An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of English
REPORT
Coláiste Muire
Ballymote, County Sligo
Roll number: 65140H
Date of inspection: 03 December 2008
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 Coláiste Muire. 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 one day 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 in writing on the findings and recommendations of the report; a response was not received from the board.
Subject provision and whole school support
Coláiste Muire is a co-educational secondary school under the trusteeship of CEIST. The current enrolment is 325 students and the school offers a range of programmes to meet their needs. These include the Junior Certificate, the Established Leaving Certificate programme and the Leaving Certificate Vocational (LCVP) Programme. An optional Transition Year (TY) Programme has been available in the school for the last six years and a class is formed every year. On completion of senior cycle, students may opt to continue their studies in Coláiste Muire on either of two Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses offered, in Business and Childcare. This report focuses on the teaching and learning of English in junior and senior cycles.
Students in junior cycle are taught English in mixed-ability groups. In each class group students are provided with the opportunity to take examinations at higher and ordinary levels for the Junior Certificate. They are timetabled for English four times each week. This time allocation is less than optimum provision and it is suggested that consideration should be given to increasing it. There is strong encouragement given to students to take higher level courses in English and as a result, uptake of these courses is particularly good.
Four teachers are responsible for the delivery of the English programme in the school. These include two permanent teachers who are subject specialists. One of these teachers has significant responsibilities in another area and the second teacher is currently on leave. A qualified substitute teacher has been employed. A third permanent teacher, who is not a subject specialist, is deployed to teach the TY group. The enthusiasm and commitment of this teacher for the programme taught in TY English is acknowledged here. The school is currently over-quota and it was reported that management relies on concessionary hours to ensure that the English teaching team is sufficiently large to meet the needs of the school. The fourth teacher, who is temporary, is a fully qualified teacher of English and has responsibility for the majority of English classes. It is recommended that the school should keep the deployment of English teachers under review to ensure that the professional competence to deliver this core subject is maintained.
Teachers have access to audio-visual equipment, a data projector and a computer room to support their teaching of English. In some cases, they use their own laptops in their classrooms to present material in an attractive way. Due to pressure for space, the library has been used in recent years as a classroom. This means that timetabled access to the library for class groups has been limited. However, school management is actively seeking to re-instate the library as a resource centre for the whole school, for example, an interactive whiteboard and other ICT facilities have been provided in this room. Advice on developing a school library is available from the School Library Association of Ireland and information about suitable texts can be had from Children’s Books Ireland or in Book Choice for Post-Primary Schools, a publication of the National Reading Initiative, which is available in all schools.
A TY course in Drama, for one period a week throughout the school year, complements the English programme. Every second year, TY and PLC students in Coláiste Muire produce and perform in a musical drama for an audience of parents and friends. Whilst the organisation of this musical is a whole-school effort and not principally the responsibility of the English department, these activities provide the students with a unique insight into the creative process and the mechanics of performance. The school is to be commended for facilitating valuable learning experiences. Public speaking and debating are encouraged in the school.
Planning and preparation
There is a strong focus on curriculum planning in Coláiste Muire. The English department has three formal meetings each year to focus their work and review progress made. Minutes are maintained of the business of these meetings and copies are forwarded to the principal. This is good practice, ensuring that school management is aware of issues as they arise. The school is commended for facilitating teachers’ collaborative planning in this way. This has resulted in the development of a department plan for the subject. The plan includes a description of content to be covered with each year group, records of subject department meetings, analyses of certificate examination results and individual teachers’ schemes of work. It constitutes a clear description of the work of the department. The development of annual curriculum action plans is a very positive feature of department planning and is indicative of the commitment of English teachers to developing the subject.
The schemes of work presented by individual teachers for inspection have all been developed using a common template, making them easily readable. The template places appropriate emphasis on the identification of learning outcomes for students, though there is better attention paid to this in some schemes. It is suggested that, as the schemes are reviewed, this should be addressed.
Teachers work on their schemes independently and it is suggested that there is much to be gained from changing this practice. It is recommended that collaborative efforts should focus on how these schemes can be fully integrated into the department plan so that it can function as a working document, providing guidance to teachers in the classroom. Rather than describing the content being taught, the plan should outline the key skills which are to be taught and identify development targets for each year group and the methodologies which will support their attainment. This material is already available in some of the schemes of work. It is suggested that an incremental approach might be adopted to developing the plan in this way, perhaps by addressing first year and fifth year in the first instance.
The planning documentation for the English programme in TY indicated that a three-module course in English is provided. Details were available for the second module only. It was explained that, as students had been preparing for the bi-annual musical production, this work had dominated the first module. Given the fact that one third of the English programme for TY is already allocated to a practical Drama course, so that TY students only have contact with English for two class periods a week, this is unsatisfactory. It is recommended that a review of the English programme should be carried out to ensure that students are provided with a wider range of language and literary experiences which extend their skills in the subject.
Teaching and learning
There was evidence of good short-term planning for learning. Teachers had prepared suitable resource materials to spark student discussion and provide a focus for the lesson. Links were created with previous lessons and teachers built on students’ prior knowledge and experience and provided a context for new material. Brief discussions about completed homework exercises were also used as starting points for lessons. This strategy helped to achieve an organised and structured learning environment for students where they were clear about what was to be achieved in each lesson.
