1 of 58

Fresh* approaches �to assessment

23 January 2016 | BETT | #bett2016

Miles Berry | @mberry

These slides: bit.ly/bettfa2a

2 of 58

Outline

A little background

BA Primary

Y1 specialists - creativity and computing

Y2 specialists - supporting learning communities

Y3 specialists - leading learning in computing

Y3 generalists - computing and the foundation subjects

PGCE

Wider curriculum elective - computing

3 of 58

A little background

4 of 58

Schema

“Experience of objects plays, naturally, a very important role in the establishment of dynamic structures”

5 of 58

ZPD

What the child is able to do in collaboration today he will be able to do independently tomorrow.

Vygotsky, 1978

.

6 of 58

Constructionism

Constructionism shares constructivism's connotation of learning as "building knowledge structures"... It then adds the idea that this happens especially felicitously in a context where the learner is consciously engaged in constructing a public entity

7 of 58

Communities of practice

Wenger, 1998

8 of 58

TPACK

9 of 58

Computing

A high-quality computing education equips pupils to use computational thinking and creativity to understand and change the world.

10 of 58

11 of 58

Teachers’ standards

  • Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
  • Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
  • Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge
  • Plan and teach well structured lessons
  • Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
  • Make accurate and productive use of assessment
  • Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
  • Fulfil wider professional responsibilities

12 of 58

13 of 58

14 of 58

15 of 58

Y1 specialists

Creativity and computing

16 of 58

Assessment

Planning and storyboard

10%

Joint

Game

30%

Joint

Testing and development

10%

Joint

Pupil workbook

10%

Joint

Weekly blog

20%

Individual

Video essay

20%

Individual

17 of 58

Part 1 - multimedia game (60%)

This part of the assessment is designed to encourage you to explore ways in which multimedia games can support pupils’ learning within the curriculum, as well as providing an opportunity to create a range of images and sound effects and to explore the functionality of the programming environment. You complete this work with a partner.

Design and develop a multimedia computer game, incorporating a number of puzzles or problems, which links to characters, setting and/or plot for a children’s story.

Example of books that could provide a setting for your game:

  • The hungry caterpillar
  • We’re going on a bear hunt
  • The Gruffalo (or other Julia Donaldson titles)
  • The Hodgeheg
  • Harry Potter
  • The Butterfly Lion (or almost anything by Michael Morpurgo)

18 of 58

19 of 58

Assessing computational thinking

Concepts

Practices

Perspectives

Portfolio analysis

Artefact based interviews

Design scenarios

20 of 58

“We felt that the progression from the first approach to the third approach was

productive – mainly by leading to more nuanced understandings of a Scratcher’s fluency with computational concepts and having access to richer data about a Scratcher’s computational practices”

Brennan and Resnick, 2012

21 of 58

22 of 58

23 of 58

a critical justification for the place of computer games in school, in the form of a video essay. (20%)

You should, drawing on your readings and your experience in this project and elsewhere, critically justify the use of multimedia games in school to support or extend learning. Create an edited video, of no more than 3 minutes duration, in which you give your views on this question

An excellent video essay should:

  • critically reflect on readings and personal experience, making connections and comparisons between these;
  • explain rather than describe;
  • include both live recording and illustrative screen captures;
  • be coherent and well structured;
  • ensure the quality of the video is acceptable, e.g. set the white balance/exposure, frame the subject appropriately;
  • have titles, credits, a voiceover and carefully chosen music/sound effects;
  • exhibit good standards of spoken English and be no longer than three minutes.

24 of 58

Video essay example

25 of 58

Y2:

Supporting learning communities

26 of 58

Assessment

An e-learning project

50%

Group

A reflective blog

30%

Individual

A presentation

20%

Individual

27 of 58

E-learning project

“You have been asked to provide an exemplar e-learning resource to support a sequence of lessons for a class at a selected primary school. Your resource should demonstrate a range of the functionality available online and good practice in its use.”

  • Plan the structure
  • Create a draft
  • Pilot and reflection
  • Develop on the basis of feedback

28 of 58

E-learning resource

29 of 58

Presentation

30 of 58

Blog

31 of 58

Y3: �Leading learning in computing

32 of 58

Assessment

Students design, conduct and write-up a small-scale research project, typically based in their BSE3 school. The substantive text should be 3,500 words in length.

They are expected to:

  • Formulate a research question that can be addressed through BSE3,
  • Review relevant literature,
  • Discuss the methodology of their study, including its ethical implications,
  • Present and analyse their results and
  • Make recommendations for future practice.
  • Their essay should include a full Harvard-style bibliography.

In exceptional circumstances, tutors may permit students to undertake another form of research project of equivalent rigour.

