Reviewing our practice

Leader’s agenda

1. 5′
2. 5′
3. 25′15:40
4. 20′16:05
5. 15′16:25
6. 5′

1. 15:30

   1Introduction

   5 min15:30–15:35

   1. a.
      Make sure observation partners are sitting next to each other. This may take a while because it is the first meeting, so you may prefer to organise it in advance.
   2. b.
      Hand out the agenda.
   3. c.
      Share the learning intentions of this workshop. We are learning to:

      • share successes and failures, and support each other
      • review our formative assessment practice and its impact on student learning
2. 15:35

   2Starter activity

   5 min15:35–15:40

   1. a.
      Ask each teacher to think of something they are looking forward to this school year. Each teacher has 30 seconds to tell the group what it is, and no one can ‘pass’.
   2. b.
      When it is not their turn, the teachers’ role is active listening.
   3. c.
      Use the stopwatch to keep time, and choose respondents at random (e.g. name cards). Everyone must be involved in this activity.
3. 15:40

   3Feedback

   25 min15:40–16:05

   1. a.
      Ask everyone to open their personal action plan. Explain that you keep a copy of each teacher’s plan so you have a record of what they said they would do between sessions and can follow up next session.
   2. b.
      Ask each teacher to write about a technique they have tried since the last workshop and complete the first section of the plan (two minutes). It helps to have their personal action plan from the last meeting to hand.
   3. c.
      Choose someone to be the challenger and give them the role of the challenger sheet. It should be someone strong enough to challenge teachers who do not explain how learning has improved. During the feedback, the challenger’s role is to challenge the feedback each teacher brings, getting everyone to think about formative assessment with questions like:

      • What’s formative about that?
      • What did you do with the information you collected?
      • How did this alter your teaching?
      • How did this benefit student learning?
   4. d.
      Give each person two minutes to share with the group, choosing teachers to feed back at random (e.g. name cards). As each teacher feeds back, the others actively listen, then discuss the points raised if there is time. Everyone must be involved in this activity.
4. 16:05

   4Reviewing our formative assessment practice

   20 min16:05–16:25

   1. a.
      Distribute handout 2.1.1 (Reviewing formative assessment practice in lessons and its impact on the quality of learning) and the highlighters. Explain that we are going to evaluate how the formative assessment practice in our lessons affects student learning, using the highlighters to traffic-light the statements for our own lessons:

      • Green = consistent
      • Amber = occasional
      • Red = rarely
   2. b.
      Give teachers time to rate their students’ learning against each of the statements (ten minutes).
   3. c.
      In pairs, each teacher tells their partner which statement they found most difficult to decide on, and how they might collect evidence to make that decision easier, including through peer observation (five minutes each, then swap). Use the stopwatch for this.
5. 16:25

   5Personal action planning

   15 min16:25–16:40

   1. a.
      Using their personal action plan, each teacher chooses one or two techniques they are going to use during the next month, and what they will do less of (teachers will need pushing on this).
   2. b.
      Pair-share: each teacher spends two minutes sharing their plan with their partner, then they swap.
   3. c.
      Give out the peer lesson observation sheet for the teacher and the observer to use. Both keep a copy as evidence for performance management – there will be no centrally held copies. The teacher being observed fills in their sections first; the observer then completes the observation and question sections during the lesson. Afterwards they discuss the feedback and each completes their agreed sections.
   4. d.
      If necessary, explain the peer lesson observation sheet with an example like this:

      • The focus is the technique I plan to use in the lesson, and I can ask my observer to collect up to three types of evidence. For example, if I am trying to improve my questioning, I may want the observer to check whether I always wait three seconds after asking a question, whether my questions make students think, and whether I consistently use an all-student response system.
   5. e.
      Ask pairs to arrange when the peer observations will take place (they can be for a whole lesson, or just 20 minutes at the start, middle or end of a lesson).
   6. f.
      Choose two or three teachers at random (e.g. name cards) to share with the group what their partner is planning.

   Your school’s technique menu: choose one or two

   • Strengths and weaknesses discussion
   • Model papers
   • Choose-swap-choose
   • WALT, WILF, TIB

   What each technique looks like in class
6. 16:40

   6Summary of learning

   5 min16:40–16:45

   1. a.
      Ask each person, chosen at random (e.g. name cards), to name something they learned at the workshop. No repeats allowed!