Assignment 2: Assessment

I felt a lot more confident in my ability to approach the second assignment based on feedback I received from the first assignment, and also because I felt more in practice about how to do it. The question was also a lot more focused, so I found it a little easier to locate relevant chapters and information in some of the books. One of the things I wanted to improve on from feedback from the first assignment was to include practical examples of how the theory I was reading about would relate to practice. I achieved this through writing about how I would use assessment methods on a level 3 course in Humanities/Social Sciences. I found that this helped to contextualise my points, as well as help narrow my focus in the selection of assessment methods to discuss.

Points to improve on would be to consider when as a teacher I might be able to access enrollment information that might aid in initial assessment if I wasn’t involved in this process. This would involve me thinking a bit more deeply about how I would work with other professionals to gain access to this information.

If I had more words to use, it would have been interesting to expand to wider political issues involved in the summative versus formative assessment debate.

Overall, I was pleased with my efforts on this assignment, and the feedback I received has improved my confidence in my writing style and how I can narrow focus with a limited word count.

Session 9: Barriers to learning; classroom management 09/11/2015

I was absent for session 9 of the course, but from reviewing the notes on Moodle I will be able to revise the topics covered later on as they appeared to be recaps from previous sessions.

Session 8: Assessment 02/11/2015

This session covered the importance of assessment in the learning cycle, and how four different types of assessment are used to generate and evaluate information about learners so that teaching methods can be adapted to best meet individual needs.

We were introduced to four different types of assessment: initial; diagnostic; formative (assessment for learning); and summative (assessment of learning). Generally, I had only been aware of summative assessment in the form of final exams or coursework from my experience at school. It made me realise that often assessment can go on in the background without the learner being aware of just how much the teacher can use information gathered to plan effective lessons.

The focus of the session was largely on the latter two types of assessment; formative and summative. The first task got us to think of different assessment methods and put them into a Venn diagram. Completing the diagram highlighted that although some methods are obviously formative or summative, it depends on how and when the methods are deployed, but mainly on what type of information the teacher wants to gather, that determines whether the assessment is formative or summative.

We were then introduced to the research of Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, ‘Inside the Black Box’, which sought to improve standards in classroom assessment through formative methods. From reading for my second assignment, it seemed that teachers are a little dubious and resistant to the emphasis placed on the importance of summative assessment. The research highlighted how politics can creep into the learning environment, and is definitely a subject I want to follow up after the course is complete.

The second task saw us working in four groups to make paper aeroplanes based on the instructions given to us. It later emerged that each group was given a different set of instructions and standards to meet, which highlighted the importance of making sure that assessment is clear, consistent and equal for all learners. As each of our instructions was different it was impossible to make comparisons or assess fairly.

The third task got us to think about good practice in feedback in assessment, and what to avoid in terms of language and structure.

The tutor highlighted the importance of keeping assessment records, and what could be recorded. It became clear that assessment records were important to demonstrate a fair and transparent assessment process, as well as being necessary for quality assessment conducted internally, and by external stakeholders.

We ran out of time to cover the topic of communication breakdown, but I will endeavour to follow this up upon completion of the course.

This session, more than most, seemed to touch upon some of the ways in which politics, and pressure and expectations from external stakeholders influence the practice of teaching and learning. The focus is often on results, without much thought to the individuals in the process. It highlighted some of the ‘battles’ that teachers can face in how they teach.

Assignment 1: Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships in education & training; Equality and Diversity

I hadn’t written an essay in about 2 years, so I found it a little challenging to get into the mindset of how to structure it and approach the assignment question. I found it difficult to narrow my focus initially with the roles and responsibilities, as there were so many to choose from and also a certain amount of overlap, that made it difficult to know where to make the distinction between segments. It was challenging to not fall into the trap of writing too many words on the first part of the assignment and not leaving enough space for the latter points, but in retrospect I fell at this hurdle because I didn’t put as much time into reading for and writing the second part of the assignment, which dealt with relationships with other professionals, and equality and diversity.

The tutor’s comments reflected this, as I needed to expand on how relationships with other professionals might impact on my role as a teacher, as well as why it was important to have these relationships. I have realised as I have progressed through this course that sometimes I need to think about how I’d apply theory in practice, as the tutor commented that to improve the assignment I could have expanded on how I might incorporate equality and diversity into a session. I will take these comments on board, and try and spend equal amounts of time and effort on all parts of assignment in future submissions.

