Norwich
Teachers were moving around the classroom marking within the lesson and giving feedback. Purple pen feedback when children are in the moment is very effective – skills are reinforced and the skills are constantly being revisited. Misconceptions are addressed at the right time.
Teachers were having mid lesson learning stops with one child’s work under the visualiser. This celebrates mistakes and addresses misconceptions immediately. Teachers were using these stops to show progress in handwriting, which impacted positively on children’s handwriting. They were also working quicker so they could be chosen.
Teachers also tried cooperative paired improvement discussions, focusing on one main thing. Writing was up skilled.
1-1 Conferences with children addressed issues immediately and clearly moves the learning on.
Post-lesson
Teachers had moved to in-class marking, immediate and then simply acknowledgement marking which has saved time and impacted children’s learning. The load has been reduced which has meant there is now time for planning which is crucial.
Midlothian
All teachers were on the move during lessons, using coloured pens to show independent work and good bits so comments are no longer needed at the end (children can’t read them anyway!). They were working on uplevelling in the moment. This has led to more meaningful feedback and teachers not needing to review books at the end. Children are able to make improvements there and then and this has built confidence in those who find writing challenging.
Mid-lesson learning stops at the visualiser was not so effective as children are not writing much to be analysed at this stage, although we are giving next steps and specific comments to the pupils.
All teachers were giving children feedback continually based on the learning powers (e.g. have a go). This was helping them to build up independence and confidence.
One teacher has coloured cubes which children put out to show they need support. This has allowed her to focus on children who need more input.
Post-lesson
Teachers all said they were more responsive with planning , going back to previous work to set up for new lessons, good examples and also reviewing mistakes together. This has led to greater depth of discussion with pupils and teachers moving forward. There are higher expectations of the children and learning is more meaningful.
Three teachers attempted cooperative peer feedback in writing and found it worked well with higher achievers.
North Wales 1
All teachers have pit stops during lessons to take one child’s work under the visualiser and celebrate mistakes which has built confidence. The visualiser was used frequently to look at pupil work together and critique.
All use lollysticks for random choice of who answers questions which has made children more confident to answer.
Pink and green highlighters have reduced workload and they are used during lessons with instant response from children to identify and edit their errors.
One teacher has Feedback Friday in which talk partners discuss the week’s subject work and some then feedback to the class. This is being rolled out around the school to help children build oracy skills.
No feedback is given post lesson, but work is looked at for planning purposes. This has reduced workload and made planning more accurate.
“Feedback Friday happens weekly. There are 5 minutes of individual reflection, then 5 minutes with the learning partner and 5 minutes with the teacher (1/3 of the class each week). The impact has been stronger relationships between teachers and children and quality 1-1 time to discuss specific strengths and areas for development.”
Laura Martin — Ysgol Glan Gele
North Wales 2
All teachers gave children verbal feedback during lessons to each group. Children have better understanding with verbal rather than written feedback.
Two teachers had been on a course on reducing workload by highlighting pink for perfect and yellow for improvement. By doing this on the move children had immediate feedback and could act on the yellow immediately.
All teachers were now having mid lesson pit stops, sometimes asking talk partners to find each other and give feedback about what they had been doing. This has improved their partner’s work by giving feedback. No rewards are needed when children have continual feedback about their successes.
All teachers use the visualiser to analyse random work. This has made children stay on tasks for longer and be more focused. They pick up tips from each other and are more aware of success criteria.
Teachers were using the helicopter and land approach during lessons. Watching but only pouncing when something needs feedback. Children make immediate improvements and are correcting their mistakes and misconceptions.
One teacher asks any child who has succeeded really well to stand up and act as a teacher telling the rest of the class how they did it. Children have responded really well to this and each child who has to stand up gains in self-confidence.
“When hovering as a helicopter, spotting a mistake, we first celebrate it and thank them for making a mistake. I ask the others ‘Who else has made this mistake?’ So, in the explanation for the first child, they have helped all the others who also made that mistake. I say ‘Thank you so much for making that mistake! You have helped all the others!’ “
Sioned Davies — Ysgol Bro Griydir
Post-lesson feedback included one teacher who asked children to peer assess against one of the success criteria and then rotate. The improvements needed become children’s targets. Mistakes feed into the teacher’s planning. By only looking at one of the success criteria at a time, children can peer asses in a focused way.
One teacher piles the books into common mistakes then plans accordingly. This has lessened the workload considerably. Children can then be put into groups to discuss the common mistake for that work.
One teacher uses a puppet that makes mistakes which engages the children and encourages them to be critical and understand expectations.
Purple polishing pens are used on Fridays in which the teacher sits with a group of children and reflects on their work one by one to establish next steps. This is valuable time spent rather than taking books home. Children enjoy the individual feedback and it has reduced the marking load.