Using formative assessment rubrics in Ethical Capability€¦ · Web viewThe formative assessment...

Using formative assessment rubrics in Ethical Capability

Ethical concepts and reasoning Levels 3 to 6

Authorised and published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment AuthorityLevel 7, 2 Lonsdale StreetMelbourne VIC 3000

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ContentsThe formative assessment rubric...................................................................................................5

Links to the Victorian Curriculum F–10...................................................................................5

The formative assessment task......................................................................................................7

Description of the task (administration guidelines)..................................................................7

Evidence collected from this task............................................................................................7

Sample task sheet..........................................................................................................................8

Interpreting evidence of student learning...........................................................................................9

Setting the scene............................................................................................................................9

Sample 1...................................................................................................................................10

Evidence of student learning.................................................................................................10

Interpretation of evidence......................................................................................................11

Sample 2...................................................................................................................................12



Sample 3...................................................................................................................................14



Using evidence to plan for future teaching and learning..............................................................17

Teacher reflections.......................................................................................................................17


What is formative assessment?Formative assessment is any assessment that is used to improve teaching and learning. Best-practice formative assessment uses a rigorous approach in which each step of the assessment process is carefully thought through.

Assessment is a three-step process by which evidence is collected, interpreted and used. By definition, the final step of formative assessment requires a use that improves teaching and learning.

For the best results, teachers can work together to interrogate the curriculum and use their professional expertise and knowledge of their students to outline a learning continuum including a rubric of measurable, user-friendly descriptions of skills and knowledge. Teachers can draw on this learning continuum and rubric to decide how to collect evidence of each student’s current learning in order to provide formative feedback and understand what they are ready to learn next.

The VCAA’s Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics outlines how to develop a formative assessment rubric to collect, interpret and use evidence of student learning to plan teaching and learning. For more information about formative assessment and to access a copy of the guide, please go to the Formative Assessment section of the VCAA website.

Using formative assessment rubrics in schoolsThis document is based on the material developed by one group of teachers in the 2019 Formative Assessment Rubrics project. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority partnered with the Assessment Research Centre, University of Melbourne, to provide professional learning for teachers interested in strengthening their understanding and use of formative assessment rubrics.

This resource includes a sample formative assessment rubric, a description of a task/activity undertaken to gather evidence of learning, and annotated student work samples.

Schools have flexibility in how they choose to use this resource, including as:

a model that they adapt to suit their own teaching and learning plans a resource to support them as they develop their own formative assessment rubrics and

tasks.

This resource is not an exemplar.

Additional support and advice on high-quality curriculum planning is available from the Curriculum Planning Resource.

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http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/aboutus/policies/policy-copyright.aspx

http://curriculumplanning.vcaa.vic.edu.au/


The formative assessment rubricThe rubric in this document was developed to help inform teaching and learning in Ethical Capability. This rubric supports the explicit teaching of understanding concepts and reasoning related to ethical issues.

Links to the Victorian Curriculum F–10

Curriculum area: Ethical Capability

Strands: Understanding Concepts (extract)

Decision Making and Actions (extract)

Levels/Bands: Levels 3 and 4 to 5 and 6

Achievement standard/s extract: Levels 3 and 4:

Students use concrete examples from a range of contexts to explain the contested meaning of concepts and significance of acts. They explain how to identify ethical considerations in problems.

Students use examples to evaluate ethical actions in relation to their outcomes….

Levels 5 and 6:

Students explain different ways to respond to ethical problems… (they) identify different issues associated with a particular problem.

Content descriptions: Levels 3 and 4:

Explore the extent to which particular acts might be regarded by different people as good or bad, right or wrong, better or worse, and explain why (VCECU005).

Discuss the ways to identify ethical considerations in a range of problems (VCECU006).

Explore how apparently wrong actions can sometimes lead to good outcomes and the reverse (VCECD007).

Levels 5 and 6:

Examine how problems may contain more than one ethical issue (VCECU011).

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https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Curriculum/ContentDescription/VCECU011

https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Curriculum/ContentDescription/VCECD007




Explore the significance of ‘means versus ends’ by considering two ways to act when presented with a problem: one that privileges means and one ends (VCECD012).

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https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Curriculum/ContentDescription/VCECD012


Learning continuumEthical Capability Levels 3 and 4 to 5 and 6Strands: Understanding Concepts Decision Making and Actions

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Students identify ethical issues and express a personal opinion on whether something is right or wrong.

Students link feelings, and knowledge of intention and outcomes, to a point of view.

Students explain how an ethical issue might contain a range of challenges and why people might disagree on how to respond.

Organising element Action Insufficient evidence Quality criteria

Understanding concepts

1. Explains issues 1.0 Insufficient evidence

1.1 Identifies an ethical issue. 1.2 Explains different aspects of an ethical issue.

2. Explains perspectives 2.0 Insufficient evidence

2.1 Expresses personal opinion on an issue linked to perception of right and wrong.

2.2 Links feelings on an issue to perceptions of right and wrong.

2.3 Describes another point of view on an ethical issue.

Decision making and actions

3. Uses ethics to justify reasoning

3.0 Insufficient evidence

3.1 Applies knowledge of intention and outcomes to explain a point of view.

3.2 Refers to means and ends to assist explanation of disagreements about what is right or wrong.

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The formative assessment taskThe following formative assessment task was developed to elicit evidence of each student’s current learning and what they are ready to learn next.

Description of the task (administration guidelines)

The task is designed to work with a range of ethical issues as a context for assessing student understanding. It is up to the teacher to choose how to scaffold the lesson or sequence of lessons within a unit. Consider using the rubric at the beginning as a pre-test or during the unit to check learning progress

The task aims to assess Ethical Capability in regard to an investigation of an issue where students present their research/findings/position/opinion on a chosen topic/issue.

