Unit 4 Module 1: Oral feedback - Amazon Web …wsassets.s3.amazonaws.com/ws/nso/pdf/009888e402cbd336e2...Slide 4.1.4 Handout 4.1.1 Handout 4.1.1 cont. – It may be helpful in some

1 Unit 4, Module1: Oral feedback © Crown copyright 2004

Module 1: Oral feedback

Objectives

• To highlight how effective oral feedback develops pupils’ learning

• To consider a range of strategies for giving effective oral feedback which canbe both formal and informal

• To help teachers plan for giving effective oral feedback

• To help schools develop a whole-school policy linking and clarifying therelationship between oral and written feedback

Resources

Slides 4.1.1–4.1.9

Handouts 4.1.1–4.1.7

Video sequence for this module

Session outline

4.1 Introduction 20 minutes

4.2 Using oral feedback for different purposes 25 minutes

4.3 Making the most of feedback 10 minutes

4.4 Planning for oral feedback 15 minutes

4.5 Ready for more? 5 minutes

Total 75 minutes

4.1 Introduction 20 minutes

Show slide 4.1.1 to introduce the objectives of the module. (5 minutes)

Explain the following.

• Modules 1 and 2 of this unit, ‘Oral feedback’ and ‘Written feedback’, areclosely interrelated. Both focus on improving the quality of regular

Unit

4

Slide 4.1.1

2 Whole-school development in assessment for learning | Presenter’s Notes © Crown copyright 2004

constructive, informative and focused feedback in order to help pupils takethe next steps in their learning and make progress towards their targets.

• Module 2, ‘Written feedback’, focuses on providing high-quality, detailedand informative marking on a selective basis rather than cursory surfacemarking for all pupils on every piece of work. This will involve a significantchange in marking policy for many departments and schools. This approachto providing written feedback cannot work unless oral feedback is detailed,personalised and routinely provides the information pupils need tomake progress.

• The relationship between oral and written feedback needs to be agreed andembodied in whole-school policy. It should be explicitly shared with pupilsand parents so that it is clear what pupils can expect to receive.

• Schools must continue to ensure that approaches to providing feedbackand its quality remain consistent across departments.

Tell participants that:

• oral feedback is a powerful force for moving pupils on and will be the mostregular and interactive form of feedback;

• oral feedback is direct (targeted to individuals or groups), but also indirect(others listen and reflect on what has been said);

• oral feedback is implicit in all lessons. This module aims to makespontaneous oral feedback more effective and help teachers plan for oralfeedback more explicitly;

• effective oral feedback takes time to develop, needs to be planned andrequires fostering within a supportive learning environment;

• in their study of the effects of oral feedback, which examined 3000 reportscovering nearly 13,000 students, Kluger and DeNisi (1996) found that oralfeedback raised achievement in 60% of cases, but in 40% was ineffective.The challenge, therefore, is to identify what makes oral feedback effective.

Show slide 4.1.2.

Explain that feedback works in three directions:

• Teacher to pupil – teacher giving information to pupils regarding currentachievement, and next steps.

• Pupil to teacher – teacher receiving feedback from pupils abouttheir learning.

Slide 4.1.2


• Pupil to pupil – in peer assessment.

All of these are important, necessary and very clearly interlinked. In offering oralfeedback the teacher should model the language of feedback that pupils canthen employ themselves. Point out that further support and training can befound as follows:

• Improving the quality of responses gained from pupils: modules on‘Questioning’, ‘Challenge’ and ‘Plenaries’ in the Training materials for thefoundation subjects (DfES 0350/2002)

• Improving pupils’ oral responses: module 7, ‘The management of grouptalk’ in Literacy across the curriculum (DfEE 0235/2001). This deals withimproving and structuring pupils’ speaking and listening skills, and suggestsappropriate ways to group pupils for different types of supportand interaction.

• Peer and self assessment: unit 5 of this folder.

Tell participants that:

• although all three areas are crucial to the learning process, this modulefocuses on the quality of teachers’ responses to pupils at various points inthe teaching and learning sequence;

• this module will look at how to improve the quality of spontaneousinteractive response, helping the teacher to know when and how tointervene, and how to move on, refocus and refine learning.

Task A (5 minutes)

Working in threes or fours, ask participants to discuss the advantages of givingoral feedback in lessons. Without showing slide 4.1.3 offer one example.

Take brief feedback. Show slide 4.1.3 and use the comments below to expandon any points not covered. Note any further suggestions.

Use the following points to support feedback:

• Immediate and context-specific – able to deal with misconceptionsas they occur and in the context of the specific learning.

• Dynamic and adaptable – allows for exchange of ideas and is adaptableto respective learning needs at the point of receiving.

• Ongoing – a continuous and familiar part of a lesson.

Slide 4.1.3


• Episodic – a lesson can be punctuated with plenary moments to structurelearning with reference to the objectives threaded through the lesson.

• Stimulating – oral feedback can encourage, enthuse and stimulate.

• Personalised – facial expressions and body language enhance feedback.

• Versatile – questioning, modelling and explaining can all be used as meansof providing feedback.

• Motivating – pupils like immediate oral feedback and respond easily as thelearning is fresh, and quick improvements build a feeling of success.

Task B (10 minutes)

Introduce this task by saying that teachers need to plan carefully to make theirfeedback more effective and reduce the pitfalls. In this activity show slide 4.1.4.Allocate two or three bullet points to pairs or groups. Ask participants todiscuss possible ways of avoiding the suggested difficulties. Allow 5 minutes fordiscussing the issues and suggesting some possible solutions.

Briefly take feedback and draw on handout 4.1.1, selecting some examples.

It is not necessary to cover all the points, as handout 4.1.1 should be given outto teachers at the end of the session to use as an aide-memoire to support theirown classroom practice.

After feedback and discussion say that:

• teachers need to plan alternatives to random questioning and cursoryresponses using approaches which encourage pupils to develop theirthinking and learning;

• alternative approaches will be discussed later in the session.

Handout 4.1.1

Some solutions to possible difficulties

• Instant responses from the teacher may not always be well considered orsufficiently focused on learning objectives.– Feedback should always be very clearly related to the lesson objectives and avoid

comment on extraneous factors or areas; the objective needs to be fully explored at theoutset of the lesson, task or episode.

– Wait time before and after questions or required responses encourages pupils to considercarefully and expand on their response. Other pupils can be asked to reflect or commenton the response before the teacher responds.

– Encourage pupils to use specific learning outcomes (success criteria) to assess theirown or others’ responses, before or after your feedback.

– Using prompts such as Would you like to say a bit more about that? gives the teacher theopportunity to see what stage of thinking the learner has reached and to fine-tunefeedback as appropriate. Such teacher responses also make the process developmental.

– Teachers should attempt to pre-empt possible misconceptions and issues in explanationof the task.

– Teachers can use pre-emptive strategies, e.g. discuss possible pitfalls and successcriteria when setting tasks.

– Targeting questions or plenary activities at specific pupils can reduce the likelihood ofinappropriate responses from pupils.

– Teachers need to consider the style of feedback given as well as the content and itsimplication for the way the lesson progresses, e.g. the choice between simpleacknowledgement that an answer is correct or a response that urges furtheramplification or exploration.

• Pupils do not act on oral feedback and do not take it seriously. Other pupils do notlisten to it.– It takes time to develop a supportive culture in the classroom and to establish that your

own and other pupils’ errors are learning opportunities.– It takes time to establish the value and importance of giving and receiving feedback.– While focusing on specific areas of a response, be prepared to say when an answer is

wrong in order to avoid confusion or reinforcing misconceptions.– Pupils need explicit training and practice in the ground rules of speaking and listening.– Ask another pupil to follow up on feedback.

• Unplanned responses can become random and fail to develop pupils’ learning in astructured way.– Questions and tasks need to be planned to encourage higher-level thinking and responses

so that feedback can help develop it. – Structure chains of questions and tasks incrementally so that feedback also moves

learning on. – Ensure that some time is built in for more extended or structured feedback at an

appropriate time.

• Oral feedback is ephemeral.– This is largely true but what is important is to ensure pupils have time to respond and act

on the feedback if necessary.

Slide 4.1.4

Handout 4.1.1Handout 4.1.1 cont.

– It may be helpful in some instances to get pupils to reflect on the feedback and write theirnext steps or targets in their exercise books, or to revise their work/performance/learningbehaviours in the light of feedback there and then.

– Make a mental (or actual) note of pupils’ responses and return to points later to check onunderstanding and follow up.

• Pupils may feel exposed by public feedback.– The key is to establish a supportive environment in which pupils are happy to contribute to

the lesson. Share the process by encouraging pupils to talk through their thinking andidentify points at which they went wrong or identify ways to improve.

– Establish the idea that if you are not making mistakes you are not learning.– Create a challenge culture over time where genuine errors are perceived as positive

learning opportunities, and where challenge is welcomed and pupils do not automaticallychoose the easiest option.

– Provide opportunities to give private or small group feedback.– Establish routines for group and guided work.– Always reinforce the value of the pupils’ contribution.– On occasions, be willing to acknowledge your own errors or lack of specific knowledge.

• Pupils may not have the time needed to reflect on the feedback and respond to it.– Not all responses will require reflection or adjustment; some simply confirm, acknowledge

or encourage.– Provide more time by echoing the point, e.g. So what you’re saying is …– Build in time for pupils to amend work.– Build in regular structured review points.

• Feedback may not be immediately understood.– Use pupils or their work to exemplify your comments.– If you are unsure check later.

• Individuals can dominate question and answer sessions and extended oralfeedback slows down learning for others in the class.– ‘No hands up’ questioning is an excellent way of ensuring time for reflection, involving all

pupils in thinking and enabling teachers to target and support individuals.– If instant oral feedback reveals the need for more extended interaction with an individual,

which will not be of benefit to the class, make time later, such as during independent work.– Offer more extended feedback in small groups.– Feed back to the whole class when it is relevant, using methods other than questioning,

e.g. demonstration, or check pupils’ understanding by silent methods, e.g. whiteboards or‘show me’ activities.

• Time for individual feedback is limited.– Try to offer collective feedback to the class where there are shared learning tasks.– Utilise small group or guided work on a regular basis to offer feedback to pupils with

similar needs.– Establish understanding that periodic reviews or coaching sessions will be available to

all pupils on a rotation basis.


4.2 Using oral feedback 25 minutesfor different purposes

Explain that:

• teachers should use different types of oral prompt for different purposes intheir lessons;

• research has shown that few questions asked in classrooms prompt pupilsto use higher-order thinking skills and that in instant feedback the teachers’comments focus mainly on praise and encouragement, rather than movinglearning on.

Task C

Give out handout 4.1.2, which shows ways of providing oral feedback whichconcentrate on encouraging pupils to develop and move on their thinking andlearning. Explain to participants that the handout provides examples offeedback for different purposes together with exemplar oral prompts. Thesuggested list is not exhaustive.

Ask participants in pairs or groups of three to discuss the effects the differenttypes of oral feedback will have on pupils’ learning. Explain that the purpose ofthis activity is to foster group discussion rather than seeking correct answers.Allow only 5 minutes.

Explain to participants that they are going to use handout 4.1.2 to recordinformation about oral feedback in a video lesson sequence. Provide thefollowing information:

• Cannock Chase High School is an 11–18 mixed comprehensive school inStaffordshire with 1800 pupils.

• The socio-economic circumstances of the pupils are broadly average andattainment on entry to the school is below the national average.

• The sequence shows a Year 9 geography lesson in which pupils are learningto improve their writing of geographical descriptions. Make the followingpoints to prevent follow up discussion being diverted away from AfL.– In the National Curriculum for geography the specific focus for describing

is on geographical patterns and processes. This requires a distinctiveapproach to writing information text, the characteristics of which includethe use of technical terms and supporting facts and figures to create

Oral feedback for different purposes

Handout 4.1.2

Feedback for Examples of Examples observed in the lesson Impact on

different oral prompts learning ✔

purposes

Correcting Good try, but that’s notan error correct, actually it’s …

Providing Yes, what you’re talkinginformation about is called …

Appraising and That would make sense,praising good thinking …

Has anyone else tried this or something similar?

Challenging Try that again. This time include/vary …

Seeking What do you mean whenclarification you say it needs more

detail?

Encouraging How might you take thatexploration, argument even further?elaboration or Which would be the development best way to …?

Redirecting That’s a detailed learning or illustration. Now move onactivity to the explanation as it

is also important.

Focusing or All this is important butorienting it’s really your use of… learning that will really improve

your work.

Confirmation Yes, that’s right,and moving now you can …learning on

Crystallising So spend a few minutesnext steps deciding on two changes

you will make to your …

Distilling and Let’s think about whatsummarising we’ve learned so far.learning Firstly, we’ve found out …

Encouraging Let’s just think aboutpupils to reflect what we’ve discussed

– is there anything else you might do?

Focusing on Excellent, now how learning exactly did you manageapproaches and to improve on …?strategies

Handout 4.1.2


complex sentences which interrelate variables and factors important ingeography. Participants should not be sidetracked by comparing thisexample to descriptions in other curricular areas.

– This lesson focuses on sentence and word level work. The pupils willconsider text level descriptions in a later lesson.

– In humanities subjects it is important that pupils understand the differencebetween describing and explaining, which is why teaching for this is madeexplicit in the learning objective.

– One of the Year 9 English Framework objectives for sentence level work isto ‘review and develop the meaning, clarity, organisation and impact ofcomplex sentences in their own writing.’

• This is the fourth lesson in a unit entitled ‘Local actions, global effects’.Before the lesson, pupils carried out research about pollution along the RiverRhine and drafted a description about this for homework.

Ask participants to identify examples of different types of oral prompt observedin the lesson and to enter these in the third column in handout 4.1.2. Theyshould also tick the fourth column where they can recognise that the oralprompt has had an impact on pupil learning.

Show the lesson sequence, which is 11 minutes long.

After the video sequence has been viewed, ask participants to spend 5minutes, in pairs, discussing which aspects were identified and which wereseen to impact on learning.

Use handout 4.1.3, which provides some suggestions from the lesson, todebrief the activity.

Round off the activity by making the point that the different types of oral promptin handout 4.1.2:

• acknowledge what pupils have learned and encourage them to reflect onand extend their learning still further;

• recognise that pupils need time to reflect on their learning;

• encourage pupils to pose further questions to clarify or further develop theirown or each other’s thinking;

• mostly encourage pupils to make next steps.


Handout 4.1.3

Feedback for Examples of Examples of oral prompts Impact on

different purposes oral prompts observed in the lesson learning ✔

Correcting an error Good try, but that’s not correct. If he’s saying due to… is he describing? Actually it’s … …Explaining

Providing Yes, what you’re talking about So these are all descriptions … this isinformation is called … telling you why, it’s an explanation.

Appraising and That would make sense, good Let’s just pull that… that’s reallypraising thinking … Has anyone else tried important … thank you.

something similar?

Challenging Try that again. This time Do you agree with what he underlined?include/vary …

Seeking What do you mean when you say So is using numbers not better thanclarification it needs more detail? comparing the two places?

Urging amplification, How might you take that What’s different about this sentence from exploration or argument even further? Which the one above?development would be the best way to …?

Redirecting That’s a detailed illustration. Move Now you’ve named places think about learning or activity on to the explanation as it is how you could compare them.

also important.

Focusing or All this is important but it’s really So she (Lucy) really focused you in on oneorienting learning your use of… that will really thing you could use… actually using

improve your work. numbers.

Confirmation Yes, that’s right, We’re making quite a lot of headway and moving now you can … here… does anyone have an even betterlearning on sentence?

Crystallising So spend a few minutes deciding So her target would be to add numbersnext steps on two changes you will make to her comparisons.

to your …

Distilling and Let’s think about what we’ve So we’ve agreed that comparing is good,summarising learned so far. Firstly, we’ve using numbers to compare is even better.learning found out …

Encouraging Let’s just think about what we’ve I want you to read it carefully and say what pupils to reflect discussed – is there anything else you think is your best sentence.

you might do?

Focusing on Excellent, now how exactly did Discuss any time during the lesson that learning you manage to improve on …? you feel the other person helped youapproaches and improve.strategies

Handout 4.1.3


4.3 Making the most of feedback 10 minutes

Oral feedback should always be both positive, i.e. recognising pupils’ effortsand achievements to date, and developmental, i.e. offering specific details ofways forward.

Show slide 4.1.5 and give out handout 4.1.4. Read aloud the teachercomments below and ask participants to place the letter for each statement onthe diagram which is made up of one vertical and one horizontal continuum.Suggested answers are provided in brackets and should not be read out.

A Your long jump was poor. Put in more effort next go. (Negative/Non-specific)

B Your long jump has really come on. You may be in the team next term.(Positive/Non-specific)

C Your long jump was a disaster. You didn’t touch the board, your legs weretoo straight and I can hardly make out your shoulders from your chin.(Negative/Specific)

D Your long jump was good but you should touch the board and keep yourchin forward. (Positive/Specific)

E Well done, your long jump has really improved. To increase still further youneed to push off from the board and keep your chin well forward. Try thesetwo things next round and let’s see if you can make 5 metres. You could getin the team soon. (Positive/Specific)

Teachers will easily place statements A, B, C and E, but there may be somediscussion regarding the place of D. This has been included to illustrate thenegative effect that the word but can infuse into an otherwise positivestatement. It is better to avoid but in most cases and simply state what needs tobe done to improve. Take brief feedback after the activity.

Slide 4.1.5Handout 4.1.4


Task D

Show slide 4.1.6 which lists some examples of comments used when teachersprovide oral feedback.

Ask participants to:

• place the comments on the continuum diagram on handout 4.1.4;

• improve the comments so that they are more positive and specific (some oftheir additions may need to be subject-specific);

• think of some typical comments in their subject and phrase them in apositive/specific way.

Take brief feedback and finally make the point that specific positive feedbackboth improves motivation and moves pupils on.

4.4 Planning for oral feedback 15 minutes

Show slide 4.1.7.

Oral feedback about pupils’ learning occurs in a range of situations ona continuum from the instant, informal reply to the more formally plannedreviews and conferences. The following points can be used to supportdiscussion of slide 4.1.7.

• Instant, informal reply is ephemeral and immediate and tends to beused for validating, motivating, trouble shooting, or moving the lesson onquickly. Teachers may need to follow up comments with some pupils at alater stage.

• Interim review at the end of key episodes during a lesson should beplanned with feedback designed to build on learning. This needs to be donein the light of pupils’ needs and incorporated into the teacher’s short-term

Slide 4.1.7

Slide 4.1.6


planning. Teachers may plan to focus on specific pupils or groups andwould also address problems at the point of learning.

• Planned review with individual or groups of pupils focusing on theirtargets will need to be considered at whole-school and departmental leveland incorporated into the department’s medium-term plans.

If teachers are to give effective oral feedback they need to plan ahead andorganise pupil groupings in their lessons to facilitate the process. Give outhandout 4.1.5, which shows various types of oral feedback and the groupcomposition used.

Task E (5 minutes)

Ask participants to read handout 4.1.5 and, working in small groups:

• decide which types they use most frequently;

• identify any types they have not used before and decide if they might usethese in the future and where;

• suggest any other way of giving oral feedback within the lesson and add it tothe grid, completing the details in both columns.

Take brief feedback focusing on other suggestions.

We have noted above the place of planned periodic reviews of pupils’ work.

At this point show slide 4.1.8 and say that it may be useful to consider thefollowing simple sequence when setting up planned periodic reviews withindividual pupils. This will also be distributed at the end of the session ashandout 4.1.6.

Handout 0 cont.Handout 4.1.5

Composition of group Type of oral feedback

Whole class As a starter or within an episode, the teacher uses pupils’ previous work to feed back teaching points for individuals and the whole class. The teacher models the language of feedback for pupils. (Planned feedback relating to learning objectives)

Whole class The teacher feeds back points for learning to model improvement or next steps. Pupils’ contributions are commented on and shaped as the development is shared with the class. (Planned feedback using modelling of content/techniques or learning strategies, followed by instant feedback on pupil contributions related to objectives)

Whole class The teacher invites contributions from selected pupils asking for evaluation and review. This is summed up with teacher feedback related to learning objectives and to the quality of the class review. (Instant feedback related to objectives as part of a plenary)

Group In guided ability or targeted group work the teacher gives instant feedback to pupils as they work on a task and make adjustments in response. (Some planning in relation to learning objectives or learning strategies, but some instant feedback necessary)

Group In guided ability or targeted group work the teacher gives planned feedback on work completed previously in response to objectivescommon to the group. (Planned review)

Paired work In pairs pupils assess each other’s work, then the teacher gives oral feedback to the pairs. (Instant feedback but related to pupils’ targets/success criteria)

Paired work In pairs pupils work on a task. During the process the teacher offers feedback to which pupils respond by making adjustments. (Instant feedback related to tasks/success criteria)

Individual The teacher gives individual feedback during the course of independent work in process. (Instant feedback in relation to objectives/criteria/self assessment/learning strategies)

Individual The teacher gives oral feedback in an individual review while rest of class work independently on a task (Planned review)

Handout 4.1.5



4.5 Ready for more? 5 minutes

Refer back to the opening remarks about the need to develop and embedroutine, high-quality oral feedback before marking policy can become morefocused, more informative and more selective. This will help lead into futuretraining in developing written feedback should the school choose toundertake this.

Stress that effective oral feedback is an important tool for developing pupils’learning. Put up slide 4.1.9 (also handout 4.1.7) and point out that, as thismodule is to be a focus for whole-school development, teachers need to adoptone or more of the suggestions to improve their skills in using oral feedback.

Distribute handouts 4.1.6 and 4.1.7.

Explain that the ‘Ready for more?’ section provides a number of possibleactivities that encourage teachers to trial the principles outlined in the trainingunit in their teaching.

To encourage a consistent approach in subject areas direct participants to theSubject Development Tasks. Say that these build on the generic principles inthis training unit and are aimed at embedding this practice in a subject-specificcontext. Some of the development tasks will be long-term and need to beincorporated in the department’s improvement plan.

Emphasise that these are best coordinated by the subject leader to ensure thatthere is an agreed focus in the department for the area of development.

The subject development tasks are aimed at addressing, improving andembedding AfL within subject practice.


The tasks are designed according to the following process:

The presenter should refer to pages 13 and 14 of the Guidance for SeniorLeaders for details relating to how developments in subjects may beapproached.


Identify

Plan

Do

Review

Refine and improve practice


Unit 4.1 – Oral feedback

PowerPoint slides


PowerPoint slides


Slide 4.1.1

Objectives

• To highlight how effective oral feedbackdevelops pupils’ learning

• To consider a range of strategies for givingeffective oral feedback which can be both formaland informal

• To help teachers plan for giving effective oralfeedback

• To help schools develop a whole-school policylinking and clarifying the relationships between oraland written feedback


Slide 4.1.2

Oral feedback

Teacher Pupil

Pupil Teacher

Pupil Pupil


Slide 4.1.3

Some advantages of oral feedbackto pupils

• immediate and context-specific

• dynamic and adaptable

• ongoing

• episodic

• stimulating

• personalised

• versatile

• motivating


Slide 4.1.4

Some possible difficulties oforal feedback

• Instant responses from the teacher may not alwaysbe well considered

• Pupils may not act on oral feedback and may nottake it seriously. Other pupils may not listen to it

• Unplanned responses can become random and failto develop pupils’ learning in a structured way

• Oral feedback is ephemeral

• Pupils may feel exposed by public feedback

• Pupils may not have the time needed to reflect onthe feedback and respond to it

• Feedback may not be immediately understood

• Individuals can dominate question andanswer sessions

• Fast-paced question and answer sessions maybe mistaken for fast-paced learning

• Time for individual feedback is limited


Slide 4.1.5

Oral feedback

Specific

Non-specific

- +


Slide 4.1.6

Examples of oral feedbackcomments

• You are not making the most of working in a group.

