Looking at Students’ Work 11 th October, 2013

1. Looking at Students’ Work11th October, 2013

2. What are your expectations of today’s workshop?

3. Why is this topic included as a workshop in the Curriculum Leadership Development programme?

6. Objectives • Through exploring how to look at students’ work more effectively, we aim to develop the following curriculum leadership capabilities (CLC) among participants:  Using data effectively (CLC #1) Establishing monitoring and/or evaluation mechanisms to ensure quality learning and teaching (CLC#3)  Demonstrating subject and pedagogical knowledge to bring about effective learning and teaching (CLC #5)  Communicating effectively with different parties to foster a learning culture (CLC#6)

7. Part 1

8. How to plan effectively for and conduct the LASW exercise

9. 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?

10. 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.

11. Looking at Students’ Work - 1 • Knowing the background and objectives is important when looking at students’ work. • When examining or scrutinising students’ work, it may be more productive to go for depth.

12. How do we planin order to look at students’ work more effectively? • How often do you conduct the LASW exercise? • How do you plan the LASW exercise? • Are there regular LASW practices at your school? • What are the focuses of your school’s LASW exercise? • How do you make all these known to your colleagues?

13. Let’s borrow an idea from a more familiar practice – lesson observation Design a scrutiny cover sheet so you can look at students’ work more effectively. Lesson objectives To be prepared by the teacher observed Observation focus Methods used Observable success criteria

15. 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

16. Looking at Students’ Work - 2 What do you look at when there is a piece of student work presented to you? (Panel heads / level coordinators/ teachers?) With your different lens on, what have you noticed about the class / student’s learning in this piece of work? What may be your next step(s)?

18. 1) Look at whether the tasks • designed fit thestandardsset, • e.g. whether they are developed • according to agreed common • practices stated in different • sources, such as • Panel Handbook • School-based Eng Lang • curriculum • Learning Progression Framework • Curriculum Guide • 2) Gaininsightson the needs of • a bigger student population and • then developplansaccordingly

19. Look at whether the student • demonstrates theexpected • learning outcomes by • comparing his/ her • performance with the • stated learning objectives • 2) Modify the task where • necessary

20. Looking at Students’ Work – 3a What do you think about the student’s performance in the final writing task? Exhibit 3 Scrutiny cover sheet

21. Example only Judgement should be made according to school-based standards :

22. Looking at Students’ Work – 3a • Compare the student’s performance with the stated learning objectives. Evaluate whether the student can achieve the learning objectives. • Identify the student’ s strengths and weaknesses.

23. Looking at Students’ Work – 3b Why did or didn’t the student perform satisfactorily? How can we help the student to perform better? Exhibit 3 Scrutiny cover sheet

24. You are going to write an e-mail to your friend. Tell him/her about your summer holiday plan. Write at least 70 words. Learning gaps?

25. Looking at Students’ Work – 3b • Looking at student work allows us to learn more about whether students have achieved the learning objectives,how students learned throughout the process and how effective that process was. • 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.

26. Looking at Students’ Work – 3c Now, look at the marking of the student’s work. To what extent do you find the marking effective? Make suggestions to improve the marking practice. Exhibit 3 Scrutiny cover sheet

27. You are going to write an e-mail to your friend. Tell him/her about your summer holiday plan. Write at least 70 words. • Feedback • Good description of what you like and why. • It would be better if you can tell you holiday plan first and then say why you like the activity, • e.g. I am planning to join a badminton course this summer. I like ….because….

28. 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...

29. Marking symbols: make corrections more meaningful to students • Remarks • Plan how to introduce and use marking symbols in the panel meetings, e.g. introduce different marking symbols at different levels. There is no need to introduce all marking symbols in one go.

30. Looking at Students’ Work – 3c • Looking at student work also allows us to focus on whether the marking practices, e.g. codes, accuracy, etc. are properly used, and try to look beyondand find out what has been done / what could have been done tomake teachers’ marking more meaningful to students. • Teachers’ marking is an important step to lead students to reflect on their work and make improvement. • Teachers’ constructive feedback can help students to focus attention.

