Teaching & Learning

Assessment and Feedback 2019

St Bede’s College is committed to continuous improvement in professional practice; it is for this purpose that we have been working with Ms Bronwyn Ryrie Jones from The University of Melbourne’s Assessment Research Centre (https://education.unimelb.edu.au/arc ) to update our assessment and feedback practices.   Over the course of the next two years, the college will be adopting a developmental assessment model in subjects from Years 7 to 10, and in VCAL.   The framework is based on the work of the esteemed educationalist Professor Patrick Griffin, and brings together much of the contemporary research about effective instruction, differentiation and authentic assessment.

Professional Learning

During professional learning time on Monday September 3 and Monday September 17, we were fortunate to have Bronwyn work with the entire teaching staff.  Later this year and during the course of 2019 and 2020, Bronwyn will work with a range of teaching teams to develop tools and resources for improved instruction, assessment and feedback. 

What is a developmental assessment model?

A developmental model of learning begins with the assumption that all students can learn.  Skills and content in particular subject areas are mapped on a progression, with teaching and feedback targeted to where students are on that progression of learning.   The goal of this whole school project is to develop a framework for assessment and feedback that promotes learning.

What does this mean for the St Bede’s Community?

Parents and carers may notice that in some subject areas and year levels, feedback will look considerably different.  Some written feedback will be replaced by rubrics.

What is a Rubric?

Rubrics are the most common tools used to provide developmental feedback.  Rubrics are graphic representations of the learning progression.  Where appropriate, subject teams will develop electronic rubrics, which will replace most of the written feedback on the SIMON Parent Access Module each upload.

Please note that rubrics are not appropriate for all subject areas and assessment tasks, therefore in some cases written feedback will remain in place beyond 2020.

Ms Maria Haggett

Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning