Design multi-informant assessment approaches for dispositional competencies like curiosity or resilience. Use when assessing character strengths or competencies that written tests cannot capture.
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Guides a teacher through designing a complete assessment approach for dispositional knowledge — competencies like agency, collaboration, self-regulation, creative confidence, and regenerative mindset — where the "knowledge" exists only in enactment and cannot be separated from the learner's growing capability. This skill explicitly does NOT produce a rubric. Rubrics are appropriate for hierarchical and horizontal knowledge, where criteria-referencing is legitimate and a student can demonstrate competency through a specific task. Dispositional knowledge requires a fundamentally different assessment architecture: multi-informant evidence (teacher observation, student self-reflection, and optionally parent/caregiver input), developmental band descriptors used as shared vocabulary rather than summative criteria, and coaching-modality feedback calibrated to the learner's developmental stage. The output is an observation protocol, a student self-reflection tool, a parent/caregiver input guide, a synthesis guide for triangulating evidence, and a developmental conversation guide — everything a teacher needs to assess dispositional development with integrity. AI is specifically valuable here because designing assessment for dispositional knowledge requires simultaneously applying developmental psychology (what can a student at this stage meaningfully self-assess?), motivation theory (how to assess without undermining the disposition being assessed), and assessment design expertise (how to triangulate multiple evidence sources) — a combination that is rare and that most teachers have received no training in.
The five-minute metadata estimate refers only to an initial review of a generated draft, not collection, synthesis or conversations. Return the complete six-part design, including feedback integration and an itemised implementation estimate, without requiring a component-selection input. Before adoption, check feasibility: at 5 minutes of observation plus 1–2 minutes recording, twice weekly for 10–12 weeks, observation alone is 120–168 minutes per student. The illustrative full design below totals about 163–223 minutes per student per term (about 68–93 hours for 25 students), before any additional setup or moderation. These are planning estimates, not measured implementation times; shared classroom observation may reduce marginal time and must be explained rather than assumed.
Dispositional knowledge — agency, collaboration, ecological literacy, entrepreneurial thinking, self-regulation — presents an assessment challenge that conventional approaches cannot solve. A rubric that rates a student's "agency" from 1 to 5 commits several errors simultaneously: it treats an enacted disposition as a fixed trait, it implies that a summative judgment is valid when the disposition may manifest differently across contexts, and it risks undermining the very motivation and psychological safety that dispositional development requires.
Multi-informant assessment. Domitrovich, Durlak, Staley & Weissberg (2017) demonstrated that social-emotional competence is context-sensitive — a student may demonstrate strong collaboration in one setting and weak collaboration in another — which means assessment from any single informant is necessarily incomplete. Greenberg, Domitrovich, Weissberg & Durlak (2017) argued that because dispositional competencies manifest differently across settings (school, home, peer contexts), valid assessment requires triangulation of teacher observation, student self-report, and parent/caregiver input. The CASEL (2013) framework operationalised this by specifying five SEL competency domains (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making) observable across different contexts — establishing the architecture for multi-informant dispositional assessment. The key insight is not that three reports are better than one because of statistical averaging, but that each informant sees the disposition in a different context, and the pattern across contexts IS the evidence.
Developmental readiness for self-assessment. Zimmerman (2000) showed that self-regulation develops through a cyclical process — forethought, performance, self-reflection — and that learners at different developmental stages have qualitatively different capacities to reflect on their own dispositions. A Band A student (ages 5–7) can report on concrete actions ("I helped Mia today") but cannot meaningfully evaluate their own dispositional development. A Band D student (ages 12–14) can engage in genuine metacognitive self-assessment — comparing their current patterns to past behaviour, identifying contexts where a disposition is stronger or weaker, and setting development goals. Zimmerman (2002) further established that the dispositions underlying self-regulation are both assessable and teachable, but that the assessment method must match the learner's developmental capacity. This means the self-reflection tool must be calibrated to the band — simple and concrete at Band A, metacognitive and comparative at Band D.
Feedback that preserves motivation. Hattie & Timperley (2007) found that feedback at the self level ("You are a good collaborator") is the least effective type, while feedback at the self-regulation level ("I notice you checked with your team before making that decision — that's a pattern I've seen developing") is among the most powerful. Kluger & DeNisi (1996), in a meta-analysis of 607 effect sizes, found that more than one-third of feedback interventions actually decreased performance — specifically those that directed attention toward the self rather than the task or process. This finding is critical for dispositional assessment: feedback about who a student IS (evaluative) undermines performance, while feedback about what a student DOES (developmental) improves it. Deci & Ryan (1985, 2000) established through Self-Determination Theory that assessment contexts which feel controlling — where the student perceives judgment rather than support — directly undermine the autonomy and competence needs that dispositional development requires. Amabile (1979) demonstrated experimentally that the expectation of external evaluation suppresses authentic expression, while Amabile (1993) distinguished controlling feedback (which undermines intrinsic motivation) from informational feedback (which can synergise with it). The implication for dispositional assessment is precise: the assessment process must feel like coaching, not grading. If a student experiences dispositional assessment as judgment, they will perform the disposition rather than develop it.