• I don’t think you have the foreground right.

• Well done — a well-constructed answer.

• Your results were not very consistent. You need tomake sure you use the same volume of liquid.

• An excellent answer, but you could developit further.

• Yes, good. Your accent is really improving.


Slide 4.1.7

Continuum of oral feedback

Instant, informal reply

Interim review at the end of key episodes during a lesson to build

on learning

Planned review with individual or groups of pupils focusing on their targets


Slide 4.1.8

A suggested sequence forgiving individual oral feedback in aplanned review

1. Plan feedback which is positive and specific

2. Reinforce the value and importance of thepupils’ contribution

3. Focus on recent learning objectives and learningoutcomes in the context of pupil targets

4. Give the pupil(s) time to reflect and respond

5. Encourage the pupil(s) to ask questions to clarifytheir understanding of the progress they have made

6. Identify and agree the most important next steps inlearning and revise pupil targets if necessary

7. Agree immediate and longer-term actions. Clarifywhen these will be reviewed, by whom, and whatevidence will be sought


Slide 4.1.9

Giving effective oral feedback –ready for more?

• With reference to handout 4.1.2, plan to improveyour questioning techniques as a method of givingeffective oral feedback.

• Review which techniques are most successful andconsider their use in your short-term planning.

• With a colleague, observe each other teaching, withan agreed focus on oral feedback. Use the grid onhandout 4.1.2 to record which feedback techniquesare used. Identify a technique that was effective anddiscuss together why it was.

• Experiment with using the suggested sequence forplanning a formal review (on handout 4.1.6).Compare experiences with a colleague.

• In a lesson, plan and explain how pupils might usehandout 4.1.4 with pupils to guide their oralfeedback to each other.


Handout 4.1.1

Some solutions to possible difficulties

• Instant responses from the teacher may not always be well considered orsufficiently focused on learning objectives.– Feedback should always be very clearly related to the lesson objectives and avoid

comment on extraneous factors or areas; the objective needs to be fully explored at theoutset of the lesson, task or episode.

– Wait time before and after questions or required responses encourages pupils to considercarefully and expand on their response. Other pupils can be asked to reflect or commenton the response before the teacher responds.

– Encourage pupils to use specific learning outcomes (success criteria) to assess theirown or others’ responses, before or after your feedback.

– Using prompts such as Would you like to say a bit more about that? gives the teacher theopportunity to see what stage of thinking the learner has reached and to fine-tunefeedback as appropriate. Such teacher responses also make the process developmental.

– Teachers should attempt to pre-empt possible misconceptions and issues in explanationof the task.

– Teachers can use pre-emptive strategies, e.g. discuss possible pitfalls and successcriteria when setting tasks.

– Targeting questions or plenary activities at specific pupils can reduce the likelihood ofinappropriate responses from pupils.

– Teachers need to consider the style of feedback given as well as the content and itsimplication for the way the lesson progresses, e.g. the choice between simpleacknowledgement that an answer is correct or a response that urges furtheramplification or exploration.

• Pupils do not act on oral feedback and do not take it seriously. Other pupils do notlisten to it.– It takes time to develop a supportive culture in the classroom and to establish that your

own and other pupils’ errors are learning opportunities.– It takes time to establish the value and importance of giving and receiving feedback.– While focusing on specific areas of a response, be prepared to say when an answer is

wrong in order to avoid confusion or reinforcing misconceptions.– Pupils need explicit training and practice in the ground rules of speaking and listening.– Ask another pupil to follow up on feedback.

• Unplanned responses can become random and fail to develop pupils’ learning in astructured way.– Questions and tasks need to be planned to encourage higher-level thinking and responses

so that feedback can help develop it. – Structure chains of questions and tasks incrementally so that feedback also moves

learning on. – Ensure that some time is built in for more extended or structured feedback at an

appropriate time.

• Oral feedback is ephemeral.– This is largely true but what is important is to ensure pupils have time to respond and act

on the feedback if necessary.


Handout 4.1.1 cont.

– It may be helpful in some instances to get pupils to reflect on the feedback and write theirnext steps or targets in their exercise books, or to revise their work/performance/learningbehaviours in the light of feedback there and then.

– Make a mental (or actual) note of pupils’ responses and return to points later to check onunderstanding and follow up.

• Pupils may feel exposed by public feedback.– The key is to establish a supportive environment in which pupils are happy to contribute to

the lesson. Share the process by encouraging pupils to talk through their thinking andidentify points at which they went wrong or identify ways to improve.

– Establish the idea that if you are not making mistakes you are not learning.– Create a challenge culture over time where genuine errors are perceived as positive

learning opportunities, and where challenge is welcomed and pupils do not automaticallychoose the easiest option.

– Provide opportunities to give private or small group feedback.– Establish routines for group and guided work.– Always reinforce the value of the pupils’ contribution.– On occasions, be willing to acknowledge your own errors or lack of specific knowledge.

• Pupils may not have the time needed to reflect on the feedback and respond to it.– Not all responses will require reflection or adjustment; some simply confirm, acknowledge

or encourage.– Provide more time by echoing the point, e.g. So what you’re saying is …– Build in time for pupils to amend work.– Build in regular structured review points.

• Feedback may not be immediately understood.– Use pupils or their work to exemplify your comments.– If you are unsure check later.

• Individuals can dominate question and answer sessions and extended oralfeedback slows down learning for others in the class.– ‘No hands up’ questioning is an excellent way of ensuring time for reflection, involving all

pupils in thinking and enabling teachers to target and support individuals.– If instant oral feedback reveals the need for more extended interaction with an individual,

which will not be of benefit to the class, make time later, such as during independent work.– Offer more extended feedback in small groups.– Feed back to the whole class when it is relevant, using methods other than questioning,

e.g. demonstration, or check pupils’ understanding by silent methods, e.g. whiteboards or‘show me’ activities.

• Time for individual feedback is limited.– Try to offer collective feedback to the class where there are shared learning tasks.– Utilise small group or guided work on a regular basis to offer feedback to pupils with

similar needs.– Establish understanding that periodic reviews or coaching sessions will be available to

all pupils on a rotation basis.



Handout 4.1.2

Feedback for Examples of Examples observed in the lesson Impact on

different oral prompts learning ✔

purposes

Correcting Good try, but that’s notan error correct, actually it’s …

Providing Yes, what you’re talkinginformation about is called …

Appraising and That would make sense,praising good thinking …

Has anyone else tried this or something similar?

Challenging Try that again. This time include/vary …

Seeking What do you mean whenclarification you say it needs more

detail?

Encouraging How might you take thatexploration, argument even further?elaboration or Which would be the development best way to …?

Redirecting That’s a detailed learning or illustration. Now move onactivity to the explanation as it

is also important.

Focusing or All this is important butorienting it’s really your use of… learning that will really improve

your work.

Confirmation Yes, that’s right,and moving now you can …learning on

Crystallising So spend a few minutesnext steps deciding on two changes

you will make to your …

Distilling and Let’s think about whatsummarising we’ve learned so far.learning Firstly, we’ve found out …

Encouraging Let’s just think aboutpupils to reflect what we’ve discussed

– is there anything else you might do?

Focusing on Excellent, now how learning exactly did you manageapproaches and to improve on …?strategies



Handout 4.1.3

Feedback for Examples of Examples of oral prompts Impact on

different purposes oral prompts observed in the lesson learning ✔

Correcting an error Good try, but that’s not correct. If he’s saying due to… is he describing? Actually it’s … …Explaining

Providing Yes, what you’re talking about So these are all descriptions … this isinformation is called … telling you why, it’s an explanation.

Appraising and That would make sense, good Let’s just pull that… that’s reallypraising thinking … Has anyone else tried important … thank you.

something similar?

Challenging Try that again. This time Do you agree with what he underlined?include/vary …

Seeking What do you mean when you say So is using numbers not better thanclarification it needs more detail? comparing the two places?

Urging amplification, How might you take that What’s different about this sentence from exploration or argument even further? Which the one above?development would be the best way to …?

Redirecting That’s a detailed illustration. Move Now you’ve named places think about learning or activity on to the explanation as it is how you could compare them.

also important.

Focusing or All this is important but it’s really So she (Lucy) really focused you in on oneorienting learning your use of… that will really thing you could use… actually using

improve your work. numbers.

Confirmation Yes, that’s right, We’re making quite a lot of headway and moving now you can … here… does anyone have an even betterlearning on sentence?

Crystallising So spend a few minutes deciding So her target would be to add numbersnext steps on two changes you will make to her comparisons.

to your …

Distilling and Let’s think about what we’ve So we’ve agreed that comparing is good,summarising learned so far. Firstly, we’ve using numbers to compare is even better.learning found out …

Encouraging Let’s just think about what we’ve I want you to read it carefully and say what pupils to reflect discussed – is there anything else you think is your best sentence.

you might do?

Focusing on Excellent, now how exactly did Discuss any time during the lesson that learning you manage to improve on …? you feel the other person helped youapproaches and improve.strategies


Handout 0 cont.

Oral feedback

Specific

Non-specific

Handout 4.1.4



Composition of group Type of oral feedback

Whole class As a starter or within an episode, the teacher uses pupils’ previous work to feed back teaching points for individuals and the whole class. The teacher models the language of feedback for pupils. (Planned feedback relating to learning objectives)

Whole class The teacher feeds back points for learning to model improvement or next steps. Pupils’ contributions are commented on and shaped as the development is shared with the class. (Planned feedback using modelling of content/techniques or learning strategies, followed by instant feedback on pupil contributions related to objectives)

Whole class The teacher invites contributions from selected pupils asking for evaluation and review. This is summed up with teacher feedback related to learning objectives and to the quality of the class review. (Instant feedback related to objectives as part of a plenary)

Group In guided ability or targeted group work the teacher gives instant feedback to pupils as they work on a task and make adjustments in response. (Some planning in relation to learning objectives or learning strategies, but some instant feedback necessary)

Group In guided ability or targeted group work the teacher gives planned feedback on work completed previously in response to objectivescommon to the group. (Planned review)

Paired work In pairs pupils assess each other’s work, then the teacher gives oral feedback to the pairs. (Instant feedback but related to pupils’ targets/success criteria)

Paired work In pairs pupils work on a task. During the process the teacher offers feedback to which pupils respond by making adjustments. (Instant feedback related to tasks/success criteria)

Individual The teacher gives individual feedback during the course of independent work in process. (Instant feedback in relation to objectives/criteria/self assessment/learning strategies)

Individual The teacher gives oral feedback in an individual review while rest of class work independently on a task (Planned review)


A suggested sequence for giving individual oral feedback in a planned review

1. Plan feedback which is positive and specific.

2. Reinforce the value and importance of the pupils’ contribution.

3. Focus on recent learning objectives and learning outcomes in the contextof pupil targets.

4. Give the pupil(s) time to reflect and respond.

5. Encourage the pupil(s) to ask questions to clarify their understanding ofthe progress they have made.

6. Identify and agree the most important next steps in learning and revisepupil targets if necessary.

7. Agree immediate and longer-term actions. Clarify when these will bereviewed, by whom, and what evidence will be sought.



Giving effective oral feedback – ready for more?

• With reference to handout 4.1.2, plan to improve your use of oral promptsfor a range of different purposes.

• With a colleague, observe each other teaching, with an agreed focus onoral feedback. Use the grid on handout 4.1.2 to record which feedbacktechniques were used. Identify which types of oral prompt were mosteffective and discuss why they were successful.

• Experiment with using the suggested sequence for planning a formalreview (on handout 4.1.6). Compare experiences with a colleague.

• In a lesson, plan and explain how pupils might use handout 4.1.4 with theirpeers to guide their oral feedback to each other.


1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in A&D © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in art anddesign

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to art and design. As partof the whole-school focus on this, the following subject development material isintended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit and identifyany areas requiring development in your department.

The following is a brief summary of the training unit.

Objectives

• To highlight how effective oral feedback develops pupils’ learning.

• To consider a range of strategies for giving effective oral feedback that canbe both formal and informal.

• To help teachers plan for giving effective oral feedback.

• To help schools develop a whole-school policy clarifying the relationshipbetween oral and written feedback.

Key messages

• Oral feedback is the most regular and interactive form of feedback. It shouldbe constructive and informative in order to help pupils take the next steps intheir learning.

• It is both direct (targeted to individuals or groups) and indirect (others listenand reflect on what has been said). At times it will be spontaneous and atother times it should be planned.

• In offering oral feedback, the teacher is modelling the language that pupilscan use in giving feedback to their teacher and peers.

• Oral feedback should be developmental. It should recognise pupils’ effortsand achievements, and offer specific details of ways forward in relation tothe shared learning objectives.

• Oral feedback about pupils’ learning occurs in a range of situations on acontinuum from the instant informal reply to more formally planned reviews.

• While focusing on specific areas of a response it is important to say when ananswer is wrong to avoid confusion or reinforcing misconceptions.

• ‘Wait-time’ before and after questions or responses encourages pupils toconsider and expand on their responses.

Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach art and design.

Reviewing existing practice in oral feedback

The table on page 3 provides a tool for a department to self-review currentpractice and to help identify an appropriate starting point.

As a department, agree and highlight the statements that best reflect thepractice of the whole department. At the bottom of each column is a referenceto the tasks that will support your current practice and provide the appropriatematerial to develop from this point.

Having completed this review you should read ‘Making effective use of thesubject development material’ on page 4.


Focusing

There is no clear school ordepartment policy on oralfeedback.

The subject leader hasidentified where teacheroral feedback:• is informal, ad hoc and

unplanned • tends to be teacher-led

question-and-answersessions or generalisedcomments to the class

• does not targetindividual pupils

• is unrelated to thelearning objectives.

Teachers sometimesprovide opportunities forpupils to discuss eachother’s work, but withoutreference to learningoutcomes.

The subject leader hasidentified lessons in whichpupils:• expect teacher

feedback in the form ofsupportiveencouragement

• do not view oralfeedback as anessential part oflearning

• judge oral feedback tobe secondary to writtenfeedback

• offer comments oneach other’s work, butthese lack clear focusand are usuallyunchallenging.

Start with Task 4.1A

Developing

Departmental planning fororal feedback is becomingmore focused on learningobjectives and outcomes.

Teachers are beginning toconsider the role ofdifferent types of oralfeedback.

Teachers are beginning touse questions to probeprogress against thelearning objectives andoutcomes to help pupilsimprove their work.

Teachers are beginning totarget specific individualsand groups of pupils forfeedback in lessons.

Teachers provideopportunities in lessonsfor pupils to providefeedback to their peersand for teachers toprovide feedback to thepupils (in relation tolearning outcomes).

Most pupils expectfeedback to relate to theirlearning and listen to andrespond to what is said.

Most pupils know when toexpect specific oralfeedback as a class,individually or in a small-group setting.

Pupils are beginning tosee oral feedback ashaving a distinct value.

Most pupils are able toprovide useful feedback toother pupils and similarlyrespond to feedback fromtheir peers.


Establishing

The school is reviewing itsmarking policy to includeoral feedback anddepartmental policyreflects this.

Oral feedback is a focus ofdepartmental planningand relates directly to thelearning objectives andoutcomes and helpsclarify the next steps forpupils.

Oral feedbackopportunities are integralto medium- and short-term planning.

Teachers use a variedrepertoire of types of oralfeedback.

The teacher structuresand models pupil oralfeedback in relation tolearning outcomes.

Pupils recognise fully thevalue of oral feedback andknow it is related to theirlearning. They listencarefully and respondappropriately.

Pupils recognise thestrategies for differenttypes of oral feedback.

Pupils will readily engagein focused peer feedback,in relation to learningoutcomes, and arebeginning to develop avocabulary to do this.

Pupil work showsevidence of a response tooral feedback.

Start with Task 4.1B

Enhancing

The school anddepartment have a fullyintegrated assessmentpolicy which valuesequally the importance ofwritten and oral feedback.

Planning for oral feedbackat all levels, from fullreviews to individualteachers’ lessons, is anintegral feature ofdepartmental work acrossthe school.

Departments ensure thatoral feedback from pupilto teacher, teacher to pupiland pupil to pupil formspart of a dialogue thatrelates directly to learningobjectives and outcomes.The feedback provided is constructive andinformative and enablespupils to take the nextsteps in their learning.

All pupils recognise thatoral feedback is focusedon their learning and is asimportant as writtenfeedback.

Pupils know that feedbackis valuable and listencarefully to each other andtheir teachers. Theyrespond to feedback toengage in dialogue abouttheir learning.

Pupils understand well-established strategies forgroup and guided workthat involve feedback.

Pupils give regulardetailed oral feedbackrelated to learningobjectives and outcomesto peers and teachers.

Pupils are clear where intheir work they haveimproved in response tofeedback.


Teac

hers

Pup

ils


Making effective use of the subject developmentmaterial

The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in art and design and provide guidance on how toembed this into regular practice in art and design lessons.

The results of the self-review will have suggested the appropriate task(s) that willsupport your department’s development needs.

To make best use of the supporting material the following sequence will behelpful.

1 Read the task and the supporting exemplification.

This describes how a department has approached the task and workedthrough each of its stages. It is given as an example of how the task might beaddressed. It is not intended that you follow this approach, which is given as aguide to the process that will support improvements in your subject.

2 Identify what the department did and the impact it had on pupils.

Discuss as a team the example provided and establish the key areas thathelped to develop this practice and the impact it had on pupils. It will be helpfulto identify the changes in teachers’ practice and how these impacted on pupils’learning.

3 Agree and plan the actions that will develop your practice.

As a department, agree how you intend to approach this task. Clarify what you are focusing on and why. The example given will act as a guide, but bespecific about which classes, which lessons and which aspects of thecurriculum will be your points of focus.

4 Identify when and how you will evaluate its impact on pupils.

The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in art and design. You will need to be clear on what has helpedpupils to learn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how yourpractice has adapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has workedwell and which areas require further attention.

5 Having evaluated these strategies, consider what steps arerequired to embed this practice.

You will need to undertake an honest evaluation of what you have tried and theimpact it has had on your teaching and on pupils’ learning. One outcome mightbe that you need to spend longer on improving this area or you may be in aposition to consider the next task.

Other departments in the school will have been focusing on this area and youshould find out about the progress they have made.

You may find that some teachers in the department will require further time todevelop and consolidate new practice, while others will be ready to progressfurther through the tasks in this area (while continuing to support theircolleagues). Practice across a department will need to be consolidated beforefocusing on a new area of Assessment for learning.


The subject development tasks

The following pages provide exemplification of each task.

Task 4.1A

With a colleague, observe each other teaching and, ideally, record(video/audio) the lessons. Use handout 4.1.4 and slide 4.1.5 in the genericunit (see appendix 4.1A.1) to record how specific and positive individualpieces of feedback are perceived to be. You should mark a cross in therelevant quadrant to record how positive/negative and specific/non-specificeach example of oral feedback is during the lessons.

The scatter of the plotted points will give an overall impression of the natureof the oral feedback and highlight particular development needs for theteacher observed.

Capture specific examples of oral feedback recorded in each quadrant toinform your joint review of the lesson. It is important to focus on the effectivepractice of the teacher observed before agreeing areas for improvementand how to go about doing this.

Task 4.1B

Refer to handout 4.1.4 in the generic unit (see appendix 4.1A.1) and, as adepartment, ‘traffic light’ the types of oral feedback described, e.g.:• green = frequently used across the department• amber = occasionally used by individuals• red = rarely used.

Select an area highlighted amber or red that the department agrees is mostlikely to impact on learning outcomes.

As a department, plan and teach lessons that incorporate the selected typeof oral feedback.

Jointly review the impact of this on pupils’ learning.


Task 4.1A

With a colleague, observe each other teaching and, ideally, record(video/audio) the lessons. Use handout 4.1.4 and slide 4.1.5 in the genericunit (see appendix 4.1A.1) to record how specific and positive individualpieces of feedback are perceived to be. You should mark a cross in the relevant quadrant to record how positive/negative and specific/non-specific each example of oral feedback is during the lessons.

The scatter of the plotted points will give an overall impression of thenature of the oral feedback and highlight particular development needsfor the teacher observed.

Capture specific examples of oral feedback recorded in each quadrantto inform your joint review of the lesson. It is important to focus on theeffective practice of the teacher observed before agreeing areas forimprovement and how to go about doing this.

Context

Last term, the members of the art and design team at School B gaveconsideration to the effectiveness of their use of oral feedback to pupils withinlessons. Observations by senior managers had previously highlighted the needfor improvements in the use of oral feedback across the curriculum, in particularto address how teachers planned their use of formal and informal oral feedbackto develop pupils’ learning. The use of oral feedback has since been adoptedas a strategy within the school improvement plan in addition to writtenfeedback.

The department devised this activity to determine the understanding necessaryto carry out the observation as stated in Task 4.1A. In brief, it provided themwith a worked example (neutral stimulus) that encouraged discussion in thedepartment before they observed each other’s practice as described in Task 4.1A.

Process

As a department, they read the 12 statements for art and design given, whichhad been prepared on card. These statements were a range of teachercomments made in relation to a lesson on painting in Year 8. They wereintended to provide the teachers with an understanding of the style of languageused and intention behind the comments made.

The teachers worked in pairs for 10 minutes, discussing each of the 12 statements and agreeing where they should be placed in the quadrants onhandout 4.1.4 from the generic unit, which was copied onto A3-sized paper.The whole department then discussed the placing of the statements.

The department found the activity very useful, as it fostered group discussionand raised their understanding of the specific use of language within each of thequadrants, while they accepted that there were no simple, correct answers.


Statements for the activity outlined in Task 4.1A

The following statements A–L relate to a lesson on painting in Year 8, within theQCA Unit 8 in which pupils were developing their painting skills and expressiveuse of colour and mark.

Statement A

‘Your use of colour is expressive, but you should now consider how you canapply paint in thinner layers to explore qualities of translucency.’

Statement B

‘Your use of impasto technique conveys a good sense of the surface. Toachieve stronger impact you could explore the use of colour contrast.’

Statement C

‘Well done. You are developing a very expressive painting style in the way yourepresent movement. You should try and apply this in some other areas of thepainting.’

Statement D

‘You have mixed colour to match well. Now look at mixing light and darkcolours.’

Statement E

‘Your control of the paintbrush is good. Now try making your use of colour morevivid.’

Statement F

‘Your painting has really come on and your picture should go on display.’

Statement G

‘You seem to be having problems applying paint. Look again at yoursketchbook studies.’

Statement H

‘There is some progress in your control of mark and application of paint, but youwill need to work a lot harder to improve.’

Statement I

‘You just don’t seem to understand what you have been asked to do. You mustimprove your painting style if you want your picture to communicate meaning.’

Statement J

‘You have made no improvement this lesson. You must concentrate on the wayyou use colour to show depth.’

Statement K

‘You started with too few ideas for the composition and now need to go back toyour sketchbook and revisit your development to investigate better ways to usepaint to describe movement.’


Statement L

‘You are starting to make better use of different brushes, but there is still muchto do if you are going to use these brush marks to describe the dynamicmovement of these shapes.’

Answers

• Statements A, B and C are ‘Specific positive’ and go in the upper right-handcorner of the chart.

• Statements D, E and F are ‘Non-specific positive’ and go in the lower right-hand corner.

• Statements G, H and I are ‘Non-specific negative’ and go in the lower left-hand corner.

• Statements J, K and L are ‘Specific negative’ and go in the upper left-handcorner.

Evaluation

Having completed this activity, the department felt more confident ininvestigating the use of oral feedback in their own lessons and undertook Task 4.1A as described above. The department also decided to record oralfeedback using audio and video techniques. They identified the following ashelpful in their planning for this activity:• Do not attempt to record all examples of formal/informal feedback within a

lesson. Be selective and use a tripod-mounted camera or position thecamera operator to be inconspicuous, but focus the camera on a group ofpupils or section of a room.

• Try to pre-plan the layout of the room and seating/movement of the pupils tominimise awareness of the camera and avoid playing up.

• Avoid following the teacher around the room with the camera. Record whatcomes into the frame in the context of informal discussion/feedback.

• Plan the positioning of the camera to record formal feedback to the group orselect lessons where group or class discussion are planned, including thepresentation of pupils’ work.

• Use a wireless lapel mike or directional microphone if one is available.


Task 4.1B


Select an area highlighted amber or red that the department agrees ismost likely to impact on learning outcomes.

As a department, plan and teach lessons that incorporate the selectedtype of oral feedback.


Context

During the previous term, observations by senior managers had highlighted the continuing need for improvements in the use of oral feedback across thecurriculum through better planning by teachers to make it more effective indeveloping pupils’ learning. The art and design team at School B decided togive further consideration to the effectiveness of their use of oral feedback topupils within lessons. They worked on various types of oral feedback to developtheir understanding and use of this assessment for learning strategy withdifferent groups of children.

The art and design department made use of the QCA scheme of work units toinform long-term planning. For the purposes of developing oral feedback, theychose and adapted, to suit their pupils and situation, Unit 9C, Site specificsculpture. They then structured this unit as a half term project (one lesson perweek over seven weeks) for a Year 9 mixed-ability class.

Process

Lesson objective

• Pupils learn how to research and investigate the work of 20th-centurysculptors in order to help them develop their own ideas, draw conclusionsabout what influences artists’ ideas and materials when they create worksfor specific sites and understand the requirements guiding thecommissioning of site-specific sculpture.

Learning outcome

• Pupils learn how to use their sketchbook to record the evidence of theirresearch using books, CD-ROM and web-based investigations. Theyselect, print and annotate artists’ work whose site-specific sculpture clearlyconveys both the links between the site and the work itself. They learn howto use this information to inform the development of their own ideas andattempt to identify what criteria were set through the commissioningprocess. They learn how to make a maquette and how to photograph thisand their selected site, before using their image manipulation program tolearn how to paste in layers in order to produce a digital visualisation of theirmaquette in situ.


Pupils selected and recorded a site in the local community, making use of digitalcameras, producing A4 prints and enlarging these on the photocopier. Theycarried out a series of investigations making maquettes as they learned to use arange of sculptural materials including card, wire, found materials and modellingclay/plaster impregnated bandage.

Having completed these maquettes and preparatory studies in theirsketchbooks, the pupils went on to look at the work of 20th-century sculptorswho produced sculptures in urban and rural outdoor settings.

By the end of the unit, they had produced more maquettes in response to theartists’ work they had selected and studied. From these maquettes, they againmade use of digital photography and image manipulation software to select,copy, insert and scale their photographic images of their sculptural ideas intothe photographs of the site. The more-able pupils manipulated these images to make them look like real photographs of a full-sized sculpture ‘in situ’, i.e. visualisations.

In that lesson, the pupils began to look at the work of 20th-century sculptorsand to consider subject matter and the relations with the public space. Pupilsanalysed the contextual information to inform the connections they madebetween their subject design and the space they selected. Then theydeveloped their ideas in drawing and annotated form in their sketchbooks andengaged in a mix of activities during which they were encouraged to share theirideas and reflect on their intentions.

In the teaching of art and design, oral feedback is given within several differentcontexts to individuals and groups of pupils. Oral feedback is used in each partof the lesson with the whole class, both formally and informally, whereas groupfeedback tends only to be used formally within the main part of the lesson orinformally within a starter or plenary. Paired and individual oral feedback isgenerally more informal during all parts of the lesson. Art and design teachersuse oral feedback to comment on and direct pupils in their use of media andtechniques, or in their interpretation of their study of the work of artists. Theymay also use oral feedback as part of the process of assessment and review ofprogress (see the table on next page).


Evaluation

In School B, the increased focus and developments in the use of oral feedbackin lessons resulted in several key outcomes:• The use of oral feedback enabled teachers to achieve the learning

objectives through more carefully considered feedback at appropriatestages in the lesson and linked it to greater use of group and whole classactivities.

• Pupils worked with greater confidence in the creation of their maquettes.When making decisions about the possible scale of their work, they used thefeedback to inform their choices of materials and when making decisionsabout the development of ideas and placement of their work in situ.

• Pupils’ understanding of the work of particular artists, their reasons for usingspecific materials, selection of site and subject matter, including the criteriaguiding the commissioning of the work, were all enhanced by the feedbackreceived as a whole class and within groups, based on their research anddevelopment work in sketchbooks and on their verbal comments indiscussion.

Composition Types of oral feedbackof group

Whole class As a starter activity, pupils received oral feedback on the suitability of their use of the materials in theprevious lesson when constructing the maquettes. Oral feedback was given to individual pupils andthe whole class, highlighting key aspects of structure and feasibility of scale. The teacher reflected onprior learning to set the context of the task for this particular lesson.

Whole class The teacher identified the work of particular sculptors to exemplify and model suitable solutions forspecific categories of public space. Following a period of work in sketchbooks, the teachercommented on and shared individual pupils’ ideas with the whole class and began a discussion aboutscale, surface, materials, the use of colour and structure.

Whole class As part of the plenary, the teacher invited contributions from individual pupils to describe how they hadused the sculptures they had studied to inform the development of their own work. The teacher gaveinstant feedback to focus on the effectiveness of their use of the artists’ work in relation to theobjective.

Group Part-way through the lesson, groups of pupils who selected the same sculptor were created to enablea more focused discussion about their work. The teacher responded to the discussions and gaveinstant, informal feedback with regard to the pupils’ comments on the distinctive qualities of thesculptor’s work.

Group The teacher organised group discussion to agree criteria for commissioning sculptures for a specificsite. Each group was allocated a site. The teacher gave oral feedback to each group, on the criteriathey produced, using previously prepared examples to model suitable criteria for a commission.

Paired work Pupils in pairs assessed the suitability of each other’s designs in relation to the commission criteria forthe site. The teacher gave instant oral feedback to each pair to help them identify the next stage of theirdesign work.

Paired work In pairs, the pupils made presentations of their plans and intentions for their chosen site. The teachersat with each pair in turn to give feedback at the end of each brief presentation, so that they couldrespond by further developing their ideas.

Individual The teacher intervened regularly throughout the lesson to give feedback on the interpretation of thesculptors’ work and how pupils were using this information in the development of their design ideas.The focus for the feedback concentrated on the pupils’ understanding of the criteria for the choicesthey had made, their strategies for selecting media and self assessment of the design process.

Individual The teacher gave oral feedback to individual pupils on their progress in relation to the objective, whilethe rest of the class were engaged in other learning activities.


• Pupils progressed rapidly with the project, maintaining interest andmotivation as the use of group and individual informal oral feedback builtconfidence through regular opportunities to share, discuss and reviewprogress, in addition to providing purposeful guidance on their own practicalwork.

• Pupils benefited from the improved opportunity for structured peer activitiesthat resulted in the sharing of their progress and understanding.

Subject-specific references

Gilbert, Jean. Through language to seeing (JADE 1996, www.nsead.org)

Taylor, Rod. Understanding and investigating art (Hodder & Stoughton, 1999)

Taylor, Rod. Educating for art (Longman, 1986)

Guidelines for art education, Key Stages 1–5, ‘Pupil/teacher – directionalinteraction’ (Hampshire LEA, Battersea Press, 1992), page 15

Literacy in art and design, Key Stage 3 national strategy (DfES 0054/2002)

Teacher, Veronica (ed.). Classroom issues in assessment and evaluation in thearts (Berkshire LEA, 1989)

Boughton, Doug; Eisner, Elliot W.; Ligvoet, Johan. Evaluating and assessing thevisual arts in education (Teachers College Press, 1996), pages 11–13

Pupils’ learning from teachers’ responses (AAIA, 2000, www.teaching-resource.co.uk/teachers/afl.htm)

Evaluating art and design 2000 (The Education and Training Inspectorate,www.deni.gov.uk/inspection_services/inspection_related_publications/artdesign2000.pdf, Assessment for learning references: Section 2.2/2.4)


Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

Handout 4.1.4

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in D&T © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in designand technology

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to design and technology.As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject developmentmaterial is intended to help you consider the key messages of the training unitand identify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach design and technology.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in D&T and provide guidance on how to embedthis into regular practice in D&T lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in design and technology. You will need to be clear on what hashelped pupils to learn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be howyour practice has adapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what hasworked well and which areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A

With a colleague, observe each other teaching and, ideally, record(video/audio) the lessons. Use handout 4.1.4 and slide 4.1.5 in thegeneric unit (see appendix 4.1A.1) to record how specific and positiveindividual pieces of feedback are perceived to be. You should mark across in the relevant quadrant to record how positive/negative andspecific/non-specific each example of oral feedback is during thelessons.



Context

Last term the members of the design and technology (D&T) team at School Bgave consideration to the effectiveness of their use of oral feedback to pupilswithin lessons. Observations by senior managers had previously highlighted theneed for improvements in the use of oral feedback across the curriculum, inparticular to address how teachers planned their use of formal and informal oralfeedback to develop pupils’ learning. The use of oral feedback has since beenadopted as a strategy within the school improvement plan in addition to writtenfeedback.

The department devised an activity to determine the understanding necessaryto carry out the observation as stated in Task 4.1A. In brief, it provided themwith a worked example (neutral stimulus) that encouraged discussion in thedepartment before they observed each other’s practice as described in Task 4.1A.

Process

As a department they read twelve statements for design and technology whichhad been prepared on card (see below). These statements were a range ofteacher comments made in relation to a lesson based on QCA Unit 8D, Usingcontrol for security in Year 8. They were intended to provide the teachers withan understanding of the style of language used and intention behind thecomments made.

The teachers worked in pairs for 10 minutes discussing each of the twelvestatements and agreeing where they should be placed in the quadrants onhandout 4.1.4 from the generic unit (see appendix 4.1A.1), which was copiedonto A3-sized paper. The whole department then discussed the placing of thestatements.

The department found the activity very useful as it fostered group discussionand raised their understanding of the specific use of language within each of thequadrants while accepting that there were no simple, correct answers.


Statements

The following statements A–L relate to a lesson developing ideas in Year 8within the QCA Unit 8D in which pupils were producing a computer-controlledsecurity system that includes interlocking and alarms.

Statement A

‘Your research is detailed and well-structured. You could improve further byshowing more clearly how you have used the information you have collected toinform your design.’

Statement B

‘You are starting to be better organised, but there is still much to do if you aregoing to complete your product on time.’

Statement C

‘Good to see you have used a buzzer as an output device. Try discussing thiswith the rest of your group; this will enable you to see how they have usedalternative outputs and sensors as well.’

Statement D

‘A good piece of research.’

Statement E

‘Your research is poor; make more effort next time.’

Statement F

‘Much better design work; keep up this good work.’

Statement G

‘Well done; this is a good design solution. How could you modify it?’

Statement H

‘Your design ideas are quite good, but you need to think harder about themnext time.’

Statement I

‘You just don’t seem to understand what you have been asked to do. You mustmodel your ideas if you want your product to work.’

Statement J

‘Your research is too short.’

Statement K

‘You have not used any output devices and sensors in your design ideas.’

Statement L

‘You have put together a clear design specification. Make sure that you haveconsidered how much the user will be prepared to pay for this product.’


Answers

• Statements A, C and L are ‘Specific positive’ and go in the upper right-handcorner of the chart.

• Statements D, F and G are ‘Non-specific positive’ and go in the lower right-hand corner.

• Statements E, H and I are ‘Non-specific negative’ and go in the lower left-hand corner.

• Statements B, J, and K are ‘Specific negative’ and go in the upper left-handcorner.

Evaluation

Having completed this activity the department felt more confident ininvestigating the use of oral feedback in their own lessons and undertook Task 4.1A as described earlier.


Task 4.1B





Context

During the previous term, observations by senior managers had highlighted thecontinuing need for improvements in the use of oral feedback across thecurriculum, to address how teachers plan their use of formal and informal oralfeedback to develop pupils’ learning. The design and technology (D&T) team atSchool B decided to give further consideration to the effectiveness of their useof oral feedback to pupils within lessons. They worked on various types of oralfeedback to develop their understanding and use of this Assessment forlearning strategy with different groups of children.

An example of the use of oral feedback was with a Year 9 mixed-ability group.They were part way through their nine-week unit of work on bread batchproduction in the D&T focus area of food technology. The unit had beenplanned by their teacher, Graham, who had adapted it from the QCA Unit 9E,Ensuring quality production. Graham had planned to team-teach this lessonwith Heather, a trainee teacher in the department, and had discussed principlesand methods with Heather and her university tutor.

Graham also had taught the same group D&T in Year 8 and spent some timedeveloping their skills in designing, specifically their ability to generate, developand model ideas.

Process

Having been working on their food technology unit for two weeks with this Year9 class, Graham set a focused practical task in order to ensure that all pupilsmet the learning objectives:• to produce a prototype of a new bread product that will be used to promote

a national sporting event• to plan how you could make a batch of this product for sale at the event.

The learning outcomes were that pupils would be able to:• modify a food product by altering the ingredients and production processes• produce a production plan for making a batch of this product.

In the previous lesson, the teacher modelled the basic bread-making processand asked the class to research for homework the basic ingredients for theirown product, which allowed them to draw on knowledge of how to use workingcharacteristics of materials/ingredients and components.


In this lesson, Graham chose to quickly review the basic ingredients andprocess and conduct a product analysis on a range of bread products, beforeinstructing the class to generate and develop ideas for their own product withtheir planned modifications.

The table below shows examples of the oral feedback that Graham gave to theclass. The examples are spread across several lessons, particularly for pairedwork.

Composition of group Types of oral feedback

Whole class As a starter activity, pupils received oral feedback on the suitability of the materials theteacher used in the previous lesson when making a basic bread product. Oral feedbackwas given to individual pupils and the whole class, highlighting key aspects of nutrition andfunction of ingredients. The teacher reflected on prior learning to set the context of the taskfor this particular lesson.

Whole class The teacher discussed examples of a variety of bread products to exemplify and modelsuitable solutions for specific special dietary needs. Following a period of work ondesigning journals, the teacher commented on and shared individual pupils’ ideas with thewhole class and began a discussion about nutrition, cost, culture and special dietaryneeds.

Whole class As part of the plenary, the teacher invited contributions from individual pupils to describehow they had used ingredients they had studied to inform the development of their ownbread product. The teacher gave instant feedback to focus on the effectiveness of theiruse of ingredients in relation to the objective.

Group Part way through the lesson, groups of students, who were working on a bread product fora particular purpose or culture, were created to enable a more focused discussion abouttheir work. The teacher responded to the discussions and gave instant, informal feedbackwith regard to the pupils’ comments on the distinctive qualities of the product needed forthat purpose or culture.

Group The teacher organised group discussion to agree criteria for designing bread products fora particular purpose. Each group was allocated a purpose. The teacher gave oralfeedback to each group on the criteria they produced, using previously prepared examplesto model suitable criteria.

Paired work Pupils in pairs assessed the suitability of each other’s designs in relation to the criteria forthe product. The teacher gave instant oral feedback to each pair to help them to identifythe next stage of their design work.

Paired work In pairs the pupils made presentations of their plans and intentions for their product. Theteacher sat with each pair in turn to give feedback at the end of each brief presentation sothat they could respond by further developing their ideas.

Individual The teacher intervened regularly throughout the lesson to give feedback on theinterpretation of the information from the examples, and how pupils were using thisinformation in the development of their design ideas. The focus for the feedbackconcentrated on the pupils’ understanding of the criteria for the choices they had made,their strategies for selecting ingredients and self assessment of the design process.

Individual Teachers gave oral feedback to individual pupils on their progress in relationship to theobjective while the rest of the class were engaged in other learning activities.


Evaluation

Graham and Heather evaluated how successful their oral feedback had been.They found that their improved oral feedback to pupils increased the pupils’confidence to manipulate ingredients more creatively and try out a wider rangeof ideas. Heather included these findings in her university Assessment forLearning assignment and joined Graham at a departmental meeting to sharetheir outcomes with the rest of the department.


Kimbell, R. Assessing technology, Open University Press (1997)

NAAIDT website resources and publications: Think on; and Quality throughprogression in D&T (www.naaidt.org.uk)

National Curriculum in action (www.ncaction.org.uk) – commentaries onstandards relating to example pieces of pupils’ work, Assessment in D&T

QCA example schemes of work (QCA, www.qca.org.uk) – expectations sectionon front page of schemes can be used as support to differentiate comments

QCA, Creativity: Find it, promote, www.ncaction.org.uk/creativity

Good assessment in design and technology (HMI 1472), www.ofsted.gov.uk

DATA Assessment handbook, DATA news and Modus (membershippublications), www.data.org.uk


Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

Handout 4.1.4

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in English © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in English

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to English. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject development material is intended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit andidentify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach English.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in English and provide guidance on how to embedthis into regular practice in English lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in English. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupils tolearn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practice hasadapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

The English department wanted to improve the quality of oral feedback inlessons in order to raise standards and to strengthen its use of interactiveteaching. Department members decided to focus on Year 9 lessons. Theseclasses were taught in mixed-ability groups.

Process

The department began by using the grid in appendix 4.1A.2 to stimulatediscussion about the types of oral feedback that may be heard during thecourse of an English lesson. Department members discussed the statementsand completed re-writing the second and third bullets in each box of the grid as a group, in order to focus on specific/positive feedback.

It was agreed that members of the English team would pair up and observeeach other teach, using handout 4.1.4 to focus their observations. Theywanted to capture specific examples of oral feedback in each quadrant toinform their joint review of the lesson. They recorded as many examples aspossible during the observation. It was important to focus on the effectivepractice of the teacher observed, before agreeing areas for improvement andhow they would go about doing this.

Evaluation

The English team found that the observation schedule helped to identify manystrengths. Department members found that they tended to give positivefeedback to pupils. However, they all agreed that they needed to be morespecific in relating comments back to shared success criteria and identifyingexactly what pupils needed to do in order to progress.

Relating oral feedback to the success features of a task will help to make themspecific. Guidance on success features can be found in the Key objectivesbanks, Years 7, 8 and 9.


Task 4.1B

Refer to handout 4.1.4 in the generic unit (see appendix 4.1A.1) and, as a department, ‘traffic light’ the types of oral feedback described, e.g.:• green = frequently used across the department• amber = occasionally used by individuals• red = rarely used.




Context

The department used handout 4.1.4 in the generic unit to identify the areas ofpriority in relation to oral feedback, using the traffic light system. Although thisshowed that individual teachers used particular strategies for oral feedback, alldepartment members identified whole-class feedback as a strategy that wasused but had the potential to be used more effectively. Department membersalso agreed that they often found it difficult to build on oral feedback given to the class with small groups or individuals. Whole-class oral feedback wasadditionally identified as a key strategy for improving pupils’ writing – one of thepoints in the department development plan. It also fitted with the department’saim to strengthen interactive class teaching.

Process

The whole department worked in pairs to examine short-term lesson plans for aspecific year group in order to input opportunities for planned oral feedback forthe following two weeks’ teaching. It had been judged green by mostcolleagues, but through discussion it emerged that oral feedback was largelyad hoc and unplanned. The department had given mainly amber to small-groupfeedback, but those who had used it found the process to be highly effectiveand felt comfortable in sharing their practice.

The following is an overview of one teacher’s approach to developing her use oforal feedback, taking the department focus on whole-class feedback as hermain priority, but also building in opportunities for specific positive feedback toindividuals.

The class was a mixed-ability group. They had been studying Macbeth througha range of drama activities, with some focused work on the language of keysections. Their teacher also taught the same group English in Year 8 and spentsome time developing their skills in objective, WR16, throughout the year.

Having worked on Macbeth for two weeks with her Year 9 class, the teacher seta written task in order to assess what pupils had learned about stagecraft andlanguage and to consolidate their essay-writing skills. In the previous lesson, theteacher modelled the note-taking process after the class completed a card sortactivity, which allowed them to identify topic sentences and supporting points.


In the first lesson, the teacher chose to do some shared reading of a sampleessay to establish the success features for this particular task. During thisactivity she provided planned whole-class oral feedback about the sampleessay. During the next stage of the writing process, she chose to do a sharedwriting activity to create the opening paragraph, before moving the pupils on tocontinue the writing in their response pairs. The teacher then did some guidedwork with a small group, giving instant feedback to those pupils as they workedon the task, relating the feedback to their personal targets and the successfeatures of the task.

In the next lesson, the starter activity was based on the pupils’ work from theprevious lesson. Again, there were planned opportunities for whole-classfeedback based on the work of individuals. Having heard the languagemodelled, response pairs assessed each other’s work during the paired workactivity. Finally, there was planned time for individual feedback while the groupwas working on independent writing. The plenary gave opportunities for instantwhole-class feedback relating back to the learning objectives and successfeatures.

Lesson objective

Wr16: To revise writing a balanced account of a text, taking intoaccount a range of evidence and opinions.

Task

To write an essay, analysing the presentation of Macbeth in two versions of theplay, with a particular focus on the scene where Macbeth meets the witches.

Examples of teacher’s oral feedback

Teacher comments while text-marking during shared-reading: ‘This piece of writing is very well structuredbecause I can clearly see the topic sentences come atthe start of each paragraph, signalling to the reader thecontent of each section, e.g. In the scene whereMacbeth visits … and In the television version … Weknow how important topic sentences are in helping tostructure our thinking and paragraphing. To improvethis writing even further, I’d like to see the writer dividingup this third longer paragraph to create a conclusion,using a topic sentence to compare the two versions,such as, Although each version of Macbeth shows …From looking at this example of analytical writing so far,could anyone identify two features you should use inyour own analytical essay?’

(continued)

Lesson context andpurpose of oral feedback

Lesson 1: Whole-classoral feedback based on ashared reading of a sampleessay in order to establishsuccess features for thewriting task.


*A success features ladder is one means of sharing success features with a class, allowingfor differentiation and peer/self assessment. The criteria are written onto each rung of theladder, becoming progressively more difficult, e.g.:

Use connectives to link ideas

Structure the writing in paragraphs


‘That’s a really effective second sentence because youare setting the scene and making general commentsabout the essay title. Which connective could you use toshow that you are comparing the two different versions?’

‘Because this is a formal essay, we have to make surethe vocabulary is appropriate. In the sample essay welooked at together, there was a word that meant“shows” but sounds more sophisticated. Can any ofyou remember what that word was? Yes, “depicted”.Jason, do you know of any other words with the samemeaning that could be used in your essay? Could younow find alternative words for the ones that I’vehighlighted in your work?’

