Student-centered learning

We presented a wakelet researching student-centered learning as a cohort. I talked about assessment in student-centered learning environments.

How can you implement assessment so that it enhances student-centered learning?

In a student-centered learning environment, it is important to expand the meaning of assessment from grading and testing.

A three-layered approach to assessment is valuable in driving student-centered learning.

• Assessment for Learning

This assessment allows for understanding the student's background skills, learning style, and allows students and teachers to work together towards setting learning goals and milestones of progress.

Assessing student passions, learning styles and success skills allows teachers to differentiate instruction and leverage each student's strengths and interests to help drive their learning, as well as tailor social-emotional learning content to build critical thinking, grit and collaboration skills to enable students to navigate the world outside their classroom. This link has some resources and rubrics for assessment of success skills.

Low stakes formative assessments can be useful in determining the student's background and content knowledge, but it is important that this assessment not be assigned grades, but rather give the student descriptive feedback designed to encourage a growth mindset.

• Assessment as Learning

In a student-centered classroom, self-assessment and peer assessments are valuable tools for students to learn how to evaluate their own work and chart their own progress.

Self-assessment: For effective self-assessment, a clear rubric needs to be designed, preferably in collaboration with the students. Students should be empowered to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and chart their progress.

Peer Assessment: In a student-centered classroom, this is not the same as peer grading, but instead is constructive feedback given using the ladders of feedback approach of asking clarifying questions, listing strengths first and then concerns, and finally making suggestions to improve.

Process Portfolios : A portfolio to document growth and progress can help inculcate growth mindset in the students. Kids all ages should have agency to choose what goes into their process portfolios, so they can be drivers of their own progress.

• Assessment of learning

Summative assessments like testing and grading still have their value in tracking progress and learning as long as students know that their grades are only a small indicator of their learning and progress.