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Action ResearchPART APLANNING
Identifying a Research Project
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 classTeacher Anna Garthwaite
Context
Class/School DescriptionYear 8 class: 28 pupils – 15 boys and 13 girlsThe school is currently engaged in a programme of professional developmentinvolving ICT and Action Research.Research Focus/QuestionsTo investigate using the tool of a classroom blog to track students ability to self review and for them to identify next learning steps. Through teaching self-reviewskills and using within classroom practice students should increase their ability toself-review.Rationale“WHY BOTHER WITH SELF ASSESSMENT?”(aaia – Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment)This statement formed the rationale for this action research. We ask the students toself assess their work frequently but often their self assessment comments lack depthor self awareness. This statement struck me as a reason why students often writesurface answers without any real understanding of their achievements.With further reading it became evident to me that self assessment is a tool for theclass which is under-utilised and is probably not understood completely by myself aswell as the students in my class – yet I could see it could be a powerful tool for students to take control 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 explainstrategies so teacher identifies thinking process.Using the blog as a tracking tool allows for students to have an ongoing record of their self review and to build up a picture over time 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 their next learning steps,demonstrating more awareness of their own learning and having a greater understanding of their achievements and 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 to complete a survey togive me an indication of how they viewed their own learning – to provide me withsome baseline data.I also set up the class blog site – 21classes.com. This is to be used as a tool for students to record their self-assessment and as a way for me to track their progress.Teaching self assessment skills:Self assessment was introduced through discussion and brainstorming.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 provide information for students to refer back to. Display included:
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Why bother with self assessment? - It is the means by which you, as students,take responsibility for your own learning.
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Photos of students asking questions eg How will I know if my work is good?What are my goals?Self assessment was modelled.Using exemplars from Level 3,4,5, students used a matrix to assess the work and toidentify the next learning steps.Students assessed Teacher’s writing and suggested next learning steps.Students begun to self assess own writing using a matrix.Specific questions were written under the matrix to ensure students written commentswere focused. For example on the Volleyball Assessment matrix students are asked tocomment 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 classroom environment. Studentswere regularly viewing and discussing exemplars to assess the learning and the nextlearning step. Then using the matrix to assess their own learning and commenting ontheir strengths and areas that still needed to be developed.Initially this was planned only for English and Reading but was soon incorporatedinto all areas of the curriculum particularly in integrated units.I also reviewed the term goal sheet that is handed out each term. In light of thestudents gaining a greater awareness of their learning I redesigned the Term goal sheetto reflect their more specific goals. I also had an individual conference with eachstudent to discuss their learning goals for the term and to discuss strategies to helpachieve these goals. I enjoyed this as it enabled for some meaningful discussions and built a sense of partnership with the students.
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