T&L Blog: How metacognition skills in monitoring progress improve student outcomes

Dear WA Colleagues, I would like to share with you research based evidence of how the process of monitoring progress can improve student outcomes:

The Impact of Metacognition on Monitoring Progress and Student Outcomes

Research has consistently shown that metacognition (the awareness and regulation of one's own thinking processes) plays a crucial role in enhancing student outcomes. One key aspect of metacognition is monitoring progress, where students actively track their understanding, performance, and progress toward learning goals. When students engage in self-monitoring, they are more likely to identify gaps in knowledge, adjust their learning strategies, and ultimately achieve better academic results. This process of self-regulation fosters independence, critical thinking, and adaptability, all of which contribute to improved learning outcomes across various subjects and educational levels.

Key Findings:

• Improved Academic Performance: Students who are taught to monitor their progress demonstrate higher academic achievement. This is because they are better able to evaluate their own understanding, set realistic goals, and make necessary adjustments in their learning strategies (Pintrich, 2002).
• Increased Motivation and Engagement: Self-monitoring increases intrinsic motivation as students gain a sense of ownership over their learning. They are more likely to persist through challenging tasks, which leads to deeper engagement and mastery of content (Zimmerman, 2008).
• Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: Students who regularly monitor their progress are better at identifying when they need help or when they have misunderstood a concept. This self-awareness improves their ability to problem-solve independently or seek assistance when needed (Efklides, 2011).
• Feedback Loop: Metacognitive monitoring provides a continuous feedback loop, where students assess their performance, make corrections, and re-evaluate their understanding. This iterative process supports long-term retention of information and skills (Schraw, 1998).
• Application Across Disciplines: The benefits of metacognitive monitoring are not limited to a single subject area. Research shows that students improve their learning outcomes across disciplines—whether in mathematics, reading comprehension, or science—when they actively track their progress (Veenman, 2012)

Classroom Strategies to Encourage Metacognition:

• Self-Assessment Checklists: Providing students with checklists to self-assess their progress can help them become more aware of their strengths and areas for improvement.
• Reflective Journals: Encouraging students to keep reflective journals where they document their learning process can deepen their metacognitive skills.
• Goal-Setting Sessions: Teachers can guide students to set specific, measurable, and time-bound goals, and regularly check in on their progress.
• Think-Aloud Protocols: Asking students to verbalise their thought processes while solving a problem allows them to reflect on their strategies and improve upon them.
• Some examples are shown in the teaching and learning blog this week.

Bibliography:

• Efklides, A. (2011). Interactions of metacognition with motivation and affect in self-regulated learning: The MASRL model. Educational Psychologist, 46(1), 6-25.
• Pintrich, P. R. (2002). The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching, and assessing. Theory Into Practice, 41(4), 219-225.
• Schraw, G. (1998). Promoting general metacognitive awareness. Instructional Science, 26(1-2), 113-125.
• Veenman, M. V. J. (2012). Metacognition in science education: Definitions, constituents, and their intricate relation with cognition. In A. Zohar & Y. J. Dori (Eds.), Metacognition in Science Education (pp. 21-36). Springer.
• Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166-183.

T&L Blog (27-09-24): I do, we do, you do

Dear WA Colleagues,

I do, we do, you do:

The "I Do, We Do, You Do" model is a teaching framework based on instructional scaffolding that supports student learning by gradually releasing responsibility from the teacher to the learner. This model follows three phases:

1. I Do (Modelling): The teacher introduces a new concept or skill by demonstrating and explaining it. In this stage, the teacher is the primary guide, modelling the task or concept while students observe. This phase establishes a clear understanding of what is expected, offering a strong cognitive foundation.

2. We Do (Guided Practice): After modelling, the teacher and students work together on the task. This phase emphasises collaboration, where students begin practicing the skill or concept with teacher support. The teacher provides feedback, answers questions, and reinforces the steps, facilitating deeper understanding through shared responsibility.

