Assessment for Learning

What is assessment for learning?

An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as feedback, by teachers, and by the learners, in assessing themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes ‘formative assessment’ when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs.” (Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & William, 2004 p.2)

Assessment for learning consists of three phases that assess:

1. Phase 1: Where the learner is going - Clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions
2. Phase 2: Where the learner is - Engineering effective discussions, tasks, and activities that elicit evidence of learning
3. Phase 3: How to get there - Providing feedback that moves learners forward

Before you Begin: Tips on making Assessment for Learning tools successful

1. Phase 1: Establishing where the learner is going

1. Have a conversation with your learner about their goals and learning intentions. If there is something they are working on, direct your questions and pearls towards that area.
2. Set the stage! Create an environment of comfort and collaboration in which you establish and define quality work together. More experienced does not mean smarter or more valuable.
3. For some learners, you may need to set expectations for asking questions, and giving feedback as part of teaching and formative assessment. Clarify that questions help you teach better!
4. In small groups, ask:
   1. How does this learning objective relate to something we’ve already learned/discussed?
   2. How will we know if you’ve achieved the learning outcome/goals? (exemplars, rubric)
   3. Pose a question that has been associated with most common misconception (polls)
5. In clerkships/workplace ask:
   1. What is one thing that you want to focus on today & why? (SMART goals)
   2. How do these learning goals relate to your goals in prior rotations?
6. Set an expectation for uncertainty, disagreement or lack of consensus on diagnosis and management: this models for the learner an active life-long learning style.

2. Phase 2: Establishing where the learner is

1. Ask questions! It is so easy to just start teaching… Remember that questions enable you to probe for deeper thinking and to understand learning needs.
   1. Target motivation:
      1. What I found most interesting today was… (Poll or Chat)
      2. You want to learn more about X because…? (Exit Slip)
   2. Target areas of difficulty:
      1. Today was challenging because… (Exit slip)
      2. What’s something that’s still shaky? (Quiz, Exit Slip, Observations)
   3. Target self-assessment:
      1. Share your ideas with your partner on… (Group work)
      2. What is one thing that you took away from today? (Exit slip)
      3. What do you think that you did well and what do you want to work on for next time? (Observations)
2. In clerkship/workplace:
   1. When the learner seems to have NO fund of knowledge, consider using a brief didactic to provide them with some information to work from. Or, begin with a learning goal they can work towards quickly and make a plan to re-assess and teach the next day.
   2. Consider differences in status (yours and the learners) and how this may influence the way teaching may be perceived by them (eg: student vs fellow)
   3. Consider your environment, and how that might influence the way teaching is perceived and offered (Patient bedside? Group of learners of different levels? Who else is around?)
   4. Use tools for clinical observations – One Minute Preceptor, BBOT, EPAs, Standardized Patient feedback.

3. Phase 3: Moving the learner forward

1. Provide effective feedback
   1. Just-in-time - immediately (e.g. mechanics of physical examination) and others just after activity (e.g. clinical reasoning).
   2. Describes learners’ performance relative to expectations (learner stage, course objectives, milestones, prior performance).
   3. Specific - points to improve performance (e.g. not “great job”) without overwhelming them (1 - 2 constructive points)
   4. Supportive and behavior-based (e.g. when you did ’x’…)
   5. Based on direct observation of skills.
   6. Connects to next steps, generalizable, relates to principles, provides rationale (e.g. in the future, when you see ‘x’, include ‘y’ because ‘z’…)
2. Create an environment that encourages learners to reflect on their learning process as they engage in deep thinking. When they get something wrong, it’s an opportunity for them to reflect on why.
3. Revisit the expectation for feedback, disagreement/questioning, and ambiguity. Distinguish experience from intelligence. Mirror practice by asking for feedback!
4. Know what is expected of your learners as a next step. You can’t get there if you don’t know where you are going. Is there an upcoming summative assessment? Help ensure your teaching is fostering future success.
5. Foster transparency of assessment. Use exemplars when possible so that learners understand where they need to go.