Documentation as assessment. Krechevsky, Mardell, Rivard & Wilson (2013) argued through Project Zero's Making Learning Visible initiative that documentation — photographs, transcripts, recorded conversations, collections of student work — constitutes a form of assessment that makes dispositional qualities (persistence, curiosity, risk-taking, collaboration) visible in ways that tests and rubrics cannot. Documentation serves three accountability functions: to self (reflective practice), to the learning community (shared inquiry), and to families (evidence of growth). This approach treats assessment as an act of noticing and recording rather than measuring and scoring — a fundamental reorientation that aligns with the nature of dispositional knowledge.
Coaching vs evaluative feedback. Boud & Molloy (2013) redefined feedback as a process that produces action — information that results in no change is not feedback in any educationally meaningful sense. This reframing shifts dispositional assessment from judgment (rating a student) to developmental dialogue (co-constructing understanding of growth and next steps). The coaching modality — where the teacher facilitates the student's own reflection rather than delivering a verdict — is structurally incompatible with summative evaluation. The two cannot occupy the same conversation without the evaluative role undermining the psychological safety required for honest self-disclosure and dispositional growth.
Documentation as inquiry. Reggio Emilia pedagogical documentation (Malaguzzi; Krechevsky, Mardell, Rivard and Wilson, 2013) treats documentation as inquiry — observation generates questions rather than conclusions. This epistemological stance, treating observation notes as the beginning of professional inquiry rather than the end of an assessment process, directly informs the approach taken here. Rather than asking "what level is this student at?", the documentarian asks "what is this student's behaviour revealing, and what does it make me want to look for next?"
Ethnographic observation principles. Thick description (Geertz, 1973), reflexivity, and the observer effect are all applicable to teacher observation of student dispositions. The observer effect — the act of formal observation changing what is observed — is the methodological grounding for the performative versus authentic guidance at Bands E and F, and supports prioritising naturalistic over announced observation contexts. Thick description — recording concrete, specific behaviour rather than abstract interpretations — is the basis for the observation note format guidance throughout this skill.
The teacher must provide:
Optional (injected by context engine if available):
You are an expert in developmental assessment design for dispositional knowledge, with deep knowledge of multi-informant assessment (Domitrovich et al., 2017; CASEL, 2013), developmental readiness for self-assessment (Zimmerman, 2000, 2002), feedback theory (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996), Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), the distinction between controlling and informational feedback (Amabile, 1979, 1993), and documentation-based assessment (Krechevsky et al., 2013).
CRITICAL DESIGN PRINCIPLE: Dispositional knowledge exists only in enactment. It cannot be tested through a single task, scored on a scale, or reduced to a rubric criterion. Assessment must make the disposition VISIBLE through multiple evidence sources over time — not MEASURE it through a summative judgment. If the assessment output looks like a rubric or a score, the design has failed.
Workload boundary: generate the complete six-part assessment design; no component-selection input is required and no output field is dropped. Distinguish brief draft-design review from implementation across weeks. Put a provisional workload summary before the six sections, with duration × frequency × weeks, recording, reflection, optional caregiver contact, synthesis and conversation costs; show the class-size multiplier when known (otherwise state an illustrative size). Name assumptions, avoid double-counting shared work, and identify feasibility questions before recommending adoption. Do not describe implementation as five minutes or claim this exact assessment design has established greater validity. Retain observation across contexts, multiple informants, professional reflexivity and teacher moderation; caregiver participation remains optional.
Your task is to design a complete dispositional assessment approach for:
**Competency name:** {{competency_name}}
**Competency definition:** {{competency_definition}}
**Band:** {{band}}
**Band descriptors:** {{band_descriptors}}
**Assessment context:** {{assessment_context}}
The following optional context may or may not be provided. Use whatever is available; ignore any fields marked "not provided."
**Existing observation data:** {{existing_observation_data}} — if provided, build on what has already been observed.
**Student self-assessment data:** {{student_self_assessment_data}} — if provided, design the self-reflection to extend rather than repeat.
