Discussing the interviews

This morning I met with the student research team and we watched one of the Year 11 interviews back, discussing ideas and themes which appeared. I didn't share any of my emerging themes or codes with the students because I wanted our discussion to act as a form of triangulation; through our discussion, key themes and ideas would hopefully appear, which could or could not correspond with my own interpretations.

After watching, the students seemed to (unknowingly) support the themes which I had picked out, especially when it came to 'good' and 'bad' feedback criteria. Bad feedback, in their opinion, was when teachers gave out the examiners grade criteria; while they understood why teachers did this, they found the language too vague and not helpful; specifically, the called it 'teacher speak'. They said that they would prefer if grade criteria was made more accessible in 'student speak'. Good feedback was when teachers were consistent and regular in providing evidence of 'current levels' and offered advice on how to get to higher levels.

Focus was also given to ideas of 'right and wrong' and 'improving'. Overall, they tended to agree with much of what the interview students suggested, focusing on a desire to receive grades, criteria and examples all at once to help ensure greater chances of successful progress. They suggested that both grades and comments are needed together, because the grade provides them with a solid understanding of where they are and the comments help them to get to where they want to be. To quote one student specifically, he said that grades acted as a 'stepping stone' to progress using comments to help. Expanded ideas included providing students with clear checklists of success criteria and level ladders written in 'student speak'.

One interesting point which they developed further than the interview students was this idea of teachers marking 'for Ofsted'. They were quite articulate in suggesting that they could clearly perceive when teachers were marking because they wanted students to progress and when they were marking purely for Ofsted. One boy specifically said that he disliked it when marking was 'not for our benefit', especially when teachers made them do tasks which specifically related to Ofsted, such as 'tidying our folders' or 'responding to feedback in a different colour so it's clear to Ofsted' (direct quotes used). One phrase that stood out to me particularly was what they referred to as 'teacher panic'. The students expressed a lot of displeasure with what they clearly saw as teachers panicking about the arrival of Ofsted. It was something that they felt negatively affected them; when I asked them how it made them feel, two girls told me that it made them, in turn, feel panic themselves.

The conversation also took a reflective turn, with students beginning to discuss how they would do things differently, if given more time and opportunities. All of the students felt that the Year 11 respondents were more open and honest than the Year 8s. They felt that the Year 8s were more likely to give responses that would 'please the teacher' and that they tended not to disagree with each other or offer alternative viewpoints. Shyness and an unwillingness to stand out or be different were offered as reasons why this could be. Another student also suggested that the very setting of the interviews had a negative effect on the students; because the interviews were conducted in a classroom, they felt that the respondents made more 'teacher pleasing' comments. One student went so far as to suggest that if they were able to conduct the interviews again, they'd try to find a more neutral environment.

They also suggested that interviewing the students a second time, later in the summer term, asking the same questions, would be a good way to check to see if their opinions remained the same. However, due to time constraints, this won't be a possibility.

These are my initial thoughts to the meeting. We will be meeting again on Thursday, looking at some Year 8 interviews and discussing.

Transcribing and initial reflections

Hello! It feels as though it's been a long time since I've written anything, but I can assure you I haven't forgotten my studies! Over the Easter holiday I typed up and coded the two Year 11 interviews, posting everything to the Google Classroom website so that the student researchers could have a look. Surprisingly, some of them actually went on and engaged with the research, which was amazing! Some brief discussions were had via posting comments, which will be helpful for us later.

Due to mock exams and other commitments, I wasn't able to meet with the team again until this morning. Since I had previously scheduled the Year 8 interview subjects to come, it was a bit of a whirl-wind morning, with the student researchers arriving and then immediately having to rush off to greet the Year 8s.

I did manage to speak to two of the girls before they left for first lesson though, and we briefly explored some issues arising regarding student dominance during the discussions. I also gave them a paper copy of the transcript of their Year 11 interview and asked them to read through it, jotting notes and summaries in the margin (by way of beginning to code, which I explained to them). They managed to get a bit of work done before the bell went, which I will outline below.

First of all, I suppose I should outline the emerging code list that I've generated.

Revised Codes Year 11 Interviews

To improve
               achievement
              strengths vs weaknesses

Right vs wrong

Grades > comments

Consistency
               Subject

Format

Bad feedback
               ticks and crosses
               vague
               general/generic
               impersonal
               lack of effort/engagement by teacher
               negative
               unclear

Good feedback
               combination
               constructive
               personal (implied)
               mark scheme
               peer

Working with targets

Confidence

Effort
               teacher
               student 

Of these codes, the two girls complimented many of them with their own, writing things like 'Strengths v Weaknesses', 'lack of consistency', 'grades and comments', 'peer assessment = good', and 'confidence'. 

I am going to meet with the entire team next week, and get them to read through and annotate all of the transcripts, in order to finalise and triangulate the codes. 

Luckily, I was also able to type of the transcripts for the Year 8 interviews, coding these only a few moments ago. Many of the same themes are appearing, although from slightly different angles. For example, it appears that the Year 11s notice a lack of consistency in feedback across the different subjects. A few key subjects were identified by Year 11 students as being 'good' at giving consistent feedback, but on the whole it seems like they don't receive feedback consistently. This isn't to say that the WAY feedback is given is inconsistent - they all made reference to the two star and wish policy used by the school. Instead, lack of consistency here means that feedback appears to be subject specific; some subjects give good feedback, and give it regularly, while others rarely give it at all.

The picture painted by the Year 8s, however, was much different. While certain subjects were repeated as being 'good' at providing regular feedback, there were additional subjects included, beyond the very few cited by Year 11 students. This suggests that those departments that are doing it well are doing it across the board, but that some subjects haven't implemented a system that is equal across year groups or key stages. 

A few sub-codes were also added to my list, after typing up the Year 8 interviews. For example, under the 'to improve' category, I have thought about adding 'steps/progress' and 'mistakes recognised', as these terms came up a few times, across the interview subjects. Two other sub-codes for bad feedback also include 'disappointment' (the feedback made them feel sad about forgetting something)  and 'confusing' (which can be linked to 'unclear'). Overall though, many of the same themes were appearing, which is encouraging. It makes my life a lot easier, at any rate! 

Something that I do find interesting though is that both Year 11 and Year 8 students have expressed a lack of confidence or comfort in self-assessment. It seems to me that they aren't given enough opportunities to do self-assessment, and if they do, it's under poor guidance. Students are unsure of how to properly mark their own work, and struggle with being 'too harsh' or 'too biased'. This is an area that I'd really like to pursue next year, as part of my own CPD. I think self-assessment is such a powerful tool, if used properly, and it's a shame that the students don't feel it's useful. 

Anyways, that's all I'm going to rant on about for now. I'll provide an update next week, after I've met with the team again. 

- KC