A few months ago I wrote a post about the rubric function in Google Assignments and how you can create them. If you are still unfamiliar with what a rubric is you can read that post (and watch the some exemplar videos) here.
I am pleased to say that since that post was published staff at Denbigh have gone on to create many rubrics to help assess the progress of students and give feedback. These rubrics have had the added benefit of reducing workload in the marking process.
In this blog we will look at three effective ways that rubrics have been used across the school. If you have any other unique ways you are using rubrics please get in touch to let me know.
1) The rubric that 'soft marks' I'll be honest, this is essentially the 'tick and flick' equivalent of marking on Google Classroom (yet slightly better as I'll explain). At it's heart it is a simple rubric that does the equivalent of RAGing a piece of work and has been applied by many departments. Take a look at this example below that assesses 'quality of work' it is so generic it could be applied to almost any subject.
The advantage of a this rubric is that it is quick to set up and generates simple numeric data that is automatically stored in the markbook for every online lesson or homework task that a student completes. The rubric also helps teachers roughly assess, or 'soft mark', work that may not necessarily have a numeric value or be a key point of assessment that requires detailed marking. This type of marking also gives teachers a general understanding of student engagement and attitudes and can keep students motivated and on their toes. The disadvantage is that the feedback this rubric generates to students is not overly helpful in supporting progress, it just lets them know how happy you are with their work.
On a side note here is a great blog in defence of 'tick and flick' by David Didau.
2) The rubric that mimics assessment criteria These rubrics are far more complex as they attempt to reflect the assessment or marking criteria of a particular exam question or a set of KPIs for a particular subject. They may also only apply to a specific task/exam question in a subject area. Take a look at this example from English which provides a rubric for their 24 mark question in the GCSE language paper - it looks like a lot of work went into it!
However, despite the initial effort that is required to create a rubric like this the reward is great. First of all, the time it takes to mark an essay is reduced to a few clicks which automatically generates a score. Secondly, the rubric creates a highly valid bank of data that smartly identifies weaknesses which can in turn help formulate valid targets for a student and also help inform future teaching. The only drawback to this kind of rubric is the danger that a student may not be able to access the language of complex mark scheme or exam criteria if the rubric reflects it too closely. As such when they receive a mark and look at a rubric it may be difficult for students to decipher what it means and therefore not benefit from it. This highlights the importance of either thinking about the language we use when we create this kind of rubric or spending lesson time to help students understand the that criteria - something that is not always necessary or useful.
3) The rubric that provides scaffolding and develops metacognition The weakness of the previous rubric leads on to this final rubric possibility; a rubric that is designed to scaffold a task and develop metacognition. With this kind of rubric there may be a complete abandonment of any complex and convoluted language related to exam criteria and in its place a pupil friendly instructional language which guides students to succeed in a task process or skill.
In History and RE they have been developing rubrics just like this to help students answer longer essay questions and, rather than using the examination marking criteria, they have produced instructional rubrics that provide the scaffolds for different stages of the writing process. Take this example below where the rubric follows a paragraph by paragraph approach detailing what is expected from each stage which ultimately build towards a more complete answer.
The advantage of this rubric is that it helps students develop metacognition skills for a specific task (the process of writing this essay becomes ingrained the more they engage with the rubric) and although it may not neatly match up with an examination marking criteria, by students following the process they will develop consistency and competency in the task to the point that the rubric will barely be needed - as will happen in an exam. Of course personalized feedback can still be created to support progress further (as with any rubric) however, in this example it is the rubric that will underpin the skill.
A well thought out rubric can support progress and build confidence.
I hope you have found this blog useful. If you want further support developing rubrics please have a discussion with your team leader or let me know and I'll be happy to help. Thanks to all the teachers who have contributed to this blog and keep up the great work!
Remote learning is the new norm. For staff at Denbigh and across the country, classrooms have gone online. The challenge is now how we can engage, enthuse and support all students to continue learning despite this virus' best efforts to disrupt us. We have to believe that this is possible.
The challenge of delivering effective remote learning Often teachers may feel that with remote learning we have to think about teaching and learning differently. Well that is not the case, the process of learning works in exactly the same way online as it does in the classroom - students need to have some form of instruction (linked to prior learning); create some evidence of learning; and then receive some feedback - this cycle is as effective online as it is in the classroom. However, we have to acknowledge that students are in a new learning environment - their homes - which can create significant barriers to their engagement.
