Issue 74: Triangulation of Evidence
Assessment FOR Learning provides ongoing evidence of learning that teachers can use to assist them in making professional judgments regarding how well students have achieved the learning destination. These assessments are based on TRIANGULATION OF EVIDENCE – observations, conversations and products – produced and collected over time. By incorporating these three types of evidence into our classroom assessment, we recognize ALL kinds of learning and involve ALL students – even those who lack the writing or test-taking skills to demonstrate their learning.
Teachers can design learning activities so that OBSERVATIONS focus on the clearly defined purpose and the criteria for evaluating the learning. To use CONVERSATIONS as evidence, teachers read or listen to what students have to say about their learning process, such as in journals, reader responses, self-assessments and student-teacher conferences. When we invite students to communicate about their learning and familiarize them with the language of assessment, they become able to give themselves and others feedback about how to learn. By providing exemplars of PRODUCTS that show stages of the learning process, teachers can help students clearly recognize what success looks like and what the next steps along the path of learning will be. This enables students to self-assess their products and ultimately, take charge of their own learning.
An illustration of triangulation of evidence from a Grade 9 English class, taken from page 53 of MAKING CLASSROOM ASSESSEMENT WORK Second Edition, can be viewed at www.annedavies.com/PDF/19B_MCAW_5.5b_53.pdf
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“Only if we expand and reformulate our view of what counts as human intellect will we be able to devise more appropriate ways of assessing it and more effective ways of educating it.”
~ Howard Gardner
To access free directions for Professional Learning Community Conversations, check out these resources at http://connect2learning.com/cp/
We warmly invite you to join the conversation on a forum about assessment for learning, hosted by Dr. Anne Davies. Come and share your questions, thoughts, and stories here for the article.
Teachers can design learning activities so that OBSERVATIONS focus on the clearly defined purpose and the criteria for evaluating the learning. To use CONVERSATIONS as evidence, teachers read or listen to what students have to say about their learning process, such as in journals, reader responses, self-assessments and student-teacher conferences. When we invite students to communicate about their learning and familiarize them with the language of assessment, they become able to give themselves and others feedback about how to learn. By providing exemplars of PRODUCTS that show stages of the learning process, teachers can help students clearly recognize what success looks like and what the next steps along the path of learning will be. This enables students to self-assess their products and ultimately, take charge of their own learning.
An illustration of triangulation of evidence from a Grade 9 English class, taken from page 53 of MAKING CLASSROOM ASSESSEMENT WORK Second Edition, can be viewed at www.annedavies.com/PDF/19B_MCAW_5.5b_53.pdf
____________________________________________________
“Only if we expand and reformulate our view of what counts as human intellect will we be able to devise more appropriate ways of assessing it and more effective ways of educating it.”
~ Howard Gardner
To access free directions for Professional Learning Community Conversations, check out these resources at http://connect2learning.com/cp/
We warmly invite you to join the conversation on a forum about assessment for learning, hosted by Dr. Anne Davies. Come and share your questions, thoughts, and stories here for the article.
Hi Anne,
I'm familiar with the triangulation of evidence. I'm wondering how that relates to the 3 stages of assessment that William Badders speaks of when he relates assessment to the specific content of science. HIs examples that fall in the baseline, formative, and summative stages look more like the traditional view of assessment. Whereas the triangulation of evidence focuses more on the observation and conversation than poduct. Am I correct? Comments are encouraged and welcomed.
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