Discuss the implications for developingprofessional practice in the context of

current professional standards andcurrent views of professionalism, based

on relevant literature, leading to aprogramme of professional developmentpresented in the form of an action plan.

(WORD COUNT: 5085)

Hina Hashmi

M.Ed. Leading Teaching and Learning

Module: Reflecting upon practice

Summative Assessment

1

Table of ContentsIntroduction 3

Reflection on professionalism based on its current context in education4

Area for development 1 – Student based enquiry 7

Area for development 2 – Using plenaries 10

Area for development 3 – Effective use of formative assessment 12

Conclusion 15

References 17

Appendix 1 - Traditional three part lesson plan for teaching Translation20

Appendix 2 – Revised student-centered lesson plan for teaching Translation 21

Appendix 3 - Grades comparison for Translation topic 22

Appendix 4 – Lesson plan rewritten to include mini-plenaries 23

Appendix 5 – Example of formatively assessed homework 24

Appendix 6 - Graph showing changes in homework attainment since introduction of formative feedback 25

Appendix 7 – Action plan for continuing professional development 26

2

Introduction

Professional practice in relation to predetermined standards is a

principle that underpins many professional vocations including

education. The purpose for maintaining these standards is to

ensure that the critical work of a teacher is being performed by a

competent individual. Standards are written to reflect the

minimum body of knowledge and specialism a teacher should possess

in order to practice effectively. It also encourages a

professional to take an active role in their own professional

learning and places emphasis on continuous development as a result

of new developments in pedagogical research.

There is now a huge emphasis on critical reflection leading to

changes in practice. The goal of this should result in an enhanced

student learning experience and as a result, improvement in student

learning performance. However, there are certain pitfalls with the

concept of professionalism that need to be taken into account,

especially if working in international education. Allowances need

to be made for governmental and cultural differences that exist

within the international teaching fraternity. It is also short-

sighted to view professional development solely in terms of

standards. The standards themselves need to be evidenced with

proven action research. The research must be able to

quantitatively show a definitive benefit for evolving personal

professional practice to reflect current educational practices.

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the importance of personal

professional learning and development in the context of

professionalism. The context that will be used to define the

notion of professionalism for this essay is the Standard for 3

Career-long Professional Learning (Scottish Government, 2012). The

essay will first discuss the inherent paradox that lies within the

concept of professionalism in a wider international context and

give alternative options for defining the idea. It will then

proceed to outline three main areas for development in my own

personal practice. The importance for focussing on these three

areas will be justified through analysis of current literature. I

will then proceed to discuss the changes I have made in each of

these areas and reflect on the effectiveness of these changes.

The essay will conclude with clear targets of developing these

areas for the future with an action plan.

Reflection on the nature of professionalism based on its current

context in education

The definition of a professional is widely debated in literature.

Carr (1999) explained that when attempting to describe the nature of

professionalism, the concept is that of a professional mastering

complex, scientific knowledge within that field. The notion of

being professional seems to suggest a specific epistemological

approach to that can be used to differentiate a profession from a

trade.

What this means is that a professional not only has a practical set

of specialized skills but the theory and research to understand,

maintain and develop these skills. A trade is considered to be a

highly specialized set of skills that is not necessarily

underpinned with an academic rigour, a self-regulatory body or

indeed, a canon of ethics that should be observed whilst providing

that particular service to society.

4

There is also a consensus that suggests that the notion of

professionalism is hard to define as it is wholly subjective. Boyt

et al.’s (2001) emphasis, for example, is on the self-drive and

influential capacity of the individual. The key idea is the

attitude and the behaviour the individual possesses towards said

profession.

Therefore, it can be said that professionalism is both specific in

terms of knowledge but also has a behavioural element that cannot

be predetermined as it will be based on the individual’s own

experiences and personality. The only consistent theme to be found

is the idea that a true profession is autonomous. This is

particularly important in terms of education. Otherwise, teachers

will be advised that they need to be able to interest children, to

‘manage’ classes, to set high standards of achievement, and so on,

with little apparent recognition that there are widely different

and competing educational conceptions of discipline, interest and

standards.

