School Development Planning Initiative “An initiative for schools by schools” Self-Evaluation of Learning and Teaching Self-Evaluation of Learning and Teaching Regional Seminar 2007 Regional Seminar 2007

2 Why Self-Evaluation? Improve School Development Planning Increase collaboration / participation Challenge assumptions regarding quality International & national policy Complement & transform WSE

3 Is Self-Evaluation related to Whole School Evaluation? Looking at our School is a guide to self-evaluation It is also the framework for WSE WSE will have regard to self-evaluation Self-evaluation is highly recommended by the inspectorate Self-evaluation is focused and managed by the school Your experience?

4 What is Self-Evaluation? Systematic, evidence based inquiry into an aspect of school life Seeks to find out how well the school is doing in relation to accepted standards of good practice Guides the school to select planning priorities for improvement

5 So what’s new? Systematic Evidence-Based Standards Improvement

6 Self-Evaluation and School Development Planning Self-evaluation is about getting real value from the time you already give to planning should be selective and sharply focused on what it is important to look at now complements external evaluation / WSE

7 Process of Self-Evaluation –key steps Regarding a selected area/policy: Determine what good practice is Gather reliable data on actual practice Collate and interpret the data - evidence Reach valid conclusions that you can stand over Prioritise for planned improvement

8 Self-Evaluation Regarding a specific area/policy: How do you know what you should be doing? How do you know what you are doing? How do you know how well you are doing? How are you going to do better?

9 Stages in Self-Evaluation - Selected area Buy-in : focus, aims and conditions What to look for What to look at How to manage it – structures What to ask – who to ask – useful stats Interpretation & conclusions What to do with information SDP – plan, act & communicate

10 How do you decide what to evaluate? Explore checklist developed from ‘Looking at our school’ It is important to be selective Homework, as an element of assessment is the focus of this workshop.

How do you decide which area to evaluate? The Quality of Teaching and Learning Planning and preparation Planning of work in line with syllabus Planning Documentation Differentiation Resources Health & Safety (See checklist developed from Looking at our school: a guide to school self- evaluation)

The Quality of Teaching and Learning (‘Looking at our school’) Teaching & Learning Methodology  strategies  pace  variety  resources Classroom management  student motivation  behaviour Classroom atmosphere  interactions  environment Learning  suitability  questioning  engagement Assessment & Achievement Assessment modes and outcomes  systematic  varied,  type of feedback Record keeping  reporting to parents Student engagement in subject  knowledge  understanding  enthusiasm Overall student achievement in subject  review of outcomes

13 Focus of Self-Evaluation Homework

14 Buy-in Phase – Felt needs? Teacher ‘I can’t get homework back from this class!’ Parent ‘all night doing homework’ Student ‘What’s the point?’ Subject Inspection report

15 Ground Rules for Self-Evaluation What ground rules need to be put in place to ensure positive cooperation of all partners? respect and appreciation of all contributions general commitment to improved practice where need arises constructive use of all data gathered no recrimination no individuals identified

16 Self-Evaluating Homework Describe good practice in Teaching and Learning in relation to Homework Evaluate current school practice in the light of this Identify strengths and challenges Agree planning priorities to be addressed

17 Homework – 3 Dimensions Whole-school Subject Department Teacher

18 Buzz What are we looking for? What is good practice in relation to homework at whole-school level ? (Think of the indicators of good practice against which you might evaluate actual practice in your school)

19 Indicators of good practice at Whole-school level School policy in place School policy is known and followed...  HW has clear pedagogical purpose  Set regularly  Homework is differentiated  Recorded in HW journal  Completed by student  Acceptable standard achieved  Corrected promptly  Feedback given  Records maintained  Information is used to guide teaching  Non-presentation of HW is addressed

20 Workshop You are a planning group evaluating Homework In relation to these indicators you need to develop questions to discover current practice – Who would you ask? What would you ask? How would you ask? Essential to strike a balance between Qualitative and Quantitative information

How do you interpret and report results? Self-Evaluation Reporting Template 1. Outcomes of Teacher responses Recognise and affirm good practice found Indicate shortfalls 2. Outcomes of Student and Parent responses Recognise and affirm good practice found consistent with teacher responses Identify discrepancies 3.What will we do about this? Set priorities for the future

22 Process of Self-Evaluation –key steps Regarding a selected area/policy: Determine what good practice is Gather reliable data on actual practice Collate and interpret the data - evidence Reach valid conclusions that you can stand over Prioritise for planned improvement

23 Planning Self-Evaluation – key questions What means will you use to collect the information you need? What resources will be needed? What timescale will be involved? How do you intend to use the findings? Who will be informed of the outcomes? What means will you use to communicate the findings to the relevant partners?

24 Planning Self-Evaluation – key questions At what point will the evaluation be conducted? Who will conduct the evaluation? What indicators of good practice will you use? What questions do you want answered? From whom do you want to get information?

25 Self-Evaluation ‘Schools contribute significantly to improving quality through school self-evaluation.’ (Guide to Whole School Evaluation in Post Primary Schools, DES 2006) To facilitate self-evaluation as a central component of the continuous planning process the inspectorate published Looking at Our School: An Aid to Self-Evaluation in Second-Level Schools (2003).