La motivation des notes

Les bulletins provinciaux viennent finalement cogner à notre porte. Certains voient cette nouvelle demande comme un intrus, d'autre comme un invité longuement attendu. Je ne vois pas une fin à ce débat dans le futur proche, mais la réalité (au moins pour le moment) est qu'on ne peut pas le mettre à la porte.

Les bulletins pour le cycle primaire (et jusqu'à la 6e année) ne changent pas beaucoup la façon de faire dans notre école. Les sujets sont divisés en compétences exigées par les programmes d'étude et on prend note des habitudes de travail et de comportement de l'enfant. On avait déjà la bonne idée. Cette démarche appuie la recherche qui nous démontre que l'évaluation de l'enfant nécessite une mesure de la progression de ces compétences et que le niveau de rendement se mesure uniquement sur son atteinte (ou non) et à quel point, des compétences mesurées.

Le secondaire semblait être le seul regroupement qui ne suivait pas la recherche de pratiques exemplaires en évaluation (ou plus spécifiquement dans le rapportage de l'évaluation). On donnait un pourcentage (qui représente la somme collective des travaux, tests, examens, et tout autre forme d'évaluation) pour identifier l'élève à ses parents. On ne décrivait pas l'élève, ses forces, ses faiblesses, ni les suivis à faire. Le sujet n'était pas décomposé en compétences mesurées, donc je questionnait la signifiance du nombre. Le nouveau bulletin n'a presque pas changé pour le niveau secondaire. On ajoute quelques points de comportement, mais autre que cela il demeure vague et faible en communication du vrai profil de l'élève.

La plus grande contraverse, cependant, était aux niveaux 7 et 8. Dans les quelques dernières années, on avait vraiment fait du chemin. On avait aboli les notes en pourcentages, selon la recherche, et on avait embarqué dans un système d'évaluation qui appuie le développement non seulement de l'enfant, mais aussi de l'enseignment de cet enfant selon ses besoins.
Les pourcentages offrent une motivation externe (donc moins valable). Le plus grand défi qui se présente à ce niveau est celui de la motivation. Les élèves ont arrêté de poser la question de la valeur des travaux. Au lieu de la fameuse, "Est-ce que ça compte?" on entend, "J'apprécie les commentaires. Je sais comment améliorer mon travail." Ils sont moins inquiets de l'étiquette et plus axé sur l'apprentissage. Je croyais que c'était notre but.

Mon plus gros problème avec ceci est que nous sommes les professionnels dans le domaine de l'éducation. J'ai fait ma recherche. J'ai appliqué les pratiques fondées dans cette recherche et j'ai aidé à mes élèves à cheminer dans leur apprentissage au lieu de se concentrer sur une étiquette numérique. C'est intéressant que ce soit ceux qui ne sont pas formés dans le domaine de l'évaluation qui me disent comment la faire.

Alors la prochaine fois qu'ils auront besoin d'un médecin, est-ce qu'ils diront au médecin comment procéder ou lui feront-ils confiance en raison de son expertise?

Seven Practices for Effective Learning by Jay McTighe and Ken O'Connor




November 2005,
Volume 63, Number 3

  This article is a must read for all teachers. One of the biggest problems I face as a teacher is the amount of professional reading I would like to do versus the time I have to get it done. I would love to see more articles like this one, where the essential points are made in a short article that gives a clear picture of what effective teaching looks like.

The practices described in this article list principles of what education is meant to be. I believe most teachers are in agreement with what is proposed here, but many become overwhelmed with the other demands we face (lesson preparation, assessment and evaluation, parent communication, coaching, report writing, extra-curricular activities) and experience real challenges when it comes to putting them into effect.

To begin with, the article defines the three types of evaluation used throughout the course of the teaching and learning process. Each has a role to play in assessment.

• Diagnostic assessments: are primarily used to get to know your students. Once we know who we are teaching, lessons can be created to meet their needs. By using diagnostic assessments, we discover what the students already know, what they understand correctly, what they misunderstand, and what their interests are, among other important facts.
• Formative assessments: are used to provide the necessary feedback to give direction to learning. This is the part the student does or understands well and this is what needs to be done next to continue on the path towards mastery. It also provides the teacher with information about the progress of the students in order to offer individualized guidance in the learning process.
• Summative assessments: give a portrait of what the student has learned by the end of an instructional segment. It defines the student's standing after instruction, practice and collection of summative evidence has taken place.

The Seven practices for effective learning are listed as follows:

1. Use summative assessments to frame meaningful learning goals.
2. Show criteria and models in advance.
3. Assess before teaching.
4. Offer appropriate choices.
5. Provide feedback early and often.
6. Encourage self-assessment and goal setting.
7. Allow new evidence of achievement to replace old evidence.