The critical idea is the suggestion that professionals make

judgements on behalf of clients as they see them. It is for the

professional to interpret those interests. To draw a distinction

utilised by Hoyle and John (1995, p77), they do not act as an ‘agent’

of someone else (for example the government); they act as a

‘principal’ making their own judgments.

Indeed, skills of teaching and discipline appear to be context-

dependent to the extent that what can be considered a priority by 5

one government or professional association might not count so in

another. Moreover, lists of professional attitudes and values -

honesty, devotion to duty, and respect for others - are also

offered as though there are completely uncontroversial and agreed

interpretations of such qualities and dispositions exist. For

those in international teaching, this is not always the case. For

example, the concept of ‘duty’ has a very different meaning in

China compared to Scotland. Helsby (1995, p 320) makes the same point

about teacher professionalism:

“If the notion of “professionalism” is socially constructed, then teachers are

potentially key players in that construction, accepting or resisting external

control and asserting or denying their autonomy.”

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the

professional body responsible for setting out the Standard for

Career-long Professional Learning. They define the term

‘professional’ as teachers that are not only able to teach within

their current context but also able to evolve the process of

education in order to ensure that future needs of learners will be

consistently met.

The GTCS became fully independent from the Scottish Government in

2012. The ramifications of this are immense as the education

system in Scotland is no longer within the influence of government.

Decisions are now taken by an independently appointed council

without any input from politicians. However, it is generally

accepted that the definition of standards in education is still

approved by governments that sometimes have alternate, personal

agendas.

6

“People are always wanting teachers to change. Rarely has this been more true

than in recent years. These times of global competitiveness, like all moments of

economic crisis, are producing immense moral panics about how we are

preparing the generations of the future in our respective nations . . . Few people

want to do much about the economy, but everyone – politicians, the media and

the public alike – wants to do something about education.” Hargreaves

(1994 p5)

So can it really be said that as ‘professional’ teachers, we truly

have autonomy in our professional decisions? There is a large body

of research that exists that seems to suggest that governments use

education as a tool for occupational control (Ozga et al, 1995, p35). One

way that this takes place is under the guise of professional

standards that only add value to the current authority at that

particular time without developing or emphasizing the ‘inherent’

qualities of that occupation. Therefore, as stated by Hooyrood

(2000), these standards are vulnerable to change especially if they

are to be viewed as a fully social construct (Troman, 1996).

These points are both supported by Evetts’s examination of the

changing nature of discourse of professionalism (2006, p. 523), and

supported by Helsby (1999, p93) in relation to teacher

professionalism:

‘There is nothing simple or static about the concept of teacher professionalism

in England: it is constantly changing and constantly being redefined in different

ways and at different times to serve different interests’.

So, in terms of the differences and similarities I see between my

own work context and the criteria for my learning organization; it

is simply a reflection of the societal and governmental worldview 7

at the particular time that management trained. The Senior

Management Team in my current school are UK trained and as a result

of their own professional knowledge, are currently trying to

instigate UK style educational directives and policy into a private

Mexico City school. Some initiatives are successful but many

cannot cross the cultural divide. Therefore, it can be argued that

the work context and notion of professionalism is simply the

criterion that you had to fulfill in order to become legally

registered in your place of training and are not a true reflection

of your personal ideals as they have been subjugated by

institutional indoctrination.

This may in turn explain why conflict exists between national and

international teachers in so many international schools. It is a

result of our different experiences and certain things have become

so indoctrinated into our practice as being the ‘right thing to do’

that it can be difficult to open our mind to a different set of

values or standards.

Therefore, it can be said that in most contemporary vocational

occupations, professionalism, rather than being agreed from within,

is being imposed from above and serves to promote and facilitate

occupational change and is essentially a disciplinary mechanism.

In the case of teaching these functions have been articulated in

the United Kingdom (UK), for example, in competence based

‘professional standards’ such as the Standard for Career-long

Professional Learning which redefine professionalism and

accountability as measurable. 

8

For the purposes of this essay a concerted effort will be made to

link the areas of development to the current Standard for Career-

long Professional Learning as assigned by the GTCS. However, the

reason that I have identified these professional learning

opportunities is not because I feel that I must adhere to some

absolute code prescribed by higher authority but because I feel

that my own personal notion of professionalism drives my

professional development.

