Raising Attainment Middle East ran on 23rd March 2021.
Organised by the Outstanding Schools teams, a group of school leaders set out to:
- Set students up for success in summer 2021
- Identify types of learning loss and set targets to raise attainment over the next 5 years
- Develop fair, reliable and valid assessments for better pedagogy
- Better interpret data to provide targeted intervention
- Design and invest in appropriate personalised learning solutions
Morning presentations and panels were designed to stimulate thinking and afternoon roundtables and workshops facilitated collaboration and problem-solving.
Conference Agenda
Before proceedings get underway, this short explainer session will demonstrate how you can get the most out of our conference platform. The OSME team will run through how to make virtual connections, creating networking meet ups, accessing content on demand and how to use our new Q&A, chat functions and virtual polling tools.
Biggest Differentiators for Attainment in Summer 2021 and the Topics of the Day:
- Exams and summative assessments update – how schools have responded for summer 2021
- Strategies for identifying gaps and making successful interventions
- Formative assessments, homework and feedback strategies for raising attainment
- Strategies for successful hybrid teaching and learning
- Strategies for improving engagement and nurturing creativity
The Short-Term View: Navigating the Assessment Storm – How to Maximise Attainment for Every Student in Summer 2021
- What can schools still do to tee up students for success for summer 2021?
- How are you ensuring no child gets left behind?
- How are your schools identifying and closing knowledge and skills gaps? What intervention and adaptive learning strategies are you using?
- What are the biggest differentials; where can principals, academic heads and teachers have the biggest impact
- How can teachers and principals develop a portfolio of internally and externally validated work to showcase their skills and talents
- What additional strategies can Middle East schools use to accredit and demonstrate pupil value?
Delegates can join the speed networking meeting room for a chance to meet and greet other delegates, putting faces to names. Delegates will be paired off 12 times for 1 minute for informal introductions. Delegates are then free to continue the conversation with any of these new connections later in the day
Alternatively delegates can start their own meetings by clicking on “Attendees” > send connection requests > start a text chat or click on the video icon to start a video meeting
Delegates should switch back to the Live Agenda Page on Swapcard to tune in for the next session
No Excuses: Raising Attainment through the Pandemic
- Setting ambitious targets and not hiding behind the pandemic – focusing on attainment following unprecedented disruption
- What are the biggest factors for success that academic leaders can actually affect
- What are the gaps in early and primary years that we need to be identifying and attempting to close right now to avoid a future skills and knowledge crisis
- Leadership strategies and creating a culture of success
The Long-Term View: Closing Gaps and Raising Attainment
- Do we have evidence that we have experienced real learning loss through the pandemic?
- What are the long term gaps created by the pandemic – how should they be identified and planned for over the next 5 years?Are they created by the pandemic – are they the same gaps as we had before?
- Don’t forget the goals – how do we continue to insert creativity into the assessment and pedagogy process to nurture and teach creativity
- What are the alternatives to assessment? Are micro-credentials the future for assessment?
- How should we conceptualise attainment? How do we best assess and recognise wellbeing as an enabler for raising attainment?
A short break for delegates to take refreshments and to connect with other attendees via the chat function or 1-to-1 video meetings on the event online platform. To start a meeting click on “Attendees”, search through the delegate list and send connection requests, then start a text chat or click on the video icon to start a video meeting
Delegates should switch back to the Live Agenda Page on Swapcard to tune in for the next session
These roundtable discussions are hosted in (Zoom) video meeting rooms away from the main conference (Swapcard) platform
They are designed to maximise active delegate participation. All delegates are expected to attend roundtables with videos turned on
Formative Assessment, Homework and Feedback Strategies for Closing Gaps and Raising Attainment
- For online learners, which strategies remove parents and the internet for when an accurate picture of student knowledge and abilities is needed?
- What verbal strategies have you effectively deployed? Chat little and often; can conducting regular short conversations give teachers a greater understanding in real time of student development? Does this and 1-on-1 conferencing build student confidence and identify knowledge gaps early and regularly?
- Which formative assessment strategies empower students and give them increased motivation, agency and autonomy?
- Which informal assessment methods best drive creativity and critical thinking?
These roundtable discussions are hosted in (Zoom) video meeting rooms away from the main conference (Swapcard) platform
They are designed to maximise active delegate participation. All delegates are expected to attend roundtables with videos turned on
Intervention Strategies for Raising Attainment
- Impacts of COVID-19: how are you measuring and addressing learning loss? Where does this rank in your priorities?
- Identification strategies that work; stop collecting data and start collating and processing it better
- What intervention strategies are the most accessible for your school and which are you currently deploying?
- What are the pros and cons of Response to Intervention? What are the lean, good value options for investing in tech to support intervention?
