The BES exemplars are a series of publications that make transparent the nature of:
- highly effective teaching
- professional learning and development
- educational leadership
- educationally powerful connections with families whānau, and
- communities that support such teaching.
They were created in response to requests from new Zealand teachers and principals for real-life examples. Wherever possible, the exemplars are derived, from research and development carried out in New Zealand schools and kura
BES Exemplar 5 describes how a teacher used feedback logs with a class of senior secondary students and how this approach strengthened student–teacher communications and accelerated learning. The proportion of students in her class not achieving the relevant NCEA Level 1 standards at the end of the year was less than half that of comparison groups, while the proportions gaining achieved, merit and excellence were correspondingly greater.
The context for this exemplar is year 11 English, but teachers who have assisted with the exemplar’s development have found the approach it describes useful for improving feedback processes in other curriculum areas. Furthermore, across the best evidence syntheses, learning logs and thinking books of various kinds have been found to accelerate the progress of learners from different year levels and in different curriculum areas.