Pedagogical Council

1. Pedagogical Council Meeting 9 Sigtuna 14th June 2016

2. Agenda Items • * IntroductionCentrallyadministered examinations • * Summaryof Bo Sundblads lecture: the normal curveof distribution, the conceptofintelligence, rättsäkerbedömning • * Summaryof Ingrid Carlgrens lecture: ”Från kunskap till förmågor” • * Summaryof Per Mähl’slecture: Kursplan och kunskapskrav, Uppgifter, Bedömning • * The teacherprofile, ”Bildning” or the criteriaofEducation? • *Hattie and the fieldofeducationalvariables • * Nextyears’spreliminary agenda: • International Education: casestudy– Scotland? • Search for clarity over the conceptsofCriteria, Validity, ”Bildning”, Formativ Bedömning, Evidence and ”vetenskapliga grunder” • PISA and the issueofvalidityversuscomparative positions in a league table

3. Purposes • The functions of the pedagogical council are the following: • 1. To foster an academic discussion climate amongst the collegiate. • 2. To disseminate school-relevant research from the university world and to disseminate ideas from sytsematically-tested teaching experience from reliable sources such as “Skolverket”. • 3. To assist in the design and construction of profile programs and ”spetsutbildningar”. • 4. A discussion forum for subject- specific curriculum development projects which might affect program aims, objectives and criteria application. • 5. To discuss the academic aspects of quality control in relation to the various programs, e.g. the meaning and application of criteria in grade setting. No individual school-cases will be considered because there is no mandate for this. • 6. To present information on, and research from, other successful national educational systems • 7. A forum for management to discuss school-profile and curriculum development issues • 8. To recommend changes of an academic nature to the management –group in the form of an academic report.

4. Bo Sundblad summary • * • Två olika mätsystem i USA—Mättekniska och standardsmodel • In the old Swedish relative grading system selection or sortingtookprecedence over knowledge and itsvalidity, • Från regelstyrning till målstyrning—systemskifte från byråkratisk styrning till själv styrning • The normal curveofintelligence distribution and the assumptionofheredity(byråkrati + ”vetenskaplig” psykologi) were part of the foundationsof the old system • What guides the new system? Kunskapskrav, formativa bedömning och synligt lärande( ”Vetenskap” utan byråkrati?) • Pisa is on the whole a goodinfluence on international systems, especiallyinsofar as the qualityof the question in theirtesting is concerned(the treesmass and photosynthesis) • As part of the ”formativa bedömningsprocesses” weshouldprovidecertain fundamental questions (övergripande) , and the answerstothem ,in the course and thenperhapshavethese general questions in our examinations. Naturally the coursetaughtshouldcontain the elements of the answerwhich the pupilshouldthen form themselvesoutoftheirownunderstandingof the course(?) • Förkunskapsprincipen

5. Ingrid Carlgren’s Från Kunskaper till förmågor • Twoeducationalperspectives: ”Bildning” and ”Avbildning eller Utbildning” • ”En skola for bildning är en skola där mätningar och jämförelser inte stör bildningsprocessen som är livslånga och personlighetsutvecklande” • With the change from ”regelsystem” to ”mål och resultatsystem” therewas a fundamental changeofperspective from goalswhichembodied long term processes and deepunderlyingrationalcapacitiestogoalswhichstrivetocompare and measure by meansofgrading systems based on criteria. • Ingrid maintainsthatthisbrought in itstrain an unhealthy ”baklängespedagogik” constituted by criteria+ pupilresponsibility+visiblelearning(Hattie)+ formativa bedömning”. • ”Bildning” is steered by ”undervisngsmål” and not ”bedömningsmål” • Pupilsaretrainedtodemonstratetheir ”knowledge” by showingsignsofthatkowledgeinsteadof the knowledgeitself(Medical analogy) • http://www.skolaochsamhalle.se/flode/skolpolitik/ingrid-carlgren-tank-om-den-nya-kunskapsskolan-inte-ar-en-kunskapsskola/

