An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of English
REPORT
St. Anne’s Community College
Killaloe County Clare
Roll number: 70901K
Date of inspection: 6 December 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in english
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in St. Anne’s Community College, Killaloe, Co. Clare. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in English and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject 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 and subject teachers. The board of management was given an opportunity to comment on the findings and recommendations of the report; the board chose to accept the report without response.
Subject provision and whole school support
While the level of timetable provision for English at senior cycle is in line with syllabus requirements, at junior cycle this is less so. In first, second, and third year, students are allocated four classes of English per week. This is less than is generally allocated to the subject in other schools. Occasionally, English classes are scheduled for a junior cycle class group on three days of the week (one double and two single classes). There should be scope for reviewing the timetabling situation for junior cycle English in the context of the school’s overall instructional time deficit referred to in a 2005 WSE report. It is noted that the recommendation in that report has not yet been addressed by the school.
School management makes funds for the purchase of resources available on request. The school possesses a hall, equipped with a stage, which serves as a performance space. Moreover, the school’s provision of some class sets of texts enables teachers to introduce novels or plays to students suitable to their needs and interests. Classrooms are student-based and English teachers have to move between rooms. To facilitate greater integration of varied resources into the teaching of general subjects, school management purchased four large screen TVs and DVD players in 2007 for installation in each of the four general classroom blocks. This development is particularly welcomed by the English department, for whom film is a prescribed element of the Leaving Certificate (LC) examination and where the provision of two overhead TVs in an open assembly area to facilitate the study of film had proven unsatisfactory. As for the four general classrooms where the new AV equipment is to be installed, it is recommended that a booking system be set up to ensure that teachers can gain access to these rooms for particular lessons. The English department is advised to review the extent to which AV-equipped rooms meet their needs in 2008/09. If access to AV equipment still remains a problem after that review, the English department should continue to work with school management to identify possible solutions to its difficulties.
Teachers may use computers in the teacher work room/ boardroom for lesson preparation. They may also reserve the school’s mobile laptop and data projector or the school’s computer room for use with a particular class. School management’s plan to enable teachers in general classrooms to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) into their teaching is to locate an internet-enabled laptop and data projector or interactive whiteboard in one room of each of the four general classroom blocks. Locating this ICT equipment in a room separate from the one where the TV and DVD player are to be based will increase the accessibility of equipment for teachers and thus support teaching and learning. This plan for providing ICT equipment for the use of teachers working in the general classroom blocks of the school is commended.
The school library in St. Anne’s Community College is housed in a dedicated space, equipped with high-quality movable shelving units, metal storage cabinets, a good selection of books, and access to upstairs office space. At present, the library serves as an instructional base for a class cohort and the post-holder with responsibility for the library is on career break. Some limited browsing and borrowing from the library is currently taking place through individual teacher efforts. Also, some English teachers commendably encourage students to read a book independently and to write a review of it, later allocating marks for that assignment towards Christmas test results. To further motivate students’ personal reading, it is recommended that the English department interweave the promotion of personal reading into its schemes of work for junior cycle students in particular and also for Transition Year (TY) students. For instance, the English department could decide to dedicate occasional junior English classes/ segments of classes to personal reading. While the library continues to be used as an instructional space, book boxes on wheels could be compiled for different year groups and reading age ranges, enabling teachers to bring books for personal reading to general classrooms. Also, the English department, in conjunction with the in-school special education support team, may wish to introduce a paired reading initiative into its TY programme. Furthermore, by developing the school’s links with the Co. Clare library service, the school could register as an institutional (bulk) borrower, and thus use public library stock to update the pool of in-school books available for browsing. It is encouraged that the English department and the relevant post-holder collectively review the publication Room for Reading: The Junior Certificate School Programme Demonstration Library Project (http://www.jcspliteracy.ie/library_demo_project.htm) to learn additional strategies that could be used to further strengthen whole school literacy. Finally, to help guide the ongoing stocking of the library over the coming years, useful references can be found through the School Library Association of Ireland, Children’s Books Ireland, the UK School Library Association, and the in-school special education support team. (See http://www.libraryassociation.ie, http://www.childrensbooks.ie, and http://www.sla.org.uk/advice-and-support.php).
