X Years of Expertise - GCSE and A-Level RS Working Parties

The new GCSE and A-Levels have caused great anxiety to many staff. The climate has changed since the last changes (2009 and 2008 respectively) whereby there is greater accountability, greater focus on exams (and technique), greater use of data, the introduction of performance related pay, more in depth exam analysis, ALPS, RAISE... all of these things necessitate changes to the class room teachers approach to Key Stage 4 and 5 teaching. Teachers are demanding more SAMs - but so are the students! A few comments / emails that I've had from my own students, with no prompting I hasten to add:

• "Sir, how can there only be one SAMs? We need a bank of possible questions to practice." [GCSE Student]
• "Will there be an examiner reports produced for us on the SAMs to read before the final exams?" [A Level]

Exam boards have been under pressure given the speed of exam reforms, but there are few and far opportunities for teachers to get together and use their collective expertise. So I thought I would organise some, thankfully backed by my school who lead a Teaching Alliance.

The affirmation I needed, was sending a colleague on a course for A-Level preparation (not exam board, and not the best), where one of the key recommendations was joining the respective Facebook groups, the A-Level one I admin myself! [GCSE Edexcel and A-Level Edexcel].

My rationale was this:

1. Most examiners are experienced classroom teachers.
2. All examiners are human beings, who need to interpret a mark scheme.
3. Teachers can do the same - in fact they do exactly this on a regular basis!

I did some Maths.... If I could get 10 teachers in the room (sums done using GCSE figures)

• 10 teachers X average 5 years teaching = 50 years total
• 4 unit tests + 1 mock marked per student per year = 8 exam questions marked per student per year (the reality may well be far higher!)
• 40 students taught on average per year (some schools only having an option group, some schools teachers having 2 classes in full cohort entry)

50 x 8 x 40 - Approx 16,000 GCSE questions marked by those in the room

That has  to count for something. Those teachers have sat with an exam board mark scheme, interpreting student answers time and time again. I'd also recon they have done that with a reasonable degree of accuracy - how often do you get your students grades to within one?

We know, from the desperate adverts, that some of our students' marking will be done by NQTs in the real thing. We know the exam boards will put in place fail-safes with their marking teams to ensure marking is as accurate as possible. We know some students will need to challenge their result and to have their marking checked. We know we will be pleasantly surprised with some students, and bitterly disappointed with others. We have to keep faith that the system works, reasonably well. 

However, I thought it was important to create an opportunity to sit around the table and discuss with other experienced colleagues. Therefore:

The Agnus Dei Teaching School Alliance are hosting two events where teachers of the new Edexcel A-Level and GCSE qualifications in Religious Studies can meet to work collaboratively, discuss current issues and support one another. The sessions will include:

• “What we know” - exam board published resources, including updates
• Discussion of mark schemes / assessment objectives
• Discussion of current marking - teachers to bring samples of work / marking
• Sharing our resources
• Writing our own exam questions
• Final conclusions - including compiling a list of questions for the chief examiner

The A-Level event would cover all study options
The GCSE event would primarily be for schools studying Spec A: Catholic Christianity

The sessions will be run at St Bonaventure's School in Forest Gate, East London (E7 9QD) at a cost of just £10 to cover refreshments.

• GCSE Flyer - Wednesday 24 May 2017
• A Level Flyer - Wednesday 14 June 2017

Book online here: http://www.stbons.org/register-for-training/

HOWEVER a number of colleagues from around the country have said they can't come due to distance. Why not arrange your own? There are companies charged hundreds of pounds to provide what is freely available from exam board websites. Is it possible to have enough confidence in our own professionalism? Yes there are things that will need clarification, but talking it through with other experienced colleagues will hopefully help regain some of our confidence. We are able to deliver these new specs, and we are currently doing a bloody good job given the circumstances!

Edexcel are now offering some online and face-to-face training for next academic year. These are £240 (or £118.80 online). The fact you pay to enter students for the exam is not enough to expect free training to mark! Book via <here>

Exam Questions (Or Lack Of)

For me, the greatest challenge of a new specification is the lack of examination questions. Currently our GCSE (Edexcel) goes back to 2010 and our A-Level (also Edexcel) goes back to 2009 [There were January exams until 2014 doubling papers available].

Obviously you shouldn't be just teaching to the exam (and I don't), but getting technique right is vital. 

As such, I am looking for RE teachers to help work collaboratively to share their attempts at question writing, given the limited SAMs available so we have a collection to share and assess students with.

