MENTOR SESSION MATERIALS Block 5: Assessment, feedback …

1 MENTOR SESSION MATERIALS – Block 5: Assessment, feedback and questioning

MENTOR SESSION MATERIALS Block 5: Assessment, feedback and questioning

Overview

● The ECF statements covered by the mentor sessions in this Block are shown in the table. These sessions are complemented by and draw on the self-directed study materials and ECT training programme.

● In this Block there are 6 one-hour mentor sessions.

Preparing for this Block

● Familiarise yourself with the self-directed study materials for this Block. ● Prepare materials as described in the session outlines. ● Identify appropriate times for mutual lesson observations during the Block. Observations may only take place for a short part of a lesson and will be

focused on aspects of classroom practice the ECT is developing. An adaptable handout is available for recording observations, and ECTs should be prompted to reflect on their observations.


Session summary

Session Content ECF statements Materials

5.1 Setting the scene and understanding what we mean by good

assessment and feedback 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5

Handout 5.1

A selection of assessments brought by ECT

5.2 Avoiding common assessment pitfalls 6a, 6b, 6c

A lesson or sequence of lessons that is

going to be taught in the next week.

Set of marked assessments ECT has

completed recently

Handout 5.3

5.3 Assessing prior knowledge 6d, 6e

5.4 Extending pupils 6f, 6g, 6h

Video

Handout 5.5

5.5 High quality classroom talk and questioning 4.6, 4.7

4m, 4n

5.6 Review and looking forward 4.6, 4.7, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5,

4m, 4n, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g

A selection of books or unmarked work

pupils have recently completed.


Session 5.1: Setting the scene and understanding what we mean by good assessment and feedback

The intended outcomes of this session are for Early Career Teachers to:

Learn that: ● 6.1 Effective assessment is critical to teaching because it provides teachers with information about pupils’ understanding and needs.

● 6.2 Good assessment helps teachers avoid being over-influenced by potentially misleading factors, such as how busy pupils appear. ● 6.3 Before using any assessment, teachers should be clear about the decision it will be used to support and be able to justify its use. ● 6.4 To be of value, teachers use information from assessments to inform the decisions they make; in turn, pupils must be able to act on feedback

for it to have an effect. ● 6.5 High quality feedback can be written or verbal; it is likely to be accurate and clear, encourage further effort, and provide specific guidance on

how to improve.

Activities ECF Statement(s) Materials

Introducing Block 5: What is good assessment and feedback? (20 minutes)

Preparing for this Block: ● Each school will have policies in relation to assessment and feedback. The ECT will need to be

aware of these policies. ● It would be worth identifying colleagues in school who are particularly effective at assessment

and feedback, and to guide the ECT towards these colleagues for observations and discussions. Welcome the ECT to the Block. Suggested dialogue for mentors: Welcome to Block 5 - Assessment, feedback and questioning. As you know, Assessment is a really important, ongoing process of finding out what your pupils know and can do, where there are gaps and crucially what they and you need to do next to progress their learning. This

Handout 5.1


Block will support you to establish what effective assessment and feedback practices are. You will also explore questioning as a key tool of assessment. Some questions for discussion: You can use Handout 5.1 to support the discussion.

● What different forms of assessment can you name? ● What different forms of assessment have you used? ● Which ones have gone well? Why? ● Which ones haven’t gone so well? Why? ● Which do you find takes you a long time? ● Have you developed any strategies to speed up assessment? ● What different forms of feedback can you name? ● What different forms of feedback have you used? ● Which ones have gone well? Why? ● Which ones haven’t gone so well? Why? ● Which do you find takes you a long time? ● Have you developed any strategies to speed up feedback?

Understanding the evidence (20 minutes)

Guidance to mentors: ● Both the ECT and mentor should have read the ‘Understanding the Evidence’ section of the self-

directed study materials ahead of the session. ● In this part of the session, the mentor will be asking questions to check the ECT’s understanding

of what they have read. The guidance below provides a full range of responses which show understanding. However, this should not be treated as a ‘test’ of the ECT’s knowledge; use the prompts to elicit fuller answers or clarify if they have misunderstood any aspect.

6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5


Suggested dialogue for mentors: You completed activity 5.2 of the self-directed study materials ‘Understanding the Evidence’ in relation to what makes good assessment and feedback. Let’s discuss your response to the questions to check your understanding of that material. ● Why is assessing pupil learning important?

○ To inform the teacher about what the pupil knows and can do ○ To identify misconceptions ○ To establish where the pupil is in their learning ○ To check prior knowledge ○ To inform planning ○ To adapt teaching.

● What characterises good assessment?

○ Is an essential part of teaching and learning ○ Avoids being misled by surface observations (e.g. how busy pupils appear) ○ Should have a clear purpose ○ Should be reliable – measure what it is supposed to ○ Should deliver information which helps inform decisions and feedback to pupils.

