An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department
of Education and Science
Subject
Inspection of Irish
REPORT
St. Joseph’s
Secondary School, Tulla,
62020F
Date of
Inspection: 23 March 2007
Date of
Issue of Report: 17 January 2008
SUBJECT PROVISION AND WHOLE SCHOOL SUPPORT
SUMMAY OF MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Report on the Quality
of Learning and Teaching in Irish
SUBJECT
INSPECTION REPORT
This report has been written following a subject
inspection in
SUBJECT
PROVISION AND WHOLE SCHOOL SUPPORT
Irish is given priority in terms of timetabling. Each year level has a daily
Irish lesson, apart from first year and Transition Year students who have four
classes per week. These are all single periods distributed throughout the
week. Classes are timetabled concurrently from second year through to Leaving
Certificate. School management makes every effort to ensure continuity by
assigning the same teachers to the classes for the cycle period. Students may
change from one level to another following an informal meeting with the
teachers in the department and having received a letter of permission from their
parents or guardians.
Most of the teachers involved in the teaching and
learning of Irish are Irish graduates. The teachers have a group membership of Comhar na
Múinteoirí Gaeilge. All
teachers teach at both junior and senior cycles and at both examination levels.
Every encouragement and support is given by management to the teaching staff to
attend ongoing professional development courses. Last year one of the
teachers attended an in-service course focusing on teaching methodologies for
Irish which was organised by the Second Level support Services (SLSS). It
is recommended that attendance at such courses be continued and that the
knowledge gained be shared, as part of the school development planning process,
with the whole department. Some of the teachers have experience as oral Irish
examiners. New teachers are given every support and the school has developed a
handbook for teachers that describes the class tutor
system and the school’s discipline code.
Exemptions from Irish in accordance with Circular
M10/94 have been given by the school to twenty-four pupils in total. It
was indicated that seven of these students were not educated within the State
and that seventeen students have recognised learning difficulties.
The school has a library and the Irish department
intends to develop an Irish section in that library. This undertaking is
commendable.
A wide range of co-curricular and extra-curricular
activities is available to the students including a quiz during Seachtain na
Gaeilge and regular trips to the Taibhdhearc in
PlANNING AND PREPARATION
Since 2002 the school has been actively involved in
the process of school development planning (SDP) as an enhancement to the long
established practice of individual planning and the informal exchange of ideas.
This process is supported throughout the year by three formal meetings and by
regular informal meetings prior to house examinations in particular. The
department has appointed a co-ordinator and this position is rotated on a
regular basis. Management is commended for the initiative shown in this
regard.
A subject plan has been developed for Irish which
includes curriculum plans for each year group. The four main language skills
are included in the planning for class work, homework and assessment. This
integrated approach to language teaching is commendable because it recognises
the mutually reinforcing and interdependent relationship that exists between
the skills in line with the basic principles of the syllabuses. It is
recommended that the good subject planning already undertaken be extended to
include teaching methodologies. A copy of the in-service course provided by
SLSS, as mentioned above, is included in the planning folder. Discussion and
reflection on the main recommendations made by SLSS should help the future
cooperative planning for effective methodologies appropriate to the context of
the school.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Appropriate short-term planning had been conducted for
the classes observed during the inspection. The aims and content of the lessons
were clear, appropriate to the interests of the students and in line with
syllabus requirements. In some classes, weekly schemes
indicated a variety in the aspect of the course being covered during the week. In
other classes an individual lesson plan had been prepared for the lesson. The
teaching and learning materials used by the teachers during the lessons
included worksheets and pre-selected tape extracts. As a result of this
detailed planning and preparation most of the lessons were appropriately
structured and paced with an engaging range of activities. There were clear
teaching and learning outcomes for all classes. The teachers informed the
pupils of the learning outcomes, either orally or in writing, at the beginning
of the lesson, and again throughout the lesson when the learning activity
changed. This is good practice as it provides clarity for the learner. The
learning objectives were attained in almost all classes. In one particular
lesson a debriefing session using a worksheet was conducted where students
clarified what they had achieved in terms of learning at the end of the lesson. This is good practice as it fosters
independence in students as they need to identify their own learning outcomes.
In many classes in
Effective teaching methodologies were used to afford
students the opportunity to engage with the content of the lesson orally. On a
pre-prepared worksheet grammar was practiced using a question and answer
session which was closely connected to the daily lives of the students. In
other classes oral pair work was used as a technique to consolidate vocabulary
that had been newly introduced. This approach emphasises students’ learning
in a communicative context and is commended as best practice.
In a senior class an examination question on drama was
being reviwed, the teacher through skillful questioning, encouraged the
students to reflect on the qulaity of their answers and on the idioms
they were using to describe their points of view. This is also commended
as best practice as the students become familiar with the criteria associated
with a good answering through a process of self-evaluation.
