# data[].attributes.body
In my placement experience, I have so far created small quizzes to gauge student's prior knowledge before beginning a new task with them.  This type of quiz had 4 questions that had a right/wrong answer, and underneath I had written two questions which I wanted student's to provide me with a written answer. - Year 8 Art

When working with student's in Studio Arts the data collecting is more based in creating a rubric for an oral presentation which becomes numerical data and sent as part of their summative assessment for their study score.  Apart for this it is viewing their folios, and marking them accordingly with a VCAA provided rubric, and allowing student's to work towards SAC's and then their final exam, and final folio submission. - Year 12 Studio Arts

- Natasha Krcevinac

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I taught a series of literacy lessons on speaking and listening for a year 5 class. The first area of data I collected was informal data on students prior knowledge on emotions and persuasive text. I also collected the students previous persuasive texts to see how much they know. As this lesson also incorporated ICT I had to find out their skills in ICT and how much they were able to do. During the lessons I was able to observe how students were working and assess their knowledge during the activities. As a informal summative assessment at the end of the lessons I had the students reflect on what they learnt and rate their performance. This helped me to decide what I needed to incorporate into my next sequential lesson. Because this lesson incorporated ICT, the students had to record themselves speaking and showing emotion by reading a persuasive piece of text they'd written. I was able to then access their work and watch it. This was data that I was able to use to assess their knowledge and what they need to improve on.

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- Exit ticket question
-short answer questions
-class discussions

# data[].attributes.body
Teachers are constantly collecting data to inform their teaching, both formally and informally. Informal collection may include conversations with students, classroom observations, conversations with teachers who have taught the students previously or in another class. Formal methods may be NAPLAN data, school testing data, previous rubric assessments. One great example of data collection is student reflections- have students write "exist passes" at the end of class- demonstrating to the teacher what they have learned in class, their interest, their ability to express understandings in their own words.

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During my first placement I was able to undertake some formative and summative assessment with my year 7 Science class. They were required to undertake their own experiment, collect data (assisted by a workbook) and then use a template to display their data and findings in a scientific poster. Having a series of task leading up to the summative task allowed many opportunities to provide feedback such a written in teacher checkpoint throughout the workbook as well as verbal feedback throughout the lessons. These observations also helped me scaffold future lessons based on student understanding and as a result saw improvements in student learning come the final summative assessment.

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During my last placement I was teaching a unit in mathematics and didn't have prior knowledge of what students were already able to do. I created a multileveled pretest to help me to distinguish which students excelled with challenging problems, which students were able to be working at the standard and which students required additional support to progress to standard. This opportunity was the most fruitful experience during my placement as it allowed me to take ownership for assisting students throughout an entire unit cycle and see them progress over the course of the unit.

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Data from Individual subtraction algorithm task, and worked examples completed

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Data from Individual subtraction algorithm task, and worked examples completed

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The learning intention for this lesson was for students to complete 3 digit subtraction algorithms with carrying. The task was scaffolded using an I do, we do, you do approach, with me as the teacher, completing examples on the board, and explaining my thought processes before completing examples together. I asked students what I should do as we worked through the steps to solve the problem, before having students complete subtraction problems on small whiteboards. This enabled me to go around and check for understanding. This was useful as I could identify which kids understood the task, kept in mind that I would probably need to give sums (e.g worded problems) that extended them once students went back to complete the individual activity. Conversely, I was able to give one-on-one assistance for students who perhaps missed a step or weren't quite grasping the task. I was also then able to make mental notes on which students needed extra assistance and knew to go and work with once I sent them back to their desks. At the end of the lesson, I had students rejoin me on the floor and completed 2 stars and wish on what they learnt, which also along with the work they completed in their maths books enabled me to accurately measure whether they had met the learning intention and allowed me to prepare for future lessons.
Steve - 18496740

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Observations of classes in Past Placements

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Observations of classes in Past Placements

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I believe taking part in observing a variety of different classes in a number of different subject fields has been truly rewarding for me in my past placement experiences that has formed the necessary data needed for me to understand that not every class is the same, and that depending on the type and group of students one is teaching/instructing, different styles and techniques are implemented. A day in a classroom is different and unique each and every day, presenting new challenges and opportunities.

