Amy Sugars

Professional Experience 4: Professional Inquiry Project- Findings

Focus

My professional inquiry project was focused around using formative assessment in

mathematics lessons in order to more effectively differentiate my teaching to suit the
learning needs of each student. Through self-reflection I recognised that assessment and
differentiation were two areas of my practice where I lacked confidence and
experience.

Justification of teaching behaviour and curriculum area focus

As previously discussed the focus of my inquiry project was using formative assessment in
mathematics lessons in order to more effectively differentiate my teaching to suit the
needs of each student. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)
emphasises the importance of differentiation, stating that teachers must ‘differentiate
teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across a full range of abilities’
(2017). Additionally Konstantinou-Katzi and colleagues (2013, p. 333) state that
differentiation provides a range of means for all students to access curriculum content
and achieve the desired learning goals in a way that suits their needs. Furthermore
literature suggests that effective differentiation of teaching positively impacts student
learning outcomes and levels of engagement, which emphasises the need for me to
develop this skill (Konstantinou-Katzi et al. 2013, p. 332; Kerry & Kerry 1997).

Formative assessment is a suitable focus for my inquiry project because it provides

teachers with opportunities to improve and critically reflect on their practice (Doubet
2011, p. 3; Brady & Kennedy 2012, p. 16). Literature suggests that assessment informs the
ways in which teaching can be differentiated in order to suit the needs of students and
teachers can use the insights gained from such assessment to inform their planning, which
highlights the suitability of my inquiry focus (Veldhuis & van den Heuvel-Panhuizen 2014,
p.1).

As mentioned previously throughout my past placements I have lacked confidence in my

ability to differentiate particularly in mathematics therefore, I chose to focus on using
formative assessment in this curriculum area to more effectively differentiate my teaching.
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Wood (1996, p. 138-139) states that many teachers find it difficult to effectively
differentiate their teaching in mathematics to enhance the learning of each individual
due to the broad range of abilities amongst students in this learning area. This emphasises
the need for me to continually refine and reflect on my ability to differentiate and find a
way of doing so that works for me and the students I teach (Wood 1996, p. 148).

Context

I undertook my placement in a category 6 DECD primary school in the North-Eastern

suburbs of Adelaide (Department for Education and Child Development 2015). The school
consists of 228 students and has a strong community focus, which emphasises the
importance of parental involvement. The school community values the importance of a
differentiated curriculum and there are two specialised classes that support students with
disabilities.

My placement class consists of 17 receptions and 6 year one students with three students
who have negotiated education plans and an additional three with individual learning
plans. One student learns English as a second language however, this has not negatively
impacted his learning due to his parents commitment to supporting his English language
development. There are two students in the class with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
and one exhibits particularly challenging behaviours. This child accesses 16 hours of SSO
support per week in order to support his learning. In addition there are two students in the
class who have speech and language difficulties who have programs in place to support
their development.

Design and data collection techniques

I chose various data collection techniques that I employed throughout the inquiry process
in order to not only self-reflect but to also gain the opinions and insights of my mentor
teacher and the students.

I decided to incorporate student voice into my teaching by asking students to give

anonymous feedback in regards to how difficult the task was, using the template in
appendix 1. At the end of each lesson students thought about how difficult they felt the
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task was and coloured the bowl that best described how they felt. I decided to link this to
a familiar text, Goldilocks and the Three Bears to explain the concept of the task being
too easy, too had or just right for them.

Additionally I collected students’ work at the conclusion of each lesson, observed them
whilst they engaged in activities and recorded my formative assessment in the form of
anecdotal notes, as seen in appendix 2. Keeping these anecdotal notes helped me to
reflect upon whether my learning experiences were suitable for each of the students and
informed my future planning.

I also asked my mentor teacher to provide feedback using the template in appendix 3 as
a guide, based on her observations and opinion on whether the lesson catered to the
range of needs amongst the class.

Finally I reflected upon the effectiveness of the lessons, my ability to differentiate my

teaching and how my assessment impacted my ability to differentiate. I used the
template in appendix 4 to guide and record my reflection.

Data results and analysis

Initially I had planned to start collecting data at the beginning of my placement however,
through reflection and discussions with my mentor teacher we decided that the addition
unit, planned for the final three weeks of the placement block, would provide greater
opportunities for differentiation.