The whiteboard was used effectively in providing
clarity and structure to the lesson. It was evident that teachers were
mindful that the oral form of words or phrases is not sufficient for the
preferred learning styles of all students and that for some
students a visual presentation is also necessary. The teachers are warmly
commended for the attention they give to recording of material to be learned
visually.
A motivational learning environment was evident in all
the classes observed during the inspection period. High expectations of learning
and behaviour characterised all classrooms and all staff displayed good
management skills. Some teachers included the students in the management of
learning during an aural exercise, and this facilitated teachers to attend to
the needs of individual students. Teachers were well informed about the lives
and pastimes of students. This empathetic relationship supported a co-operative
environment which was evident in the teaching and learning processes. Positive
and encouraging feedback was always provided for students’ efforts and
opinions.
The teachers made good use of the advantage in having
base classrooms by displaying a supportive print-rich environment. This is good
practice because it not only enhances the physical learning environment, but it
also visually reinforces learning. It is recommended that consideration be
given to the type of classroom vocabulary which is displayed around the
whiteboard. Similar to the Irish language classrooms, the language
was also visible throughout the school. This practice is commendable.
Irish was used as the medium of instruction and the
normal language of communication in all the lessons. Teachers skilfully graded
their vocabulary to ensure miminal use of English. In general, teachers
were cognisant of incorporating grammar, spelling and pronunciation
points into their teaching rather than teaching such points as discrete items.
Students were happy to speak Irish and they readily participated in the
class discussions. The staff is strongly commended for adopting
such an approach.
ASSESSMENT
The school operates a homework diary system and class
teachers monitor these diaries on a weekly basis as well as regular signing by
parents/guardians. It was evident from various samples of homework copybooks/folders
that each teacher regularly corrected homework. Most of the department
employed a high standard of corrections. The copybooks contained
explanatory notes of a developmental nature providing clear guidelines on
grammatical or spelling errors as well as developmental feedback on the
standard of work that was well done or work that was not of an appropriate
standard. Affirmation accompanied this feedback which encouraged students
to continue to make progress in the next exercise. This encouraging feedback was generally provided in Irish in line with
best practice. All staff members are warmly commended for the diligence they
apply to the correction of homework as homework loses its value if it is not
corrected regularly and feedback provided. In each year group it was
evident from the copybooks that students had covered a range of areas
indicating a high level of development and continuity in the work.
Teachers were engaged in promoting organisational skills in the recording of
learning through various aspects of course work being systematically
taken down into different copybooks or in folders from first year onwards. The staff is commended for engendering important organisational
skills in the students in their care.
Formal summative assessments
are conducted twice annually, at Christmas and at the end of the year, for all
students not taking the certificate examinations. These are common
assessments with agreed marking schemes and include testing in the four main
language skills. The department conducts reviews regularly on the marks
allocated to the various skills. It was reported that decisions on common
assessments and on the agreed marking schemes are discussed at the planning
meetings throughout the year. The staff deserves
praise for this collaborative planning for assessment. In-house
examinations are held in November and oral examinations in the Spring for certificate students. Reports are sent home after
all summative examinations. Parent-teacher meetings
occur annually for each year group to discuss the progress of students and
regular communication is conducted through the homework diary system.
Teachers discuss the comparisons between the results
achieved by their own students and the average national marks awarded in State
examinations. It is recommended that the insights gained from this analysis be
used to inform future subject planning and this discussion will also help to
keep the issue of planning to the forefront at all times. It is recommended
that the department extend its assessment tools for Irish by integrating within
their plans the principles of Assessment for Learning (AfL)
that have been developed by the National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA) at www.afl.ncca.ie
.
SUMMAY OF MAIN FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the main strengths identified in the
evaluation:
- Irish
is given priority and support in St. Joseph’s Secondary School.
- Integrated
planning for each of the four main language skills was included in the
long-term planning of classwork, homework and assessment.
- A
good standard of individual planning as well as comprehensive preparation
for all lessons was evident .
- Good
practice was evident in the teaching methodologies used in most of the
lessons observed during the inspection. There was variety in the learning
activities including the integration of the four language skills and
various aspects of the course reflecting the underlying principles of the
syllabuses. In these classes students were given the opportunity to engage
with the subject matter in a meaningful manner.
·
A co-operative atmosphere was evident in
the classes observed during the inspection.
Students were praised for their
work and mutual respect characterised all classroom
interactions.
- Irish was used as the general language of communication in all
classes.
- Most of the department displayed a high standard in regard to
corrections and teachers provided detailed developmental feedback for
students.
As a means of building on these strengths and to
address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- It is recommended that ICT be integrated into the teaching and
learning of Irish.
- It is recommended that additional planning take place in the school
regarding specific methodologies pertinent to language teaching.
- It is recommended that no new skill be taught without the necessary
preparatory work to suitably adapt the vocabulary for all ability levels
within the class.
- It is recommended that the principles of AfL be employed to form a part of all work on
corrections.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers
of Irish and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the
draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and
discussed.