Day Three Gloucester 5 th December, 2006

• Use of products for discussion of quality (using two products to compare or using one to model or generate success criteria)

Reception/Yr 1

Teachers are working towards children identifying what they think is good and the improvements they think they can make. It is more effective to show a good example (produced by the teacher) rather than a poor example.

Teachers have lots of ways of projecting work (e.g. a scanner, etc.) Tesco vouchers were used by one school to buy a £300 visualiser. Because most teachers work with small groups and mixed aged groups, being able to show them the piece of work is instant and very effective.

Last year one teacher showed children a photo of a child’s DT work and asked what was effective about it and what could be improved and this worked well. This year she used two contrasting pieces of work, which proved to be more effective. The more visual the work, the better.

The impact on the quality of learning is that there is a definite improvement across the curriculum although not so much in maths.

Yr 2

Writing

Using two products – the first examples used were in writing and teachers showed a good and a not so good piece. Teachers tended to use either old pieces of children’s work or teacher generated work. Some changed to a good and an even better piece of work which had a profound impact on children.

The main impact of this process was that children had to think harder about making improvements in order to make it excellent. It pushed them on to higher quality and made them more determined to aim high.

OfSTED commented in a few schools inspected that they liked the children evaluating each other’s work. Children were not intimidated but rather excited by seeing their work up on the screen.

The children were more able to identify what was required of them. One teacher showed the class work with red herrings in it – it has become easy now for them to spot the fraud. Children are very aware of the learning objectives. Teachers also felt that with mixed age classes (YR 2/3) this process moved the 2s on more quickly. By default they are coming on by aiming towards the examples.

Art and DT

One teacher in Art and DT used models and pieces of work for children to decide how to improve. Using a scale of 0-10, the children put post - it notes of improvements on the work (laid out on the tables). Children were very positive towards each other and motivation to improve has increased. Scanners, OHPs, digiblues, putting work on laptops and projecting them etc are used in the classrooms in the school. IT skills are improving, too, as a secondary benefit.

The teacher had a big group of children that were underachieving the year before who went up 3 levels.

Yrs 4-5-6 A

There were different ways of comparing two pieces due to different levels of IT in classrooms. One good piece and one not so good on the whiteboard worked well towards the end of year as a way to generate SC in one classroom. One teacher had difficulties as she had no whiteboard so typed up the work and used it at the beginning of the next lesson. This was too late, however.

The biggest impact was that the work produced from similar abilities was of a higher standard. Showing children’s work has a tremendous impact – the credibility factor. Lynn Thomas added that the impact demonstrated by the results of the optional SATS at the end of the year was that they went up 6 points in one year and this was attributed to the entire AfL package. Children know exactly what they are doing.

Yr4-5-6 B

The teachers had used scanners and whiteboards; some had work written straight onto the computer. They had started with very good examples and not so good so that children could identify what needed to be done to improve it. Some teachers had also written examples at different levels to discuss. Children are better able to identify what constitutes a level 3, 4 or 5 and can pinpoint exactly what they need to do with their work to get to the next level. Some teachers tried giving three examples of children’s work once children knew the success criteria. They have all achieved the success criteria, but are they equally effective?

One teacher showed the class two bar charts, one drawn correctly and one with a number of mistakes. Children identified the mistakes and from this drew together the success criteria. It was a very successful approach.

This has caused a big shift in attitudes – they want to improve their work. Boys writing has improved because they know the steps they need to go through from the start. Sometimes teachers have difficulty sharing children’s work because of perceived sensitivities of the lower achievers. But the children who are not the greatest writers might produce the best DT, so all have a chance over the year to show their work in some context. Also, many teachers have historically believed that showing good examples encourages children to copy. These teachers have seen that it does not, but increases quality in all children’s work.

Yrs 4-5-6 C

Several people in group used products in various lessons in various ways: good and less good; good and better, sometimes 2 pieces from a previous year, sometimes from current classes. In numeracy, they discuss how best to solve a problem. Teachers’ main problem has been in being able to project the work.

Impact : children have become much better and more confident at identifying the evidence of success and are better at identifying areas for improvement in the pieces being analysed and in their own work. Often the finished products are better than the best pieces of work from the year before! When work from a previous year is used, the actual finished products of the current year are better than the best from the previous year because of the analysis that has been done. In some cases children have come off the SEN register. These children are now risk takers.

2. On-the-spot ‘success & improvement’ during the lesson

Reception/Yr 1

It is a lot more spontaneous with younger children as it is part of the culture of the classroom for this age group. TAs can do this too with a group although time is needed to train TAs. It is important that work chosen for discussion is random, or that everyone’s work is used over time.

The impact has been improved quality in literacy, speaking and it is especially effective with the higher achievers. It is very effective in motivating children and encourages quality and quantity.

