Keynote: Upskilling Our Way Through

UPSKILLING OUR WAY THROUGH

Katharine Gracey | Teaching & Learning Leader, DESC

H “More than anything else ... we wanted to reignite our students’ istory has taught us that as humans we are incredibly resilient, and we operate most effectively when we form strong communities that have love of learning a shared purpose and a common set of values. Never before has this and provide fun, been more relevant than in the past engaging lessons 18 months, when the pandemic threatened to prevent students from accessing the rich diet of in the classroom, following many learning experiences our College months at home offers, which we feared could have potentially had a significant impact alone. on learning and progress over time.

Yet we have instead adopted an agile and adaptable approach to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by maximising the use of technology to enhance and extend our teaching and learning provision here at DESC.

Here is our story of Teaching and

Learning through the pandemic. Our first challenge occurred in March 2020, when we were given short notice that schools were closing for two weeks. Teachers were able to plan lessons and upload them, using the platform most of us were familiar with: Show My Homework. Two weeks then became several months and it became clear that online learning was here to stay until the end of the academic year and we realised that a change of direction was needed. If we wanted to provide the best education possible in this time, we needed to explore other online teaching methods and start to consider both the functionality and security of these platforms too. At that time, Webex offered us the best solution, so by April we had pushed this forward and presented the concept of Live Lessons, bringing back classroom discussion and introducing virtual, face-toface teaching for the first time in DESC’s history. We then established a team of teachers who were up-to-speed with technology and had a real flair and passion for Teaching and Learning to help support and guide staff through this challenging time. The DESC Distance Learning Team (DL Team) was born - a group of colleagues from across the curriculum: Miss Malone, Mrs Bennett, Miss Wright, Mr Treble and Mr Murtaza, and me as T&L Leader. Our first task was to rapidly upskill ourselves in several new platforms to provide immediate and ongoing support across the College. We worked many hours over the summer to put plans in place and get tech-ready for the new academic year. We were hoping that students would come back onsite for the new term, but we knew that other restrictions were unlikely to have been lifted, so we faced an even greater challenge of balancing students onsite and in-class, with those at home in quarantine. We needed to ensure that this did not turn into a logistical nightmare! Nevertheless, returning to the College in September was an exciting time for everyone; teachers were back in the classroom doing what they love and students were back reconnecting with their peers. Finding and embedding a platform which suited the needs of all students - those onsite and those at home – was still very much a priority. Following our summer of research and testing, we made

the decision to move to Microsoft Teams. We created an online professional development course for all staff on the effective use of Teams plus a separate student course to ensure they had the skills required to excel in their lessons. Staff and student confidence in using Teams was essential, and so we ensured that everyone had the same basic level of knowledge and understanding of how Teams worked before integrating Live Lessons into our provision fully. We were so impressed with the way in which staff and students embraced this change and adapted their skillset once again. It was a tough start to the year but the normality of being in a classroom environment - albeit with single desks, masks and sanitiser wipes – made it all worthwhile.

The risk of staff being asked to quarantine at home while the College remained open required a new approach altogether in the way we delivered lessons. To ensure our students did not miss out on vital learning experiences, teachers at home were ‘broadcast’ into the classroom via Microsoft Teams to deliver their lessons virtually (if they were well enough, of course!). Each lesson was facilitated by a covering member of staff, but we were confident that even in these uncertain times, loss in student learning was kept to a minimum.

However, our journey was not always focused on technology. We were also keen to embrace the new socially distanced classroom environments and get creative in how we taught in this new space. We led sessions which encouraged teachers to rethink the way they taught in a positive and productive manner and in a way which still resulted in excellent student progress. The team created video guides and shared top tips with colleagues on various areas of pedagogy, including strategies to increase collaboration and engagement in a socially distanced classroom, paperless marking and feedback, virtual support and much more. More than anything else, however, we wanted to reignite our students’ love of learning and provide fun, engaging lessons in the classroom, following many months at home alone.

Despite the challenges, the past year has also been an extraordinary time for Professional Development (PD) in the teaching community. The pandemic has not only forced an upskilling in technology, but has also provided a time to get creative and rethink the way we teach, as we mentioned above. At DESC, we have a wealth of excellent practitioners who are always willing to share their expertise and learn from their peers, continually pushing themselves to get even better, even in the hardest of times both professionally and personally. It is important that PD in Teaching and Learning is personalised to each member of staff, so therefore we launched our very own ‘T and L PD Route Map’. In other words, it is Professional Development for DESC, by DESC.

This map currently consists of four different strands:

Observe a DESCpert – observing a member of staff who has been highlighted as an excellent practitioner in a particular area of pedagogy

Menu of Choice – short group sessions to share good practice and discuss what works in our setting at DESC

Professional Learning Conversation

– a discussion with a colleague to draw upon their experience and expertise

Peer Development – informal observations and feedback with colleagues to develop strategies in the classroom

With regards to technology, our journey at DESC started four years ago, but it is incredible to see how much progress we have made in the past year alone. Our staff have upskilled and risen to the challenge of embracing technology in such a short space of time and to great effect. One of the most rewarding times during this year was observing colleagues who continually pushed themselves outside of their comfort zone to make their students’ learning experiences as engaging and interactive as possible. As we look forward to next year, we are excited to introduce the ‘DESC Tech Passport’ – a series of events and development opportunities for staff on the theme of technology. We will also continue to provide opportunities to engage with PD as previously mentioned, and we have no doubt our teachers will relish the opportunity to get involved.

The DL team could not be prouder of the DESC community in these times. DESC staff have gone above and beyond in their commitment to their students and have proven to be an exceptional group of practitioners who can embrace change and rise to even the greatest of challenges. Our students have continued to be the best DESC students they could be, despite the restrictions and change in routine. We are also proud of our parents, who have supported us in ensuring their children stay motivated and engaged and given us the time and patience we have needed to get our provision just right. One day, our COVID journey will draw to a close, but our use of technology in the classroom to transform teaching and learning is only just beginning. We are ending this year feeling positive and excited for the times ahead and, if this year has proven anything, our strength as a community gives us the ability to tackle any challenge thrown our way.