VIEWS & OPINION


Making pupil feedback and


marking count Comment by GRAHAM COOPER, chief marketing officer at Juniper Education


Meaningful feedback can work wonders in motivating pupils. A positive comment on a child’s work boosts their confidence while a piece of constructive guidance shows children exactly how to reach their learning goals. However, marking pupils’ work and providing feedback can eat up


teachers’ time. Research from Teacher Tapp suggests that in October 2020, 42% of


teachers spent at least some of their weekend marking work, with 7% spending more than three hours marking. I asked my colleague Jane McKenzie Downes, a former teacher and KS1


and 2 moderation manager, for her tips for streamlining marking while giving pupils the advice they need to make progress.


• Say it with symbols One of the most labour intensive aspects of marking is writing comments on each child’s work. Some schools are replacing this approach by implementing a scheme of symbols which are easy to identify and quick to draw. Ask every member of teaching staff to create a list of the comments


they use most frequently when marking. It’s also worth flicking through a sample of exercise books to get a feel for the issues that tend to generate more wordy feedback. Then work together to create a symbol that can be used for each


comment or phrase on the list. Instead of ‘that’s a great example’ you could use. Or rather than ‘try to keep your writing within the margins’, draw two lines.


• Roll out peer reviewing When teachers explain the new symbols to their pupils, they will start to recognise what they mean and they can then be used in lessons. Split pupils into small groups and ask the children to use the symbols to


evaluate their own work and that of their peers. It’s a good idea to start with something simple, like evaluating handwriting, and give pupils a model of what ‘good’ work looks like. Ask all pupils to look for the most effective handwriting so they become


familiar with the process. Working in twos or threes allows pupils to discuss what a pupil has done well and where they can improve. Ask them to start with the positives and avoid focusing on what is ‘wrong’ with the work. Schedule in some time during the lesson for pupils to improve the areas


identified.


• Increase in-lesson feedback Once pupils are able to evaluate their work in one area and they are


familiar with the symbols, they can take on more responsibility for providing feedback for themselves and their peers. Ask pupils to work in threes to review their work, taking each child’s


work in turn. The pupil whose work is looked at first should place their work on top of the others and hold the pencil. Pupils should discuss the most effective parts of the work, then the


author should underline this section. Next, pupils can choose together one aspect which could be improved, and the author can use symbols to annotate their work. This approach helps children take an active role in their progress while


teachers have more time to support children’s learning. With more feedback happening in lessons rather than through distance marking, teachers can start to reset their work life balance too. Best of all, the people working hardest on marking are those who


benefit from it most – the children. For more ideas on how to save time, visit


https://junipereducation.org/10dayproject/ for a set of free resources from Juniper Education aimed at primary school leaders.


Overcoming the impact of COVID-19 on education


Comment by DAVID BLACK, CEO, Spark Careers


COVID-19 has significantly impacted young people, particularly those who were due to sit their GCSEs and A-Levels, but technology has a major role to play in helping students to overcome this challenge. COVID-19 has created a highly challenged generation, who are now in


an unfortunate double bind due to their examination results being based on estimates. For example, individuals with poor final grades and dashed hopes of higher education will forever blame the pandemic for impacting their future career choices, regardless of prior academic performance. In addition, activities like work experience, careers fairs and employer


engagements have been compromised, leaving students unmotivated, uninspired and unsure of what lies ahead. However, we are living in a digitally enabled world, therefore we have


to engage technology to reduce learning loss and the attainment gap the pandemic has created. We owe it to our young people, to explore and reap the benefits that technology can bring, enabling them to transform from passive consumers into active participants in the learning process; learners who can acquire new information in a positive and proactive way that enables them to develop and thrive long-term. We don’t know how long the pandemic will last or even if we will be


able to return to normality as such, but we do know technology provides scope for students to interact and engage with their peers, with educators and with potential employers. More importantly, we need to make


May 2021


it work. One route back to some semblance of normality is through virtual work


experience. This opens up opportunities to all students irrespective of their geographical location, particularly students in rural, coastal or disadvantaged areas. It offers the chance to explore a wider range of industries and discover


roles they may never knew existed and to engage in a potential career path that genuinely interests them. Therefore, it’s important for both schools and employers to think of


virtual work experience as something that is here to stay and should be as credible, valuable and engaging as in person opportunities. Secondly, it is worth mentioning that although it requires informed and


careful planning, it removes much of the bureaucracy and disruption that traditional work experience presented to the employer and a well- motivated employer is just as important as a well-motivated student when it comes to effective work experience. and fortunately, there are many organisations out there, like construction firm Colas, who are working hard to deliver an engaging virtual work experience programme and have received excellent feedback as a result. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, Spark provided live employer


engagement events situated in a school or college, which were professionally produced with a panel of relevant representatives, from Board Level through to trainee employees and apprentices.Post COVID, this is no longer possible due to a combination of school closures and social distancing bubbles, so we worked hard to completely shift the events online, but ensured we retained the character of employer engagement to benefit both schools and students alike. In doing so, we have made both careers advice and live employer


engagement events more accessible, delivering them in a format that students can interact and engage with from any location via a laptop or mobile device – regardless as to whether students go to school in deprived areas or are isolating from school due to positive COVID cases.


www.education-today.co.uk 23


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