‘This is a clear opening sentence and I assume you’regoing to focus on setting by looking at both versions ofMacbeth in this one paragraph. It’s quite a shortsentence. Could we add some information to create acomplex sentence and show that we are going to lookat both settings in this one paragraph? I’d like to addsomething to the beginning of this sentence, Inshowing the audience how the play has beeninterpreted, the first version uses a traditional setting …What needs to come next if Shazia is going to make acomparison?’

‘Your comments are really helpful because they focuson the specific things that can be improved, such asthe way in which this paragraph has been ordered andhow the sentences link together. I agree with whatyou’ve said and would like to add something to yoursuggestions for improvement. To do this worksuccessfully, you need to include some supportingevidence. Can you remember that from our successfeatures ladder?* It was right near the top, so we knowit’s a difficult skill. We need to use a sentence stem thatallows us to embed a short quotation, followed by anexplanation …

Lesson context andpurpose of oral feedback

Lesson 1: Oral feedbackfor a small group. As theclass continues the firstparagraph in pairs, theteacher does some guidedwork with pupils groupedby ability, still focusing onWR16 with a word-levelfocus.

Lesson 2: Whole-classfeedback based on anindividual’s piece of work.The topic sentence for thesecond paragraph is readaloud and written on theboard: In the first version,the setting is traditional.

Lesson 2: Peerassessment in responsepartners – paired activity.The teacher listens to thecomments one pupil hasmade about the other’swork and provides oralfeedback on the pupil’swork and the feedback thathas been provided.


Evaluation

As a result of completing the task, the department met to evaluate its impact onteaching in the subject and how pupils responded particularly in relation tostandards. The following questions helped to structure this.

• How has teaching been adapted to the key messages of effective oralfeedback?

• How has providing oral feedback related to learning objectives impacted onpupils’ learning?

• What more do we need to do to be more effective with oral feedback?

• How do pupils respond to this approach to oral feedback?

• How has it impacted on pupils’ standards?

It was agreed that the process had been helpful in identifying areas fordevelopment. As a result, the English team was giving more attention toplanning for oral feedback, so that time was built into the lesson plans. Thedepartment had noted an impact on the quality of the work produced as a resultof the focus on specific, positive oral feedback to pupils.


An example of oral feedback in small group work can be seen in the guidedreading video sequence in Guided reading in English at Key Stage 3 (Video:DfES 0043/2002; Folder: DfES 0044/2002)

English key objectives banks, Years 7, 8 and 9 (DfES 0207/2002, DfES 0206/2002, DfES 0203/2002)


Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

English-specific example of handout 4.1.4


Rewritten as specific positive

■■ You’ve included lots of relevant information inyour essay. By returning to the original plan,you’ll see how your essay could be organisedmore clearly.

■■ You’ve started to organise your ideas. Now,look back at the notes we made together anduse these to write the first two detailedparagraphs.

■■ Your essay is well structured and logicallysequenced with good use of supportingevidence. I’d like to use it as a model of goodwriting to share with others.

Original feedback

Specific negative:■■ Your writing is far too long

and disorganised, and youdon’t even reach a finalconclusion.

■■ Your answer shows youhaven’t understood the textor the main themes.

■■ The vocabulary you’ve usedis inappropriate.

Non-specific negative:■■ Your analytical writing is poor.

Make more effort next time.■■ Your answer wouldn’t gain

any marks. Make more effortnext time.

■■ You need to think morecarefully about style.

Non-specific positive:■■ That’s a really effective piece

of analytical writing. I’d like touse it for display.

■■ That’s a lovely answer. Couldyou develop it further?

■■ That’s a huge improvementon your last attempt.

Appendix 4.1A.2

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in geography © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback ingeography

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to geography. As part ofthe whole-school focus on this, the following subject development material isintended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit and identifyany areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach geography.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in geography and provide guidance on how toembed this into regular practice in geography lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in geography. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupils tolearn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practice hasadapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

As a result of their participation in a whole-school training event that focused onAssessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1, Oral feedback, the members of thegeography department in School B considered the effectiveness of their use oforal feedback to pupils within lessons.

Observations by senior managers had previously highlighted the need forimprovements in the use of oral feedback across the curriculum, in particular toaddress how teachers planned both their formal and informal use of it todevelop pupils’ learning. The uses of both oral and written feedback wereidentified as areas of focus within the school improvement plan.

Process

As a starting point, the head of geography agreed to have three of his lessonsvideoed so that the department could analyse his use of oral feedback anddetermine whether or not it should be a focus for developmental work acrossthe department over the next twelve months.

The three geography teachers in the department each observed one lessonvideo, analysed each item of feedback and plotted them onto a copy ofhandout 4.1.4 from the generic unit (see appendix 4.1A.1). The three resultantdiagrams showed a fairly equal balance of categories of oral feedback acrossthe four quadrants.

In reflecting on this, the head of department was pleased that he haddemonstrated the skills and subject expertise necessary to provide positive andspecific feedback to pupils but wanted to analyse his responses further toidentify how he might improve.


To do this he decided to work with a smaller sample of ‘feedback items’, so fourexamples in each of the quadrants were randomly selected and transcribed forthe department to analyse (see appendix 4.1A.1).

At their next department meeting, the teachers worked collaboratively tosuggest ways in which each item of ‘specific negative’, ‘non-specific negative’and ‘non-specific positive’ feedback might be developed to make it morespecific and more positive. A sample of their development work is provided inappendix 4.1A.2.

Evaluation

Each member of the department then agreed to have one lesson videoed overthe course of the next month, so the nature of their oral feedback could beanalysed and the impact of their developmental work discussed at their nextdepartment meeting.


Task 4.1B



As a department plan and teach lessons that incorporate the selectedtype of oral feedback.


Context

The following case studies each describe how three geography departments,where the heads of department participated in their local education authority’sgeography network meetings, undertook an investigation into their use ofindividual, group and whole-class oral feedback. Their schools had eachidentified Assessment for Learning as a whole-school priority.

Following an input on Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1, Oralfeedback at the geography network meeting, each head of geography agreedto use traffic lighting to identify an area of focus within the department and tothen use handout 4.1.4 in the generic unit (see also appendix 4.1A.1) as thebasis for improving teachers’ use of oral feedback.

Context for case study 1: Focus on individual oralfeedback

The geography department identified their use of individual oral feedback as anarea for development. Lesson observations suggested that the use of this typeof feedback was extremely variable across the five teachers delivering the KeyStage 3 geography curriculum, but that the potential for this to impact positivelyon attainment could be significant. This priority linked well to another area thedepartment had identified for development at Key Stage 3: the use of writtenfeedback to improve standards.

Process for case study 1

The department collaboratively planned a lesson from their Year 8 unit ‘Urbanland use’. It focused on the skill of photograph interpretation and theunderstanding of urban redevelopment. The learning objectives for thislesson were to:• develop the skill of photograph interpretation• describe and explain how the decline of industry impacts on the urban

landscape and land use.


The learning outcomes were to be able to:• recognise, identify and describe the key features of urban re-development

and land use• explain how industrial change impacts on the urban land use• select evidence from the photograph and from personal experiences to

support explanations of changing land use.

In the lesson pupils were asked to reflect on written feedback they had receivedfor their annotated river field sketches completed two months previously. Theywere asked to use this feedback to inform their photograph interpretation workon urban land use (see appendix 4.1B.1 and appendix 4.1B.2 for pupil worksamples from this lesson).

One member of the department who had been identified by the subject leaderas being particularly skilful in his use of oral feedback agreed to have his deliveryof the planned lesson videoed so that the other members of the departmentcould analyse his practice and use it to inform their own developments inproviding oral feedback.

The department analysed the video at their next department meeting.

This transcript shown in appendix 4.1B.1 records one teacher/pupildiscussion that took place during this lesson while the pupil was annotating aphotograph showing aspects of urban redevelopment. The commentsalongside this transcript are those made by members of the department as theyevaluated the quality of the teacher’s feedback. They were able to recognisethat he skilfully directed the feedback towards the objectives and outcomes forthe lesson and that the instant feedback provided the pupil with opportunities toamend and improve his work.

Context for case study 2: Focus on paired oralfeedback

Following the whole-school delivery of Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1, Oral feedback, departments were asked to focus on a specific type of feedback they needed to develop. Because the geography department hadintroduced a range of thinking skills activities over the previous twelve months,they thought it would be productive to focus on their use of individual oralfeedback as an intervention for paired work.


The department decided a good starting point would be for the head ofdepartment to video one of her lessons so that they could identify existingstrengths and areas for development and could begin to develop a sharedunderstanding of effective practice in oral feedback. The lesson chosenfocused on the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, about which the pupils wereasked to carry out a classification task involving card sorting.


The learning objectives for the lesson were to:• link the causes and effects of the Kanto Earthquake• classify human responses into categories• recognise and describe how humans respond in their attempts to manage

the earthquake hazard.

The learning outcomes were to be able to:• classify the information about the earthquake into causes, effects and

responses• recognise that responses can be prioritised and sorted into sub-categories

according to the different types of strategy used to reduce the impact ofearthquakes

• describe and explain links between causes, effects and responses andjustify personal opinions about which are the most important.

The department met together to analyse the oral feedback. Appendix 4.1B.2shows a transcript of a discussion between the head of geography, a male pupil(MP) and a female pupil (FP), which took place during the card-sorting task. Theteachers evaluated the quality of the oral feedback in this section of the lessonagainst the learning objectives and outcomes. Their comments are shownalongside the transcript.

Overall, the department felt that the instantaneous teacher feedback wasextremely valuable and reflected the value she placed on cooperation andcollaborative working. One teacher suggested that this element could befurther strengthened if it was made an explicit part of the learning objectiveswithin the lesson.

Context for case study 3: Focus on group and wholeclass oral feedback

In the third case study, the head of department was carrying out classroom-based research into the use of oral feedback to encourage higher orderthinking.


The head of department worked with the two other teachers in his departmentto plan a lesson within a Year 9 unit of work on urbanisation which considersfactors that impacted on urban redevelopment of Salford Quays in Manchester.

The learning objectives for the lesson were to:• link facts and make relevant assumptions about the social implications of

urban redevelopment• be able to support answers using evidence• form a convincing argument based on personal opinions.

The learning outcomes were to be able to:• classify information into a number of categories• recognise and describe links between facts and events and make relevant

assumptions about facts and events as well as suggest how these mightaffect the future


• justify personal opinions and make predictions based on evidence to form aconvincing argument about the social implications of urban re-development.

The pupils were asked to work in groups to solve a mystery: ‘Who killed Enid?’In ‘mysteries’, pupils are required to work collaboratively to uncover an answerby linking information provided on separate pieces of card in order to identifycauses and effects – in this example, the local, national and international causesand effects of urban re-development. He wanted the pupils to be creative indevising theories and to evaluate and question the quality of their own and theirpeers’ responses.

A sample of development work on oral feedback

In the development phase of the lesson, the teacher planned opportunities towork closely with each group during the mystery task so that he could provideinstant feedback that pupils could immediately act on. In the whole-classfeedback that followed, one of his aims was to sharpen up pupils’ awareness ofwhat makes a good answer or response.

The head of department arranged for his lesson to be videoed so that he coulduse the recording to evaluate the feedback in terms of its impact on the qualityof the pupil outcomes. His prime aim was to draw out extended answers fromthe pupils by encouraging them to carry out higher order thinking such asreasoning, synthesising, evaluating and justifying.

Appendices 4.1B.3 and 4.1B.4 show transcripts from different episodeswithin this lesson. The comments alongside the transcripts are those made bythe head of department and his colleagues when they analysed the video withreference to the learning objectives and identified outcomes for the lesson.

Evaluation

At their next geography network meeting, each of the three heads ofdepartment gave a 10-minute presentation on their developmental work. They were asked to include an evaluation of the impact of their use of oralfeedback on pupil outcomes, including specific examples of feedback that had led to improved pupil attainment against the learning outcomes identifiedfor the lesson.


Geography specific example of handout 4.1.4

Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

You have not managed to select a variety of different ways ofpresenting this data on windspeed, rainfall and temperature,and this wind direction has resultedin your low grade for this work.

You have failed in your fieldworkbecause you did not collect thedata on river discharge in the wayyou had been told.

You’ve not given enough reasonsto explain why the rainforests area valuable resource.

The report on sustainabledevelopment in the Amazon isvery well structured and argued.You have considered a numberof new points and have drawn aclear conclusion. This is anoutstanding effort.

That was aparticularly goodexplanation becauseyou backed up youranswer withevidence from thephotograph.

Your map work was excellent,because you’ve includeddetailed and easily recognisablekey-based Ordnance Surveymap symbols. To improve itfurther, try adding a scale bar.

Well done. That was agreat explanation.

This is a brilliant report!Well done, you superstar!!

You’ve obviously made aneffort here, but try to addmore detail in your work.

You’ve wasted your timetalking and not attemptedany of the tasks I’ve set!

Disappointing. You’ve madevery little effort and yourpresentation skills are poor.

You’re not concentrating; youneed to focus on your work.


Appendix 4.1A.2

Typ

e o

f co

mm

ent

Sp

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me

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r.

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l don

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as a

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but

try

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dd m

ore

deta

il in

your

wor

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is a

bril

liant

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rt! W

ell d

one,

you

sup

erst

ar!!

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g th

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ral f

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mm

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etho

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you

row

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imar

y da

ta in

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corr

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ay, y

ou n

eed

to u

se th

e re

sults

from

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ther

gro

up s

o th

at y

ou c

anco

mpl

ete

the

repo

rt p

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have

dra

wn

som

e re

ally

goo

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r cha

rts

for y

our d

ata

on m

icro

clim

ate.

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cou

ld g

et y

ours

elf

bett

er m

arks

her

e if

you

use

a ra

nge

of d

iffer

ent t

ypes

of g

raph

s to

sho

w o

ff th

e in

form

atio

n yo

u ha

veco

llect

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ou c

ould

use

pie

cha

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line

grap

hs o

r win

d ro

ses,

for e

xam

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real

ly p

ositi

ve s

tart

to y

our f

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raft.

To

furt

her i

mpr

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the

expl

anat

ion

that

you

hav

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neab

out t

he ra

info

rest

as

a re

sour

ce, y

ou n

eed

to a

dd m

ore

reas

ons

and

your

ow

n op

inio

n.

We

all n

eed

to ta

lk th

roug

h ou

r wor

k so

that

we

can

sort

out

any

pro

blem

s, b

ut y

ou h

aven

’t m

anag

ed to

mak

e a

star

t yet

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ther

e an

ythi

ng s

peci

fic th

at I

can

tell y

ou a

bout

the

mig

ratio

n ca

se s

tudy

that

will

help

you

to g

et g

oing

?

Whe

n yo

u do

a p

rese

ntat

ion

like

this

, you

nee

d to

be

wel

l pre

pare

d; it

hel

ps to

mak

e su

re th

at y

our

over

head

tran

spar

enci

es a

re c

aref

ully

pro

duce

d so

that

you

can

con

fiden

tly ta

lk a

bout

the

info

rmat

ion

they

sho

w a

bout

crim

e ra

tes

in th

e in

ner c

ity c

ompa

red

to ru

ral a

reas

. You

real

ly w

ould

hav

e ac

hiev

edm

ore

if yo

ur re

sear

ch a

nd p

lann

ing

had

been

mor

e th

orou

gh.

Ofte

n th

e ha

rdes

t thi

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hen

look

ing

at a

com

plex

issu

e su

ch a

s un

der-

deve

lopm

ent i

s to

see

the

‘big

pict

ure’

. I’d

like

you

to w

ork

as a

team

with

Jam

es a

nd S

ophi

e to

pro

duce

a p

lan

to h

elp

you

to g

etst

arte

d on

this

repo

rt. I

’ll g

ive

you

five

min

utes

, the

n I’l

l com

e an

d se

e w

hat y

ou’v

e do

ne.

This

is a

gre

at e

xpla

natio

n be

caus

e yo

u ha

ve g

iven

a n

umbe

r of r

easo

ns w

hy p

eopl

e w

ho liv

e in

poo

rer

coun

trie

s w

ant t

o m

igra

te to

rich

er o

nes.

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hav

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so g

iven

you

r ow

n op

inio

n an

d ba

cked

it u

p w

ithev

iden

ce fr

om th

e vi

deo.

Your

firs

t dra

ft of

the

desc

riptio

n of

wha

t life

wou

ld b

e lik

e in

a s

hant

y to

wn

is g

ood

so fa

r. In

you

r sec

ond

draf

t, us

e m

ore

adje

ctiv

es a

nd e

xten

d yo

ur s

ente

nces

by

usin

g a

full r

ange

of c

onne

ctiv

es.

You

have

sel

ecte

d th

e re

leva

nt fa

cts,

seq

uenc

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nd lin

ked

them

ver

y w

ell in

you

r rep

ort.

Rem

embe

r to

conc

lude

with

the

mos

t im

port

ant i

dea.


Case study 1: Transcript of individual oral feedback

T Come on Ralf, you’ve not put many labels on yet.

P I’ve done three. How many do you need?

T It’s more about the quality of what you write, not how many labels youput on the image. What could make a good annotation for this part ofthe photograph?

P It’s waste ground.

T Good stuff. But what else can you tell me, though? To make a goodannotation you need to look beyond what you can see! We know morethan the photo shows. For instance, we could try to predict what theland used to be used for and maybe its future uses. So how can yourlabel be improved so that it becomes an annotation?

P I could add more details to describe the photo.

T Adding more detail is a really good idea. That’s just what you need todo. But what do you need to write to make a good descriptivecomment? What about trying to say what the area might have beenused for? What suggestions can you make?

P Perhaps there might have been some old factory buildings there;maybe it was knocked down to build new housing. I can see some thathave already been built on the edge of the photo and maybe they needmore houses as more people move to the area.

T That’s excellent. So what you’ve done is to predict what the wastelandmight once have been used for and you have suggested its future use,plus telling me why new housing might be needed. You have also usedsome evidence to back up your annotation. That’s brilliant! You’vedone really well. So, what makes a good annotation then? Is it justadding more detail?

P Well yes, but you need to try and think about things you can say aboutwhy things in the photograph look the way they do.

T Yes. That’s called prediction, which is a high level of understanding.

Appendix 4.1B.1

Here the teacherencourages the pupil toengage with the firstoutcome identified for thelesson focusing onrecognising, naming anddescribing. The teacheralso makes a neutralcomment about the labelsthat are already written.

Positive, specific commentslinked explicitly to thesecond and third learningoutcome; focuses onexplaining changes in landuse and on selectingevidence.

Further feedback related toextending the pupil’sresponse to bring it in linewith the first learningoutcome that aims toencourage descriptiveannotations.

The teacher feedbackprompts the pupil to selectevidence and make aprediction backed up withreasons. This strengthensthe quality of theexplanation.

This summative comment ispositive, specific and linkswhat the pupil has said tothe objectives andoutcomes for the lesson.The teacher is explicit in hisuse of language and usesthe same vocabulary as theobjectives and outcomes.

The teacher prompts thepupil’s reflections on theskills he has used and helpsto deconstruct theannotations. This takes thepupil beyond the expectedlearning outcome as itencourages the skill ofprediction as a tool forinterpreting images. Thiswas not an explicit part ofthe original objectives andhas implications for futureplanning for pitchingobjectives and outcomeswith an appropriate level ofchallenge for the class.

Negative, non-specific feedback.


Case study 2: Transcript of paired oral feedback

T Can you select a card that tells you about the cause of earthquakes?

FP It’s this one that says where Japan is. It says it’s on a boundary of aplate where there is a lot of stress building up.

T Well done, Henrietta; that’s a good answer. What I’d like you both to dois to try to give an explanation about why earthquakes happen here?

FP Earthquakes happen there because the plates move together andcause friction. They sometimes get stuck and when they movesuddenly, they cause the earthquake to happen.

MP The ground shakes because waves travel through it and that’s whysome buildings collapse. In Japan, one of the plates sinks beneath theother. It’s called a destructive zone. You get volcanoes as wellsometimes.

FP Yes, as the plate goes down it melts and makes lava … no, magma. Itexplodes out onto the surface due to pressure, like in Mount St Helens.You measure the waves on a Richter scale don’t you?

T That’s right! Well done. What’s good about the answer you’ve given isthat you have added to each other’s comments in a really positive way.This has made your joint answer really strong. You’ve identified thelinks between cause and effect and have described these links well. I liked your explanation as well. Also, you’ve remembered to link whatwe are doing now to other things we’ve done in geography recently.Great. OK, what I now want you to do is to classify the cards intocauses, effects and human responses.

Pupils spend time sorting cards

T Great job! Can you see any pattern to the way you have sorted thecards?

FP Yes; there’s loads of responses, a few effects and only one cause. Thatmeans that all of those effects and responses are linked to only onecause.

T Excellent answer. OK, now look at the effects. Which are the mostimportant?

MP Death; people die in earthquakes. Buildings can be rebuilt; peoplecan’t.

T Henrietta, can you suggest a reason why people want to live inearthquake zones.

MP I can sir; it’s because that’s where their livelihood and jobs are.

FP Yes and their family will be there as well, so people wouldn’t want tomove.

MP Yes, and also the earthquake might not happen in ages; you could stayand never be affected at all.

T OK. That’s great. So what you’re saying is that people view the risk asbeing acceptable in view of the fact that earthquakes only happenrarely and are to some extent predictable. You’re both doing really wellas a pair here. Richard’s making some clear points and Henrietta isadding to them. That’s a good way to work; you’re building eachother’s answers up to improve them. That means that your answers asa pair are perhaps better than answers you might have been able togive if you were working on your own.

Appendix 4.1B.2

Teacher gives a positivenon-specific comment witha prompt for the pair toextend the answer to givean explanation. Thisencourages them to movefrom recognising a simplelink of cause and effecttowards explaining thelinks.

This conversation betweenthe two pupils is an exampleof social construction. TheFP gives the explanationbut fails to use subject-specific terms. The pair thenlink in other elements ofwhat they have learnedusing subject-specificvocabulary. Thus they moveto a higher-level outcome.

The teacher is positiveabout the way the pair havebuilt on each other’sanswers. His responsereflects the wording of thelearning outcomes,especially the third.

Although the pupil makesan attempt to justify hisidea (see third outcome) theteacher does not respondto the comment. This maymake the pupil feel that theanswer is not valued.

This dialogue shows afurther example of socialconstruction. Although thepupils’ comments are briefthey are beginning tosuggest their ownreasons for humanresponses to the hazard.This indicates engagementwith elements of the thirdlearning outcome.

The teacher summariseswhat the pupils have saidbut makes explicit referenceto the way in which theirwork as a pair has helped todevelop their answers. Shemisses the chance to linkthe verbal response to thelearning outcomes tohighlight achievement andbe clear about ways inwhich they can improve.


Case study 3: Transcript of group oral feedback

T What I want is for the group to try to link some of these facts tomake an assumption that might help to explain why Enid died ofhypothermia.

MPI She was too scared to go out of her house ’cos there wasgangs going up and down the streets on bikes and that … andso she couldn’t get her pension and pay her gas bill.

T Great; but how can you link the fact that she couldn’t pay hergas bill to her dying of hypothermia.

FPI She couldn’t pay her bill, so they cut her gas off. So she had noheating, so she couldn’t keep warm. She wrapped up in ablanket, but this didn’t keep her warm enough, so she died ofhypothermia.

FP2 She could have died from starvation ’cos if she didn’t go outthen she couldn’t buy food.

T Interesting. But how can we rule out starvation.

