Student Observation and Feedback – Final Script
Pre-presentation – Slide 1
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Slide 2
Sarah
Good afternooneveryone. May I just say how pleased Ailsa, Pauline and I are to be here today to present our VSG work to you. It is a huge honour to be standing here addressing the KEA/KNA conference.
Today we want to share with you the journey our VSG has made to discover more about our students through thorough observation. The journey started over 4 years ago now although our VSG was only formally established in March 2007. We will explain the history of the VSG, how it has developed and what we have achieved. Most importantly, we want to demonstrate to you the value of observation.We hope you will go away inspired to make positive changes at your centres wherever they are in the world. This is quite an ambitious aim but over the next 45 minutes the exciting thing is that it could be possible!
We know that it could happen because all three of us on this stage today were inspired by another international VSG at our Kumon conference in Warwick 2004. Returning to our centres in the UK, we made radical and far reaching changes. It is partly because of the South African presentation on the feedback phenomenon in Africa that we are here today. So indirectly that is where this VSG’s journey began! If Meryl Daykin, Sandra de Abreu or Elmie Fouche are here today – thank you!
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Slide 3
When Ailsa, Pauline and I left the conference that year we were very excited.
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Like many other UK instructors we wanted to introduce feedback straight away. We didn’t know each other then, but we were already of like minds. We each wanted to improve our students’ progress and motivation through feedback. Wetransformed the way we ran our centres by implementing these changes. However, we all know that with Kumon there is always something better.
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Independently of each other, and over time,Ailsa, Pauline and I started to feel that we had lost something by making these changes. The style of feedback we had adopted meant we were seated in one place throughout class time, with students coming to us. In the past we had moved around the room and could easily see the students working and learn more about them. Being seated to give feedback to each student, we no longer had much time or opportunity to watch how our centres worked or how our students applied themselves to completing the worksheets. The feedback we gave was almost totally based on the students’completed worksheets which they brought to us at the end of their visit to the centre. We needed to know more about our students in order to help them to achieve their full potential.
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You could say that all three of us re-assessed feedback and wanted to take it one step further.
In 2006 the Kumon focus on learning from students by observation reinforced our feeling that we were missing something at our centres.We had lost the almost unconscious observation of students which we had been doing while moving round the class. Our eyes no longer noticed student posture or lack of concentration and so on because we were not looking around the class in the same way.
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Slide 4
The three of us were still working independently of each other. Ailsa was the first of us to start to improve student observation in her centre. In January 2006, she developed feedback records for use by her assistants.
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These were developed with the help of assistants during an extended staff meeting with Ailsa. All of them pooled ideas about what aspects of the students’ study could be improved. The feedback record allowed assistants to make a note of student behaviour that was causing concern.That information was used at feedback. Ailsa developed target cardsto help focus the students on areas where they could improve.
In June 2006 I was prompted to think about the quality of my feedback by my Area Manager, Alison Watson. She visited my centre and asked me a question which marked a turning point in the evolution of my class. She asked me whether or not, while I completed feedback, I had enough time to observe my students? Alison’s question really made me think. Why observe? Did I really know enough about my students? Wasn’t my feedback good enough? These were the sort of questions I asked myself. These are the sort of questions I’d like you to consider too. Alison suggested I read an article Mr Kodama,then President of KEA, had written about the value of observation in June’s Thinking Face, a UK publication.
Mr Kodama thought that all instructors should keep an eye on the way students work in class as well as their completion times and the number of errors they make. He said that instructors should study each student’s learning progress.
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It is important to be able to pinpoint how different one student is from another –each is an individual. This knowledge would lead to changes at the centre and would make feedback relevant for each student. What stood out for me was that observation is intrinsically tied up with feedback.
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Observation and feedback are two sides of the same coin. Without feedback the effectiveness of observation is reduced and with observation the quality of feedback is enhanced. My decision to improve observation was made for me when I attended a meeting for instructors in my part of the UKgiven by Alison in September 2006. She had been inspired by Mr Ashina of the Kumon Toru Research Institute of Education, at an associate training session held in Manchester UK. Mr Ashina said that it is important to “learn from our students” in order to improve our instructional ability, help our students grow and contribute to the development of our centres. He suggested that by studying the strong points of advanced students or particular students by observation we can learn from them and apply this knowledge to the way we instruct other students as well. After hearing Alison’s presentation and also of Mr Ashina’s work I was determined to introduce a thorough system of observation at class. I wanted to see if it would make a difference.
