Tag Archives: Data

We review data at the end of the year so why not get students to do the same?

Pedagogy, , , , ,
Students were given sheets showing unit grades, target grade and final grade
Students were given sheets showing unit grades, target grade and final grade

We all know that feedback and target setting are the bedrock of student progress. By getting them to realise where they need to improve we instil independence and allow them to become lifelong learners. Often this is done at the start of term and reviewed at the end, largely because often we do not have students for more than one year. Other than this data is placed into administrative software, such as SIMs, to prove students are progressing then are passed on to parents who quite often do not understand it.

This year I feel I the team I have worked in has been tighter than ever so I decided it would be worth making sure students understand how data works and could review their progress and set target for next year even though it will be with a different teacher. Students understand the difference between a 5a and a 5c but are often unsure of how we come to an overall grade for the whole year, particularly in a subject such as ICT where there are so many different strands.

Students used the data given to fill in self reviews and set targets for next year
Students used the data given to fill in self reviews and set targets for next year

We do write student grades in the front of books and folders but how often do we revisit them? This year, therefore, I gave students a final lesson built around self review. Rather than just a list of grades students were give an end of year review sheet with titles for specific pieces of work rather than subjects, this brought back a memory of the work done rather then them asking what we did in that unit of work. Creating individual grade sheets might seem a daunting task but using my, slightly edited, electronic mark scheme and a bit of mail merge magic they were created in a matter of minutes. Students were then given the sheet, which included target and actual grade, and asked to fill in an electronic evaluation which involved creating understanding from the data to evidence their thoughts. They then needed to set three targets for the year ahead, with Year 7 this was for Year 8 and for Year 9 how they would improve their use of ICT within their GCSE years. The lessons went well and students quickly got the idea of what was needed, one or two were confused at first and said they did not know what they were good at. One even said they were bad at everything. Pointing them towards the data supplied meant they could quickly see where they had gained the highest grade and could be proud of that achievement as well as allowing them to think about why they did so well. I only needed to explain what was required to a few students and all produced semi-detail reviews with suitable targets.

The real work comes next as I will pass these self reviews onto their teachers next year which, if used properly, will work as the basis for progress over the coming terms. I also think it is very important that students understand how to evaluate data about themselves, it is good if they know what we need to do as teachers with data but also that they can pick up a set of grades and work out where strengths and weaknesses lie within them. I am confident that students understand what each level means but not so sure they can use a list of levels achieved to fully understand their own progress. If we can get them to a stage where they do then that is half our job done. It is of particular importance as we move away from levels and, in our school, towards GCSE grades with fine scores. Students may be disheartened to get an E2 rather than a 5b but if they understand the data and that they are on a journey they will be able to pick out areas of weakness and set targets so they can do something about this. If targets are not set based on work they have done and grades given then surely they are just plucking ideas out of thin air and, it may be easy to show progress but they might be doing something they already know how to do and thus this could be false progress. I, for one, would rather less progress in an area they are weaker in than appearing to make progress in an area they are actually already strong in. It might not look as good on the surface but deep down students will have move further forward.

Why Question Level Analysis (QLA) is some data you should be bothered with

Pedagogy, , , , , , ,

In this age of accountability and proving you are doing all you say you are data appears to god. If we look at what we get bombarded with and what we are asked to produce, many of it is not useful for everyday teaching. This can lead us to run and scream when we see a table of data of overly formatted chart. Whilst I am one who advocates knowing your students, focusing on them as individuals and taking data with a pinch of salt I have recently come across a set of data that can be easily created and is really useful in classroom practice. I am one of those people who find data rather frustrating so for me to tell you to create more must be a big deal!

The data in question is Question Level Analysis or QLA. If you have not come across this before then it is as simple as setting a threshold mark for an answer on an exam paper. If students get over that mark they have done well, if they are below it then it is an area where improvement is needed. Popping the data into a spreadsheet with a few formulas and a bit of conditional formatting, it is clear to see where both individuals and the whole class needs to improve. You can then focus on the topics around those questions during lesson time and intervention sessions. For instance if a question on data collection came up on a mock test and was worth six marks you might expect students to do well so set a threshold of four marks. If the majority of students got less than four when you marked the test you would know that was an area for a revision session. If all bar two got four or over you could individually target those students.

On that basis, it makes QLA a great tool for focusing revision in and out of lessons. However, in subjects such as ICT, Business and Computing we do not always get the same time as some core subjects. This means we may need to wait for mock exams weeks. A Maths teacher at my school, however, has a different approach which I have used to focus revision. Rather than waiting for mock exams, she sets different questions for a starter activity. These are based on question that are likely to come up in the exam. She can then do the QLA on these to find misconceptions and move revision forward.