FPI ’Cos she had a social worker.

T We know, then, she was getting some care. So could the socialworker be blamed for her death? I think you’ve done really welland between you have worked out that she didn’t die of fright.She is unlikely to have died from starvation and she mostprobably died of hypothermia. Now I want you to think aboutthe reasons why people like Enid die in their homes every daythrough neglect and what could have happened to prevent herdeath. Try to justify your opinions or ideas, linking the facts andbacking up your answers with evidence and probableoutcomes.

MP2 If the area was more developed then they wouldn’t need asmany social workers or be as many people that needed lookingafter, so the social worker might have had more time to go andsee Enid.

T Well done; you’re really starting to unpick this mystery andstarting to uncover some complicated links and connections.You make a great team. See if you can build up an account thatshows who is responsible for Enid’s death either directly orindirectly.

Appendix 4.1B.3

Although the comment is positiveand specific, there is no explicitreference to the outcomes andobjectives. The teacher could havemade a much clearer reference tothe expected learning outcomesand how the pupils might haveprogressed to achieve them.

MP1 (male pupil 1) makes asimple assumption, thenlinks it to a reason. Hebegins to form an opinionand justify his idea.

The teacher makes apositive but non-specificcomment. He focuses thegroup onto the secondlearning outcome: torecognise and describelinks.

This dialogue shows howthe teacher directs thegroup to be sociallyconstructive and guides thegroup talk so that theybegin to justify theiropinions. The group beginsto form an argument thatis based on usingevidence to make linksbetween facts and events.However, links to thelearning outcomes are notmade explicit to the pupils.

The teacher summarisesthe assumptions made sofar and provides the nextfocus for the group to workon. The pupils areencouraged to makepredictions and to justifytheir ideas. There is a moveto engage with the thirdlearning outcome for thelesson.

The pupil makesassumptions andpredictions as specified inthe previous piece ofteacher feedback.

Here the teacher outlineswhat is expected of thegroup. He uses keyvocabulary that expressesthe nature of the secondlearning outcome.


Case study 3: Transcript of whole-class oral feedback

MPI I don’t think anyone really killed Enid. I just think she died due tonatural causes ’cos she didn’t pay her gas bill and was cut offand so died of hypothermia. I think the EU is to blame ’costhey’ve given money to Salford to build up the Quays and not tobuild up the houses and better healthcare and stuff. It couldhave been prevented by building a factory ’cos that would havestopped unemployment so you wouldn’t have people hangingabout on the streets and stuff. So I don’t think she would havebeen as scared to go out … so in turn she could have got herpension and carried on her life. That’s what I think happened.

T That’s a good answer. Well done. There’s been some reallyoutstanding responses. So then, we’ve heard from all of thegroups and their different opinions and arguments about whyEnid died. Some of you have even been able to give somesuggestions about what could have been done to prevent herdeath and to think beyond the information that you have. This iscalled hypothesising. OK … do you think there is a right orwrong answer to this question?

FPI No.

FP2 But some reasons are more likely.

T Great. So therefore some people’s answers will be better thanothers. Can two groups have the same answer but for differentreasons?

MP2 Yes.

T So who’s more right or who will get a better mark if they bothhave the same answer.

MP2 It’s about what detail you can give.

T Good. But what do you mean about detail?

MP3 It’s the way you back up your answers with as many reasons asyou can.

T Superb. Anything else?

MP4 Yes. Some reasons are bigger than others, like complicatedones like when the property developer built offices instead offactories, which meant that the locals became unemployed’cos they didn’t have the proper qualifications or skills to work inthe office, so they just started messing around on motorbikes,which scared Enid.

T Excellent. So often it’s not the answer itself that is important, buthow you are able to justify your arguments which help you getbetter marks.

Appendix 4.1B.4

This pupil gives his opinionto the rest of the class andprovides several pieces ofevidence to support hisargument. He also makesa number of predictions.

The teacher guides thewhole-class feedback byasking questions abouthow ‘answers’ were arrivedat and how responses canbe made more credible byjustifying opinions withevidence and makingassumptions based on theinterpretation ofinformation. In addition, theteacher’s remarks arepositive and end by askinga further question tostimulate further thoughtand reflection. Thisfeedback could have beenmore meaningful if therehad been a much moretransparent use andreference to the very explicitlanguage used in theobjectives and outcomesfor the lesson.

In this piece of whole-classindirect feedback, theteacher acknowledges theinput of all of the groupswith a positive specificcomment. However, there isa missed opportunity tounpick the pupil’s answerand reference it to thelearning outcomes. Theteacher doesn’t clarify whythe answer is a good one.

Although the teacher didn’tmodel what makes a goodanswer, by encouraging thepupils to be metacognitive,they collectively begin totake apart their answer andspecify what makes a highlevel of response.

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in history © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in history

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to history. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject development material is intended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit andidentify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach history.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in history and provide guidance on how to embedthis into regular practice in history lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in history. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupils tolearn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practice hasadapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A

With a colleague, observe each other teaching and, ideally, record (video/audio) the lessons. Use handout 4.1.4 and slide 4.1.5 in the generic unit (see appendix 4.1A.1) to record how specific and positive individual piecesof feedback are perceived to be. You should mark a cross in the relevantquadrant to record how positive/negative and specific/non-specific eachexample of oral feedback is during the lessons.



Context

In the following case study, the history department identified the quality of oralfeedback as an area for development. Observations by senior managers hadpreviously highlighted the need for improvements in the use of oral feedbackacross the curriculum, in particular to address how teachers planned their useof formal and informal feedback to develop pupils’ learning.

Process

The head of history felt that before observing each other teach, the departmentneeded to have a preparatory discussion in order to clarify their thinking aboutgood practice in oral feedback. In a departmental meeting, the head of departmentprovided a set of fictitious oral responses in order to stimulate discussion. In theexamples, a range of different types of oral feedback were included. The teacherswere asked to work in pairs to discuss each of the statements and then to placethe statements in the appropriate quadrant of handout 4.1.4 in the generic unit,which had been enlarged on A3-sized paper. The whole department thendiscussed the placing of the statements (see appendix 4.1A.1).

The department found the activity very useful, as it fostered group discussionand raised their understanding of the specific use of language within each of thequadrants while they accepted that there were no simple, correct answers.

They then went on to use the chart in appendix 4.1A.2 to turn some of theoriginal feedback into specific, positive statements. In order to focus on howoral feeback can be positive specific, they completed the chart, rewriting thestatements for the three quadrants given. The first one from each section wascompleted as a model.

These activities gave staff the confidence to move on to carrying out somepaired observations. During these observations, they continued to use the gridgiven in handout 4.1.4 to capture specific examples of oral feedback in eachquadrant. This informed the joint review of the lesson. It was agreed that theywould focus on the effective practice of the teacher observed before agreeingareas for improvement and how to go about doing this.


Evaluation

The initial activity generated a lot of discussion and was useful in preparingteachers for the paired observations. The teachers found the observationshelpful and stimulating, and they agreed that it led to improved practice in oralfeedback.


Task 4.1B





Context

The history department at School A had spent some time in the previous termdeveloping and improving the quality of oral feedback in lessons. They hadcompleted paired observations. The observations helped them to identify theareas of priority in relation to oral feedback, using the ‘traffic light’ system.Although this showed that individual teachers used particular strategies for oralfeedback, the department had all identified whole-class feedback as a strategythat was used but had the potential to be used more effectively. Whole-classoral feedback was also identified as a key strategy for improving pupils’ writing– one of the points in the department development plan.

Process

The whole department worked in pairs to examine their short-term lesson plans for a specific year group in order to input opportunities for planned oralfeedback for the following two weeks’ teaching. It had been given green bymost colleagues, but through discussion it emerged that feedback was largely ad hoc and unplanned for. The department had given mainly amber to small-group feedback, but exponents of this found it to be highly effectiveand felt comfortable in sharing their practice.

Two teachers in Year 9 worked as a pair and were able to observe each otherteaching. At the next departmental meeting, they shared their plans andexperiences of teaching to those plans with the rest of the department. They hadtaken the departmental focus on whole-class feedback as their main priority buthad also built in opportunities for specific positive feedback to individuals.

One teacher explained the context of the lessons. This Year 9 class was amixed-ability group. The pupils had been studying the Great War. They hadalready discussed and written about the causes of the war – the trends andtriggers and how they combined together.

The teacher wanted the pupils to understand the different types of warfare (e.g. cavalry versus machines). In pairs the pupils studied a range of written andpictorial sources to help them build a picture of the different types of warfare,1914–18. The teacher set a written task requiring pupils to test the validity of thestatement: ‘Machines were more effective than animals in the Great War.’


In the first lesson, the teacher had chosen to do some shared reading of asample essay from a different topic to establish the success criteria for the task.During the activity, the teacher provided planned whole-class oral feedbackabout the sample essay. During the next stage of the writing process, theteacher chose to do a shared writing activity to create the opening paragraph,before moving the pupils on to continue the writing in their response pairs. Theteacher then did some guided work with a small group, giving instant feedbackto pupils related to their personal targets and the success features of the taskas they worked on the task.

In the next lesson, the starter activity was based on the pupils’ work from theprevious lesson. Again, there were planned opportunities for whole-classfeedback based on the work of individuals. Having heard the languagemodelled, pupils assessed each other’s work during the paired work activity.Finally, the teacher planned time for individual feedback while the group wereworking on independent writing. The plenary then gave opportunities for whole-class feedback relating back to the learning objectives and successfeatures.

The teacher who had been observing these lessons had used the grid toidentify the specific points during the lesson when oral feedback was used, with some examples.


*A ‘success ladder’ was one means of sharing success criteria with the class,allowing for differentiation and peer and self assessment. The criteria werewritten onto each rung of the ladder, becoming progressively more difficult asthey were higher up the ladder.

Lesson objective

Task

Lesson context andpurpose of oralfeedback

Lesson 1: Whole-class oral feedbackbased on sharedreading of a sampleessay, in order toestablish successcriteria for the writingtask.

Lesson 1: Oralfeedback for a smallgroup. As the classcontinues the firstparagraph, the teacherdoes some guidedwork with particularpairs of pupils.

Lesson 2: Peerassessment ingroups of four. Theteacher listens to thecomments one pupilhas made about theother’s work andprovides oral feedbackon the pupil’s work andthe feedback that hasbeen provided.

To be able to test a statement about the different types of warfare during the Great War.

To use your knowledge and the sources of evidence to test the accuracy of thisstatement: ‘Machines were more effective than animals in the Great War.’ Do youagree or disagree with this statement? Give reasons to support your answer.


Teacher comments during shared-reading: ‘This piece of writing is very well structuredbecause I can clearly see the topic sentences come at the start of each paragraph,signalling to the reader the content of each section, e.g.: There is some evidence thatsuggests that machines were … This shows us how important topic sentences are inhelping to structure our thinking and writing. To improve this even further, I’d like to seethe writer support their claim by cross-referencing between the sources, e.g. sourcesB and D both suggest that animals were very effective when the weather was awfuland the ground became too boggy for motor vehicles to get through to the front.’

‘That’s a really effective second sentence because you are setting the scene about thedifferent types of warfare using what you’ve learned so far. Let’s turn to the statementitself. Which of the picture sources seem to support the statement? Tell me how theydo that.

‘Now look at the written sources. Can you see any links with the picture sourcesyou’ve already selected?

‘Looking at the sources you have selected, how strong is the evidence in support ofthe statement?’

‘Your comments are really helpful because they focus on the specific things that canbe improved. For example, I heard you mention that instead of using the sourcesseparately, Tony should have tried to cross-reference them and then draw a conclusionabout the statement. Remember our “success ladder”*? Cross-referencing of sourceswas right near the top, so we know it’s a difficult skill. We need to use a sentence stemthat helps us to do this, e.g. sources E and G used together suggest that … ’

The statement is both supported and discredited using sources in groups

and in context.

The statement is both supported and discredited using the sources in groups.

The statement is both supported and discreditedusing the sources separately.


Evaluation

The members of the history department were positive about the process andwere convinced there was an improvement in the standard of the work pupilsproduced as a result of the specific and positive feedback they received. Pairedobservations had been extremely valuable, and the teachers felt they hadbenefited from the mutual support and critical reflection. The followingquestions were used to focus discussion at a subsequent department meeting.

• How has teaching been adapted to the key messages of effective oralfeedback?

• How has providing oral feedback related to learning objectives impacted onpupils’ learning?



• How has it impacted on pupils’ standards?


The Cambridge History Project

Teaching history, 2003

Foundation subjects training folder and video for module on Challenge

The CHATA Project, Institute of Education, London University


History-specific example of handout 4.1.4

Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

Statement A‘You have spent toomuch time onanalysing sources oneat a time instead ofusing them togetherthrough crossreferencing.’

Statement I‘Your answer shows that you haven’t understoodthe difference between “change” and“development”.’

Statement E‘You haven’t really explained anything. All youhave done is describe the causes of war.’

Statement J‘You have combined long- and short-termcauses together successfully. At what pointcould the war have been prevented?’

Statement G‘There is not enough detail in this. Youneed to write more.’

Statement C‘You have not put enough thought intothis.’

Statement F‘You have lost marks because of waffle.’

Statement L‘This is a very good answer to adifficult question. Can you developyour conclusion a bit more?’

Statement B‘Well done. This is a big improvementon your last “why” question.’

Statement H‘You have put in plenty of good detail andit has brought your essay to life.’

Statement D‘You have successfully written about changesthat took place during the industrial revolution.Which of these deserve to be called turningpoints? Why?’

Statement K‘You have tested the statementabout the suffragettes using all ofthe sources and cross-referencingbetween them. Now try rewritingthe statement to take account ofthe evidence you have studied.’


Appendix 4.1A.2

Original feedback

Specific negative

■■ You have spent too much time analysing sourcesinstead of using them together through cross-referencing.

■■ Your answer shows that you understood thedifference between a ‘change’ and a‘development’.

■■ You haven’t really explained anything. All you havedone is describe the causes of the war.

Non-specific negative

■■ There is not enough detail in this. You need towrite more.

■■ You have lost marks because of waffle.

■■ You have not put enough thought into this.

Non-specific positive

■■ You have put in plenty of good detail and it hasbrought your essay to life.

■■ This is a very good answer to a very difficultquestion. Can you develop your conclusion a bitmore?

■■ Well done. This is a big improvement on your last‘why’ question.


■■ You have read each source carefully one at a time.The next step is to cross-reference the sourcesand assess the historian’s statement aboutattitudes towards the peace treaty.

■■ You have written generally about the impact of the war on the home front. One or two clearexamples would help to make specific theevidence you have for the general statements.

■■ You have used your knowledge to good effect indescribing the attitudes, beliefs and values of thetime. This has helped you to make sense of thepoliticians’ actions that otherwise would bepuzzling.

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in ICT © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in ICT

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to ICT. As part of thewhole-school focus on this, the following subject development material isintended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit and identify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach ICT.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in ICT and provide guidance on how to embedthis into regular practice in ICT lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in ICT. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupils to learnmore effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practice hasadapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

The teachers in the ICT department in School D had been reviewing theirpractice on feedback to pupils. They were aware that there had been littleformal planning for oral feedback in most of their lessons and that whatfeedback there was would sometimes be ad hoc and informal. They recognisedthat neither teachers nor pupils were used to oral feedback that focusedexplicitly on the learning objectives, and pupils were therefore unprepared tomake the best use of it. Pupils’ awareness of how important feedback to otherscan be to their own work was also underdeveloped. They tended not to listencarefully to feedback to others and were unprepared to enter into any dialogueafter receiving feedback on their own work.

Process

The teachers arranged to work in pairs to observe one another’s lessons (fromsample teaching unit 8.2) with a specific focus on the type of oral feedback thatwas being given. They used handout 4.1.4 to capture specific examples of oralfeedback and recorded them in each quadrant to inform their joint review of thelesson (see appendix 4.1A.1). They agreed in advance they would focus on theeffective practice observed first. They would then agree areas for improvementand how to go about doing this, as they felt this would be a positive andsupportive way of working.

Evaluation

After the first lesson observation on publishing on the web, the two teachersinvolved met again to review the results on the observation form.

The teachers then worked together and rewrote some of the original feedbackfrom the observed lesson as specific positive feedback. They were aware thatthe language used in their written notes was not exactly as they would deliverthe feedback in conversation with pupils. However, they felt that the mainmessages they wanted to convey were clear. The outcome of their work is inappendix 4.1A.2.


Task 4.1B





Context

The subject leader in School H had identified, in the department developmentplan, that feedback was a key strategy for developing pupils’ proficiency inidentifying criteria for evaluating and modifying their work. The school alreadyhad a system of paired observation in place. Through these observations, thesubject leader had identified a great variability in practice in giving oralfeedback. Some teachers seemed only to give minimal feedback and this wasoften about software, while in other classes feedback was more focused on theobjectives of the lesson. The subject leader was therefore keen to follow up thewhole-school training day with Task 4.1B.

Process

The subject leader gave the ICT department handout 4.1.4 to help identify theareas of priority in relation to oral feedback, using the traffic light system. Theresults of this showed that individual teachers used different strategies for oralfeedback. The department mainly had given amber to group feedback, and manyteachers felt this was highly effective and wanted to share their practice withcolleagues. Few used ‘paired work oral’, and through discussion it emerged thatthis was largely ad hoc and unplanned for. As a department they agreed that thiswas an area they would work on, as it had the potential to be used more effectively.

The whole department worked in pairs, examined their short-term lesson plansfor a specific year group and identified opportunities for planned oral feedbackfor the following four weeks’ teaching. They agreed they would all focus on theuse of oral feedback over the next month and would then revisit and evaluatethe outcomes at the next departmental meeting.

The subject leader was able to continue her planned observation visits and wasable to note the feedback some teachers gave to pupils. The following exampleshows an overview of one teacher’s lesson and the subject leaders’ notes ofwhat the teacher said in italics.

Background to the lessons

The lesson was with a Year 8 class of mixed ability. It was a lesson in a seriesbased on the sample teaching unit 8.2, and groups of pupils had beendeveloping the design and layout of a website for a virtual visit to their school for


parents, new pupils and others who may wish to view it. In the previous lesson,they had worked in their groups to agree the structure for the website and alsothe general structure, style and content of the pages in each section of the site.They had been allocated pairs within the group, with each pair takingresponsibility for a series of pages in one section of the site. They had beenasked to plan the layout, content and design of these in line with the group’scriteria during the lesson. Individual homework then focused on drafting the textfor some of the pages allocated to the pair.

The lesson objectives were for pupils to create more web pages based on theirplans, incorporating text, images and sounds, and to refine the pages forpublication to a wider audience.

In the starter, the pupils all reviewed two websites against a set of criteria. Theteacher then gave pupils the opportunity to comment against these criteria in awhole-class setting. During the feedback, the teacher gave some whole-classfeedback. The purpose of this feedback was to share information so that pupilscould use it in their own work.

Teacher comments: Whole-class oral feedback

Those are some really good points you have come up with. We have found thatthe most obvious place to put hyperlinks is at the top or down the side. If we rollthe pointer over the screen we can find the hyperlinks because the text changescolour as we roll over it. The use of contrast is important as well and can makethings clearer. Can anyone suggest how you might include these ideas in yourwebsites?

During the next phase of the lesson the pupils worked in their pairs, peersreviewing their homework and applying their criteria to choose the final pagedesigns. They then worked to realise the designs on screen. The teacher visitedthe groups as they worked and listened to the comments of the pupils abouteach other’s work. She gave instant feedback in relation to the objectives andcriteria for the lesson.

Teacher comments: Paired work oral feedback

Those are really helpful comments because they are directly linked to ourdesign criteria. They focus on how the design could be improved, such as theneed to make sure that all the links can be seen on the first page withoutneeding to scroll. I agree with all your comments so far. I think you should alsoconsider the accessibility criteria when you are reviewing the colours you wantto use. I’d like to use your work in the plenary, so you’ll need to think about yourreasons for making your final choices.

The teacher had also planned to work with a small group of pupils who hadmade less progress in the previous week. These pupils had already beengrouped in appropriate pairs and the three pairs were working close to oneanother. This made it easier to manage the group. The teacher gave themfeedback on the work they had completed in the previous lesson.

Teacher comments: Group work oral feedback

That’s really good progress you’ve all made with the first page. Let’s just thinkabout how we convert the schemas you drew for the website into pages withlogical links between them. Can you remember what we said about the way


each page might look? Yes that’s right; we should keep a common appearanceto all the pages in a section. What does that mean? Yes, it could be the colourand the text as well. What else should we think about keeping similar? I’d likeyou to look back at your designs and find any points you might want to alternow. Highlight them on your draft and annotate them to say how you willchange the design and why you need to make the change.

During the course of the unit, the teacher planned individual time with eachpupil as part of a review of their work, and this was carried out while the rest ofthe class were working on their paired tasks.

Teacher comments: Individual work oral feedback

This is a very impressive piece of work. Tell me how you moved from this firstdesign to this final solution … So who did you think about as your firstaudience? … And then you needed to think about an unknown audience. Howdid that affect what you wanted to do? Were there any parts of the first designyou couldn’t keep? … So what are your next steps going to be with thewebsite? … Let’s just think about this unit of work and you tell me whatprogress you have made since you started it.

Finally the teacher invited some pupils, selected during the paired feedback, todemonstrate the outcome of their work in the plenary. This was then used togive whole-class feedback related to the objectives for the lesson and thesuccess features of the work.

Teacher comments: Whole-class oral feedback; pupils havedemonstrated their work and talked about their reasoning fordesign choices

Thank you for that demonstration of your section of the site. Did you all noticehow the pages have a common layout and style? I always find it frustratingwhen I can’t find my way back to the beginning, so I particularly liked the Homebutton they included. Are there any things you find frustrating that we shouldconsider next? When you listened to the girls talking did you notice how theyhad made all of their choices for good reasons related to the criteria that we setearlier, and they had thought about the accessibility guidelines from W3C?

Evaluation

After the lesson, the teacher and the subject leader spent some time goingthrough the feedback that had been given and deciding whether it had reallyhelped to support the pupils’ learning. The teacher found that the planning theyhad done using their short-term plans had been particularly valuable in helpingher to identify the type of feedback she might give in the lesson.


Sample teaching unit 8.2, Publishing on the web (DfES 0167/2003www.ncaction.org.uk)

Virtual teacher’s centre (VTC) – www.vtc.ngfl.gov.uk


ICT-specific example of handout 4.1.4

Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

Specific negative1 That web page uses far too many text styles and

sizes to be a good page.2 The colours you have used just don’t work.3 That’s a strange place to put a hyperlink. I had to

scroll down to find it.

Non-specific negative1 This page looks terrible. Start a fresh page and

do a better one.2 You have missed the point of why we are doing

this web page. Think about it again.3 You really need to think more about use of white

space.

Specific positive1 Your page is well laid out and easy to read. To

improve it you should use images that are moreclosely related to the text.

2 You have clearly understood the need for aconsistent appearance for each page. You couldtry using a cascading style sheet rather thanhaving to format each piece of text separately.

3 Your page has developed well and it matchesalmost all of our audience criteria. The next stepis that you consider download time and look atways that you could reduce this.

Non-specific positive1 This page is really looking good now. I’d like to

use this to show to the others in the plenary.2 This page is excellent and much better than the

last one you did.3 I really found this easy to use. Can you develop

the site some more?


