An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Materials Technology (Wood) and Construction Studies
REPORT
Schull Community College
Schull, County Cork
Roll number: 71102I
Date of inspection: 25 April 2007
Date of issue of report: 8 November 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Materials Technology (Wood) and Construction Studies
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in Schull Community College. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Materials Technology (Wood) and Construction Studies and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of these subjects 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 teacher.
Subject provision and whole school support
The technologies are fully represented in the junior cycle of Schull Community College. All students are offered the options of Metalwork and Technical Graphics (TG) as well as Materials Technology (Wood) (MTW), the focus subject of this inspection in junior cycle. The technologies are represented in senior cycle by Engineering in addition to Construction Studies (CS), the focus subject of this inspection in senior cycle. Technical Drawing continues to be offered to students but in recent years has not been chosen by sufficient numbers to allow it to be provided. The introduction of the new Leaving Certificate Design and Communication Graphics (DCG) syllabus in the coming school year may lead to renewed interest in the subject among students. It is urged that the college continue to test the preferences of each cohort of students and to consider providing DCG if this is desired by the students, taking due account of staffing and other constraints.
The School Development Planning Initiative has led to the formation of a subject department of the technologies in the college encompassing MTW and CS together with Metalwork, Engineering and TG. Subject department meetings have been facilitated by management as part of school planning days and this is commended. Collaborative planning for the technologies subject group is particularly valuable in the college given the small numbers of teachers involved in the teaching and co-ordination of the individual subjects.
An extensive programme of continuing professional development (CPD) is being provided through the technology subjects support service, t4, and the full involvement of the technologies teaching team has been facilitated by management. Such facilitation of appropriate CPD to maintain and enhance the commitment and current professional skills of the subject teaching team is applauded.
In first year MTW, together with all the optional subjects, is allocated two class periods per week. This time is scheduled as one double class. Although this allocation is low, all students also experience each of the other two technologies making possible cross-subject support for common areas of study. In subsequent years of the junior cycle, MTW is allocated four class periods per week in two double periods. In Transition Year (TY) CS is studied for a seven week module by all students. Each of four TY student groups is allocated one double-period class per week in rotation. In fifth and sixth year CS is allocated five class periods per week scheduled as two double periods and one single period. The teaching time allocated for MTW and CS is sufficient for the teaching of the respective syllabuses and suitably distributed across the week in single and double periods.
Schull Community College is commended for ensuring that student choice determines the grouping of the optional subjects in junior and senior cycles, constrained only by the limitations of staffing and maintaining viable class sizes. When selecting subjects for second year and fifth year, students are initially presented with the wide choice of all optional subjects available in the college in junior or senior cycle respectively. Following this selection the optimum subject groups are devised to ensure to the greatest possible extent that all students are provided with the full set of subjects chosen. Thus the subject-option groups often vary from one year cohort to the next providing for the natural variation in the preferences of students.
There is one wood workshop with two areas separated by glazed partitions and an adjacent materials store and wood preparation area in Schull Community College. The workshop is bright and welcoming and was commendably clean and tidy when visited. There is an outside area for the completion of practical building projects which contained various student projects including stonework of a very high quality at the time of the inspection. The school is commended on the quality of the provision of teaching areas for MTW and CS. These facilities are being well used.
Cork County Vocational Education Committee (CCVEC), the Board of Management and school management are commended for their affirming support for the learning and teaching of MTW and CS in terms of the materials and equipment supplied in response to the requirements of the students when requested by the subject department. It is commended that such support for the students’ learning in MTW and CS ensures that any student’s progress is not hindered by the cost of required materials, both for normal project work and for the completion of coursework projects for assessment in State examinations.
A staff health and safety booklet, General Safety Guidelines for Teachers, contains documentation concerning health and safety issues, much of it provided by CCVEC. A similar booklet provides guidelines for health and safety in the wood workshop. While the completeness of the information included in these guidelines is commended, it tends to be generic in nature. When the health and safety statement dealing with the wood workshop is being reviewed it is urged that it refer specifically to the workshop in Schull Community College and deal with specific hazards, risk assessment and risk control in that context. Reference should be made to the Review of Occupational Health and Safety in the Technologies in Post-primary Schools, State Claims Agency and Department of Education and Science, 2002, in particular to chapter 3.2, regarding best practice in the provision of the health and safety statement.
The information and communications technology (ICT) facilities of the computer rooms are not used in the teaching of MTW and CS. However all students are provided with timetabled computer lessons and this supports the use of ICT across the curriculum as the opportunity arises. The single computer in the wood workshop is connected to the school network and has broadband access to the internet. The extent to which this computer, together with equivalent machines in each other classroom, is used for daily recording of student attendance and achievement and for general support of administration is to be commended. The imminent provision of hardware and software for the introduction of new and revised syllabuses in the technologies at senior cycle will increase the availability of ICT for the teaching of MTW and CS.
