Creating the classroom culture, where the actual difficult ideas come to the surface so

they reveal their misconceptions, is important. And it's particularly giving opportunity
for students to work in pairs, where they can use peers as a resource, or to allow them to
compare with others before there's any class discussion that really helps drive this type
of pedagogy. In Inside the Black Box-- and we did the initial research-- we were aware
of four areas that needed working on in classrooms to create this particular environment.
One of them was questioning. Another was feedback. Then it was self and peer
assessment. And finally, the formative use of tests and quizzes.

0:47Skip to 0 minutes and 47 secondsHaving worked on this now for well over 15
years, we now have begun to understand that classroom assessment is a combination of
opportunities for acting on evidence. Sometimes, we'll use these formatively to drive
learning forward and sometimes in a more summative way to report on the previous
learning. The key characteristics of formatively-driven classroom-- are interactive
dialogue, collaborative learning, and self-regulation with the pupils playing an active
role in the learning and assessment cycle. To make these aspects work well in the
classroom, many teachers have incorporated specific strategies, such as using mini
white boards to quickly collect the range of answers from the class or, perhaps, traffic
lights so that learners could indicate their confidence in their answers.

1:36Skip to 1 minute and 36 secondsThese provide both more evidence and a richer
evidence of students' understanding. And so this makes the next steps clearer and easier
to decide on. The formative classroom is one where teachers set up opportunities to
collect this evidence. So we find out what students know, partly know, and don't know
and then use this evidence to decide on those next steps.

Formatively-driven classrooms
In this video Chris discusses the importance of seeing
classroom assessment as a combination of opportunities
for acting on evidence of student learning and
understanding. Chris stresses that if we are wanting to
develop formatively-driven classrooms, then we need to
consider how we can utilise opportunities within our
teaching for interactive dialogue, collaborative learning,
and self-regulation, with the students playing an active role
in the learning and assessment cycle.

Assessment for learning is therefore less about using a range of

techniques and more about an underlying philosophy related to
our classroom, the approaches we use and our students’ role
within it.
Throughout the course we are going to support you in
developing formatively-driven classrooms, by sharing ideas and
exemplifying approaches in real classrooms.

Share
Chris outlines the principles of a formatively driven classroom.
Compare these ideas to your responses to the poll.

In the comments below, share one or two examples of how

you have already put assessment for learning into action in
your classroom. This does not have to be a complex example,
just think about how you find out about your students learning
and understanding.

© National STEM Learning Centre

Assessment for learning helps teachers probe understanding, and provides the evidence
for teachers to decide what the learner needs to take their learning forward. What we
find with most teachers is that to make it work effectively in the classroom, they need to
encourage their learners to talk more, and also to compare their ideas with others.
Which means that they need to listen to their peers, but also you as a teacher need to
listen more effectively to what the learners actually say. Avoid closing down those
discussions, because sometimes it takes a while for a range of ideas to come to the
surface for you to examine.

0:45Skip to 0 minutes and 45 secondsSo the focus for you is not on chasing correct
answers, but rather you need your learners to express their true understanding so we can
see how they're developing scientific ideas, actually formulating a range of contexts.
The teacher can then use this feedback to decide on what action to take, or what
guidance to give to help learners improve.

1:12Skip to 1 minute and 12 secondsAt the same time, learners can voice their ideas
and begin to see how others respond to these. And this allows them to build
understanding at the same time as developing a more critical approach to science.

Educator viewpoint: encouraging

more talk
Chris explains the primary functions of assessment for
learning are to:
  promote domain-specific dialogue;
 help teachers understand what learners think;
 give learners formative feedback.

One approach you could use to support this

includes challenging questions that are based on either
misconceptions or areas of ambiguity in science. It is through
these questions that you prompt thinking, and this leads to
active discussion that provides a way of drawing out the
evidence of learning from your students.

Share
Chris points out that the focus is ‘not chasing the correct
answer’ and should involve all students in the learning.

Think now of an approach, that you could use in your teaching,

to ensure you allow students to share and discuss their
thinking. Share this in the comments below.

What will teachers be wanting to identify from pupils when they use intentional
dialogue?

Select all the answers you think are correct.

Who can answer the quickest?

Who knows the correct answers?

What prior knowledge pupils have?

