Step 6:
Observe and document evidence of performance of the Standard.
Guiding Question
In what ways will we observe and document evidence of learner performance of the Standard?Step 4 focused on creating a plan to measure student performance on the EFF standards
as they applied to students’ real-world goals. Step 6 focuses on how the plan is carried out.
In addition to assessing student progress using the processes and tools you planned in Step 4, you may also want to observe more informally. As a teacher you continually observe your students. By keeping a record of what you observe, you can turn much of what you already do into evidence of student performance. This process does not have to be elaborate, jotting your observations on sticky notes you later transfer to a teacher log will do. This kind of descriptive teacher observation may make sense when:
- what you want to observe does not lend itself to being broken down into components,
a short narrative or “anecdotal record” is more descriptive of learner progress,
you want to observe student’s language use or cognitive or metacognitive strategies-in-progress,
- you just need a very quick, general sense of progress.
One of the best ways to both save time and improve learning is to involve students in keeping track of their own progress. Asking students to record and analyze their own work helps them to develop their metacognitive awareness and the skills needed to take charge of their own learning in and outside the classroom. Assessment experts suggest that one of the most powerful ways to improve student learning is to involve students in the development of assessments that they can use over and over to track their own success, clarifying their understanding of what they are doing well and what they need to improve (Stiggins, 2000: 25).
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