Winter 2005

The Assessment agenda

How do you assess thinking?

Complex assessment issues are coming up now that thinking has been identified as a progressive curriculum objective. JENI WILSON offers practical suggestions to help teachers cope.

The shift away from traditional curriculum approaches to more student-centred learning requires alternative assessment strategies. Unless we demonstrate what we believe is important for learning our curriculum will represent an impoverished assessment system.

All States and Territories in Australia have undergone, or are undergoing, a process of curriculum reform. Educators have been asked to examine what they consider essential for learning by focusing on what students of the future need to know; what they need to be able to do; and how they learn to become lifelong learners.

A more student-centred approach to teaching and learning is widely accepted as critical. Rather than an ‘outcome checklist mentality’, depth in curriculum and assessment is recommended in order to encourage students to:

• be informed and active citizens in a global community
• manage their learning and relationships
• be more responsible for their own learning
• create environmentally sustainable lifestyle choices.

Traditional measures do not readily meet the demands of progressive curriculum ends. Core conceptual knowledge, depth of thinking, personal and social skills, and cross-generic skills are advocated. Now that thinking and other difficult-to-measure skills and behaviours have been identified as crucial for a progressive curriculum, curriculum designers and teachers must tackle the assessment question.

What do teachers need to know and do?

It will take much heavy-duty teacher thinking around a number of issues for teachers to adequately understand and accept thinking as integral to classroom practice and assessment.

1. Teacher beliefs and understandings

The development of thinking skills and strategies in classrooms is underpinned by two key beliefs— that thinking is of value and that it can be taught. Covering content and thinking should not be seen as opposing or competing for valuable time. The integration of process (in particular the use of reflection and metacognition) should be seen as foundational and should be frequently demonstrated, valued and recognised across teaching programs.

Regardless of the focus of assessment, the content needs to be clear. In other words, it is impossible to assess anything unless you understand what you are assessing.

2. A language for discussing thinking

Classroom conversations that include statements, such as those on the cue cards that follow, could be useful for promoting discussion about thinking, for monitoring thinking and increasing student self-control over their own learning. These examples of metacognition cue cards are transferable and could stimulate students’ metacognitive behaviour in various problem-solving and complex learning situations.

Metacognitive awareness

• I thought about what I already know.
• I tried to remember if I had ever done a problem like this before.
• I thought about something I had done another time that had been helpful.
• I thought, 'I know what to do'.
• I thought, 'I know this sort of problem'.

Metacognitive evaluation

• I thought about how I was going.
• I thought about whether what I was doing was working.
• I checked my work.
• I thought, 'Is this right'?
• I thought, 'I can't do it'.

Metacognitive regulation

• I made a plan to work it out.
• I thought about a different way to solve the problem.
• I thought about what I would do next.
• I changed the way I was working.

3. Strategies and task selection

Obviously, student-centred curriculum approaches are a curriculum imperative. Problem solving, student decision making, collaborative group work, authentic assessment and higher-order thinking are integral. Teachers need to be explicit in their teaching and to allow students to take increasing responsibility for problem posing and problem solving (Schoenfeld 1987), of which assessment is an integral part.

What does this mean for assessment?

Here are some practical ideas for the assessment of thinking in classrooms.

Involve students and peers in assessment

Self- and peer assessment involves higher-order thinking and has the potential to motivate learners, help them understand requirements and to take more responsibility for their own learning. These assessment strategies provide insights into student thinking and learning that is not possible through other means. However, students must have an understanding of the type of thinking they are assessing and a language to be able to assess it.

Make goals explicit and negotiable

Navigating their way through learning experiences is easier if goals are explicit and negotiated according to individual needs. Student goal setting and reflection is a worthwhile process for students of all ages.

Provide a variety of strategies

As students learn, process and communicate their learning in a variety of ways, a range of assessment types should be used. No one assessment type can suit all learners, so the purpose should be considered when selecting assessment strategies.

Aligning assessment and learning principles

Our assessment principles should match our learning principles. These assessment principles should be reflected in our assessment practices and demonstrate to students, parents and the community what we, as teachers, believe is important for learning (Clarke 1988). If we believe that self-management of learning is crucial for individuals and communities of the future, change in assessment practices is well overdue. Assessment does make a difference. It is time to transform our curriculum imaginings into curriculum improvement.

Acknowledgement

Some of the ideas in this article have been adapted from Learning Links (2004). Thanks to Kath Murdoch for her contribution.

References

Clarke, D (1988). Mathematics Curriculum Teaching Project: Assessment Alternatives, Curriculum Development Centre, Canberra, ACT.

Murdoch, K & Wilson, J (2004). Learning Links, Curriculum Corporation, Carlton South, Vic.

Schoenfeld, A (ed) (1987). What's All the Fuss about Metacognition? Hillsdales, NJ.

Jeni Wilson is a senior lecturer in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Unit, Department of Learning and Educational Development at the University of Melbourne.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au