FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PROJECT

David J Grathwohl Professor Diane Salmon & Shaunti Knauth Esp541 5/3/13

Learning Progressions are one of the most effective ways to check students learning competencies by using predetermined learning trajectories. Writers of the Common Core describe Learning Progression Frameworks with the following: We see the LPFs as articulating conceptual hypotheses about mathematics learning to be validated with evidence seen in student performance across the grades. As teachers and researchers continue to use the LPF learning targets and progress indicators for each strand, we will refine our thinking about how mathematics learning develops over time for different populations of learners. Feedback from the field will be used to modify the sequencing of strand descriptors accordingly. We invite users of these materials to become action researchers with us and share what you are learning (Hess, 9) Another article provides a brief definition of a learning progression as progress map which is a vertical map that provides a description of skills understanding and knowledge in the sequence in which they typically develop: a picture of what it means to improve in an area of learning (Heritage, 4). I believe that learning progressions not only help a teacher to find out exactly what a student needs to know before they can move forward but it also helps that particular teacher to gain experience in finding educational remedies for misconceptions and/or troubleshooting the brain freezes that may occur for a given topic. In this light, learning progressions are more than appropriate for all content topic areas; this is something that an experienced teacher has over a novice teacher, which makes instruction much more effective for those experienced teachers. Heritage, in her article, also describes the upper hand that learning progressions lead to within instruction: progression of learning allows teachers to position their students learning, not only

in relations to their current classes and the objectives for that cohort, but also in relations to prior and subsequent classes (3). My own learning progression for Rates is shown below. This Learning Progression, for Mathematics, is focused on calculating unit rate. Novice: Defining CONCEPT(S) Vocabulary Comparing two quantities of the same unit Identifying Ratios Concretely Writing a ratio Practitioner: Defining CONCEPT(S) Comparing two quantities of same and different units Identifying Ratios Pictorially Identifying Unit Rates Using Rate Tables (In/Out Table) Creating Equivalent Ratio Independent/Expert: Defining CONCEPT(S) Identifying Unit Rates from real world Rate Problems (number stories) Identifying Unit Rates Able to convert complex unit rates to more simplistic unit rates to check validity Able to describe student thinking using sentences, tables and/or number sentences

Essential DETAILS

Essential DETAILS

Essential DETAILS Students will be able to identify unit rate from a number story Students will be able to convert complex unit rates to more simplistic unit rates to check validity (an average persons lifespan is 75 years; how many days is that? How many hours is that?) Students will be able to accurately explain their reasoning throughout rate problems Students begin to self-correct their own mistakes

Students will be able to Students will be able to understand and apply identify ratios and rates vocabulary terms Students will be able to Students will be able to create equivalent ratios label a ratio in fraction, using an in/out table colon, and to form Students will be able to Students will be able to create different rates per produce ratios using unit concrete manipulatives Students will be able to Students will be able to identify unit rates using identify and come up a rate table (dollar per with real world ratio gallon, dollar per hat, possibilities (girl: boy, dollar per item) blue shirts: yellow shirts, teacher: student) So what? What is important to understand about this?

Unit rate is a complex topic in mathematics; it requires plenty of background knowledge in comparing numbers and knowing what a ratio is and looks like. Unit rate is also a real world application that students have had plenty of experience with, especially when shopping or buying simple products. It is the teachers job to reveal the mathematical component in a way that is interesting and also rigorous. This learning progression shows that a rate table (or In/Out Table) is a helpful organizer for students when showing the relationship between two numbers and finding equivalent rates. As the students make their way through this road map, the teacher

will be able to assess student progress on the way to mastery. My learning progression shines a spotlight on the road maps of the different leveled students (novice, practitioner, and expert) that I anticipate on encountering. In creating my progression I envisioned my lead teach unit plan on rates and then magnified the anticipated misconceptions per lesson plan. Once I gathered all of my student misconceptions together on one document I began to notice a trend in my planning and that it had indirectly painted a picture of a drafted learning projector much like the one I have displayed above. My planning a) outlined anticipated errors for those of my lower leveled students (novice), b) described the thinking of my middle leveled students (practitioner), and c) challenged my upper level (expert) students to taking on more complex problem solving around the topic. With these anticipations already marked down for me in my planning, I was able to easily piece together the three different snap shot that you see above. Those novice learners were expected focus in on vocabulary and meaning of ratios in a concrete way and writing them before being expected to think of them abstractly. With this kind of trajectory in mind, I am in a better place to specific positive feedback in regards to the success of my students, not only to them but also to myself as a reflecting teacher. While giving my student precise feedback I was better able to teach them how to be better self-regulators and reflectors as well. All students were being held to the same standard of success, only with more individualized goals. My practitioner group of students was expected to be a bit further in their understanding where they were being asked to produce and generate equivalent ratios, using rate tables, see the relationship that ratios have with fractions and identify unit rates. My expert group was asked to move even further and check the validity of complex rate and describe their thinking (how many hours does the average person live when the average lifespan is 75 years?). Each progression had its own dosage of content knowledge where the one before required more of a prerequisite