In relation to the school’s student organisation procedures, first-year students are placed in mixed ability classes. This is good practice. It was reported that first-year students’ summer examination results in Irish, English, Mathematics, History and Geography are then used to allocate students to streamed base classes for those subjects for second year. This partial streaming of students (classes for optional subjects are formed on a mixed-ability basis) at the end of first year is not good practice and is compounded by the fact that no element of concurrent timetabling is available for second-year English classes. (Concurrent timetabling for English was commendably introduced for third-year English in 2007/08). While no student in any class group is precluded from preparing for the higher-level JC examination, individuals in classes where the majority of students are preparing for ordinary-level examinations are inevitably taught at a different pace to students in classes where all/almost all students are preparing for higher-level examinations. Current school arrangements for second-year English mean that students cannot move between English classes easily and that by the time that facility is available to them in third year, the difference in pace and texts studied by different groups means that such student movement is again impeded. A possible solution to this issue would be the co-timetabling of pairs of English classes in second and third year to facilitate student movement between levels. Ultimately, it is strongly recommended that the English department and school management review second and third-year class formation arrangements for English.
Third-year, TY, fourth and fifth-year students are concurrently timetabled and school management is commended for providing this facility. While the two TY English classes for 2007/08 were formed through setting, it was reported that this formation was in response to specific issues within the cohort and that TY English classes are generally formed on a mixed-ability basis, in line with the aims and ethos of the programme. Fourth-year students opt for the examination level in English they wish to prepare for, guided by teacher advice and by their Junior Certificate (JC) results. Class formation practice within the department is to place the most able aspirant higher-level candidates in one group, the less able aspirant higher-level candidates in another class group and to form another class for candidates aiming to sit ordinary-level English examinations. The department is encouraged to consider forming the two aspirant higher-level English class groups on a more mixed-ability basis. The benefits of that organisational approach would be to ensure the presence of highly-motivated peer role models for learning and a diversity of student responses in both class groups.
Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities support the teaching and learning of English in St. Anne’s Community College. Teachers organise intra-class debates and have prepared students for inter-schools debating competitions over the years. Creative writing is promoted by encouraging students to enter writing competitions and by compiling first-year students’ poems into class anthologies. Drama classes are run after school, Christmas concerts and trips to theatrical productions are regularly organised, and a school musical will be staged in 2008. School management and the English teachers are highly commended for their commitment to providing such activities for their students.
English teachers wishing to engage in continuing professional development are encouraged and supported by school management. Sources of professional development that have been accessed by individual members of the department include acting as State Examination Commission (SEC) examiners for English, general pedagogical courses, in-service seminars for other subjects that are relevant to English, further study, and the development of expertise in directing plays. Also, the department supports Higher Diploma in Education students completing teaching practice in the school and members of the department have acted as mentors to newly-qualified teachers and are involved in a UL/UCD mentoring programme. This level of professional engagement is highly commended. With regard to the professional development of the department in the future, it is encouraged that the department continue consulting the Teaching English Support Service (TESS) website, Looking at English: Teaching & Learning English in Post-Primary Schools, and the various guideline documents and websites referred to in this report.
Planning and preparation
Formal subject department planning has commenced for the teaching of English in St. Anne’s Community College. This process has been supported by an input from the School Development Planning Initiative (SDPI) and by school management’s scheduling of a subject department meeting at the beginning of the school year. In addition, the department generally meets formally on two other occasions during the year and more frequently on an informal basis. Informal discussions have already been held within the department about the possibility of establishing a rotating subject department co-ordinator role. It is recommended that such a rotational system be adopted by the English department.
By the time of the evaluation, the English teachers had documented their practices under the headings of the relevant SDPI subject-planning template and had prepared broad curriculum content plans for each year group. The fact that these documents had been prepared electronically is commended. To help develop the English department’s planning even further, three recommendations are offered.
First, it is recommended that time be specifically allocated for a “show and tell” input at the beginning of each subject department meeting, where individual members would be asked to present an effective resource or strategy they use in their practice and/or to share insights relevant to the teaching of English they gained from a professional development course, from practices they observed in the English departments of other schools, and/or from further study.
