Hi Marie 
 
We use scenarios all the time  in professional development - they help make concepts real and participants can relate what they have been working on to a real live situation. 
Usually I use my own or other colleagues' personal experiences 
Scenarios are very flexible too - a former colleague of mine taught me to how to start them off in quite a simple way and then either make them layered by adding more information or by getting the participants to add more information - that way you find out what they are doing and are able to ask rich questions about why they chose to add that information 
 
Prior to that I had spent a lot of time writing quite complex and rich scenarios and sometimes they didn't relate to the participants' experiences so this way they build the scenario too  and have a strong sense of ownership 
 
I find scenarios really useful in making explicit the wide range of opportunities that exist for formative assessment - we put  a lot of emphasis on observation and recording as formative assessment rather than 'testing' per se 
Observation requires some knowledge on behalf of the teacher and a commitment to enquiry - when they see something that they are not sure about then they ask someone or work out what was happening 
 
When I was first involved in PD I came across participants who had to comment about every aspect of the course giving little examples. Initially I found this extremely irritating until it finally dawned on me that this  was their comprehension strategy and while others might internalise what they are learning some people haven't developed that as a strategy yet. 
 
In New Zealand we call IEPs Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and every learner in a literacy programme is meant to have one - regarded as good practice. Certainly our practice is that they are developed  with the learner - they have a copy of them and that the goals in the ILPs are regularly reviewed. 
In the UK part of their  Skills for Strategy was ther mandatory use of ILPs - there have been a number of issues around ILPs with low level ESOL learners 
 
 see http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=19
 
regards Susan Reid 

________________________________

From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Marie Cora
Sent: Thu 25/01/2007 8:26 a.m.
To: Assessment at nifl.gov
Subject: [Assessment 600] Your classroom today


Hi everyone,
 
Thanks for these great ideas and suggestions.  Keep them coming!
 
(Let me know if you find the use of bold below helpful or annoying - I was trying to highlight certain sections so that you could skip over things if you want to.)
 
I'm struck by just how much everyone seems to do in terms of diagnostics and placement.  I guess it could be argued that appropriate diagnostic placement is crucial in terms of making or breaking an adult student's experience.  
 
Some replies to folks who've posted:
 
Susan - I really like the idea of using scenarios in professional development.  I think that providing a real situation for people to respond to is really helpful in the learning process.  Do you use this regularly with people?  Where do you get your scenarios from?  Real experiences or things you've heard about?  Others - do you use scenarios with either staff or students?  What's that like?
 
Jeannette - you brought up IEPs (Individualized Education Plans).  These are so useful in terms of providing the guidance needed.  I know that they are used widely (always?) in special education - but do folks not working in special ed use them as well?  I know Katrina mentioned that she does.  I also love the idea of the teacher group discussions for determining student progress!  There's nothing more powerful than talking things through with colleagues.
 
 Tina - you talked about pre-tests that you develop at your program.  Do you do this on your own or with others in the program?  Do you have pre-tests for various levels or content areas?  Others - do you develop your own pre-tests and what does this look like?
 
Katrina - you also mentioned IEPs, but also you talked about the fact that students have access to these and can use them as guides, is that correct?  This is a really great form of student self-assessment.  Others - do you have your students engage in self-assessment?  What does that look like?
 
Bryan - thanks for this great resource (Lesson Plan Blueprints, TESOL) - it looks very intriguing.  Often you need to be a TESOL member to access their resources, but it appears that this one anyone can go to.  There are a ton of useful resources at this site including white papers on rationale, bibliographies, real lessons, among other things.  Anyone else use this and care to comment?
 
Thanks!
 
Marie
 
 
Marie Cora
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com <mailto:marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com> 
NIFL Assessment Discussion List Moderator
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
Coordinator, LINCS Assessment Special Collection
http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/
 
 
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