Sustaining formative assessment with teacher learning communities

Dylan Wiliam

www.dylanwiliam.net

Overview of the dayWhy raising achievement is important

Why investing in teachers is the answer

Why formative assessment should be the focus

Why teacher learning communities should be the mechanism

How we can put this into practice

Raising achievement mattersFor individuals Increased lifetime salary Improved healthLonger life

For societyLower criminal justice costsLower health-care costs Increased economic growth

Which of the following categories of skill is disappearing from the work-place most rapidly?

1. Routine manual

2. Non-routine manual

3. Routine cognitive

4. Complex communication

5. Expert thinking/problem-solving

…but what is learned matters too…

Autor, Levy & Murnane, 2003

…now more than ever

$0.00

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$25.00

$30.00

$35.00

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

Dropout

HS Diploma

Some College

BA/BSc

Prof Degree

Source: Economic Policy Institute

Where’s the solution?Structure

Small high schools Larger high schools ‘All-through’ schools

Alignment Curriculum reform Textbook replacement

Governance Specialist schools Academies and trusts

Technology Computers Interactive white-boards

School effectivenessThree generations of school effectiveness researchRaw results approaches

Different schools get different results Conclusion: Schools make a difference

Demographic-based approaches Demographic factors account for most of the variation Conclusion: Schools don’t make a difference

Value-added approaches School-level differences in value-added are relatively small Classroom-level differences in value-added are large Conclusion: An effective school is a school full of effective classrooms

It’s the classroom…In the UK, variability at the classroom level is up to 4 times that at school level

It’s not class size

It’s not the between-class grouping strategy

It’s not the within-class grouping strategy

It’s the teacher

And it’s teachers that make the differenceThe commodification of teachers has received widespread support:From teacher unions (who understandably resist performance-related pay)From politicians (who are happy that the focus is on teacher supply, rather

than teacher quality)

But has resulted in the pursuit of policies with poor benefit to cost

To see how big the difference is, take a group of 50 teachersStudents taught by the best teacher learn twice as fast as averageStudents taught by the worst teacher learn half as fast average

And in the classrooms of the best teachersStudents with behavioural difficulties learn as much as those withoutStudents from disadvantaged backgrounds do as well as those from

advantaged backgrounds

Teacher quality matters…

Barber & Mourshed, 2007

How to make teachers better…Replace existing teachers with better ones Important, but very slow, and of limited impact

Raising the bar for entry to teaching (5 percentage points in 30 years) Teach First (at most 1% of teaching force)

Improve the effectiveness of existing teachersNot because they are not good enough, but because they can be better

(so ‘good enough’ is not good enough)The “love the one you’re with” strategy It can be done

Provided we focus rigorously on the things that matter to students Even when they’re hard to do

20-25%Total “explained” difference

<5%Further professional qualifications (MA, NBPTS)

10-15%Pedagogical content knowledge

<5%Advanced content matter knowledge

The ‘dark matter’ of teacher qualityTeachers make a differenceBut what makes the difference in teachers?

Cost/effect comparisonsIntervention Extra months of

learning per yearCost/class-room/

yr

Class-size reduction (by 30%) 4 £20k

Increase teacher content knowledge from weak to strong

2 ?

Formative assessment/Assessment for learning

8 £2k

Pareto analysisVilfredo Pareto (1848-1923)Economist, philosopher, etc., associated with the 80:20

rule

Pareto improvementA change that can make at least one person (e.g., a

student) better off without making anyone else (e.g., a teacher) worse off.

Pareto efficiency/Pareto optimalityAn allocation (e.g., of resources) is Pareto efficient or

Pareto optimal when there are no more Pareto improvements

Schools are rarely Pareto optimalExamples of Pareto improvements Less time on marking to spend more time on planning questions to use in

lessons Increased use of peer assessmentLarger classes with reduced teacher contact timeLarger classes with increased teacher salaries

Obstacles to Pareto improvementsThe political economy of reform In professional settings, it is incredibly hard to stop people doing valuable

things in order to give them time to do even more valuable things e.g., “Are you saying what I am doing is no good?” e.g., “I care about my kids”.

