Assessment - formative and summative
Formative: Pupil Self Assessment
As they work through the pages in the Dolphin book, the pupils monitor their own progress by clicking on a series of ‘happy people’ linked to ‘I Can’ statements. At the end of a lesson, they record their overall competence by traffic lighting the work they have done.- Red means ‘I need more practice’
- Amber means ‘I am confident with this’
- Green means ‘I am really confident and would be able to teach someone else’
The process of self monitoring has several benefits. Children become more aware of their own learning process and of their responsibility in it. They develop a mature approach to learning. The pupils are able to be honest about their ability and their learning needs because they quickly realise that the purpose of working through the material is to help them to acquire skills which they perceive to be of value.
Thorough learning of the skills also has an immediate positive consequence. The pupils feel proud of having mastered a new skill, which reinforces their self esteem, and they gain enjoyment from using their newly acquired skills independently and from passing on what they have learned to their peers.
Schools which choose the option to install the Dolphin System on their own computer network will also have access to a variety of grids and charts which allow teachers to keep track of the progress of the class as a whole. These can be viewed on screen or printed out.
Summative: The 'Tests'
To provide hard evidence of pupils' skill level, tests are included at the end of some modules. These require pupils to create a piece of work over several sessions and print the finished result. It is suggested that pupils complete these unaided.Further information on all the above is given in the teachers' manual which can be accessed via the free trial.
 |
| ""I think the Dolphin System is a very good learning system and schools all over the world should use it." Jade, Pupil, Kingswells Primary School, Aberdeen |
 |
"The ladder is well structured to include all the aims and objectives suggested by QCA and the tutoring works especially well, as the children gain an insight into each other’s needs. We also now have something in place that is monitoring individual progress - something that we all found difficult to achieve before." Sandra Medley, Head Teacher, Whitstone Community Primary School, Cornwall |