3. You Do (Independent Practice): In the final stage, students independently apply the skill or knowledge they’ve acquired. The teacher withdraws support gradually, allowing students to demonstrate mastery. This phase promotes student autonomy and builds confidence as they perform the task without assistance.

The model aligns with Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which suggests that students learn best when tasks are within their ability to achieve with guidance, gradually moving toward independence. By progressively transferring responsibility from the teacher to the student, the "I Do, We Do, You Do" model helps students develop self-efficacy and problem-solving skills.

Research Findings

Studies have shown that the "I Do, We Do, You Do" approach effectively supports diverse learners, including those with learning disabilities, by providing structured support and scaffolding during the learning process. Teachers play a critical role in adjusting the amount and type of support to meet individual student needs. Furthermore, research has indicated that this model fosters both academic success and student engagement, as it offers clear expectations, opportunities for practice, and immediate feedback.

Implementing the model also encourages a sense of community within the classroom. The "We Do" phase, in particular, promotes collaborative learning, where peer interaction and teacher feedback work together to strengthen understanding. Additionally, the structured nature of the model ensures that students are less likely to experience cognitive overload, allowing them to focus on mastering smaller components before tackling more complex tasks.

How can this influence my practice:

* Be more explicit about the phases of scaffolding when designing a task and delivering a task in the classroom

* Make I do, we do and you do part of your language in the classroom

* Look for opportuneties in lessons to better scaffold skills and development tasks

Bibliography

• Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better Learning Through Structured Teaching: A Framework for the Gradual Release of Responsibility. ASCD.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
• Clark, K. F. (2012). Scaffolding writing instruction for English learners in an elementary classroom. Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 1(1), 5-19.
• Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American Educator, 36(1), 12-20.
• Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The gradual release of responsibility model of instruction. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3), 317-344.

CPD Reflections: Collaboration with School 21

By Sophia Evans

Part of WA’s strategic focus is to develop the curriculum collaboratively, with a whole-school perspective. This term, the maths department was fortunate enough to engage in this process through collaboration with another school! Working with people from another school is something that most neglect once we qualify as teachers. We complete contrasting school placements as part of teacher training but rarely get the opportunity to go and visit other schools after this point. Working with others in different schools not only gives us the chance to think about new approaches to teaching and pedagogy, but also allows us to be validated in what we are currently doing.

Last week Michael and myself hosted 4 teachers from School 21, an all-through school in Stratford (East London). As part of their staff development, School 21 sends all teaching staff to visit other schools on their INSET days. Thanks to Ruhina (and our alumni Tom Holmes - their head of department) we were able to host their KS3 Maths Lead and three of their colleagues. During their time with us, they visited our lessons and fed back to our department our strengths and areas for improvement. 

It was useful to hear feedback and ideas on how we can add more stretch to our KS3 curriculum, something which is incredibly useful based on our feedback from previous departmental reviews. They shared suggestions of “mastery style” activities we can add as depth tasks during lessons, such as “how many representations of a fraction can you give?”. They told us that the behaviour in our lessons was great for learning (thanks to our school’s behaviour policy!) and that our use of language in lessons (e.g. emphasising the difference between a variable and constant in algebra) was something they were going to feed back to their department and wanted to implement in their lessons.

I particularly enjoyed talking about maths curriculum with their KS3 Maths Lead as both of us shared similar philosophies of teaching. We discussed approaches to teaching algebra with manipulatives, how retrieval can be embedded into lessons and assessment without being tokenistic, and how project-based assessments can allow students to explore a topic through a student-led approach. 

This process of working collaboratively with teachers from a different school with a similar context to ours was incredibly insightful for not only myself but other colleagues in our department. Hearing strengths and weaknesses from an outside source, as well as new suggestions on how to improve, left us engaged and focused on how we can improve both departments. I would love the opportunity to return the favour and go visit their maths department with some of our colleagues to help strengthen this relationship between our two departments and give us the opportunity to work together and share our passion for mathematics.

CPD Reflections: Importance Of Professional Learning

By Sayef Khan

As educators, are we still students?

