Assessment & Feedback: a compass for the learning journey

When you hear “assessment,” it’s easy to picture a final grade, a red pen, a door closing. In the JVDT methodology, assessment is the opposite of a door; it’s a compass. It points, checks, and steadies the route while a class travels the line Information → Integration → Comprehension → Field of Application. The rails remain Root (the essential that holds the day together) and Context (time, place, audience, purpose). And the Four Keys keep us moving: Association (start from what’s known), Analysis (name the next step), Root (teach the essential), Context (make it matter). Done this way, assessment isn’t judgment after the fact—it’s guidance in the moment.

Why a compass?

A compass prevents surprises. Learners should know the destination and the signs that show they’re getting there. We say them out loud: “By the end of today you will be able to… You’ll know because you can … for this audience.” That is Root made visible and Context given a job. From there, assessment becomes a quiet rhythm—look, listen, adjust—so no one reaches the Field of Application only to discover they boarded the wrong train.

Six tools of the teacher’s compass

Formative assessment — steering in real time.

Short, frequent looks at understanding keep the train honest: a 60-second write, a quick “teach your partner the why,” a show-me card, a calm 1–5 opt-in. If signals dip, we shrink to the essential (Root), adjust tempo or mode (Analysis), or change the entry door (Association). If strong, we press toward Application. No drama—just steering.

Constructive feedback — one next step.

We trade in actionable moves, not labels: “Add one reason that fits your audience,” “Compare two models before you choose,” “Check line 3 against the criteria and revise.” The aim is progress between Integration and Comprehension: doing turns into understanding because the next step is clear.

Portfolio assessment — seeing growth, not snapshots.

Instead of one high-stakes moment, we collect evidence across the journey. Drafts, rehearsals, models, and reflections show Association forming, Analysis sharpening, Root stabilising, and Context widening. Portfolios make progress visible to the learner, not only to the ledger.

Self-assessment — reading your own compass.

Students weigh their work against success criteria and name a next move: “I met the audience requirement; my evidence is thin—next I’ll add a counter-example.” That is metacognition in plain clothes and the quickest route to independence in the Field of Application.

Reflective practice — for learners and teachers.

We close with a small mirror: “I moved forward when… Next time I will…” Teachers do the same: What drained? What gave? What will I change tomorrow? Reflection locks the Root and improves the next stretch of track.

Continuous assessment — woven into the day.

Evaluation isn’t a trapdoor at the end; it is integrated into the lesson. We still use summative checks, but they align with what we practised: same destination, same signs, time to revise. A final task should feel like the next station on a known line, not an ambush in a tunnel.

Teach Peace, CAGE, and the OB-margin

Tone matters. We keep Teach Peace language close—“What makes you say that?” “Let’s fix it together.”—so error becomes data, not shame. The CAGE (Cultivating Attention, Guiding Emotion) is the atmosphere: a one-line Thread at the top-left of the board, short resets without stigma, and a calm tempo that fits today’s energy.

When a derail-worthy debate appears—grading fairness, deadline changes—we use the OB-margin: a slim column on the whiteboard where an objection or obstacle is named and parked with a time to return (e.g., “Objection — rubric clarity :40”). Two messages at once: you’ve been heard, and the lesson keeps moving until we revisit it as promised. Later, we turn that “ob-” energy toward the work with a clear decision.

Emotional Intelligence (five benchmarks) in assessment

Self-awareness lets us pace the room we actually have, not the plan we imagined. Self-regulation keeps timing and tone from spiking stress when students need signal, not noise. Motivation grows through early wins and visible progress. Empathy shapes criteria and comments that preserve face. Social skill gives us the protocols—triad roles, repair language, the OB-margin—that keep dialogue constructive. It’s still CAGE in practice: we Cultivate Attention with clear criteria and Guide Emotion with humane routines, so ideas can fasten and travel.

One picture of the day

We declare the destination and the signs. We look little and often. We say one useful thing and invite one useful reply. We let students see themselves improve. And the final task mirrors the track we’ve been on all along. That is assessment as a compass—no fog, no guessing, and no one left reading the map alone.

Love. Respect. Happiness. In this cluster they sound like a kinder question, a clearer next step, and a class that can point to its own progress without flinching.