BOOK INSPECTION
AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO
LOOK AT STUDENT WORK
CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
LANGUAGE LEARNING SUPPORT SECTION
20 FEBRURAY 2012
1
Today’s menu
9:30 – 10:30
10:30 – 12:45
PART ONE
1. Warm-up activity
2. Book inspection practices in HK schools
3. The purposes and potential benefits of book inspections
PART TWO
1. Looking at student work together – the I in the Book
Inspection PIE
BREAK 11:30 – 11:40
LUNCH – 12:45 – 14:00
PART THREE
14:00 – 16:30
1.
16:30 – 16:45
2.
The rest of the Book Inspection PIE
BREAK 15:00 – 15:15
Wrapping-up and key messages
2
By the end of the workshop, the participants should be
able to:
• identify and describe the different purposes of
Looking At Student Work as part of the Book
Inspection task;
• explain how Looking At Student Work can add a
professional dimension to the Book Inspection task;
• plan effectively for Looking At Student Work as part
of the Book Inspection task;
• make use findings to inform better learning and
teaching
3
… you decide that you will no longer carry
out book inspections.
4
Which of these pictures best describe
the reaction you’re likely to face at
school?
That is a ridiculous
notion! Just follow the
school’s procedures
and stop being silly!
Yeepee!!!
Hurrah!
The best panel head in
the whole world!
5
So if the principal would “insist” on keeping
it and your colleagues would celebrate…
Am I correct in assuming that both
have very different views about the
purpose of book inspections?
What are those views?
And more importantly, where do you
stand and what is your role as
curriculum leader?
6
7
8
9
Based on a very small scale survey carried out
amongst 9 of our partner schools we have been
able to paint the following picture…
10
Frequency
1/3 – (3) times, 1/3 – (twice), 1/3 –
(once)
When
Over half do it in January and/ or
between May-June
Who
In over half the schools, the Principal
and the Panel Head
Sampling
• by Ss learning abilities/ performance
(5)
• randomly (2)
• different parties check different
kinds of work to avoid duplication (1)
• select average work (1)
• select 1 piece that demonstrates the
development of the main focus of the
year (1)
• by class (1)
11
Major strengths
Major weakenesses
Teachers
• Careful marking and
accuracy
• No follow-up
Students
•
Assignments completed
on time
•
Careless mistakes,
handwriting and attitude
12
Difficulties faced when
conducting book inspections
• time & resources
• giving constructive
feedback
•
Feelings associated with this
task
worthwhile and necessary
takes a lot of effort
lacks focus
giving realistic assessment
• linking student and
teacher performance
feels like an appraisal
Despite the difficulties, the Book Inspection
exercise allows the Curriculum Leader to monitor
the quality and outcomes of the Learning and
Teaching process
13
Work Collected
grammar practice books
notebooks
worksheets used in class
reading logs/ journals
GE exercises
formative assessments
dictation
14
• The sample shows that our
partner schools collect a wide
range of student work;
• However, not all types of
student work are worth
collecting for the purpose of
developing a deep understanding
of how students learn
15
What about you?
What do you collect in your school?
Why? What are you looking for?
Are your reasons & objectives known to
everyone?
16
17
Which description is the closest to what happens in
your school?
The panel head and/ or the
principal ask all teachers to
collect the relevant books for
inspection. They inspect the
“books” on their own and
then complete the book
inspection form and submit it
to the general office to be
filed.
The panel head and/ or the
principal ask all teachers to
collect the relevant books for
inspection. Everyone knows
why certain “books” have
been chosen. After the
inspection, the panel head
and/or the principal sit with
the teachers and discuss the
major findings. These findings
are used to set priorities for
the next subject plan.
