magazine
... for the teachers, governors, support staff, LSAs & learning mentors of Campsmount Technology College. Issue 4: December 2011
驶Do you want me to call your parents?始
All, Most and
Some
Claire Ord writes about the effectiveness and things to consider when planning differentiated learning outcomes via the model of ʻAll, Most and Someʼ Over recent years I have come to find that an effec3ve Learning Outcome can greatly improve a student’s ability to progress within a lesson. An effec3ve Learning Outcome allows a student to see clearly where their learning will progress within a lesson and what they should be hoping to achieve. The effec3ve Learning Outcome allows students to understand the context of their lesson within their learning. The ʻLearning Outcomeʼ Power point: Click on the
Equally, an ineffec3ve Learning Outcome can lead to links to view key words associated with that key word. confusion and a lack of progression within the students learning. Using the three 3ered ‘All, Most and Some’ successfully introduce effec3ve Learning Outcomes to our technique allows you to focus your Learning Outcome and lessons. In the first instance, ensure that your Learning planning, allowing your lesson to effec3vely develop all Outcome is not task orientated. If you include tasks in your your learners. Learning Outcome you move away from showing a student where their learning is progressing and simply show them what tasks they are to complete. This moves away from “I have a PowerPoint that can help to offer any relevance that the learning Outcome has upon progression. This is not a list of what the students should ideas of further terms that you may find complete by the end of the lesson; it is a guide to what relevant to the planning of your effec:ve knowledge or skills they will gain. They should be able to learning outcome.” clearly see what knowledge the lesson will bring and you will, through your teaching, show them how they can get (Shared on the Staff T&L Blog) there. Using the three 3ered ‘All, Most and Some’ in your Learning Outcome clearly allows for differen3a3on within So how can you achieve this -‐ the elusive effec3ve Learning your planning. If, when you plan your lesson, you start at Outcome? Using some simple guidance we can all the Learning Outcome, you will have a clear picture of
where you want each level of learning to progress to within your lesson, leading to a more effec3ve lesson as a whole. You will know that you have ensured all students within your classroom have a progression path clearly iden3fied within the outcome. By fully understanding the progression path you want your students to take, you will translate this during your lesson to the students, allowing them to make the progress they are capable of.
“... you will have a clear picture of where you want each level of learning to progress to within your lesson, leading to a more effec:ve lesson as a whole.”
ALL students must aXempt ALL levels of the Learning Outcome. That the en3re outcome is achievable to all, however All will be successful at the All level, Most will When planning these outcomes it is easy to fall into a trap of achieve at the most level and Some will be successful at the repeatedly using the same 3 terms each lesson, All: will be Some level. able to iden3fy, Most: will be able to describe, Some: will be able to evaluate. To stop this I have a PowerPoint that can In addi3on to the students using this as a way to “Get out” of help to offer ideas of further terms that you may find pushing themselves within a lesson, making sure that the All relevant to the planning of your effec3ve learning outcome. sec3on is appropriate for your class. The all must s3ll challenge those higher ability students without aliena3ng those lower ability. I feel that the PowerPoint I men3oned previously allows you to plan for such things. No maXer the ability within your classroom, the All element should be a challenge for ALL, whilst also being achievable for ALL. I hope this has been something that you will have a try at introducing and will share with other members of staff their experiences. I know that the Humani3es department are trialling this at the moment and will feedback their findings at the next department mee3ng. Hope you have fun with your ‘all, most and some’.
This PowerPoint offers key terms from Blooms Taxonomy, a brief descrip3on of what the term means and some ideas for applica3on. I have found this so useful when planning my own outcomes in ensuring you are not repeatedly using the same terms. A word of warning with the ‘All, Most, Some’ Learning Outcomes, many students view this as a reflec3on of where they can stop within the lesson. Those students who know that they have a low target grade will simply stop at the All, sta3ng “that’s aimed at me and I’ve completed that so I don’t have to do any more, I’ve achieved my learning outcome!” To reduce this aWtude I have always stated that
Alland, Most Some
Interactive & Engaged Alfie Gualda writes about how a 7 minute Teachmeet session has led to further CPD sessions on IWB training
Using the Smartboard so>ware allows the teacher to incorporate all three elements. Obviously it can be Visual, as for Auditory -‐ well you are going to be speaking to your students, but geIng the Kinesthe1c element takes a bit more doing.
