Developing the National Curriculum - Essay Example

Teachers draw on the National Curriculum to develop learning experiences for the pupil that will enable them to achieve the highest standards of learning that they can. This includes utilising optimal assessment strategies, to build on student’s knowledge and to strengthen knowledge deficits, so that over time progress in knowledge can be identified (National Curriculum Online, 2004). Assessment procedures need also to be both challenging and obtainable as they facilitate a student’s sense of self, and a sense of confidence in their learning abilities. Formative assessment requires the teacher to feed back to the students’ information that provides the students with opportunities to improve on their learning, or that encourages the students to reflect on their own learning (Black & Williams, 1998). In contrast to summative testing, which occurs with standardised tests, formative assessment provides in-depth, immediate and contextualised information about a student’s level of knowledge and their understanding of a particular topic (Bund & Falchikov, 2004). The reflective and engaging nature of formative assessments supports teachers in becoming better assessors, and to focus on the quality of a student’s learning and understanding, rather than the quantity of work they have undertaken (Williams, Lee, Harrison & Black, 2004). The sole use of summative testing results in teachers being ignorant of the true understandings, strengths and weaknesses of their students. Formative assessment can aid in narrowing the gap between high and low achievers in the classroom (Black & Williams, 1998). The use of formative assessment requires a learner-centered approach to teaching, as the student is the end user of the assessment information (Bund & Falchikov, 2004). Effective formative assessment focuses on feedback regarding scientific tasks, and not the student. Hence, feedback focuses on the particular qualities of the student’s work, with suggestions for improvements, and without comparisons to classmates (Black & Williams, 1998). The ideal form of this requires that the student develop the ability for ‘self-assessment’, which allows them to demonstrate their understanding of the goal of the task and their learning (Williams et al., 2004). The KS3 teacher could utilize formative assessment strategies to determine the level of knowledge and understanding of science for student’s at the beginning of the year. Procedures for self-assessment, or peer-assessment, could include the use of ‘Traffic Lights’ (i.e., using red, amber or green colours) or ‘Smiley Faces’ (i.e., happy, neutral, sad) to indicate perceived degree of understanding (Williams et al., 2003). Alternatively, during a class discussion reinforcing the responsibility of the students could incorporate statements and questions such as: Two of these five examples are incorrect – which ones and why? Using group work has been identified as very useful for gauging the degree of understanding of students, as is having the students set homework materials or questions (Williams et al., 2004). Teachers can also provide opportunities for the students to discuss their understanding of tasks amongst themselves, enabling a classroom dialogue that feeds back to the student’s guidance of how to improve their understanding (Williams et al., 2004). Use of reflective discussions and self-assessment allow the teacher to respond to the individual differences of students (Black & Williams, 1998). The use of a Reflective Science Journal (RSJ) could provide an informal document that demonstrates a KS2 student’s understandings and achievements in science throughout their year six classes. Studies show that the learning of science requires the student to undertake investigative activities and to be involved in reflective processes (Kenyon & Reiser, 2005; Song, Koszalka & Grabowski, 2005). The RSJ would provide an inquiry context for the learning of science, which could reflect the student’s knowledge of science, understanding of why science is a discipline to be learnt, and of how their knowledge impacts on their engagement with the practice of science (Kenyon & Reiser, 2005). The document would be comprised of prose, in which the student: first states their present state of knowledge on a topic before it is further outlined by the teacher; second, the student details the activity and incorporates pictures, diagrams and worksheets provided by the teacher; third, the student writes reflectively about how their learning has changed due to the activity; and fourth, the student evaluates their perceived understanding of the task or topic at this point in time (Song, Koszalka & Grabowski, 2005). The student is encouraged to explore reflections on their learning and understanding by collecting information during their day following the task (e.g., news media, images, found items) to add to their journal, writing in further examples of their understanding as they become aware of them outside of class time (Access Excellence, 2005). Students’ also write about discussions they have amongst each other and with others with whom they discuss the topic, such as at home with their caregivers of siblings (Access Excellence, 2005). The goal of the journal is to make relevant the discipline of science to the student’s everyday life, to encourage an interest in science and in scientific inquiry, to help them to develop a questioning attitude toward new information, and to support their development of their awareness of their ability to build on knowledge, to change their viewpoints and to identify their own strengths and weaknesses in learning (Kenyon & Reiser, 2005). Use of the journal would enable students’ to recognize the value of their own judgments and opinions, and to understand how they draw the conclusions that they do (Song, Koszalka & Grabowski, 2005). Also, the student is able to make concrete and tangible the learning of abstract ideas and theories. They are able to draw on their conceptions of science to assist them with problem-solving and investigating scientific questions (Kenyon & Reiser, 2005). The journal would reflect their knowledge and understanding of science, the processes and skills they have acquired during the year, their use of scientific language and their ability to communicate their understanding of a given