● What characterises high-quality feedback?

○ Clear and accurate ○ Tells the pupil where they are and where they need to go ○ Provides specific steps the pupil should take to improve ○ Requires effort from the pupil ○ Can be verbal or written.

● Why is high-quality feedback important?

○ Improves pupil outcomes ○ Supports pupil learning ○ Ensures pupils’ learning needs are being met


○ Means that pupils are clear on how they can improve ○ Support pupils to monitor and self-regulate their own learning.

Reviewing and reflecting on practice (10 minutes)

Guidance to mentors: ● ECTs should bring some examples of their own to the session. As this is the first session of the

Block, catch up with the ECT in person or via email to ask them to do this. ● Examples could be work that has been marked in books or could be more formal assessments. ● It might be helpful to share some of the mentor’s own examples of assessment as well. ● If there is no evidence that pupils have responded to feedback, ask about how pupils have

enacted the feedback. Questions for discussion:

● Can you explain what you have brought to share? ● What kind of assessment is it? ● How did you build in time for pupils to respond to this feedback?

6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 A selection of ECT’s assessments

Planning for action (10 minutes)

In the next session, ECTs will need to bring a selection of marked assessments (about five would be a good number) with them that you will review. They should be from one assessment rather than a range. Spend some time now identifying what this might be and locating where the assessments are, i.e. if in pupils’ books, the ECT will need to collect the books in advance of the next session. ECTs will also need to identify a lesson or sequence of lessons they plan to teach in the next week. You will spend some time in the next session planning out formative assessment tasks linked to the lesson objectives.


Session 5.2: Avoiding common assessment pitfalls


Learn how to: Avoid common assessment pitfalls, by:

● 6a Planning formative assessment tasks linked to lesson objectives and thinking ahead about what would indicate understanding (e.g. by using hinge questions to pinpoint knowledge gaps).

● 6b. Drawing conclusions about what pupils have learned by looking at patterns of performance over a number of assessments (e.g. appreciating that assessments draw inferences about learning from performance).

● 6c. Choosing, where possible, externally validated materials, used in controlled conditions when required to make summative assessments.


Introducing the session (5 minutes)

ECTs should have brought with them two things to this session: ● A lesson or sequence of lessons that is going to be taught in the next week ● A selection of marked assessments from one class.

Planning formative assessment (20 minutes)

Pose the question: What is the purpose of an end of lesson assessment? Answers might include:

● To provide information to move the learning forwards. ● To give us formative information: what have pupils understood, what has not been understood,

what are the misconceptions? ● Not about grading – we need an assessment that will provide feedback to move the learning

forward.

6a A lesson or sequence of lessons that is going to be taught in the next week.


Together, look at the sequence of lessons and discuss: ● What is the end of unit assessment? ● What are the skills and knowledge that you will be teaching this term? (If applicable, how might

you break these skills/knowledge down further?) ● What are the key skills/concepts that pupils must learn over this sequence of learning in order to

be successful in the end of unit assessment? ● In the lesson you will be teaching next, what are the objectives? How do these help build

towards the end of unit assessment? What skills/concepts will you be introducing in this lesson?

Example: Lesson objective: to learn the different uses of apostrophes and be able to apply these.

Pose the question: What are some of the ways we could assess the learning at the end of a lesson? Answers might include:

● Do now activity. Advantages: useful to identify pupil starting point, useful as a recall tool. Disadvantages: might need a follow-on to secure learning.

● Regular low-stake quizzes. Advantages: identifies what pupils know and can do, low-stakes so supportive of pupils’ needs, helps identify next steps. Disadvantage: potentially time-consuming.

● Exit tickets. Advantages: identifies what pupils know and can do. Disadvantage: timings – if we use these at the end of the lesson it might be too late to re-teach.

● Hinge questions. Advantages: can target misconceptions. Disadvantage: pupils may be able to guess the correct answer.

• Written questions which require short answers. Advantages: more detailed response so pupil understanding can be explored further. Disadvantage: time-consuming to mark.

We need to make sure that our assessment matches the learning objective and that we select the best assessment tool to help us do this.


Non- example: Lesson objective: to learn the different uses of apostrophes and be able to apply these. End of lesson assessment: Exit ticket When should an apostrophe be used?

Pose the question: Why is this a non-example? Answers might include:

● Not closely linked enough to the objective – we won’t get answers to show whether pupils have really understood how to use apostrophes.

● Lacks reliability and validity. ● Lacks structure. ● What you expect of pupils is unclear.

