Unit 307 Support assessment for learning
Outcome 1 Understand the purpose and characteristics of assessment for learning.
1.1 For class teachers, one of their main roles is to assess and monitor their pupil’s achievement. They will need to know how all of the children progress and be able to report this back to senior staff and the parents. Assessment is an on-going task which is carried out in various ways. Support staff will need to know these processes and be able to assist the teacher with these assessments. Examples of assessments are photographic evidence, post-it notes, individual observation sheets, reading book assessments and controlled assessments such as SATS.
Teachers plan their lessons with the learning
objectives clearly set out so that they themselves, along with the teaching assistants, can understand what is to be expected and achieved. The learning objectives should be easily observed in the classroom and referred to by the teacher and teaching assistants so that the children also have a clear understanding of what they will be learning about. Our classroom has a display especially for this purpose and is very clear for the children to view it whilst the lesson is carried out.
Teaching assistants are more likely to carry out assessments under the guidance of the teacher but will independently observe and feed back to the teacher pupil achievement following a learning activity. If the teacher is looking for something specific they will set it out for the teaching assistant to report on.