An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Home Economics
REPORT
Carrick-on-Suir,
Roll number: 72400V
Date of inspection: 18 May 2007
Date of issue of report: 6 December 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Home Economics
Subject inspection report
This report
has been written following a subject inspection in
Subject provision and whole school support
Home Economics is an extremely popular subject in
Students are well supported by the school in relation to subject choice. In junior cycle, a taster programme, which operates for first-year students from September to the mid-term break, helps to ensure that these students are able to make informed choices. This is particularly positive for a subject like Home Economics which tends to naturally attract more girls than boys. In addition, one of the three guidance counsellors in the school is assigned to work specifically with first-year students, both during this important time and over the course of the school year. While first-year students do not have timetabled guidance classes, the guidance counsellor organises to meet with class groups or individuals as required. Regular contact is also maintained with parents and guardians. In preparation for senior cycle, subject-choice meetings are arranged for parents and students. Subject bands are set, as opposed to bands based on student preferences. This is not ideal, particularly in this instance where Home Economics is in the same band as two subjects which are traditionally perceived as ‘boy’s’ subjects, namely, Woodwork in junior cycle and Construction Studies in senior cycle. This is due in the main to a lack of human resources, coupled with a desire to provide adequately for the needs of the variety of students attending the school. The difficulties that arise in timetabling teachers for two buildings that are separated by a short but, nevertheless, time-consuming car journey, also impacts in this regard. When circumstances relating to this improve, management is encouraged to consider the introduction of a more open system of subject choice.
Up to the current school year, the Leaving Certificate Applied programme was offered as an option to prospective senior cycle students. As part of this programme, the home economics department facilitated the delivery of the Hotel, Catering and Tourism vocational specialism. The decision not to offer this programme to the current fifth-year group is now being reviewed by both management and staff. This reflective practice is commended.
Timetabling of Home Economics in the College is consistent with syllabus requirements in that sufficient time is allocated to the delivery of both syllabuses. An additional period has also been allocated for the teaching of Home Economics to the class for whom it is compulsory. Once again, in line with syllabus recommendations, it is commendable that double periods are provided for the delivery of the more practical components of both syllabuses. While it is clear that efforts are made by management to ensure that students’ contact with the subject is evenly spread over the weekly timetable, there are two exceptions to this. Currently, the contact of one first-year and one second-year group with Home Economics is consecutively timetabled for two and three days respectively. A continued consciousness with regard to the avoidance of this is encouraged when the timetable is being prepared. It is good to note that timetabling practices seek to ensure that class groups assigned to teachers in both junior and senior cycle are retained by that same teacher through all years of the relevant cycle.
At the beginning of the school year, some time is made available to all teachers for the purpose of collaborative, departmental, subject planning. As a means of directing this planning, advice and support has been sought from the School Development Planning Initiative (SDPI). Both measures are applauded. Management is encouraged to seek to provide additional time over the course of the school year, and as each school year draws to a close, for the purpose previously outlined. Management is very supportive of the home economics teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD), for example, releasing teachers to attend in-service.
Relatively speaking, Home Economics is well resourced.
Two kitchens have been provided, one in
The school houses two new computer rooms, one in the
college and the second in
A health and safety audit of the home economics facilities, and in fact of the whole school, has recently been completed. Management is awaiting the outcomes of this audit, a copy of which will be issued to each teacher in the school. It is important that the home economics department, based on their experience and use of the facilities, reviews this document and amends it as
appropriate. The final product should inform class rules, practices and procedures.
Planning and preparation
The home economics teachers have adopted a team approach to the co-ordination of the planning work of the subject department. This appears to be working very well for the department in question. Over and above the formal meeting time provided, the members of the home economics department also meet informally on a regular basis over the course of the school year. On their own initiative, they have also met during school holidays. This additional commitment is recognised and applauded. It is very positive to see that since the beginning of 2007, minutes have been maintained of all department meetings. This practice is fully encouraged.
The professionalism, experience, commitment, enthusiasm and energy of each of the teachers is truly reflected in the planning documentation reviewed. Materials examined included a very well developed subject plan, as well as a very large number of teacher files, categorised according to many, if not all, of the different areas of both the junior and senior cycle home economics syllabuses. These files housed an impressive number of resources, including high quality acetates, handouts, worksheets and supplementary materials. This is suggestive of an excellent level of planning and preparation for all lessons delivered which reflects that observed in each of the lessons visited over the course of the inspection.
A design-brief approach has been employed for the delivery of all facets of the Junior Certificate syllabus, namely practical work, project work and theory. Teacher files are organised accordingly. This is most impressive. An example can be seen in the following brief which is presented to students as part of their study of the social and health section of the syllabus. ‘As a young adolescent your health is your wealth. Design a booklet for teenagers that will explain how to manage good personal hygiene and outline the steps to be taken to maintain ones general well being.’ Another example is provided in this brief which is issued in conjunction with the consumer studies section of the syllabus. ‘You have purchased a mobile phone to the value of €250. It is only two weeks old and the battery will not hold its charge for more than two hours. Research and investigate your rights as a consumer and how you might go about addressing this problem that you have encountered’. Briefs, such as the examples provided, instantly provide students with a focus for their learning, make the topic being explored more relevant to their everyday lives and challenge students to apply learned information to real life, be that present or future. As an approach to curriculum delivery, this is exemplary in nature and highly praised.
