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Formative Assessment PLC Resources

An introduction to formative assessment practices developed by Margaret Heritage for the Oregon Department of Education.

PLC Structure

The resources are designed to be implemented in a well-established PLC with an experienced facilitator. The facilitator guides are developed as a starting place for facilitating discussions and can be adapted by the facilitator.

The PLC each require 60 minutes of meeting time and a commitment to apply the learning from one module prior to convening for the next module. All PLC resources include the same structure: they each require 60 minutes of meeting time and a commitment to apply the learning prior to convening for the next. The structure follows:

  • Connection to Professional Practice
  • Introduction of New Content (Audio slide presentation with recorded narration or a script for local facilitation)
  • Discussion
  • Application

Formative Assessment PLC Modules

PLC modules focused on building an introductory understanding of the formative assessment process.

  • What formative assessment is and what it is not
  • How formative assessment is part of a comprehensive assessment system
  • In the context of multi-tiered systems of support/RTI, how effective formative assessment can improve all students’ learning

Materials

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  • Establishing learning goals and success criteria
  • Intentionally gathering evidence of learning

Materials

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High-leverage teaching strategies and how to implement them

Materials

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  • Student role in formative assessment
    • Using feedback
    • Providing peer feedback
    • Engaging in self-assessment
  • Classroom culture for student role in formative assessment
  • Lesson planning template

Materials

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Language Learning Progression PLC Modules

PLC modules focused on helping educators develop a research-based understanding of how language develops and to identify where individual students are at in their academic language proficiency.

Eight DLLP Language Features

What are Learning Progressions?

  • Learning progressions and formative assessment
  • Theory of action for DLLP

Try It Out

Noticing word, sentence, and discourse in your classrooms.

Materials

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Overview of DLLP Organization

  • High-leverage language features of the DLLP
  • Finding the 'best fit'

Try It Out

Noticing one student's use of one language feature in your classroom.

Materials

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​Preparing for Initial Application of DLLP

  • High-leverage language feature: vocabulary
  • 'Best fit' - vocabulary

​Try It Out

Noticing topic vocabulary use by two students in your classroom.

​Materials

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Second Application of DLLP

  • High-leverage language feature: sentence structure
  • 'Best fit' - sentence structures

Try It Out

Noticing sentence structure use by two students in your classroom

Materials

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Practice Implementation: After completing the PLC modules, spend three weeks practicing with your colleagues before moving onto the last two modules.

Combining Language Learning Progressions with Formative Assessment PLC Modules

PLC modules focused on helping educators apply their understanding of how to build academic language proficiency within the context of a formative assessment lesson plan.

Preparing to Re-implement the DLLP

  • Learning how to refine content lessons to include language learning
  • Thinking about next steps

Try It Out

  • Select and refine lesson plan for content and language learning
  • Implement lesson, obtain evidence of language, and decide on next steps

Materials

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Review and Implementation

  • Consider what was learned from implementation
  • Prepare for second lesson plan implementation

Try It Out

  • Select and refine lesson plan for content and language learning
  • Implement lesson, obtain evidence of language, and decide on next steps, plan to continue implementation

Materials

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Continue Implementation: After completing the PLC modules, continue practicing with your colleagues and revist resources as needed.

Thank you to Corwin Press for permitting use of the Dynamic Language Learning Progression (DLLP) materials from the book, “Progressing Students' Language Day by Day.” And thank you to WIDA for their support of the DLLP project.

This work is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.