Recently I tried this technique out and it has worked wonders for understanding where students are. Some areas I thought the students were strong on they struggled with. In home learning and in class tasks they have all the support so can write good answers, take the support away and the holes in their knowledge can be seen. How I went about the starter activity QLA was to give students twenty minutes to answer eight questions. This was for the Cambridge Nationals in ICT at Level 2, so I asked questions based around the case study we have been given for their examination. The questions were on areas I expect to come up. Once complete, I took the questions in and gave students marks out of two for each question…

  • Zero for questions not attempted or no clear understanding
  • One for limited ideas or bullet points on the topic
  • Two for answers that had a clear understanding of the topic
Students were given questions for the starter activity then these were used with QLA to work out revision topics
Students were given questions for the starter activity then these were used with QLA to work out revision topics

From here I created a simple spreadsheet that used conditional formatting to show the zeros in red, ones in yellow and twos in green. I added every student’s score to the spreadsheet and thus can see at a glance what each student understands. From here I added up all the scores for each question and again conditionally formatted the totals. This time less than ten was red and a concern, ten to twenty five yellow and needs recapping, and finally over twenty five green showing the students understand the concepts so we do not need to touch on it whole class. What is concerning is that I have no topics in the green overall, this may be because we have moved onto a different unit and thus need to go back and recap knowledge from the examination unit. What was interesting was that it was not only the two areas of acceptable use policies and archiving that I expected to be misunderstood that came in low. We have covered databases to death, however students are still not able to pick up the concepts behind them. It is clear that whilst my whole class revision sessions need to focus on these topics I once again need to look at how I deliver databases. A positive aspect of the data was that students were unclear of Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) the previous time we took the exam but now seem to have a good understanding.

What the QLA has now done is allowed me to look closely at an area I thought students understood and spend less time on an area I presumed they did not have good knowledge in. In this way QLA has allowed me to focus on students needs, it is not data that I will be picked up on and asked about, it may not be used to prove that I have done a specific intervention but it has changed the way I teach so the students get the best possible support and, quite frankly, that is what data should be used for.

Get them off the computers!

Pedagogy, , , , ,

Every time I give my students paper based tasks, particularly completing storyboards, they complain that, “this is ICT,” and, “we should be using the computer.” It gives an interesting insight into how students’ minds work. Many seem not to have the ability to step back and see that an underpinning of theory will help them to understand how computers and systems actually work. In the media rich society we live in, young people are constantly bombarded with images, videos and sounds. ICT and Computing students tend to go straight for these forms of information over the written word and it concerns me that this may mean they are missing vital details. Laptops, tablets, mobile devices and the trusty desktop may enable our students to gather information from many places and at any time but how much do they understand? Words, numbers and pictures without meaning is the definition of data, does this therefore mean that students are simply data depositories and thus no more than glorified databases? The times when I have found students gaining deeper understanding of theory is when they are working away from the computer. Card sorts, crosswords, Venn diagrams, matching exercises and spider diagrams on sugar paper are all used successfully in other subject areas so why shy away from them in ICT and Computing? Recently I had some Year 7s matching titles, pictures and images from components inside the computer. One student asked me, “why are we doing this? It is a bit babyish isn’t it?” By the end of the task the student had failed to get many right but a whole class discussion had enabled her to progress and now she understands what different components do and exactly what is inside that magical box sitting in front of her. Yes I could have made them do this on the computer but I am afraid they may have looked up the answers on Wikipedia and no real thinking would have taken place. I did extend the task by getting them to write up the definitions on a word processor then expand on these using web searches, but only by writing in their own words! In other lessons I have got students to do some internet research then physically write in a Venn diagram the differences and similarities of vector and bitmap images. I have also printed out grids with different cards that have images of electronic devices on them so groups can sort them into those they think are computers and those that are not. This extra stage of learning, away from the computer, gets the students thinking and they no longer seem to repeat parrot fashion the first thing they see on the first website they find.

Tasks away from the computer such as matching exercises allow students to think before completing computer based work
Tasks away from the computer such as matching exercises allow students to think before completing computer based work

No longer can the students be seen as data repositories but can use their brains to move them forward rather than some online encyclopaedia entry they do not really understand. So what I would say to any ICT and Computing teachers, nay anyone teaching in an computer room, is not to just give students tasks to do but remove them from the computer and make them think. Do not give in to the constant moaning about how they are in an ICT lesson or computer room so should be on the machine in front of them. Finally, print things out, laminate them, imagine you are in Geography or English where you do not have the luxury of a computer. These colleagues in different subjects come up with creative and innovative ideas, sometimes we need to take a leaf out of their book rather than defaulting back to PowerPoint. I hope this post makes you think about your lessons and if you follow these points you may just find that when they get onto the computers the students are producing far better work.