Systems Thinking and Unstoppable Assessment
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey (2015), authors of Unstoppable Learning: Seven Essential Elements to Unleash Student Potential, outline systems thinking as the manner in which we, as teachers, approach the business of student learning. Systems thinking is the process of understanding how systems influence one another within a complete entity or larger system. Fisher and Frey (2015) drive home the importance of planning, launching, consolidating, assessing, adapting, managing, and leading learning in our classrooms in a systemic way. The authors assert, “Piecemeal approaches to improving teaching and learning are less than effective and often exhausting” (Fisher & Frey, 2015, p. 1). We’ll take that advice to heart as we examine the assessment element of Unstoppable Learning (which we refer to as Unstoppable Assessment) in this book and offer a practical framework to deepen your assessment literacy and fluency.
Educators often find themselves in systems that are not as effective and efficient as they could be—systems that have yet to determine how all elements of the learning organization can work in harmony, systems where teachers and principals independently take care of business as they face situations in which they must ask, “If not me, then who?” We should leave very little about our work to a single individual to address, resolve, or create when such a significant matter—the achievement, growth, and development of our students—is at stake.
All too often, educators have the best-laid plans, and then the students show up! Something goes awry, and all of a sudden, it exposes a vulnerability in the system. It’s often difficult to remedy that vulnerability in the moment. Systems thinking provides an avenue to proactively deal with vulnerability by understanding the interconnectedness among all the factors in the teaching and learning equation. The connections among all the stuff teachers need to do in preparation for students become more evident when we consider the patterns of thought and behavior that effective systems thinkers display, and their engagement with the four principles that are the basis for systems thinking.
Four Principles of Systems Thinking
Systems thinking requires educators to consider so much more than the task to complete or the steps in the process. Fisher and Frey (2015) define four harmonious principles for educators to consider as they strengthen learning systems for their students: (1) relationships, (2) communication, (3) responsiveness, and (4) sustainability. We suggest that the component of trust marries all four of these systems design principles together. Each of these principles will be threaded throughout the book’s content and the conversations it elicits. Through our work across the globe, we have found many educators who employ these very principles yet continue to feel stifled and defeated in their efforts to design learning systems that support each student’s growth and development. They feel either isolated as individuals or isolated as a team within their school, in their systems design work. These educators are forward thinkers in a system that isn’t designed to support them. We know that if we want to change our results, we have to change how we operate. For many schools, this means aligning in unity around a single focus of learning instead of perpetuating the cycles of organizational chaos that cause forward thinkers to become overwhelmed and debilitated in their work.
We believe the path to achieving this in assessment is by pairing the principles of systems thinking with the four elements of the Unstoppable Assessment framework: (1) seeking, (2) gathering, (3) discussing, and (4) responding to evidence. Table I.1 illustrates the four principles of systems thinking and their connections to our Unstoppable Assessment framework. It should be noted that the systems thinking principles aren’t exclusive to individual elements of the Unstoppable Assessment framework. One specific principle does not align to one specific element. Rather, they work hand in hand to support assessment.
Table I.1: Principles of Systems Thinking for Unstoppable Assessment
| Relationships | When students have the opportunity to invest in relationships with educators and other students present in their classrooms, they can more readily invest in their learning. Relationships in the classroom are not exclusively between two people, and each relationship can directly or indirectly affect each person in the learning environment. |
| Communication | The manner in which teachers communicate to, with, and about students, as people and as learners, can enhance—or disrupt—the climate and culture of the classroom community. As teachers discuss students and their learning pathways, teachers do so as though the students are in the room with them. Communication should advance learning and foster a lifelong commitment to doing so. |
| Responsiveness | Each student needs something unique throughout the learning process. The process must ensure that all learners have access to the necessary academic supports to get them from where they begin to where they need to go in order to perform at the expected level of mastery. Teachers should be responsive to the dynamic changes—both social-emotional and academic—that can occur from moment to moment within the classroom environment. |
| Sustainability | Differing expectations among teachers will yield differing success levels in learners. Teachers collaboratively work to determine a consistent level of performance—both academic and social—that is expected in all aspects of the learner’s experience at school. Misalignment of student expectations will breed complacency and distract from the focus on learning for mastery for each student. Consistency, clarity, and cohesion create sustainable assessment practices and systems that each learner can readily understand. |
We have linked the principles of systems thinking with our Unstoppable Assessment work in order to best prepare all educators for the thinking work that is necessary as they seek, gather, discuss, and respond to the student evidence from formative and summative assessments. The chapters in this book are respectively dedicated to each of these elements of the framework, which educators should exercise as they apply systems thinking to their considerations of student evidence and assessment.
About This Book
Chapter 1 lays the foundation for the first principle of systems thinking: relationships. We will focus on fostering trust through healthy relationships and honest communication among the adults within the learning organization. Chapters 2–5 guide you through the process of leveraging evidence-based assessment practices to build an aligned system of Unstoppable Assessment: seeking (chapter 2), gathering (chapter 3), discussing (chapter 4), and responding to evidence (chapter 5), respectively. Chapter 6 outlines important evidence-based practices that both teams and leaders can use to advance their work. This chapter focuses on leaders and teams using such practices to ensure sustainability when embedding elements of the systems thinking approach that are required for enacting an assessment plan.
The beginning of each chapter will ask you to consider three different perspectives, with