Page 99: What is assessment and how should this look in a primary classroom (1)?

 Page 99: What is assessment and how should this look in a primary classroom

Assessment and feedback are essential parts of teaching and learning. This should underpin your day to day practice. Without through assessment and feedback systems, as teachers how are we able to measure the success of our teaching and pupils progress and understadning?

As part of my NPQLT, I have recently completed a module exploring assessment and how as an aspirong leader to use evidence informed researched to support developing good assessment cycles in schools. Today I am going to share a few of my key reflections regarding assessment. 

Robe Coe (2013) states that there is a two way nature of assessment and feedback. Firstly, for the teacher. Good assessment makes clear the knowledge that has been understood and provided the information needed to reteach relevant/needed concepts. Secondly, for the pupils. Feedback provides a route to move forward with learning in addition to developing secure mental models. The use of the terms assessment and feedback are key as one should not come without the other. Additionally, it is key to note referencing my opening sentences, assessment and feedback are not separate from teaching, therefore should be a priority for all classroom teachers. 

An article that I have been introduced to through my NPQ that has allowed me to reflect and inform how I use feedback in my classroom is another piece of research from the Educational Endowment Foundation. Their 2018 toolkit for feedback, sets aside clear principles that should underpin feedback for it to be effective. Here are some key points:

- Feedback should be clear, specific and accurate.

- Feedback should be appropriately timed.

- Feedback should encourage reflection and build independence through self regulation.

- Feedback should be tailored and directed at the right level.

- Classroom climates should foster peer and self reflection

- Pupils must be provided with opportunties to use feedback. 

The final point, "pupils must be provided with opportunties to use feedback" provoked personal reflection on my day to day routines. I like to use peer and self reflection to help pupils to develop their own capacity to learn and their learner autonomy. The NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research) suggests that peer assessment should be introduced first, only moving onto self assessment when both teachers and pupils are fully comfortable with the former. When building confidence in pupils to use peer assessment here are three top tips:

1. Use examples from unknown pupils to model constructive feedback.

2. Model the process e.g., using a visualiser to explain and demonstatre how to give feedback.

3. Provide scripts/prompts. A great one is TAG:

T - Tell something you like.

A - Ask a question.

G - Give a suggestion.

I am going to end today's page here, sharing a brief introduction to how I use assessment and feedback. I hope you can join me for part 2 in a few weeks where I will expand on these introductions, explore the relationship between a 'mistake' and 'error' and how to make the workload of assessment and marking to tailor classroom practice but not by introducing or promoting an unnecessary workload. 

- Miss Yeoman