2. To start with, and with younger children, it should be short and focused.
3. The pupils should document any peer assessment completed – this could be in a code in their book (PA - peer assessed, SA - self assessed), or they could document it in either a dedicated pocket book/ or digital folders/file on computer.
Dates/brief notes and what happened, this encourages pupils to take ownership – it is also evidence that these assessment methods are being used (AfL is good for OFSTED).
4. Book can also contain target short term targets grades and acknowledge any feedback – this may help reinforce the benefits they can get from the feedback they read.
5. “The destination is not as important as the journey” - how they get there is more important than the final product and feedback should focus on the process (and not so focused on the end product) – the point is that formative assessment as a piece of work progresses, promotes learning. At best, the final piece is a staging post along the way.
6. Training the students to assess is essential. They need confidence that when they or their peers, assess their work as effectively as their teacher.
The training process involves:
a. Give a clear criteria to mark against using levels / ladders and codes that both they and you use.
b. Share the secrets, give examples of good work to benchmark responses
c. Start with simple work be build confidence and credibility, and build up to parallel marking of the highest level work.
d. Check the accuracy of peer/self assessments (taking a sample).
The following link is to the parallel feedback and can be used during Peer/self Assessment: assessment proformas
Benefits
· Encourages self-reliance.
· That peer/self assessment helps them understand what they have to do (understanding the value).
· Self/peer assessment before they hand work in (even to proof read work), work may be improved before hand in – formative assessment by the students.
Issues
· Penalty for sloppy marking – doing it again or deducting marks? – students need to take responsibility for the way they mark the work (neatly and as accurately as they can): get them to initial the work
Self Assessment issues
- Self assessment can occur before work is handed in. (proof read work) - students need to be aware that assessment is pretty pointless if they have made little effort in the task to be assessed
- “Have you reviewed the work?”
- “How long did it take you to do?”
- “How much effort?”
- “What grade?”
- Perhaps with a grid/tick box: easier to focus on rather than lots of written comment.
- Video the task and assess there and then with the class (de-personalises the task) makes it easier to assess - flip video. These were available two weeks ago for £50 on Amazon, but are now £70. Perhaps the price will go down again after Christmas! http://www.theflip.com/en-gb/
- “Colour wheel” style assessment, would be as useful for assessing a variety of skills to share progress and formative advise the student the specifics of what each level requires.
- This method could (also) be used for peers assessing someone in their group – selected “randomly”
- Using examination style codes – gets the students to focus on study skills:
K = knowledge
P = Application / example
N = Analysis
E = Evaluation
- If the code is the same the teacher uses, comment and grade can be checked, and as part of the training process this affirms the veracity of the grading..