 

Session 7: Managing learning, and motivation 26/10/2015

The seventh session considered the role of the teacher in managing learning and motivating students to achieve.

To start off we considered the motivations an individual might have for enrolling on a course. A variety of reasons were identified, and it was interesting to note their diverse nature, especially from the point of view of someone who was participating in a course reluctantly or through no choice of their own. This made me think about some of the teaching sessions I have done recently for level 3 learners on referencing. I noticed some of the groups were more motivated and engaged than others, usually depending on if they had already had an assignment back to discover that their referencing knowledge needed improvement. After a few of these sessions, I found that explaining why something could be considered important, i.e. in terms of saving time on having to repeat an assignment if it was found to be incorrectly referenced or plagiarised, or useful if they were going on into higher education, often piqued interest. Individual motivations can be diverse, but I found that emphasising a subject’s relevance helped to overcome some initial issues of engagement. Being aware of these motivations before commencing on a programme of study can help the teacher to adapt teaching methods accordingly.

The Bunker Roy video (https://www.ted.com/talks/bunker_roy) encouraged us to think about different kinds of knowledge, and how this could be expanded beyond the usual traditional qualification. Most interestingly, we were asked if the College was inclusive, as it didn’t permit anyone with a formal qualification to enter. It was generally concluded that it was impossible to be completely inclusive, but instead the teacher should aim to be as inclusive as possible.

In groups we were asked to think about strategies for motivation, and what would get learners engaged. It was another of those moments where it seemed like there are so many characteristics of a successful teacher that it is nearly impossible to ever be able to achieve all of them, but the discussion helped to highlight what were considered to be the top 5. What followed was a recap, and an introduction of motivation theory in the form of Maslow (1962), Herzberg (1968), McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, Bandura (2004) and Kirkwood (2009). We didn’t cover these theories in a great deal of depth, so I will aim to return to these when I have time after the course has concluded.

In short, the session highlighted the numerous and diverse reasons that motivate people to do what they do. Motivation, and understanding how to motivate people, is one of the most important things that a teacher has to learn. It also made me aware that motivation can start before teaching has even commenced, and can change throughout the course. I was able to relate this session to the recent teaching sessions I have done, and have been able to come up with some strategies which I hope to use in sessions in the next few weeks.

Session 6: Embedding literacy, numeracy and ICT into learning 12/10/2015

The sixth session involved us looking at how we could embed functional skills into sessions. Embedding these types of skills into vocational training can sometimes be challenging, but contextualising something and making it relevant to learners has been shown to be an effective way of demonstrating how it might be used in every day life.

The session started with a timeline of how certain skills were identified as lacking in some employees, and what could be done to address this gap. Along with equality and diversity I have found these elements particularly challenging to incorporate into a lesson plan, often falling into the trap of shoehorning something in, simply so that a ‘box was ticked’. The history helped me to understand the importance of these elements in a lesson plan, which has made me more determined to become better at incorporating these elements.

The first task got us to look at the four main functional skills (Maths, English, ICT and Employability) and break them down into seven subskills. I found this a really useful exercise because broken down into smaller elements, I realised that it didn’t seem to be so huge, and that it could actually just be a part of a task that might only be 5 minutes of a lesson. I hadn’t thought of it like this before, so I found this task very useful in getting me to think about the 4 functional skills in a smaller and therefore more manageable way.

The second task, Emergency Functional Skills, involved us utilising a variety of items bought in by the tutor to use in a subject area given to us at random. In our pair, we were given ESOL. We had to choose three items, and use one item in the areas of literacy, numeracy and employability. I found this task extremely useful: it got me to think on my feet and be creative; and to think about how I could tailor the functional skills to a specific subject area. When I apply something taught to me in a practical and ‘real-life’ scenario, I often find that things stick and I left the session feeling more able to think of ways of how I might incorporate, and recognise these elements in my own lesson plan for the microteach.

In all, I found this session the most useful, and enjoyable so far on the course. I felt like the penny had dropped on something that up until this point I had found quite challenging.

 

Session 5: Lesson planning and Inclusion 05/10/2015

The fifth session encouraged us to think about inclusion and lesson planning, and how we might differentiate activities based on the needs of our learners.

