OPENING UP LEARNING
Self-evaluation
Learning Together Resource
Learning together resources use carefully
selected videos of excellent practice
and information from
The Journey to Excellence website.
Whilst you watch examples of
practitioners and learners, and listen
to the perspective of researchers, you will
be encouraged to carry out activities and
put your learning into your practice.
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OPENING UP LEARNING
Self-evaluation
Learning Together Resource
This resource links with
the
Learning Together : Opening Up Learning (2009)
publication
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OPENING UP LEARNING
Self-evaluation
Learning Together Resource
The resource is presented using a slideshow format.
•
Slides can be accessed in succession, using
arrow keys, through hypertext links or navigation
buttons.
Hypertext links are live in slideshow
format only.
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OPENING UP LEARNING
Self-evaluation
Learning Together Resource
Who is this for?
The pack is relevant to teachers, parents
and other professionals working in all sectors
and contexts who contribute to the implementation
of Curriculum for Excellence.
It explores how teachers, by working together and
with learners, parents and members of their
communities, can ‘open up learning’. That is,
gather evidence on learning and its outcomes,
engage in professional development with colleagues,
and plan improvements in response.
An asterix* highlights there is additional information
in the notes pages of a particular slide.
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OPENING UP LEARNING
Self-evaluation
Learning Together Resource
The resource is organised in 4 sections.
Each can be accessed individually or in succession.
Introduction
Improvement
Guides
Activities
Videos
Additional resources
can be found after the
activities section.
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Introduction
“Self-evaluation is forward looking. It is about change and improvement,
whether gradual or transformational, and is based on professional reflection,
challenge and support.” (HGIOS 3, p.6)
This pack draws together themes,
features and characteristics of effective
improvement through self-evaluation.
For self-evaluation to give an accurate,
rounded view, it must triangulate
evidence from people’s views, direct
observation of learning and teaching,
and quantitative data.
The activities and videos in this pack
will help you to explore each of the three
sides of the triangle.
Introduction
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VIDEOS
The following two slides link to a sample of clips showing effective practice in opening up learning.
These can be viewed online or downloaded. They can be accessed by clicking the school name
on the slide. Alternatively, enter the school name into the video search engine on The Journey to
Excellence online resource. The clips are also available at iTunes U .
Opening up learning:
introductory video
Dunbar Grammar
Observe, reflect and develop
learning.
Fairview school
Cumnock Academy
Reviews that revolutionise.
Learning together through selfevaluation.
Dundonald Primary
Cross Arthurlie Primary School
Opening up learning through self-evaluation.
Personal planning in literacy, numeracy,
health and wellbeing.
Videos
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VIDEOS
St Luke’s High School
Reflective and effective
learning.
Minishant Primary School
Involving learners in creating their
own success criteria.
Brucehill Nursery
Garshake Nursery
Encouraging learning for
A younger age.
Building good foundations
for learning.
St Kenneth’s Primary School
Improving learning by listening to
children and young people.
Videos
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Improvement Guides – What is excellence in learning?
The following improvement guides provide information on opening up learning. They are part of a series
available at the Journey to Excellence online resource. They illustrate the difference between good practice
and excellent practice in assessment. They can be applied in any learning context.
Promotion of active learning
Learning as personal development
Meeting children's learning needs
Planning the outcomes of learning
Continuous professional development
Being data rich
Developing parents’ support to improve their
children’s learning
Improvement guides
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Activities
Activity 1
This activity explores improving learning
through gathering learners’ views.
Activity 2 This activity explores improving learning
through gathering parents’ views.
Activity 3 This activity explores ways to
Improve learning through gathering staff views.
Activity 4
This activity explores ways to improve learning
through gathering views from the community.
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Activities
Activity 5
This activity explores improving learning
through direct observation. There is a focus
on active, challenging and enjoyable learning.
Activity 6
This activity explores improving learning through
direct observation. It helps you to apply
discussion prompts for practitioners in different
contexts.
Activity 7
This activity helps you to evaluate your own
approaches in gathering data. It provides clear
illustrations of excellent practice in being data
rich to improve learning.
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Opening up learning through
exploring and using people's views
Learners, parents, staff and
members of the community all
have important perspectives on
learning. Individually each is
valuable. Taken together,
people’s views can be a major
force for innovation and
improvement.
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What do learners think?*
Encouraging learners to discuss their views about learning with each
other and with their teachers, including their successes and
disappointments, can provide powerful evidence for self-evaluation.
Activity 1
Choose one of the learning improvement guides. How well does your practice in learning
match the features of excellence. List your strengths and areas for development below.
Strengths
Areas for Development
Discuss with a colleague*
Children, young people and adults have daily, first-hand experience of learning and teaching and can
be responsive and perceptive when encouraged to express their views.
How do we encourage learners to comment on the quality of their experiences?
How effectively do we make use of learners’ views about pace or challenge, active learning or learning
independently, to improve learning and teaching?
In what ways do we ensure our pupil councils and youth forums discuss learning, its strengths
and how it might be improved?
Activities
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What do parents think?