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In my recent placement when I began at the start of the year, I had another teacher give me the advice to get my students to write me a letter in one of the first classes. In this letter they would outline their hobbies, what they already know about Drama, what they'd like to learn and a goal for the year in Drama class. In this way, it is like a pretest; while also acting as a way for me to get to know them, the way they like to learn, their goal and their hobbies, to check in and show my care for their interests. Then utilising this and observation, I can try and get them back on track when distracted or disengaged with tasks by showing interest in them and reminding them of their goals.

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Students' personal interests and experiences can inform planning of a more personal, tailored kind. A student's preferred way of learning (eg. visual, kinaesthetic, aural, etc.) may also help to inform planning and differentiation. This information may be linked to any unique learning needs students may have and this is also important data to be aware of when planning.

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In my recent placement, I found creating concept maps with students, was an effective diagnostic tool to reveal students' misconceptions and prior understandings of the topic of teaching.

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I found conferencing with students to understand what they were reading, why they chose that book and what they could recount of what they have read gave me valuable insight into their ability to critically think in relation to a text. I also found, given the context, I could gauge how much peer pressure entered into their responses. It was a  year 5/6 class and attitudes regarding reading were highly influenced by friends.

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I find formative assessments like taking diary notes on students, exit surveys was really helpful, also summative assessments are good indicators of what the students are taking in, Data is very important to inform our practice and how we need to structure our lessons to be the most effective.

# data[].attributes.subject
I find formative assessments like taking diary notes on students, exit surveys was really helpful, also summative assessments are good indicators of what the students are taking in, Data is very important to inform our practice and how we need to structure our lessons to be the most effective.

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Using whiteboards as formative assessment- students can all write their response to questions simultaneously and the teacher can observe understanding/misconceptions and then focus teaching accordingly.

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Using whiteboards as formative assessment- students can all write their response to questions simultaneously and the teacher can observe understanding/misconceptions and then focus teaching accordingly.

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You can gain valuable data from students when roaming around the room and doing one-on-one conferencing. This give you an idea of whether they are grasping the concept or need further assistance.

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I work in disability and with my 1:1 client I have been asked to re-teach this person how to write and count, I used a range of methods to asses what this person does know and what they are capable of doing, I used worksheets mainly as this person is non-verbal and used a 1-10 cut out of numbers to asses what this person knew in terms of numbers, with these two methods I have collected I have developed work sheets and a number activity developed around their intrest and so far they are working great and this person has re learnt how to spell the first 3 letters of their name.

This is more of a outside of placement example as I haven't complete placement in a few years :)

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I’ve gained some of the most valuable diagnostic data from conversations with my mentor teacher and other staff members.

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On each of my placements I was able to complete multiple diagnostic assessments, these came in the form of class brainstorms and discussions. Using this information I was able to write subsequent lesson plans as I understood which students would benefit from extension tasks, heavy scaffolding and perhaps what groups each student should be placed in if the activities
required the formation of groups.

- Jake Peric

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For me, when I created work or task sheets, I would note what understanding or concept each question was trying to test or ask. For example, in a math question, a certain question might require a student to show understanding of subtraction or addition, meaning that students who get those wrong tell me that they might require more practice. In addition, analyzing the mistake itself or how they came up with their answer is an important part of understanding their thought process and allows us teachers to correct any misconceptions a student might have.

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On my first placement with the Grade 1's I loved completing running records - it gave me a great snapshot of student learning.

Jessica Lehre
16444963

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One my previous placement I was lucky enough to have a small class of 12 for VCE psych. My favourite method of data collection was facilitating class discussions. Really paying attention to the questions that the students were asking, and rephrasing them, helped my students and myself understand where there were gaps in their knowledge and understanding. It also allowed for peers to correct each other and share ideas. By facilitating the discussion I was able to call on the quieter kids to contribute to the discussion as well so it worked well.