I suppose it wasn’t really un1l I did my As a department, Maths has been at li4le bit on the interac1ve Smartboard the forefront of using Smartboard at the last Teachmeet, that I realised so>ware in lessons. We all produce how under-‐used this fabulous resources, which are then piece of so>ware was used stored on a shared area within other on frog. departments at “How can Campsmount. When I start developing a I involve the A>er that session, I Smartboard resource had staff asking me students in to use in lessons, my about Smartboard and first thought is “How this?” how to use it. So I put can I involve the on a session a>er school students in this?” So as to showcase some of the well as trying to get over the possibili1es that Smartboard has to main learning objec1ves, I am offer. looking to incorporate interac1ve learning ac1vi1es into the resource. Over the years, we as a Staff, have looked at various ways of teaching I certainly find that giving students the and learning, with VAK strategies opportunity to get involved helps their being the one that stands out for me.
engagement in the lesson and therefore their learning experience. In my presenta1on, I showed how various techniques could be used across the different subject areas. I showed ideas that could be used in English, French, German, History, Geography and Science. (This presenta1on is available for staff on the Campsmount teaching blog).
Smartboard is a fantas1c tool to aid our teaching and our students learning. As Jamie Portman said a>er he a4ended the session “the only limits are your own imagina1on!” If you want to know more, please email me, and if there is enough demand I will try and try to put on other sessions, hopefully these will involve a prac1cal element where you can transfer your ideas into prac1cal resources. The so>ware is free to download (30 day trial period, a>er that you need a product code). If you do so at home you will get more resources in the gallery than we have at school. Remember, I am rubbish with technology as various members of the Maths and ICT department will tes1fy. So, if I can use it, so can you!
Whilst healing at home from a recent knee operation Ben
Wheeler updates us on some of
the developments from the ‘Behaviour for Learning Working Group.’
‘You will behave !!!!!!’ Whilst sitting on a disabled platform in Manchester Arena... ... watching Peter Kay with 0ckets I had owned for 18 months, something struck me -‐ Peter Kay knows a lot about teaching!! Mr Kay went into a comical rant about teachers and how they are power mad and ask too many stupid ques0ons! As he made us laugh uncontrollably, I pictured myself confron0ng students from the past, ac0ng in the way he was describing, using my ‘power’ to exert authority over them. I heard myself asking students ‘stupid ques0ons’…“do you want to fail?”, or “do you want me to call your parents?”!
not my inten0on. However, I do strongly believe that we have to ensure that we mo0vate and enthuse ALL students in the subjects we teach in order to avoid behaviour issues. Our school was once labelled a ‘school in challenging circumstances’ and we do teach students with differing levels of support available at home, different backgrounds and varying interests, making our aim of improving teaching and learning techniques all the more important.