Already I observed individual studentsoccasionally by sitting them next to me at class. However, this wasn’t efficient or comprehensive enough for me. In November 2006 I designed some checklist style observation sheets to be used by my assistants in class. I had already realised that I was too busy in class to carry out thorough student observation myself – I wanted my assistants to be my eyes. So my assistants started to learn how to observe and reported backtheir findings to me on these rudimentary A4 forms. They also gave me some very helpful feedback on the design and format of the forms. I was excited by my early results – some things they pointed out were so fundamental – like finger counting or question hopping. Noticing such behaviour is vital and only systematic observation had picked it up. My assistants also commented on things like student concentration skills and attitudes. Also important to me was the fact that I now had a system for recording their comments which I could refer to at feedback time.
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This formed the beginning of individual student profiles to refer to over time.
In December 2006 I shared my findings with both my Area Manager and my Regional Manager, Hannah Barrs, and was given lots of encouragement. Indeed Hannah passed on my ideas to other Regional Managers. This resulted in David Hilton, a Manchester Area Manager, using my observation forms as part of an All Field Associates’ Meeting in January 2007. Hannah then suggested that Iask for support from colleagues in order to take the study much further. This is when Ailsa and Pauline joined me. As mentioned, Ailsa was already working in a similar directionto me looking at student characteristics and attitudes displayed in their work. Consequently she was very interested in joining the VSG. PaulineJones was also keen to develop her centre and joined the two of us when we had our first meeting in a McDonalds in March 2007.
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Slide 5This meeting marked the start of our VSG’s journey; little did we know then that we would achieve so much through our studies and that we would one day be presenting in Japan!
The success of the VSG to date is mainly due to the shared drive and focus we have had as a team. When we joined forces we were inspired by Mr Ashina. We wanted to raise the bar of expectation for all our students at our centres. Only by having high expectations of our students would we be able to challenge them to develop further. We recognised that all students can be advancing in ability even if not advanced learners yet. We wanted to better facilitate the learning of every student and to be able to learn from every one of them. We have been grateful for the support of our local Kumon officesand indeed the many across Kumon UKwho have promoted our study.
Pauline
Now that you know how the VSG came to be formed in March 2007 we would like to look at the rationale behind our study and what we have achieved so far. We will explain how interest in our work and in student observation as a focus has developed and grown in the UK since we started.
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Slide 6
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Our rationale was to find a way to combine systematic observation with specific feedback for every student.
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In this way we wanted to increase our understanding as instructors of our students.
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We also wanted to increase students’ self- awareness thus helping them to take greater ownership of their own learning.
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We hoped in this way to develop the full potential of every student.
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In order to achieve this we wanted to create materials for observation which were flexible to use and built into an accurate student profile.
We have worked together as a group to find ways to gain as full a picture of our students as possible and thus to better facilitate learning. This has meant looking at their whole journey through the centre from when a student enters to when they leave. Every stage has something to show us about the student. There is so much to see: how they come in and change their work over, any interaction with assistants, how they settle to work, their movement around the centre, their response at feedback, and their attitude as they leave for home. By helping our students to develop the attitudes and behaviour necessary for learning well, and by encouraging student independence, we are benefitting all our students. In the process we are also improving the way our centres run.
We looked atthe list of advanced characteristicsfrom Mr Ashina’s seminar when considering the criteria whichwere of value.
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Advanced students tend to display the following traits:
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- CLICKAttentive and have the ability to review
- CLICKEfficient problem solvers with a high level of work skills
- CLICKHigh level of comprehension
- CLICKExcellent learning attitude
- CLICKHigh ability in native language
We thought that it was important to try and identify advanced learners. In that way we could not only help them to develop their own potential but also we, as instructors, would know what characteristics to try and engender in all of our students.
