EV681 Pedagogy, Principles and Practice in early Childhood

Session 8: Learning and Development

Learners develop best when ...

. . . they understand clearly what they are trying to learn, and what is expected of them

What we need is an OAP

OAP or Planning cycle

Describe

Decide

Design

Observation/Describing

Assessment/Deciding

Assessment is for the

• Child - to ensure they are making progress• Family – for Home/School liaison, HLE• Practitioner – to reflect on intervention• Setting/learning environment - planning,

resources, etc.• Government/LA – accountability ‘..provide

an accurate national data set..’ (p7 EYFSP)

Assessment is . . .• Assessment foci built into

plans/units/schemes of work• Praise / well done/rewards

/celebrations• Verbal feedback to children• Written feedback to children /

‘Marking’/comments on work• Tests • Questions • Talk for learning e.g. TPS, lolly

sticks

• On the hoof records• Formalised records e.g.

guided reading• Thumbs up and traffic lights• Criteria for self and peer

assessment• Plenaries• Reports • Parent conferences• APP (Assessing Pupil Progress

frameworks) and moderating• Checklists

Robin Alexander says . . .

“Assessment for learning.... is intrinsic to

pedagogy ratherthan detached from it”

(p325)

Mary-Jane Drummond says. . .

Assessment has four characteristics:1. It is embedded in everyday practice2. It is observation based3. It requires an interpretation4. It indicates the way to better

learning and teachingAdapted from 1993, p13

The EYFS guidance says . . .“ Assessments are the decisions you make using what

you have observed about a child’s development and/or learning” (Principles in to Practice 3.1, 2007)

“On-going formative assessment is at the heart of effective early years practice.” (p3 DM 2012)

“On-going assessment . . . is an integral part of the learning and development process.” (p10 Stat Framework 2012)

“effective assessment presents a holistic view of a child” (p8 EYFSP Handbook, 2013)

“Accurate assessments take account of contributions from a range of perspectives including the child, their parents and other relevant adults.” (p8 EYFSP Handbook, 2013)

The four basic elements of AfL:

• Sharing learning goals• Effective questioning• Self and peer evaluation• Effective feedback

Ted Wragg

Questioning

http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/hot-research-questions

Professor Wiliam 2012 A "really crucial aspect" of AfL:

"designing your teaching on the assumption that pupils aren't going to get it all the time"

"AfL is all about better teaching.”

1. Clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions.2. Eliciting evidence of pupil learning3. Providing feedback that moves learning forward.4. Using pupils as learning resources for one another, through

methods such as peer assessment and peer tutoring.5. Encouraging pupils to be owners of their own learning,

through self-assessment and other methods.

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6261847

Sustained, shared thinking (SST)Siraj-Blatchford et al (2002) REPEY

• Tuning in• Genuineness• Respecting the child’s

decision• Reminding• Encouragement to

further thinking• Offering an alternative

point of view

• Speculating• Reciprocating• Modelling thinking

(meta-cognition)• Re-capping• Sharing own

experience• Clarifying

Teachers’ Standard 6

• Know and understand how to assess the relevant subject and curriculum areas

• Make use of formative assessment• Use relevant data to monitor progress, set

targets and plan subsequent lessons• Give pupils regular feedback, both orally and

through accurate making and encourage pupils to respond to feedback

Data via summative assessment

• EYFSP• National curriculum levels (including P levels)• Teacher assessment and SATS• YR 1 phonics ‘check’• NFER optional tests• CATS YR 7• GCSE etc..

http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/getting-to-grips-with-assessment-primary/

Raise online https://www.raiseonline.org/Ab

out.aspx

FFT

Assessment in the National Curriculum 2014

• No level descriptors • Expectation of some “grading of pupil attainment in

the ‘core subjects’”• Replacing the current writing test with teacher

assessment of writing composition (from 2013)• Introducing the SPAG test from 2013: spelling,

grammar, punctuation and vocabulary. http://www.hleducationservices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/english-grammar-spelling-and-punctuation-test-sample-materials.pdf

• Publishing more data in the performance table e.g. a strong focus on the progress of every pupil. New progress measures will be introduced to focus on the performance of low, middle and high attainers.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

What do you know about this?• In each group think about something you know

about the EYFSP . . . • . . . and something you would like to know more

about the EYFSP

http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/2/2013_eyfs_handbook.pdfhttp://

www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/assessment/eyfs/b00217443/eyfs-exemplification

The legal bit

• The EYFS Statutory Framework (DfE, 2012) sets the standards for learning, development and care for children birth to the end of YR

