Le

It has been shown that when we are allowed to think

for ourselves we often come up with just the right

answer. Even if we don’t, being allowed to think for

ourselves is a powerful way to get the brain cells working. So try it with your

students, to get them to imagine they are the person who is assessing them, be this

an examiner/teacher/assessor etc or just get them to ask questions

One way of doing it, is to ask your learners to get in pairs and spend 5 minutes asking

each other some or all of the following questions, which can be adapted for any type

of assessment…

ο If you were the examiner and had to ask the learner about one thing they’d learnt

since September, what might it be?

ο If I should remember one top nugget of information about the exam, what would it

be?

ο What’s your top tip?

ο What’s the one piece of revision you know, that you think I should know?

ο How are you going to revise?

Give it a go in your next revision class, Nicola.

A good way to help revision this! Ask your

learners to write 5 easy questions, 5 medium and

5 difficult questions, and provide answers (using

notes if required). Tear the questions and answers up so they are in pairs and pass on

to next learner once shuffled.

Fun can be introduced by putting in ‘red herring’ questions. Learners like this because

they get to do some nasty questions – very interactive, so what are you waiting for,

Andy!!!

Welcome once again to the ASP Tips of the Month flyer. This month we’ve been looking at tips for ASSESSING LEARNERS and helping them with their REVISION, etc.

Power of Thinking

ASP Tips of the Month... Issue 4

Easy, Medium, Difficult!

http://teachingandlearning.qia.org.uk/teachingandlearning/#

http://www.buzzin.net/revision_tips/revision/rv-00.htm

Here’s a couple of useful web-link for all sorts of Learning and

Teaching tips. Try them, and let us know how you get on...

Lesson Starts

• Stress the positive. Always give specific feedback on what a learner has done well,

• Remember to give ‘a medal and a mission’. Celebrate what’s been achieved and be clear

about exactly what needs to improve next and how,

• If writing is weak, select one or two particular areas to draw attention to. Don’t cover

work in red ink,

• Be specific. Indicate what action the learner should take in relation to weaknesses that

have been marked,

• Encourage the learner to make corrections. Don’t simply write in correct answers,

spellings and so on,

• Link comments to the learner’s personal targets on their individual learning plan (ILP),

• Seek learners’ views and value their contribution. This will help them to get better at

assessing their own work, which is vital to them becoming independent learners,

• Invite the learner to comment on what you do as well. Feedback isn’t a one-way process,

• Avoid generalisations such as ‘There are a lot of inaccuracies’. Instead focus on specific

areas for development which you can discuss with the learner,

• Focus on things that each learner can change, and avoid overloading them with too much

feedback at once,

• Agree what you will both do as a result. This could include agreeing new targets or

planning learning opportunities.

Finally, think about the last time you received feedback, and consider

whether (a) it was a positive or negative experience, and (b) what

specifically do you remember from it? If the answers are not what

you’d expected, think how learners feel when we feedback to them!

Now try it yourself, Simon.

Not all formative assessments have to be

carried out and marked by tutors: When set up

properly, peer and self-assessments can be

equally powerful and have been shown to dramatically improve learners grades, as well

as their study skills. To be valid, peer and self-assessments have to be carefully

written against specific criteria. One learner may be given a task (such as creating an

information leaflet) or skill (such as handling equipment) to complete, another learner

acts as the ‘expert’ and checks that the task or skills has been correctly completed

against the set criteria (e.g. a checklist of the stages involved in connecting a laptop

to a projector).

Creating the criteria or checklist could become an activity in itself, whereby the

learners agree what they need to include. Once the task or skills has been completed,

learners could work in small groups to identify targets for improvement if they had to

repeat the task again in the future. Try it, and see how you get on, Nicki.

Feedback to Learners

Peer Assessment

Your Tips Here???

We are still waiting

for tips from staff,

so get sharing and

send them to us!

���� Send your Tips to: simon.cohl@oaklands.ac.uk ����

Hopefully, we all help our learners use Mind

Maps and Spider Diagrams as a revision aid,

but here is an alternative way of using them. You will need to plan this activity in

advance because the learners will need 3 different colour pens / felt-tips etc, and a

resource they have used in class (textbook, internet, resources booklet etc.)

First, get your learners to make a quick 5 minute mind-map / spider-diagram without

their notes. Try to encourage the learners to write the first things that come into

their heads, without over analysing. This should be done using one colour pen / felt-

tip. Secondly, get your class to buddy up into a pair, and again try to add to their

mind-maps. This time, the learners can discuss the topics in more detail, and begin to

analyse and evaluate their points or notes. However, this time they need to use a

second colour pen / felt tip.

Finally, the learners can use their resources to “fill in the gaps”, using a third colour

pen / felt-tip. When they have completed the task, they should be left with a page of

revision notes in 3 colours. When they go to revise these notes, they should focus on

those colours that they used in the second and third stages, as those in the first

stage colour are the notes they already know.

Not only will this help them focus on learning what they don’t know, but it can be a

boost to confidence if there are lost of things that they did know from the start.

Now that we are in the middle of revision time, this might be helpful. Try it and see,

Simon.

A useful acronym to help with setting and

marking assessments… Jennifer!

• Validity – Do the answers meet the assessment criteria?

Have the learners answered the question set, or the one they

hoped it would be?

• Authenticity – Is the work all of their own, or have they

plagiarised? Even the simplest quotes from the internet need

to be referenced and evidenced.

• Currency – How recently was the assessment completed and

is it a current reflection of their progress?

• Sufficiency – Have they completed the assessment enough

times, or practiced enough of the skills demanded of the

criteria?

• Reliability – did the assessment work? Could you use this with

other classes? Is it an example of best practice, or do you

need to review and make changes?

Colour Coded Mind Maps

V.A.C.S.R. Have you got

any similar

ideas that you

want to

share?

Send your

tips to the

SASP Team,

and we’ll

include them

in the next

issue. Best

Tip each

month wins a

prize!!!

���� Send your Tips to: simon.cohl@oaklands.ac.uk ����

• Prompt and clear starts, with “buzzy” interactive activities straight

away,

• Punctual starts to the lessons with learners sitting at their tables and

viewing their folders within the first couple of minutes,

• Lateness being consistently challenged,

• Aims and objectives clearly stated and expanded on,

• Very effective Questions and Answers,

• Good pace and excellent rapport with the learners,

• Clear recaps and update of work to be completed,

• Effective challenging of learners who arrived late causing disruption

to peers,

• Sessions differentiated to get course work completed by deadlines,

• Using learner's work as exemplar to peers,

• Quizzes to encourage group work and peer discussion,

• Learners were reminded of appropriate behaviour in class (e.g. not

wearing hats / hoods) and this was given vocational context,

• Activities or tasks to completed during lesson were clearly expressed

(including timings),

• Aspects of health and safety were considered (which was essential

due to nature of lesson that involved setting up massage tables / ar-

eas),

• The welcome back activity was active and allowed the whole group to

get involved,

• The task was contextualised by reference to sportsmen, and referred

to the textbook as a guide for the learners to check their understand-

ing,

• Good classroom management by asking learners to put their mobile

phones on the table as they came in,

• Many learners had access to a laptop,

• The learners were clear about what was expected of them,

• Good use of team teaching to deliver sports massage observations,

• Peer feedback and assistance from more able learners.

Things We’ve Noticed This Month from the Sport Team...

���� Send your Tips to: simon.cohl@oaklands.ac.uk ����