All students of Schull Community College study the full range of subjects in its junior cycle curriculum in first year. Towards the end of the year students indicate their preferred choices of optional subjects, including MTW, for study to Junior Certificate. Subject option groups are then devised to satisfy the students’ preferences to the fullest possible extent within the constraints of staffing and timetabling. Similar arrangements are in place in senior cycle when students preferences expressed towards the end of third year or Transition Year (TY) form the basis on which subject option groups are devised. All TY students study CS. This open approach to subject provision, informed and determined by students’ preferences is commended. Students are assisted in making choices by studying each of the optional subjects in first year and again in TY.
Planning and preparation
The technologies department has undertaken collaborative planning of a joint MTW, Metalwork and Technical Graphics student design project in the current year. In light of the short time allocation in first year for each of the subjects involved, this collaborative approach to the achievement of the objectives of the respective syllabuses is particularly commendable. The project undertaken allows students the opportunity to engage significantly with metals, plastics and wood while integrating graphics and design into the development of the project. It is intended to review the outcomes of this integrated approach to first-year project work at the end of term. The teaching team of the technologies is applauded for its initiative and progress in developing collaborative cross-subject project work.
Subject planning documentation in MTW and CS in Schull Community College includes detailed programmes of work for each class which are in line with curricular requirements. Completion of each programme element is recorded. This careful planning and recording reflects good practice and does much to ensure the orderly and appropriately paced completion of the work of the respective syllabuses.
It is notable that the great majority of students of MTW and CS in the college study the subjects at higher level and this is the norm. The choice of level is made in consultation between teacher, students and parents and the welfare of the student guides the decision. This is good practice.
The networked computer in the wood workshop is used by students to research projects, notably for the student-research projects in fifth year which are displayed to great effect on the walls of the workshop. The deployment of ICT hardware and software with the introduction of the Design and Communication Graphics syllabus will provide opportunities for increased use of ICT in the teaching of MTW and CS. It is urged, taking full advantage of this development, that SolidWorks be introduced to students of MTW at the earliest opportunity to support them in designing their design projects. The identification of a dedicated classroom for the teaching of SolidWorks in the context of MTW and CS as well as TG and DCG is encouraged. It is also suggested that the SolidWorks program be installed on the computers in the ICT rooms, if this is technically feasible, to encourage and facilitate students to maximise their use of this software and to provide them with the greatest possible access. It is recommended that a data projector be installed in the wood workshop.
There was a clear awareness of appropriate procedures to safeguard the health and safety of students and other users of the wood workshop. Appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) was readily available and consistently and correctly used in the course of the lessons visited. Safety signage included clear individual instructional signs adjacent to the machines used by the students. Safe operational areas were clearly demarcated on the floor around woodwork machines. To further improve the commendable provision for health and safety in the workshop and in the wood preparation room it is recommended that the use of standard, colour coded graphical signage for mandatory PPE be increased and that such signs be placed adjacent to each machine or group of machines as appropriate. It is recommended that the workshop rules for behaviour and safety be displayed clearly. It is suggested, in order to derive full educational advantage from the safe operational areas already demarcated, that signs be displayed outlining the rationale for these and their implications for movement and behaviour within the workshop and preparation room.
Teaching and learning
Each lesson observed in the course of the subject inspection showed careful preparation and they were generally well paced. In a first-year practical lesson, the completion of a pencil case, students were engaged in surface finishing. They had previously jointed and glued the projects and had fitted a sliding hardboard lid which they decorated with felt markers to their individual preferences. At the outset the purpose of the lesson was made clear and the teacher demonstrated the use of the belt and disk sander in the glazed area adjacent to the workshop reserved for this work. Following the demonstration, which was clear, concise and effective, students went in pairs to sand their pieces. The sanding area was well equipped with effective dust extraction and students used hearing and eye protection appropriately. The emphasis placed on health and safety is commended. While two students at a time were using the sanding machines, the rest of the class worked at fine finishing their projects with hand-held glass paper. The required materials and equipment were easily available to the students. As most students became ready to apply a surface finish, the class was called to an area set aside for varnishing. The teacher clearly and effectively demonstrated the application of the varnish making reference to the students’ earlier experience. Following the demonstration students varnished their projects in small groups and set them aside to dry. The organisation of students into small groups for these activities and for other work such as wood turning is commended, and it is urged that a range of other tasks be available to allow students take full advantage of the time available as they wait to use equipment such as the sander and the varnishing station. The group tasks to be undertaken might include collaboration on design work for realisation on completion of the current design project. This approach could allow for more differentiation in the learning experiences of students and in the level of difficulty of the project work that they undertake.
While the introduction of individual creative expression to project work at an early stage, as seen in the use of felt-tip markers for personalisation of the pencil cases, is commended, it is urged that every opportunity be taken to increase the emphasis on student design work as students grow in skill and confidence in the subject. This work should be appropriate to the abilities and interests of the students, who should be kept aware of the value of their own contribution to the solution of the challenge presented by the particular design situation.