18
Data
Teacher
Appraisal
Objectives
Followup
Teacher
Learning
19
…gain deeper
understanding
of student
learning
…plan and
deliver needsbased
professional
development
…develop a
common
language of
expectations
and standards
…improve
teaching
effectiveness
We carry out
book
inspections in
order to …
…inform future
planning and
set targets
…comply with
school
requirements
20
To what extent does/ should the book inspection
reflect a curriculum leader’s:
•planning skills
•subject knowledge
•ability to develop a common understanding of goals
related to student and teacher learning
21
1
Set the development focuses of your department in your subject
plan – make sure your teachers are able to deliver
2
Come Book Inspection time, conduct this task as per the usual
requirements of your school. For those “books” that are not related to
your focus, check briefly for accountability purposes
3
For the books/ tasks that show how the focus is being/ has been
implemented, ask panel members to select samples from three ability
bands and complete reflection for their class (6-9 pieces of work per class)
4
5
Scrutinise to find evidence of success/ learning/ common issues
to address
Communicate findings to panel in a way that enhances and
deepens colleagues’ understanding of teaching and learningrelated issues
22
23
24
Evaluation
Planning
Implementation
25
•Our daily observation :
Some schools already have protocols and
standard procedures for doing book
inspections, e.g. specifying inspection focuses
for different kinds of student work, such as
reading, writing, portfolios, etc.
26
Common inspection focuses
in schools that we observed
Teachers
•
•
•
•
Attitude
Accuracy
Conformity
Feedback
Students
•
•
•
•
Attitude
Correction
Content
Ideas & sentence
structure
27
Focus of the morning session
• To add value to the professional side of the book
inspection exercise in the implementation stage
• To share ideas on how to look at student work with
more critical eyes
• To help curriculum leaders reflect
on their school-based contexts
and current practices
28
Using the Book Inspection as an
opportunity to look at student work
with critical eyes
• What kind of messages should the BI task generate?
What kind of structure can be adopted?
• How to look at student work in greater depth (I)?
• How to look at student work with greater depth (II)?
• Is there any golden rule of how book inspection
should be conducted? Do all schools have the same
practice?
• How can I bring my learning back to school?
29
What kind of
messages should
the BI generate?
What kind of
structure can be
adopted?
Different levels:
• student
• teacher
• form
• key stage
• panel
30
Pointers for book inspection?
• As curriculum leaders, discuss in groups what you
may want to find out at
 student level
 teacher level
 form level
 key stage level
 panel level
from the book inspection exercise.
31
32
How to look at
student work
in greater
depth (I)?
33
What to begin with?
Where to begin?
34
Looking at student work with
greater depth
Comment if
positive
student
learning
evidence can
be seen in
the exhibit
35
36
Looking at student work with
greater depth
• Knowing the background
and objectives is
important when looking
at student work during
book inspections
• Information gaps need to
be filled.
37
Scrutiny cover sheet
38
39
Sample scrutiny cover sheet
•
•
•
•
•
Work type chosen
Prepared by (optional)
Level & class
Class background
Previous learning and/or
scaffolding
• Learning objectives:
–
–
–
–
Language skills
Grammar
Vocabulary
Text-types
• Measures to cater for
learner diversity
• Student attainment
• Difficulties encountered
• Reflection
40
How to look at
student work
in greater
depth (II)?
41
You will find in your brown envelope…
Simplified scrutiny cover sheet
3 sets of student work from
different ability group :
• stronger
• average
A set of• teaching
weaker materials
Task sheet
42
43
Is there any golden
rule of how book
inspection should
be conducted?
Do all schools
have the same
practice?
44
Case study (1)
School A
• 40% of English teachers have 1 or 2 years’
experience teaching in the school
• There are complaints about teachers’ inaccurate
marking
• Collaborative culture is not evident. Teachers
usually do their teaching independently without
much sharing among colleagues.
• ESR report suggested more attention on
catering for learner diversity for the English
subject. Support is sought from LLSS to work at
S2 on learner diversity.
• The school would like teachers to use
transparent assessment criteria and
constructive feedback to help students make
improvements in their learning. It has been
made a focus in both the school development
plan and the subject plan.
45
Given
in strips
(beige)
Your
group’s
decision
in this
column
Given
in strips
(green)
Given
in strips
(yellow)
46
47
48
Case study (2)
• About three-quarters of English
teachers have been teaching for 5+
years in the school
• Improving students’ writing is a major
priority in the school’s subject plan for
the year.