Throughout the inquiry process I found that providing explicit instructions is a vital part of
differentiating learning experiences. During one of the lessons that I taught, towards the
start of my addition unit I had planned to split students into groups and run three different
activities simultaneously. I started by explaining two of the activities and modelled what
students needed to do however, once they had started working I found that many
students were unsure of what they needed to do. I then had to provide further instruction
to those students who didn’t understand the activity, which meant that the third group
were left waiting for instruction. When I reflected upon this lesson, as seen in appendix 9 it
was evident that my instructions weren’t explicit enough and I should have spent more
time modelling what students needed to do to ensure that each of the activities ran
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smoothly. My mentor validated this observation stating in her feedback, as seen in
appendix 5 that ‘a bit more explicit instruction for the middle group at the start of the
lesson would have helped.’

Additionally I found that incorporating differentiated activities that allow students to make
choices in regards to the level of task difficulty encourages them to take ownership of
their learning journey and reflect upon whether a task is too easy, too difficult or just right
for them, as noted in my reflection seen in appendix 12 (Reeve & Tseng 2011, p. 263).
When I analysed the student feedback, seen in appendix 13 I found that many students
stated that tasks were too easy however, through formative assessment of their work I
noted that this was often not the case. When students were able to make choices in
regards to the task difficulty I expected that most students would state that the task was
just right however many students still stated that it was was too easy, as seen in appendix
14. I raised this concern with my critical friend, Emma de Cure and we discussed how
students at this age may not understand what it feels like if a task is too difficult, too easy
or just right and may often say that it is too easy in attempt to impress me or their peers.
My mentor teacher supported encouraging students to make choices in her feedback,
seen in appendix 7, stating that I ‘[made] it clear to students that they have agency in
their own learning journey’ and I ‘notice when the learning needs to be adjusted and do
so in a timely manner’. This feedback also highlights another key factor of effective
differentiation, providing further differentiation throughout lessons. My mentor teacher’s
feedback from the start of my unit, in appendix 5, highlights the need for me to
‘differentiate further as lessons progress’ and the feedback mentioned previously shows
that I have developed this skill throughout the unit.

Reflection

Through data analysis it emerged that there were and still are areas of my practice, which
I need to refine to more effectively differentiate my teaching. Firstly I recognised the need
for me to provide more explicit instruction to ensure that I could manage numerous
differentiated tasks simultaneously. In order to do this I incorporated warm up activities in
some lessons to give students opportunities to practice the skills required throughout the
lesson as a group before students applied these skills independently. Additionally I used
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visual reminder cards, seen in appendix 15, to remind students of the steps they needed
to take throughout the lesson.

Additionally I recognise that junior primary students may need more scaffolding to
understand if a task is too challenging, too easy or just right for them in order to make
more suitable choices between differentiated tasks. Class discussion about what it may
feel like if a task is just right for our needs may promote this understanding.

As mentioned in the results I also worked on improving my ability to differentiate further

throughout lessons to provide more of a challenge or additional support to those who
needed it. I developed this skill by observing students and assessing their work throughout
the lessons and provided additional scaffolding or extension activities where appropriate.

Conclusion
In conclusion I have learnt that formative assessment does improve my ability to
differentiate my teaching because it enables me to track students’ progress and monitor
whether tasks were suitable for their needs in order to inform my future planning. I realised
how complex differentiation is and I explored concepts within this including providing
explicit instructions in order to manage numerous differentiated activities simultaneously,
allowing students to have choice in the level of difficulty of a task and monitoring
students’ learning throughout lessons and providing further differentiation when needed.
In future I will continue to develop my ability to differentiate my teaching using formative
assessment to aid me in this process.

References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2017, Australian
professional standards for teachers, aitsl, viewed 23 September 2018,
<https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards>.

Brady, L, Kennedy, KJ & Kennedy, KJ 2012, Assessment and reporting: celebrating student
achievement, 4th edn, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.

Department for Education and Child Development 2015, Index of educational

disadvantage by school, South Australia Department for Education, Government of South
Australia, viewed 23 September 2018,
<https://www.education.sa.gov.au/sites/g/files/net691/f/index_of_educational_disadvant
age_by_school_2012.pdf>.
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Doubet, K 2011, 'Formative Assessment: The Driving Force Behind Differentiation', Middle
Ground, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 10-12.

