Online learning

Since broadband made it's way into my home years ago I have enjoyed an online world. I've learnt so much and gained friends and connections around the world. The one thing I had not done was take an online course, a proper, get a certificate at the end (!) online course.*

Well, that's all changed. I signed up some time ago to EdX but never got round to actually registering for any courses. Then I saw Data Wise, which was being run by HarvardX. It was exploring how you could use data to inform and improve your teaching and the outcomes for learners. How to ensure that data was not only useful but being used more usefully. Looking at the different types of data that you might use in your teaching and then how you can plan for and work collaboratively with data and your colleagues. I have really been enjoying the course, the material is engaging and interesting, and it has got me thinking about how I use data and how I can use it better. I would definitely recommend teachers look at online courses.

*Ok, it's an online .pdf certificate. But I will be able to print it out!

3 stars? 2 stars? 1 star? Wish? Getting to grips with feedback

Providing feedback to students, whether immediately, at the end of a lesson or later, is so important. It so important to ensure that the feedback given, whether written or spoken, is understood and achievable for the student. When training as a teacher we talked in terms of SMART targets and our own targets were phrased and developed with this in mind. I often wonder whether we keep this at the front of our mind when setting targets for students and providing feedback.

We all discuss at the start of any new course or academic year the target for each student, we talk it through and we agree upon it as teacher and student. But, to what extent are we discussing the journey to that target?

When we give feedback, both as teachers and when we encourage students to, we all have our own bank of approaches and ideas:

• some like a traffic light system
• others favour 3 stars and a wish
• smiley and quizzical faces have been noted previously!
• others favour a more lengthy comment and question approach

I am not attempting to state or argue as to which is best, all focus upon providing students with a positive comment to recognise their contribution, engagement, effort and knowledge. We all thrive on praise, there are numerous articles written that weigh up the type and frequency of praise with the impact upon the development of a young person. But, put quite simply most of us like to hear when we are doing something well. We feel acknowledged and valued. As teachers we want our students to feel this. The wish or quizzical face denotes the required next steps for the student. This may be a simple task such as completing missing work, it may be a question to test and stretch or it may be a focus for future work such as spelling.

The more I teach the more I recognise that there is still so much for me to learn about feedback. About feedback to get the most out of students, to have the greatest impact and to help that progress in the most manageable and importantly engaging way.

Peer-assessment

Such a great and beneficial tool in the classroom. Not only does it give students the chance to review and engage with different ideas and their peers it enables them to apply the success criteria. By applying the success criteria critically to someone else's work it helps, in my opinion, the student to see what and how the teacher is reviewing their work. It also helps provide a realistic model for the task.

Something I am conscious of is that finding the time to do peer-assessment is not difficult, it is something that can be built in easily to a successful plenary. Finding the time to do peer-assessment in depth, successfully and with the students fully aware of what and why they are doing this is much harder. I think in the past I have been guilty of thinking that students will be able to review someone else's work and comment on it, as if that was an easy thing. I have been reviewing my approach to peer-assessment and am contemplating trying some new things:

• creating target and achievement statements
• making sure I use the statement banks regularly both in class and in book feedback
• providing different opportunities for peer-assessment, rather than just the usual swap with a neighbour

I think that I will be creating A5 laminated statement banks that can be left on tables next to student work, enabling students to rotate around the room and find a new and different book to mark. Alternatively I can collect books and hand them out randomly, but I think they may take up unnecessary time and create more confusion. I also propose to try the statement banks as a means of providing extension material for students, enabling them to review their work with a better level of focus.

Anyway, I'll check back in on this in a couple of weeks. Hopefully with good news. Will welcome any comments and thoughts from others about peer-assessment and what has worked well!

Learning to teacher in the secondary school

I've been revisiting some reading material that I bought years ago when training to be a teacher at university: Learning to Teach in the Secondary School A companion to School Experience Edited by Susan Capel, Marilyn Leask and Tony Turner.

I've been dipping back into it to review my use of assessment, marking and feedback. It is amazing how refreshing it was to do this, to take the time to go back to something that opened my eyes in such a way the first time.

I'm currently reading the chapter about assessment and a few basic things struck me; the checklist for understanding (Holt:1964: 176) is brilliant. So clear and concise and yet it makes so much sense in terms of identifying for both student and teacher how to measure accurately if students understand something. I am considering creating a checklist for my wall for students to use as part of plenary and revision activities. To help them identify what they need to be able to do in order to say that they 'understand' a topic or study area.

Making marking matter

So in my last post I mentioned trialling a traffic light system and borrowing some tips and techniques from friends in the primary school sector. These tips included:

• a wipe clean A1 traffic light poster and board pen
• a traffic light stamp - pre-coloured
• a blank traffic light stamp

These have been really useful as part of my verbal feedback and in class cues. The pre-coloured stamp has enabled me to circulate and give feedback that identifies; both effort/engagement and whether the work being produced is on-track. It has been really useful as a motivator for students. The wipe-clean poster allowed me to write down what I meant by red (off-track), amber (working towards on-track) and green (on-track). It enabled me to identify the behaviours I associated with good learning and provide a reminder for students about the purpose of the traffic lights in their feedback (both written and oral).

So with half-term upon me I have the chance to reflect properly, and to review some of the student voice that I have been collecting.

Marking and Feedback

So, this is an area of particular interest for me as a teacher. As a newly qualified teacher I found myself worrying about how much I should mark, what I should say and what parents expected to see. As I have gained both confidence and experience as a teacher I have spent much time looking for ways to improve my marking, in particular to ensure that students learn from it rather than simply seeing it.
One of the most common reactions to handing back a piece of work, particularly if it was a test or assessment, is the rush amongst students to find out their grade and then to compare it with their peers. Whilst this can be a positive experience and can boost confidence as well as showing progress or act as a means to motivate, does it actually engage students in the learning process?
The next challenge then is the role of comments at the end, and during, assessments and work:

• ensuring you have the time to do this justice
• ensuring the comment has meaning and not simply 'well done'
• making sure the comment identifies to students whether they have made progress
• identifying where students are in terms of their targets
• rewarding effort and praise
• enabling the student to respond to comments and concerns
• clearly showing the required next steps

As the list shows there are a number of things that would be useful and/or beneficial to see in marking feedback. This was my starting point. I am currently working on a traffic light centred system. The purpose of which being;

• identifying quickly for students through red,amber, green whether they are on track for their target grades
• providing a tick list of four effort options; ranging from off-target and no/minimal effort to excellent effort and engagement both in written and oral contributions.
• teacher comment and feedback: a small box for written comments and next steps
• a response box for students
• the ability to add an overall grade if required

I feared at first that this might become too time-consuming, but so far it is working well and providing quick, visible and obvious feedback for students. The next step will now be to get feedback from students about what I am doing.

Hello world!

Welcome to the new blog Teach Northants. Hopefully a place for people to share thoughts, ideas and tips. At least that is what I hope!
I am passionate about developing marking strategies that help students make progress but don't eat your evening!