• Measures to improve writing:
• Holistic planning of different writing genres
across levels
• Strengthening idea generation and
vocabulary building in pre-tasks set
• Strengthening the scaffolding of tasks
designed
• (Teachers) Providing constructive feedback
to students’ writing
• Setting clear assessment criteria for writing
School B
49
Case study (2) [ cont’d ]
• S4 parents complain that writing is too
hard for their children and there is a
considerable gap between S3 and S4
writing.
• Senior level teachers reflected that their
curriculum is too packed and they were
frustrated that they had to cover a lot of
knowledge and skills about the electives
from scratch. They felt that more could
be done at the junior levels to prepare
the students early.
50
Reference ? Standard ?
• Discuss the book inspection focuses needed for school B.
• Decide the extent of different purposes that the book
inspection exercise should fulfill, e.g.
a) accountability and / or
b) professional development
• Decide with your group members :
a) the kind of work to be collected and
b) sampling size / how you would
approach the book inspection exercise
if you were the panel head
51
52
Measures
Related to
the measures
53
…gain deeper
understanding

of student
learning
…plan and
deliver needsbased
professional
development
…develop a
common
language of
expectations
and standards
We carry out
book
inspections in
order to …
…improve
teaching
effectiveness

…inform future
planning and
set targets
…comply with
(school)
requirements

54
55
…gain deeper
understanding

of student
learning
…plan and
deliver needsbased
professional
development
…develop a
common
language of
expectations
and standards
We carry out
book
inspections in
order to …
…improve
teaching
effectiveness

…inform future
planning and
set targets
…comply with
(school)
requirements


56
57
…gain deeper
understanding

of student
learning
…plan and
deliver needsbased
professional
development

…develop a
common
language of
expectations
and standards
We carry out
book
inspections in
order to …
…improve
teaching
effectiveness

…inform future
planning and
set targets
…comply with
(school)
requirements


58
What do the two school cases tell us?
Reference ? Standard ?
• Implementation details of book inspection
exercise greatly depend on the school context
and the needs identified.
Accountability
Professional
development
59
Reflecting on your school’s
current practice
• What are the needs in your school? What inspection focus(es)
should be set for the book inspection exercise?
• What evidence would you like to see from the work collected?
• What kind of purpose does your identified inspection focus
serve?
a) accountability
b) driving better learning outcome
• What are the items that you would
like to collect and what approach would
you adopt?
60
Have you
gained more insights on the following?
How to build in an
evaluation mechanism
to monitor the
process & outcomes
How to make use of
different data to promote
teacher development
The professional
knowledge needed to
bring about effective
learning and teaching
through the
book inspection exercise
How to put in place
appropriate mechanisms
to bring about improvement
in student learning
and teacher development
61
Have you
gained
insights on
Reflection questions
How to
build in an
evaluation
mechanism
to monitor
the process
& outcomes
•Have I identified what evidence/data to
collect? Is that evidence/data relevant to
the targets/expected outcomes set?
•Have I stated how to collect & analyse
the evidence/data needed?
•Have I stated who and when to collect
the evidence/data?
Task 4
62
Have you
gained
insights on
The
professional
knowledge
needed to
bring about
effective
learning &
teaching
through the
book
inspection
exercise
Reflection questions
•Do I possess strong pedagogical knowledge :
- How well can I establish links between
curriculum, assessment and pedagogy?
- How effective am I at setting teaching &
learning objectives and planning the
corresponding teaching strategies?
- How alert am I to the students’ needs,
interests, standard and difficulties?
- How well am I aware of student diversities
Task 3
and can I cater for that?
63
Have you
Reflection questions
gained
insights on
How to
•Did I make use of findings from book
make use of
inspection to (help my teachers) inform
different
teaching & learning?
data to
promote
•Did I know what data to collect and how
teacher
to make use of it to set the
development
development goals for my panel
members?