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn”  Phil Collins

 

Westminster Academy gave me the opportunity to attend a three-day CPD organised by IBSCA (IB Schools & Colleges Association) to complete the Category 2 training for the new IBDP Business specification delivered by Paul Hoang (Author of IBDP Business Management). 

 

I had the privilege to meet DP Business teachers from across the globe and be able to have access to how the new course is delivered in different cultures and learn a range of classroom practices. My intention in attending the CPD was to learn more about my subject however I left with more enriched knowledge. 

 

The training required me to return to the ‘student chair’ and learn from other Business specialists which reminded me that there are always more aspects of the subject to learn that could be applied to my teaching and learning - you just need to seek it!

 

It’s essential to be aware of the changes occurring within the external environment and the changes within teaching practices as factors such as technology have required us to make necessary adjustments to our teaching to continue enhancing student learning. However, continuing to learn can sometimes become hindered, if we forget the importance of teaching students the ‘hidden’ curriculum - it’s even more important to have access to the resources to do this. 

 

So why is it important to continue learning as educators? 

1. As mentioned, it enables teachers to become confident in going beyond the curriculum 

2. Increases your passion for teaching your subject

3. Improve student outcomes

4. Most importantly, encourages each other to become better educators.

 

Questions to reflect upon:

1. Are there opportunities to teach beyond the curriculum during our lessons? If not, what are the barriers?

2. How do I get access to effective resources to incorporate within my teaching and learning? E.g online resources/colleagues

3. Within our schedule, where can we find the time to continue learning about our subject?

 

If you have any insightful suggestions/thoughts please do share them! I would welcome any feedback.

 

Further reading: 

Beames, S., Higgins, P.J. and Nicol, R. (2012) Learning outside the classroom: Theory and guidelines for practice. New York, NY: Routledge.

CPD Reflections: MA In Educational Leadership

By Divisha Patel

In 2020, I decided to embark on a Master’s in Educational Leadership at UCL-IOE. Initially, I was worried about how I might manage the workload of both my role here in WA as a Director of Learning, and the various readings and assignments I would be required to engage with in order to be successful in my MA. However, along the two years, I have found this learning to have had a hugely positive impact on my work here at WA and how I lead the Humanities team. 

Module 1: Leading Change and Improvement

This module involved learning about policy change through education in line with the changes in political leadership; different styles of leadership that exist in education and their various interpretations, strengths and weaknesses; and approaches of change management. The learning around leadership styles were particularly pertinent for me as I embarked on the new role of DOL for both Humanities and Enterprise. I really wanted to create a new identity and vision for this new amalgamated team, so that each subject and teacher felt a sense of belonging to the new ‘Humanities’ whilst also remaining true to their passion and pedagogy for their subject areas. I’ve always felt that a team operates best when it is truly collaborative and a sum of its well-functioning parts. Therefore, it was important for me to create and maintain the most effective form of dialogue between myself and the subject coordinators, rooted in professional trust and critical reflection. This approach is often referred to as ‘participative leadership’/’democratic leadership’/’distributed leadership’, where inclusive discussions are at the core. Completing the coaching course provided by the school for middle leaders was a great way to put this into practice and is still an ongoing area for development. Whilst not every decision can be approached in this way, it is what I fundamentally value and where possible, I’ve tried to put it into action. This, then, feeds into effective change management. This was imperative when we were tasked with writing a new KS3 curriculum for Y9 and/or adapting the KS4 curriculum for a 2-year delivery. 

Module 2: Leading for the Learning Community

This module covered the issues and concepts related to effective learning for individuals and organisations. Sub-topics included learning about HR management issues; the role of coaching and mentoring and workload/wellbeing management. The biggest takeaway from this module was the importance of approaching professional learning with a ‘little and often’ approach, which is in line with Jaya and the Academic SLT's vision for WA’s CPD provision too. It was this learning that informed my leadership approach for how best to plant seeds of professional learning within the Humanities department. Something that I’ve implemented at WA that I’m most proud of is the peer-led T&L showcase segment of our Humanities department meetings. 