Programmes of work have been developed for each year group. While there is some scope for the further development of these specific documents, teacher files are indicative of the actual work, time and effort that has gone into programme planning and lesson planning in the department in question. In fact, it is fair to say that the written programmes themselves do not do justice to the quality of planning observed in the teachers’ files. From this point of view, the programmes should be amended to reflect the reality. It is suggested that the department might tabulate the plans. Tables should provide space for planned work, suitable resources, appropriate methodologies, homework and assessment. Scope also exists for the indication on the plans of topic integration, as well as provision for co-curricular, extracurricular and cross-curricular activities. Best practice is where these documents are ‘working’ in nature. This is best achieved by providing space for evaluative comment following the delivery of each topic or lesson. This, in turn, would inform the review process.
Teaching and learning
The quality of teaching and learning in Home Economics
observed in
Lessons were scrupulously planned and therefore
extremely well structured. Lessons’ aims and objectives were highlighted to
students from the very outset of each lesson. The presentation of a design
brief in a number of lessons achieved this, while also providing for an
immediate ownership by students of intended lesson content. The thought and
consideration that went into every single part of each lesson was very clear.
It was very evident that a desire to achieve optimum student learning was what
dictated decisions made during the planning stages of lessons. The resources
that were either prepared or collected, and eventually utilised in the delivery
of lesson content, were vast and varied. These resources were also of a very
high quality. Students were, at all times, actively involved in lesson content.
If they weren’t required to listen, they were required to look or to do
something. Every effort, in fact, was made to provide for the preferred
learning style of each individual student be that auditory, visual or
kinaesthetic. Teachers persisted in the teaching of information until they were
certain that all students understood that which they would later be required to
study and learn. Teachers taught down in the heart of the classroom, constantly
moving amongst the students, keeping them on their toes and demanding, in a
very encouraging way, student input and reaction to work being explored. It was
not teaching merely to cover a course but teaching to promote real learning,
learning that was taking place there and then in each of the lessons visited. A
most positive atmosphere was evident in every class. Teacher-student relations,
which were very, very favourable, contributed in no
small way to the wonderful ambience that prevailed. The walls of the
classrooms, in particular the kitchen in
One junior cycle lesson, a revision lesson, found its basis in the following brief, ‘You have been asked to research a dinner menu suitable for a teenager. Fish must be included in the main course of the menu. The menu must comply with healthy eating guidelines and meal planning guidelines’. This was presented to students as the lesson commenced. As is clear, this indicated that fish as a topic was not going to be revised in isolation but was going to be linked with other relevant areas of the Junior Certificate syllabus. This approach is applauded as it is in line with syllabus recommendations and is also an excellent way of preparing students for some of the questions asked in the Junior Certificate examination. To elaborate slightly, over the course of a double period the teacher actually succeeded in revising with students not only fish but also, in a substantial way, theory relating to healthy eating, meal planning, food processing, methods of cooking, the food groups and the nutrients. A very carefully designed worksheet, intended to support the brief outlined previously, provided the foundation for the approach to the lesson. Students were required to work through these over the course of the lesson, sometimes with the help and direction of the teacher, at other times on their own and occasionally also in pairs. Activities provided in the worksheet included exercises which required students to recall information. In some instances, a word bank was supplied to assist students in the retrieval of previously explored information and the eventual answering of questions. This supported the concept of independent student research and learning which is espoused in the syllabus. As a result, it is an approach that is commended. Other parts of the worksheet required students to analyse data presented. The introduction of this type of exercise is also praised as it helps to develop higher-order thinking skills in students. Students worked enthusiastically to complete each assigned exercise. Throughout the lesson, significant efforts were made to make the information being presented more meaningful for students. For example, as a lead in to types of fish, the students were asked, ‘Suppose you went down to the river Suir after school with a fishing rod and you caught a salmon, what type of fish would you have caught? Would it be a white fish an oily fish or a shell fish? Who are the fishermen in this class?’ Many of the questions posed to students required them to really think. For example, students were asked. ‘If I wanted to eat a fish with vitamin D in it, what would you recommend? This required them to recall what they had recently learnt about the properties of vitamin D, namely, the fact that it was fat soluble. Students responded very favourably to the challenges posed by this type of question.