31. Important messages • When we look at students’ work, we look into the following: • Background information • Context of the tasks • Students’ performance compared with the objectives • Process of learning • Alignment of objectives, task design, marking practice and standards • LASW exercise allows teachers to look critically at the input, the learning process and the output; and evaluate the learning and teaching effectiveness.

32. Break

33. Part 2

34. How to apply LASW? First, think in your role, why do you need to look at students’ work.

35. E-P-I-E cycle

36. For Accountability For Development The purpose of the LASW exercise will help you decide how you are going to apply it.

37. How to apply LASW? • When we look at students’ work in a book inspection, we may make use of an evidence-based approach to • monitor school policy implementation • get the big picture of general student performance to draft the school-based curriculum and set standards • identify students’ strengths and weaknesses to set the focuses for future panel development • identify new subject / pedagogical focuses for future trial

38. How to apply LASW? • When we look at students’ work in a programme evaluation / during co-planning meetings, we may make use of an evidence-based approach to • monitor school policy implementation • evaluate programme at one level / a few levels • identify students’ strengths and weaknesses to set the focuses for future development • identify new subject / pedagogical focuses for future trial

39. How to apply LASW? • When we look at students’ work in an action research, we may make use of an evidence-based approach to • monitor school policy implementation (if the action research is on a school policy and covers a large scale) • review the new pedagogy tried out in particular classes where the action research is carried out • identify new subject / pedagogical focuses for future trial

40. Frequency/ timeline You need to consider the following when you apply LASW Who are involved Purpose Means to conduct LASW Scale

41. How to communicate the findings with other parties effectively

42. Specific comments or feedback for individual teachers A common concern or issue based on students’ work for further discussion or exploration How to communicate the findings with other parties effectively

43. How to conduct a meeting to look at students’ work Do you have experience in holding a meeting to look at students’ work? How should a curriculum leader hold the meeting? Are teachers used to this kind of meetings at your school? Should a curriculum leader dominate the meeting? Do teachers have a role in the meetings? How can we make the meetings effective and efficient?

44. Clips from an LASW meeting • View some clips taken from an LASW meeting. • Focus on the roles of teachers, the materials used and the flow of discussion. • Tell what you like most and what you can learn from the meeting.

45. An effective LASW meeting There was enhanced communication among different parties in the LASW meeting because: The objective for the discussion was clearly set. The role of the presenter and the facilitator was clear. Evidence was used to inform the discussion. The atmosphere was encouraging. Teachers were willing to express their opinions. Constructive feedback was given to colleagues in a depersonalised and unemotional way. Follow-up actions were identified and learning points were collated. 45

46. Protocol • A protocol is a structured format with: • a set schedule; • specific guidelines for communication among participants • Some are used to find out what students know and can do, others are used to solve instructional problems Using protocols for looking at and learning from student work In Turning Points – Transforming Middle Schools

47. The Standards Protocol Purposes To find out what students know and can do; To analyse student learning with reference to standards (either at school level, or in other documents such as the BCAs or the LPF); To look at whether teacher assignments are designed in ways that produce the desired results; To look into strategies for improving T&L In Turning Points – Transforming Middle Schools

48. The Standards Protocol – ca. 60 minutes Roles Presenter - teacher who brings a) student work, b) the assignment, c) the rubric that was used to assess the work, and d) the standards it addresses Facilitator – person who monitors the time, keeps the discussion going and everyone on task and asking probing questions

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50. Sample discussion questions What do these pieces tell us about student learning in relation to our objectives? Does the assignment help the students meet the learning objectives? What are the strengths of this assignment? How can it be further strengthened and aligned with our objectives? What kind of strategies can we use, in addition to the way the module materials/ assignment was designed, to help all students perform better? 50