What alternative ideas pupils have?

 Partially correct
Try again

 Andrea Mapplebeck EDUCATOR

In interactive dialogic classrooms teachers will be using

intentional dialogue to engage ALL pupils in the class in
discussing their ideas, not just those who answer
quickly. The teacher will also be wanting to listen and
encourage all pupils’ to air their ideas and thinking,
instead of looking for correct answers to be given. To do
this the teacher may move around and listen in to pupils’
discussions, to gain a greater idea of what pupils’ do
and do not know, along with any alternative ideas that
may be aired. The teacher may decide on key points
they wish to share, or pupils’ ideas they then highlight to
the whole class.

Pupils who answer quickly are not necessarily those

who have a deep understanding of a topic. It is better to
give all the class time to think and discuss ideas before
gathering evidence of their thinking. This way more
ideas are aired, pupils learn more from the
conversations they have with each other, and teachers
are better placed to make decisions about what to do
next.

Teachers in interactive classrooms will want to find out

what all the pupils think about questions that challenge
their ideas think and take time to respond to, rather than
just hearing from those that may have the correct
answers. Even though a pupil may provide the correct
answer they may still have incorrect thinking about an
idea, and teachers will want to check for deeper
understanding.

It is useful for teachers to identify what prior knowledge

pupils have so they are better placed to plan the
learning for the pupils. However, teachers in classrooms
where formative practices are embedded will want to
establish the prior knowledge levels of all pupils. This
will then help the teacher to be better placed to make
decisions about what to do next for ALL the pupils in the
class.

It is useful for teachers to identify any alternative ideas

pupils have so they are better placed to plan the
learning for the pupils. In classrooms where formative
practices are embedded teachers will be active planning
with alternative ideas in mind and establishing if they
exist with any of their pupils so they will be better placed
to make decisions about what to do next for ALL the
pupils in the class.

Your understanding of intentional

dialogue
In the quiz we provided our view of effective intentional
dialogue. You might find that you agreed or disagreed with
our responses.

Discuss
Use the discussion below to comment on the quiz and note any
change in your thinking.

Please do feel free to use this space to get further insight from
the course educators and mentors. Refer to the quiz questions
and educator responses as needed.
We’ll pick up any further questions in the course Q&A in step
3.8

[Teacher] So the first one's solute. Can anyone tell me how we might use the word
solute? All right, Daisy. What do you think? Daisy - Well, a solute is a liquid that you
dissolve something into. [Teacher] OK so Daisy says a solute is a liquid that we
dissolve something into. Would anyone like to challenge that? Does anyone agree?
Does anyone disagree? Ross, what do you think? A solute is a liquid that we dissolve
something in. Ross - I had the same idea. [Teacher] The same idea? OK, so Ross-- Jay,
you had a different idea? Jay - I just thought maybe it's something to do about putting an
egg in the salt water.

0:40Skip to 0 minutes and 40 seconds[Teacher] OK, so put an egg in salt water. Right.
So that's-- we're going to look at the egg in the salt water in a sec. It has got something
to do with that, though. So as we're putting an egg in salt water, there's something about
the salt water that is a solute. So what do you think is about the salt water that is a
solute? Molly, have you got any ideas? What is a solute? Molly - Is it when something's
dissolved in something? [Teacher] So when something is dissolved, So the solute
therefore is-- Molly - Salt. [Teacher] ... the thing which dissolves. So for example, salt.
Can anyone think of any other examples?

1:09Skip to 1 minute and 9 secondsSo salt is a good example of a solute. It is

something which dissolves in water. Can anyone think of any other examples of a
solute? So salt's a good example of a solute. Can anyone think of any other examples?
Yeah, Charlie.

1:26Skip to 1 minute and 26 secondsSorry, Richard. Richard - Yeah, sugar. [Teacher]

Sugar. Good. OK, so when we put sugar into our tea, or if you've got sugar in water,
that is a solute. Once you added our sugar to our salts and we've mixed it, is the sugar
there's still there? So we've put our sugar in our tea. It seems to have disappeared. We've
put our salt into our water, it seems to have disappeared. Has it disappeared? No. What
do you think? If you think it's disappeared, put your hand up. No, it's a real thing. It's
not disappeared. Right. What do you think, Nathan? Nathan - I think it's formed a
solution. [Teacher] You think it's formed a solution. OK, fantastic.

