1. Assessing Primary RE: Beyond the tick box!

2. Aims of the session
To recognise the importance of effective assessment in RE in order to raise standards.
To have an understanding of the ladder of skills.
To leave with a bank of ideas of how to assess in RE.

3. Assessment
What does assessment in RE look like in your school – formative and summative?
Has the assessment impacted on the pupil’s learning and progress in RE? If so in what way, if not why not?
What would a pupil in your school say about their progress in RE?
Discuss

4. What is the purpose of assessment in RE
Main purpose: To improve and develop learning. Therefore it must be an integral part of the planning process.

5. Good assessment practice should:
Be linked to developing a deeper understanding of the child’s learning and progress against the main RE aims:
Know about and understand a range of religions and worldviews.
Express ideas and insights about the nature, significance and impact of religions and worldviews.
Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews.

6. Good assessment practice should:
Provide pupils with information about how well they are learning and how they can improve; (skills and knowledge acquired.)
Provide teachers with information to help them plan appropriate learning activities for their pupils;
Inform teachers about the effectiveness of their planning and teaching;
Inform parents/carers and others (next teacher) about the child’s attainment and progress.

7. Effective assessment…..
Depends on appropriate expectations being made explicit in planning.
Clear outcomes identified in each unit of work.
Assessment being related to the outcomes.
Outcomes always being linked to assessment criteria so that the pitch is right for the children and the level of challenge appropriate.
Identify at the planning stage which tasks/learning experiences will be recorded or captured in some way in terms of assessment.

8. Key questions to ask
How do we get assessment for learning embedded into the classroom?
How do we ensure the school assessment system represents the learning in the classroom?
How do we make it manageable?

9. What is assessment for learning in RE?
Use of a variety of types of activities to appeal to all types of learners.
Opportunities for structured self assessment.
Sharing skills based learning objectives and if possible identifying the context
Integrated into planning.
Opportunities for structured peer assessment.
Use of ladder of skill words and skill words to support planning.
Pupils know what is expected of them.

10. What is assessment for learning in RE?
Good modelling and structured frameworks to support pupils’ responses where appropriate.
Creating success criteria with the pupils.
Clear questioning of pupils including use of open ended questions.
Setting tasks that enable pupils to demonstrate age appropriate expectations and greater depth expectations.
Use the ladder of skills and skill words to help pupils understand their goals.
Sharing I can statements with the pupils.
Clear and appropriate task setting.

11. Why use AFL in RE? effective feedback to children – verbal and written
actively involving children in their own learning
adjusting teaching
motivation and self esteem of children
children assessing themselves and considering how to improve

12. Progression of skills Learn about religion Learn from religion
analyse/contextualise
justify views
account for…..
evaluate
interpret
express insights
explain
express views
show understanding
apply ideas
describe
make links/connections
retell
respond sensitively
name
talk about

13. Assessment strategies
Things to consider:
Knowing what strategy to use and why you are using it.
Knowing the purpose of the assessment.
Knowing what you are assessing - skills and knowledge

14. Giving feedback Discuss How is feedback given in RE in your school?
How effective is it to moving learning forward and how do you know?
Discuss

15. Giving feedback Feedback needs to lead to change in learning.
Assuming ‘giving time for pupils to respond’ to marked comments doesn’t necessarily lead to improving learning for pupils.
Often feedback is more work for teacher than the pupil.
‘Feedback should be more work for the recipient than the donor.’
(Dylan Williams 2011)

16. Ideas to try in the classroom
Ideas to try in the classroom. Alternative way to give feedback that leads to greater impact
A planned lesson around feedback gained from reading the pupils’ work.
Teaching addressing mis-concepts.
Appropriate tasks are set to address
mis-concepts.
A substantial amount of time is given to improve and deepen learning.
The ‘next step’ is the next lesson.

17. Ideas to try in the classroom
Ideas to try in the classroom. Guiding pupil improvement without individual feedback
Re-teaching: giving fresh examples
Re-visiting goals: Using models and checklists
Re-visiting the process: Modelling the process step by step for children on how to improve their learning.
Redraft/practice/check: Giving children more opportunity to practice things further – more time given before teacher intervention – children need to have the opportunity to struggle in order for deeper learning to take place.

