Inquiry Mindset: Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning

By Trevor MacKenzie

How can we . . .

• Help students see themselves in a more positive, confident, and personally fulfilling light?
• Cultivate the conditions for agency and equity in our classrooms and schools so all learners can thrive?
• Shift education so that our students become mo

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elevate Books Edu
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781735204642

Book preview

Inquiry Mindset: Assessment edition

Praise for Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition

"Trevor MacKenzie is a gifted educator who truly puts learners at the center of his teaching. In Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition, Trevor responds to the need for a personalized, reflective, collaborative, and responsive assessment experience for all learners. Trevor’s rich and reflective stories, inspiring ideas, carefully crafted processes, and guiding questions are inspiring, intentionally scaffolded, practical, and applicable to all age groups. With Trevor as your guide, you will find alignment to the early learning years and be left feeling empowered, supported and ready to strengthen your child-centered assessment practices."

Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt, teacher and coauthor of Inquiry Mindset: Elementary Edition

This is music to my ears! Clear, personal, and eminently practical, Trevor MacKenzie’s new book will be core reading for all those who, like me, believe that education has to be about building character as well as knowledge.

Guy Claxton, author of The Learning Power Approach

"Trevor MacKenzie has done it again! He has gifted us with his heart and his mind wrapped up in a practical guide to developing more student agency in our assessment practice. At a time when many of us knew the why but not the how of inquiry, Trevor’s ground-breaking books Dive into Inquiry and Inquiry Mindset gently guided us away from traditional teaching models and provided practical and engaging ways to foster student agency and develop curious, thoughtful learners. His new book, Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition, builds on the foundation of that inquiry, infusing more student voice, agency, and meaning into our assessment practice. Filled with practical tools to guide you through the behaviours, tasks, routines, and protocols, this book is the next step in developing an authentic inquiry-based classroom where students become partners in their own learning and assessment practice. A must-have in your classroom and schools! Thank you, Trevor!"

Adrienne Gear, teacher, author, speaker

Trevor MacKenzie is a thoughtful educator—by that I mean full of thought as well as caring and sensitive. His new book continues to share his fundamental beliefs that teaching is mostly listening and learning is mostly telling. Trevor helps his students develop and grow their capacities to become more self-assessing. He provides metacognitive prompts, reflective questions, and many processes that bring student voice into practice with a clarion call for inquiry and engagement as an integral part of evaluating their work.

Bena Kallick, author of Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind

"Teachers committed to personalizing learning and to engaging their students in inquiry must inevitably confront an assessment question: How do we transform a process that is typically done to students into one that honors student agency and treats them as assessment partners? Guided by ten beliefs about student-centered assessment, this book spells out the specific steps needed to enact these beliefs. Centered by an overarching conceptual framework, MacKenzie’s eminent clarity and practicality is derived from years of classroom practices. Indeed, he generously dispenses actionable nuggets on nearly every page. If you value inquiry and seek to develop reflective, self-directed students, get this book. It is brimming with advice and seasoned with soul. Your students will thank you."

Jay McTighe, coauthor of the Understanding by Design® framework

"The Latin root of the word assess means to sit beside and that is precisely what MacKenzie does for his students and the readers of his inspiring new book. For too long, students have been left out of the assessment conversation. With stories, visuals, questions, and thoughtful examples from his own classroom, MacKenzie explains why and how we should pull up a chair for our students."

Kimberly Mitchell, teacher, author of Experience Inquiry

This issue of assessment is one many educators find challenging when exploring more inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning. This book is a timely and helpful contribution to the field. Written in his characteristically warm and accessible style, Trevor has drawn largely on his own experiences as a teacher to offer solid, practical guidance, underpinned by his unwavering passion for an approach that positions the student as an empowered participant in the learning journey for which they are ultimately responsible. I have no doubt teachers will find this a valuable addition to their collection.

Kath Murdoch, teacher, author of The Power of Inquiry

This is the right book at the right time. Trevor’s books are always chock-full of fantastic tips, tricks, and tools to help every type of educator, but this one is near and dear to my heart because assessment is the tail that wags the education dog; it’s really at the heart of all learning design. Trevor outlines steps for teachers and administrators to use in designing excellent assessment for all kinds of classrooms to ensure students are truly engaged in the process—seeking feedback, using feedback to improve, and learning how to give effective feedback. I found myself earmarking almost every page with something I want to try. I work with schools around the world to help them redesign and align their curriculum and assessment, and this is a book I’ll be recommending to those schools from now on. It’s a perfect starting point for the work educators need to do to make assessment authentic, meaningful, and powerful.

