An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Department of Education and Science

  

Subject Inspection of English

REPORT

  

Saint Brigid’s School, Convent of Mercy

Tuam, County Galway

Roll number: 63160D

  

Date of inspection: 2-3 March 2006

Date of issue of report: 26 October 2006

 

 

 

 

This Subject Inspection report

Subject Provision and Whole School Support

Planning and Preparation

Teaching and Learning

Assessment and Achievement

Summary of Main Findings and Recommendations


Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in English

 

 

This Subject Inspection report

 

This report has been written following a subject inspection in St. Brigid’s School, Convent of Mercy, Tuam. 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 subject teachers and principal.

 

The board of management of the school 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

 

Whole school support and resource provision for the teaching and learning of English is very good in St. Brigid’s School.

 

Timetable provision for English is in line with syllabus guidelines. Students have three classes of English a week in Transition year (TY), four classes of English a week in first and second year, five classes of English a week in third and fifth years, and six classes of English a week in sixth year. Also, the distribution of English classes over the school week is good.

 

Five teachers are currently involved in the delivery of English in St. Brigid’s School. This concentration in the delivery of the subject constitutes a favourable basis for subject provision and planning. Also, the fact that teachers generally teach junior, senior, higher, and ordinary level English classes on a rotating basis increases the flexibility and skill-set of the school’s English department.

 

In first and second year, students are placed in mixed ability English classes. In third, fifth and sixth years, concurrent timetabling is used to create higher and ordinary level English classes. At the beginning of fifth year, students are broadly divided into higher and ordinary level cohorts. They all study the poetry common to the prescribed higher and ordinary level lists until the Junior Certificate results are released. At that time, the English teachers meet with all students and the higher and ordinary level classes are finalised. Subsequent movement between the levels is facilitated by the concurrent timetabling arrangement.

 

General resource provision for the teaching of English in St. Brigid’s School is good. The school makes funds available for the purchase of resources on request. The general school policy of having teachers based in their own rooms facilitates resource storage and the creation of print-rich environments and is therefore commended. A television, VCR, and CD player are available to the English teachers in the different teaching zones of the school. A data projector, laptop, and screen can be reserved by teachers to show films. An internet-enabled computer and printer is located in the staffroom, providing teachers with the opportunity to download resource materials to complement their teaching. Students also have access to a small office, equipped with an internet-enabled PC and printer, where they can conduct individual research. Finally, the school has its own stage and hall, where various school shows and plays are performed each year.

 

The school’s attractive, airy library is another valuable resource supporting the teaching and learning of English. Among its contents are a reference section, junior and senior fiction sections, an Irish poets section, a display area for newspapers and periodicals (including Time and Foinse), and an audio-visual (music and videos) section. The library is also frequently used as a screening area for films. At present, a TY student committee manages the library’s book-borrowing service, under the supervision of one of the English teachers. This is excellent practice as it empowers the TY students to be responsible members of the school community and gives them a valuable role to perform in school life. A computer had been newly installed in the library at the time of the evaluation. Given that the library is now wired for broadband, it is suggested that a printer could be connected to the computer, so that students engaged in research projects could print off relevant articles for later use. The TY committee and liaison teacher may wish to discuss arrangements for the supervision of that resource before making it available to the school community. For example, they may wish to consider a booking system, where students reserve the computer for thirty minutes, to maximise access to the resource. Also, it is suggested that, as part of the school planning process, all subject departments annually assess the stock of books in the library relating to their work, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs and interests of students. Co-ordinating purchase requests for books from the various subject departments could be another area of responsibility that could be delegated to the TY student committee.

 

English teachers in St. Brigid’s School have actively encouraged their students to engage in personal reading over the years. Not only have they brought classes to the library for periods of silent reading, but they have also encouraged them to participate in reading challenges such as the M.S. Readathon. This promotion of reading for pleasure is highly commended. To encourage reluctant readers to read for pleasure as well, it is suggested that texts suitable for students with low reading ages also be included in the library stock. Such a move would enable students in receipt of literacy support to borrow books alongside their peers, would increase their familiarity with library layout and procedures, and it is hoped would increase their interest in reading for pleasure. Resource teachers could be consulted to provide a list of appropriate texts or text series for such students. Lastly, it is suggested that displaying samples of students’ work such as book reviews, student-illustrated book covers would also help attract more students to the library.