33 of 58

Formative feedback

Students each lead a short seminar on their research as a directed task, receiving formative feedback on this from the tutor and their peers.

34 of 58

35 of 58

Y3: �Computing and the foundation subjects

36 of 58

Assessment

One post from Year 1

500 words

20%

Individual

One post from Year 2

500 words

20%

Individual

One post from Year 3

500 words

20%

Individual

Video essay

(four minutes)

40%

Individual

37 of 58

Audience

The potential audience is one of the most important aspects of the Read/Write Web. The idea that the relevance of student work no longer ends at the classroom door can not only be a powerful motivator but can also create a significant shift in the way we think about the assignments and work we ask of our students in the first place

38 of 58

Negotiating the blogosphere

Active reading and involvement through comments and hyperlinks combines with regular posting to support the co-construction of meaning [in] a community of bloggers, either in the form of a cluster of related blogs or a group blog. From this point of view we see blogging as a way of supporting a community of practice or an affinity space… Blogs in and of themselves, do not necessarily promote social participation.

39 of 58

*

*

CC by-nc Xerones

40 of 58

The importance of the teaching profession

According to the veteran teacher blogger Old Andrew, there are 1,237 active education blogs in the UK and many of them, I can testify, have directly influenced government policy. Education provides a case-study in the democratising power of new media, providing an entry point for new voices to challenge old orthodoxies.

41 of 58

Blog post criteria

An excellent blog post would

  • Avoid being purely descriptive: 'Why' and 'so' are important words; you should question why things are as they are and how they might be different;
  • Include links to supporting external resources where relevant;
  • Refer to professional experience where relevant and/or draw out implications for your own practice;
  • Be original;
  • Apply theory to practice;
  • Take into account multiple perspectives;
  • Be clearly expressed in standard written English with accurate spelling and correct punctuation; and
  • Make use of embedded media where appropriate.

42 of 58

Blogfolio, University of Roehampton

43 of 58

44 of 58

Social network analysis

University of Roehampton, 2011

45 of 58

Video essay

You are required to create a critical, reflective video in response to one of the following eight questions, drawing on your reading and use of ICT or knowledge of computing gained throughout the programme.

  • How should teachers best develop the digital literacy of ‘digital natives’?
  • What are the differences between creative teaching and teaching creativity? How can digital technology support either or both of these?
  • What should a primary school pupil know about the internet and the web? How might this most effectively be taught?
  • How can teachers make the best use of computer based data in their work?
  • What is computational thinking? How should this be taught?
  • How might you integrate the teaching of programming with other aspects of the primary curriculum?
  • What particular opportunities and challenges does computing present to assessment for learning?
  • How might digital technology contribute to fostering inclusion in primary education?

46 of 58

Criteria

An excellent summative reflection is likely to:

  • Demonstrate an ability to analyse, synthesise and evaluate multiple perspectives, including your own experience, professional and academic literature
  • Be presented to a high standard, making effective use of video as a medium;
  • Show originality;
  • Demonstrate an ability to question why things are as they are and how they might be different;
  • Identify key issues related to your chosen question; and
  • Arrive at a closely argued conclusion that specifically answers the question.

47 of 58

48 of 58

PGCE:

Wider curriculum elective computing

49 of 58

Assessment

  • Directed tasks + reflective blogs
  • Collaborative planning task
  • Essay (3,500 words)

A critical evaluation of <aspect of pedagogy> in computing across <key stage or phase>

Eg: talk, creativity, collaboration, play, discovery, direct instruction, experiment, interactive teaching, differentiation, computational thinking, problem solving, informal learning and peer tutoring

50 of 58

Directed tasks

  • Set up a blog
  • Create an IWB resource
  • E-safety presentation
  • Computational thinking practicals
  • Portrait photos or creating and analysing a survey
  • Robot activity or HTML hacking
  • Writing a program

51 of 58

Scaffolding the group planning

  • Scope and plan (in outline) a sequence of lessons
  • Identify teaching strategies / learner activities
  • Add in formative and summative assessment
  • Make appropriate adaptations for inclusion
  • Identify resources and training needed
  • Review relevant academic literature and possibilities for practitioner action research

52 of 58

53 of 58

54 of 58

55 of 58

Scaffolding the essay

  • Introduction (500 words)
  • Literature review (1000 words)
  • Presenting data (500 words)
  • Analysis (1000 words)
  • Conclusion (500 words)
  • References
  • Appendix (planning task)

56 of 58

57 of 58

Criteria

58 of 58

Questions?

@mberry

m.berry@roehampton.ac.uk

milesberry.net

These slides: bit.ly/bettfa2a