I'm not going to tell you which set texts I taught this year (it is actually five different ones across two schools), but it is not going to take a genius to work out what I wish I had taught!
Let's kick off with Shakespeare. The Macbeth question was a gift, Lady Macbeth's 'Glamis thou art...' speech and a focus on 'ambition'. The word is actually in the extract and, if any of the students sitting the exam couldn't quote 'vaulting ambition' to go with it, then they don't deserve to pass! Nice metaphor to analyse right there too. The extract is packed with metaphor, parallel structures and references to the supernatural. No obvious problems for well-drilled students there.
So, after a question about arguably the play's most obvious theme and a central character, you'd expect similar for Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and fate?
Juliet and love?
You'd be wrong.
Samson, Gregory and Abram. But at least it would be an extract chock full of metaphor, references to destiny, the stars, or religious imagery? Well, you could have a stab at exploring 'naked weapon' (pun intended) and then...
Well, there is the repetion / repeation / repitition of 'bite my thumb' and some questions. My worry is that students will assume the turn-taking is Capulet then Montague, one side then the other, which it isn't. The follow up question on male aggression is fair enough, but not quite the gift of 'ambition' in option one.
So, the next question returned to main characters: Prospero and Ariel in The Tempest. The focus was about how loyal Ariel is as a servant. Reasonable question until you look at the extract. Starts off relevant to the question and then it is a description, with loads of great language features, about what Ariel did during the storm. Nothing to do with his loyalty as such.
Option 4 was for The Merchant of Venice, again the focus on a main character. Nice extract, nice question about Portia being a strong female, plenty to write about. Perhaps the fairest question on the paper with plenty to write about in both the extract and the rest of the play.
Much Ado is your next choice. Focus: Beatrice. Theme: her 'attitude to romantic love'. Lots to write about, there, but hang on a minute, there are some pretty obscure references in the extract. Without having that particular extract taught in detail, I doubt students are going to have the general knowledge to know what a 'measure' and a 'cinquepace' are! The references to 'earth', 'dust' and 'marl' take some explaining too.
So, then we get to our final choice for this section, Julius Ceasar. What should we expect? What patterns have been identified in the extracts and questions?
Are you kidding me? 'Friends, Romans, countrymen...'!
So, remind me, it was 'Is this a dagger..?' for Macbeth, 'Gallop apace' for Romeo and Juliet, 'The isle is full of noises' for The Tempest, 'The quality of mercy' for Merchant, and 'Rotten orange' for Much Ado, wasn't it?
Oh, no, it wasn't!
At least the question about a manipulative character is a bit of a challenge, but still.
How is this fair?
It isn't difficult to make it fairer than this. It really shouldn't be a text lottery. If the focus is gender roles, then that applies to all the texts; if it is fate in the tragedies, then it should be love in the comedies; if it is obscure minor characters, then so be it. But for all of the plays.
Clearly, with no tiers now, the questions need to be accessible to every ability as well. Not all of these are by any means.
On first glance, Section B seems a bit closer to an even playing field. None of the extracts were obscure, students should have been able to deal with whichever text they studied. Clear, character based questions, some leading to a related theme in the second bullet point.
Only, on second glance, there is one question that doesn't follow this pattern. The question for 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was the only evaluative one, i.e. 'Explore how far you agree with this opinion'. Again, not fair.
At least it was on Dr Jekyll, but again, if six of the questions are about the main character, why is the seventh not? Jekyll, Pip, Jane, the monster, Elizabeth and Holmes, but the Cratchit family for 'A Christmas Carol'?
So, you may have come out on top in the text lottery this year, but I urge you to complain to AQA anyway. Your students might be the ones to lose out next time if this continues.
Anyone fancy an Innogen question for Much Ado next year?
Finally, make sure Edna is covered for Friday's 'An Inspector Calls' paper! You have been warned.
Monday, 22 May 2017
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
A Tale of Two Ofsteds
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way –
Yes, I am going to horribly abuse Dickens in this post... Sorry!
It has taken a while to collect my thoughts before writing this and, before I go any further, I have to say this is a very personal account of both the positive and crushingly negative effects of Ofsted on teachers. I knew I wanted to start with this quotation, but didn't realise until I read it again in its entirety, just how apt it is.
In 2012, our school got a 'Good', with 97% of lessons observed graded 'Good' or better. Less than a year later, we got visited again. This time we got a 4 in every category.
Now I'm not party to all the relevant information, but this is an account of how it affected me personally.
First time around, the inspection team was very keen to hear everything we were proud of about our school. I remember being invited to speak about my professional development in the Head's office with other colleagues. The lead inspector was eager to hear how we used our Wednesday afternoon CPD, how we had taken on the idea of Dylan William's TLCs to trial new initiatives, and asked for anything else positive that we wanted to say that we thought he should know about. There was a really positive, confident buzz around the place.
Personally, I was observed teaching Y13. It wasn't a 'showy' lesson (although, believe me, I'm capable of those too!). The observation was relaxed, unobtrusive and the lesson was graded Outstanding. The Inspector looked in folders, talked to the students (but not in a way that disrupted the learning) and the feedback was pleasant, positive and useful for my professional development.
As an English Department, we'd been hit hard by the GCSE fiasco, but they understood that wasn't our fault. They asked for our estimated grades and judged us accordingly. They smiled.
They didn't crack a smile once, second time around.
Those of you living in fear of Ofsted, probably should stop reading now.
If you decided to continue, I'll say again, this is a personal account and I don't have all the relevant information. I don't know what triggered the visit only 10 months after the last one, but I believe it was parental complaints. Regardless, they arrived 3 weeks in to term and caught us, as more than one person put it, 'with our pants down'. If you don't know, for a normal Ofsted, they ring you the day before they come in. This lot turned up at 8 am on the first day. A real 'no notice' inspection.
On day one, they complained books were not marked, lessons were boring and came in to classrooms like a plague of locusts. I was teaching Y11 English with a very challenging D/C group. They interrupted the Q&A by talking to students, glanced at books and left. It was very disruptive. Naturally, their instinct took them straight to one of the most difficult students in the year / school. Is that representative? My books were clearly self / peer marked, but was that enough 3 weeks in to the academic year? (I was just about to set them their first summative assessment, but I figured I better teach them how to do it first!) I was modelling how to write an exam answer with suggestions how to improve from the students. Is that boring? Possibly, but would I defend it as good practice? Absolutely!
I have no way of knowing if what they saw contributed to the comments at the end of day one, but you can't help feeling that it must have done. It's like when the whole class is kept back because one person did something naughty. The guilt is infectious.
Day 2 we had more of a chance as there was time to fully plan lessons. Unfortunately, the timetable went against us. It seemed that very few of the strongest teachers were on during the observation times. They also wanted to observe teachers who had been on the ITP course and, as a result, got an unrepresentative slice of lessons to observe.
Then the feedback started. Teacher after teacher came back in floods of tears. Not only was the feedback focused on the negative, but the delivery of it by all accounts was really cutting. This was by far the most destructive element of the visit. Some staff have not recovered 3 months later. Some won't at all. No matter what the quality of a lesson, nobody deliberately sets out to be inadequate. All feedback should therefore be constructive, not destructive, especially from Ofsted. But I guess we all know the impact of formative vs summative judgements.
At that point it turned in to a full inspection. I pretty much knew I was going to be observed as they had to see some 6th Form to do a full report, and I had Y13 the next day. I have already mentioned some of what happened in the lesson in tweets, but this is what happened in all its horrible detail. I can already feel my blood pressure rising...
I knew the lesson plan was outstanding. I'm not stupid (or arrogant), I did a version of a lesson I had originally planned for my AST assessment day. Why wouldn't you?
Unfortunately, the inspector wasn't really interested in my lesson. She did not talk to the students, or look in any of their folders. She came in with a face like thunder.
Part way into the lesson, the students were working independently, so I went over and asked if there were any questions she had about the lesson. BIG mistake. There followed a tirade of questions about KS3 English. Unimpressed about what she had just seen in other classrooms, she questioned me about the curriculum, SOWs, assessments and progress. In the middle of an observation. Now I'm a firm believer in the Hawthorne Effect, but the impact of this observer took it to a whole new level!
But it didn't end there. She made a snidey comment about how clearly Sixth Form teaching was my 'raison d'être' and implied that I didn't care about KS3. Interesting she should jump to that conclusion. I actually love teaching all levels and abilities. I had just rewritten the LTP for KS3 even though I didn't teach it! She wasn't interested in plans for improvement that were in place though. Then she said, 'You're the Head of Department aren't you?!' In a very confrontational manner. It caught her on the back foot for a moment when I told her I wasn't, but only momentarily. Even if I had been, surely it still does not give her the right to an interrogation during a lesson?
She then actually turned her attention to my lesson. It was on Text Transformation, which is English Language and Literature coursework. The main focus was to get the students to understand the sometimes very subtle differences between a transformation of a text and creative writing (or what AQA call 'spring boarding'). She said they should know that already, and then came out with her classic (and soul-destroying): 'There should be nothing new by the time they get to Sixth Form'.
Not only is this utter crap, but the lesson was based on feedback from the examiner's report (and years of experience teaching the course). This distinction is something even the most able students can struggle with.
Then she came out with her clincher, 'Well, you can't get an Outstanding when the teaching we've seen at KS3 is so poor'.
Teaching by other teachers?
I would have thought it was more relevant that it was impossible to get an Outstanding judgement whilst being interrogated, but hey!
So, I was really looking forward to the feedback...
Firstly, it took a large chunk of my lunch to hunt her down. She wasn't where she was supposed to be, clearly not respecting how stressful the process is for teachers. When she did start, she began with that awful question: 'How would you rate it?'
I said, 'Good.'
She replied, 'Yes, very good, but that's not the point'.
She turned it straight to another inquisition about KS3. I fielded all of her questions, but she wasn't listening, and despite repeatedly asking for feedback about my lesson, she wouldn't give any. Finally, I got really annoyed and said, 'Please can I have some developmental feedback about my lesson?'
She opened her clipboard, flicked through a few pages, said, 'Differentiation' and snapped it shut.
I replied, 'Well, you'll have noticed that the questioning was differentiated.'
'But they were all doing the same task.'
'Yes, it was new to all of them. You'll have seen from the lesson plan, though, that the next stage of the lesson was grouped by text and ability.'
'We didn't see that part of the lesson though.'
It later turns out she also had an issue with my data, but in a particularly surprising way. I had raised the level of challenge for several students beyond their ALPs. She said that I shouldn't have had to do that if their progress had been better lower down the school. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Turns out it is irrelevant what progress those actual students made (one exceeded her KS3 target by 5 fine levels; one didn't even come to our school). It is also irrelevant that I have done it every year as I believe challenging expectations are crucial to success. I am normally right. Last year we had two students who got an A* at A2, neither of whom had that as a target and neither of whom under-performed at KS3 or GCSE.
Even a good lesson needs to be ripped to shreds in a bad Ofsted it seems.
I can't underplay the impact of this Ofsted. I have worked at the same school for 14 years, and we have never been rated as anything other than 'Good'. It was the same school as 10 months previously when it got a 'Good'. It felt like a bereavement, and just like a bereavement, you go through the 5 stages:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance.
But let's face it, none of them are useful when it comes to moving forward except acceptance. I'm not going to say that the judgement was right or wrong. We have to live with it either way. The only thing I cannot come to terms with is how a school rated 'Good' in one inspection can go from that to 'Special Measures' in just 10 months. The way schools are graded has not changed that much.
I'll leave that one with you to ponder.
Anyway, there are positives. Despite apparently only caring about A level teaching, it has given me the opportunity and drive to rewrite the LTP, restructure the MTPs and write 60 individual lesson plans for Y7, 8 and 9 in the last month. And, in a cheesy cyclical structure only appreciated by English teachers (and probably not many of them) I will inappropriately quote Dickens again:
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done
More of that to follow.
Yes, I am going to horribly abuse Dickens in this post... Sorry!
It has taken a while to collect my thoughts before writing this and, before I go any further, I have to say this is a very personal account of both the positive and crushingly negative effects of Ofsted on teachers. I knew I wanted to start with this quotation, but didn't realise until I read it again in its entirety, just how apt it is.
In 2012, our school got a 'Good', with 97% of lessons observed graded 'Good' or better. Less than a year later, we got visited again. This time we got a 4 in every category.
Now I'm not party to all the relevant information, but this is an account of how it affected me personally.
First time around, the inspection team was very keen to hear everything we were proud of about our school. I remember being invited to speak about my professional development in the Head's office with other colleagues. The lead inspector was eager to hear how we used our Wednesday afternoon CPD, how we had taken on the idea of Dylan William's TLCs to trial new initiatives, and asked for anything else positive that we wanted to say that we thought he should know about. There was a really positive, confident buzz around the place.
Personally, I was observed teaching Y13. It wasn't a 'showy' lesson (although, believe me, I'm capable of those too!). The observation was relaxed, unobtrusive and the lesson was graded Outstanding. The Inspector looked in folders, talked to the students (but not in a way that disrupted the learning) and the feedback was pleasant, positive and useful for my professional development.
As an English Department, we'd been hit hard by the GCSE fiasco, but they understood that wasn't our fault. They asked for our estimated grades and judged us accordingly. They smiled.
They didn't crack a smile once, second time around.
Those of you living in fear of Ofsted, probably should stop reading now.
If you decided to continue, I'll say again, this is a personal account and I don't have all the relevant information. I don't know what triggered the visit only 10 months after the last one, but I believe it was parental complaints. Regardless, they arrived 3 weeks in to term and caught us, as more than one person put it, 'with our pants down'. If you don't know, for a normal Ofsted, they ring you the day before they come in. This lot turned up at 8 am on the first day. A real 'no notice' inspection.