The access is set so you can comment on the documents - if you add a question via a comment, I will add to the main document - but also feel free to offer improvement to the questions that I have already attempted. I do not profess to being an expert on these!

• Ethics
• Philosophy
• New Testament

[NB these are only Edexcel A-Level questions, as we are not doing the AS]

If teachers are interested in setting up a more comprehensive document for different specs, A-Level and AS, get in touch.

Social media, and the internet more widely, has provided us with potential solutions to problems that teachers and departments would have had to face individually in the past. Google Drive provides a tool to make it work successfully.


Image courtesy of: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=8422&picture=empty 

RS Exam Reform

Religious Studies GCSE and A-Level were part of 'Phase 2' of the exam reform, ready for September 2016 teaching. This process could only really start with the final publication of the GCSE content in February 2015 (see <here>), even this long ago, some warned that the timeline was too short. In December 2014, when RE teachers raised their concerns about the timeline at the DfE, they were told not to worry. Others said it was vital we were in 'Phase 2' to have any chance of being in the EBacc (never happened anyway), and to be part of the Progress 8 measure (Phase 3 subjects can be counted in the 'open' group, exactly where RS is anyway).

Looking back now, maybe we should have campaigned harder to have the RS GCSE delayed to September 2017. The subject does have certain complexities that other subjects do not, including a greater number of stakeholders (not least the faith communities). It has a far wider range of options that need to be covered, and the introduction of a second religions is a significant training need for many.

However, let me clear, I am not advocating a boycott or petition to get the qualifications delayed. 'Phase 1' (English and Maths) are already "getting on with it", and many other subjects are in the same position as RS, struggling to be ready for September 2016. RS is not that special, but as it is my area of expertise forms the basis for this case study. At the end, I will put forward some suggestions.

Accreditation Timeline:

Proposed GCSE accreditation timeline (see <here>):

• August 2015 - Awarding organisations submit draft specifications, sample assessment material and assessment strategy to Ofqual for accreditation.
• September 2015 - Ofqual panels of subject experts review awarding organisations' submissions.
• October 2015 - Ofqual decision on the accreditation of specifications.
• October 2015 - Ofqual inform AOs of their decision on accreditation. AOs then make any necessary changes and submit revised specification and assessment material for re-accreditation.
• Late Autumn 2015 - Accredited specifications submitted to schools to allow teachers enough time to prepare for first teaching in September 2016.
• September 2016 - First teaching of new RS GCSE specifications in schools

Actual GCSE accreditation timeline - the dates when the accredited specifications were provided to schools:

• February 2016 - AQA - 4 months after planned date, 6 months before teaching
• March 2016 - OCR - 5 months after planned date, 5 months before teaching
• May 2016 - Eduqas - 7 months after planned date, 3 months before teaching
• June 2016 - Edexcel - 8 months after planned date, 2 months before teaching

Actual A-Level accreditation timeline;

• April/May 2016 - AQA/Edexcel/Eduqas/OCR accredited*

Accreditation Process:

For reasons unknown, it took longer than envisaged for exam boards to submit their specifications. Probably as they were totally overloaded by the pace of the reform and had a whole range of subjects to write specs for, without the full time staff to do this. Again, RS had it's added complexities with the wide range of papers available. It is hard to say where GCSE RS would have fitted in their priorities.

There was also confused messages from the OFQUAL about what their exact role was - to simply make sure specifications fitted the DfE annexe and the OFQUAL Assessment requirements - or to ensure comparability across specifications. Some have said the number of resubmissions was high (up to 5), if feedback had been sufficient from the start. There have been reports from a variety of sources, that some feedback was vague, and lacked constructive comments to rectify what was wrong. I do struggle to believe the exam boards were simply incompetent. No doubt, OFQUAL were also overrun and unable to cope with demands being placed upon them.

*UPDATE*

I've had contact from someone who wanted to make clear that OFQUAL are a regulatory body and it's role was decide if spec met requirements set out by DfE. It's role was not to offer suggestions to improve specs, as boards are in competition with one another. To provide feedback that would influence quicker or slower approval would not be acceptable. It can give examples of where things have, or have not been met. There is obviously a fine line here, saying "You have not included this" is very similar in many ways to "Add this". All examining bodies had the same criteria to work with, and the questions about why some did it quicker than others will no doubt remain unanswered!

