The Centre for Innovation in Education of the Faculty of Education of Palacký University in Olomouc has prepared another addition to the faculty library of didactic materials and methodology for teachers in practice. This time it is original tools that will help teachers to introduce elements of formative assessment into teaching.
One of the important tasks of every teacher is to assess students and provide feedback. Equally important is to encourage pupils to reflect on their own learning and to be aware of whether and to what extent they are achieving the intended goals. How can we do this in a way that is both fun and positive for children?
The answer is offered by a new website from the Faculty of Education of Palacký University and new publication from the UP Faculty of Arts in the form of a set of five original progress maps, which offers inspiration to all interested teachers and students of teaching.
Engaging and colourful maps with creative motifs and themes are a great tool for those who want to teach students to self-assess, motivate them, and give them constructive feedback on their learning. This newly developed didactic tool shows that assessment can be fun and can make pupils want to move on. The maps offer child-friendly visualisations that are accessible to children and encourage them to develop and learn new things. After all, who would not want to succeed on an expedition to the planet of knowledge or an adventurous journey to unknown islands? Who wouldn't be tempted to plant a forest or cultivate a meadow? Who would not want to throw a party full of cheerful monsters?
A mini-site with methodology - and above all the learning progress maps themselves - was created as part of a project on self-assessment and graphical representation of pupils' progress. The content of the "Podívej se, jak rostu!" (“Look at how I’m growing!") site aims to inspire teachers who are trying to collect evidence of their pupils' learning progress in a playful way in their teaching practice and who guide pupils to self-assess their learning and growth.
As Petra Šobáňová, one of the authors of the methodology, explains, the maps are intended especially for pupils of the first grade of primary school and are in the form of colourful illustrations. "They offer teachers concrete visualisations of pupils' development and learning. They have been created by a young artist Kamila Francová, a graduate of our faculty, based on didactic recommendations. Anyone interested can download the finished original illustrations for free for their lessons, or they can use the entire graphic package with many motifs and variations of use. We have tried to make our materials as usable as possible, so we have prepared more practical versions that teachers can create themselves and tailor them to their students." That the idea is of great interest to teachers is evidenced by the fact that the workshop at which the maps will be presented was immediately filled. "We are very pleased that we are able to interest teachers in practice and that we are connecting and inspiring them in this way," said Petra Šobáňová, Vice-Dean for External Relations and Innovation.
The newly developed methodology for formative assessment is based on the visualisation of pupils' development and their own assessment of their progress. And how can teachers work with maps?
1. Firstly, they choose one of the illustrations of pupils' learning progress and think about how they could use it. They have a choice between five maps with sets of themes. They can record learning goals or stages in a particular subject, focus on a planned cross-curricular project, or even a longer period such as a term or school year.
2. The learning objectives should then be written in brief headings according to the school curriculum or topic plan. The wording of the objectives or milestones should be clear to the pupils and should be very specific and 'measurable'. The pupils themselves should be able to evaluate whether they have achieved these objectives. The authors recommend that the focus should not only be on knowledge but also skills, as well as on pupils' interests and motivation. The objectives should be partial and achievable. The teacher's intention should not be to 'control' pupils or point out their mistakes and shortcomings. It is better to teach them to judge their own development and above all to motivate and encourage them.
3. Once the objectives are set, they are added to the dedicated spaces (islands, planets, wheels, monsters, etc.) and the poster. Pupils can draw or graphically record them once they have achieved them. Alternatively, the objectives can be left ready on a separate sheet for the pupils to cut them out, colour them in and glue them onto the poster.
Another option is for pupils to set their own objectives or to add some of their own to yours.
The maps themselves can also be used in many different ways: teachers can hang them on a classroom bulletin board and invite students to draw their own poster, on which they will then plot their completed stages. In this way, each pupil can draw their own universe, forest, garden, or sea. It is up to the teacher to consider what will work best in their classroom.
Set of maps in Canva
Many teachers like to use the Canva graphic editor to prepare their own graphics for teaching. The authors have also thought about this and offer teachers a package directly in Canva where they can create, edit, and build maps themselves. Canva is a simple graphic editor (it also works in the free version), and the authors have uploaded not only all the maps and backgrounds but also individual motifs which can be freely manipulated as graphic objects. With them, teachers can create their own maps in a ready-made design, but also create diplomas, commemorative certificates or playful "report cards". This method can also support the implementation of responsive teaching with elements of formative assessment.
Concept and design: Petra Šobáňová
Illustrations: Kamila Francová
Collaboration: Alžběta Gregorová
The methodology aimed at visualizing the development of students and supporting their own evaluation of their progress was developed at the Faculty of Education of Palacký University in Olomouc with the support of the Centre for Innovation in Education of the Faculty of Education of Palacký University in 2024.