Mentor materials
Examining pupils’ responses
Select a development area
Consider the development areas for this topic (below). Then make a note of the area you plan to zoom in on and when you plan to visit so you can observe your teacher in this area. Familiarise yourself with the focused development areas. You will select one later when you observe your teacher.
Development area 1: Systematically examining pupils’ responses
Focused development area
- Teacher, with the support of a colleague, ensures they are clear on what pupils’ responses would look or sound like if pupils had secure knowledge.
- Teacher, with the support of a colleague, has identified in advance of the assessment common misconceptions, potential gaps in knowledge and errors pupils may make and knows what these would sound or look like in pupils’ responses.
- Teacher intentionally and efficiently checks pupils’ responses for previously identified misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors.
- Teacher analyses pupil responses over time, spotting patterns in pupils’ understanding of critical knowledge and skills e.g. spotting common misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and error.
Example precise target: Teacher intentionally and efficiently checks pupils’ responses for previously identified misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors
- Not doing it at all: Intentionally circulate to check pupils’ responses, paying particular attention to misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors you think pupils may have.
- Doing it but needs some improvement: Plan to capture pupils’ responses to questions in a simple format as you circulate, paying particular attention to responses to questions that target misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors you anticipated pupils making.
- Doing it well and needs some stretch: Plan to capture pupils’ responses to questions in a simple format as you circulate, particularly capturing information on the number of pupils who have misconceptions, gaps in knowledge and errors and the types that you see, in order to target your feedback.
Development area 2: Examining responses from diagnostic questions
Focused development area
- Teacher knows which answers to the diagnostic questions they have set would constitute misconceptions, gaps in knowledge or errors.
- Teacher examines pupils’ responses and probes further for information they need in order to make inferences about pupils’ understanding, e.g. asking questions to see where misconceptions stem from.
- Teacher actively looks for and efficiently gathers an appropriate range of pupil responses from diagnostic questions, e.g. by scanning whole class to see which answers pupils have chosen and tallying incorrect responses.
Development area 3: Making inferences from pupils’ responses
Focused development area
- Teacher, during lessons, makes appropriate inferences from pupils’ responses and draws tentative conclusions about how to respond, e.g. where many pupils show they hold a common misconception about critical knowledge, the teacher may pause the lesson to address this.
- Teacher, with the support of a colleague, makes appropriate inferences from patterns of pupils’ responses over time, e.g. from a series of exit tasks, and plans when and how to address these
Observe
Consider the following questions based on a short (approximately 15 minute) observation of your teacher.
What was your teacher’s previous target? Are they meeting it? How do you know?
Thinking about the development area you have selected for this topic, what is your teacher already doing well in this area? Which focused development area best aligns with what your teacher needs to get better at? What one precise target (bite-sized action) might you work with them on during your mentor meeting?
Reminder: You can choose to stick with this previous target if they have not made enough progress. When moving on to a new precise target, you can select one from the table above or, if this doesn’t fit your teacher’s needs, you can write your own.
How will you model the target to your teacher to show them what good looks like? What questions will you ask to check your teacher understands the model? For example, ‘How it is different from your current practice?’ and ‘What impact might it have on your practice and pupils?’
Reminder: Your model should help your teacher develop their ability in some of the following:
- Be aware of common misconceptions.
- Draw conclusions about what pupils have learned by looking at patterns of performance over a number of assessments (e.g. appreciating that assessments draw inferences about learning from performance).
- Use assessments to check for prior knowledge and pre-existing misconceptions.
- Monitor pupil work during lessons, including checking for misconceptions.
Next, meet with your teacher to work through the ‘feedback’ stage of instructional coaching.