The Consequences:

• Teaching from September 2015 with only DfE Annexe - Many schools teach a 3 year GCSE. The DfE said this is not how GCSEs are designed, but it's this, or not at all for many schools. This is not unique to RS, but is perhaps more common with RS. Teachers have been using the annex or having to change after each submission.
• Many textbooks are not ready - Some GCSE books will not be with teachers until October / November 2016. A Level ones potentially later, maybe even September 2017. These are vital guides to teachers about level of depth required. Also some scholars cited on A-Level are apparently out of print, new resources are needed to resurrect their work and contributions, or at the least present them in an accessible way.
• Some textbooks have errors - This is as their publication was rushed. This includes those accredited by the exam board (Pope Francis is from Argentina, not Brazil, for the record.).
• Budgets  - Departments have had to find finances for both GCSE and A-Level textbooks at the same time. Some schools have been able to provide additional funding, but not all.
• Editable schemes of work not published - A huge time-saver for teachers, usually provided by the exam board and currently (13/7/16) not ready for some boards. Particularly at A-Level they also indicate the required depth / time spent on areas. A colleague mentioned that he worked on these for the 2008 exam changes and believes whole process is 6 to 12 months behind at this point.
• Additional resources not ready - Again another time-saver for teachers when planning, some exam boards have not got these ready, as they have put their focus on getting specs accredited.
• INSET - Some teachers have attended INSET from exam boards, cascaded to staff, and then had to redo after changes made, especially to exam technique. A clear waste of time.
• Key Stage 3 Review - Given new demands of GCSEs, there has not been time to adequately adapt KS3 including content and assessment.

Teachers are not able to use their 'gained time' during the final few weeks, and are giving up weekends and holidays to attend courses provided by third parties, sometimes out of their own pocket. There are schools organising their own planning days (in the holidays), and teachers desperately posting in panic on Facebook groups created to share, and crucially help. One teacher said they had cut their family holiday to work on preparing for September.

In 2014, the DfE did a workload survey. These exam reforms have placed a huge additional workload on teachers, and the timescales have produced unnecessary stress, and further damage to work/life balance. Everyone has a part to play in reducing workload, but it feels somewhat hypocritical of the DfE. There are already recruitment and retention issues; has this helped or hindered that situation?

Current Feeling:

Via Twitter:

Save RE Facebook Group:

The RE Teacher's Forum Facebook Group:

The Other Side of the Argument:

There are a few reasons why some have said we should just get on with it (and let's be honest, we don't have any choice really!). It is right to be excited about the new qualifications, as they are indeed better. It was also mentioned that 'Phase 1' have gone ahead, and so there is no justification for delaying 'Phase 2'. Teachers have also been working super hard to get ready, and a delay at this stage would be catastrophic (I agree, and hence never suggesting this). Plus the bottom line, is that teachers will go above and beyond to ensure their students don't suffer (Of course they will, that's what we do - but it doesn't mean this is right).

Suggestions:

• The DfE need to listen to teachers - In December 2014, concerns were raised. They were ignored, and countered with threats that to miss September 2016 would mean no Ebacc and no Progress 8. We are still not in the Ebacc (and not likely to be), and I can't see how we would have been excluded from the 'Open' group in Progress 8?
• The DfE need to listen to exam boards - Apparently, they raised concerns with pace of reform, but were ignored. The same mistakes were made with 'Phase 1', and will be made again with 'Phase 3', The DfE believe all accreditation will take place before Christmas 2016 for September 2017 subjects - what exactly has changed this time around?
• GCSE and A Level changes should not come together - If the GCSE changed in 2016, and A Level in 2017 or ideally 2018, this would have a drastic effect on teachers. It would also mean A Level students in 2016 or 2017 would be better prepared for the increased rigor and demands of the qualifications. 
• '6 month cutoff' - It may be worthwhile having a cut off point, that if accreditation has not happened by the end of February, 6 months before first teaching, it is not allowed for teaching that coming September. This may prompt exam boards to submit earlier, OFQUAL to accredit quicker, with better feedback, and teachers to have sufficient preparation time.
• OFSTED, S48 (SIAMS / CES / etc) Recognition - A public statement recognising the current situation schools are in regarding the transition, particularly for S48 inspections. Most RE Departments would be happy with a S48 this year as everything, quite rightly is in place, this will not be the case next year. Imagine such an inspection in Autumn 2016? 