Task 1, 4
64
Have you
Reflection questions
gained
insights on
Put in place •Did I do follow up work after looking at
appropriate
student work?
mechanisms
•Based on the data collected from book
to bring
about
inspection exercise, did I give
improvement constructive suggestions / plans on how
in student
to bring about improvement in student
learning and
learning and teacher development?
teacher
development •Have I considered teacher development
needs into his / herTask
subject
3, 4
65
development plan?
66
Where do the
standards come
from?
What follow-up work
should I do with my
fellow panel members
after looking at
student work?
Where should the
standards be specified
and how they should
be made known to
all English teachers?
How should I
communicate the
findings with my fellow
panel members?
67
WILL START
68
69
Evaluation
Planning
Implementation
70
71
Planning Domain
Curriculum Leaders should be able to…
1. Propose concrete implementation measures with
clear timelines
2. Build in an evaluation mechanism to monitor the
process & outcomes
72
When we look at the books submitted by the
teachers, we evaluate what we can see – we
know what is good, what is OK and what is not
so good. Right?
73
Three broad categories of
Questions to help you write your
Possible
Assessment criteria
Descriptors
Sources
• What should teaching and learning in
my school look like?
Standards
Development focus
Progression
Curriculum & Assessment Guide
Department/ Panel Handbook
Galton’s Six Principles of Effective
Teaching & Learning
• What are my development priorities?
• What do I need to focus on to
improve overall quality of teaching
and learning?
• Which areas/ skills must I pay
attention to in the short, medium and
long term?
• What competencies, knowledge and
skills should my students be
developing?
• Are we on the right track?
• What is the right track?
• Do we need to make a detour?
School development plan
Subject plan
Internal and external assessment
data
BCs – Basic Competencies (TSA)
LPF – Learning Progression
Framework
74
Three broad categories of
Questions to help you write your
Possible
Assessment criteria
Descriptors
Sources
Standards
• What should teaching and Curriculum & Assessment Guide
learning in my school look Department/ Panel Handbook
like?
Galton’s Six Principles of Effective Teaching &
Learning
75
• which language sub-skills (listening, speaking,
reading and writing) and language
development strategies we should help
students learn through our teaching;
• which generic skills our teaching and learning
should help students develop (collaboration,
communication, creativity, critical thinking,
information technology, numeracy, problemsolving, self-management and study skills)
76
• the five features of a good learning task:
purpose
context
involvement in a way of thinking
and doing
opportunities to use prior
knowledge and skills
leads to a product
• the place of exercises (e.g. grammar and gapfill exercises in the workbook) and generic
skills in the context of good learning tasks
77
generic skills
language skills
and language
development
strategies
five features of
good learning
tasks
Curriculum
&
Assessment
Guide
exercises and
generic skills in
the context of
task-based
learning
78
Three broad categories of
Questions to help you write your
Possible
Assessment criteria
Descriptors
Sources
Standards
 What should teaching and Curriculum & Assessment Guide
learning in my school look Department/ Panel Handbook
like?
Galton’s Six Principles of Effective Teaching &
Learning
79
Imagine you have just been given a teaching
post at ABC School. The panel head has given
you the Department/ Panel Handbook so you
can familiarise yourself with what is expected of
you as a teacher.
Based on the information you have been given
(extracts 1 and 2), what do you learn about:
1. the context of this school, how it affects the students and
the main goal of English lessons ?
2. the kind of teaching and learning activities you would see
if you looked at the “books” of a colleague at this school?
80
Context
Impact
Students
• Students have little receptive
or productive exposure to
English outside the classroom;
• Housing estate in a
predominantly Chinesespeaking area;
• Students lack confidence to
interact in English without
prompting or support, or to
take risks;
Goal of English language L& T
activities
• address primarily the issue of
confidence and motivationbuilding
81
Expected Teaching & Learning Activities
• meaningful communicative tasks […] to communicate confidently in English
in everyday situations;
• plenty of opportunities to interact with each other and the teachers in
English;
• interactive activities to enable the students to personalise what they learn
in class and use English to express their feelings and thoughts;
• make use of both listening and reading texts to create opportunities for
speaking;
• motivational feedback regarding […] performance
82
Three broad categories of
Questions to help you write your
Possible
Assessment criteria
Descriptors
Sources
Standards
• What should teaching and Curriculum & Assessment Guide
learning in my school look Department/ Panel Handbook
like?