How to make teachers better…Replace existing teachers with better ones Important, but very slow, and of limited impact

Raising the bar for entry to teaching (5 percentage points in 30 years) Teach First (at most 1% of teaching force)

Improve the effectiveness of existing teachersNot because they are not good enough, but because they can be better

(so ‘good enough’ is not good enough)The “love the one you’re with” strategy It can be done

Provided we focus rigorously on the things that matter to students Even when they’re hard to do

The research evidenceSeveral major reviews of the researchNatriello (1987)Crooks (1988)Kluger & DeNisi (1996)Black & Wiliam (1998)Nyquist (2003)

All find consistent, substantial effects

The formative assessment hi-jack…Long-cycle Span: across units, terms Length: four weeks to one year Impact: Student monitoring; curriculum alignmentMedium-cycle Span: within and between teaching units Length: one to four weeks Impact: Improved, student-involved, assessment; teacher cognition about learningShort-cycle Span: within and between lessons Length:

day-by-day: 24 to 48 hours minute-by-minute: 5 seconds to 2 hours

Impact: classroom practice; student engagement

Unpacking formative assessmentKey processesEstablishing where the learners are in their learningEstablishing where they are goingWorking out how to get there

ParticipantsTeachersPeersLearners

Aspects of formative assessment

Where the learner is going

Where the learner is How to get there

TeacherClarify and share learning intentions

Engineering effective discussions, tasks and

activities that elicit evidence of learning

Providing feedback that moves learners

forward

PeerUnderstand and share learning

intentions

Activating students as learningresources for one another

LearnerUnderstand

learning intentionsActivating students as owners

of their own learning

Five “key strategies”…Clarifying, understanding, and sharing learning intentionscurriculum philosophy

Engineering effective classroom discussions, tasks and activities that elicit evidence of learningclassroom discourse, interactive whole-class teaching

Providing feedback that moves learners forward feedback

Activating students as learning resources for one another collaborative learning, reciprocal teaching, peer-assessment

Activating students as owners of their own learningmetacognition, motivation, interest, attribution, self-assessment

(Wiliam & Thompson, 2007)

…and one big ideaUse evidence about learning to adapt teaching and learning to meet student needs

Keeping learning on trackA good teacherEstablishes where the students are in their learning Identifies the learning destinationCarefully plans a routeBegins the learning journeyMakes regular checks on progress on the wayMakes adjustments to the course as conditions dictate

Examples in evidence

Engineering effective discussions, activities, and classroom tasks that elicit evidence of learning

Kinds of questions: Israel

Which fraction is the smallest? a) 16

, b) 23

, c) 13

, d) 12

.

Success rate 88%

Which fraction is the largest?

Success rate 46%; 39% chose (b)

a) 45

, b) 34

, c) 58

, d) 7

10.

[Vinner, PME conference, Lahti, Finland, 1997]

Draw an upside-down triangle…

Misconceptions

3a = 24

a + b = 16

Molecular structure of water?

Providing feedback that moves learners forward

264 low and high ability grade 6 students in 12 classes in 4 schools; analysis of 132 students at top and bottom of each class

Same teaching, same aims, same teachers, same classwork

Three kinds of feedback: scores, comments, scores+comments

[Butler(1988) Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 58 1-14]

Kinds of feedback: Israel

Achievement Attitude

Scores no gain High scorers: positive

Low scorers: negative

Comments 30% gain High scorers : positive

Low scorers : positive

[Butler(1988) Br. J. Educ. Psychol., 58 1-14]

Responses

What do you think happened for the students given both scores and comments?