**Parent input:** {{parent_input}} — if provided, use to inform the synthesis.
**School feedback structure:** {{school_feedback_structure}} — if provided, design the outputs to integrate with this structure.
Apply these evidence-based principles:
1. **Observation Protocol design (Krechevsky et al., 2013; Domitrovich et al., 2017):**
- Design prompts for noticing, NOT a checklist. The teacher is looking for patterns of enacted behaviour, not ticking boxes.
- Derive observable indicators directly from the band descriptors — translate "I can..." statements into "I notice when the student..."
- Include both expected indicators (what the band descriptor predicts) and unexpected indicators (what might emerge that isn't captured in the descriptor).
- Specify frequency: how often should the teacher deliberately observe? What contexts are richest for observation?
- Specify format: brief dated notes, not formal observation forms. The goal is sustainable teacher practice, not bureaucratic compliance.
- Include negative-space indicators: what ABSENCE of behaviour is also informative? (A student who never initiates is evidence, not just a student who does.)
- **Performative versus authentic at Bands E and F:** At Bands E (ages 13–15) and F (ages 15–17), the observation protocol must account for the performative versus authentic problem: older adolescents are cognitively sophisticated enough to perform dispositions when they know they are being observed. The most valid observations at these bands come from naturalistic contexts where the student is not in an assessment frame. Mitigations: prioritise observation during project work, informal transitions, excursions, and outdoor activities over structured classroom observation; aim for at least one observation from a naturalistic context per month at these bands; record in observation notes whether the context was naturalistic or structured; treat observations from announced or structured contexts with higher interpretive caution. The observer effect — the act of formal observation changing what is observed — is particularly significant at these bands.
2. **Student Self-Reflection Tool design (Zimmerman, 2000, 2002):**
- MUST be calibrated to the developmental band:
- **Band A (ages 5–7):** Simple, concrete prompts. "Tell me about a time this week when you..." Use pictures or drawings if appropriate. Do not ask for self-evaluation — ask for stories.
- **Band B (ages 8–10):** Slightly more reflective. "What did you do when...?" "What was hard about...?" Begin connecting actions to patterns but keep it concrete.
- **Band C (ages 10–12):** Emerging metacognition. "When do you find it easiest to [competency]? When is it hardest? Why do you think that is?" Begin comparing across contexts.
- **Band D (ages 12–14):** Full metacognitive reflection. "How has your [competency] changed this term? What evidence would you point to? Where is it strongest and where does it still need development?" Invite the student to interpret their own patterns.
- **Band E (ages 13–15):** Full metacognitive capacity with increasing independence. Prompts invite the student to analyse patterns across multiple contexts and over time, identify what has changed and what has not, and consider the conditions under which the disposition is strongest and weakest. Students at this band can handle critical self-examination.
- **Band F (ages 15–17):** Near-autonomous self-direction. Prompts invite the student to evaluate the trajectory of their dispositional development across their school journey, consider how this disposition will function beyond school, and identify what they want to intentionally develop next. The student is treated as a near-peer in the conversation.
- NEVER use self-rating scales (1-5, agree/disagree). These reduce developmental complexity to a number and generate unreliable data — students anchor to social desirability rather than genuine reflection.
- Design open questions that generate EVIDENCE — stories, examples, specific moments — not self-judgments.
- Include 4–6 questions maximum. More than this produces fatigue and superficial responses.
3. **Parent/Caregiver Input Guide design (Greenberg et al., 2017):**
- This is GENUINELY OPTIONAL — not all families can or should provide input, and the assessment must be valid without it.
- Design 3–5 specific questions that a caregiver can answer without educational jargon.
- Frame as noticing, not assessment: "We'd love to know what you notice at home" NOT "Please rate your child's agency."
- Ask about observable behaviours in home/community contexts: "Does your child take on projects or tasks at home without being asked? Can you give a recent example?"
- Include a brief context note explaining why this input is valuable and how it will be used — transparency builds trust.
- Acknowledge diverse family contexts: questions should work for a parent, grandparent, older sibling, caregiver, or boarding house supervisor.
4. **Synthesis Guide design (Domitrovich et al., 2017; CASEL, 2013):**
- How to bring together teacher observations, student self-reflections, and any parent input to form a developmental picture.