High impact teaching is the same inside the classroom as it is online. Credit @ImpactWales
Avoid overload, engage through feedback and monitor engagement
To overcome these barriers one of the first considerations is to make sure that the work we set is achievable by avoiding overloading students with either too much new learning or too many tasks. If there is sure way to discourage students, it is to swamp them, which will lead to cognitive overload and ultimately very little learning. To do this, we as teachers and subject leaders need to consider how we can break down our curriculums into smaller bitesize chunks of key learning and provide resources that students can review and repeat in good time. In addition to considering what work we set, we also need to consider our expectations on completion - students' lives at home are varied and unknown to teachers, this means when setting deadlines we have to have a degree of flexibility in our expectations. There is nothing worse than an email inbox full of demands for incomplete work to make anyone feel stressed overwhelmed.
Another consideration is feedback. A key reason why students disengage is because they may feel that their own teachers are not engaging with them in their learning. A regular dialogue needs to exist. This could be as simple as ensuring work is acknowledged and marked where relevant, and that a teacher is also available to support. Regular feedback makes doing the work worth it and will encourage students to engage further.
Finally we need to monitor engagement. At Denbigh we are introducing a whole school approach involving the taking of online registers as well as individual subject teachers monitoring engagement using a centralized system. This in turn can support a coordinated approach to promoting engagement by identifying disengaged students and supporting them to get into the learning routines they need to be successful.
What should a typical remote learning experience look like? At Denbigh students can typically expect the following:
Teacher instruction: A pre-recorded video summarising the desired learning outcome followed by the delivery of content. This could include other resources such as a GCSEPod or web based reading etc. (5-20 minutes)
A task to elicit evidence of learning: This could be a Google assignment or quiz, or another online activity set through an approved VLE. During this time the teacher is 'live' on the Google Classroom to respond to questions. (10-30 minutes)
Feedback. Students should have work acknowledged and marked accordingly. Feedback can be given individually or as a class. At Denbigh we are also able to give verbal feedback through Google Classroom using mote.
To demonstrate this further have a look at my example of remote learning from year 9 Psychology where hopefully you may see some of these principles in action.
Conclusion
Although subjects may approach remote learning differently and not all remote learning will look exactly like this, we should all stick to the basic principles of teaching and learning. We must also see this current situation as a great opportunity as, if we get this right, when our students return they will be self sufficient, resilient, independent learners, who will prosper in the classroom. Let's get it right.
With the likelihood that further Covid-19 restrictions will return in the autumn and winter months the probability that we will have to resort to some form of distance learning is also high (as I write already three year groups have been sent home to isolate). As such we should be keenly aware of developing our ability to provide the best quality teaching and learning for our students through distance learning. We can start this by developing our current technology for learning practices so that, when distant learning happens we will be ready for a seamless transition.
In this blog we will look at a few basic strategies that, if we develop and make them a part of our culture of practice in now, we can make the change to distance learning seemless for our students - it is a blended learning approach.
If you wish to see these techniques demonstrated and ask further questions DEnbigh staff can sign up for the additional CPD session on Wednesday 30th September, led by myself and Emma Darcy; sign up here.
1. Using Google Classroom to share.
One of the simplest things to do with your lesson resources is to share them. Upload your lesson presentations, worksheets, video links and more just with a few clicks. By sharing resources we make sure that all students have access to them whether they are in school or out. You can also provide detailed instructions for what you want students to do with the resources when they are shared.
2. Google Classroom to assess - Summative and Formative
Assessment is now so easy using google classroom. For formal assessments and exam questions it is possible to set assignments which students can complete in school using Chromebooks or at home. Marking these assessments is easy - you can edit students' work to add literacy suggestions automatically, you can create comment banks to give students specific feedback, and for exam questions you can even create generic rubrics that can act as assessment criteria (which you can mark along to). This is time saving and can be done at a great distance or even in the classroom for live marking. If you want to assess speaking you can also have student upload recordings of themselves that you can give feedback too.