Solutions:

• Great Collaboration -
• SACREs, NATRE Local Groups, Dioceses and any other groups need to think carefully about how best to use their time over the next two years. Instead of meetings where information is cascaded, think about including time for co-planning, moderating marking, resource creation. 
• Facebook groups with GoogleDrive / Dropbox are a really useful. Teachers need to be proactively uploading and sharing, as well as waiting for resources to download. Someone once suggested to me that it is just 2-3% of teachers willing to upload/share. 
• Willing schools, perhaps those with Teaching School status, may be able to host evenings or days for teachers (and not just HoDs) to work together. Imagine what 10 RE teachers in a computer room could achieve in a day?
• Awareness - 
• Heads of Department need to be alerting their line managers / SLT / headteacher of the current situation. They should know already (it's not only RS!), and it should obviously not be an excuse for poor standards. Realistically planning cannot be in place for both GCSE and A Level for the two year course for 1st September 2016. In some schools this is being asked for.
• It is also worth nothing that OFQUAL have said they will not publish grade boundaries until after 2018 exams, anything teachers produce will be an approximation. CPD / meeting time may need review to use time most productively.
• Being Realistic -
• You will not have even the whole first year planned and resourced for September 2016. Don't beat yourself up about it. Review termly, plan collaboratively.
• Your lessons will become more engaging as your familiarise yourself with the spec. Consider adding useful videos to this document <here>. Your lessons in September 2017 for Y10 will be better than those this September, and that's okay.

Conclusions:

A useful mantra for the next few years is this:

"Chunk. Collaborate. Share." Mr D Kenny

There is a great opportunity for schools to work together, embracing technology and existing networks. Teachers need to be given some time and leeway to do this. Teachers also need the confidence to share - your resources are worth sharing!

I did think GCSE RS needed reform urgently, there was good reason in my mind as to why the old qualifications were not in the EBacc. I also think A-Level RS needed reform, perhaps less urgently. 

However, the timescales for this were all wrong. Teachers are further overworked, and students will suffer. DfE, this isn't right. Please learn from it. Some of us will probably be here next time around...

*I struggled to find more accurate dates - if you let me know, I will update

Image courtesy of YouTube

New A-Level RE & The #REconsult [Part 2]

Image courtesy of Croesyceiliog School

I began with looking at the new GCSE documentation and now attempt to offer something on the A-Level reform too! Read Part 1 <here>.

Again a significant number of responses came from the BHA with similar concerns regarding the inclusion of Humanism.

There was substantial concern regarding religious content vs philosophy and ethics and this echoed much of the discussion via #REconsult on Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. However the numbers were still not significant as a representation of the whole RE world. Only 51 respondents argued for separate philosophy of religion and ethics. However despite this seemingly small number, there has been a very significant change to the new A Level:

• "Philosophical, Ethical and Social Scientific Studies of Religion" has been split into two separate areas: "Philosophy of Religion" and "Religion and Ethics".
• Students will now pick 3 out of 4 areas rather than 2 out of 3, effectively meaning that 66% can be philosophy and ethics instead of 50%.
• This does not mean that the areas will equate to papers... again we need to wait for the specifications!

Charlotte Vardy's alternative proposal gained the support of 97 people. 

Some people were concerned with overlap and this has been addressed by removing certain topics. These include prayer, festival and celebrations in the systematic study. This can only be a good thing in the pursuit of academic rigour suitable for A Level study.

Just 65 people responded saying that there would be a drop in numbers as a result of changes.

Ofqual will be releasing assessment information in March, see <here>.

#UKEdMag - Cut the chat... and have some FUN!

Martin Burrett is a friend as well as an inspiration. Not only is he the expert in all things ICT, he also is involved in a huge number of projects related to UKEdChat. One such is UKEdMag and I was privbiallged enough to be asked to write something... I based it on my TMLondonBus presentation.

To read the article please follow this link: http://issuu.com/ukedchat/docs/uked_magazine_apr_2014/6

In the article you can read about Speed Dating, Silent Debates, Role Play, Essay on a Postcard and Online Quizzes.

Let me know what you think!

#TMLondonBus 12/3/14

Photo (c) ictmagic

When I first heard there would be a TeachMeet London on a bus, I'll be honest I was excited. I have no idea who had the idea in the first place but it was one of the most fun TeachMeets I have been to (and I've done a few!). The concept was brilliant, and the wine helped... it was also the perfect antidote to the stress of a Section 48 inspection happening the next day! Many many thanks to all those who joined in.

• Martin took some excellent photos <here>
• Keep an eye out <here> for Ross' next event... I'd like a boat please!
• Leon blogged about it <here>

See more videos: http://www.l4l.co.uk/?p=14317

My presentation was called, "Cut the chat (+ have some fun) @ A-Level". During it, I talked about 3 ideas that I use in the classroom... two of which have come from other TeachMeets!

• Speed Dating
• Silent Debates
• Role Play - Featured <here>

Thanks again to Ross, Martin and Paul for organising and sponsoring such a brilliant night. Also great to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Next time, when I don't have 3 observations the next day, I'll will drink ALL of the jelly shots!

