Instructional Decision Making

What instructional decisions are made by the teacher in the classroom?

What are the factors that must be considered in making instructional decisions?

Decision Making in the Classroom

(Illustrative Example)

Johnny is just catching on to "invert-the-divisor-and-multiply." Research suggests that repeated practice (going over it several times) at this initial stage of understanding will result in faster and more durable learning. Therefore, Johnny should do two or three more problems before he leaves for recess. However, Johnny's team has a baseball game organized for recess and if he thinks he'll be late for the game he won't have his mind on what he's doing.

Decision Making in the Classroom

(Illustrative ExampleHis feelings of discomfort can become associated with fractions in particular and math in general. What to do? Would it be better to keep him for a couple of minutes, to cement his understanding? Or would it be better to let him go today and be confused in math tomorrow while his classmates are confident? There is no predetermined correct answer. The teacher must make a decision on his/her feet. (Researchers get to make decisions on their seats!)

B C DStart

How do we know what’s happening?

Finish Line

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• The educational process requires judgments and DECISION S to be made by both learner and teacher.

Arriving at sound judgment rely on:1. Multiplicity of sound evidences:

- written, oral and performance- observations, work products - perceived attitude of the pupil

2. Awareness of the factors which might influence judgment

3. Systematic gathering, recording and interpreting evidence.

4. The extent to which the evidence identify the changes that occur.

What do we mean by Learning

Achievement? • Learning achievement is taken to mean “ the broad grasp of subject matter, in which

the student constructs his/her own meaning as he/she places the learning in the broader context of an accumulated base of knowledge for retrieval when the student needs that learning for unanticipated problem solving arising in the contexts of school, work or life” (Palincsar & Winn, 1990)

WHY ASSESS LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT?

• The information provided by assessment should do more than portray a learner’s level of performance. It should inform the actions of all participants in the learning situation. Links must be forged between the assessment, the instruction it reviews and the instruction it anticipates. (Clark 1989, p.4.)

Assessment vs. Testing

ASSESSMENT • Gathering

information to meet evaluation needs

• Built around multiple indicators and sources of evidence

TESTING• Devices to collect

evidence

• Summative tests, formative test

ASSESSMENT VS. EVALUATION

ASSESSMENT• Collecting or

organizing data for judgment

• Assessment data are just indicators of learning

• Assessment data as basis for decision making

EVALUATION• The process of

making value-judgment/ decision-making

• Assessment data are used for planning and decision-making (improving instruction)

The K to 12 Assessment Framework

What type of assessment are there?

• Competitive perspective- to ascertain if a standard has been

attained and to differentiate between those who have and those who have not. (Grading)

- the teacher’s role is to convey expert knowledge, ascertain who has learned, identify differences in ability, and differentiate between students accordingly.

- the student’s role is to anticipate questions, “tell-back” what has taught, work individually and hope to succeed.

What type of assessment are there?

Competitive perspective: (continued) • It is assumed that learning requires student

ability and effort. Conversely, failure to learn is assumed to be due to low ability or poor attitude.

• Ability differences among students are seen as given and able students can be ranked ahead of less able students. (honor roll system.)

What type of assessment are there?Non-Competitive Perspective: • The purpose is to reward individual effort,

encourage further learning, and regard students as individual effort, encourage further learning, and regard students as individuals.

• Assessment techniques tend to provide written and oral comments which relate to personal improvement, and tend to avoid arbitrary measures of comparison such as grades.

• From this perspective, the teachers role is to set work that responds to student’s needs and interests so as to enable their intellectual and social development, to enable choice, to respond sympathetically to student work and to encourage individual growth.

What type of assessment are there?Non-competitive perspective (continued) • The student role is to participate and to accept

and learn from assessment comments. • It is assumed that learning requires student’s

interest and motivation; failure is “not trying”. • The main emphasis is on diverse needs and

interests rather than ability differences. Grouping arise from “choice” and will not be based explicitly on abilities.

What type of assessment are there?

Cooperative Perspective: • The purpose of assessment is to stimulate

worthwhile learning, promote improvement for all and reward individuals for their work.

• Assessment tends to set work goals in advance using attainment of goals as the basis for determining satisfactory completion. Assessments tend to give descriptive comments on the work done.