 

The English teachers of St. Brigid’s School are highly commended for the impressive array of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities they routinely arrange for their students. Every year, first years put on a concert of sketches, poems, and recitations for their schoolmates. First years are also encouraged to enter the NUIG Access competition, in which they have been very successful in recent times. In second year, students perform a play they are studying as part of their Junior Certificate English course for their fellow junior cycle students. Also, the school stages an annual musical/opera into which teachers pour much time and effort. All these performance experiences provide students with insights into the mechanics of drama that support their reading of drama texts in the classroom. Students are encouraged to enter writing competitions and to participate in inter-class debates and in national public speaking competitions. The quality of student writing showcased in the annual school magazine is of a particularly high standard, including thoughtful essays by exchange students, well-researched music and film reviews, and poetry sections. Finally, teachers take students to theatres to see professional productions of plays. The students of St. Brigid’s are fortunate to be exposed to so many English-related experiences and their teachers are highly commended for their commitment to supporting their students.

 

The English department availed of the services of the Teaching English Support Service (TESS) to prepare for the introduction of the new Leaving Certificate syllabus between 1999 and 2001. The department is encouraged to continue checking TESS’s website, as new resources and links are regularly uploaded. See, for example, the “links” and “resources” pages of the website http://english.slss.ie/Main/.

 

 

Planning and Preparation

 

At the end of August 2005, the English department of St. Brigid’s School began planning as a subject department to complement and enhance existing practices of individual subject planning and informal consultation. This process has been supported by the scheduling of formal meeting time for subject departments at the beginning of the school year and for one meeting per term. School management is commended for this initiative.

 

A collaborative, supportive team spirit was evident among St. Brigid’s School’s English teachers during the subject inspection. The senior English teacher acts as head of department. By the time of the evaluation, the English department had completed the SDPI template for a subject department plan. Strengths of the department’s subject plan were its very thoughtful identification of objectives, its detailed scheme of work for fifth and sixth year English, and its compilation of the meeting minutes. The department is commended for its progress in this regard.

 

To help advance the department’s planning even further, it is recommended that the English teachers identify and agree appropriate learning outcomes for each year group in relation to the different syllabus elements (number of poems to be studied in each year, number of essays to be assigned to different year groups). Then it is recommended that the English teachers review the schemes of work currently contained in the subject department plan in the light of the principles of thematic planning, of the integration of language and literature, and of teaching elements of all aspects of the syllabus to each year group (including TY). Over the coming years, it is recommended that the completed plan would contain sections on learning outcomes and schemes of work for all year groups, sections on methodology, teaching students with learning difficulties and special educational needs, teaching with ICT, agenda and minutes of departmental meetings, homework and assessment policies, circulars, syllabuses, and SEC chief examiners’ reports and marking schemes. In preparing this plan, the detailed individual planning documents provided for examination by all English teachers will be an invaluable resource. The formalisation, documentation, and compilation in a single file of discussions that are already ongoing is what is envisaged. Such subject planning will not only support the teaching and learning of English, but it will also support the process of school planning.

 

The existing TY programme for English connects the study of film with acting and film production workshops. In 2004/2005, TY students made their own film and entered it in the Junior Film Fleadh. TY students are also taken on film-related excursions. This integration of film analysis and production is commended as highly innovative and student-centred. However, it is recommended that links to all genres be built into the programme through thematic planning at this point. Also, it is suggested that, as part of the TY programme’s development of students’ life skills, that attention could be devoted to remediating students’ individual writing problems and to encouraging students to write for different purposes and audiences during the year.

 

In all classes observed, the range of work planned was appropriate. Teachers provided long-term and/or short-term plans for inspection. The structured delivery and prior preparation of material (film clips, writing frames on handouts, CD of a poem being recited, a class poster) indicated that teachers were engaging in short term planning. Such careful preparation shows great dedication and zeal.

 

There was evidence of good literacy support for students in St. Brigid’s School. Through an entrance assessment, all incoming first year students are screened for literacy difficulties. Students potentially in need of literacy support are identified from those results. However, the learning-support co-ordinator does not withdraw any of those students during their first month at school, to allow them to settle into their base classes and to allow teachers to get to know them. At the end of September, teachers’ observations, samples of students’ work, their entrance assessment results, and their psychological assessments are reviewed. The learning-support co-ordinator then interviews all students deemed in need of literacy support, describing the service to them. After parental consent is provided, a timetable is drawn up for service provision.