At the beginning of the term, I allocate slots to each staff member, ensuring that everyone delivers an equal number of sessions for the academic year. Each Humanities member is given the autonomy to do the showcase on anything they would like, such as: 

• A form of AfL/questioning

• A piece of work

• An online resource

• A teaching strategy

• Academic reading/research

  
  

During the T&L showcase, the teacher tells us a little bit about why they have chosen the topic; the reasoning behind the focus and how they implemented/plan to implement the focus in the classroom. As a team, we then discuss how we could be flexible with the focus and its use for specific key groups such as SEND, EAL or different attainer groups. I love watching all staff deliver their showcase, but particularly ECTs, because they always present with passion, genuine interest and an eagerness to be better practitioners. The discussions that follow act as windows into peoples’ teacher personas and whilst not the intention, learn more about who they are as people and their values, and in a profession as emotive as teaching, this is important for building a strong, successful team. Further information about how Humanities is trying to be a research-informed department can be found here.

Module 3: Research Methods in Educational Research

Admittedly my least enjoyable module, this was about learning how to use principles of research design to create and test research questions and select appropriate methods to conduct a robust project. Discussions of epistemology and ontology have never been my strength, but ultimately, I found this module incredibly useful in considering how best to understand a concept/problem, which could then be used as an enquiry for both my own teacher/leader development, and organisational development if scaled up. My assignment was to write a research proposal, which allowed me to prepare for my final report. As someone who is interested in the academic ‘side’ of teaching, I wanted to explore the concept of teacher agency (causing/generating action) within curriculum development and investigating to what extent curriculum leaders have/enact/exercise agency when writing unit plans, lessons and assessments. 

Final Report: The work that I had engaged with for two years culminated in writing up my final research project which was about the role of teacher agency in curriculum development. Teacher agency is about teachers having the ability to act and be change agents, and given that teachers are an increasingly important part of curriculum  design, if not the most important part, then understanding their perceptions of exercising teacher agency and the different influences that can possibly have an effect is imperative for school leaders. The findings showed that curriculum leaders felt like they did have agency in planning their curricula, however accountability measures and performativity stifled this, especially during pinch-points of the school year. For example, many participants said that they felt constrained by external pressures such as government policy, Ofsted, and school performance tables. Whilst these pressures cannot be controlled by a school, the study allowed for some insights into what schools can do to further enable agency, such as providing greater opportunities for collaboration and an increased sense of dialogue amongst staff, which WA has, and is taking steps to address. Opportunities like the PLC meetings, CPD Twilights and departmental QA process, allows curriculum leaders to develop their curricular in line with the school’s vision; latest subject pedagogy; and in an empowered way, by promoting collaborative conversations between teachers, middle and senior leaders. 

Whilst completing a MA has been great in allowing me to learn more about leadership in education, there are plenty of other opportunities to support peoples’ development as effective leaders, and the following websites/organisations/methods have been effective for me so far and I will continue to learn from:

1. TeacherTapp app: this is a free app which asks 3 questions about school life to build a picture of what’s happening in schools, followed by a recommended daily read which acts as a form of quick, ongoing, on-the-move CPD. 

2. ‘Edutwitter’

3. Membership to subject associations 

4. Local networking meetings, which are often passed on by the Academic SLT team for curriculum leaders and subject teachers to attend

   
   

There were various people who helped me along this journey that I am eternally grateful for, namely the participants who took part in my final study; Jaya, for her nurturing line management during this stressful time; Holly, for her sound advice about how best to approach agency within curriculum development; and Ruhina, Bec and Ellie, for their constant encouragement-the best hype women anyone could ask for! 

