At Seend I have carried out staff INSET and decided to focus on three areas: 

• Self Assessment
• Conferencing
• Marking Partnerships

We are going to trial self assessment this term using an I can … statement in every lesson and getting children to fill in a pupil box (tick if they understand/circle if they don’t understand completely and a cross if they are unable to agree with the statement). Running alongside this is a teacher box. I liked the traffic light system, but this seems less fussy. This will be put into practice in January 2007 and reviewed/evaluated/modified  in June 2007. Conferencing is being trialled this term.This will also be put into practice in January 2007 and reviewed/evaluated/modified  in June 2007. We are still reviewing marking partnerships and will start by rewriting and modifying our existing marking policy. We will trial Marking Partnerships during the Spring Term and implement it fully in the Summer. A Parents Evening is planned for the Summer term.

During September the assessment team set up in conjunction with 30 schools a county wide assessment action research project.

Over the next few weeks Tom and Lis will be celebrating the progress schools are making.

We aim to share the good practice so that schools can see what is happening around the county and perhaps make contact with each to see what is going on and how their practice might impact on what they are trying to achieve.

If you want further details of the action research or any support in assessment for learning contact Tom Robson or Lis Fletcher.

 Christian Malford Primary School 

Problem: 

Our children are not able to identify learning or know where they need to improve.  They are unable to identify the ‘where next’ except in writing.  Ofsted (Nov 2004) said “Pupils are rarely involved in evaluating their own work to see how well they are doing or recognising what they need to do to improve.”

Focus Question

What opportunities and strategies enable children to self-assess their learning and know (and want to do) what they need to learn to take the next steps.

How do you think this might change the learning in the classroom. 

·         Increased discussion on learning.

·         Children’s ownership of learning.

·         Teaching led by children’s assessment.

·         Enthusiasm for learning by teachers and children.

What will your children be doing / saying that indicates learning is more effective: 

·         If I do …..

·         My writing will be better if ….

·         Next I want to learn

·         Next I need to …

·         I remembered to …

·         I am really pleased with …

·         I am proud of …..

Action Plan

Science – Year 4 / 5

·         Use mind maps at the beginning and during projects for children to see what they have learnt

·         Ask special learning questions and see if we have answered them by the end of the topic.

·         Use self-assessment in the middle of lessons to identify learning and where next.

·         Ask children to identify what they have learnt and what they need to find out more about.

·         Ask about what they have learnt to help them on the journey to being scientists.

Maths

·         Give children ways to decide how well they know their tables and number bonds

·         Ask children to identify where they need to improve their learning

·         Encourage children to take responsibility for learning.

·         Encourage children to make their own decisions on where next.

Evidence:

1.       Literacy Subject Leader has discussed learning, evaluation and self-assessment with a group of children concerning writing. This has been used as the qualitative baseline to show how children are self-assessing writing.

2.      Literacy leader has devised a number of strategies to enable children to self assess their writing and to know what good writing looks like so they know what they need to do to improve.

3.      Follow-up discussion will take place in spring 2007.

4.      Quantative evidence from level tracking.

5.      Science  and maths baseline qualitative evidence carried out byheadteacher in November.

6.      Science strategies for self-assessment and evaluation tried out by Years 4/5. These are mind-mapping, identifying questions, discussing learning in knowledge and being a scientist. Identifying what makes a good scientist and what we need to find out about a topic at the start and reviewing learning at the end together. September 2006

7.      In maths children do not take responsibility for learning.  Teacher provides activities which identify where a child needs to improve.  The child must make their own decision and then take the home learning activity, which meets that need. This was introduced in November.

8.      Learning to Learn – The children identified the barriers to learning and designed monsters to illustrate the barriers.  (October 2006)  The children decided on ways to overcome the monsters.

9.      Children identify the Learning treasures they have gained from each activity and review every so often. September 2006

10. Quantative evidence from pupil level tracking..

I was delighted to bump into the ‘Teacher of the Year’ att he ICT conferene in Devizes last week. It just so happens she teachers in one of our Wilthshire schools! Well done Linda

Also you may want to vist my web site to download the most recent support documents for science and assessment. Ive updated thh Witls SoW as well as SMART board resources for teaching Sc 1