An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Construction Studies and Materials Technology (Wood)
REPORT
Milltown, County Kerry
Roll number: 61410N
Date of inspection: 02 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 Construction Studies and Materials Technology (Wood)
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject
inspection in
Subject provision and whole school support
Collaborative planning and co-ordination of CS and MTW are supported through provision by management for regular subject planning meetings, for which time is allocated during the school year. This is good practice. The outcomes of these meetings are recorded and are used by the CS and MTW teaching team as an opportunity to monitor progress, and to engage in self-review and evaluation of subject development.
The teachers of the technologies, including CS and MTW, have been supported by management in being fully involved in the programme of continuing professional development provided through T4, the support service for the technologies. The school is affirmed for providing this support.
MTW classes are allocated four periods per week in second year and third year, which provides adequately for the teaching of the syllabus in those years. While the time provision for the subjects is in general affirmed, the allocation in first year of three periods per week is less than ideal. This is particularly the case given that students have already chosen to study MTW and that it may be the only technology subject being studied by individual students. It is urged that every effort be made to provide four periods per week for MTW in first year. In senior cycle, fifth-year CS classes are allocated six periods per week while sixth-year classes are allocated five periods. This is good time allocation. All MTW and CS classes are provided with one double-period lesson per week, facilitating the completion of practical work. Lessons are evenly distributed on the weekly timetable consistent with best practice.
The board of management and in-school management are commended for their support of CS and MTW in providing the necessary materials and equipment. It is commended that in the current year there was an annual budget provided for the purchase of materials for the subjects. This presents a valuable encouragement for good planning at subject-department level by providing an incentive for further efficiency in the use of materials. It is urged that the use of an annual budget for the subjects continue.
There is one woodwork room in the school, used for the teaching of CS and MTW. This room was neat, tidy and well organised at the time of the inspection. Tools and equipment were well maintained and were stored and displayed for use in an effective manner. There is a materials store adjacent to the woodwork room and storage for student projects is provided in a loft area which has been developed above the room. While the school and the subject teachers are to be commended for their efforts to provide sufficient storage, the space available is barely adequate. It is urged that possible solutions to the problem of project storage continue to be considered by the school as a matter of urgency. Environmental dust is controlled by means of a portable unit which is kept in the store when not in use. Given that the effectiveness of this dust-extraction arrangement depends on consistency and care in its use, continued monitoring of its operation is recommended.
The health and safety statement of the school was reviewed in the current school year with the involvement of the teaching team of MTW and CS and the section dealing with the woodwork room was based on a detailed audit of risks and hazards. Management is commended for its engagement with the issue of health and safety in the woodwork room.
Information and communications technology (ICT) is used in support of teaching by the teachers of MTW and CS. Both the woodwork room and the drawing room are provided with data projectors which are used in the teaching of the subjects. The subject department has been provided with a laptop computer which is available for the use of the subject teaching team. Management is commended for the quality of this support for the development of teaching resources.
Management and the teaching team of the technologies are commended for being proactive in setting about the identification of a suitable specialist room for teaching drawing and theory, in which the new hardware and software being supplied for the introduction of Design and Communication Graphics (DCG) may be deployed. It is urged that this room be made available for the teaching of all the technologies when the needs of DCG have been met and that the computer facilities are used to introduce students of MTW and CS to SolidWorks. It is further recommended that, as soon as technically feasible, SolidWorks should be installed in the computer room to provide as wide access as possible to computer-aided design (CAD) within the school. Access to the computer room for students to work on design projects during MTW and CS time should be sought.
First-year students choose two from a group of five optional subjects, which includes MTW and Technical Graphics. Students are supported in making subject choices by means of an open night at which the options available are presented to parents. Students study a range of subjects in first year, from which a further choice is made in second year to arrive at the subjects to be studied to Junior Certificate. It is urged that the possibility of providing all students with an initial opportunity to study MTW be explored as a means of providing further support for students in choosing subjects. This could help to address gender imbalance in subject choice which was indicated by the absence of female students in first-year or second-year MTW classes.