6. Per Måhl: summary • The aimof ”rättsäker bedömning” is thatgradesshould be consistent. The same pieceofworkshouldreceive the same grade by two markers using the same system and twopiecesofworkofequal merit shouldreceive the same grade. • Accordingto Per thereneedsto be threelevelsof interpretation from ”Kursplan” and ”Kunskapskrav” to ”Uppgift” to ”Bedömning”, in the process of interpretation if the system is going to be abletodeliver ”fair” grades • Hetooktwoexamplesof ”skrivuppgifter”, both in the subjectof English: one from the IB program and one from a national test in the Swedish program, todemonstrate a confusionof the levelsof interpretation. • Accordingto Per, the Swedish ”national test” exampleconfuses a ”bedömningsmall” (whichshallrelateonlyto the text it is to be appliedto) with ”kunskapskrav”(what a person is expectedtoknow) • In the ”utredning” thatPer was a part of , ”Syfte”(Ingrid Carlgrens ”strävande mål) waslogicallydisconnected from the ”bedömningsprocess”

7. Definitions and Clarifications • Wewill be using the following definitions in Council meetings in order to helpdefine the parameters ofourdiscussions • Teaching: • A teachingactivity is the methodicalprinciple-basedactivityof a teacherwho has the intention to bringabout an activityoflearning by a learner, the logicalconsequenceofwhich is tobringaboutsomevaluable end statein the learner, e.g. knowing, appreciating, whoseobject is a belief , an attitude or a skill(source:-Paul Hirst ”What is teaching?”) • Learning: • An organizationofexperience by methods ,concepts and/or principlesresulting in a change in behaviour or a change in onesoutlook on reality(source:- D W Hamlyn, ”The Logical and Psychologicalspectsof Learning”)

8. Definitions and Clarifications • Knowledge is characterized in the following manner: • That what is said or thought is true, that what is done is correct.That the individual has grounds(reasons, principles) for what he says or thinks or does • =Justified correct belief • Education • Is a concept for the laying down ofcriteria to which a familyofactivities must conform. The criteriainvolvedcan be dividedintotwogroups, firstly, thosethatcharacterize the successfuloutcomeofeducation in the form of an educated man: secondlythosethatcharacterize the processes by meansofwhichpeoplegraduallybecomeeducated. The lattercannot be characterizedwithoutreference to the former.

9. General Criteriaof an educated person • An educated man pursues an activitywithoutbeingparticularlyconcernedaboutwhat it maylead to or bringabout. Hedelights in the activity for itsown sake. • Beingeducatedmeansmorethanbeinghighlyskilled. • An educated man possessessomebodyofknowledge and some kind ofconceptualschemewhichimpliessomeunderstandingof the principleswhichareinvolved in the organizationofthesefacts. • He has someunderstandingofwhythings as theyare • A trained specialist whether it be in art, scince or history is not necessarily an educated man. There has to be some global understandingof science history, mathematics, ethics, aesthetics and religion • There is no logical separation betweeneducation and life: ”for it is by educationthatmereliving is transformedinto a qualityoflife. For how a man livesdependsuponwhathesees and understands.”

10. Principles Implicit in EducationalProcesses • Thereare a groupofprinciplesinvolved in certaintypesofeducationalprocedures, connectedwith • * Autonomy, Self realization, Indivídual Choice, Individualdiffferences • Here the principleswillregulate the conditionsnecessary for classroomteaching, e.g. the disciplineof the teacher, the equalityofconsiderationwithwhichhetreatsindividuals, the respect and degreeoflibertyheaccords to them. But it is importantthat in the end theseprinciplesareinternalized by the pupils • Secondlythereareprinciplesofprocedurewhichare presuppositions ofworthwhileactivitiessuch as science or history: e.g. respect for evidence, a willingness to admitthatone is mistaken, respect for people as a source of argument.

11. A portraitof a teacher as an artist • A teachershapesminds in the way an authorshapes a text or a paintershapespaint, YoYo Ma shapessounds,or Michelangelo shapesstone. • The medium a teacherworks in is the medium of ”Knowledge” broadlydefined • The instruments theyusecan be concrete like test tubesetcbuttheseareincidental . The mostimportantwork is donewithconcepts, arguments, knowledgeclaims, methods,theories, principles, laws. A teacher must learnto love these like YoYo Ma loves music or Michelangelo lovedmarble • The intentions of a teacherhaveto be bothparticular and universal. Thisinvolves an attitudetowards and an interest in the student who is asking a question and an attitudetowards and an interest in the largerhumanistic projectof the shapingof a betterworld • A teacherusestheir art toinitiate the student into the worldofknowledge and heusessomethingrelatedtoaestheticjudgmenttoevaluate the students status in thatworld.(Formative assessment) • The standards ofjudgmentusedbothtojudge the teacherswork and used by the teachersthemselves in the judgingof students workcan best be described by the Greek term areté

