Act to know: Interaction between assessment data and practical knowledge in “writing” classes...

Act to know:

Interaction between assessment data and practical knowledge in “writing” classes

Presented by SKH St Peter’s Primary School (AM & PM)T.W.G.Hs. Leo Tung-hai Lee Primary School

11 May 2005

Territory-wide Territory-wide assessment dataassessment data

What makes teachers change their instructional practice?

A problem in the classroomA problem in the classroom

???

The instructional decisions that have the greatest impact are made day to day in the classroom.

Rick Stiggins (2004)

Episode 1Episode 1

Interaction between assessment data and practical knowledge in ‘writing’ classes

School: SKH St Peter’s Primary School (AM & PM)

Teachers: 3 AM teachers + 3 PM teachers

Level: P.2

Evidence-based practice in local school contextEvidence-based practice in local school context

SeptemberOctober

November

December

January

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Test

First-term examination

Operation in schools

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PlanPlanPlanPlan

Re-planRe-planRe-planRe-plan

ObserveObserve ActAct

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Collective reflection & critical inquiry in each short term cycle:1. Reflecting on territory-

wide assessment data and relating the data to the day-to-day problems in our classrooms

2. Identifying students’ areas of weakness

3. Challenging the presumed practice

4. Freeing ourselves

Oct 04

Nov 04

Dec 04

Jan 05

Collecting evidence (incl. analyzing student work, observing students’ responses/feedback, self-reflection etc.) for collective reflection & critical inquiry

A birthday present for Garfield (Module 1)

My toy friend (Module 2)

Monster (Module 2)

Clown (Module 2)

Poem (Module 3)

What are they doing at home? (Module 3)

Fancy-dress party (Post-exam activity)

Writing activities:

Act to know:

1. Reflecting on territory-wide assessment data and relating the data to the day-to-day problems in our classrooms

How do we interpret the TSA

papers? How is our interpretation related to the

day-to-day problems in

our classrooms?

What are our

challenges?

1

2

3

Report on the Basic Competencies of Students in English Language (KS 1)

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority

(November 2004)

General Comments on Writing

Strengths:

• Students wrote well when writing about their own likes as well as some personal experiences, such as good friends and school activities.

• Some students could produce a piece of writing where use of imagination is required.

General Comments on Writing

Strengths:

• Students wrote well when writing about their own likes as well as some personal experiences, such as good friends and school activities.

• Some students could produce a piece of writing where use of imagination is required.

Weaknesses:

• Although students might make mistakes in spelling words, in many cases, it did not always interfere with the communication of ideas.

• Some students showed difficulty with sentence structures and verb forms.

• Most students required more support on how to sequence their ideas and give more details.

Weaknesses:

• Although students might make mistakes in spelling words, in many cases, it did not always interfere with the communication of ideas.

• Some students showed difficulty with sentence structures and verb forms.

• Most students required more support on how to sequence their ideas and give more details.

TSA Paper for KS1 (July 2004)

1: 94.3%0: 5.7%

1: 71.4%0: 28.6%

1: 77.1%0: 22.9%

1: 97.1%0: 2.9%

1: 91.4%0: 8.6%

1: 14.3%0: 85.7%

1: 31.4%0: 68.6%

1: 20.0%0: 80.0%

KS1 – Writing BC• Writing and/or responding to short and simple texts with relevant

information and ideas (including personal experiences and imaginative ideas) with the help of cues (IS, KS, ES)

• Writing short and simple texts using a small range of vocabulary, sentence patterns and cohesive devices fairly appropriately with the help of cues despite some spelling and grammatical mistakes (KS)

I will buy Gogo for Garfield.It is brown.It is fat.It has got very big eyes.It has got a small mouth.It has got short hair.

I will buy Gogo for Garfield.It is brown.It is fat.It has got very big eyes.It has got a small mouth.It has got short hair.

Do models facilitate or

restrict students’

expression of ideas?

2How do the

students react to models?

1

The students rely quite heavily on the models given

by the teacher. How can they move away from

modelled writing?

Can “experience”

help? But what is

“experience”?

How can we bridge the gap

between modelled

writing and free writing?

1

2

3

Act to know:

2. Identifying students’ areas of weakness

I’ve tried this way in my class. It worked

quite well. Really? I feel that something is still lacking…

Based on this finding, let’s try an alternative

way and look at the student work

again.

1

3

2

Act to know:

3. Challenging the presumed practice

In this context, the alternative way seems to work better in terms

of the students’ responses and the

quality of their work. Why?