Galton’s Six Principles of
Effective Teaching & Learning
83
More assessment for learning
learning
Clear statement of learning
objectives – what is the purpose?
goals
alternative
forms of
assessment
Less corrective feedback –
more informative feedback
questioning
Six principles of
effective teaching &
learning
Extended and carefully planned
questioning
pupil
feedback
participation
cooperation
More pair and group work
More active pupil interaction
84
learning
goals
alternative
forms of
assessment
Six
principles of
effective
teaching &
learning
questioning
feedback
85
Principle 1- State learning objectives clearly
…and describe them…
• … in student-friendly language
• … in terms of task and purpose
• …using action words
…and make sure that they…
• …capitalise on students’ ability and prior knowledge
86
How to describe the learning objectives in
terms of action words
• Use verbs that describe observable actions or actions that
generate observable products/ behaviours:
e.g. •to identify
•to predict
•to speak
•to locate
•to list
•to explain
•to select
•to write
• Avoid using verbs that are difficult to assess:
e.g.
•to know
•to enjoy
•to understand
•to comprehend
•to think
•to familiarize
•to value
•to love
87
An example:
You have asked your students to read a
story and complete the comprehension
questions. Which objective(s) is/ are
more precise?
A: To comprehend a story
B: To skim and scan a story to locate the names
of the characters and the setting of the plot.
88
Principle 2 – Use extended, carefully
planned questioning
Ask a mix of…
• …lower order questions - recall information and
demonstrate understanding
• …higher order questions -critical thinking and
creativity
• …follow-up questions
- think more deeply
Rephrase & break questions into smaller parts…
• …to make them clearer and easier to follow
89
Principle 5 – Use corrective feedback less often
and give informing feedback more frequently
• Give feedback that is specific and constructive.
• Praise effort as well as success
• Give reinforcement to students through verbaland non-verbal communication
• Give students opportunity to think critically
• Give students opportunity to self-correct
90
Principle 6 – Use assessment to promote learning
• Explain success criteria of an activity explicitly to
students before it begins
• Include and value different modes of assessment,
e.g. peer, self, teacher, etc.
• Collect evidence from different sources, e.g.
student work, students’ responses, class work
91
Three broad categories of
Questions to help you write your
Possible
Assessment criteria
Descriptors
Sources
• What are my development
priorities?
Development focus
• What do I need to focus on to
improve overall quality of
teaching and learning? (the type
of questions asked/ the tasks set/
scaffolding for task completion?)
• Which areas/ skills must I pay
attention to in the short, medium
and long term? (development of
particular listening/ speaking/
reading/ writing skills?)
School
development plan
Subject plan
Schemes of work
T& Learning
Materials
Internal and
external assessment
data
92
Three broad categories of
Questions to help you write your
Possible
Assessment criteria
Descriptors
Sources
• What competencies, knowledge
and skills should my students be
developing?
Progression
• Are we on the right track?
• What is the right track?
BCs – Basic
Competencies (TSA)
LPF – Learning
Progression
Framework
• Do we need to make a detour?
Where to? Why?
93
Basic Competencies
The minimum standard
students are expected to
achieve by the end of P3, P6
and S3.
the bare minimum expected at the
end of a Key Stage
Learning Progression
Framework
A framework of 8 levels for
each of the 4 language skills.
It provides a reference for
understanding students’
starting points and plan the
next steps
a development continuum to identify
current level of performance and
stretch the potential of all students 94
Source: Adapted from CDI Presentation on Using the Learning Progression Framework (LPF) to Enhance the Learning, Teaching and Assessment
of English Language 4 & 5 December 2009
Review students’ performance to
identify a) their strengths and
weaknesses, and b) current level
by making reference to the
Learning Progression Framework.