- Individual and group work strategies for effective intervention via remote learning
- Reflections on incorporation of artificial intelligence and differentiated instruction
A break for delegates to take lunch and to connect with other attendees via the chat function or 1-to-1 video meetings on the event online platform. To start a meeting click on “Attendees”, search through the delegate list and send connection requests, then start a text chat or click on the video icon to start a video meeting
Delegates should switch back to the Live Agenda Page on Swapcard to tune in for the next session
- The ‘Why’: What is our intent? Why have we focused on the data-fed, data-led tool of #themonalisaeffect® to enhance student wellbeing as an essential means also to raise attainment.
- The ‘How’: How has this been implemented across the Primary and Senior Schools at BSM? In particular, how have we trained our staff to bridge and blur old academic/pastoral lines to maintain an holistic, 360º view?
- The ‘Impact’: What impact have we seen already, and what effect do we expect to see as we dive deeper into #themonalisaeffect® in years to come?
- The ‘What Next?’: As staff become increasingly confident working with the data triangle, where will this new and exciting journey take us next?
- Some fundamental ideas all teachers should know and understand in their contexts
- What we mean by standards
- How to measure attainment in authentic ways
- How to give feedback that moves students forward
- The implications for CPD
A short break for delegates to take refreshments and to connect with other attendees via the chat function or 1-to-1 video meetings on the event online platform. To start a meeting click on “Attendees”, search through the delegate list and send connection requests, then start a text chat or click on the video icon to start a video meeting
Delegates should switch back to the Live Agenda Page on Swapcard to tune in for the next session
These roundtable discussions are hosted in (Zoom) video meeting rooms away from the main conference (Swapcard) platform
They are designed to maximise active delegate participation. All delegates are expected to attend roundtables with videos turned on
Facilitating Self-Led Learning through an Adaptive Learning System
- What are the best ways to promote pupil agency within the existing curriculum and assessments? Explore a range of tools to promote diversity and divergent, teaching creatively and teaching for creativity
- Self-led learning is the most salient way to improve student learning outcomes. This is the single most influential area for edtech to make an impact on teaching
- Transforming student agency and autonomy; redefining the student from passive recipient of information to active, collaborative partner
- Modify the presentation of material in response to student performance
- 5 enabling conditions: high upfront investment, mapping to the curriculum, robust digital infrastructure, teacher training and student engagement
These roundtable discussions are hosted in (Zoom) video meeting rooms away from the main conference (Swapcard) platform
They are designed to maximise active delegate participation. All delegates are expected to attend roundtables with videos turned on
Best Practice Hybrid Learning Lesson Plans to Raise Attainment
- Maximum impact, minimum time and resources
- Video is the most powerful tool for teachers during and beyond the pandemic. This workshop focuses on empowering teachers to know what to record and when to use video to maximise engagement and learning
- Use video to seamlessly pivot between remote, hybrid and classroom instruction
- Allow students to consume information at their own pace and grade them on mastery rather than memory
A short break for delegates to take refreshments and to connect with other attendees via the chat function or 1-to-1 video meetings on the event online platform. To start a meeting click on “Attendees”, search through the delegate list and send connection requests, then start a text chat or click on the video icon to start a video meeting
Delegates should switch back to the Live Agenda Page on Swapcard to tune in for the next session
Our Video Workshops are led by highly experienced training professionals. Please turn your video on for this session for active participation.
- Has remote learning dehumanised education and made it impersonal? How to ensure skillsets such as collaboration and communication are not lost
- Improving long-term motivation and wellbeing
- How to make remote, hybrid and in-person teaching personal and authentic to close the gap
- How to create content that is relevant and contextualised and provides moments of awe
- How to leverage student passion, strengths and interests
- Offering flexible pace and pathways for tailored tuition
Our Video Workshops are led by highly experienced training professionals. Please turn your video on for this session for active participation.
- Techniques for using questioning to extend and evaluate student learning experiences.
- Eight different kinds of questions that challenge students to demonstrate higher-order thinking and communicate depth of knowledge.
- How to rephrase the performance objectives of university and career readiness standards into questions that engage and challenge students
A short break for delegates to take refreshments and to connect with other attendees via the chat function or 1-to-1 video meetings on the event online platform. To start a meeting click on “Attendees”, search through the delegate list and send connection requests, then start a text chat or click on the video icon to start a video meeting
Delegates should switch back to the Live Agenda Page on Swapcard to tune in for the next session
Our Video Workshops are led by highly experienced training professionals
Please turn your video on for this session for active participation
- Establishing a standards-based mindset; recognising summative assessment as a necessary and productive part of a balanced assessment system
- Reaffirming, reworking and rethinking assessment fundamentals for the 21st Which assessment fundamentals need to be reaffirmed despite the curricular shifts, which need to be reworked to increase relevance, and which need to be rethought given the complexities of competency-based instruction
- Creating genuine confidence and self-belief through grounded and authentic evidence of learning. High quality feedback promotes self-efficacy and positive learning trajectory
- Constructional agility and avoided the over quantification of assessment
*Final programme subject to change