Using AfL to train independent learners Empowering students to take control

of their own learning through self assessment

Zoë ElderTeaching & Learning Adviser

North Somerset Learning Exchange@fullonlearning

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“Tell me and I’ll forget,show me and I may remember,involve me and I’ll understand”

Chinese proverb2

self assessment empowerment motivation

sa + e = m

+ =

“...involve me and I’ll understand”

( )

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Must be integrated and ‘part of’ the

learning (not in isolation)

Integral to developing literacy

Embedded in the exploration of BIG IDEAS,

CONCEPTS & FACTS

It is developed through how we teach

SELF ASSESSMENT

TYPICAL LEARNING:Every day, every lesson, by every teacher, for

every learner

MO

TIV

ATIO

NEM

POW

ERM

ENT

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MOTIVATION EMPOWERMENT

BIG QUESTION:

What does an AfL ‘rich’ classroom SPECIFICALLY

look likesound likefeel like...

For students?For teachers?

SELF ASSESSMENT5

COMMUNICATIONVerbal

Non-VerbalWritten

RELATIONSHIPSValues

ExpectationsActions

MOTIVATEDEMPOWERED

LEARNING Where I am

Where I need to be How to get there

THE LEARNING

ZONE

students teacher

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AFFILIATION

AUTONOMY

AGENCY

Find out more: Alan McLean

“The Motivated School”http://www.themotivatedschool.com/

alanMcLean.htmlThe Journey To Excellence:

http://www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk/

resourcesandcpd/biographies/biogalanmclean.asp

Pitch

Choice

“I belong here”

MOTIVATED & EMPOWERED LEARNINGadapted from the work of Alan McLean

MOTIVATIONSELF

ASSESSMENT

Safety“I can do this”

“I want to do this”

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Self assessment motivates students

by regularly using established

feedback channels

Teachers need to deliberately plan frequent opportunities to listen to and respond to all 3 feedback channels

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By  explicitly  teaching  students  how  to  set  appropriate  

goals  as  well  as  how  to  assess  their  work  realis5cally  and  accurately,  teachers  can  help  to  promote  this  

upward  cycle  of  learning  and  self-­‐  confidence.

Ross  (2006)

AFFILI

ATION

SAFE

TY

MOTIVATION EMPOWERMENT

“I FEEL OKAY TO DO THIS”

FEEDBACK

SELF ASSESSMENT9

How ready are you to learn right now?

What are your energy levels now? 1-10

How much do you want to be engaged and energised? 1-10

How open are you to thinking differently today? 1-10

How ready are you to experience & learn something new? 1-10

How focused are you now? 1-10

TOTAL: To what degree are you ready to learn NOW? (Out of 50)

PROGRESS-CHECKING:

Ask again during and at the end of the lesson to assess what has changed.

Adapt the questions to curriculum-specific targets: ‘How open are you to learning about (topic) today?’

Te 1 = asleep10 = bursting

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Evaluate your partner’s curriculum level

Analyse your own progress today

Assess your partner’s progress today

Set yourself a goal: “As a result of your thinking today,

What will you know? What will you be able to do?

What will you need to be like?”

Reflect on your progress today against your goals

Predict your own curriculum level against the assessment criteria

Self assessment from the outset &handing over learning responsibility:

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COMFORT

CHALLENGE

DANGER

(GROWTH)

Challenge takes many forms:Level of cognitive or skill within the challengeOrganisation of learning: groups, pairs, individual workWays of working: time to complete, process that needs to be used or product to be createdStyle of learning to be used: technology, art, music, dramatic, written, verbal etc

SELF ASSESSMENT FROM THE OUTSET: Which learning zone am I in today?

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Self assessment rubrics empower

students to develop and own a language

for learning

Teachers need to co-create rubrics with students to refer to as their learning progresses

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Student  self  assessment  is  

crucial  for  feedback  to  be  used  effec5vely.  Students  

are  the  ones  who  must  ul5mately  take  ac,on  to  bridge  the  gap  between  

where  they  are  and  where  they  are  heading.  

(Sadler,  1989)

AGENCY

PITCH

MOTIVATION EMPOWERMENT

“I KNOW I CAN DO THIS”

SUCCESS CRITERIA

SELF ASSESSMENT14

What will success look like?

What will we see?

What will we hear?

SPECIFIC

LANGUAGE

CREATE RUBRICS:

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KISSKeep it specific, simples.

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LOOK LIKE

INCLUDE

A quality outcome will...

(Refer to this to check on what you are producing)17

I WILL SEE

How am I doing?

I WILL SEE

I WILL HEAR

When we are solving problems...

(Refer to this to check on how you are learning)18

Either create a template or simply ask pupils to draw a grid at the beginning of the lesson with two boxes, one headed something like "I already know" or "I already can" and the other headed something like "Now I can" or "Now I know".  You could print these off for them if you prefer. 

I already know I now know... Next time, I will learn about

Reflective Learning GridPROGRESS

OVER TIME

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Ask pupils to record key learning moments they experience on a sticky note.

Invite them to post (& organise under themes) their ‘BEST LEARNING MOMENTS’ on the board/ wall to reflect upon at any given moment during the lesson.

A development of this is to encourage pupils to assess and reflect on each others’ progress and learning moments and learn from these.

