Here, students won’t be required to have learnt verbatim concepts or terms, but they may be required to take on an authentic role in the study and solution searching issues.
Using an approach like this could assist in making sure all elements of the assessment are supported by curriculum and the true outcomes of education are reported and the results utilised in meaningful ways.
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