Alexis Wiggins, teacher, author of The Best Class You Never Taught

Inquiry Mindset: Assessment edition

Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning

Trevor MacKenzie

ElevateBooksEdu

Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition

© 2021 by Trevor MacKenzie

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing by the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. For information regarding permission, contact the publisher at elevatebooksedu.com.

These books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity for use as premiums, promotions, fundraising, and educational use. For inquiries and details, contact the author: trevormackenzie.com/contact.

Published by Elevate Books EDU

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021934181

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7352046-3-5

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7352046-4-2

Also in the Inquiry Mindset Series

Dive into Inquiry

Dive into Inquiry

Amplify Learning and Empower Student Voice

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By Trevor MacKenzie

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Dive into Inquiry beautifully marries the voice and choice of inquiry with the structure and support required to optimize learning. With Dive into Inquiry, you’ll gain an understanding of how to best support your learners as they shift from a traditional learning model into the inquiry classroom where student agency is fostered and celebrated each and every day.

Inquiry Mindset: Elementary Edition

Inquiry Mindset: Elementary Edition

Nurturing the Dreams, Wonders, and Curiosities of Our Youngest Learners

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By Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt

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Inquiry Mindset offers a highly accessible journey through inquiry in the younger years. Learn how to empower your students, increase engagement, and accelerate learning by harnessing the power of curiosity. With practical examples and a step-by-step guide to inquiry, Trevor MacKenzie and Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt make inquiry-based learning simple.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my sons Ewan and Gregor.

Thank you for being unwaveringly true to yourselves in your own amazing ways and for continuing to teach me how to be a better version of myself.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Section 1

Student-Centred Assessment Beliefs

Nurture Student Ownership of Assessment

Section 2

Co-Design and Co-Construct

The Power of Talk in Assessment

Set Personalized Goals and Plan the Process

Asking the Right Questions

Flip the Feedback

Relationships Pave the Way

Peer and Self-Assessment

Process over Product

Conferring about Learning and Practicing Collaboration

The Power of Student Voice in Reporting

Section 3

Create Assessment Alignment and Capacity School-Wide

Inquiry as a Responsive Pedagogy: The Power of the Pivot

Teaching Transparently: Sharing Your Values

Conclusion

Suggested Reading

Acknowledgments

References

Are You Ready to Elevate Your Inquiry Mindset?

About the Author

Foreword

Let’s face it: Assessment can be vexing as a word, a concept, and a practice. Some educators fixate on it to the exclusion of good teaching practices, saying, This is all well and good, but how do we assess it? It’s as if they see no point in creating optimal conditions for learning that engage students if, in the end, it doesn’t produce an outcome that can be easily quantified. Such teachers may even prioritize assessments as the goal of teaching rather than creating optimal conditions for learning. Other times, educators get confused by the language of assessment and hence talk by, over, or past our colleagues and students because we each assume they are using the term in the same way we are. Some may use the word assessment to mean evaluation, grades, and scores, while others mean feedback, a conversation, or taking stock of our teaching. Even when assessment is understood to take different forms, it might be simply dichotomized as summative or formative and reduced to merely describe different types of tasks and how they get dealt with in terms of grading. And then there is the plethora of assessment practices to contend with: rubrics, portfolios, tests, conferences, exit tickets, surveys, tests, projects, and so on. To be sure, we, as a profession, need to better understand the complexities, forms, purposes, practices, goals, and meanings of assessment. What might it look like to map the broad terrain of assessment?

I propose that we think of assessment as occurring on two dimensions. The first dimension (let’s set this on a horizontal continua), is the degree of evaluation in which we engage. At the far end of this continua (we’ll place it on the right), we are highly evaluative, desiring scores and measures that quantify outcomes in a fairly precise way. Here, we judge work against clearly defined criteria that we apply to see just how close to the mark a student gets. Such evaluation can produce ranks and comparisons. On the other end of this continua (we’ll place it on the left), we might seek to understand students where they are, making sense of their actions and responding through our grounded interpretation. Here, rather than coming with predetermined criteria, we open ourselves to the possibilities and variations in both learning styles and outcomes that a close examination of our students’ learning might provide.

The second dimension (let’s set this on a vertical continua), is the extent to which our assessments are integrated in our instruction and are part of the ongoing learning of the classroom. At one end (we’ll place it at the top), we have assessment that is highly embedded in our teaching and students’ learning. That means that we don’t stop or pause our instruction in order to assess but instead embed it as a regular part of our practice. At the other end of the continua (placed at the bottom), we have assessment that is set apart from instruction and student learning. Here, we declare a formal end to our instruction and move into a deliberate assessment phase that we hope will reveal something about students’ learning.

