Assessment FOR Learning / Formative Assessment

Staff Meeting – 8th March 2017

‘Aim High’

Respectful, Responsible, Safe

What is purpose of ‘feedback’ and how are

we currently doig it in our classrooms?

What does feedback marking look like in our

school?

Formative Assessment – What we’ve looked at so far?

1. Growth Mindset – Creating a culture in our classrooms where our students:

Are encouraged to explore their own thinking

‘Think outside the box’

Not look for just one answer / solution

Challenge their own thinking and that of others

Take risks in their learning

2. Sharing the ‘Learning Objective’: Doesn’t always have to be at the very start of the lesson – consider

‘the HOOK’

Make it very specific

Take it from the Rubrics (Reading and Writing) and the Units (Maths)

Formative Assessment – What we’ve looked at so far?

3. Developing the ‘Success Criteria’:

Involve the students

Link it to the ‘Learning Objective’

Try not to have more than 3

Re-enforce to the students that this is how they will know if they’ve achieved the

‘Learning Objective’

All of the above stages need to be in place for every lesson and are a very important part of effective ‘Formative Assessment’.

Without each of the above stages: Feedback; Self-Assessment; and Peer Assessment will NOT be effective

So, what do we need to see from this point on?

1. Lessons need to focus on developing a culture of ‘Growth Mindsets’.

2. Every lesson MUST have a very specific ‘Learning Objective’ – think about your ‘HOOK’.

3. Every lesson must have ‘Success Criteria’ – try to involve the students in coming up with these as much as possible.

4. ‘Feedback’ sessions should be included in all lessons – not just at the end of the lesson. Teachers should model this process and also try to include opportunities for students to self-assess and provide peer-feedback.

Possible Problems To Be Aware Of

1. Sharing the ‘Learning Objective’ and developing the ‘Success Criteria’ needs to be pacey – don’t allow this process to take too long (5 to 10 minutes at the very most).

2. The ‘HOOK’ is an important part of the klesson as it engages the students and will often give context and purpose to the lesson. However, again, consider how long is spent on the ‘HOOK’ as we need to get to the teaching and learning as quickly as we can.

What do we expect to see in students books / work?

STUDENTS’ Responsibility

Year 3 to Year 6 (and more able Year 2):

• Date – Top left hand side of the pierce of work (dd/mm/yy)

• Learning Objective (L.O.) – On the line below the date (try to use ‘child friendly language’ and keep it as short as possible)

• Title (if the work requires one) – Miss a line below the L.O. and then write the title in the middle of the line

Note: All of the above should be underlined in pencil and using a ruler.

• Student’s piece of work – If there’s no title, miss a line below the L.O. and then the student starts their work. If there’s a title, the student misses a line below the title and then starts their work.

• If they make any mistakes, they should put a line through the mistake (with a pencil and a ruler) and then carry on with their work.

• Once they’ve completed their work, each student is expected to place a ‘face’ in the margin next to the L.O. – very simple way of getting them to self-assess.

All Students Will Need To Be Trained In All Of This – Consistency, High Expectations and Good Modelling Of Practice

What do we expect to see in students books / work?

TEACHERS’ Responsibility (All Those That Mark Students Work)

• Every piece of work should be ‘marked’:

Ticks and crosses are useful for simple ‘Yes’ / ‘No’ questions e.g. spellings, maths sums, some comprehension work

‘2 Stars and a Wish’ should be used where appropriate - where more guidance is needed to help the learner improve the quality of their work e.g. writing, problem solving, science

Marking comments MUST link to the Learning Objective

• When marking students work, teachers must remember that they are modelling their expectations re handwriting, neatness, presentation e.g. write on the lines below the piece of work, use neat handwriting, no spelling mistakes

• Students MUST be given opportunities to apply the ‘feedback’ / ‘marking comments’ that they’ve received.

What do we expect to see in students books / work?

TEACHERS’ Responsibility (All Those That Mark Students Work) - Continued

Where students are unable to read written comments (age / ability), teachers will need to provide verbal feedback and should place VF on the piece of work

and if appropriate, a positive comment.

However, when using the VF code, please be aware that:

• Whilst the VF code might be relevant for all students at some point, it is not manageable to do this for all students on all occasions. Also VF is

only effective where students are given the opportunity to act on the VF straight away.

• We should still be able to see progress in the student’s next piece of work.

• The students should still be self-assesing with the ‘faces’ next to the Learning Objective.