An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta

Department of Education and Science

 

Subject Inspection of English

REPORT

 

Virginia College

Virginia, County Cavan

Roll number: 70390L

 

Date of inspection: 22 March 2007

Date of issue of report: 6 December 2007

 

 

 

This Subject Inspection Report

Subject Provision and Whole School Support

Planning and Preparation

Teaching and Learning

Assessment

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 Virginia College conducted as part of a whole school evaluation. 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 principal and the teachers.

 

 

Subject Provision and Whole School Support

 

Timetabled provision for the teaching of English is in line with syllabus guidelines. However, the allocation of four lessons per week for English in each year in junior cycle is less than optimum provision, as described in Looking at English: Teaching and Learning in Post-Primary Schools (2006) Department of Education and Science, chapter 2. It is suggested that, as timetable constraints allow, consideration should be given to the provision of an additional lesson in at least one of the three years.

 

Students are placed in mixed ability English classes in first year and are grouped according to ability from second year, based on their performance in a common English examination, marked to an agreed scheme, which is held at the end of first year. Placement in second year class groups is monitored for the first month and this is commended. English is provided at the same time for all classes within each year group, other than first year, in order to facilitate students’ choice. They are encouraged, as appropriate, to attempt higher level English. As a result, uptake of the subject at this level is good. However, though the difference between boys and girls is less significant for Junior Certificate, disproportionately fewer boys than girls continue the study of English at higher level in senior cycle. It is recommended that the school examines ways to encourage boys to attempt this course.

 

Resource provision to support the teaching and learning of English is very good. Teachers are assigned their own classrooms and this allows for the storage of resource materials and the display of students’ work and other learning materials. Students’ work, posters, wall charts and other learning aids are displayed and students are exposed to a print-rich environment where key words for each subject are reinforced. In addition to improving literacy, displaying students’ work is very motivational and English teachers are commended for using displays to support teaching and learning and affirm students’ work.

 

Teachers have access to TV and video/DVD equipment in all their rooms and they make use of these resources to support the teaching of film and media studies. ICT is available in the classrooms also and there are five data projectors available in the school. Less use is made of this resource in the classroom, with teachers preferring to take students to the computer room where each will have a monitor. Here, students are encouraged to draft and re-draft their work and to conduct research on the writers and texts they are studying. There is scope to make greater use of audio resources, specifically the tape-recorder, to support students who have reading and other difficulties.

 

There is a school library which is currently being developed and it was reported that much of the book stock is dated. The plans in place in the school to include responsibility for the library on the schedule for holders of posts of responsibility duties are encouraged. Advice on developing the school library is available from the School Library Association of Ireland and information about books and other resources 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. English teachers promote student interest in reading in a number of ways. These include setting aside time in their first year plans for reading in class and participation in the MS Readathon. In junior cycle classes library boxes are used to extend the opportunities available to students to access good reading material. This is very good practice as it provides a range of age and ability-appropriate texts which can be targeted at the specific interests of the class group. Teachers might also consider some additional activities which encourage reading. These include participation in “World Book Day”, greater use of D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) interventions and developing a class newspaper, where students collect and collate newspaper/magazine articles of interest to them and create their own news-sheet.

 

The teachers are commended for the variety of co-curricular activities available to students. Dramatic productions and workshops with visiting companies, the school musical and expeditions to the theatre provide students of English with valuable learning experiences. Participation in poetry workshops and competitions encourages their creativity and the commitment and enthusiasm of the teachers involved in facilitating these activities deserves praise.

 

 

Planning and Preparation

 

English teachers have regular opportunities to meet formally as the school facilitates meeting time three or four times a year. Minutes are taken and each meeting reviews the progress made since the previous one. In addition, the English teachers meet regularly, though informally, to support one another. This indicates their enthusiasm for developing the department and working co-operatively.

 

The teachers have made very good use of the templates available from the School Development Planning Initiative to develop a comprehensive plan for the subject. This includes an outline of the aims of the programme, references to the appropriate syllabus documents and teachers’ guidelines and an outline of curriculum content for each of the five year groups. The department plan is strongest in the second section, which outlines the learning outcomes to be achieved by students in senior cycle. Here, the focus is clearly on the skills and knowledge to be acquired by students. Including learning targets for students facilitates careful planning for effective assessment of their progress and is good practice. It is recommended that, as the plan is reviewed, the corresponding section for junior cycle should be re-written so that there is a stronger focus on student learning outcomes at that level. It is also recommended that planning for the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) English and Communications course should be included as part of the whole department’s planning process. The aims of that course, as outlined in the syllabus document, should be translated into a set of learning objectives which directly address the specific needs across the four domains of language of this cohort of students.

 

 

Teaching and Learning

 

In general, the six lessons observed had been well planned. Teachers had identified clear objectives and prepared relevant and helpful resources to support student learning. In three classes, for example, the learning objectives for the class were clearly stated at the outset and these were sufficiently challenging to engage student attention and motivate participation. In a fourth lesson, the revision of homework and a short question-and-answer session on work read previously established continuity with prior learning and provided a context for the new lesson. These are excellent practices which helped to achieve a very organised and well-structured learning environment for students where they were clear about what was expected of them. Other lessons observed, where this was not done, were less structured.