The first discussion activity was the ‘value’ of labels for learners in terms of meeting their needs, which turned out to be quite a divisive issue. It reminded me how some issues in education go beyond that immediate sphere to incorporate opinions from many different fields. I can now appreciate these divisive topics as very good starter activities in terms of getting people interested from the beginning of the session. As I progress through the course, I am finding it easier to identify the techniques we are taught about in the lesson plans of the tutor.

We were given the profiles of three learners to consider, and how we might support them. It was useful to be given cases to consider, as you could see these learners needs reflected in individuals you might actually encounter. Taking into consideration learners needs can help give structure to a session, in terms of the pace and how you break up activities. It reminded me of the importance of getting a learner profile established before a course commences, as well as adapting the style as you get to know the needs of your learners as sessions progress.

We revisited the concept of Differentiation, which was useful as I had found it harder to pin down and grasp than some other topics. I wasn’t thinking broadly enough, but as we discuss more examples and applications as a group, I am starting to realise that it is quite tricky to pin down because of lot of it seems like common sense. However, when unpacked, the common sense can be expanded upon with more creative ideas to promote differentiation. I am starting to understand how little changes to how you approach a topic can make a huge difference to learners in terms of their learning.

We skipped the Planet Alpha activity, which the tutor informed us was an activity that might help us to realise what it felt like to be excluded. This didn’t sound like a particularly pleasant activity, but definitely will be something I revisit after the course has concluded.

Towards the end of the session, we were encouraged to discuss in small groups how we might embed and promote inclusivity and equality & diversity into our sessions with reference to a specific subject area. I had struggled to explain the difference between inclusivity and equality, and although I became a little clearer, I might still struggle. Again, as we progress, I hope my understanding will develop.

I found this session really useful, and came away with some good ideas about how to embed differentiation, inclusivity and equality & diversity into my potential future sessions.

The tutor showed us the website of Mike Gershon who has put together some free teaching resources. When I have more time, I intend to look more closely in particular at the ‘Differentiation Deviser’.

Session 4: Masterclass; planning and delivering an outstanding session 28/09/2015

The fourth session took the format of a Masterclass in how to deliver an outstanding session in 10 steps. It was useful to have these defined succinctly, as well as highlighting some more practical techniques to use in the classroom.

I found the step on ‘Questioning’ the most interesting as I hadn’t realised how powerful a tool questions could be in the classroom in terms of assessing learning and checking understanding. I also hadn’t considered how questions could be utilised to encourage engagement from quieter learners and how questions could be structured and built upon.

Additionally, the step on ‘Differentiation’ examined how targets could be reached by every individual if they are worded appropriately and take into consideration mixed abilities. Although I understand the need for differentiated targets and activities, I had always thought it might take a lot of time to think about them, but when I considered the benefits to the learners and thought about how I could apply it to my microteach session, I realised that it wouldn’t actually take that much longer.

I’m still struggling a bit with understanding how to develop Maths as part of a session without shoehorning it in. I am a little unclear as to whether it would need to be present as part of every session, or just as and when it came up and was appropriate. Along with being mindful of incorporating principles of equality and diversity into sessions, I think this is something that needs a little more thought as some of it seems really obvious and you would do it almost subconsciously. The tutor encouraged us to think broadly about this as our focus (especially in the session where we were devising lesson plans) had been a little narrow. I guess this is something that will become easier and more obvious with practice.

The second part of the session gave us the opportunity to discuss our ideas for the microteach element of the course. I am quite comfortable with my idea of finding a more engaging way to teach Research and Evaluation of Research to level 3 learners, but I am now considering whether to have a go at redesigning the Referencing session. Either way, they are similar enough, although I do think it would be a good idea to talk to the tutor next week to clarify some of my thoughts.

Session 3: Review the roles and responsibilties of the teacher; Inclusive teaching & learning 21/09/2015

The third session really seemed to get to grips with some theory, which felt like a more familiar ‘learning’ situation for me. I respond well to building around a theory and relating it to a real-life experience or hypothetical situation.

Kolb’s theory of Experiential learning was useful in highlighting that planning sessions should not be static and that as a teacher you have a responsibility to revisit, question and challenge your lesson plans and teaching style so that it adapts and improves to the needs of your learners. The theory can be applied from the perspective of learner and teacher, and utilised as a tool of objectivity and reflection. I think it will be useful to revisit this cycle and apply it to my microteach session towards the end of the course because I found it a little challenging to distinguish between Reflective Observation and Active Experimentation. More practical application will help this cycle become something I can recall and apply with less difficulty.

