Ms Tam, our Principal went to Columbus, Ohio for a FIP (Formative Instruction Practice) Model School visit and a formal training on Assessment for Learning in April 2013.
Assessment for learning has been a heated topic for years in education elsewhere and it’s familiar to HK teachers. However, the impact of such practice is still not as great as expected. On one hand, teachers have been grieving about the time & effort they spent on the students. On the other, students have been groaning about the size of knowledge and the helpless situation they experienced. It was with this big dilemma that Ms Tam brought with her to seek solutions in US.
During the school visits, Ms Tam discovered the importance of setting the right & specific learning targets in lessons and on-going assessment done within the lessons. She also witnessed how teachers in US did the intervention with students who did not master the learning. The whole process is more than just giving assessments but a whole-school programme of Formative Instruction.
Back from the trip, Ms Tam started a series of conference sessions with teachers of various panels. A briefing session was also conducted to all teachers on 6thMay 2013 where Ms Tam shared with the staff the potential of Formative Instruction Practice in the school.