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How can a blog be used to track students’ability to self review and to identify nextlearning steps?
Name of School/ClassBalmacewen Intermediate SchoolRoom 23Year 8 classTeacherAnna Garthwaite
Context
Class/School DescriptionYear 8 class: 28 pupils – 15 boys and 13 girlsThe school is currently engaged in a programme of professionaldevelopment involving ICT and Action Research.Research Focus/QuestionsTo investigate using the tool of a classroom blog to track studentsability to self review and for them to identify next learning steps.Through teaching self-review skills and using within classroompractice students should increase their ability to self-review.Rationale “WHY BOTHER WITH SELF ASSESSMENT?” (aaia – Association for Achievement and Improvement throughAssessment)This statement formed the rationale for this action research. Weask the students to self assess their work frequently but often theirself assessment comments lack depth or self awareness. Thisstatement struck me as a reason why students often write surfaceanswers without any real understanding of their achievements.With further reading it became evident to me that self assessmentis a tool for the class which is under-utilised and is probably notunderstood completely by myself as well as the students in my class– yet I could see it could be a powerful tool for students to takecontrol of their learning.
How does it benefit the students?
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They become responsible for their own learning.
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Are able to recognise next steps in learning.
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Are actively involved in the learning process.
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Becomes more independent and motivated.How does it benefit the teacher?
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A shift of responsibility from teacher to pupil.
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Feedback helps teacher identify pupil progress.
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Identifies next steps for students.
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Matches students’ perceptions of understanding with teachers– pupils explain strategies so teacher identifies thinkingprocess.Using the blog as a tracking tool allows for students to have anongoing record of their self review and to build up a picture overtime of their progress.Project Outline
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To teach the skills of self assessment.
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To set up a class blog site.
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To set up a classroom display for students to refer back to.
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To give students a baseline questionnaire.PreparationExpected OutcomesStudents will be able to self assess their learning and identify theirnext learning steps, demonstrating more awareness of their ownlearning and having a greater understanding of their achievementsand learning.Outline Plan
Preparation
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Students complete a survey – to provide baseline data on self assessment.
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Questions include:
What are my strengths and weakness?
How am I doing in my school work?
Do I know how I am doing in my school work?
I know what my school targets/goals are?
How am I going to make this improvement?
How will I know if my work is good/improving?
What do I need to improve?
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Set up a class blog site – 21classes.com
Lessons and Activities
Prior to teaching self-assessment skills I asked the students tocomplete a survey to give me an indication of how they viewed theirown learning – to provide me with some baseline data.I also set up the class blog site – 21classes.com. This is to be usedas a tool for students to record their self-assessment and as a wayfor me to track their progress.Teaching self assessment skills:Self assessment was introduced through discussion andbrainstorming.As a class we discussed:
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What is effective self assessment?
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What is the point of self assessment?I put a display with points that had been discussed – to provideinformation for students to refer back to. Display included:
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Why bother with self assessment? - It is the means by whichyou, as students, take responsibility for your own learning.
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Photos of students asking questions eg How will I know if mywork is good? What are my goals?Self assessment was modelled.Using exemplars from Level 3,4,5, students used a matrix to assessthe work and to identify the next learning steps.Students assessed Teacher’s writing and suggested next learningsteps.Students begun to self assess own writing using a matrix.Specific questions were written under the matrix to ensure studentswritten comments were focused. For example on the VolleyballAssessment matrix students are asked to comment on:
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Which skills you have improved on
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Which skills do you need to improve further
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How well do you use the skills in the game?This formed the model for self assessment in the classroomenvironment. Students were regularly viewing and discussing
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