Spring magazine Feb 2015

Welcome to Philips High School’S Teaching and Learning Magazine – February 2015 - Sharing ideas with teachers!

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Contents Page 1) #The Poundland Challenge

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2) Teacher Blogging

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3) Ding – A – Ling A-Ling

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4) The Power of the Positive

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5) Taking a look at Books

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6) The #5 Minute Well-Being Plan

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7) Differentiation: Just because it can’t be seen, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

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#The Poundland Challenge Now what can teachers do to enhance creativity in the classroom?? It would seem using items from ‘Poundland’ is the way forward. PHS staff took on the #PoundlandChallenge this half term, using a variety of items bought from Poundland to think about teaching in a more creative way.

Staff really thought of creative and inventive ways to use items such as shot glasses, balloons and sponges to enhance the pupils’ learning. It was a joy to see. Some of the items can be seen to the left.

The results were fantastic. I was able to see balloons being used in a Year 11 Child Development lesson to name the different positions of the baby in the womb, the complications that arise from them and the possible methods of delivery that may be needed. What a fantastic idea! In a Science lesson, the bouncy balls were used to model electrons moving

around an atom in a disordered state. In a Geography lesson, the scouring sponges were used to show the different layers in a rock formation. The shot glasses were put to good use in a History lesson, where 9CIKL1 used the shot glasses in their module ‘ Medicine Through Time’. The pupils were learning about how medieval doctors used to taste their patients’ urine to see how their humours were out of balance. The pupils had a sterilised urine sample in front of them in shot glasses (apple juice mixed with weak tea) and the students, who really believed it was urine, tasted it and diagnosed the patient! What a great idea!!!

Thank you all for taking on the #Poundland Challenge!!! 

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TEACHER BLOGGING!

Blogging reviews of the year have been written; a new year is already rolling and a new school term beckons. Maybe a blog about blogging is too much, or timely – either way, I’ll make it quick…

Before long, resolutions will be broken and promises quietly shuffled to the back of the shelf. It isn’t an ideal time to start a blog if truth be told. There will be more many one-blog wonders; trying and failing to develop the habit, but this needn’t be the fate of would-bebloggers.

First, any would be blogger needs to have a reason why. My personal ‘why’ was the aim of becoming a better teacher and reaching beyond a subtle feeling of stagnation. Billowed and buffeted by the day job, I wanted a place to record my ideas, unleash my corked rants and think about how I could get better. It has gone better than I had imagined. You enter into a fruitful dialogue with a real and immediate audience of experts. That alone has proved an inspiring enough why. Still, as I reflect upon my blogging I feel like it has improved what I do in the classroom: my original intention.

I recently came across this research paper, by Harvard Business School, on how the 15 minute activity of writing and reflecting at the end of the working day may make you more successful . It confirmed my feelings about blogging. How, although it was perceived as an extra ‘job’ by many, it made me feel more effective, more efficient – more confident in what I do. It was counterintuitive – surely it was more work – but it didn’t feel like it. That made all the difference. It also gave me the spark I needed to get the rest of my work done, and, importantly, the act of reflection made me feel better too.

Paradoxically, the act of regular blogging felt like a time-saver.

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Admittedly, it took time to establish my writing in the early days, but the habit grew – luckily, and to my surprise, an audience grew also. It became a virtuous circle. I now advocate blogging, public or more private, to anyone who will listen. If you fancy it, and you have a sound reason why, then give it a try. It may even make you feel better about teaching and about being a teacher; if Harvard are right, it may make you more successful.

Just offer up 15 minutes a day and see how far you get.

Ding A-Ling A-Ling

by @TeacherToolkit

This is a blog about the importance of getting the smaller details right, within a bigger picture.

Context: On 5 July 2010 the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, announced that following a review, the Building Schools for the Future programme was to be scrapped. The damaging effect this decision has had on thousands and thousands of students and teachers has destroyed the opportunities of many generations to come. Many missed out on a newbuild decision, despite approval for funding, within a matter of days! With further budget cuts predicted by George Osbourne for 2015/16, I am not optimistic about any new buildings sprouting out from the ground in the most challenging and deprived areas of the country that need it most.