An introduction to the topic should be taught explicitly and take one lesson. This will include introducing relevant content and should cover:

How to identify a range of issues and perspectives embedded in a big ethical issue

How feelings might influence perceptions of right and wrong

How people can be motivated to achieve a good outcome but sometimes the expected outcome does not occur and reasons for this

Reasons why sometimes what is predicted to turn out badly actually turns out well

The difference between means and ends and how thinking about means and ends can help in resolving ethical issues.

The lesson started with a discussion about ‘What is an ethical issue?’ and ‘What is an ethical dilemma?’ The class came up with a list of issues and dilemmas that were relevant to them and the discussion explored different points of view for some of these.

Sequence of lessons

One 30-minute lesson to discuss the concepts of ethical issues and dilemmas including discussion and reflection in drawing and/or writing.

Two 30-minute lessons to write a response to the issue using evidence to back this up.

Evidence collected from this task

Evidence collected from this task could include:

Perusal of student notes in their books

Perusals of short writing answers

Posters submitted by students

Teacher reflection on anecdotal evidence from class discussions.

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Sample task sheet

Ethical Capabilities Task – Primary

Name:_____________________ Your task is to explore an ethical issue based upon our current topic and to create a poster or written response to the issue, showing both sides of the story.

Issue: ______________________________________________________________________ Use the following as a guide to help you explore the issue: identify the ethical issue identify who or what is affected by this issue describe the setting in which your ethical issue took place explain points of view (for and against).

Based on your investigations, you will present your opinion on the following: Imagine you were given a particular role in this issue (to be decided by your teacher).

How would you feel if were on both this side and the other side? Reflect on the difficulties of making an ethical decision. Can you justify whether the decision made was right and/or wrong and why? Be prepared to present your findings to the class. You will present your findings to your peers to show your understanding about the ethical concerns of the issue. I will provide you with feedback on your presentation including your poster or written response and what you say when presenting it.

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Interpreting evidence of student learning Evidence collected from each student was mapped against the rubric:

The quality criteria that were achieved were shaded in blue. The phase that the student is ready to learn next was shaded in green.

Please note, the following annotated student work samples are representative examples only.

Setting the scene These work samples were collected from Year 3/4 classroom in a regional primary

school. This activity was undertaken as part of our ‘Out and About’ program, which has a focus

on connection to the environment. The students have a strong connection to a place in our local coastal community. This context provided the prompt for our focus on a dilemma and for asking the students where they stand on an issue. Students were also familiar with writing persuasive texts and making posters to demonstrate thinking and learning. Students were given a choice of how to respond to this issue through words or images, or a combination of both.

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Sample 1

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Sample 1: Evidence of student learning

Annotations based on written/visual response and verbal presentations 1.1 The student identified an ethical issue associated with building the pool: animals

dying 2.1 The student expressed a personal opinion on an issue ‘I think’ with the use of the

word ‘die’ and ‘should not’ indicating that they believe that it would be wrong to build the pool.

3.0 The student did not provide an explanation in terms of intentions and outcomes or means and ends.

What is the student ready to learn next?The student is able to identify an issue and their personal view and is ready to provide a more detailed explanation for their view.

Learning continuum Ethical Capability Levels 3 and 4 to 5 and 6 Strands: Understanding Concepts Decision Making and Actions










2.1 Expresses personal opinion on issue linked to perception of right and wrong.








Any feedback given

The student was prompted to consider reasons why some people might think building a pool on the site would be good and to compare their own thinking to this view.

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Annotations based on written/visual response and verbal presentations 1.2 the student recognises that having a pool would be pleasant for them but also

impacts on the environment 2.1 the student expresses a personal opinion on the issue 3.0 the student was not able to clearly explain how they weighed up the pleasure of

having a pool against the value of the Deep Creek site to the environment as well as themselves and peers

What is the student ready to learn next?This student discusses her point of view on the issue but lacks detail.



















Any feedback givenThe student was prompted to compare the pleasure of having a pool against the impact on the environment more explicitly in terms of intentions and outcomes.

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Annotations based on written/visual response and verbal presentations 1.2 the student identifies several issues associated with building the pool 2.2 the student makes a connection between why Deep Creek is valued and feelings

about the building of the pool 3.0 while the student gives detailed explanations of likely outcomes, they do not make an

explicit link to intentions or means and ends

What is the student ready to learn next?This student was able to give several reasons with evidence and used ethical concepts such as ‘suffer’ in their response.

Any feedback given

The student was prompted to consider why some people might like having a pool and were shown how to use their point of view to more explicitly persuade people who might like to have a pool but did not realise or intend for animals to suffer to that extent.

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Using evidence to plan for future teaching and learningThe students were very capable at expressing their point of view, using student voice, and we reflected on why this is so evident. The students regularly participate in assemblies and are confident expressing ideas. This has been an ongoing focus and has supported their expression of opinions. The data from this task showed us that there were students who may have scored higher in the rubric had we provided additional scaffolding based on their responses.

The next lessons would focus on multiple points of view related to an ethical issue including identifying all stakeholders involved and exploring reasons for their possible responses.

Teacher reflectionsI would start next time by exploring more issues before moving on. This is because different points of view were not evident and it may take some lessons to acquaint students with the skills to transfer their thinking to another point of view, particularly when the topic is so important to them.

I think sometimes you need to use the rubric for several lessons before adapting, so I would leave it as it is for now. I can see how we would use this rubric for many of our lessons connected to our ‘Out and About’ program, which focuses on the relationships between students and nature.

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