Week 8      And you'll never mark alone

The new style marking panel with an emphasis on pair marking, an emphasis on exemplar comparisons and an emphasis on coffee.  Getting deans to mark Asttle writing just prior to the Pacifica Festival was a little tricky but achievable.

Teacher Inquiry 2018

Lift the achievement of boys’ writing Years 9-10

Lift the achievement in reading for all students, with a particular focus on boys and Māori students (both genders) years 9-13

Increase the achievement of Years 9-10 learners in reading, writing and maths, as measured against agreed targets

Week 7 The marking of asTTle writing scripts provided the opportunity for non-English teachers to sit in on marking sessions and to learn about the language and structural features of a written explanation. Many school disciplines or subjects expect students to produce an explanation when completing a unit of work. Many participants in these sessions were surprised by the degree of complexity demonstrated in the marking rubric and this highlighted the need to develop an understanding of the skills students must master in order to successfully write an explanation at a secondary level.

What was most heartening during these sessions was the way participants in this PD spoke, with almost one voice, of the need to work as a cluster so that the teachers of each class could strategise effective ways of teaching writing skills.