All of our students are different but they all have the potential to develop and adopt attitudes and approaches that will benefit their studies and advancement, given the right motivation and appropriate guidance. An analogy here could be … If a sprinter comes second in a race by a few seconds you wouldn’t tell him that he must just run faster. Instead you would perhaps tell him to go to the gym, work on muscle tone or breathing, or watch a film of him in action in order to find weaknesses and improve. Poor attitude or behaviours may mask the potential of our students. If we can help students improve study habits, attitude and skills of concentration we believe that they will be able to master topics more quickly and progress with increased motivation.
The three of us have gained experience of working with a wide range of students. We used this to help us decide what traits to look for in our students. We realised that it was possible to make an incorrect assessment of our students if we did not carefully observe each of them. We decided that we needed to look at student behaviour in class, focussing on their posture and concentration, their attention to detail, the way they approach the worksheets,whether they can follow examples and make corrections independently, their independence generally and their interaction with others.
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Slide 8
Our whole focus was one of identifying any issues in a student’s study as a first step to dealing with them.
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That required targeted observation leading to specific feedback. Such feedback includes both praising specific behaviours from observationand directing a student to what we would like them to do tofurther improve in their behaviour and study.
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Throughout 2007 and until the present day we have worked on developing systems and approaches in class to observe our students. As instructors we are all different and you will have your own ideas of how best to observe your students. However in order to be efficient,we all need to be organised and systematic. We think that it is only fair and right to share with you how we have observed and learned from our students as you may wish to adopt a similar approach.
We have developed a student observation and feedback toolkit. We wanted our materials to be used on a needs only basis like a tools in a carpenter’s tool-bag. We select the ones that we need for our purpose! We think it is important to observe students using whichever tool or system suits best. This may simply involve sitting them by you, or it may involve you using your assistants.
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The guiding principle should be that it results in a positive outcome for the student. Having something that looks like a wonderful system but is actually of no value in improving the student’s experience of Kumon study is really a waste of effort. Whatever you adopt has to have the best interests of the student at its heart.
As instructors, we all know that any change introduced at a centre will have an effect, sometimes one that we could not foresee.
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Any change we make must be evaluated for its usefulness and any negative impact must be minimised. It is unlikely that we will get things right first time.
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Slide 9All three of us have utilised our assistants when observing students and have needed to ensure that they have time to fulfil the role effectively. In order to help them do this, assistants are told which students need to be observed at each class and if there is anything specific to look out for. They then organise between them who will do each observation. If a class is busy, assistants will need to know if a student observation is a priority to be achieved ahead of another of their tasks that day, otherwise they may forget to do it. Although some observations can be delayed until a quieter class, there will be others that you won’t want to put off.
Assistants at the Grimsby centre have been asked via a questionnaire for their views on student observation and feedback.
All four assistants commented that the system of observation was quite easy to administer and get used to. They thought it enabled them to help the instructor monitor student progress because their observations were recorded for the instructor to read and to give feedback on. They were also able to give students some feedback themselves enabling them, as assistants, to get to know students better and establish good working relationships with them. They considered that it enhances their role at the centre.[The observation sheets make it easier for them to focus on what traits and patterns of behaviour to look for. They all agreed that observation helps them to improve their understanding of how students work, and helps them to check if students are using the correct strategies. They concluded that the observation sheets aresimple to use and that the time spent on observation, which is not long, is of value as it improves feedback. Interestingly one assistant, who is also an existing Kumon student, wrote “I don’t think the time spent on observation matters as it is the feedback that is important”.]Note: The bit in brackets can be removed if the assistant video is inserted in Slide 10.
Our approach in our study has always been to learn from others and share with all!In fact, learning from others is central to our vision. We have been happy to share our ideas so that they could be assessed and evaluated by others.Being open has allowed our VSG to progress and grow in scope beyond anything we could have expected. We set out just to observe our students with help from our assistants but we have found that there is so much more we are able to do to help our students.
In early 2007 Charlin Morgan, London South Area Manager, used some of the forms that our VSG was developing and incorporated them into her centre development project. She positively endorsed our work finding our system, as it was then, simple to use and illuminating in the responses elicited.