I now feel that my own notion of professionalism should exist as a

result of my own knowledge, values and ethics, not someone else’s.

I would like to think that my professional behavior is now a truer

reflection of my capabilities as a thoughtful, reflective human

being with an important role in advancing innovation for the good

of a global society as opposed to a set of aims for an alternate

and ultimately selfish agenda.

Area for development 1 – Student based enquiry

One of my greatest areas for a development as an experienced

practioner is moving away from a more traditional teacher-led

lesson to a more progressive student-centric lesson. The students I

teach are all English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. These

students have classes in 6 different subjects a day in two

different curricula and two different languages (Spanish and

English).

Previously, all lessons were teacher-led with me having the sole

responsibility for leading and informing the class. This was done

using a PowerPoint presentation for about fifteen minutes and then

pupils completing a variety of activities in order to consolidate 9

the information. To my knowledge, the students were given

engaging activities in a variety of different learning styles and

yet, they were having trouble retaining the information for the

next lesson. This left me frustrated and lacking confidence in my

teaching ability.

It was then realised that part of the problem may be a need for

changing instruction style. Teachers need to find a way to make the

information meaningful to students so it lasts longer. One way to

do this is through inquiry learning. Chickering et al (1987, p4)

state

“Students have an attention span for a limited amount of time and expecting

them to sit for fifty or sixty minutes is unreasonable. Learning is not a spectator

sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers,

memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must

talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences,

apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.”

So, even though the students were given a variety of activities to

manipulate the knowledge, I was still their primary method of

giving them the knowledge in the first place. They were being

denied the opportunity to ‘make what they learn part of themselves’. However,

as stated by Brooks et al (1999), the idea of relinquishing control

over the pace and direction of a lesson was tantamount to losing my

authority as class teacher

A small scale analysis was then carried out with the first year

International Baccalaureate (IB) Biology class - a small group of

very mixed ability students. The lesson that day was going to be

on Translation, a concept that can be very complex for the pupils 10

to grasp based on various formative and summative assessments of

the theme over the years. Traditionally, I taught this particular

topic by teacher-centered methods. This consisted of a very

conventional three part lesson plan1 with students passively

receiving information from the teacher and assessment being used to

monitor learning (Black, 1999). Every year, it is one of the topics

that gains the fewest marks in the mock exams and class tests.

This, I felt, was a reflection on my outdated teaching style which

I had not changed as I was not confident enough to trust the

relationship I had with my own students.

This year, the lesson was planned to incorporate a completely

different, student-centered approach. The lesson would use an

approach that gave pupils the responsibility to dictate the pace,

content, activities and materials of the lesson (Collins et al. 2003). I

planned the lesson to place the emphasis of knowledge acquisition

on the students themselves whilst simply ‘coaching them in the

skills’ that allowed this collaborative learning process to proceed

effectively2.

It began by going through the learning objectives and getting the

students to ascertain which molecules would be required in the

process and their specific roles based on what they already know

from previous, similar processes. I felt that this level of

scaffolding was a lot lower than what the pupils were used to and I

was concerned they would find it difficult. This also required an

ability to deconstruct words in English which underpins the school

1 See appendix 1 – Traditional three part lesson plan for teaching Translation2 See appendix 2 – Revised student-centered lesson plan for teaching Translation

11

policy of a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

approach in lessons.

However, against expectations, the technique seemed to be

particularly effective in allowing the pupils to ease the

transition between prior knowledge and the new context for the

application of this prior knowledge (Froyd et al. 2010). Even the less

academically able pupils managed to define terms that they had

previously never seen before simply by being given the opportunity

to discuss the problem collaboratively with their peers before

answering.

The only teacher-led session consisted of a 7 min ‘workshop’

demonstrating how to take effective notes from a video which falls

in line with the idea of a teacher as a knowledge facilitator as

opposed to a knowledge provider (Wright 1987). The video used was of

DNA replication, a process that had already been covered in class

so the emphasis was on the skill of note-taking as opposed to the

information being taken.

