Mock Marking

December mocks are vital for exam practice and for the analysis of pupil's learning needs in the precious months leading up to the real exam season, but they do generate a desk-full of marking.

For maximum impact, these assessments can be also be used for formative feedback on technical accuracy, just like any other classroom assessment. To do this properly however, requires the kind of close marking that seems onerous when you have, say, three sets of papers from one (or more) year 11 classes that need a quick turnaround.

I have been using marking keys for SPaG corrections since the start of the autumn term, after being  inspired by a conversation with a colleague in my department over the summer. (Yes I know, we discussed marking in the summer holidays instead of swapping cocktail recipes. OK you got me, as well as swapping cocktail recipes.)

He was inspired in turn by David Didau's brilliant blog which you can find here.

Below is the marking key I developed and currently use - I've some ideas for improvements but would welcome comments -  which enables me to make quick annotations of all kinds of errors.

Pupils then do the real work of responding to the feedback by referring to the key and making corrections. For younger year groups, I ask them to label the annotation symbol as well to acquaint them thoroughly with common errors to look out for.

Hope it's of interest, happy marking folks. 

13 Terms In

13th TERM

Including a year as an unqualified teacher prior to my P.G.C.E., I am now beginning my 13th term in education. As auspicious a time as any to begin my long-contemplated blog.

I offer a view from a secondary English classroom.

WHERE AM I NOW?

Some aspects of the profession I feel I have gained some very valuable insights into.

For example, thanks to a diligent and skilled Head of Dept. who shares her expertise, I now have a reasonably good grasp of data management and how it can be used to track progress and target interventions.

For an accurate picture of any given year group, accurate assessment data must be updated onto well-designed spreadsheets and then individuals discussed within department meetings. This further depends on the diligence and cooperation of all subject teachers involved, at every discreet stage of the process. Hmm.

By way of contrast, I have also learned that building good links with pupils in extra-curricular activities, say the school play, can yield useful capital for the classroom, particularly in terms of engagement and willingness to work. Though not always.

Both take a great deal of time and effort outside the classroom to achieve. What's happens in the classroom for, say, 23 hours a week appears to be a direct function of what happens outside it.

What I lacked guidance on in those distant, early weeks of teacher training was what to do and when to do it. How to manage my time best so as to perform effectively for my pupils.

I have always felt very natural in the classroom, happy to improvise and adapt lessons plans in response to pupils' needs, but what has come much more slowly is knowing what to do outside it.

This blog is really about finding out some answers to that problem. Now that my head has stopped spinning from entering the revolving door into the profession, how do I make myself a better teacher?