MODULE 4: Skillset
CONTEXT SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT
I am currently a middle school teacher and language coordinator at a non-profit international school in Japan. We are an IB school going through the MYP/DP accreditation this year. Our current cohort is still small: 25 students in G7, 22 students in G8, 15 students in G9, and 19 students in G10. It is a culturally diverse group of students, although the majority of students come from Japanese, Korean, or Chinese backgrounds. There are also many bi- and multicultural students, with one parent from an English-speaking country.
I chose communication as my main 21st Century skill category to focus on, as I know the majority of subject teachers rely on language classes to promote communication. Additionally, if I am able to become more proficient at teaching specific communication skills, I can model and mentor other teachers who also wish to concentrate on communication skills.
Firstly, I reflected on my current teaching practices and my conception of assessment. In 2004, Brown asserted that teachers view assessment purposes as a means for “(a) improvement of teaching and learning, (b) school accountability, (c) student accountability, or (d) treating assessment as irrelevant” (Brown, 301). Initially, I saw assessment as a tool to improve my teaching and learning practices while holding students accountable. However, after reading Brown’s article, I now believe that assessment can also hold schools accountable, as long as the data obtained shows measurement of student growth, not as scores. Therefore, in order to assess communication as a skill, I would like to use the data I collect to help inform me of my teaching and learning practices, hold the school accountable by helping them track student progress and growth as well as holding students accountable for their own progress.
The IB calls 21st Century skills Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills. They correspond closely to the skills defined by Battelle for Kids in their Framework for 21st Century Definitions guide. I narrowed down communication to 6 specific strands for the students to focus on in my language classes this year:
Currently, there are few barriers that are in my way. We have a small faculty, but I do have colleagues that teach the same units as I with whom I can collaborate. Additionally, we have moved to a new campus where we have a lot of room and wall space to work with. As a young school, there is room for development in all areas as few policies have yet been created. As an IB school, we are required to promote multilingualism and multiculturalism, so these aspects of communication should be well-received. Outside my school community, there are few opportunities for our students to communicate with the public in English as few people in our city speak English. Therefore, finding organizations with whom to collaborate with may be difficult.
To address these skills, I am planning on creating a tracking system for teachers and students to use in homerooms so they can record when specific skills were used. Teachers will receive a spreadsheet that lists the skills to be addressed (in this case, communication), and make a note every time this skill has explicitly or implicitly been addressed with their students, including the date, activity and observations. Students can self-assess themselves using the levels: Novice/beginning (observation stage) – Learner/developing (emulation stage) – Practitioner/using (demonstration stage) and Expert/sharing (self-regulation stage). Students will keep track of the skills they have been introduced to and link them to specific lessons or activities in which they were used in an online Google Sites portfolio. They can then self-assess their proficiency at specific skills and will be encouraged to include pictures or work samples that demonstrate their ability level. Throughout the year, they can add to specific strands so they can see how they have been able to transfer skills from one subject area to another. They can also embed the same tracker given to teachers start quantitative data collection. Teachers will also be able to comment on their growth and provide feedback including next steps.
For many students, the idea of 21st Century or ATLs may be new. Therefore, when each skill is introduced, we’ll talk about what this skill looks like and provide exemplars if possible. If students were focusing on the strand, Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multilingual), in their portfolio, they could include a photo of the conversation they participated in or a link to a document that they were working on. A short reflection (written or as orally through a video), students could comment on the activities they participated in that showed this skill and discuss the diverse linguistics required and cultural implications they came across.
As a teacher, I will also link each assessment, either formative or summative to a specific skill. For example, if I would like the students to communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multilingual), I may choose to have them participate in a discussion or Socratic seminar using phrases to help them introduce new ideas, build on other ideas, disagree with someone, or ask questions. One application, Parlay (www.parlayideas.com), provides a framework for students to follow. At the end of every discussion, the app will provide details on the amount and types of communication the students used. Teachers are able to assess the students if they choose by providing scores or feedback the students can use. I’d like to incorporate this into my lessons more frequently to help students visualize their growth more explicitly.
References:
Brown, G. T. L. (2004). Teacher’s conceptions of assessment: Implications for policy and professional development. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 11, 301-318.
Framework for 21st Century Definitions. (2019). Retrieved from http://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/P21_Framework_DefinitionsBFK.pdf
International Baccalaureate. (2014). Middle Years Programme: MYP: From principles to practice. (pp.97-104).
