Kensington and Chelsea Regional Support Group

Kensington and ChelseaRegional Support Group Assessment Recording and Transition 18th March 2009 Sue Dean

We will consider • Effective practice in assessing languages • Informal assessment and assessment for learning • Summative assessment • Building up pupil portfolios and using the European Languages Portfolio • Effective practice in the transfer of information to promote progression between settings

Introduction – assessment • Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning and represents one of the most challenging aspects of a teacher’s role. • It calls for a number of skills in making judgements on children’s learning: how children plan, listen, ask questions, observe, interpret, make judgements, work together and evaluate what they have done. • In addition teachers need to consider the process of self-assessment which includes the children in appraisal of their own learning and in the setting of their long and short term targets. Page 1 module 6 – Training the Trainer part 1

Pause for thought… • What do we think we mean by assessment?

Assessment of learning • Assessment of learning (summative assessment) – summarises where learners are at a given point in time – provides a snapshot of what has been learned (in terms of both attainment and achievement)

Assessment for learning • Assessment for learning (formative assessment) – any assessment activity which informs the next steps to learning. • Depends on actually using the information gained. Using evidence and dialogue to identify where pupils are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there. • Clear evidence about how to improve individual attainment; clear feedback for and from pupils so there is clarity on what they need to work on and how best they can do so; a clear link between the children’s learning and lesson planning.

How might we gather information? • Observations… • ‘A Bit About Me’ – take the questionnaire…

Observations with a focus - LLS • Planning, analysing and evaluating ways of learning • Communicating: understanding and being understood • Practising language • Memorising • Applying prior knowledge • Dictionary skills Language learning Strategies - Progression by strand pages 85 – 90

Observers • Look for communication styles • Look for body language • Look for non-verbal communication • How do individuals extract information? • How do individuals respond to questioning? • How do individuals record their findings? • How do individuals share their findings? • When questioned, how do individuals extend their responses? • Outcomes – How will the information gained inform the organisation and management of and planning for learning opportunities? Language Learning Strategies – The Primary National Strategies http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/primary/publications/languages/framework/lls/1205069/ Video – learning styles

Characteristics of successful use of AfL • Assessment is embedded in a view of learning and teaching • Learning goals are shared with the children • Teachers help children to recognise the standards for which they are aiming • Children are involved in peer and self-assessment • Teachers provide feedback which leads to children recognising their next steps and how to take them • The school ethos is underpinned by the belief that every child can improve • Both children and teachers are involved in reviewing and reflecting on assessment data

Pause for thought – assessment in your school • Is assessment used to inform short term planning? • Are the children engaged in the assessment of their own learning? • Are curricular targets and success criteria understood and used by staff and children? • Is feedback on learning (oral and written, self and peer assessment) well understood and used to inform and encourage further learning? • Is assessment for learning used across the curriculum? • Are parents and carers regularly informed and involved in the assessment of their children’s learning?

What does OFSTED say? • The Changing Landscape of Languages • Assessment needed improvement, as it did during the earlier pathfinder inspections. Systems for assessment were not well developed and, although teachers gave feedback to pupils in lessons, few pupils knew how they could improve. Page 35

Planning for learning • Schools usually used the Key Stage 2 framework and the QCA schemes of work for medium- and long-term planning unless they used a commercial publication. • A difficulty in using the latter was that language learning objectives in individual lessons were not always clear: schools sometimes followed the schemes too closely without tailoring them to their own circumstances. • Some schools with mixed-year classes had yet to work out their plans for ensuring that they planned effectively for progression. Page 37 – Changing Landscape of Languages

The KS2 Framework – Expectations • The Framework sets out clear expectations as to what most children should be able to do by the end of each year in Key Stage 2. • These consist of statements about language learning in general and abilities in Oracy, Literacy and Intercultural Understanding in particular

Overview – the core strands • Expectations and outcomes: How useful would these statements be as a basis for setting assessment tasks; for self evaluation by children and for day to day assessment? Oracy – page 67 Literacy – page 71 Intercultural understanding – page 75 KAL – page 78 LLS – pages 84

Using assessment information to plan for progression by strand • Oracy • Literacy • Intercultural Understanding • Knowledge About Language • Language Learning Strategies

Oracy objective – Rhymes and short spoken texts • Ce Petit Cochon (French) • Ce petit cochon va au marché • Ce petit cochon reste chez lui • Ce petit cochon a du bon rôti • Et ce petit cochon n’a rien. • Alors, le tout-petit crie: • “Eee Eee Eee Eee Eee! “ Tout au long de chemin. www.mamalisa.com www.mome.net

Oracy objective – Rhymes and short spoken texts • Este cerdito (Spanish) • Este cerdito va al mercado • Este cerdito se queda en casa • Este cerdito come rosbif • Este cerdito no come nada • Este cerdito grita wee, wee, wee • Y corre todo el camino a casa www.mamalisa.com www.mome.net