The teachers worked together and rewrote some of the original feedback from the observed lesson as specificpositive feedback. They were aware that the language used in their written notes was not exactly as they woulddeliver the feedback in conversation with pupils. However, they felt that the main messages they wanted toconvey were clear. The outcome of their work is shown below.


■■ Your page contains all the information we planned for. To improve it younow need to consider the fitness for purpose of the font and text styles you are using.

■■ I like the layout of the page and you have considered your audience in theway you have written it. Because this will be viewed on a monitor and notprojected, you should reconsider your choice of colours. Remember thework we did on presentations and apply those criteria here.

■■ The hyperlinks you have included make it much easier to navigate to other pages on the site and are very helpful. Remember that wediscussed how most users scan pages quickly and where they expect to find links and menus. You should use that information to position your links in the best place on the page.

■■ You have started to get your page set up now. I think it’s time to look at the criteria we agreed as a group for a good page and to make sure that your page is suitable for the audience we described and meets our criteria.

■■ You have got a really good understanding of the technical side of webpage design. You have made good use of colour and images. The nextstep is to ensure its fitness for purpose by including the key points youwant to convey to your audience. It may help to look back at your originallist of important messages you wanted to tell your audience.

■■ You have remembered and applied a lot of the principles of good designfrom when we designed a leaflet such as clear layout, good flow andconsistent use of colour. The next step to make it easier to view the keyparts of the page is to make use of white space to separate the mainelements of the page.

■■ This page is well designed and fits our criteria really well. You haveconsidered your audience and the purpose of the page. I’d like to use this in the plenary as a model of good use of appropriate images on apage to share with others.

■■ You have refined your page very effectively. The way you have developedit from the earlier version shows that you have applied the principles ofdesign that I asked you to consider and have matched it to our criteria.

■■ You have applied the things we discussed as a group about generalaudience expectations of page layout to good effect. As a site forprospective pupils, this is very effective. I’d like you to go a little further now and reflect on what you should do to make this useful to their parents as well.

Original feedback

Specific negative■■ That web page uses far too many text

styles and sizes to be a good page.

■■ The colours you have used just don’t work.

■■ That’s a strange place to put a hyperlink. I had to scroll down to find it.

Non-specific negative■■ This page looks terrible. Start a fresh page

and do a better one.

■■ You have missed the point of why we aredoing this web page. Think about it again.

■■ You really need to think more about use ofwhite space.

Non-specific positive■■ This page is really looking good now. I’d

like to use this to show to the others in theplenary.

■■ This page is excellent and much betterthan the last effort.

■■ I really found this easy to use. Can youdevelop the site some more?

Appendix 4.1A.2

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in maths © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback inmathematics

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important to considerhow the key messages of the training apply to mathematics. As part of thewhole-school focus on this, the following subject development material isintended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit and identifyany areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach mathematics.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in mathematics and provide guidance on how toembed this into regular practice in mathematics lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in mathematics. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupilsto learn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practicehas adapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

As part of their focus on developing interactive teaching following theAssessment for learning training, one department decided to strengthen thequality of oral feedback in mathematics lessons.

Process

Two teachers volunteered to work together with Year 7 classes. They decidedto observe each other teaching using handout 4.1.4 from the generic unit torecord as many examples of oral feedback as they could (see appendix4.1A.1).

After two observations, the two teachers got together to discuss the outcomes.They focused on thinking about ways of making their feedback more specificand more positive using the recorded examples of feedback from their lessons.

Evaluation

The outcomes of these discussions were as follows:• Both teachers felt the process had made them more aware of their

interaction with pupils.• The teachers felt that the ‘negative specific’ items could usefully be made

more positive by re-phrasing as a question, e.g. ‘Can you see what is wrongwith the numbers on the y-axis?’

• They recognised that many of the items listed under both positive andnegative non-specific responses were used frequently.

The teachers decided they needed to be more focused in their interaction withpupils by being specific with both content and targeting mathematicalvocabulary.


Task 4.1B





Context

In continuing the work on strengthening interactive teaching, one departmentdecided to focus on using oral feedback in targeted group work. This method oforal feedback was used occasionally in the department, but not consistently byall teachers.

Process

The department looked at two sequences from the video for the Mathematicsthree-day conference to introduce the focus:• a Year 7 lesson on fractions taught by Alison• a Year 9 lesson on algebra taught by Teresa, with targeted group work led

by Asyia.

They decided to explore approaches with two Year 7 intervention groups, asthey were using many of the level 3 to 4 lessons from the Targeting level 4 inYear 7 materials. The two teachers involved with planning and teaching theseclasses already met regularly to discuss sequences of lessons. They agreed totake this further by focusing on oral feedback during the activity part of thelessons. They decided to start with unit 4.

Both teachers agreed to target a minimum of two groups of four during each ofthe 8 lessons in this unit. In most lessons they aimed to spend between ten and fifteen minutes with each group. This enabled them to give detailed oralfeedback to pupils at least twice during the teaching of the unit. For eachlesson, they prioritised the area of focus so, for example, in lesson N4.2 theychose to target pupils’ understanding of equivalent fractions. They plannedquestions to ask pupils while working in groups, some given in the lesson planand some additional ones they devised for themselves. These included thefollowing.

• What fractions are equivalent to one half/one third/three quarters?

• How do you know?

• How do you know when a fraction is in its simplest form?


Having started the dialogue with a question, the teachers then concentrated onproviding specific feedback on pupils’ responses. (The lesson plan for N4.2 isincluded as appendix 4.1B.1 for reference.)

Evaluation

At the end of the unit the two teachers reviewed the outcomes and impact onpupils’ learning. In targeting small groups, the teachers felt that:• mathematical talk between pupils had increased• they had a better awareness of individual pupils’ levels of understanding and

misconceptions• pupils were more aware of the progress they were making.

They presented their findings at the next department meeting. It was agreedthat each of the two teachers would work with another teacher to supportplanning for targeted group work, and so extend the emerging good practice.


Referenced strategy materials

Targeting level 4 in Year 7: mathematics (DfES 0085/2003). These materials canbe found at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3 by selecting ‘mathematics’and then ‘mathematics publications’.

Mathematics three-day conference (video, tracks 2 (Alison) and 7 (Teresa), DfEE 0468/2001)

QCA materials

Using assessment to raise standards in mathematics, Section 2: Using effectivequestioning techniques (QCA, www.qca.org.uk)

Ofsted materials

Good assessment practice in mathematics (Ofsted, www.ofsted.gov.uk)


Mathematics-specific example of handout 4.1.4

Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

You cannot read exactnumbers from a piechart. You are usingpercentages incorrectly.

No, that isn ’t thecorrect answer. Itmay work when n=1,but it doesn ’t workwhen n=2 or forother values of n.

Good you can seethat the totals arenot given on a piechart. So what couldwe use to comparethese twopopulations?

Good explanation bec ause youhave related the multiplier tothe structure of the tilingpattern. Now, why is 3 added?

I like the way youare predicting whatmight happen if thesequence startedwith a 5 rather thana 3. How might youtake this further?

You are a long waybehind everyoneelse. Work morequickly.

Disappointing. Yourpresentation of thiswork is poor.

That is wrong.Yes, that ’s better.

Brilliant response!

Careless. Read thequestion again.

Make more positive andmore specific.

Make m

ore specific.

Make more positive

Good – these arecorrect.

You are gettingthrough thesereally quickly.Well done.

Do number 8again.

Fine Goodanswer

You havenumbered theaxes incorrectly.


N4.2: Equivalence of fractions

• Recall multiplication facts to 10 �10 and derive associated division facts.

• Find simple equivalent fractions.

• Change mixed numbers to improper fractions and vice versa.

Chant the four times table, forwards and backwards: one four is four, two fours areeight, three fours are twelve, and so on. Ask a few questions, varying the wording.Ask pupils to write answers on their whiteboards.

Q What is 8 multiplied by 3? What is 32 divided by 4? 6 times 4? Sevenfours? 8 shared between 2? The product of 3 and 4? How many foursmake 28?

Remind pupils that the numerator is the ‘top number’ and the denominator is the‘bottom number’ of a fraction. The line that separates the numerator from thedenominator represents division. The fraction 1⁄4 means one whole divided into fourequal parts.

Q How many quarters are equivalent to one whole? (four)

Write 1 = 4⁄4 on the board.

Q How many quarters are equivalent to one and one quarter? (five)

Write 11⁄4 = 5⁄4 on the board.

Q How many quarters are equivalent to one and a half? (six)

Write 11⁄2 = 6⁄4 on the board.

Explain that numbers like 11⁄4 and 11⁄2 are called mixed numbers. A mixed number isthe sum of a whole number and a fraction: 21⁄2 and 32⁄5 are examples of mixednumbers. A fraction whose numerator is greater than its denominator is called animproper fraction: 8⁄3 and 9⁄4 are examples of improper fractions.

Demonstrate how to change a mixed number to an improper fraction. Write 3 2⁄5 on the board. Explain that in each of the three wholes there are five fifths.Altogether, in the three wholes there are 3 �5 fifths. So in 32⁄5 there are (3 �5) + 2fifths or 17 fifths. Write 32⁄5 = 17⁄5 on the board.

Ask pupils to change the following mixed numbers to improper fractions, and to writethe answers on their whiteboards: 41⁄4 and 2 5⁄8 .

Q How could we change an improper fraction to a mixed number?

Remind the class that the line that separates the numerator from the denominatorrepresents division. To change 17⁄5 , or 17 fifths, back to a mixed number, 17 is divided by 5. Since 17 ÷ 5 = 3 r 2, the answer will be three whole ones and twofifths, or 32⁄5 .

Ask pupils to change these improper fractions to mixed numbers, and to write theanswers on their whiteboards: 13⁄4 and 73⁄10 .

starter

Vocabularymultiplied bydivided byproductquartersfifthsnumeratordenominatormixed numberimproper fraction

Resourcesmini-whiteboards

objectives

Appendix 4.1B.1


Draw on the board two circles, marked in quarters, side by side. Write 1⁄4 on one ofthe quarters on the circle on the left. Point to the other circle and invite a pupil tomark one eighth of it. Establish that one eighth can be found by halving each quarter,making eight eighths altogether.

Q How many eighths are equivalent to one quarter? (two)

Draw a third circle, marked in quarters. Invite a pupil to mark one twelfth of the circle.Establish that one twelfth can be found by finding one third of each quarter, makingtwelve twelfths altogether.

Q How many twelfths are equivalent to one quarter? (three)

Write on the board 1⁄4 = 2⁄8 = 3⁄12. Remind the class that these are equivalent fractions.

Repeat for 3⁄4 = 6⁄8 = 9⁄12.

You may wish to support the main activity of this lesson by using the ITP Fractionsdownloaded from www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/numeracy. Select options and askquestions to consolidate pupils’ understanding.

Ask the class:

Q Which fractions are equivalent to one half?

Take pupils’ suggestions, then write on the board:

1 2 3 4 6 82 4 6 8 10 14

Q What are the missing numbers?

Refer to a poster of a multiplication square, or show one on an OHT.

Explain that the rows are multiples. Show how to use the square to find fractionsequivalent to one half by looking at the first and the second rows of the square.

Now find fractions equivalent to one quarter, using the first and fourth rows ofmultiples. Write on the board:

1 2 4 64 8 20 28

Find fractions equivalent to one third by looking at the first and third rows. Explainthat the fractions are produced by multiplying the numerator and the denominator ofthe first fraction by 2, then by 3, then by 4, and so on.

Write 4⁄20 on the board.

Q What is the simplest fraction equivalent to this?

main activity

Vocabularyequivalentmultiplesimplifycancelling

ResourcesOHT or poster of

multiplication squareOHP calculatorITP Fractions (optional)

4942352821147

4236302418126

3530252015105

282420161284

21181512963

1412108642

7654321

Appendix 4.1B.1 cont.


Demonstrate how to show that the simplest equivalent fraction is one fifth. Point to 4in the first row, and move down the column to find 20 in the fifth row. Look back tothe beginning of the two rows, to point at 1 and 5. Write on the board: 4⁄20 = 1⁄5.Repeat for 6⁄36 and 7⁄21 , showing that the simplest equivalent fractions are 1⁄6 and 1⁄3 respectively.

Explain that a simpler equivalent fraction is produced by dividing the numerator andthe denominator by the same number, and that this process is known as cancelling.

Unit 5 section 2: Fractions and whole numbers4 Changing whole numbers into improper fractions page 1825 Changing mixed numbers into improper fractions page 182Star challenge 2: Thirds, fifths and tenths page 183

Unit 5 section 6: Equivalent fractions1 Simple equivalent fractions page 197Star challenges 9, 10, 11, 12: Halves, Thirds, Quarters, Fifths page 198

Unit 13 section 1: Fractions of quantitiesStar challenge 2: Fractions in action page 426

Write on the board:

Explain that this improper fraction has a two-digit numerator and a one-digitdenominator. Ask pupils to work in pairs and to use their whiteboards. They shouldmake improper fractions of this form that are whole numbers. For each fraction, theyshould use each of the digits 2, 3 and 4 once and only once.

Give the pairs a few minutes to work on the problem, then take feedback. Thecomplete set of fractions is 34⁄2,

24⁄3,42⁄3 and 32⁄4.

Finish by working through the problems on OHT N4.2a with the class.

other tasks

Springboard 7Units 5 and 13

plenary

ResourcesOHT N4.2amini-whiteboards

• Fractions in which the numerator is greater than the denominator are called‘improper fractions’. They can be changed into mixed numbers so that theyhave a whole-number part and a fraction part.

• You can convert any fraction into another equivalent fraction by multiplying thenumerator and the denominator by the same number.

• You can simplify a fraction by dividing the numerator and the denominator bythe same number. This process is known as ‘cancelling’.

Remember

Appendix 4.1B.1 cont.

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in MFL © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in modernforeign languages

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to modern foreignlanguages. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subjectdevelopment material is intended to help you consider the key messages of thetraining unit and identify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach modern foreign languages.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in MFL and provide guidance on how to embedthis into regular practice in MFL lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in modern foreign languages. You will need to be clear on what hashelped pupils to learn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be howyour practice has adapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what hasworked well and which areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

As a result of their participation in a whole-school training event that focused onAssessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1, Oral feedback, the members of theMFL department considered the effectiveness of their use of oral feedback topupils within lessons. Observations by senior managers had previouslyhighlighted the need for improvements in the use of oral feedback across thecurriculum, in particular to address how teachers planned both their formal andinformal use of it to develop pupils’ learning. The uses of both oral and writtenfeedback were identified as areas of focus within the school improvement plan.

Process

The head of department wanted to determine the understanding necessary to carry out the observation Task 4.1A, so he created the following workedexample (neutral stimulus), which would encourage discussion in thedepartment before they observed each other’s practice as described in Task 4.1A.

All members of the department had some knowledge of French. As adepartment, the teachers read the 12 statements for French, shown inappendix 4.1A.2, which had been prepared on card. These statements were arange of teacher comments made in relation to a Year 7 lesson on hobbies andinterests. They were intended to provide the teachers with an understanding ofthe style of language used and the intention behind the comments made.

The teachers then worked in pairs for 10 minutes, discussing each of the 12 statements and agreeing where each should be placed in the quadrants onhandout 4.1.4 in the generic unit (copied onto A3-sized paper). The wholedepartment discussed the placing of the statements, which are illustrated inappendix 4.1A.2.

The department found the activity very useful, as it fostered group discussionand raised their understanding of the specific use of language within each of thequadrants while they accepted that there were no simple correct answers.


They had recently attended training on the MFL optional training Module 8,Target language, and their discussion turned towards exploring the appropriatebalance of target language and modern foreign languages when giving oralfeedback. A trainee teacher in the department had been reading Holmes(2002), which explores pupils’ need to feel they are communicating for the ‘hereand now’ in their language learning.

The department went on to discuss how teachers need to respond to thecontent of pupils’ contributions and not merely the mechanics of the sentenceconstruction, particularly where there is some emotional or personalinvolvement. The pupil who contributes ‘I don’t like Blackpool because my dogdied in Blackpool’ would not be motivated to continue trying to communicate ifthe teacher’s response is simply: ‘Good connective and past tense.’ This wouldcommunicate the message that MFL is always merely practice for the real thingand never the real thing itself.

Evaluation

Having completed this activity, the department felt more confident ininvestigating the use of oral feedback in their own lessons and all undertookTask 4.1A in pairs, as described earlier. The particular focus of the observationscarried out as part of Task 4.1A was the proportion of oral feedback given inresponse to the ‘mechanics’ of the utterances as opposed to their content.They discovered, when they next met to discuss the outcomes of theobservations, that only a very small proportion of their feedback concernedactual ‘real life’ content and sensed that this might be a factor in the pupils’motivation to engage in oral work. They decided to analyse their schemes ofwork for the opportunities offered for ‘real’ teacher–pupil communication as anintegral and regular part of each lesson. They then considered the possiblerange of target language that pupils would need in order to understandfeedback on this kind of content, and over the next half term they plannedopportunities to teach it progressively through the key stage, beginning withYear 7.


Task 4.1B





Context

During the previous term, observations by senior managers had highlighted thecontinuing need for improvements in the use of oral feedback across thecurriculum to address how teachers plan their use of formal and informal oralfeedback to develop pupils’ learning.

The MFL team featured in Task 4.1A decided to give further consideration to theeffectiveness of their use of oral feedback to pupils within lessons. They workedon various types of oral feedback to develop their understanding and use of thisAssessment for learning strategy with different groups of pupils. They noted, inparticular, the need to improve the quality of feedback given to individual pupils.

For the purposes of developing oral feedback, the department chose to focuson Unit 2, En famille, based on the MFL scheme of work for Key Stage 3(QCA/DfES). They had structured this unit for delivery over seven weeks, basedon two lessons per week, for a Year 7 mixed-ability class.

Pupils learned how to respond positively and negatively to questions about theirown or a fictional family and pets using the present tense of first avoir and thenêtre. They focused on answering in full sentences. They carried out pairedinterviews and class surveys on their pets, learning to include possessiveadjectives in their responses and to answer with more than one sentence. Theythen worked on adjectives and their agreement to be able to describe thephysical characteristics of their family, friends and pets. By the end of the unit,pupils would perform group presentations about their family and pets,supported by audio, video or computer software, such as PowerPoint, in whichthey were to focus in particular on producing interesting scripts by using arange of adjectives and connectives.

The lesson medium-term objective was for pupils to:• use a range of adjectives (7W4) and connectives (7S6) in order to make their

written and spoken work more interesting. The learning outcome was toperform a short presentation describing a friend or a favourite animal.

Process

The department carried out the traffic lighting activity, which led to a realisationthat in their oral feedback in lessons they did not systematically offer individual


pupils sufficiently targeted feedback, and the department shared variousstrategies and agreed that they would trial them. Appendix 4.1B.1 showssome of the range of strategies that the members of the department used togive different types of oral feedback to individual pupils within different forms oflesson organisation.

Evaluation

In discussing the outcomes of the above work, the department agreed that thefeedback given during the plenary mini-whiteboard activity was particularlyeffective in terms of its impact on the pupils’ learning. They decided to developfurther activities of this kind and integrate them into their schemes of work,starting with Year 7.


www.ncaction.org.uk/subjects/MLF

Sample MFL audit and action plan(www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3/strands/publications/?template=down&pub_id=2197&top_id=2197&strand=tlf)

www.cilt.org.uk

Barnes, A. and Hunt, M. Effective assessment in MFL (CILT, London 2003)

Ofsted

Ofsted Secondary Subject Report (Modern Foreign Languages) (Ofsted,2000/01, www.ofsted.gov.uk)

Good teaching, effective departments (Ofsted, HMI 337/2002,www.ofsted.gov.uk)

Good assessment practice in modern foreign languages (MFL) (Ofsted, HMI1478/2003, www.ofsted.gov.uk)

The Framework for teaching modern foreign languages: Years 7, 8 and 9(DfES 0084/2003-12-07 or downloadable fromwww.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3/strands/publications/?template=down&pub_id=2463&strand=tlf”)

Foundation Subjects MFL: Core training materials (DfES 0151/2003-12-07)

Modern Foreign Languages: optional training video (DfES 0156/2003)

Foundation subjects MFL: optional training materials (downloadable from:www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3/publications/professionaldevelopment)

Organising a work sample (DfES 0390/2003)

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and Wiliam, D. Assessment forlearning: Putting it into practice (Open University Press, 2003)

Jones, B., Haliwell, S. and Holmes, B. You speak, they speak; focus on targetlanguage use (CILT, London 2002)


Appendix 4.1A.1

MFL-specific example of handout 4.1.4

Non-specific

Oral feedback

specific

– +

6

31 1110

4

2

5

8 9

7

12


Statements for the department activity in Task 4.1A

The numbered statements 1 to 12 refer to the quadrants shown in handout 4.1.4 (see Appendix 4.1A.1). Theyrelated to a Year 7 lesson on hobbies and interests, within the Unit 6, Comment tu t’amuses?, from the MFLscheme of work for Key Stage 3 (QCA/DfES) in which pupils were working on the use of infinitive after aimer andother verbs and combining sentences with conjunctions. When the department had discussed the placing ofthe statements on the grid they suggested, for statements from quadrants other than ‘positive’ and ‘specific’,improvements to the original piece of oral feedback that provides assessment for learning. These suggestionsare shown in brackets after each statement and were drawn from Unlocking formative assessment by ShirleyClarke, who proposes three main forms of formative feedback to help the learner to improve prompts (e.g.statement 1), reminders (e.g. statement 2) and scaffolds (e.g. statement 3).

Statement 1: No. Haven’t you been listening?

(Now have you remembered the verb?)

Statement 2: C’est impossible.

(Le footballeur préfère faire le jardinage ou jouer l’ordinateur?)

Statement 3: Tu préfères habiter Peter? Non!

(Par example, Sadie préfère habiter Eastville; moi, je préfère habiter Southville.)

Statement 4: Non, ce n’est pas ‘je preferez …’

(That’s interesting. Just say that again for the rest of the class: ‘Je …’)

Statement 5: OK, but you’ve forgotten the reason.

(Really? So why do you prefer Wednesdays?)

Statement 6: I’ve told you so many times – you must pronounce the final -e.

(Bonne id´ée! [To the rest of the class] Vous entendez? – elle a probablement acheté.)

Statement 7: Oh dear. Languages are boring? That was a good long answer with two connectives.

Well done. Now was it [le/la/les] + ‘devoirs’? (to refocus on gender/singular/plural).

Statement 8: D’accord. Moi aussi j’adore aller la piscine.

Now, remember the learning objective about gender/determiners/case. Which is the right determinerhere for ‘swimming pool’?

Statement 9: Well done. Your group has worked well at the two objectives of adapting the play by substituting known language and making it funny.

Practise it again, concentrating this time on pronouncing these sounds well, which occur a lot, then I’dlike you to present yours first.

Statement 10: Super!

(Thank you. That was a good comment with correct adjectives.)

Statement 11: Excellent. Fantastic. A credit.

(That’s interesting. I especially liked the reason you gave, and you understood that without using adictionary. Tell us how you worked that out from the text.)

Statement 12: Oui, tu as raison.

(Bien. C’est vrai parce que …?)

Appendix 4.1A.2


Strategies for oral feedback

Appendix 4.1B.1

Composition of group

Whole class/individual

Whole class

Paired work

Individual

Whole class

Paired work

Individual

Whole class

Individual

Types of oral feedback

As a starter activity, pupils were given two texts and asked to decide which wordsadded interest. They were then asked to find any patterns in the ‘interesting’ words and to try to group them together. Oral feedback was given to the whole class and toindividuals highlighting key patterns of adjectival agreement and features such asonomatopoeia as well as the ways in which they were grouped in the texts. Pupils wereencouraged to give reasons for the words they had chosen.

