Transcript SDP Summer School DCU August 2008

SDPI Summer School DCU
Tuesday August 19th 2008
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING:
Preparing and Planning for
‘The Learning School Project’
Castletroy College’s Experience
Presented by
Tom Prendergast
Castletroy College
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Co-ed
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Opened September 1st 2000
with 165 students and 16
staff
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Now 1060 students and 80 +
staff
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Located in Castletroy, Co.
Limerick on the doorstep of
UL
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The school’s trustees are the
Diocese of Limerick and
County Limerick VEC.
The Learning School Project
•A collaborative two-year project involving 15 schools chosen out of
over 60 applicant schools in the south west
•Supported by Cork, Limerick, Tralee, West Cork Education Centres
in partnership with the LDS, SESS, SDPI and SLSS
•Dr. David Tuohy as Academic Adviser
•Funded by the Teacher Education Section of the DES
•From October 2006 initial meeting to April 2008 project showcase
The Learning School Project
The aim of the project was to empower schools to engage in the
ongoing development of a culture where learning is practiced and
celebrated by everyone.
Projects undertaken included:
•Assessment For Learning
•Improving Learning Experience of First Years
•Supporting the Gifted Students
•Peer Tutoring
•IT and Languages
•Language supports in Irish Speaking Schools
Assessment for Learning
According to the NCCA website, ‘Assessment for Learning’
(AFL) provides feedback to learners on how to improve their
learning & is characterised by:
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sharing learning goals with students
helping students to recognise the standards they are aiming for
involving students in assessing their own learning
providing feedback, which helps students to recognise what they
must do to close any gaps in their knowledge or understanding
communicating confidence that every student can improve
adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment
(Adapted from www.ncca.ie)
Assessment for Learning
AFL Sample Menu:
Target Setting – Learning outcomes at start of class on board
Written Feedback – Comment only feedback
Peer Assessment – Mutual feedback by students
Homework – Provide exemplars
Questioning – No hands up
Review
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In February 2007 Castletroy College had a whole school inservice in the area of AFL from the SDPI.
A mini-project, in the area of AFL, was carried out within the
school’s English Department during March 2007, which was met
with a lot of interest and enthusiasm.
Building on this curiosity and keenness, AFL was chosen as
Castletroy College’s project for The Learning School.
Design
The project involved:
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4 First Year English classes and 2 Transition Year English
classes, 150 students approx
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First year English and TY English are mixed ability classes
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The team included 6 teachers of English, as well as 2 project
co-ordinators. The project co-ordinators were one of the school’s
Deputy Principals and the other co-ordinator was a Yearhead,
as well as being the English Subject Co-ordinator.
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In order to ascertain whether or not these goals were successful
it was envisaged that qualitative research with the students and
the teachers would be undertaken at the end of the project.
Implementation
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The timeframe for the actual use of the AFL techniques was
from September 2007 to December 2007.
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The full team met formally for the first time in May 2007. Also
present was Anne Tuohy from the SDPI who outlined the AFL
techniques and the meeting allowed any queries to be
addressed.
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The parents of the incoming First Years were informed at the
First Year Parents Information Night that the project was taking
place and what it involved.
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At the end of May 2007 the project co-ordinators compiled ‘AFL
Teacher Packs’ which included the menu of AFL techniques,
various sample lesson plans and a reflective ‘Eureka’ diary.
Implementation
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The team met again in late August 2007, during which the ‘AFL
Teacher Packs’ were given to the six teachers.
The team met formally once a month between September 2007
and December 2007, as well as informally. The teachers’
English classes were taught using the AFL techniques during
this timeframe.
In January 2008 a qualitative piece of research was carried out.
Resources
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The teacher packs provided a mainstay of resources to the
teachers.
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The NCCA website (www.ncca.ie)
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The various meetings with other participants and members of
the steering committee of ‘The Learning School Project’ also
provided a tremendous resource, including a solution to the
perennially contentious ‘comment only marking’ in AFL.
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The formal planning structures within Castletroy College [Every
Tuesday staff meeting at 3.10-3.50] also allowed time for
structured formal team meetings which provided an additional
resource also.
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The PE department within the school had also received some
training around the area of AFL and shared their experiences
with the team informally.
Evaluation
Data Collection
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A qualitative approach to the collection of data was adopted
whereby the 150 students involved in the project were issued an
open-ended evaluation questionnaire.