Senior-cycle students choose three optional subjects from subject-option groups based on a survey of student preferences in line with best practice. Students are supported in their choices by the advice, guidance and knowledge presented to them by the principal, guidance counsellor and subject teachers. There is also an open night for parents where the subject options and guidance for making choices are presented.
Planning and preparation
The technologies teaching team meets regularly both on a formal and an informal basis. Meetings operate on the basis of cooperation and collaboration between the team members and are well organised. Objectives are clearly identified, assigned for completion and recorded. To date planning has largely emphasised the development of physical resources including equipment and the improvement and organisation of the woodwork room. Success has been recorded in areas such as the installation of tool racks, 110 volt sockets and safety signage. There is consideration and discussion of teaching methodologies and strategies but this tends to be at a more informal level. The subject-teaching team is commended for the quality of its planning to date. For further improvement, it is urged that aspects of teaching and learning be more formally included in subject planning meetings. Such aspects might include the approaches found to be most successful in teaching particular areas of MTW and CS, in theory as well as practical lessons. The sharing of teachers’ valuable experience in this context has great potential benefit for the subject-teaching team. Discussion of teaching strategies such as student group work, discovery learning and active learning in the teaching of theory at various levels can do much to add value to the subject-planning process. It is recommended that the members of the subject-teaching team act as convenors of subject department meetings in rotation, perhaps on an annual basis, to distribute the work involved and to support collaboration.
There was evidence of good short-term planning in lessons visited in the course of the inspection. Detailed programmes of work had been prepared in most cases and the work of the students was in line with the requirements of the curriculum. To further improve planning for MTW, it is recommended that the consideration given to the introduction of design and to the development of the students’ design skills be more fully described in the programmes of work being followed.
The subject-teaching team is commended for its progress in developing digital teaching resources, in particular for CS. These teaching resources have been produced largely using PowerPoint and AutoCAD and include detailed building sketches and drawings. It is intended by the subject teachers to use SolidWorks for the development of further teaching resources and this is encouraged.
While students commonly word-process their design-project briefs, and occasionally also produce CAD drawings as part of this work, this work is usually done at home. With the provision of computer hardware and software for the introduction of the new syllabus in DCG, the opportunity is being presented for the introduction of SolidWorks to all students of the technologies, including students of MTW and CS, during class time. It is urged that the full exploitation of this opportunity be given a high priority in planning for the subjects.
A strong emphasis on health and safety was evident in the lessons visited. In a second-year class where students engaged in vertical paring the teacher brought the need for safety to their attention again. The need for care in the use of equipment was reinforced by the display of effective safety signage in the woodwork room, which also had the behaviour and safety rules clearly displayed. The safety signage included colour-coded standard warning signs for the mandatory use of personal protection equipment (PPE) and for hazards. Safe operational areas (SOA) were demarcated on the floor in the vicinity of machines and this is affirmed. To further improve students’ awareness of the importance of observing the restrictions arising from an SOA, it is suggested that a clear explanatory notice be displayed to draw students’ attention to them and their purpose. It is also recommended that each SOA be more prominently demarcated by standard black and yellow hazard tape. The woodwork room was well supplied with the usual PPE, which was readily available to students and was consistently and correctly used in the lessons observed. The publication, Review of Occupational Health and Safety in the Technologies in Post-primary Schools (State Claims Agency, Department of Education and Science, 2005), available on www.education.ie, should be consulted in detail when reviewing health and safety.
Teaching and learning
The lessons visited predominantly involved teacher demonstration of woodwork skills. The projects being realised by junior-cycle students were consistent with the interests and abilities of the students. First-year students in one lesson were working on a model aeroplane involving appropriate work, such as cutting a socket, trenching and making a cogged joint, while second-year students were involved in making a desk tidy which included box dovetail joints. In each case, the teacher demonstrations were consistent with best craft practice, clear, well paced and held the students’ attention. Careful questioning was used to ensure student engagement and to assure their understanding. On occasion, when some students were ready to move onto the next stage, the teacher demonstrated to a smaller group. The use of group demonstration is commended for its efficiency and for maintaining the momentum of the students involved. Following demonstrations, as students worked at their benches, their teacher moved among them offering help and encouragement as appropriate. In general, students remained on task and completed the assigned work within the expected time. To further enhance the experience of the students, the subject-teaching team is encouraged to consider the inclusion of more student-inspired variation within the projects being made. The inclusion of a design process, through which each student could influence the design of his or her own project, would also offer many opportunities for differentiation in the difficulty of the work being undertaken. This differentiation opens the possibility of increasing the participation of students whose ability or motivation might otherwise be an obstacle to successful completion.