Oracy objective – rhymes and short spoken texts • Dieses Kleine Schweinchen (German) • Dieses kleine Schweinchen geht zum Markt • Dieses kleine Schweinchen bleibt zu Hause • Dieses kleine Schweinchen isst Roastbeef • Dieses kleine Schweinchen isst nichts • Also das Kleinste schreit wee wee wee • Und läuft den ganzen Heimweg www.mamalisa.com www.mome.net

Oracy objectives • O3.1 – Identify rhyming words • O3.1 – Perform finger rhymes singing songs • O3.2 – Listen with care • O3.2 – Speak clearly and confidently • O3.4 – repeat words and phrases, use physical response… • O4.1 – Learn finger rhymes • O4.3 - identify specific sounds • Progression by strand

Literacy objectives • L3.3 – Write simple, familiar words using a model • L4.1 – Match phrases and short sentences to pictures or themes • L5.3 – Choose words, phrases and sentences and write them into a gapped text http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/default.htm

Intercultural understanding objectives • IU3.1 – increase awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity • IU4.3 – compare characteristics of simple stories between cultures • IU6.3 – Perform songs, plays, dances – use ICT to present information, having a greater sense of audience http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/Foundation/nurseryrhymes/rhymes_set1.html http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=hes&p=129&l=T

Oracy and Intercultural Understanding Outcomes • Enjoy listening to and speaking in the language • Listen to and respond to familiar spoken words, phrases and sentences • Recognise a rhyme well known to native speakers

Appreciating Diversity • Some learning outcomes may be more difficult to exemplify and capture within a single objective or with a single task but can be linked to a number of objectives, activities or tasks.

Intercultural Understanding • Objective IU3.1 • Learn about different languages spoken by children at school

Activities and Tasks • Talk about the different languages they know or have heard around them through family members, friends, the media, in the neighbourhood or when visiting other countries.

Activities and Tasks • Children and teacher compile a list of languages spoken by children within the school. • Locate the country/countries where these languages are spoken using maps, atlases and globes • www.northwood.org.uk • www.lgfl.net • www.espresso.lgfl.net

Activities and Tasks • Use ICT to create a ‘live and growing’ resource of different languages e.g. sound files of greetings in different languages • www.languageguide.org • http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary/publications/languages/framework/iu/y3/iu3_1/

Informal Assessment • Teaching activities highlighted in bold in the Framework particularly illustrate the nature and level of the learning activities • They can also be used to help teachers develop informal formative assessment for learning and teaching • Discuss in groups

Activities – Year 4 Oracy O4.1 – (Speaking) • Participate in a performance of a finger rhyme, poem or short text clearly and audibly for an audience Oracy O4.2 – (Listening) • Count how many times they hear a particular number, phrase or word: respond with physical movement, or by repeating the word verbally; or by piling up counters or bricks. Video

Multi-link cubes Colour mixes = + Sequences Montrez- moi ..

J’aime la lecture J’ai deux grands chiens et cinq poissons Mon anniversaire est le cinq mai J’habite à Besançon en France Moi, j’ai deux sœurs, je n’ai pas de frère J’aime dessiner

Activities – Year 4 Literacy L4.1 (Reading) • Play Picture Domino or Bingo using familiar phrases. Progress from picture to text, and then from text to text • Choose text cards as the teacher calls out words and phrases • Read aloud words with good pronunciation. • Read aloud words and phrases that they can pronounce accurately, using cards, storybooks etc

Activities – Year 4 Literacy L4.4 – (Writing) • Set up Graffiti Board. Children try out language. At this level they might use letters in bold colours and shapes and illustrate their attempts using ICT to write captions and word lists

Activities – Year 4 Intercultural Understanding IU4.4 • Revise the location of country/countries where the language is spoken, using the Internet, maps, globes or atlases and drawing on the experience of class members • In groups select one of these countries and mark the route from home to the destination or vide versa • Recognise the diversity of this country and that of the community of the school. Discuss celebrations and learn about how special days are celebrated by children in other cultures, e.g. birthdays, national holidays

Spotlight Setting up a task for children’s self-assessment – Year 6 oracy outcomes • O6.2 – ‘deliver a presentation and perform to the class or assembly’ • Children learn to talk about the weather in the target language • Children devise own PowerPoint presentations describing the weather in a particular country or countries. • Children coached in positive criticism prior to presentations and success criteria explained • Children perform in their groups in front of the class and those listening decide if all criteria had been met and ideas for improvement.