The students were given a blank outline of the process and they

added in the names of the molecules that they believed were going

to feature and when they would feature in the process. This linked

through to the contextual bridges built when students were

deciphering the learning objectives at the beginning of the class.

It was interesting to observe that pupils were hesitant to take

notes in the new style demonstrated to begin with. The video had

to be repeated several times for them to access all of the relevant

information.

12

The next step was to put them into 3 small groups. The groups were

organized to purposefully put the less able pupils with the

stronger pupils so they could support each other in order to

facilitate cooperative learning which leads towards ‘more

meaningful learning strategies’ (Towns 1998, p4). This collaborative

learning environment highlighted increased student responsibility

and accountability for learning within the classroom which in turn

promotes a relationship between the learners that is more equal and

trusting.

After marking the plenary past paper question, it was interesting

to see that every pupil scored a C or above3. This was in direct

contrast to previous years where most pupils have failed to answer

the past paper question effectively. A week later, to test

retention, the students were asked to complete a separate task.

The class was split into two working groups and given stickers that

were normally used for the roleplay. Each group was asked to make

a 3 minute video outlining the process of translation incorporating

the stickers and without using their notes. Each group produced a

factually correct video that was creative and engaging. A month

later, this particular class had increased the class mean on their

termly exam by twenty percent from the previous year.

Therefore, it can be said that the approach outlined above was

proven to achieve success with a variety of formative and summative

assessment methods over a relatively long period of time. However,

in order to make this method of teaching a standard, two things are

required. Firstly, further observation of more experienced

teachers is required to broaden the number approaches that can be

3 See appendix 3 – grades comparison for Translation topic13

taken when planning student centric lessons. Secondly, there needs

to be an emphasis on effective feedback within the lesson itself so

pupils can monitor their own progress and understanding.

Area for development 2 – Using plenaries

In 2001 the OFSTED review of the Literacy Strategy stated that 

“the plenary is poorly used if it is simply a bolt-on-extra which provides an

opportunity for groups of pupils to present their work daily; it is essential time

for making sure that pupils have grasped the objectives and made progress, so

that the next lesson can begin on firm foundations”

Burrell et al. (2006) carried out a small-scale study on the use of

plenaries in the classroom. They found that plenaries were

generally used to test understanding of the learning objectives of

the lesson which in turn, allowed the teacher to ‘guide and adjust

the learning programme’.

The recognition of formative assessment as an essential component

of classroom work is provided in an influential review of research

(Black ., 1998) which emphasises the potential of formative

assessment in raising standards of achievement. Personally,

plenaries are probably one of the weakest areas of my teaching

practice. This was brought to my attention when I was asked to

lead a professional development workshop for the whole school

focusing on plenaries. I realized very quickly that not only do I

not use effective plenaries frequently enough but also I was not

completely convinced of their necessity in a lesson.

There are a number of reasons why the plenary tends to be the least

successful part of the lesson. Usually it’s because teachers have 14

not planned it sufficiently or it has been planned but they have

run out of time. (Lawton, 2004). Sometimes the teacher does all the

work instead of making sure that the pupils are as active in this

part of the lesson as they are in the starter. An example of this

could be quickly summarizing the learning intentions of the class

in the last two minutes before the bell rings without giving the

pupils an opportunity to articulate what they have learned.

One of my biggest issues with plenaries was leaving ample time to

carry out a meaningful review of the learning objectives of the

class. It was too easy to focus simply on whether the pupils had

rote learned the key points of the class without being able to

apply their knowledge to a problem. The idea of using mini-

plenaries throughout a lesson consciously was also not a feature of

my lesson planning. As awareness of these shortcomings arose

through a recent appraisal, suggestions for developing my use of

plenaries were suggested by my line manager. Plenaries are now

planned to the same extent as the main part of a lesson. A variety

of activities are used so the pupils do not become bored with

routine and more importantly, the plenary allows an opportunity to

draw the learning together and prepare for the following class

(Lawton, 2004).

