Unit 4 The new national curriculum in context © Curriculum Foundation Part 2 Classroom techniques

© Curriculum Foundation In Unit 3, we looked at the key assessment approach of “triangulation” in which we take account of observation, conversation and product. But we still need to consider the techniques we use within the classroom to make these observations and hold these conversations. We also need to consider what sort of products we are asking for.

© Curriculum Foundation Who said: “Students have a tendency to learn what teachers inspect rather than what they expect”? (Do British people say “pupils” and Americans say “students” – or do we all say “students” these days? Anyway it’s a clue that it’s American!)

© Curriculum Foundation In fact, it was two Americans: Angelo and Cross: Classroom Assessment Techniques (2008) Tom AngeloPatricia Cross

© Curriculum Foundation Angelo and Cross put forward 50 Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), and although their book is aimed at teachers of college students in the USA, many have applicability in the UK and with younger pupils. There is more information about them here:

© Curriculum Foundation Of course, different techniques are needed for assessing different forms of learning: knowledge, understanding, skills, the higher (or deeper!) levels of Bloom, SOLO or Webb. But whatever technique is being applied there is a general rule that the more formal and didactic the teaching is, the more difficult it is assess higher order learning. It is reasonably straightforward to assess knowledge in these situations, but much more difficult to assess skills or deeper understanding. The more open-ended the learning situation, and the greater the independence for the learner, the easier it is for the teacher to observe and enter in the conversations that are so essential. Also the greater the scope for the learner to apply what they have learned and not just show that they can follow instructions.

© Curriculum Foundation Northern Ireland has produced some interesting guidance on Assessment in the Primary school that applies well to the rest of the United Kingdom. You can see or download the whole document at: They also quote Chappuis and Stiggins, 2008: ‘Along with other assessment methods, peer and self-assessment, should be an integral part of a whole-school approach to developing quality assessment practice in the classroom” 2/areas_of_learning/Guidance_on_Assessment_Primary. pdf

© Curriculum Foundation Many schools make use of peer assessment in class, group and one-to- one situations. There are two main forms – as there are with teacher assessment: General In the general form, peer assessment takes the form of generic questions such as, “What went well?”, “What could be improved?” and “What are the next steps”. These can be applied to any learning situation and encourage meta-cognitive awareness. But the criteria for the first two questions are vague. What counts as “well”? What counts as an improvement? Unless we know precisely what we are looking for, it is hard to know if we have found it. And if it is hard for teachers, then it is very hard indeed for pupils.

© Curriculum Foundation Specific The specific form uses clear assessment criteria. Without wishing to hark back – these criteria were often the Levels. Many pupils became adept, as did their teachers, at distinguishing a piece of Level 4 writing from a Level 3 one – in their own and others’ work. Once the criteria become established and shared, they become easier to apply. The drawback is that they can become narrow and fail to recognise things have have been done well, or that might need improvement. However, a complete absence of criteria gives no basis for assessment at all.

© Curriculum Foundation Which sort of brings us full circle back to the new national curriculum and the criteria – or learning expectations - that it sets. We explored these in Unit 1. In that Unit, we noted that there is a wide variety in the expectations. Some knowledge and understanding, some skills and some application. Each of these needs a different technique to assess learning – and they are set out annually in most cases. So how do we deal with them on a day to day basis? This brings us to Part 3 of this Unit.