Guidance, ideas and examples to support schools in developing their curriculum, pedagogy, enrichment and support for more able learners, within a whole-school context of cognitively challenging learning for all. Includes ideas to support curriculum development, and practical examples, resources and ideas to try in the classroom. Popular topics include: curriculum development, enrichment, independent learning, questioning, oracy, resilience, aspirations, assessment, feedback, metacognition, and critical thinking.
Top tags:
pedagogy
questioning
enrichment
research
oracy
independent learning
curriculum
free resources
KS3
aspirations
cognitive challenge
KS4
assessment
language
literacy
feedback
resilience
critical thinking
maths
metacognition
collaboration
confidence
English
creativity
wellbeing
lockdown
vocabulary
access
mindset
CPD
  
|
Posted By Matthew Williams,
15 April 2019
Updated: 07 August 2019
|
What are Oxbridge admissions tutors really trying to assess during the famously gruelling interview process? Dr Matt Williams, Access Fellow at Jesus College Oxford, shares “four Cs” used to gauge candidates’ suitability for a much sought-after place.
Oxbridge interviews have taken on near-mythic status as painful reckonings. The way they are sometimes described, a trial by ordeal sounds more appealing.
I used to think as much, before I became an interviewer at Oxford. I’ve worked on politics admissions for several colleges for years now. And “work” truly is the verb here. Admissions tutors and officers at Oxford and Cambridge work very hard over months to ensure they choose the best applicants, and do so fairly. It’s honestly heartening to see how committed tutors are.
It is not even remotely in our interests to put candidates under emotional strain. So a mythic sense of interviews as tests of psychological resilience is nonsense. At Oxford and Cambridge we invite prospective students to come and stay in our colleges, eat in our dining halls and chat with our students and staff. As you’d hope from any professional job interview, the process is friendly, transparent and focused on encouraging the best performances from candidates. Below I’ve outlined a few concrete ideas as to what we are looking for, and how students can prepare.
In the interviews we tend to scribble down notes as the candidate is talking. But what exactly are we recording? What makes for good, mediocre and bad performances at interview? I record lots of data during interviews, which can be collated under four Cs. These help us gauge, accurately, a candidate’s academic ability and potential. This ultimately, is all we are testing at interview…
1. Communication
Candidates do not need to be self-confident and comfortable in expressing their ideas. Our successful candidates are mostly just normal people, with the sort of self-effacing humility you’d expect from a randomly selected stranger. As such, candidates should not be put off by cock-of-the-walk types who seem instantly at ease in our ancient surroundings.
We are not judging candidates by their ease of manner, but we do judge candidates by their ability to communicate. Meaning that candidates need to be able and willing to share their thinking as clearly as possible. Even if a candidate nervously glances at the floor and speaks softly, provided they answer our questions and help us understand their views they will be performing well.
More specifically, we are seeking answers to the questions we pose. There may not be a single answer, but it is not terribly helpful if students try to wriggle out of responding to us. As an example, the following question doesn’t have one correct (or even any correct) response:
“Can animals be said to have rights?”
Candidates need to avoid the temptation of saying either that the question is unanswerable, or sitting on the fence. Such responses are, to be blunt, intellectually lazy. We commonly have candidates “challenging the terms of the question” and thereby not answering the question at all. That is easy. Anyone can do that. Far harder is sticking your neck out and offering a solution, however tentative, to a very complex puzzle.
That said, we’re not expecting candidates to alight on their preferred solution immediately. So candidates should “show their working” and talk through their ideas as they coalesce into a solution. They can challenge aspects of the question and enquire about the wording. It may take the whole interview to come up with an answer, but at least an answer of sorts is being proposed.
2. Critical thinking
The question as to whether animals have rights is contestable. We will challenge any answer a candidate offers to see how they can defend their position. We are not expecting the candidate to drop their resolve and agree with us, but nor should they cohere rigidly to their position if it is clearly flawed. The important point is that candidates are open-minded to the possibility of other, perhaps better, solutions to the puzzle at hand, and a willingness to critique their own thinking.
Often candidates feel that they have done badly when they face critical questioning. Far from it. This is normal and reflects the fact that they have answered the question and given us (the interviewers) something to explore further.
3 and 4. Coherence and Creativity in argumentation
When posing critical questions we may encourage the candidate to identify incoherences in their case. Let’s say they argue that dogs have rights, but racing hounds do not. This could be a category error and we might ask whether they meant to say that all dogs except racing hounds have rights, or if they have made a critical misstep in the case.
Again, having a point of incoherence identified is not a bad sign. What matters is how the candidate responds. If they fail to recognise or resolve a true incoherence, that could suggest an inability to self-critically evaluate an argument.
Creativity, meanwhile, is something of an X-factor. We’re not expecting utterly original thinking in response to our intractable intellectual puzzles. But we do appreciate a willingness not to simply parrot ideas from A-level, or from the press. We appreciate a nascent (but not fully formed) capacity in a candidate to stand on their own intellectual feet.
This is where candidates can (but don’t have to) draw on wider reading or other academic experiences they have had. A lot of candidates are keen to show off what they know, but we’re testing how they think. So, we don’t want long quotes from highfalutin sources, per se; we want the candidates to come up with their own ideas, even if those ideas are half-formed and tentatively expressed.
The bottom line is that we are not looking for perfection, or else there would be little point in seeking to educate the candidates. We’re looking for potential, and it is often raw potential. Therefore willingness, motivation and enthusiasm all play a big part in the four Cs as well.