topic, their values and attitudes towards science, working with others and of their own learning potential, by building on their earlier knowledge and understanding in a creative and self-determining way (Access Excellence, 2005). The reflective prose within the journal would extend on classroom reflective discussions, both enabling the nature of science to be made explicit to the student as they go through the processes of analysis, discussion and argument of evidence that can be considered to support conclusions, or to choose between competing theories (Song, Koszalka & Grabowski, 2005). The creative nature of the journal would provide an advantage for student’s who may find formative assessment more challenging than their peers, and so are not able to demonstrate their actual level of knowledge and understanding due to their learning style, English ability, or physical ability (Song, Koszalka & Grabowski, 2005). Another advantage of the RSJ is its ability to hold a large amount of content if it is used as a ringed binder, a personal student website or set of word documents. Research suggests that knowledge in science and technology is doubling every sixteen months (Dahl, 1998). Also, as the journal is mobile it enables learning to be ongoing outside of the classroom, and provides caregivers with insights into their child’s understanding of scientific topics. Caregivers are able to become more involved in their child’s learning, and the journal may initiate more scientific discussions and debates within the home. In this way, students, caregivers and teachers become more fully engaged in the learning process. It is a tool that allows the teacher to interact with each student by way of written communication, pointing out to a student important content that is well understood or lacking in understanding. The teacher is also able to provide a model for the metacognition activity of reflection, as well as demonstrate when and how to use scientific language. As a formative assessment instrument the RSJ would provide rich insight into how and why a student investigates a topic in the manner that they do, and draws the conclusions that they do. This aids the teacher in identifying way s in which to improve the learning of the student. As a reflective process, the journal provides information of a student’s ability to critically evaluate, take part in independent learning, the construction of new knowledge and responsibility for their own learning. In conclusion, it is evident that various methods of formative assessment exist that can be utilized by the science teacher during KS2 to encourage reflective discussion of topics, to provide feedback which identifies qualities of a student’s task and de-emphasises comparison with classmates, as well as encouraging the student to develop self-assessment and peer-assessment skills. References Access Excellence, 2005, “Using dialogue journals in support of science instruction”, Retrieved May 1st, 2006 from http://www.accessexcellence.org/MTC/96PT/Share/yorks.html Black, P. & Williams, D., 1998 "Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment", Assessment in Education, vol. 5, no. 2. Bund, D. & Falchikov, N., 2004, “Beyond formative and summative assessment: developing a new agenda for assessment for lifelong learning”, Paper presented at Assessment 2004 Beyond Intuition, the Second Biannual Joint Northumbria/EARLI SIG Assessment Conference, University of Bergen, Norway. Kenyon, L. O. & Reiser, B. J., 2005, “Student’s epistemologies of science and their influence on inquiry practices”, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Dallas, TX. National Curriculum Online, 2004, “Science”, Retrieved May 1st, 2006 from: http://www.nc.uk.net/webdav/harmonise?Page/@id=6004&Subject/@id=6321 Song, H-D., Koszalka, T. A. & Grabowski, B. L., 2005, “Exploring Instructional Design Factors Prompting Reflective Thinking in Young Adolescents”, Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, vol. 31, no. 2. Williams, D., Lee, C., Harrison, C. & Black, P., 2004, “Teachers developing assessment for learning: Impact on student achievement”, Assessment in Education, vol. 11, no. 1: 49-67. Appendix The Reflective Science Journal would comprise student feedback on all areas of KS2 science during the year. The assortment of topics would be divided into specific sections: Ideas and evidence in science Investigative skills Life processes Humans and other animals Green plants Variation and classification Living things in their environment Grouping and classifying materials Changing materials Separating mixtures of materials Electricity Forces and motion Light and sound The Earth and beyond. Each entry would include the Date, Time and Place that the writing is taking place. The student may also provide a ‘Smiley Rating’: happy sad angry confused tired bored The entry begins with their current knowledge and understanding of a topic, followed by details of the activity, and finally their reflective interpretations of how their knowledge has been built on: 1. What I know about _____________ is _______________________________________ _________; some examples of it are ___________________________________________; I use this information at the moment by ___________________________________________ This is my picture of ______________: My understanding of this topic is I don’t understand I understand the I understand the the topic at all topic a little bit topic very well 2. The class activity was to ________________________________________________________ The goals of the activity were to _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ ….the student writes about materials and procedures for the activity…. 3. What I learnt was that :____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Was the activity a scientific observation Y/N. Why? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ My learning did/did not change. Why? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ My picture of the topic is: My understanding of this topic is: I don’t understand I understand the I understand the the topic at all topic a little bit topic very well My mood is: happy sad angry confused tired bored 4. Other reflections have had: (Date, Time and Place)_________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________... 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