Non-example Lesson objective: to learn the different uses of apostrophes and be able to apply these. End of lesson assessment: Exit ticket Tick the following sentences which show apostrophes being used correctly

1. The dog chased it’s tail 2. It’s going to be a lovely, sunny day 3. I would like lot’s of ice cream

Pose the question: What is the issue here? Answers might include:

● Easy for pupils to guess – not enough items to be a valid assessment. ● Does not ask much of pupils. ● Doesn’t reveal anything about pupil thinking. ● Answers do not allow for high-quality feedback.


Example Lesson objective: to learn the different uses of apostrophes and be able to apply these. End of lesson assessment: Exit ticket Add apostrophes to the following sentences if they are needed:

1. Youre going to love this film 2. Shes always on time 3. Its my favourite flavour 4. My dogs are always hungry 5. The ladies bags

Questions for discussion:

● What makes this example better? ● How does the assessment measure the objective?

Answers might include:

● It will show us which pupils have understood and what they have understood ● This will show us which of the uses of apostrophes pupils have understood ● Which ones they have not understood ● Reliable and valid ● Will highlight misconceptions.

The ECT should plan out an assessment task to measure pupils’ progress towards the lesson objective/s at the end of the lesson. Pose the question: How will you measure progress throughout the lesson towards meeting this objective? The ECT should use the following information to help them:

● What will measure pupil progress towards achieving the lesson objective? ● What do I want to know about pupils’ learning? ● What am I going to do with this information?


● What is the best way of finding this out? ● When am I going to find this out? ● When and how am I going to give feedback to pupils?

The ECT should add in detail to their lesson plan around how they will assess progress throughout the lesson.

Understanding patterns in assessments (20 minutes)

Together, review the set of marked assessments the ECT has recently completed. Use the review document on Handout 5.3 to help you with this. What has the review shown the ECT about patterns of performance? What will the ECT take forward into their practice?

6b Set of marked assessments ECT has completed recently Handout 5.3

Improving the quality of assessments through using externally validated resources (10 minutes)

Pose the question: How can we ensure that assessments we create are reliable and valid? Answers might include:

● Refining assessment processes. ● Working with colleagues. ● Reviewing assessments regularly. ● Adding more questions to our assessments. ● Using externally validated sources.

We are going to take a closer look at using externally validated resources. Pose the question: What are the benefits of using externally validated resources?

6c


Answers might include: ● Ensures assessment is reliable and valid. ● Allows you to measure pupil progress towards learning goals. ● Clear mark scheme to utilise. ● Quality assurance has already taken place. ● Allows you to make judgements about pupil learning. ● Allow you to measure pupil progress towards learning goals.

Mentor to talk the ECT through some of the places they can find externally validated resources. These might include:

● Exam board websites. ● Past papers the department has. ● National databases of questions such as Testbase or Exampro.


The ECT worked on a lesson today planning in formative assessment opportunities. Identify together when that lesson will be taught and agree that you will come and observe a part of the lesson looking specifically at the formative assessment opportunities. If the mentor is unable to observe, alternative options are:

• The ECT could record a part of their lesson and share with their mentor

• The ECT could teach the lesson and write down reflections to share with their mentor.


Session 5.3: Assessing prior knowledge


Learn How To: Check prior knowledge and understanding during lessons, by:

● 6d Using assessments to check for prior knowledge and pre-existing misconceptions. ● 6e Structuring tasks and questions to enable the identification of knowledge gaps and misconceptions (e.g. by using common misconceptions

within multiple-choice questions).


Reflecting on learning? (10 minutes)

Discuss the lesson observation agreed in the last session. ● What was successful? ● What could be better?

● What will the ECT do next?

Assessment to check prior knowledge (10 minutes)

Pose the question: What are some of the assessment activities you can use to check prior knowledge? Answers might include:

● Concept map ● Multiple-choice question ● Multiple-choice quiz ● Giving pupils a picture and asking them to ask questions of it ● Graphic organiser ● Mind-mapping.

6d


Thinking about an upcoming lesson, create an activity that will check prior knowledge. You can use one of the suggestions above. What will the ECT do with the information they gather from this? What decisions will it inform?

Assessment to check for pre-existing misconceptions (15 minutes)

Ask the ECT to select a topic they will be teaching next. Together (or with the help of a subject specialist) list all the potential misconceptions that could come up. Use the example below to help you:

Example Biology – cells

● Thinking the nucleus is the brain of the cell. ● Not recognising or being able to explain that the cell membrane and cell wall are different

things. ● Thinking that mitochondria create energy. ● Thinking that enzymes die.

Pose the question: Why is it important to identify pre-existing misconceptions before teaching a topic/lesson? Answers might include:

● Predicting misconceptions will allow us to address them before they become an issue. ● We need to correct misconceptions before they influence the way pupils think of new

knowledge.

6d


Look at the following example:

Potential misconception: Assessment which will check understanding:

Decision this will support:

Thinking the nucleus is the brain of the cell.