On day one, they complained books were not marked, lessons were boring and came in to classrooms like a plague of locusts. I was teaching Y11 English with a very challenging D/C group. They interrupted the Q&A by talking to students, glanced at books and left. It was very disruptive. Naturally, their instinct took them straight to one of the most difficult students in the year / school. Is that representative? My books were clearly self / peer marked, but was that enough 3 weeks in to the academic year? (I was just about to set them their first summative assessment, but I figured I better teach them how to do it first!) I was modelling how to write an exam answer with suggestions how to improve from the students. Is that boring? Possibly, but would I defend it as good practice? Absolutely!
I have no way of knowing if what they saw contributed to the comments at the end of day one, but you can't help feeling that it must have done. It's like when the whole class is kept back because one person did something naughty. The guilt is infectious.
Day 2 we had more of a chance as there was time to fully plan lessons. Unfortunately, the timetable went against us. It seemed that very few of the strongest teachers were on during the observation times. They also wanted to observe teachers who had been on the ITP course and, as a result, got an unrepresentative slice of lessons to observe.
Then the feedback started. Teacher after teacher came back in floods of tears. Not only was the feedback focused on the negative, but the delivery of it by all accounts was really cutting. This was by far the most destructive element of the visit. Some staff have not recovered 3 months later. Some won't at all. No matter what the quality of a lesson, nobody deliberately sets out to be inadequate. All feedback should therefore be constructive, not destructive, especially from Ofsted. But I guess we all know the impact of formative vs summative judgements.
At that point it turned in to a full inspection. I pretty much knew I was going to be observed as they had to see some 6th Form to do a full report, and I had Y13 the next day. I have already mentioned some of what happened in the lesson in tweets, but this is what happened in all its horrible detail. I can already feel my blood pressure rising...
I knew the lesson plan was outstanding. I'm not stupid (or arrogant), I did a version of a lesson I had originally planned for my AST assessment day. Why wouldn't you?
Unfortunately, the inspector wasn't really interested in my lesson. She did not talk to the students, or look in any of their folders. She came in with a face like thunder.
Part way into the lesson, the students were working independently, so I went over and asked if there were any questions she had about the lesson. BIG mistake. There followed a tirade of questions about KS3 English. Unimpressed about what she had just seen in other classrooms, she questioned me about the curriculum, SOWs, assessments and progress. In the middle of an observation. Now I'm a firm believer in the Hawthorne Effect, but the impact of this observer took it to a whole new level!
But it didn't end there. She made a snidey comment about how clearly Sixth Form teaching was my 'raison d'être' and implied that I didn't care about KS3. Interesting she should jump to that conclusion. I actually love teaching all levels and abilities. I had just rewritten the LTP for KS3 even though I didn't teach it! She wasn't interested in plans for improvement that were in place though. Then she said, 'You're the Head of Department aren't you?!' In a very confrontational manner. It caught her on the back foot for a moment when I told her I wasn't, but only momentarily. Even if I had been, surely it still does not give her the right to an interrogation during a lesson?
She then actually turned her attention to my lesson. It was on Text Transformation, which is English Language and Literature coursework. The main focus was to get the students to understand the sometimes very subtle differences between a transformation of a text and creative writing (or what AQA call 'spring boarding'). She said they should know that already, and then came out with her classic (and soul-destroying): 'There should be nothing new by the time they get to Sixth Form'.
Not only is this utter crap, but the lesson was based on feedback from the examiner's report (and years of experience teaching the course). This distinction is something even the most able students can struggle with.
Then she came out with her clincher, 'Well, you can't get an Outstanding when the teaching we've seen at KS3 is so poor'.
Teaching by other teachers?
I would have thought it was more relevant that it was impossible to get an Outstanding judgement whilst being interrogated, but hey!
So, I was really looking forward to the feedback...
Firstly, it took a large chunk of my lunch to hunt her down. She wasn't where she was supposed to be, clearly not respecting how stressful the process is for teachers. When she did start, she began with that awful question: 'How would you rate it?'
I said, 'Good.'
She replied, 'Yes, very good, but that's not the point'.
She turned it straight to another inquisition about KS3. I fielded all of her questions, but she wasn't listening, and despite repeatedly asking for feedback about my lesson, she wouldn't give any. Finally, I got really annoyed and said, 'Please can I have some developmental feedback about my lesson?'
She opened her clipboard, flicked through a few pages, said, 'Differentiation' and snapped it shut.
I replied, 'Well, you'll have noticed that the questioning was differentiated.'
'But they were all doing the same task.'
'Yes, it was new to all of them. You'll have seen from the lesson plan, though, that the next stage of the lesson was grouped by text and ability.'
'We didn't see that part of the lesson though.'
It later turns out she also had an issue with my data, but in a particularly surprising way. I had raised the level of challenge for several students beyond their ALPs. She said that I shouldn't have had to do that if their progress had been better lower down the school. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Turns out it is irrelevant what progress those actual students made (one exceeded her KS3 target by 5 fine levels; one didn't even come to our school). It is also irrelevant that I have done it every year as I believe challenging expectations are crucial to success. I am normally right. Last year we had two students who got an A* at A2, neither of whom had that as a target and neither of whom under-performed at KS3 or GCSE.
Even a good lesson needs to be ripped to shreds in a bad Ofsted it seems.
I can't underplay the impact of this Ofsted. I have worked at the same school for 14 years, and we have never been rated as anything other than 'Good'. It was the same school as 10 months previously when it got a 'Good'. It felt like a bereavement, and just like a bereavement, you go through the 5 stages:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance.
But let's face it, none of them are useful when it comes to moving forward except acceptance. I'm not going to say that the judgement was right or wrong. We have to live with it either way. The only thing I cannot come to terms with is how a school rated 'Good' in one inspection can go from that to 'Special Measures' in just 10 months. The way schools are graded has not changed that much.
I'll leave that one with you to ponder.
Anyway, there are positives. Despite apparently only caring about A level teaching, it has given me the opportunity and drive to rewrite the LTP, restructure the MTPs and write 60 individual lesson plans for Y7, 8 and 9 in the last month. And, in a cheesy cyclical structure only appreciated by English teachers (and probably not many of them) I will inappropriately quote Dickens again:
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done
More of that to follow.
Friday, 27 December 2013
13 highlights of 2013 and 14 new resolutions
I have been putting off doing this as I felt that when I looked back at my resolutions from last year, it would make me feel a miserable failure. Actually, I'm pretty chuffed I've actually managed more than one of them! However, we will ignore the first 4/5 ;)
1. Lose the stone
It's Christmas!
2. Spend more time with family
Still a bad person.
3. Blog more
Rubbish! I have really neglected this, but maybe next year?
4. Work more with other teachers
Still need to work on this. I'm naturally an introvert, so it is hard to shake off the belief that I work far more efficiently by myself.
5. Survive GCSE fiasco
My classes did well. I am particularly proud of an SEN student who got his C on his third attempt in June after switching to iGCSE and doing coursework. School did not survive though...
6. Holidays
We had a glorious week in France with private pool. Not nearly as expensive as it sounds and with added bat aerial display every evening!
7. Stop imagining, start doing (and finishing)
See 8
8. Remodel my lounge
After 14 years of staring at artex on the chimney breasts and a hideous brick fireplace that extended the length of 2 rooms, I took a sledge hammer to it. Following further applications of drill, hammer, screwdriver, saw (and, yes, No More Nails), I now have a calm little retreat to come home to with a log burner. We have had a real fire every night since September!
9. Art projects
See 8. That kept me busy enough - my shelving unit is made from wine crates, I finally got my artwork up on the walls, and my boyfriend gave me a make your own muppet kit for Christmas!
10. Get on top of marking
Not sure this is possible, but I have approached marking very differently this year. Instead of taking it for an endless series of walks (to the car, from the car to the house, back to the car, to school, back to the car, back home, repeat) I now see it as fundamental to planning the next lesson, rather than a tiresome chore. It makes a difference. Also, I make sure that my classes spend at least a lesson responding to comments after each main assessment. If you doubt this approach, you clearly managed to miss Austin's Butterfly! Go watch it now! http://bit.ly/19PUsOK
I haven't yet managed to find a way to stop the cat chewing it though!
11. Avoid doing graded observations
Managed this so far... Clock is ticking though...
12. Do an MA
No longer see the point. It won't improve my teaching, probably the opposite as it will take up so much time.
13. Make more 'Feel good Friday' phone-calls
This is still on the list!
To make up the difference, other things I'm proud of from 2013:
Managing to get a (very) good when Ofsted came in to do a hatchet job on our school.
Apparently it isn't possible to get an outstanding judgment with Y13 when current progress at KS3 is inadequate. I also managed to achieve this whilst being interrogated about KS3 during the observed lesson!
Despite the enormous destructive power of Ofsted's visit, it has given me the opportunity to redesign the KS3 English curriculum. And where do you turn for inspiration? Twitter of course! Not only am I really enthusiastic about the new approach, but I have planned 60 lessons for 7, 8 and 9 in the last couple of weeks. I will blog about this soon, and thank people who currently don't know how inspirational they have been.
I have started working on a whole-school writing project too. More of this to come.
The final highlight of my year is yet again my boyfriend, who miraculously is still with me, despite me putting him through a truly vicious Ofsted and the fallout!
14 resolutions for 2014:
1. Help get school out of the crap.
2. Not to crumble under pressure of time and stick to what I know works.
3. Finish KS3 schemes and create an exciting and innovative curriculum that both students and staff enjoy.
4. Improve writing whole school.
5. Work with other teachers more effectively.
6. Keep healthy and sane (although both of those are debatable at the moment!)
7. Thank people I've never met who inspire me on Twitter (long overdue).
8. Blog more and share ideas.
9. Sort out the garden.
10. Sell all the jewellery I've made before it takes over the house!
11. Clear out the shed - does anyone know anything you can do with video tapes other than landfill?!
12. Do more exercise (shouldn't be hard, just have to do some exercise).
13. Cuddle the cats more.
14. Cuddle the BF more.
1. Lose the stone
It's Christmas!
2. Spend more time with family
Still a bad person.
3. Blog more
Rubbish! I have really neglected this, but maybe next year?
4. Work more with other teachers
Still need to work on this. I'm naturally an introvert, so it is hard to shake off the belief that I work far more efficiently by myself.
5. Survive GCSE fiasco
My classes did well. I am particularly proud of an SEN student who got his C on his third attempt in June after switching to iGCSE and doing coursework. School did not survive though...
6. Holidays
We had a glorious week in France with private pool. Not nearly as expensive as it sounds and with added bat aerial display every evening!
7. Stop imagining, start doing (and finishing)
See 8
8. Remodel my lounge
After 14 years of staring at artex on the chimney breasts and a hideous brick fireplace that extended the length of 2 rooms, I took a sledge hammer to it. Following further applications of drill, hammer, screwdriver, saw (and, yes, No More Nails), I now have a calm little retreat to come home to with a log burner. We have had a real fire every night since September!
9. Art projects
See 8. That kept me busy enough - my shelving unit is made from wine crates, I finally got my artwork up on the walls, and my boyfriend gave me a make your own muppet kit for Christmas!
10. Get on top of marking
Not sure this is possible, but I have approached marking very differently this year. Instead of taking it for an endless series of walks (to the car, from the car to the house, back to the car, to school, back to the car, back home, repeat) I now see it as fundamental to planning the next lesson, rather than a tiresome chore. It makes a difference. Also, I make sure that my classes spend at least a lesson responding to comments after each main assessment. If you doubt this approach, you clearly managed to miss Austin's Butterfly! Go watch it now! http://bit.ly/19PUsOK
I haven't yet managed to find a way to stop the cat chewing it though!
11. Avoid doing graded observations
Managed this so far... Clock is ticking though...
12. Do an MA
No longer see the point. It won't improve my teaching, probably the opposite as it will take up so much time.
13. Make more 'Feel good Friday' phone-calls
This is still on the list!
To make up the difference, other things I'm proud of from 2013:
Managing to get a (very) good when Ofsted came in to do a hatchet job on our school.
Apparently it isn't possible to get an outstanding judgment with Y13 when current progress at KS3 is inadequate. I also managed to achieve this whilst being interrogated about KS3 during the observed lesson!
Despite the enormous destructive power of Ofsted's visit, it has given me the opportunity to redesign the KS3 English curriculum. And where do you turn for inspiration? Twitter of course! Not only am I really enthusiastic about the new approach, but I have planned 60 lessons for 7, 8 and 9 in the last couple of weeks. I will blog about this soon, and thank people who currently don't know how inspirational they have been.
I have started working on a whole-school writing project too. More of this to come.
The final highlight of my year is yet again my boyfriend, who miraculously is still with me, despite me putting him through a truly vicious Ofsted and the fallout!
14 resolutions for 2014:
1. Help get school out of the crap.
2. Not to crumble under pressure of time and stick to what I know works.
3. Finish KS3 schemes and create an exciting and innovative curriculum that both students and staff enjoy.
4. Improve writing whole school.
5. Work with other teachers more effectively.
6. Keep healthy and sane (although both of those are debatable at the moment!)
7. Thank people I've never met who inspire me on Twitter (long overdue).
8. Blog more and share ideas.
9. Sort out the garden.
10. Sell all the jewellery I've made before it takes over the house!
11. Clear out the shed - does anyone know anything you can do with video tapes other than landfill?!
12. Do more exercise (shouldn't be hard, just have to do some exercise).
13. Cuddle the cats more.
14. Cuddle the BF more.
Friday, 23 August 2013
The results are in - Cambridge iGCSE vs AQA
If you read my previous blog entry on teaching the Cambridge iGCSE, you will know that I refused to pass judgement until the results came in. Well, they're in.