Summative Assessment • The key to successful language learning and teaching lies in engaging the motivation of the learner. • Motivation is enhanced by a sense of achievement. • In addition to ongoing regular feedback it is worthwhile undertaking more formal assessments at given intervals so that pupils can appreciate and celebrate how much they have learned. Podcast – Mayplace Paris London Room – Bexley MLE

Assessment tasks • Asset Languages • Breakthrough French • Teacher Assessment samples

Languages Ladder • The Languages Ladder, part of the government’s Language Strategy, is the National Recognition Scheme against which you can assess achievement in language learning for learners of all ages, studying any language. The Ladder enables children and teachers to assess achievements using ‘Can do’ statements in the main skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. There is also voluntary external assessment at the end of each stage. (

Language Learning Portfolios By using pupil portfolios as part of effective practice in assessing languages we can involve children in their own learning progress and assessment by: • Breaking down language content into small attainable steps • Giving children the opportunity to reflect upon how they are developing their understanding skills and learning strategies • Children recording their progress in their portfolio • Children building up a dossier of their best work • Children presenting their work on audio and video in displays, books; collecting examples for their dossier • Children and teachers discussing progress using ‘I can’ and ‘I have (learned)’ statements • Children receiving badges, certificates and merits. Recognising the success of individual children and the whole class motivating and developing positive attitudes (

European Language Portfolio • Aligned to the Languages Ladder and to the levels of achievement on the Common European Framework. • The European Language Portfolio forms part of language learning and teaching and can be integrated into the course and teaching materials. • It is a learning tool, in which children record their language learning and intercultural experiences. • It is essentially the property of the child used under the guidance of the teacher www.nacell.org.uk/resources/pub_cilt/portfolio.htm (

Effective transition – what does it mean for children? • Successful transition between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 is crucial if pupils are to realise their full potential during the years of secondary schooling. • It will become increasingly important for teachers of secondary pupils to know what they have learnt, understood and achieved during Key Stage 2 if they are properly to provide for progression and continuity in language learning.

Contact between key stages • Communication is the key to effective transition. • Through direct communication and contact productive relationships between primary and secondary teachers and co-ordinators of languages can be established. • Representative staff from partner primaries, often the subject co-ordinator, and staff from receiving secondary schools and Specialist Language Colleges need opportunities to meet, discuss and understand each others’ aims and perspectives. • It is particularly helpful if arrangements for reciprocal visits and observation of each others’ classes can be made.

Developing approaches to moving on… • Such fruitful contact can be facilitated in a number of ways. Local Authorities can play a valuable role in setting up fora and networks in order to establish contact and agree policy and practice. Head Teachers and senior managers can make good use of existing networks for this purpose. • Secondary schools and their partner primary schools will already have in place arrangements for the transition of Year 6 pupils into Year 7 covering general educational issues and specific curriculum subjects. • It may be possible to incorporate information about achievement in languages into these established structures. Primary and secondary teachers working together to produce a bridging unit of work straddling the end of Year 6 and the beginning of Year 7. • Year 6 primary and Year 7 secondary teachers working together devising schemes of work which incorporated features of both the Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 frameworks. • Secondary teachers planning ICT activities for Year 6 and Year 7 pupils.

What do we need to know? • It is helpful for Key Stage 3 staff to see any school policy documents or statements about primary language provision just as it is useful for Key Stage 2 staff to know how the teaching of Year 7 is organised. In this way issues of continuity can be addressed directly and all stakeholders are part of the process. • The children themselves and their parents will need to understand how the transferable skills which will have been developed in Key Stage 2 will help progress in Year 7. This is particularly relevant if children will not be continuing with the same language from primary to secondary school.

Transferring information… • If individual pupil records are to be transferred they need to be informative, reliable and manageable. They should not be an excessive burden for primary teachers to compile nor constitute an unrealistic mass of information for secondary teachers to assimilate. • They should add a language dimension to the pupil data already transferred to receiving secondary schools and indicate what the pupil knows, understands and can do in the language(s) learnt. • Further exemplar material on assessment and transition will be available on-line and in Part 3 of the Framework documentation – Planning for Entitlement.

Co-ordination of effective transfer arrangements • Secondary and primary colleagues working in partnership will need to understand how language learning is organised in each phase. • Approaches are likely to vary from one Authority to another.

Working together to agree an approach • Cross-phase clusters will need to agree on the following issues: • What kind of information about Key Stage 2 teaching is most useful for Key Stage 3 staff? • What kind of information about Key Stage 3 teaching is most useful for Key Stage 2 staff? • What kind of pupil records are most helpful to pass on from partner primaries to the teachers of pupils in Year 7? • What opportunities Year 6 pupils might have to meet Year 7 teachers before transferring? • What kind of opportunities there are for cross-phase curriculum developments?

Information • What information should we be passing on? • How should this information be ‘packaged’? • What about a transition activity?

Over To You • What assessment procedures are in place at your school? • How will you adapt your assessment procedures to meet the needs of pupils’ learning? • What processes are in place to support and inform pupils’ transition? • How might these be improved?

Kensington and Chelsea Regional Support Group