Further reading: 

National College for Teaching and Leadership (2010) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-strong-claims-about-successful-school-leadership 

Mujis et al (2014), State of the art – teacher effectiveness and professional learning

Briggs et al (2015), Research Methods in Educational Leadership and Management

Fullan (2015), A New Meaning for Educational Change

CPD Reflections: Practitioner Inquiries From ECT2s

By Ben Law-Smith, Ayah Malik & Will Glydon

This term some of our Early Careers Teachers (ECT2s) have been busy working on their very first rounds of "practitioner inquiry" as part of the Early Career Framework. This process empowers teachers to identify areas of the teacher standards they would like to develop further and carry out a project to explore this area and trial a new approach in their classrooms. The process can be broken down into the 4-step practitioner inquiry cycle (as shown below) and is an excellent model to make meaningful improvements to our own practice.

I asked a few of our ECT2s to share what they had investigated for their first inquiries and what they had uncovered:

Can peer-led seating plans lead to more positivity in the classroom, improve discussion and maintain teaching and learning outcomes? by Ben Law-Smith

One of my targets this year is to facilitate better classroom discussion - a key part of Citizenship lessons which often have more speaking tasks than other subjects. I noticed last year that seating plans tended to stifle discussion because they were primarily used as behaviour management tools and placed students next to people they didn't necessarily want to talk to. This was especially pronounced in Y10-11.

I have twelve classes from all KS3-4 year groups and I told students to 'sit where they liked' when they came in for the first time. Predictably, they reacted very positively to this instruction. In each class I explained they had an opportunity to show me they could sit next to their friends but that I would move them all to a prepared seating plan if necessary. To date, four classes out of twelve have remained in peer-led seating plans - my two Y7 classes and my Y10 and Y11 classes. The paired discussion tasks are noticeably better in these classes as students are more at ease and willing to speak to the person next to them. The T1 assessments will clearly show whether on track grades have been maintained or improved upon but AfL in the classroom, peer assessments and book scrutinies have been very promising so far.

Whilst it may not be for every class, experimenting with peer-led seating plans could encourage student-talk during paired discussion work and create a more positive atmosphere in the classroom, especially for KS4.

To what extent does parental engagement lead to the engagement and subsequent attainment of pupils? by Ayah Malik

I focused on a group of Year 8 pupils. I planned to build a regular channel of communication with their parents, through frequent phone-calls home, to see whether this would impact their engagement in lessons and attainment. After each phone call, I made a note of the behaviour and engaanding of key concepts in lessons which was made apparent to me through targeted formative questioning of the students and progress made in assessments.

Moving forward I would like to increase my engagement with parents of all classes where appropriate to ensure I am using this to the children's advantage in order to better their learning and understanding.

What factors impact LPA attitudes towards history? by Will Glydon

I decided to focus on my Year 11 class as I had noticed that in last year’s results, the LPAs in my class did not perform as well as the MPAs and LPAs did. I therefore sought to address this. 

To understand which factors were impacting the LPA attitudes towards history, I decided to do a student survey which I made as a google form. The questions had a wide range as I attempted to target many angles to see what the LPAs were struggling most with. The questions were as follows:

• What do you do when faced with a problem in history?
• Which do you find the most challenging aspect of history?
• How clear is the chronology of what we study (which events happen when)?
• How clear are the writing structures (PEL/COPA)?
• What is something that other teachers do that helps you in other subjects that would also help you in history?
• Which topic do you find most challenging and why?
• What would benefit you more in history lessons?
• What is your target grade?
•  What is the best way that I could help you in history?

The responses were interesting and varied. The list below shows the most useful responses and techniques that I am going to use moving forward to address the issues that came up: 

1. Majority stated that they wanted more quizzes and they find them useful for remembering content

• Add in more Knowledge recap quizzes for retrieval- ensuring a knowledge quiz once a week for Do Now 
• Set more Seneca as homework (every other week) 
• Work with LSA and ensure that they quizzing LPAs whilst helping them during lessons

2. Students are self-sufficient and don't use many metacognitive strategies

• Add in slides about BBC (brain, book, Chromebook) before asking the teacher
• Print out writing structures so they have the information clearly in their books so don’t jump to ask me
• Metacognitive modelling when looking at exam questions and other tasks

3. Remembering the writing structures

• Print out writing stuctures sheet for each question
• Include writing structure questions in the weekly quizzes

My LPA students showed in their responses that they are still quite reliant on me as a teacher to lead from the front and they do not deploy metacognitive strategies to aid their work. This inquiry helped me realise that remembering writing structures is difficult and the students need more support with this. Students had also highlighted how important they found quizzes in other subjects and that this needed to be better implemented into our routines in history.