The background:
This year I taught a set of 32 Y11 A*- B target students who took AQA Language and Literature, a set of 16 Y11 C/D borderline students who started AQA in Y10, but changed to iGCSE in Y11, and 2 Y10 sets of 16 students with targets of C/D who did early entry iGCSE this year too.
Yes, I struggled to get my head around that too - thank you timetable gods!
What it did do, however, is put me in a position to look at the 2 exams side by side and draw some fairly interesting conclusions (at least I think they are interesting, feel free to disagree!)
My 'top' set did reasonably well on AQA, but the top grades were fewer than I had predicted. Overall, I am a bit disappointed as I was hopeful they would do much better. A handful got Cs which, in my opinion, does not reflect their ability. Basically, our Language CA was moderated down by 4 marks across the board for every student over a C. I have not read the report, but our marks have never been changed before and it obviously looks a bit suspicious to me. I may be wrong, but it is a less obvious way of manipulating the pass rate than changing exam boundaries. The Literature CA grades were unchanged...
So to iGCSE. Here the results were great. In Y11, bearing in mind these students had failed miserably AQA English and iGCSE Core earlier in the year, they nearly all passed iGCSE Extended. There were even 3 B grades!
In Y10, the results were less spectacular. There were more passes than I had predicted though, but only a handful in each group. Pleasing for me, it was those particularly hardworking students who got it early and the others have hopefully learned a valuable lesson. Honestly, I never felt they were ready to do it, the vast majority are the kind of kids who need to feel the pressure of the clock ticking in Y11 to motivate them. Those who got Cs are probably capable of Bs next year, so I'm not sure they gained much either, apart from maybe a confidence boost.
Conclusions:
IGCSE is easier for the majority of students. The students who got Bs are proof of that. They are nowhere near the quality of the Bs from AQA, or even the C grades from my top set either. Students who failed AQA English passed iGCSE comfortably. It is particularly good for students who are sparky but have done nothing for 5 years and feel the fear at the last minute. The reading exam is something you can train them to do like monkeys. The results would also suggest that it is easier to get a C on the Extended paper than on the Core.
Another advantage of iGCSE is for SEN students. One particular student I taught was very hardworking, but all the extra time in the world was not going to help him pass an exam. He was able to do the coursework option, take his time, use IT, redraft. He finally got his C after getting a B on that unit, and it was my favourite result of yesterday.
And, of course, the Speaking and Listening was also very useful for several students in boosting their grade. However, I would also say it probably caused a significant problem for just as many. How we go about teaching this aspect is something we have to look at very carefully next year. They don't get multiple chances to do it, reflect and improve like AQA used to allow, and it shows.
Personally, I am left feeling dissatisfied with the whole thing. Just like last year, I feel there are students who have grades they don't deserve (both higher and lower) down to the exam they took. Our entry requirement for A Level study is a B at GCSE. There are students who have that from iGCSE who have that now, but are in no way prepared for the demands of A level; iGCSE does not encourage independence in any way shape or form. They don't have to read anything longer than 5 paragraphs for a start!
I realise my job is to get students good grades, and improve their life chances, but my reason for teaching is to foster a love of reading, writing, discussion and critical thinking. I want students to leave with skills, not just grades. Teaching the iGCSE exam is DULL. The texts they use are awful - the whole exam is very old-fashioned.
With another 3 groups taking it next year, I am not feeling terribly inspired by it.
Thank God they still have to do Literature... although, of course, they don't have to pass.
The background:
This year I taught a set of 32 Y11 A*- B target students who took AQA Language and Literature, a set of 16 Y11 C/D borderline students who started AQA in Y10, but changed to iGCSE in Y11, and 2 Y10 sets of 16 students with targets of C/D who did early entry iGCSE this year too.
Yes, I struggled to get my head around that too - thank you timetable gods!
What it did do, however, is put me in a position to look at the 2 exams side by side and draw some fairly interesting conclusions (at least I think they are interesting, feel free to disagree!)
My 'top' set did reasonably well on AQA, but the top grades were fewer than I had predicted. Overall, I am a bit disappointed as I was hopeful they would do much better. A handful got Cs which, in my opinion, does not reflect their ability. Basically, our Language CA was moderated down by 4 marks across the board for every student over a C. I have not read the report, but our marks have never been changed before and it obviously looks a bit suspicious to me. I may be wrong, but it is a less obvious way of manipulating the pass rate than changing exam boundaries. The Literature CA grades were unchanged...
So to iGCSE. Here the results were great. In Y11, bearing in mind these students had failed miserably AQA English and iGCSE Core earlier in the year, they nearly all passed iGCSE Extended. There were even 3 B grades!
In Y10, the results were less spectacular. There were more passes than I had predicted though, but only a handful in each group. Pleasing for me, it was those particularly hardworking students who got it early and the others have hopefully learned a valuable lesson. Honestly, I never felt they were ready to do it, the vast majority are the kind of kids who need to feel the pressure of the clock ticking in Y11 to motivate them. Those who got Cs are probably capable of Bs next year, so I'm not sure they gained much either, apart from maybe a confidence boost.
Conclusions:
IGCSE is easier for the majority of students. The students who got Bs are proof of that. They are nowhere near the quality of the Bs from AQA, or even the C grades from my top set either. Students who failed AQA English passed iGCSE comfortably. It is particularly good for students who are sparky but have done nothing for 5 years and feel the fear at the last minute. The reading exam is something you can train them to do like monkeys. The results would also suggest that it is easier to get a C on the Extended paper than on the Core.
Another advantage of iGCSE is for SEN students. One particular student I taught was very hardworking, but all the extra time in the world was not going to help him pass an exam. He was able to do the coursework option, take his time, use IT, redraft. He finally got his C after getting a B on that unit, and it was my favourite result of yesterday.
And, of course, the Speaking and Listening was also very useful for several students in boosting their grade. However, I would also say it probably caused a significant problem for just as many. How we go about teaching this aspect is something we have to look at very carefully next year. They don't get multiple chances to do it, reflect and improve like AQA used to allow, and it shows.
Personally, I am left feeling dissatisfied with the whole thing. Just like last year, I feel there are students who have grades they don't deserve (both higher and lower) down to the exam they took. Our entry requirement for A Level study is a B at GCSE. There are students who have that from iGCSE who have that now, but are in no way prepared for the demands of A level; iGCSE does not encourage independence in any way shape or form. They don't have to read anything longer than 5 paragraphs for a start!
I realise my job is to get students good grades, and improve their life chances, but my reason for teaching is to foster a love of reading, writing, discussion and critical thinking. I want students to leave with skills, not just grades. Teaching the iGCSE exam is DULL. The texts they use are awful - the whole exam is very old-fashioned.
With another 3 groups taking it next year, I am not feeling terribly inspired by it.
Thank God they still have to do Literature... although, of course, they don't have to pass.
Monday, 1 July 2013
A special day
It's very easy to forget that our students have personal lives, just as they forget we have one too. Today I'm glad I remembered.
Let's call him Sam. A bright, sparky chap, but one who is lazy and prefers to talk rather than write; will find distractions rather than concentrate. Today he was lost in a daydream that just struck me as a little out of character. I left him alone to wake up for a few minutes (it was Period 1 after all) but then waded in.
'Are you alright, Sam?'
'Yeah, Miss.'
'Well, it's just you haven't done any work yet, what's the problem?'
Expecting the usual don't understand/ don't know what to do excuse, I was quite surprised with the, 'I lost someone, Miss', that I actually got.
So I told him how sorry I was, and then I told him about my stress bucket philosophy: I find it extremely useful to have a school bucket and a home bucket. When crappy things are happening at home, I don't let them add to my school stress bucket. When crappy things are happening at school, I don't let them add to my home stress bucket. If you just have one bucket, it has a habit of over-flowing.
Sam nodded and then said, 'She died of breast cancer'.
I was floored momentarily, but managed to regroup. This is something I can relate to. One of my best friends died at the age of 33 from cancer. It started as breast cancer, but spread to her liver, lungs and brain. She was a (brilliant) Head of Year at the school I still work at.
'Do you see that tree out there?' I asked, pointing out of the window, ' Well that was planted in memory of one of my friends who died of cancer. It was the point at which my home and school buckets were very hard to keep separate, but I managed to keep it together.'
He nodded, so I carried on.
'And one of the things that held me together is that I believe in immortality. I'm not religious, but I do believe that everyone you meet has an effect on you. What they say and do lives on in you; your memories of them in a way make them immortal. If they affect you and you affect someone else, then they kind of go on living.'
He continued to look at me solemnly.
'I guess all you can do is make them proud. It's one of the reasons I'm a teacher. I think that you can pass on all the amazing things other people have taught you.'
He didn't say anything, but he picked up his pen and wrote for the whole of the rest of the lesson. He even wanted to stay on to finish his work at break.
Today was one of my best days ever as a teacher.
Let's call him Sam. A bright, sparky chap, but one who is lazy and prefers to talk rather than write; will find distractions rather than concentrate. Today he was lost in a daydream that just struck me as a little out of character. I left him alone to wake up for a few minutes (it was Period 1 after all) but then waded in.
'Are you alright, Sam?'
'Yeah, Miss.'
'Well, it's just you haven't done any work yet, what's the problem?'
Expecting the usual don't understand/ don't know what to do excuse, I was quite surprised with the, 'I lost someone, Miss', that I actually got.
So I told him how sorry I was, and then I told him about my stress bucket philosophy: I find it extremely useful to have a school bucket and a home bucket. When crappy things are happening at home, I don't let them add to my school stress bucket. When crappy things are happening at school, I don't let them add to my home stress bucket. If you just have one bucket, it has a habit of over-flowing.
Sam nodded and then said, 'She died of breast cancer'.
I was floored momentarily, but managed to regroup. This is something I can relate to. One of my best friends died at the age of 33 from cancer. It started as breast cancer, but spread to her liver, lungs and brain. She was a (brilliant) Head of Year at the school I still work at.
'Do you see that tree out there?' I asked, pointing out of the window, ' Well that was planted in memory of one of my friends who died of cancer. It was the point at which my home and school buckets were very hard to keep separate, but I managed to keep it together.'
He nodded, so I carried on.
'And one of the things that held me together is that I believe in immortality. I'm not religious, but I do believe that everyone you meet has an effect on you. What they say and do lives on in you; your memories of them in a way make them immortal. If they affect you and you affect someone else, then they kind of go on living.'
He continued to look at me solemnly.
'I guess all you can do is make them proud. It's one of the reasons I'm a teacher. I think that you can pass on all the amazing things other people have taught you.'
He didn't say anything, but he picked up his pen and wrote for the whole of the rest of the lesson. He even wanted to stay on to finish his work at break.
Today was one of my best days ever as a teacher.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
iGCSE -decide for yourself
Job done. Breathe.
Yesterday saw the last exam for the Cambridge iGCSE and the completion of a huge shift in focus this year for our English Department.
We really struggled to find help and advice from people who had done the exam before, so I thought this might prove helpful to those considering the move.
Firstly, your most important question answered:
Yes, the Cambridge English (First Language) iGCSE does count in your A*-C figures.
Second question:
Yes, you do have to do Literature as well, but it does not have to be the same board and they don't have to pass. We stuck with AQA for Lit. this year.
The course has slightly confusing options, but goes like this:
Speaking and Listening: Presentation and Discussion
Reading exam: Core (like Foundation) or Extended (like Higher)
Writing exam (same for everyone) OR 3 pieces of coursework.
As I understand it, iGCSE will have Speaking and Listening as a component until 2015 despite the changes to normal GCSE English.
SPEAKING and LISTENING
Students have to give a 4 minute presentation on a topic of their choice. This is followed by a discussion which leads on from their presentation for 5-6 minutes.
PROS:
Most of our kids are confident speakers (opinionated!) and have always done well on S&L. It is also a skill employers really value. Removing it from GCSE (especially mid-course) is stupid and unfair. The assessment is one to one, not in front of a class, which helps those of a nervous disposition.
CONS:
All the students need to be recorded (which does not help those of a nervous disposition). You need to allow 15 mins per student. Do the maths. If you are entering 200 students, then that is 50 hours. Then you need to allow time for moderation if more than one person does it. Also allow for those who forget to turn up, those who 'forget', those who are sick, and those who are 'sick'. Oh yeah... and breaks for the interviewer! Someone really needs to be off timetable for around 3 weeks to be able to do it. We had one teacher and our trusty Faculty Support doing it over a fortnight. The cover also has to be a consideration, and you will need your whole school behind you as kids will be out of other subjects. Basically, it is not an aspect of the course designed to make life easy for large centres.
It is also extremely stressful for those leading it. For one thing, they will be having discussions about everything important to teenagers from football to divorce, from football to knife crime, and from football to eating disorders. Seriously, some of the discussions were quite upsetting, one even ended in tears.
READING EXAM (with a few marks for writing)
We have entered students for both the Core paper and the Extended.
CORE
They tell you the Core paper has 2 questions, based on reading non-fiction style texts, but it is actually a series of lots of short questions worth a couple of marks each (1a, 1b, 1c, etc.). It is a doddle. The skill level required does not go above inference and most of it is retrieval. They have to summarise too, a skill we had not ever taught before, but not exactly a challenging one. It is capped at a C. There is no analysis or comparison required.
EXTENDED
Oddly, the Extended paper may be even easier to pass than the Core! There are 3 questions based on 2 texts. For the first one they have to read Text A
and rewrite it from a different perspective. The second asks you about Language in two paragraphs of Text A (but you can just do a PEE chart, not paragraphs) and the last one asks you to summarise part of Text A and Text B. Again, no comparison required. It covers the range A*-E.
PROS:
If teaching hoop jumping is your thing then this exam is your dream come true.
