By Judy Ameline & Jordan Graham
“Knowledge-building, creativity and innovation, and honing of information management and literacy skills are key goals of the learning commons. The intentional teaching of these skills, as well as opportunities to utilize a variety of resources, technologies and spaces to support learning require collaboration and planning and thoughtful instructional design, as does the effective assessment of learning. Learners also need to ‘learn how to learn’ through deliberate design of opportunities to build metacognition of learning skills, process and content. It is essential to support both student and teacher growth and success in these areas.”
We hope you enjoy this annotated list curated by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Professional Library in the Library Learning Resources and Global Education Department.
Teacher-librarians play an important role in acting as a second set of eyes and ears to support assessment-based conversations with colleagues inside of the collaborative instruction relationship. This is an essential piece of the idea of “partnering” as it guides the instructional process from beginning to end. Many of the resources in this list share a common theme: the use of assessment to engage and motivate students and to help teachers improve their practice.
Links to TDSB Professional Library Catalogue records have been provided for some items (so you can see the summaries, MARC Records, etc.) but items are accessible only to TDSB staff.
Books
Alcock, M. (2018). The quest for learning: How to maximize student engagement. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Questing is an inquiry model that is adaptable to students’ interests and abilities and builds on differentiation and project-based learning. With the teacher as guide, questing enables the student to engage with their learning and develop the collaborative, problem solving, and critical thinking skills necessary to flourish in the 21st century.
Barell, J. (2016). Moving from what to what if: Teaching critical thinking with authentic inquiry and assessments. New York: Routledge.
This is a practical book for teachers that describes how to engage students with complex inquiries across the content areas, and to use meaningful methods to assess academic achievement. The author outlines practices of successful teachers and suggests strategies to try in your own classroom
Bartlett, J. (2015). Outstanding assessment for learning in the classroom. New York: Routledge.
A teacher’s guide with practical strategies for using assessment for learning to support and enhance the learning process. Describes strategies for making evaluation meaningful by embedding assessment in all aspects of the lesson and using student data to inform planning.
Brookhart, S. M. (2014). How to design questions and tasks to assess student thinking. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
This resource describes how to design assessments that evaluate students’ higher order thinking abilities. Providing concrete examples from varying subjects and grade levels, this book also includes an idea bank to help stimulate teachers’ creativity when creating assessment tasks.
Brookhart, S. M. (2017). How to give effective feedback to your students. 2nd ed. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Using rubrics and examples, the author instructs teachers how to construct and deliver individually tailored feedback in a manner that engages students and extends their learning.
Chappuis, J. (2014). Seven strategies of assessment for learning. Boston: Pearson.
A detailed, research-based description of seven assessment strategies designed to raise student achievement by addressing three essential questions: Where am I going? Where am I now? and, How can I close the gap?
Cooper, D. (2010). Talk about assessment: High school strategies and tools. Toronto: Nelson Education.
This handbook provides support for all assessments: diagnostic, formative, and summative. The author clearly describes best practices in assessment and includes hands-on tools to help teachers implement these practices in the classroom.
Cooper, R. (2016). Hacking project based learning: 10 easy steps to PBL and inquiry in the classroom. Cleveland, OH: Times 10 Publications.
This book sheds light on project based learning and the inquiry process through ten “hacks” that provide a blueprint for creating a culture of collaboration, inquiry and creativity in the classroom.
Crockett, L. W., & Churches, A. (2017). Mindful assessment: The 6 essential fluencies of innovative learning. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
This book describes six skills that the authors consider to be essential for students to be successful in the modern world. They view teaching as a response to learning rather than learning as a result of teaching and claim that assessment must be transformed to align with the practices of inquiry and project-based learning.
Dimich Vagle, N. (2015). Design in five: Essential phases to create engaging assessment practice. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
This book uses a five-phase process to demonstrate the planning and design of balanced, effective assessments that support and engage students and align with learning goals.
