Challenges of a new cell

So... the challenges our CPD cell has faced thus far this year have been around keeping the momentum going from week to week and agreeing on a common purpose. There are five members of the group from two different departments and if one person, especially the one whose lesson is being focused on, is absent it is difficult to meaningfully engage with the learning aims and objectives that we are working towards.  Totally unforeseen circumstances in both cases!

This week a colleague brought a suggested template of an assessment rubric for evaluating a ‘final product’ – in his case, for Design Technology. We discussed the challenges of subjectivity in marking, whether it is a summative assessment (test/exam questions) or formative assessment such as assignments and class work. 

Careful work done on all rubrics and given to students at the beginning of a unit can be a way of empowering students to monitor their own progress. It can also give them a clear sense of what is expected of them in a particular skill area, through a given task, helping them to see the detail of what should be aimed for. 

We suggested that making exemplar work available to students, in order to illustrate what is meant by a particular expectation, would also help to develop confidence in the students to know that they are headed in the right direction. In time, it would also enable teachers to come to a common understanding of what Grade-appropriate standards look like in their subject as compared to other areas in the curriculum. It will take time for teachers to find a common language in formative assessment rubrics that everyone (teachers and students alike) recognise as they apply to particular standards of achievement in their subject.