CONS:
Our middle ability really struggled to finish the paper in 2 hours, something I found very surprising. Some of the vocabulary in the texts is very challenging, but then they can always choose something else to write about if they don't understand something!
The pass mark on both papers has been very low in previous years. 34 out of 50 would get you an A. My AQA D graders have been getting Bs in mocks. I don't see how that can be maintained with the number of schools shifting over to iGCSE if the pass rate has to be maintained nationally. I fully expect another shift in the grade boundaries this year. There was a 10 mark shift overall in November.
WRITING EXAM (with a few marks for reading)
The same for everyone. Question 1 asks students to read the source material and convert it into something else (very similar to Qu 1 on the Extended paper). Question 2 is one from a choice of 6 - two argumentative / discursive, two descriptive, two narrative.
PROS:
Students are given the information and ideas for their writing in Qu 1. They do not have to be particularly interesting, creative or have any general knowledge. For Qu 2 there is no specific form or audience given, so they can't make mistakes there.
CONS:
We got scripts back and clearly this paper is marked negatively. EVERY mistake was circled. Your students need to be VERY accurate writers to do well on this paper. No comma splices, fragments, rogue apostrophes or spelling mistakes!
COURSEWORK
They have to complete 3 pieces of writing - one informative / persuasive piece, one narrative / descriptive, and one in response to an article they have read.
PROS:
It's coursework, you know the benefits: they can redraft it (once), they can word process it, and they can check their spelling and grammar. If you do the coursework before the exam entries are done, you can put any students with incomplete or substandard folders in for the exam instead (no, you can't enter them for both).
CONS:
The standard required for a pass is very high. Much higher than for the exam as they take into consideration that students have access to IT and should proofread their work.
The proof of the pudding...
Well, we won't know if this was the right decision until August. What we found from November was that, compared to AQA (and for our students), the S&L is of a similar standard, the Reading component is a LOT easier, the Writing component is a LOT harder.
A typical AQA C/D grade student got C/D in the S&L, a C on the Core paper, and a D/E on the writing. But we did do it with only a 4 week run up! Hopefully this time they will be better prepared (plus they are doing the Extended paper in the hope that better reading marks will make up for the inaccuracies in their writing).
So, should you go for it?
I'm very much still on the fence. It still has S&L, which is important. I like the focus on accurate writing, despite our students struggling with it. I really don't like the extremely narrow range of reading (and skills) required.
Have you also noticed there is no requirement for analytical essay writing? You may want to consider how that will prepare your students for the demands of A level.
Finally, a lover of Literature, I hate to see it get such a raw deal. Students will only study prose fiction, poetry and drama (including Shakespeare) when they do Literature. Whilst we still have the ridiculous loophole that you don't have to pass it, just be entered, some students will not even be taught the set texts. As long as they write a paragraph for cwk, and turn up to the exams and write their name, it validates their English qualification. If you are under pressure to improve English, then sacrificing Literature is one way to go about it, but that is surely going to leave a nasty taste in most English teachers' mouths.
Yesterday saw the last exam for the Cambridge iGCSE and the completion of a huge shift in focus this year for our English Department.
We really struggled to find help and advice from people who had done the exam before, so I thought this might prove helpful to those considering the move.
Firstly, your most important question answered:
Yes, the Cambridge English (First Language) iGCSE does count in your A*-C figures.
Second question:
Yes, you do have to do Literature as well, but it does not have to be the same board and they don't have to pass. We stuck with AQA for Lit. this year.
The course has slightly confusing options, but goes like this:
Speaking and Listening: Presentation and Discussion
Reading exam: Core (like Foundation) or Extended (like Higher)
Writing exam (same for everyone) OR 3 pieces of coursework.
As I understand it, iGCSE will have Speaking and Listening as a component until 2015 despite the changes to normal GCSE English.
SPEAKING and LISTENING
Students have to give a 4 minute presentation on a topic of their choice. This is followed by a discussion which leads on from their presentation for 5-6 minutes.
PROS:
Most of our kids are confident speakers (opinionated!) and have always done well on S&L. It is also a skill employers really value. Removing it from GCSE (especially mid-course) is stupid and unfair. The assessment is one to one, not in front of a class, which helps those of a nervous disposition.
CONS:
All the students need to be recorded (which does not help those of a nervous disposition). You need to allow 15 mins per student. Do the maths. If you are entering 200 students, then that is 50 hours. Then you need to allow time for moderation if more than one person does it. Also allow for those who forget to turn up, those who 'forget', those who are sick, and those who are 'sick'. Oh yeah... and breaks for the interviewer! Someone really needs to be off timetable for around 3 weeks to be able to do it. We had one teacher and our trusty Faculty Support doing it over a fortnight. The cover also has to be a consideration, and you will need your whole school behind you as kids will be out of other subjects. Basically, it is not an aspect of the course designed to make life easy for large centres.
It is also extremely stressful for those leading it. For one thing, they will be having discussions about everything important to teenagers from football to divorce, from football to knife crime, and from football to eating disorders. Seriously, some of the discussions were quite upsetting, one even ended in tears.
READING EXAM (with a few marks for writing)
We have entered students for both the Core paper and the Extended.
CORE
They tell you the Core paper has 2 questions, based on reading non-fiction style texts, but it is actually a series of lots of short questions worth a couple of marks each (1a, 1b, 1c, etc.). It is a doddle. The skill level required does not go above inference and most of it is retrieval. They have to summarise too, a skill we had not ever taught before, but not exactly a challenging one. It is capped at a C. There is no analysis or comparison required.
EXTENDED
Oddly, the Extended paper may be even easier to pass than the Core! There are 3 questions based on 2 texts. For the first one they have to read Text A
and rewrite it from a different perspective. The second asks you about Language in two paragraphs of Text A (but you can just do a PEE chart, not paragraphs) and the last one asks you to summarise part of Text A and Text B. Again, no comparison required. It covers the range A*-E.
PROS:
If teaching hoop jumping is your thing then this exam is your dream come true.
CONS:
Our middle ability really struggled to finish the paper in 2 hours, something I found very surprising. Some of the vocabulary in the texts is very challenging, but then they can always choose something else to write about if they don't understand something!
The pass mark on both papers has been very low in previous years. 34 out of 50 would get you an A. My AQA D graders have been getting Bs in mocks. I don't see how that can be maintained with the number of schools shifting over to iGCSE if the pass rate has to be maintained nationally. I fully expect another shift in the grade boundaries this year. There was a 10 mark shift overall in November.
WRITING EXAM (with a few marks for reading)
The same for everyone. Question 1 asks students to read the source material and convert it into something else (very similar to Qu 1 on the Extended paper). Question 2 is one from a choice of 6 - two argumentative / discursive, two descriptive, two narrative.
PROS:
Students are given the information and ideas for their writing in Qu 1. They do not have to be particularly interesting, creative or have any general knowledge. For Qu 2 there is no specific form or audience given, so they can't make mistakes there.
CONS:
We got scripts back and clearly this paper is marked negatively. EVERY mistake was circled. Your students need to be VERY accurate writers to do well on this paper. No comma splices, fragments, rogue apostrophes or spelling mistakes!
COURSEWORK
They have to complete 3 pieces of writing - one informative / persuasive piece, one narrative / descriptive, and one in response to an article they have read.
PROS:
It's coursework, you know the benefits: they can redraft it (once), they can word process it, and they can check their spelling and grammar. If you do the coursework before the exam entries are done, you can put any students with incomplete or substandard folders in for the exam instead (no, you can't enter them for both).
CONS:
The standard required for a pass is very high. Much higher than for the exam as they take into consideration that students have access to IT and should proofread their work.
The proof of the pudding...
Well, we won't know if this was the right decision until August. What we found from November was that, compared to AQA (and for our students), the S&L is of a similar standard, the Reading component is a LOT easier, the Writing component is a LOT harder.
A typical AQA C/D grade student got C/D in the S&L, a C on the Core paper, and a D/E on the writing. But we did do it with only a 4 week run up! Hopefully this time they will be better prepared (plus they are doing the Extended paper in the hope that better reading marks will make up for the inaccuracies in their writing).
So, should you go for it?
I'm very much still on the fence. It still has S&L, which is important. I like the focus on accurate writing, despite our students struggling with it. I really don't like the extremely narrow range of reading (and skills) required.
Have you also noticed there is no requirement for analytical essay writing? You may want to consider how that will prepare your students for the demands of A level.
Finally, a lover of Literature, I hate to see it get such a raw deal. Students will only study prose fiction, poetry and drama (including Shakespeare) when they do Literature. Whilst we still have the ridiculous loophole that you don't have to pass it, just be entered, some students will not even be taught the set texts. As long as they write a paragraph for cwk, and turn up to the exams and write their name, it validates their English qualification. If you are under pressure to improve English, then sacrificing Literature is one way to go about it, but that is surely going to leave a nasty taste in most English teachers' mouths.
Monday, 31 December 2012
12 Highlights of the old year and 13 aims for the new one
Although I feel like making a list of things I'd rather leave behind in 2012 (a rotten year in many ways), I'm going to join in and do the healthier approach and stick to the good...
1. RSC Courtyard Theatre
My version of 'As You Like It' was chosen to be part of the RSC Open Stages regional Showcase. As it was several months after the original run, not all the original cast were available, so I also got to do 'All the world's a stage' at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford too, filling in for Jaques. With a little stretch of the imagination I can now say I've acted and directed for the RSC!
2. Pride and Prejudice
The first event inspired me to audition for the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham, and I was cast as Charlotte Lucas in 'Pride and Prejudice'. The whole cast was just lovely and it is great to have a hobby completely separate to teaching with energetic and creative people. It also means we have been to the theatre a couple of times a month this year. No longer can I moan about going to the theatre more often!
3. Holidays at half-term
Normally half-term is saved for what I term 'Human MOT' - dentist, hairdresser, eye test, etc. This year we went to Lanzarote in October and lay in the sun. I think it was the only thing that got me through to Christmas. Definitely going for a dose of sun same time next year.
4. I lost my Grandad this year
The low point of the year. However, the stories of his teaching days at the funeral were very special to me. He was a firm believer in being a personality in the classroom and, as far as I am concerned, he was stand-up comedy's biggest loss. Deadpan Lancastrian wit in bucket loads. My favourite anecdote had to be about the briefcase he carried every day with him to school. Outwardly the image of the consummate professional, but actually it contained nothing except 3 perfectly packed pipes, wrapped up and ready for smoking - one at break, one at lunch and one after school.
5. Having a form again
After a couple of years without one, I actually asked for a form again this year. I really missed it and was sick of people saying, 'It's all right for you, you don't have a form' and the like. Working with a form is a privilege. Without one I didn't feel part of the school - you miss out on messages, you get tagged on to challenge days as a spare part and, most importantly, you miss working with kids on a very different level.
My form are already very special to me. They are not an easy bunch as they are Y11 and underachieving G&T students. In one term we've had an overdose, dangerous sexual activity, cyber bullying (and the more upfront, in your face kind), harassment of staff, a stunt involving an aerosol and a Bunsen burner and I could go on... But they have also made me very proud. We have gone from being the self-proclaimed 'reject form' to getting fully involved in baking cakes for CIN, collecting food for the homeless and creating a life sized advent fireplace with acts of kindness to be done on each day. I have also had the privilege of one students showing me photos of his Grandad the day before his funeral. One of the most important conversations I've had this year.
6. Cats
We did the bad thing last year and got cats for Christmas. So much more humour and lots of extra cuddles now.
7. Ofsted
So glad they came at last. I hate the ever-increasing pressure when you know they are due. The general feeling in the staffroom was, 'Bring it on!' But, as an AST, you are under enormous pressure to get an 'Outstanding' judgement. There has been much talk of how the Ofsted criteria has changed. I just did what I know works. In fact, I did a version of a lesson I did last time they came which was judged 'outstanding' and it got the same this time around too.
8. Working outside of the Department
One aspect of my job that has really developed this year is working outside of English. I redesigned the observation lesson plan last year (so that progress is at the core of it) and that meant doing joint planning and CPD with departments and colleagues across the school. Since September, several colleagues I have worked with have moved to Good and that is a a great feeling. Although most of the credit should go to @charlhere for 97% of lessons observed by Ofsted as 'Good' or 'Outstanding', I like to think I contributed in part too.
9. Olympics
No list of 2012 would be complete without a mention of the Olympics. I loved it. A fortnight of drama, tension and screaming at the telly like a nutter!
10. Twitter
So many people doing this have already mentioned Twitter. I like to be original, but can't here. Starting a blog and getting positive feedback, trialling SOLO and Marginal Gains, moral support when Ofsted descended, ending up on the Tweachers map - all little highlights in their own way. It has been said so many times but it really is the best CPD I have ever had. There are so many inspirational people on here who deserve thanks, that I'm not going to list them but you can always look at who I'm following!
11. Good food, good books and good friends.
And finally (well done for sticking with it)...
12. My boyfriend
Who is the highlight of my year.
(Thankfully much shorter) aims for the coming year:
1. Lose the stone
About 4 years ago I lost 2 1/2 stone. Over the last year, I've put about a stone back on (I blame points 11 and 12 above).
2. Spend more time with friends/family
Not waiting until holidays to get around to doing this!
3. Blog
I was doing this once a week, need to get back to at least once a fortnight.
4. Work more with other teachers
This makes me happy. Never stop learning. Via Twitter, or in my school it keeps the job interesting. Would like to meet some of the people I follow in person this year.
5. Survive GCSE fiasco
I'm currently teaching 4 GCSE groups who all do their GCSE English this year. They are not all doing the same GCSE though. Two are doing iGCSE with cwk, one is doing iGCSE with exam and AQA English and the last is doing AQA English Language and Literature!
6. Holidays
I love travel and having a trip to look forward to me keeps me sane.