What is “experience”?

How to connect personal

experience to writing?

4

5

My name is Jenny. I am a cat. I am a girl. I am white. I have got big eyes. I have got a small mouth. I have got a small nose. I have got small ear. I have got a small tail. I am young. I am fat. I like to eat fish. I am happy.

My name is Jenny. I am a cat. I am a girl. I am white. I have got big eyes. I have got a small mouth. I have got a small nose. I have got small ear. I have got a small tail. I am young. I am fat. I like to eat fish. I am happy.

The students tend to pay more attention to

language forms than expression of meaning. Why? Is it related to our

teaching?

Act to know:

4. Freeing ourselves

But I used to be like that… I was taught that way

as a student and I have been

teaching that way for a long

time.We are the students’ role models. We can’t

just challenge our students. We should

also challenge ourselves!

1

3

2

Shared writing -> group writing -> individual writing (Module 3)

Shared writingShared writing

Activating previous knowledge

Connecting previous knowledge

with new learningModelling

writing skills

Encouraging activeuse of vocabulary

My name is Alan. I am a monster. I am a boy. I am old. I am forty years old. I have got small eyes, a big mouth and long ears. I am black. I am fat, short and clean. I like to eat children and hamburgers. I can eat but I can’t read and write. I am ugly.

My name is Alan. I am a monster. I am a boy. I am old. I am forty years old. I have got small eyes, a big mouth and long ears. I am black. I am fat, short and clean. I like to eat children and hamburgers. I can eat but I can’t read and write. I am ugly.

Shared writing -> group writing -> individual writing (Post-exam activity)

1

2

3

Maximizing the input for students

Modelling skills but not merely contents

or formats

More risk-taking withthe students

Concept map

4

5

Vivian

At the fancy dress partyToday, we have a fancy dress party in the school hall. We are very excited.I want to be a dancer. I have got long brown and black hair. I am tall and thin. I have got a crown. My dress is pink and yellow. I can sing and dance. I like eat cakes and grapes. I like to drink pear juice and grapes juice.Lucy want to be a dancer. She has got long green hair. She is short and thin. She has got a ball. Her shirt is orange. She can jump and play the ball. She like to eat pear and biscuits. She like to drink apple juice and cake. Jane want to be a drcider (designer). She has got long orange hair. She is short and thin. She has got a picture. Her trousers are yellow. She can paint a picture and sing. She like to eat sweets, lemon and grapes. She like to drink coke, pear juice and lemon juice.We play games, eat candies and take photos. We are very happy.

Vivian

At the fancy dress partyToday, we have a fancy dress party in the school hall. We are very excited.I want to be a dancer. I have got long brown and black hair. I am tall and thin. I have got a crown. My dress is pink and yellow. I can sing and dance. I like eat cakes and grapes. I like to drink pear juice and grapes juice.Lucy want to be a dancer. She has got long green hair. She is short and thin. She has got a ball. Her shirt is orange. She can jump and play the ball. She like to eat pear and biscuits. She like to drink apple juice and cake. Jane want to be a drcider (designer). She has got long orange hair. She is short and thin. She has got a picture. Her trousers are yellow. She can paint a picture and sing. She like to eat sweets, lemon and grapes. She like to drink coke, pear juice and lemon juice.We play games, eat candies and take photos. We are very happy.

6

Collective reflection & critical inquiry

Collecting evidence for collective reflection & critical inquiry

• Comparison within the same class• Whole class• More able / average / less able

students• Individual students (writing

portfolio)

• Comparison across different classes

Self interpretation of the evidence collected

Theoretical understanding

Trust

Courage

Openness

Practical experience

Under this context, what practical knowledge have we generated through collective reflection and critical inquiry to promote improvement in the identified areas of weakness?

• Freeing ourselves from language forms before freeing the students

• Modelling skills but not merely contents and formats

• Challenging the presumed practice

• Maximizing the input for the students when shifting the focus from language forms to expression of ideas

• Promoting student learning through school-based curriculum development but “class-based” adaptation

Episode 2Episode 2

Interaction between assessment data and practical knowledge in ‘writing’ classes

School: T.W.G.Hs. Leo Tung-hai Lee Primary School

Teachers: Six teachers (5A-5F), PSMCD & 2 panel heads

Level: P.5

Students: Streaming at P.5, most students without parental support in English learning

Modular design

• Use the topic “Public transport” in the textbook as context to write about a story that happened on a bus/the MTR/the LRT etc