Photo (c) ictmagic

#REBlogSync

Chris Waugh introduced me to student blogging a while back at #TMEssex. His passion for the authentic nature of blogging and the audience that it can create stayed with me.

It's taken a while but I have now managed to get my A2 students regularly blogging at:  

http://shomrs.blogspot.co.uk/

However, what next?

I too want this to be authentic writing. I want my students to have an audience, and to interact with other students, teachers - and the world! I want their writing to be of a good standard. I want them to be asked questions. I want them to rework their argument if needed. I want them to change their mind if they are corrected. 

The idea of a blogsync is that we will promote one another's blogs, read one another's blogs, comment on one another's blogs and ask questions about one another's blogs!

So how to do this?

Using the successful BlogSync and QuadBlogging models, I wanted to put together a more specialised RE blogsync. AS/A2 students, as well as potentially able GCSE students would commit to sharing, reading and commenting on one another's' blogs. This gives a fantastic connection and enables them to develop understanding and really push the boundaries of their understanding.

My students can blog about anything they like:

• A topic from philosophy or ethics
• A topic they found challenging (as revision)
• RE in the news
• A link between philosophy and ethics
• Something from their wider reading
• A question that has been left unanswered...

We just need an audience. Do you fancy joining us? 

Please complete the short form at: http://tiny.cc/reblogsync and I'll be in touch very soon!

See the #REblogsync permanent home here: http://tiny.cc/reblogsync 

A2 Independent Learning - Part 3 (What The Students Said)

A little while ago, I blogged about some Independent Learning I did with my A2 students. To read what it's all about, see here:

Part 1 - What I Did
Part 2 - What I Found

At end of each unit, students complete a progress tracking sheet. They reflect upon their grades for their home and timed essays, their progress and set two targets. While completing this, I asked them to turn over and answer the following too:

1. How did you feel about this topic? (More confident/less confident/same)
2. Did you feel you had sufficient resources?
3. Did you have enough time?
4. Do you feel you have sufficient notes in your folder for revision?
5. Did you enjoy working in this way?
6. Would you be happy to do it again?
7. How did you feel about your timed essay grade for this topic?
8. Any other comments?

The feedback varied but a few headlines from the answers they provided:

1. 4 felt less confident, 5 felt the same, 3 felt more confident and one said "less confident until we started sharing when I realised I knew it all!" - of the students who said less confident, three were students who struggle with confidence in the subject on many occasions.
2. They all felt they had enough resources - these were a mixture of printed material, documents uploaded to Edmodo and student-created resources from the previous Y13 students (the last of which some noted they were sceptical about!)
3. They all felt they had more than enough time. One student pointed out it was hard working on an essay together over the summer... the deadline was the end of term!
4. All bar two students said they had sufficient notes for revision. Both of these two students said they would have preferred more teacher notes.
5. 5 students didn't like it at all - they stated that they much prefer it when teachers give them the information (4 of these were the students mentioned in headline 1). 5 students enjoyed it, even if at first one of them was a little daunted. 2 didn't know! One of the most able students said, "I enjoyed having the responsibility of controlling my learning and time.", another said, "I enjoyed working independently as it really motivates me."
6. 4 said they would be happy to do it again, 3 said they wouldn't choose to do it, but would, 5 said 'no' to doing it again.
7. Only one student said they were more satisfied that usual! 2 said the same, and the rest said less happy. This was their first A2 essay so a step up, but as seen in my previous blog post, their results were approximately in keeping with their usual grades. This is an interesting perception on their part. 
8. There were few other comments aside from "I enjoyed spreading the workload."

What do I take from this?

Firstly, my consolidation in September including activities such as Speed Dating and Silent Debating were really important to most of the students; both the more and less confident students said this was vital to their understanding. They needed activities, in the classroom, with their peers to ensure that they were secure in their knowledge.

Secondly it was really clear there is still work to be done regarding teacher dependency. Too many of the girls stated that they wanted to essentially sit there and be 'spoon fed' the exact content. The trouble is, there is no 'exact content' in philosophy...

Student satisfaction was really interesting; why were they so unsatisfied with their result when generally speaking it was in keeping? Perhaps this is a good thing? Perhaps as because they had taken ownership over it and not done as well, it was more disappointing than if I lead them and they did not achieve? 

What next?

I am likely to be able to do this again in the summer of 2014. I will do something very similar, but perhaps share some of this information with the students. I want them to believe from the start that they will be able to get the same grades (if not better!) than if I teach them. 