Tags:
access
aspirations
CEIAG
creativity
critical thinking
higher education
myths and misconceptions
Oxbridge
Oxford
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Charlotte Bourne, Globe Education,
12 April 2019
Updated: 03 June 2019
|
Charlotte Bourne, Deputy Head of Learning at Shakespeare’s Globe, shares four examples of free resources available via the Globe’s 2019 website on Romeo and Juliet, focusing on the development of Assessment Objective 2.
My last blog selected four resources from Shakespeare's Globe’s 2019 Romeo and Juliet website and explained how these could be used to address the needs of more able learners, within a context of challenge for all. Here, I want to drill down into one specific assessment objective within GCSE English literature and discuss four more resources that can support teaching and learning within this area. As ever, these resources are provided free of charge and form part of the Globe's commitment to increasing access to Shakespeare.
Studying a different play? Fear not… Through the Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank project, Shakespeare's Globe also offers dedicated resource websites on:
You can also visit the Globe’s Teach Shakespeare website for hundreds of free resources, searchable by play, key stage and resource type.
AO2: analysing the creation of “meaning and effects”
Assessment Objective 2 (AO2) requires learners to “analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.”
Many of our resources begin with the “meaning and effects” that have been created. It is incredibly hard for learners to analyse a feature if it creates no effect on them, or if the meaning is obscure. Start with what interests them, or what stands out, then break it down to consider why and how this is the case.
This positions them as active learners and moves them beyond feature-spotting at word-level – important as better GCSE responses discuss the structure and dramatic impact of the text.
Furthermore, broadening learners’ understanding of ways in which meanings can be shaped – particularly in relation to Shakespeare and drama – will support their further study within the subject. Finally, this also supports learners to appreciate the text from the outside: as a conscious construct, a myriad of the writer’s choices, and the characters and plot as vehicles to carry the text’s meanings.
Read on for four free resources to help your learners develop in AO2…
The weekly blog by the Assistant Director takes learners behind the scenes of a theatre production. For AO2, this is helpful to reiterate the form, as the process – and fluidity – of interpretation of drama texts is brought to the fore: this is what we mean by “text in performance”.
The lesson activity accompanying week 1's blog looks at how Romeo changes his speech when speaking to Mercutio as opposed to speaking to Juliet, and what Shakespeare is therefore trying to suggest about his character. As well as familiarisation with different parts of the play, the comparative element draws on a higher-order thinking skill.
This activity is invaluable in foregrounding the form: as James Stredder notes, plays “are essentially speech utterances” (2009). It begins by grounding the real-world application of communication accommodation theory (see Howard Giles), applying this to Shakespeare's craft. The text-work starts with reading aloud to allow pupils to feel the different meanings and effects of each Romeo-construction (speech!). Learners then return to the blog to examine the “how” of these constructions, comparing the use of verse and prose.
This resource uses an interview with the actor playing Mercutio as a springboard for exploration. Linked to AO2, this is another way of emphasising the form and its impact on interpretation. The activity invites learners to examine textual evidence in order to decide to what extent they agree with the actor's interpretation. To add challenge, learners are asked to compare Mercutio's language with Romeo's on a particular theme: love. This pushes learners to unpick how each character's speech is used as a vehicle to convey different conceptions of love.
The next activity uses the actor's interpretation to analyse the impact Mercutio's character has on the dramatic structure: they compare Mercutio's timeline with the main events of the play, and consider to what extent Shakespeare uses Mercutio to drive the events that lead to the tragedy. AO3 is integrated with AO2 through the option to debate Mercutio's primary purpose as exploring the relationship between comedy and tragedy.
Both of these activities demand learners use references from different parts of the play and use a range of higher-order thinking skills to draw out the effect of Shakespeare's choices in constructing Mercutio.
One of the most complex, but also wonderfully rich, episodes in Romeo and Juliet is Mercutio's Queen Mab speech. The week 3 blog provides an insight into how the cast worked with this, and the accompanying lesson activity builds on this. It starts by asking learners to draw the images Mercutio creates at each stage of the speech (bar the last one), which helps in untangling the meaning. They then specify which words and phrases contributed to each section of their drawings, supporting with the precision of their analysis.
Learners then create freeze-frames of each image, reflecting on which words and phrases have had the greatest effect. The chronological sharing of these freeze-frames facilitates an interrogation of the structure: how does the speech change as it progresses? Learners then predict what the last image of the speech might be. After the revelation, read-aloud work furthers the focus on learners making choices about which words create the greatest effect here, only afterwards drilling down into language techniques. Learners finally consider how the messages within this speech could link to the wider themes of the play.
This resource is comprised of an article from the production programme on the language of love and hate in Romeo and Juliet, with accompanying lesson activities. The article deepens understanding of antithesis and oxymoron by exploring the relationship between them and providing examples from the play; however, perhaps most crucially, it models the relationship between the writer's message and how this is expressed in the language patterns of the play.
Patterns are key here: the lesson activities focus on speeches by Romeo and Juliet from different parts of the play to examine how Shakespeare uses the oxymoron to link the eponymous characters while simultaneously drawing important distinctions between them. Thus, learners are asked to analyse language and then consider how the structure impacts on the meaning of each instance.
To access these resources, plus a wealth of additional resources to support a challenging curriculum, visit 2019.playingshakespeare.org. Remember: the website tracks the production so please keep coming back to see what else we have added!