The information cafe/carousel activity encouraged us to think about lesson plans. In honesty, I found this frustrating towards the end as it was difficult to come up with additional answers as we moved from the penultimate board to the last one, however I found it more useful to note the format of the activity and think about how I might use it in my future teaching sessions. I am building a list of activities and how to set them up separate from the ‘content’ part of the course. As the course progresses I am starting to realise the things I am learning that we are not explicitly taught.

The lesson planning activity encouraged me to think about a session from beginning to end, to pick out key questions and outcomes and how these might be taught. I found this a lot more straightforward than trying to think about how to incorporate English, Maths, and Social & Personal Development, and differentiation. When the tutor explained how these could be applied to our topic, they were a lot broader than the the way I was considering it. I think this is something that will become more obvious to me as I plan my own sessions. The concept of differentiation is important for inclusive sessions, and I am interested to research this idea more and see how it comes up in the future on the course because I found it quite elusive to explain, and therefore apply.

Bloom’s Taxonomy was illuminating for me in how it highlighted learners might move up from one stage to another. Using the verbs to construct learning objectives was particularly interesting, and how these could be used around a single topic to challenge all abilities within a classroom, but still make sure that everyone was learning the same material, albeit at different paces and through differing approaches. I can see this being one of the most useful theories for me learnt from this course.

Revisiting Biggs’ Constructive Alignment theory in this reflective post, I am struggling to remember how I applied it, even though the idea of aligning teaching with real-life experience makes sense to me. I will revisit this at a later date.

I enjoyed this session because it felt like we were given a few ideas about how to construct our future teaching sessions. I am starting to think about how I might construct my microteach.

Session 2: Understanding roles and responsibilities of a tutor; Legislation relevant to Lifelong Learning 14/09/2015

The second session allowed us to start considering our roles and responsibilities as teachers, in relation to legislation. The first exercise involved us thinking about roles, responsibilities and the similarities between the two. I found it difficult to separate the two, but found it easier if I thought of roles as nouns (what a teacher is), and responsibilities as verbs (what a teacher should do). Not surprisingly, when we fed back to the group there was a little disagreement and crossover. I would consider the top 3 or 4 roles and responsibilities to be; facilitator, to motivate, inclusive, and professionalism. It was interesting to think about how these roles and responsibilities were influenced by my own experiences and perceptions of what teachers should be. During my A-levels, I had a particularly ineffective teacher who had been at the school for nearly two decades and regurgitated the same notes every year, by just getting students to copy from the board. He failed to meet my top 3 roles and responsibilities, which goes to show how your own experiences can shape how you think about things in the present.

In groups, we then given a piece of legislation to consider and how this might effect your roles and responsibilities as a teacher. Often I think about this legislation in isolation, and not how it might affect me at work, so I found this a valuable exercise.

We were then asked to look at characteristics of learners, which produced a diverse list. Secondary to this, we covered styles of learning. On reflection, I think it will be useful to consider how learners with certain characteristics might have preferred learning styles.

At the start of the session, we given a list of lesson objectives, but due to time constraints we were unable to cover ‘points of referral’ and the relevance of learning styles in relation to the learning cycle. It was understood that these would be covered in the following session. My concern with this is that it won’t be fresh in my mind, and that the learning styles won’t be covered in as much detail. Towards the end of the course, I think I will make a list of points I do not feel as confident in my knowledge about, and look into these through additional reading.

Outside of the course, I am finding it a little challenging to stay on top of the work, but this could be because I am a little unsure of how much we need to to be doing outside of class. I have a text book which corresponds with the units covered, but even this I am finding difficult to make time for. I do not like the idea of being someone who only does reading for assignments, but this might be the strategy I have to adopt. I also have to remember that I am going on expectations of Masters degree students, since this is my last experience of education, however the expectations for this course will be different. Having access to the notes, and noting down areas I don’t feel as confident in in my reflective blog posts should help me fill in the gaps after the course is complete.

Overall, I find sessions stimulating as we are encouraged to think about our own experiences. I find the learning style completely different from anything I’ve been involved in before as sessions are facilitated by the tutor and there is lot of thinking for yourself and with your coursemates.

The first assignment is being set next week, so I will start to think about some of the areas I might cover and identify relevant literature.