Various strategies have been used to help make plenaries an equally

important feature in lesson planning. The first main issue was

running out of time. By restricting how classes are planned with a

focus on ‘chunking’ key learning activities followed by mini

plenaries, the teacher has more control over the amount of

information being conveyed and the effectiveness of its conveyance.

There is more opportunity for consistently checking progression of 15

learning and from a logistical point of view, if time is running

out it is easier to transfer part of a lesson to the next class

then to rewrite an entire lesson plan planned around one single

objective.

Miller (1956) formulated the chunk concept as he presented evidence

that working memory is limited in capacity. Although Miller (1956)

suggested that working memory could hold seven (plus or minus two)

chunks of information at once, it seems that it is now thought

that the number is closer to four, maybe five bits of information.

By structuring a lesson from the simplest to the most complex

information pupils have a chance to use previous information to

drive forward their own understanding of the current problem.

Gobet et al. (1996) saw the same phenomenon in master chess players.

They seemed to use the method of chunking to ‘categorize their knowledge

and access previous information’. They were able to make their future

moves based on information they already possessed.

The planning of my classes is now in a similar vein. Each

activity built on a thorough understanding of how the problem was

solved in the preceding activity and skills were accumulated

throughout the course of the lesson. By using a mini-plenary at

the end of each learning activity, previous chunks of the lesson

were reinforced (Bodie et al.1996) which helped transfer the

information into long term memory (if we are to reference the

information processing model of learning).4

Area for development 3 – Effective use of formative assessment

4 See appendix 4 – Lesson plan rewritten to include mini-plenaries 16

Summative assessments (which are usually based on standardized

tests set by government education policy) are the universal form of

measuring progress in learning in our contemporary society.

Although, formative assessment methods play an important role in

good teaching practice, it cannot be denied that formative

assessment is, at the moment, simply a tool for helping pupils

achieve better grades in summative assessments. Summative

assessments are used globally as measurement of achievement in

schools and the main driving force for a teacher is to make sure

that predetermined standards in these formative assessments are

being attained.

The irony is that many teachers are unable to accurately interpret

the test results (Hills, 1991, Impara et al., 1991) and lack the skills and

knowledge to effectively communicate the meaning behind the scores.

(Plake, 1993) According to other researchers, rather than exerting a

positive influence on student learning,

“testing may trivialise the learning and instructional process, distort curricula,

and usurp valuable instructional time (Cheng, 2005)

Formative assessment however, seems to be a different case. Black

et al. (1997) seminal work on formative assessment found that

student gains impacted by formative assessment practices were

‘among the largest ever reported for educational interventions’.

This is further strengthened by Hattie’s (2006) meta-analysis in his

book ‘Visible Learning’ which shows formulative evaluation as

having the third greatest effect on learning out of 138 different

influences.

17

This year at my school we have stopped putting grades on homeworks

that we return to pupils. Instead, we write one specific area of

strength (AoS) and one specific area for development (AoD). The

rationale for this was to encourage pupils to be more reflective

about their own progress as well as for teachers to be facilitators

as opposed to assessors.5

The pupils were quite perturbed when they started receiving

homeworks with no grades on. Especially since in the Mexican

system, their entire school career is based on a Grade Point

Average(GPA) derived from a set number of classworks, homeworks and

tests that are summatively assessed each semester. They also

seemed to struggle with the language of the feedback. However, as

Vedeer (1985) stated, teachers have to train pupils to understand

and respond to feedback effectively.

Frederiksen and Collins (1989) used the term transparency to express

the idea that students must have a clear understanding of the

criteria by which their work will be assessed. As a result of this

school-wide focus on assessment for learning I had to learn how to

grade formatively and adapt my language to make it appropriate and

accessible for the students. I accomplished this by approaching a

more experienced colleague and asking her to give me feedback on my

new marking style.

Now the pupils can really respond to the AoS’s and AoD’s and as a

result, I have seen homework attainment6 rise generally as a result

of the specific directed feedback the pupils are getting. They 5 See appendix 5 – example of formatively assessed homework6 See appendix 6 – Graph showing changes in homework attainment since introduction of formative feedback

18

really seem to enjoy being told explicitly they are good at

something and this in turn encourages them to focus on the AoD as a

stepping stone to the next level as opposed to a criticism which

could lead to intrinsic demotivation. In my case as a teacher, I

feel that I have opened up a dialogue between myself and my

students which is important for promoting understanding of learner

needs and providing the necessary expert framework they need in

order to progress (Kinchin 2001). Pupils feel more open to approach

me with their issues and I feel more comfortable working with

students on an individualized basis as we both now have an

overlapping learning focus.