A basic graph of these two dimensions produces four quadrants that we might use to map the terrain of assessment. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1: Mapping Assessment on Two Dimensions

With this map of the terrain in hand, we can begin to place our various assessment practices in the appropriate quadrant. Let’s begin with Quadrant D since this represents the traditional way schools have thought about assessment. This quadrant is characterized by highly evaluative practices that are set apart from our teaching practice: The teaching is completed, and now it is time for students to show their learning in a manner we can evaluate. Here we have practices such as tests and formal summative assessments. In the farthest extreme of the lower, right-hand corner we have district, state, or provincial tests, national exams, or tests administered by outside agencies.

Continuing in the set apart range, let’s consider the assessment practices of Quadrant C. These practices once again are characterized as not an embedded part of our teaching, but they differ from Quadrant D in that they are low judgement and more interpretive in nature. Examples here would be the practice of Looking at Student Work (LASW), examination of teacher’s documentation of learning, or video analysis. Typically these practices are done as part of a professional learning group and aided by the use of protocols. The goal here is not to evaluate students or score their work, but to look for learning in whatever form it might take. Another assessment practice that fits in this quadrant is clinical interviewing in which we remove students from class to engage in one-on-one interviews to help us learn more about students’ learning. Such interviews can be evaluative, if one has in mind a ranking or comparison of students, or interpretative, such as Piagetian-style interviews.

Moving to the upper part of our map, let us consider Quadrant B. Here we have assessment that is low in its judgment and embedded in our instruction. This is the assessment that happens in class and informs our instruction on the spot. We might call this kind of assessment part of our formative and responsive practice as teachers. We read the class, we gather clues and evidence, we check for understanding and misconceptions all with an eye toward modifying our instruction. This is perhaps one of the key skills teachers acquire over time and one that beginning teachers strive to master. One way to help develop these skills is by spending time engaging in Quadrant B practices. When we look carefully at documentation of learning in a low-stress, set-apart context, we begin to develop the eyes with which to see learning as it unfolds in front of us.

Finally, we arrive at Quadrant A, in which our assessment practices are embedded in our teaching and students’ learning and are evaluative in nature. To be evaluative should not be considered negatively. One wants their swim coach to evaluate one’s stroke and consistency, for instance. Building class criteria of what quality work looks like can be extremely useful. Nor does evaluation always have to come from the outside. As a learner, one can set goals for oneself that can be used to evaluate progress. One practice in this quadrant is the feedback we provide to students on their performance. To give effective feedback, some criteria has to be applied. Providing good feedback on students’ writing requires that we understand what constitutes quality writing, how far the student is from that goal, and what immediate actions might allow them to make some progress. The use of rubrics or success criteria as well as student and peer assessment practices also fit in this quadrant.

The point of this mapping is not to label any of these sets of practices as good or bad but to map the terrain, to provide a bird’s eye view, if you will, about what assessment can mean in different contexts. All of these assessment practices have their place and purpose. Another point of a map is to help us navigate—to know where we are, and where we might go or want to be. Where do your current assessment practices fit on the map? Are you and your colleagues spending most of your time in Quadrant D as many teachers do? What other quadrants need to be explored?

As you read, Trevor MacKenzie’s Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition, I hope this orientation will be helpful as you both navigate and explore the rich and varied terrain of assessment he lays out for us as readers. As he shares various practices with you, think about where they might fit on the map. How embedded are they? How much evaluation is going on? As you read, you’ll find that Trevor takes us deep inside the practices associated with Quadrant A, providing real, classroom examples that help us better understand what is possible in this area. Most importantly perhaps, he shows us what is possible to do with our students as co-collaborators. He helps us explore the forms assessment practices in this quadrant can take when we adopt the mindset of assessment as something we do with our students rather than do to them.

Trevor also invites us into the deep, rich, and sometimes challenging practices of Quadrant B. These assessment skills, what I have called formative and responsive practices, can be hard to acquire and, at times, challenging to fully understand. While this is true for new teachers, it is also true for anyone just starting their journey as an inquiry teacher. As Trevor himself mentions, I’ve come to understand that one of the most powerful behaviours exhibited by a teacher in inquiry is their responsiveness. He calls this the power of the pivot, and invites us into his thinking as a master facilitator of student inquiry and experienced coach. When an expert makes their thinking visible to us, as Trevor does here, we are invited into a cognitive apprenticeship in which we not only learn the expert’s practices but also the expert’s way of thinking.

Quadrant C and D