Pre-reading and writing exercises are particularly helpful in mixed-ability classrooms and they were used to good effect in a junior cycle lesson on poetry. The teacher focussed students’ attention particularly on the titles of three poems and they were asked to suggest the themes of these poems. A very fruitful discussion of the theme of war ensued leading to a writing exercise on the effects of war. Students worked independently, supported by a skeleton graphic organiser and photographic images of war. This phase of the lesson succeeded in raising students’ consciousness of both the positive and negative effects of conflict and provided them with a context within which to read the first of the three poems.
It is suggested that all teachers of English should exploit the opportunities for oral work that lessons can provide. A very good example of such an opportunity was seen in a senior cycle class, when students were asked to review a visit to the school by a writer which had taken place the previous week. A handout prepared by the teacher prompted students’ thinking and the very brief discussion which followed.
In two lessons observed, good use was made of ICT to present lesson material. In one instance, the concept ‘tragic hero’ was explored and in the other, students were asked to identify aural and visual images. This second lesson was presented in three phases. In the first, students were given the option of working with a partner to identify aural images in the text. A clear definition of the concept was provided and the use of colour on the slide drew attention to the key words in the questions set. The teacher was also available to offer help on request. In the second phase, a whole-class discussion helped students self-correct and they were encouraged to augment their own initial notes as the presentation continued. The final phase of the lesson focussed on reinforcing the concepts learned and included the setting of a homework task. The presentation provided a helpful visual support for students in this mixed-ability group.
In the classrooms visited posters, students’ projects, wall charts and other learning aids were displayed. In this way, an attractive and vibrant learning environment has been created for students. Good classroom management was evident in the lessons observed. Students were generally attentive and polite but it was evident that this is not always the case. However, the school’s code of behaviour supports the creation of a disciplined learning environment and teachers’ use of student seating plans ensured that disruption of lessons was minimised.
In the written work reviewed, it was evident that many students have achieved a sufficient level of familiarity with their studied texts to be able to discuss them confidently. In these cases, students demonstrated the ability to develop, support and sustain an argument through an extended piece of writing. They used technical and critical vocabulary correctly and appropriately and communicated a good sense of purpose in their writing. Other, less able, students struggle with written work. Poor control of sentences and paragraphing was evident in these cases and, whilst these students had achieved a good knowledge of their studied texts, they were unable to extract and use relevant detail when writing about them. It is suggested that all lessons with this cohort of students should include some written element in order to build their confidence and skills. This might take the form of a simple record of work completed in class, or a short task which requires them to practise using quotation or reference in their writing. A very small minority of students were clearly not working to their potential, and their written work was limited. It was clear that homework tasks are poorly attempted by these students and there were careless inaccuracies in spelling and grammar in their work. It is recommended that the teachers of English develop strategies to address the poor motivation of these students. These might include agreeing developmental targets relating to standards of presentation and completion of homework as part of the subject planning process.
Assessment
Students’ progress through English is assessed in a variety of ways, including questioning, class work, homework, class tests and formal examinations. The school has a homework policy and work is set and corrected regularly. Teachers maintain good records of students’ achievements. In some instances, teachers provide clear guidance for students, in the form of written comments, on the quality of their work and effort. It was evident in some copies that this is not always done, however. It is important, particularly with less-able students, that they are affirmed for the efforts made. Clear information about their strengths and sensitive identification of areas for attention can motivate improved effort. One of the aims outlined in the subject department plan for English is the promotion of student self-assessment and the sharing of assessment criteria with students. It is suggested that implementing strategies to achieve those aims would also encourage student motivation in relation to the completion of homework.
The progress of students in first year, second year and fifth year is formally assessed through in-class examinations at Christmas and at the end of the summer term. Assessments for TY students focus on project work and in-class performance. Certificate examination classes sit ‘mock’ examinations in February and these, together with regular continuous assessment grades, inform the recommendations made by teachers regarding the level at which certificate examinations should be taken. Parents are also kept informed of their children’s progress through the homework journal and annual parent-teacher meetings.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
· Teachers have access to audio-visual and ICT equipment and there are plans in place to improve access to library facilities.
· A range of valuable co-curricular learning experiences is provided for students.
· Very good progress has been made in subject department planning.
· Planning and organisation for teaching was very good in the classrooms visited. Appropriate resources had been prepared and the structure and pacing of lessons was good.
· Good teaching strategies were used in the lessons observed and resources used were generally well chosen.
· Generally, students were making appropriate progress and, in many cases, they are doing well.
· Student progress is regularly assessed and records of achievement are maintained.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
· The school should keep the deployment of English teachers under review to ensure that the professional competence to deliver this core subject is maintained.
· English teachers’ collaborative efforts should focus on how individual schemes of work can be fully integrated into the department plan so that it can function as a working document, providing guidance to
teachers in the classroom.
· The teachers of English should develop strategies to address the poor motivation of a minority of students.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of English and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.
Published April 2009