Subject Inspection Report

This report has been written following a subject inspection in St Angela’s College, Cork. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Latin and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over one day during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and the teacher, examined students’ work, and had discussions with the teacher. The inspector reviewed school planning documentation and the teacher’s written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and subject teacher. The board of management was given an opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and recommendations of the report; a response was not received from the board.

Subject provision and whole school support

St Angela’s College, Cork, provides Latin as a curricular option in the Leaving Certificate (LC), Transition Year (TY) and Junior Certificate (JC) programmes. There is open choice with regard to subject selection and option bands are drawn up in accordance with student preferences. At pre-entry level, parents of incoming students are invited to an open night when subject choices are discussed and the Latin teacher provides information to those who are considering opting for the subject. To build on this good practice, Latin students could mount a display of their project work and the extra- and co-curricular activities in which they engage. At the present time, the school is at an advanced stage in the planning of a taster programme for in-coming first years and it is anticipated that work will be complete for implementation in the academic year, 2008-9. This is a welcome development since a well-managed taster programme offers students an opportunity to make meaningful subject choices without compromising syllabus delivery. See, Moving Up: the Experiences of First-year Students in Post-primary Education, by Emer Smyth, Selina McCoy and Merike Darmody, (Liffey Press in association with the Economic and Social Research Institute and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2004).

In the current academic year, JC students pick two of the following subjects: Art, Business Studies, German, Home Economics, Latin and Music; LC students pick four from Accounting Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, French, History, Geography, German, Home Economics, Latin, Music and Physics. Given such competition from other subject areas, it is not surprising that uptake of the subject is low. St Angela’s College is not a fee-paying school and does not have the resources to offer Latin in more than one option band. It is greatly to the credit of the school that it is committed to providing such a rich curriculum for a diversity of students. In choosing their senior-cycle subjects, students receive advice from the Guidance and Latin departments. It is understood that in the course of reviewing subject provision, the board of management has set a cap on the number of students below which any subject would not be considered viable. As a result, it is anticipated that there will be no first-year Latin students in the academic year 2007-8. This is a matter of some concern. While acknowledging the board’s difficulties in administering the school’s resources, it should be recognised that the school risks losing some of the minority subjects (of which Latin is one) that currently enhance its curriculum. This would be regrettable as the school could lose the traditional breadth of learning experience enjoyed by St Angela’s students in the past. In the case of Latin, there is the additional risk that the consequences could be irreversible and that subject expertise would be irretrievably lost to the school. For this reason, the policy should be reviewed on a regular basis and all stakeholders, including parents, should be kept fully apprised of such policy decisions and the possible effects that these may have on the quality and diversity of their daughters’ education. It is of particular importance that students and parents are informed of the possibility of losing subjects well in advance of pre-entry, in order to fully inform their choice of second-level school.

Four periods are provided in the junior cycle and this is adequate to meet syllabus requirements. Timetabling allocation in the senior cycle is not ideal. In Transition Year there are three single periods and this is only achieved by withdrawing students from other lessons in a variety of subject areas so that no one subject is penalised at the expense of Latin. In the current academic year, only four periods are provided in fifth year, one of these being outside the school timetable. Five are allocated in sixth year. While the sixth-year allocation is adequate to meet syllabus requirements, one of the lessons is provided outside the timetable. Senior management and teaching staff are commended for the efforts made to maintain the subject and the timetabling allocation necessary to deliver the Leaving Certificate syllabus. It is acknowledged that compromise has been necessary. However, to ensure parity of esteem for all curricular options in the Leaving Certificate programme, and to ensure all students the same opportunity to achieve their full potential, it is recommended that five periods be allocated to LC Latin in each of the two periods of the LC programme and that these be provided within the timetable.

Uptake of higher-level Latin is very good. Classes are taught in a mixed-ability setting. As numbers of students are low, this does not pose any challenges and each student receives individual attention.

The Latin department can draw on a wealth of teaching experience and expertise. There is considerable engagement with continuous professional development and the Latin teacher is actively engaged in the subject association. The school is very supportive and pays the membership fee. Senior management and staff are in regular professional dialogue at both local and national level.