A. Gain: 30%; Attitude: all positiveB. Gain: 30%; Attitude: high scorers positive, low scorers negativeC. Gain: 0%; Attitude: all positiveD. Gain: 0%; Attitude: high scorers positive, low scorers negativeE. Something else

Achievement Attitude

Scores no gain High scorers : positive

Low scorers: negative

Comments 30% gain High scorers : positive

Low scorers : positive

[Butler (1987) J. Educ. Psychol. 79 474-482]

Kinds of feedback: Israel (2)200 grade 5 and 6 Israeli studentsDivergent thinking tasks4 matched groupsexperimental group 1 (EG1); commentsexperimental group 2 (EG2); gradesexperimental group 3 (EG3); praisecontrol group (CG); no feedbackAchievementEG1>(EG2≈EG3≈CG)Ego-involvement(EG2≈EG3)>(EG1≈CG)

Effects of feedbackKluger & DeNisi (1996) review of 3000 research reports

Excluding those:without adequate controlswith poor designwith fewer than 10 participantswhere performance was not measuredwithout details of effect sizes

left 131 reports, 607 effect sizes, involving 12652 individuals

On average, feedback increases achievementEffect sizes highly variable38% (50 out of 131) of effect sizes were negative

FeedbackFormative assessment requiresdata on the actual level of some measurable attribute;data on the reference level of that attribute;a mechanism for comparing the two levels and generating information about

the ‘gap’ between the two levels;a mechanism by which the information can be used to alter the gap.

Feedback is therefore formative only if the information fed back is actually used in closing the gap.

Formative assessmentFrequent feedback is not necessarily formative

Feedback that causes improvement is not necessarily formative

Assessment is formative only if the information fed back to the learner is used by the learner in making improvements

To be formative, assessment must include a recipe for future action

How do students make sense of this?Attribution (Dweck, 2000)Personalization (internal v external)Permanence (stable v unstable)Essential that students attribute both failures and success to internal,

unstable causes. (It’s down to you, and you can do something about it.)

Views of ‘ability’Fixed (IQ) Incremental (untapped potential)Essential that teachers inculcate in their students a view that ‘ability’ is

incremental rather than fixed(by working, you’re getting smarter)

Sharing learning intentions

[White & Frederiksen, Cognition & Instruction, 16(1), 1998].

Sharing criteria with learners3 teachers each teaching 4 year 8 science classes in two US schools

14 week experiment

7 two-week projects, each scored 2-10

All teaching the same, except:

For a part of each weekTwo of each teacher’s classes discusses their likes and dislikes about the

teaching (control)The other two classes discusses how their work will be assessed

Sharing criteria with learners

7.47.26.7

6.65.94.6

Reflective assessment

Likes and dislikes

High

MiddleLowGroup

Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills

Activating students as learning resources for one another and as owners of their own learning

[Fontana & Fernandez, Br. J. Educ. Psychol. 64: 407-417]

Self-assessment: PortugalTeachers studying for MA in EducationGroup 1 do regular programmeGroup 2 work on self-assessment for 2 terms (20 weeks)Teachers matched in age, qualifications and experience using the same

curriculum scheme for the same amount of time

Pupils tested at beginning of year, and again after two termsGroup 1 pupils improve by 7.8 marksGroup 2 pupils improve by 15

Comments? Questions?

Practical techniques

Eliciting evidenceKey idea: questioning should

cause thinking provide data that informs teaching

Improving teacher questioning generating questions with colleagues closed v open low-order v high-order appropriate wait-time

Getting away from I-R-E basketball rather than serial table-tennis ‘No hands up’ (except to ask a question) class polls to review current attitudes towards an issue ‘Hot Seat’ questioning

All-student response systems ABCD cards, Mini white-boards, Exit passes

Questioning in maths: discussionLook at the following sequence:

3, 7, 11, 15, 19, ….

Which is the best rule to describe the sequence?

A. n + 4

B. 3 + n

C. 4n - 1

D. 4n + 3

Questioning in maths: diagnosisIn which of these right-angled triangles is a2 + b2 = c2 ?

A a

c

b

C b

c

a

E c

b

a

B a

b

c

D b

a

c

F c

a

b

Questioning in science: discussionIce-cubes are added to a glass of water. What happens to the level of the

water as the ice-cubes melt?

