Holy Rood to Melbourne

Good practice in Australian assessment

Catherine Williams is a physics teacher in Holy Rood High School, Edinburgh. She has completed the four core modules of the Chartered Teacher programme at the University of Edinburgh and now intends to apply for full Chartered Teacher status via the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)'s accreditation route.

Catherine was part of the SEED-funded group study visit to Melbourne on formative assessment that was organised by the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT) and the GTCS.

Catherine says:

'Stimulated by my learning through the Chartered Teacher programme, I had been developing formative assessment in my practice for about two years prior to the study visit. I hoped that the visit would provide an opportunity to observe good practice in the use of formative assessment strategies and that this would enable me to become more confident and effective in their use in my own classroom. During the visit I learned a number of new strategies which I intend to use with my pupils, such as using rubrics to promote and support self-assessment.

'However, what has been most inspiring for me was to see pupils taking real ownership of their learning. Most of the pupils we met could articulate what they were learning and why they were learning it, whether to address weaknesses or further develop strengths. They were clear about where they had come from, where they were going and, in many cases, how they were going to get there.

'Seeing independent learning in practice has given me a much clearer vision of what I would like to develop in my own pupils and has enabled me more effectively to select and use appropriate strategies to achieve this in Scottish classrooms. We agreed to undertake a joint research project looking at Personal Profiles and ways of promoting effective self-assessment skills in pupils, and sharing practice and experiences.

'The international study visit provided opportunities to share knowledge, understanding and experiences across continents - an exciting development in 21st-century teaching.'