Beyond the Exam: Innovative approaches to learning and assessment
John Bangs
Assistant Secretary for Education and Equal Opportunities, National Union of Teachers
John took up his current position in the Education and Equal Opportunities Department of the NUT in 1993; prior to this appointment he was head of the department's National Curriculum Unit with responsibility for special needs. John started his career teaching at Bow Boys Secondary School in East London, having taken a Fine Arts degree at Reading University and a PGCE at Goldsmiths College, London. In 1975 he moved to Templars Special School for pupils with moderate learning difficulties where, in addition to teaching art, he was also responsible for language development.
Professor Paul Black
Emeritus Professor of Science Education, Kings College
Paul started his career as a physicist, obtaining a PhD from Cambridge and then becoming a faculty member in the University of Birmingham. In 1976 he left his chair in physics to become Professor of Science Education in London. He retired in 1995 but is still active in research and development work. For many years he was involved in curriculum development work with the Nuffield Foundation. He was chair of the government's Task Group on Assessment and Testing in 1987-88 and deputy chairman of the National Curriculum Council from 1989 to 1991. He is currently engaged in research and development work to improve classroom practices in formative assessment.
James Blomfield
Director for Online Learning, Intuitive Media
James manages a team of ten teacher advisers spread across Scotland, Northern Ireland and England for the GridClub Project. GridClub is the official DfES education website for 7 to 11 year-old children, which is made up of a games portal, online clubs, television programmes as well as supplementary material for teachers and parents. James holds a BA in Visual & Performing Arts and an MSc in Computer Science from Kent University; he completed his PGCE at Canterbury Christ Church College. James taught in Folkestone and was previously an advisory teacher on the Tesco SchoolNet 2000 project.
Professor Patricia Broadfoot
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Education, University of Bristol
Patricia graduated with a BA Hons in Sociology from Leeds University in 1970, MEd from Edinburgh University in 1977, PhD (Open University) in 1984 and DSc (Bristol University) in 2000. She has held various academic positions as well as spending a brief period as a schoolteacher in Jamaica. She is a member of the Economic and Social Research Council and Chair of its Research Resources Board, as well as a Founding Academician of the Association of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences. Patricia's academic interests span educational assessment and comparative education; she has written extensively in these fields and has advised governments in a number of countries on assessment policy development. Recent research projects have included a longitudinal study of the impact of the National Curriculum and National Assessment on English primary schools and comparative studies of learning and teaching in Europe. Her current research concerns the development of an instrument to assess 'learning power'.
Professor Guy Claxton
Visiting Professor of Psychology and Education, University of Bristol Graduate School of Education
Guy's latest book, Building Learning Power: Helping Young People Become Better Learners, based on years of collaborative work with teachers, is inspiring the grass-roots redirection of education in local authorities throughout the UK. John Cleese called Guy's book Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind 'The essential guide to creativity'. Guy has a 'double first' from Cambridge and a doctorate from Oxford.
Pilar Cloud
Managing Director, TAG Learning
Pilar joined TAG Learning in June 2000 as Commercial Director, bringing over ten years of experience in the European education and entertainment software industry, including several years at leading entertainment software company Electronic Arts, as well as success as Managing Director of Broderbund Software in the Europe. After Broderbund was acquired by The Learning Company in 1998, she moved to a consulting role with TAG (with whom she had worked in partnership while at Broderbund), joining the Board of Directors in August 1999.
Patrick Craven
Assistant Director E-Assessment, OCR
Having worked with educational technology since the early 80s (at NCET [now Becta] and Apple Computer reseller chain), Patrick now works on the E-Assessment programme within OCR Examinations. This unit considers the growing impact of new technologies on the assessment industry and identifies projects to enable OCR to develop and extend the range of assessment products and services offered to centres.
Jane Finch
Teacher Adviser ICT, Worcestershire LEA
Jane has been at Worcestershire LEA for 12 years, working across all phases. She has led the development of the Managed Assessment Portfolio System on behalf of the LEA, working in partnership with TAG Learning.
Paul Humphries
General Manager e-Business, Edexcel
In his role at Edexcel Paul has responsibility for defining, developing and directing the activities of two new business streams and operational units - the BTEC Academy (offering e-Learning materials and a modular approach to recognised vocational qualifications) and On Screen Testing. Formerly Paul has held a number of key commercial/technical roles for major blue chip companies, including Director of Strategic Partnerships (Europe)/Principal Consultant for Global Crossing, where he had responsibility for identifying, developing and managing strategic partnerships across Europe and the successful development of an e-Business consultancy practice from first principles. Paul holds an MBA from Brighton University, which complements his technical qualifications and achievements.
Professor Richard Kimbell
Director: Technology Education Research Unit, Goldsmiths College London
Richard has taught design & technology in schools and been director for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of teacher education. Between 1985 and 1991 he directed the government-funded Assessment of Performance Unit research project in Design & Technology, and in 1990 he founded the Technology Education Research Unit (TERU) at Goldsmiths College London. He has published widely in the fields of learning and assessment (including reports commissioned by UK government departments, the Congress of the United States, UNESCO and NATO), and has written and presented television programmes (BBC and Thames). Richard is Editor in Chief of the DATA journal, and his latest book Assessing Technology: International Trends in Curriculum and Assessment won the 'Outstanding Publication of the Year' award from the Council for Technology Teacher Education at the International Technology Education Association 1999 in Minneapolis USA.