Pupils will answer a multiple choice exit ticket to identify misconception.

I want to know whether pupils have grasped the concept so I can move on or whether I need to reteach it.

Not recognising or being able to explain that the cell membrane and cell wall are different things.

Hinge question during the lesson.

I want to know whether pupils have grasped the concept so I can move on or whether I need to reteach it.

The ECT should select one misconception from their list and decide how they are going to check pupils' understanding of this. Together with the mentor they should plan the assessment.

In class tasks and questioning to enable identification of knowledge gaps and misconceptions (15 minutes)

Together, look back at the ECT’s list of potential misconceptions from an upcoming topic. Select a different one to the previous activity. Together, draft two hinge questions that can be used to check for understanding and to identify pupils’ misconceptions and knowledge gaps. Remember, answers should:

● Allow you to make inferences about pupils learning

6e


● Focus on key learning ● Be quick to answer ● Be phrased in a way that will allow you to target misconceptions.

Together, plan how ECT should respond to pupil answers.

● Whether a pupil responds correctly or incorrectly, ECTs should ask pupils to explain their thinking.

● Hold out for 100%. Together, identify strategies which can support pupils who give the wrong answer and/or wrong explanation.

● Which misconception does the pupil hold? ● What questions would help them unpick their thinking?

Together, consider how to check whether the misconception is evident in work the pupils undertake after the use of the question.

● What follow up task or questions will you ask pupils to complete?

Checking understanding (5 minutes)

The ECT should have a go at the following multiple-choice quiz. There may be more than one correct answer for each question. Why is it important to check prior knowledge?

A. To identify what pupils know already B. To check understanding C. To link new knowledge to existing schema

When should we consider the misconceptions pupils might hold?

A. In the planning stage B. While teaching key concepts


C. After teaching the key concepts Name three ways you can check pre-existing misconceptions.

A. Exit tickets, hinge questions, do now activities B. Closed questions, exit tickets, multiple-choice questions C. Multiple-choice quiz, re-teaching, exit tickets


Agree when the ECT will teach the lesson for which they have planned the assessment to identify misconceptions, and, if possible, arrange for the mentor to observe part or all of the lesson with a focus on identifying misconceptions. Alternatively, the ECT could record the part of the lesson to share with their mentor or write down their reflections after teaching it.


Session 5.4: Extending pupils


Learn How To: Check prior knowledge and understanding during lessons, by:

● 6f Prompting pupils to elaborate when responding to questioning to check that a correct answer stems from secure understanding. ● 6g Monitoring pupil work during lessons, including checking for misconceptions.

Provide high quality feedback, by: ● 6h Focusing on specific actions for pupils and providing time for pupils to respond to feedback


Activating the learning (5 minutes)

This session focuses on checking pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding during lessons. Pose the question: From the knowledge you have developed so far, why is checking pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding during lessons important? Answers might include:

● Prior knowledge supports new knowledge. ● If we know what pupils understand and know, we can plan accordingly. ● We need to know what misconceptions pupils hold so we can address these. ● To activate prior knowledge. ● To support pupils to make connections.

6f

Supporting pupils to elaborate on their responses (10 minutes)

Read together the extract of a teacher talking about how she supports pupils to elaborate on their responses.

6f


“In my school, one of the strands of our literacy policy is that when pupils are giving verbal responses either to me or when speaking to each other they must use full sentences. This is an idea that is embedded within the school and I reinforce during lessons. For example, I will make sure that I remind pupils that they need to respond in full sentences and I usually model an example of a full sentence. If pupils respond with just one or two words, I ask pupils to rephrase and put their response into a full sentence. This means that pupils tend to respond fairly fully to questioning. However, there are levels of sophistication with full sentences – quite often pupils will respond in a full sentence but won’t have justified their answer for example. So, say I asked the pupils ‘what was the most effective response to the earthquake’, a pupil might answer ‘I think the early warning system was the most effective response’. In this instance, I would prompt a pupil by asking him or her ‘why do you say that?’ or ‘can you say a bit more about that to explain your answer?’. This helps me to establish whether the reasoning behind the answer is sound. It is helpful to remind pupils that the word ‘because’ should feature in their answer because this supports them to provide a justification without a prompt.

1. What strategies does the teacher have to get pupils to elaborate on their responses? 2. Is this something you are doing? 3. Are there strategies you will try?

These are example stems that could be given to pupils to support them to elaborate on their responses:

How are _________ and ________ alike? What is the main idea of ____________? What are the strengths and weaknesses of _________? Compare ________ and ________ with regard to __________. What do you think causes ___________? How does _____________ tie in with what we have learned before? Which one is the best ___________, and why? What are some possible solutions for the problem of _________? Do you agree or disagree with this statement:__________? What do still not understand about __________

Rosenshine (2012)


Pose the question: Can you come up with some more stems that are relevant to your subject area and/or a lesson you plan to teach in the near future?