Secondly, it is recommended that, over the coming years, the department develop its curriculum content plans into termly schemes of work. At the outset, the department should identify what it considers the most appropriate learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) for students in each year group and identify activities and texts that will help achieve those outcomes. (See the LC English syllabus and JCSP statement materials for exemplars of such learning outcomes). Such termly schemes should specifically plan to incrementally hone students’ literacy skills. Similarly, the department will need to formally discuss specific texts to be taught and the sequencing of their introduction for different year groups. At present, the subject department plan indicates that three different novels and four different plays are presented for JC examination by different class groups in the school. It is not advocated that all teachers and candidates should be studying the same texts at the same time. However, the documentation of text-selection decisions that facilitate movement between examination levels is required. Once the first-year scheme units and their sequencing are agreed, the same process should then be employed, over the coming years, to prepare schemes of work for the other year groups. Of course, for students to have the full benefit of this work, coherence between teachers’ individual plans and the collective department plan will be essential. Ultimately, what is envisaged is a planning process guided by the advice on best practice outlined on pages 50 to 51 of Looking at English and customised to the needs of the students of St. Anne’s Community College.
Thirdly, documentation associated with subject department planning should be added to the plan. For instance, brief minutes of departmental meetings, focused on decisions taken and items for follow-up action should be recorded. Comparisons of students’ English results in SEC examinations against national norms should be added, as an aid to self-evaluation. Also, if an inventory of all AV and print resources for English gathered in that common resource cabinet were compiled and included in the subject department plan, then that inventory would promote maximum use of available in-school resources.
Key strengths of the current TY programme for English include its emphasis on developing students’ oracy skills, its cross-curricular links with other TY events, and its encouragement of personal writing through a magazine project. Also, the complementary Radio and Film Studies modules are highly regarded by students. Further development of three aspects of the programme will make it an even more stimulating and educative experience. First, to ensure that all teachers of English are aware of the content of the TY programmes for English, Radio and Film Studies and are able to contribute to their continued development, it is encouraged that those programmes be reviewed by the entire subject department. Secondly, the TY English programme should specifically plan for the development of students’ “basic competences in key areas according to the needs of individual pupils,” thus necessitating the analysis of individual TY students’ language needs and regular remediation work focused on those needs (TYP Guidelines for Schools, pg 2). Thirdly, it is suggested that the department consider incorporating a key assignment approach to assessing students’ progress (as is used in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme) into its TY English programme.
In terms of individual teacher planning, some monthly, termly, and yearly plans were presented for inspection. Good practice was seen when teachers were using learning outcomes as the basis for their planning, when they were explicitly planning to develop students’ oral and written skills, and when they were identifying specific strategies to teach particular syllabus components. Where weaknesses were noted, the emphasis in plans was solely on the content to be delivered rather than on the learning to be achieved.
Teaching and learning
Effective teaching was observed over the course of the inspection. In all classes evaluated, lessons were structured and there was evidence of short-term planning. Most lessons observed were focused on achieving a particular learning outcome. Very good practice was observed when the intended outcome was shared with learners at the outset of a lesson, thus helping students to connect new learning with previous work and also inviting them to share responsibility for the lesson. In one classroom, students were able to predict the learning outcome for their second day of studying a poem. Through the regular sharing of learning outcomes with those students, their teacher had helped them gain sophisticated insights into the process and stages of engaging with a text and this was very impressive.
All teachers acted as strong oral language role models for students. Teachers’ instructions and explanations were precise in most classes observed. Pair/groupwork was sometimes an area where precise instructions were not communicated, though. It is encouraged that students’ understanding of the roles they are required to perform within a group, of the end-product that the group is expected to produce, and of the timeframe assigned for task completion be checked through questioning before groups commence working. Also, it is important that adequate time for feedback be factored into the pre-planning of lessons. Where little/no student feedback is taken after such activities, the benefit of them is significantly reduced.