Dr Sue Martin
Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education, University of Bath
Sue's research interests include mathematics education, educational modes/psychology/theory, assessment, educational testing/measurement, and learning and teaching. She is a member of the AEHE Editorial Board (Review Board) and is involved in the DfES Evaluation of Key Stage 3 Pilot Project.
Lesley McGuire
Project Director and Senior Online Facilitator, Ultralab, Anglia Polytechnic University
A former teacher, Lesley has an MSc in Computer Based Learning. In the 1990s she worked with Hampshire LEA and with Becta to develop materials for the assessment and delivery of ICT. Lesley's first involvement with Ultralab was in 1998, when she became an advisory teacher on the SchoolNet 2000 Project. In 2001 she became an Ultralab Facilitator for Talking Heads, an online community for headteachers, and in 2002 she became Project Director of eVIVA, an innovative pilot project exploring the use of digital technology in the formative assessment of students ICT capabilities at Key Stage 3.
Dr Clodagh Miskelly
Researcher, Community Information Systems Centre, University of the West of England
Clodagh's main research interest is in the creative use of digital media technologies in community settings, in particular involving the production of stories. Her research in this area is informed by her work as a facilitator of informal youth and community projects using digital media. Alongside action research projects, she has also conducted feasibility and evaluation studies on a range of projects relating to community development and ICTs, and digital stories. Recently she evaluated the pilot for L8r, an interactive drama resource for sex and relationships education.
Jeremy Newton
Chief Executive, NESTA
Jeremy graduated in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University and became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1979, being made a Fellow of the Institute in 1989. From 1980-1998 he worked in arts funding, from Deputy Director of Eastern Arts Association to establishing Eastern Arts Board as Chief Executive, then moving to The Arts Council of England to establish and lead the Arts Lottery Fund as National Lottery Director. In 1998, Jeremy became the first Chief Executive of NESTA responsible for the establishment and leadership of the organisation. He also chairs the board of the English Touring Theatre Company.
Marc Prensky
CEO and Founder, Games2train.com
Marc is an internationally acclaimed speaker, writer, consultant, futurist, visionary and inventor in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the founder of Games2train, an e-learning company whose clients include IBM, Bank of America, Pfizer and Nokia, and of The Digital Multiplier, an organisation dedicated to ending the digital divide in education worldwide. Marc is the author of the critically acclaimed Digital Game-Based Learning. His professional focus has been on reinventing the learning process, combining the motivation of video games and other highly engaging activities with the driest content of education and business, and he is considered one of the world's leading experts on the connection between games and learning. His innovative combination of educational tools and game technology - including the world's first fast-action videogame-based corporate training tool - is being accepted throughout schools, government and corporate America.
Professor Jim Ridgway
Professor of Education, University of Durham
Jim is a cognitive psychologist interested in assessment, educational change, and uses of ICT in schools. Currently he directs a QCA-funded project designed to use computer-based tests to identify children with high problem solving ability, and to create curriculum materials to support students' intellectual development. This work involves a collaboration with colleagues at the University of Nottingham. He also co-directs a major US-funded project developing 'Tools for Change' usable by different key persons in education systems, in collaboration with colleagues at Berkeley, Michigan State, and Nottingham. Past roles have been to direct the STAC project at Lancaster University, and to chair the Centre for the Study of Advanced Learning Technologies, also at Lancaster.
Phil Riding
Project Development Officer, ITAL unit UCLES
Following a career in the classroom as a science and English as a Foreign Language teacher, Phil's main interests now lie in the use of new technologies to support formative assessment and the assessment of process, and in the creation and support of informal learning networks.
Martin Ripley
Head of Assessment Policy and Development Programme, QCA
Martin currently has the Key and Basic Skills Tests, World Class Arena and KS3 ICT Tests under his direction at QCA. After graduating from Harvard University, he taught in Chicago and Shanghai. Since 1991 he has worked on England's statutory assessment and test development programme. Martin managed the development of English, mathematics and science tests for 7, 11 and 14 year-olds and created a national system for providing evaluative feedback to schools.
Sid Verber
Manager, Online Support in Curriculum and Teacher Support, Cambridge International Examinations
In his role at CIE, Sid is primarily responsible for managing the development and implementation of the CIE Teacher Support Site, and commissioning computer-marked assessments and support materials for teachers in CIE Centres. He has a strong FE background, having worked for 24 years in FE colleges, largely as a biology teacher and section leader. Prior to joining CIE, Sid was the Manager for Online Developments at the National Extension College, having previously been the Technical Services Manager at the Further Education National Consortium. He has a degree in Biochemistry, an MSc in Microbiology, and is a full member of the Institute of IT Trainers.
Denis Vincent
Development Manager, nferNelson
Denis joined nferNelson in June 2003 from the University of East London, where he was Reader in Education and Leader of the East London Assessment Group. He has worked on a wide number of test development projects at Key Stages 2 and 3, and is an established author of assessments that are widely used in schools.
John White
Director, Hi8us South
John started his working life as an actor with the Brighton Combination, a pioneer in community theatre. In the mid-70s he founded Albany Video in Deptford, one of the first community projects to experiment with campaigning, access and young people's video. He worked in the television industry as an editor for over 15 years and since 1994 has been producing and directing drama, documentary and interactive work for education and with young people, both broadcast and non-broadcast. John is currently working on the development of 'L8r', the first interactive educational drama to run across the web and TV. He is an associate producer with APT Film & Television and a director of Hi8us South. Hi8us is a registered charity working on digital media projects with young people in their communities and in education.