What is worth sharing this week?
Assessment
Assessment has been a focus this week.
- Making assessments accessible
- Variability between assessments
In order to mark assessments accessible to students I have support create two tiers of assessment. In the second tier or ++ tier I have experimented with fill-in the blank introduction paragraphs, writing frames and vocabulary banks.
The” fill-in the blanks introduction” deterred students from four faults refusal to try. Rating: ****
Writing frames were used to remind students of our What-How-Why approach. Rating:***
Vocabulary banks: Useful. Rating: ****
Variability between assessments
I have been reviewing assessments with box and whisker plots. To assess the level of difficulty and the effectiveness of my own teaching. Box and whisker plots are available in the stats section of charts in Excel.
How build a curriculum
Professor Mark Priestly talks very practically through how to build a curriculum and what may stand in your way.
“Sense making” is his starting point and ensuring that “practitioners need time and space to come together to make sense of the curriculum” his end point.
I was interested in his connection of curriculum and timetabling.
Teacher retention
Over at Naylor’s Natter, Jack Worth from NFER, talks with David Weston – The Teacher Development Trust on Teacher autonomy: how does it relate to job satisfaction and retention?
A summary in Jack’s own words are here.
The area I am most interested in is how autonomy over professional development goals has the potential to increase job satisfaction and retention. It is worrying to read that:
Almost 40 per cent of teachers report having ‘a little’ or ‘no’ influence over their professional development goals and only 23 per cent report having ‘a lot’ of influence.
I will say it again. Retention, and recruitment.