Last year, Andy Jones put me onto a guy called Bill Rogers. I watched recordings of him in ac0on and sent Rachel Behaviour is not a problem at Campsmount…was your next Furnandiz (as part of the behaviour for learning working word “whaaaaat”?! Seriously, I do not believe that party) to see him speak at a conference. Bill Rogers is a behaviour is a problem at Campsmount. Let’s examine the renowned expert in the field of behaviour and what he has facts for a moment. Visitors oQen comment about the to say is spot on. I emailed Rachel’s review to all staff in July impressive ethos at Campsmount and I have lost count of and September, and you can find this in the ‘Behaviour for the number of 0mes that staff come back singing the praises Learning – Wednesday 13th July’ document in the ‘Behaviour of our students on trips out of school. Also, in the 3 OFSTED Working Party’ folder in ‘school documents’ under inspec0ons at CTC since I have been here, there has not ‘staffroom’ on Frog. The clips of Bill Rogers in ac0on are in been a problem with behaviour, it has been outstanding or ‘school departments’ under the ‘classroom’ sec0on, ‘AC nearly so. In fact, at our last OFSTED feedback mee0ng, the Days’, ‘Misc’ and in the folder ‘Bill Rogers for Ben inspectors said that the only reason they could not give us Wheeler’ (if anyone can swop this folder into the Behaviour an outstanding for behaviour was because some of the Working Party folder that would be great!). teaching did not engage the students fully, leading to distrac0on on a few occasions. Bill Rogers’ basic message is that teachers should never lose control and should deal with issues with certainty not Now, far be it from me to sit in my ivory town house, severity. I urge you to look at his work (and Rachel’s slagging off the quality of teaching at Campsmount. That is summary), as it is a fantas0c star0ng point for improving
behaviour at a school. Thanks to Andy and Rachel for their input so far. What the behaviour for learning working party looked at last summer term was the no0on that poor behaviour by students is down to mistakes being made rather than malicious intent. Throughout a school year, we deal with both academic mistakes and behavioural mistakes. We see academic mistakes as accidental, inevitable and a signal for further teaching. We see behavioural mistakes as deliberate, believe that they should not happen and that they should be punished.
expressed. It is the working party’s inten0on that we reposi0on our system of dealing with behavioural mistakes by students. What we are aiming to do is develop informal and formal restora0ve approaches at Campsmount. I feel that we do have restora0ve prac0ce in certain aspects at Campsmount but not as a fully pervasive system to support students and staff. In a school behaviour (criminal jus0ce) system, when an incident occurs, the following approach is usually taken: • • •
What’s happened? Who started it and who is to blame? What is the appropriate (unpleasant) sanc0on to deter and punish?
In restora0ve prac0ce, a slightly different approach is taken to take account of everyone’s posi0on in the incident as a star0ng point for repara0on of rela0onships. The process involves different ques0oning: • Bill Rogers: behaviour expert How do we deal with these different types of mistakes? Well, mostly, we deal with academic mistakes by offering feedback and help so that students can improve and get things right. However, when a student makes a behavioural mistake, we oQen meet this with punishment and some0mes displayed annoyance or loss of control. What we ought to be doing is offering feedback about their behavioural mistake and helping them to improve and get things right. The behaviour for learning working party also looked at how, for years in educa0on, behaviour has been dealt with using systems that align themselves with the criminal jus0ce system. Words and phrases such as ‘interviews’, ‘deten0on’, ‘punish’, ‘evidence gathering’, ‘iden0fying the culprits’, ‘an example must be set’ and ‘culprits must not be allowed to get away with it’ are too oQen heard or
• •
What’s happened from everyone’s unique perspec0ve? Who’s been affected or harmed? How can those affected be supported to find ways forward for themselves and put things right?
Schools that work restora0vely have had great success in improving behaviour, adendance and ethos, reducing exclusions and consequently raising levels of achievement. I have spent quite a bit of 0me researching this type of system (whilst I have had 0me), both looking at training providers and what schools are already doing. On my return aQer Christmas, I will work with the working party and College Council students to develop restora0ve prac0ce at Campsmount. I am also looking at how I can effec0vely consult with parents to ensure support from the community. In the mean0me, I encourage you to contribute to a discussion on behaviour in general and on how the system can be developed, in your view,
at Campsmount. In order to access this, I sent out emails invi3ng comment on a google doc or in C-‐ Forum. The document is called ‘behaviour…discuss!!’. I hope that you find 0me to have your say.
Please remember that inappropriate or harmful behaviour is oQen a tragic expression of an unmet need. This inappropriate or harmful behaviour can then impact nega0vely on others’ needs. It is then vital that we look to meet the needs of our students through building, developing, maintaining & repairing rela0onships. So as well as our key focus of improving teaching and learning, we must never neglect the con0nual focus needed on rela0onship development. Whilst I see a place for levels of restora0ve prac0ce in every type of incident that could occur at Campsmount, please also remember that on rare occasions, an issue may need an immediate serious sanc0on. An example of this could be one student violently adacking another. A short fixed term exclusion may be appropriate that could then be followed up with restora0ve prac0ce taking place to start the repara0on process. I look forward to The reading group will your continue thoughts after Xmas and working with you closely on this in order to develop an improved system to support students, parents and staff, and consequently raise achievement further at Campsmount.