Dueck, M. (2014). Grading smarter, not harder: Assessment strategies that motivate kids and help them learn. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Many current assessment practices actually serve to demotivate students rather than engage them. Using real-life examples, his handbook describes the design and creation of assessments that measure student understanding of content to truly reflect the extent of their learning.
Feldman, J. (2019). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Inconsistent and inequitable assessment practices perpetuate achievement and opportunity gaps among students. This resource demonstrates how accurate, bias-resistant grading methods will motivate students, reduce grade inflation, and lower failure rates while improving teacher-student relationships and fostering a positive classroom environment.
Ferriter, W. M., & Cancellieri, P. (2017). Creating a culture of feedback: Solutions for creating the learning spaces students deserve. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
In this resource the authors discuss the need for balance between grading to report student progress and feedback to maintain students’ engagement and foster their motivation to move forward. This guide enables the teacher to help students evaluate their progress using three questions: Where am I going?, How am I doing?, and What are my next steps?
Fleet, A., Patterson, C., & Robertson, J. (Eds.). (2017). Pedagogical documentation in early years practice: Seeing through multiple perspectives. Los Angeles: Sage.
Pedagogical documentation is a method of assessing young children through observation. This resource highlights international research and discusses the use of video, outdoor learning environments and how to implement child-focused obervation practices in early years classrooms.
Greenstein, L. (2018). Restorative assessment: Strength-based practices that support all learners. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Restorative assessment offers students multiple ways to demonstrate their learning―which promotes equity by personalizing learning and tailoring assessment to the needs of individual students. This resource offers practical strategies and real world examples for implementing assessments that will make students feel both safe and challenged.
Guskey, T. R., & Brookhart, S. M. (2019). What we know about grading: What works, what doesn’t, and what’s next. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
A comprehensive review of research from the past century on grading and reporting. The editors identify four themes that emerge from the research and suggest strategies for teachers, school leaders, and policymakers. Best practices for assessment focus on clear learning goals, using feedback, limiting grade categories, and providing multiple grades that reflect different criteria to create a positive experience for students.
Loertscher, D. V., Koechlin, C., & Zwaan, S. (2009). The big think: Nine metacognative strategies that make the unit end just the beginning of learning. Salt Lake City, Utah: Hi Willow Research and Publishing.
This book introduces foundational concepts, reflective strategies, and full-length examples of strategies for teachers and teacher-librarians to use at the end of a learning experience. The authors encourage taking opportunities in instruction and assessment for these metacognitive activities to become better at building knowledge and knowing how to learn.
McCallum, D. (2015). The feedback-friendly classroom. Markham: Pembroke Publishers.
This book repositions feedback (from teacher to student, from student to student, and from student to teacher) as an essential and ongoing part of all learning that supports students academically, socially, and developmentally. The author offers specific strategies to create a culture of feedback and investigates instructional design, feedback frameworks, goal setting, and assessment in order to help students become better learners.
Meldrum, K. (2016). Assessment that matters: Using technology to personalize learning. Irvine, CA: EdTechTeam Press.
An investigation of how students can use technology as a tool to demonstrate their learning in creative and personalized ways with practical examples of how to gather rich information from the results while engaging with assessment as learning, assessment for learning and assessment of learning.
Miller, S. M., & Bass, W. (2019). Leading from the library: Help your school community thrive in the digital age. Eugene, OR: ISTE.
A reflection on the essential role of teacher-librarians as leaders in their school communities as experts and collaborators for digital literacy and citizenship, school culture, advocacy, and equity with references to ISTE standards and frameworks.
Mohammed, R. (2018). Creative learning in the early years: Nurturing the characteristics of creativity. New York: Routledge.
An accessible exploration of fostering creative skills, behaviours, and thinking in early learning with a chapter on formative assessment through observation and feedback. This book offers practical strategies with examples to integrate into existing practice.
Moreillon, J. (2018). Maximizing school librarian leadership: Building connections for learning and advocacy. Chicago: ALA Editions.
Guidance and inspiration for teacher-librarians embracing instructional leadership and partnership with a chapter on assessment. This book includes strategies and tools for school library leadership for all stakeholders.