Tags:
English
free resources
GCSE
KS3
KS4
literacy
literature
questioning
reading
Shakespeare
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Laura Bridgestock,
13 March 2019
Updated: 03 June 2019
|
Schools that successfully develop and maintain a broad, challenging and opportunity-rich curricular and extracurricular offer recognise the benefits this brings for all learners – not just those designated “more able”. The examples of such successful schools reflect NACE’s own focus on provision for more able learners as part of a much broader context of challenge for all and whole-school improvement. The NACE Challenge Development Programme offers a framework and support to help schools review and improve more able provision, driving improvements in provision and outcomes for all.
In this context, and amidst lively national debate about the purpose and content of the curriculum – including questions raised by and impacting on proposed changes to the Ofsted inspection framework – this year’s NACE National Conference will explore the theme: “How to lead a curriculum of opportunity and challenge: provision for more able learners that supports high achievement for all”. The event will draw on NACE’s own research and work in this field, alongside examples of effective practice from NACE Leading Schools and insights from experts in pedagogy, curriculum, and school review and improvement. Ahead of the day’s discussions, we’ve picked out five key factors to consider – drawing on the work of educationalist and author Martin Robinson, who will deliver the conference’s opening keynote.
1. Get clear on the terminology
Much of the terminology currently used in discussions about the curriculum is, when probed, somewhat vague. As Robinson points out, few would object to epithets such as “ knowledge-rich” or the ubiquitous “ broad and balanced” – but on further investigation such terms raise many more questions than they address, particularly when it comes to implementation on the ground. For discussions to progress meaningfully, clarity is important.
2. Involve everyone in curriculum design
The curriculum needs to work for everyone in school – and that means staff as well as learners. Curriculum coherence – an overriding structure that can be perceived and understood by all, with each teacher and learner understanding their current position and next steps – will remain a pipe dream if not built on genuine opportunities for collaborative curriculum design, delivery and review. This collaborative approach should be extended not only to staff members, but also – as NACE trustee Liz Allen CBE argues – to learners.
3. Put pedagogy in the picture
While no longer the buzzword du jour, pedagogy remains an essential concern and – as Robinson argues – should be considered at all stages of curriculum design. Sequencing (more on this below) is but one aspect of a repertoire of approaches which will lead to deep and sustained learning. Of these NACE frequently highlights:
- Content and related skills and concepts pitched at the right level of difficulty and complexity;
- Skilful and judicious explanation, modelling and feedback;
- Opportunities for deliberate practice;
- The development of metacognition and independence in learning;
- Tasks and activities designed to elicit higher-order and critical thinking processes;
- The management of differentiation which keeps all routes open for learners to achieve and progress.
Alongside these approaches, one of the biggest impacts on learner outcomes and engagement is what is often referred to as a positive and demanding classroom climate, coupled with teachers’ high expectations of all learners.
4. Get the timing right
Alongside the “what” and “how” of the curriculum, the “when” is also important. While “blocking” can seem the most efficient way to cover all the required content within the time available, Robinson makes the case for “spacing” – building in deliberate periods of delay in the coverage of a topic, to improve retention rates and curb last-minute cramming come exam time. This approach can be envisaged as a “spiral curriculum” – in which teaching and learning spiral back to revisit and build upon the “basic ideas” at the core of a subject, supporting overall coherence, joined-upness and progression.
5. Join the national debate
This is an exciting time for school leaders and educators – not without its challenges, but also rich in opportunity. Amidst a growing body of research on what works for more able and for all learners, including the impact of pedagogical approaches such as “teaching to the top”, we’ve seen a renaissance of evidence-rich debates about curriculum development and delivery. At its best, the debate has gone beyond old dichotomies, producing fresh approaches and working towards secure foundations and principles on which to build a curriculum fit for today and for the future.
Join us at the NACE National Conference in London on 20 June to be part of the debate!
Tags:
CPD
curriculum
pedagogy
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By King Edwin Primary School,
12 March 2019
Updated: 06 August 2019
|
Helping learners develop collaborative problem-solving skills requires careful planning to ensure all are engaged and challenged. In this blog post, Anthony Bandy, Assistant Head Teacher at King Edwin Primary School, shares six top tips drawn from his experience of participating in the NACE/NRICH ambassador scheme.
Inspired by research highlighting key skills and attributes for the next generation of citizens and employees, NRICH has created free resources to help learners develop mathematical “habits of mind” at primary and secondary levels – focusing on resilience, curiosity, thinking and collaboration. Each of these four key areas is broken down into different strands of maths, making it easy for activities to be delivered as part of regular maths sessions.
When using these resources to help learners develop collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills, here are six top tips for effective implementation…
1. Explore perspectives on collaboration
When conducting research on effective approaches to developing collaborative problem-solving skills, the NRICH team discovered something they hadn’t even thought of. When asked about working with numbers, one in three surveyed learners said they felt working together was actually cheating! This is useful to bear in mind. Spend some time exploring existing perspectives on collaboration in your class and school – you may need to work on changing learners’ (and possibly teachers’) attitudes to collaborative learning.
2. Use “think, pair, share”
Before some collaborative activities, some learners will need a bit of time to get their head around the problem. “Think, pair, share” is a great way to facilitate this, allowing time for independent thinking as well as collaboration. Learners start by working independently, thinking about the problem for themselves and making notes if they wish. They then discuss the problem in pairs and/or as a group, working around a shared large sheet of paper to discuss their answers, reasoning and strategies as they go along – great for developing maths talk.
3. Consider group size
Some learners do not like working in large groups. In addition, the smaller the group, the higher the participation level of each child; larger groups could initiate passive learning. Consider group sizes before delivering the session – perhaps offer the option to work in twos, threes or fours.