 

First years in need of literacy support are withdrawn from one English class a week (their library class). No second years are currently in receipt of the service. Learning-support hours are also used to create ordinary level English classes (for example, for fifth year students). The learning-support co-ordinator regularly liaises with her subject colleagues and with parents to brief them on students’ progress. Also, she applies for all available supports for students, including computer hardware and software and reasonable accommodations for State examinations. Among the initiatives the school runs to support students with literacy difficulties are the Readalong programme and the school’s employment of a special needs assistant (through a Galway Rural Development grant) to help particular students improve their organisational skills. These activities are examples of best practice.

 

 

Teaching and Learning

 

Effective teaching was observed in all classes over the course of the evaluation. In all classes visited, the pace and content of lessons was appropriate, lessons were well-structured and purposeful, and there was evidence of good short-term planning. Objectives in all classes were clear and were in line with syllabus requirements. Teachers’ ease and breadth of reference in relation to the texts being studied was very impressive.

 

Teachers used appropriate language with their students, gave clear explanations and reinforced key concepts adequately to ensure effective learning. Instructions were clear and precise in most classes observed. However, group work was sometimes an area where precise instructions were not communicated. It is encouraged that students’ understanding of the roles they are required to perform within a specific group and of the end-product that the group is expected to produce be checked through questioning before groups commence working.

 

It was evident that the development of students’ vocabulary was an important aim in all classes visited. In all classes observed, subject-specific terminology and key concepts were reinforced orally. In most classes evaluated, teachers recorded key words on white/blackboards and encouraged students to transcribe those keywords into their copies. Moreover, in most classes evaluated, teachers used their white/blackboards to structure and direct lessons, to assist students with writing frames, and to record students’ oral contributions, thus modelling how students can organise their own ideas in preparation for writing tasks. It is recommended that this best practice be extended across the entire department.

 

A variety of appropriate resources was used during the classes observed, including textbooks, film clips, writing frames to direct group discussions and record group findings, student-generated research notes, poem recitations on CD, and posters. Where students’ textbooks were used as the primary resource for learning, teachers always guided their students into lively discussions of materials being read. The use of audio-visual materials and handouts to help students think through or re-familiarise themselves with texts constitutes best practice because it caters for students’ different learning styles. In most lessons observed, the whiteboard was effectively used to provide key points to guide students’ reading, discussion, or viewing of a text; to record students’ oral contributions; and to set students’ homework assignments. (In one class, a student-volunteer recorded the groups’ feedback clearly and correctly, thus enabling the teacher to devote her full attention to the group discussion and to monitoring student behaviour). Finally, teachers also drew on the resource of their vibrant, visual school-environment to support their students’ learning. For example, in one class, the teacher reminded student artwork on display in a school corridor during a discussion of a literary text focused on artistic production. Because the students were familiar with the student artwork, this link deepened the discussion of the studied text. Such pedagogical practices constitute best practice and are highly commended.

 

Teachers used questioning to good effect to stimulate and interact with students and to structure the learning activity. A variety of questioning techniques (both global and targeted) was used to elicit information and to trigger discussion and debate. Where best practice was observed, teachers checked students’ understanding of material being taught and tasks being set by directing questions to individual students across the range of abilities, rather than accepting whole-class answers to such questions.

 

A variety of teaching methods was used over the course of the inspection and an element of active learning was built into all classes evaluated. Peer learning was observed where students were divided into groups and asked to brief each other on separate internet research tasks they had performed to deepen their awareness of the cultural contexts embedded in their comparative texts. In some classes, students were asked to read and/or perform scenes from texts for their peers, and were capable and confident in so doing. Visualisation was used in another class where, as part of their study of a poem, students were asked to identify and later draw phrases that evoked the five senses on a class poster. Teachers also helped students link texts to their own experience. For example, in one class students were asked to identify the operative elements of drama in a clip from a television soap opera. Similarly, the requirement that students keep response journals when reading chapters of novels for homework naturally motivated students to connect chapters with their own experiences and backgrounds. These were all examples of best practice.

 

Clearly, teaching and learning of English in St. Brigid’s School is very vibrant. In terms of identifying pedagogical areas for further development, it is recommended that the department pool its resources and professional expertise in relation to the teaching of writing, to differentiation, and to teaching with ICT. In planning the teaching of writing, the department is encouraged to experiment with writing frames and cloze tests, to direct students to identify and discuss the strengths and areas for development in anonymous samples of student work (peer critique), to use writing exercises as diagnostic instruments for remediating class-wide and individual student writing problems, to introduce criteria for assessment for writing in all classes, and to demonstrate and encourage creative modelling in all junior and senior cycle English classes. In planning to teach mixed ability classes, teachers are encouraged to consider how the needs of higher and ordinary level students in the same class group could best be served through differentiated methodologies, differentiated in-class and homework tasks (oral and written), and occasionally through differentiated text choices (in relation to studied plays, for example). Input from the Special Education Support Service (http://www.sess.ie/sess/Main/Home.htm) may be helpful in this regard. Lastly, in planning for the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of English, the department may wish to consult with the ICT advisor attached to their local Education Centre.

