An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Science and Biology
REPORT
Presentation Secondary School
Ballyphehane, Cork
Roll number: 62693K
Date of inspection: 15 March 2006
Date of issue of report: 22 June 2006
Subject Provision and Whole School Support
Summary of Main Findings and Recommendations
This Subject Inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in Presentation Secondary School, Ballyphehane, Cork. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Science and Biology and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of these subjects in the school. The evaluation was conducted over two days during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and teachers, examined students’ work, and had discussions with the teachers. The inspector reviewed school planning documentation and teachers’ written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal. The board of management of the school was given an opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and recommendations of the report, and the response of the board will be found in the appendix of this report.
All first-year students study Junior Certificate Science. These students have a weekly time allocation of one double and one single lesson. Science becomes an optional subject in second and third year. Currently the majority of students in these cohorts study Science and are allocated one double and two single lessons weekly, which is within curriculum guidelines. On completion of the Junior Certificate, students enter Transition Year (TY). However, students who want to study the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme (LCA) can enter this programme directly from the Junior Certificate without completing TY. A general science programme comprises part of TY, with students studying a module of Physics, Chemistry and Biology during their weekly-allocated double lesson. LCA students also study two modules of Science as part of their programme of study. They are allocated two lessons weekly either as two single lessons or one double lesson. Currently, the school offers Biology and Chemistry as optional subjects to Leaving Certificate level. Optional subjects at Leaving Certificate are in fixed blocks. Management stated that these blocks are reviewed every two to three years. The science subjects offered are located in different blocks, which allow students to study all sciences on offer if required. Physics is offered in one of the option blocks. Student choice will determine whether it can be included on the curriculum. Currently the majority of students study Biology with a small number of students studying Chemistry. The time allocation is within curriculum guidelines, with five lessons, comprising one double lesson and three single lessons weekly, being allocated per subject. The current provision of double lessons in the sciences facilitates the organisation of practical work as required by each syllabus, which is to be commended.
There are five teachers of science in the school. Two of the teachers are substituting for members of staff one of which is on sick leave and the other is on a career break. At present there are two teachers teaching Leaving Certificate Biology. The school has two laboratories and a demonstration room. A shared preparation or storage area connects all facilities. This arrangement allows for the sharing of resources. The majority of science classes take place in the laboratory with the teachers rotating for access to the laboratory. Double classes get priority for access to the laboratory and the demonstration room with non-science classes occurring in the demonstration room when required. The facilities viewed are maintained and are effective for the delivery of science subjects, which is to be commended. The storage or preparation area observed was well organised with clear evidence of a lot of thought having been put into this space by the science staff. This is to be commended. The school has a health and safety statement. There is a high level of safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, safety blankets safety glasses etc. in the laboratories. Excellent work has been done to ensure the safe storage of chemicals. Copies of the published guidelines on safety: Safety in School Science and Safety in the School Laboratory published by the Department of Education and Science in 1996 are available to all staff. Further copies if required can be downloaded from the Internet at http://www.psi-net.org/chemistry.
Resources such as a computer, overhead projector, television and video were observed in each laboratory, which is to be commended. These will support the teaching and learning process. The well-organised shelves in each of the laboratories contained lots of materials and equipment needed for the subjects. Students can access everyday laboratory equipment easily from these shelves as required, which will allow them to have a greater involvement in their practical work. Specialised equipment has been organised into project boxes by the science staff. This is stored in the preparation or storage area and used in either laboratory when required. This is very good practice and is to be commended. A specific budget for the sciences is not allocated. However, the science team present a list of items required to management for the upkeep and development of the sciences in the school. This practice is running very satisfactorily in the school.
The laboratories had some colourful visual stimuli mainly in the form of charts, diagrams and models. Some of this visual stimulus-material was of student origin, which is to be commended. The use of display boards, which contain for example, charts, diagrams, a display of student work and recent science-related articles is to be commended. Student project work was on display outside the laboratories. This helps to promote and raise the profile of the sciences in the school, and with regular updating should help to maintain the interest and stimulation of the students.
Opportunities for continual professional development in Science and previously in Biology and the Physical Sciences have been availed of and endorsed by management.
The school has been engaged in the process of school development planning and has produced many school policies. The science team members have developed curricular plans for the sciences and they presented them during the inspection. These plans outlined some information under the following headings: common content to be covered (for all science programmes), assessment, homework, examinations and practical copy (for some of the science programmes). Management has facilitated this process with the allocation of at least four formal planning meetings per year. The organisation and development of the laboratories was also planned at these meetings, which is to be commended. Well-stocked laboratories provide evidence of successful planning for resources.