4. Allocate roles and responsibilities
One strategy for developing collaboration is to give learners allocated roles and responsibilities. This can be used in all teaching and learning sessions, giving learners a chance to try out different roles, and increasing participation levels. For example, you could have a Chief Noticer, tasked with noting down ideas using a whiteboard. Your Chief Questioner could be asking questions, such as “What do we notice? How do you know?” You could also have Chief Explainers, Chief Justifyers and so on…
5. Choose activities with different learners in mind
A common concern when planning collaborative activities: how are you going to stop one learner taking over? To ensure all learners are motivated and empowered to participate, try to choose activities that will appeal to different interests and strengths. For instance, in NRICH’s Olympic measures activity, learners who are not usually highly engaged with maths, but who love and know about sports, can become the most important people in the room.
6. Encourage learners to reflect
At the end of each session, ask learners to rate themselves and their partner in terms of collaborative skills. If not a five out of five, what was missing? Why? Build in time to discuss collaboration and what skills are needed to be successful.
Tags:
collaboration
free resources
maths
problem-solving
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Ems Lord,
05 March 2019
Updated: 08 April 2019
|
Ems Lord, Director of the University of Cambridge-based NRICH project, shares five key factors to consider when planning collaborative problem-solving (CPS) sessions using low-threshold, high-ceiling maths resources.
Have you ever attempted assembling flat-pack furniture with a friend or family member? How did it go? And are you still talking to one another?
Being able to work with others is a key life skill, but not always as straightforward as we might like. Whether we’re assembling furniture, putting up an extension or navigating our way to a holiday rental, we need to be able to work together towards a common goal and recognise our own responsibilities in achieving that goal. Moreover, developments such as driverless cars and drones signpost an increasingly automated environment in which those with strong group-working and problem-solving skills will thrive.
It is essential that we understand how to help learners develop collaborative problem-solving (CPS) skills alongside a sufficient level of challenge – planning lessons that will stretch more able learners while being accessible to all.
To this end, NRICH worked with 10 Cambridgeshire schools and the Cambridgeshire Maths Team in a project sponsored by Nesta. We shared existing low-threshold, high-ceiling NRICH resources with participants, who then adapted these to develop CPS in their own classes. After visiting each school, talking with teachers and running focus groups with learners, we identified five key aspects of CPS to consider when planning maths lessons:
1. Use low-threshold, high-ceiling activities
First and foremost is the importance of low-threshold, high-ceiling (LTHC) activities and resources. These enable all learners to get started on a problem while also offering sufficient challenge. One of NRICH’s most popular LTHC activities is the Factors and Multiples Game, which challenges learners to work together to build as long a chain as possible. Be warned: it’s hopelessly addictive for adults too!
When choosing LTHC tasks, explore our free curriculum mapping documents for primary, secondary and post-16 provision.
2. Get learners hooked
Engaging tasks are key for CPS sessions; learners must want to solve the problem. At NRICH, we aim to engage learners by designing activities which have a clear “hook” – such as the interactive challenge Got It! and the sports-themed activity Olympic Records.
Got It! requires learners to pit themselves against the NRICH computer to be the first to reach 23. This challenging activity draws learners in and they often make multiple attempts at the problem. Several of our focus group participants said they later taught the game to older siblings and family members because they thought they could outwit them.
The group activity Olympic Records is particularly appealing to learners with an interest in sports, who can draw on their knowledge to support others to match sports to their graphs. It demands effective group work and a willingness to adjust initial responses once learners realise that gender is also an important factor.
3. Model individual roles and responsibilities
A group is only as good as its individual members. Every member of the group must know what is expected of them during the task, and which roles belong to others. Individual learners should not dominate the session but should focus on filling their own roles while supporting others.
Card activities often work well in developing these skills; for example Shape Draw. Be clear about roles; which individual is responsible for recording the activity, suggesting the next shape or rolling the die? Make sure everyone knows their role and consider rotating different roles around the group. Teachers participating in our CPS project stressed the importance of modelling different roles for group members before embarking on the actual group work.
4. Develop skills for group communication
While knowing their own role is important, learners also need to be aware of the overall aims of the group. This changes the level of challenge for any task from merely cooperating to fully collaborating. In particular, all learners should be prepared to feedback to the wider class about their task.
Useful activities which offer a high level of challenge for older learners and the opportunity to feedback and explore different approaches include Steel Cables and Kite in a Square. Younger learners might enjoy the challenge of Jig Shapes and Quad Match.
5. Build in time for reflection
CPS skills need time to develop. Timetables should allow for regular CPS teaching sessions, including time allocated for reflection. Building in this reflection time can be a challenge, as time is also needed to focus on developing the required mathematics and group-working skills – but the teachers in our project stressed that it was highly worthwhile.
Ask learners about how well they worked in a group. If they awarded themselves a score from 1 to 5, what would it be and why? Which areas of their group work do they need to develop further? From a teaching perspective, when will they get their next opportunity to work on those areas?
And for your own reflection… If your class attempted one of our tasks, how do you think they might cope? Which aspects do you anticipate offering the most challenges? More importantly, when are you planning to lead the next CPS session with your class?
Further reading
- Luckin, R., Baines, E., Cukurova, M., Holmes, W., & Mann, M. (2017). Solved! Making the case for collaborative problem-solving.
- Cuoco, A., Goldenberg, E. P., & Mark, J. (1996). Habits of mind: An organizing principle for mathematics curricula. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 15(4), 375-402.
- McClure, L., Woodham, E., & Borthwick, A. (2017). Using Low Threshold High Ceiling Tasks.