• Focus on particular writing skills like paragraphing & adding details

Modular design

• Use the topic “Public transport” in the textbook as context to write about a story that happened on a bus/the MTR/the LRT etc

• Focus on particular writing skills like paragraphing & adding details

Teaching and Learning Strategy

• shared writing

• brainstorming, use mind map to organise ideas

• verbal correction

• use the above strategies to practise 3 times on “seemingly different topics” like “On the bus, on the MTR, on the LRT, on the mini-bus etc”, introduce one skill at a time


• shared writing

• brainstorming, use mind map to organise ideas


• use the above strategies to practise 3 times on “seemingly different topics” like “On the bus, on the MTR, on the LRT, on the mini-bus etc”, introduce one skill at a time

1st Practice1st Practice

Brainstorm ideas in class

Use mind map to organise ideas

2nd Practice2nd Practice

1st Paragraph

-beginning of the story

2nd Paragraph

-main event / development

3rd Paragraph

-ending of the story

Shared writing

Brainstorm ideas

Adding details to the story

3rd Practice3rd Practice

Focus on the 2nd Paragraph

-describe 2-3 groups of people

Number of Practices (5B)

1st piece 10th Dec Shared writing

2nd piece 16th Dec Using mind map to

organise ideas

3rd piece 3rd Jan Adding details

4th piece 4th Jan Homework

5th piece 7th Jan Pre-exam practice

Exam 12th Jan Examination

Teachers’ Initial Reflection

Observation:

• Students participated actively in shared writing and brainstorming

• They could master particular writing skills like paragraphing and adding details

Students’ Performance in the Exam:

• They did quite well in the exam, even the weak ones could organize their ideas and express in simple words

Questions we were interested in:

(1) Did the students memorize their own scripts and regurgitate them in the exam?

(2) How much did the students learn in each practice?

(3) Who could benefit most from this strategy?

(4) Was 5 times better than 3 times?

• Systematic collection of data (5B)

• Data analysis

Evidence-based Reflection

Students’ work

(daily practices & exam paper)

Area of improvement: ContentArea of improvement: Content2nd Practice

“On the LRT”

I saw an old man. I gave him my seat. He was happy.

3rd Practice

“On the MTR”

I saw an old man. I gave him my seat. He/She smoked.

4th Practice

“On the MTR”

I saw an old man. I gave him the seat. He smoked. I told him not to smoke.

5th Practice

“On the LRT”

I saw an old man. I gave him my seat. A young man took his seat. I was unhappy.

Exam

“On the LRT”

I saw an old man. I gave him my seat. A young man took his seat. I was unhappy. I talked to the young man. The young man gave the seat to the old man

Case 1: JohnCase 1: John Simplified Version

Simplified Version

Choice of words Chair seat

I lived reading I liked…

Tense Were sleep were sleeping

Verb I not help I could not help

Adverb Therefore suddenly

Possessive Friend home friend’s home

Punctuation Use of capital after open quotation mark

Area of improvement : Word levelArea of improvement : Word level

Case 1: JohnCase 1: John

Area of improvement: AttitudeArea of improvement: Attitude

No. of words

2nd Practice 124 words

3rd Practice 103 words

4th Practice 154 words


Exam 169 words


Area of improvement : Paragraph LevelArea of improvement : Paragraph Level

4th PracticeWhen I get on the MTR, I saw a lot of people. I liked by the MTR. Because traveling by MTR was fast. Some people were sleep. Some people read books. Therefore I saw the old man. the old man very unhappy.

ExamWhen I got on the LRT, I saw a lot of people. Some people were reading. Some people were sleeping. Suddenly, I saw a old man he was unhappy.

Unabridged Version

Unabridged Version


Case 2: MichelleCase 2: Michelle

2nd Practice

“On the mini-bus”

I saw a child. I played with her. She thanked me.

3rd Practice

“On the bus”The driver drove very fast. I asked him to slow down. He thanked me.

4th Practice

“On the LRT”A lady was uncomfortable. I gave her some water. She thanked me.

5th Practice

“On the bus”I saw a boy. I played with him. He recognized me to be his friend in P.1.

Exam

“On the bus”I saw a girl. I played with her. She said goodbye to me.

Simplified Version

Simplified Version

Area of improvement : Word LevelArea of improvement : Word Level

Tense .. are read newspaper and sleeping were sleeping

I reading I read,

he say he said


Area of improvement: AttitudeArea of improvement: Attitude

No. of words

2nd Practice 99 words

3rd Practice 145 words



Exam 112 words


Teachers’ Reflection

• Low achievers (e.g John & Phobe) can benefit more from such strategies, especially in terms of accuracy

• High achievers (e.g. Michelle) cannot benefit as much as low achievers from such strategies, not much improvement in terms of accuracy, show signs of boredom (careless mistakes)

e.g. 1st Practice: “I played and talked with her.”