Over the past two days, I’ve been like a child in a candy shop! I have much to say and much to write about our new building. I once again walk with a spring in my step to class, to break and lunch duty and even to work on a Monday morning! I don’t know how many teachers are lucky enough to work in a brand-new building, but from the age of 18, and after 23 years of being in a classroom, this is the first time it has ever happened to me! I have worked in partial rebuilds and I have also worked in the most dilapidated school buildings in the country! I also know what it feels like for colleagues who have been unlucky enough, to never have worked in a new building. I’ve spent many days walking around new buildings as a visitor, attending CPD events or meeting with colleagues; excited by the fact that I can spend an hour or two in a new and shiny environment, only to dream about the possibilities of arriving to work in a brand-spanking new environment and how this must transform teaching and learning.

The motivation a brand-new building can give to a staff workforce within any school, can never be underestimated!

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Getting It Right: Do not underestimate the smallest of decisions that can make the greatest impact on teaching and learning; or how simple decisions can improve student behaviour and the ethos across a school. This week, I had one of the simplest, yet in my opinion, a significant decision to make. One, which gave me great pleasure. After a number of verbal one-to-one conversations; staff popping into my office and many passing, corridor conversations, we took one small step forward towards eliminating our school bell! Not only have we done this, but we will be reducing the amount of time any ‘pavlovian-sounding’ bells and sirens resonate throughout the school building.

Staff are elated!

Two days ago, I drafted a suggestion for the school bell timings. This was discussed at leadership, and based on staff feedback, we have decided to take a large leap forward in reducing

unwanted

noise

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return for welcomed peace and quiet around the school building. Of course, we have not eradicated the school bell in all its entirety. We are still keeping key moments throughout the school day to ensure (non-verbal) communication will guarantee a safe and secure premises for all who reside within the building. To ensure 1,300 students are moving along within the curriculum requirements, and at the right moments.

Of course, we do not expect corridors to become silent corridors. In return, we hope that general playground, corridor and shared spaces reduce in noise; staff wellbeing is supported whilst punctuality to lessons, and in teaching those lessons, becomes sharper and that generally, the entire school site becomes a much more calmer and smoother place to be, lesson to lesson and day-to-day …

Even Better: During a departmental meeting this week, as we sat discussing observations, marking, planning and remaining issues with unpacking within the faculty, we started to hear a melody that made us stop in conversation. Unbeknownst to all, the technical support team had started to test the ‘pips/bell’ software. A notable feature, is that this ‘sound’ reaches every echelon throughout the new building. Initially, I thought it was a mobile-ringtone, buzzing a reminder to a member of staff, exclaiming; ‘get me out of here!’

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After an initial sense of confusion, we recognised that the sound was coming from the ceiling loudspeaker and that the speaker system was being tested. This raised a few laughs and after an initial ballad, a calming melody was played, followed by a string of ‘school-bell’ sounds to the bedazzlement or disappointment of staff. It was one of those evocative moments you can recall later with colleagues . Staff chanted, “Yeah!, Boo! Ouch! No … Ooh, that one!” and so forth …

There were a mixture of bells. Draconian, pavlovian; even El Divo! Sounds ringing out throughout via our new tannoy system. Resounding in every classroom office, corridor and outdoor space. Don’t panic. Each area can be centrally controlled in volume and sound and there are further plans to tweak the capabilities soon.

Logistics: I soon located the server room where the technicians were configuring the IT system. I discovered the control panel and soon photocopied the manual so that we could adjust the volume, timings and location of sounds. To my delight, I was directed to the headphone jack socket and SD card slot which would allow us the potential, to add our own sounds and audio files! Well, you can imagine my delight! I will not at this point start to describe the hideous tunes I sung to myself and expose my poor taste in music, nor re-live a bygone generation. However, there is capacity for us to add some motivational sound-changes to increase student and staff motivation at key points in the year.