Ems Lord has been Director of NRICH since 2015, following a previous role leading one of the country's largest Mathematics Specialist Teacher Programmes. Ems has taught mathematics across the key stages, from early years to A-level Further Mathematics, and has worked in a variety of settings, including a hospital school. She’s supported schools as a leading mathematics teacher, local authority consultant and Chartered Mathematics Teacher, and has taught mathematics education on both BEd and PGCE teacher programmes. She is currently working on her PhD thesis, which explores approaches to improve support for those learning calculation skills, and is President-Elect of the Mathematical Association for 2019-2020.
Tags:
collaboration
free resources
maths
problem-solving
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Natasha Goodfellow,
14 February 2019
Updated: 08 April 2019
|
Oracy skills underpin all areas of learning and life – and they certainly shouldn’t be taught only to those who join the school debating club, argues Natasha Goodfellow of the English-Speaking Union. Build oracy into every lesson with these five simple activities – suitable for all learners, phases and subjects.
Think about what you’ve done today. How much time have you spent talking, explaining, listening to deduce meaning or ease conflict? How much time have you spent persuading people to your point of view, or to do something you want doing, versus writing essays or doing maths?
Most communication is verbal, rather than written. And yet oracy receives much less attention in the school curriculum than literacy and numeracy. Even in schools which pride themselves on their oracy results, too often the teaching happens in debate or public speaking clubs as opposed to lesson time.
Why make oracy part of every lesson?
While a lunchtime or after-school club can be a good place to start, participants will generally be self-selecting, precluding many of those who might benefit the most. It’s far better to introduce an oracy element into every lesson.
As good teachers know, oracy is about far more than speaking and listening alone. Oracy activities encourage learners to voice and defend their opinions, to think for themselves and to listen critically. And, perhaps most importantly, they build confidence and resilience. However able an individual may be, it’s one thing to argue a point in an essay; it’s quite another to do that in person, in front of an audience, with others picking holes in your arguments, questioning your thought processes or your conclusions. And it’s another leap again to review the feedback and adjust your opinion or calmly concede that you may have been wrong.
With regular practice, what might initially seem uncomfortable or impossible is soon recognised as simply another skill to be learnt. Happily, it’s all part of a virtuous circle – the better learners are at speaking, the better their written work will be. The firmer their grip on the facts, the more convincing their arguments. And, ultimately, the more they are challenged and asked to think for themselves, the more rewarding their education will be.
Here are five simple oracy activities to incorporate in your daily teaching:
1. Balloon debate
Display a range of themed prompts on the board. For instance, in chemistry or physics you might choose different inventors; in PSHE you might choose “protein”, “fat” and “sugar”. Ask the class to imagine they are in a balloon which is rapidly sinking and that one person or item must be thrown out of the balloon. Each learner should choose a prompt and prepare a short speech explaining why he/she/it deserves to stay in the balloon. For each of the items listed, choose one learner to take part in the debate. The rest of the class should vote for the winners/losers.
2. Draw a line
This activity works well for lessons that synthesise knowledge. For example, you may use it to recap a scheme of work. Draw a line on the board. Label it “best to worst”, “most certain to least certain”, or whatever is appropriate. Learners should copy this line so they have their own personal (or small group) version. Introduce items – for example, in geography, different sources of energy; in history, difference sources of evidence. As you discuss each item and recap its main features, learners should place the item on their own personal line. In small groups or as a class, learners can then discuss any disagreements before placing the item on the collective class line on the board.
3. Where do you stand?
Assign one end of the room “agree” and the other “disagree”. When you give a statement, learners should move to the relevant side of the room depending on whether they agree or disagree. Using quick-fire, true/false questions allows you to swiftly assess understanding of lesson content, while more open questions allow learners to explain and defend their thinking.
4. Talking bursts
At appropriate points in a lesson, ask individual learners to speak for 30 seconds on a theme connected to the subject in hand. This could be in a colloquial mode – an executioner arguing that hanging should not be banned, for example; or a more formal mode – such as a summary of the history of capital punishment. Begin with your more able learners as a model; soon the whole class will be used to this approach.
5. Praise and feedback
Finally, make time for praise and feedback – both during oracy activities and as part of general class discussions. Invite comments on how speeches could be improved in future, and recognise and celebrate learners when they make good arguments or use appropriate vocabulary.
Natasha Goodfellow is Consultant Editor at the English-Speaking Union where she oversees the publication of the charity’s magazine, Dialogue, and content on its website. She has worked as an English teacher abroad and is now a writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Week Junior.
NACE is proud to partner with the English-Speaking Union (ESU), an educational charity working to ensure young people have the speaking and listening skills and cultural understanding they need to thrive. The ESU’s Discover Debating programme, a sustainable programme designed to improve listening and speaking skills and self-confidence in Years 5 and 6, is now open for applications, with large subsidies available for schools with high levels of FSM and EAL. To find out more and get involved, visit www.esu.org/discover-debating
Read more:
Plus: for more oracy-based challenges to use in your classroom, watch our webinar on this topic (member login required).
Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.
Tags:
aspirations
critical thinking
enrichment
feedback
oracy
questioning
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Gemma Quinn,
12 February 2019
Updated: 23 December 2020
|
In December 2018, Chesterfield High School was accredited with the NACE Challenge Award, in recognition of school-wide high-quality provision for more able learners within a context of challenge for all. Gemma Quinn, Director of Learning for MFL and Challenge Lead, explains why the school decided to focus on raising aspirations, and key steps taken in achieving this.
At Chesterfield High School, our students and staff have wholeheartedly benefited from using the NACE Challenge Framework and from NACE visits to school. We fully understand that the majority of a learner’s time in school is spent in the classroom, and therefore it is essential that our provision provides all learners with opportunities for challenge.
