PGCE Assessment for Learning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Who developed the concept of 'Assessment for Learning' (AfL) and in which landmark publication?
- Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black in 'Inside the Black Box' (1998) (Correct answer)
- John Hattie in 'Visible Learning'
- Jerome Bruner in 'The Process of Education'
- Ofsted in the 2019 Inspection Framework
Correct answer: Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black in 'Inside the Black Box' (1998)
Assessment for Learning was developed and evidenced by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, most influentially in their 1998 pamphlet 'Inside the Black Box', which synthesised research on formative assessment.
Question 2: What are the five key strategies of formative assessment identified by Wiliam?
- Clarifying learning intentions, eliciting evidence, providing feedback, activating pupils as resources, and activating pupils as owners of their learning (Correct answer)
- Testing, grading, reporting, tracking, and reviewing
- Planning, teaching, observing, reflecting, and adjusting
- Questioning, marking, reporting, assessing, and grading
Correct answer: Clarifying learning intentions, eliciting evidence, providing feedback, activating pupils as resources, and activating pupils as owners of their learning
Wiliam's five strategies: clarifying learning intentions and success criteria; eliciting evidence of learning; providing feedback that moves learning forward; activating peers as resources; and activating pupils as owners of their own learning.
Question 3: What is 'hinge-point questioning'?
- A diagnostic question placed at a key decision point in a lesson that reveals whether pupils are ready to move on or need further teaching (Correct answer)
- A technique for managing transitions between activities
- A type of open-ended discussion question
- A question used only at the end of a lesson
Correct answer: A diagnostic question placed at a key decision point in a lesson that reveals whether pupils are ready to move on or need further teaching
A hinge-point question is a carefully designed diagnostic question at a critical point in the lesson — the responses reveal the distribution of understanding and inform whether to proceed or reteach.
Question 4: What is the purpose of 'no hands up' questioning?
- To ensure a wider range of pupils are asked to respond, preventing a minority from dominating and giving all pupils thinking time (Correct answer)
- To punish pupils who call out
- To make questioning more competitive
- To reduce teacher workload
Correct answer: To ensure a wider range of pupils are asked to respond, preventing a minority from dominating and giving all pupils thinking time
'No hands up' (or cold calling with think time) ensures all pupils prepare an answer, distributes participation more equitably, and increases cognitive engagement across the class.
Question 5: What is 'exit ticket' assessment?
- A brief task or question completed at the end of a lesson that allows the teacher to assess individual understanding before the next lesson (Correct answer)
- A behaviour management tool
- A homework task
- An end-of-term assessment
Correct answer: A brief task or question completed at the end of a lesson that allows the teacher to assess individual understanding before the next lesson
Exit tickets are quick, low-stakes end-of-lesson tasks that give the teacher data on each pupil's understanding, informing planning for the next lesson.
Question 6: What does 'marking for impact' or 'closing the gap' marking involve?
- Written feedback that identifies a specific next step for the pupil, with time in lessons for the pupil to act on it (Correct answer)
- Correcting every error in a piece of work
- Giving grades only without written comments
- Providing only summative marks
Correct answer: Written feedback that identifies a specific next step for the pupil, with time in lessons for the pupil to act on it
Effective written feedback identifies the specific gap between current and target performance and provides a clear next step — it is only impactful if pupils have time to respond to it.
PGCE Assessment for Learning 1
Who developed the concept of 'Assessment for Learning' (AfL) and in which landmark publication?