CPD Reflections: Being An Examiner

By Donna Boam, Sophia Evans, Sid Garg, Mira Jugoo, David Madden, Dipesh Patel & Divisha Patel

1. What is involved? Donna: As an examiner, you get given a number of questions to mark from a particular exam. I mark for Edexcel GCSE English Language Paper 2 and also the IB English Language and Literature orals. Before commencing marking, you attend some remote training and then have to complete qualification, which is when a more experienced examiner checks over your marks. You then commence marking, and some of your scripts are "seeds" and others are checked by a more experienced examiner, meaning that your marking is often being double marked to ensure you are accurate. You are given direct feedback about where you need to adjust your marks. It is a hefty additional workload that can be quite daunting, and you do have to be very organised. The exam boards set incremental marking targets so that you don't leave it all to the last minute, which I would advise anyone to stick to. Also, remember that the marking takes place during the glorious summer months; this past weekend when I wanted to be out enjoying the sunshine I was inside my flat marking! 2. What have you learned from being an examiner? Dipesh: It has radically changed my thinking in terms of how to apply mark schemes as well as how they are constructed. Generally speaking, it has improved my knowledge across the board (mathematical, written, practical questions) but a few main ideas that stand out are the level of detail required to 'show understanding' and 'how to answer the question'. It has shown me how students who clearly have a detailed understanding of a concept, still lose marks due to their own idea of how to respond. The success is in the detail. Sophia: How important presentation of work is. Some students have worked out that it is all over the page and is quite tricky to read. Sitting in the examiner’s chair has made me understand what it is like to read and mark their work (and when this can be tricky). Additionally, the importance of language when answering questions. The mark scheme underlines keywords that need to be in specific answers (such as “angles subtended by the same arc are equal). Many students miss out on marks because they have written their answers without these words, despite us understanding what they’re trying to say. Divisha: I've learnt that it is a disservice to heavily emphasize the use of writing frames and sentence starters with students, because whilst those answers score well, it's not enough to get a 9, so if your teaching is too focused on this approach, it limits the higher ability students. In Geography, I've also learnt that students often miss map/graph skills because they get used to looking for longer answers. Similarly to this, students get hung up on the number of lines provided by the exam board so deliberately limit their answers but should be encouraged to use extra paper if needed. David: The biggest takeaway I’ve learned is that pupils are generally not good at providing answers where they need to write an explanation or describe what has happened. For example, a question required pupils to draw a box plot for a set of data (online sales) and then compare the data results with a box plot included in the question (in shop sales). Many pupils had difficulty in explaining a comparison, especially in terms of the context of the question. I would also concur with Sophia’s comments - it was often difficult to follow a pupil's train of thought as working out was often completed in random spaces on the question sheet. Nana: I have understood how students use methods with limited understanding of the process. E.g. finding the median of a grouped data. A lot of students attempted methods but were unable to complete it adequately showing significant gaps in understanding. 2. How have you/do you intend to use your learning within your lessons/teaching in the future? Sophia: Stressing the importance of laying out work for younger year groups. I think it’s easy for students to slip into bad habits when writing out they are working (being all over the place and hard to read). I also think focusing on literacy (which I know is a school-wide focus) by being strict when marking these types of questions and getting students to use this language orally in class more. Divisha: Since I've become an exam marker, I understand how to cut the 'fluff' from answers so that students' answers become more concise, so when they produce work, I cross out their work (with a pencil!) which is not relevant. In the future, I want to start incorporating this approach into peer assessment, so that students learn by doing. Nana: As a teacher, I will be making a mark scheme template for my students to use for peer marking so that they have an overview of how GCSE marking is done. This is to highlight the importance of completing a process in order to receive the necessary marks. In addition, I hope to build students' understanding of mathematics by hammering and iterating the reasons and importance of certain methods and using AFL to secure such understanding where students are able to complete a method and explain the logic behind it.