However, we identified an area beyond the classroom as a key area for development. We wanted to ensure learners go outside their comfort zone, build resilience and take intellectual risks to fully prepare them for life after school. We carried out pupil voice, analysed our data, and we determined that not only did we want students to be inspired to learn in school, but we also wanted to raise aspirations to enable greater transition into the sixth form and beyond.
Using the six key elements of the NACE Challenge Framework, we identified three areas – curriculum, teaching and support; communication and partnership; and monitoring and evaluation – as key to developing our provision for, and raising the aspirations of, our learners.
For other schools seeking to raise aspirations, we would recommend the following steps:
1. Listen to learners
We collected pupil voice through anonymous questionnaires and pupil interviews. This highlighted some great strengths, such as our ability to listen and take account of the views of our more able learners within a wider context and our ability to increase parental responsibility in supporting their child’s learning outside of school.
We are passionate about celebrating all learners’ achievements and strengths in an environment where both staff and learners have high expectations of themselves and of one another. However, by listening to learner feedback we recognised that we needed to provide our learners with greater opportunities to experience the world beyond the classroom to support further success.
2. Embed a whole-school approach
We set actions in place to develop our curriculum to offer breadth, depth and flexibility. We increased our enrichment resources and wider learning opportunities for all, with a focus on raising the aspirations of our learners.
In working towards the NACE Challenge Award, our fundamental aim was to ensure that the school’s vision and ethos are at the heart of everything that happens – to ensure “for everyone the best”. To ensure this was implemented across the school, we identified a Challenge Lead Representative. It was envisaged that the Challenge initiative would strengthen the school community’s drive to promote, actively witness and celebrate the progress and achievement of more able learners. As a result, highly able pupils (HAPs) will be motivated to succeed and to participate in all learning opportunities that will positively nurture their academic and personal growth.
3. Involve staff at faculty level
We also identified a HAP Representative in each faculty area, who reported to the whole-school Challenge Lead Representative. The key objectives of the HAP Representatives are to ensure that the achievement and progress of HAPs are consistently monitored and celebrated within their faculty area. Representatives also help to develop their faculty’s approach to HAP teaching and learning in line with whole-school teaching and learning initiatives, thus leading to improved progress and attainment.
We created a subject attributes document which included three key strands for each individual subject area. These included characteristics of a HAP, activities that HAPs should do, and how parents can support HAPs.*
4. Provide inspiring examples and role models
We invited an ex-student who is now studying at Cambridge University into school. She was able to give staff a greater understanding of her school experience and how we guided and prepared her for university life. Through discussions, she inspired current learners to think beyond their original choices and to aim for Russell Group universities and Oxbridge. She was also open to keeping in touch with students to mentor and address any questions they had.
In addition, we allocated learners with an aspirations mentor who was able to advise them on the application process and subject choices at A-level to maximise their chances of getting a university place. Learners also took part in mock interviews with volunteers in the community in their chosen field of work or study, which increased their confidence and helped to develop their oracy skills.
Visits out to universities, including trips to open days’ and residential trips were promoted through our Challenge Lead Representative. Students visited universities around the country and applied for the prestigious Cambridge Shadowing Scheme.
We are proud…
Using the Challenge Framework helped us to identify our strengths and areas for development in more able provision. Through the action plan created as part of our work with the framework, we highlighted actions and the intended impact of these on target groups of learners. We are extremely proud of the steps we have taken to ensure our more able provision allows all our learners to have the best possible life chances.
Gemma Quinn is the Director of Learning for MFL and the Challenge Lead at Chesterfield High School. She is an experienced teacher of French and Spanish to KS5 and a skilled coach and mentor. Gemma enjoys working with various subject leaders across the school to improve learner outcomes and looks forward to continuing to support them in the future.
*To view Chesterfield High School's HAPs subject attributes document, log in to our members' resource library and go to the "Identification & transition" section.
Tags:
aspirations
CEIAG
enrichment
higher education
partnerships
student voice
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Charlotte Bourne, Globe Education,
12 February 2019
Updated: 08 April 2019
|
Shakespeare’s tragic tale of young love rarely fails to capture the imagination, but how can you help learners approach it with a fresh perspective – interrogating, comparing, contextualising and analysing in depth? Charlotte Bourne, Deputy Head of Learning at Shakespeare’s Globe, shares four free resources to breathe new life into your English literature lessons…
Every March, Shakespeare’s Globe becomes a cauldron of excitement as our high-octane, flagship education project, “ Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank” begins. We provide 18,000 free tickets to a full-scale Shakespeare production tailored for 11-18 year olds. Alongside this, each year we create a dedicated website that complements and tracks the production. Although our free tickets target London and Birmingham state schools, the website is open to all, completely free, and doesn't require any sign-up; it forms part of the Globe's commitment to making Shakespeare accessible for all. This article highlights four resources from our 2019 website on Romeo and Juliet and explains how these could be used to address the needs of more able learners, within a context of challenge for all. Whilst these explanations focus on GCSE English literature, the resources can all be adapted to provide any learner with the opportunity to “[read], understand and respond to texts... and develop an informed personal response.”
Our “script machines” display the script of five key scenes from the play, but with a twist: you have the option of showing the director's edit. This enables you to unpick AO2 more organically with learners, because the interplay between language (Shakespeare's text) and form (a script to be edited for the stage) becomes apparent. For example:
Juliet: O, sweet my mother, cast me not away!