The resources used by the English teachers over the course of the evaluation included handouts, books, audio recordings of poems, a CD player, and an artefact associated with the Titanic. White/chalkboards were used effectively in most classes to provide written reinforcement of new vocabulary, to record student feedback, and to set homework assignments. Students in one class were even accustomed to accurately recording class feedback on the board while the teacher guided class discussion and this was particularly impressive. Building on this foundation and given the variety of learning styles and of student abilities in the school, it is recommended that writing frames, visual organisers, and more concrete and AV materials be utilised in the teaching of English. Also, while the whole-school plan to locate ICT equipment in the general classroom blocks is being implemented, it is suggested that a list of websites relevant to the teaching of English be compiled by teachers and/or students. Handouts listing those links under specific topics could then be added to the subject department plan, to be used by teachers as appropriate and/or to be distributed to students for independent research. Lastly, it was reported that English teachers have no common resource area where they can store their AV and print teaching resources. Given that metal storage cabinets are furnished in most general classrooms, it is suggested that the cabinet in one of those classrooms be assigned to the English department so that they can store some of their resources at school.
The English-related resources on display in rooms included a newspaper article; a student- designed cover illustration for the novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and a poster collage of photocopied images and captions highlighting cultural context factors associated with the novel; student illustrations of key scenes from the novel Walkabout; and one page of student writing. These efforts to create print-rich environments for students had been made in fewer than half the classrooms visited. The fact that English teachers move from room to room every day makes it more difficult for teachers to create such classroom environments. This is an area where there is still scope for development.
Teachers used questioning to good effect to stimulate and interact with students and to structure the learning activity. Where very good practice was seen, teachers asked a blend of targeted questions (directed to a named student) and questions open to response from willing individuals. Also, the good practice of setting questions to guide students’ listening to/viewing of textual extracts observed in some classes ensured that their comprehension efforts were guided by a purpose derived from the lesson’s intended learning outcomes. Finally, where teachers posed questions to students that were carefully sequenced, leading them to higher-order thinking and encouraging them to make personal aesthetic responses, this was commendable.
Among the varied teaching strategies observed were question and answer, teacher and student reading, group work, peer learning (where students were asked to listen to and comment on samples of other students’ work read out to them), spider diagrams, a keyword approach, directed listening to audio recording of poems, connecting new material to students’ prior knowledge and experience, and oral presentations by students. A particular strength of the department is its integration of the study of language and literature through purposeful creative interventions (diary entries, reports, and letters). Other strategies used less frequently included word games and wordsearches, visualisation, the dramatisation of scenes, the use of film clips to illuminate and review texts, directing students to engage in independent internet research to prepare for encountering new texts, the use of popular songs to introduce the cultural context of texts, and project work. English teachers now need to formally share and document these excellent methodologies to ensure that all students get the benefit of them.
One recommended area for progression across the department is the further development of its resources and strategies for teaching the process and subskills of writing. Some examples of good practice already taking place in individual classrooms include incorporating vocabulary development and spelling tests into junior cycle class programmes, linking writing tasks with real-life purposes, and the provision of clear instructions on what students should include in written assignments. Further areas for development include the use of writing frames and visual organisers, the use of writing samples as diagnostic instruments, teaching aspects of sentence and paragraph structure through exemplars from texts students are reading and linking such study to purposeful creative writing tasks, Make a Book projects, teaching students presentation and editing routines from first year onward, encouraging students to engage in personal reading, and the use of ICT to reinforce the process approach to writing. Among the professional development resources the department may wish to browse in this regard are those described on the websites http://www.jcspliteracy.ie/school_wide.htm and http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/.
Very good rapport between teachers and students was evident in most classrooms visited. Teachers consistently affirmed students’ responses and integrated them into lessons. Most students were engaged in their learning and discipline was maintained in all classes. In the case of a minority of students who were not making adequate progress, it was reported that issues of absenteeism, the impact of partial streaming on students’ self-esteem, and of part-time working practices were involved. An examination of students’ copies revealed that most students had commendably been assigned a variety of writing tasks, ranging from comprehension questions to compositions. Oral questioning by teachers and by the inspector demonstrated that most students were familiar with the elements of texts they were studying. Some students were engaging in higher-order thinking about those texts, spontaneously asking their teacher perceptive questions about them, and offering original comparative connections to texts previously studied. Also, it was noted that where keyword approaches, visual organisers, and active learning methods were used, less academic students’ levels of engagement were particularly raised. Given that these pedagogical strengths exist in the department, addressing the subject provision, planning, and assessment issues identified in this report will inevitably raise the levels of general student achievement even higher.