 

Excellent rapport between teachers and students was evident in all the classrooms visited. Discipline was sensitively maintained by all teachers. Students were attentive and engaged in their learning. They were well able to discuss and debate issues and were given many opportunities to do so. Students were familiar with and competent in using the concepts and skills necessary to complete their courses and were making appropriate progress according to their level. Teachers consistently affirmed students’ responses, integrated them into the lessons, and made good use of the whiteboard to record their contributions. Overall, the learning environment for English in St. Brigid’s School was very positive and encouraging.

 

A particular strength of the teaching of English in St. Brigid’s School was the fact that all English teachers had created motivational print-rich environments in their classrooms. The resources displayed in those rooms included commercial posters advertising films being studied by students, home-produced posters of the poets being studied by class groups (including pictures and birth and death dates), posters summarising generic elements (for example, the elements of fiction), and an excellent revision aid reminding students of the higher and ordinary level comparative modes for 2006 Leaving Certificate examinations. Also, samples of student-produced book reviews, poems, and essays were on display in various rooms. For celebrating student achievements and reinforcing student learning in such a stimulating manner, the English department of St. Brigid’s is congratulated and highly commended.

 

 

Assessment and Achievement

 

In St. Brigid’s School, a range of assessment modes is used to monitor student competence and progress in English, including oral questioning, written assignments, and formal examinations. Appropriate class records of students’ results are kept using a teacher diary system. In addition to recording results, some teachers use assessments as diagnostic instruments, whereby the most common grammatical, spelling, and/or organisational errors of each student are identified and lessons are prepared to help remediate those problems. This is best practice and is commended. It is suggested that the department may find the NCCA’s recently-developed “Assessment for Learning” materials for post-primary English useful for expanding their current assessment practices.

 

Homework was being regularly set and corrected in all classes visited. Evidence was noted in a number of classes of detailed feedback being written on students’ assignments, with teachers balancing the identification of student errors/omissions with affirmations of what students had done correctly and with developmental feedback on how they might improve their work. This is best practice and is commended.

 

Teachers wrote homework assignments on the whiteboard and allowed time for students to copy down their assignments in the majority of classes visited. It is recommended that this practice be extended to all classes, for the benefit of students who have difficulty remembering homework tasks set orally. Teachers may even wish to write homework assignments on the white/blackboard at the beginning of class, as a reminder to themselves of the task they want to set to reinforce classwork. To ensure that all students understand in-class/ homework tasks set, it is recommended that questions be directed to individual students across the range of abilities. Lastly, to help ensure that homework incrementally increases in difficulty for different year groups, it is recommended that the English department agree its homework expectations (types of homework assignments, number of essays per year, and standards of presentation in copies) as part of the subject department planning process.

 

Copies revealed that students had completed a range of appropriate work and that they had been provided with a range of notes to support their learning. An excellent organisational system was noted in senior-cycle folders, in particular, where notes were divided into sections by genre. It is suggested that the subject department now discuss copy and folder organisation systems for junior-cycle students, to ensure that students will be able to easily access their notes on all aspects of the syllabus when revising for their Junior Certificate mocks and State examinations.

 

Christmas and summer examinations are held and third and sixth years also have pre-certificate examinations. When setting house examinations for fifth and sixth year students, teachers prepare common examinations and agree common marking schemes. It is recommended that this best practice be extended to junior cycle students as well, through the setting of common elements in year-group house examinations. For example, reading comprehension and unseen poem sections can be common. Where different text choices have been made, generic questions can be set. Common criteria of assessment can also be agreed. These practices will facilitate comparison of attainment across year groups, thus providing an evidence base for planning to meet students’ needs.

 

The school reports that liaison with parents is good and that parents are very supportive. The standard formal structures for parent-teacher meetings and for reporting to parents are in place.

 

 

Summary of Main Findings and Recommendations

 

The following are the main strengths and areas for development identified in the evaluation:

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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.