Provide adequate teacher
support (e.g. through CLP)
to facilitate progression in
the development of the
four language skills
Select appropriate teaching
strategies and design
teaching/learning &
assessment activities and
scaffolding to help students
move to the next level
Reflect on whether the
teaching, learning and
assessment tasks have
provided opportunities for
students to demonstrate
their knowledge and skills
Identify gaps in your current
practice (teaching plans,
teaching & learning materials,
quality of feedback given by
teacher)
95
Evaluation
Planning
Implementation
96
Pedagogical Domain
Curriculum Leaders should be able to…
1. Demonstrate their professional knowledge in the
subject taught to bring about effective learning and
teaching
2. Make use of different data to promote teacher
development
3. Put in place appropriate mechanisms to bring about
improvement in student learning and teacher
development
97
Interpersonal Domain
Curriculum Leaders should be able to…
1. Communicate effectively with other parties
2. Build up productive relationships within & beyond
the immediate school communities
3. Use different strategies to mobilize and motivate
staff
98
Personal Domain
Curriculum Leaders should be able to…
1. Use personal strengths to promote self and peer
improvement
2. Uphold own professional values and ethics and
respect those of others
3. Make decisions based on evidence and take
responsibility for decisions and outcomes
99
Protocol
A protocol is a structured format with:
o a set schedule;
o specific guidelines for communication
among participants
Some are used to find out what students know
and can do, others are used to solve
instructional problems
In Turning Points – Transforming Middle Schools
100
Purposes
1. To find out what students know and can do;
2. To analyse student learning with reference to
standards (either at school level, or in other
documents such as the BCAs or the LPF);
3. To look at whether teacher assignments are
designed in ways that produce the desired
results;
4. To look into strategies for improving T&L
In Turning Points – Transforming Middle Schools
101
102
Roles
Facilitator
Presenter - teacher who
brings a) student work, b)
the assignment, c) the
rubric that was used to
assess the work, and d)
the standards it addresses
Facilitator – person who
monitors the time, keeps
the discussion going and
everyone on task and
asking probing questions
Teacher
Teacher
Presenter
Teacher
Teacher
103
Time
Action
5 mins
Presenter describes the assignment and the learning objectives that apply, and
frames a question for the group discussion
5 mins
Teachers may ask clarifying questions that require short, factual answers.
10 mins
Teachers score the work using the presenter’s rubric/ criteria.
20 mins
Teachers discuss differences in scoring and questions the work raises
Presenter restates the question; team discusses the work with reference to the
standards
10 mins
Presenter shares his/ her perspective and what he/ she heard from the group
10 mins
Group develops action plan stating what needs to be done to help students
complete similar tasks
104
105
Establishing the background
Study the following documents (in this order)
1.Extract from the development plan of ABC Secondary
School English Department – this sets the development
focus of the department, how it will be addressed and
evaluated;
2.A copy of the materials used to implement the
development focus & the assignment the students
were asked to do;
3.Two samples of student work & the scrutiny cover
sheet
106
The post-book inspection meeting
Getting started
1. Watch how the facilitator uses the Standards
Protocol to initiate the meeting and how the
presenter (in this case the Panel Head) briefly
explains what the discussion is meant to achieve
and the rationale for selecting the samples used.
107
The post-book inspection meeting
Over to you
1.In groups, complete step 4 of the protocol. An
officer will join your discussion to act as
facilitator; (15 minutes)
2.Each group will share their answers to the
discussion questions given; (5 minutes)
3.The presenter will present a response and
share his perspective (10 minutes)
4.Action planning (10 minutes)
108
What do these pieces tell us about student learning in relation to
our objectives?
Does the assignment help the students meet the learning
objectives?
What are the strengths of this assignment? How can it be further
strengthened and aligned with our objectives?
What kind of strategies can we use, in addition to the way the
module materials/ assignment was designed, to help all students
perform better?
109
Some suggestions…
What do these pieces tell us about student learning in relation to our objectives?
