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The Schools ITQ - Assessor training support

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The schools ITQ (International Technology Qualification) is an evolutionary development of the original INGOT (International Grades - Open Technologies) qualifications. The basic structure of Bronze, Silver and Gold INGOTs has been maintained and so to keep things simple we refer to the names Bronze, Silver and Gold INGOTs to mean Entry level, Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications in the QCF.  The longer "official" titles are used for certificates regulated by Ofqual.

Assessor training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

The assessor model for the INGOT qualifications is designed to support professional development in a manageable way.  INGOT assessors can use their learning to provide internal evidence at their organisation.

The Bronze INGOT covers the three Entry Levels in the Qualifications and Credit Framework. The Entry 3 Award is equivalent to EQF level 1.

1. The Bronze 1 and  2  INGOTs are single unit qualifications. Bronze 3 consists of 2 units. 

2. This provides a progression route for a complete beginner in IT including young children and adults with learning difficulties, through to basic competence. There is general knowledge about Open Systems embedded with links to personal learning and thinking skills. (PLTS) and mapping to the English National Curriculum for those that need it. 

3. In England, Bronze 1, Bronze 2 and Bronze 3 are regulated in the UK by Ofqual at the corresponding levels. These are Entry Level 1, Entry Level 2 and Entry Level 3. (Search for TLM and click the link to EL). 

4. Bronze 1 is also referred to as My First INGOT to make it a more friendly name for younger children. The Open Office.org schools mascot Otto is used to make certification more friendly to younger children.

5. In terms of difficulty, Entry Level 1, Entry Level 2 and Entry Level 3 are mapped to the English National Curriculum Levels 1, 2 , 3 using an assessment of pupil progress model based on work derived from the UK national strategy. Entry level 3 is equivalent to level 1 in the European Qualifications Framework. EL1 and EL2 provide a lowering of the barrier to participation in formal qualifications to enable those not yet taking part to be included so they can get a first foot onto the IT skills ladder.

6. INGOT assessment process

7. The INGOT assessment process is designed to enable the learner to participate in their own assessment. Learning outcomes are described by criteria and the learner has to demonstrate competence against these criteria. Assessors record progress in the on-line mark book.

  • If they are fully competent and self-sufficiently secure in matching the assessment criterion "S" is assigned to the criterion statement.
  • If there is some evidence but insufficient to award a "S" eg because additional help and support is needed,  "L" is assigned.
  • If they are operating beyond requirements "H" is assigned
  • "N" denotes no evidence is yet available that they match this criterion and this is the default starting point.

S means "secure",

L means "lower"

H means "higher".

"N" means no evidence.

8. Certificates carry the UK regulators' logos and are subject to quality assurance procedures agreed with them. INGOT assessment centres/academies will have procedures for ensuring consistency and maintaining standards and TLM authorised moderators will randomly sample work as evidence that specific criteria have been met.

9. Guidance for assessors

10. Guidance is provided about how to interpret the criteria together with some suggested approaches. No particular approach is mandatory, what matters is evidence that the criteria have been matched to the required standards in the specific context of the QCF/EQF frameworks. All criteria are competence based in line with the European policy for the EQF.

Bronze 1 criteria (Entry level 1, My First INGOT)

Detailed guidance for the Bronze 1 unit 1 criteria is here.

There is similar guidance for other INGOT units linked from each unit.

The INGOT handbook has the details in a format suitable for printing. 

11. Each of the criteria in the table is linked to the guidance and there are links from the guidance to relevant information such as National Curriculum assessment criteria and information about where to get resources. This will help develop the assessors' professional development in making consistent judgements about levels against the criteria.

12. Bronze 1 is deliberately as simple as possible to make the qualification as widely accessible as possible. It is part of a strategy for inclusion. There is "P-scale" certification available for those with special needs who need lower starting points to access the formal certification frameworks.

13. All the assessment criteria are accessible from the front page menu: Assessors - Assessment criteria.

14. Nine steps to a certificate

A typical approach might be:

  1. Add learners to the on-line Mark book, and organise them into groups
  2. Assessor sets work designed to include coverage of the criteria in keeping with assessor guidance
  3. Learners carry out the work and consider the criteria in groups
    • Peer assessment looking for evidence in their work that they match the criteria.
    • They show their assessor the evidence.
    • The assessor confirms their judgement or disagrees and assigns work that will provide the appropriate learning if necessary.
  4. The assessor records "S" against the criteria in the on-line mark book observed to be "Secure"
  5. All the criteria in the unit are recorded as "Secure"
  6. When all criteria in a unit are "S" the assessor Requests Award using the web site link
  7. Account manager at TLM requests a random sample of evidence from candidates
  8. Account Manager agrees standards have been met
  9. Account Manager authorises certificates to be printed.

15. Nine Step Guide to Certification

 

16. When all the criteria for a particular unit are set to "S", the assessor clicks a button on the certification web site to "Request Award". This notifies the Account Manager at The Learning Machine that the learner, or a group of learners, is ready to have their certification confirmed.

17. The Account Manager will then request evidence from a sample of learner's work at random to check that they agree that the standards have been met. When the Account Manager is satisfied, they authorise the assessor to print the relevant certificates from the web site.

18. The evidence provided can be witness statements for things that are difficult or impossible to record, screen shots, files sent by e-mail, results from internally set tests and tasks. TLM is not prescriptive about this to allow flexibility and to reduce bureaucracy. The Account Manager will provide guidance but in principle evidence will not be expected that requires levels of literacy and numeracy beyond the levels of the qualification. eg Bronze 1 will not demand learners to be able to write descriptions of things. Lower level qualifications will be more dependent on assessor judgements from direct observation than higher level.

19. Here is a further summary of the process of using the mark book.

  • Log in to certification site (Guest 1, zepplin2)

  • Go to Administration and add learners and groups

  • Go to Assessment and choose the INGOT ITQ units

  • Choose the qualification of interest

  • Enter "S", "L", "H" against learner records and criteria as appropriate

  • Look at the learner status and when it changes to 'Ready for mderation' click on the "Request Award" button

  • Check there is appropriate evidence to back up your judgements

  • TLM Account Manager requests a sample of evidence

  • Assessor provides evidence to the satisfaction of the AM

  • Account Manager authorises printing certificates

  • Assessor prints certificates from the web site onto the pre-printed templates

  • Candidates receive their awards

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