A brief was also introduced in another junior cycle lesson, ‘You are asked to mount your craft item using your own unique ideas, creativity and style’. Once again a worksheet, designed to guide students through the brief, had been prepared for students. In addition, a series of pre-prepared acetates and a large number of collected props were also used over the course of the lesson. The result was a very visually stimulating lesson. Every concept introduced verbally to students was supported by the provision of an appropriate visual. This approach is highly praised. The lesson commenced with an exploration of the notion of design. Two sets of patterns were erected on a pritt board, A and B. Students were asked to select which one they felt best complimented one another. As part of this exercise they also had to supply reasons for their choice and provide suggestions as to how the one they did not choose might be improved. This challenged students to think long and hard about the decision they had been asked to make. With this approach also, students had to engage, in a very hands on but subtle way, with the somewhat abstract concepts of design, namely, emphasis, balance, proportion and rhythm. The exercise also supported an exploration of design features such as pattern and colour. The approach adopted here is deserving of much credit and praise. The outcomes of this exercise were presented to students in a bar-chart. This visual helped students to answer questions such as, ‘if I was a fabric designer, and in order to make more money, which sample would I make, A or B?’ This is but one example seen over the course of all lessons of an approach to teaching that sought to do a lot more than cover a pre-determined course. In all lessons, in fact, students were provided with much food for thought that would support them not just in an examination situation but also throughout their lives. This supports one of the founding principles of both home economics syllabuses, namely preparation for life. As an approach, therefore, it is to be commended. As the lesson progressed into the design stages much was done to stimulate individual student creativity before they embarked on the production of their own individual mounts. This approach, which is in line with that which is encouraged in the syllabus, is highly praised. Mount shapes, sizes and colours were explored in a very comprehensive and, once again, visual fashion, with a significant number of samples being provided. A similar approach was used for an exploration of how mounts might be enhanced or augmented. A discussion also ensued around linking the mount with that which was being framed, once again in an effort to teach the more abstract principles of design. For the latter half of the lesson students where given the opportunity to apply that which they had learned previously, as they set to work on the production of their own sample mount. As the lesson drew to a close, students critically evaluated their finished pieces. The provision for this, which is also in line with syllabus recommendations, is also commended.
The previous two paragraphs, although but a very small sample of some of the excellent approaches to the teaching of Home Economics observed in Comeragh College, seek to highlight that which can only be described as best practice. There are no recommendations that can be provided in relation to the teaching and learning of Home Economics in this school.
Finally, it is very obvious, from what has been described previously, that the learning needs of all students were well provided for, including those of students with very specific and identified special educational needs. In conjunction with this, it is important to highlight and acknowledge the very supportive role played by each of the special needs assistants on the day in question. It was clear that they were having a very positive impact on the learning of each student under their care and that they truly supported that which the teachers were seeking to achieve with the students. Their approach to their work is deserving of much recognition and praise.
Assessment
A very comprehensive range of assessment modes is utilised in order to determine student progress and achievement in Home Economics. This includes oral questioning in class, written exercises, provided as part of a lesson or assigned for homework, and topic or end-of-chapter tests. Periodically pop quizzes, completely individually or in groups, are used to introduce an element of fun into student assessment. In line with the assessment objectives of the syllabuses, Junior Certificate students’ practical and project work is also formally assessed. This is praised. The department is encouraged to adopt a more formal approach to the assessment of the senior cycle food journals. Due to the streaming of class groups, common assessment papers are not utilised, per se, in the papers issued at key times during the school year to students in a particular year group. Efforts are made, however, to ensure that the papers issued to students do contain some common elements. This is positive. In time, this might be further developed by perhaps providing a paper with the same topics, but with different wording and styles of questions. Systematic records are maintained of students’ achievement in each assessment provided. Student outcomes are communicated to parents and guardians through the issuing of school reports and the organisation of parent-teacher meetings.
Homework assigned in a previous lesson was referenced in each of the lessons observed. Furthermore, following the delivery of each lesson, homework was also assigned to students. Students automatically noted this into their school journals. Some of the homework assigned to students places a strong emphasis on independent student research and learning and the development of analytical skills. The inclusion of exercises of this nature is very positive. Oral feedback to students on the work they have completed is a natural follow on from homework monitoring in the department in question. Teachers are encouraged to provide written comments on student work as part of their more formal approach to homework monitoring. Periodically, student homework exercises might also be marked and graded.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
·
Home Economics is an extremely popular subject amongst all students,
boys and girls, attending
· Students are well supported by the school in relation to subject choice.
· Overall, the timetabling of Home Economics is very favourable.
·
The home
economics kitchen in
· Access to ICT for teachers and students alike has been prioritised by management.
· The professionalism, experience, commitment, enthusiasm and energy of each of the teachers, is truly reflected in the planning documentation reviewed.
· A design-brief approach has been employed for the delivery of all facets of the Junior Certificate syllabus, namely practical work, project work and theory.
· While programmes of work have been developed for each year group, teachers’ files are the true indicators of the actual work, time and effort that has gone into programme and lesson planning
·
The quality of
teaching and learning in Home Economics observed in
· A very comprehensive range of assessment modes is utilised in order to determine student progress and achievement in Home Economics.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
· For a number of practical and logistical reasons, currently the subject bands offered to students are set. When practicable, management is encouraged to consider the introduction of a more open system of subject choice.
·
For the reasons
detailed in the report, it is suggested that management investigates the
feasibility of timetabling all practical cookery lessons, in both junior and
senior cycle, for the kitchen in
· There is some scope for the further development of the programmes of work.
· The suggestions offered in the report in relation to homework should be considered.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of Home Economics and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.