Posted by Scott Habeeb on January 28, 2010 at 8:30pm
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself as you evaluate whether or not AFL principles are present in your classroom:
1. Did I leave class today with the assessment data/info I need to know for sure how well my students - as a group and/or individually - understood the lesson I just taught them?2. Did my students leave class today with the assessment data/info they need to know for sure how well they understood the lesson I taught them?
If the answer to both questions is a definite 'yes' then you obviously used assessment to enhance learning.
If the answer to both questions is a definite 'no' then you did not use assessment to enhance learning.
If you're answer is somewhere in between then you should now ask yourself, "What could I have done to assess my students so that i could know how well they comprehended and so that they would be able to analyze their own understanding?"
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Posted by Scott Habeeb on December 7, 2009 at 10:41am
As teachers attempt to incorporate AFL strategies into their daily practices it is helpful to have criteria to determine the "AFL-ishness" of an activity. Here are two (but by no means the only) questions a teacher can ask to reflect on how a specific activity falls in line with AFL principles.
1. Did the activity I did in class today allow my students to leave my room knowing what they need to know, what they do and don't know, and what they need to do to improve?
2. Did the activity I did in class today allow me, the teacher, to leave the room with a clear understanding of what my students do and don't know so that I can plan to meet their ongoing needs?
If what you do in your classroom allows either or both of these to occur, then you have just done an AFL activity. Everyday, students should be guided in a direction that allows them to become more aware of their level of understanding so that they can then adjust their learning efforts. And by the end of each class, the teacher should have assessed students in a manner that allows him or her to get a solid read on how well students, at times individually and at times collectively, comprehend.
So take a look at an activity you have planned. Will it lead to a "yes" response to either of those questions? If not, then can it be altered to do so?
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