Teacher A reflected on prior learning about family descriptions to set the context of thetask for this particular lesson.

Teacher B modelled descriptions of people and pets and asked pupils to practise theirown descriptions in pairs using cue cards. Pupils were given individual feedback onthe interest value of their dialogues. They were given reminder prompts aboutadjectives and their placing in the pupils’ sentences. They were encouraged to beaccurate to work without the cue cards and to substitute their own adjectives whenready. The teacher then commented on pupils’ individual ideas observed during thepaired work and shared these with the whole class to develop a discussion about thekey patterns of adjectival agreement and position.

The teacher modelled the use of et, mais and parce que with j’aime and je n’aime pasto say which animals she liked or disliked and elicited similar comments from pupils.Pupils then carried out a class survey on pets, asking and answering individualquestions. The teacher gave instant, informal feedback to individuals with regard totheir use of connectives in questions and answers as they took part in the survey.

The teacher asked pupils in the plenary to prepare a really interesting type of sentenceabout pets in their street on their mini-whiteboards, concentrating on adjectivespellings and using connectives. She took the opportunity to give some targetedindividual feedback to focus pupils on the effect of gender on the spelling of theadjectives used, as well as the interest value of the adjectives they had substituted. Sheused their whiteboard answers to begin a discussion about the criteria for effectivedescriptions in preparation for pupils to begin to construct their presentations.

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in music © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in music

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to music. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject development material is intended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit andidentify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach music.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in music and provide guidance on how to embedthis into regular practice in music lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in music. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupils to learnmore effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practice hasadapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

Two music teachers from different schools involved in an Assessment forlearning network had identified the need to improve the quality of oral feedbackduring their annual auditing and action-planning process. One was a head ofdepartment and the other a main-scale teacher.

Process

As the first step in the improvement process they decided to analyse currentpractice. So they agreed to observe each other in a lesson, with a specific focuson oral feedback, and to capture both lessons on video recordings. Both weredoing work on composition: in School A they were rewriting a Christmas carol (a new tune to existing words) and in School B they were writing songs inspiredby TV soap characters for the school musical production.

During their observations, the teachers identified and recorded a range ofinstances of oral feedback that varied in specificity and positiveness in thelessons.

To begin their more detailed analysis, they watched the recordings of thelessons and used their written notes from the earlier observations. Theyidentified 12 examples of oral feedback given during the lessons. These wereplotted on a copy of handout 4.1.4 (see appendix 4.1A.1).

This showed that there was an even distribution of comments in the quadrants.While there were examples of positive-specific feedback, the other commentsdid not help pupils to identify what in their work was successful, what neededimprovement and what they could do to achieve better outcomes. Theexamples of constructive, helpful feedback to pupils in the positive-specificquadrant provided encouragement and a good reference point for teachers whowere seeking to improve their practice. They acknowledged that comment 11(see appendix 4.1A.1) was particularly specific and positive. As such it waslikely to help the pupil to make improvements to the composition.


The following points did not apply equally to both teachers, but nonethelessthey felt that there were common issues.

• Some of the feedback seemed to have no real purpose. With pupils whowere not working at the expected pace or were inclined to be class jokers(but not unpleasant), there was a tendency to use humour to maintain aneasy, relaxed working relationship without really addressing the quality oftheir work.

• There was a tendency to walk round, ‘on patrol’ as one teacher put it, justmaking odd comments to keep pupils on task without stopping to give fullattention to pieces of work. Where the teacher did spend longer beingspecific, there was some concern about taking their eyes off the wholeclass. So non-specific feedback was much to do with classroommanagement.

They agreed to work collaboratively to reframe the comments in the negative-specific, negative non-specific and positive non-specific quadrants, makingthem more specific and more positive. (See appendices 4.1A.1 and 4.1A.2.)

Evaluation

The two teachers said they had felt quite self-conscious during the observedlesson and initially in the analysis of the video, but overall they were certain thatthe whole process had highlighted some specific areas they could develop intheir oral feedback skills.

They agreed that the next step in their plan for improvement was to focus on theshort-term plans for the next two lessons with the same pupils. Workingcollaboratively, they identified the specific objectives for the lessons, notedwhere there were likely to be opportunities to give oral feedback and wroteprompts on the lesson plans to remind themselves to aim for positive-specificcomments. The reframed comments provided them with useful models ofeffective feedback.


Task 4.1B





Context

In School C, following whole-school training on Assessment for learning Unit4.1, the deputy head teacher leading this priority in the school improvementplan asked all departments to use handout 4.1.4 to review the types of oralfeedback they used. Led by the head of department, the music teachersdiscussed to what extent each of these was used to help pupils improve. Tosupport their analysis they used evidence from the previous two terms’ lessonobservations. Their analysis revealed that many comments gave praise andencouragement only. They concluded that they needed to plan for the use oforal feedback to develop pupils’ learning, especially in the context of wholeclass and group work.

Process

They decided to use as a context a short series of lessons in Year 8 wherepupils were working in groups to compose a Christmas carol with a clear senseof structure.

The learning objectives for one lesson were that pupils would learn to:• develop the use of musical resources and the expressive use of the

elements• develop the ability to adapt and refine their own musical ideas.

The intended learning outcomes were that pupils would be able to:• demonstrate understanding of a simple verse/chorus structure• use effectively a range of suitable musical timbres in their creative work• identify areas for improvement• demonstrate the ability (with support) to refine their work.


To help pupils achieve the objectives, the following elements of planned oralfeedback were given.

1 As a starter activity the teacher began the lesson by giving feedback on aprevious composing project. He asked the whole class to listen to arecorded extract of the composition from the previous term in which pupilshad been asked to identify suitable sounds on the keyboard that could beused creatively within their composition of space music (the use of timbres).He directed their attention to specifics: ‘While listening I would like you torecognise how well this group developed a sustained low droneaccompanied by high-pitched percussion patterns to create tension andsuspense.’ In doing this he was giving feedback to the pupils while at thesame time developing their skills of listening and appraising.

2 While pupils were engaged in the practical challenge of composing theirown carol, the teacher moved about the groups to support the pupils’understanding of the learning outcomes by asking some planned questionswith prepared answers, modelling the appropriate language for learning:

Teacher: ‘Does your carol have an interesting melody that people will enjoysinging?’

Pupil: ‘We think our melody starts OK but we don’t think it ends on the rightnote. We’ve also got a problem trying to fit the words into our rhythm.’

Teacher: ‘Think about the pitch of the notes you are using (maybe provide arestricted note scale at this point, e.g. pentatonic) and the rhythms that arecreated by your syllable patterns. Can you comfortably fit those patternsinto the phrase? Maybe different words/lyrics need to be considered at thispoint.’

3 Meanwhile, using a set of positive features generated by pupils in previouslessons relating to the expressive use of timbre, pupils began giving oralfeedback to their peers on their Christmas carol composition. A simplestrategy for doing this had been discussed with the class: they were given aspeaking frame that supported the appropriate style of dialogue for givingoral feedback, e.g.:

I liked the way in which you … used a repetitive pattern for your melody; itwas simple but very effective.

I think that we could maybe improve … the sounds you have used for thismelody. I think a high glockenspiel sound would be more appropriate for aChristmas carol.

The positive features relating to timbre previously generated and displayedon the whiteboard were that pupils should try to develop:• an effective combination of the sounds used• sounds that complement the overall texture• the use of timbres that help to create the intended effect• the appropriateness of use, fit for the instrumental sound.


4 The teacher visited each group in turn and gave feedback on their approachto refining their own work. The pupils were asked leading questions aboutthe overall structure of their carol. They were asked to reflect on the use ofan effective introduction: ‘How are you going to start the carol? You have areally effective verse and chorus structure, but we need a way of preparingthe singers for the start of verse 1. What do we need to consider?’

Thinking time was provided. Pupils responded in a number of ways.Pupil 1: ‘The singers need to adjust to the pulse of the music.’Pupil 2: ‘They need to know the pitch of the starting note. Perhaps wecould use a little bit of the verse in the introduction.’Pupil 3: ‘We could use the last phrase of the chorus in the introduction, as itleads to the verse naturally in the structure of the carol.’

The teacher went on to discuss with the group all the components of thestructure of the piece.

5 In the plenary, pupils were asked to contribute to a sticky notes ‘snowstorm’ by writing on the notes examples of the positive, reflective commentsthey had received and given. These were then displayed as prompts forpupils in subsequent lessons.

Evaluation

At a department meeting held after the series of lessons, all teachers sharedhow they had used oral feedback in their lessons and the impact on pupils’learning was evaluated. The combination of teacher and peer oral feedbackwas felt to be successful in increasing pupils’ confidence in composition. This Assessment for learning strategy had also helped to establish pupils’responsibility for improving their own learning and increased theirunderstanding of how to do this. Whereas many pupils previously had beenunfocused and unsure what they needed to do to improve their compositions,the impact of this strategy was that most of the pupils were able to make goodprogress and create an effective melody for their carol.

The ‘snow storm’ in the plenary of the lesson described earlier provided theteacher with a list of comments that evidenced the quality of oral feedback andpupil response. When this was shared at the meeting, it generated discussionand consideration of the types and level of oral feedback and raised teachers’expectations about the quality of oral feedback and the implied pupilunderstanding of key musical processes.


Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

specific

– +

That’s OK, but does it soundlike a Christmas carol?

You have forgotten what we saidabout marking chords on thescore.

Nearly all the phrases are the same;can you vary them some more?

You played your piece so well Iwould like to record it and then wecould listen to it together. Can youtell me if it finishes in the same wayas it started? What would you haveto do to make it sound the same?Do you think it’s in the same key?Did you intend it to be in the samekey? Let me play for you an endingthat is in the same key and seewhat you think.

Great! Well done. You’ve developed thedynamics and phrasing, but are thereother musical elements that couldperhaps change? What would those be?

Hmm (with a sigh).

You are not taking thisseriously, Jack.

Come on, you’ve justbeen dithering andwasting time; youhaven’t done anythingsince I came aroundbefore.

That’s a good try, Marcus.Well done.

That’s coming on nicely; it’s gotsome good features in it.

Well done, that tune is original. Can you tellme why it sounds totally different fromeveryone else’s, because it’s really good?

That’s good. It’s coming on.

Music-specific example of handout 4.1.4 and slide 4.1.5

Type of comment

Negative specific

You have forgotten what we said about marking the chordson the score.

That’s OK, but does it sound like a Christmas carol?

Nearly all the phrases are the same. Can you vary themsome more?

Negative non-specific

You are not taking this seriously, Jack.

Hmm …

Come on, you’ve just been dithering and wasting time; youhaven’t done anything since I came around before.

Positive non-specific

That’s coming on nicely; it’s got some good things in it.

That’s a good try Marcus. Well done. (A low-achieving pupilwith learning difficulties.)

That’s good; it’s coming on.

Reframing the comment

More positive and more specific

You’ve got the melody; that’s looking good. I know you hadsome chords in your mind. How will the person coming toperform your piece know which chords you would like themto play?

What mood or effect are you hoping to convey in yourcarol? Which musical elements are you going to use toconvey that? Think about the pitch, dynamics and structureof your piece.

How many phrases have you used in your tune? Are youhappy with the effect that your music makes? You could tryusing a different pattern for the melody or varying therhythm and then listen to the effect. Would you like to gointo the practice room and sing into a cassette tape someideas until you find something that is simple and can berepeated and remembered? Then come back to me.

You have worked well to identify the main character. Nowyou need to decide if your tune will have steps or leaps andwhether your harmony will be consonant or dissonant.

Well done; you have composed half your song already. Ifyou are stuck you could repeat the same again or you couldcompose a different 8-bar melody and then follow throughwith your first part. This would change the structure andmake it more interesting.

Well done; you have a simple ostinato. Now you could workout others using the pentatonic scale. See if you can workout three before I come back around.

Three chords; that’s fine and the chorus is catchy. Welldone. Could you suggest to me how you could possiblydevelop this song? What do you think?

That’s a good composition, Marcus. Will you show MrsWilliams, using the computer and the keyboard, what thatsounds like? She will help you to print it out so that you cansee the notation.

So far, so good. How does it compare to a song you havegot in your CD collection? What more have the producersdone to that song than you have to yours?


Appendix 4.1A.2

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in PE © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in physical education

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to physical education. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject developmentmaterial is intended to help you consider the key messages of the training unitand identify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach physical education.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the development orextension of oral feedback in physical education and provide guidance on howto embed this into regular practice in physical education lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in physical education. You will need to be clear on what has helpedpupils to learn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how yourpractice has adapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has workedwell and which areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

After carrying out an audit, the PE department in School B, which comprises ahead of PE, second in PE and one other full-time specialist teacher, identifiedthe issues of poor behaviour and low self-esteem on the part of some of thelower-attaining pupils as something they wanted to address. Having alreadydeveloped their practice in sharing learning objectives and outcomes moreexplicitly with pupils over the previous 12 months, and noted the fact that thishad brought about improvements in this area, they wanted to build on thissuccess. They decided the next focus would be on improving the quality of theiroral feedback as they saw this as a means of focusing all pupils on the learningobjectives and expected outcomes throughout the lesson.

Process

As a starting point the head of department used the PE examples of oralfeedback from page 7 of the Unit 4, Module 4.1 presenter’s notes in theAssessment for learning folder (DfES 0043-2004 G) to stimulate discussion andreflection with their colleagues.

As a team they discussed the shortcomings of the comments in:• the bottom left-hand quadrant (negative and non-specific)• the bottom right-hand quadrant (positive and non-specific)• the top left-hand quadrant (negative and specific).

They shared ideas about how each comment might be improved by trying todraw out exactly what the missing ingredients were. For example, they agreedthat, ‘Your long jump was poor. Put in more effort next go …’ was likely to havelittle beneficial effect because it provided no encouragement and nothingspecific for the pupil to act on in order to improve. As a team, they discussedhow they would change the comments to provide more specific and positivefeedback for pupils to act upon.


The department found the activity useful as it fostered discussion and improvedtheir understanding of the specific use of language within each of thequadrants.

At the end of the meeting they agreed that oral feedback would be a focus fordevelopment work across the department over the next term. They decided atthe next meeting they would watch a previously videoed Year 8 tennis lessontaught by the head of PE so that they could collaboratively analyse their use oforal feedback.

In the next department meeting the team analysed each feedback commentfrom the tennis lesson and plotted them onto a copy of handout 4.1.4. Theresultant diagram showed a fairly equal balance of categories of oral feedbackacross the four quadrants. Selected comments are shown in appendix 4.1A.1as exemplification.

Evaluation

The head of PE was surprised that there were fewer comments in the ‘positiveand specific’ quadrant than they had expected. Several of these commentsalso had the terms ‘but’ or ‘next time’ in them, which might be regarded asnegative feedback by the pupils.

The department analysed all the comments deemed either ‘negative’, ‘specific’or both and suggested ways in which each item could be made more specificand more positive. They also looked at the ‘positive’ and ‘non-specific’ ones tomake them more specific.

The head of department decided to use what they learned from the analysisand discussion to plan future lessons and agreed to have a second lessonvideoed to see whether their practice improved.

Both the second in the PE department and the other specialist teacher alsoagreed to have one lesson videoed over the course of the next month, so thatthe nature of their oral feedback could be analysed and the impact of theirdevelopmental work discussed at their next department meeting.


Task 4.1B





Context

Having started the process of making their oral feedback more positive andspecific, in the course of the summer term the PE department in School B wenton to discuss the range of different types of oral feedback provided by thedepartment.

Process

In their initial department meeting the PE department used as an agendahandout 4.1.5 from the Assessment for learning folder (DfES 0043-2004 G) Unit 4, Module 4.1 on oral feedback. They added a third column in which torecord specific PE examples. The department felt that PE is a subject rich inopportunities for oral feedback and initial discussions concluded that membersof the team used all these strategies frequently. However, the head of PEencouraged them to probe more deeply by focusing on one of the PE lessonsthat had been videoed in the previous term for the purposes of analysingwhether the feedback provided was positive and specific. The team membersobserved a Year 7 gymnastics lesson to identify specific examples wheredifferent types of feedback were used. They recorded these examples offeedback in the third column of handout 4.1.5 (see appendix 4.1B.1). Theclass concerned had previously worked on developing a simple gymnasticssequence involving linking shapes as balances.

The learning objectives for the recorded lesson were for pupils to learn to:• select and perform three balances accurately on the floor then on simple

apparatus• link the balances together to show fluency and control• analyse their sequence with a partner to improve it.

The learning outcomes for the lesson were for each pupil to be able to:• present a short planned sequence made up of three balances linked

together• control the body into and out of the balances when transferring weight.

As part of the discussion the department tried to draw conclusions about whichtypes of feedback were most powerful in helping pupils to raise their level ofunderstanding or performance, in relation to the identified learning objectivesand intended outcomes.


Having done this they ‘traffic lighted’ the PE examples on handout 4.1.4according to whether they were able to:• observe a direct and immediate improvement in one or more pupils’

gymnastic sequences as a result of the feedback (green)• infer that the feedback had had some impact on one or more pupils’

gymnastic sequences by the end of the lesson (amber)• see no apparent improvement as a result of the feedback (red).

Then they analysed the examples of feedback that appeared to have little or noimpact on learning outcomes and considered how they might be improved. Forexample, they agreed that, ‘You have planned your sequence well to minimisethe amount of walking; it flows together showing balances held in strongshapes’ could be improved:• to move learning on by suggesting an improvement such as, ‘Now try to

hold the balances for longer to demonstrate control’• to crystallise the next steps by saying, ‘Spend a few minutes deciding on

two other elements that are required in this sequence’• to encourage exploration, elaboration or development by asking,

‘Is there anything else you could focus on in your performance?’

The team also discussed what types of changes in lesson organisation andstructure they could make to provide more regular and frequent opportunitiesfor the types of feedback which made most impact.

Evaluation

Over the next three months each member of the team carried out a lessonobservation. They then ‘traffic lighted’ the level of impact of group, paired andindividual feedback against the lesson learning objectives and later sharedideas for successful implementation at a departmental meeting.

Over three months the team agreed to carry out two lesson observations eachto evaluate the impact of the agreed changes on their teaching. In particular,they wanted to do the following.

• Analyse the composition of group feedback.– Had composition of group changed?– Was more feedback being directed to paired work?– Did this vary with activity being taught?

• Consider the types of feedback being used.– Was there a change in the type of feedback pupils received?– Were teachers now good at recognising and applying the different types

of feedback?

• Analyse the level of impact of group, paired and individual feedback againstlesson objectives as a result of using the traffic light system.– Were there more green lights?– Which type of feedback were amber lights being linked to?

In their departmental meetings they allocated time to discuss the impact offocusing on feedback, how it had influenced their lesson planning and how ithad affected pupil standards.


Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

Your serve was a disaster. Youdidn’t reach for the ball and yourarm was bent.

That wasn’t quite as bad as thelast time because you let the balldrop more before you hit it.

Good … your serving is much moreconsistent now. Next time, try tofollow it into the net to pressuriseyour opponent’s return.

Your forehand is better becauseyou’re letting the ball drop to belowwaist height before hitting it.

You’re never going to hit the ballstraight like that.

I’m not surprised you’re losing …you were messing around duringmy demonstration.

I’m really not impressed. Youneed to put in far more effort.

I think you’re doing much betterthan the last time I watched you.

Your tennis has really come onwell. You might be in the Year 8team if you carry on that way.

I like the way you’re thinkingthings through.

Good, but you need to hit the ballwith more pace.

That’s not too bad. You’ve gotsome of the techniques needed.

PE-specific example of handout 4.1.4


Appendix 4.1B.1

Examples of PE oral feedback

‘Last lesson you linked two balances together.How you linked them together was important. Themoves had to flow smoothly from one balance toanother. The balances had to be held for threeseconds and had to have a recognisable shape.Using the same ideas/rules see how many of theeight shapes (on the board) you can link together.’

‘Look at Jo’s sequence. See how clear and strongthe shapes are and how they link togethersmoothly. What else could they now work on?Yes, they should now aim to hold the balances forthree seconds.’

‘What did you like about Sam’s sequence? … Yes,the control was good and the balances werelinked well. It was good to notice two of the threeaspects.’

‘You are all working on the same balance on thebox top. See if you can come up with somealternatives by selecting from other shapes on theboard.’

‘I noticed last week that you were “queuing” to usethe pommel horse so your balances don’t flowtogether. It is happening again this week. Howcould you plan your sequences so that you can allwork on the apparatus at the same time?’

‘Watch your partner’s sequence. Using the criteriaon the board comment on what is good and whatthey need to improve … Yes, I agree – the movesflow and the balances are held for three seconds.They now need to make the shapes stronger bydeveloping more body tension.’

‘The quality of your moves is good as they flowtogether. As well as mirroring each other youmight want to use canon where one of yourepeats the move slightly after the other’(extension task for able pair).

‘You have planned your sequence well to minimisethe amount of walking. It flows together showingbalances held in strong shapes.’

‘The position of your first balance made it difficultto move smoothly to your second balance. Youcould reorder your balances to improve fluency.’

Type of oral feedback

As a starter or within an episode, the teacheruses pupils’ previous work to feed back teachingpoints for individuals and the whole class. Theteacher models the language of feedback forpupils (planned feedback relating to learningobjectives).

Teacher gives points for learning to modelimprovement or next steps. Pupils’ contributionsare commented on and shaped as thedevelopment is shared with the class (plannedfeedback using modelling of content/techniquesor learning strategies, followed by instantfeedback on pupil contributions related toobjectives).

The teacher invites contributions from selectedpupils asking for evaluation and review. This issummed up with teacher feedback related tolearning objectives and to the quality of the classreview (instant feedback related to objectives aspart of a plenary).

In guided ability or targeted group work theteacher gives instant feedback to pupils as theywork on a task and make adjustments in response(some planning in relation to learning objectives orlearning strategies, but some instant feedbacknecessary).

In guided ability or targeted group work theteacher gives planned feedback on workcompleted previously in response to objectivescommon to the group (planned review).

In pairs, pupils assess each other’s work. Then theteacher gives oral feedback to the pairs (instantfeedback but related to pupils’ targets or successcriteria).

In pairs, pupils work on a task. During the processthe teacher offers feedback to which pupilsrespond by making adjustments (instant feedbackrelated to tasks/success criteria.)

The teacher gives individual feedback during thecourse of independent work in process (instantfeedback in relation to objectives/criteria/selfassessment/learning strategies).

The teacher gives oral feedback in an individualreview while rest of class work individually on atask (planned review).

Composition of group

Whole class

Whole class

Whole class

Group

Group

Paired work

Paired work

Individual

Individual

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in RE © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback inreligious education

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to religious education. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject developmentmaterial is intended to help you consider the key messages of the training unitand identify any areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach religious education.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the development orextension of oral feedback in religious education and provide guidance on howto embed this into regular practice in religious education lessons.




This describes how a department has approached the task and worked througheach of its stages. It is given as an example of how the task might be addressed.It is not intended that you follow this approach, which is given as a guide to theprocess that will support improvements in your subject.


Discuss as a team the example provided and establish the key areas that helpedto develop this practice and the impact it had on pupils. It will be helpful toidentify the changes in teachers’ practice and how these impacted on pupils’learning.