A. The level of the water drops

B. The level of the water stays the same

C. The level of the water increases

D. You need more information to be sure

Wilson & Draney, 2004

Questioning in science: diagnosis

The ball sitting on the table is not moving. It is not moving because:

A. no forces are pushing or pulling on the ball.

B. gravity is pulling down, but the table is in the way.C. the table pushes up with the same force that gravity pulls downD. gravity is holding it onto the table. E. there is a force inside the ball keeping it from rolling off the table

Save the ozone layerWhat can we do to preserve the ozone layer?

A. Reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by cars and factories

B. Reduce the greenhouse effect

C. Stop cutting down the rainforests

D. Limit the numbers of cars that can be used when the level of ozone is high

E. Properly dispose of air-conditioners and fridges

Questioning in English: discussion Macbeth: mad or bad?

Questioning in English: diagnosisWhere is the verb in this sentence?

The dog ran across the road

A B C D

Questioning in English: diagnosisWhich of these is the best thesis statement?

A. The typical TV show has 9 violent incidentsB. The essay I am going to write is about violence on TVC. There is a lot of violence on TVD. The amount of violence on TV should be reducedE. Some programs are more violent than othersF. Violence is included in programs to boost ratingsG. Violence on TV is interestingH. I don’t like the violence on TV

Questioning in history: discussionIn which year did World War II begin?

A. 1919

B. 1938

C. 1939

D. 1940

E. 1941

Questioning in history: diagnosisWhy are historians concerned with bias when analyzing sources?

A. People can never be trusted to tell the truthB. People deliberately leave out important detailsC. People are only able to provide meaningful information if they

experienced an event firsthandD. People interpret the same event in different ways, according to their

experienceE. People are unaware of the motivations for their actionsF. People get confused about sequences of events

Questioning in MFL: discussionIs the verb “être” regular in French?

Questioning in MFL: diagnosisWhich of the following is the correct translation for ”I give the book to him”?

A. Yo lo doy el libro.

B. Yo doy le el libro.

C. Yo le doy el libro.

D. Yo doy lo el libro.

E. Yo doy el libro le.

F. Yo doy el libro lo.

Hinge QuestionsA hinge question is based on the important concept in a lesson that is critical for students to understand before you move on in the lesson.

The question should fall about midway during the lesson.

Every student must respond to the question within two minutes.

You must be able to collect and interpret the responses from all students in 30 seconds

Quick test: Figurative language

A. Alliteration

B. Hyperbole

C. Irony

D. Metaphor

E. Onomatopoeia

F. Personification

G. Simile

H. None of the above

1. He was like a bull in a china shop.2. This backpack weighs a ton.3. The sweetly smiling sunshine…4. He honked his horn at the cyclist.5. “They in the sea being burnt, they

in the burnt ship drown’d.”6. He was as tall as a house.

Class test: Lines of symmetry

AB

C

D E F

Class test: SI unitsA. Joule

B. Kilogram

C. Newton

D. Pascal

E. Watt

1. Energy

2. Force

3. Mass

4. Pressure

5. Weight

6. Work

Practical techniques: feedbackKey idea: feedback should

cause thinking provide guidance on how to improve

Comment-only grading

Focused grading

Explicit reference to rubrics

Suggestions on how to improve Not giving complete solutions

Re-timing assessment (eg three-quarters-of-the-way-through-a-unit test)

Practical techniques: sharing learning intentionsExplaining learning intentions at start of lesson/unit

Learning intentions Success criteria

Intentions/criteria in students’ language

Posters of key words to talk about learning eg describe, explain, evaluate

Planning/writing frames

Annotated examples of different standards to ‘flesh out’ assessment rubrics (e.g. lab reports)

Opportunities for students to design their own tests

Students owning their learning and as learning resourcesStudents assessing their own/peers’ work with rubricswith exemplars“two stars and a wish”