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exit slips are a favorite of mine to asses what the students have taken in from my lessons, however I have just been introduced to "pre-tests" so it is something I would like to try in my practice to establish what the students know of a topic before we begin learning.

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exit slips are a favorite of mine to asses what the students have taken in from my lessons, however I have just been introduced to "pre-tests" so it is something I would like to try in my practice to establish what the students know of a topic before we begin learning.

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during my previous placement I handed out post it notes 5min before the lesson finished and asked students to write down something that they found interesting or something that they wanted to know more about. I found this extremely useful for me because students stated things that I hadn't noticed before and it was something as simple as the wrong colour white board marker, or to spend more time on the powerpoint.
With this knowledge I felt that I was able to better myself as a teacher and also they felt that they were heard.

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On my last placement I worked in a Grade 5 classroom and taught an entire unit on division. During my first lesson I conducted an entry pass post a mini teaching session, this allowed me to gauge the levels of understanding for each student. This was then used to pull out the students who would be better supported through more direct conferencing. These passes were then employed as exit passes throughout the remaining lesson blocks in the unit and were continually utilised to create pairings for collaborative activities and teacher/student floor sessions.

In terms of collecting data this was beneficial because; it was a practice already understood by students, it was informal, it allowed me to go away and link observations from the session with recordable evidence of student understanding, and it allowed for speedy analysis of data which would be utilised immediately for the next lesson.

PhilippaF

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Although not diagnostic, I have enjoyed using exit passes to collect ongoing data to inform my teaching practice.

In terms of initial data for planning, there is the potential to utilise any previous assessments completed by the student in the same class, or other classes, if applicable. The teacher could also utilise a previous teacher;s observations to help them in their planning.

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I really enjoyed the opportunity to teach a sequence of lessons on Time to a year two class during my last placement. Students had completed a school designed pre assessment earlier in the term. I was able to deliver this as a post assessment and observe student growth/results. It was a valuable, interesting and rewarding experience. I’m convinced that data Collection is an invaluable teacher tool to guide Teacher planning and teaching.

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During my previous placed I had the chance to teach Yr 11 & 12 students in both Physical and Outdoor and Environmental studies. As part of introducing a new topic I would use entry slips and kahoot quiz for students to complete so I had an understanding of what they understood and what aspects they need to focus on.

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During my previous placement, prior to getting into a  grade 4 mathematics or English lesson, I had a game of 'Fast Facts', where I developed a set of questions that related to the lesson that aimed to provide data about student understanding about the set topic, while also warming up minds and focusing students on learning.  For example
before a creative writing lesson a quick game of Fast Facts got students thinking about single or grouped adjectives they could use to describe a main character from an artwork we had been looking at.
While it looked and felt like a game, Fast Facts was used as a diagnostic assessment where I gained on the spot insight into individual capabilities that enabled me to adjust a lesson to support gaps in student knowledge, and also identify students who required more of a challenge due to their  complex answers.
A quick game of Fast Facts also enabled diverse learners to participate as they saw it as a game and not as a test of knowledge. They joined in and had fun with their peers. It was noticed that at least two students who rarely spoke up freely in class discussions were increasingly involved in Fast Facts, which was a highlight of my placement.

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On my previous placement; I had 2 year 10 physics classes. I invited them to participate in a diagnostic, short kahoots! quiz. Some would argue that it was very simplistic, however, it gave me whole class and individual data on established knowledge on their previous knowledge of science literacy and numeracy in physics and it was a bit of fun, due to being so short the students were engaged- maybe out of sheer competitiveness.
The data presented a rudimentary baseline for me to work with, coupled with my supervisors remarks, my own observation and class and individual student questioning and completion of lesson worksheets gave me the understanding and immediate feedback about individual student achievement levels, individual understanding of the concepts and where I needed to scaffold difficult concepts and provide more support.
Support came through adapting strategies, 1:1, small group chats and whole class activities, including demonstrations.
This data informed my teaching approach and lesson planning. The continued data collection through my observation, class participation and questioning and worksheets, helped steer the future lesson planning to be explicit,  detailed and student-centered.
Hayley B