7. Stop imagining, start doing (and finishing)
8. Remodel my lounge
I'm an English teacher. I have books. My boyfriend is doing an English degree. He has books. We don't have space. The idea is to turn the unused room at the front of the house into a library. Then we'll need a conservatory, billiard room, lead piping and a candlestick (see point 7).
9. Art projects
I need to rediscover my artistic side. The spare room is filled with (unfinished) arts and crafts.
10. Get on top of marking
There must be a way. Before the holiday I was faced with the equivalent of 200 essays that needed marking. I have a tendency to wait until I have a complete set and then mark it in one long sitting. This might be a habit that needs breaking.
11. Avoid doing graded observations
One of the things I think is really important in the AST role is that observations are developmental, rather than judgemental. My favourite compliment this year was from a colleague who requested an observation. She said, 'With you it's not like you're being judged. It's more like advice from a friend'. I've worked hard to establish that feeling and I'm worried that the minute I am made to grade lessons, colleagues will be reluctant to invite me in to their classrooms.
12. Do an MA
I've found one that combines my love of teaching and Shakespeare. Just not sure I can find the time!
13. Make more 'Feel good Friday' phone-calls
Every Friday, pick a student who has particularly impressed you that week and phone home. The responses are priceless (especially from those parents who usually only get bad news from school). It is a brilliant way to start the weekend and I don't do it nearly often enough.
1. RSC Courtyard Theatre
My version of 'As You Like It' was chosen to be part of the RSC Open Stages regional Showcase. As it was several months after the original run, not all the original cast were available, so I also got to do 'All the world's a stage' at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford too, filling in for Jaques. With a little stretch of the imagination I can now say I've acted and directed for the RSC!
2. Pride and Prejudice
The first event inspired me to audition for the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham, and I was cast as Charlotte Lucas in 'Pride and Prejudice'. The whole cast was just lovely and it is great to have a hobby completely separate to teaching with energetic and creative people. It also means we have been to the theatre a couple of times a month this year. No longer can I moan about going to the theatre more often!
3. Holidays at half-term
Normally half-term is saved for what I term 'Human MOT' - dentist, hairdresser, eye test, etc. This year we went to Lanzarote in October and lay in the sun. I think it was the only thing that got me through to Christmas. Definitely going for a dose of sun same time next year.
4. I lost my Grandad this year
The low point of the year. However, the stories of his teaching days at the funeral were very special to me. He was a firm believer in being a personality in the classroom and, as far as I am concerned, he was stand-up comedy's biggest loss. Deadpan Lancastrian wit in bucket loads. My favourite anecdote had to be about the briefcase he carried every day with him to school. Outwardly the image of the consummate professional, but actually it contained nothing except 3 perfectly packed pipes, wrapped up and ready for smoking - one at break, one at lunch and one after school.
5. Having a form again
After a couple of years without one, I actually asked for a form again this year. I really missed it and was sick of people saying, 'It's all right for you, you don't have a form' and the like. Working with a form is a privilege. Without one I didn't feel part of the school - you miss out on messages, you get tagged on to challenge days as a spare part and, most importantly, you miss working with kids on a very different level.
My form are already very special to me. They are not an easy bunch as they are Y11 and underachieving G&T students. In one term we've had an overdose, dangerous sexual activity, cyber bullying (and the more upfront, in your face kind), harassment of staff, a stunt involving an aerosol and a Bunsen burner and I could go on... But they have also made me very proud. We have gone from being the self-proclaimed 'reject form' to getting fully involved in baking cakes for CIN, collecting food for the homeless and creating a life sized advent fireplace with acts of kindness to be done on each day. I have also had the privilege of one students showing me photos of his Grandad the day before his funeral. One of the most important conversations I've had this year.
6. Cats
We did the bad thing last year and got cats for Christmas. So much more humour and lots of extra cuddles now.
7. Ofsted
So glad they came at last. I hate the ever-increasing pressure when you know they are due. The general feeling in the staffroom was, 'Bring it on!' But, as an AST, you are under enormous pressure to get an 'Outstanding' judgement. There has been much talk of how the Ofsted criteria has changed. I just did what I know works. In fact, I did a version of a lesson I did last time they came which was judged 'outstanding' and it got the same this time around too.
8. Working outside of the Department
One aspect of my job that has really developed this year is working outside of English. I redesigned the observation lesson plan last year (so that progress is at the core of it) and that meant doing joint planning and CPD with departments and colleagues across the school. Since September, several colleagues I have worked with have moved to Good and that is a a great feeling. Although most of the credit should go to @charlhere for 97% of lessons observed by Ofsted as 'Good' or 'Outstanding', I like to think I contributed in part too.
9. Olympics
No list of 2012 would be complete without a mention of the Olympics. I loved it. A fortnight of drama, tension and screaming at the telly like a nutter!
10. Twitter
So many people doing this have already mentioned Twitter. I like to be original, but can't here. Starting a blog and getting positive feedback, trialling SOLO and Marginal Gains, moral support when Ofsted descended, ending up on the Tweachers map - all little highlights in their own way. It has been said so many times but it really is the best CPD I have ever had. There are so many inspirational people on here who deserve thanks, that I'm not going to list them but you can always look at who I'm following!
11. Good food, good books and good friends.
And finally (well done for sticking with it)...
12. My boyfriend
Who is the highlight of my year.
(Thankfully much shorter) aims for the coming year:
1. Lose the stone
About 4 years ago I lost 2 1/2 stone. Over the last year, I've put about a stone back on (I blame points 11 and 12 above).
2. Spend more time with friends/family
Not waiting until holidays to get around to doing this!
3. Blog
I was doing this once a week, need to get back to at least once a fortnight.
4. Work more with other teachers
This makes me happy. Never stop learning. Via Twitter, or in my school it keeps the job interesting. Would like to meet some of the people I follow in person this year.
5. Survive GCSE fiasco
I'm currently teaching 4 GCSE groups who all do their GCSE English this year. They are not all doing the same GCSE though. Two are doing iGCSE with cwk, one is doing iGCSE with exam and AQA English and the last is doing AQA English Language and Literature!
6. Holidays
I love travel and having a trip to look forward to me keeps me sane.
7. Stop imagining, start doing (and finishing)
8. Remodel my lounge
I'm an English teacher. I have books. My boyfriend is doing an English degree. He has books. We don't have space. The idea is to turn the unused room at the front of the house into a library. Then we'll need a conservatory, billiard room, lead piping and a candlestick (see point 7).
9. Art projects
I need to rediscover my artistic side. The spare room is filled with (unfinished) arts and crafts.
10. Get on top of marking
There must be a way. Before the holiday I was faced with the equivalent of 200 essays that needed marking. I have a tendency to wait until I have a complete set and then mark it in one long sitting. This might be a habit that needs breaking.
11. Avoid doing graded observations
One of the things I think is really important in the AST role is that observations are developmental, rather than judgemental. My favourite compliment this year was from a colleague who requested an observation. She said, 'With you it's not like you're being judged. It's more like advice from a friend'. I've worked hard to establish that feeling and I'm worried that the minute I am made to grade lessons, colleagues will be reluctant to invite me in to their classrooms.
12. Do an MA
I've found one that combines my love of teaching and Shakespeare. Just not sure I can find the time!
13. Make more 'Feel good Friday' phone-calls
Every Friday, pick a student who has particularly impressed you that week and phone home. The responses are priceless (especially from those parents who usually only get bad news from school). It is a brilliant way to start the weekend and I don't do it nearly often enough.
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Marginal Marking Gains
This is a follow up to a previous blog on Marginal Gains, so if you haven't read that one, you can find it here.
After looking at the marking criteria for the King Lear essay, and adding a few other things I find useful like SOLO and 'golden quotations', we created this:
The natural successor to this lesson was inspired by my love of felt-tips. Banking on all of Y13 actually doing their homework for the first time in over a year, it was a bit of a gamble, but one that miraculously paid off. However, my shock at every one of them completing their assignment was short lived. Predictably, despite their initial enthusiasm and contributions to the idea of marginal gains in the first place, when I asked if anyone had actually used the wheel to plan/check/improve their essay, the answer was a resounding...
So, the task was to peer assess using the wheels. Sometimes peer assessment can lack focus, here it really did not. Not only did they enjoy this (few students can resist the lure of multicoloured ink) but the responses were really perceptive. The idea is dead simple: using the colours of the wheel for your feedback, highlight strengths and write marginal gains targets on a partner's work.
After swapping essays a couple of times, students then had to act on the feedback in green pen. This is a whole-school policy designed to show students responding to feedback and showing progress. It too is a really simple tweak and works very well at every level, creating a clear learning dialogue between students and teacher (or student and student in this case).
Of course, one of the advantages of well directed peer assessment is that as a teacher you don't have to mark it yourself, and yet the students are still making progress. In this case, it was very clear to students where their strengths lay and where improvements were needed.
So much marking is very time consuming and then not acted upon. Frequently you find yourself writing the same thing on essay after essay (year after year). Well, another slight adjustment you can make to ensure students are acting on your feedback is not marking the actual essays themselves. If you jot down the comments, questions and targets on a separate piece of paper then you don't have to repeat anything. When you have finished marking, you give the essays back along with the feedback and the students have to work out which bits of feedback belong to each essay.
Gains all round. Teacher does less work, students do more. Students engage with the feedback and also get far more feedback than you would write on one essay because they are reading everyone's feedback, not just their own.
After looking at the marking criteria for the King Lear essay, and adding a few other things I find useful like SOLO and 'golden quotations', we created this:
The natural successor to this lesson was inspired by my love of felt-tips. Banking on all of Y13 actually doing their homework for the first time in over a year, it was a bit of a gamble, but one that miraculously paid off. However, my shock at every one of them completing their assignment was short lived. Predictably, despite their initial enthusiasm and contributions to the idea of marginal gains in the first place, when I asked if anyone had actually used the wheel to plan/check/improve their essay, the answer was a resounding...
So, the task was to peer assess using the wheels. Sometimes peer assessment can lack focus, here it really did not. Not only did they enjoy this (few students can resist the lure of multicoloured ink) but the responses were really perceptive. The idea is dead simple: using the colours of the wheel for your feedback, highlight strengths and write marginal gains targets on a partner's work.
After swapping essays a couple of times, students then had to act on the feedback in green pen. This is a whole-school policy designed to show students responding to feedback and showing progress. It too is a really simple tweak and works very well at every level, creating a clear learning dialogue between students and teacher (or student and student in this case).
Of course, one of the advantages of well directed peer assessment is that as a teacher you don't have to mark it yourself, and yet the students are still making progress. In this case, it was very clear to students where their strengths lay and where improvements were needed.
So much marking is very time consuming and then not acted upon. Frequently you find yourself writing the same thing on essay after essay (year after year). Well, another slight adjustment you can make to ensure students are acting on your feedback is not marking the actual essays themselves. If you jot down the comments, questions and targets on a separate piece of paper then you don't have to repeat anything. When you have finished marking, you give the essays back along with the feedback and the students have to work out which bits of feedback belong to each essay.
Gains all round. Teacher does less work, students do more. Students engage with the feedback and also get far more feedback than you would write on one essay because they are reading everyone's feedback, not just their own.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Batman and Robin CPD
Last year, I was given responsibility for CPD in English. Now we are lucky, every Wednesday afternoon, the students go home early and we have CPD from 2pm. This means there is an opportunity to use lots of different approaches to staff development. By far my favourite from last year was what we called 'Batman and Robin'.
My biggest problem with CPD is that, usually, you spend your time being lectured to and staring at a PowerPoint you are quite capable of going away and reading yourself. The irony smacks you over the head. Someone comes to speak to you about engaging students and they use a PowerPoint. Someone talks to you about group work and you are sat in rows. Someone talks to you about the value of talk in the classroom... they talk AT you.
The second problem I have is the 'one size fits all' approach. Having the enthusiastic NQT Maths teacher sat with the 30 year seen-it-all-before from the History department doesn't really seem to make the best sense to me most of the time.
We know that students learn best when they understand the point in an activity, they have some control over what they are doing and they can become masters of their own progress. Teachers are no different. This is where 'Batman and Robin' comes in.
The idea is that everyone in the department becomes a 'Batman'. Their strengths in a particular area are highlighted and then someone else, who would like to develop that area, volunteers to be the 'Robin'. They work together for about a four week period investigating, peer observing, researching, etc. At the end, they have a CPD slot of about 30 mins to teach the rest of the department. The areas chosen were things like: starts of lessons, using IT, showing progress, using AfL, teacher talk, differentiation and questioning.
This works extremely well. People feel good about being recognised for their talents. Here, everyone is. This in turn means you are more likely to volunteer to be a Robin to learn from someone else. Because you can choose the area, it tends to be one you think is important to for you to develop and, therefore, something you are motivated towards doing. In this case, nearly everyone volunteered to be a Robin in an area that directly related to targets from their PM observations. Finally, because there is the responsibility of feeding back to the rest of the department, the need to produce something of quality is also a driving force.
My favourite thing about it was that, rather than being talked at, nearly all the feedback sessions were based around modelling techniques and strategies you could take away and use the next day in the classroom. Because you get a chance to see them in action, you are much more likely to go away and use them. My measure of really good CPD.
My biggest problem with CPD is that, usually, you spend your time being lectured to and staring at a PowerPoint you are quite capable of going away and reading yourself. The irony smacks you over the head. Someone comes to speak to you about engaging students and they use a PowerPoint. Someone talks to you about group work and you are sat in rows. Someone talks to you about the value of talk in the classroom... they talk AT you.
The second problem I have is the 'one size fits all' approach. Having the enthusiastic NQT Maths teacher sat with the 30 year seen-it-all-before from the History department doesn't really seem to make the best sense to me most of the time.