Kane, RG & Chimwayange, C 2014, 'Teacher action research and student voice: Making
sense of learning in secondary school', Action Research, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 52-77.

Kerry, T & Kerry, CA 1997, 'Differentiation: teachers’ views of the usefulness of

recommended strategies in helping the more able pupils in primary and secondary
classrooms', Educational Studies, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 439-457.

Konstantinou-Katzi, P, Tsolaki, E, Meletiou-Mavrotheris, M & Koutselini, M 2013,

‘Differentiation of teaching and learning mathematics: an action research study in tertiary
education', International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology,
vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 332-349.

Reeve, J & Tseng, C 2011, 'Agency as a Fourth Aspect of Students' Engagement during
Learning Activities', Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 257-267.
Veldhuis, M & van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M 2014, 'Primary School Teachers’ Assessment
Profiles in Mathematics Education', PLoS One, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-11.

Wood, A 1996, ‘Differentiation in primary mathematics’, in Eve Bearne (ed.),

Differentiation and Diversity in the Primary School, Routledge, London, pp. 138-148.
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Appendices
§ Appendix 1: Student feedback template
§ Appendix 2: Assessment of students’ work/observation notes
§ Appendix 3: Mentor teacher feedback template
§ Appendix 4: Reflective journal template
§ Appendix 5: Mentor teacher feedback (6th September)
§ Appendix 6: Mentor teacher feedback (11th September)
§ Appendix 7: Mentor teacher feedback (13th September)
§ Appendix 8: Reflective journal (5th September)
§ Appendix 9: Reflective journal (6th September)
§ Appendix 10: Reflective journal (11th September)
§ Appendix 11: Reflective journal (12th September)
§ Appendix 12: Reflective journal (13th September)
§ Appendix 13: Student feedback
§ Appendix 14: Student feedback (13th September)
§ Appendix 15: visual reminder cards

Appendix 1: Student feedback template

Was it too easy, too hard or just right?

Too easy! Just right! Too hard!

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Appendix 2: Assessment of students’ work/ observation notes
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Appendix 3: Mentor teacher feedback template
Date of lesson:

Was differentiation evident in the learning In your opinion was the learning experience
experience? If so, how? too challenging or too simple for any
students in the class?

Was differentiation more effective for Were any students at a disadvantage due
certain students than it was for others? If so, to the differentiation seen in the lesson?
how?

How could the preservice teacher improve Do you believe that the learning
the learning experience in order to more experience effectively built upon the
effectively suit the needs of the students? students’ prior knowledge and skills?
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Appendix 4: Reflective journal template

Brief description of lesson:

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

What did you observe? Were the students What did you learn about the students’
engaged or did they appear to be finding learning needs and abilities?
the task too easy or difficult? Were there
students who seemed to not understand?

What do you think worked well? How has your assessment informed what
you would do next time?

What did the students’ feedback show you What did you learn from the anecdotal
and what will you do based on this notes/ feedback that your mentor gave
feedback? you?
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Appendix 5: Mentor Teacher Feedback (6th September)
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Appendix 6: Mentor Teacher Feedback (11th September)
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Appendix 7: Mentor Teacher Feedback (13th September)
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Appendix 8: Reflective journal (5th September)
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Appendix 9: Reflective journal (6th September)
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Appendix 10: Reflective journal (11th September)
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Appendix 11: Reflective journal (12th September)
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Appendix 12: Reflective journal (13th September)
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Appendix 13: Student feedback

Student feedback: Pre-test

17%

44% Too hard

Too easy
Just right

39%

Student feedback: 6th September

12%

41% Too hard

Too easy
Just right

47%
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Student feedback: 10th September

26%

Too hard
48%
Too easy
Just right

26%

Student feedback: 11th September

15%

Too hard
45%
Too easy
Just right
40%

Student feedback: 12th September

6%

Too hard
50% Too easy
44% Just right
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Appendix 14: Student feedback (13th September)

13th September: Student

feedback

19%
38% Too hard
Too easy
Just right
43%

Appendix 15: Visual reminder cards