Each of these practices are described in such a way that the reader can see it as a living thing in the classroom. The examples provided are real and believable. I found it easy to visualize each of these practices in my classroom. They are not really a new way of thinking, but a reminder of what we all know to be true.

If I had to recommend an article on exemplary teaching practices and effective use of evaluation and assessment, this one would be it.

TFO - Une ressource sous utilisée

Depuis des années, on nous encourage de prendre avantage de la ressource TFO - une collection de vidéos éducatives pré-sélectionnées qui appuyent toute une gamme de sujets et de thèmes de nos programmes d'étude. À chaque année, j'y fais ma mission et à chaque année, je manque de temps.

Le facteur qui est le plus difficile à surmonter ici est celui de l'accès. Je n'ai pas accès de la maison, qui est mon lieu de préparation majeur pendant l'année scolaire et surtout durant l'été. C'est la raison pour laquelle je n'ai pas avancé plus loin jusqu'à maintenant, mais en essayant de visionner deux ou trois vidéos par semaine avant de quitter à la fin de la journée, je viendrai à bout de mieux employer une ressource valable.

Les avantages se prononcent bien plus nombreuses que les désavantages bien sûr. Les vidéos (au moins celles que j'ai eu la chance de visionner) comportent un français qui est généralement à la portée des élèves. Il y en a plusieurs qui sont animées par des enfants et des ados, ce qui rend l'établissement d'un lien encore plus facile pour nos élèves.

Une série que je découvre présentement est Active-toi. Elle contient un grand nombre de vidéos qui donne une mission à un petit groupe d'élèves d'effectuer une recherche et de trouver une solution à un problème actuel, que ce soit l'intimidation dans nos écoles ou la pollution globale de l'eau. En visionnant, la classe suit les étapes de la résolution de problèmes et pourra l'ajouter à sa banque de stratégies de recherche.

J'ai créé un blogue ( http://tfodsfm8.blogspot.com/ ) pour pouvoir organiser et commenter les vidéos que je visionne afin de rendre ma recherche plus efficace d'année en année. J'ai hâte de mieux développer mes cours avec cette ressource indispensable. Je vois bien comment il sera facile d'ajouter ces emissions dans ma planification inverse des thèmes variés. Il faut simplement avancer à petits pas afin d'effectuer le trajet.

Leyton Schnellert - Part 1: The Big Ideas

Leyton Schnellert

Leyton Schnellert was one of the most dynamic presenters I have had the opportunity to hear. His session was one of my choices, but I had not decided until I heard a colleague rave about what he'd heard from others who'd seen him present. (And yes, he's as visual as he is vocal.) Convinced, I stayed and am very glad I did.

Summarizing his ideas and methods would rob some of them of the attention they deserve. I want to refer back to these ideas and will therefore break them into separate articles to make it easier to revisit them later.

I want to start with what he referred to as The Big Ideas. When dealing with courses such as Science and Social Studies, it is so easy to slip back into the textbook and let it guide me in what I choose to teach. I mean, most of these textbooks are designed with the provincial curriculum guides as the blueprint so why reinvent the wheel? As I listened to him talk about meeting our students where they are at and identifying their strengths and needs as learners, I can decide which skills to target in a purposefully methodical way. This will be discussed in a later article.

Getting back to the Big Ideas, this is where the light went on for me. I could easily picture the process he suggests.

1. Working in collaboration with a colleague, take a look at all the general and specific outcomes for a specific unit of study. This is perfect for school who already engage in PLC (professional learning communities) groups.
2. Separately, then together, decide which 3 or 4 BIG ideas need to be addressed. These should relate to both the learning outcomes identified in the curriculum AND the social issues or topics of interest that apply to the students.
3. With the Big Ideas in mind, identify the skills that need to be built into the unit.
4. Now that you know where you want to go, plan the road map you will follow in order to get there.
5. Formative assessment will be a part of each of the pit stops along the way.

In my afternoon session, Karen Hume made reference to this same idea. She said that when you start with the actions instead of the desired result, you are not focusing on the skill that you wish to develop but in the final product. When I start with the end in mind, everything I plan will be for a reason.

The Big Ideas become the questions we ask of the students. If I tell them what they will learn, there is no intention to learn. Inquiry questions help students think about the unit in a general way and develop the curiosity to want to know more. When they ask questions, they become engaged and take ownership of their learning. The student can take the wheel - and I become his or her navigator.

Multiple Methods of Assessment - Volante

It is one thing to give a test to measure the learning that has occurred, but if the test is not representative of what and how the student is learning, it is inefficient and invalid. Traditionally, we have used what we were exposed to as students, but if we continue to rely on what we know without upgrading our methods with our research, then our research is pointless. Why do research if not to improve our results by applying it?