5th Practice(Pre-exam practice): “I played to him and talked to him.”

• Review on the number of practices

Modular design

• Use the topic “The day I was born” in the textbook as context to write a story on honesty

• Focus on a particular writing skill – using speech bubbles to show the inner struggle of a character

Modular design

• Use the topic “The day I was born” in the textbook as context to write a story on honesty

• Focus on a particular writing skill – using speech bubbles to show the inner struggle of a character


• storytelling + shared “writing”+ brainstorming

(constructed the story verbally)


• practise 3 times using “seemingly different topics” – use Mrs Goldberg’s story to practise the skill, group writing & individual work





• practise 3 times using “seemingly different topics” – use Mrs Goldberg’s story to practise the skill, group writing & individual work

Tom and David are good friends.

Last Sunday they went to the library, they wanted to borrowed the books.

When David went to the toilet, he saw a handbag on the floor and then he opened the handbag, he saw a lot of sweets, and some cash under the sweets. He thought, ‘If I take the cash and the sweets, I can become rich and I can eat the sweets,’

When David was stealing, Tom saw it. Tom thought, ‘I will not stop him because we can be rich.’ he thought again, ‘No! No we can’t take this handbag. When we told the handbag, all people will thought we were dishonest people, at that time did not has any people play with we.

And then, they told the handbag to the police station, any people said they are good boy.

Grace, Amy & Anna

Tom and David are good friend.

Yesterday, they went to the restaurant and they wanted to have the lunch. David saw a big bag under the table. He opened the bag he saw a lot of mobilephones. He thought, ‘Tomorrow is my father birthday, if I take the mobilephones, I can gave my father.’

When David was stealing, Tom saw it. He thought,’I will not stop him, so he will gave me one mobilephone.’ he thought again, ‘If I will not stop him, he will be a dishonest person, so I want to help him.’

Tom said, ‘You can’t take it because it is not your.’

At last, Tom and David took the bag to the police station, the police said, ‘You are good boy.’

Amy


Last Sunday, Tom and David went to the library and borrowed books.

When David went to opened the story book. He could saw three beautiful stamps in the story book.

David thought, ‘My friend, Tom’s hobby is collecting stamps. If I take the stamps. He will very happy.’

When David was stealing, Tom saw it. He thought, ‘I will not stop him because my hobby is collecting stamps. If I take it, I have a lot of stamps.’ ‘No! If I not stop him, he will be a dishonest person. I will be greedy. Therefore, He can’t take the stamps.’ thought Tom again.

Tom went to told David don’t took the stamps but David didn’t listened to hi. Tom was angry and unhappy.

David saw Tom was unhappy, so he took three beautiful stamps to the librarian.

At last, they went away happily.

Grace

Tom and David is good friends.

Last Monday, They went to they school.

In the recess, they played under a big tree. Suddenly, David saw a handbag near b big rock. And then he went to the bag and opened it. It was a lot of money and toys.

At that time, David thought,’If I took the money, I chould be a rush boy and I chould took the toys to my friend look.’

When David was stealing the handbag, Tom saw it. Tom thought, ‘I will not stop him. We will rush and we can brought many things too.’ ‘No! No! We chould not took the money. When we took the money, we will be dishonest person. Therefore we chould not took the money,’ he thought again.

And then Tom told David we should took the money to the teacher. At that time, They took the money to they classteacher.

Anna


Last Sunday, Tom and David went to the library and borrowed books.

When David went to opened the story book. He could saw three beautiful stamps in the story book.

David thought, ‘My friend, Tom’s hobby is collecting stamps. If I take the stamps. He will very happy.’

When David was stealing, Tom saw it. He thought, ‘I will not stop him because my hobby is collecting stamps. If I take it, I have a lot of stamps.’ ‘No! If I not stop him, he will be a dishonest person. I will be greedy. Therefore, He can’t take the stamps.’ thought Tom again.

Tom went to told David don’t took the stamps but David didn’t listened to hi. Tom was angry and unhappy.

David saw Tom was unhappy, so he took three beautiful stamps to the librarian.

At last, they went away happily.

Grace

Act to know: Interaction between assessment data and practical knowledge in “writing” classes...

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