Excellent Teaching: Action Research Project

Miss B

How do I improve the quality of teaching and learning in

KS3 RE?

What do I need to find out?

1. How teachers and students feel about our current feedback sheets after assessments, so that I can measure the impact of the changes I plan to make

2. What is happening in KS3 RE lessons at the moment in order to produce a strategic plan for development

Enquiry question

1. Assessment feedback sheets

– Emailed HoDs asking for exemplars of feedback sheets they use in their subjects.

– Using students feedback from the questionnaires and the exemplars I devised a reformatted feedback sheet.

2. Teaching and learning at KS3

– ‘Engaging learners’, Andy Griffith and Mark Burns

Research

1. Assessment feedback sheets

Students interviews: – Questionnaires to assess their views on the original department feedback

sheets. Two classes were used – 7y2 and 8x1

– Questionnaires to assess their views on the reformatted and redeveloped assessment feedback sheets. The same two classes were used – 7y2 and 8x1 to measure baseline and impact.

Teacher interviews: – Semi-structured interviews – assessing views of KS3 teachers on the original

feedback sheets and their views on the reformatted feedback sheets.

Other:– Contacted HoD’s for exemplars of their department feedback sheets

Methodology

2. Teaching and learning at KS3

• Learning walks of KS3 team - observe the quality of teaching and learning, what needs to be improved and what best practice can be shared.

• Book scrutiny of KS3 classes observed.

• Student focus group – random selection of KS3 students to gain insight on how they feel about teaching and learning in RE.

Methodology

Results – Assessment feedback sheets

What do you like about the current feedback sheets?

Number ofresponses

Easy to read/understand

25

Organised 1

Layout 16

Shows you what you have done well and what you need to improve on

15

What could be improved?

• Include sentence starters for each level

• Simpler language

• Fewer bullet points per level

• Include Literacy targets

• Space for the LR approved sticker

• Change wording to WWW and EBI

• Different layout

• Include a teacher comments box

• Larger font

• Bigger LR box

Students interviews – original feedback sheets

Feedback sheets – original and redesigned examples

Original feedback sheet Redesigned feedback sheet

Results – Assessment feedback sheets

Students interviews – original feedback sheets

What do you like about the new feedback sheet?

Number of responses

More space to write 1

Hints box – sentence starters

18

layout/structure 18

Easier to understand 31

Box for LR sticker 2

Literacy targets 2

responses

prefer newfeedbacksheet

prefer oldfeedbacksheet

Old feedback sheet

• Makes marking quicker

• Too many bullet points per level

• Re-label it using WWW and EBI

• Show a clear progression with levels

New feedback sheet

• Prefer new format

• It is clearer and more structured

• Weaker students will be able to access it using the ‘hints’ section

Results – Assessment feedback sheets

Teacher interviews

• Building independence – hint/challenge and levelled tasks where students have choice and challenge

• Great use of positive praise – verbal, achievement points and star charts• Department following school policy on behaviour management –

consequence system• Structured discussions – either hands up or no hands up and students

aware of this and the rules for a class discussion.• Excellent learning environments – positive, encouraging, calm and light-

hearted• Lots of peer support and modelling• Literacy support – key words/prompt words on the board• Thinking time – encourages all students to participate and put their

hands up• Developed questioning• Use of images on ppts

Results – Teaching and learning at KS3

Learning walks – Best Practice

• Need to build in time to fill in target tracker sheets and complete Learner Responses and feedback from marking.

• This means in these lessons, the content will need to decrease to allow for this to happen.

• This is difficult as already so short on time with KS3 to cover the curriculum.

Results – Teaching and learning at KS3

Learning walks – Going forward

WWW

• Can express opinions/views in a safe learning environment

• Lots of team work – paired, group and class

• Learning from others –listening to different views

• Topics are relevant and interesting

• Activities are fun and also make you work hard

• Variety of different activities

EBI

• Allow more time for certain tasks

• More paired/group discussions rather than class discussions

• Encourage all students to contribute

Results – Teaching and learning at KS3

Student feedback

• Small sample size – only 2 KS3 classes interviewed on their thoughts on the assessment feedback sheets due to manageability of the data received and time restrictions

• Small focus group size – only 10 students were included in this due to accessibility of students and time restrictions

• Only 1 learning walk conducted of the KS3 department due to teaching timetable and cover allowances

Implications

Going forward –

1. As the response to the new feedback sheets was positive, I will be reformatting the KS3 assessment sheets to the new layout

2. ‘Admin tasks’ like filling in the target tracker sheet and completing learner responses will be embedded into lessons as oppose to making it an additional thing to have to do in lessons.

Conclusion

• Thank you to the KS3 team –for letting me observe their wonderful lessons and for taking the time to give me feedback on the assessment sheets

• Thanks to my year 7 and year 8 classes for filling in the questionnaires and to the focus groups students

• Thanks to Jo and Anna for all their amazing help and support