I will also look at some further independent tasks for this class. Particularly for the more able students, it is a good way to stretch them towards the A*. I am trying to source articles that they can work on and incorporate into their essays. I think I now realise, I can give more ownership of the Implications unit to the students later in the year. Last year when I was teaching it, I was afraid to 'let go'.

Finally, it really highlights the work we as a school need to do lower down on raising the independence of our students. Their over reliance on their teachers was clearly evident, however the majority, when thrown in at the deep end, coped! 

BLOGSYNC: Marking With Impact

I like my Facebook stamp, but it's only real impact is a smile!

It's come to that time of year; the time when I train up my A2 students in peer marking... I do a lot of peer marking with all my classes, but until last year, it was my biggest challenge with 6th formers. How do you do something meaningful with a tough to comprehend mark scheme? How can I ensure marking with impact takes place? What kind of marking has the most impact?

Last year I posted a #TeachTweet video on how I started doing it last year:

This gives an overview of what I started to do. Please excuse the video quality and my slightly dull presentation! I've got better at making videos since then...

I realised that at Key Stage 3, criteria can be simplified to enable structured feedback. This doesn't necessarily give an accurate level, but generally speaking it can be a meaningful exercise and easy to help students go beyond, "I like your work".

At Key Stage 4, I work hard at drilling exam technique. The EdExcel GCSE allows for students who have mastered the formulae of questions to use 'S' and 'D' for simple and developed points, and along with the mark scheme accurately mark questions. Tim Shelton, after seeing my video, tried it out with his GCSE class, see <here>.

However Key Stage 5 was the one that escaped me. I wanted to give students an opportunity to master something of the mark scheme so they didn't go back to Y7s... "I like your work!".

By A2, students are able to write something that constitutes a reasonable essay. However, moving to the next level can often be a challenge. What is the area that lets them down? What precise feedback can be given to enable them to work at improving for next time?

The grid was key to me. To break down the criteria into a table form that students could begin by ticking off. This illustrated what would be a limiting factor on their progression and that, for example, not using enough technical vocabulary, could really limit their final mark. This was hard to do, and I'm not sure it is perfect even now. It did give a clear area to base a target around for next time, i.e. structure, knowledge.

I uploaded copies of the grid so you can see what I am talking about; they are uploaded at TES <here>.

As you can see from the video, last year by March, my A2 class were getting the marks very accurate (I think I said 'spot on' about 48 times in the video). This was through perseverance and getting them to do it for every essay they did. They didn't like it at first, but I noticed over the time they were putting better and better feedback, as well as accurately indicating which level the response fell into.

I still marked the essays and added further comments where necessary. I did ask them one day, which comments did they take the most notice of; they all agreed that it was their friends! Yet they only really looked at my mark and not their peers.

To begin this process with Y13 this year, I have produced some essays from last years' Y13. I told them to get in full mindset of the teacher... some of them were cruel! The essays were literally covered in corrections and improvements.

We then had a frank discussion about whether or not we felt we could do this with one another. There was a slight hesitation; it's far easier to do when they are not your friends in the room. However a few started saying that actually it was all for the best interests of the class and they would try to be as thorough with one another. We shall see.

I am going to try and begin this process with Y12 too. The step from GCSE to AS is huge in RS and a real focus of me this year is working on this transition, especially for the less able. Their first essay is a draft and I will be getting them to redraft before handing in (based on this <this> blog post). I will introduce a grid for their second essay and we will work from there.

So to return to the original question (like any good philosophy essay!), I have found that by using structured collaborative marking I have had a significant impact on the quality of my students essays. They really take on board the comments of their peers, and by using this structured method, the comments can be meaningful and inform targets. I can then add to these if necessary and give a final grade which reflects their progress.

Please make sure you read the rest of the BlogSync-ers here: http://blogsync.edutronic.net/

Maybe join us?

A Book of FAIL

Ross Morrison McGill’s new book “100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers” contains many brilliant ideas and easy ways to improve lessons. One that has caught on via Twitter and various blogs is F.A.I.L. (First Attempt In Learning). It's not a new idea and I have seen First Attempts Inspire Learning which , sorry Ross, I think I may prefer!  There is also a great TED video on failure, by a teacher, that is also worth watching:

This ties in with some of the ideas we have been working on in my school ACE group; we want our students to become more resilient and in control of their learning.  


I have also been working with Y12 on their first essay plans. There was great fear in the room; fear that I wanted to turn to excitement! Many of the girls I teach are scared to get things wrong, especially the most able. My GCSE Set 1 almost refuse to do activities where there is a risk of getting something wrong... and this is something I want to challenge.