AFL can also be built into live lessons using google forms. You can easily set a google form that can contain short, low-stakes, multiple choice knowledge questions that can be marked automatically and give you instant feedback that can be shared with the class. This can also be done remotely.
It is important to note that in both of these examples Google Classroom will automatically create a mark sheet for you that can track student progress. In the context of distance learning this is useful information that can assess how much a student is engaging with work and also how well they are doing -providing evidence for you if you need to call home for concerns or praise!
3. Using Chromebooks for literacy.
Sharing resources is easy. Why not share reading resources? In a live lesson students reading along to an extract that a teacher is reading in front of them is a powerful way to improve the vocabulary of students. Engaging in reading, with a Chromebook at their fingertips, also provides them with the means to build their understanding using online dictionaries or further signposted resources that can illustrate the concepts they are reading about.
In distance learning scenarios you can still share reading as an activity. Then provide them with a google form quiz to assess understanding (multiple choices questions are good here) and then a longer written assignment that assesses comprehension and other desired skills.
4. Using Chromebooks to open the world.
Why not send students on an trip during distance learning? You can! Here is a 360 degree tour of the Holy Sites of Jerusalem and another visit to North Pole. Just two among hundreds available!
The internet is a gateway to the world. So long as we provide them direction, students can see the world in a way that builds their knowledge in your subject. Using resources such as Google Expeditions and Google Poly we can open the world up to our students. For the latest list of expeditions available on Google Expeditions have a look here. I need not remind you that YouTube also has a wealth of educational videos and guided tours of world sites that are also worth a search - here is a 360 degree tour of St Paul's Cathedral in London that could be used in history and RE.
5. Using Screencastify to explain and model.
Screencastify is a recording tool which is an extension added to google chrome. The free version (which we have at Denbigh) enables you to record 5 minute videos of your computer screen (such as presentation slides) with you talking over. My covid video was produced using screencastify and, after a few practice runs, I found it an easy to use.
The impact that screencastify can have for distance learning is powerful.
During lockdown, students reported that one of the biggest things they missed was teachers explaining concepts to them. Reading from presentations can be effective, but that guided pieces of teacher narrative can make the difference. Using screencastify we can record short and concise explanations of the more difficult concepts we deliver in our subjects. We can also model how to tackle exam questions or problems using meta-cognitive speech - a proven way to support student progress that is hard to replicate using the written word.
What unprecedented times we are living in. To think what is happening now, only two weeks ago, seems unbelievable. Life has been turned on its head. We can only hope that, through the combined efforts of our whole society, we can support those frontline workers to save as many lives as possible and get us through this crisis.
Nevertheless, with this lockdown we may find that, as teachers, we have more time on our hands. We may even be a little bored (who knew that I would find myself missing my year 10 B-band class). On the other hand, we may find ourselves consumed by new duties (as I type this I have a rugrat trying to climb my leg!) Even so, with every crisis comes opportunity. That opportunity is to improve ourselves as teachers and come back better than we were before we left. Already I am sure many of us have improved our competencies with Google Classroom!
Who knew that staying home with the children would be busier than work!
Over the coming weeks of lockdown I aim to publish a number of posts to support you with your continuing professional development. Hopefully you will find them thought provoking and useful. Many will contain links to further reading and specific courses or activities you can complete if you wish to, including this first one...
Google for Education
Firstly, it may be no surprise that I point you in the direction of Google for Education. Google provides a whole range of resources that can support your development with the use of their applications. One of the best places to start is the training site that has many introductory videos to the main google applications including docs, slides, sheets, classroom and drive.
Here you can also go through an accredited Google Educator course; fundamentals or advanced. It is free to take both courses online at your own pace. These courses are great for teachers at all stages of development in the use of Google applications and will provide many insights into how to get the most out of these powerful applications. If you wish, you can also be certified as a Google Educator by registering to take an online assessment. The future of education is heading full steam ahead in this direction, why not use some of this time to get a certification that will distinguish you on your CV?
GCSE Pod
In these times of distance learning GCSE pod is also going to be a vital resource. There is some online training available here if you feel you need a refresher. Right now there are additional resources available in response to the government lockdown.
I hope these few links may be a starting point for your CPD. There will be more coming soon. Anyway, most importantly make sure you stay safe and support those who are the most vulnerable. All the best.