Students in the lessons observed worked in an ordered and focussed way. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and all interactions involving students and teacher and students themselves were mutually respectful and indicated commendable trust and security. Discipline was always present and willingly accepted without being forced in any way. There was clearly an acceptance of the code of behaviour being followed and students, being fully at ease with its expectations, behaved accordingly.
The walls of the workshop were effectively used to display subject-related materials which did much to provide a stimulating learning environment. Displays of investigative project work produced by fifth year CS students, mounted on boards and fixed around the workshop walls, are commended as encouragement for the investigating students and as an informative and stimulating resource for the students in general.
The jointing of wood with box dovetail joints suitable for drawer or carcase construction was undertaken in one fifth-year CS lesson visited. In addition to its value for the development of their woodworking skills, the students expressed their awareness of this as a suitable preparation for project work to be undertaken in sixth year. Most students had already marked out the joint in the previous lesson. A brief introduction made the purpose of the lesson clear and provided continuity with the work already done. Demonstrations of sawing and removal of waste from the dovetail sockets were concise, clear and effective and very good use was made of varied questioning to ensure student involvement. As the students worked at their assigned benches the teacher moved among them affirming their success and offering encouragement and help as appropriate. This was very good practice. The atmosphere in this, as in the other lessons visited, was conducive to learning. Students displayed very good knowledge and understanding of the subject and were effective in communicating when engaged in discussion by the inspector.
Assessment
Formal school examinations are run at Christmas for all classes and in summer for all non-State examination classes. Pre-examinations are provided in spring for classes sitting State examinations. In addition to these examinations, students’ work in MTW and CS is assessed by their teacher regularly in the course of each term. Each completed student design project and practical exercise is awarded a mark, which is carefully recorded. The averages of these marks are aggregated with the examination marks at Christmas and in summer to arrive at the term result. This is good practice. It is commended that this continuous assessment is formalised to a certain extent by stating clearly in advance the proportion of marks it contributes to Christmas and summer results. Students are kept aware of their progress through the course of the year providing effective encouragement for their continued or increased effort.
In each of the lessons observed, the teacher took every opportunity to affirm the success achieved by students. Advice, help and encouragement were given to students as appropriate. This practice was consistently applied and provided effective informal assessment of students’ progress. In addition students are given opportunities on its completion to evaluate their own practical work.
The records of student achievement are systematically kept in the teacher’s diary. Communication of students’ achievement is supported by annual parent-teacher meetings and in formal school reports at Christmas, following pre-examinations and in summer. A student’s results may also be communicated at meetings with individual parents, arranged when requested by the teacher or the parents as required.
The enthusiasm and curiosity of the students for MTW and CS were obvious in their responses in interactions with the inspector. This reflected well on the appropriateness of the project work being undertaken. The quality of work of students of MTW and CS in Schull Community College was indicative of levels of achievement appropriate to their ages and abilities. Student outcomes were comfortably in advance of the national norms in these subjects.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
- CCVEC, the Board of Management and school management are commended for their affirming support for the learning and teaching of MTW and CS in terms of the materials and equipment which are supplied in response to the requirements of the students when requested by the subject department.
- The teaching time allocated for MTW and CS is sufficient to teach the respective syllabuses and is suitably divided into double and single class periods.
- The development work done on joint project work in MTW, Metalwork and Technical Graphics in first year is highly commended, in particular as a response to the inevitable shortening of the time allocated to each of the technologies due to the admirable inclusion of each optional subject in the programme followed by all first year students.
- The clear demarcation of safe operational areas around the machines in the workshop is commended.
- The display of student work, including research projects mounted on board, to provide visually stimulating materials in the workshop is commended.
- The practice of regular assessment, careful recording and sensitive feedback of marks to the students concerned, together with the aggregation of the average assessments with the formal examination marks at Christmas and in summer in a clear and transparent way, is commended for the encouragement it gives to consistent effort by the students.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- While the completeness of the information included in the health and safety documentation for the wood workshop and the general safety guideline for teachers is commended, it is urged, when the section of the health and safety statement dealing with the workshop is being reviewed, that it refer specifically to the workshop in Schull Community College and deal with specific hazards, risk assessment and risk control in that context.
- It is recommended, to further improve the already impressive use of safety signage in the workshop, that increased use is made of standardised signs such as blue mandatory signs for personal protection equipment and that safety rules for the workshop are prominently displayed.
- To further increase student involvement and to provide opportunities for more differentiation of students’ learning experiences it is urged that more use be made of group work.
- In order to further increase the creative activity of students an increased emphasis on student design work, appropriate to their abilities and interests of the students is urged.
A post-evaluation meeting was held with the teacher of Materials Technology (Wood) and Construction Studies and the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.