School interventions are necessary for accelerated progress, but what about the additional work that comes with it? Frustratingly, this is often forgotten about. Resources to prepare, worksheets to mark, follow-up activities to plan, feedback to give (we can feel you wincing at the thought of it)!
Here we ignore myths that suggest that spending hours marking makes a better teacher. And will show you how to concentrate on feedback which is meaningful, manageable and motivating.
Why can school interventions be time-consuming for staff?
Time spent at the implementation stage is important and cannot be rushed. Knowing what a good intervention looks like and finding one that is just right for your children is no easy feat. Otherwise, your time can easily disappear on:
- Resources - Finding engaging and high-quality resources that are linked with previous learning takes time. Not forgetting, they should also build connections between topics.
- Grouping - You know your class find aspects of GPS hard. But, who struggles with similar concepts? How do you group them into the right interventions?
- Marking - We need to do this to identify the next steps, but it cannot become a tick-box exercise. Quality over quantity.
- Feedback - We all know this is essential. Learners need to review and monitor their own progress, but again, this takes time!
Do interventions need to be marked?
In essence, yes. But how and to what extent depends on your school’s assessment and marking policy; it varies from school to school. Your setting may ask for annotated lesson plans with an evaluation. Or maybe your assessment policy expects the proof to be in the pudding. If your punctuation intervention has been effective, long stories without a pause for breath will be a thing of the past.
How to save teacher time and make school interventions effective
So, how can this be done? By considering these easy steps it is possible:
Establish the most effective way to assess
Decide with your assessment lead what evidence needs to look like so the effectiveness of the intervention can be monitored.
Whether it is written feedback or an online assessment quiz you are looking for, Shine offers it all. The choice is yours!
Agree on expectations for marking
If you find your school’s marking policy is too time-consuming and isn’t having the desired impact on pupil progress, bring it to the attention of your assessment lead. Feedback should be meaningful, manageable and motivating.
Choose a system that works for you
An online system that analyses data and considers the next steps would surely be everyone’s first choice. MARK easily identifies gaps and weaknesses in the core subjects using built-in diagnostic tools.
Plan efficiently
Start with agreed learning objectives over blocks of time and plan sequences of lessons to achieve these objectives. Shine offers pre-planned sessions with activities that carefully introduce, model and practice learning objectives.
Have resources that are ready to go
Tailor the intervention with a specific focus. Use activities that require minimal marking and demonstrates their ability to apply their learning to independent work.
Do you want to link interventions to the wider curriculum and build vocabulary? Choose an intervention programme, that offers high-quality activities that are year group specific.
Paper-based activities or online materials? Shine provides both. Minimal marking is required, reducing your workload. Now, that is a good result!
Book a demo of Shine for your school; contact your local Assessment Consultant today.
Guest writer Louise Jackson has over 8 years of teaching and leadership experience in mainstream and SEND specialist schools. Find her on LinkedIn.
Tags
assessment,
interventions,
marking,
shine,
teaching assistant