Benjamin

Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

Understanding Understanding and Assessment Practices

The IBs Primary Years Program and Wiggens and McTighes Understanding by Design (2000,
2005) curriculum design frameworks draw significantly from the principles of Backward
Design (Figure 1.1) to promote student learning. Backwards Design, though absent from many
teachers vocabulary and from many schools agreed upon design procedures, is not radical by
any means. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) attribute Ralph Tyler (1949) as the forefather of
Backward Design principles, and present his clear and succinct definition as:

Educational objectives become the criteria by which materials are selected, content is outlined,
instructional procedures are developed, and test and examinations are prepared

The purpose of a statement of objectives is to indicate the kinds of changes in the student to be
brought about so that instructional activities can be planned and developed in a way likely to
attain these objectives.

(p. 20)

Figure 1.1: Model for Backwards Design

(p. 18)

The concept certainly is not new as a tool for problem solving or goal setting, and is typically
inherent in the Arts as an approach to learning.
The design process seeks to support student understanding through a well-scaffolded
program of learning. But to truly understand and employ the design process, designers must
understand understanding. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) identified that when asking
designers in workshops to identify desired understandings and thus to distinguish between
desired knowledge and understanding, they are often puzzled (p. 35). Leading to the
questions, whats the difference? What is understanding? (p. 35). Dewey (as cited in Wiggins
and McTighe, 2005, p. 38) best discerns understanding as being able to truly grasp the meaning
of a thing, an event, or a situation one must be able to see it in its relationship to other things
(Figure 1.2); to see how it operates or functions, what consequences follow from it, what causes
it, [and] what uses it can be put to (p. 38).

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

Figure 1.2: Knowledge Versus Understanding

(Wiggins and McTighe, 2005, p. 38)

Wiggens and McTighe (2005) argue that students must perform effectively with knowledge to
convince us that they really understand what quizzes and short-answer tests only suggest they
get (p. 82). But understanding itself comes in differing forms, and can be developed in students
in a range of ways. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) advocate that because of the complexity of the
issue, it makes sense to identify different aspects of understanding (p. 84):

Can explain via generalizations or principles.
Can interpret tell meaningful stories.
Can apply effectively use and adapt what we know in diverse and real contexts.
Have perspective see and hear points of view through critical eyes and ears.
Can empathise find value in what others might find odd, alien, or implausible.
Have self-knowledge show metacognitive awareness.
(p. 84)

Each facet of understanding brings with it a range of instructional strategies that may be
employed in performance task design by teachers in order to develop understanding in all
students.

Thus we are given a brief answer to the posed questions and can begin to consider how we
might teach for understanding within the PYP. Making the PYP Happen (2009) considers that
central to the philosophy of the PYP is the principle that purposeful, structured inquiry is a
powerful vehicle for learning that promotes meaning and understanding, and challenges
students to engage with significant ideas (p. 15). The same document laments that education
for the understanding of significant ideas has often been sacrificed for the memorization of
isolated facts and the mastery of skills out of context (p. 15). It is obvious that the PYP displays
a commitment toward enduring understanding, and does so through the programmes essential
elements: Knowledge, Concepts, Skills, Attitudes and Action (Figure 1.3). Each element seeks to
strike a balance between acquisition of essential knowledge and skills, development of
conceptual understanding, demonstration of positive attitudes, and taking of responsible action
(p. 10).

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

Figure 1.3: PYP Essential Elements

(p.10)

Concept-based curriculum, or the three-dimensional model of curriculum (figure 1.4), central to
the PYP program (Erickson, 2012, p.3) plays a substantial role in the development of enduring
understanding, as it frames factual content and skills with disciplinary concepts,
generalizations and principles (p. 3). This sits in strict contrast to traditional practices, or the
two-dimensional model, which focuses on factual content and skills with assumed rather than
deliberate attention to the development of conceptual understanding and the transfer of
knowledge (p. 3).