understanding for the next. Each snap shot connects to the one after in a sequenced order. Having this as a teacher, I was better able to place my students in small groups where differentiation was able to be specific and effective (not wasting my time or my students time). In this unit I used a variety of different exit slip questions for students to engage in, in order for me to assess the mastery for each student. Each exit ticket was tiered in a way to assess each of my three types of student (novice, practitioner, and expert). As a reflecting teacher (who practices metacognition skills), if I were given a chance to re construct my exit tickets I would have framed them exclusively to represent the three types of students. In some cases my exit ticket questions were tiered so closely that some did not meet the range of my three types of students and therefore made the some of the data ineffective. Here is an example of an exit ticket that I would have re-worked in hopes for more valuable data in regards my differentiated groups during a later lesson involving unit rates.

My first question here deals with a word that had been indirectly taught months ago; average. This should have been possibly the 3rd question on the exit ticket in hopes to challenge my expert students. In its place I would have rather used the graphic organizer (visual tool) that I used in problem 2 involving smaller numbers (1-8) that do not deal with decimals. As for problem 2, I would have taken the organizer away, left out the decimals, but made the number deal in a larger range (10-40). Again, I would have swapped problem 1 for number 3 in this exit ticket. These changes would have led to more valuable results. For example, if my novice group were only expected to identify a ratio, they were completely left out when my exit tickets all asked for students to identify equivalent ratios. An exit ticket though is perhaps the easiest way to get data from my students since it is a part of the daily routines. Students all expect to complete an exit ticket at the end of each class to let the teacher know where they stand with the learning from the lesson on that particular day. This kind of procedure, when planned effectively can help a teacher to assess the success of a particular student in regards to their specific goal. The evidence or data not only helps me find out what my students need to move forward, but it also helps me to refine my learning progressions (which again practices a skill where I am thinking about my thinking and documenting the necessity for change). Maybe I was missing a huge part of rates; maybe fractions dont play as big of a role as I found in the beginning. Maybe the resources I used to plan my learning progressions are now out dated. All of these things can be cleared up by simply being a reflecting teacher who goes back to the framework and makes regular changes and adjustments. For example, after visiting the Delaware Mathematic Learning Progressions for Grade 6 I was reassured that fractions have a

huge relevance to rates, but I was also introduced to the idea that multiplication and division skills are essential for manipulating and understanding rates. After reading through my Delaware Learning Progression resource I was able to make since out of the patterns that I found in incorrect answers. I was able to see that students who were unable to multiply and divide (especially when dealing with decimals) were coming up with not quite right answers. For example, on the exit ticket shown above student was writing the unit rate as 1 gallon costs $4, instead of $4.20. This highlights the fact that my students were not quite ready for decimals and that if I have planned for that, my students would have been able to be successful in this problem. This was most consistent throughout all of my exit slip data. If I had multiplication/division facts posted in my learning progressions I would have at least been able to make room for these kinds of mistakes. Though I did have calculators available I would have excluded decimals from all 1 st and 2nd tiered questions. Since I know the demographics of my classroom I should have anticipated more issues with identifying and speaking on fractional relationships and multiplication/division facts (calculators were provided each lesson). Throughout my instruction I found that the most common issue was the conceptual understanding of what a rate actually meant for my students was a large problem that ended up putting students into a procedural type grove rather than a conceptual frame of thinking. In hopes to anticipate this trend for next time I plan to go back and add to my practitioner learning progression. It should write students will be able to define and generate examples of a rate in their own words. Van De Walle writes that over half the population cannot be viewed as proportional thinkers, which means that students need concrete (stage 1) examples of rates and ratio in order to develop their thinking on this topic in a meaningful way.

I speak to differentiation through my exit tickets and even by mentioning small groups. More specifically during instruction I have had experience with sending students on their own set of tasks with the assistance of iPads, where I pre-created videos that helped to assist three different groups (novice, practitioner, and expert) through their particular task. I can envision a similar idea for my rates unit (with and without iPads). By splitting my students into three groups and delivering their directions to them with a pre created video example and collaboration routines and jobs set in place for students I feel that each group would have the opportunity to be successful in regards to their own projected learning goal per lesson. I envision the lesson starting with an open set of questions for a do now, which would unravel into a series of turn and talks and share outs, and then changing into green group task show, blue group task show, and yellow group task show. Since small groups are the most effective way to include collaboration and individualized instruction it is my number one solution to differentiation when student discourse is necessary. This requires three different minilessons per day; however, individualized instruction is the most productive way to teach in a 21 st century classroom, so it is ultimately the only way to ensure growth for all students.

Works Cited Hess, Karin K. "Learning Progressions Frameworks Designed for Use with The Common Core State Standards in Mathematics K-12." Nciea.org. NCIEA, 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 3 May 2013. Heritage, Margaret. "Learning Progressions: Supporting Instruction and Formative Assessment." CCSSO. CRESST, n.d. Web. 03 May 2013 VandeWalle, John A. Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally. Boston [u.a.: Pearson Education, 2013. Print.