Teachers have always tried to check with their pupils how lessons are being received.
Some have used questionnaires, or simply asked children for their ideas.
Most are fully aware that their lesson may seem very different looked at from the other
side. A lesson that leaves the teacher rubbing their hands in satisfaction, and feeling on top of the job,
may have gone over the heads of a significant number of pupils. So how best to capture feedback from students?
SMyLE lets pupils log in and capture their perceptions on lessons in a secure and controlled environment,
where they can reflect and comment upon their learning.
Staff use this feedback to see who is
engaging well with their learning, and which lessons were most successful.
Partnership-oriented learning
Changes to teaching styles in response to feedback has been noted to strengthen
a sense of self-worth amongst students, making them feel more positive about school
and more included in its purposes. Once students feel they are being heard in a
meaningful way they become more responsible, committed and motivated in class.
Remove barriers
As SMyLE is browser based, pupils can access
SMyLE over the web on mobile phones and
tablet devices, as well as desktop computers within school, meaning access need not be a problem.
Pupils can reflect upon their learning privately, rather than in front of the class, so
each, not just the confident, articulate and able, can have their say.
Personalise lessons
Every pupil has a channel to be heard without the distraction of
peer pressure. Lessons can be focussed when you know
how each pupil wants to learn, and the knock on effect on pupil motivation
is significant.
Customisable
Pupils summarise their experiences within parameters decided by school. These parameters might include
Enjoyment and Achievement, Progress, Learning, Effort, Challenge and so on.
SMyLE is fully customisable, you can even choose a colour theme.
It can be configured so that a single teacher sees only their class, or it could be used across whole departments
or by your entire school. You choose who sees what information. If certain members of staff do not wish to benefit, they can opt out.
Continuous and periodic sampling
In addition to using SMyLE to continuously monitor pupils, staff can also create personalised surveys, contain any number of questions,
each of which can be responded to in numerous ways from simple Yes/No responses, through Likert scales
to multiple choice. Pastoral, personal or curriculum groups can be invited to take part, and
results are automatically analysed and presented.
Assist NQTs
SMyLE is being used to collect evidence that newly qualified teachers are demonstrating the
necessary professional standards to achieve qualified status.
Demonstrate expertise for Ofsted
Ofsted propose to judge the quality of teaching by looking particularly at how well
teachers can demonstrate that they use expertise to deepen pupils' understanding,
provide constructive feedback and plan lessons to match and stretch each individual pupil.
SMyLE can support this expertise, provide a channel for feedback, and reassurance that lessons
are pitched at the correct level.
SMyLE allows students to reflect on their learning. Teachers gain an
understanding of their pupils from reviewing feedback, and can see whether learning has been equally effective,
or suitably differentiated across learner types.
This feedback can be used to inform future lesson planning and to review learning styles.
Customisable
Students summarise their experiences within the parameters decided by the school,
often Enjoyment and Achievement (as a result of the Every Child Matters agenda) but
equally this could be Progress, Learning Effort, Challenge or anything else you consider valuable.
You can choose how you wish the data
to be disseminated, so departmental heads can be granted wider access
than other teaching staff.
You also have full control over when and where data can be gathered, at certain times of the week, in particular lessons,
or for specific members of staff.
Detailed analysis
Teachers can see aggregated data for date ranges or lesson periods they select and, as data is available at pupil
level, can see where the learning has been most effective.
Groups can be analysed using any characteristics
held on SIMS such as Looked After Children, Gifted and Talented,
Gender, Free School Meal Eligibility and Ethnicity, to
compare equality of opportunity.
Pupil surveys
In addition to using SMyLE to continuously monitor pupils, staff can also create personalised surveys,
contain any number of questions, each of which can be responded to in numerous ways from simple Yes/No
responses, through Likert scales to multiple choice. Staff can invite any group of students such as free
school meals, students from a particular postcode, or gifted students.
Surveys don't have to concern teaching and learning, they can be curricular, and are being used to plan
future lessons and revision sessions.