ADHD What is ADHD: ADHD or A'en*on Deficit Hyperac*vity Disorder, is the most common behavioural difficulty in the UK. Although it manifests itself in different ways, a child with ADHD is likely to suffer from impulsive behaviour, be easily distracted, skip from one ac*vity to another and does not consider the consequences of his/ her ac*ons.
Clare Allen in her role as SENCO explains what ADHD is, how it is diagnosed and how to support students in class.
complex neurological disorder and alters the way in which a child’s brain works.
“There is no simple test for
concentra*on.
§
Impulsive and act without thinking of the consequences.
§
Impa*ent and have difficul*es wai*ng their turn
ADHD. A child psychologist usually completes a specialist assessment by using observations and reports.”
Signs of ADHD:
ADHD might be accompanied by other Although each child is different, some of special needs such as speech and the types of behaviour you might expect language difficul*es, learning needs in to see include a tendency to be: literacy and numeracy and motor co-‐ ordina*on needs. ADHD is not directly § Restless and overac*ve. linked to intelligence and many children with ADHD are very crea*ve. § Interrup*ve. It is not known exactly what causes ADHD although gene*c factors are believed to contribute and it is thought that it is the result of a
§
Easily distracted and move from one task to another.
§
Ina'en*ve and lack of These types of behaviour are not generally unusual in most children. However, children with ADHD will demonstrate them persistently and for a prolonged period of *me.
Diagnosing ADHD There is no simple test for ADHD. A child psychologist usually completes a specialist assessment by using observa*ons and reports. The psychologist will be taking account of whether the child’s symptoms:
§
Have been evident for at least six months.
§
Have been demonstrated in at least two different seNngs.
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Cannot be explained by other factors.
§
Are not part of another developmental disorder.
“ADHD is not directly linked
to intelligence and many children with ADHD are very creative.”
Support for students with ADHD Although there are physical causes of ADHD, changes to the environment can make a difference for the child. Many of the recommended strategies are also beneficial to all children whether they have ADHD or not. For example:
§
Decreased appe*te.
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Insomnia.
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Increased anxiety.
§
Irritability.
Students diagnosed with ADHD: * Confidential: information only available to teaching staff
Closely link sanc*ons with inappropriate behaviour.
§
Ensure that consequences closely follow on from unwanted behaviour.
At school, different strategies might be incorporated into lessons to help the student maintain concentra*on and to allow for more physical movement. For example:
§
Do not sit the child near thoroughfares or distrac*ons such as doors and windows.
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Spot the good behaviour – praise and reward it.
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Make your requests clear and simple and deliver them one at a *me.
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Provide something for them to fiddle with such as a stress ball.
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Praise effort as well as achievement.
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Give them jobs to do which allow them legi*mately to move around the classroom.
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Be clear and precise about targets and goals.
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§
Allow some opportunity for ‘*me-‐out’ according to agreed parameters.
Provide opportuni*es, where possible, for them to be involved in sports and games.
§
§ There is no cure for ADHD although it can appear differently at different *mes. On occasions medica*on might be prescribed and may alleviate some of the symptoms. This can help where behaviour is perhaps causing par*cular difficul*es in school. However, there can be side effects from the medica*on including:
§
Closely link praise with behaviour being rewarded.
* Image below: this article as a ʻwordleʼ. Go to http://www.wordle.net to create your own in seconds.
Teachmeet review For colleagues who have to a+end a Teachmeet -‐ they are gatherings of colleagues where they share either a 2 minute or a 7 minute presenta<on on something that works for them in T&L. What follows is a review from October 2011.