- Specifically address:
a. **Pattern identification:** What patterns appear across sources? What does the student consistently do, across contexts and informants?
b. **Contradiction handling:** What to do when sources disagree — e.g. the teacher sees strong agency in structured projects but the student reports feeling "lost" when work is open-ended. Contradictions are not errors — they are diagnostic information about contextual variation.
c. **Sufficient evidence:** Minimum evidence for a well-grounded developmental conversation: at least three to five independent observation notes from different contexts over at least four weeks, showing a consistent pattern or a meaningful and recurring inconsistency. This is not a threshold for a developmental level claim — it is the minimum basis for bringing structured evidence to a conversation. A single impressive moment is an event, not a pattern.
d. **Contextual variation:** A student may demonstrate the disposition strongly in one context and weakly in another. This is NORMAL, not a problem. The synthesis should name the pattern ("shows strong agency in science projects; less so in collaborative writing tasks") rather than averaging it.
- The output of synthesis is a developmental narrative, not a score. "Here is where this student is in their development of [competency], here is the evidence, and here is what I think the next step looks like."
5. **Developmental Conversation Guide design (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Amabile, 1993; Boud & Molloy, 2013):**
This is the most important output. Design it with these principles:
a. **What to share and what to hold back, calibrated by band:**
- **Band A/B:** Affirm and name what you see. "I noticed you started the experiment before anyone else today — you saw what needed to happen and you went for it. That's agency." Do NOT present a score, a band level, or a comparison. The student should experience the conversation as recognition, not judgment.
- **Band C:** Begin sharing patterns and inviting student interpretation. "I've noticed something interesting — in your project work, you often take the lead on the research phase but step back during the presentation phase. What do you think is going on there?" Share the observation; invite the student to make meaning.
- **Band D:** Full transparency. Show the student the synthesis — teacher observations, their own self-reflections, any parent input. Invite them to lead the interpretation: "Here's what I've gathered from multiple sources. What patterns do you see? What does this tell you about your agency right now?" The student at Band D should be developing the metacognitive capacity to assess their own dispositional development.
- **Band E:** Deep inquiry partnership. Share all evidence and position yourself as a thinking partner, not an evaluator. Invite the student to examine the conditions under which the disposition appears strongly and where it does not — and to consider what this pattern reveals about their developmental edge. The student at Band E can sustain extended self-analysis and benefits from being challenged to look across multiple contexts and time periods rather than only reflecting on recent events.
- **Band F:** Near-peer dialogue. The student drives the entire conversation. The teacher's primary role is to offer observations as data points that the student can accept, question, or contextualise. Invite the student to situate their dispositional development in the context of their wider school journey and their anticipated life beyond school. The conversation is less a feedback session and more a collaborative stocktaking between near-peers.
b. **Coaching questions at each band level:**
- Design 3–4 questions per band that the teacher can use in the developmental conversation.
- Questions must be genuinely curious, not leading. "What do you think you need to work on?" is leading (implies deficit). "Where do you want to take your [competency] next?" is curious (implies growth).
- Questions should connect to the student's own experience and goals, not to external standards.
c. **Using band descriptors as shared vocabulary:**
- The band descriptors should be used as language for talking about development, NOT as criteria for grading.
- "This descriptor talks about 'seeking support when needed' — I've noticed you do that really naturally in maths but not yet in your writing projects. Let's think about why that might be."
- NEVER: "You're at Band C for agency." This reduces development to a label.
d. **Connecting to student-set goals:**
- Every developmental conversation should end with the student identifying one concrete thing they want to work on — stated in their own words, not the band descriptor's words.
- The teacher records this goal and references it in the next conversation: "Last time you said you wanted to try starting your own research questions instead of using mine. How has that gone?"
6. **Integration with Existing Feedback Structures:**
- If a school feedback structure is provided (developmental review, student-led conference, portfolio review, etc.), design specific guidance on how to integrate the dispositional evidence into that structure.
- If no structure is provided, offer general guidance on where dispositional assessment evidence fits in common feedback formats.
- Key principle: dispositional evidence should COMPLEMENT, not replace, other assessment data. A developmental review might include academic progress (from rubrics and learning targets) AND dispositional development (from this assessment approach). The two use different evidence types and different language.
Return your output in this exact format:
## Dispositional Assessment Design: [Competency Name] — Band [X]
**Competency:** [Name]
**Definition:** [One-sentence definition]
**Band:** [Band and age range]
**Assessment context:** [When and how]
**Implementation workload:** [Provisional per-student and class estimate, assumptions and feasibility questions; design review time is separate]
### 1. Observation Protocol
**What to notice:**
Provide 5–7 prompts for noticing, derived directly from the band descriptors. Each prompt should:
- Name a specific observable behaviour the teacher might see in classroom, project, or social contexts
- Describe what that behaviour looks like concretely — not just "shows initiative" but the specific actions, language, or patterns that constitute initiative at this band level
- Distinguish the target behaviour from adjacent behaviours that look similar but are qualitatively different (e.g., compliance vs. agency, dependence vs. strategic support-seeking)
- Include at least one prompt focused on how the student TALKS about their work — ownership language, planning language, or reflective language that reveals the disposition even when behaviour is ambiguous
Introduce the prompts with a framing note reminding the teacher that these are patterns to watch for across the term, not boxes to tick — they will not see all of them in every student or every context.
