Unit 3: Narrative for Assessment and Differentiation

(Click to go back to Narrative in Instruction and Assessment)

(Click to go back to Unit 1: The Power of the Narrative Form)

(Click to go back to Unit 2: Narrative in Instruction)

Assessing Student Work through Narrative

Many instructors have experienced the frustration of trying to help a student whose needs are unclear. This is the student who, even after repeated instruction, still gives up, saying, "I don't get it." With this minimal feedback, it can be difficult to address the root cause of student errors, and instructors may be tempted to attribute the lack of comprehension to a lack of effort.

One possible way to use narrative in this situation begins with asking students to write out the "story" of how they performed a particular task. For example, Michael recently completed writing an essay about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Nobel Prize speech, but did not get a good grade on it. Michael's teacher asked Michael to write a narrative of what process he used to write the essay, making sure he had access to all of his writing process materials to use as a reference.

Michael writes:

First I did the prewriting where I read MLK's speech and I did the underlining. Then I made up a question I could answer...then I copied out the parts I underlined in the chart. Then I put them in paragraphs. Then I checked my spelling and did a final draft.

This narrative reveals that, after Michael "copied out the parts" that would serve as his text evidence, he failed to complete the planning chart by explaining the significance of each piece of evidence. Since his final essay was especially weak in interpretation and analysis, it is easy to see the connection. However, being able to turn to his own narrative to point out how he had skipped a step is far more engaging for Michael as an individual than merely to identify the weakness in the final product. Now the error is internalized, not as a failing, but as a process error that he can rectify in the future.

Students will often recognize their own errors in the midst of writing the narrative, declaring "I guess I forgot to..." or "I don't understand how to do this part." Either way, the student narrative is giving the instructor far more specific problems to target than merely the evidence of a final product.

Assessment Interview

As part of formative assessment, similar narratives can provide instructors with the opportunity to come to the aid of a struggling student. These conversations may be initiated by the student ("I don't get it! How do I do this?") or by the instructor ("I see you're not working on the task.") To turn these interventions into narrative interviews, the instructor needs to ask the student to tell the story of what he or she has done so far and plans to do. As with the written narrative above, the spoken story may reveal a point of break down or misconception. The narrative structure helps the student talk about the process rather than merely talking about the problem, and provides greater opportunity to identify exactly where the problem lies.

Narrative Assessment of Activity

Instructors can employ a narrative approach as a means of recording and examining student behavior as a means of assessing development. Morton, McMenamin, Moore & Molloy (2012) cite an example of instructor narrative examining the behavior of a special needs student.

For the last two weeks we have been talking about shapes in the context of our geometry unit.

Today, Aaliyah was in a small group that went to look for shapes out in the playground. She quietly and independently went on her search and then called out enthusiastically ‘I have found a shape!’ She was able to identify the shape she had found as a circle and to tell her peers that it had one side.

The next day Aaliyah was very keen to write about her shape at writing time. She sought the help of the student teacher, who helped her to write about the circle she had found (120-121).

Up to this point, the narrative merely reports on behavior. However, the instructor then uses these observations and a narrative flashback to illustrate the significance of the described event:

Aaliyah showed me that she is able to work outside in a constructive and positive way. This is amazing growth for Aaliyah, as working outside has often resulted in her running away from the group. Now that she has demonstrated this ability, I will be more able to use opportunities to use the playground as a teaching resource (121).

Tailoring Differentiation in Response to Narrative

Differentiating instruction is one of the greatest challenges some classroom teachers face. It's not always easy to identify exactly what specific supports a student needs beyond the general ones listed on his or her IEP.

When students fail to achieve at a given task, instructors often feel that the entire task needs to be retaught. This may not be the case. Having a student relate the story of how a task was attempted can reveal points of deficiency in the student's understanding or application of skills, and those points for one student may be very different from those points for another student.

Using narrative to determine differentiation needs can be a time-consuming method at first, but due to the engagement involved in relating a narrative, the student is far more likely to retain the details of the narrative, recalling the exact points where a different method is required for success, and being genuinely invested in the instruction about how to resolve the problem.

Finding the Weak Spot

Tami has completed a page of math problems, but she has several answers that are incorrect. Her instructor asks her to tell the story of how she solved the problem: 104 x 38

Well, first I wrote them out on top of each other:

104

x38

Then I multiplied 8x4 to get 32, 8x0 to get 0, and 8x1 to get 8. I added all of them together to get 40. Then I multiplied 3x4 which is 12, 3x0 which is 0, and 3x1 which is 3. And I added all of them together to get 15. And then I added 40 and 15, and I got 55. But...oh, wait...that doesn't make sense, because 55 is less than 104, and a multiplication can't get a less than. So...I don't get it.

Here Tami has recognized that she has a problem, but can't identify it.

Now consider the following:

1. What is the basic misunderstanding that led Tami to make this mistake?
2. How would you differentiate your instruction to pinpoint her specific error?
3. How could use a narrative approach to check whether or not Tami has incorporated the differentiated instruction into her skill set?

References

Morton, M., McMenamin, T., Moore, G., & Molloy, S. (2012). Assessment that matters: The transformative potential of narrative assessment for students with special education needs.

Gaze into the Waters

Narrative assessment has given you an opportunity to notice the view. Turn your focus in a different direction in Unit 4: Narrative as a Tool for Reflection.