I believe rummaging through the curriculum guides would be a worthwhile experience for most teachers regardless of years of experience. It is easy to get into a routine by repeating the sheets and tests of yesteryear. The challenge is to continually search for other ways of reaching our students. We need to know them. What works for one group, may be ineffective with another. During my student teaching experience, I was a bit shocked that my cooperating teacher was using a very old program with her students. I thought surely there was something more modern she could be using. She explained to me that she had all the modern stuff and that this program was the one her students best responded to. Lesson learned. I have always remembered that the method I use is based as much on who my students are and what they need as it is on what my style and knowledge tell me to use.

The curriculum guides provide a multitude of assessment tools to be selected by the classroom teacher. If we go back from time to time and become familiar with them, we are expanding our own repertoire as well as providing more opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning.

When designing an assessment tool, we need to be aware of the skills we are measuring - not only the content. As a new teacher, a colleague once told me, "Remember, you are teaching the child - not the curriculum." It has always stuck with me and the content becomes secondary to the person when you realize that it doesn"t really matter what year a historical event occurred, but it does matter that a student has the necessary skills to find the year.

In summary, we need to be sure that what and how we are assessing reflects what the student needs to grow.

Learning Target Alignment - Volante

The second of the principles from Volante's document is that of learning targets. As obvious as this one should be, we often fall short of communicating the "why" and the "how" of an assignment to our students. We know what we want them to do, but failure to communicate this results in lack of understanding, lack of confidence, and feeling of inadequacy from the student. Often students fail in our eyes by no fault of their own. Papers are marked up and when they get them back, students finally understand what we wanted in the first place, at which point it is too late.

OK, so how do we set things up so that we all gain? We have filtered the essential learning outcomes from the curriculum guides mandated by the province and have created a comprehensive cintinuum that flows from grade 5 to grade 8. Step one complete. The problem is we need to realize there are more steps after this one.

Damian Cooper talked about tiered assessment, a way of allowing all students to reach their potential by setting them up in a way where they have assignment expectations laid out in the detail needed for various levels of independence. The worries I have about handing out the same assignment guideline to all my students is that my less-motivated (or less capable) students do not attain the expected results because they need a more step by step approach. They need to be told exactly what to do - there can be no room for doubt if they are to succeed. The same is true for the very strong students who are selling themselves short by working to the guidelines - instead of to their potential. They need the freedom to allow their work to take them in new and unexpected directions - regardless of what I may initially have had in mind.

As meticulously guided students become more confident and interested in the inquiry process and their own ideas, they graduate to the middle tier of assignment criteria and are less dependant on being told how to think and organize their work.

If I understand the learning target alignment correctly, I believe it means to align what needs to be done with the current level of achievement of each student to be sure students are guided to the required extent. The student's comfort level is not fixed as they graduate to the next level when they are ready. Every student receives the required teaching but how far they go with it depends on their level of readiness, which grows with the student.

Student-Centered Assessment - Volante

The first of the seven principles suggested by Volante is that assessment be student-centered. The ultimate goal is that we make students responsible for their learning and having them take ownership in the assessment process is the first step in seeing this through. According to his research, this approach will positively influence motivation and learning.

In order to enhance this motivation for learning, teachers should rely more heavily on formative assessment. We need to be continually engaged in dialogue with our students about what they do well and what they are lacking in order to be proficient in their work. Ken O'Connor stated that when we give a grade to students, nothing improves,  but when we give feedback, we can expect an average of 30% improvement from students. Volante included a list of things we can do in our formative assessment to encourage student engagement.

• Give a pretest before a unit of study: This allows us to make necessary adjustments to the personal learning goals for each student.
• Be aware of students who are in need of more assistance or practice. They will more likely need to be monitored more closely.
• Continually revise instruction based on assessment results. If some students are not getting it, what do they need to learn in order to get it?
• Convey strengths and weaknesses to students. Effective feedback will allow them to grow from where they are.
• Match students in groups that will encourage growth. These groupings can become a ressource for students to use independently once they learn how to work together.
• Allow opportunity for self-assessment. This is key in order for students to take ownership of their work. They are able to direct their own learning this way and they become responsible for what they have done and how they plan to grow with each susequent assignment.

Encouraging students to self-assess smooths the transition from the teacher being the director to the teacher simply guiding an independent worker.

All of these conditions make sense. Most would not argue that when a student becomes responsible for his or her own learning, he or she becomes a lifelong learner, capable of assuring continuous growth in life. I can picture it in my head, running smoothly, a motivation-filled classroom guiding the students to a state of independence they want to reach.

Conversely, I also have questions about how this motivation occurs when the inclusion of a student is not enough. How do we cope when a student dares you to make them care and then sets up camp behind a granite wall of resistance? And what of class sizes? When teachers are facing groups beyond 30 students, they are overwhelmed with duties leading to learning and other academic and behavioural issues. Teachers slip into survival mode and find it difficult to make the time to consult with each student in the goal of guiding their next steps.