2:00Skip to 2 minutes and 0 secondsAnd that's the second word, isn't it? So once
we've added our solute to our solvent-- so the solvent is the liquid part we're dissolving
it in, we end up with a solution.

2:13Skip to 2 minutes and 13 secondsStudent A - The last question of the-- I've done
that wrong. I've done it really wrong. [Teacher] OK, so if you look at this here, to help
us understand it, and look at that thing on the board, what it's asking you-- I'm sorry,
Lauren. Lauren - Is the water able to get into the [INAUDIBLE]?? [Teacher] Yes,
because if you look at the diagram on here, that is a partially permeable membrane
Student B - Is that what that thing is, at the bottom? [Teacher] Yes. OK, so that's a
partially permeable membrane, so the water can get in. So that-- Student A - Does this--
But that can't get-- [Teacher] So what do you-- what do you think it is? Go on.
2:41Skip to 2 minutes and 41 secondsWell, yeah, it's just water. Student B - Wait, so--
So the water's gone and-- That gets into there and makes it-- because this is too much of
it, right? This is-- [Teacher] Good. Student B - That's the water that's been added in
round here, so that's-- [Teacher] Well, kind of. It's all mixed together, but-- Student B -
But not as much as-- concentrated as that. [Teacher] Well, it hasn't equalised yet,
because it's still going. It's still going up. Student B - Will it slide up? [Teacher] It will
have, actually, if you were to leave it. So this is pure water, with no solute. Here is
water with solute. So that's a solution.

3:07Skip to 3 minutes and 7 secondsSo obviously if there's no solute in here, this must
be the what, in terms of solute concentration? Lauren - Well, higher. JL - Higher. It's
going to be higher, isn't it? Because there's no solute in here, but there is solute in there.
So therefore the water's going to move. Student B - Wait, so that increases the mass.
Student A - Why does it say it-- Student B - But it says, why is this-- [INTERPOSING
VOICES] [Teacher] So this is actually station two. I'm just here to help you have a look
at it, OK? Station one is talking about the potato experiment, which is the other way
round. All right. In station one-- Student C (?) - Yeah, the solution-- yeah.

3:44Skip to 3 minutes and 44 seconds[Teacher] Yes. And remember, in solution one

it's the other way round. Around the outside we've got the concentration of the solution,
OK? You can write that. Lauren - So that's-- [Teacher] Go on. [INAUDIBLE] But if the
solvent's going into it, then how does that make it [INAUDIBLE]?? Right. No, because
the [INAUDIBLE]. Student C - It's a potato. Because it's got higher amount of sugar
than the water, the potato is losing mass to try and like dilute the water-- Lauren - Oh,
so water comes out of the potato. [Teacher] Water comes out of the potato, and
therefore it makes it lose mass. Try not to say drying, but it is water moving out.

4:16Skip to 4 minutes and 16 secondsSo if we put the potato, just like we put the egg,
in the concentrated sugar solution, if we put the potato in the concentrated sugar
solution, the water leaves the potato. And that's why the potato, this one here, loses
mass. [Teacher] OK, thank you. [Teacher] So we've had a really careful look on my
table at the different kinds of foods that are available, and the different environments, so
the different places that you've got to try and collect your food from. Which do you
think is going to be your most effective beak, and why? Joel. Joel - The cup, because
you can scoop up. [Teacher] OK, so you could scoop up quite a lot with a cup.

4:52Skip to 4 minutes and 52 secondsCan anyone tell me, on Joel's idea, which
environment that might be quite difficult for? Have a quick look at your different
environments. Student - That one. [INTERPOSING VOICES] [Teacher] OK, five, four,
three. Where might Joel be challenged, if he's just using the cup as a scoop? Dylan.
Dylan - In the jugs. [Teacher] Yeah, in the jugs, in the beakers, in the little tube.
Anywhere where it's a small space. So scooping is one technique that is going to be a
challenge in some environments. Anybody got a different idea of which one might be
best? Connor. Connor - The cocktail stick. [Teacher] The cocktail stick. Why, Connor?
Why do you think that will be effective?