In order to move this process to the next level, I need to the need

to promote self-regulatory behaviour in learners (Butler et al. 1995).

This would mean encouraging learners to become generators of

feedback information about their own performances and those of

their peers (Nicol et al. 2006). This would fall in line again with

Hattie’s (2006) research that shows that reciprocal feedback has the

largest effect on student learning out of 138 influences analysed.

However, it still doesn’t address the bigger problem with

assessment at hand. The issue seems to be two-fold. Firstly,

global education is based on standardized testing of objectives set

by politicians. However, research shows that summative assessment

is not the best form of progressing learning. Therefore, there

lies a huge contradiction at the heart of modern education.

Ultimately, it is summative assessment that is used to judge our

skills in a particular area but these skills are predetermined a by

government that has an alternate agenda for producing citizens that

conform to their own requirements.19

Formative assessment has become a benchmark for good pedagogical

practice in schools but the aim of formative assessment is solely

to help pupils attain curriculum-based targets which seems anti-

intuitive as an educator. Also, the undoubted power of formative

assessment and the strength of the research base have led to a

plethora of products and services that describe themselves as

‘formative assessment’ but in reality, very few embody the

principles that the research has shown are essential to student

learning. This view is echoed by Dixon (2011) when he comments that

Assessment for Learning is not simply a practice that can be tacked

on randomly to a lesson but instead, a paradigm shift in terms of

the role of a teacher within a classroom.

Therefore, I am going to consider my own practice concerning

monitoring and assessing learning further. I personally feel that

the extensive research shows that formative assessment is the most

effective tool for enhancing student learning experience. I share

Shepard’s (2000) view in terms of the roles that formative

assessment has to play within a classroom, allowing teachers to

gain an insight to extend learning and understanding as well as

allowing them to develop learning by scaffolding appropriately.

However, conversely, I wish I worked within a system that didn’t

use summative assessment as an integral part of monitoring

learning. A nine-year study by the National Research Council

(2011) concluded that the emphasis on testing yielded little

learning progress but caused significant harm. Negative

consequences include narrowing the curriculum, teaching to the

test, pushing students out of school, driving teachers out of the 20

profession, and undermining student engagement and school climate. 

Having experienced all of these consequences of summative

assessment so far, ideally we should be working towards a system

that eliminates summative assessment and instead, uses formative

assessment as a standard.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that the notion of professionalism in

itself presents many difficulties as it is open to very wide

interpretations. There are contradicting ideas presented on the

notion of professionalism with the consistent concept being the

idea that a true professional is autonomous. This however, seems

to be refuted with the involvement of governments in setting

standards and targets for teachers to achieve (with Scotland being

a very rare exception) and therefore, must be driven, to a certain

extent by the ambition of the professional teacher to improve as an

individual as well as be accepted by their governing body.

The three areas for development that have been outlined were

shifting to a student-centred method of learning through enquiry,

inclusion of plenaries and effective use of formative assessment.

The move to more constructivist teaching was difficult as I

associated the process with relinquishing control and drive over

the class. However, the experimental lessons I have been carrying

out with my first year IB Biology class has shown greater retention

rates of information and higher grades in summative assessment. I

have also come to realise that I am not necessarily giving up my

position of authority but simply shifting the responsibilities for

learning.

21

The inclusion of plenaries and more effective use of formative

assessment are linked as plenaries are an essential tool for

formative assessment. However, instead of focussing on simply

adding a plenary to each of my lesson plans, reflection was done on

why the plenaries were not present in the first place. This was

due to using a dated method of lesson planning and now by

‘chunking’ learning objectives into stand-alone lesson segments,

there is a greater flow to lessons with greater opportunity for

formative assessment . Formative assessment has been identified as

a key area for development, especially in peer assessment as this

in turn feeds back into a more student-centred method of learning.

