Welcome Numeracy and the Learners Welcome Back Session

Welcome Numeracy and the Learners

Welcome Back (Session 2) Match the cards to reflect upon the impact of learner’s literacy and language skills on the development and progression of their numeracy skills…

Key Questions Session 2 What might lie behind effective approaches to initial and diagnostic assessment to identify the mathematics and numeracy skills and aspirations of our learners? What assessment tools might we consider to be an effective part of numeracy teaching and learning?

To help answer these questions… Reflect upon: • Initial and diagnostic assessment approaches • The skills, knowledge and understandings which can potentially be assessed within your learner’s current qualification • Effective ‘formative assessment’ strategies

Think back to any skill you may have learnt which required some kind of ‘assessment’… • How was your learning assessed? • How did it feel to be assessed? • Is there anything you would have done differently regarding the assessment/s if you had been the teacher? • Do your answers have any implications for the ways in which you might assess maths learning?

What has been your experience with ‘initial’ and ‘diagnostic’ maths assessments?

Initial vs Diagnostic Assessment

Screeners Skills checks Initial Assessment

Initial assessments can: • allow for differentiation and individual requirements to be planned for and met • ascertain why your learner wants to take the programme along with their capability to achieve • find out the expectations and motivations of your learner • give your learner the confidence to negotiate suitable targets • identify any information which needs to be shared with colleagues • identify any specific additional support needs. (Adapted from Gravells, FE News, 2018)

Diagnostic assessments can: • ascertain learning preferences • enable learners to demonstrate their current level of skills, knowledge and understanding • ensure learners can access appropriate support • identify an appropriate starting point and level for each learner • identify gaps in skills, knowledge and understanding to highlight areas to work on • identify previous experience, knowledge, achievements and transferable skills • identify specific requirements: for example, English, maths and ICT skills

‘Early Assessment Concerns’ • Literacy/language barriers • Text based • Contexts students have difficulty relating to • High levels of anxiety • Artificial environments – classroom vs real contexts

We assess learners to… § diagnose difficulties (and inform teaching) § celebrate achievement, rewarding effort and success § motivate learners, showing them what we value and what they still need to learn § select learners for groups, courses, careers § maintain records, so that teachers or parents an be informed of progress § assess teaching methods, to see which might work more effectively …. and so on. 15

MATCHING EXERCISE What ‘early’ assessment experiences do I undertake with my learners and for what purpose do they serve?

Improving Formative Assessment

‘Difficulties of Formal Assessment’ Take time to read the difficulties listed… Highlight any criticisms levelled here which are particularly valid in the context in which you work? What can be done about them?

P 341 -346 "It is my belief that one of the greatest challenges facing a teacher, no matter what approach to teaching they choose, is how to identify, understand resolve the misconceptions that our students hold. “ (Craig Barton), p 131

‘Diagnostic Questions’

GCSE

In what ways do formative assessment strategies affect the planning of teaching sessions? 26

Providing Useful Feedback F on the T, not on M or G Is D rather than G E why something is R or W Is related to O Makes C what has been A and what has N S what the learner might do N D S F Improvement

Providing useful feedback • Focuses on the task, not on marks or grades • Is detailed rather than general • Explains why something is right or wrong • Is related to objectives • Makes clear what has been achieved and what has not • Suggests what the learner might do next • Describes strategies for improvement

Next Week Numeracy Teaching Approaches and Resources…

Choose two divergent assessment strategies to try with your learners…

Divergent assessment strategy • Learners producing a short revision guide for a topic. The revision guide should • explain key terms and words; • provide worked examples of problems and questions for the reader to try; • show examples of where the ideas are used in everyday life; • provide full answers at the back. The guides can be exchanged and checked by other learners.

Divergent assessment strategy • Learners interviewing each other. • • What do you think you were expected to learn in this activity? What have you learnt? What are the most important ideas? Explain one of them. What did you feel you understood well? Give one example. What did you find hard to understand? Is there still something you are confused by? What mistakes did you make? Why did you make them?

Summative assessment – to summarise and record overall achievement at the end of the course, for promotion and certification. Most ‘high stakes’ tests and external examinations are designed for this purpose. Summative assessment is also used to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular course, teaching method, or even an institution. It may, however, be possible to do this using a sample of learners rather than by assessing them all. Formative assessment – to recognise achievements and difficulties at the beginning or during a course, so that teachers and learners can plan appropriate action. This type of assessment an integral part of all learning.

Questioning with mini-whiteboards

Divergent assessment strategy Learners producing posters

Divergent assessment strategy • Learners assessing work • Produce work that contains common errors. • Ask learners to imagine they are teachers • Ask them to mark the work • If they think that a mistake has been made: • underline the mistake; • write the correct answer by the side; • try to explain the thinking that led to the mistake and write advice to the person who made it.

Divergent assessment strategy • Learners making up their own tests. Towards the end of a topic, each group of learners: • writes down the two most important ideas in the topic; • makes up a question that would test whether or not someone understands each idea; • produces a perfect answer and a mark scheme. Assemble the questions into a test. Make sure learners know that the test is made up of their questions, and that they do the marking.

https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Mh 5 SZZt 207 k

Differentiate by quantity? When learners are successful, do you give extra work? Differentiate by task? Do you give each learner a different activity? Do you allow learners to choose activities? Differentiate by level of support? Do you give all learners are given the same task, then offer different levels of support? Differentiate by outcome? Do you use open activities that encourage a variety of possible outcomes and offer learners the opportunity to set themselves appropriate

Diagnostic questions, differentiation by quantity…. Mikegershon. com

‘Think Pair Share’ Think of a recent maths session involving learners… Explain to your partner (in as much detail as possible) how you have become increasingly aware of those who might be finding the topic straightforward and those who are finding the topic difficult. What evidence might you base your judgement on?

Test results…

Memories of spoken responses during teaching session…

Observations of the learners working…

Learners’ written work?

Meeting the needs of all learners When we try to meet the needs of learners, we may find that we need to be more relaxed about covering the syllabus. . . How do you respond to this?

Changing teaching to take account of assessment Assessment shows that each learner has different learning needs. How can we respond to this?

Changing teaching to take account of assessment Differentiat e by quantity Differentiat e by outcome Differentiat e by task Differentiate by level of support

From the staffroom… “It’s about active learning, have to make it more creative, explore different methods, relating their ideas to objects, need them to understand the concept. ” “If their way is inefficient there’s no harm in showing them quicker ways, eg- 6 x 8 is… 6 + 6 + ….

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