An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Science and Chemistry
REPORT
Coláiste Iognáid S J
Bóthar na Mara
Gaillimh
Roll number: 62970K
Date of inspection: 6 February 2008
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Science and Chemistry
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject
inspection in Coláiste Iognáid,
Subject provision and whole school support
The sciences are well provided for in Coláiste Iognáid. Science is a core subject in junior cycle, modules of Physics and Biology are taught in Transition Year (TY) and Biology, Chemistry and Physics are offered as optional subjects for Leaving Certificate. To provide a balanced approach to all aspects of learning science in TY, it is recommended that a module of Chemistry be also included in the provision. The uptake of Chemistry, Biology and Physics for Leaving Certificate is good. Commendably, the time allocation is in line with syllabus requirements for all the sciences. However, care should be taken in future timetabling to ensure an even distribution of lessons across the week for all class groups. Teachers retain the same class group for Leaving Certificate and in many instances for Junior Certificate. Management should strive to deploy staff in this manner for all class groups as it promotes continuity of learning.
The school has three large laboratories that are visually and educationally stimulating due to the range of scientific charts that are displayed on the walls. The brightly-painted walls in the chemistry laboratory add significantly to the pleasant ambience in that room. Particularly noteworthy is the display of scientific posters using Irish in the biology and chemistry laboratories as these posters assist in reinforcing students’ scientific terminology in Irish. The laboratories are appropriately resourced. However, a number of issues are of concern with regard to the physical plant. The floor in the chemistry laboratory is uneven and is therefore a potential hazard. The chemical storage areas while having large windows are not appropriately ventilated. In addition there are no gas isolation switches in either the biology or chemistry laboratories. Furthermore there is no gas available and no electrical isolation switch in the physics laboratory. It was reported that the school is at an advanced stage of planning for a new extension. Not withstanding this, these safety issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Chemical storage is generally carried out in accordance with Department of Education and Science guidelines. This is commended. To build on this good work, a flame resistant press should be prioritised for purchase to provide safe storage of flammable chemicals.
Funds for the replenishment and updating of resources are provided on a needs basis. There is a data projector and computer in each laboratory and internet access is available. Data logging equipment has also been purchased. Management is commended on supporting the teaching and learning of the sciences in this manner. Teachers are encouraged to utilise this equipment to a greater extent to augment teaching and learning. There is a section devoted to science in the library. This is applauded.
Classes are of mixed ability and it is good to note that students are encouraged to do higher level in the State examinations. A member of the learning-support department provides information to the whole staff on students with special education needs at the start of each school year. In addition, one of the resource teachers is a qualified science teacher and while support is given in Mathematics and English in the main, students are also assisted with their coursework B component of Science. It is understood that a list of key scientific terms has been disseminated to all learning-support and resource teachers that can be used as necessary. This is good practice and increased usage is encouraged.
Commendably, students are supported in a range of ways when choosing their subjects for senior cycle. The school devises the senior-cycle option blocks and it is understood that the blocks can be revised if there is significant student demand. While acknowledging that the current blocks facilitate students in studying for example, all science subjects, or the range of business subjects, nevertheless consideration should be given to operating a ‘student driven’ subject choice system as this is deemed best practice.
Management and staff are committed to continuing professional development (CPD). Teachers have participated in Department of Education and Science in-service in the sciences and in addition some teachers attend meetings organised by the local branch of the Irish Science Teachers’ Association (ISTA) and Galway Education Centre, thus up skilling themselves in areas such as scientific method, data logging, animation and physics simulations. Significantly the school pays for the teachers’ membership of the ISTA. Furthermore management’s commitment to CPD is evident by the facilitation of whole-staff days on topics such as special needs, mental health issues and substance abuse/drug awareness. This good work demonstrates a positive ethos of supporting teachers’ continuing professional development and is commended.
A high level of provision is made for co-curricular and extracurricular science activities, including fieldtrips, participation in science week events and entries to the Young Scientist and Technology competition and the Science Olympiads, in which students have experienced success to varying degrees. Those involved are to be praised for their commitment to facilitating these educational and stimulating activities.
Planning and preparation
A good level of collaboration and co-operation takes place among the science teachers. This is evident in their willingness to share resources in some instances, the development of a common plan for Science and the readiness with which colleagues exchange classrooms in order to facilitate access to the laboratories. Collaboration is also facilitated by means of regular planning meetings that are minuted and ongoing informal communication. This is commended. It is good to note that there is a co-ordinator in place who convenes meetings and records the decisions. Consideration could be given to rotating this position in order that all teachers are furnished with the opportunity to hold a middle management role. Subject specialists are responsible for the upgrading of resources in specific laboratories.
Teachers are commended on the good work in developing the common plan for Science. It is recommended that this plan be extended to include for example, timeframes, resources and effective teaching methodologies for specific topics. Similarly a chemistry plan was examined during the course of the evaluation. This good work could similarly be enhanced. It is good to note that the school’s safety statement was a component of the science plan. This statement should be further developed to record the actual hazards in all areas of the school and the safety precautions that should be undertaken. In addition the person responsible should be identified.
A written TY plan was presented during the inspection. Students are provided with the opportunity to study topics that are outside the remit of the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate sciences. This is commended as it is in line with the principles and philosophy of the TY programme.
In some instances teachers had compiled an extensive range of resources including for example acetates and handouts, both in English and in Irish. This work is commended, as their use would effectively support teaching and learning. Planning for individual lessons was observed to be at a satisfactory level and was in some instances outstanding. Handouts, chemicals and equipment were to hand, thus facilitating the seamless execution of lessons.