I have heard and read about schools who play musical tunes, such as ABBA and Sister Sledge through the speaker systems. The visual impact, is watching hundreds of students and staff go dancing to lessons! More importantly, we have reduced the number of occasions that any device oozes, piercing sounds throughout the day. I’ve worked in schools with hideous sounds, sirens, klaxons, pips and squeaks ringing out over the school site, 10 times a day for over 30 seconds at a time! What’s worse, is assemblies, meetings and one-to-one discussions have had to stop, until these sounds come to an end! At one ‘outstanding school I have worked in, the siren can be heard in the streets of local residents and throughout the school holidays!

Finally, as part of this process, we have introduced a wellbeing curfew sound at 6pm. This is not to say that we want staff to stay and work until 6 o’clock, nor force them to leave. The point is, is that this final sound of the day – whether this becomes a cow-bell or ‘Do-do-do, come on and do the conga … ” melody, we want to provide this sound for all staff who remain in the building as a note-to-self. ‘Why are you still here? Can this be completed tomorrow/next week?’

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This forms part of our greater challenge to address workload and redress work-life balance.

Our brand-new building has exceptional facilities. We will be open until much later on in the evening for the general public to access. This makes it also much easier for staff to work late on into the night, planning and marking in their classrooms should they wish to. After all, not everyone has a quiet space in which to work at home, or many who would want to take work home at all! We all have a choice to make. As a school, we want to play a small part to encourage staff to go home. I appreciate that this forms part of a greater conversation on workload, one that we are all trying to address, which is an issue Iwill discuss at a later date this term. In this future blog, I will write and share our plans to increase impact, whilst reducing workload. This will focus specifically on marking.

In the meantime, one of our smallest changes is a focus on the smaller details of school life, with the bigger picture in mind. If you’ve read this far, we have opted for a 10-second cow bell at the following times:     

8.45am (5 minute warning bell to period 1) 10.45am (end of break) 1.15pm (end of lunch 1) 1.45pm (end of lunch 2) 6pm (wellbeing curfew)

I am proud to work in the last ever BSF school building …

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The Power of the Positive @AbigailMann P.s. Don't forget the milk We all know them. I bet they work in every school. I bet it wouldn't take you long to think of one.

Mood hover. Fun sponge. Whatever you want to call them, these are the people who seem to be in a perpetual state of misery.

'There's no milk left for my tea!'

'You won't believe what happened in lesson 1.'

'I'm too tired.'

'I bet half the class haven't done their homework.'

'I just know someone's going to kick off this afternoon.'

(Have you caught yourself saying any of these things?)

If there is something to complain about, they are the experts. If there is nothing to complain about, they'll still complain.

So you should avoid these types like a sore rash, right?

Wrong.

In my humble opinion, I think they should be showered with kindness and support. The department I work in are ace at this.

'Here, have some of my milk.'

'What's the best thing that's happened in your lessons today?'

'Make sure you get an early night tonight.'

'Bring your best piece of homework to the meeting to share as good practice.'

'Shall we all try a crazy starter this afternoon to liven up our lessons?'

Positivity is contagious. It spreads like wild fire. Put simply, it works.

Schools are a community. That's what's so great about them. We don't know what personal battles people are fighting. So I will continue to support the people who need it the most in the hope that, in some small way, I'm making a difference.

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Today, a student asked me, 'Miss, why are you always so happy?'

The truth is I'm just good at hiding it when I'm not (most of the time). I think there's a little bit of mood hoover in all of us.

In case you wanted to spread a little teacher well-being love, there are some amazing #teacher5adayblogs here: wp.me/p4VbxY-7x

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Taking A Look at Books by @TeacherToolkit This blog is about book monitoring across an entire school, lead by heads of faculty, designed to improve student progress and reduce workload.

My last blog was about Power from the Floor. A blog about staff development; marking and a common-sense approach to teacher-workload. In that read, you can find a CPD training resource ready-to-go for you and your own staff. Power from the Floor is all about teachers talking and having the opportunity to contribute from the floor on whole-school policy which impacts on their own practice in the classroom.

Marking Guidance: This blog is about monitoring the quality of marking across the school, keeping in mind a realistic approach to diagnostic feedback and marking. The focus for our monitoring is school-specific. It may not be useful or applicable for your own school context. You can find the resource at the foot of this blog.