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Evolving from the questionnaires 3 40-minute group-interviews
took place between the project co-ordinators and the students.
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There were 2 First Year group-interviews and 1Transition Year
group-interview, each group was made up of five students. The
project co-ordinators also had a one-hour group-interview with
the six teachers involved.
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The findings were written up in a final report for The Learning
School project, in April 2008, highlighting the successes of AFL
and how they can be rolled out across the school, as well as
highlighting anything that hindered the project.
Evaluation
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The ‘AFL Teacher Pack’ provided a useful reservoir of ideas
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The scheduled monthly meetings also provided support and a
platform to exchange ideas on what aspects of the AFL menu
had gone well.
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The ‘Eureka’ diary also proved to be a very good reflective tool.
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Undoubtedly the team’s enthusiasm and dedication was a major
contributory factor also.
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As the project progressed, other subject areas in the school
were very interested in what was taking place.
Evaluation
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Cross fertilisation of ideas from other schools involved project
was invaluable as any time teachers’ meet is a good thing, as
there is more exposure to best practice in teaching and learning.
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At the beginning of the academic year 2008/2009 a presentation
will be made to the whole Castletroy College staff, so as
teachers can take what works best for their subject area from
the AFL menu.
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The six teachers of English involved in the project are currently
continuing to use AFL techniques in their teaching and have
broadened it out to other year groups and other subjects they
are teaching.
Impact Of The Project
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The students felt happy, curious & felt they had a voice in their
learning.
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The 6 teachers of English found that the teaching and learning
improved in their classroom. The teachers also stated that they
enjoyed the sharing of experiences. The fact that it was largely
emanating from within the school allowed for more direct and
prompt support of the teachers involved.
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The project co-ordinators began to see an organic learning
environment emerge, where ideas were exchanged and new
methodologies adapted. The staff have become inquisitive, and
the various department co-ordinators, as well as the school
development planning officer, have already approached the
team regarding the use of AFL in their subject areas.
Impact Of The Project
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In addition to which the template of The Learning School Project
could be used for a number of different projects within the
school in the years to come. The project co-ordinators were
struck by the developing synergy that emerged through the
scheduled meetings with the team, as well as the willingness to
try things and the repeated desire that the teacher was no
longer centre stage all the time in the classroom.
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In managing the project it was essential to have senior
management from the school on board as it gave the project a
greater profile and a lot of decisions could be made speedily.
Also having two project co-ordinators was of vital importance as
it provided a supportive framework and a stage to exchange
ideas.
Impact Of The Project
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The planning systems that already exist in Castletroy College
facilitate meetings and planning regarding a broad range of
different school issues. By having this in place, it made
managing the project more straightforward. The regular
meetings with the steering committee and the academic advisor,
Dr. David Tuohy were hugely important in the management of
this project. The meetings were always well structured and
relevant to the stage each school was at in their project. The
sessions never became over loaded with information and were
positive and encouraging.
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In addition to the cluster meetings the school visits by members
of the steering committee also proved valuable in that it again
added to the profile of the project within the school, issues that
related directly to the school’s project could be addressed and
information could be forwarded to the project co-ordinators also.
Impact Of The Project
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As with many projects there is always a concern around having
sufficient time to meet. At Castletroy College there is a
scheduled weekly staff meeting on Tuesday evenings, but with
such a busy agenda, it just wasn’t possible to meet formally
other than once a month. While the once-a-month structured
meetings were valuable, a weekly structured meeting would be
better. Perhaps this is something for future planning, where the
various team members are timetabled to be free at the same
time to meet, e.g. Wednesday morning.
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The ‘comment only marking’ was the most contentious point as
the safety net of a grade seemed to be an essential prerequisite
from the students and their parents, but a solution was found in
that the comments were given for example on the Monday and
then the grade was given on the Friday.
Workshop
• Apply this suggested model (aspects or all of it) to a
potential area for planning/development in your
school on worksheet provided [10 minutes
approximately]
• Then share your ideas with others in your group
(feedback, trouble shoot, exchange ideas…) [20
minutes approximately]
• Group ‘volunteer’ reports back to main group what
ideas were floated and any other relevant points [15
minutes approximately]
Finally
Any questions or comments?
The best of luck in your endeavours in the
coming school year!