Assessment
A number of the classes observed began with a review of homework or of work done in a previous class, thus maximising the chances that students would retain their new learning. Where best practice was observed, homework assignments were written on the whiteboard; students were given specific instructions on how homework was to be presented and on the criteria that work should meet (for example, page length, number of points and quotations required); and sufficient time was allocated for students to note down their assignments. Finally, one of the school’s practices to support homework completion is that every week, class directors sign and sometimes write comments on the homework journals of students they have been assigned special responsibility for. Parents are then asked to countersign the journals. This practice is highly commended.
From a review of student copies, it was evident that homework was being set and monitored in all classes. In some cases, students’ work was acknowledged by a tick and short comment (very good/excellent). In other cases, the teacher comment offered formative feedback that affirmed specific strengths in the piece of writing and gave specific ideas for improvement and this is commended. The department is encouraged to discuss this issue and to arrive at a consensus on it, so that teachers’ responses to students’ writing are consistent from first to fifth year. In arriving at a common policy on the correction of mechanical errors and on the provision of formative feedback on substantial pieces of writing, the department may find materials such as the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)’s “Assessment for Learning” web pages and the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) publication Between the Lines useful.
Three other aspects of student assessment now need to be developed by the department. First, it is recommended that the department consider awarding some marks toward end-of-term results for tasks linked to collaboratively-planned learning outcomes for different year groups. (Those tasks could include spelling and vocabulary tests, a cumulative average for composition work, folder maintenance, oral presentations, and project work). Such student-centred assessment approaches would help all students. Secondly, it is recommended that teachers further develop their diagnostic use of assessments. For instance, teachers are advised to assign class time early in the first term of every year for students to produce a substantial personal writing sample. Analysing and recording the recurring errors in each student’s work will give teachers a good benchmark for skill development programme planning. Thirdly, it is recommended that LC students’ understanding of the SEC criteria for assessment be deepened. For example, teachers can make students aware of the grid explaining the criteria and of the “Assessment Advice for Students” document issued at the time of the syllabus launch and can use the PCLM (Purpose, Coherence, Language use, Mechanics) criteria to comment on and/or mark those students’ work from fourth year onward. (See http://english.slss.ie/resources/Appendix_1_
HL_and_OL.pdf and http://english.slss.ie/resources/Assessment_Advice_Students.pdf). A simplified version of the criteria could also be introduced to junior cycle students, to help them identify the strengths and areas for development in their own writing.
First, second, and fourth-year students of English are assessed using class tests and formal summer examinations. A percentage of marks for class work is included in the calculation of end-of-term results for these year groups. Second and fifth-year students are assessed using class tests and formal pre-certificate examinations. TY students are assessed by means of written and oral presentations on topics of their own choosing. The English department is commended for its work in preparing and administering a common summer examination to all first years. This practice facilitates the comparison of achievement across the year group and thus provides an evidence base for planning to meet students’ needs. It is encouraged that this practice be extended to other year groups, as appropriate. Teachers use SEC chief examiners’ reports and marking schemes to inform their work and this is good practice. School management produces an annual analysis of students’ results in SEC examinations in English (as for all subjects) and teachers are informed of this analysis. Parents/guardians are informed of students’ progress through school reports, annual parent-teacher meetings for each year group, notes in homework journals, and individual meetings (either requested by parents/guardians or where parents/guardians are invited to the school to discuss a student’s progress).
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
· School management is commended for providing concurrent timetabling to facilitate student movement in third-year and in senior cycle, for making funds available on request for the purchase of resources, and for its recent purchase of AV equipment to support teachers working in general classrooms.
· The English teachers and school management are highly commended for their commitment to providing an array of English-related co-curricular and extra-curricular activities for students.
· The English teachers had documented their practices in a subject department planning template and had prepared broad curriculum content plans for each year group.
· Effective teaching was observed over the course of the inspection. In all classes evaluated, lessons were structured and there was evidence of short-term planning.
· The department uses a variety of pedagogical practices and is particularly strong at integrating the study of language and literature through purposeful creative interventions.
· Very good rapport between teachers and students was evident in most classrooms visited. Teachers consistently affirmed students’ responses and integrated them into lessons. Most students were engaged in their learning and discipline was maintained in all classes.
· From a review of student copies, it was evident that homework was being set and monitored in all classes.