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Over the coming weeks, we are conducting our first monitoring book reviews in a landscape without lesson gradings. We haven’t quite yet, cracked the workload issue, but I previously explained that we are moving toward a common-sense approach to diagnostic marking and feedback across the school. I shared this startling image with my readers; especially pointing out the statistics to senior teachers, whose experiences of teaching in the classroom become an-ever-increasing memory.

We are soon to publish a document stating what teachers should not mark. This will be

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published to all students and parents and carers. I also shared this document (image above) with our staff as a starting point, suggesting what could be expected practice and what could not be expectedpractice with our marking. This is by no means gospel, or indeed a final publication. Teachers have been consulted and I already have over 10 drafted documents to modify before returning a proposal to middle leaders.

Like any publication, this guidance needs to be simple, without being debilitating or punitive.

Marking and feedback will vary in all subjects, key stages and in every classroom.

Getting It Right: The primary aim of our book-look review is to gauge the landscape of ‘diagnostic marking across the school.’

I have published this draft key guidance:            

There are NO judgements/lesson grading.

This is NOT an observation.

Departments may wish to organise a share and compare book-look within teams and involve all staff in the process.

This is NOT a ‘got-cha’ exercise.

All book-looks are to be conducted by HoFs/HoDs with relevant SLT line manager for support and capacity where needed.

Please direct your SLT where you need capacity; this may be when you are unavailable, or when you would like to conduct paired monitoring.

Draft a simple schedule and communicate this with your department/SLT. What classes/books are scheduled/list of names.

Book-looks do not need to happen when the lesson is taking place. Books can be reviewed outside lesson.

The book sample should cover a range of key stage classes/year groups per teacher.

E.g. one key stage 3 class / key stage 4 class per teacher.

If a member of staff only teaches one key stage, you should consider reviewing different year groups/courses.

Keep in mind yours and others workload.

The process is to gather a picture, not to tooth-comb every book page in the department.

Book-Looks: The following book-sampling document is based on whole-school approaches in other schools/roles. It has been modified significantly following on from the last time I discussed marking and book-look monitoring …

1. #BookLooks and Mantras: The Ugly Truth by @TeacherToolkit 13

2. Progress over time #POTteaching: by @TeacherToolkit 3. The #UglyTruth revisited: Marking; monitoring and progress by @TeacherToolkit 4. The Marking Frenzy by @TeacherToolkit Before the book look:  HoFs / SLT should briefly meet with the teacher to gather initial context; e.g. how best can this process improve your marking?  The book-look monitoring should aim to provide; ‘what went well and areas for improvement.’  All book-looks should schedule a planned feedback session for each classroom teacher; agree this in advance, with time to discuss feedback between 5-20 minutes.  Prior to any book-look, the teacher’s progress-tracking sheets should be available to help pre-plan and identify students for scrutiny.  Every student sample should include a high, middle and low attainer; stretch; SEN and pupil premium.

We have divided the template into two sections. Teachers should and Students should.

We have focused the monitoring template on diagnostic feedback using 7 questions.

During the book look:     

All books must be available.

When looking in specific student books, this should never be an ad-hoc exercise of who is present in the room.

If books are not available, say so on the document. Please revisit the class at the next available opportunity and locate the absent student’s book.

Every student sample must include a range of student-profile: high, middle and low attainer; stretch; SEN and pupil premium.

Do discuss the process with student / teacher. Refer to student prompts at all times.

After the book look:  The book-look observation, should be viewed as a means for developing best practice.

Feedback must happen; be meaningful and sophisticated.  There is context behind every exercise book, student, group and teacher – make sure you know before providing feedback.  Photocopy this sheet and return to the teacher after feedback.  A copy should returned to heads of faculty.

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The #5MinWellBeingPlan by @TeacherToolkit and @LeadingLearner Having had to take 2 days off this week for a family emergency, this 5MinPlan template is the perfect anecdote to the very popular post I wrote on The #GuiltyTeacher syndrome in schools. I received countless examples and messages from teachers who have succumbed to school pressure, despite their ailments.