RFZ demonstrated an AfL gallery exercise that was recently observed by JPO in a lesson that was graded as Outstanding. RFZ stuck pieces of work on the classroom wall that ranged from G to C grades. Teachers acted as students by walking around the different examples, and highlighGng in yellow effecGve techniques, and pink for ineffecGve techniques. RFZ explained that a discussion followed that would encourage students to think about creaGng a ‘C Grade Checklist’ based upon the peer and self assessment. RFZ went onto explain that it is important for students to go through a process that encouraged them to think about success criteria, instead of simply telling them.
and teachers throughout. (See blog post on the T&L secGon on the website)
AG focused on tools for our InteracGve White Boards (IWB). As a tool that is generally under uGlised across school, AG showed how easily it is to make engaging resources that create excitement and enjoyment in class. AG showcased several IWB acGviGes that he uses in Maths and explained how the dept. shares them by storing them in the Maths area in Frog. AG also facilitated successful training session on how to use the smartboard soZware in a more interacGve way on Thursday 20th October.
DH showcased how she has been using Realsmart with her KS5 students in Science. AZer being shown how to use the soZware by ENE, DH explained how it helped her to give effecGve feedback to students in her classes. She showed examples of how the RAfL aspect of Realsmart gave students the guidance that they needed to improve their understanding, and how it asks students to provide evidence of their learning.
JPO did a presentaGon on: ‘7 key findings from observing over 250 lessons and 150 teachers (…ish)’. This highlighted some of the key aspects of what he had learned from observing lessons in a variety of contexts and schools. See the presentaGon on the T&L blog.
AK presented 7 minutes on the use of QR codes in the classroom via another acGve session where parGcipants used 11 iPod touches to scan the codes that were placed around the classroom. AK explained what QR codes are (Quick Response) and gave examples of how they could be used for educaGonal purposes. His blog post on the T&L blog provides many further examples. This was a very thought provoking session that made colleagues think about the possibiliGes for when we move to the new Campsmount build as it will have Wifi access for students
* Thank you to all colleagues who presented and attended. Presentations are available on the T&L blog.
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Independent Thinking Tasks
Debbie Hudson explains the progress that is being made by the Homework group.
work, innovaCve ideas and enthusiasm is detailed and explains the concept of Independent Thinking Tasks (ITT).
A"er a'ending the first developing leader’s session last year with the task ‘think of a focus for your project’ bouncing around inside my head, independent learning quickly came to mind.
Homework Group - Initial Objectives:
That iniCal idea led to many quesCons; what is independent learning? How is independent learning currently supported? How does it link into the school’s learning vision? How can independent learning be developed further at CTC?
3. To produce a statement expressing the purpose of homework at CTC
Discussions with colleagues pointed towards homework as an area of independent learning that could be reviewed and possibly revised. The homework group evolved combining the experCse of experienced staff across most curriculum areas. Their hard
1. Review current practise 2. Review purpose of homework
4. Develop and implement a new whole school policy
The group spent a lot of Cme discussing the purpose of homework, what works well currently and what could be be'er. I also approached students though school council and tutor group quesConnaires to ask for their views and opinions. Staff and student ideas can be summarised as follows:
‘What Works Well’ and ‘What could be Even Be6er If…’ about homework at CTC Staff What Works Well
• • • • •
Workbooks that provide differen2a2on Rou2ne & consistency Project work Engaging ac2vi2es Providing feedback
Students •
Homework being set regularly that s2cks to rou2ne is beAer than giving out homework randomly on & off.
•
SeDng homework on the topic which will be covered in the next lesson. Having lunch deten2ons if homework is not handed in. Having a large range of homeworks; exam papers, revision, worksheets, research. When we get set fun group projects.
• • •
Even Better If
• • • • • • • • •
Consistency within departments. Rou2ne to help with parental support. Agenda item at departmental mee2ngs to share good prac2se. PR campaign – ‘join in’ invita2on to parents to help support students at home. Rebranding homework – extended learning projects. A room in school to complete homework at lunch & aMer school. Rewarding comple2on of homework – ‘feel good Friday’ Projects at specific 2mes of year that are co-‐ ordinated across school. Faculty projects.
