Extending the modes of assessment we use

An example:constructing a collage

Revealing the not yet known

Roger Levy

from a student’s assignment: context - developing a focus

• I wanted to feel motivated to change and develop and therefore decided to look at myself and a personal aspect to develop;

• admirable for a teacher to study and question their own work (Dadds, in Solder et al. 2001);

• I needed to focus on an area which would enhance my self understanding, but was concerned this may seem egocentric. Dadds (ibid) challenges this believing that ‘looking inwards’ is an essential act of professional responsibility;

• adults learn best when they determine their own focus (Bubb, 2005);• teachers work more enthusiastically towards things which are personally important,

but also mention limitations imposed by schools – they will support a personal focus providing it fits within the school vision; (Robertson and Murrihy, 2006)

• in my case the performance management enables individuals to have personal targets. Also, the Head Teacher believes that development of ‘self’ impacts on practice making individuals better teachers. Therefore I began to consider what could be my specific area of focus;

• I find initiatives I become responsible for, directly outside of my subject responsibilities, difficult to manage as they take time away from my main priorities

Constructs – value and validity

Constructs create transformative learning – make taken-for-granted frames of reference more inclusive, capable of change, & reflective, so they may generate beliefs and opinions that will prove more true or justified to guide action (Mezirow, 2007). Constructs do this as:• we are often unaware of what guides our

actions (Pope and Denicolo, 2001) . • teachers’ knowledge of teaching derives

from their personal history and career - exploration of these are necessary when examining biographic work ’ (Thomas,1995).

• they use metaphors, which don’t provide an all-purpose point of view (Morgan,1986) but– represent the process of human

understanding by which we achieve meaningful experience that we can make sense of (Johnson, 1987).

– allow teachers to distance themselves from their practice and become external observers in order to reflect upon themselves through their representation (Leavy at al, 2007).

– have profound and positive impact on themselves as a leader (Robertson and Murrihy, 2006)

elements of stories that are ‘defining’ are returned to, perhaps because the meaning of the experience is not fully apparent.

• art can allow you to experience feelings that may have been repressed or forgotten  (Gamin, 1999); though no need for conscious dwelling in memories as it hinders self understanding (Strawson, 2004)

• things censored in our verbal communication, often appear in our drawing -apparent in my collage as I have never discussed my childhood in relation to my professional development (Weber & Mitchell, 1995).

“… my Father controlling my Mother and me. I remember how my Mother lived her life in my Father’s shadow and how he controlled all that we did. Although my Mother was not happy with the situation, she let it continue. I believe that this made me feel that I did not want to be controlled as my Mother was. I represented this in my collage at the beginning with my Father being the large glass bead in a circle controlling my Mother, and me in the other circle.”

my developing desire to lead and manage

Primary School - just one amongst the crowd.

hurdles

move to High School where ‘I’ in the collage ‘increases’ in size as a result of my leadership experiences and increased confidence

Class Rep. all through school; ‘Sixer’ in Girl Guides;Trained hard, became captain for school then borough basketball & netball teams, Twice school Sports Woman of the Year; Pupil of the Year in final High School year. - elated, sense of success & achievement. I felt I was in control, a feeling I had never witnessed of my Mother as I grew up

“In the collage, ‘I’ again increases in size representing more control over my life, surrounded by ‘gold’ which symbolises the successes.”

Quickly become a Relief Supervisor while working at Marks & Spencer when at school.Offered the opportunity to go on to a Management Training scheme, chose this rather than going to university. I had enjoyed the success in Marks and Spencer and wanted the opportunity to develop further and learn to lead and manage others. After two years, aged twenty, I was appointed a Store Manager for a small store in North London with 100 employees.I have always desired to be a leader in everything I attempt, even as a child. jumped next ‘hurdle’ by deciding to

pursue a career within Marks & Spencer

Continuing analysis of the construct led to conclusions that:

• I need to be in control, to shape my future – training should be learner focused not training focused (Day, 1999); match of method & purpose (Craft, 2000), coaching… (West-Burnham, 1998). Allows psychological development (Popper and Lipshitz 1992 cited in Hobson 2003).

• I should stop taking on additional responsibilities not sufficiently related to my core roles.

and…

• I need to learn about managing myself more effectively, which meant analysing what I do and why I do it; best to learn while practicing the role directly (Turner & Bash, 1999).

• my professional development is best extended by being coached by the deputy head. Short burst training is not effective (references); advantages of coaching (Davies, 1996, Robertson & Murrihy, 2006); Coaching can increase self confidence (Suggett, 2006);

– Examine differing conceptions of coaching and their pros and cons – related to the experiences as revealed above

– Relate coaching to other forms of professional development - again in the context of issues revealed above – n.b. linking type of professional development to the purpose (and issues it is designed to address)

Many people use:

• Posters

• I(nformation)-maps

Aligning assessment with practice

As above and…