Yr 2

The plenary has now moved from the end of the lesson, where it is too late for children to act on what they see. The plenary used to reinforce children’s inadequacies. There is now a chance for all to be successful and the stress is gone.

This process is more relevant than marking as it happens instantly. With marking the moment has gone and it has little impact. Feedback is provided throughout the lesson, like stepping stone targets, which refocuses the children. They get new ideas and can improve their work as they go along. This is like a personalised learning programme. The process is also a short assessment strategy for teachers, used to inform planning.

Yrs 4-5-6 A

Teachers in this group agreed with what had been said in other groups. One teacher described how she gets the work projected by getting a child to volunteer for every lesson to do their work on the computer. Using a computer with the interactive whiteboard is quicker and more effective than scanning in. Then the work can be printed off the computer and all can get a copy. Only one child’s example can be used but this is OK when doing success & improvement.

The other good approach is to take a digital camera photo of a piece of work and get it up on the screen. Sometimes children’s handwriting is too small for this to be effective (same issue with scanning). The computer solves this problem.

Yrs 4-5-6 B

The impact on teachers has been that it takes longer to cover units of work. For the children it allows them time to have immediate feedback and make immediate improvements. They have the opportunity to go back and look at their work and improve it. They refocus and stay tuned into the stuff. They write less but the quality is so much higher. Different methods are used for integrated feedback: 3 stars, tickled pinks, etc.) Children are marking and assessing their own work – they have a much more active role. It also refocuses them on the success criteria as they go along. One teacher found it difficult to combine this with the traffic light system.

One teacher described difficulty with a Yr 6 group with lots of high achieving boys with behavioural issues who do not respond to stopping in mid flow. They find it difficult to get back on with the writing.

Shirley: when they do a long piece of writing, an application lesson, you might want them to write without interruption. Explain to the children before they start whether it is that kind of lesson, or one where we all stop and look at, say the opening paragraph and decide how it could be improved so far. Maybe you are giving them too many applications and should have more lessons planned around smaller aspects.

Yrs 4-5-6 C

Examples of work are projected in a variety of ways. In one class they look for the “X Factor” in their work as a variation of ‘success’.

3. Further Developments:

Rec/Yr 1

• Children expect to have talking partners in all their lessons, with all teachers.
• Children’s expectations of lessons has changed: there is much more pupil involvement
• There is a different emphasis and structure to tasks.
• Teachers are no longer taking children’s knowledge for granted

Yr 2

• Parents can see success criteria, so they now know exactly what teachers are asking the children to do.
• Children’s attitudes to working together are now very positive.
• In one school responding to children’s work within lessons is a new school initiative.
• Planning is easier and clearer: children now know what they are learning to do rather than what they are learning about (process not content).
• Children’s self esteem is higher, especially of statemented children who can now verbalise their ideas with their talking partner.
• Lower achievers now have the opportunity to achieve.
• Children seem more confident with decision making skills.
• There are greater cross curricular links as skill based activities are easier to plan.

Yrs 4-5-6 A

• The starting point is different with a new class now teachers are working in this way
• One school set up the ‘big picture’ across the school: linked the big picture to doing a mind map at the beginning and revisiting it at the end to say ‘Remember what we did in each of the lessons? Now write down what you know’. This is used successfully as a reminder of what has been learnt.
• AfL gives children ownership and an ability to know how to improve and to appreciate others’ achievements.
• In one class, children put their books out and look gallery style at each other’s work and give feedback.

Yrs 4-5-6 B

• The talking partner work has created a culture in the class that has created massive change in respect for each other – they know how to work with each other. This has taken time and training.
• The distribution of learning, attitude and culture has changed across the school. The focus is on the learning.
• There has been a ripple effect across other classes in the school.
• Pupils are applying skills in a range of contexts.
• Pupils have a voice in the classroom.
• There is less need for rigidity but pupils still value teachers as they are sharing the learning.
• One child with behaviour problems went from a Level 3c to Level 5 in writing. A4L has revolutionised his attitude to learning and solved the behaviour issues.
• One teacher has had an SEN child taken off the register – had speech problems – this is due to Talking Partners.
• Teachers agreed that the support of the Head Teacher in bringing this about was vital.

Yrs 4-5-6 C

• Very positive – children are all now active in their own learning –no place to hide, they all take part.
• Everyone’s confidence and self-esteem has been raised and there is social improvement in trust and respect.
• Now fewer issues to deal with at play time as behaviour has improved.
• Children know where they are going and what to expect in lessons. They know what to aim for –it is no longer a mystery thanks to success criteria.
• Children produce a greater amount of higher quality.
• Middle achieving boys now produce higher quality work and put in more effort: more motivated.
• One teacher has abandoned stickers.