Monitoring pupil work during lessons (25 minutes)

One way that you can check prior knowledge and understanding during lessons is to monitor pupils' work. This can be done using ‘live marking’ as a strategy. Together, watch the video from the self-directed study materials.

VIDEO

Title Live marking

Video type Classroom practice

Short description

A teacher sets a written task and as pupils are working, circulates and offers feedback

What should you focus on in this video?

When pupils are doing a written task, it can be useful to walk around the room and offer verbal and written feedback. Watch what the teacher says and does to set up live marking.

Script NARRATION A practical strategy that you can use to provide high quality feedback to your pupils is live marking. This will allow in the moment feedback and opportunities for pupils to reflect on their work and improve it. CLASSROOM INTERACTION In our last lesson, you prepared your plans for your descriptive writing. You are writing a description of the woods using all the techniques we have been working

6g Video


on over the term. As you are writing, I am going to be walking around and marking your work as you are writing. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to adapt and improve your work as you go, so make sure you listen carefully and respond to the feedback I give you. Excellent first line Abdul, I like that you have used a great adjective to describe the atmosphere. (Writing) Check your spelling here Can you add in an adverb to describe how you are walking? (Writing) Check your punctuation Callum I really like that you have used a simile to describe the trees moving, that really brings the forest alive. (Writing) Missing punctuation here (Writing) Can you add a descriptive technique to describe the path here?


● Have you had a go at live marking yet? ● How did it go?

Together, you are going to plan for the ECT to use live marking in an upcoming lesson.

1. Identify a task in which pupils are going to be working independently 2. Plan out a checklist of what you will be looking at pupils work for. 3. What common errors did you see in the last independent task? 4. What are the potential misconceptions around this topic?


There is an example below to help you.

Example Descriptive writing Lesson objective: to use descriptive techniques to have an effect on the reader Things I will be looking for:

● Understanding of descriptive techniques ● Using descriptive techniques ● Using descriptive techniques for effect ● Understanding how to use adjectives ● Choosing powerful adjectives ● Sentence structure ● Pupils understanding when to use punctuation.

Common errors identified in the previous assessment

● Forgetting full stops ● Making poor adjective choices.

Potential misconceptions

● Confusing a simile and metaphor ● Not knowing how to structure their sentences.

In the moment you will need to make a decision about what feedback to give each pupil. To do this you will need to ask yourself: What will be the highest leverage feedback you can give to each pupil?


Example Megan has incorrectly used a simile but also has not used any capital letters. I don’t want to overwhelm her with feedback, so I make the decision to just focus on capital letters for the moment. I put a ‘c’ in the margin of her work which tells her she needs to read through her work and check her capital letters. I will circle back in a few minutes and check she has addressed this.

What will you do if you see misconceptions?

● If you see the misconception from one pupil you might want to address it with that pupil. ● If you see the misconception occurring in more than one pupil’s work, you may want to stop the

class and address the misconception in the moment.

Example I have noticed that at least 3 pupils have incorrectly used a simile. I decide to stop the class and use questioning to check understanding and model an example on the board. It will be best if I stop the whole class here to clarify as it will benefit all pupils – some to clear up the misconception, others to recap. If some pupils do know how to use a simile and are confident, I will get them to model an example for the rest of the class or I will challenge them to improve the simile.

Ask the ECT:

● Decide what the priorities are for your pupils in the task you have planned. ● Select one misconception and plan how you will re-teach this. ● What questions will you ask to check understanding? ● How will you challenge those pupils who have understood?

Providing time for pupils to respond to feedback (15 minutes)

It is important to provide time for pupils to put the specific feedback you have given them into action.

6h A selection of books or unmarked work pupils have recently completed.


Pose the question: What does high-quality feedback look like? How can we ensure our feedback helps pupils improve? Answers might include:

● It is clear and accurate. ● Tells the pupil where they are and where they need to go. ● It should encourage effort from the pupil. ● We can ask the pupil to redo part of the work. ● We can ask the pupil to answer a new related question. ● We can ask the pupil to extend their thinking.

We need to plan the time for pupils to act on this feedback. Ask the ECT to look at an upcoming lesson in which they will be giving feedback to pupils. This could be individual written feedback, verbal feedback like in the previous activity or whole-class feedback responding to common errors and misconceptions. Together look at the books the ECT has brought with them and identify specific actions they could give individual pupils. They should plan:

● How are they going to give feedback? What form will this be in? ● How will they plan in time for pupils to respond to this feedback? ● How will pupils respond?