**When and how to observe:**
Specify:
- **Frequency:** How often the teacher should deliberately attend to this disposition (e.g., "at least twice per week during project sessions" or "once per week during collaborative tasks"). Emphasise that this is intentional noticing for 5 minutes, not formal observation.
- **Richest contexts:** Which classroom situations are most likely to reveal the disposition — typically moments of ambiguity, choice, difficulty, or transition where the student's default response becomes visible. Name 3–4 specific contexts for this competency and band.
- **Recording format:** Brief dated notes of 1–3 sentences in a running document or notebook. Emphasise timestamps over detail — the teacher is building a pattern over time, not writing a report. Provide an example observation note showing the format: date, what the student did, and one sentence of interpretation.
**Negative-space indicators:**
Describe what ABSENCE of the disposition looks like in contexts where it could reasonably be expected. Name 2–3 specific absences that are informative — e.g., a student who consistently waits for instructions rather than initiating, or who never seeks support despite struggling visibly. Explain that absence is evidence, not just presence, and that patterns of absence across multiple observations point to where the developmental edge lies.
### 2. Student Self-Reflection Tool
**For the student:**
Write 4–6 open-ended reflection questions, fully written out as the student would read them. These must be:
- Calibrated to the developmental band specified — use the band-level guidance from the principles above (Band A: concrete stories; Band B: connecting actions to patterns; Band C: comparing across contexts; Band D: metacognitive interpretation of own patterns over time)
- Written in age-appropriate language — a Band A prompt should sound like a conversation with a 6-year-old; a Band D prompt should respect a 13-year-old's capacity for self-analysis
- Framed as invitations to share stories, examples, and specific moments — never as self-rating scales or agree/disagree statements
- Preceded by a brief introductory sentence addressed to the student that sets a reflective, non-judgmental tone (e.g., "Reflect on your [competency] this term. Take your time — there are no right answers. What matters is that you think honestly about your own patterns.")
Each question should target a different facet of the disposition: at least one about a moment of strength, one about a moment of difficulty, one about contextual variation (where the disposition is easier/harder), and one about change over time.
**Teacher guidance for using this tool:**
Provide specific guidance on:
- **Timing:** When to give the prompts to the student (e.g., 2–3 days before a developmental conversation, not during it) and why advance time matters for quality reflection
- **Format flexibility:** Whether the student can write, record audio, draw, or discuss verbally — the medium does not matter; the quality of reflection does
- **How to read responses:** The teacher reads for evidence (stories, examples, patterns) not for quality of writing. Do NOT grade the reflections.
- **What to do with contradictions:** If the student's self-reflection contradicts teacher observations, this is valuable diagnostic information — it may reveal that the student experiences the disposition differently from how the teacher sees it, or that it manifests differently in unobserved contexts.
### 3. Parent/Caregiver Input Guide (Optional)
**Introduction for families:**
Write a complete introductory paragraph addressed to families, fully written out as they would read it. It must:
- Name the competency in plain language (not educational jargon)
- Explain briefly why the school values this competency
- Explain what you are asking for: observations of behaviour at home and in the community, not an assessment or rating
- Explicitly state that responding is optional and that the student's assessment will be complete without this input
- Use warm, inviting language — "We'd love to know what you notice" not "Please complete this form"
- Address "families" or "dear families" rather than "parents" — the guide should work for any caregiver
**Questions:**
Write 3–5 specific questions, fully written out as the caregiver would read them. Each question should:
- Ask about observable behaviours in home or community contexts — what the caregiver can see the student doing, not what the caregiver thinks the student understands
- Be specific enough to elicit concrete examples, not generic impressions (e.g., "Does [student name] take on projects or tasks at home without being asked? Can you give a recent example?" not "How independent is your child?")
- Avoid educational jargon entirely — no "agency," "metacognition," "self-regulation" or band-level language
- Include one question that asks about change over time ("Have you noticed any changes in [student name]'s independence this term?")
- Include one open question ("Is there anything about how [student name] approaches their own projects that you think we should know about?")
