The Wisdom of Giants

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The Wisdom of Giants

As I was entering a session at the 2016 ASCD Annual Conference, I overheard one teacher say to another: “These are the giants in education”. But these giants bring their own seeds and shovels for the hard work of planting and nurturing ideas. The plentiful enthusiasm and generous sharing, from the people I met in the hallways to the keynote speakers, was extraordinary. Here are a few of my take-aways along with some anecdotes through my assessment lens.

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Myron Dueck: Creating means there is no obvious right answer. Teachers must provide students with planning formats, clear targets, and assessment strategies that display evidence of learning.
My Add-on: You can learn more about assessing creativity at Edutopia.

Steve Oertle: Engage students in standards-based learning and assessment by deconstructing standards into explicit criteria-based rubrics.
My Tag: Here are some additional resources to support teachers in translating standards into assessable criteria.

Jim Rickabaugh: We can personalize learning by tapping into motivation via interests, ownership, independence, relationships, and rewards.
My Codicil: Personalized learning and student-centered assessment is a continuum, with a gradual release of responsibility for achievement, utilizing self-reflection, metacognition, and feedback.

Pedro Noguera: Equality is about giving children shoes. Equity is making sure the shoes fit.
My Tag: Equity belongs everywhere in education. Personalized and restorative assessment can support that.

Carol Dweck: We are all a mix of growth and fixed mindsets. Developing a growth mindset is a journey.
My Add-on: Learn more about how to connect mindset to Assessment.

Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey: There is a difference between difficulty and complexity. Surface and deep learning can be both.
My Insight: So it is with assessment. Multiple choice questions can require deeper understanding of theories and hypotheses and a performance-based assessment may entail a fact-based task.

Many are hopeful that ESSA will deliver on its promise of reducing Washington’s control over local decisions and offering more flexibility in choosing and using multiple assessments.

Thank you ASCD, for a spectacular conference and to all the participants for sharing their passions, hopes, and solutions. I brought back so many ideas and materials that I have enough to work on… until next year in Anaheim.

Laura, AssessmentNetwork.net


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