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During my first placement conducting a year 3 and 4 visualizing class, strategic questioning was used throughout a whole class activity to gain ongoing feedback about students understanding of key concepts, thought processes, their utilization of developed critical thinking skills as well as gaps in students learning and understanding. This provided the opportunity to formulate pre-determined and on-the-go questions for the whole class as well as questions tailored for specific students (depending on their academic level/abilities etc.). The data was used to adapt related activities and ideas throughout the rest of the lesson and informed future direction to follow up lessons.

Nicole M.

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During my first placement in a Year 7 Humanities classroom I incorporated exit tickets into my lessons as a way of seeing what the students had taken from that lesson, and whether the key ideas were picked up by them. I would also start the lesson with a class discussion to re-cap what was covered in the previous lesson. I would have pre-set questions that were designed to extract the key information I needed. Collecting student worksheets at the end of the lessons also enabled me to view the work of individual students. 

# data[].attributes.subject
During my first placement in a Year 7 Humanities classroom I incorporated exit tickets into my lessons as a way of seeing what the students had taken from that lesson, and whether the key ideas were picked up by them. I would also start the lesson with a class discussion to re-cap what was covered in the previous lesson. I would have pre-set questions that were designed to extract the key information I needed. Collecting student worksheets at the end of the lessons also enabled me to view the work of individual students. 

# data[].attributes.body
During my placement, I taught year 6 Numeracy. As per the advice of my mentor, I did a pre-test before I started the unit. The data from pre-test was very useful to design my lessons and include appropriate strategies to meet the learning needs of all the students. It also gave me an idea of how diverse my class was. After the unit, I did a post test with the same set of questions to measure their improvement. I could pick few question where almost everyone went wrong. This made it clear that the methods or strategies for those particular question wasn't effective. So, data from pre and post test not only helped me identify my students ability but also identified the area where I need to reflect on my practices.

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One of the most beneficial tasks I have completed for my practice on a prior placement was when I used three types of standardised data to create a tiered task. Students really benefitted from this as I was able to identify their ZPD and provide them with the skills needed to work within this.

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Checking for understanding during lessons can give invaluable, real-time data for teachers to adjust the amount of time they are spending on certain topics. This could be done with traffic light cards, where students indicate their understanding during a lesson with coloured cards which act as a visual cue. This gives instant feedback as to whether it's time to move on to the next activity or if a little more time needs to be spent working on certain concepts.
-Peta 18079605

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One of my favourite methods of summarising a lesson, which also provides you with formative data is question creations. You supply students with 3 or more keys words from the lesson and have them choose one or more of the given words. Students are then required to create a question and the answer to that question should be the key word that they chose. It is a great alterative to an exit slip and allows you to see how they have interpreted some of the information you delivered in that lesson.

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I love to use exit slips or 3 minute online quizzes at the conclusion of a class. It is useful to wrap up a class, as well as using the information as a formative assessment. This quick activity shows if students have understood a particular topic/class, and helps in planning the next lesson.

JP
17733511

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Data is meaningless, unless you can analyse it and are able to draw conclusions that will inform your teaching practice. Anecdotal notes are another form of data, that can inform your teaching and provide 'live' data of your students' understanding.

- Joe, 19978754

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During my placement I taught year 7 Health. The group of students I taught were a very chatty and open group. I found that when trying to establish what level of knowledge students held prior to beginning a new topic the easiest and most effective way for them was to have a group discussion and brainstorm about what they already knew. I was then able to take this technique and turn it into a work activity where students worked in small groups and 1 minutes to write everything they think they already knew. We would then share with the group our responses. Not only did this give me the opportunity to determine what students already knew and to what level but I was able to correct or challenge any previous misconceptions.