Nottingham, J. (2017). Challenging learning through feedback: How to get the type, tone, and quality of feedback right every time. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
A guide for educators on crafting high quality feedback to improve student learning with specific examples and notes on common feedback mistakes to avoid. The authors offer strategies for recognizing when feedback is and isn’t working, designing feedback, creating clear learning intentions and success criteria, and teaching students to give high quality feedback to themselves and others.
O’Connor, K. (2018). How to grade for learning, K-12. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks,CA: Corwin Press.
A resource on classroom assessment and grading featuring the latest research on motivation, mindset, learning styles, and beliefs about fairness. The author provides eight guidelines for good grading, offers recommendations for practical applications, and gives suggestions for implementing more effective grading practices.
Stiggins, R. J. (2012). An introduction to student-involved assessment for learning. Boston: Pearson.
An introduction to using assessment to reflect student achievement and advance student learning by involving students in the assessment process. Written for pre-service teacher candidates, this text describes five strategies educators can apply to assessment design and implementation for all grade levels and subjects.
Tolisano, S. R., & Hale, J. A. (2018). A guide to documenting learning: Making thinking visible, meaningful, shareable, and amplified. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
A how-to book for educators on contemporary ways to document learning to enable students to reflect on and articulate their learning processes and educators to reflect on their own learning and classroom practice. The authors explain different types and purposes of documentation, offer ways to integrate documentation into curriculum, and include real examples of documentation in classrooms.
Wormeli, R. (2017). Fair isn’t always equal: Assessment & grading in the differentiated classroom. 2nd ed. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
A thought-provoking and realistic guide for assessment in differentiated classrooms. This book offers practical strategies and explanations of the principles behind them with the goal of empowering educators to assess students in a way that is fair and supports diverse student learning.
Internet Resources
Campbell, T. A., Brownlee, A., & Renton, C. A. (2016). Pedagogical Documentation: Opening Windows onto Learning. What Works? Research into Practice. Research monograph # 61. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education.
An introduction to different types of pedagogical documentation, to sharing the documented learning with students, parents, and colleagues, and to using the results as assessment for and of learning.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2010). Growing success assessment, evaluation and reporting in Ontario schools. Toronto: Queen’s Printer.
The policy for the assessment, evaluation, and reporting of student achievement in Ontario schools, from Kindergarten to Grade 12. This document provides the principles behind the policy, discussions of context or additional considerations related to the policy, and a glossary which includes definitions of assessment as, for, and of learning.
Pedagogical Documentation Revisited: Looking at Assessment and Learning in New Ways. (2015). Capacity Building Series. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education.
An exploration of using pedagogical documentation as an assessment tool for a better understanding of student learning with tips, criteria, and ethical considerations.
Pedagogical Documentation: Leading Learning in the Early Years and Beyond. (2012). Capacity Building Series. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education.
An introduction to using pedagogical documentation as an assessment tool with K-2 learners that highlights the benefits for both students and teachers, and offers tips for classroom implementation.
People for Education. (n.d.) Assessment and measurement: Beyond testing.
https://peopleforeducation.ca/mwm-sharing-the-thinking/assessment-measurement-insight/
An investigation of assessment that considers definitions and purposes, the complexities of assessment in learning environments where 21st century skills and global competencies are incorporated, and different methods and types of assessment.
Judy Ameline is a librarian at the Toronto District School Board Professional Library with almost 30 years experience providing reference service. She is passionate about providing TDSB teachers and leaders access to current, cutting edge information in the field of education to support their professional development needs. Check out the Library’s Pinterest Boards and follow her on Twitter @AmelineJudy.
Jordan Graham is enthusiastic about connecting people with diverse and empowering resources for learning; something she gets to do often in her role as a librarian at the Toronto District School Board Professional Library through the TDSB Virtual Library and events like TDSB Teachers Read. Her experience supporting JK-12 education through librarianship has taken her from a school library in China to the New York Public Library, and back home to Ontario. Follow her on Twitter @jobrarian and follow the TDSB Virtual Library @tdsbVL.