Henri Hartikainen experimented with using Qridi in language teaching as part of the Future Classroom Lab project. He transformed the assessment criteria for sixth-grade English into self-assessment questions that were easier for students to understand. In addition, he introduced learning path task cards that supported students' independent learning and evaluation. During the project, learning outcomes improved, and many students increased their test scores.
Henri Hartikainen
Henri Hartikainen tested the use of Qridi in language teaching as part of the Future Classroom Lab project. He rephrased the assessment criteria for the sixth-grade English class into self-assessment questions that were easier for students to understand. Additionally, he introduced learning path task cards to support students' independent learning and self-assessment. During the project, learning outcomes improved, and many students raised their test scores.
I collaborated with Qridi as part of the Future Classroom Lab project. During the project, I tested the use of learning analytics to support learning and assessment in language teaching. The goal was to enhance students' ability to self-assess using learning analytics and to provide an up-to-date view of their learning progress.
Two sixth-grade English groups were selected as the test group. These students were somewhat familiar with using Qridi, as they had recorded their reading assignments through the platform before.
During the project, I transformed the sixth-grade assessment criteria from the national core curriculum into a format that was easier for students to understand.
I began by breaking down the multi-faceted goals of the sixth-grade assessment criteria into simpler parts or focusing on just one skill. For instance, I separated the "T10 Developing language skills, interpreting texts" section into listening comprehension and reading comprehension. Next, I created descriptions for grades 4, 6, and 10, based on the Finnish National Board of Education's criteria. Finally, I converted the descriptions into statements like "I understand clear speech on familiar topics." I also went over the wording of the criteria with some test students and replaced difficult words with more student-friendly terms, such as changing "interaction situation" to "conversation." Crafting the right wording was a time-consuming process, as students frequently asked for clarification on various statements.
Once I had revised the self-assessment questions to align with the national criteria, we reviewed the chart with all the students. At this stage, we made the final adjustments to make the statements easier to understand. From the final version, each student identified areas for improvement, and during lessons, we discussed how the lesson content related to broader goals. Feedback from students suggested that having the assessment criteria visible helped them focus on studying.
Additionally, I created learning path-style task cards for the spring semester. These cards helped students understand the objectives of each unit and allowed them to track and assess their own progress throughout the units.
The learning path task cards outlined the unit's goals and core content, enabling students to monitor their progress in relation to these goals. The first card encouraged students to browse through the unit's content and set personal goals. Subsequent cards included tasks from the textbook, digital exercises, and more advanced tasks. Using these cards, students could assess their grasp of the lesson material, request help, or take on differentiated tasks.
From a teacher's perspective, using such methods was easy to implement. The cards helped guide students who needed support and appeared to aid less motivated students in making progress. While creating the task cards took some time initially, they could be reused with future student groups with only minor adjustments.
Some students found the monitoring and assessment through the task cards somewhat unnecessary, but the class average in the unit tests increased by about 0.25 compared to previous performances. Several average-level students improved their test scores by over half a grade.
The author, Henri Hartikainen, is a class teacher who teaches English at the Oulu Normal School in Koskela.