We know that students learn best when they understand the point in an activity, they have some control over what they are doing and they can become masters of their own progress. Teachers are no different. This is where 'Batman and Robin' comes in.
The idea is that everyone in the department becomes a 'Batman'. Their strengths in a particular area are highlighted and then someone else, who would like to develop that area, volunteers to be the 'Robin'. They work together for about a four week period investigating, peer observing, researching, etc. At the end, they have a CPD slot of about 30 mins to teach the rest of the department. The areas chosen were things like: starts of lessons, using IT, showing progress, using AfL, teacher talk, differentiation and questioning.
This works extremely well. People feel good about being recognised for their talents. Here, everyone is. This in turn means you are more likely to volunteer to be a Robin to learn from someone else. Because you can choose the area, it tends to be one you think is important to for you to develop and, therefore, something you are motivated towards doing. In this case, nearly everyone volunteered to be a Robin in an area that directly related to targets from their PM observations. Finally, because there is the responsibility of feeding back to the rest of the department, the need to produce something of quality is also a driving force.
My favourite thing about it was that, rather than being talked at, nearly all the feedback sessions were based around modelling techniques and strategies you could take away and use the next day in the classroom. Because you get a chance to see them in action, you are much more likely to go away and use them. My measure of really good CPD.
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Motivating underachieving boys
Tackling underachieving boys head on for the last 14 weeks of their time in Year 11 was not a prospect that filled me with joy, in fact I actually had nightmares about it. However, not one to back down from a challenge, I decided to have a serious think about how I was going to approach this group. Clearly, things were not working for them as it was, and more of the same was going to have no effect whatsoever.
The group was carefully selected. It had to be students who we thought had the chance to pass based on coursework and what we knew of their ability, but were underachieving by a grade or more from their mock exam or had failed early entry in November. I ended up with 16 boys: mostly disaffected, three on the verge of permanent exclusion and, all bar Ashley, a foot bigger than me.
The first thing I did was to let them know they were the most important group in the school, that they were my priority and that their achievement made a difference (they took some convincing). Self-esteem was rock bottom, so I then organised the group into 4 teams. Points would be awarded at the end of every lesson for things like homework, attending revision sessions, impressive answers to questions, and most crucially, work of a C grade standard and above. The winning team received a prize each week and the best student got a positive Friday phone call home and their name in a big star at the front of the room.
I was a bit nervous about this approach at first, but after Week 1, when Dwayne won, a group huddled around the board.
‘We don’t like that miss.’
‘What?’
‘Dwayne's name in a big star.’
‘What you going to do about it then?’
The answer was obvious and over whole 14 week period, 10 of the 16 won student of the week without (very much) fixing.
The other crucial thing was to introduce a zero tolerance approach. I work in a pretty average comprehensive, so behaviour can be challenging, but students are rarely aggressive towards staff. We have a 'Discipline for Learning' system which works on a series of warnings and consequences. I sold it along the lines of: ‘I’m not wasting time giving out warnings; if you are using up my energy to tell you off, instead of letting me teach then you’ll be out of the door.’ A few lessons in, Joe decided to push the boundaries, attention seeking and answering back -out he went immediately. The look of shock on his face was a picture, but the effect on the others was astonishing. They knew I was serious, and throughout the whole 14 weeks, I only gave 3 warnings total. This was one of the most astonishing things about the lessons, before the group was put together, I would have expected only 3 warnings per lesson to have been an achievement!
Perhaps part of this might have been down to a shift in attitude I had to make too. Approximately half the group were from a black African, or black Afro-Caribbean background. Before I started teaching the group, I did some research on teaching strategies specifically aimed at boys, and black boys in particular. Lots of the advice I found was basically what I consider to be good teaching anyway: a range of activities, competition (with themselves as much as each other), some visual and kinaesthetic approaches, clear time limits, clear success criteria and clear sanctions and rewards.
However, one thing I read really stuck with me from Dr Jawanza Kunjufu. Apparently, one of the reasons for black students frequently getting into trouble for low-level disruption comes from the way families communicate at home. It is not infrequent for families from Afro-Caribbean families in particular to speak at the same time in conversation. This means they develop the skill to process and understand many voices at the same time.
This really struck home. I have a teacher-habit of asking students to repeat what has just been said if I think someone isn't listening. Just the other day, Dwayne had managed to repeat it back word for word, despite having another conversation at the same time. My middle-class, white expectations were that if you are listening, you can't talk at the same time. In my world it was good manners too. The classroom can't function if everyone shouts out and talks at once, so not seeing that kind of behaviour as deliberate disruption, bad manners, or defiance is quite difficult. But the minute I was able to understand my values are not necessarily shared, I was able to react to and handle this behaviour much more successfully.
The impact of my change of mindset, competition and rewards they really valued improved behaviour no end, but my concern was still that I had to get as many of these boys to pass as possible. I went back to the exam and basically took the questions apart. Lessons involved short bursts of activity following a very similar format:
• Focus on one question type.
• What does it mean?
• How do you answer it?
• Write a model answer together.
• Identify the key words to use in an answer linked to a C/B grade.
• Same question type, different text, timed answer in silence.
They responded brilliantly to this focused routine and the marks began to climb. Every week, after we had done a section of the exam, I showed them how their improvement was affecting their overall grade and where they still needed to focus using a traffic light system on a spreadsheet.
The other aspect of lessons which they really enjoyed was taking over control of the display. I gave them the entire back wall of the room to turn onto a learning display.
They had to co-operate as a class and in their groups. Nothing could go on the wall until the value of it had been explained and the group agreed it was worthy of display. They decided that the focus had to be the language, vocabulary and structure of answers and then set about finding their own examples. One group even decided to write their own D and C grade answers from scratch and then annotate them showing the differences.
Far from being the group I had nightmares about, they became the group I really looked forward to teaching.
The proof of the pudding, however, is in the eating. What you really want to know is whether it had any impact on results. Well, it would be lovely to have a fairytale ending where they all got C grades, and I had a film made about me, but there is only so much you can do in 14 weeks. I am really proud of the fact that my bunch of underachievers all improved significantly from their November exams, all got a D grade or above, 7 got their C grade (another 2 missing it by less than 5 marks), 7 achieved their UQ and 1 exceeded it by a level.
Perhaps the closest I've come to an 'O Captain! My Captain!' moment was when several came back to see me to say thank you :)
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Marginal Gains
INSANITY DEFINED: Doing the Same Old Things & Expecting Different Results
Totally inspired by @fullonlearning on Monday night, I decided to ditch introducing King Lear to Y13 on Tuesday and do a lesson on bicycles instead. Well... not literally.
If you haven't read her posts about 'marginal gains', you should probably stop reading this and read those first. They are much better.
I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do, but turned up armed with outlines of wheels and two online articles to hopefully inspire the students to think about how to apply the idea of marginal gains and improve their grades. The first was one of many on the success of the British cycling team at the Olympics: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19174302 the second on marginal gains in everyday life: http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sleeker-richer-faster-happier-how-marginal-gains-can-change-your-life-8045909.html . I gave them to the students to read and then asked them to apply this idea to themselves. It was an ideal time for the group to be thinking about this approach. They had got respectable results at AS, but on the whole are not producing the work I know they are capable of due to an inability to do homework and meet deadlines!
Working with the idea that 'if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got', I gave them an example of how I had used marginal gains myself. Thoroughly jealous of a friend of mine who always has an impeccably tidy house, I asked her how she found the time to keep everything so neat. She told me her secret: advert breaks. Whenever the advert breaks come on the telly, do a job. Put something away, clean the shower, bleach the loo -it all adds up. She was right. Our house soon turned into a veritable palace... for about 3 weeks until we reverted to our old, advert-watching ways again...
Anyway, the students each came up with ways to improve their approach to their studies. They were far better than anything I could have prepared to tell them, as each was tailored to their own personality, interests and needs.
Danni's suggestion: Write your essay on Day 1. Day 2 look at structure. Day 3 look at spelling. Day 4 punctuation. Day 5 vocabulary, etc. She felt it would be easier to make marginal gains breaking down the focus for redrafting.
Jordan's suggestion: Cut X-box habit of 1 hour 30 mins a day (I suspect it is much more) by 10 mins to release 70 mins extra a week to spend reading.
Brandon's suggestion: Walk to the station instead of getting the bus. He felt this would help him get some exercise to improve sleep and concentration, and also enable him to listen to King Lear on his headphones at the same time.
Lisa's suggestion: Download a newspaper app to her phone to expand her general knowledge.
I added arriving at lessons on time...
They were also really interested in other things the articles mentioned: eating sensibly, sleeping properly, and having the right equipment. They admitted these things weren't easy to do, but understood that the point of a marginal gain was that it didn't have to be something huge. A small decrease in the negative things that they did, which created barriers to achievement, could be mirrored by small increases in the positive things. Like drinking less alcohol and more water! They even pulled out from the article the idea of washing your hands properly so you get ill less often. As Libby said, "Every day you miss off school, is 6 hours of learning".
Perhaps the most interesting thing they started thinking about was what we termed 'dead time'. Where could you find 10, 20, or 30 mins where you could do something productive and not miss out on other things. They had all sorts of ideas from reading in the bath to recording lessons and listening back to them on the bus. Most couldn't really account for the period after they got home and before tea, and so left determined to use it more productively.
Once they had some suggestions, we collected the ideas in pairs on the wheels. One for general study skills:
And one for English specific gains:
This second one was less successful than I'd hoped, so we went back to the exam we are preparing for (bearing in mind we haven't started the play yet!). I got out copies of the question and mark scheme and together we produced a wheel that showed all the different areas marginal gains could be made as they prepare for the exam:
So, that's as far as we've got. I'm thinking about adding something which shows progression up each spoke so students can track their progress when they get essay feedback, maybe A-E grade skills. That way we have a starting point for looking at each aspect and how to improve.
Thursday, 23 August 2012
GCSE English - what went wrong?
I have worked harder this year with my English GCSE groups than ever before, so it hurts that the results are not what I'd hoped for. As a department we did numerous interventions, changed groups, put on extra classes, pulled students from other subjects and generally made ourselves unpopular!
It didn't work.
Now, it could be that we got it wrong, the quality of teaching is to blame, but if that is the case, it seems a bit odd. Our department staffing hasn't changed; it has 2 ASTs, the kids are roughly the same ability as previous cohorts. That doesn't explain the sudden downturn to my satisfaction.
So what IS new?
Well, the course changed. That means several interesting factors beyond our control come into play:
http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2012-05-09-maintaining-standards-in-summer-2012.pdf?Itemid=144
The above link explains how, when changing from one type of GCSE to another, in the first year, they set out to achieve 'comparable outcomes'. This suggests that there is a quota for this year's exams based on last year's results.
No problem, you would think. We should have got the same results as last year then. Seems fair.
Not at all.
And for the main reason: January entry.
You will have noticed the huge differences in the C grade boundary between January and June. On Unit 1 it is 10 marks different, and on Unit 2 and 3, 3 marks each (16 marks in total). So, basically, it was a LOT easier to get a C in January.
And, looking at the papers we got back from January, I was amazed that some of our students had been awarded a C after producing work well below the standard I would expect from previous years. Some of those students re-sat in June, got higher marks on the paper, but lower grades overall. How do you explain that one to angry parents and upset kids? Did AQA Pass too many students in January? Were the boundaries far too low? If they did, and they had a quota to work to, then it would explain why it was so much harder to pass in the summer.
Of course, what makes this whole thing ridiculous is that students who are more able than others have lower grades because they were entered in June and not January! It makes a mockery of the whole thing. A system supposed to be fair is exactly the opposite.
This is speculation of course, but if the schools who have dropped 10% or so waited until the end to enter their kids it would make sense. We did some and some. There are students with D grades who got better marks than some who got Cs. How can that be allowed to happen?
Schools are hardly going to request a re-mark to move their students down, exam boards are not going to remove Cs from January in order for students to receive the grades they actually deserve for the standard of work, so I guess we are stuck with what we've got.
Of course, the other significant problem teachers have faced with the new course is not knowing where the boundaries were for CA. AQA support meetings told us more than once that a C would be 'somewhere in Band 3'. Most people thought that meant a folder of 8s and 9s would be good enough. In January it was. Not even close in June! To scrape a C in Unit 2 you needed 9, 9, 10. That is not really 'somewhere in Band 3', is it?
When the results were published in January, we felt a bit more secure. Now we knew where the goal posts were. Or so we thought. I wanted to play it safe and aimed a little higher before thinking my students were ok to stop sitting new CAs. Unfortunately, I was way too conservative in my predictions of how far the boundaries would change. We now have the awful situation of having students who thought they were on a C based on January grades ending up with Ds. Fortunately, I'm not stupid enough to make any promises about final grades, but it still stings when you know the individual students behind the headline statistics.
So, why did the boundaries change so much?
Everyone else was working just as hard as we were -interventions, extra classes, changing groups! Teachers moved the boundaries higher by 'playing it safe'. If there is a quota of C+ grades, rather than a quality standard, then ironically, we should all agree to work less and the results would stay the same. However, if you 'know' 25 is the minimum for a C in Unit 2, then you aren't going to stop pushing kids until they have 26, or 27. Just to be sure... you know. If everyone does that, the boundary has to move.
This could explain the Speaking and Listening increase in particular- how easy is it to shift those CA marks up one or two? Our Speaking and Listening marks are below other schools. If you met our kids, you'd know how ridiculous that is. We clearly did not over-reward our students!
So, does any of this stop me thinking there was something else I could have done? Does it stop me feeling gutted for those kids we thought were safe who missed their C by 1 or 2 marks?
No, of course it doesn't. I'm a teacher.
It also won't stop me from pushing those boundaries higher next year by doing everything I can to help my new Y11s. God help them!
It didn't work.
