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Seongryang Lee shares her experience participating in the “Teacher-led Learning Circles for Formative Assessment” project as a facilitator of Kyungnam Circle in the Republic of Korea. Implemented in seven countries, the project aims to provide teachers with tools and support to identify and establish effective teacher-led formative assessment practices and develop their leadership of educational development projects.

Always on a teacher’s mind

As a teacher, I constantly think about individual feedback, about lessons and assessments that are most suitable for each student. My goal is to make sure my lessons respond to the specific needs of each and every one of my students. One-size-fits-all solutions won’t do. My students need and deserve tailored support and devising ways to meet their needs is always on my mind.

Working together

I want to be a teacher who tries new, exciting, and interesting things. I want to be a great teacher because my students deserve a great teacher. Some of my students are from a poor family background and come to school primarily for the free lunch. But I want school to be so much more for my students. I want school to be fun and supportive and safe, a place where my students love being.

I am not the only teacher who thinks about this. There are many teachers who share my mission and who want to work together to help students grow, to support them to reach their full potential. ‘Me-So-Pee-Da Teacher Learning Circle’ brought together such a community of dedicated teachers focused on formative assessment and feedback.

Focus

I want to be a teacher who resembles The Little Prince and builds a happy relationship with students. This is why I focus on lessons and assessments which support students’ growth and activities.

As part of the activities of Me-So-Pee-Da Teacher-led Learning Circle, we understood the difference between formative and summative assessment, explored how formative assessment helps students learn, and shared our classroom practices. We worked together to try to find an effective way to develop and improve formative assessment in a class with around 28 students. Through this process, teachers came to actively reflect on their teaching and learning methods, and, if necessary, they were willing to change their practices. In the process of implementing the formative assessment strategies, it was rewarding and interesting to actively shape the activities by planning and implementing the whole process, instead of passively adopting tasks developed by other actors like education authorities.

Of course, there were many challenges we had to face, but we overcame those challenges by working together with fellow teachers.

Being immersed

I want to be a teacher who grows together with other teachers.

The more time I spend striving for student growth, the more I become immersed in the practice and research of formative assessment.

Some people think that assessments are different from lessons. However, when you realise that assessment is part of lessons and that classroom activities are directly linked to assessment, you understand why it is necessary to work so hard to prepare a class that is linked to assessment for learning.

In November 2023, I met teachers from Malaysia who felt the same way at a cross-regional workshop in Incheon. It was a great opportunity for us to share our classroom practices with fellow teachers from another country. We agreed that ‘teacher-led assessment' is essential to support students’ growth. It was a great moment for us to think about teacher leadership and the empowerment of teachers. I drew a lot of strength and encouragement from the international workshop in Incheon because I saw that we were walking together and working together. I don't think this endeavor will end when the project comes to a close later this year. Now that we've stepped up, let's continue to research and practice for a better future for our students and our fellow teachers.

Find out more about the project “Teacher-led Learning Circles for Formative Assessment” here.