Afl presentation

Editor's Notes

• #2: In the previous workshop, we learned about the rationale for Assessment for Learning and received a brief overview of its key components. In this unit, we are going to discuss the first two steps to implementing Assessment for Learning: Learning Intentions & Success Criteria.
• #3: By the end of this unit, you will: understand what learning intentions and success criteria are; be able to define and communicate learning intentions and success criteria; and know how to successfully use these two elements of AfL in your classroom.
• #4: Despite building learning intentions into our planners, we are not good at sharing learning intentions and success criteria with our pupils. But at the same time, we want our pupils to be self-motivated, have a sense of purpose, etc. To give our pupils the tools they need to take more responsibility for their own learning and achieve greater learning independence, we need to communicate to them: what they are going to learn; why they should learn it in the first place; and how they will recognise when they have succeeded. Research shows that pupils who regularly receive this information in the classroom are: more focused for longer periods of time; more motivated; and better able to take responsibility for their own learning. Assessment for Learning, and particularly these first two steps in the process, immediately involves pupils with their own learning and offers opportunities for key interactions between pupils and teachers. These two elements of AfL are also important because if learners do not know what they are expected to learn and how to recognise their own success, then we cannot promote peer-/self-assessment, which are two other elements of AfL (to be covered in a later unit) as well as being important life skills.
• #5: To begin with, what is a learning intention? We are all familiar with using learning intentions. However some of us use different terms for them, including: learning objectives, learning goals, or learning aims. In AfL, the word intention is used purposely because it puts greater emphasis on the process of learning rather than the end product. A learning intention is simply a description of what you want the pupils to know, understand or be able to do by the end of a lesson. What is the focus? It identifies new learning for the pupils and it focuses on transferable skills, so pupils can make connections between their learning and other areas of school and life, take the learning away and apply it in other contexts.
• #6: Here are five steps to framing and delivering learning intentions. It is important that we: are clear and specific about learning intentions and the reasons why these are important things to learn; break down learning intentions and translate them into meaningful and manageable language; introduce and share learning intentions appropriately at beginning of the lesson; and structure lessons so the pupils can focus on and revisit the learning intention through approaches such as questioning, peer- and self-assessment, written and oral feedback and plenary sessions. But, we need to think about: How systematic have we been in doing this – particularly at the beginning of a lesson or activity? Are we writing or explaining intentions in language that pupils can understand? When we have presented learning intentions, have we tended to focus on what will be produced rather than what will be learned?
• #7: Rather than frame learning intentions in terms of what a pupil will be doing, we need to define the learning. The learning can be expressed in terms of: Knowledge Understanding Skills. Knowledge is factual information – the parts of a plant, key events of World War One, etc. Understanding typically concerns concepts, reasons or processes – the need for a healthy diet, the difference between convection, conduction and radiation, etc. Skills are proficiencies, dexterities or abilities acquired through training or experience – applying techniques, drawing conclusions based on evidence, using a multiplication grid, collaboration, etc. Note that the most useful learning intentions are those that focus on generic, transferable skills. These are skills that pupils can use in other contexts. Doing so: helps the children make connections across the curriculum, which is at the heart of the revised curriculum; helps them recognise when they are using similar skills in unfamiliar contexts; and makes achievement of the learning intention possible for pupils of all abilities (it’s the extent to which pupils achieve or demonstrate the intention that will vary).
• #8: Here are some examples of learning intentions. Look at the second example. What curricular context does it come from? (could come from any subject) Is it a useful skill to have in any context?
• #9: In this example, pupils are learning to write effective characterisations. This is the transferable skill and the learning intention is expressed in terms of a new understanding they are going to develop. Friendship is the context on this occasion. When defining learning intentions, the key is to distinguish between what your pupils are learning and what they are doing. It sounds simple enough, but many of us get it wrong. For instance, who here can hear themselves saying something along the lines of: ‘Today class, you’re going to write a description about your best friend’ instead of ‘Today class, you’re going to be learning how to write effective characterisations.’ The first statement focuses on what they’ll be doing in the activity … but the second explains what they’ll be learning. And this is the critical difference when identifying learning intentions. We need to emphasise what the pupils will be learning.
• #10: Now that you understand the principles behind learning intentions, let’s try to put it into practice. So for this activity, the learning intentions are the same as those noted at the start of this unit: to be able to identify and frame learning intentions. (Pass out Activity Sheet 1.) The activity sheet you’ve been provided with has a list of typical classroom lessons. Your task is to: read each activity; determine what each activity’s learning intention and context is; fill in the blanks using language appropriate to your pupils’ age and understanding; and enter some of your own lessons, learning activities and contexts. (Allow the participants a few minutes to complete their Activity Sheet before moving on to the next slide.)
