BOOK INSPECTION AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT STUDENT WORK

1. with critical eyes BOOK INSPECTIONAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT STUDENT WORK CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT LANGUAGE LEARNING SUPPORT SECTION 08 FEBRURAY 2012

2. Today’s menu PART ONE • Warm-up activity • Book inspection practices in HK schools • The purposes and potential benefits of book inspections PART TWO • Looking at student work together – the I in the Book Inspection PIE PART THREE • The rest of the Book Inspection PIE • Wrapping-up and key messages • CLN - next steps & graduation + Next steps for CLD 9:30 – 10:00 10:00 – 12:15 BREAK 11:00 – 11:15 LUNCH – 12:30 – 14:00 14:00 – 16:00 BREAK 15:00 – 15:15 16:00 – 16:45

3. Objectives By the end of the workshop, the participants should be able to: • identify and describe the different purposes of Looking At Student Work as part of the Book Inspection task; • explain how Looking At Student Work can add a professional dimension to the Book Inspection task; • plan effectively for Looking At Student Work as part of the Book Inspection task; • make use findings to inform better learning and teaching

4. Part one

5. 1. Warm up • THINK • Read the following statements carefully. Which ones are true for you? • I dislike doing book inspections – it’s very time-consuming and completely pointless. • Book inspections are a tool for the principal to control the teachers. • As a curriculum leader, I find book inspections really useful. • I’d rather spend my time marking an extra piece of writing than be involved in a book inspection. • Book inspections are only useful to check the amount of work done by the teachers and the students.

6. PAIR Now talk to your partner. Do you all have the same opinions? Which statements do you disagree on? SHARE Summarise your discussion and report back to the whole group.

7. 2. book inspection Practices among CLN SChools Based on a very small scale survey carried out amongst our Curriculum Leadership Network schools (9 in total), we have been able to paint the following picture…

8. 1/3 – (3) times, 1/3 – (twice), 1/3 – (once) Frequency When Over half do it in January and/ or between May-June In over half the schools, the Principal, the PSM (CD) and the Panel Head Who • by Ss learning abilities/ performance (5) • randomly (2) • different parties check different kinds of work to avoid duplication (1) • select average work (1) • select 1 piece that demonstrates the development of the main focus of the year (1) • by class (1) Sampling

9. Work collected

10. Major strengths Major weakenesses Teachers • Careful marking and accuracy • No follow-up Students • Assignments completed on time • Careless mistakes, handwriting and attitude

11. Overall… • The sample shows that our member schools collect a wide range of student work; • However, not all types of student work are worth collecting for the purpose of developing a deep understanding of how students learn

12. Difficulties faced when conducting book inspections Feelings associated with this task • time & resources worthwhile and necessary • giving constructive feedback takes a lot of effort • giving realistic assessment lacks focus • linking student and teacher performance feels like an appraisal Despite the difficulties, the Book Inspection exercise allows the Curriculum Leader to monitor the quality and outcomes of the Learning and Teaching process

13. Reflection question To what extent does/ should the book inspection reflect a curriculum leader’s: • planning skills • subject knowledge • ability to develop a common understanding of goals related to student and teacher learning …and why

14. 3. The purposes and potential benefits of book inspections So, when you do this task, are you…? or …inspecting books? …looking at student work? …And is there a difference?

15. It all depends… The panel head and/ or the principal ask all teachers to collect the relevant books for inspection. They inspect the “books” on their own and then complete the book inspection form and submit it to the general office to be filed. The panel head and/ or the principal ask all teachers to collect the relevant books for inspection. Everyone knows why certain “books” have been chosen. After the inspection, the panel head and/or the principal sit with the teachers and discuss the major findings. These findings are used to set priorities for the next subject plan. Which description is the closest to what happens in your school?

16. Probably a mix of the two depending on what you want to find out. However, you need to be sure that even though your focus may be… Teacher Learning Teacher Appraisal

18. Part two

19. Setting the scene Observation from our mini-survey : Some schools already have protocols and standard procedures for doing book inspections, e.g. specifying inspection focuses for different kinds of student work, such as dictation, reading, writing, etc. 1. Looking at student work together – the I in the Book Inspection PIE

20. Some samples Conformity Attitude Accuracy Constructive feedback English writing English dictation English exercise books Focus on students’ work Focus on teachers’ work

21. Some samples Content Attitude Corrections Grammar & structure English writing English dictation English exercise books Focus on students’ work Focus on teachers’ work

22. So the focus of this workshop will be: To help curriculum leaders look deeper and make better use of the Book Inspection task exercise to reveal more about student learning and hence better inform the learning and teaching process Setting the scene

