KS3 Music

Recognising impact

This unit aims to help music teachers review and refine their practice in providing musical feedback so that when teaching they can apply generic principles about assessment for learning (AfL), effectively use the full range of people who can provide feedback to pupils as they work, and use a variety of feedback mechanisms to help pupils know how they can improve their work.

The unit leads teachers to:

• apply the principles of AfL to improve learning;
• identify and enable the full range of people who can provide feedback to do so – teachers, pupils, specialist musicians and teaching assistants;
• observe pupils at work to identify the kind of feedback they require before providing guidance;
• use the full range of feedback mechanisms that can help pupils to understand how to improve, including aural/musical, oral/spoken, or written (verbal/notation-based) feedback;
• recognise that different forms of feedback are required at different times throughout the learning process.

This enables teachers to:

• embed characteristics of AfL within all their lessons;
• use a range of specific feedback strategies to improve pupils’ musical learning;
• identify who is well placed to provide feedback when pupils are working;
• establish a way of working with pupils that does not require a teacher’s constant and direct involvement with pupils;
• identify how pupils are making progress by observing them at work before intervening;
• use the most appropriate form of feedback;
• use and sequence a range of feedback strategies, including use of musical exemplification (aural), the spoken (oral) and written word, and various forms of musical notation.

As a result, pupils:

• understand what it is they are learning, and how to improve their work;
• assess, question and direct their own and their peers’ learning;
• know and seek out whichever person (including another pupil) is well placed to offer feedback when they need assistance;
• value the different kinds of feedback that a range of adults and peers can provide;
• are able to work constructively on their own;
• use aural, oral and written feedback of various kinds to improve their own work.