The ECT might want to make a structured responding to feedback sheet for the pupil to use. See Handout 5.5 for an example.

Handout 5.5


The ECT should write down two things they will take into their practice from the learning in the session today.


The next session covers high-quality classroom talk and questioning. The ECT will need to bring to the session an example of a lesson they have taught or one they have planned to teach soon which has an element of classroom talk in it. Examples of classroom talk could be:

● Paired talk activities ● Group talk activities ● Discussion activities ● Teacher questioning.


Session 5.5: High quality classroom talk and questioning


Learn that: 4.6 Questioning is an essential tool for teachers; questions can be used for many purposes, including to check pupils’ prior knowledge, assess understanding and break down problems. 4.7 High quality classroom talk can support pupils to articulate key ideas, consolidate understanding and extend their vocabulary. Learn How To: Stimulate pupil thinking and check for understanding, by: 4m Including a range of types of questions in class discussions to extend and challenge pupils (e.g. by modelling new vocabulary or asking pupils to justify answers). 4n Providing appropriate wait time between question and response where more developed responses are required.


Why we use questioning (5 minutes)

Read the following to the ECT:

Students need to practise new material. The teacher’s questions and student discussion are a major way of providing this necessary practice. The most successful teachers [...] spend more than half the time lecturing, demonstrating, and asking questions. Questions allow a teacher to determine how well the material has been learned and whether there is a need for additional instruction. The most effective teachers also ask students to explain the process they used to answer the question, to explain how the answer was found. Less successful teachers ask fewer questions and almost no process questions.

Rosenshine, 2012

4.6


Questions for discussion: ● How often do you use questioning in your lessons? ● What kind of questions do you use? ● When you ask questions, do you know what answers you are trying to get from pupils? ● Do you usually get the answers you expect?

High-quality classroom talk and questioning (15 minutes)

Guidance to mentors: ● Both the ECT and mentor should have read the ‘Learning about questioning and high-quality

classroom talk’ section of the self-directed study materials ahead of the session. ● In this part of the mentor session, the mentor will be asking questions to check the ECT’s

understanding of what they have read. The guidance below provides a full range of responses which show understanding. However, do not treat this as a ‘test’ of the ECT’s knowledge; use the prompts to elicit fuller answers or clarify if they have misunderstood any aspect.

Suggested dialogue for mentors:

You completed activity 5.3 of the self-directed study materials ‘Learning about questioning and high-quality classroom talk’. Let’s discuss your response to the questions to check your understanding.

● What is the difference between closed and open questions?

○ A closed question is a question with a Yes/No or single item answer. These are quick to ask and answer, good for checking factual understanding.

○ An open question typically elicits longer responses where pupils need to reflect and use more complex reasoning.

● How can questioning be used to check pupils’ prior knowledge?

○ Ask questions which directly draw on prior knowledge. ○ It can expose misconceptions.

4.6, 4.7


○ Pupils can be encouraged to articulate their understanding of key ideas, summarising and reformulating them in order to reinforce their knowledge.

● How can questioning be used to assess pupils’ understanding? ○ To check where pupils don’t understand. ○ To break problematic concepts down further. ○ To encourage pupils to think hard – a key factor in learning. ○ Pupils can be encouraged to articulate their understanding of key ideas, summarising and

reformulating them in order to reinforce their knowledge.

● What constitutes high-quality classroom talk? ○ Talk which supports pupils to articulate key ideas. ○ Helps pupils consolidate understanding. ○ Helps pupils to extend their vocabulary. ○ According to Alexander, high-quality classroom talk is collective, reciprocal, supportive,

cumulative and purposeful.

● How can it be used effectively? ○ Teacher and pupils engage in dialogue as opposed to the teacher doing all of the talking. ○ The teacher must set up the expectations and encourage pupils to engage in active dialogue

rather than passive listening. ○ Pupils taught how to listen, react and respond. ○ All contributions should be valued and respected. ○ The teacher might introduce group discussion guidelines for pupils to adhere to. ○ In contrast to closed questions, open questions allow ideas to be explored and built upon. ○ The teacher might help link previous learning and ideas to deepen understanding. ○ Clear goal established. ○ The talk should be well planned, including protocols such as how to contribute, length of

time for the discussion and what happens next. ○ The teacher plays an important role to skilfully manage classroom talk and keep it focused on

the purpose intended – this might include giving sentence stems or facilitating the discussion.