23. What to begin with? Where to begin?

24. Does this happen at your school? 3 days before the Book Inspection exercise • Class, you need to submit your books to me soon. • Have you completed all unfinished exercises? • Have you all done your corrections? • How about re-corrections? • How about parents’ signature? • … Blah, blah, blah…

25. Looking at Students’ Work - 1 Comment on whether this piece of student work is good or not. What do you notice about evidence of student learning? Exhibit 1

26. Background info., e.g. • level, • what kind of task is this, • students’ prior learning, etc. • Learning objectives, e.g • language skills • grammar • thinking How students learned, i.e. the learning process, how scaffolding was done, etc.

27. Looking at Students’ Work - 1 • Knowing the background and objectives is important when looking at student work during book inspections • Panel heads may examine or scrutinise work selectively - going for depth may be more productive than going for breadth.

28. Design a scrutiny cover sheet so your job can be made easier. Inter-school lesson observation Lesson objectives To be prepared by the teacher observed Observation focus Methods used Observable success criteria

30. Sample scrutiny cover sheet Work type chosen Prepared by (optional) Level & class Class background Previous learning and/or scaffolding Learning objectives: Language skills Grammar Vocabulary Text-types Measures to cater for learner diversity Student attainment Difficulties encountered Reflection

31. Looking at Students’ Work - 2 Comment on whether the designof the reading taskis good. Make further suggestionson how to enhancethe task with reference to the objectives set. Scrutiny cover sheet Exhibit 2

32. What are good learning tasks? Good learning tasks have/ provide/ require… a purpose a context opportunities to use prior knowledge and skills involvement in a way of thinking and doing leads to a product Source : English Language Curriculum Guide (P1-6) 2004, p.128

34. Looking at Students’ Work - 2 • To look at student work effectively, we need to set standards so that there is a common language shared among panel members about student learning evidence. • Possible standards to set: task design

35. Looking at Students’ Work – 3a Discuss the complexityof the exercise and whether it suits the needs of the students. Exhibit 3 Scrutiny cover sheet

36. Looking at Students’ Work – 3a • Possible standards to set: task design, school-based Englishcurriculum (grammar, language skills, vocabulary, etc.)

37. Looking at Students’ Work – 3b Discuss how better task design can be used to enhance students’ grammar learning. Suggest ways to modifythe task to cater for the more able students. Exhibit 3 Scrutiny cover sheet

39. Looking at Students’ Work – 3b • Possible standards to set: task design,school-based Englishcurriculum, catering for learner diversity with the same learning objectives considered

40. Looking at Students’ Work – 4a Focus on the language demands of the reading exercise. Discuss if you think it is appropriate for P2 with reference toyour school’s context. Exhibit 4a Scrutiny cover sheet

41. Looking at Students’ Work – 4b • What modificationswould you suggest to make the task more suitable for P2 students at your school? • You may give thoughtto the learning objectives set. You may also consider the following: • question type • sequence of questions set • language demand Exhibit 4b Scrutiny cover sheet

43. Looking at Students’ Work – 4ab • The school-based English curriculum, Curriculum Guide or other official curriculum documents can be good sources/ reference to help set the standards. • Looking at Student Work is more effective when standards that everyone knows and understands are in place.

45. Looking at Students’ Work – 4c • Discuss your views on : • scaffolding of the writing task • clarity of task requirements • marking practice • What do you like about this sample? • Would you propose any changes? Exhibit 4c Scrutiny cover sheet

47. Looking at Students’ Work – 4c • Do not only focus on the polished output. When looking at student written work, looking at the scaffolding work is important as it allows us to understand better the learning process and hence see the learning gaps. • Task requirements should be well-aligned with marking criteria. • Use of measurable and observable marking criteria is important. • Teachers’ constructive feedbackcan help students to focus attention.

48. Suggested stems for marking: • Giving compliments : • Good use of…. • Good description of …. • A good piece of writing • with…. • The use of... has • added colours to your work. • I like your idea of… • Constructive • feedback should be: • Precise and relevant to the focus of assessment • Informative to learners on how well they have performed and how they can do better • Presented in a positive tone • Suggested stems for marking: • Making recommendation for improvement : • It would be better if … • You can try ….. • Be careful with…… • Perhaps something like • … will be… • You’ll have a great piece of writing if/ when you...

49. Looking at Students’ Work - 5 To what extent are the pre-writing tasksalignedwith the task requirement(s)? To what extent are they effective? How would/ could you address learner diversity in the context of this task? Exhibit 5 Scrutiny cover sheet