Now, it could be that we got it wrong, the quality of teaching is to blame, but if that is the case, it seems a bit odd. Our department staffing hasn't changed; it has 2 ASTs, the kids are roughly the same ability as previous cohorts. That doesn't explain the sudden downturn to my satisfaction.
So what IS new?
Well, the course changed. That means several interesting factors beyond our control come into play:
http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2012-05-09-maintaining-standards-in-summer-2012.pdf?Itemid=144
The above link explains how, when changing from one type of GCSE to another, in the first year, they set out to achieve 'comparable outcomes'. This suggests that there is a quota for this year's exams based on last year's results.
No problem, you would think. We should have got the same results as last year then. Seems fair.
Not at all.
And for the main reason: January entry.
You will have noticed the huge differences in the C grade boundary between January and June. On Unit 1 it is 10 marks different, and on Unit 2 and 3, 3 marks each (16 marks in total). So, basically, it was a LOT easier to get a C in January.
And, looking at the papers we got back from January, I was amazed that some of our students had been awarded a C after producing work well below the standard I would expect from previous years. Some of those students re-sat in June, got higher marks on the paper, but lower grades overall. How do you explain that one to angry parents and upset kids? Did AQA Pass too many students in January? Were the boundaries far too low? If they did, and they had a quota to work to, then it would explain why it was so much harder to pass in the summer.
Of course, what makes this whole thing ridiculous is that students who are more able than others have lower grades because they were entered in June and not January! It makes a mockery of the whole thing. A system supposed to be fair is exactly the opposite.
This is speculation of course, but if the schools who have dropped 10% or so waited until the end to enter their kids it would make sense. We did some and some. There are students with D grades who got better marks than some who got Cs. How can that be allowed to happen?
Schools are hardly going to request a re-mark to move their students down, exam boards are not going to remove Cs from January in order for students to receive the grades they actually deserve for the standard of work, so I guess we are stuck with what we've got.
Of course, the other significant problem teachers have faced with the new course is not knowing where the boundaries were for CA. AQA support meetings told us more than once that a C would be 'somewhere in Band 3'. Most people thought that meant a folder of 8s and 9s would be good enough. In January it was. Not even close in June! To scrape a C in Unit 2 you needed 9, 9, 10. That is not really 'somewhere in Band 3', is it?
When the results were published in January, we felt a bit more secure. Now we knew where the goal posts were. Or so we thought. I wanted to play it safe and aimed a little higher before thinking my students were ok to stop sitting new CAs. Unfortunately, I was way too conservative in my predictions of how far the boundaries would change. We now have the awful situation of having students who thought they were on a C based on January grades ending up with Ds. Fortunately, I'm not stupid enough to make any promises about final grades, but it still stings when you know the individual students behind the headline statistics.
So, why did the boundaries change so much?
Everyone else was working just as hard as we were -interventions, extra classes, changing groups! Teachers moved the boundaries higher by 'playing it safe'. If there is a quota of C+ grades, rather than a quality standard, then ironically, we should all agree to work less and the results would stay the same. However, if you 'know' 25 is the minimum for a C in Unit 2, then you aren't going to stop pushing kids until they have 26, or 27. Just to be sure... you know. If everyone does that, the boundary has to move.
This could explain the Speaking and Listening increase in particular- how easy is it to shift those CA marks up one or two? Our Speaking and Listening marks are below other schools. If you met our kids, you'd know how ridiculous that is. We clearly did not over-reward our students!
So, does any of this stop me thinking there was something else I could have done? Does it stop me feeling gutted for those kids we thought were safe who missed their C by 1 or 2 marks?
No, of course it doesn't. I'm a teacher.
It also won't stop me from pushing those boundaries higher next year by doing everything I can to help my new Y11s. God help them!
Monday, 2 July 2012
SOLO and Teenage Voice
So the proof of the pudding...
Commissions:
A national project – C21st UK - wishes to collect from young people writing which reflects life in the UK in the C21st. Your writing should focus on aspects of young people’s lives which you feel are important. You can choose the form of the writing e.g. journalism or narrative.
Not satisfied with the pressure of having to prove my new lesson plan works, I decided to have my PM observation on a Friday afternoon and also have my first observation using SOLO taxonomy... oh yeah... and it was videoed.
So, here is the plan (names of students have been changed):
The resources were:
Extracts from the books above (it is actually possible to find bits that are not too graphic!)
SPLIT the text worksheets (Structure, Patterns, Language, Imagery, Themes)
A student response
Venn diagram comparison thinking tool (each circle represents a text)
A1 sugar paper and felt-tip pens
SOLO display and post-it notes
Commissions:
A national project – C21st UK - wishes to collect from young people writing which reflects life in the UK in the C21st. Your writing should focus on aspects of young people’s lives which you feel are important. You can choose the form of the writing e.g. journalism or narrative.
Not satisfied with the pressure of having to prove my new lesson plan works, I decided to have my PM observation on a Friday afternoon and also have my first observation using SOLO taxonomy... oh yeah... and it was videoed.
So, here is the plan (names of students have been changed):
The resources were:
Extracts from the books above (it is actually possible to find bits that are not too graphic!)
SPLIT the text worksheets (Structure, Patterns, Language, Imagery, Themes)
A student response
Venn diagram comparison thinking tool (each circle represents a text)
A1 sugar paper and felt-tip pens
SOLO display and post-it notes
Students showed their progression at the start, middle and end of the lesson by moving their post-it. I questioned target students (identified on the plan) about their choices and also students who felt they did not want to move. By the end of the lesson, it looked like this:
At the start no one had put themselves beyond multi-structural. An student absent from the previous lesson was able to show progression from pre-structural to extended abstract thinking!
And here is the feedback:
Planning for Progress
If I had my way, the perfect planning template would be a blank piece of paper. That way, people could just put down what they found helpful in a way that meant something to them. And if they didn't need to, then they didn't have to. In that world, all the teachers would be amazing and not need a scaffold, or prompts to remind them of someone else's agenda!
The biggest problem is that, in order to include everything we know makes a good lesson, you have to write a book. It simply isn't possible to show everything you can do with a group, so signposting to the observer where you want them to look is essential.
Added to that you have the problem of different subjects, agendas, educational theories and trends, skills, objectives, outcomes, assessment, feedback, taxonomies and so on. Also, people like to plan in the way that suits them, nine times out of ten focusing too much on the 'what', rather than the 'why'.
At school, we had a perfectly serviceable plan based on the Accelerated Learning cycle. This saw us through two Ofsted inspections, but as the goalposts have recently shifted, it needed looking at again. It also suggested that there was only one cycle in every lesson, when we know that one lesson could have several cycles, or one cycle take several lessons to complete, depending upon what you are doing.
So, after feedback from lots of departments and researching how it works in other schools, is is the result:
The key thinking is that starting with the question: What progress do I want students to make? And then planning the activity, AfL and differentiation alongside it, helps you to plan a really good lesson AND demonstrate clearly to an observer WHY you are doing what you are doing. Homework gets the same treatment to ensure it isn't tagged on as an after thought.
With the lesson plan comes a group plan:
On here you can put target levels, actual levels, which groups students belong to (G&T, SEN, FSM, etc.) and make it clear how you are targeting underachievement. I colour code it red and green. It forces me to work those students into the lesson plan if I've highlighted them for an observer! Once completed, the boxes can be dragged to create a seating / group plan very easily, taking all that student's info. along with them.
And finally, the crucial checklist: the ABC of Lesson Planning:
The biggest problem is that, in order to include everything we know makes a good lesson, you have to write a book. It simply isn't possible to show everything you can do with a group, so signposting to the observer where you want them to look is essential.
Added to that you have the problem of different subjects, agendas, educational theories and trends, skills, objectives, outcomes, assessment, feedback, taxonomies and so on. Also, people like to plan in the way that suits them, nine times out of ten focusing too much on the 'what', rather than the 'why'.
At school, we had a perfectly serviceable plan based on the Accelerated Learning cycle. This saw us through two Ofsted inspections, but as the goalposts have recently shifted, it needed looking at again. It also suggested that there was only one cycle in every lesson, when we know that one lesson could have several cycles, or one cycle take several lessons to complete, depending upon what you are doing.
So, after feedback from lots of departments and researching how it works in other schools, is is the result:
The key thinking is that starting with the question: What progress do I want students to make? And then planning the activity, AfL and differentiation alongside it, helps you to plan a really good lesson AND demonstrate clearly to an observer WHY you are doing what you are doing. Homework gets the same treatment to ensure it isn't tagged on as an after thought.
With the lesson plan comes a group plan:
On here you can put target levels, actual levels, which groups students belong to (G&T, SEN, FSM, etc.) and make it clear how you are targeting underachievement. I colour code it red and green. It forces me to work those students into the lesson plan if I've highlighted them for an observer! Once completed, the boxes can be dragged to create a seating / group plan very easily, taking all that student's info. along with them.
And finally, the crucial checklist: the ABC of Lesson Planning:
ABC of Lesson Planning
View more PowerPoint from Liplash_mason
The Politics of School Car Parking
As I approach my 40s, as a teacher, my thoughts naturally turn to joining SLT, ditching my partner for one ten years younger, and buying an Audi.
It would also be nice to have a reserved parking space for my shiny new Audi at work. Some people already do have one at my school, but I'm not talking about the head or deputies here, I'm talking about those people who reserve their own spaces. In a manner similar to the politics of staffroom seating and the borrowing of coffee mugs, parking in someone else's self-appointed space can cause ridiculous amounts of stress in school. It is all about territory.
The fundamental problem seems to be that most schools weren't designed at a time when every teacher had a car. On top of that, you have early starters and late finishers. From my experience, those who come in late usually stay longer after school, and early risers leave closer to the bell. Well, unless you have ample spaces for everyone, or a turntable in your car park, that simply doesn't work, does it? I'm not a morning person, I live 2 miles from school because I'm not a morning person and I scrape in just before half-past eight, because I'm not a morning person. As a result, I have two choices: park on the mud and risk having to be towed off, or block someone in and face their wrath later in the day.
Imagine if you will, the panic that sets in when it's dark and cold, and you are one of only a couple of cars left on site and you are stuck in the mud. Wheels are spinning and digging you in deeper and deeper. The situation seems hopeless. Images of being airlifted out wrapped in tin foil start to flood your mind when, out of the darkness comes your hero.
"Can I give you a push?"
You suck back the tears of panic/frustration and grab desperately at this hand pulling you away from the precipice. Together you pack the wheels with cardboard from the skip and finally sit back down behind the wheel to give it one last go... and you are free! The only problem being the horrible guilt when you look in the rear view mirror and see your Samaritan covered from head to toe in the fountain of mud sent up from the spinning wheels.
Not something either party needs on top of a full day of teaching.
In fact, just having somewhere to park your car doesn't seem to be asking too much to me. For a start, we only have one space marked in our car park and that is a disabled space (which someone regularly takes as their reserved space on the days the disabled member of staff isn't in). For some reason, people don't take it as a guide for where other cars should park and you get the frustration of people leaving a three-quarter size gap not even the most determined male PE teacher can prove his spatial awareness (and therefore manhood) by squeezing into.
Because yes, there is a difference between men and women when it comes to parking. And it is largely women who use the most annoying 'trump card' of all for parking badly: child care. Apparently, if you have children, you gain the right to park in the same place (note place, not space) every day, block the way out, and block people in by double parking. No thought for other people who might have to leave early, or have meetings elsewhere during the day. Perhaps I should review my comments about turning 40, forget about joining SLT, stick with my trusty Corsa and just get pregnant instead. 'Reserved' parking space here I come.
It would also be nice to have a reserved parking space for my shiny new Audi at work. Some people already do have one at my school, but I'm not talking about the head or deputies here, I'm talking about those people who reserve their own spaces. In a manner similar to the politics of staffroom seating and the borrowing of coffee mugs, parking in someone else's self-appointed space can cause ridiculous amounts of stress in school. It is all about territory.
The fundamental problem seems to be that most schools weren't designed at a time when every teacher had a car. On top of that, you have early starters and late finishers. From my experience, those who come in late usually stay longer after school, and early risers leave closer to the bell. Well, unless you have ample spaces for everyone, or a turntable in your car park, that simply doesn't work, does it? I'm not a morning person, I live 2 miles from school because I'm not a morning person and I scrape in just before half-past eight, because I'm not a morning person. As a result, I have two choices: park on the mud and risk having to be towed off, or block someone in and face their wrath later in the day.
Imagine if you will, the panic that sets in when it's dark and cold, and you are one of only a couple of cars left on site and you are stuck in the mud. Wheels are spinning and digging you in deeper and deeper. The situation seems hopeless. Images of being airlifted out wrapped in tin foil start to flood your mind when, out of the darkness comes your hero.
"Can I give you a push?"
You suck back the tears of panic/frustration and grab desperately at this hand pulling you away from the precipice. Together you pack the wheels with cardboard from the skip and finally sit back down behind the wheel to give it one last go... and you are free! The only problem being the horrible guilt when you look in the rear view mirror and see your Samaritan covered from head to toe in the fountain of mud sent up from the spinning wheels.
Not something either party needs on top of a full day of teaching.
In fact, just having somewhere to park your car doesn't seem to be asking too much to me. For a start, we only have one space marked in our car park and that is a disabled space (which someone regularly takes as their reserved space on the days the disabled member of staff isn't in). For some reason, people don't take it as a guide for where other cars should park and you get the frustration of people leaving a three-quarter size gap not even the most determined male PE teacher can prove his spatial awareness (and therefore manhood) by squeezing into.
