CUS6027 Chap.6 Aligning Learning, Teaching and Assessment
Aligning Learning, Teaching and Assessment
Evidence completes the design loop
Assessment collects evidence that can describe current performance and improve later learning and teaching. Alignment requires the outcome, activity, evidence and feedback to concern the same learner decision. Formative evidence directs the next action, while summative evidence records the level reached.
Useful feedback names a specific gap and an achievable revision rather than asking vaguely for more detail.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Outcomes written as performances
- 02
Smallest sufficient learning evidence
- 03
Formative and summative purposes
- 04
Verb matching across a lesson
- 05
Actionable feedback moves
- 06
Evidence used to revise teaching
Worked example · free
Repair an outcome-evidence mismatch
- 2Identify the verb mismatch.
- 2Collect formative comparison notes.
- 2Design an individual final response.
Key terms
- Formative Evidence
- Information gathered during learning to choose the next learner or teaching action.
- Summative Evidence
- Information gathered after a learning period to describe the level reached.
- Feedback Move
- A specific revision action tied to evidence of the current gap.
Aligning Learning, Teaching and Assessment FAQ
How can I tell whether an assessment is aligned?
Circle the main verb in the outcome, activity and assessment. The activity should develop the intended decision and the assessment should reveal it. Sharing a topic is not enough when one component asks for comparison and another rewards recall. Trace the evidence a successful learner would produce at each point and add rehearsal wherever the final form introduces an unprepared demand.
Alignment should be visible at the level of thinking, not only subject matter.
Does learning evidence need to be a large product?
No. A brief annotation, oral explanation, comparison note, exit response or revised paragraph may reveal exactly what the outcome requires. Choose the smallest sufficient evidence so feedback can focus on the intended learning rather than on unnecessary production. Specify the feature you will inspect before selecting the format; otherwise an attractive product may conceal the decision you need to see.
What makes feedback actionable?
Actionable feedback identifies the specific relationship that is missing, points to evidence in the current work and names a feasible next step. Verbs such as quote, distinguish, connect, justify or revise are more useful than broad instructions to add depth or detail. Reserve time for a second attempt and inspect the revision, because advice alone does not show whether learning improved.
Assessment move
For one planned lesson, write the outcome verb, evidence product and feedback verb on three lines. Revise until all three concern the same decision and the feedback could realistically improve the next attempt. Circle the principal verb in the outcome and every task instruction. Verbs may form a progression, but they should not switch to an unrelated performance at assessment.
If learners practise discussion and the final product is written analysis, identify where written organisation and evidence use are taught. If the outcome promises evaluation while the evidence checks recall, either redesign the product or narrow the stated outcome. Topic overlap does not repair a thinking mismatch. Design the smallest sufficient evidence for each lesson.
Write what a successful response would contain, what a partial response might reveal and which feature the teacher will inspect first. A three-line note can be stronger than a long poster when it exposes claim, evidence and consequence directly. Avoid collecting products whose visual complexity increases marking without clarifying the intended learning. Prepare feedback by predicting two likely gaps.
For each gap, write an action verb and a re-check: quote the decisive phrase and explain its effect; distinguish the practice from its value and revise the conclusion; compare the two accounts and qualify the claim. Ensure learners have time to perform the action. The revised response, not the feedback comment, provides evidence that learning moved. At unit level, convert observations into teaching choices.
Tally patterns such as accurate quotations with weak warrants, clear judgements without alternatives or cultural claims lacking boundaries. Plan a shared model for the most common need and a deeper test for learners already secure. In the project, describe this loop explicitly: evidence collected, pattern anticipated, instructional response and later check.
A credible loop shows assessment shaping the next decision instead of appearing as a final grading event.
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