12. Portraitof a teacher as a Judge • Wearerequired to judgeknowledgeperformancesofvarious kinds: social behaviour, essays, orals, the qualityofanswers to questions in classetc • Whatqualifiesus for this task? • 1. The desire to serve the childrenof the community and theirparents? The desire to be of service to the state and future generations? Wejudgesuchaims to be important. • 2. The sacrificeswe make in training to be a teacherwhereourotherlifegoalsaresuspended for a period ofyears or perhaps for the whole span of a career. Wejudgethesesacrificesto be important. • 3. The judgmentof the peoplewhorecruitus for ourjobs. Theyinvest trust in us and weneed to trust them in return. • 4. The trust of the colleagueswhoexpecteveryonetomaintain and improve the system we all work in. We trust them in return. • 5. The trust of the pupils in ustoeducatewell(arete) and judgeperformancesfairly and correctly. We trust ourpupilstorespondopenly and fairly.

13. Portraitof a teacher as a judge • But the mostimportantcriterionof all is thatwearebound by the law to approach anythingwejudge in accordancewith the knowledgewehaveof the academicfoundationsofoursubjects and the tried and testedexperiencethatwe and otherteachershaveof the teaching and evaluating process. • Weshouldhaveclearideasof the standards by whichwejudge the students work and the learningoutcomesthattheserepresent for the student. • The dangerwiththisatomizationofsomethingholisticinto standards and outcomes(whichcaneasilybecomemereskills) is thatweforget the holisticprinciplesofknowledge • Criteria and outcomesneed to be holistic

14. Holisticassessment • The natureof the subject and itsAimsdefine the holisticdiménsionofeducation • Objectives must be ”parts” of the aimwhichhaveclearlogical (conceptual) relations to the aims • Learning outcomesrelateessentially to the objectivesbutspecifywhatspecifically in the syllabuscontent is referred to • Tests and assignmentscan be the mostatomistic elements of the process ifquantification is not linked to the substantive and qualitativeaspectsof the educational process.

15. ”Theoretical” Intelligence and the psychometric approach • Definition: Intelligence is a conceptthatrefers to individualdiffferences in the ability to acquireknowledge, to think and reasoneffectively and to deal adaptivelywithenvironments(R E Smith 1993) • Galtonstheoreticalbiological basis for social and occupationalcompetence • Galtonwasunsuccessful in relatinghismeasuresofnervous system efficiencytosocially relevant measuresof mental ability, buthisworkcreated an interest in measuring mental abilities. • Binetscreationof mental testingwasdesigned to solvepractical problem ofidentifyingchildrenwith special educationneeds

16. Binetstwoassumptionsaboutintelligence • 1. Mental abilitiesdevelop over time so thatadultsaremorementallycompetentthanchildren and olderchildrengenerallymorecompetentthanyoungerchildren • 2. The rate at whichpeoplegain mental competence is a characteristicof the person and is fairlyconstant over time. • Binet’smethod: Heaskedexperiencedteacherswhat sort of problems children at ages 3,4,5, upthrough the schoolyearsoughttosolve. • Developed on this basis a ”standardizedinterview” in which an adult examinerposed a series ofquestionsto a childtodeterminewhether or not the childwasperforming at the correct mental level hor his/her age. If a childof 8 couldsolve problems at the levelof the average 10 year old. The childwould be saidtohave a mental age of 10 and IQ would be calculatesthus: 10/8 times 100 =125

17. Intelligence: Binet • BothofBinetsassumptionsarecorrect, providedonlythat the subjectstestedare not tooyoung or over 16 • Today the norm group is relatedto a cross sectionof the population • Wecanthenpredictwhatpercentageof the population will score higher or lowerthan a given score.(”normal” curveof distribution) • But it must be emphasizedthatweare not talkingabout the propertiesof an individualwhenweuse the theoreticalconceptofintelligence: wearetalkingabout the propertiesof populations • Binetsquestionscontained a preponderanceof verbal items. • The Wechslerscalecontainsboth verbal and non verbal items

18. Intelligence: Scholaisticaptitude/assessment test(SAT) • The changeofnameindicates the settlingof a disputebeweenthosethatbelieve the tests should test the aptitude or capacityof an individual and thosethatbelievethatachievement on a task is beingmeasured. • Research has shownthat the predictivevalueofSAT’sare not high. Take the test at highschool(gymnasium) and the correlation is between .50-and .60 which is not significant. Take the SAT’s at college(university) and the correlation is evenlower : .40-.50. • But the collective opinion of research is thatbothaptitude and achievement is important. Aptitude tests do not rely on anypreviousknowledge and achievement tests do presupposepreviousprocessesof the acquisitionofknowledge. Some kind ofcombined test is the ideal but the problem is toagreeuponwhat kind ofacquiredknowledgewouldhavegreaterpredictivepower.