I also found one of my favourite ways to gain immediate feedback about student understanding of a concept was to use the "fist to five" technique. I could ask a question to students and have them all silently raise their hand to determine who needed more assistance or if we were ready to move on.

Hayley M

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My favourite form of diagnostic data collection is the use of 'exit slips'. Leaving the last 5 minutes of class time to ask students a simple question or two about the class is an incredible way to assess a range of factors about the lesson and get immediate feedback from students through a form which is anonymous, empowering students to speak truthfully and convey their needs on a regular basis. This diagnostic assessment can be used to assess students learning from the day, to assess student attitudes, to asses their response to activities or a teaching style they were exposed to - it is so diverse and yet so simple. Data can be collected in a range of way too - the responses can be personal from student to student, or you may ask them to pick from a range of answers which you can then tally and use as statistical data. I have found that 'exit slips' are the best form for me to inform my next lesson and to also build rapport with students, making their learning relevant and making the feel valued as learners.

Lily Scapin.
18501300

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In my placements so far I have found that asking the students questions and looking closely at their work you can figure out where they are at at that point in time. This is mainly for the younger students, mostly foundation. I've had grade 4 students and I found that from just talking to them I got a good idea of where they were at. For that placement I was there during their ondemand testing and roaming around I could see which students were struggling with certain things. So for me I have found that observation and disscusions with students is an important part of my data and evidence collection.
Ebonie

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In English, a method I use to understand the students' abilities and level is to set some writing tasks and collect the work from every student at the end of the lesson. The writing samples provide an insight into each individuals understanding of the topic or current literacy levels. This also provides me a chance to inform my own teaching and decide the next stages in teaching based off the data recieved from the writing. It helps me understand what areas may need more improving or what the class is good at and so on. They are then also provided with feedback from their writing which the students can use to develop their own skills.
Jake M

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I found that that easiest way to gather what Year 7s students already knew about the topic was to perform different diagnostic tests withing the Drama Classroom. Initially we had a sharing circle where each person could discuss a response to a prompt such as, "How do Horror movies try to scare us?" Each student was then allowed the opportunity to share which allowed me to determine if they understood the prompt and could verbally explain their understanding. From then on we used brainstorms and group discussions to explore stagecraft and stage elements.
- Luke Condello
18482324

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In English there are often students of greatly varying strengths. For different tasks my mentor and I found ways to differentiate to meet the needs of the students. For a group task we structured the groups to include stronger and weaker students; we found this effective as the students began to support each other's learning needs in providing encouragement and advice. In writing tasks whilst roaming the classroom I can provide different types of support to the students; weaker writers may require a sentence start, stronger may need reminders of proof reading or spelling. We also used data on students to provide dyslexia friendly texts to student.
KS

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I used a short individual worksheet following some group activities for a class but found that the depth of understanding for the content varied widely. I decided to ask the students to make questions that they would like addressed in the topic using a letterbox drop. From the questions the students asked I formed an activity where I had written incorrect facts relating to the content. In groups of 4 I arranged for each group to fix the misconception using some materials that guided them to the actual phenomena. From here each group informally present their questions explaining the misconception, and detailing the correct concept. Each group's answers were added to a class spreadsheet that they could all access. The activity was framed with a KWL chart to assess the effectiveness of peer explanation rather than of mine.

Jakin Stasce

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During my placements, I have experienced the collection of data as observations of student work, conversations with students,  professional conversations/consultations with the supervising teacher, work samples, diagnostic tests and conversations with parents about what their child likes to do. This assisted in planning appropriately for the learning needs of my students and differentiating teaching content, process and the work I wanted students to complete. Differentiation comes from knowing students' learning needs, how they learn best and also getting to know their interests.  This is why  AITSL Standard 1 of knowing students and how they learn is crucial for ensuring quality teaching and learning.
Melissa

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In my first placement a lot more emphasis was placed on classroom observations and student interviews than written tests.  Many students were ESL and without observations and discussion with the students it was easy to write off their difficulties to difficulties with the English language.  One child in particular could provide excellent oral answers and showed good comprehension but was very slow to write answers.  When given the opportunity to type answers the quality and quantity of work produced improved dramatically.  

