Module 1 - Gathering Multiple Sources of Information

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Assessment is hard. During my Bachelor of Education program - which wasn't too long ago - I found myself struggling to understand and develop my assessment practices. I learned the lingo: assessment as/for/of learning, reliability, validity, know-do-understand. All of it. My school advisors were fantastic and helped me develop assessments in which I felt confident enough in, but I still felt that I wasn't getting a complete picture of my students' learning from those assessments. 

The following year (last year), I got involved in a unique collaborative program: 3 teachers (myself included) taught the same 50 students all day, every day. Because of this, I was able to observe and learn how these more-experienced teachers assessed the students. They used tests, quizzes, written reflections - all things I did, too. Then one day, the students wrote a science test on genetics where they had to calculate the probability of inheriting traits. As my colleague marked the exams in our office, he came across a few students who had the correct answers but the incorrect/incomplete work. From my experiences as a student and as new teacher, I think I might have just expected the student to get the answer wrong or receive major deductions right away. Instead, however, my colleague stated that he would put those students' exams aside and ask them to explain their answers the next day. I wondered, "Can I do that? Can I just take our conversation as an example of learning?" It seemed too simple.

TRIANGULATION

However, through these Queen's courses, I realized that YES, I can use conversations with students as a source of their learning. In fact, I probably should be using conversations as evidence. What my previous colleague did was actually engage in triangulation. According to Bilash, triangulation is "a process by which a teacher collects evidence about student learning; this evidence is collected from three different sources"(2009): conversations, observations, and products. 

Image retrieved from Sandra Herbst and Anne Davies' blog post "Triangulation: I Understand the “Why,” Now Please Tell Me the “When”." Link: https://sandraherbst.blogspot.com/2015/04/triangulation-i-understand-why-now.html



BENEFITS TO OUR ELLS

While triangulation is important for all students, I think that ELL students in particular benefit from having teachers operate with this framework in mind. This is because triangulation means more opportunities for students to show learning, to receive feedback, to grow. Indeed, "it can show a teacher at what level a student most consistently performs" (Bilash, 2009). Triangulation allows our assessment to be more reliable. ELL students, who have to meet both language and content objectives, need to have these opportunities. For example, a student may be a strong writer but not a strong speaker so the teacher needs to take into account that the student may have the knowledge and understanding but may just not be able to communicate it in every way. When it comes to having an accurate picture of a students' languages abilities, it is important to look at both their proficiency both in formal and informal conversations. 

As I continued to read and understand triangulation, I came to the understanding that it is not a difficult framework to implement. It only takes a shift in mindset and view of assessment to see how so much of actions teachers may be doing are given more emphasis. Here are some examples of how we can use the three different sources as evidences of student learning (from Bilash, 2009):

    Conversations:
  • Conversation is used to talk with students in a less formal, less structured way; 
  • Conversations can take place in a variety of situations (as students enter the classroom, in the halls, after class) 
    Observations:
  • Observations can occur during individual, pair, or group work
  • Observations can be documented using a check list
  • Taking anecdotal notes
  • Observe can occur in one period or over a longer period of time during different activities
  • Allows teacher to track each student's progress over time
    Products: 
  • Tangible materials, such as tests, tasks, or projects

ASSESSMENT LITERACY AND TRIANGULATION

Looking at the definition of assessment literacy, I can see how triangulation fits in. According to the Province of BC, assessment literacy is defined as: "the knowledge, understanding, and application of assessment principles and practices necessary to support and empower students in their learning" (2018). To me, triangulation means more opportunities for assessment and feedback. It also means valuing the various contributions my students make.  I also feel that communicating to my students that assessment is more than just submitted work can motivate and empower them to put their best effort into everything that they do. One other important aspect to triangulation, and assessment in general, that Herbst and Davies (2015) highlight is that it should be ongoing. It is important for myself and for my students to know that assessment and learning does not have to take place in single, rigidly defined moments.

References:

Bilash, O. (2009 May). "Triangulation in Assessment." Best of Bilash: Improving Second Language Education. Accessed 6 April 2021 from https://bestofbilash.ualberta.ca/Triangulation.html

Herbst, S., and Davies, A. (27 April 2015). "Triangulation: I Understand the “Why,” Now Please Tell Me the “When”." Sandra Herbst and Anne Davies. Accessed 7 April 2021 from https://sandraherbst.blogspot.com/2015/04/triangulation-i-understand-why-now.html

Province of BC. (14 Sept 2018). "Assessment Literacy in BC." YouTube. Accessed 6 April 2021 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7C20alZElI




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