The purpose of each of the lessons observed in the course of the inspection was clear from the outset. Lessons were well structured and well paced. In the lessons visited, teachers adopted approaches and strategies that suited the work being undertaken. In a senior-cycle lesson in which students worked on their individual design projects, their teacher circulated among them providing affirmation, help and encouragement as appropriate.
Students worked in a relaxed, disciplined manner in each of the lessons observed. The discipline was intrinsic to the students, who were respectful to each other and to their teachers. It was clear that students understood the expectations regarding their behaviour which they willingly accepted.
The atmosphere in the lessons observed was consistently positive and relaxed, while focussed on the completion of the work being undertaken. The woodwork room was well organised. Students worked in their assigned places and moved in a safe and disciplined manner. Tools were very effectively stored and displayed on wall-racks, readily available for use. In senior cycle, there was a very effective signing-out procedure for the portable power tools which students were allowed use. Senior-cycle students wore shop coats in a lesson where they worked on project realisation. Student effort was consistently affirmed by their teachers. The atmosphere in the lessons observed was conducive to learning.
In general, in the lessons observed, students worked with purpose and engagement. They showed a good understanding of the concepts and facts related to the work in hand. Students displayed a level of skill and knowledge of the subjects consistent with their age and ability. While students showed a level of initiative and creativity in MTW, and were effective in communicating in the subject, their learning could be further enhanced by placing a little more emphasis on student design.
Assessment
Examinations in
The teaching team of MTW and CS follows a homework policy which it shares with the broader technologies department. Moderate levels of homework are regularly set and corrected to reinforce work done in class.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
- Management is affirmed for its support of the full involvement of the teaching team of the technologies in the programme of continuing professional development provided through T4, the support service for the technologies.
- It is intended by the subject teachers to use SolidWorks for the development of further teaching resources and this is encouraged.
- Management and the teaching team of the technologies are commended for being proactive in setting about the identification of a suitable specialist room for teaching drawing and theory, in which the new hardware and software being supplied for the introduction of Design and Communication Graphics may be deployed.
- Regular meetings of the technologies teaching team are well organised, objectives being clearly identified, assigned for completion and recorded.
- The strong emphasis on health and safety evident in the lessons visited and reinforced by effective safety signage in the woodwork room is commended while it is suggested that a clear explanatory notice be displayed to draw students’ attention to safe operating areas more prominently demarcated by standard black and yellow hazard tape.
- The purpose of each of the lessons observed in the course of the inspection was clear from the outset. The lessons observed were well paced and well structured and teachers adopted approaches and strategies suited to the work being undertaken.
- The use of continuous assessment was consistent with the assessment modes of the respective syllabuses in line with good practice and it is urged that the subject department agree a common, transparent procedure to present students with regular feedback on their progress to further encourage and motivate them.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- It is urged that every effort be made to allocate four periods per week to MTW in first year.
- It is recommended that all possible solutions to the problem of project storage continue to be considered as a matter of urgency.
- It is recommended that the computer facilities provided primarily for the introduction of Design and Communication Graphics also be used to introduce students of MTW and CS to SolidWorks and, as soon as technically feasible, that SolidWorks be installed in the computer room to provide as wide access as possible to CAD within the school.
- It is recommended that the possibility of providing all students with an initial opportunity to study MTW be explored as a means of providing further support for students in choosing their subjects and to help to address gender imbalance in the technologies in the school.
- It is recommended that the members of the subject-teaching team act as conveners of subject department meetings in rotation, perhaps on an annual basis, to distribute the work involved and to support collaboration.
- To further enhance the experience of students, the subject-teaching team is encouraged to consider the inclusion of more student-designed variation within the projects being made.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers
of