May/August 2002 | NW REPORT

Revealing
Student Thinking

Classroom assessments make teachers and students full partners in the learning cycle. When classroom assessments are used to reveal thinking—rather than to declare a verdict on a student's success or potential—teacher and learner gain insights that ignite understanding.

Such assessments allow teachers to "see into" a student's thinking process; the network of the student's prior knowledge, misconceptions, and intellectual leaps and forays is illuminated—informing instructional choices. Classroom assessments enable students to assess their own depth of understanding and learn how to learn. Full partners in the teaching and learning exchange, students know at the outset the learning goals and criteria for success, can demonstrate their abilities through performance-based activities, and can participate in pinpointing their own learning gaps.

"For classroom assessments to make a difference, they must give students opportunities to articulate and reflect on their thinking and provide the kind of 'illuminating' feedback that they can use to improve," writes Jennifer Stepanek in the Winter 2002 issue of Northwest Teacher, a journal about math and science teaching. "Students become active participants in assessment by clarifying the purpose of assessment, discussing assessment methods and what can be learned from each one, looking at criteria for quality work, and learning to reflect and self-assess."

The benefits of such self-assessment activities extend far beyond the classroom. They are, she says, "essential skills in pursuing deep understanding of mathematics and science and lifelong learning."

A single, free copy of Northwest Teacher is available to educators in the Northwest via e-mail, math_and_science@nwrel.org; phone, 503-275-9500; or Web site, www.nwrel.org/msec/nwteacher/index.html.

Persons outside the region or those who want multiple copies may purchase them. See the Document Order Form or the NWREL Products Catalog Online, www.nwrel.org/comm/catalog to order this issue of Northwest Teacher.

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Revealing Student Thinking

Revealing
Student Thinking