From the Head of Secondary 20.02.2021
Dear Parents,
I hope you all had a relaxing holiday and students are feeling recharged and ready for the next half term. Even though this is a short week from a teaching perspective, it has nevertheless been a busy one. On Wednesday all Secondary teachers were involved in a full day of staff development, with a session led by Ms. Service, having a specific focus on Assessment for Learning (AfL). On Thursday we held the Year 8 PTC online and there was a return to remote teaching for all Year groups. For Years 11-13 face-to-face lessons in school will resume on Monday. Please can I ask that you keep a close eye on your emails as we are awaiting formal notification from the Ministry of Education regarding the return of the other year groups; this information will be shared with the KIS Community as soon as we receive an update.
On the back of the Secondary training session I thought it would be useful to share a little on what we did and why it is so important. After all, assessments are a key feature of the teaching and learning process. When people are asked to think of assessments I suspect the first thing they consider is sitting examination papers in an intimidating exam hall at the end of their formal education. There is no doubt that these types of assessment are a key feature of what we do, as the results shape a student’s future in so many ways. However, there is so much more to the assessment process and this is where Assessment for Learning comes in.
Assessment for Learning is one of the most powerful educational ‘tools’ available to teachers and students. In its most basic form it is all about exploring new and imaginative ways to assess student comprehension and understanding, both during a lesson and throughout the learning process. It can take a variety of different forms – ranging from online quizzes to effective questioning and feedback. One of the great things about Assessment for Learning is often students do not know they are being ‘assessed’ and it therefore does not carry the same stress and anxiety that is often associated with formal examinations.
The information and data generated through Assessment for Learning is incredibly powerful. It can help to close the gap between where a student is now and where they want to be in their learning journey. Appropriate ‘in the moment’ intervention can be put in place based on the progress a student, or the class, is making. Ultimately, when it comes to formal examinations the time for additional intervention and support has come to a close and the grade a student achieves reflects their understanding of the course content at that point in time. By incorporating Assessment for Learning into everyday teaching and learning there should be no surprises, as every aspect of the learning process is being monitored and actioned as necessary.
Later this term the Secondary School Leadership Team will look to run a ‘virtual’ coffee morning where we can talk about and discuss, amongst other things, Assessment for Learning in more detail. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions and I wish you all a relaxing weekend.
Kind regards,
Andrew Hallas
Deputy Head of Secondary/Head of Sixth Form