Figure 1.4: Three-dimensional model of curriculum

Transfer is the key word here, and it is worth briefly exploring the role of transfer in concept-
based curriculum and Backwards Design as its occurrence in student learning characterizes
their success as learners. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) state that to know which fact to use and
when requires more than another fact. It requires understanding insight into essentials,

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

purpose, audience, strategy, and tactics understanding is about transfer, in other words (p.
40). They elaborate on this statement further, asserting that we [learners] are expected to take
what we learned in one lesson and be able to apply it to other, related but different situations
(p. 40). Ericksons three-dimensional model is not dissimilar in that it supports students to gain
deeper understanding of disciplinary content, transdisciplinary themes and interdisciplinary
issues, and to facilitate conceptual transfer through time, across cultures and across situations
(p. 4). Making the PYP Happen (2005) supports Ericksons approach, stating that a concept-
driven curriculum helps the learner to construct meaning through improved critical thinking
and the transfer of knowledge (p. 15) Thus, the development of transfer skills supports
autonomous learners who maximize their learning by seeing patterns and connections between
new knowledge and prior learning (Erickson, 2012, p. 5).
Then, the question is raised, how do schools and teacher design and assess learning
engagements that are engaging, relevant, challenging and significant (MTPYPH, 2009, p. 5), and
that enable and support the transfer of conceptual understanding? Wiggins and McTighe (2005)
stress the importance of not moving from target to teaching (p. 146), and instead asking the
assessors questions (p. 146) (Figure 1.5):

What evidence can show that students have achieved the desired results?
What assessment tasks and other evidence will anchor our curricular units and thus
guide our instruction?
What should we look for, to determine the extent of student understanding?

(p. 146)

Figure 1.5: Approaches to assessment

When considering the types of evidence assessors look for of student learning, it is important to
use a balanced and diverse range of assessment strategies (Figure 1.5) to best gather an
accurate overview of progress. In keeping with backwards design thinking, it is worth beginning
with the analysis of the performance task as a key indicator of understanding. According
Wiggins and McTighe (2005) performance tasks present students with a problem: a real-world
goal, set within a realistic context of challenges and possibilities (p. 157). Therefore, instead of
being faced with an exercise (Figure 1.6) with strict predefined criteria for success, students are
given the opportunity to develop a tangible product or performance for an identified audience
(sometimes real, sometimes simulated) (p. 157).

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

Figure 1.6: Problem Vs Exercise

The GRASP method acts as a framework that supports designers in their development of
authentic performance tasks that support the transfer of knowledge to a new situation. Each
letter corresponds to one of the key elements of authentic assessment:

Goal and Role: As an aspiring writer with Westside Today, your task is to represent the
extraordinary stories of people who have survived devastating circumstances and to tell
their stories whether it is real or somewhat exaggerated.
Audience: Your clients are a publishing company catered towards young adults who
want a story that interests their clientele.
Situation: There are two elements to this task: (1) Find out everything you can about
the conflict your person is embroiled in, and (2) to tell their story with respect to the
setting and the other people that are playing a large role in this conflict.
Product: You need to develop a piece of historical fiction (following the writing process)
that represents (possibly exaggerates) the experiences of your character in this
situation, writing about the conflicts they experience, both mental and physical.
Standards: See task specific rubric.

This particular performance task challenges students to empathize with the point of view of
people who struggle with scenarios that may be very different to that of the students. The
transfer of Connection was demonstrated through students synthesizing knowledge of setting,

Benjamin Zonca

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09/10/2015

plot, and character, as well as applying their personal connection toward factual conflicts into a
creative task.
Lynn Erickson (2009) advocates the employment of Blooms taxonomy when developing
performance tasks using the following mode:

1. What? Investigate, analyse, evaluate, integrate
2. Why? In order to understand (central idea)
3. How? Demonstrate understanding by (engaging scenario/performance)
(p. 54)

Below (Figure 1.7) represents the practical application of the Erickson frameworks.