The #GuiltyTeacher:

You may think it is with a certain sense of irony that @TeacherToolkit and @LeadingLearner have produced the #5MinWellBeingPlan. However, like many people working in education, we need to get our lives back in some sort of order and balance. The ‘#GuiltyTeacher. Guilty as Charged! by @TeacherToolkit‘ post certainly struck a chord with many teachers and support staff, regarding how we live our lives.

In schools we squash the equivalent of a full working year, and often more, into just thirtynine weeks. People outside of education see the “long holidays”, but don’t often see the extended and sometimes gruelling hours we work during term time. Ask the partner of a teacher about evening and weekends during term time and they will tell a story; a story of continuous work, with not enough time for nights out, or a bit of fun until the next holiday comes along.

The 5 Minute Well Being Plan: It’s time to launch the #5MinWellBeingPlan:

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The 5 Minute Well-Being Plan

In recent years, a number of schools have taken the lead on developing approaches to staff well-being. Whether you work in one of those schools or not, there is a lot you can do for yourself.

The Well Being Millionaire:

The Well-Being Millionaire

50:50: Try to decide and plan how you will spend your time each week. If you’re not careful, work can expand to fit every waking hour. The “to-do list” will never be complete and it helps if 17

you accept this. What time will be used for school work and what time will not be used?

Try to have

fixed times each week where you close the school bag and think about things other than work. When might you give yourself a little treat each week?

Phone a Friend: Keep in touch with people who are nearest and dearest to you. It’s easy to keep putting off that phone call; text message; Skype session, or a letter whilst you just get the next job done. Who do you want to stay in touch with on a regular basis and who have you not made contact with in ages?

Ask the Audience: Family and friends can all too easily be forgotten. In particular, your partner can be someone who spends her/his life waiting for the next school holiday; just to get some of your attention. Why not plan a meal or night out; a trip to the theatre or cinema with family and friends? The break will do you good and you might even enjoy it.

It is sometimes a really great idea to book a weekend away in the middle of a half term. Three or four weeks in, a mini-break with a loved one can give you the boost you need to make it through the half term with a smile on your face. Try somewhere local – it reduces down on the travel hassles and means you can just book in for one night which keeps the cost down.

Healthy Living: How and when are you going to exercise each week? You need to look after your body as it is the only one you’ll have and it is important to your and your job!

Exercise: Exercise is not only good for our bodies, it’s good for our minds. Exercise makes you feel happier alongside doing great things for your heart, general muscle-tone and helping you remain or become a healthy weight.

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Diet: We hopefully all know about ‘5-a-day’. There is a danger, that when you are continually on the go, that you skip the odd meal or replace it with cakes and biscuits, grabbed over a quick break. Do you ever find yourself lying awake at night on a ‘caffeine high’, only to repeat the dose the following day because you feel tired? Think about your diet and pick one thing that you need to start or stop doing.

Write it down and commit to making that change.

Risk Factors: Excessive alcohol; being overweight; stress; and lack of sleep, are all things that we know make us unwell. If we don’t deal with these issues early on, then you will become unwell. This is not good for you; it’s not good for your family and friends and not good for your students. Be honest with yourself – do you have any risk factors? What are you going to do about them?

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Helping Hand: It’s an odd thing but helping others makes us feel better. Now that’s a ‘win-win’ situation. There are so many ways to help, but here are a few suggestions:     

Take part in a sponsored walk/swim/run (also ticks the exercise box).

Go to a charity event. Give some time up one evening or at the weekend to help a local charity (a change is as good as a rest).

Or organise a charity event with your form.

Secretly surprise a colleague with a random act of kindness.

Take part in a Secret Santa … the list goes on.

What would you like to do to make a difference to someone else’s life?

It’s Good to Chat: There are times when we need to talk through challenges or stresses that we are feeling. On occasion, we want people to help us solve the problem and other times we just want someone to listen. It can also help us find a solution when we just verbalise the issues to someone. What do you need to chat about and who would be a good person to chat with? You may want to work with someone on a regular basis in a reciprocal arrangement.

Good friends and good work colleagues can both make effective

coaches. @TeacherToolkit and @LeadingLearner now sound off to each other regularly!

