The Drake School of Education will host the Iowa Association of Superintendents and Curriculum Directors Fall Institute on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 9 am to 3:30 pm in Olmsted. This year’s theme will be “Unlocking Seven Strategies of Formative Assessment” and feature educator and author Jan Chappuis. An optional pre-conference session, “A Learning Team Approach to Assessment for Learning,” will be offered from 8 to 8:45 am also.
Conference speaker Jan Chappuis will share seven strategies each teacher can use to increase student achievement. She will explore questions such as:
- Which formative assessment practices are most powerful in creating increased student motivation and achievement?
- How can assessment function as a teaching and learning tool in the classroom day-to-day?
- How can we help students put the words “assessment” and “joy” in the same sentence?
Drawing form the content of her book Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning, Chappuis will explain the different formative assessment practices currently in use throughout the country and outline the role each one plays in a healthy classroom assessment system. She will then focus on student-involved classroom assessment, including an in-depth exploration of the following research-based assessment for learning strategies:
- Making learning targets clear to students
- Providing descriptive feedback effectively and efficiently
- Teaching students to self assess and to set goals
- Preparing students to track, reflect on, and share their learning
Throughout the day, participants will engage in activities demonstrating practical strategies that can be applied immediately in the classroom. Each participant will receive a copy of Chappuis’ book, as well as additional handout focusing on key points of the text.
An optional pre-conference session will focus on a learning team approach to assessment. A major professional development challenge facing school districts today is in providing the right conditions so that teachers are able to adjust and expand assessment practices. In this session, Chappuis will explain the learning team approach to professional development as it applies to the study and implementation of assessment for learning practices using materials from the Assessment Training Institute.
Chappuis is an educator and author who creates professional development materials on the topic of assessment for learning at the ETS Assessment Training Institute in
The cost to attend the conference is $130. IASCD members receive a $40 discount.
For more information, contact Bridget Arrasmith at bridget.arrasmith@drake.edu.