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 Don Albert KLINGER
Professor, Faculty of Education
Queen's University
Canada
Dr. Don Klinger is a professor in assessment and evaluation at the Faculty of Education at Queen's University, Kingston. His research explores the evolving conceptions of formative and summative assessment, the uses of classroom assessment to inform teaching and learning, and large-scale assessments and databases to inform educational policy and practice. Ongoing funding and research projects have enabled Dr. Klinger to work to build stronger research collaborations and communication between the research community and practising educators. Dr. Klinger is a founding member of the Assessment and Evaluation Group at Queen's University and a former member of the Ontario Education Research Panel. Currently, Dr. Klinger is the president-elect for the Canadian Society for Studies in Education, (Canada’s largest organisation for educational researchers). He is also a member of the psychometric panel for EQAO and one of the co-chairs of the task force revising the Classroom Assessment Standards on behalf of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation.
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Title of Presentation
“Our Evolving Conceptions of Classroom Assessment and its Role in Teaching and Learning."
While classroom assessment has long been used to monitor student achievement for the purposes of grading and teaching, current conceptions of classroom assessment more deeply integrate assessment within the teaching and learning process. The general consensus today is that the “primary purpose of classroom assessment is to support students’ learning.” However, underlying this simple statement is a philosophical stance about the integrated roles of teaching and assessment that may not be easily embraced by teachers and students. Teachers need to be able to use a variety of assessment instruments to measure and monitor students’ learning, and they must integrate appropriate forms of assessment throughout their instruction. This involves much more than technical skills, and it requires a thoughtful perspective with respect to the ways in which instruction and assessment must be integrated to support teaching and learning. Of critical importance, our current conceptions of classroom assessment have recognized the important role of students in the assessment process, and the release of responsibility with respect to assessment information. No longer are students passive recipients of assessment knowledge. Rather, students are expected to also use assessment information to monitor their own learning and to use this information to set personal learning goals.
My work with teachers, teacher candidates, and students has highlighted the need to help teachers develop and maintain a sound understanding of assessment practices and theory if assessment practices are to meaningfully impact students’ learning. There is an “assessment pedagogy” that must be enacted and closely linked with one’s teaching pedagogy. This pedagogy includes not only the use of appropriate assessment procedures to obtain accurate information about students learning, but also mechanisms to provide effective feedback to direct subsequent teaching or learning. Further, teachers and students must learn to develop the skills to provide or obtain, and subsequently use this feedback. The process is “effortful,” and requires ongoing, systematic implementation and practice. This spotlight session builds on the current research and the soon to be released Classroom Assessment Standards to explore the ways in which teachers and students can use formative assessment practices and effective feedback to enhance educational outcomes. The session will focus on practical ways to not only increase the assessment knowledge and skills of both teachers and students, but also effectively implement sound assessment practices.
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