"Instructional Circles"
Rich Assessment Opportunities
Teacher as Lead Learner
If assessment does not run alongside instruction = fixed mindset
Focusing on final product with only one or two quizzes, does not communicate learning as growth. In this quiz and test environment, students fixate on the final mark.
If assessment does not run alongside instruction = disengagement
If assessment does run alongside instruction = growth mindset and engagement
Assessment alongside instruction begins to move away from the “does it count” question and into a way of thinking/being/learning that values and fosters learning skills and engagement.
Circles Invite Engagement, Differentiation, Samples, and Literacy and Rich Assessment
Assessment can become more rich in using “instructional circles”. Beginning and ending with a sequential circle that asks each student to speak invites all students to engage, provides opportunity to assess quickly based on observation and conversation, and also provides students with “samples” in the answers of others in order to compare and self-assess their own work.
This allows assessment to become richer as students are given the opportunity to share their knowledge in conversation and in a social setting in addition to the regular written individual tasks. This is particularly important for literacy as the adolescent student learns better in the social and when it means something to them personally.
Laura Di Ianni
Email: laura.diianni@gmail.com
Website: teachingvulnerably.weebly.com
Twitter: @LauraDiIanni