Modern Learners - Assessment

Friday August 17

Spent the day participating in a workshop run by Will Richardson and Bruce Dixon from Modern Learners. This was very exciting for me because I have followed these guys for a couple of years now.

The day focussed on aligning our assessment practices with our beliefs about learning. We began by unpacking our beliefs about learning. Then we listed our current assessment practices and discussed how well they did/didn't fit with our beliefs. It turns out that most school assessment practices are linked to the need to collect data for school reporting purposes.

Thankfully, we don't spend a lot of time on standardised assessment practices at Haeata. I question the value of those that we do use and am thinking now that we might need to move completely to using teacher observations and OTJs which are based on ākonga self-assessment, rubrics and work samples. Even using a small part of the Junior Assessment of Maths (JAM) seems a bit pointless to me now. 

I really like our focus on individual conferences as a means of collecting information from ākonga about their learning. How empowering is it for ākonga to be listened to, believed and supported to make their next steps?

I like what Pasi Sahlberg has to say about data collection:-

Learning analytics, algorithms and big data are knocking on the doors of
many schools promising fast improvements and new solutions to wicked
problems facing schools today. In the midst of datafication educators need
to remember the power of small data: tiny clues through personal
observations, collective human judgment, and raw instinct that can lead to
big change in schools. Leading with small data requires collaboration,
trust and professionalism as key features of educational change.

If the decisions we make about program delivery are based on what the ākonga themselves share with us, we will be headed in the right direction for sure. 

The last part of our day was spent unpacking what kind of ākonga, kaiako and whanau we need who will implement and support useful assessment practices. It would be interesting to discuss what kind of leadership, BOT and MoE we need in order to change some of the commonly held beliefs about assessment in NZ schools.