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Tag: Fundamentals

  • What Is 3 Before Me?

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    What Is 3 Before Me Teaching Strategy

    by TeachThought Staff

    What is ‘3 Before Me’?

    ‘3 Before Me’ is a simple classroom strategy–arguably both a teaching and learning strategy–that requires that when students experience a challenge, they must first ask three different people for help before reaching out to the teacher.

    An evolution of that strategy? When students become ‘stuck,’ they must first try to solve the problem in three different ways before asking the teacher. This makes it more flexible. You can require students to ask one person and seek two resources or two people and one resource. You also can group students in your classroom and require students go to one person from three of the groups. (You can group by general ability, content area, social factors, etc.)

    Students’ ability to solve problems both independently and collaboratively is a crucial component of a modern, efficient classroom. When students get ‘stuck’ or aren’t sure where to go or what to do next, the teacher is generally the first place to go. But in a classroom–whether digitally connected or not–they often can solve the issue on their own or get assistance from multiple sources. To truly empower students in this age of information requires that we develop in students the capacity, willingness, ability, and tendency to navigate complex tasks and information.

    And this ‘rule’ is a simple way to start.

    What Does ‘3 Before Me’ Require?

    Of course, this approach requires that students develop a growth mindset (i.e., that they believe that they can) and practice over time to build it as a learning reflex. It also requires there to be actual ‘answers’ in the classroom: more knowledgeable students, books, a search engine, encyclopedias, etc. The ‘stuck’ doesn’t have to be academic, obviously. If it’s a matter of classroom process, procedure, or direction, ‘3 Before Me’ is more immediate and effective. If the problem is based on skills or content knowledge, the likelihood of the teacher needing to get involved is still higher but is still less than 100% (as it is before using a strategy like this).

    Over time this approach can be a good starting point for converting students from ‘learn to do’ to ‘learn to do well.’ Of course, there may still remain ‘areas for growth,’ which is why the holistic ‘learning + others + caring’ approach that accompanies ‘3 Before Me!’ is vital. Beyond mastery of content knowledge and the ability to think critically, students also need time (both experientially and temporally) to grow in other areas and build capacity as readers, writers, and thinkers–that is, as ‘students.’ We learn more in relation to and alongside our peers rather than being compared to them.

    Only through growth and independence from institutions and adults can we create a society that can actually affect change–grow and solve persisting challenges. To evolve rather than reproduce itself. Progressive teaching and learning models need to be ‘people first’ and focus on helping individuals develop their capacities to identify solve problems on their own. Of course, ‘3 Before Me’ isn’t a world-changing tactic. It’s simply a step toward student self-directed learning built around a self-organized learning environment.

    Conclusion

    In schools, students often learn in relation to books and adults rather than in relation to nature, objects, or other surroundings. Instead of describing learning in terms of degrees of understanding, depth, or complexity, we identify achievement as relative and evaluate learning through subjective evaluations of how well students did relative to specific learning objectives rather than how well they identified problems, sought resources, persevered through uncertainty and, over time, built learning literacy (i.e.g, learning how to learn)

    While ‘3 Before Me’ isn’t always ‘solving complex problems’ about ‘understanding,’ the consistent use of it over time can help students achieve understanding in ways that create a more sustainable learning environment for both teachers and students.

    What Is 3 Before Me? A Teaching Strategy To Build Capacity In Students

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    TeachThought Staff

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  • The Difference Between Assessment Of And For Learning

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    The Difference Between Assessment Of And Assessment For Learning

    It boils down to purpose. In 50 Ways To Measure Understanding, I talked about the purpose of assessment:

    Assessment: Of Learning vs. For Learning

    Assessment is often discussed as though it were a single act—a quiz, test, or score. But its real power comes from clarity of purpose.
    If you’re wondering what is the purpose of assessment?,
    the answer determines how you design, use, and respond to it.

    Think like a doctor: Before you design an assessment, you need a plan for how you’ll use the results.
    Data without a purpose wastes time, energy, and resources—both yours and your students’.

    Assessment For vs. Of Learning

    Assessment for learning
    (What Is Formative Assessment?)
    is designed to inform instruction. The goal is not to sort or label students, but to generate feedback teachers can use to revise lessons, activities, or pacing.
    In this sense, the assessment’s purpose is diagnostic—it helps teachers decide what to do next.

    Assessment of learning (commonly called summative assessment) measures what students have learned after instruction.
    The purpose here is accountability—demonstrating achievement against standards, benchmarks, or objectives.
    These assessments are usually graded and reported, often carrying high stakes for students.

    In practice, the same assessment tool can serve either function. A quiz might be used as a quick check to guide tomorrow’s lesson (for learning),
    or as an end-of-unit measure of mastery (of learning). The difference lies in how the results are used.

    Before, During, and After Instruction

    Assessment is commonly grouped by timing:

    • Pre-assessment: Before instruction, to identify prior knowledge and guide planning.
    • Formative assessment: During instruction, to provide ongoing feedback and inform next steps.
    • Summative assessment: After instruction, to measure achievement or proficiency.