Dipesh: I will disseminate what I have learned to my department. Our shared improved knowledge will then be systematically applied to the lessons we teach. This will especially affect the way we question students during practicals, in terms of how to improve practicals as well as in terms of accuracy and precision.

3. What are your top tips for staff trying to apply exam board mark schemes in their own classes? Dipesh: When teaching, highlight the way the mark scheme works to help students to identify what is essential for a concept (e.g. {these brackets mean either /or must be said} - so that they then would highlight that section in their notes. Divisha: For levelled/banded questions, consider what the triggers are for each level/band. For example, do they need to use a case study to move into the next band? Do they need to compare/contrast? Incorporating these skills into lessons will develop the students' critical thinking skills, whilst also developing their flair for writing. Sophia: Be strict and vigilant with the mark scheme. Process marks don’t let you carry over numbers if they are worked out from using the wrong process. It is easy for us to mark papers more generously because we know what the students are trying to say, even if it’s not exactly correct. Examiners in maths don’t seem to care much about rounding (but I think this is good to not tell students!). Nana: As previously mentioned by my colleagues above it is important to understand and follow the mark scheme rigorously. This eliminates discrepancies in marking and gives students a better idea of their performance. It is important to clarify the mark scheme and make time for making so that marking is being done accurately and consistently. It is easy to be empathetic during marking in order to boost students’ confidence but this does not prepare students for the GCSE expectations. CASE STUDY: Mira Jugoo My summer 2022 exam series started last Christmas when I received an email from Pearson asking if I’d like to be an examiner again this year. Being offered contracts so far in advance (including all the key dates) makes it easier to plan ahead and balance school work with exam marking and personal commitments. A few weeks before the exam I was contacted by the BTEC Business Level 3 Team with details of the marking software (Epen), information about online training resources that are available for examiners and a project plan for that particular exam paper. Epen Software used by Pearson for onscreen marking All of the dates were laid out clearly so, again, I knew exactly when the important deadlines were. Approximately a week prior to the exam, I was contacted by my Team Leader who checked in on a more personal and supportive level to ensure that I was prepared and had everything I needed for the standardisation training day. Standardisation ran very smoothly and the Principal Examiner was very clear and on hand to solve any issues; the use of live text chat meant that it was easy to ask Team Leaders a question, and it was nice to hear a variety of voices when going through the different questions. What I particularly like is the time taken to discuss reasons why a mark is awarded and to what extent an Assessment Objective has been met. It also allowed me to work out if I was being too harsh or too generous. It was made clear that we are looking to find what we can reward and to adopt an approach of positive marking. Once the marking was underway, my Team Leader was my main source of support, offering encouragement, guidance on queries and useful reminders of marking progress. So much importance is placed on the quality of marking and all examiners need to submit a first sample of marking to be checked by their Team Leader before they are allowed to begin marking live scripts. Marking live scripts on Epen From then on, the main marking began and I was regularly monitored on the accuracy of my marking which is quality assured every few days. The performance peek feature was particularly helpful in being aware of how accurate my marking was.

Performance Peek Dashboard on Epen Even the little details like the visual graphic of the marking progress line was so helpful in monitoring my progress – there was a real sense of achievement in seeing the blue line pass each of the marking milestones. Being an examiner whilst teaching leads me to reflect as to how much it’s done for my own professional development which I can eventually share with my colleagues in the Enterprise department. Additionally, it is the most effective CPD I have been able to benefit from to improve my teaching practice.