5:33Skip to 5 minutes and 33 secondsConnor - Because you can get these out of it.
Because you can push it, and then-- [Teacher] OK, I'm going to move Connor's idea on.
Which particular foods is the cocktail stick going to be effective for? I know we've
talked about it, Amy, so I'm not going to pick you. I'm going to come over to Shauna.
Go on. Shauna - Jellybeans. [Teacher] Why jellybeans, Shauna? What property have
they got that's going to make them-- Shauna - It's hard inside, and it doesn't move about.
[Teacher] OK, so how is that going to be helpful? Why is that going to be possible,
using a cocktail stick? Lauren, do you want to whisper your idea to Shauna? Help each
other out.

6:09Skip to 6 minutes and 9 secondsShauna - Jellybeans are soft. [Teacher] Because

they're soft, so you can squish them in. Is that what your idea, Lauren, that you can--
anything that's squishy? Lauren - And raisins, as well. [Teacher] And raisins, yeah. And
there's a couple of other things there. Student B - Yes I do, because I managed to get
things out with-- in tube and-- [INAUDIBLE] [Teacher] And the low environment, as
well. So you've actually got some [INAUDIBLE] down here. What about you, Joel?
You think you could make it like this? Joel - No, I wanted that clip now. [Teacher]
Why? What was it about yours that you don't think -- it was effective?

6:41Skip to 6 minutes and 41 secondsJoel - When I kept blowing in to pick it up,

pieces of biscuit kept getting into the my throat. [Teacher] Oh, so you were getting
things down your throat. That's not very nice, is it? Yeah, so it's maybe not very
effective at just the job it was doing. Do you like Maltesas? I do. [INTERPOSING
VOICES] Student C - I done a good choice, because with the biscuit, you can just pick
it up really easily. WM - So you're happy with your choice.

Classroom talk
Watch and re-watch the four clips of teaching and learning
from two classes of different ages. These involve whole
class discussion and questioning, and group or paired
work.

Think about how the teacher and student roles differ between
the segments, and consider the implications for the conduct of
whole class and group discussion. Don’t forget there are
subtitles and a video transcript available to help you follow the
discussion.

Here is an editable table [DOCX] (which also contains helpful

information about the start and finish times of each segment) to
summarise your findings.

Task
Pick one of the four clips in the video. Draw out what you think
the effective practices are that are being shown by the teacher.
Summarise these in the comments below, making clear which
clip you are referring to.

© National STEM Learning Centre

View 92 comments

Good classroom talk

Ensuring classroom talk that enables teachers to tap into
student thinking is central to assessment for learning. In
the previous step you thought about the types of effective
actions teachers use to assess student learning.

It is not always easy to set up with all classes. Good classroom

talk requires teachers to:

 produce good questions that spark off ideas;

 group students in a way that encourages them to share

ideas;

 listen in to student discussion, noting strengths and

weaknesses;

 make decisions about which student ideas to feedback to

the whole class.

Discuss
If a colleague asked you to advise on how they might improve
classroom talk in their classroom, what would you look for when
you observed their lesson?

© National STEM Learning Centre

Ideas to develop interactive dialogic
classrooms
It may be that your students need to develop their skills so
that they participate better in group discussions.

There can be a number of reasons why a class finds group

discussion difficult. It may help if you reorganise the class into
new groups, thinking carefully about the composition of each
group so that shy students have supportive peers to make them
feel comfortable, students who tend to dominate conversations
are placed with peers who will also put forward their ideas.

To help get these new groups functioning, there are a number

of approaches suggested in the 2004 Department for Education
and Skills ‘Group Work unit’. These approaches will help train
your new groups to function better and this will hopefully lead to
better discussion during science activities.

Download the study unit [PDF]. Some example strategies and

the skills being developed are provided on pages 15-22 (PDF
document pages 17-24).

Classroom Task
Choose one of the approaches from pages 15-16 in the PDF
and plan to use it to prompt group discussion. Select an
approach that you feel will be challenging for your class, as it is
these that are likely to promote discussion and provide you with
a better understanding of what students think.

In the comments below, be specific about the approach you

have considered, and the context of the group discussion you
have planned. If you are able to try this approach in your
classroom, reflect on how it went, recording your ideas here or
on your reflection grid for this week.