    Pre-assessments can blur categories. They assess what students already know (of learning) but also generate information teachers can use to adapt instruction (for learning).

    The Purpose Question

    Ultimately, the central question is simple: What is the assessment supposed to do?

    If the goal is to reveal what students can do, it’s of learning.
    If the goal is to guide what teachers should do next, it’s for learning.

    The distinction is less about labels and more about use. The real value of assessment is not the score itself, but the instructional decisions it makes possible.

    Related Reading

    Research

    Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment.
    Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139–148.

    If you’re trying to decide on a type of assessment, you first have to know your the purpose. What do you need to know?

    Vagueness can make teaching more difficult–in terms of purpose and goals and assessment items,. etc., But specificity in the fast-moving and at-scale classrooms where a teacher can be responsible for hundreds of students and their need for that kind of specificity.

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    Terrell Heick

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  • 6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning

    6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning

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    6 Types Of Assessment For Learning

    by TeachThought Staff

    What are the types of assessment for learning?

    And more importantly, when should you use which? If curriculum is the what of teaching and learning models are the how, assessment is the puzzled ‘Hmmmm’–as in, I assumed this and this about student learning, but after giving this assessment, well….’Hmmmmm.’

    In The Difference Between Assessment Of Learning And Assessment For Learning, we explained that “assessment for learning is commonly referred to as formative assessment–that is, assessment designed to inform instruction.” Below, we identify types of assessment of learning–very briefly, with simple ways to ‘think about’ each so that you hopefully wake up with a better grasp of each type.

    6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning

    1. Diagnostic Assessment (as Pre-Assessment)

    Diagnostic assessments are used at the beginning of a course or unit to determine students’ prior knowledge, skills, and understanding of the subject matter. This type of assessment helps teachers identify students’ strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to plan instruction that meets their students’ specific needs. Examples include pre-tests, surveys, or initial observations.

     

    One way to think about it: Assesses a student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills before instruction

    Another way to think about it: A baseline to work from

    Tip: Done at the beginning–of the school year, beginning of a unit, beginning of a lesson, etc.

    See also What Is Project-Based Learning?

    2. Formative Assessment

    Formative assessments are ongoing processes that teachers use to monitor student learning and provide feedback during instruction. These assessments help teachers adjust their teaching strategies to improve student understanding and performance. Examples include quizzes, class discussions, and homework assignments that inform teachers about student progress.

    One way to think about it: Assesses a student’s performance during instruction, and usually occurs regularly throughout the instruction process

    Another way to think about it: Like a doctor’s ‘check-up’ to provide data to revise instruction

    Tip: Using digital exit ticket tools like Loop can be an easy means of checking whether students have understood lesson content, while also promoting student reflection.

    3. Summative Assessment

    So what are the different types of assessment of learning? The next time someone says ‘assessment,’ you can say “Which type, and what are we doing with the data?” Summative assessment, for example.

    Summative assessments evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional period, such as the end of a unit, course, or school year. These assessments are used to determine if students have met the learning objectives and to assign grades. Examples include final exams, end-of-term projects, and standardized tests.

    One way to think about it: Measures a student’s achievement at the end of instruction. It’s like talking to someone about a movie after the movie is over. : )

    Another way to think about it: It’s macabre, but if formative assessment is the check-up, you might think of summative assessment as the autopsy. What happened? Now that it’s over, what went right and what went wrong?

    Tip: Summative assessments can be useful for teachers to improve units and lessons year over year by measuring student performance because they are, in a way, as much a reflection on the quality of the units and lessons themselves as they are on the students.

    4. Norm-Referenced Assessment

    One way to think about it: Compares a student’s performance against other students (a national group or other ‘norm’)

    Another way to think about it: Place, group or ‘demographic’ assessment. Many standardized tests are used as norm-referenced assessments.

    Tip: These assessments are useful over time in student profiles or for placement in national-level programs, for example.

    5. Criterion-Referenced Assessment

    One way to think about it: Measures a student’s performance against a goal, specific objective, or standard

    Another way to think about it: a bar to measure all students against

    Tip: These can be a kind of formative assessment and should be integrated throughout your curriculum to guide the adjustment of your teaching over time. Mastery or competency-based learning would use criterion-referenced assessments.

    6. Interim/Benchmark Assessment

    One way to think about it: Evaluates student performance at periodic intervals, frequently at the end of a grading period. Can predict student performance on end-of-the-year summative assessments. A benchmark assessment is an interim assessment so it could be useful to think of them as distinct even though they function similarly.

    Another way to think about it: Bar graph or chart growth throughout a year, often against specific ‘benchmarks’

    Tip: Benchmark assessments can be useful for communicating important facts and data to parents, district officials, and others. One goal is to inform the allotment of resources (time and money) to respond to that data.

    6 Types Of Assessment Of Learning

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    TeachThought Staff

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