The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in religious education. You will need to be clear on what has helpedpupils to learn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how yourpractice has adapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has workedwell and which areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

The two specialist RE teachers in a department reflected on some recent lessonobservations undertaken by the school leadership team. These identified thepositive relationships that both teachers had with their pupils.

Pupils had also commented how much they enjoyed RE lessons. In thefeedback to them it was discussed that, as for many other subjects in theschool, oral feedback to individuals, groups and classes could be more specificin highlighting to pupils what they had done well and what steps they could taketo improve their response or work further. The teachers were also aware thatthe attainment of pupils in RE at the end of Key Stage 3 was often lower whencompared with other subjects.

Process

To gain a more detailed picture in their own teaching of the nature and quality oftheir oral feedback to pupils in lessons, teachers agreed to observe and do anaudio recording of each other teaching. During the observations the teachersused handout 4.1.4 to record how positive and specific the feedback to pupilswas. A cross was marked on the handout as the feedback occurred in thelesson. The audio recording was used afterwards as a way of referencing themarks on the handout.

Evaluation

The pattern that emerged for both teachers was that in the vast majority ofcases feedback was positive (see appendix 4.1A.1). Where feedback wasnegative, it often related to a small group of pupils who were not concentrating.Seating arrangements were reconsidered to avoid this. The observing teachershared the completed version of handout 4.1.4 and commented that while thenature of the feedback was mainly positive, it often did not specify why orprovide any way forward for the pupils.


An example was: ‘Thanks Paul, that was a really clear answer.’ The teacherobserving commented that while this was a positive comment, more use couldbe made of responses from pupils to guide other pupils in improving the qualityof response. In context, it would have been better if the response had been:‘Thanks, Paul. Using direct quotes from the text made that a really clearanswer.’ Further examples of comments can be found in appendix 4.1A.2.

Both teachers recognised the need to avoid being formulaic about theirfeedback, but to attempt to capitalise on the feedback they both gave andreceived. They adopted two main strategies for this. The first was to ensure theywere more explicit to pupils in lessons explaining why an answer was deemedto be good. The second was to use one pupil’s answer to focus other pupils,determining why it was a good answer or how it could be improved. In triallingthese strategies, one of the teachers commented after a few lessons that shewas conscious pupils needed more ‘training’ in the skill of explaining the qualityof other pupils’ answers, and that there was a need to invest time in modellingthis for pupils.


Task 4.1B





Context

Following the whole-school training on Oral feedback, the RE department(along with all other departments) were asked to consider the quality of oralfeedback in their subject and what areas might require improvement.

Process

They used handout 4.1.4 to focus this discussion and help them to identify thetypes of oral feedback employed by the teachers and their frequency of use.

Using the traffic light system, staff were able to identify areas of oral feedbackthat were commonly used and those that needed to be developed. During theirdiscussion it was recognised that oral feedback in RE, both planned andinstant, often provided teachers with the opportunity to identify and addressmisconceptions. For example, pupils commonly confused the concept ofresurrection with that of reincarnation and life after death. Whole-class oralfeedback was identified as a key strategy for improving pupils’ understandingand ability to provide explanations.

Department teachers were aware that whole-class oral feedback should bestructured and built into planning. Two non-specialist members of thedepartment expressed some difficulties they had faced giving whole-class oralfeedback.

On occasions they felt they had made assumptions on faith membership withintheir classrooms. It was agreed that the use of inclusive language – e.g. ‘we’when referring to a particular religious group – should be avoided. The wholedepartment agreed that this was an issue they could work on as a team, beingaware that within their classrooms they needed to be sensitive and aware of thefaith and ethnic backgrounds of pupils.


As a result of this exercise the department acknowledged that they felt secure inproviding general whole-class feedback, but felt that insufficient opportunitieswere planned to provide focused feedback to groups. They had given this‘amber’ on handout 4.1.4. It was common practice across the department toprovide pupils with the learning objectives and intended learning outcomes forthe lesson and unit of work. While it was common to focus the class throughquestioning and feedback on the objectives and outcomes, teachersrecognised that this could be built on by following up more specifically in smallgroup situations. This was particularly important as the department saw eachKey Stage 3 class only once per week.

Evaluation

The department trialled the approach and set aside time to review the impacton their lessons. The lesson plan in appendix 4.1B.1 outlines where one of theteachers had planned more specifically for oral feedback opportunities in thelesson. This identifies, in bold type, the range of planned oral feedbackopportunities in the lesson, with one element being to groups.

The head of department also interviewed a small number of pupils after a fewweeks to determine to what extent it had impacted on them. The feedback frompupils indicated that they valued feedback that was immediate and specific tothem as individuals. Inevitably, the nature of some of the feedback wascommon to a number of individuals in the class, but as the written commentwas personalised this was not conveyed in the written comment. It was notedby the teachers that specific feedback to both the whole class and small groupsmade pupils more focused and motivated.

This approach helped to support the targets that had been set with pupils, butwere proving difficult to manage on an individual level. This approach allowedthe teacher to establish a focus with a group and set targets that could be moreeasily monitored by both the teacher and pupil.


Appendix 4.1A.1

RE-specific example of handout 4.1.4

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X X

XX

X

X

X

X

X

X


Appendix 4.1A.2.

Specific negative

‘That was disappointing because you’ve not includedan explanation as to why Lourdes is an importantChristian place of pilgrimage.’

Improved to: ‘You have given me some details aboutLourdes as a place of pilgrimage. To improve yourwork you could give an explanation as to why Lourdesis an important Christian place of pilgrimage.’

‘That’s a poor description of the Seder meal, becauseyou’ve not included the essential keywords, such as“Pesach”, “Haggadah” and “Afikomen”.’

Improved to: ‘You’ve given an outline of someaspects of the Seder meal. It would be better if youused some of the keywords like “Pesach”,“Haggadah” and “Afikomen” in your description.’

‘Your evaluation was weak. You included argumentsfor the existence of God, but where were thearguments against the existence of God?’

Improved to: ‘Well done. You included arguments forthe existence of God. You could balance this by givingme the arguments against the existence of God andthen by saying what your view is.’

Specific positive

‘Really good! You’ve given a detailed description ofthe rituals undertaken by a pilgrim at Lourdes. Toimprove your work in the future you should includeexplanations as to why rituals are performed and whythey are important to a pilgrim.’

‘This is a really interesting piece of work on thecelebration of Pesach. You gave a clear and conciseaccount of the order of Seder and also showed methat you understand some of the symbolism. I’d likeyou to explain to me why this celebration is relevantfor Jews today.’

‘A well-constructed evaluation giving arguments bothfor and against the existence of God. It would be evenbetter if you gave direct quotes from the sacred textsto support your answer. Can you give me at leastone?’

Non-specific negative

‘A disappointing piece of work on pilgrimage; youcould do better.’

Improved to: ‘You have succeeded in using the words“pilgrim” and “pilgrimage” in your description. Tomake further progress you need to show that youunderstand why people make a pilgrimage.’

‘Your description of the Seder meal was poor.’

Improved to: ‘You have outlined two features of theSeder meal. In order to improve your work you needto include details about the symbols of the Sedermeal.’

‘Insufficient detail given in your evaluation of thearguments for the existence of God.’

Improved to: ‘You have given your opinion about the existence of God. To improve your work you need to give the arguments of both believers andnon-believers.’

Non-specific positive

‘Good work. A well-written account of a pilgrimage toLourdes.’

Improved to: ‘This is a well-written account of apilgrimage to Lourdes, making good use of thekeywords asked for. To improve your work you needto include an explanation stating why Lourdes isimportant to many Christians.’

‘A good description of the Seder meal.’

Improved to: ‘Your description of the Seder meal wasgood because you included the symbolic meanings ofthe foods. Including the meanings of keywords like“Haggadah” and “Afikomen” would make it evenbetter. Can you tell me about Haggadah first?’

‘An interesting evaluation of the arguments for theexistence of God.’

Improved to: ‘An interesting evaluation of theexistence of God. Include appropriate evidence tosupport the views you have given.’


Appendix 4.1B.1

Is Pesach a relevant festival for Jewish people today?

Learning objectives (We are learning to …)

Investigate the ways in which Jewish beliefs andlifestyles relate to historical events.Identify the symbols of Pesach.Explain how and why these symbols have meaningfor Jewish people today.

Introduction

The ‘big picture’ is given in the form of the key question: ‘Is Pesach a relevant festival for Jewish peopletoday?’ Learning objectives and outcomes displayed.

Starter (groups of three)

Reference prior learning. Pupils are asked to make a list of about 15 words linked with Pesach. After 5 minutesgroups are asked to identify any groups or categories that emerge from these words.Oral feedback is given by teacher and pupils to whole class suggesting and confirming categories, e.g. history. Teacher gives oral feedback to whole class to clarify any misconceptions, e.g. involvement of keycharacters – Joseph was a key figure but not present at the time of the Plagues. Reference is made toprevious learning.

Learning activities

Class is divided into groups to consider contemporary and historical resources from an assortment of thefollowing: Seder artefacts, The Four Questions and The Haggadah, the Chief Rabbi’s ‘Thought for the day’ 11 April 2003 relating to Passover and Freedom; web material ‘Passover from a Rabbi’s perspective’; thewords of the Passover song ‘One little goat’; examples of contemporary and classical art depicting theExodus, photographs of modern-day refugees.Teacher models through planned oral feedback how sources are evaluated. Some of the examplesprovided are explored and the teacher makes an oral response to the relevance of the source to the keyquestion.Groups work independently, following the model exposed by the teacher, to determine the relevance of thesource material in answering the key question. Groups are encouraged to formulate their own questions toseek clarification.Instant oral feedback is given by teacher to each group. Positive and specific feedback is given whichprovides clarification, helps pupils to reflect, encourages exploration of the sources and aids the developmentof their own questions. During feedback the teacher continually refers to the lesson objectives, which keepsthe pupils focused and on track to achieve the learning outcomes. Teacher gives instant feedback to whole class including drawing attention to positive examples andencouraging pupils to respond to these with their own comments and ideas. This is used to inform individualthinking and learning.Envoys are sent from each group to retrieve information and report back their findings. This oral feedback,pupil to pupil, helps pupils produce an informed response to the key question drawing on informationresearched by other groups.

Plenary

Teacher poses the question: ‘What connections are there between Jewish practice today and the Passoverand Exodus?’ In groups pupils explore their response to the question. Members prompt one another toelaborate and justify responses.The teacher conscripts pupils from targeted groups to feedback to whole class on strategies used tohelp formulate a response to the key question. Through careful planning the teacher draws upon thesuccessful strategies employed, highlighting those which are most effective in such an exercise. The teacheruses the pupil feedback to assess the metacognition that has taken place to inform futureplanning.

Learning outcomes (What I’m looking for …)

Identify the main historical events and characters ofthe Passover and the Exodus from Egypt.Use the correct keywords to explain the meaning ofthe symbols of Pesach.Describe the way in which Pesach is celebratedtoday.Show that you have thought about the key questionfrom the standpoint of a Jew and from your ownstandpoint.

1 Assessment for learning Unit 4, Module 4.1: Developing oral feedback in science © Crown copyright 2004

Developing oral feedback in science

Following the training in the generic unit Oral feedback, it is important toconsider how the key messages of the training apply to science. As part of the whole-school focus on this, the following subject development material isintended to help you consider the key messages of the training unit and identifyany areas requiring development in your department.


Objectives





Key messages








Unit

4Module 4.1


The following material builds on the tasks outlined in the ‘Ready for more?’section of the Oral feedback training unit and it is intended for all those whoteach science.






Focusing














Developing











Establishing











Enhancing










Teac

hers

Pup

ils



The tasks you have been referred to are intended to support the developmentor extension of oral feedback in science and provide guidance on how toembed this into regular practice in science lessons.










The purpose of focusing on this is to improve pupils’ achievement andattainment in science. You will need to be clear on what has helped pupils tolearn more effectively in your subject. Part of this will be how your practice hasadapted to allow this. You should jointly identify what has worked well andwhich areas require further attention.








Task 4.1A




Task 4.1B






Task 4.1A




Context

During a review of the science department by the senior management team, itwas noted that the quality of feedback to pupils about their work was an areafor development.

Process

The department agreed to work in pairs and observe each other teaching. Tosupport this process some colleagues used a video camera. Before observingeach other teach, they used handout 4.1.4 from page 27 Unit 4, Assessmentfor learning materials to remind themselves of the types of oral feedback thatmay be heard during the course of a science lesson.

They discussed the effectiveness of the teaching being observed by focusingon the quadrants that indicated specific and positive, and non-specific andpositive. They decided jointly how they could modify the non-specific andpositive oral feedback to make it more science specific for the pupils. Theyrepeated the process and considered the impact of increasing the science-specific and positive oral feedback on pupils’ learning.

After carrying out the task the department as a whole discussed the types ofquestion that matched with each of the four quadrants from the selection ofscience lessons observed. Some of these examples are shown below on acompleted copy of handout 4.1.4 (see appendix 4.1A.1).

They then discussed how the statements from three of the four quadrants couldbe made more science specific and positive.


At a meeting the head of department provided some examples of how thefeedback could be improved. This is shown in appendix 4.1A.2, with the first onefrom each section completed as a model. The whole department then discussedhow the remaining statements could be made more science specific and positive.

Evaluation

The department identified that this task required considerably more attentionthan they had originally thought was needed: as a consequence, they decidedto repeat observations of each other using different pairings.


Task 4.1B





Context

The department used handout 4.1.4 to identify the areas of priority in relationto oral feedback, using the traffic light system. Although this showed thatindividual teachers used particular strategies for oral feedback, the departmenthad all identified whole-class feedback as a strategy that was used but had thepotential to be used more effectively. Whole-class oral feedback was alsoidentified as a key strategy for improving pupils’ thinking skills, one of the pointsin the departmental development plan.

Process

The whole department then worked in pairs to examine their lesson plans for aspecific year group in order to add opportunities for planned oral feedbackduring the following two weeks’ teaching programme. It had been traffic lightedgreen by most colleagues, but through departmental discussions it emergedthat it was used on an ad hoc basis and mainly unplanned. The department hadmainly traffic lighted amber to small-group feedback. Exponents of this found itto be highly effective and felt comfortable enough to share their practice withthe other teachers.

The following is an overview of one teacher’s approach to developing her use oforal feedback, taking the department focus on whole-class feedback as hermain priority, but also building in opportunities for specific positive feedback toindividuals.

Erica’s Year 8 class was a middle ability group (most working at level 5). Theyhad been studying interdependence through a range of activities with somefocused work on environmental factors (e.g. temperature, oxygen and availablelight). Their teacher did not teach the group science in Year 7, where they hadencountered the scientific ideas of variation, adaptation and the use of keys.

After two weeks she planned a scientific enquiry. This was intended to help herassess what pupils had learnt about environmental factors and how they mightaffect the distribution of a particular species. In the previous lesson the pupilsmade an initial visit to the school pond and were aware of the range oforganisms and habitats present.


In the first session Erica chose to work with the whole class identifying andexploring how environmental factors impact on organisms. During this activityshe provided planned whole-class oral feedback on the quality of the pupils’explanations of their observations.

In the next session Erica chose to focus on assessing pupils’ ability to plan foran enquiry that determined the effect of the environment on habitats in andaround the pond. On this occasion Erica planned to do some group work,giving instant feedback to pupils as they worked on the task. The feedback wasdirectly related to the learning outcomes for the lesson and, where possible,pupils’ personal targets.

In the following session, the starter activity was based on the pupils’ plans.Again, there were planned opportunities for whole-class feedback. Pupilsassessed in pairs the work of others in the group. Finally, Erica planned time forindividual feedback while the group continued to work on their plans. Theplenary gave opportunities for instant whole-class feedback relating back to thelearning objectives and learning outcomes for the lesson.

The detail of Erica’s sequence of lessons is shown below.

Lesson objective

• To plan and carry out an enquiry about how the distribution of a specificorganism is affected by environmental factors.

Learning outcomes

• Most pupils will be able to: explain using the idea of interdependence how todetermine the impact of one environmental factor on a specific organism.(This shows aspects of the yearly teaching objectives for Year 8 and isbroadly related to level 5.)

• Some pupils will progress further and will also be able to: plan to use trialruns and a range of data to determine the most appropriate strategy to findout how the distribution of a selected organism is effected by environmentalfactors. (This shows aspects of the yearly teaching objectives for Year 8 andis broadly related to level 6.)

• Pupils will be able to respond positively to oral feedback provided byteachers and peers to help improve their planning technique.


Task

At a later meeting the department considered how they might share differentiatedlearning outcomes with their pupils. They used the ‘success ladder’ as onemeans of sharing differentiated learning outcomes with pupils. They alsoconsidered its use to provide criteria for peer and self assessment.

Lesson context and purpose of oralfeedback

Lesson 1: Whole-class interactive oralfeedback during the discussion of factorsthat might affect the distribution oforganisms.

Lesson 1: Oral feedback to small group asthe initial class discussion is extended intogroup work. The focus is to produce a planto determine the effect of environmentalfactors on the distribution of one specificorganism.

Lesson 2: Whole-class feedback based onthe planning pupils did last lesson for theinvestigation.

Lesson 2: Peer assessment in responsepartners (paired activity). The teacherlistens to the comments one pair has madeabout the other pair’s plans. Then theteacher summarises the key points with thefour pupils and provides some additionalpoints for the group to consider.


What sort of things did we see when we visited the pond that might affectwhere we find particular living things? Good, but how might the types ofplant affect the types of animal we find? Very good; it might make the areashaded. But how would this actually affect living things? True, plants doneed light to photosynthesise, so are you saying that those that need mostlight could not grow under the willow trees? Did you notice anything aboutthe size of the leaves of the plants growing in the more shady areas of thepond? So why do you think they might be bigger where it is shady? Collectmore of the available light – really good answer. What did you say? – reallywell thought out; the water might be cooler but contain more oxygen. Let’slook in detail at your answer. Two minutes – everyone discuss this group’sanswer about the relationship between temperature of the water and theamount of oxygen present. What do you think? Does the amount ofoxygen increase when the temperature goes down?

What have you decided to do? Leeches, that’s interesting. Why leeches?So you were the best leech trappers! Where did you find the leeches? Whatsorts of thing would you expect leeches to find at the bottom of the pond?How could you measure any differences in light? What other featuresbesides light might affect a leech? So how could temperature affect aleech? How will you measure the temperature without disturbing thewater? Do you think the temperature stays the same all day at the bottomof the pond? What about different times of the year? It’s getting verycomplicated, isn’t it? How will we make our enquiry simple? I will leave youto think about that. I will come back in 15 minutes to see what progress youhave made. You are really thinking well today. You have identifiedtemperature and light as two possible environmental factors and theleeches as your specific organism. You need to decide whether you willinvestigate temperature or light and produce a detailed plan.

I really like how carefully you have planned. What is good about it is thatyou have thought about how to sample the environment. This group haveidentified they will do six scoops to sample the leech population. How canthey keep the scoops the same? Good. Same net … same person to do it.Any other good suggestions? Why is it important to practise the techniquefirst? Another good point that this second group came up with was theneed to carry out the sampling a number of times so that they have reliableresults. How many times do you think you need to do this so that you arehappy about the accuracy of your results? This group is saying three; whatdo you think?

Your comments are really helpful because they focus on the specific thingsthat can be improved, such as the need to make sure the pond dipping netis used in the same way each time you scoop. I agree with what you’vesaid. Let’s consider the sampling technique suggested. Can we think ofany ways this can be more accurate? Let’s also consider how you aregoing to record your results.


For example:

The criteria are written on each rung of the ladder, becoming progressively moredifficult. These statements can also be directly related to pupils’ levelness. Thishelps the pupils to identify what they need to do to achieve the next level inscience. Further guidance is provided in the Key Stage 3 science unit Planningand implementing progression in the classroom, handouts relating to session 5.

Evaluation

The department used the following questions to help them to evaluate theimpact of oral feedback on learning in science, and, in particular, how pupilsrespond.

• How has teaching in science been adapted to the key messages of effectiveoral feedback?

• How has providing oral feedback related to learning outcomes impacted onpupils’ progress?




Unit 4, Assessment for learning materials (DfES 0043-2004 G)

Plenary section on Misconceptions in science video where pupils arediscussing their results in relation to a cooling curve investigation. Found as aresource on the Assessment for learning subject development materialsresources CD.

Assessment in science – resource pack (DfES 0372/2002)

Science CPD unit, Planning and implementing progression in the classroomhandouts relating to session 5 (DfES 0559/2002)

Can use trial runs and a range of data to explore the impact of

environmental factors. (level 6)

Can devise a strategy to explore one environmental factor. (level 5)

Can identify a number of environmental factors. (level 4)


Science-specific example of handout 4.1.4

Appendix 4.1A.1

Non-specific

Oral feedback

Specific

– +

Specific negative• Your method is far too long and disorganised,

and you don’t even reach a final conclusion.• Look! Your answer shows you haven’t

understood energy transfer.• No! Make sure you use the words

‘condensation’ and ‘evaporation’.

Non-specific negative• Your method is not complete. Make more effort

to write more next time.• That answer wouldn’t gain any marks in the

test.• Repeat the test and make sure you take the

measurements correctly.• You need to think more carefully about the

variable you are changing.

Specific positive• Your evaluation is well structured. To improve

further, you should explain the results that donot fit the pattern.

• Well done, Lucy! You really have a good ideaabout how the particles move when heated. Try to have a go at explaining particles duringevaporation.

• Great! You have written a well-structured letterto the Prime Minister to explain your views oncar pollution. Can you think why the increase innoise levels in London might become moredangerous than carbon monoxide in the future?

Non-specific positive• That’s a really good conclusion. I’ll get you to

read it to the class.• That’s an interesting answer. Could you develop

it further?• That’s a huge improvement on your last attempt

at an investigation.



■■ You’ve included lots of relevant information in your method. Byreturning to the original plan, you’ll see how this could be mademore concise and organised more clearly. Include a couple ofparagraphs that explain your results to me. For example, dothey show what you predicted? Do you need to repeat themeasurements?

■■

■■

■■ You’ve started to organise your ideas well. Now, look back atthe notes we made together about structuring reports forscientific enquiries. Try to use these to write briefly but clearly. If you have any problems we can work on the report together.

■■

■■

■■ Great! Your conclusion is well structured and includes how theidea of energy transfer explains what happens when a ball isbounced. Let’s think about the forces involved. What forces areacting on the ball as it falls?

■■

■■

Original feedback

Specific negative■■ Your method is far too long and disorganised,

and you don’t even reach a final conclusion.■■ Look! Your answer shows you haven’t

understood energy transfer■■ No! Make sure you use the words

‘condensation’ and ‘evaporation’.

Non-specific negative■■ Your method is not complete. Make more effort

to write more next time.■■ That answer wouldn’t gain any marks in the test.■■ Repeat the test and make sure you take the

measurements correctly.■■ You need to think more carefully about the

variable you are changing.

Non-specific positive■■ That’s a really good conclusion. I’ll get you to

read it to the class.■■ That’s an interesting answer. Could you develop

it further?■■ That’s a huge improvement on your last attempt

at an investigation.

Appendix 4.1A.2

Documents

Unit 4 Module 1: Oral feedback - Amazon Web …wsassets.s3.amazonaws.com/ws/nso/pdf/009888e402cbd336e2...Slide 4.1.4 Handout 4.1.1 Handout 4.1.1 cont. – It may be helpful in some