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Resources for measuring student progress

11/4/2016

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Do you know what progress each of your students is making?  Do they?

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​Here are some ideas to demonstrate and measure progress in your classroom.

Learning outcomes

​Look very closely at your learning outcomes and make sure they are bite-sized and achievable. You want to try to make sure the students can start making progress from the beginning of the lesson - not wait until the end!

​This diagram from Sarah Findlater expresses quite well the areas you should consider: 
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Progress charts

The progress 'egg' can be used at the start and end of the lesson:
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​The Plenary Pyramid is a good way to finish the lesson and requires some thought from the students. This is only useful if you read their answers and respond to their needs!
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Exit tickets

There are plenty of these to try... here is an example (more ideas can be found online - just search 'Exit tickets for teaching')
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Lolly sticks

Prepare some lolly sticks with students’ names on. You will need to buy some of these, and write the names on - but once done it is something you can use often.

​It requires all the students to have the answers ready just in-case they are called upon. It also means that more students get involved and contribute.  

(You can buy 100 for under £2 online)
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Another idea for lolly sticks is for the students to work in pairs discussing a certain topic or question. You can draw a name from the pot and then ask them what their partner's opinion was. This is also good for those who are more wary of joining in in-case their answer is wrong. 

Mini whiteboards

  • Use mini whiteboards or scoring sheets for students to 'score' their understanding against a learning outcome or objective at the beginning of the lesson (rate it from 1-10, or 1-5)
  • Regularly refer back to this during the lesson, where they can change their score as they become more confident. They should do this by adding a new score with the time they added it - thus showing progress through the lesson! You can adapt this to use during the unit of work - they just add the date as they improve in certain aspects.
  • Where necessary, you should ask the student to explain how and why they have changed their score. In this way they know you are not just going to accept them saying they have learnt something at face value! You can initial their score if you agree.

Post-it notes

There are many ways you can use these. Here are two:
 
1. Put three statements on the board regarding understanding or confidence -
  • I am very confident in this topic / I really understand this
  • I am fairly confident in this topic / I understand parts of it
  • I am not confident in this topic / I don't understand anything  
The students should write their name on the post-it note, and place it on the statement which correctly describes their level of understanding of a concept. They can move these as their understanding increases throughout the lesson.

2. Place large posters around the room, with different attainment levels defined -
  •  I can explain x, y, z (Level 4c)
  •  I can weigh up the pros and cons of x, y, z (Level 4b)
  •  I can compare x, y, z to a, b, c (Level 4a)

Students put their post-it note with their name on at the point where they are at the beginning of the lesson or topic. At strategic points throughout the lesson (or unit) they move their post-it note according to the progress they have made. 

Both of these allow the teacher to see at a glance the progress individuals have made.  Don’t forget to challenge them occasionally to ensure progress is genuine!

Mind maps

​Ask students to do a mind map for the unit.  Each lesson they add information about what they have just learnt – writing the lesson number next to the information they have added.  This shows immediate coverage of topics for each lesson as well as a plan for each lesson of the course.

If you want it to show progress, devise a manner in which students can express their confidence level, which they can write or draw against each topic. Here are a couple you might find useful.

RAG rating

You need to have three colours of card or paper - red, amber an green. Some schools have packs of these ready for use, some have journals or diaries with the three colours of card within the book.

Students place the appropriate coloured card on their desk, facing upwards to show level of knowledge and understanding as the lesson progresses.
                Red – Do not understand    
                Amber – Not sure
                Green – Fully understand
Individual students’ needs can then be addressed as the lesson unfolds. 
Students should be encouraged to change the colour as the level of understanding changes.
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The students can annotate the mind map accordingly. As they gain confidence, they can  add a new annotation.

Faces

Students draw the appropriate face next to the topic on the mind map, or the lesson objective in their book to show their confidence of ability in relation to the particular objective.

At regular intervals, students can draw another face in the margin to show how they now feel against the lesson objective.  This can also be done on whiteboards.
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Thumbs up

One that needs no preparation! The direction of the thumbs tells you how confident they feel.
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Try to make this process a regular part of your teaching.

Tasks for you to try, to provide evidence for the standards

  • Observe other teachers and make a note of the different ways they measure progress
  • Choose a couple and put them into your next lesson plans
  • Reflect on their success and make necessary improvements for next time.
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Progress and how to make it visible

11/2/2016

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Thanks to my colleagues Debbie Dunn and Amy Hagan for their contributions to these tips!