Feelings are important
As well as the 'hard' data, pupils are free to enter comments and express anything they wish,
explaining why they feel the way they do, without time pressure.
Reflecting upon their learning privately, rather than in front of the class, means everyone can have a voice without fear of ridicule.
Legitimate feedback
Pupils can become highly articulate when evaluating their learning
and provide incredibly valuable information for any teacher looking
to adapt and personalise their practice. Every piece of data is
attributable to a pupil, and can be responded to individually.
MIS Integration
SMyLE directly uses staffing information, timetables and student details from SIMS and so
minimal set-up is required.
Additional data fields including 'Summative self-assessment' and
'Lesson surveys' can be set up if required.
Involve parents
SMyLE fits seamlessly with Insight (parental engagement software)
and comments, along with the underlying data, can be made available
to parents if desired. This information can be used to improve a pupil's engagement across the
whole of their curriculum.
Case Studies
If you would like to discuss out products directly with any of the schools involved in the case studies, please contact us initially and we will be happy to contact the relevant member of staff, before passing on their contact details.
Newent Community School
Mark Ellis, Development Leader of ICT
"...we are particularly interested in the elements of the good Ofsted lesson and in terms of raising
school profile and getting the progress better, we want to be able to focus on things like 'challenge' and so,
you can ask students to rate the lesson on challenge. Then you will have some serious data and then you will be able to inform the process
of teaching and learning..."
Watch
Sacred Heart High
School
Author: Gerald Haigh, Journalist
"The real value of the software lies in the
aggregated data that is presented to the
teacher - detailed information on children's
perceptions of their lessons in terms of
enjoyment and achievement."
Read more
Michael Cousins, Deputy Headteacher
"It's a student telling a teacher, in an objective way that this lesson does or doesn't work for me. You think you know when something went really well then you find that just three of four of the students were really taking part, and the rest weren't very engaged at all. Helping a teacher to improve is a long, hard path, but I think if you have this system of regular feedback, you can see incremental progress and help the coaching process. We said to staff that we understood if some didn't want to do it, but that we think it's a good tool for professional development. As it is, they can opt into it and they control who sees the results. One of the secrets of our success is that we use SMyLE to take us beyond simply listening to students and valuing them. SMyLE enables teachers to analyse what actually works best for each student and then modify their teaching to bring out the best in each and every one."
Watch
"Most pupils relish being involved and take their role in assessing teaching quality seriously. They are pleased to be seen as part of the process. After all, student voice has to be about more than litter bins and toilet paper."
Mr Barron
"Being able to tell teachers what works for you makes you more part of the lesson"
Charlotte, Year 11 Student
"SMyLE is highly relevant because, in sixth form, there is greater scope for personalisation of learning."
Anna, Year 12 Student
"My teachers have already started adapting the lessons as a result of knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are."
Catherine, Year 10 Student
FAQs
Here are a selection of the questions we are most
commonly asked about SMyLE...
Is there a limit on the number of criteria I can use?
You can select up to three criteria.
Can pupils include comments as they reflect on their lessons?
Yes you can include comments, and have a working at grade too if you wish.
Are pupil comments anonymous?
All comments are attributed to a pupil; you can also send them a reply if appropriate.
Can I see other teacher’s results?
SMyLE can be configured to allow each member of staff to see only their results, or their departments, or everything!
Can I set it up for a single subject?
Yes, you can restrict or allow those lessons available based on the class, subject, or period in the week.
Taken to extremes, this can mean that only those lessons you specifically choose are available,
right up to globally allowing every lesson.
Can I send a survey to pupils?
Surveys can be set up and any group of pupils invited to take part.
How do students log on to SMyLE?
SMyLE is hosted in school; students log on using a user name and passphrase, although Active Directory accounts can be linked if required.
As SMyLE is browser based pupils can use computers or mobile devices to gain access.
What levels of analysis are supported?
You can filter and present your SMyLE data using any pupil characteristic present in SIMS, from basic, SEN and registration details, through ethnic and cultural demographic to medical and dietary needs.
