Module Overview

Think for a moment about the question: What do you do with students’ work? Often our answer to this question focuses on using students’ work to determine what students can do and, as a result, apply a grade. While grades are very important, we also use student work to better learn what students know and understand.

In problem solving we can use students’ work to look more deeply at how students arrived at both correct and incorrect answers, to understand errors in thinking, and how students are able to generate more, or less, sophisticated solution strategies than what is expected. However, before we get into how we can do this in more detail, we will first look at the overall goals of student assessments.

In this module we will examine the effects, both positive and negative, that assessments can have on student learning. Our examination will break down causes of the negative impacts as well as look at ways to use assessments to have a positive impact through the use of assessments OF and assessments FOR learning.

Learning Objectives

• Objective 1: Participants will understand the impact of assessment on student learning.

• Objective 2: Participants will be able to use assessment results to support an asset vs deficit approach to supporting ongoing learning.

• Objective 3: Participants will be able to differentiate between assessments of learning and assessments for learning.

• Objective 4: Participants will be able to develop assessments of and for learning in order to assess students' problem-solving work.

• Objective 5: Participants will be able to reflect and assess their own progress and identify changes in practice, understandings, intentions, and beliefs that they have had since beginning the course.

Impact on Classroom Practice and Student Learning

At the end of this course, participants will be able to use both assessments of and for learning to evaluate and provide students feedback on their problem solving.