Teaching and learning
In all lessons observed, a good teacher-student rapport prevailed. Teachers were positive and affirming of good work and effort and students were relaxed and attentive in the main. There were some instances of humour adding to students’ enjoyment of the lessons. Lessons were well structured and the pace was appropriate in almost all instances. Good practice was observed when lesson objectives were clearly outlined at the outset, a strategy that is encouraged. Consideration could be given to placing the learning intentions at the side of the board for the duration of a lesson as they could be usefully employed during the recapitulation session at the end of the lesson. In almost all lessons reinforcement of students’ learning was facilitated by a review session prior to completing the lesson. This is applauded and should be employed in all lessons.
A range of teaching methodologies was effectively employed in the lessons observed. These included discussion, questioning, demonstration and students’ practical work. In some lessons information and communication technologies (ICT) were successfully used to highlight significant points and to provide visual images, some of which were animated thus enhancing students’ understanding and ultimately their learning. Props such as portions of tree trunks and a plasticine and wooden model of an atom were effectively used to illustrate difficult concepts. This is applauded.
Students were actively engaged in lessons where discussion and written work were interspersed with short practical activities, for example, pair work. This good practice is encouraged across the department. In some instances, students were involved in extended periods of note taking, a practice that is not recommended. It is recommended that short discussion periods should precede short note taking activities. It is suggested that consideration be given to note making rather than note taking as such a task would provide a greater challenge to the students. A good example of the hands-on activities that were utilised to develop an understanding of planar and tetrahedral carbons and increasing carbon chain length was where students built model organic molecules. This is commended.
Question and answer sessions were employed as a central means of developing new content as lessons proceeded in many instances. This is commended. Questioning was also successfully used to ascertain previous learning and as a means of recap. The range of questions varied among factual and interpretative, individualised and generally-directed ones. Individual answering should be encouraged to a greater extent as chorus answering does not facilitate the teacher in assessing individual students’ learning.
In the practical lesson observed that took place through the medium of Irish, students worked well together in small groups, their skills were appropriate to their age level and they supported each other in their learning. Cognisance was taken of safety procedures and the teacher moved about the laboratory providing assistance as required. This is commended. Teacher communication with students and to some extent interaction among students themselves was observed to be in Irish. This is applauded. It is suggested that students in the Irish stream be encouraged to use Irish to a greater degree when communicating among themselves during lessons.
There was some good use of the investigative approach to practical work in Science. This is commended. It is recommended that all teachers adopt this approach in Junior Certificate Science, incorporating laboratory availability into lesson planning and ensuring that students write up the mandatory practical work in their own words only on completing the hands-on investigations. This is in accordance with best practice.
There were some good examples of relating scientific concepts to everyday life thus making the topics relevant and tangible. For example in one lesson on trees, the teacher referred to the willow tree as a natural source of aspirin. In another lesson students had completed projects on examples of organic chemistry in everyday life. This is commended.
Students’ contributions were affirmed and encouraged in all lessons. There was clear evidence of students’ learning. Students responded readily to questioning by their teachers and the inspector, and in most cases, the students’ practical and homework copybooks were of a good standard.
Assessment
Students are assessed in a range of ways in Coláiste Iognáid. There are four formal assessments during the school year, following which a report is sent to parents notifying them of the student’s progress. In addition parents are informed via the annual parent-teacher meeting and appointments can be made with the school as required. This level of communication is commended. Ongoing assessment is facilitated through topic tests and questioning in class. This is good practice. Particularly noteworthy is the setting of common assessments in summer of first year and of second year. This complements the common programme of work and ensures standardisation across the year groups.
There was evidence of the employment of alternative modes of assessment such as students’ project work. In one instance students were asked to research everyday applications of organic chemistry. This is commended. In almost all instances students’ laboratory notebooks were monitored and annotated, a practice that is encouraged as it facilitates the development of students’ work. The practice of including students’ practical work and their laboratory notebooks as a component of the end-of-term assessments is commended as it reflects the structure of the Junior Certificate examination. In some instances students’ copybooks and folders were monitored and annotated. This is commended as it helps to consolidate students’ learning. It is recommended that all teachers adopt this good practice and consider the employment of assessment for learning (AfL) strategies. Information on AfL can be obtained on the website of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, www.ncca.ie.
Management and subject departments conduct an analysis of State examination results. Significantly, a homework policy group has been put in place in the school. Records indicate that the science department has discussed and reviewed its practice on homework. This is applauded.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
· Good whole-school support for the sciences has facilitated the provision of Science as a core subject for Junior Certificate, science for TY and Biology, Chemistry and Physics for Leaving Certificate.
· A good level of collaboration and co-operation has facilitated the development of a common programme of work for Science and the sharing of resources.
· Overall, good quality of teaching and learning was observed in Science and Chemistry. Successful teaching strategies that were observed include interspersing practical activities with teacher explanation and discussion, and the use of ICT.
· In all lessons observed, a good teacher-student rapport prevailed. Teachers were positive and affirming of good work and effort, and students were relaxed and attentive in the main.
· The setting of common summer examination papers in first year and second year is applauded. The practice of assessing students’ practical and project work as a component of the end-of-term examinations is commended.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
· To provide a balanced approach to all aspects of learning science in TY, it is recommended that a module of Chemistry be also included in the provision.
· All safety issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The health and safety statement should be further developed to record the actual hazards in all areas of the school and the safety precautions that should be undertaken.
· The programmes of work for Science and Chemistry should be extended over time to include timeframes, suggested resources and successful teaching strategies for specific topics.
· All teachers should adopt the investigative approach to teaching Junior Certificate Science and ensure that students write up the mandatory practical work in their own words only on completing the hands-on investigations.
· All teachers should monitor and annotate students’ work and consider the employment of assessment for learning (AfL) strategies.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of Science and Chemistry and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.
Published June 2008