 

In the majority of classes visited, the learning activities planned were appropriate to the abilities and interests of students and addressed the demands of the courses. This was evident in one classroom, for example, where the lesson on advertising began with a short revision of four key terms. This was followed by the setting of a task which required students to work individually on a chosen advertisement. A wide range of advertisements from the print media was available to students as were scissors, glue, paper and markers. The teacher modelled an approach to the task on the whiteboard, thus supporting less able students. As each element in the task was completed, the level of complexity increased, so that students were sufficiently challenged and remained engaged in the task. This was a ‘fun’ lesson which achieved its objective through enabling independent learning and this is excellent practice. In another classroom where students were reading through a novel, the use of good student readers and of regular pauses to check understanding and draw attention to aspects of note was equally successful. However, the effectiveness of planned learning/teaching strategies in achieving lesson objectives was uneven across the classes observed. In a minority, the lesson planned was reliant on students providing the initial stimulus and key content and was not sufficiently flexible to cope when this did not materialise. Improved planning would address this difficulty.

 

Students’ learning was regularly monitored during class time by the use of questions which checked both their comprehension of new material and their ability to engage with it critically. Questioning was specific, relevant and matched to students’ abilities. In all cases, student responses were affirmed and integrated into the lessons and good use of the board was made to record their contributions. In many instances, however, students gave short, unsupported, answers which served as prompts for further teacher explanation or comment. Best practice was evident where time was allowed for thinking and reflection and the teacher supplied ideas only to prompt students. This approach is encouraged as it allows students an opportunity to infer meaning for themselves and to communicate their ideas to each other. It is recommended that all teachers of English review their use of questioning to maximise its effective as a teaching strategy. Consideration should be given to ensuring that adequate time is allowed for students to formulate answers to questions in order to encourage detailed and reflective answers and that a range of question types, from recall and comprehension to those which require students to use higher order skills, is included.

 

Although classes are grouped according to ability from second year so that higher and ordinary level courses are taught separately, it was evident from observation of students’ work and participation in classroom activities that a range of ability levels is represented in some classes. In these classes, teachers employ teaching strategies which cater for students of all ability levels. In one class, for example, students worked on a quotations task while the teacher circulated to offer support as needed. Extension work was then differentiated to offer appropriate challenges to higher and ordinary level students in the class and this work formed the basis of the homework set. The commitment expressed in the school to encouraging students to achieve to their potential was particularly evident in this classroom, where the teacher’s lesson plan and resource preparation was supportive of all students.

 

It was clear from the volume of notes and other study aids found in students’ folders that teachers spend a lot of time in careful preparation for teaching. They were not over-reliant on the textbooks and the range of supplementary materials available to support work done in class was impressive. The quality of students’ work in copies and folders was generally very good and evidence indicated that they are making appropriate progress. Written exercises across the range of genres are set and these indicate that students are familiar with their texts and comfortable writing about them. The practice, as seen in some copies, of setting writing tasks which require students to predict action in a text, to propose alternative endings or to adopt the persona of a character when writing is worthy of particular mention. In addition to providing opportunities to explore appropriate language registers, exercises which establish links between texts studied and personal or functional writing also deepen students’ understanding of text studied.

 

Exercises in evaluation, critical commentary and analysis were evident in copies in examination classes mainly. Students in these classes composed purposeful and coherent responses to questions and these were generally well supported by references to the text. In other year groups, short-answer questions predominate and there is scope to provide students in ordinary level classes with more opportunities to write extended pieces of work. Less able students in junior cycle tended to summarise rather than analyse and, while they were familiar with techniques such as alliteration, for example, they were more comfortable listing instances of their occurrence than discussing their effects. The programme planned for these students as they progress through the school will address these difficulties effectively. More frequently, copies in all classes indicated that students are well able to articulate the relationships between key events and the development of themes, for example, and to extract relevant supporting evidence from their texts. The opportunities provided by intervention exercises such as those described in the previous paragraph allowed students to understand the features of different text types, to develop interesting plotlines in their own stories and to adopt the ‘voice’ of different characters. In summary, students’ learning was of a good standard.

 

A well-ordered classroom atmosphere was established in classrooms visited and this was supported by the movement of teachers around their classrooms to check understanding and to ensure that all students were on task. Where minor difficulties were encountered, it is suggested that appropriate lesson content and planned pacing of its delivery might have limited opportunities for students to become distracted. The skilled use of questioning as well as giving clear direction and specific instruction ensured that such difficulties were not commonplace. In all cases, there was an atmosphere of mutual respect evident between teacher and student. On the whole, student enjoyment of the subject was evident.

 

 

Assessment  

 

In general, there is a good range of assessment modes used to assess student competence and progress. These include in-class questioning and the setting of homework exercises in order to check achievement of understanding and provide students with opportunities to practise newly acquired skills.

 

Exercises were regularly corrected and the focus on encouraging students to practise a range of writing skills is commended. In many cases, feedback from the teacher had moved beyond simply a grade or brief evaluative comment to affirm students’ efforts and offer clear suggestions for improvement. This is good practice as it develops students’ understanding and skills and is an important teaching technique. Teachers generally maintained a record of students’ work and, in some instances, these referenced specific weaknesses which could then be addressed through class work. This is excellent practice and is commended.

 

In-house examinations are held at Christmas and the end of the summer term for non-examination classes. Common papers are set for first years and these are marked to an agreed scheme. This good practice allows comparison of students’ progress while facilitating careful planning to meet their needs and is commended. Assessments are held four times during the school year for third and fifth year students and these are followed in the spring term by pre-certificate examinations. Teachers maintain very good records of students’ achievements and these inform the written reports which issue to parents. Parents are also kept informed of their child’s progress through a variety of means, including the homework journal, which is used as a mode of communication between home and school. Annual parent-teacher meetings are held for each year group and parents may meet the relevant teacher by appointment to discuss their child’s progress.

 

 

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.