Delay this marriage for a month, a week;
Or, if you do not, make the bridal bed
In that dim monument where Tybalt lies.
- What do the cut lines convey in terms of meaning?
- What does removing them achieve?
- What meaning is the director drawing our attention towards, or away from, through this edit?
This serves as a reminder that, in any performance text, there is more than one conscious construct at work. Although learners will need to know the whole text, the “meanings and effects” (AO2) has a greater plurality when considered in this light.
Indeed, this can also lead to discussions around the context: the origins of Shakespeare's writing, shaped by the theatre practices of his day, mean that even modern editions of the same, full play-text may differ. What an audience receives, therefore, is already layered with interpretation.
This part of the resource gives learners the opportunity to identify where certain literary techniques are being used by Shakespeare, across five key scenes. This can be used as a revision tool, but why not use it to model the thought processes in understanding how these techniques work to create meanings and effects? This moves learners away from the fallacy of technique-spotting, and can be adapted for KS3 and KS4.
With this in mind, several techniques in each scene are broken down into a series of questions, on our Teachers’ Notes page. For example:
- Tybalt describes the servants as “heartless hinds”. How does this metaphor show that Tybalt has a low opinion of the servants? Use the questions below to support your thinking.
- What possible meanings does the word “hind” have?
- How about the word “heartless”? Hint: remember that Shakespeare’s audience would have heard the play; “heartless” could also therefore be heard as “hart-less”. How could this link to “hind”?
- Consider the effect of the alliteration in making this link.
- How does this contribute to the servants’ definition of masculinity set up in the opening exchange between Sampson and Gregory?
To extend the challenge, learners could then create their own questions to deconstruct other techniques. Creating these questions demands higher-order thinking, as learners need to be at Bloom's level of “analysis” before attempting this. To scaffold them up to this level of challenge, they could look at how the same technique is deconstructed in a different scene. This has the added benefit of highlighting the nuanced effects of the same technique used in different parts of the text.
Brooke's 1562 poem, “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet”, served as a key source for Shakespeare. So far, so bolt-on AO3. However, this resource allows learners to compare the differences between Shakespeare's prologue and Brooke's “argument”. It highlights how Shakespeare’s drama occurs over just five days, whereas Brooke’s poem unfolds over nine months, and that Juliet’s age is lowered from 16 to 13.
Drawing out these differences allows for rich exploration of writer's craft that cannot be separated from context, required for the top bands at GCSE.
- Have learners compare the time reference in Brooke's “argument” with Shakespeare's prologue, and discuss what effect this might have.
- Next, ask learners to find all the references to time within Shakespeare's version; what patterns do they spot? Why is it that time seems to pass so quickly in the play? Consider this also in light of Shakespeare's younger Juliet.
- What meaning is being created through these marked changes to the original source material? If time is compacted and Juliet is younger, what might this suggest about the speed of young love?
- How does the adaptation of form – from poem to play – affect how it is received?
Providing learners with the opportunity to engage with text in performance is a cornerstone of the work we do, and part of this involves providing access to actors taking part in the production.
Although learners wouldn't need to analyse actors' interpretations in their exam, the character interviews provide a window into hearing how someone else arrived at an informed, personal response (AO1). Questions cover: What are your initial impressions of your character(s)? What have you noticed about your character’s language, i.e. the way they speak to others/about themselves?
Characters are interviewed several times across the production, providing learners with opportunities to reflect on the complex nature of interpretation: how this can be revised with each more detailed exploration of the text.
To access these resources, plus a wealth of additional resources to support a challenging curriculum, visit 2019.playingshakespeare.org. Remember: the website tracks the production so please keep coming back to see what else we have added!
Charlotte Bourne is Deputy Head of Learning at Shakespeare’s Globe, with a focus on learners aged 3-18, plus the educators who support them. The Globe’s on-site Lively Action programme welcomes close to 80,000 learners per year, while its international outreach work sends practitioners to China, the US and Europe. A qualified English teacher and AQA examiner for GCSE Literature, Charlotte has worked closely with ITTs and NQTs across multiple subjects.
Tags:
English
free resources
GCSE
KS3
KS4
literature
Shakespeare
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Jon Murphy,
11 February 2019
Updated: 22 December 2020
|
NACE member and Challenge Award holder Llanfoist Fawr Primary School has developed a whole-school approach to character education, drawing on its use of the NACE Challenge Framework alongside the SkillForce Prince William Award. Headteacher Jon Murphy explains why the school believes so strongly in character education as a prerequisite for both wellbeing and academic success.
Why focus on character education?
Character education is not an add-on: it is essential for all young people, and the remit of all educators. Schools have a crucial role in preparing young people to withstand the pressures that life presents, to respond resiliently to setbacks and challenges, and to make informed decisions to shape their future lives. Character education provides the toolbox that will allow them to do so.
At Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, we also firmly believe that nurturing non-academic attributes such as resilience, determination and teamwork is a prerequisite to sound learning. Learning only takes place if the conditions are right and children can cope with the pressures and challenges thrown up by school and life beyond school. And until an individual knows themselves and feels happy in their own skin, they cannot fully realise what they are capable of.
Developing a whole-school approach to character education has unequivocally proved to us that this kind of holistic development is essential in preparing children to become effective learners in all areas, be it academic, sporting, artistic, cultural, spiritual, musical or social.
This goes hand in hand with our use of the NACE Challenge Framework – recognising the importance of character education as a foundation for all learners to develop and achieve at the highest levels of which they are capable.
What does character education look like at Llanfoist Fawr?