• #11: Here are some proposed answers for Activity 1. Please note that these are only suggestions. For each activity, there is no one right or wrong answer as long as the learning intention centres on what is being learned rather than what is being done. The learning intention will depend on the focus for learning in that context. For example, in the activity ‘Give a speech for or against smoking’, the learning intention could be: to present a point of view in a persuasive way (English/Literacy) (as noted on the slide); or to understand the effects of smoking (Personal Development). Did anybody get different learning intentions than those that appear on the slide? What about the language that appears here in the Learning Intentions? Is it clear and simple enough for your pupils to understand? Would you need to adjust it at all? Who would like to share the activities and learning intentions they came up with?
• #12: Finally, here are some tips for using learning intentions effectively. Start small. You don’t need to have a learning intention for every lesson. Maybe start with one aspect of the curriculum, like Literacy, and highlight its respective learning intentions, like narrative writing. Separate the learning from the task/activity. This helps pupils (and you) to focus not on the activity, but on what they will have learned by doing it. Tell them why they are learning something. This can motivate pupils and also help them to see connections in the curriculum. When possible, give a real-life rationale for the learning. Describe it using appropriate language. Remember to use the language of learning: better to say ‘we are learning to’ rather than ‘we are doing’. Display the learning intention. This helps pupils to maintain focus while they are working – you could use an interactive whiteboard/ flip chart/ Walt board, etc. A display will also help remind you to refer back to the learning intention throughout the lesson. Discuss the learning intention with them. This allows the pupils to internalise and explore what is required of them.
• #13: The next element in the Assessment for Learning process is the development of success criteria. If learning intentions spell out what the students will learn and why, the success criteria show pupils how to recognise success.
• #14: Establishing success criteria is an important part of Assessment for Learning for a number of reasons. First of all It improves pupils’ understanding by keeping them informed about how they will be assessed. This, in turn, empowers pupils because it involves them in their own performance and learning. In time, pupils who have experience of working to success criteria and contributing to the development of success criteria are more apt to take an independent approach to learning, as they understand how the criteria apply to their learning. They then are able to use these to assess their own achievements, address their own concerns and identify areas for improvement. Success criteria also allow you and the pupils to give accurate feedback – they keep you and the pupils focused on the criteria that the work will be assessed against.
• #15: So what are success criteria? What does success look like? Success criteria let pupils know if they have achieved the learning intention. They summarise the main teaching points (key ingredients) or processes (key steps) which link directly to the learning intention.
• #16: Quality success criteria are characterised by these features: They are closely linked to the learning intention. They are specific to the activity and will vary with each activity, even if the activities share a common learning intention. They are agreed with the pupils in advance. This discussion aspect is particularly important in the classroom. First, it helps foster a positive classroom environment. It also gets pupils involved in the learning and upcoming activity even before it’s begun. It can also help build pupil self-esteem by offering them opportunities to contribute. And it is a useful tool to strengthen the pupil-teacher relationship. They encourage responsibility and independence by scaffolding peer- and self-assessment. They are revisited and used to provide pupils with feedback on their learning. This feedback can be provided by both you and the pupils themselves. Remember to follow through, though, and only assess the pupils on what has been agreed.
• #17: When creating the success criteria, it is important to focus on process and characteristics rather than the final effect. In this example, there are two sets of suggested success criteria. Which set is more helpful to pupils? The criteria ‘I will be successful if people enjoy reading my story’ and ‘it frightens them’ are not success criteria because they focus on reaction rather than guidance on how to achieve the effect … that is, guidance on how to write a narrative. You can see that the success criteria listed on the right, however, provide pupils with the key ingredients needed to show that they fulfil the learning intention. If they can do these things, then they have shown they understand how to write a narrative.
• #18: Here are a few more examples of good, relevant success criteria.
• #19: Now that you understand the principles behind creating success criteria, let’s try to put it into practice. (Pass out Activity Sheet 2.) The learning intention for this activity is to: identify and frame success criteria. The activity sheet you’ve been provided with lists a few typical classroom lessons. Your task is to frame your own success criteria. The first one has been done for you. Fill in this sheet by either creating success criteria for those activities, learning intentions and contexts that you created in Activity 1 Or By creating success criteria for the examples provided on this next slide.
• #20: (Allow participants time to create success criteria.) What success criteria have you come up with?
• #21: We’ve nearly completed this unit, but before we conclude, I’d like everyone to think about all that we’ve discussed so far and to recap in what ways using Learning Intentions and Success Criteria benefit pupils. Who would like to offer a suggestion? (Pause to allow comments, then move to next slide.)
• #22: Here are some pupil benefits, which were identified by teachers involved in the NI Action Research Project, 2005 What about benefits to teachers? Do you see this process as having value to us? (Pause to allow comments, then move to next slide.)
• #23: Here are some of the teacher benefits as identified by teachers involved in the NI Action Research Project, 2005
• #24: In closing, here are a few key points to remember about Learning Intentions and Success Criteria.