Extend and challenge pupils using a range of questions (20 minutes)

We can use questions to extend and challenge pupils’ thinking and understanding. Read the examples of the different ways the teacher responds to the pupil’s response with follow-on questions:

Example A Teacher: Khadejah, look at the picture and tell me one adaptation that a camel has. Khadejah: A camel lives in the desert. Teacher: Safia, what do I mean by adaptation? Safia: An adaptation is how animals have changed to survive in their habitat. Teacher: Khadejah, can you use Safia’s definition of adaptation to see something in the picture which helps a camel to live in the desert? Example B Teacher: Khadejah, look at the picture and tell me one adaptation that a camel has. Khadejah: A camel has brown hair. Teacher: Safia, can you explain whether you agree with Khadejah’s answer? Example C Teacher: Khadejah, look at the picture and tell me one adaptation that a camel has. Khadejah: A camel has humps. Teacher: How confident are you in that answer? Khadejah: 2 out of 5. Teacher: What question could you ask Safia to help you feel more confident? Khadejah: Safia, what is an adaptation?

4m


Questions for discussion: ● How does the teacher respond to the pupil's response? ● What sort of questions does the teacher ask? ● How do the follow-on questions support pupil understanding? ● What does it reveal to the teacher? ● Why might it be useful to plan out the questions to ask before the lesson?

Ask the ECT to think about an upcoming lesson. Together with the mentor, plan out all the things the pupil will need to know in this lesson. There is an example below to help:

Example Adaptation – pupils will need to know:

● That adaptation is when living things adapt to their habitat ● That it means they have special features that help them survive ● The different ways a camel has adapted to their environment.

Once we have established what pupils will need to know, we can plan out questions to ask pupils to check their understanding and extend and challenge their thinking. Look at the following questions:

1. Name an animal and tell me one feature that helps them survive in their habitat? 2. How does this feature help them survive? 3. In a desert environment, name an animal who is most likely to survive and explain why. 4. Would a camel survive in the same environment as a polar bear? 5. What implications would there be if a camel did not have its hump?

Follow-on questions:

● Can you explain that further? ● What do you mean? ● What would the next step be? ● Can you explain your reasoning?


Questions for discussion: ● What do you notice about the questions?

○ A: They become increasingly difficult. ● Why plan questions that become increasingly difficult?

○ A: To scaffold pupils towards being able to answer more complex questions and to support them to develop a level of sophistication.

● What is the importance of follow-on questions? ○ A: To ensure that pupils have developed their responses and so that you know that their

answer comes from sound understanding. Together, use the list of what pupils need to know to write questions that build on the level of challenge. Think about:

● What will pupils need to know? ● Are there facts that require closed questions? ● How will you probe understanding? ● If pupils answer correctly, what further question can you ask to stretch pupils?

Pose the question: What if pupils do not know the answer? What will you do? One way we can respond is through reframing the question to provide greater scaffold:

Example C Teacher: Khadejah, look at the picture and tell me one adaptation that a camel has. Khadejah: Ummm, I am not sure. Teacher: Tell me one thing you notice about the camel? Khadejah: It has a hump. Teacher: Ok, so what can you remember about the camel’s hump? Khadejah: It stores water.

Together, reframe one question to scaffold the pupil’s answer if they get it wrong the first time.


Wait time (15 minutes)

Read the following together with your ECT:

Many teachers do not plan and conduct classroom dialogue in ways that might help students to learn. Research has shown that, after asking a question, many teachers wait less than one second and then, if no answer is forthcoming, ask another question or answer the question themselves. A consequence of such short “wait time” is that the only questions that “work” are those that can be answered quickly, without thought — that is, questions calling for memorized facts. Consequently, the dialogue is at a superficial level. As one teacher put it:

‘I’d become dissatisfied with the closed Q & A style that my unthinking teaching had fallen into, and I would frequently be lazy in my acceptance of right answers and sometimes even tacit complicity with a class to make sure none of us had to work too hard… They and I knew that if the Q & A wasn’t going smoothly, I’d change the question, answer it myself, or only seek answers from the “brighter students.” There must have been times (still are?) where an outside observer would see my lessons as a small discussion group surrounded by many sleepy onlookers.’ — James, Two Bishops School

Black and Wiliam (2004)


● How long do you wait for pupils to answer questions? ● How many pupils typically answer questions in one lesson? ● How often do you quickly move on or answer the question yourself? ● Do you always hold out for an answer that is 100% correct?

Have a look at the non-example of effective questioning:

4n


Example Teacher: How does the writer use the weather to set the tone at the beginning of the novel? Pupil: It’s bad weather? Teacher: That’s right, the writer uses pathetic fallacy in showing us that it is a storm at the beginning of the novel.

Pose the question: Why is this a non-example?

● Does not offer wait time. ● Sets a low standard of correctness ● Teacher effectively ‘rounds up’ the pupil response ● Teacher repeats the pupil answer and adds detail ● We do not know whether the pupil knew this information.