Sample A
•The introductory paragraph is very effective – it
states the question clearly, provides a context,
makes a stand while acknowledging the
alternative stand;
•There is plenty of evidence through the piece
that the student is effective in both presenting a
main idea and elaborating it with both examples
and clear, logical arguments;
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• There is also evidence that the student can
identify causes of problems and potential
effects and solutions;
• Throughout the student is also careful to
acknowledge alternative views and rebut
these with well-argued, grounded examples;
• Effective summary of arguments put forward
at the end
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Sample B
•This piece is clearly weaker – the initial
paragraph states the question and defines the
key word in a more rushed, less thoughtful way
and does not give a context or acknowledge the
existence of different points of view;
•The student clearly outlines which arguments
that will be put forward, but the second one is
too vague and difficult to understand probably
due to the choice of expression [living problem]
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• Paragraphing is also an issue;
• The students makes an attempt at using ideas
and knowledge from the activity booklet, but
does not develop the arguments in a
convincing way;
• The student makes use of vague/ ungrounded
figures (e.g. high unemployment rate) – it would
be stronger if the use of figures was qualified
(e.g. unemployment figures is high among certain
professional groups, so accepting certain types of
immigrants…)
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Does the assignment help the students meet the learning objectives?
What are the strengths of this assignment? How can it be further
strengthened and aligned with our objectives?
• Yes, the students are asked to work towards
all the objectives identified in our plan
through a variety of activities; (Give examples
from Activity Booklet)
• One issue that could be added/ strengthened
is the development of main ideas and how to
make qualified use of figures to strengthen
logicality of arguments; (Refer to examples in
sample B)
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What kind of strategies can we use, in addition to the way the module
materials/ assignment was designed, to help all students perform better?
• The quality of the feedback given to both
students is an issue – sample A gets very
general positive
feedback
and sample B gets
This
is a great
no feedback;
opportunity for Panel
Head to either extend or
• Both students
need to colleagues’
get feedback that is
consolidate
clearly related
to the success/
assessment
professional
knowledge
criteria set for this task – this will help them
understand what they did well and what they
need to do to improve
115
In addition to that, the author of sample B could
have been given probing questions to help him/
her refine and extend their thinking – the piece
should have been returned and the student
should have been asked to rewrite accordingly
e.g.
• Is unemployment high among all professional
groups? Are there any groups that are suffering
more now? Who are those groups? (argument 1)
• Which groups of immigrants receive benefits? Do
all immigrants receive benefits? Why is that
wrong? (argument 2)
116
•
Clear message to the whole panel on the importance
of giving constructive feedback and one practical
suggestion on how to do it;
•
The message is given to all teachers in the context of
an analysis of assignment & student work – not just
delivered in a panel meeting – to promote professional
development;
•
The PH indicated initially that the pieces selected
were a good reflection of the strengths and
weaknesses of the samples collected from all classes,
so it applies to all teachers
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Links with previous workshop on
effective meetings
This meeting was effective because:
- The objective for the discussion was clearly set (premeeting);
- Evidence was used to inform the discussion (during
the meeting)
- Constructive feedback was given to colleagues in a
depersonalised and unemotional way (during the
meeting)
- Follow-up actions were identified and learning points
were collated
118
To what extent does/ should the book inspection
reflect a curriculum leader’s:
•planning skills
•subject knowledge
•ability to develop a common understanding of goals
related to student and teacher learning
119
• The Book Inspection exercise serves a variety of purposes
and is not a box-ticking or merely an administrative task;
• Book Inspections are an opportunity to Look at and Learn
from Student Work – this can help inform teacher and
curriculum development;
• Looking at student work with critical eyes as part of the
book inspection task is what makes the book inspection a
professional rather than administrative task;
• Planning and Implementing a fruitful and focused book
inspection requires a common understanding amongst
panel members of what constitutes good student work;
120
• We develop this common understanding by:
1. setting clear standards – what should good T&L
activities look like in my school?
2. selecting development focuses – what am I looking
for when I look at student work?
3. building progression into our school-based
curriculum – where are we and where do we go
next?
• In order to learn as a team from looking at student
work as part of our book inspection, we can use a
protocol – this focuses and structures our discussion
121
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