Book study

Leader’s agenda

1. Start

   1Introduction

   5 min

   1. a.
      Make sure lesson observation partners are sitting next to each other.
   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 how other teachers have successfully used formative assessment in their classrooms (from Working Inside the Black Box)
2. +5′

   2Starter activity

   5 min

   1. a.
      Ask each teacher to think of something that one of their colleagues did last term that supported them. Each teacher has a maximum of 30 seconds to tell the group what it is, and no one can ‘pass’.
   2. b.
      Use the stopwatch to keep time, and choose respondents at random (e.g. name cards). Everyone must be involved in this activity.
   3. c.
      When it is not their turn, the teachers’ role is active listening.
3. +10′

   3Feedback

   25 min

   1. a.
      Ask everyone to open their personal action plan. Explain that each teacher sends you a copy of their plan (“Copy my plan”, on their device) 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. 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. +35′

   4Reviewing other teachers’ formative assessment practice

   20 min

   1. a.
      Ask everyone to refer to their copy of Working Inside the Black Box, handed out at the last workshop, for this book study.
   2. b.
      Ask: to what extent do you think the experiences of the teachers in the booklet match your own? If the discussion needs support, use the questions below, which are also on handout 2.4.1 (Book study questions). You may decide to hand it out if the discussion needs focusing.

      • What did you think about James’, Derek’s, Nancy’s and Gwen’s comments about questioning? And the suggestions for action on page 7?
      • On feedback through marking: do you have any views on Nancy’s and Sian’s comments? And the suggestions for action on page 9?
      • Looking at peer assessment and self-assessment, Alice, Rose and Tom were quoted. What did you think about their experiences? And the suggestions for action on page 12?
      • In the formative use of summative tests, Tom and Angela were quoted, along with the suggestions for improvement on page 14. Can you relate to any of this?
      • In the rest of the booklet – on how students learn, motivation and self-esteem, focusing on learning and so on – several teachers are quoted. Did anything they said make you think about your own experiences?
5. +55′

   5Personal action planning

   15 min

   1. a.
      Using their personal action plan, each teacher chooses one or two techniques they are going to use before the next workshop, 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 verbal feedback to students, I may want the observer to check whether I give feedback that helps each student move forward with their learning, as opposed to praise or non-specific feedback.
   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

   Teachers tick theirs in their own action plan, on their device, and copy it to you before they leave.

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

   What each technique looks like in class
6. +70′

   6Summary of learning

   5 min

   1. a.
      Ask one person to name something they learned from someone else at the workshop. Once they have answered, they choose the next person to answer (for example by throwing them a soft ball), and so on until everyone has contributed.