Outcomes -‐ The group discussed the ideas provided from our iniCal work on homework and the following was agreed: 1. Develop cross curricular tasks 2. Use the 5R’s to assess students’ progress 3. Deliver the tasks through realsmart (in order to keep everything in one place) 4. To start in year 7 and allow it to progress as those students move through school in KS3 Cross curricular Collabora=ons The group felt it was important to put together departments that students would not perceive as a logical partnership. The iniCal thoughts were to have a task for each of the six half terms in the school year. A"er much discussion it was agreed to use only the first five half terms and therefore put together 5 collaboraCons. The 5R’s The 5 R’s are key learner a'ributes that will help to support students develop an independent approach to learning. They simplify the PLTS (Personal learning and thinking skills) that we have looked at previously when discussing teaching and learning during staff inset. The approach is being used in other schools with success. They can be summarised as follows:
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Don’t set homework for seDng homework’s sake. Teachers should s2ck to deadlines. We had bigger pieces of homework. If teachers explain it before giving it to you. If there was a homework class at lunch 2me. Teachers didn’t rush telling you about the homework in the last minutes of the lesson. Less worksheets. Team/group projects. Subjects working together so that students do not get overloaded with homework for one day. Homework was set consistently across the year. More fun – like ‘mathle2cs’. All teachers go through homework aMer it has been marked so all students can understand the concept of the homework if they didn’t understand it at first.
Resilient: sCck at something, set targets and pracCce, have a posiCve a[tude, find interest in what they are doing Responsible: work effecCvely as part of a team, plan ahead, get on with it, know right from wrong Reasoning: choose the best method, say which is be'er and why, gather all the evidence, take Cme to do something properly Resourceful: learn in different ways, use their imaginaCon, take risks, ask good quesCons Reflec=ve: learn from mistakes, listen to different opinions, ask why, stay calm Realsmart -‐ As the purpose of the tasks is to develop independence, it was felt that realsmart was the most appropriate tool for the projects. Andy Jones described the successes in History with project work and the resounding theme was keep things simple, so it was decided to give each task 4 areas: Plan ITT, Research ITT, Do ITT and Review ITT. Overall, this is an ambiCous project designed to improve the independence skills of our students and colleagues from the team are currently involved in several pilots. Stay tuned for further updates.
The Tarsia Jigsaw Generator
Step 3: Click on Output to see the jigsaw pieces, print this out
Mark McKie shows us how to use the ‘Tarsia jigsaw generator’ -‐ a piece of so6ware that was ini7ally created to generate maths jigsaws. I believe that this is a huge untapped resource generator that has applica7ons in all subject areas. To wet your appe7tes I will take you through an example of a jigsaw in Step 4: Finally click on Solu7on to see the answers, print this Espanol. as well. (don’t forget to save your hard work) Step 1: Choose your style of jigsaw, different shapes, different numbers of ques7ons and jigsaws with “open” ques7ons are available. You can also choose from a variety of domino ac7vi7es and card ac7vi7es.
Step 2: Use the Input screen to set your ques7ons and answers.
Some li5le tricks and words of advice: Reduce the size of the jigsaw on the photocopier so that it fits into exercise book, that way students can keep their work. To ensure that all students are involved in the matching task, put dots in the centre of all pieces in a small sec7on of the jigsaw, tell the class to start with this sec7on first. Some of the jigsaw designs have “open” statements around the outside. These can be used to challenge students to apply their learning further. You can paste pictures into the input boxes as well. Overall, the challenge with this so6ware is to ensure that students make sufficient progress in a lesson. Ideas of my own: Capital ci7es of European countries in Geography, sequencing events in History using domino cards, word opposites in English, compound equa7ons in Chemistry etc. This so6ware is available on the computers in the staffroom, it is a free download at home (search for Tarsia Hermitech). If you want any help geVng started please ask Mark.