Put your Worries in a Box:

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There are some times when the job just simply gets too busy! There are other times when we worry about things we can’t actually do very much about. Time to put your worries in a box. Make a list of your worries – this is to stop you worrying about forgetting them – write them down and put them in a box. If you are a bit obsessive (OCD type), why not put them in date order!

Periodically get the box out and look at your list of worries – can you now throw it away? Deal with it? Put it back in the box for another day?

Time Out: Every now and then you do need to simply stop and reflect on how life is going. Are you walking in the direction of your dreams; or doing things that are important to you? Are you in a velvet lined-rut or maybe one that is a little less comfortable?

What is giving you joy and what do you need to change?

Let’s remember that we are human beings not human doings! It’s sometimes said, that when we look back at our lives it will not be the jobs left undone that we regret, but rather the relationships that are broken or the time we didn’t spend with loved ones.

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The job needs to get done, but we are more likely to achieve it if we look after our own wellbeing. Time to stop, time to refill the reservoir!

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Differentiation: Just because it can’t be seen, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

I was asked to lead a morning session on Differentiation to a group of professionals on their training day this January. Not the usual symposium of teachers – but 30plus Instructors of engineering apprentices. I wasn’t sure what I could add to their repertoire; reading through the apprentice-statements following their last feedback slips showed the Apprentices cascading immense gratitude, respect and value in what their Instructors do for them, as well as how they do it.

What I did say was that the most effective differentiation is unlikely to be seen. That it’s not directly observable or ‘evidenced’. And that’s because the most effective differentiation takes place inside the teacher’s thought-processes. It’s having as wide a range of possible techniques, strategies and organisational options; knowing the students’ individual traits, characteristics and needs; and making perceptive judgements about what will work, for whom, in what context, to achieve that end.

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It’s operating before the lesson in running through a mental fast-forward and anticipating likely obstacles in the road at key points for certain students and deciding how you’ll help them round by adjusting your route. It’s happening within lessons as you assess, evaluate, and think fleet-of-foot and of-mind, suddenly switching to another tack because of what’s just been noticed. It happens after lessons with follow-ups, call-backs, further checks…. in planning for the next session.

And how much of that is ‘seen’ by any external observer who happens to drop by? None. Ok – the ‘effects’ will be there, but it’s unlikely they’ll register because the observer is not aware of you actively making volleys of decisions for what’s most appropriate for this student, that student, and these ones – as none of that manifests itself to an external observer.

Many of us will have had that lesson where, at the end, we’ve been given the feedback along the lines of “Well…. yes, mainly OK. (pause) But I didn’t see some/any/enough Differentiation taking place….”

My response to that, now, would be: a) Why would you expect to? b) What would you require to see to satisfy your need? c) Have you ‘asked’ me about how I was differentiating (- or are you only opting for visual learning as your preferred style in making your judgements today) ?

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Differentiation is critical as a concept and a process. It’s easy for us to generalize and conceive of 28 individuals as an amorphous collective. “I really find that group a nightmare” is a plaintive cry I’ve heard (and occasionally used), particularly from early entrants to the job. We look at the class list and go through, one by one, who – exactly – is ‘a nightmare’.

Invariably there are 2 or 3 ‘difficult’ students, 4-6 ‘hangers on’ – and the rest are neutral or positively lovely.

We make challenges for ourselves when we collectivise a class. And as soon as we conceive of its atomisation then it’s incumbent to work the group via the variable options and individual possibilities.

In the session we covered how the choices before us encompass the learning activities we could opt for, the organisation of the classroom, the Instructor-Apprentice interaction choices, study methods, and feedback procedures. A five-course menu of option. There are more – I’m sure.

The best differentiators know their students, know the demands of the learning, understand their subject progress criteria implicitly – and know why they made that decision – at that moment – for that student… from amongst the range of possible options available.

They do it… because they can, because it’s better than not, because it leads to a more satisfying lesson for teacher and taught. They don’t do it because ‘it’s expected’ by a third party, as a bolt-on, or as an exercise in bureaucracy.

And if anyone does come in to observe your teaching, if they want to know how you differentiate – they should ask you how your strategies today have been influenced by your possible options, not complain that it’s not apparent to them.

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‘See’ Differentiation? You can’t. If you could – it would blow your mind.

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