Teach|Technology

Assessment by School Department

 

The expectations of student performance during school placement are exceptionally high.  As a school, you have a vital role in the process of assessment within the BTechEd programme. The Principal Teacher or Faculty Head, in partnership with departmental staff, has the opportunity to observe our students in practice over an extended period, and is best placed to make judgements on many aspects of the standards that student teachers are required to overtake on their way to entry into the profession. The assessment arrangements reflect this with the Principal Teacher’s Report having the same weighting as assessed lessons in the aggregation of grades. The completion of a report on each student by a Principal Teacher is therefore an essential element in ensuring that our assessments are valid and reliable. This will involve completing the School Experience Report and returning it at the end of the placement. We ask that you:

 

• Discuss the contents of the report with the student

• Ask the student to sign the report

• The student is then given the report; it is the student’s responsibility to return it to the University

 

The report is based on the Standard for Initial Teacher Education that is required to be achieved by students on exit from their course (see page 5 for exemplification). It is not intended that each standard should be addressed in detail. The notes illustrating each individual aspect may be used as a general guide to an appropriate grade for each section. Your comments on the student’s performance, highlighting areas that you and your colleagues consider to be in need of further development, are most helpful to the student’s progress. These comments also assist the course team in identifying and supporting areas of the student’s practice requiring professional development.

 

If you would like more detailed information on the Standards for Registration, the full document is available at the following web link:

 

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/Files/the-standards/standards-for-registration-1212.pdf

 

Should a student fail a school placement, they will be allocated a retrieval placement and have the opportunity to overtake this.  To support them in this process, they will be allocated a University Mentor and will undertake additional preparatory work based upon the developmental areas identified in the School Experience Report to ensure that they are well supported as they move into the retrieval placement.

 

Completion of an Interim Report

 

Should you have any notable concerns with student progress, we ask that you complete a brief interim report at the earliest opportunity.  This is a formative document that allows us to provide additional support to the student in partnership with yourselves.  The report form is available from the downloads section of this web page and can be completed and returned by email to Dr David Morrison-Love and the Degree Programme Administrator (email information is included on the form).

 

If you have any concerns about completion of this report, you are free to contact Dr David Morrison-Love, co-ordination of school experience for the degree programme. 

 

Assessment by Visiting Tutors & Professional Development Folio

 

In years 2 to 4, the student should be prepared to demonstrate a lesson with a class which, as far as possible, will align to the focus of their year of study. During each block of placements students are required to prepare teaching notes for lessons at an appropriate level for the classes which feature on their timetable. In all years students are required to reflect on their experience and practice. In years two, three and four, students must develop a professional development folio as part of the course requirements.