Page 37 - Learning for All – A Guide to Effective Assessment and Instruction for All Students, Kindergarten to Grade 12, 2013

Planning Assessment and Instruction • 35
Note that the sample class profiles on pages 40 and 41 provide two columns for recording the information noted above for each student, under the headings “Learning Profile” and “Strengths/Areas of Need”.
Why Develop a Class Profile?
The class profile assists in:
• sorting, categorizing, and summarizing classroom data;
• detecting patterns of similarities and differences among the students that will
help guide the planning of assessment and instruction;
• engaging in evidence-based teacher inquiry centred on student learning;
• using data to design differentiated instruction;
• forming flexible groupings;
• monitoring student progress by noting results of ongoing assessments;
• making adjustments in response to assessment results to better focus instruction;
• sharing information among fellow educators and parents.
The profile provides an at-a-glance summary of the strengths and needs of all the students in the class and can serve as a quick reference for daily planning.
School boards may develop (or may already have developed) their own templates for use
in their schools, or they may be using different types of charts, diagrams, and electronic templates and data sources from which class profiles can be generated. The particular con- figuration of the class profile is not critical. What is important is that a consistent process
is followed and that common planning tools are used, so that teachers can become familiar with each student’s “learning and growth continuum” and can plan personalized and precise assessment and instruction. When a consistent approach is used, a team of educators can be engaged in a systematic and collaborative process to share information, conduct collaborative inquiry, and plan effective assessment and instructional strategies.
For maximum effect, this collaborative process should include the students themselves.
As students become partners in their own learning, their self-knowledge grows. They come to understand more about their strengths, interests, and aspirations. It is important to note that their engagement in this process will also give them insights that they can apply as they develop their All About Me portfolios (in Kindergarten to Grade 6) and their Individual Pathways Plans (IPPs) (in Grades 7 through 12), as outlined in Creating Pathways to Success: An Education and Career/Life Planning Program for Ontario Schools – Policy and Program Requirements, Kindergarten to Grade 12 (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013; available
at www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/policy/cps/index.html).