Workshops

Assessment for Learning

Promote General Assessment for Learning

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
At its core, assessment is the art of collecting evidence to determine a student’s depth of knowledge. However, choosing the right assessment technique depends on many factors. In this workshop, participants will learn to:

  • Choose assessment formats based on the type of learning to be assessed
  • Evaluate assessment tasks by considering four key criteria: learning goals,
    depth of knowledge (DOK) to be assessed, ampleness of evidence, and clarity
  • Use a wider range of assessment strategies to break the monotony and better access student thinking
  • Assess whole classes more efficiently

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
This workshop is a follow-up to the Assessment Techniques workshop, diving deeper into three key assessment formats: the ever-popular test format as well as performance tasks and self-assessment, two underused formats that research shows to be exible and effective. To improve their usage of these formats, participants will learn to:

  • Identify and avoid common issues with tests, applying these principles to one of their own tests
  • Design performance tasks as an alternative to testing
  • Develop students’ ability in self-assessment

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Formative assessment is valuable only when teachers use it to adjust instruction and provide feedback to students. To get more out of their assessment practice, participants in this workshop will:

  • Distinguish summative and formative assessment, while acknowledging the gray area in between
  • Identify types of errors, breakdown errors into their root causes, and strategically address them
  • Respond to formative assessment with a variety of timely adjustments to instruction—immediate,
    near-term, last-chance—and monitor for effectiveness
  • Make other instructional adjustments to students’ learning tactics and classroom climate

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Research shows that feedback is one of the most significant strategies teachers can engage in to promote student learning. To reflect on and expand their practice of providing effective feedback, participants will:

  • Identify several modes and formats forgiving students feedback
  • Understand key research about feedback and distinguish grading from giving feedback
  • Learn techniques for providing effective, actionable feedback to help students meet learning goals

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Effective schools use data to continuously improve. Participants in this session will learn how to gather and analyze data that will help to understand where their schools are, why they are getting the results they are, and how to focus improvement strategies. They will examine the roles and responsibilities of data teams and develop a shared sense of responsibility for student success. Additionally, in this workshop, participants will:

  • Practice a four-step process for analyzing data
  • Establish teams to use data to make instructional and curricular decisions for the purpose of increasing student achievement
  • Take a solution-oriented approach to focusing instructional improvement
  • Use data to set goals to improve teaching and learning schoolwide

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Continue to practice the data analysis cycle with a focus on using the data to plan and adjust instruction. Participants will use assessment data to target skills and will explore the use of data walls to facilitate collaboration and focus instructional improvement. During this workshop, participants will also:

  • Create a SMART goal to improve performance on targeted skills
  • Choose from a variety of instructional strategies to reach their SMART goal
  • Understand the learning environment guidelines for “walls that talk” related to data walls
  • Visualize and plan a meaningful and inspiring data wall for their own learning space

Establish a Data-Driven Culture to Positively Impact Student Achievement

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
School leaders seeking to establish a data-driven culture in their learning community must be prepared to manage complex change and lead their staff through the data analysis cycle. In this session, participants will examine the developmental stages of change and how to guide their school through that process. Participants also will analyze benchmark data from their school and practice drafting SMART goals for students and classrooms that align to school and district targets. In addition, participants will:

  • Describe the change management process, including implementation dips and the difference between first- and second-order change
  • Use the data analysis cycle to analyze benchmark data and identify strengths and growth opportunities
  • Develop SMART goals to improve performance on targeted skills

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
In this session, participants learn how to design and establish high-impact achievement teams. Participants will examine the importance of distributive leadership and ways to deal with resistance and get team members on board. Participants will also explore protocols for facilitating data team meetings and continue to analyze benchmark data from their school as well as practice drafting SMART goals for students and classrooms that align to school and district targets. This workshop is designed as a follow-up to Change Management & the Data Analysis Cycle.