It very much links to the blog post I did on redrafting and improving work recently; it requires a real culture shift in my current school.

So my idea... I have asked various groups of students to back track and find a series of progression, either during Y12 or through the first year of the GCSE course. Some exam questions (GCSE) or essays (AS), that hopefully display that individual child's progression from one place to another.

Ritchie Gale speaks of how we should be displaying the progress in our classrooms in his excellent recent post, yet my challenge is that I teach in 17 different rooms. So I decided to go into print; today I produced my first book of F.A.I.L.! A current Y13 who provided 6 essays which show how she started with a decent C grade but worked her way to very high A grades.

I am now working how best to use my first (hopefully in a series!) F.A.I.L. publication:

• Lend to certain students to read?
• Photocopy for the whole class? (and blow the RE budget further!)
• Make a display in someone else's classroom?
• How will a student best use it? Just read it?
• Is it possible to inspire students by reading others progress?

Any ideas gratefully received! 

Silent Debating

(Download full hi-res image <here>)

A teacher's dream! 

"Are religious experiences of any use in discussing God's existence?"

What I did:

I gave the teams the rules:

1. Once the debate starts, there is no talking or conferring.
2. You are either arguing YES they are or NO they are not.
3. Everyone must write at least twice.
4. Only one person may write at a time.
5. Think carefully before you write.
6. Try to keep it logical!

I split the class into two 'teams', each given a separate side of the argument. They had 10 minutes to prepare.

What happened:

We all gathered around the table, with 9 sheets of A3 stuck together. The question was in the middle.

Each team nominated their first scribe and we took it in turns as they got the hang of it. After a few goes each, they were allowed to both be writing at the same time. After about 10 minutes, we upped it to two people from each team. For the last two minutes we had a free for all to get the last bits of information down!

Throughout, there was absolute silence!

The Results:

The students really enjoyed it. On an Edmodo poll give the choice of role playing, speed dating or this, they all (bar one!) choose this!

The arguments started off all coming from the middle, in a random kind of way. However as they got more into it, the flow developed with people 'silently arguing' and literally bursting to get back to the table to write!

All students were fully engaged, even the weaker students found themselves able to add to comments or scholars to other students posts.

It was only possible to do it for as long as students already 'knew their stuff' on this topic. It was an excellent way to build confidence, share understanding, develop evaluation skills and ensure full engagement in the lesson.

The students keep asking, "when are we doing it again?"

Further Reading:

This Pedagoo post details further ideas: <read>

A2 Independent Learning - Part 2 (What I Found)

Each unit at AS and A2 is assessed with a 'home' essay and a 'timed' essay. The former completed outside of lesson time with full use of notes and the latter in timed conditions and no notes.

Below you can see the results compared to their AS performance and A2 target:

Some initial observations:

• Most students performed in keeping with their previous achievements.
• Student 1 finds the subject hard, but enjoys it. Her result was in keeping with previous essays.
• Student 2 has failed to submit a 'home' essay yet despite many requests, her 'timed' essay was a direct reflection of this. In conversation, she admitted her failure to do this has cost her.
• Student 3 was disappointed with her final grade, but said she had not done enough revision as she understood everything (as shown in her 'home' essay).
• Student 4 achieved an A. *update* 
• Student 5 has been very ill, yet has been working at home and achieved her target.
• Student 6 outperformed a sub-standard 'home' essay.
• Student 7 finds the subject hard and struggles with 'timed' essays.
• Student 8 admitted submitting a very sub-standard 'home' essay and showed her true capability with the 'timed' essay.
• Student 9 performed very well on both essays, she is an able and enthusiastic student.
• Student 10 finds the subject hard, her ALPS is optimistically high and as such her result is about on target for this stage of the course.
• Student 11 was disappointed with her 'home' essay and as such worked hard for the 'timed' essay.
• Student 12 consistently performs well, and these two essays back up her hard work.
• Student 13 is performing at the expected level.
• Student 14 has underperformed at the start of A2 after outperforming all targets for AS.

To remember:

• This is their first A2 essay which demands more than EdExcel. I will compare this result to their next unit results in a later blog post.
• Students deadline for the 'home' essay was the end of the year in July... only a few managed this! 
• Students who submitted in September possibly didn't put suitable time and effort as they were under pressure.