A specialist room has been dedicated to the teaching of Latin and this is highly commended. The Latin room has facilitated the storage of materials. To enhance the space, consideration should be given to replacing the existing rigid seats and desks with a variety that would take up less space and facilitate more flexible configurations. In view of the small numbers of students involved, this is unlikely to place a great strain on the school’s resources. Unfortunately, the room is virtually inaccessible for any student or staff member with mobility difficulties. It is reported that this is also true of most classrooms in the school. The school’s site and disparate, scattered network of buildings, de facto preclude the school from enrolling students whose special educational needs require ease of access. It is reported that a site has recently become available to the school and an application has been lodged for school redevelopment. In the interests of equality of opportunity, it is highly desirable that such a development is fast tracked for the benefit of potential and existing students in St Angela’s College.

The Latin department has access to a range of audio-visual equipment. An annual budget is made available for the subject. Considerable effort and ingenuity have been invested in the building up of a stimulating bank of resources for Latin. In addition to reference books, DVDs and collections of texts, there are board games with a Latin theme and card games with key words written in Latin. Such resources enrich learning and provide students with fun activities that challenge them. The department should now focus on developing resources in the area of information and communications technology (ICT). The school has a library to which there is open access. There is considerable demand on the computer room with just one available for a total student population of 521. Moreover, its current design and layout is not ideal. However, it is understood that the school is planning to extend ICT facilities in tandem with its development plan. The computer room can be booked and the department also has access to a lap top and data projector although this is somewhat inconvenient given the location of the subject room. Students are encouraged to use ICT for research purposes.

In St Angela’s College, the Latin department has rightly identified extra- and co-curricular activities as important ways of extending students’ experience of the subject beyond the classroom. Guest speakers are invited to the school, for example, from University College, Cork. Visits to the cinema, theatre and museums are also arranged, and students have participated in quizzes both locally and nationally. Every second year, a school trip to Italy is arranged and therefore all Latin students have an opportunity visit key locations at least once during their education at St Angela’s. This year, the school is planning to visit the sites at Pompeii and Paestum. The trip will present students with extremely rich learning opportunities. For example, they will be able to investigate in situ, the differences between a Roman provincial town and one whose origins were Greek and which was subsequently Romanised. Students also mount a photographic display of their tour in the school library and this is a very good way of promoting interest in the subject.

Planning and preparation

A plan for the subject is in place. It reflects the general aims and content of the syllabus, lists texts and includes the school’s homework policy. A particularly commendable aspect of the plan is the reference to cross-curricular themes. To develop the plan further, it would be useful to document planned learning outcomes, teaching methodologies, and a list of the department’s resources. Advice on subject planning is available through the School Development Planning Initiative (SDPI) and a template can be accessed through the website at www.sdpi.ie.

The text chosen is appropriate since it facilitates the teaching of all aspects of the syllabus. Students are exposed to a range of graded translation passages and they learn aspects of Roman culture and history in the context of the language itself. This is commendable. Since the text book for Junior Certificate is the Cambridge Latin Course (one of the texts recommended by the syllabus) the school should consider acquiring the ICT e-learning resource that supports the text. Carpe Viam is the text chosen for Junior Certificate prescribed poetry.

Content of the long-term plan for Transition Year is varied and introduces students to a range of themes, including Alexander the Great, the Trojan War and mythology. Language skills are not neglected and attention is paid to grammar and composition. A language/reading text is used in Transition Year. Students also read from the Junior Certificate poetry anthology, Carpe Viam. This is helpful in view of timetabling arrangements and the fact that students may miss lessons in order to engage in other worthwhile TY activities. In the plan, more specificity is needed with regard to details of activities, assessment and timeframes. Useful notes and handouts are disseminated to students.

Teaching and learning

Lessons were well prepared and a good range of resources was used to reinforce learning objectives. PowerPoint slides, maps and handouts were made ready in advance and this ensured that class time was efficiently used. In addition to texts, examination questions were used.

Efforts are made in St Angela’s to promote syllabus aims and students demonstrated an understanding and appreciation of Roman history and civilisation. Students had a fair reading knowledge of the language. Where knowledge deficits are identified (for example, of cases and tenses) it might prove useful to have prepared in advance, worksheets with a specific focus and these can be targeted at individual students who are experiencing difficulties. The use of the e-learning resource that supports the junior-cycle text should also be considered since this can be an alternative way of reinforcing concepts, giving practice in specific areas and it also facilitates independent learning. Use of dictionaries should be routine during lessons in order to develop reference skills.

