Enhancing the Learning Experience

1
Enhancing the Learning Experience

• Breadth of provision
• Extension activities
• Support for underachieving students

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Breadth of Provision

• Intranet

OCNW project
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Intranet

• Managed by librarian Roz Moors (RM)
• 1 computer for every 5 students
• More than 90 of students have access from home
• Questionnaires suggest an increasing number of
  students use it as one of their main learning
  resources

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Intranet setting up

• Development of departmental sites at varying
  rates
• Need an enthusiastic individual to take
  responsibility for maintenance/ liaison with RM
• Decision made not to adopt a corporate style.
  Initially may make access a little more difficult
  but advantages of site to suit specific needs of
  department outweigh this.

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Intranet- usage (Jan 2005)
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Intranet- departmental areas

• Geography
• All teaching resources on intranet
• Links to websites, extension activities, quizzes,
  revision aids.
• Used in class teaching with paper copy for
  student
• Not usually used for self study exceptions may
  be after absence, during long term illness
• Geography intranet

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Intranet- departmental areas

• Physics
• Only used out of lessons
• No specific tasks set requiring use by all
  students
• Contains worksheets, worked answers to homework
  (available at set times), revision sheets, key
  skills support material

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Intranet- departmental areas

• Biology
• Not used in lessons
• Specific tasks set requiring all students to use
  intranet
• Mainly support material including PowerPoints,
  links to web pages, extension material
• Biology intranet

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Intranet- The Future

• Development of pastoral area
• Reduce teacher workload by having more of routine
  admin documents available online. Key Skills and
  D of E documentation already in this format
• Integrate use into more lessons. Computer
  projectors in many rooms, more bookable dedicated
  IT classrooms
• VLE/ MLE being considered

10
OCNW- enrichment programme

• Project based activity covering any curriculum
  area
• Students in groups of 4-6 70 students, 6 staff.
• Meet weekly over the A1 year with an assigned
  tutor to monitor progress
• Research a chosen area, produce a report,give a
  presentation to an invited audience including
  parents, senior staff and fellow students
• Certificated course highly regarded by many
  universities

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Extension Activities
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Audit of Extension Activities

• For the purpose of sharing good practice the TLG
  carried out an audit of extension activities

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Extension Activities

• Special classes
• Chemistry research enrichment
• Extension/Oxbridge classes in Geography, History,
  Law, Biology, Maths and others
• Thinking skills day
• Chief examiner of AS Critical Thinking

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Extension Groups

• Run by some departments in lunchtimes
• For interested students of any ability
• Intended to supplement the material in core
  specifications
• Particularly useful for students likely to be
  interviewed for their university place
• Hopefully stimulate the student to study areas of
  interest in more depth

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Extension Group- Biology

• Regular visiting speakers from universities. Some
  subject specific, some careers based.
• Students prepare presentations for the group
• Resource Handbook directs students to further
  activities
• Opportunity to enter Biology Olympiad for the
  most able
• Approx 40 A2 students in group

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Extension Activities

• External speakers/visits
• English
• visiting writers and speakers, trips/conferences
• Careers
• Whats Ahead Careers Conference, mock
  interviews for Medicine, Vet Science, Armed
  forces
• Geography/Geology
• additional field trip to Iceland available with
  high level workshops on various topics, e.g.
  geophysics
• Maths
• Open Day at Manchester University.

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Extension Activities

• Examinations
• AEA
• Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, MFL
• Olympiads
• Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computing, Maths
• BMAT
• LNAT

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Extension Activities

• Competitions
• Music
• Haydn Wood Festival, Mrs Sunderland Competition
• Maths
• UK Maths Challenge, Huddersfield University Pop
  Maths Quiz, internal monthly maths quiz

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Extension Activities

• Differentiated resources
• Sociology/Politics
• Extensive differentiated resource lists for each
  topic area, use of must/should/could.
• Chemistry
• Extra worksheets for both ends of the ability
  range (with answers) available in the study room
  and on the intranet

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Extension Activities

• Departmental intranet
• Biology
• Intranet provides links to support learners at a
  variety of levels.
• Computing
• Intranet links offer details on topics (e.g.
  encryption, programming) further to that
  available in textbooks,

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Oxbridge Preparation

• Students express interest through open meetings
• Admissions tutor meetings
• Visits to Oxford and Cambridge arranged
• Students allocated a teacher as an Oxbridge tutor
  
• Subject teacher feedback for reference
• Typically 80 candidates and 33 offers

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Support for underachieving students
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Student Study Centre

• Research funded by FEDA/LSDA found that one of
  the most common causes of underachievement was
  lack of organisational and study skills
• Second phase of research found students often
  responded well to individual help with study
  skills and supervised study
• BUT there was no dedicated area for this support
  in the college and no staff available outside
  subject areas
• This led to establishment of student study centre

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Student Study Centre

• Room for study centre was provided in new college
  building and it is now staffed for most
  timetabled lessons
• Part of its purpose is to provide quiet study
  area for some students
• Equipped with computers and some subject
  specialist equipment
• Also acts as base for special needs assistants

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Referrals to Study Centre

• Students are usually referred to the study centre
  by subject teachers or personal tutors
• Staff complete Learning Support Referral Form
  (available on staff intranet)
• Identifies areas of concern, action taken so far
  and suggestions for support from study centre
• N.B. The study centre works with subject staff
• Provides support for them not a means of checking
  their teaching standards

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Support provided in study centre

• Support provided can take number of forms
• Supervised study to catch up with missed work
• Special needs support
• Help with study skills such as organisation of
  files, time management, revision techniques and
  methods of note-taking
• Some subject-specific help where this can be
  provided by subject centre staff

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Communication with subject staff and tutors

• Study centre staff keep record of student
  attendance and review work covered with students
• 4 Session Record Sheet used to assess
  usefulness of support provided
• Progress discussed every week
• Summary provided for subject teachers, personal
  tutors and student records (for use by senior
  staff)
• 200-250 students have been referred to Study
  Centre so far this academic year
• This doesnt self-referred students and casual use

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Individual Learning Programmes

• Study of more subject-based support for
  underachieving students
• Already provided by subject staff but usually on
  informal and ad-hoc basis
• Small group of staff (across various subjects)
  looked at whether a more structured approach
  would be useful
• Three stages in support process
• Identify students and establish their individual
  needs
• Devise Individual Learning Programme
• Evaluate usefulness of support

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Identification of students and individual needs

• Students identified on basis of VA scores
• Across GCSE points range
• 4 or 5 students each
• Not to make up for poor attendance
• Individual needs identified by use of simple
  questionnaire
• Completed by subject teacher, tutor and student
• Asked for assessment of causes of
  underachievement and most appropriate forms of
  support

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Establishing programme of support

• Specific form used to agree Individual Learning
  Programme with students
• Overall aims based on results of questionnaires
• Broken down into number of more short-term aims
• Established routine of regular meetings
• Structured approach was useful for monitoring
  progress of students
• Also helped students to establish organised
  approach to study

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Evaluation of programme

• Questionnaire for subject staff, tutors and
  students
• 85 of students said they found programme useful
  and all appreciated opportunity for one-to-one
  support
• All felt more confident about subject and had
  more positive attitude to subject
• Many subject teachers also noticed improvements
  in student work
• Final results
• 79 of students improved by at least one grade
• 27 improved by two grades
• Positive results across range of GCSE points