How can we demonstrate rapid progress in our lessons?

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​We are constantly being told that all of the students in our classes need to make progress – in fact the ideal is for them to make ‘rapid’ progress.

Of course, there does need to be a clear way to make sure we know whether they have learnt something, and our AfL strategies and plenaries should make this learning – progress – very obvious.

​We would expect progress to be made in every lesson – otherwise what a waste of an hour! And it makes sense that progress can be made from the beginning of the lesson rather than waiting until the end before any learning can take place. 

​The measure of progress needs to be clear 

  • to us as teachers - as this will inform the planning of our next lesson
  • to the student - so they can play a part in their own development
and
  • to any observer

Lesson observations are now more focused on evidence of progress. The information below will also touch, therefore. on how we can demonstrate the progress that is being made. 

​During an observation, the observer must be confident that students have made good or exceptional progress during that time in order to rate the lesson as better than satisfactory.

Why do we measure progress?

  • It highlights improvements linked to success criteria
  • It shapes and informs future lesson planning
  • It adds more purpose to classroom learning and motivates students
  • It facilitates high quality marking and feedback
  • It provides points for self, peer and teacher evaluation
  • It sharpens teacher intervention, making these more purposeful
 
Students should be part of the process (it's amazing how many teachers forget to share this information with students!) They should know and understand what success will look like each lesson, and they obviously need to know if they have achieved this success!

The benefits of effective progress checks

  • Students know their levels and grades
  • Students are able to talk about their learning and progress
  • Students know how to move their learning on
  • Students know how their learning links to previous work/learning

​When we are being observed – either as a trainee, an NQT, or an established teacher – the worst thing we can hear in our feedback is that the students did not appear to make progress. It can be frustrating – particularly if we worked hard to plan for this. It is even more annoying if the progress was made in the part of the lesson the observer didn’t see! 

Let’s look at some of the reasons why this progress may not have been demonstrated clearly enough. 

​An observer might not recognise the progress the students have made because...

  • The observer doesn’t know the student’s starting points (so share data with them)
  • Students are unable to articulate where they started, where they are now and where they are going
  • The success criteria for progress are not clearly stated at the start of the lesson
  • Students don’t get the chance to show their work in half a lesson (maybe because it’s a practical lesson or they are doing independent coursework tasks)
  • The students' books are not marked effectively and so progress over time is not evident
  • The observer only sees part of the lesson
  • There is no assessment criteria
  • Not all the students are focused – behavioural issues
  • The teacher runs out of time in the lesson
  • There is no progress!

​What does progress look like? 

How do we know progress has been made?  

Progress within a lesson does not always have to be measured in terms of data. It can be as simple as

  • accumulating knowledge
  • demonstrating understanding
and
  • applying skill and technique in a classroom activity
 
The key to good progress being made has to come from the partnership between the students and the teacher. Teaching and learning happen together – and progress is the outcome of good teaching and learning!

This means an awareness from both parties as to what is expected for success to be possible, and pertinent, individual feedback throughout the lesson to keep the students on track to make that progress.

The teacher and student should continuously reflect on progress together, through marking and dialogue, through identifying the next steps in learning and through establishing what particular support or extension work might be required to ensure the student’s individual needs are met. 

​Pupils learn well and show rapid progress when:

  • They work independently and support each other.
  • Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding.
  • Teaching is clear, well-paced and sharp, showing good understanding of students' needs.
  • The teacher asks effective, open-ended questions and plans group tasks carefully to ensure good progress and learning. 

​Key ingredients to promote rapid progress

  • An exciting climate for learning
  • A balance of the fun and fundamentals of learning
  • Fun, humour and good relationships
  • A focus on practising basic and higher order skills
  • Building confidence and motivation among the learners
  • An environment where there is no fear of failure because the teachers and students support one another’s triumphs and disasters
  • Opportunities for risk-taking, exploration of new knowledge and concepts, and experimentation
  • Learners’ potential is spotted and encouraged
​In Friday’s blog post I will share some specific tasks and activities to help demonstrate and measure progress – and make it more visible.
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    Dr Sharon Williams
     
    Sharon has spent many of her 33 years in secondary education working with trainee teachers.

    She has mentored trainees, trained mentors ... and has developed and delivered mentoring and coaching programmes in schools.
     
    Countless trainee teachers have benefited directly from working alongside Sharon, or the mentors she has trained  -  and all have successfully passed their training year!

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