Progress and how to make it visible

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

How can we demonstrate rapid progress in our lessons?

​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.