Larmer, J. (2014, February 06). How Can We Teach and Assess Creativity and Innovation in PBL? Retrieved from https://www.pblworks.org/blog/how-can-we-teach-and-assess-creativity-and-innovation-pbl.
I chose communication as my main 21st Century skill category to focus on, as I know the majority of subject teachers rely on language classes to promote communication. Additionally, if I am able to become more proficient at teaching specific communication skills, I can model and mentor other teachers who also wish to concentrate on communication skills.
Firstly, I reflected on my current teaching practices and my conception of assessment. In 2004, Brown asserted that teachers view assessment purposes as a means for “(a) improvement of teaching and learning, (b) school accountability, (c) student accountability, or (d) treating assessment as irrelevant” (Brown, 301). Initially, I saw assessment as a tool to improve my teaching and learning practices while holding students accountable. However, after reading Brown’s article, I now believe that assessment can also hold schools accountable, as long as the data obtained shows measurement of student growth, not as scores. Therefore, in order to assess communication as a skill, I would like to use the data I collect to help inform me of my teaching and learning practices, hold the school accountable by helping them track student progress and growth as well as holding students accountable for their own progress.
The IB calls 21st Century skills Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills. They correspond closely to the skills defined by Battelle for Kids in their Framework for 21st Century Definitions guide. I narrowed down communication to 6 specific strands for the students to focus on in my language classes this year:
- Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multilingual)
- Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
- Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal
- Understand, negotiate, and balance diverse views and beliefs to reach workable solutions, particularly in multi-cultural environments. (Framework for 21st Century Definitions, 5-6).
Currently, there are few barriers that are in my way. We have a small faculty, but I do have colleagues that teach the same units as I with whom I can collaborate. Additionally, we have moved to a new campus where we have a lot of room and wall space to work with. As a young school, there is room for development in all areas as few policies have yet been created. As an IB school, we are required to promote multilingualism and multiculturalism, so these aspects of communication should be well-received. Outside my school community, there are few opportunities for our students to communicate with the public in English as few people in our city speak English. Therefore, finding organizations with whom to collaborate with may be difficult.
To address these skills, I am planning on creating a tracking system for teachers and students to use in homerooms so they can record when specific skills were used. Teachers will receive a spreadsheet that lists the skills to be addressed (in this case, communication), and make a note every time this skill has explicitly or implicitly been addressed with their students, including the date, activity and observations. Students can self-assess themselves using the levels: Novice/beginning (observation stage) – Learner/developing (emulation stage) – Practitioner/using (demonstration stage) and Expert/sharing (self-regulation stage). Students will keep track of the skills they have been introduced to and link them to specific lessons or activities in which they were used in an online Google Sites portfolio. They can then self-assess their proficiency at specific skills and will be encouraged to include pictures or work samples that demonstrate their ability level. Throughout the year, they can add to specific strands so they can see how they have been able to transfer skills from one subject area to another. They can also embed the same tracker given to teachers start quantitative data collection. Teachers will also be able to comment on their growth and provide feedback including next steps.
For many students, the idea of 21st Century or ATLs may be new. Therefore, when each skill is introduced, we’ll talk about what this skill looks like and provide exemplars if possible. If students were focusing on the strand, Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multilingual), in their portfolio, they could include a photo of the conversation they participated in or a link to a document that they were working on. A short reflection (written or as orally through a video), students could comment on the activities they participated in that showed this skill and discuss the diverse linguistics required and cultural implications they came across.
As a teacher, I will also link each assessment, either formative or summative to a specific skill. For example, if I would like the students to communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multilingual), I may choose to have them participate in a discussion or Socratic seminar using phrases to help them introduce new ideas, build on other ideas, disagree with someone, or ask questions. One application, Parlay (www.parlayideas.com), provides a framework for students to follow. At the end of every discussion, the app will provide details on the amount and types of communication the students used. Teachers are able to assess the students if they choose by providing scores or feedback the students can use. I’d like to incorporate this into my lessons more frequently to help students visualize their growth more explicitly.
References:
Brown, G. T. L. (2004). Teacher’s conceptions of assessment: Implications for policy and professional development. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 11, 301-318.
Framework for 21st Century Definitions. (2019). Retrieved from http://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/P21_Framework_DefinitionsBFK.pdf
International Baccalaureate. (2014). Middle Years Programme: MYP: From principles to practice. (pp.97-104).
Larmer, J. (2014, February 06). How Can We Teach and Assess Creativity and Innovation in PBL? Retrieved from https://www.pblworks.org/blog/how-can-we-teach-and-assess-creativity-and-innovation-pbl.