Student Learning

Prep to Year 10 Assessment – Assessment Advice

Discussion starter 5

Read the following quote and consider the discussion starter questions

Teachers must deal with two basic issues that are the source of many of the problems associated with changing to a system of formative assessment. The first is the nature of each teacher's beliefs about learning. If the teacher assumes that knowledge is to be transmitted and learned, that understanding will develop later, and that clarity of exposition accompanied by rewards for patient reception are the essentials of good teaching, then formative assessment is hardly necessary. However, most teachers accept the wealth of evidence that this transmission model does not work, even when judged by its own criteria, and so are willing to make a commitment to teaching through interaction. Formative assessment is an essential component of such instruction. We do not mean to imply that individualised, one-on-one teaching is the only solution; rather we mean that what is needed is a classroom culture of questioning and deep thinking, in which students learn from shared discussions with teachers and peers. What emerges very clearly here is the indivisibility of instruction and formative assessment practices.

The other issue that can create problems for teachers who wish to adopt an interactive model of teaching and learning relates to the beliefs teachers hold about the potential of all their students for learning. To sharpen the contrast by overstating it, there is on the one hand the ‘fixed I.Q.’ view – – a belief that each student has a fixed, inherited intelligence that cannot be altered much by schooling. On the other hand, there is the ‘untapped potential’ view – – a belief that starts from the assumption that so-called ability is a complex of skills that can be learned. Here, we argue for the underlying belief that all students can learn more effectively if one can clear away, by sensitive handling, the obstacles to learning, be they cognitive failures never diagnosed or damage to personal confidence or a combination of the two. Clearly the truth lies between these two extremes, but the evidence is that ways of managing formative assessment that work with the assumptions of "untapped potential" do help all students to learn and can give particular help to those who have previously struggled.

Black, P. & Wiliam, D. 1998. Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment, King’s College London

Discussion starter questions

  • What are your beliefs about learning?
  • Does your classroom reflect your beliefs?
  • What are the ‘obstacles to learning’ in your classroom? How can they be cleared away?
  • How do you use formative assessment in your classroom?
  • How can you improve the use of formative assessment in your classroom?