18. Skilful questioning: (The beating heart of good pedagogy)
Things to consider:
Quality of the question being asked.
Differentiate the questions according to the pupils’ ability: recall/retrieval/open/higher order questions.
Link questions to RE skills to extend and deepen learning.
Timing – give pupils time to think and consider their answer – quick firing questions does not deepen learning. (Cohen et all 2004 – recommend wait times between three and five seconds for closed questions and up to 15 seconds for open-ended questions.
Cognitive levels: complex questions promote complex thinking.
A range of questions is needed.

19. Ideas to try in the classroom
No hands up: Anyone can answer. Everyone is expected to engage.
In the hot seat: Pupils take it in turns to sit in the hot seat and answer questions.
Ask the expert: The teacher puts questions to a pupil on a given topic, extending this to encourage other pupils to ask questions.
Ask the classroom: The teacher displays a number of written questions to stimulate thinking about pictures/artefacts/video clips.
Think-pair-share: Allows time to share ideas with a partner and respond to a posed question.
Phone a friend: A useful strategy in which a pupil nominates another to answer the teacher’s question. The first pupil also answers the question.
Eavesdropping: When groups are working, the teacher circulates around the classroom and poses questions to groups based on what is heard in their discussions.
Question box: An actual box has a series of questions in it devised by the teacher. Time is set aside at the end of a week to choose some to discuss as a class.
Here is the answer, what is the question? Deliberately back to front to encourage out-of-the box thinking.
More than me: The teacher asks a pupil a question and deliberately cuts short the answer to involve another pupil to build on this answer.

20. Prayer Axis The importance of prayer to different religions
The reality of religion in practice
Thinking together

21. I can…
Emerging: Give two simple reasons why Christians pray and two simple reasons why Muslims pray.
Expected: Recognise and describe three similarities between prayer in Islam and Christianity.
Greater depth: Describe the importance of prayer to a Christian and compare it to the importance of prayer to a Muslim.

22. Prayer Axis Closer to Islam Closer to Christianity
More committed to prayer
Less committed to prayer

23. Odd one out Developing and understanding connections and links.
Explaining, justifying, clarifying and reasoning.
Identify similarities and differences.
Children have to justify their odd one out.

24. Which is the odd one out?

25. Assessment criteria Do they recognise some religious objects?
Can they recognise symbols?
Can they describe the meaning of some religious symbols?

29. Creating your own odd one out
In pairs come up with your own odd one out.
Which unit will you use it for?
Will you give children a writing/talking frame?
Will you select the pictures? Which pictures?
Will they make a selection?
What will the I can statements be?

30. Active assessment: RE-enactment Transporting a character Role play
Writing my own report
Puppets
Persona dolls

31. Using creativity as an assessment strategy
In the art gallery
Natural collage
Create a cover
Photoboard
Digital storytelling
Picture extending
Senses poems
Banners

32. Assessing reflection Bubbling speech Reflection alley Rucksack
Personal statement
Brainstorming
Gift for life
Mobile phone

33. Using ‘talk’ as an assessment strategy
Box story
Rumour mill
Can of worms
Snowballing
Balloon debate
Snowflake
Mystery bag
Just a minute

34. Using ‘thinking skills’ as an assessment strategy.
Similarities and differences (odd one out)
Zebra
Target board
Mind mapping
Feelings graph
Jigsaw reading
Fact or opinion

35. Using ‘writing’ as an assessment strategy.
Diary of reflection
On the one hand….on the other hand…
Disentangling
Agony Aunt
Turn one thing into another
Form criticism
Silent conversations

36. Successful AFL in RE Children know what is expected of them
Integrated into planning
Open-ended questions
Clear task that allows children to demonstrate what they know.
Open-ended activity
Creative task setting
Self evaluation- how did they learn
Self-assessment

37. Pupils need to understand what is asked, and have 2 or 3 stabs at it.
Criteria for learning will be simple and shared with pupils, flexible and comprehensible
Learning activities need to be varied and stimulating: make assessment from a ‘best task’
Modelling for all pupils enables them to see where they are going
Peer and self assessment raises awareness of the skills RE needs
Feedback is effective in raising standards by being well targeted to next steps
Balance of teacher feedback & pupils’ self awareness leads to progress
Teaching is flexible in responding to what pupils can actually do
Assessment for learning in Religious Education: What does it mean for teachers?

38. What next…. Questions to ask:
What currently works well in terms of assessment?
What needs tweaking?
What actions do I need to take as a leader, to improve assessment practice in school?