Laurie O’Donnell

Caught the 0636 from Broughty Ferry this morning so that I could attend a couple of meetings in Glasgow.

Left our Glasgow office at 1130 to catch the 1145 to Edinburgh for an afternoon at a Scottish Government organised event, ‘Assessment is for Learning meets Curriculum for Excellence’. The event organisers seemed to me to be asking the right questions, including:

• What are the principles of assessment that should apply from 3-18?

• What have we learned from our experience of using ‘Assessment is for Learning’ in Scottish schools?

• What we mean by assessment that supports learning and also provides evidence of performance/progress as part of a feedback loop to a diverse group of interested parties?

• As we move to more outcomes focussed curriculum what might a fit-for-purpose assessment system look like?

• What are the cpd implications for teachers?

• How might qualifications evolve within the content of recognising the wider achievements of learners?

One thing for sure is that this a highly complex area and there is a lot of hard thinking and extensive consultation required to develop an assessment system that will support the ambitious aspirations we have for the curriculum.

The meeting finished just before 1600 and I was delighted to catch the 1604 train from Waverley – getting me home before 1800 for a change.

An interesting start to a week that will take me back and forward to Glasgow a couple of times and then off to Aviemore for a day before finishing the week back in Dundee.

After reading Don Ledingham’s article in TESS (version from Don’s Learning Log) this morning I have decided to change ‘Laurie’s Blog’ to ‘Laurie’s Learning Log’. The alliteration makes it sound much better for a start but I also think the case that Don makes is compelling. Like Don I want to use my learning log to capture: where I have been; where I am; and where I am going. I want to use it as a tool for professional reflection; somewhere to share some of my experiences; and in my role as a public employee to open a window to my world – inviting comments, contributions and insights from others.