Parents provide a distinct perspective on learning and teaching which can help
staff to improve learning for young people. Gathering parents’ views on their
children's learning helps strengthen the partnership between school and home and
reinforces the key role which parents have in their children's learning.
Case study: Involving parents
Staff evaluated their approaches to
involving parents in the life of the
centre. They set out to engage parents
and children much more in making
decisions about what happens in the
centre. Staff made innovative changes,
including setting up a web forum to talk
directly with other parents. Parents and
children now take part in discussing
changes in curriculum programmes, staff
child interaction, and in designing
spaces. Parents and children have
benefited through learning together,
being more reflective and being able to
ask questions about learning.
Activities
Activity 2*
Parents’ views are further informed and
refined when they are shared with other
parents. Consider the case study where
a web forum was used for parents to talk
directly to parents.
Social media are commonly used by many
parents. How might you use it to gather views
on learning?
How will you support less confident parents
to engage in ways feel comfortable with?
Activity
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What do staff think?
The curriculum and support for some learners may involve
contributions from a wide range of staff. It is important that all
contributors to a learners’ education are fully involved in selfevaluation and improvement.
Activity 3
Some establishments and services use a combination of questionnaires,
meetings, workshops and working groups to explore strengths in learning
You may wish to view the film
and teaching approaches and plan changes to learning and teaching.
Reflective and effective learning:
St Lukes' High School
Describe the current strategies you use or experience for engaging
or
and gathering all staff views, including partners. You may do this
Learning together through
through a mind map or a table like the example below.
self-evaluation: Cumnock Academy
Method
Purpose
Outcome
All staff questionnaires
Identify areas for improvement
Involvement of all; consensus on
priorities for improvement; improved
learning and teaching
Activities
Activity
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What does the community think?
Learning experiences that take place in communities can be supportive of
each other, and of formal or statutory learning. Members of the community
can be both learners and supporters of learning. Their perceptions can add
a further important dimension to the process of evaluation.
Activity 4*:
Involving partners in self-evaluation is not the strongest aspect of self-evaluation. Can you
identify 3 ways in which you currently engage partners in self-evaluation. If not identify what you might do
and why.
1)
2)
3)
Activities
Acitivity
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Opening up learning through sharing learning
and teaching in action
In this section we consider approaches
which focus on improving learning and
teaching through direct observation
of learning and teaching in action.
Teachers can increase the depth of
their understanding of what makes for
successful teaching and its impact on
learning through evaluating the quality
of learning directly in each other's
lessons and learning activities.
Activities
Activity
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Activity 5
Watch the Cross Arthurlie video Opening up
learning through self-evaluation.
Which of the approaches to evaluating
learning and teaching through direct
observation in your establishment are most
effective in bringing about improvement?
Reflecting on approaches to learning in your
own context, what variety is there in learning
over the course of a lesson, day, or a week?
To what extent is learning active, challenging
and enjoyable?
Activities
Activity
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Direct observations of learning*
Visits to lessons should be part of a formative approach to improvement
in learning and teaching. Successful approaches to direct observation of
learning depend upon careful preparation and discussion. It is important
that learning visits are constructive and focus clearly on outcomes for
learners.
Several approaches to direct observation are used including Learning Rounds* and
the ‘learning walk routine’*.
Activity 6: The following prompts may be used for a visit to a mathematics lesson. How might
you adapt these for your own context?
•The classroom is well managed, resources are well organised, readily available and appropriate.
•The lesson has a clear objective and is well structured.
•The pace of work is brisk. Young people’s attention and interests are sustained through varied
approaches to learning and teaching.
•Young people are well motivated and work conscientiously.
•Teachers use questioning effectively to; involve as many young people as possible; give young people
time to think; seek extended explanations; explore wrong answers; take account of prior learning.
•Expectations and standards are high.
•Where appropriate, learners develop skills in mental calculation, problem solving, applying
mathematical skills in real life contexts and across the curriculum. They use ICT effectively.
•Teachers listen to young people and give constructive feedback on oral and written work.
•Young people are supported according to their needs. The work is sufficiently challenging for all young
people and they are helped when they experience difficulties.
Activities
Activity
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Opening up learning through exploring
and using information and data
Evidence about learners’ progress and their success in
undertaking the experiences and achieving the outcomes
within Curriculum for Excellence will be gathered from
various sources. It will comprise information from wherever
the learning takes place and across all aspects of learning.
Such information is particularly valuable when combined
with other perspectives, namely people’s views and learning
. important backdrop to enable staff to
visits. It forms an
identify priorities for development within Curriculum for
Excellence.
Read and discuss the Improvement Guide Being data rich
with your colleagues. Where are you on the journey to
excellence in using information and data? What do you
need to focus on to improve your own and your
school’s/centre’s practice?
Activities
Activity
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Sharing standards and expectations*
Click on the links for advice, resources and
information on sharing standards
Activities
Activity
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Additional resources*
Click on the links to go to additional
information and resources
Journey to Excellence –
Learning and Teaching
Education Scotland –
Learning, teaching and
assessment
Activities
Additional resources
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