Assessment for Learning Conference: Full Schedule

We invite you to explore the agenda for our first ever Assessment for Learning Conference. You can begin building your individual schedule in person at the conference. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

3:40pm PST

AfL & Equity - Creating Culturally Competent Classrooms

Limited Capacity filling up

How can we leverage the power of Assessment for Learning to support educators and learners alike in developing cultural competence, creating culturally responsive classrooms, fostering culturally sustaining pedagogy, and decolonizing the curriculum?

Speakers

Jamie Lomax

Tulsa Public Schools

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Edison IJ Room

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Are we actually measuring learning?

Most of our assessment measures the acquisition of knowledge. We measure if a student has remembered a formula, a passage, an event or a scientific process. But is that learning? Real learning is the application of knowledge. Shouldn’t our assessments go beyond this and tell us how students react to, shape or apply the knowledge they have acquired.

Speakers

David Cook

Director, Kentucky Department of Education

I believe that our current education system is based on an antiquated definition of what it means to be ready for postsecondary life. I want to support K12 school systems to embrace a true transformation of the education system that moves beyond the catch phrases of “personalized... Read More →

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Ballroom

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Assessment of Learning vs. Assessment for Learning

Limited Capacity seats available

What is the right balance of summative assessments versus formative assessments in our educational system? Can the same assessments be used for both summative and formative purposes? Let's collectively explore the issues and implications.

Speakers

Jeff Heyck-Williams

Director of the Two Rivers Learning Institute, Two RIvers Public Charter School

Jeff Heyck-Williams is the director of the Two Rivers Learning Institute and a founder of Two Rivers Public Charter School. He has led work focused on creating school-wide cultures of mathematics, developing assessments of critical thinking and problem-solving, and supporting project-based... Read More →

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Hanover Room

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Do current standardized assessments help eliminate the learning equity gap or add to the problem?

Limited Capacity seats available

The question to be discussed is do standardized grade level assessments used for accountability drive better instruction or do they drive poor instructional decisions among teachers and leaders?

Speakers

Kirsten Baesler

State School Superintendent, ND Dept. of Public Instruction

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Stuart Room

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Do we need a new word for assessment?

So many people have negative connotations of the word assessment. We know it has a bad reputation, it makes people anxious, and we often start by explaining what we mean by the word. Given that many of us are rethinking assessment, is it time to come up with a different word for the kind of student-centered, empowering, formative feedback that we all love? Would that help others see it differently and think outside the box?

Speakers

Louisa Rosenheck

Ed Tech Designer & Researcher, MIT

Louisa Rosenheck is the Associate Director and Creative Lead of the MIT Playful Journey Lab. She manages the design, content, and development of educational games and software, and oversees the research on how ed tech can be effectively used in both formal and informal educational... Read More →

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Beach Near Windsor Lawn

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

How do we Overcome Bias Toward Assessment OF Learning: Shifting the Value to Assessment FOR or AS Learning

Is there a bias that impacts the focus of assessment in your school or classroom toward assessment OF learning rather than assessment FOR or AS learning? Do conflicting messages exist at your school/district—a focus on the metrics in accountability (summative test scores) and how to improve them more so than on how to assess FOR learning or AS learning to impact those metrics? What factors might help shift mindsets? Which ones might we have an influence or control over and how might we take first steps to do so? Let's discuss!

Speakers

Denise Airola

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Beach Near Windsor Lawn

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Innovation in the Rural Delta

There’s a hidden jewel in Eastern Arkansas. Come hear about the journey of the Clarendon School of Innovation.

Speakers

Cassie King

Secondary Instructor, District ESL Coordinator, Clarendon High School

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Garden Patio

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Join the Share Your Learning Movement!

The Share Your Learning campaign is a collaborative deeper learning project to encourage more teachers to provide opportunities for students to authentically share their learning (via exhibitions, student-led conferences and presentations of learning). Our mission is to transform education by giving more students the opportunity to share their learning with an audience beyond the classroom so they can communicate, collaborate, and contribute. Claim your space in this student-centered learning movement. Sign up at shareyourlearning.org!

Speakers

Michelle Pledger

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Garden Patio

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Maslow before Assessment for Learning: Investing in student with Love and Social Emotional Learning

Limited Capacity seats available

Quality student engagement and learning is more than instructional strategies and practices. This interactive session will explore the realities facing students, which make equitable assessment challenging. This session highlights the collaborative work of the Leadership Schools Network in Albuquerque, NM whose mission is to improve educational outcomes for marginalized students.

Participants will explore the necessary role of developmental relationship building, social emotional learning, and student support in positively priming students as a foundational building block of learning. They will self assess current practices, identify action steps, and articulate why this is important to share with other stakeholders in their communities.

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Hanover Room

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

Shared Learning, Collective Knowledge (and selfies!)

To fuel our movement, we need to spread the word about how and what the assessment for learning community is learning and building together. In the Garden Patio we'll have a few ways to help you do this. Let's make #RethinkAssessment trend!

Selfie Station: Did it really happen if there's no selfie? Take a photo with new friends and future collaborators.
Padlet: (https://spr.padlet.org/ALP/ALP) This is an app where we're digitally collecting conference artifacts for attendees. Check out the assessment maps from Day 1, and add pics of your own reflections.
Luddite Twitter: Write your ideas, reflections, inspirations and provocations on post-its and we'll tweet them for you!

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Garden Patio

Provocation

3:40pm PST

Using Formative Practices with a Blended Learning Model

We are curious about what formative practices and student agency look like with a personalized learning curriculum, such as Summit Learning Platform. What does the progression of student agency look like? How do teachers learn formative practices while using the blended learning experience? Are there different moves that had more impact for teacher and student learning that were different than the non-blended learning path?

Speakers

Jeni McIntyre

Manager of Elementary Data-Driven Instruction, Tulsa Public Schools

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Ballroom

Provocation, Unconference

3:40pm PST

What Do Students Do When They Are Only Learning Formative Assessment in One Classroom?

Come and talk with students and teachers as they explore how students use formative assessment beyond a formative assessment classroom.

Speakers

Joe Nelson

Tulsa Public Schools

Wednesday February 12, 2020 3:40pm - 5:00pm PST
Ballroom

Provocation, Unconference

5:00pm PST

A Body (of Evidence) Washes Up on the Beach

A provocation around the question, "What is a body of evidence?" Axiomatically, a "body of evidence" is essential to any Assessment for Learning system, and is almost built into the definition of an exhibition or portfolio -- but what is a "body" and what is "evidence?" How do you know it is sufficient? Justin and I have been thinking about this for a long time, and we still sometimes default to "know it when I see it." So, we would like to plumb the depths of wisdom of attendees to construct the concept of "body of evidence."

Speakers

Gary P Chapin

Wednesday February 12, 2020 5:00pm - 6:00pm PST
Beach Near Windsor Lawn

Provocation, Unconference

6:00pm PST

MetaRubric: Dinner Party Edition

Limited Capacity seats available

Love rubrics? Hate rubrics? This dinner is for you! Rubrics can be helpful for personalized, inquiry-driven and project-based learning, but creating a good rubric that goes beyond traditional assessment methods can be challenging. We invite you to experience assessment design in a playful way, by participating in MetaRubric: Dinner Party Edition. During this dinner, we will engage in a hands-on assessment design activity in which we assess our own dinner conversations. In doing this, we will expand our thinking about rubric design and criteria selection, and generate insights into the learner experience of rubrics.

Speakers

Louisa Rosenheck

Ed Tech Designer & Researcher, MIT

Wednesday February 12, 2020 6:00pm - 8:00pm PST
TBA

Provocation, Unconference