St Margaret's RC Primary, Cowie

An evaluation of the project was carried out by the class teacher and pupils in the class and the following was noted:

• there was evidence of higher standards in written work achieved by all pupils, substantiated by an increase in attainment in writing
• pupils were able to extract information from complex pieces of text and apply their understanding
• learning in groups provided a support structure which facilitated higher standards of work - pupils commented on this. After a group comprehension activity one of the pupils commented:

'This was comprehension Mrs Clarke, but fun!'

• children demonstrated and made use of more sophisticated thinking skills, for example asking better questions, using and understanding complex vocabulary
• increase in motivation and engagement produced a more positive attitude to challenges where previously some would have given up
• children who had a tendency to opt out of more academic activities requested time at the after school club to continue working on class work
• understanding of peer and self assessment improved and children demonstrated greater confidence and willingness to engage with each other
• confidence in preparing and delivering innovative presentations to a wider audience improved

The four capacities were developed in the following ways:

Successful learners

The standard of work produced was of a high quality.

Children had to research the task thoroughly and understand what was relevant to the questions they were trying to answer.

They regularly had to question themselves to make sure that what they were doing was relevant.

They were extremely focused and had to think both creatively and critically to sustain debate and present their learning to others. 

Confident individuals

The filming undertaken, the open evening held in the school and the Inter-schools Conference demanded that they develop very competent presentation skills.

All the children were at some time or another called upon to speak to people they did not know in a polite, respectful and confident manner.

The conference was a daunting venue for the representing children who attended and they engaged with their audience very well. 

Responsible citizens

The children were encouraged throughout the tasks to make informed choices and decisions.

They learned to respect the opinions of others. 

Effective contributors

The children had to work effectively in groups in order to develop and present their theories.

They had to develop strategies for dealing with set backs and challenging situations that were new to them.

The task enabled them to develop and apply their problem solving skills.