Figure 1.7: English summative assessment task designed using Ericksons model.
Students must recognise/analyse/critique changes in cultural climate at a local/national/global
level in order to demonstrate understanding that cultural change occurs when different cultures
come together and that this is communicated in a range of different ways. This will be
demonstrated through the capturing of cultural change through synthesis of primary and
secondary sources and the capturing of visual image through video or photo essay.

This task asks students to explore the concepts of Culture and Change in their local community
or at a national/global level, challenging students to synthesize learned knowledge in an
attempt to form a generalization of how change occurs in communities.
Thus, both Wiggins and McTighes GRASPS, and Ericksons model of assessment succeed in
promoting rich tasks that enable teachers to assess for understanding through transfer of
knowledge, and offer students a relevant, challenging, engaging and significant experience.

As designers within the PYP/MYP the question is raised; how do we use rich summative
assessment tasks to assess all of the Essential Elements of the PYP? And here it is worth
exploring the earlier assessment example (Figure 1.7) in regard to the posed question:

Central Idea: Economic environmental and social change brings with it challenges to communities
that need to be understood in order to sustain a sense of community.

Knowledge

Transdisciplinary theme: Where we are in place and time (Globalisation and Sustainability)

On top of the summative assessment linking to the central idea, assessment of knowledge as an
essential element relies on the development of lines of inquiry in an attempt to limit the scope
of the transdisciplinary theme and central idea. Appendix 1.1 demonstrates a developmental
rubric created to assess the Essential Elements of the above unit of inquiry with columns 1 and
2 dedicated to the assessment of the units lines of inquiry and their corresponding AusVELS
standards. By defining the lines of inquiry and their levels of sophistication, it becomes possible
to assess the level of understanding of the central idea displayed by individual students
throughout the performance task.

Concepts

Assessment of conceptual understanding is strongly tied to the assessment of lines of inquiry,
but, where lines of inquiry may be assessed through acquisition of appropriate skills and
knowledge, the assessment of conceptual understanding relies on the demonstration of
transfer of knowledge at the conceptual level (Erickson, 2012, p. 7). Performance tasks support
the transfer of conceptual understanding through real-world projects that require the

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

application of learned knowledge to a new and unfamiliar scenario. For example, the given
assessment task asks students to apply their conceptual knowledge of change in order to better
understand how culture develops and changes when outside influences are introduced to an
already established/establishing culture.

Skills

The PYP considers that the construction of meaning and, therefore, of understanding is
complemented by the students acquiring and applying a range of skills. These skills are best
developed in the context of authentic situations such as those offered through the PYP units of
inquiry (MYPYPH, 2009, p. 20).
If we refer back to the offered developmental rubric (Appendix 1.1), two skills have been
explicitly included to be assessed (note: as this unit is more specifically for year 7 student, skills
have been chosen from the MYPs Approaches to Learning):

Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of
media and formats
Set goals that are challenging and realistic
(FPIP, 2012)

These skills are explicitly taught throughout the unit of inquiry, and the culmination of students
development can be assessed against the level of sophistication during the performance task.

Attitudes

Assessment in schools, particularly throughout summative tasks, is usually focused on the most
academic of the elements, Knowledge, Skills, and Concepts, but it is vital that there is also focus
on the development of personal attitudes towards people, towards the environment and
towards learning, attitudes that contribute to the well-being of the individual and of the group
(p. 24).
The assessment of attitudes can be treated in much the same way as Knowledge, Concepts and
Skills, whereby teachers, thinking as assessors, should focus explicitly on attitudes most suited
to the central idea, and derive criteria that represents expected development. For this example,
Blooms Affective Domain (Nwlink.com, 2015) has been employed to best develop a relevant
continuum for teachers to assess development throughout the performance task.

Action

Action often happens outside the classroom (MTPYPH, 2009, p. 27) and may not be witnessed
by the teacher. If this is the case, how can teachers accurately assess the action taken by
students? Let us assume for the moment that action is indeed taking place inside the school, and
assessment of action can be supported through the use of Roger Harts Ladder of Young Person
Participation (Fletcher, 2008). If action is taken as a result of the summative assessment (or
soon after) the developmental rubric again guides the assessor in judging the level of
sophistication at which the action has occurred. Though, the question remains whether
summative assessment of action is necessary, or if assessment is a means to the scaffolding of
further action?

