SIR Marking Session Objectives

• Understand the rationale of our marking policy

• Ensure responses are meaningful

• Make marking manageable

MARKING AND FEEDBACK

Why was SIR introduced?

• SIR was introduced at CCC in 2013 to ensure students were active participants in the marking process.

• To create a dialogue between teacher, learners and other adults.

FOCUS: Improvements Purpose: To create a dialogue between teacher, learners and other adults.

Examples of Improvements

Use positive language that is encouraging… i.e. I really like the way you have…… perhaps you could try……I wonder what would happen if…

Be constructive and concise- one development point might be enough for the student.

Set your expectations out in the improvements or in response time – how much do you want them to write? Is one sentence enough to make a difference? Or do students need to extend their ideas further?

Return to the improvement and offer feedback. Have the students met your expectation and are ready for a new challenge? Do they need to complete this again because it hasn’t had an impact?

Strength, Improvement, Response MARKING AND FEEDBACK

Impact of Improvements:Improvements inform the students about what is missing from their work. The improvements should assist students and should impact on the end result in a summative assessment.

FOCUS: Response Time Purpose: To ensure students have sufficient time to respond to improvements in a focused environment. ‘Fix it Time’ or ‘DIRT’ (directed improvement and reflection time).

Examples of Response Time

Allocate 15 – 20 minutes at the start of a lesson every 2 – 3 weeks which is dedicated to responding to improvements. Explain to the task the importance of this task and what impact it can have on their learning.

Set responses for homework and make the expectation clear – how long should they spend on this and how much should they do. Homework should then be checked to ensure the expectations have been fulfilled.

Strength, Improvement, Response

Impact of Response Time:Students understand the importance of quality responses and edits because specific time is allocated to this. Students should complete this in silence so they are able to personally make progress in their learning.

MARKING AND FEEDBACK

Suggested ways of using SIR • The teacher records a strength and sets an improvement. The student then edits their assessment responding to the

improvement. This can be done in class or for homework if a detailed edit is required. • Strengths and improvements are recorded by the teacher at the bottom of the work. The student responds by going

back through their assessment and highlights an area of strength in their work and an area where they could make an improvement. In the response section they then explain why they have selected these areas.

• The teacher thoroughly annotates the work highlighting strengths and improvements but makes no final comment. The student then carefully reads the annotations (which may have been previously ignored) and their response to the marking is to write their own strength and improvement, using the annotations as a guide.

• Either through peer or self-assessment the students use an agreed success criteria to highlight and identify the strengths and improvements in the work. The teacher then responds by commenting on the peer or self-assessment and adds any additional comments that are needed.

• The response may be left blank and students then return to this section by writing the date and title of the next assessment (when they have focused on their target) so progress can be tracked.

• If students are working towards a summative assessment then the student may write ‘See final assessment’ as their response. At the top of the summative assessment the student should record key strengths and improvements to ensure they are using these to guide them and to learn from them.

• Students write a reflection of their work in the response section and consider how they can improve their performance in future assessments.

• Students correct spellings, grammar, capital letters and any other grammatical issues in their response. • Success criteria are shared with the class and then students use this information to help them to allocate a strength and

improvement when self-assessing or when peer assessing. The student then responds to these comments and the teacher then moderates the whole process.

• Students complete a Response, following the guidelines set by the teacher. The teacher reviews the response and acknowledges when the student has been progress to demonstrate the impact on learning.

Examples

Tick SheetsS or I?

Success Criteria

I have developed my analysis so I show that I understanding of the whole poem, not just a small section of it.

I have supported all of my ideas with quotations from the poem; longer quotations or shorter embedded ones.

I have correctly identified what poetry techniques have been used – and have explained their effects.

I have identified and analysed key language choices the writer uses and have explained the effects on the reader.

I have commented on the structure and what this reveals to the reader about key ideas in the poem.

I have considered the impact of the form of the poem and how this shapes my understanding.

I have considered alternative or additional interpretations of the poem / quotation.

I have considered the tone of the poem and how this is achieved. I have also considered if the tone of the poem is the same throughout the poem or if it changes.

Where appropriate I have discussed the context of the poem and have used this to support my ideas and analysis.

I have identified and explained the similarities and differences between the poems.

Success Criteria S or I ?A clear understanding of the text as a whole should be demonstrated. You should be able to place the extract of text you are analysing into the context of the whole novel / play / poem.

Quotations with close analysis should be in every paragraph. You should aim to include a variety of embedded quotations and longer separate quotations. Layer quotations to strengthen interpretations.

Close analysis of language, punctuation or structure from quotations should be included. What do we learn from these? What do they add to our understanding? How to they contribute to the tone / the readers’ responses? How is the writer crafting our response to the character, theme or situation? Where does this fit into the text?

The form of the text should be considered and analysed. If this is a play what do the stage directions reveal? What is important about narrator or genre of the text? How does the reader / audience respond as a result?

The structure and organisation of the text should be considered. Why do certain events follow each other? How do events connect? How do characters / themes develop or change throughout the text? Why are we told things in a certain order? Does the text follow structure expectations?

Alternative interpretations of quotations, characters or themes should be included e.g. Alternatively it could be considered... You could also consider how different readers (time, gender) would interpret the text.

Connectives should be used to extend or elaborate on ideas e.g. furthermore, in addition to this.

Ideas and paragraphs should flow, connect and develop logically – therefore careful planning and preparation is essential.

An understanding of the social and historical context of the texts should be included in the essay – but do not merely state the context of the writing, use this to support your analysis e.g. In Act One Nora’s characters in A Doll’s House is indicative of the role of women in Victorian society because…

Spelling, paragraphing, punctuation, capital letters, titles, expression and grammar are all perfect.

On post-it

• Write down a new approach you will take away and apply to your marking following today’s session.

Or

• Suggest another approach for staff to try.

Lunch Drop-In

• Follow up – Lunchtime Thursday Room 73