Friday’s CAT afternoon was a whole school session on Assessment is for Learning. The AisfL group led the school in three sessions.

Each session focused on techniques that could be used in the classroom to do with the area. A session led by Luke Francis and Steven Wren was really thought provoking. A beautiful video clip of the planet and the wonders it holds followed by the BBC news clip of Ian Huntley, this was chilling. The session asked us questions about what is good, evil, does God exsist etc? given an example of an RMPS class.

Although this was a fun CAT I did feel that I hadn’t actually learned anything that we hadn’t already covered. AisfL is covered in great depth at University and then there was a huge push in Dumfries and Galloway in the area so I kind of feel zoned out about whole thing… a bit like eating too much of something you really like… in the end you avoid it for a while.

Drama IS assessment is for learning! that is all we do in our lessons - all we have done for many years- so this isn’t a great new learning experience for us.

In one lesson we do the following:

High Quality Interactions - Classroom assessment involves high quality interactions, based on thoughtful questions, careful listening and reflective responses. Drama asks the students to explore the world in which they live in, work with everyone in the classroom, listen to people’s point of view and respond to the stimulus they have given.

Involving pupils in their learning - Pupils and staff are fully involved in deciding next steps in their learning and identifying who can help. Students in Drama are asking to respond to various stimuli in a creative way, thinking outside the box and coming up with their own ideas and answers, asking for help when needed. They are given skills at the start and by the end the students fully lead the unit of work they are taking part in.

Feedback: Pupils and staff are given timely feedback about the quality of their work and how to make it better. In Drama students are now used to peer assessment, where they use 2 stars and a wish to give full feedback with justification on the work they have just seen. Through the Junior courses students are asked to look at their peers and their own work and look at areas of improvement and how they can help each other to achieve the best possible production they can. I find that students are fully honest in their feedback, not only to each other but also to me, the teacher. I asked for feedback at the end of each lesson.

Sharing Criteria - Pupils, staff and parents are clear about what is to be learned and what success would be like. Students are given the learning intentions and criteria for success for each unit and lesson and we look back to see if we have met them or not and feedback on the reasons behind it.

Drama has been using these techniques for years and sometimes it is hard when asked ‘how do you use AisfL in your lesson?’ to actually say well blah blah blah, you tend to find it comes naturally, like driving a car, you do it every lesson, every day you find it hard to explain unless you really think about it.

I’m now rambling BUT i did enjoy the CAT session on friday HOWEVER we do a lot of this in Drama.

On the 27th January 1945 the Red Army marched into the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz and liberated the prisoners from their opressors.

Seven years ago National Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) was created to commemorate, to educate and to prompt action in the UK. HMD commemorates the lives of those lost in the Holocaust; as a result of Nazi persecution and in more recent genocides. It educates about the Holocaust and it lessons for the present day. It prompts action in the UK highlighting the continuing dangers of racism, anti-semitism and all forms of discrimination.

As a teacher and theatre pracitioner I feel that it is so important to educate young people about the Holocaust and Genocide since World War Two. We are now getting to a stage in history where first hand stories are being lost and it is up to children and grand children of survivors to pass on information.

Throughout the Drama Curruiculum  at Knox Academy students experience various insights into the Holocaust… S1 look at the Holocaust through Dance/Drama, S2 look at the topic through the eyes of Refugees and writing monologues to perform and the S6 have just completed In Holland Stands a House about Anne Frank, as well as looking at scenes from Fear and Misery of the Third Reich. I have just written the Standard Grade course for next year and the students will have to create a piece of Docu-Drama based on Genocide. All these topics look at the aims of HMD and hopefully will engage students.

I think it should be council wide that all schools should be doing something active for HMD; an assembly, cross curricular work, research, presentations etc anything that will enable the students to look at the topic and engage them.

We are living in a world where sadly Genocide happens and yet young people are quite niave about the topic due to lack of education, please don’t think that is only a teachers job, I feel parents and the governement should also be doing all they can to make young people understand that being different for whatever reason is actually fine. The tragedies of Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur have shown that the international community, and each of us as citizens, have not truly understood the lessons of the Holocaust.

Every year, a different theme is announced for HMD. In 2008, the theme is Imagine…remember reflect react.

Knox Academy has already started their work towards the day, ending with a memorial by the senior students for those who have died throughout the world. It is my aim that Knox Academy makes this a day in their calendar, enabling students to look at the day each year from a different point of view.

Imagine… what it is like

remember… the past

reflect… on the memories

react… so it won’t happen again

What will you be doing on the 27th?