Monitor, evaluation and review
Monitor, evaluation and review
This section contains information on various monitoring, review and evaluation approaches that may be used, listing the advantages of each approach.
It is vitally important that you identify the purpose of your monitoring, review and evaluation activity through selecting a specific line of enquiry, rather than it be an open-ended process.
Here is a cross-section of various lines of enquiry you can use during your monitoring, review and evaluation activities. It is important that you do not try to answer everything at the same time, but rather select some questions on which to focus. You can select one or more enquiry questions to try to answer:
Standards
Standards
What is the standard of learners' work? Is this consistently high across the school?
Do pupils achieve as expected?
Do standards of work show continuity across the school? e.g. do learners develop
their literacy skills as they move through the school?
Is the standard of literacy skills development consistent across the AoLEs?
To what extent are learners able to discuss their skills and achievements? for
example, using subject terminology effectively, using technical vocabulary accurately
when explaining.
Do learners demonstrate the ability to use appropriate literacy skills independently, for example in line with expectations according to age / ability level.
Are learners able to make suitable decisions when selecting the appropriate literacy
strategies to complete their work?
Teaching
To what extent do teachers / staff model literacy expectations to the learners? Does
this lead to higher standards?
To what extent does SC help learners to succeed?
Is there consistency across the school in terms of including an explicit focus on
developing literacy skills in every subject.
Is there constructive feedback provided to support the development of literacy skills
across the curriculum?
Planning
Do schemes focus on the development of literacy skills across the curriculum and is this consistent across the school?
Are learning experiences planned to develop literacy skills progressively?
Are literacy skills planned as an authentic and integrated approach to the curriculum
in each AOLE area and are opportunities set an appropriate level of challenge for learners?
Here are a number of various approaches that can be used to monitor, review and evaluate digital learning and answer the line of enquiry in question. Each approach has its advantages and you will likely use a variety of approaches during the year in order to ensure you have a full picture of the area. The way in which each school uses these approaches is slightly different, but the points below broadly describe how each one is implemented:
During a learning walk you will visit different classrooms to see the teaching and learning in action. You can make brief visits to classrooms to develop an understanding of the lessons delivered. You will be speaking to learners to gain a full picture of the leaning process as well as hearing their views about the work and their confidence in completing it. A learning walk can be conducted across the whole school, or it can focus on an age range or specific departments. In some cases, forewarning teachers of the area under review before conducting the learning walk is effective practice, so as to ensure the area in question is in action during the lesson. This would ensure you are able to observe more factors to contribute to your enquiry, and help you to come to a judgement on what you observe.
Opportunity to review and evaluate teaching and learning
Plenty of opportunities to speak with learners
Opportunity to see whether the level of challenge provides continuity across the age range in question.
Opportunities to identify effective practice to share
Opportunity to evaluate consistency
Get a flavour of how the area looks across the age range / departments in question
When undertaking work scrutiny, you will be looking at learners' work over a period of time. You can focus on a cross-section of pupils, or on a particular age range. In some cases, you will be doing this alongside the learners. This can be beneficial to enable you to gather more information about the tasks in question.
Opportunity to check a number of aspects: consistency, standards, pedagogy,
teaching.
Opportunity to see learners' achievement over a more extended period of time
Opportunity to compare standards and ensure continuity across the school
Opportunity to see the range of experiences
You will be interviewing a cross-section of learners. This can be across a range of ages. You can interview everyone together, but it can also be effective to interview on a year group / class basis. When interviewing there will be an opportunity to discuss learners’ work with them, and the hope is that learners can explain what they have achieved, using subject terminology and technical language accurately. You will be able to see learners' confidence as they find various tasks, and see whether there is consistency in how their work is shared and stored. You can discuss the feedback they get, and how this helps them to learn and to improve the standard of their work.
Direct opportunity to talk with learners about their work and the literacy skills that they
are developing.
Opportunity to hear learners' views about the way that they are supported to develop
their literacy skills.
Opportunity to discuss how the teaching has led to progression in standards
Opportunities to discuss these skills in real life contexts, for example, in which
situations can these skills be useful etc.
When reviewing schemes of work, you will be looking through all schemes of work that contain a focus on developing literacy skills. It must be ensured planned experiences are of a high standard and develop literacy across the whole curriculum.
Opportunity to develop ideas further
Ensure consistency and continuity in learning experiences
Ensure an appropriate level of challenge, to challenge learners across the school.
Opportunity to identify classes / departments that need further support