As a result of the reflection on practice and literature analysis,

an action plan has been drawn up outlining specific areas for

development and next steps. These targets have been linked to the

Standard for Professional Career-long Learning in order to validate

their importance. Methods for evaluating progress have been

outlined in the action plan7 and deadlines have also been confirmed.

The targets have clearly defined deadlines and quantitative success

criteria and are also a good basis for directing further

professional learning opportunities.

7 See appendix 7 – Action plan22

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Appendix 1- Traditional three part lesson plan for teaching

Translation

NAME OF GROUP: IB Biology 1 Standard Level NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 8

LESSON OBJECTIVES Everyone should define translation Most will outline the process of translation Some might explain how the structure of tRNA is adapted to its

function

STARTER: (5 min) Pupils watch a video outlining the process of translation

MAIN:Teaching Learning Timing

(min)1. Explain the process of

translation step by step using a PowerPoint

Pupils make notes on their handouts from the slides

25

2. Direct the pupils in a roleplay that acts out theprocess of translation

Pupils are each given a sticker that outlines the roleof the molecule they will be playing in the roleplay

20

PLENARY: (10 min)Pupils will complete a past paper question based on the topic covered in class.

27

Appendix 2 - Revised student-centered lesson plan for teaching Translation

NAME OF GROUP: IB Biology 1 Standard Level NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 8

LESSON OBJECTIVES Everyone should describe the roles of tRNA, ribosomes, mRNA, amino

acids and START and STOP codons in the process of translation Most will outline the process of translation as a three step process

including, initiation, elongation and termination Some might explain how the structure of tRNA is adapted to its

function

STARTER: (5 min) Pupils watch a video outlining the process of DNA replication and

transcription and are encouraged to make notes on the process

MAIN:Teaching Learning Timing

(min)Read through the Learning Objectives with the students

Pupils have to try and assign roles to the molecules and stages mentioned in the objectives by using their previous knowledge of DNA replication and transcription (reviewed in the starter)

5

Demonstrate how to take notes using the Cornell method

Pupils follow along and reworktheir notes from the starter

5

Play video outlining process of translation

Pupils take notes in a blank template already marked out into initiation, elongation and termination. Before starting the video, allow pupils to take 2 min to write in the names of the molecules mentioned in the learning outcomes into the correct sections of the template (theyshould be able to deduce this)

10

Split pupils into three groups ensuring there is a range of academic ability in each group and assign each group one stage of the process to become an ‘expert’ on. Then split the

Each group has to come up to the whiteboard and summarise their notes into an annotated diagram that refers back to the learning objectives of theclass.

15

28

classroom whiteboard into three columns.Each group is asked to come to the board and explain their section of the process. They also have to take any questions and deal with any misconceptions

Pupils make their own individually annotated diagrams

15

PLENARY: (5 min)Pupils will complete a past paper question based on the topic covered in class

29

Appendix 3 – Grades comparison for Translation topicNames have been removed to maintain confidentiality

Name of studentPercentage achieved (%) in past paper plenary question in each specific

year of teaching the Translation Topic

2012 2013 2014A 63 45 90B 43 88 73C 39 65 84D 72 62 72E 60 68 89F 58 68 97G 53 81 86H 70 71 79I 67 69 -J 53 71 -K 64 71 -L - 65 -M - 52 -N - 60 -

Class Mean 58 67 84

Standard Devaition 11 11 9

Large standard deviations can be attributed to the fact that the sample sizes are less than fifteen making the calculation of variation using standard deviation inherently unreliable.

2010 2011 2012 2013 201450

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

A graph showing mean class achievement in Translation topic

plenary

Year

Class mean (%)

30

31

Appendix 4 – Lesson plan rewritten to include mini-plenaries

NAME OF GROUP: IB Biology 1 Standard Level NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 8

LESSON OBJECTIVES Everyone should state that meiosis is a reduction division of a

diploid nucleus to form haploid nuclei. Most will outline the process of meiosis, including pairing of

homologous chromosomes and crossing over, followed by two divisions,which results in four haploid cells.