Examination classes were in an advanced stage of preparation and, appropriately, revision was facilitated through the use of past examination papers. In one lesson, the primary learning objective was a review of strategies in relation to tackling the comprehension question on the LC higher-level paper, and students worked purposefully to this end. They were closely questioned and they also learned to draw on their knowledge of context in order to help them to decode the extract. This useful exercise would be further complemented were the students to actually engage in the writing of an answer to some of the questions during class time in order to ascertain if the learning objective had been fulfilled. Instead, the focus of the lesson shifted to unseen translation. While this activity was very relevant to examination preparation, and the advice offered was pertinent, there was no clear closure to the comprehension section of the lesson.

A good range of methodologies was used. New material was introduced in a lively and interesting way. Visual material was of a high quality and engaged interest. Lessons were also enlivened with interesting anecdotes. Students learned to identify places of significance on a map. While allowing for the constraints imposed by the nature of the space, maps should be placed in a more central position so that students can easily see the details. Analogies were used as aids to explain and clarify meaning. Anecdotes enlivened lessons. To reinforce concepts, students were encouraged to make connections with previous learning. This included reference to a previous school visit to Italy.

Questioning strategies tested understanding and recall. In general, it is recommended that more time be given to students to formulate answers for themselves in an effort to promote learner autonomy. In the initial encounter with an unseen text, students should be encouraged to work out translations on their own, using logical processes informed by their knowledge of grammar and syntax. While this may seem time consuming, learning is likely to be more effective in the long term. Teacher intervention and mediation should be minimal. The current system used to assist students to translate the prescribed poems is helpful in the building of confidence. However, there is a danger that students may become over reliant on this support. In all cases, students were affirmed in their answering and questions were welcomed and encouraged.

Students were actively engaged and challenged. They read and were involved in pair work. The Transition Year students were preparing their projects for the forthcoming school tour to Italy and they were called upon to make a short oral presentation on a chosen theme. This was advance practice for the actual visit when each student would act as temporary guides in her chosen field of research. This is an excellent learning activity and is highly commended. During the activity, students not only demonstrated independent research skills, but in addition, they learned to develop their oral communication skills. In order to develop this kind of activity, and to reduce dependency on reading from their written work, it is recommended that students use ICT as a tool and that each student generates a short PowerPoint presentation to be presented to an audience of her peers, and, if feasible, to other members of the school community. Junior-cycle students should also be encouraged to research areas of the course and create displays and projects that can be located not only in the classroom but also in prominent locations throughout the school.

Small class groups ensured intimacy and each student received individual attention. There was a very warm rapport between students and the teacher. Students’ interest and enthusiasm was particularly noted during the course of the evaluation.

Assessment

The school has a homework policy. Homework is assigned every day and corrected in class. There is considerable emphasis on assessment of learning. For example, in both the senior and junior cycle, class tests are set when a unit of work is completed. Formal in-house exams are staged at the end of the summer term for non-exam classes while informal exams are held at Christmas. Examination classes sit “Mocks” in the spring term. In the course of reviewing and developing the subject plan in the area of assessment, it is recommended that the Latin department place more emphasis on assessment for learning. Information is available from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) at www.ncca.ie. The Transition Year projects form part of their assessment and this is commended.

Parents are informed of students’ progress through formal reports, parent-teacher meetings and the school journal. There is also a monthly newsletter on general issues.

There is ongoing monitoring of student learning outcomes at whole-school and departmental level. The school conducts an analysis of examination outcomes and compares these to national norms.

Summary of main findings and recommendations

The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:

Senior in-school management is very supportive of the subject.
Very good resources have been developed for Latin.
Students demonstrated appropriate skills and knowledge.
A good range of methodologies was used.
The school has a homework policy and there is regular assessment of learning.
The school tour to Italy is a highlight.

As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:

Timetabling for the subject should be reviewed.
The board of management’s policy on subject provision should be reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure that the school’s rich curriculum is not compromised and that it caters for the diversity of its student population.
There should be a greater emphasis on learner autonomy and students should be given adequate time to formulate answers.
ICT should be integrated fully into the teaching and learning of Latin.
In developing planning for Latin, there should be more emphasis on assessment for learning.

Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teacher of Latin and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.