Using Visualisers in
AfL
A Case Study in
Science
AfL
‘the process of seeking and interpreting
evidence for use by learners and their
teachers to decide where the learners are in
their learning, where they need to go and how
best to get there’.
Benefits of Assessment for Learning
• Provides motivation for pupils
• Allows teachers to give more beneficial
feedback
• Pupils learn about self and peer assessment
• Achievable goals and targets can be set
• Progress can be monitored on a regular basis
• Effective assessment techniques can raise self
esteem
APP (Assessing Pupils Progress)
The APP approach is straightforward.
At regular planned intervals teachers review
pupils' work using APP criteria to build and
refine a profile of their attainment. The
information gained from the process allows
teachers to:
1. Analyse by the 5 AFs the relative
strengths and next steps of each pupil
from levels 3 to 8
2. Assign each pupil an overall National
Curriculum level for science
APP (Assessing Pupils Progress)
• Use this information to set curricular targets
to strengthen pupils' learning and inform
their own future teaching by making links to
the relevant objectives and amplification
from the renewed Framework
• As part of the Assessment for Learning (AfL)
strategy there are quality standards to
support schools with the effective
implementation of APP.
A huge Task !
Someone calculated that you would judge, mark
and grade over a hundred different items for
each pupil over the course of KS3, just in
Science!
When would you have time to feedback to the
student and help them develop and strengthen
their understanding ?
Realistically this is an impossibility … unless you
never did any teaching…sleeping or eating !
How can ICT help….
• Well you can use a Computer spreadsheet to track Pupils
levels and progress in tasks.
• Take videos and digital images of pupils work to record
levels and for moderation.
• Show pupils work and how to carry out Peer/ Self
Assessment.
• Allow pupils to plot and track their own progress.
• Allow pupils to see how they can improve their own work.
In general ease the burden and free you up to
do the teaching and talking to individuals in
your classes !
The Visualiser !
One device does many of these chores. It can
relieve teacher burden, help track student
levels, encourage skills for autonomy and
enable pupils to make progress :-
My Visualiser
1. Allows me to share pupils work in their exercise
books quickly and easily with the whole class.
• Allows pupils to discuss why they assigned a
certain Level to a piece of work- Discuss Peer /
self assessment decisions.
• Allows pupils to clearly pinpoint how to improve
a piece of work and obtain a higher level--Clearly Identifying “THE NEXT STEPS.”
VIDEO 2.
My Visualiser
2. Enhances Autonomy of learners
• Pupils are able to recognise and utilise the
level statements as they have a working use
of them.
• Pupils can record there own progression on
charts saving you work and making them
skilled Independent learners.
Video 1
My Visualiser
3. Allows me to take snap shots of pupils work and
instantly file them in Levelled/ class folders
(during the lesson not after it !).
• To make folders of standardised work for
moderation, teacher training and exemplar work
for future classes.
• To collate evidence of a child’s highest current
level.
My Visualiser
4. Takes videos of pupils doing group presentations /
explaining scientific concepts and models.
•
Brilliant also for BTEC classes as evidence for
assignments Levels / Moderation.
•
Allows individuals in groups to be graded on their
performance with replay facility.
Also has a use in teacher self review, performance
management and classroom behaviour modification !
•
My Visualiser
5. To allow students to justify their decisions to
an audience and show off their good work.
• Students are often happier to share their
work in this way to a group.
• Encourages group participation from
reluctant / shy students.
The Data
So far I have accumulated a great deal of data to
support the improvement and achievement of
pupils using visualisers.
I am hoping to analyse this data at the end of
this academic year when my first Visualiser
cohort of 2 Key stages 3+4 take their GCSE
exams.