Some might explain how variation is introduced through crossing overand independent assortment

STARTER: (5 min) Pupils review the process of mitosis by outlining the steps on their

mini-whiteboards

MAIN:Teaching Learning Timin

g (min)

Mini-plenary (5 min)

Using chalk and the playground surface, sketch out the process of meiosis I

Encourage pupils to annotate the sketches with keyterms and ideas that are similar to mitosis

10 Pupils have 2 min to fill in their own blank diagrams of the process. After 2 min, they swap their diagrams witha partner and check each other’s writing in at least one correction

Using chalk and the playground surface, sketch out the process of meiosis II

Encourage pupils to annotate the sketches with keyterms and ideas that are similar to mitosis

10 Pupils have 2 min to fill in their own blank diagrams of the process. After 2 min, they swap their diagrams witha partner and check each other’s writing in at least one correction

Using pipe cleaners the teacher will model crossing over and independent assortment

Pupils will then be asked to individually annotate their diagrams of meiosis to illustrate these two processes

10 Working in groups, each team has 3 min to define crossing over and independent assortment. Teacher will check the definitions and thetwo best will be written on the board for the class to copy into their diagram

32

PLENARY: (5 min)Pupils will sort out a set of 10 statements given to them into a table. The statements will compare the similarities and differences between mitosis and meiosis. More able students will be asked to draw their own table but a template will be given to those students that need a writing frame. This will be collected in and checked by the teacher for understanding.

33

Appendix 5 – Example of formatively assessed homework

34

Appendix 6 – Graph showing changes in homework attainment since introduction of formative feedback

Attainment in homework by student (%) Meanattainment

StandardDeviation

WeekStudent

1Student

2Student

3Student

4Student

5Student

6Student

7Student

8

1 56 59 0 67 81 59 61 0 48 312 66 63 0 72 84 65 65 59 59 253 63 63 45 69 63 71 79 66 65 104 67 71 0 72 90 0 72 74 56 355 59 62 53 70 83 73 73 80 69 106 73 73 0 81 89 75 71 79 68 287 64 65 64 71 0 67 0 79 51 328 81 79 0 97 92 87 88 89 77 319 74 75 72 79 84 81 79 0 68 28

10 83 84 79 82 90 85 86 86 84 311 75 77 78 82 87 0 80 79 70 2812 79 82 0 83 93 83 79 81 73 3013 81 81 81 87 89 83 81 81 83 314 85 84 0 87 96 0 86 89 66 4115 65 64 67 71 73 69 66 66 68 316 84 0 82 81 93 86 88 83 75 3017 81 83 83 87 89 79 84 0 73 3018 84 84 0 86 89 88 85 86 75 3019 81 81 0 81 89 83 85 83 73 3020 73 70 0 69 77 72 71 0 54 33

Large standard deviations can be attributed to the fact that not every student handed in homework and the sample size is only eight students so it is not a reliable measurement of variation

0 5 10 15 20405060708090

f(x) = 0.695300751879699 x + 60.3743421052632

A graph showing mean class attainment in homework after

one semester

Week

Mean

attai

nmen

t (%

)

35

Formative assessment was introduced during week 6 of the semester.

36

Appendix 7 -Action Plan

Area fordevelopmen

t

Links toStandard

forChartere

dTeacher

Progressrequired

Professionallearning

opportunity

Target

date

Method ofevaluation

Effective use of formative assessment

2.1, 3.2, 4.1.2,

Further developmentof reciprocal feedback strategies

Develop new strategies for peer assessment through observation of more experienced colleagues.

April2014

Next appraisal observationby line manager

Using plenaries

2.1, 4.3.3,

Embedding mini-plenaries into lessons effectively

When preparing myclasses for the next day– take time to go through my old lesson plans and fit in new opportunities for mini plenaries

June 2014

Reviewing pupil learning outcome booklets ona monthly basis and tracking pop quiz results forsigns of improvement

Student-based enquiry

3.3, 4.2.2,

Planning lessons with an emphasis onskills acquisitionas opposed to knowledge acquirement

Write the new IB SEHS course with an emphasis on constructivist learning

June 2015

Results of the IB SEHSexam in May2015

37