S. Shortis

# data[].attributes.subject
In my first placement a lot more emphasis was placed on classroom observations and student interviews than written tests.  Many students were ESL and without observations and discussion with the students it was easy to write off their difficulties to difficulties with the English language.  One child in particular could provide excellent oral answers and showed good comprehension but was very slow to write answers.  When given the opportunity to type answers the quality and quantity of work produced improved dramatically.  

S. Shortis

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As a diagnostic tool, to determine what students already know and also to activate them to learning I have used a "Bus Stop" activity in the past.  Students are grouped into 'busses' and at each 'bus stop' they are required to answer the questions.

In 2 or 3 groups students to complete the questions provided eliciting their prior knowledge of the subject (e.g. bugs) including question such as 'where they live?', 'what they look like (characteristics)?', 'what they eat', and 'what are some other names for bugs?'.

Students could use visual representations or write what they already knew about the subject catering to various styles of learning. Students were placed in mixed ability groups as a means of support and to encourage discussion. It also provided the opportunity demonstration of natural leadership skills.

Teacher to support students to identify descriptive and naming words to support development of a more sophisticated vocabulary.

At the end of the task the bus stops were discussed with the class so individual knowledge could be shared. From this the information was collated with the class and a class KWL chart was constructed.

Bus Stop Activity

Taken from

Cameron, S. (2009). Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies: a practical classroom guide. New Zealand: Pearson. p. 39.

Harney McKinnon
99500802

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In a previous placement, I found the use of focus groups quite helpful during Year 2 maths or writing. I would provide a general activity (e.g. a cut and paste worksheet), but then ask or invite a few students (based on previous observation/roving conference or work samples) to come to the floor to be supported directly by myself in a small focus group. This seemed to work well, although there were occasionally challenges in keeping the remaining class working independently.
C.Draper

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This is a form of diagnostic assessment, however, I think interviewing is a great way to collect data and evidence that will help planning and differentiation.

Teachers can interview students, and colleagues, particularly those that teach the same student. Parents can also be interviewed as they best know what their child will or will not respond to.

Saide
15527345

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In my previous placement in my method Visual Arts, this was important because of the short amount of time i had with students. Diagnostic testing helped me work out who could absorb what i was saying as a whole class, direct instruction. One student was quite focused but as I walked around the room afterwards to see them at work this particular student struggled with the instruction  displayed on the board. After a one to one discussion he needed a follow up instruction and him paraphrasing the instruction back in his own words. This helped and he was back on task.

Benita Murray
18411301

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During my previous placement I had the opportunity to develop and deliver assessment tasks for a class of year 8 humanities students. Within this class there were a number of students who achieved below the expected level. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses I was able to develop assessment tasks that suited their way of learning including adjusted tasks that involved less of a focus on reading and writing and more on creative approaches for them to convey their understanding of the topic.

Thanks to this flexibility allowed by my mentor teacher, I was able to provide positive feedback based on their achievements and the students were visibly happier that someone had taken the time to work with them through the tasks.

Mark Scotland
17999284

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On my last placement I had a student who struggled to stay engaged in the content unless he used his computer. So I modified the assessment task so that there were choices of submission types and many of these could be done on the computer. He completed the task on time.

# data[].attributes.body
In my last placement, I had a student who struggled with writing due to academic issues, but they loved to draw, and could spend hours working through every little detail of their work. I had this student for an English class, and one task I had set out was to organise a list of key events from the text so far. However, I altered the task for the student so that they could recreate the key events of the text through drawings. They used the same sheet as everyone else, but they used pictures and illustrations to demonstrate their understanding of a key event, and simply had to add a page number to show they could pinpoint when the key event happened in the text. This was my best way to accomodate a student who struggled to write in a class where writing was a major focus.

Ben Gibson
17697821