Focused+Observation

Focused Observation of Learning in LwICT
[] We use //focused observation// of learning in LwICT to explain how to observe students in a manageable way as they learn. Focused observation is not new; it is used in other areas. Teachers of ELA for example know that when they observe student learning, they will select no more than a handful of outcomes. They will work with students to set criteria for evaluation for those few outcomes. Teachers do this because they know that they cannot observe student learning in all 56 ELA outcomes all the time.

For a teacher to say that a student has achieved an outcome, that outcome must be observed often and over time. This is important in order to see the growth in student learning and to determine whether a student’s learning remains constant or is improving. The teacher should take descriptive notes on the student’s achievement of an outcome in order to have specific examples in context of a learning situation. Checkmarks next to a list of outcomes are not descriptive. Checkmarks could state that a student has achieved an outcome, but they cannot describe how that has been accomplished.

Observation of student learning in LwICT can be achieved in a similar manner as in subject areas. Observations need to be anecdotal, be done often and over time. It is not sufficient to put a checkmark next to a descriptor, the teacher needs to record the context of each learning situation and be specific about the achievement of the students, the challenges encountered, or the behaviours observed during the learning situation. The same descriptors need to be observed often and over time to determine if the behaviour observed is consistent and if there is progress. Student achievement cannot be observed and recorded efficiently if too many outcomes are being observed at the same time.

To facilitate observation and get a picture of student learning for the whole continuum, let’s look at the school year based on a timeline of three reporting periods, since most school divisions report with that frequency. Since the Cognitive Domain follows the Inquiry process, there is a sequence to follow. In practice, this sequence is more circular than sequential, as engaging in a step often requires that the previous one be revisited, although the paper representation of the Continuum only allows a 2-D representation in order to portray the complexity of its many layers.

For the first reporting period, which would end around the end of November, consider observing student learning for descriptors in the first two Big Ideas: //Plan and Question//, and //Gather and Make Sense//. These two Big Ideas are the scaffold of an Inquiry; this is when students learn to formulate essential higher-level questions, when they learn to follow a plan or to adapt a plan, to take notes, to categorize notes, to make a bibliography. Those are essential skills needed to conduct an Inquiry and it makes sense to establish those skills at the beginning of the school year, to help students acquire or hone the skills if they seem challenged in effectively applying them, and to observe how students can demonstrate those skills.

By considering those two Big Ideas for an amount of time similar to the first reporting period, the number of descriptors to observe has been considerably narrowed. It is narrowed further by considering the snapshot appropriate for the grade level you teach. Imagine that you teach grade 1, that would be the Emerging Learner snapshot. The only descriptors highlighted (in pink) for that grade level are found in the left column of the continuum. There are only 7 of them for the first two Big Ideas. Still, keep in mind that many of the exemplars for those 7 descriptors are greyed out; for example, G-1.4 lists several exemplars, but only “digital camera” is active for grade 1 since the other exemplars are not suitable for the curriculum at that level.

For the second reporting period, which usually ends by spring break, consider observing student learning for descriptors in the next two Big Ideas: //Produce to Show Understanding// and //Communicate//. By then, students should be established in the critical thinking area of the Continuum and you will have had several opportunities to observe their learning. You can focus your observations using a new set of descriptors and proceed in the same manner as in the first reporting period.

The last reporting period of the year you can observe students’ ability to //Reflect//; it also gives you an opportunity to return to descriptors that have been previously observed. If your division reports to parents on LwICT at the winter reporting period, the observations gathered from then until June can still be inserted in the students’ cumulative files that will be transferred to the next teacher, for his/her information.

The four Big Ideas in the Affective Domain are listed in no particular order. Observing student behaviour in this domain should be done as the need arises, or as the learning situation best lends itself to it; for example, engaging in email exchanges with another class may be an opportunity to discuss online behaviour and observe students as they proceed with the learning situation. For more information about this, see [|Suggestions for Observing Behaviour Described in the Affective Domain – Early Years] [|Suggestions for Observing Behaviour Described in the Affective Domain – Middle Years]

**Assessment - Considering the Snapshots**
When we observe student behaviour for purposes of evaluation and reporting, we may sometimes say of a student that he/she is "in the Developing snapshot" or "in the Transitioning snapshot" because that is language familiar to teachers. (We must remember that while students achieve end-of-year curricular outcomes, they **demonstrate** behaviours described in the LwICT continuum.) Even at the best of times however, students who seem to display behaviours that "fit" the snapshot appropriate for their level may actually demonstrate a few behaviours from another snapshot.

In other words, while a snapshot tends to outline a "typical" student, individual profiles of students (made over time through class/self observation, conversation and portfolio) may not be as clearcut. For example, that student can work independently at //Produce to Show Understanding// or //Communicate//, but still needs teacher-guidance and mediation in the //Plan and Question// or //Gather and Make Sense// big ideas; a student may work fairly independently in the Cognitive domain, but not in the Affective domain. Some reasons for this can be that the student has not yet reached a certain developmental level, or that data relative to the student has not been collected for long enough or consistently enough to create an accurate portrait of the student.

And yet, this is the strength of a continuum: all students can be observed "doing something", which is different from a curriculum where a student may just not achieve particular curricular outcomes. A continuum can help teachers to differentiate instruction by constructing a picture of each student's behaviour in order to better address the needs of that student.

In LwICT, each snapshot is an approximate portrait of a student for the range of grades listed at the bottom left of the snapshot poster. There is an overlap of grades from one snapshot to the next, to take into consideration the range of behaviours and abilities presented by students. Younger students are almost alwyas represented as Emerging Learners because they have not yet achieved a higher level of development (Bloom's Taxonomy) while it is possible that the range may be greater in later years, as those students can show a wider range of development.

If teachers observe that their class in general does not "behave" as expected from the snapshot for their level, it may inform them that their students have not been challenged to their potential or that they have not had enough opportunities to reach towards independence (i.e., the teacher gives too much "guidance", the teacher needs to turn students "loose"; this could be especially true for middle years students)


 * Assessment and Reporting Resources are listed on the LwICT Resources page**