Assessment to Inform Health Instruction
This microcredential represents educators' effective and consistent use of a range of assessments to inform health instruction. This is the second microcredential in the Methods of Teaching Health stack, which fulfills one of the requirements of a pathway for endorsement.
To earn this microcredential you will collect and submit two sets of evidence demonstrating your effective and consistent use of a range of assessments to inform your health instruction. You will also complete a written or video reflective analysis.
Educators must use a range of different assessment techniques for their instruction to result in impactful student learning. Some of these assessments include the following:
Pre-assessment or diagnostic assessment: Before creating the instruction, it’s necessary to know for what kind of students you’re creating the instruction. Your goal is to get to know your students' strengths, weaknesses and the skills and knowledge they posses before taking the instruction. Based on the data you’ve collected, you can create your instruction.
Formative assessment: This is used in the first attempt of developing instruction. The goal is to monitor student learning to provide feedback. It helps to identify the first gaps in your instruction. Based on this feedback you’ll know what to focus on for further expansion for your instruction.
Summative assessment: Summative assessment is aimed at assessing the extent to which the most important outcomes at the end of the instruction have been reached. But it measures more: the effectiveness of learning, reactions on the instruction and the benefits on a long-term base. The long-term benefits can be determined by following students who attend your course, or test. You are able to see whether and how they use the learned knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Self-Assessment: Students must be given the opportunity to regularly assess their own learning. Self-assessment topics can include what students feel confident about, what they do not understand, and what they want to learn more about. Developing habits of self-assessment is key to helping students to become self-directed learners.
The Strand is the overarching topic. The Health Curriculum includes 1: Health Foundations 2: Mental & Emotional Health 3: Safety and Disease Prevention 4: Substance Abuse Prevention 5: Nutrition 6: Human Development
Example: Strand 1: HEALTH FOUNDATIONS AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS OF HEALTHY SELF (HF): Students will understand the responsibility and outcomes of personal decisions. Students will also apply their knowledge to develop social and emotional competence to make healthy and safe choices.
Standard:The standard is the sub-topic found within each specific strand.
Example: Standard HI.HF.1: Create a health-related SMART goal and explain how using the SMART goal-setting process promotes health and improves self-confidence.
Backward Planning:The process of designing a unit by first, identifying the goals or objectives of the unit. Second, determine the evidence (assessment) for that unit and third, proceed to create your lessons or learning experiences based on those goals or objectives. See the Backward Planning .pdf in the Resources Section.
Learning Intentions/Targets:Learning intentions are expressed as statements that signal to students what they will be learning, why they are learning it. (Fisher, Fry, Hattie 2018). What students will be learning during one day’s lesson. See the Learning Intentions video in the Resources section.
Success Criteria:How students will know they have met a learning intention (target); this is an assessment that takes place as learning occurs. Success criteria provide a gauge on progress toward learning and makes learning more visible to students and teachers. Examples may include rubrics, feedback, and self-assessment (Freibrun, 2019). See the Success Criteria video in the Resources section.
Educators will use the Utah Core Health Strands & Standards as well as their LEA adopted curriculum to include assessment activities into their lesson plan.
Category: Preparation and Planning
Submit the evidence listed below to demonstrate your effective and consistent preparation and planning for assessment of learning in health instruction.
Submit the assessments for a unit you have taught as a part of your health instruction. Your submission must include the following:
- Pre-assessment activities
- Daily formative assessment activities
- Final summative assessment unit activity
In a separate section, explain how your assessments align with the learning intentions/targets and success criteria of your unit.
Category: Implementation
Submit the evidence listed below to demonstrate your effective and consistent implementation of appropriate practices for instructional coaching.
Submit student pre-assessment and post-assessment data from the unit assessments you submitted as evidence of preparation and planning. This data should demonstrate your effective instruction on the Utah Core Standards for Health.
Be sure to follow your district/charter guidelines for student privacy.
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Evidence demonstrates effective and consistent use of a range of assessments to guide planning and instruction.
Criterion 2: Evidence demonstrates effective and consistent instruction based on pre- and post-assessment data.
Criterion 3: Evidence demonstrates effective and consistent planning for a range of assessments.
How do you use pre-assessments to guide your planning and instruction? Give an example.
How do you give effective feedback to your students based on daily formative assessment? How do they benefit from this feedback?
Review Criteria
Criterion 1: Reflection demonstrates effective use of pre-assessment data to guide planning.
Criterion 2: Reflection demonstrates effective and consistent use of feedback to support student learning.
https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/developing-assessment-capable-visible-learners-grades-k-12/book258027
This book is the foundation of making learning visible for students and teachers specific to teacher clarity.
Corwin Education- Assessment-Capable Visible Learners Video Resources
https://resources.corwin.com/assessment-capable/student-resources/videos
This video gives brief descriptions of learning intentions (targets) and success criteria.
Spark Motivation in Your Students with Success Criteria
https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/spark-motivation-in-your-students-with-success-criteria
Article providing information and examples of success criteria.
Understanding By Design. Chapter 1 What is Backward Design?
https://educationaltechnology.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/backward-design.pdf
This is a pdf from the website above of chapter 1 from the book, Understanding By Design by Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe. Copyright ASCD 1998
Utah Core Standards for Health
https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/ed906f78-eaf5-44fa-892f-984e28c4c2a7
The Utah Core Standards are organized into strands, which represent significant areas of learning within content areas. Depending on the core area, these strands may be designated by time periods, thematic principles, modes of practice, or other organizing principles. Within each strand are standards. A standard is an articulation of the demonstrated proficiency to be obtained. A standard represents an essential element of the learning that is expected. While some standards within a strand may be more comprehensive than others, all standards are essential for mastery.
University, C. M. (n.d.). Formative vs Summative Assessment - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University.
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20formative%20assessment,target%20areas%20that%20need%20work.
Carnegie Mellon University, Eberly Center
Alan Byard
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807