• The Childcare Act (2006): all EY providers must ensure their provision meets these standards

• These standards are assessed by a statutory assessment, the EYFSP

What has the EYFSP shown us to date?

http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001098/index.shtml

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2012-to-2013

Percentage of children working securely in each area of learning in 2009, 2010 and 2011

Percentage of children working securely within each assessment scale by gender, 2011

“. . . however convenient it might be to simplify the reality of children’s learning, the treating of everyone the same in order to produce a neat tidy set of data . . . will inevitably result in that most useless of exercises, the collection of data that is unusable and meaningless.”Dubiel, J in Featherstone & Featherstone (2008) p94

Building the Profile20 items of infoCommentary on the 17 ELGs in • Three Prime Areas: Communication and language; Physical

development; Personal, social and emotional development, and • The Four Specific Areas: Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding of

the world; Expressive arts and design, and • The Characteristics of Effective Learning: Playing and exploring;

Active learning; Creating and thinking critically

What’s it for?“. . . to provide a reliable, valid and accurate assessment of individual children at the end of the EYFS.” (p7)• Inform families of their child’s progress• Support transition to KS1 (NC)• Assist Yr1 teachers’ planning

What it’s not for

“The EYFSP is not intended to be used for on-going assessment for Early Years settings or Reception

classes.” (p5)

Completing the Profile

• Observations – every day interactions• Contributions from family, other colleagues,

other settings/provision – and the child! • Summative but based on formative

assessment throughout year

“Practitioners . . . should be aware that the definition of evidence is any material, knowledge of the child, anecdotal incident or result of observation or information from additional sources that supports the overall picture of a child’s development. There is no requirement that it should be formally recorded or documented; the extent to which the practitioner chooses to record information will depend on individual preference. Paperwork should be kept to the minimum that practitioners require to illustrate, support and recall their knowledge of the child’s attainment.” (p12)

Characteristics of Effective LearningWhat will you be looking for?

• Playing and Exploring - engagement– Finding out and exploring– Using what they know in their play– Being willing to have a go

• Active Learning – motivation– Being involved and concentrating– Keeping on trying– Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

• Creating and thinking critically – thinking– Having their own ideas– Making links– Choosing ways to do things

Early Learning Goals

• 17 of them• Best fit judgement of the whole goal• Expected; Exceeding; Emerging• Learning journeys• Exemplification materials

Assessment for learning: a whole school approach

AfL: A whole school approach

http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/videos/primary-assessment-for-learning-a-whole-school-approach

Planning

OAP or Planning cycle

Describe

Decide

Design

Why plan?• Part of a wider framework (medium-term and long-term planning)• To identify what, how and when you want the

children to learn• To select appropriate teaching and learning

strategies – for ALL children• To pin down what you intend to see/hear• To envision the future; where next

Good lesson plans• Start from the child; recognition of what has been

learned or experienced• Express what you intend the children to learn• Identify the criteria for success in the learning

outcomes • Detail the teacher’s role indicating the strategies and

opportunities for assessment• Conclude with an overview of what needs to be

taught next, based on the assessment information gained.

Learning Objectives

What is it you want the children to know, understand, or be able to do by the end of this

lesson/session?

Can describe…, can perform…, can explain…, can recall…, can compare…, can contrast…, can label…, can list…, can match…, can draw…, can collect…, can measure…, can choose…, can justify…, can select…, etc. etc.

Transitions

Transition into Reception or Nursery Class

• What will this involve?• Why is it important to get this right?

• Home visiting– What are the benefits and logistics?– What will a home visit look like?

Why home visit?

• Building relationship with family• Family and child at ease• Family as first and most enduring educator• Emotional security• Shared understanding • Initiate communication

Transition out

• Reporting, sharing info• Children’s perspective– meta-cognition– self assessment and target setting

What do children think?

• What do you like doing best?• What do you think you can do now that

you couldn’t do when you were younger?• What do you think you learn at nursery?• What do you learn at home?• What do you think you’re really good at?• What do you find tricky or don’t like doing

at nursery?Hutchin, V. (2008) Supporting Every Child’s Learning London:Hodder and Stoughton (p78)

Suggested follow up

• Whizz through ‘Inside the Primary Black Box’ Harrison & Howard

• See Ch3 ‘Preparing children for the move to KS1’ (Aspire)

• Look at this journal article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09575146.2010.512557

• Find out more about the Profile• Download ‘Technology’ from the exemplification

materials • SBT1 – find out more about transition