• From this perspective, the teacher’s role is to set work that is worthwhile and relevant to students, and to involve students in taking responsibility for their own learning and improvement. Assessment is seen as 2 discreet processes: - evaluation of teaching- assessment of student’s achievement.

What type of assessment are there?• The teacher seeks to enable the student to

improve by setting requirements which are achievable by students.

• The student’s role is to participate with the teacher in planning work, to work hard and to complete all of the work and to improve.

• The student is required to reflect on what has been learned and to help create a cooperative classroom.

• In a cooperative classroom, ( with students of mixed ability) achievement levels tend not to determine the grouping of students. Ability is seen to be strongly linked to the quality of the course, the context and the nature of task, and the motivation of students.

EFFECTS OF ASSESSMENT ON STUDENTS

• The kind of test which the assessment procedure seeks to emphasize will give an impression to student of what is regarded as important learning outcomes.

• Thus, it is common for schools to give students considerable practice in answering questions that are framed in the format of the test rather than in more natural contexts. (Teaching for testing)

• With these, learning is artificial and designed to do well on examinations rather than showing students know and can do.

EFFECTS OF ASSESSMENT ON STUDENTS

• When teachers lack assessment skills and have difficulty in preparing sound test questions which test higher order behaviors, test questions tend to require recognition of trivial facts or regurgitation of definitions.

Influence of Assessment on Instruction

• The topics teachers choose to assess and their methods of assessment communicate to each student the teacher’s view of what is important.

• The type of assessment and the topics tested in high-stake tests communicate to teachers on what is the important aspects of the curriculum.

• Expanding assessment time is self-defeating in that less time is then available for teaching.

Influence of Assessment on InstructionGasking (1948) pointed out that external

examinations exert considerable pressure on the subjects taught. He draws two conclusions:

• “ First, a reformer, a teacher or an administrator, who wishes to introduce certain changes into school education, will, if the examinations remain the same, find his efforts defeated in the long run, unless the changes he introduces increase the chances of examination success. “

• “ But conversely, if a reformer succeeds in introducing changes in the type of examination, he will automatically tend to bring about such changes in the content and method of education as are likely to make for success in the changed type of examination.

How should learning achievement be assessed?• When assessing learning achievement one

has to take account of the way in which the information will be used, the persons who will have the responsibility for gathering the information, the task chosen to reflect curriculum intentions, the time and resource costs of administering such tasks to students and scoring the student responses, and the effects of the chosen tasks on remaining (untested) part of the curriculum.

• Assessment of learning outcomes need to include the capacity of students to participate in cooperative learning endeavors, to have favorable attitude for further learning and to be able to apply such learning to everyday circumstances

Classroom Assessment • Collection• Interpretation • Use of information

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to help teachers make better decisions

to improve the teaching

learning process

Essential Components of Classroom Assessment

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PURPOSEWhy am I doing this assessme

nt

MEASUREMENT

What techniques should I use

to gather information?

EVALUATION

How will I interpret the

results?

USEHow will I use the results

AB

C

D

Unless assessment improves the teaching-learning process,

it serves no purpose at all.

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Developing Teachers for Decision Making

• Develop a culture that focuses on the goals of the school; students come first;

• Be authentic with teachers; tell it like it is;• Develop a culture of trust;• If expertise is lacking, develop expertise in

those areas; • Don’t give decision authority you don’t

have;

Developing Teachers for Decision Making

• Don’t engage teachers in shared decision making until they are ready;

• Teachers must have useful knowledge, be motivated to participate and be willing to subordinate their personal agenda for the good of the school.

Decision-Making Questions and Practices

Do we use appropriate assessment practices to identify, plan for, and monitor meeting the instructional needs of struggling students ?  Do we implement appropriate curriculum and instruction to ensure the success of learners and prevent school failure? Do we implement effective instructional practices, i.e., clinical teaching, for struggling students?

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Decision-Making Questions and Practices

Do we implement appropriate evidence-based interventions and early intervening services that target the needs of learners? Are administrative practices in place to support educators of struggling learners?

When is it appropriate learners to be referred for special education evaluation and intervention?