Tracking progress and marking milestones on Epen I have a more in-depth knowledge of the assessments and I get to see how different students across the country have been taught to tackle exam questions. Altogether this experience has enhanced my teaching and developed my skills whilst also opening my career path to more senior opportunities in assessment design and delivery. This has been my tenth year as an examiner and it is always a pleasure working with such a well-organised and efficient team at Pearson. After working so hard during an intense period, I’m now looking forward to a well-earned summer break in Mauritius and using my hard-earned marking bonus which can be between £500 - £1000 depending on the type and volume of paper which is being marked.

Bitesize Research: Summer Holidays & Teacher Reflection

By Jaya Carrier

We’ve made it to the final week - huge congratulations to everyone, you’ve done brilliantly! In this final bitesize of the academic year, I was interested in this article about using the final days before the summer holiday for reflection on teacher practice. Objectives:

To consider how the summer holidays can be used as part of ongoing teacher reflections Summary:

• The author argues that taking a moment to reflect and pause ahead of the summer holiday is really vital in ongoing teacher reflective practices.
• She recommends the following steps to do this:

1. Review materials and resources - the author recommends using coaching-style questions to consider what worked well and what you might want to change for next year.
2. Write down reflections and notes somewhere you’ll remember - the author recommends that actually writing down your reflections makes them more powerful.
3. Share your reflections with a colleague - the author recommends sharing your reflections to ensure that collective efficacy and solidarity can be built strongly.
4. Celebrate yourself - you’ve made it to the end of the year, and you should feel extremely proud!

How does this impact me and my practice?:

Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• How can I build in some opportunities for reflection over the last few days of term?
• Who might be helpful to share your reflections with?
• How will you celebrate yourself?

If you would like to discuss this further with me please get in touch! I’d be delighted to hear from you!

CPD Reflections: Learning From Other Schools

By Georgina Abbott

Sometimes it can be easy to become bogged down in the same routine, same style, same strategies. That is why when I was looking to moderate our GCSE Drama coursework with another school, I leapt at the opportunity to also partake in a visit to their Drama department for the day. Though my primary focus was the moderation of the coursework, I feel the inclusion of lesson visits and discussions with the HoD came at just the right time! With the news of a reformed timetable and adaptations to the curriculum, particularly affecting Year 9, and an aspiration to expand my subject, Drama, into IB territory, I was fortunate enough to see both Year 9 and Year 12 lessons on my visit. Hopefully, as you read on you will be convinced of the benefits of visiting another school too, no matter your level of experience! Beginning the day my first lesson visit was to a Year 12 double period where the A-Level group were studying their set text Woyzech. The class was being assessed on presentations of their vision and intentions if they were to put on their own production of Woyzech. They were responsible for creating slides to explain their vision and picking key moments from the text to act out demonstrating their intentions. The teachers role-played as rich investors (I became a Baroness, without the money) while the students pitched their ideas. As I watched the students, with the motivation of a winning pitch up for grabs, I was considering how I could scale down this task for a Year 10/11 revision activity to adapt into my own practice; How could I stray away from the shackles of practice questions and revision quizzes? How could I create more autonomy and life transferable skills? After this, I was then able to see a double Year 9 assessment lesson. I watched as students rehearsed their scripted performances and saw some very impressive acting! Students were given 2 double lessons prior to learn their lines and the majority had - which is something I have found can be quite challenging for my own students. This made me reflect on the expectations I have with regard to the skill of line-learning; how long is fair? How can I motivate students to take it seriously? What should I expect from my Year 9s and does this need to be adjusted, given this will soon apply to an entire year group?

After the lesson visits, we went on to do the standard moderation process which as stated previously was the primary focus and most helpful. However, the thing that surprised me about this day was the value of visiting lessons and the conversations I had with the HoD. As a single subject lead, I can often become stuck in my own ways yet my visit stimulated a whole host of questions. Though I yet have answers it has given me thought, inspiration, and ideas that I'm using as I begin to plan the curriculum for the next academic year. So if you are reading this and feel like you are stuck in a rut with your teaching or feel like you haven’t been able to experience the wider world of the profession, get yourself into another school, see what’s happening there and take, alter and adjust to your own practice. As I say to the students when discussing performance ideas - sharing is caring!