There is no single method for developing character-based curriculum provision. At Llanfoist we have aligned our character education work with the NACE Challenge Framework and with the SkillForce Prince William Award (PWA), for which we were selected as a pilot school. The PWA and NACE Challenge Framework complement and enhance each other perfectly, ensuring challenge for all.
External PWA instructors provide whole-class sessions, each exploring a character attribute or “guiding principle” such as reliance, courage or passion. The PWA explores 28 guiding principles through five key themes – personal development, relationships, working, community and environment – using experiential learning. Children engage in practical skills-based activities and are encouraged to review their actions and behaviour in accordance with the guiding principles.
How is this integrated with other areas of learning?
Character development is not a standalone programme and will not succeed as such; it will only succeed in developing productive character traits if it is an integral part of everything we do and everything we believe in.
Once a guiding principle and its associated behaviours have been taught in a PWA session, children are encouraged to use and apply that character skill across the curriculum. At every opportunity the class teacher reinforces the principles and applies them to other areas of learning.
The impact can be seen in every lesson; we see children become more resilient, self-regulating and develop self-belief. The guiding principles and associated behaviours become second nature as learners assimilate, value and live them.
What has been the impact for more able learners, and all learners?
Developing character has transformed the life chances of many of our pupils, including the more able, helping to equip them with the social, emotional and academic skills needed to succeed.
As with many of the most effective influencers in education, the impact cannot be measured in a number or score. The results have been seen in the children’s improved emotional health, wellbeing and view of themselves; the happiness they gain through productive learning; the self-belief and confidence that positively radiates from young people who are comfortable in their own skins and daring to be their “best selves”.
Character development allows learners to discover previously untapped inner strength, skills, talents and self-belief. It has empowered children in our school to understand how best to lead their own learning, to make strong moral choices and to be confident, independent decision makers. Our more able realise what potential they have and are enthusiastic engaged leaders and learners who thrive on the challenges and opportunities afforded them.
As a school we seek innovative, creative and fun approaches to curriculum delivery with guaranteed high-impact learner outcomes. Developing character education has delivered on all fronts.
Tags:
character
collaboration
confidence
metacognition
mindset
personal development
resilience
wellbeing
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Beth Hawkins,
08 February 2019
Updated: 08 April 2019
|
Do the young people in your school feel confident engaging with scientific concepts, terminology, experiences and thinking? Do they believe science is “for them”? In this blog post, Science Museum Group (SMG) Academy Manager Beth Hawkins shares five ways teachers can help learners develop “science capital” – promoting more positive perceptions of, attitudes towards and aspirations within the sciences.
To read more about the research behind these recommendations, click here.
1. Personalise and localise your content
The more we can relate science content to what matters in learners’ lives and local communities, the more we can create “light bulb moments” where they can see the personal relevance and feel closer to the topic. This is more than contextualising science through world events or generic examples; it is about taking some time to find out about the current interests and hobbies of the individual learners in your classroom. This might include discussing how forces link to a local fair or a football match, or how understanding the properties of materials or chemical reactions can help when baking or cooking at home.
2. Show how many doors science can open
Many young people see science as a subject that only leads to jobs “doing science” – working alone in a laboratory or in a medical field. Yet from fashion and beauty to sports and entertainment, business or the military, nearly all industries use science knowledge and skills. Demonstrate that science can open doors to any future career, to help young people see the value and benefit of science to their future.
For ideas and guidance on linking learning to the world of work, log in to the NACE members’ site for the NACE Essentials guide to CEIAG for more able learners.
3. Widen perceptions about who does science
Science seems to have a bit of an image problem. If you search online for images of scientists, your screen will be filled with hundreds of images of weird-looking men with wild hair, wearing white lab coats and holding test tubes or something similar. Scientists are often portrayed similarly in the popular culture that children are exposed to every day – it is no wonder many young people find it hard to relate. Take every opportunity to show the diversity of people who use science in their work or daily lives so that learners can see “people like me” are involved in science and it isn’t such an exclusive (or eccentric) pursuit.
4. Maximise experiences across the whole learning landscape
Young people experience and learn science in many different places – at school, at home and in their everyday life. No single place or experience can build a person’s science capital, but by connecting or extending learning experiences across these different spaces, we can broaden learners’ ideas about what science is and open their eyes to the wonders of STEM. Link out-of-school visits and activities back to content covered in the classroom. You could also set small related challenges or questions for learners to investigate at home or in their local area.
5. Engage families and communities
Our research has found that many families see science as simply a subject learned in school, not recognising where and how it relates to skills and knowledge they use every day. All too often we hear parents saying, “I am not a science-y person”, “I was terrible at science in school” or even “You must be such a boffin if you are good at science.” When young people hear those close to them saying such things, it is not surprising that a negative perception of science can start to grow and the feeling “this is not for me” set in.
Encourage learners to pursue science-related activities that involve members of their family at home or in their local community. Model and encourage discussions which link science to young people’s interests – this will help to show the relevance of science and normalise it. For specific ideas, check out The Science Museum’s free learning resources.
Additional reading and resources:
Beth Hawkins is the Science Museum Group (SMG) Academy Manager. She has been working in formal and informal science education for over 22 years, including roles as head of science in two London schools. Since joining the Science Museum, she has developed and delivered training to teachers and STEM professionals nationally and internationally, and led many of the SMG’s learning research to practice projects. The Science Museum Group Academy offers inspirational research-informed science engagement training and resources for teachers, museum and STEM professionals, and others involved in STEM communication and learning.
Tags:
access
aspirations
free resources
science
STEM
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
Blog Home
All Blogs
Print Page
RSS