LOOKING AT ENGLISH

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LOOKING AT ENGLISH

• Mary Gilbride
• 21 March 2009

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Outline of Presentation

• The English Inspectorate
• Key findings in relation to subject inspection in
  English
• Good practice and self-evaluation

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The English Inspectorate

• Suzanne Dillon Region 1
• Cavan, Donegal, Dublin (Fingal North), Leitrim,
  Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Sligo
• Mary Gilbride, Kate OCarroll Region 2
• South Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow
• Siobhan Broderick Region 3
• Clare, Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon, North
  Tipp
• Kevin ODonovan Region 4
• Cork, Kerry, South Tipp, Waterford
• Gerardine Skelly Region 5
• Dublin West South West, South Kildare, Laois,
  Longford, Offaly, Westmeath

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INTRODUCTION

• Based on analysis of 75 English SIRS
• Between January 2005 and May 2006
• All school sectors covered
• Range of school settings, types and sizes
• 483 classes and 426 teachers
• All programmes and year groups

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AIMS OF REPORT

• To inform and encourage professional dialogue
• To assist schools and subject departments in
  process of self-review/self evaluation
• To suggest areas for improvement
• To share examples of good practice

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Background

• Central role of language in the learning life of
  students
• Need to develop key skills
• Literacy underpins all subject areas

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whole school provision and support

• Evaluation of Timetabling
• Optimal is five lessons, evenly distributed over
  week for each year of junior cycle, fifth and
  sixth year
• First-years how are they provided for?
• Third-years sometimes fare better

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whole school provision and support

• JCSP
• Are there additional lessons and/or literacy
  support?
• Transition Year
• Optimal four
• Additional modules of film or drama
• LCA
• English and Communications - optimal is four
  lessons

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whole school provision and support

• Concurrent timetabling optimal to
• Facilitate movement
• Facilitate whole-year activities
• Facilitate teaching of modules
• Big timetabling demand and not always used well

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whole school provision and support

• Deployment of teachers best
• Substantial commitment to subject
• Range of programmes and levels
• Rotation
• Continuity
• Fully qualified teachers
• Continuity for EAL students

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whole school provision and support

• Formation of classes
• Are all students encouraged to take highest
  possible level?
• Are decisions delayed re levels until end of
  second year at least?
• How are students placed in year groups?
• Is there a system in place for changing levels?
• mixed ability at least in first year and TY
• Banding can be effective with range of abilities
• Streaming - less common negative effects
• Generally setting in fifth and sixth year

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whole school provision and support

• Resources
• Teacher-based or English classroom
• Display of students work and relevant material
• Classroom a teaching resource
• Board, books, audio-visual, ICT, shared
  resources, shared electronic folder, library/book
  boxes, dictionaries

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whole school provision and support

• Extra and co-curricular activities
• Theatre, cinema, guest speakers, debating and
  public speaking, writing competitions
• Writers in Schools
• Students work published or displayed

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whole school provision and support

• Resources
• Planning for resource acquisition
• Whole school approach to reading (DEAR, World
  Book Day, Readathon etc)
• Library in some schools
• Is there a commitment to library in the school?
• Does someone act as librarian?
• Have students access to library?
• Is there provision for updating materials?
• Is reading promoted?
• Are students inducted into library?

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Key findings in relation to whole school
provision and support

• Resources
• Is ICT used for
• Access to websites, internet, production of
  notes?
• Drafting and redrafting work?
• Are ICT facilities easily available?

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whole school provision and support

• CPD
• Does school management provide CPD on teaching
  and learning e.g. differentiation, AFL, SEN
• Do schools support membership of subject
  association and access to in-service?
• Do teachers identify CPD needs?

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planning and preparation

• Big improvement in this area
• Planning for inspector only or what is purpose of
  planning?
• Is written plan an end in itself?
• Do all teachers have access to plan?
• Often planning for choice of texts, for exams,
  for trips, student placement

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planning and preparation

• Is planning
• Collaborative?
• Sharing of resources and methodologies?
• Regular meetings and minutes to management?
• Actively co-ordinated (rotated)?
• Is there good communication within department,
  with management and with SEN?
• Is there sharing of tasks?
• Fewer than 1/3 of school had these features

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planning and preparation

• Recommend
• 3 formal meetings are year
• Agenda and minutes
• Review of examination results
• Action planning new ideas e.g. reading
  strategies, improving attainment, homework policy
  - frequency of longer pieces of writing, review
  of texts, induction of new teachers etc.

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planning and preparation

• Is plan content focused or does it focus on
  specific skills?
• Does it identify learning outcomes and link these
  to texts? NCCA rebalanced syllabus should help
  here
• Does it refer to aims and objectives of syllabus?
• Does it refer to appropriate modes of assessment?

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planning and preparation

• JCSP and SEN Planning
• Are statements used in JCSP?
• Is choice of materials stimulating?
• Are students challenged (as opposed to
  accommodated)?