Have a look at how the teacher could respond differently:

Example Teacher: How does the writer use the weather to set the tone at the beginning of the novel? Pupil: It’s bad weather? PAUSE Pupil: Ummm, I guess it is stormy weather so maybe events will be up and down? Teacher: Can you phrase that differently? Pupil: The writer opens with a storm to show the reader that the mood is unsettled. Teacher: Which is an example of which technique? Pupil: Pathetic fallacy and foreshadowing. Teacher: That’s right….

Pose the question: What is the difference?

Discussion might cover:


● The teacher uses wait time ● Teacher holds out for 100% ● Offers prompts but does not give the answer ● Asks the pupil to use technical vocabulary

Ask the ECT to look back at their example questions from the last activity, select one and practise asking it to the mentor who will be playing the role of a pupil who is slow to respond. You should have two rounds of practice:

1. After being given wait time the pupil volunteers an answer. 2. After the wait time the pupil still doesn’t know the answer so the ECT needs to ask a follow up

question.


The ECT should write down two things they will do as a result of this session. In the next session, the ECT will share their reflections from observations of colleagues which they can complete during the time allocated in self-study materials Activity 5.5. If they have not yet planned these observations, discuss who they should observe and why.


Session 5.6: Review and looking forward


Learn that: ● 4.6 Questioning is an essential tool for teachers; questions can be used for many purposes, including to check pupils’ prior knowledge, assess

understanding and break down problems. ● 4.7 High quality classroom talk can support pupils to articulate key ideas, consolidate understanding and extend their vocabulary. ● 6.1 Effective assessment is critical to teaching because it provides teachers with information about pupils’ understanding and needs. ● 6.2 Good assessment helps teachers avoid being over-influenced by potentially misleading factors, such as how busy pupils appear. ● 6.3 Before using any assessment, teachers should be clear about the decision it will be used to support and be able to justify its use. ● 6.4 To be of value, teachers use information from assessments to inform the decisions they make; in turn, pupils must be able to act on feedback

for it to have an effect. ● 6.5 High quality feedback can be written or verbal; it is likely to be accurate and clear, encourage further effort, and provide specific guidance on

how to improve. Learn How To: Stimulate pupil thinking and check for understanding, by:

● 4m Including a range of types of questions in class discussions to extend and challenge pupils (e.g. by modelling new vocabulary or asking pupils to justify answers).

● 4n Providing appropriate wait time between question and response where more developed responses are required. Avoid common assessment pitfalls, by:

● 6a Planning formative assessment tasks linked to lesson objectives and thinking ahead about what would indicate understanding (e.g. by using hinge questions to pinpoint knowledge gaps).

● 6b. Drawing conclusions about what pupils have learned by looking at patterns of performance over a number of assessments (e.g. appreciating that assessments draw inferences about learning from performance).

● 6c. Choosing, where possible, externally validated materials, used in controlled conditions when required to make summative assessments. Check prior knowledge and understanding during lessons, by:

● 6d Using assessments to check for prior knowledge and pre-existing misconceptions.


● 6e Structuring tasks and questions to enable the identification of knowledge gaps and misconceptions (e.g. by using common misconceptions within multiple-choice questions).

● 6f Prompting pupils to elaborate when responding to questioning to check that a correct answer stems from secure understanding. ● 6g Monitoring pupil work during lessons, including checking for misconceptions.


Reflecting on learning (10 minutes)

Welcome the ECT to the final mentor session in this Block. Offer praise where appropriate for the hard work undertaken in the Block. The purpose of this session is to review what the ECT has learnt throughout this Block through the lens of observations. They should come to the session having carried out one or more observations of colleagues based on Activity 5.5 in the self-directed study materials. Ask the ECT who they observed, and with which focus. They may have completed more than one observation. Pose the question: Who did you choose to observe and why? What was the focus of the observation?

Reflection on observation(s) (20 minutes)

Ask the ECT to reflect on the following questions related to their focus area of the observation(s) ● What did you notice? ● What surprised you? ● What did you learn? ● How did X affect the pupil's learning?

Implications for practice (10 minutes)

In light of the previous discussion, focus now on what the ECT will do as a consequence.


Pose the question: What will you do differently in your practice as a consequence of this observation?

Review of the Block (20 minutes)

Use the final activity in the self-directed study materials to look through all the statements that have been covered by Block 5. The ECT will have considered two key questions as part of this activity:

1. What have you learned in this Block? 2. What do you need to learn more about?

Ask the ECT to share their responses. Support the ECT to come up with an action plan for how they can address the areas they identify in question 2. Some prompts to support:

1. Which colleagues could the ECT go to learn about X? 2. What might be the focus of further reading? 3. What might ECTs need to work on in terms of their classroom practice moving forward? How

could they be supported to do this?

MENTOR SESSION MATERIALS Block 5: Assessment, feedback …

Documents

Transcript of MENTOR SESSION MATERIALS Block 5: Assessment, feedback …