Using Conversations and Observations as Assessment
In preparation for a Professional Development break-out session that myself and three other colleagues are facilitating, I thought I would take some time to solidify my own understanding of the triangulation of assessment. Triangulation occurs when data is collected from conversations with students, observations of students and products by students then used to inform evaluation and reporting decisions
We determined three Big Ideas that are really at the heart of what triangulation is all about:
Triangulation of Assessment: When evidence is collected from 3 different sources over time, trends and patterns become apparent, and the reliability and validity of classroom assessment is increased
To evaluate well, we should look at all the evidence - observations, products and conversations
Some students are better able to demonstrate their understanding by talking and doing. That evidence should be just as valid as written products
And then we decided to have participants wrestle with the three big questions that our group kept coming back to:
1. What do observations and conversations look like in your classroom?
2. How do you record them?
3. How do you include conversations and observations in assessment?
As part of our answer to question two, we shared two different digital portfolios, FreshGrade and Seesaw. Both platforms are at their core digital portfolios. Seesaw seems to be a more streamlined and child-friendly portfolio which would be appropriate for students from elementary to high school.
Both platforms make it easy for students to post their own work to their portfolio, and also make sharing with parents simple. Teachers are able to determine who has access to which artifacts and can also record their own anecdotal notes that can remain private.
The sites are secure and closed, so only members with the accress code can gain entry, and parents only see their own child's portfolio.
There are so many different platforms out there for recording observations, conversations and products. These are just two that I presonally like from a long list of options. Not happy with these, but still interested in a digital portfolio? Try Google Classroom, Edmodo, Schoology,.....the list seems to be endless! The important thing to remember with this, and any change your are implementing, is that it's okay to start small and go slow. Try it out with one class, work on recording observations for a handful of learning targets and build from there.
Most of the portfolios I have suggested are free (or free-ish), operate across different devices and operating systems, and any student in my Master's of Education courses will be happy to know that they are leaps and bounds ahead of Moodle....