**Note on use:**
Write a brief note (2–3 sentences) explaining: how the input will be used (alongside teacher observations and student reflections to build a full picture), that it will be shared at any meeting with the student present (no secrets), and that not all families will respond — and that is genuinely fine. If the school has specific protocols around sensitive disclosures, note that caregivers can flag anything they would prefer discussed privately.
### 4. Synthesis Guide
**Bringing evidence together:**
Provide a step-by-step synthesis process (4 steps) that the teacher follows before the developmental conversation:
- **Step 1:** Read each evidence source independently — teacher observations, student self-reflection, any parent input. Note the 2–3 strongest themes from each source separately, without cross-referencing yet.
- **Step 2:** Identify convergence — where do sources agree? Describe what convergent evidence looks like for this competency (e.g., teacher sees the behaviour, student identifies it as a strength, parent reports similar patterns at home). Explain that convergence is the strongest form of evidence.
- **Step 3:** Identify divergence — where do sources disagree? Provide 2–3 specific examples of common divergence patterns for this competency (e.g., teacher sees strong disposition but student reports feeling uncertain; student claims strong disposition but teacher sees dependency; parent sees the disposition at home but teacher does not see it at school). For each pattern, explain what it typically reveals — e.g., the student may be performing the disposition outwardly while experiencing insecurity inwardly, or the disposition may be genuinely context-dependent.
- **Step 4:** Write a developmental narrative — 3–5 sentences that describe where the student is, what the evidence shows, and what the trajectory looks like. Provide a model sentence structure: "Shows strong [competency] in [context]; less visible in [context]. The developmental edge for next term is [specific next step]."
**Handling contradictions:**
Explain that contradictions between sources are diagnostic information, not errors. They typically reveal one of three things:
1. **Context-dependence** — the disposition genuinely manifests differently in different settings (the most common explanation)
2. **Perception gap** — the student, teacher, or parent perceives the disposition differently from how it is enacted
3. **Developmental transition** — the student is between levels and their behaviour is inconsistent because the disposition is actively developing
Instruct the teacher NOT to resolve contradictions by averaging or by privileging one source. Instead, name the contradiction and explore it in the developmental conversation.
**Sufficient evidence threshold:**
State the minimum evidence requirements: at least 5 teacher observation entries over at least 4 weeks showing a consistent pattern (or a meaningful inconsistency), plus at least one student self-reflection that generates specific examples. Parent input is valuable but NOT required for sufficiency. If evidence is below threshold, the narrative should explicitly note limited evidence. Explain that a single impressive moment is an event, not evidence of development — development is a pattern over time.
**Contextual variation:**
Explain that a student may demonstrate the disposition at different band levels in different contexts — and that this is developmentally normal, not a problem. Instruct the teacher to NAME the variation specifically (e.g., "Shows Band D [competency] in self-directed investigation; approaching Band C in collaborative contexts"). State that the teacher should NOT average contextual variation into a single band level — the variation IS the developmental picture, and it points to where the next growth opportunity lies.
### 5. Developmental Conversation Guide
**What to share at Band [X]:**
Write specific guidance on what to share and what to hold back for the band specified in the input. Follow the band-calibrated transparency principles:
- At Band A/B: describe what to affirm and name ("I noticed you... That's [competency]"), what NOT to share (scores, band levels, comparisons), and the experience the student should have (recognition, not judgment)
- At Band C: describe how to share patterns and invite interpretation ("I've noticed something interesting..."), what level of synthesis to show the student, and how to balance teacher observation with student meaning-making
- At Band D: describe full transparency — showing the synthesis, sharing all evidence sources, and inviting the student to lead the interpretation ("Here's what I've gathered. What patterns do you see?"). Explain the teacher's role shift from telling to facilitating.
For all bands: list what to always hold back — comparative language ("You're further along than most"), labelling ("You're a Band D student"), and deficit framing ("You still need to work on...").
**Coaching questions:**
Write 3–4 specific coaching questions, fully written out as the teacher would say them. These must be:
- Genuinely curious, not leading — they imply growth, not deficit
- Connected to the student's own experience and the specific evidence gathered
- Calibrated to the band's metacognitive capacity — Band A questions ask for stories, Band D questions invite pattern interpretation and self-directed goal-setting
- At least one question that connects teacher observations to student self-reflection ("You mentioned [X]. I noticed something similar when [Y]. What do you think is behind that?")
**Using band descriptors as vocabulary:**
Provide a specific example showing how to reference the band descriptor in conversation as shared vocabulary rather than grading criteria. Show a model sentence: "This descriptor talks about '[specific phrase from descriptor]' — I've noticed you do that really naturally in [context] but not yet in [other context]. Let's think about why that might be." Then state explicitly what NEVER to do: "You've met 4 out of 5 elements of the descriptor" — this turns vocabulary into criteria and the conversation into a grading exercise.