Because yes, there is a difference between men and women when it comes to parking. And it is largely women who use the most annoying 'trump card' of all for parking badly: child care. Apparently, if you have children, you gain the right to park in the same place (note place, not space) every day, block the way out, and block people in by double parking. No thought for other people who might have to leave early, or have meetings elsewhere during the day. Perhaps I should review my comments about turning 40, forget about joining SLT, stick with my trusty Corsa and just get pregnant instead. 'Reserved' parking space here I come.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
From Bloom to SOLO to exam skills
Working in a school where lots of the staff use Bloom's Taxonomy to create learning objectives, the students are very familiar with the language: Know / Understand / Apply / Synthesise / Analyse / Evaluate / Create. However, recently I have introduced my GCSE C/D class to SOLO, and I wanted to get them to think about how this wasn't a complete change from everything they were used to, but simply a different way of thinking about the process of learning.
More importantly, I wanted them to understand how their AQA Foundation English Paper 1 was constructed in a similar way - the skills required building in complexity as you go through the paper: Qu 1a Retrieve, Qu 1b Infer, Qu 2 Retrieve and Infer, Qu 3 Analyse Language, Qu 4 Compare Presentation.
Not wanting to simply tell them how I think this works, I got them to do it for themselves. I gave them the bits of paper, post-it arrows and asked them to create a learning diagram. One group came up with this:
The final step was to think about how those skills can be demonstrated to the examiner. We did this by using PETER paragraphs (Point / Pattern, Evidence, Term, Explain / Explore, Relate to question):
Qu 1a (Unistructural) Retrieve (P x 4)
Qu 1b (Multistructural) Infer (PE)
Qu 2 (Multistructural) Retrieve and Infer (PEE)
Qu 3 (Relational) Language (PETER)
Qu 4 (Relational) Compare Presentation (PETER)
The different skills were reinforced with images which they really liked:
Retrieve:
Infer (reading beneath the surface):
Infer and retrieve:
How does the writer use Language:
Compare Presentation:
The impact is hard to judge, as there are lots of other factors involved, but I gave the group a mock reading paper on Friday and 3 of the students improved by 8 marks from their previous attempt. All the others showed significant improvement on the Language and Presentation questions where the most marks are available and students struggle.
One of the key things this reinforces for me is that students, far from being put off by the seemingly complex terminology, really enjoy understanding the theory behind the way they learn. My hope is that they will then start to apply it in other subjects. Simply put, if they can understand the rules of the game properly they will become better players.
Friday, 18 May 2012
Text type mnemonics
So close to the exam and my Y11s are still really struggling to answer the 'How does the writer use language to...' (Question 3 of the AQA Foundation paper). They have real difficulty finding things to write about unless it is a persuasive text. So, I decided if I could come up with a mnemonic that matched the text type it should really help them remember what kind of things they could write about.
So here it (far from perfect) is:
Adjectives
Direct address
Verbs (modal)
Imperatives
Sentence length
Empathy
Pattern of three
Emotive language
Rhetorical questions
Statistics
Use of assertion
Anecdote
Direct address
Exaggeration
Detail - adjectives and adverbs
Evoke the senses
Sentence length
Colour
Repetition
Imagery
Brilliant vocabulary (not proud of this one!)
Emotions
In sections / sequence
Numbers
Facts
Opinions
Rhetorical questions
Mostly neutral tone
EXPLAIN is, of course, a mixture of DESCRIBE and INFORM (good luck coming up with something for x!
I've just remembered it to write this, so it does work! It should also help them to plan for the writing tasks too. Of course, there are other things you can include, but it it gives them a start, and they can also use it to plan for the writing section.
So here it (far from perfect) is:
Adjectives
Direct address
Verbs (modal)
Imperatives
Sentence length
Empathy
Pattern of three
Emotive language
Rhetorical questions
Statistics
Use of assertion
Anecdote
Direct address
Exaggeration
Detail - adjectives and adverbs
Evoke the senses
Sentence length
Colour
Repetition
Imagery
Brilliant vocabulary (not proud of this one!)
Emotions
In sections / sequence
Numbers
Facts
Opinions
Rhetorical questions
Mostly neutral tone
EXPLAIN is, of course, a mixture of DESCRIBE and INFORM (good luck coming up with something for x!
I've just remembered it to write this, so it does work! It should also help them to plan for the writing tasks too. Of course, there are other things you can include, but it it gives them a start, and they can also use it to plan for the writing section.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Writing using board games
This was something I was reminded of after reading a great post on 'Slow Writing' from learning spy.co.uk:
Simple board game template available from a complicated link:
www.microsoft.com/canada/home/memories-and-crafts/articles/all-a-board-create-a-personalised-board-game.aspx
Students have to begin with writing an opening sentence and then they can roll the dice. The squares repeat so they hit a range of strategies and they have to follow the instruction in their next sentence. If they land on the writing picture, they can write a sentence without a specific technique. If they land on the thinking symbol, they have to stop writing and check through what they have written.
I used this version with my Y9 group L3-4 and it improved their descriptive writing content considerably (the task was based on 'Teacher's Dead' by Benjamin Zephaniah). They loved it, especially the 'Chance' cards which they had to come and collect from me which said things like: 'What is your narrator feeling?' 'Describe 2 senses other than sight', 'Introduce a character and describe their appearance', 'Describe the weather'. They actually deliberately fixed it to land on those squares!
I've even managed to dig out the lesson plan:
It is very easily adapted for different kinds of writing and different abilities. Also great to use (and quieter) are these foam dice which are available from about 40p each online:
You can put techniques, questions, challenges, etc. on the different sides. I've used these right up to A level with different readings on each side: Marxist, feminist, psychoanalytical, etc or use the bullet points or assessment objectives from exam questions and get students to analyses texts according to what they throw.
Even better, get students to come up with their own games to challenge eachother!
Simple board game template available from a complicated link:
www.microsoft.com/canada/home/memories-and-crafts/articles/all-a-board-create-a-personalised-board-game.aspx
Students have to begin with writing an opening sentence and then they can roll the dice. The squares repeat so they hit a range of strategies and they have to follow the instruction in their next sentence. If they land on the writing picture, they can write a sentence without a specific technique. If they land on the thinking symbol, they have to stop writing and check through what they have written.
I used this version with my Y9 group L3-4 and it improved their descriptive writing content considerably (the task was based on 'Teacher's Dead' by Benjamin Zephaniah). They loved it, especially the 'Chance' cards which they had to come and collect from me which said things like: 'What is your narrator feeling?' 'Describe 2 senses other than sight', 'Introduce a character and describe their appearance', 'Describe the weather'. They actually deliberately fixed it to land on those squares!
I've even managed to dig out the lesson plan:
It is very easily adapted for different kinds of writing and different abilities. Also great to use (and quieter) are these foam dice which are available from about 40p each online:
You can put techniques, questions, challenges, etc. on the different sides. I've used these right up to A level with different readings on each side: Marxist, feminist, psychoanalytical, etc or use the bullet points or assessment objectives from exam questions and get students to analyses texts according to what they throw.
Even better, get students to come up with their own games to challenge eachother!
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Homework - finally getting it right?
I had the oddest experience at Parents' evening. A mother sat down and said, "You know that Macbeth homework you set? Becky loved doing it." I turned to Becky and asked, "Really?" and she nodded in mortified agreement.
I've struggled with homework for years. I don't like chasing it. I really don't like marking it. A lot of the time it has very little purpose other than parents expect it and complain if it isn't set. And yet, one of the most important things I believe we should do is create independent learners. So I had a proper think about how to do something a bit more meaningful and, dare I say it, enjoyable.
Working on the principles that most students are competitive, like to learn in different ways, and homework should be both relevant and fun, I came up with the Macbeth homework challenge.
Basically, every student has a target of 60 points to reach over the half-term. They can choose to do this lots of different ways, as each task has a different value attached to it. It is designed so that you can't just do 10 point tasks and there is a minimum of 2 to do to complete the challenge. It also covers lots of different VAK ways of learning. They then break it down and set themselves homework tasks in their planners for the coming weeks. The crucial bit is that just because they complete a task, it doesn't mean they automatically get full marks for it. It has to be quality work, showing analysis and creativity and we discussed what that meant for each task. They could also negotiate a task of their own and a points value with me.
The results were astonishing after just 3 weeks:
In a class of 32, only 2 students didn't run with it. Bearing in mind that at this point they should have had 30 points, you can see 27 had met the target, of whom 19 had exceeded it. And yes, you do see 6 students who had met the final target of 60 after only 3 weeks (one almost doubling it with 110 points). Additional voluntary homework is a new one on me! I shared this information with them and three weeks later, every one of them had completed the challenge, more than half doing more than the minimum 60 points. Interestingly, nearly all the tasks had been chosen by someone, which pleased me enormously. It was also a pleasure to mark because they had put so much effort into it.
Most importantly, the work they produced was amazing, and I believe it impacted on their CA marks too. Macbeth was their first CA in Y10 and every student bar one (there is always one) was within a grade of their FFT target for the end of Y11. 16 of them met or exceeded it with their first attempt, which I'm more than happy with!
I've struggled with homework for years. I don't like chasing it. I really don't like marking it. A lot of the time it has very little purpose other than parents expect it and complain if it isn't set. And yet, one of the most important things I believe we should do is create independent learners. So I had a proper think about how to do something a bit more meaningful and, dare I say it, enjoyable.
Working on the principles that most students are competitive, like to learn in different ways, and homework should be both relevant and fun, I came up with the Macbeth homework challenge.
Basically, every student has a target of 60 points to reach over the half-term. They can choose to do this lots of different ways, as each task has a different value attached to it. It is designed so that you can't just do 10 point tasks and there is a minimum of 2 to do to complete the challenge. It also covers lots of different VAK ways of learning. They then break it down and set themselves homework tasks in their planners for the coming weeks. The crucial bit is that just because they complete a task, it doesn't mean they automatically get full marks for it. It has to be quality work, showing analysis and creativity and we discussed what that meant for each task. They could also negotiate a task of their own and a points value with me.
The results were astonishing after just 3 weeks:
In a class of 32, only 2 students didn't run with it. Bearing in mind that at this point they should have had 30 points, you can see 27 had met the target, of whom 19 had exceeded it. And yes, you do see 6 students who had met the final target of 60 after only 3 weeks (one almost doubling it with 110 points). Additional voluntary homework is a new one on me! I shared this information with them and three weeks later, every one of them had completed the challenge, more than half doing more than the minimum 60 points. Interestingly, nearly all the tasks had been chosen by someone, which pleased me enormously. It was also a pleasure to mark because they had put so much effort into it.
Most importantly, the work they produced was amazing, and I believe it impacted on their CA marks too. Macbeth was their first CA in Y10 and every student bar one (there is always one) was within a grade of their FFT target for the end of Y11. 16 of them met or exceeded it with their first attempt, which I'm more than happy with!
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Using Show Me app and Twitter to feed back to students
If you've not come across the 'Show Me' app before, it basically allows you to photograph something and annotate it, at the same time recording an audio commentary on your iPad. Then it can be accessed by others via the internet.
Likes:
It's free (obviously not if you have to buy an iPad first!).
You can photograph specific bits of texts to highlight learning objectives.
The stylus helps you identify specific details clearly.
It is a fun way to mark (very important after 13 years in education!).
You can 'flip' the learning so students view their feedback outside of lesson time and come ready to discuss it.
They can rewind / replay it as many times as they like/ need to.
You've got it for next year.
You can share it with other classes.
Students can use it themselves to feed back to each other.
It has other uses including image analysis, annotating texts, modelling and drafting.
Its novelty value creates interest.
Potentially useful for cover lessons.
Dislikes:
The photos aren't always clear and the iPad camera doesn't have a flash.
Even the best stylus looks like crayon on screen.
It's really hard to talk and write at the same time!
Students can't immediately ask questions if they need to.
You can't edit it very easily, so you need to get it right first time.
Despite the stumbling in places, I thought I'd risk sharing this in the hope that it proves useful to someone. It is essay feedback on Y12 Language and Literature Unit 1 'Food Glorious Food'.
Please don't crucify me for my first attempt!
http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=dKeXeRU
I posted a link to this for students on Twitter (a separate account just for revising this unit). Homework was to watch it and comment on it next lesson. I also posted links to pages on writers in the anthology, the Examiner's Report from last year and a link to revision websites. The students have also started to suggest links themselves. Hopefully their contributions will grow. Early days, but it has already engaged some of my more reluctant learners! So it looks promising.
Likes:
It's free (obviously not if you have to buy an iPad first!).
You can photograph specific bits of texts to highlight learning objectives.
The stylus helps you identify specific details clearly.
It is a fun way to mark (very important after 13 years in education!).
You can 'flip' the learning so students view their feedback outside of lesson time and come ready to discuss it.
They can rewind / replay it as many times as they like/ need to.
You've got it for next year.
You can share it with other classes.
Students can use it themselves to feed back to each other.
It has other uses including image analysis, annotating texts, modelling and drafting.
Its novelty value creates interest.
Potentially useful for cover lessons.
Dislikes:
The photos aren't always clear and the iPad camera doesn't have a flash.
Even the best stylus looks like crayon on screen.
It's really hard to talk and write at the same time!
Students can't immediately ask questions if they need to.
You can't edit it very easily, so you need to get it right first time.
Despite the stumbling in places, I thought I'd risk sharing this in the hope that it proves useful to someone. It is essay feedback on Y12 Language and Literature Unit 1 'Food Glorious Food'.
Please don't crucify me for my first attempt!
http://www.showme.com/sh/?h=dKeXeRU
I posted a link to this for students on Twitter (a separate account just for revising this unit). Homework was to watch it and comment on it next lesson. I also posted links to pages on writers in the anthology, the Examiner's Report from last year and a link to revision websites. The students have also started to suggest links themselves. Hopefully their contributions will grow. Early days, but it has already engaged some of my more reluctant learners! So it looks promising.
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