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planning and preparation

• TY planning
• Is there an active and student-centred approach?
• Are a range of different texts and genres used?
• Are different assessment modes e.g. oral and
  project work used?
• Is LC material taught in significantly
  different manner?

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planning and preparation

• LCA
• Is material suitably challenging and new?
• Is a range of resources used?
• Do students have opportunities to write?
• Is there a building on key skills?

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planning and preparation

• Choice of texts at junior cycle
• Are texts varied (junior cycle suffers the most
  same old chestnuts)?
• Do students have broad exposure to texts in each
  year of JC?
• Is there an incremental approach to learning from
  first year to sixth year?
• Are texts sufficiently challenging?
• Are all genres taught incl. drama and short
  stories?
• Have you ensured that there is no duplication of
  texts between primary and post-primary and
  between different classes and years?

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planning and preparation

• Findings
• ordinary level texts not sufficiently
  challenging
• Risk of staleness
• Film often replaces drama at JC
• 3 comparatives at ordinary-level Leaving Cert
• Anthologies should not inform the English plan
• Creative use of audio versions of texts
• Need to collaborate around texts to facilitate
  changing level
• Issue of wrong texts being used at LC

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planning and preparation

• Planning for literacy support
• Do all English teachers take responsibility for
  learning support?
• Is there good liaison between learning-support/SEN
  departments?
• Is there a whole school approach to literacy e.g.
  key words?
• Is there awareness of strategies for dealing with
  SEN and EAL students?

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teaching and learning

• Good teaching is good teaching
• No formulaic approach
• Every teachers style is individual and every
  class visited is different
• But there are common characteristics of good
  teaching
• Appropriately high expectations are set
• Enjoyment of teaching, of students and of English

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teaching and learning

• Is learning outcome communicated to students at
  start and checked at end? gives structure and
  sense of purpose
• Is pace appropriate for student cohort? -
  sometimes too little covered
• What has the lesson achieved?
• Is the lesson put in context? linked with
  previous lesson

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teaching and learning

• How well is board used for
• Recording learning outcome
• Recording key points
• Pre-reading activities
• Displaying correct spelling etc
• Brainstorming
• Homework?

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teaching and learning

• Is there an over-reliance on the textbook?
• Is there use of supplementary material?
• CDs - very good for Shakespeare and poetry
• Are students opinions sought?
• Is lesson linked with students lives?
• Are grammar and syntax taught in isolation or
  integrated?

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teaching and learning

• Findings
• Need to bring text to life
• Need for personal response
• Too much structure or dissecting texts at expense
  of looking for big picture response
• Poor on drafting and redrafting
• Often poor on regular assignment of longer pieces
  of work especially in JC

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teaching and learning

• Is there a balance between teacher and student
  voice?
• Is there learner participation - discussion, peer
  learning, active learning
• Is there a range of questions asked?
• Are questions directed or global?
• Are all abilities catered for in questioning?
• Are students challenged by the questions?
• Are instructions clear?
• Is there differentiation?

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teaching and learning

• Is there evidence of development of all four key
  skills?
• Speaking discussion, debate, presentations
  Listening as above, peer work, listening to
  poetry
• Reading vocabulary building, personal reading,
  range of genre
• Writing frequent practice in all genres,
  integrated approach, student response journal,
  accuracy in language,

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teaching and learning

• Is new vocabulary integrated into lesson?
• Is poetry and Shakespeare translated or
  discussed?
• Is figurative language an end in itself or seen
  as a means to an end?
• Is frequent written work for consolidation
  assigned?
• Is there integration of language and literature?

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teaching and learning

• Evidence of learning
• Can students argue and discuss? higher-order
• Do students take pride in their written work
• Is students work displayed
• Is learning at an appropriate pace and level?
• Has sufficient work been covered for time of
  year?
• Are there appropriately high expectations? -
  leads to high levels of engagement

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teaching and learning

• Classroom management and atmosphere
• Are seating arrangements appropriate?
• Does teacher move around room?
• Does teacher deal sensitively with behaviour
  issues?
• Are students affirmed when deserved?
• Are named questions asked?
• Is the teacher enthusiastic?
• Is the teacher professional?
• Is the teacher a model of good language?

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assessment

• Assessment in the classroom
• Is questioning challenging enough?
• Is there frequent monitoring of students work?
• Are longer pieces of work assigned?
• Is assessment for learning happening?
  constructive feedback, peer assessment

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assessment

• Homework
• Is homework substantial?
• Across all skills?
• Frequently assigned?
• Linked with class work?

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assessment

• Are there common examinations and common marking
  schemes for mixed ability?
• Are students profiled?
• Are students literacy levels retested?
• Is there an analysis of in-house and state
  examinations in English?
• Are students folders well maintained?

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Questions?