A formal subject convenor for science is present in the school. The convenor liaises between the science team and management. This position is rotated among the team yearly, which is to be commended. There is evidence of informal coordination and communication among the teachers on an ongoing basis. In this way collaboration is established and maintained. An agenda is decided and minutes are recorded for all meetings of the science team, which is good practice. Teaching resources located in filing cabinets and shelves in the preparation or storage area and laboratories are shared among the team. Building on this planning, the science team could expand all plans using the headings outlined above and could also consider how to share ideas for good practice, ideas for practical investigations, alternative forms of assessment, examination preparation, the integration of ICT, links between practical work and theory, resource requirements as well as continual revision work, when and where appropriate. Course syllabuses and ‘Guidelines for Teachers’ should provide the basis for such detailed planning. It is important to remember that any plan created will require regular review and should be modified to meet the needs of the students.
Classes observed, as well as planned programmes of work, were found to reflect syllabus requirements. Planning for the lessons observed was good as evidenced by their structured nature and the prior preparation of materials such as handouts, acetates, equipment, chemicals and the apparatus required for student-centred investigative work. Opportunities to extend student learning outside the classroom have also been planned with visits to the Young Scientist and Technology exhibition, the holding of a science week each November, attendance at science quizzes, going on field trips and attendance at various science lectures at University College Cork. The science teachers involved are to be praised for their commitment to facilitating such a broad range of educational and stimulating activities.
Many elements of good practice were observed in the Biology and Science lessons. In the main, the lessons observed were well thought out, student-centred and directed at a pace appropriate to the students. Diverse teaching styles were employed. Lessons had clear aims, and there was evidence of good continuity with previous lessons by linking with, and building on, students’ prior knowledge and experience. The lessons observed had a disciplined atmosphere with a clear and fair code of behaviour. There was a positive teacher-student rapport throughout the lessons, which is to be commended and contributed to a constructive learning environment. Students were generally attentive, interested and anxious to participate well in the learning processes. Generally, students had a good understanding of the task in hand and displayed good teamwork skills in practical work. Breathing, water, immunity, excretion, density and states of matter were the topics of study in the lessons observed.
A range of teaching methodologies was observed, which included student practical work in groups, teacher demonstration, questioning, explanation, blackboard work and the use of handouts and worksheets. Practical work was observed in a number of lessons. These activities were structured and well organised, and all students were actively engaged. Students worked in pairs or groups of three and were confident and capable in setting up and completing the tasks, demonstrating appropriate practical skills. Due regard was given to safety procedures, reinforced by the teacher. As students performed practical activities, the teachers constantly moved around the laboratory giving appropriate attention and support to individual students. Reference to actual results should be avoided before completion of the investigation, as this is one of the reasons the students are engaged in the activity. Instead students could be asked for their opinion or hypothesis, which they can accept or reject, on completion of their practical investigation. In some instances immediately following the practical activities the students were engaged in plenary sessions on the results acquired. This is highly commended. It is recommended that increased emphasis on the investigative approach to practical work be adopted at junior cycle. This would further increase student motivation and enthusiasm. It would also provide opportunities for students to reflect on and evaluate their own work and progress. All students had laboratory notebooks or files in which they recorded all their investigative work. The teacher held these in the laboratory. Monitoring of student notebooks is noted and commended. Corrections indicated through this monitoring should be followed up to ensure the student work is complete and correct. When writing the procedures for practical work, students should be encouraged to use their own words rather than using the “recipe” in their textbooks or handout or as dictated by the teacher. The inclusion of practical work in the current scheme of assessment would be beneficial, as it would provide further motivation for engagement by all students with the practical element of the course.
