The CRAFT approach of assessment for learning is a strategy that can be applied at a subject level and at a whole school level to assess student learning from across the Key Stages. This accessible and innovative book provides a practical guide for teachers and schools on how the CRAFT approach can be applied by looking at each of the different elements of condensing, reflecting, assessing, feed-forward and target-driven improvement.
In the ‘CRAFT of Assessment’, Michael unpicks the five key principles to support middle and senior leaders in creating a climate for a meaningful, manageable and motivational whole-school approach to assessment through condense, reflect, assess, feedforward and target-driven improvement.
In Chapter 1, Michael explores the role of condensing learning to create meaningful knowledge sketches and ownership of their learning providing them with the platform to transform new learning into memorable materials that can be used to rehearse and deliberately practice.
In Chapter 2, Michael explores how teachers at both primary and secondary phases can create opportunities for pupils to strengthen memory connections through retrieval and spaced practice, using frequent low stake testing to review previously taught concepts and processes. This allows pupils to deliberately practice retrieval to improve long term memory and knowledge recall.
In Chapter 3, Michael considers the debate on the historical use of assessment to check for understanding and argues that the use of levels and grades have inevitably distorted the real value behind the use of formative and summative assessment, to support teachers and pupils in improving their outcomes.
In Chapter 4, Michael explores how the use of feedforward can support the focused re-teaching of misconceptions and further models of excellence informed by student outcomes from the formative and summative assessment.
In Chapter 5, looks at the research around the use of feedback in the classroom and the strategies that teachers can use to provide pupils with positive and specific targets to close the knowledge gaps by ‘holding the grade’. This enables students to use this time to conduct focused editing and re-scripting to effectively and constructively implement the directed improvements. This book would be suitable for teachers in both the primary and secondary phase.