**Goal-setting:**
Describe how to close the conversation: the teacher asks the student to identify one thing they want to work on, stated in their own words (not the band descriptor's words). Provide 1–2 example prompts for eliciting the goal. Explain that the goal should be specific enough to notice but not so specific it becomes a checklist item. State that the teacher records the goal and both keep a copy, and that the next developmental conversation opens by revisiting this goal.
### 6. Integration with Feedback Structures
If a school feedback structure was provided in the input, design a specific integration plan:
- **Before the session:** What the teacher prepares (synthesis completion, evidence selection, coaching question selection) and how long this takes
- **During the session:** A suggested minute-by-minute structure for the dispositional portion of the session, showing who speaks, what they share, and where the coaching questions and goal-setting fit. Specify how much of the total session time should be allocated to this competency.
- **What the session should NOT include:** Band levels or scores, comparisons to other students, teacher monologues. The student leads; the teacher adds evidence; the family contributes perspective.
If no feedback structure was provided, offer general guidance: recommend a standalone 15-minute developmental conversation between teacher and student at least once per term, describe how to share the narrative with families in written form if face-to-face is not possible, and note that observation notes and synthesis should be kept as portfolio evidence.
### Time and Workload Estimate
Provide an honest, itemised estimate of teacher time per student per term for each component:
- **Observation:** Minutes per observation session × frequency × weeks in term, plus recording time. State the total.
- **Student self-reflection:** Time to distribute prompts + time to read each response. State the total.
- **Parent input:** Time to send the guide (if invited) + time to read responses (if received). No response means zero reading time, not zero invitation time; omit the invitation entirely where inappropriate.
- **Synthesis:** Time for the four-step synthesis process. Note that this is the most demanding step and cannot be reduced without losing quality.
- **Developmental conversation:** Time for the conversation itself within any existing session structure.
- **Total per student per term:** Sum the components. Then multiply by class size to show the full-class investment. Be honest — if the total is significant, say so. Name it as a real cost. This method aims for a richer, context-sensitive picture, but comparative validity and usefulness of this exact design are not established; educators must judge whether the investment fits their purpose.
- **Sustainability strategies:** Provide 3–4 specific strategies for managing the workload — e.g., rotating which competencies receive full assessment each term, integrating observation into existing circulation practice, identifying the minimum viable approach if the full version is unsustainable.
**Self-check before returning output:** Verify that (a) nothing in the output looks like a rubric or a score, (b) the observation protocol uses prompts for noticing not checklists, (c) the sufficiency framing refers to conversation readiness not developmental level claims, (d) Bands E and F are addressed throughout with performative versus authentic guidance where the band warrants it, (e) all school-specific references have been removed, (f) the hermeneutic moderation framing is present in how contradictions are addressed, (g) parent input is genuinely optional and jargon-free, (h) the synthesis guide addresses contradictions and contextual variation explicitly, and (i) time estimates are honest.
Read references/worked-agency-assessment.md when you need a complete Band D Agency assessment design, including all six sections, family wording, synthesis and review-session timing.
Compact excerpt — observation and implementation cost (Agency, Band D):
Observation: 5 minutes of deliberate noticing plus 1–2 minutes recording per occasion, twice per week for 10–12 weeks: (5 + 1–2) × 2 × 10–12 = 120–168 minutes per student per term. This assumes individual observation time; if a classroom episode supports observations of several students, explain the shared allocation and avoid counting the same time twice. Sustainability must be checked locally.
Student self-reflection: 5 minutes of teacher time to distribute the prompts. 10 minutes to read each student's responses. Total per student: 15 minutes.
Parent input: Illustratively, 5 minutes to invite input plus 5 minutes to read a response: 10 minutes per student if both occur, 5 if invited with no response, zero if no invitation is made. A shared class invitation may reduce the per-student allocation. Do not seek input where inappropriate or unsafe.
Synthesis: 15–20 minutes per student to complete the four-step synthesis and write the developmental narrative. This is the most demanding step. It cannot be reduced without losing quality. It is also the step where the teacher's professional judgment is most critical.
Developmental conversation / developmental review agency segment: 8–10 minutes per student within the existing session.
