1. Kazakhstan Centres of Excellence Teacher Education Programme Assessment of teachers at Level Two

2. Criteria for assessing teachers at Level Two The level two programme consists of two interrelated strands: developing personal understanding and practice in relation to new approaches to teaching and learning; coaching and mentoring colleagues. Teachers will be assessed against three key criteria in relation to both these strands. These criteria state that teachers should demonstrate that they: have gained knowledge and understanding of the key ideas presented in the two strands of the programme; are applying these ideas within their own practice; are reflecting on the implementation of new practices and considering implications for further development.

3. The three elements: assessment of portfolios; assessment of presentations relating to entries from the portfolio; a written examination. The three components of this assessment process aim to provide for a balanced approach to assessment in line with the programme aims. Assessment of the portfolios and portfolio presentations focus on the teachers’ ability to implement ideas of the programme into their teaching, whereas the examination focuses on theoretical understanding of ideas. An ‘overall portfolio grade’ will be given following assessment of the portfolio and the presentations. The assessment of portfolios and portfolio presentations is given a greater weighting than the examination since it is changing practice that is the central aim of the programme.

4. The portfolio In addition to the assessed work, teachers are expected to include additional records in their portfolio which support the assessed entries or which document their wider learning and professional development. These additional records will support formative discussions with peers and trainers. During the second F2F phase of the programme teachers will develop some of their portfolio entries for assessment and presentation purposes. Trainers will give formative advice and support to the teachers in their training groups on both the content and structure of portfolios in order to support the development of entries for summative assessment.

5. Assessed elements of the Portfolio  Action Research project reports  Reflective accounts of two coaching sessions  Analytical account of the process of mentoring one colleague

6. Action Research project reports (4000 words) To include: Rationale for research focus (related to the 7 topics of the programme) Account of changes to practice – What was the intervention Data collection – What methods were used to collect data? Why chose these methods? Key findings – What did the data show? Analysis of the data – Assess the effects of the intervention to determine if improvement has occurred. If there is improvement, do the data clearly provide the supporting evidence? If no, what changes can be made to the actions to elicit better results in further cycle of your action research Limitations – What difficulties were encountered during the project? Implications – How will the findings of this project influence your future practice?

7. Reflective accounts of two coaching sessions To include: Two coaching session plans Two reflective accounts of coaching sessions (each 1000 words) to include: –Rationale for focusing on particular ideas from the programme in this context (needs identification) –Description of the coaching sessions –Evaluation of what went well and what did not go so well in the coaching sessions –Evaluations of the teachers’ learning process in relation to the ideas addressed in the sessions Reflective account of the coach’s learning in relation to their coaching practice (1000 words)

8. Analytical account of the process of mentoring one colleague (mentee) (2000 words) To include: Identification of needs: What were the colleague’s developmental needs in relation to ideas from the programme (this might relate to the same ideas as those addressed in the group coaching sessions); What were the interventions, observations, feedback given; Evaluation of the success of the mentoring; Learning about effective mentoring gained from working with their colleague;. Necessary Appendices for the analytical account of the process of mentoring (evidence of mentee learning): Observations of mentee’s teaching with a focus on identified developmental needs Records of written feedback given to the colleague including targets for development Colleague’s (mentee’s) reflective accounts of learning in relation to the focus of mentoring

9. Presentations Teachers will give presentations relating to entries in their portfolios. These presentations will help establish authenticity of the teacher’s portfolio and demonstrate their presentation skills. Presentations will focus on the implementation of ideas into classroom practice.

10. Content of presentations Account of the changes to practice made through the lesson sequence including a rationale for implementing the particular changes (10-12 minutes) The findings of the action research and how these will influence the teacher’s future practice(10-12 minutes) An evaluation of the learning of colleagues from one coaching session to include evidence of such learning (10-12 minutes) Reflective account of the effectiveness of their mentoring of one colleague to include evidence of mentee learning (20 minutes).

11. Qualifying Examination The examination will consist of questions relating to key ideas and themes of the programme. The examination will take place on Day 6 (Saturday) of the fourth week of the second F2F phase of the training. The examination will be marked by Cambridge assessors who will also set the threshold for pass, borderline and fail.

12. Combining the portfolio and Examination grades Decisions about whether teachers receive accreditation for the course will be made by combining the outcomes of: the process of assessment of the portfolios and presentations the examination. The following teachers will be awarded the level two qualification: teachers who receive a ‘pass’ for the examination and a ‘pass’ or ‘good pass’ for the overall portfolio grade teachers who receive a ‘borderline’ for the Examination and a ‘pass’ or ‘good pass’ for the overall portfolio assessment

13. Further details about the assessment process, including the detailed criteria against which portfolios and presentations will be made, may be found in the Teachers’ handbook (Assessors handbook?)