Training students to pose questions/identifying group weaknesses

Self-assessment of understandingTraffic lightsRed/green discs

End-of-lesson students’ review

Putting it into practice

Looking at the wrong knowledge…The most powerful teacher knowledge is not explicitThat’s why telling teachers what to do doesn’t workWhat we know is more than we can sayAnd that is why most professional development has been relatively

ineffectiveImproving practice involves changing habits, not adding knowledgeThat’s why it’s hard

And the hardest bit is not getting new ideas into people’s heads It’s getting the old one’s out

That’s why it takes timeBut it doesn’t happen naturally If it did, the most experienced teachers would be the best, and we know

that’s not so (Hanushek, 2005)

A model for teacher learningContent, then process

Content (what we want teachers to change)Evidence Ideas (strategies and techniques)Process (how to go about change)ChoiceFlexibilitySmall stepsAccountabilitySupport

Sustaining formative assessment with teacher learning communities

Teacher learning communitiesPlan that the TLC will run for two years

Identify 10 to 12 interested colleagues Composition

Similar assignments (e.g. early years, math/sci) Mixed-subject/mixed-phase Hybrid (at least two teachers for each specialism)

Secure institutional support for: Monthly meetings (75 - 120 minutes each, inside or outside school time) Time between meetings (2 hrs per month in school time)

Collaborative planning Peer observation

Any necessary waivers from school policies

Signature pedagogies

In Law

In Medicine

A “signature pedagogy” for teacher learning?Every monthly TLC meeting should follows the same structure and sequence of activities

Activity 1: Introduction & Housekeeping (5 minutes)

Activity 2: Starter (5 minutes)

Activity 3: How’s It Going (25-45 minutes)

Activity 4: New Learning about formative assessment (20-45 minutes)

Activity 5: Personal Action Planning (15 minutes)

Activity 6: Summary of Learning (5 minutes)

A ‘signature pedagogy’ for teacher learningEvery monthly TLC meeting should follows the same structure and sequence of activities

Activity 1: Introduction (5 minutes)

Activity 2: Starter activity (5 minutes)

Activity 3: Feedback (25-50 minutes)

Activity 4: New learning about formative assessment (20-40 minutes)

Activity 5: Personal action planning (15 minutes)

Activity 6: Review of learning (5 minutes)

Every TLC needs a leaderThe job of the TLC leader(s)

To remind participants about the next meeting To book a room for the meeting To ensure that all necessary resources (including refreshments!) are

available at meetings To ensure that the agenda is followed To maintain a collegial and supportive environment

But most important of all… not to be the formative assessment “expert”

Peer observationRun to the agenda of the observed, not the observerObserved teacher specifies focus of observation

e.g., teacher wants to increase wait-timeObserved teacher specifies what counts as evidence

provides observer with a stop-watch to log wait-timesObserved teacher owns any notes made during the observation

So what do we need?What is needed from teachersA commitment to:

the continuous improvement of practice focus on those things that make a difference to student outcomes

What is needed from leadersA commitment to:

creating expectations for the continuous improvement of practice ensuring that the the focus stays on those things that make a difference

to student outcomes providing the time, space, dispensation and support for innovation supporting risk-taking

The synergyContent: formative assessment

Process: teacher learning communities

Components of a model Initial workshopsMonthly TLC meetingsPeer observations ‘Drip-feed’ resources

Writings New ideas

SummaryRaising achievement is important

Raising achievement requires improving teacher quality

Improving teacher quality requires teacher professional development

To be effective, teacher professional development must addressWhat teachers do in the classroomHow teachers change what they do in the classroom

Formative assessment + Teacher learning communitiesA point of (uniquely?) high leverageA “Trojan Horse” into wider issues of pedagogy, psychology, and curriculum

Comments?

Questions?

Force-field analysis (Lewin, 1954)What are the forces that will support or drive the adoption of formative assessment practices in your school?

What are the forces that will constrain or prevent the adoption of formative assessment practices in your school?

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