Learning momentsLOW

LITERACY

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Create a template for pupils to complete with pictures, key questions, diagrams, words, numbers processes etc.

Agree a time line with milestones for when they will put some NEW information into the storyboard boxes during the lesson/ topic.

Emphasise this activity is all about PROCESS, not PRODUCT. Capturing the learning process IS the product.

Storyboard your learning

What do these milestones look, sound & feel like for EACH pupil?

SUPPORT FOR LOW

LITERACY

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Detailed example of a learning grid

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What does MY success look like?

What do I see?

What did I hear?

SPECIFIC

GOALS

CREATE REFLECTIONS:

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SELF ASSESSMENT:Developing learning sentences

...next I need to do/ find out about THIS...

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

I already feel confident enough

to do/ know/ understand this...

...so now I can do/ know/

understand this...

SPECIFIC

Integral to developing literacy &

numeracy24

...next I need to do/ find out about THIS...

MY LEARNING BRIDGE

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

I feel confident enough to do/

know/ understand this...

...so now I can do/ know/

understand this...

Who could help? Questions to ask? Ideas...

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Provide question stems to support self assessment for a specific purpose...

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QUESTIONS THAT...

PROMOTE REFLECTION

How did you come up with your answer?What if you could only use...?

What if you had started at a different point?What went well and why?

What could have gone better and why?What do you know now that you didn’t know before?

BUILD CONFIDENCE

Why is that true?How did you reach that conclusion?

Does that make sense to everybody else?Can how me how you came up with that?

DEVELOP REASONING

In what ways is that true for all cases?Are there any alternatives?

How would you PROVE it beyond doubt?Are you making any assumptions?

THINK COLLABORATIVELY

What do you think about what (x) said?Do you agree with (x); why/ why not?

Provide question stems to support self assessment for a specific purpose...

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Student uses teacher feedback to self assess

Self assessment informs next steps

Student uses deliberate, mindful practice to improve

Student confidence to actively seek out new challenges increases

Student makes decisions about next steps independent of teacher input

TEACHER

STUDENT

QU

EST

ION

ING

EMPOWERMENT: What to look for

‘I can...’}28

Self assessment opportunities

empower students to make informed

choices to determine their learning

pathways

Teachers need to integrate choices into aspects of learning tasks

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Self  assessment  asks  students  to  make  choices  

about  what  to  focus  on  next  in  their  learning.  When  students  make  

choices  about  their  learning,  achievement  increases;  when  choice  is  absent,  learning  

decreases.(Davies,  2008)

AUTONOMY

CHOICE

MOTIVATION EMPOWERMENT

“I WANT TO DO THIS”

RELEVANCE

SELF ASSESSMENT30

SPECIFIC

CHOICES

MANAGE CHOICE:

TechniqueTeamTask

Time

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4 ‘T’s from...

TECHNIQUE

TIM

ETA

SK

TEAMCHOICE

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AFFILIATION

AUTONOMY

AGENCY

Find out more: Alan McLean

“The Motivated School”http://www.themotivatedschool.com/

alanMcLean.htmlThe Journey To Excellence:

http://www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk/

resourcesandcpd/biographies/biogalanmclean.asp

Pitch

Choice

“I belong here”

MOTIVATED & EMPOWERED LEARNINGadapted from the work of Alan McLean

MOTIVATION

Safety“I can do this”

“I want to do this”

SELF ASSESSMENT

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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

W.A.L.T - What are we learning today?

SUCCESS CRITERIA

W.I.L.F - What I’m looking for...

BIG PICTURE

T.I.B - This is because...

I am learning how to...

I am learning why...

I need to KNOW & Understand

I need to be able to DOI need to BE LIKE

I will know I have been successful when...I can see/ I hear/ I feel/ I feel/

I say/ I can...

Success for me will...LOOK likeFEEL like...

SOUND like...

This links to what I was doing last time/ what I will be doing next/ the

outside world...

I can connect this/ apply this/ understand

why...

SELF ASSESSMENT EMPOWERMENT MOTIVATION

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Must be ‘part of’ (not in isolation)

Integral to developing literacy &

numeracy

Embedded in the exploration of BIG IDEAS,

CONCEPTS & FACTS

It is developed through how we teach

(not what we teach)

SELF ASSESSMENT

TYPICAL LEARNING:Every day, every lesson, by every teacher, for

every learner

MO

TIV

ATIO

NEM

POW

ERM

ENT

35

SELF ASSESSMENT ofSELF ASSESSMENT

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How can we establish self assessment so that it is typical of the learning experience for all our students?

Must be integrated and ‘part of’ the learning (not in isolation)

How do we ensure that self assessment is integral to the culture of learning?

Integral to developing literacy

In what ways is self assessment a fundamental part of the development of literacy?

TYPICAL LEARNING:Every day, every lesson, by every teacher, for every learner

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How can self assessment encourage students to reflect on how they learn alongside what they learn?

It is developed through how we teach

Must be integrated and ‘part of’ the learning (not in isolation)

How can self assessment promote independence and encourage decision making?

How does self assessment support the exploration and articulation of skills, concepts and securing understanding?

Embedded in the exploration of BIG IDEAS, CONCEPTS & FACTS

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