It Is My Right To Know

It is not just the teacher who is the sole contributor to evaluating a child’s piece of work but the child and peer’s views are also of great importance. Due to the demands of an active classroom it is difficult for teachers to be able to give quality feedback to every child on every piece of work completed daily. This is where an integrated and balanced approach to self and peer assessment enable pupils to reflect on not one person’s views but the views of others and self. This is not a process that comes natural to children as they do not have the experience and training of a teacher. Children are, however, honest evaluators and quick learners under the correct guidance from their teachers who inform children what they need to learn (learning intention) and how to recognise success (success criteria). If a child does not understand what or why a task is being undertaken due the learning intention not being clear or having too many aspects to meet then misunderstandings will arise. Children need to know what end product or process the teacher wants them to accomplish where:

‘knowing the leaning intention for every task is it seems, a child’s basic right as a learner.’
(Clarke S 2006: 47)

By sharing the learning intentions with children, not only are they more focused and ready to start tasks with less time-wasting tactics it also provides a clear focus when evaluating. Once the desired goal is clear, feedback needs to also take into account present position and a way to close the gap (Sadler 1989 cited Black & Wiliam): where is the child in their learning and what do they need to do to move on. This part of the evaluation process is much easier for teachers as they look at each child on individual levels. Children, on the other hand, can be self-centred in that they may judge another child’s work to their own ability. This is where peer evaluation can fall down as it is not just the end product or the concrete evidence that is assessable but the internal learning process. Even for teacher’s this task can be difficult as:

‘tuning into the learner’s mind to clarify what learning has taken place, to identify what learning difficulties are being experienced and to introduce future tasks is one of the biggest challenges for classroom teachers.’
(Smith I 2004: 18)

It is hard to tune into to every pupil’s mind because the classroom teacher is always rushing to get through a set of work. Even when they question pupils they quickly want the correct answer through their addiction to the right answer and wanting to proceed to the next part of the lesson. Children who don’t respond promptly or with understanding become disaffected as they are not giving ‘thinking time’ or the delivery of the lesson does not meet their learning style.