  • Apply operational and facilitation factors necessary for high-impact achievement team meetings
  • Implement processes for achievement team follow through and quality assurance
  • Identify strengths and growth opportunities by analyzing benchmark data
  • Develop SMART goals to improve performance on targeted skills

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
Participants will continue to analyze benchmark data and set SMART goals, but with a speci c focus on examining and selecting instructional interventions to respond to the skill gaps they observe. Participants also will learn how to visualize and plan “walls that talk” so that data displays become an integral part of the school’s learning environment. This workshop is designed as a follow-up to Effective Achievement Teams.

  • Identify strengths and growth opportunities by analyzing benchmark data
  • Develop SMART goals to improve performance on targeted skills
  • Implement instructional interventions to respond to observed skill gaps
  • Create compelling data displays that support progress toward SMART goals

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
In this session, participants will learn how to conduct non-evaluative classroom observations that focus on collecting evidence of quality teaching and learning. Participants will practice facilitating data-focused coaching conversations using the MEET framework and identify concrete next steps to ensure teachers receive the instructional support they need to use data effectively to drive instruction. This workshop is designed as a follow-up to Designing Data Displays & Instructional Interventions.

  • Identify ways to collect data-focused class room evidence during observations
  • Examine observation note exemplars and identify quality indicators
  • Apply components of high-leverage, data-driven coaching conversations
  • Create an action plan to observe class rooms and provide teachers with effective feedback on their utilization of data in the classroom

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
At the start of this session, participants will reflect on recent observations and how to support teachers in more effectively collecting and using data to drive instruction. Participants will then examine the types of assessments currently in use within the classrooms they observed and explore what constitutes a high-quality assessment task. Based on the trends they see, participants will determine next steps for improving the quality of assessments in their school. This session is designed as a follow-up to Data-Driven Observations & Coaching Conversations.

  • Assess the strengths and growth opportunities of teachers’ data use in the classroom from recent observations
  • Identify trends of assessment types currently in use
  • Examine instructional planning approaches for designing high-quality performance tasks

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
During this session, participants will conduct a deep analysis of multiple years of end-of-year benchmark assessment data using the data analysis cycle. Participants will also reflect on their teacher observation data and the work of their achievement team(s) to determine what supports will be needed to continue fostering a data-driven culture in their school. By the end of the session, participants will develop an achievement team meeting agenda focused on using end-of-year benchmark assessment data to drive improvement in the upcoming school year. This session is designed as a follow-up to Assessment for Leaders.

  • Examine benchmark assessment and teacher observation data to highlight priority areas and inform professional learning
  • Identify areas of growth for data team effectiveness
  • Create and execute an action plan to use end-of-year benchmark assessment and observation data to drive improvement

For: K-12 Teachers, Instructional Leaders
School leaders can improve the support for and resourcing of their learning community by communicating its value using data and the tenets of branding. Participants in this session will examine their data sources and identify what data can help tell the story of their school. They also will explore how to develop a school brand that uses authentic stories, promotes the mission of the school through positive and purposeful messaging, and consistently shares tangible, measurable results.

  • Align available data to the school’s vision, mission, and beliefs to create a compelling data story
  • Craft a narrative that uses data to “tell” the school’s story
  • Effectively utilize branding and storytelling, using both print and social media tools, to share school stories

Length: 1-3 hours*
Assessment and feedback can seem overwhelming in traditional learning environments. Translating these practices into the digital space while ensuring integrity and reliability while assessing your students requires a new set of strategies. In this session, participants will explore assessments for learning in the virtual learning environment. During this interactive virtual session, auto-scored assessments, digitally enhanced traditional and authentic assessments will be covered along with the use of digital portfolios and rubrics. Finally, using effective practices and digital tools, participants will explore various ways to support student growth through appropriate feedback methods. Participants will:

  • Apply best practices of assessment in the virtual learning environment
  • Use technology-enhanced tools to develop formative and summative assessments
  • Provide effective feedback using technology-enhanced tools

*This is a remote only workshop, unless combined with at least one additional 3-hour on-site workshop.