Using a survey for topic evaluation to enable pupil voice

Context

The Topic Evaluation

Judith Lennox was P7 teacher at Coylton Primary School in South Ayrshire and is now DHT in the school. When it came to their topic work on Earth and Space, the P7 pupils at Coylton Primary School had lots of ideas about what they would like to learn about. Judith incorporated all of these ideas into the Glow Group she put together for the topic.

Judith’s Tour of the Earth and Space Glow Group Part 1 (3:40)

Judith’s Tour of the Earth and Space Glow Group Part 2 (2:45)

Introduction to the topic evaluation – click to enlarge

This fifth Cookbook on Judith’s Earth and Space Glow Group will focus on the use made of a survey web part in the Glow Group to evaluate the topic through giving the pupils an opportunity to express their opinions. Four further Cookbooks will look at reusing a Glow Group through a template; the use made of embedded YouTube and TeacherTube videos within the Glow Group; the use made of a wiki for pupil project work and lastly on the use of Picture Library web parts to showcase pupil work.

You will find links to the other Cookbooks on Coylton Primary’s Earth and Space Topic Glow Group below as and when they are written:

• Working with a Glow Group template for an Earth and Space Topic
• Engaging videos in an Earth and Space Glow Group at Coylton Primary
• Our Planets Wiki at Coylton Primary
• Showcasing Pupil Work in Picture Libraries

Using the Topic Evaluation – click to enlarge

Judith used a survey with the class at the end of the topic to ask them what they thought about it. It was the first time this class had used a survey and they really enjoyed this and responded well to it. They gave very full answers where they were given an opportunity to respond about what they wanted. Judith was quite surprised at the fact that they had really enjoyed things that she thought they wouldn’t have been as interested in. She was also surprised that aspects that she thought they would all love were not necessarily enjoyed equally by all pupils.

Using the survey was obviously a very valuable tool to aid Judith in her planning, both in further work with this particular class and in running the Earth and Space Topic with the next class. Consulting the pupils, through using the survey, gave them an opportunity to be involved in constructive dialogue about their own learning, an opportunity for Pupil Voice.

Ingredients

What did Judith need to do to be able to set up the Topic Evaluation in her Glow Group?

• Set up a sub-group of her P7 Glow Group for her Earth and Space Topic.
• Set the pupils up with Contributor permission of the Glow Group.
• Create a Topic Evaluation Page.
• Add a text editor web part with instructions about the survey.
• Create a Voki to introduce the survey and make the page more attractive.
• Create a survey to use for the Topic Evaluation.
• Add the survey to the Topic Evaluation page of the Glow Group.

Recipe

The following videos will demonstrate how you can recreate the same steps Judith took to set up the Topic Evaluation Survey:

How to create a survey – Part 1 (4:12)

How to create a survey – Part 2 (5:03)

How to add a survey to the page in your Glow Group (1:32)

How to edit the toolbar of a survey and how pupils will respond (2:50)

How to change the display settings of your survey (2:25)

Impact

Judith Lennox

Judith explains how the pupils were “hooked-in” to Glow (0:29)

Judith speaks about evaluating the topic through Glow (0:55)

It’s good at a glance. It was interesting to see that some of the things I had assumed they had really liked, only some of them had enjoyed. Also, some things I had thought maybe weren’t as good, they had enjoyed much more than I had thought.

It certainly came across that they had really enjoyed using Glow for their topic.

Their enjoyment was really heightened and certainly their enthusiasm was caught.

Brandon on why he likes Glow (0:29)

Brandon and Dana

Dana on why she likes Glow (0:23)

These additional links below are to Cookbooks which also demonstrate the use of the survey web part:

Embedding Glow in daily learning and teaching

Raising attainment in literacy in Primary 3

Encouraging deeper learning: pupils creating surveys

Enabling Pupil Voice – using a Glow Survey

These additional links below are to Cookbooks which give further information about using Vokis:

Developing confident and independent learners

All Glow and no action? Pt 3 Vokis in a P6 Joint Literacy Project in Dumfries and Galloway