In theory-based lessons, scientific concepts were presented in a stimulating manner and students were, in the main, actively engaged by means of appropriate teacher questioning, demonstration or student activity. Student learning was underpinned by a purposeful use of concrete materials. However, where teacher talk was over used, it resulted in students becoming very passive in their learning and should be avoided. In all lessons the blackboard and or overhead projector were used effectively to illustrate simple diagrams and highlight significant points. Though clear, the use of more colours on the blackboard should be considered in order to enhance students’ visualisation of the material. Questioning, while observed in all lessons, was used extensively in theory lessons. The questioning for the most part tended to vary in style and focus. However, many of the questions asked were at a factual level, testing knowledge recall only. As all classes observed were mixed ability, it is recommended that differentiation by questioning be employed to encourage the active participation of students who are less able and to provide a challenge for students who are more familiar with the subject matter. The practice of directing questions to individual named students, which generally speaking is employed by the teachers, is noted as good practice, and so it is recommended that this be continued and further developed where appropriate. Students’ responses indicated good understanding and knowledge. Chorus answering to questioning should be discouraged as it will be very difficult to know how well individual students understand the material. It is also important to ensure that all students are engaged through questioning at different points throughout the class to ensure that their learning does not become purely passive. It is most encouraging to see the discrete role played by textbooks in general. In many instances, a range of worksheets and materials produced by the science teachers appropriately supplemented student learning.
Whole-class teaching was observed at the start of all classes visited, which helped to set the scene for the students. Homework was corrected and annotated by the teacher, and students were given some indication of what would be studied during the lesson. This is good practice and could be further expanded by telling the students what they are expected to know at the end of the lesson. This could help to focus their learning, as it would be clear what is expected of them during the lesson. Consideration could be given to whether students have their textbooks or other material open during the delivery of new material and during the questioning of material. At the completion of all lessons, homework was assigned. This was appropriate to the lesson material and was designed to assist the students in learning and retaining the topic, which is to be commended. Effective use was made of a range of relevant resources, such as student handouts, diagrams, overhead projector and the blackboard, to enhance teaching and consolidate learning. Materials were clearly planned and presented to ensure student learning and retention. The observed use of visual material in the delivery of concepts was very worthwhile for the students’ understanding and enhanced their learning environment. The development of more ICT resources by the science team to complement the existing large and varied amount of resources is encouraged to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in Science and Biology.
The students have a good attitude towards Science and Biology as displayed by the interest and level of engagement observed during lessons. Oral assessments are integrated into all lessons. Student understanding is assessed through questioning in the classroom and homework is regularly assigned. There was evidence of monitoring and annotation of homework. This is praiseworthy. Teachers should build on this good practice to ensure re-enforcement of student learning. In general, end-of-topic assessments are employed to evaluate student learning. These tests are administered at the discretion of the teacher during class time on the completion of a topic or unit of work. The science team could formalise the number of tests that they will administer to their classes in each year group. This could be further developed to incorporate a method of continuous assessment. As stated earlier, students have a laboratory notebook or workbook in which they record all their investigative work. On examination of these it was found that all mandatory investigations to date were written up under suitable headings incorporating well-labelled diagrams and contained results gathered by the students themselves. Such experience is of benefit to the students in developing skills relating to the recording and interpretation of scientific data in accordance with the objectives of the syllabus. There was some evidence of monitoring of the practical notebooks. Teachers are encouraged to build on this element of good practice. The inclusion of practical work in the scheme of continuous assessment is recommended, as it provides motivation for engagement by all students with the practical element of the course.
Formal assessments are held for all classes at Christmas, summer and at the end of each half term (October, February and before Easter). State examination classes have pre-examinations in the spring of their examination year. Currently the teacher marks the pre Junior Certificate examination while all the pre Leaving Certificate examinations are marked externally. Formal reports are sent to parents following Christmas, summer and pre-examinations. In addition to reports, parent-teacher meetings are held for all classes annually.
The following are the main strengths and areas for development identified in the evaluation:
- provision of two reasonably well-resourced science laboratories and
appropriate preparation or storage areas; and the
- allocation of resources for the provision of laboratory materials on a
needs basis.
- teachers are encouraged and facilitated in attending in-service.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of Science and Biology and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.
Appendix
Submitted by the Board of Management
Area 1: Observations on the content of the Inspection Report
The board of management wishes to thank the Department of Education and Science for the professional and fair manner in which the Inspection was conducted. The Board was pleased with the report and commends the teachers concerned for their commitment and high standard of teaching. The Inspection was thorough and comprehensive and every aspect of the subject was examined. Good practice was noted and affirmed and this is to be commended. The findings are valid and will enable the school to further develop the subject.
Area 2: Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the
inspection activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the Inspection
The principal and the subject teachers have discussed the content of the report. Ongoing
meetings of the subject teachers are an integral part of school development planning and it is envisaged that future meetings will look at recommendations. Plans are in place to expand the use of ICT in the teaching of Science. The school looks forward to further support from the Department in developing the subject and implementing the findings and recommendations.