© National STEM Learning Centre

IT'S THAT SHARING AND THAT BUILDING UP THE
UNDERSTANDING THAT MATTERS. THAT'S THE FIRST AREA.
THE SECOND AREA WOULD BE THE WAY A TEACHER
INTERACTS WITH THE WHOLE CLASS, WHERE THERE HAS TO BE
A CHANGE FROM QUESTION, ANSWER, QUESTION, ANSWER,
QUESTION, ANSWER-- THAT SORT OF DIALOGUE-- WHICH CAN
LOOK QUITE IMPRESSIVE. BUT IT'S ACTUALLY NOT HELPING
CHILDREN TO THINK MUCH BECAUSE THEIR RESPONSES ARE
SHORT AND EPISODIC AND DON'T REFLECT MUCH THINKING.
WHEREAS YOU CAN THINK OF A CLASSROOM IN WHICH A
QUESTION IS ASKED AND CHILDREN ARE ENCOURAGED TO
TALK ABOUT IT. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS THERE ARE FAR
MORE PUPIL WORDS IN RATIO TO TEACHER'S WORDS THAN
THERE WERE BEFORE.

0:49SKIP TO 0 MINUTES AND 49 SECONDSAND SECONDLY,

PUPILS ARE NOW TALKING IN SENTENCES AND EVEN IN
PARAGRAPHS, WHEREAS IN THE OLD TYPE OF BACK-AND-FRO,
QUICK-FIRE DIALOGUE, THEY ARE ONLY ISSUING BRIEF
PHRASES. AND UNTIL YOU'RE TALKING IN SENTENCES, YOU'RE
NOT ACTUALLY THINKING OR LEARNING THROUGH
EXPRESSING YOUR THINKING. SO THAT LEARNING THROUGH
TALKING AND THAT LEARNING WHICH IMPLIES AN
INTERACTIVE DIALOGIC CLASSROOM MATTERS A GREAT DEAL.
THERE'S A THIRD AREA, OR RATHER THERE'S A THIRD
DIMENSION TO THIS. AND THAT IS ABOUT HOW A PUPIL FEELS
IN A CLASSROOM. DO THEY FEEL CONFIDENT THAT WHAT THEY
SAY CAN BE RESPECTED? DO THEY FEEL SAFE ENOUGH TO
TAKE RISKS? DO THEY FEEL OK DOING THAT AND NOT SCARED
THAT THEY'LL BE MADE TO LOOK STUPID? AND THAT'S A MORE
SUBTLE THING.

1:48SKIP TO 1 MINUTE AND 48 SECONDSIT'S ABOUT THE WAY

A TEACHER GIVES FEEDBACK TO PUPILS AND IS QUITE
DELICATE. PERHAPS THE BEST EXAMPLE WE'VE HAD, JUST AS
AN ANECDOTE, IS A PUPIL WHO SAID TO ONE OF OUR
RESEARCHERS, "NOW I KNOW SHE'S INTERESTED IN WHAT I
THINK, NOT IN WHETHER I'VE GOT THE RIGHT ANSWER." AND
FOR A PUPIL TO MAKE THAT CHANGE IS TO ESTABLISH A
CLIMATE OF TRUST SO THAT THINKING, SPECULATION, AND
MISCONCEPTIONS CAN BE BROUGHT OUT.
Expert viewpoint: sharing, depth and
confidence
In summary, assessment for learning is a formatively-
driven approach to learning and teaching that involves
both teachers and students as co-owners of the process.

In a formatively-driven classroom we would expect to see:

1. Teachers using questions and activities to collect

information on what students, do, don’t and partly
understand.
2. From the evidence, that is, what the students say and do,
teachers making judgements about where students are in
their learning and so plan the next steps more effectively.
3. Student dialogue, as this is useful in providing this
evidence, and carefully planned questions help teachers
focus in on specific problems and difficulties.
4. At the same time, this process reveals to students where
their strengths and weaknesses lie in a particular topic, so
that they can see where they need to make particular
effort to move their learning forward.

In the video, Paul Black emphasises one aspect of formatively-

driven practice is the development of interactive dialogic
classrooms. In such learning environments classroom talk helps
both the teacher and students learn.

Comment
Share in the comments below your understanding of how
formatively-driven classrooms allow both teachers and students
to learn, as co-owners of the process.

© National STEM Learning Centre