The Seven Fundamental Principles
As I enter into the second year of my Bachelor of Education, we are further deepening our understanding of curriculum and assessment. Curriculum and assessment are at the core of the teaching profession; without competency in this realm, students will not have the most fruitful education. Growing Success, a document released by the Ministry of Education, outlines seven fundamental principles of assessment. In our class of Teacher Candidates, we explored the possibilities of these principles and shared our experiences relating to each principle in our own teaching.
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Principle Teachers use practices and procedures that… |
Evidence What are the possibilities? |
Evaluation What did you see in the classroom? |
| Are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students | · Fair does not necessarily mean equal
· Differentiation is key · Criteria-based assessment, both for- and of- · Supporting students · IEPs · Learning goals and assessment criteria |
· Student-made expectations (displayed in an anchor chart)
· Examples of past work that students will be working towards · Graffiti activity for Catholic Graduate Expectations and how students will achieve these |
| Support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Metis, or Inuit | · Providing additional support
· Additional time to complete tasks · Create diverse learning spaces · Modified curriculum and tasks · Varied teaching practices and assessment |
· Speech-to-text learning
· Centre-based learning · Environment: Seating charts and modifications (exercise balls, body breaks) · Tools: Diagnostic (PM Benchmarks) and reading IEPs |
| Are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students | · Backwards design, well-prepared lessons
· Knowing your curriculum · Student-driven learning |
· Relate Geography lessons to the locations that the students are from
· Class shows a strength in Language, use to advantage in subjects like Math · Cross-curricular lessons and activities · Writing on topics related to students that ties in literacy concepts · Providing manipulatives and various ways to solve a problem, while also providing extensions for the students that can take their solutions further |
| Are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year or course and at other appropriate points throughout the school year or course | · Open communication
· Feedback · Good rapport with parents (leads to ongoing communication) |
· Remind App to communicate directly with the students’ parents
· Google Classroom, Calendar, and Mail that the students and parents both have access too · Regular use of agenda · Use of school board personnel that can translate during conversations with parents who do not speak English · Family Math activities that are sent home to build learning environment with family |
| Are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning | · Variety of teaching methods
· Staggered units and assessment to avoid overwhelming students |
· Seeing the student’s work change with further instruction during unit (structures changing based on concepts discussed, i.e. use of triangles) |
| Provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement | · Anecdotal records
· Self-assessment · Preparing students for the summative assessment |
· Success Criteria (met/not met yet feedback)
· Gradual Release Model · Comments on work that students turn in (strengths, next steps) · Being aware of the students’ learning process and how they came to their end product, rather than just evaluating their final assessment |
| Develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning | · Student-centred learning | · Class Survey: Thumbs up if the student understands
· Refer back to anchor charts for the learning processes · Students editing or critiquing each other’s work · Students building off of each other’s ideas during class discussions |