Initial Conclusions:

It seems on these results that by completing this particular unit independently, there has not been a significant deterioration or lowing of students results. However, there is no noticeable improvement either! I'm currently unconvinced as to whether this is a better way for them to learn, however it proves that independently students can achieve similar results to when they are taught more conventionally.

The most important thing for me is that due to the particular set of circumstances (explained in the earlier post <here>), the time was utilised effectively enabling me to be further ahead with the A2 syllabus than I would otherwise be. It means I am not neglecting a particular unit, nor allowing learning to be substandard.

Further Questions

I will be blogging again on the student view of this unit; their thoughts and reactions to studying in this way.

• If students can learn this way but only get similar results, is it desirable or not when I am available to teach?
• Is this something which should only happen in specific circumstances?
• Would all units be as easy as this to be self taught? (NB this is one of the more straight forward at A2)
• Did this only work at A2 due to the 'Foundations' of the AS? 
• How will their next unit results compare? (To be revisited and blogged about in the future!)
• Was this an unfair comparison due to timing? (Summer term, summer holidays etc)

Update - read what the students said <here>.

Speed Dating

A TeachMeet always inspires me to do new things and re-try exciting things I've done before. #TeachMeetRE was no different...

Leigh Almey (@LeighAlmey) shared her presentation on 'The Argument Tunnel' which you can watch <here>.

This prompted me to change my Y13 lesson P6 to do some Speed Dating!

I first heard of this idea at #TMEssex last year from a HE lecturer who used it with PGCE students. It creates a buzz in the room and generates a high intensity atmosphere in the classroom, it's also fun.

As the class arrived I gave students an EdExcel Developments AO2 question and told them to get planning...

(ii) ‘The religious experience argument merely indicates the probability of God and this is of little value to a religious believer.’ Discuss. (12) - June 2010

They had 5 minutes to plan an outline to this question while I set up the room. Admittedly this is a reasonably hard question and I could see a number of students who had just set up a basic 'strengths/weaknesses' table which wouldn't allow them to rise to the demands of the question. Most ran out of ideas around the 4minute mark.

I then arranged them into two groups with a timer. One student instantly said, "This is like speed dating!". After all they sat in two rows, facing one another.

I then gave them a series of questions to talk about, carefully helping to develop understanding of this question and then reach some kind of conclusion:

• What is religious experience? (1min)
• What types of religious experience are there? (1min)
• What conditions may lead to a religious experience taking place? (1min)
• What does "probability of God" mean? (1min)
• Is religious experience of value? (1min 30secs)
• Is religious experience of little value? (1min 15secs)
• What are your conclusions? (1min 15secs)

As you can see I altered timings and had each question appear on the board as it was covered. The timer and one side of 'the dates' moved after each go.

At the end I sent them back to their desks and told them to get writing... You could hear a pin drop as they furiously wrote away for the next ten minutes! I had to stop them writing as it was end of the lesson but they had plenty more than before the activity, yet essentially I had not imparted any new information to them.

The feedback was very positive: they learnt new things, they understood the terms better, they worked out what the question was asking... and they enjoyed it and were totally engaged!

A2 Independent Learning - Part 1 (What I Tried)

The post-exam period is very difficult for Y12. They are exhausted after AS exams and largely in holiday mode, some are also leaving the subject (or planning to!). However perhaps as I know the demands of the A2 and want to get it started, or maybe because I am mean, we get back to work.

The slightly individual situation we currently have is that we teach the AS between three teachers, however the A2 is taught by just two teachers. As such there four lessons per fortnight post-exam where work needs to be set. 

My colleague and I who both teach the A2 decided on a topic each, and then set a variety of tasks. I simply emailed the students this video:

I provided some background reading, pointed them in the direction of the course textbook as well as the extensive resources stored on our Edmodo and via my student blog (see <here>).

I then scheduled ten lessons of independent study, supervised by our other colleague, which totalled 8hrs and 20mins. Plus homework.

I picked the section on 'Atheism and Critiques of Religious Belief' and the only advice I gave the students was: "Marx, Durkheim, Freud, Jung and Dawkins" (as seen in the masks at the top of this post!). This makes up the core of scholars covered in the EdExcel textbook, which I freely admit I use as a guide.

This section is important as it feeds into both papers we do 'Developments' and 'Implications' but equally is the least likely section to appear on the 'Developments' exam.

Deep down I knew I could recover if it was a disaster, but I was optimistic!

In my scheduled lesson time, I began 'Religious Experience' answering questions related to 'Atheism...' but trying to keep things to a minimum and trying to make all responses "Have you read...", "Have you looked in...".

Part 2 (What I found) is <here>.
Part 3 (What students said) is <here>.