Developing the idea of Continual Improvement - Quality.

Continual quality improvement 

By now all teachers should have some idea of what their students can do. I am not talking about data passed on from the previous class, as valuable as this may be, but examples of student's real work.

For a creative teacher achieving qualitative improvement begins slowly as he or she sets about to develop a desire in each student to make their 'work' better. The best assessment of any learner is what he or she can do, not just what test scores say.

Teachers should set their students the task of being able to see visible improvement by mid first term. With these expectations in mind the teachers task is clear: to help every learner , using focused teaching, to improve in specific areas.

The work of a ten year old illustrated above shows growth over a year both in the quality of the personal writing and in design graphics. This hasn't happened by accident. The class teacher involved helped the student focus on an important weekly event and then to write in depth about how she felt at the time and, as well, provided design guidance, including how to develop focused illustrations.

Students soon learnt what makes a good piece of writing (as well as presentation) through 'learning conversations' and were encouraged to be able to say what was better in their current piece of work and what they might improve next time.

This is quality learning and teaching. It takes time. Today far too many students are being rushed through a curriculum that is 'a mile wide and an inch deep'. Creative teachers know the importance of valuing the students 'voice' and doing fewer things well.

For ideas about the writing process and ideas for writing topics and examples of quality work visit our site.