19. John Hattie: Visible Learning • Hattie'sbook "Visible Learning" is a bookwhichsummarizes 800 so called meta-analysesrelatingto the variableof student achievement. • A meta-analysissummativestudy is one in which a largenumberofexperimental studies areconsideredtogether in relation to the measuredeffects and the resultsoftheseexperimental studies areconvertedto a common measure so that a wholegroupofexperimental studies can be used in discussions and evaluationsof the relation between a dependent and independent variable. Thisensuresthatwecanrely on the population sizeofsubjectsstudied not being a confoundingvariable.

20. John Hattie: Visible Learning 2 • Whyaresuch meta-analysesvaluable? • Oneof the reasonswhy as Hattie Points out in hisbook "Everything seemstowork" in the classroom is thatwehaveyettoaccuratelydescribe the fieldofvariables and theirrelation insofar as thatis operative in the classroom. (There is a famous set of business Environment experiments in which it wasestablishedthatincreasing the leveloflighting on the productionfloorincreasedproduction as didlowering the leveloflighting. This is the so-called "Hawthorn effect") • The standard of "common sense" whichmanyofushavebeenusinghitherto has beenfoundwantingexactlybecauseofthiscuriousphenomenonthat "Everything seemstowork" in thiscomplexlystructured Environment.

21. John Hattie: Visible Learning 3 • Accordingtoonenotedchange-theory expert Michael Fullan • "Oneof the mostcritical problems ourschools face is not resistanceto innovation, but the fragmentation, overload and incoherenceresulting from the uncritical and uncoordinatedacceptanceoftoomany different innovations(Fullan and Stiegelbauer, 1991, p197) • Richard Ellmore(1996) arguedthateducationsuffers not so much from an inadequatesupplyofgood programs as from a lack ofdemand for good programs. • And yet... accordingtoTyack and Cuban 1995 ourclassroomsare not that different from whattheywere 200 yearsago.

22. John Hattie: Visible Learning 4 • It wastheseparadoxes and dilemmas thatdrove science into the movetoward meta-analysisoflargenumbersof studies. Nowwhilstthismovemight not solve the underlying problem oftheir still being an absenceofidentificationof the underlyingprinciplesdriving the activities in the classroom it is nevertheless the casethat meta-analysesdefinitelyhelpustodecidewhichvariable has a relativelygreatereffectupon the variableof student achievement. Meta analyseshelpustosimplifysomeof the choiceswemayfeelforcedto make...on the not alwaysobviousconditionthat the variablesidentifiedarecausallyrelated

23. John Hattie: Visible Learning 5 • All ofthismayleadonetobegintodoubt the endlesssearch for correlations and begin the demand for studies to show causation. Scriven(2005) has arguedthat studies shouldoperatewith a highergold standard thanthey do currently by demandingthatwhenvariable relations and resultsarereportedweshoulddemandof the explanationsprovidedthattheyarebeyondreasonabledoubt(BRD) • Hattieclaimsthat an importantaimofhisbook is toprovide an explanatory story about the keyinfluences on student learning.

24. John Hattie: Visible Learning 6 • A modelof Learning • Bereiter(2002):--"muchofwhat is meant by the shift from an industrialto a knowledgebasedsociety is thatincreasingamountsofworkarebeingdone on conceptualobjectsratherthan on physicalobjectstowhichtheyarerelated." • The real workofschooling is tocreate or addvaluetoconceptualartefacts in the same waythatbuildersaddvaluetobuildingartefacts. It is a World ofconjectures, explanations, proofs arguments and evaluations-”

25. John Hattie: Visible Learning 7 • Bereiter(2002) • "...thereare the relations between different theories, different phenomena, and different peoplesreadingsof the same phenomena. Noneofthese relations areeasy. Theyare all inferential and highlyproblematic. buttheyarewhatpeoplework on whentheyarebuildingscientificknowledge.” • If the students are not doingenoughthinkingsomething is seriouslywrongwith the instruction. • For many students success at schoolrelatestoadopting a Surface approach tounderstandingbothhow and whattheyshouldlearn, whereasmanyteachersclaimthat the goaloftheirteaching is enhancing Deep Learning(Biggs and Collis 1982)