Formative Assessment

Earlier it was mentioned that assessment must be balanced in order to properly understand
student understanding, and having established the grounds for the need to engage students in
rich summative assessment tasks, it is important to also acknowledge the use of a balanced and
diverse range of formative assessment to improve student learning.

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

Formative assessment plays a constant and significant role in the academic, social and
emotional capabilities of students and is reflected as:

Assessment FOR learning - occurs when teachers use inferences about student progress
to inform their teaching
Assessment AS learning - occurs when students reflect on and monitor their progress to
inform their future learning goals
(Education.vic.gov.au, 2015)


The underlying idea of formative assessment is to use minute-to-minute and day-by-day
evidence to adjust instruction (Burke, 2010, p. 19) and indeed, regular and consistent use of
classroom formative assessment would raise student achievement by 0.4 to 0.7 standard
deviations (p 19). The following (Figure 1.8) are formative assessment practices performed
where necessary by teachers:

Figure 1.8: Types of formative assessment
Formative Assessment Process

Assessment for Learning
Purpose: Provide ongoing feedback to improve
learning

Timing: During the learning segment

Informal teacher questions
Conversations with student
Informal observations
Rough drafts of written work
Learning log (in progress)
Reflective journal (multiple drafts)
Mathematics problem solving steps
Practice science experiment
Rehearsal of presentation
Working portfolio
Practice checklist for do-overs
Practice rubrics (analytical)
Homework, quizzes
Benchmark/interim tests



The PYP believes it important to use a wide range of assessment strategies as there is evidence
that increased use of formative assessment particularly helps those students who are low
achievers to make significant improvements in their understanding (MTPYPH, 2009, p. 45).
Wiggins and McTighe (2005) support the PYPs view, stating that effective assessment is more
like a scrapbook of mementos and pictures than a single snapshot. Rather than using a single
test, of one type, at the end of teaching, effective teacher assessors gather lots of evidence along
the way using a variety of method and formats (p. 152). As we know, understanding develops as
a result of constant inquiry and rethinking (p. 152), and consistent, varied formative
assessment/feedback encourages students to challenge their misconceptions and refine

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

understanding. For teachers, it is important to closely consider formative assessment as a

guiding tool for curriculum development, using knowledge gained of student understanding to
inform the direction of a unit of inquiry.

Conclusion

It is clear that understanding, and the transfer of knowledge to unfamiliar situations is
important in the development of successful learners. As curriculum designers, it is our
responsibility to ensure that assessment is relevant, challenging, engaging and significant and
includes a wide range of assessment strategies in order to best discern the development of our
students.

Benjamin Zonca

Assignment 3

09/10/2015

Bibliography:

Burke, K., (2010). Balanced Assessment: From Formative to summative. Moorabbin: Hawker
Nrownlow Education

Education.vic.gov.au. (2015). Assessment Advice. Retrieved 16 September 2015, from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/support/pages/advice.aspx

Erickson, Lyn. Concept-Based Teaching And Learning. 1st ed. Internation Baccalaureate
Organisation, 2012. Web. 31 May 2015.


Erickson, L. (2009). Facilitator's Guide to Stirring the Head, Heart, and Soul (3rd ed., p. 54).
California: Corwin.

Fletcher, A. (2008). Ladder of Participation (1st ed., p. 1). The Freechild Project. Retrieved from
http://www.learningtolearn.sa.edu.au/tfel/files/links/Ladder_of_Participation_1.pdf

Ibpublishing.ibo.org,. (2015). MYP: From principles into practice. Retrieved 18 April 2015, from
https://ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=m_0_mypxx_g
uu_1409_1_e&part=1&chapter=1

International Baccalaureate Organization. Primary Years Programme.,. Making The PYP Happen.
Buenos Aires: International Baccalaureate Organization, 2009. Print.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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