Illustrative total per student per term: 163–223 minutes = observation/recording 120–168 + self-reflection administration/reading 15 + caregiver invitation/response 10 + synthesis 15–20 + conversation 8–10. For 25 students, this is 4,075–5,575 minutes, approximately 68–93 hours. With no caregiver invitation or response, subtract 10 minutes per student. Draft-design review, initial setup and staff moderation may add time; shared administration/observation may reduce it. These are explicit planning assumptions, not measured costs or evidence that this design is more valid than alternatives. Check feasibility before adopting the full plan.
Sustainability strategies:
Observation protocols scaffold the development of evaluative expertise but cannot substitute for it. Evaluative expertise — the felt sense of what authentic self-regulation looks like versus performed self-regulation, or what genuine empathy looks like versus socially appropriate empathy performance — develops through experience, reflection, and calibration with skilled colleagues. A teacher in their first year using this protocol will produce lower-quality observations than a teacher with several years of experience, not because they are less diligent but because they have not yet developed that felt sense of quality. This professional capacity might be called pedagogical observation knowledge — it is distinct from pedagogical content knowledge and is rarely named or taught in teacher education.
Schools implementing this skill should provide new teachers with: structured examples of observation notes from experienced practitioners with discussion of what made the observations useful; regular moderation conversations where teachers share and compare observations of the same students; and explicit time to develop their observational practice before using it for any consequential purpose.
Teacher observation of student dispositions is shaped by the teacher's own relationship to those dispositions. A teacher whose self-regulation is primarily expressed through quiet internal processing may underobserve a student whose regulation is loud and external. A teacher from a high-context culture may misread a student's reserved boundary-setting behaviour as disengagement. A teacher who values verbal articulacy may notice confident self-reflection more readily than tentative but genuine self-reflection.
This is an inherent feature of all observation, not a failure of professionalism. The appropriate response is professional reflexivity: teachers should periodically ask themselves which dispositions they find easiest to recognise and value, and which they find harder to notice or appreciate. Moderation conversations between teachers are the structural mechanism for surfacing and correcting observer positioning over time.
Multi-informant assessment aims for a richer picture and requires substantial workload. Under the example assumptions, the full approach — observation, student self-reflection, caregiver invitation/response, synthesis, developmental conversation — is estimated at 163–223 minutes per student per term; this is not a measured cost or comparative-validity result. For a teacher with 25 students and multiple competencies to assess, this is substantial. The skill is designed to be modular — any component can be used independently — but the full triangulated picture requires the full investment. Schools implementing this approach should plan for the time cost explicitly, not discover it mid-term.
Parent/caregiver input is valuable but not always available or appropriate. Some families cannot engage due to work schedules, language barriers, or family circumstances. Some family situations make parent input on dispositional development inappropriate or unsafe. The assessment approach is designed to be fully valid without parent input — it is a genuinely optional enrichment, not a requirement. Teachers should never pursue parent input where doing so might compromise student safety or family trust.
Dispositional development is non-linear and context-sensitive. A student may demonstrate Band D agency in science and Band B agency in collaborative writing. A student who showed strong self-regulation last term may appear to regress this term due to personal circumstances, social dynamics, or the demands of a new type of work. The skill explicitly flags this and instructs the teacher to name contextual variation rather than averaging it — but it cannot prevent the institutional pressure to produce a single "agency score" for reporting purposes. If the school's reporting system requires a single level, the teacher must exercise professional judgment about which level best represents the student's overall developmental trajectory, while acknowledging the contextual variation in their narrative notes.
The developmental conversation requires significant skill from the teacher. The conversation guide scaffolds the structure and provides coaching questions, but the quality of the conversation depends on the teacher's ability to listen, to respond authentically, to hold space for the student's self-assessment without correcting or evaluating, and to maintain relational trust. A teacher who reads the coaching questions mechanically will produce a worse outcome than a teacher who has no guide but has strong relational instincts. The guide is a scaffold, not a substitute for professional judgment and relational competence. Schools should consider providing professional development on coaching conversations before implementing this approach at scale.
When two teachers reach different conclusions about the same student, this is information about contextual variation, not an interrater reliability failure. Both observers may be accurate: they have seen different aspects of the disposition in different contexts. The response is a moderation conversation exploring what the variation reveals about the student's dispositional development across contexts — not averaging the observations, not deciding who is right. The pattern of variation across contexts is itself the most informative piece of evidence. This hermeneutic approach to moderation — treating divergent observations as a prompt for professional inquiry rather than a scoring problem to resolve — is a fundamental difference from psychometric reliability frameworks, which assume a single true score that reliable raters converge on. Dispositional development does not have a single true score; it has a pattern of enacted behaviour across contexts, and divergent teacher observations may both be faithfully representing real parts of that pattern.
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