#INSPIRING
EMANUEL
Teaching & Learning Newsletter
Summer 22
Rocking the CPD Boat Julia Johnson, Director of Teaching and Learning
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ack in early 2020, I was looking forward to a May INSET day for staff unlike previous ones. I was planning a carousel of teaching and learning sessions run by colleagues, showcasing the research which they had been carrying out in their own classrooms. You know what happened next. By May, we were all glued to our screens from spare rooms across southwest London, listening to cries of ‘You’re on mute!’ and watching videos of Mr Kothakota’s increasingly intense workouts whilst munching on stockpiled crisps. After a course at the Institute of Education on leading research and development in schools, I became interested in the research being carried out into what makes effective ‘Continued Professional Development’ (CPD). There is robust evidence that to have any impact on teaching, and therefore on pupils’ outcomes, CPD needs to be personalised, collaborative, and reflective (Galdin-O’Shea, 2015) Teachers need to feel that they are driving their own development, so autonomy is vital. Finally, it should be targeted to meet the specific needs of the school,with‘teachers conceptualised as learners and the school as a learning community’ (Roberts, 2015).
One of the pleasures of working at Emanuel is that there is no shortage of staff who are intellectually curious, reflective about their practice, and keen to learn in a collaborative way. They embody the mantra of formative assessment guru Professor Dylan Wiliam, that ‘Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.’ So when 2022 arrived and we were back onsite, I was determined to trial a new-look training day, and began planning the first Emanuel ‘Staff Conference’. We all have certain expectations of staff training days. A motivational speaker, who perhaps has scaled a mountain, or maybe an earnest and well-meaning expert on mental health. Keen to push people outside of their comfort zones and appeal to all staff, regardless of their specialism, we have invited world record breaking beat boxer, hip-hop MC and writer Testament to start the day with an energizing beatbox masterclass and history of the hip-hop genre told through rap. I am hopeful that he’ll ask the headmaster for a demo. After that, staff can choose from a menu of CPD options delivered both
by members of staff and experts from outside school. There will be sessions on the latest developments in neuroscience, workshops on maximising technology in the classroom, and practical advice on career paths in teaching. After an intense two years, it felt important to have a wellbeing focus, so there are mindfulness and mindful art sessions as well as yoga workshops from OE Zara Karimi, whilst a survey of staff revealed a demand for practical sessions on supporting mental health, both in pupils and staff, which we are meeting with the help of Tess Bhokanandh and Jules Oakshett, qualified counsellors. After an inspiring morning sharing knowledge, we will be treated to one of the catering team’s finest lunches, before departments break off for an afternoon of professional learning and teambuilding. A range of activities are planned, from exploring how VR technology might be used to teach pupils about space in Physics, to a workshop from The Globe Theatre on teaching tragedy for the English and Drama departments. Here’s hoping that the day will be a success and CPD at Emanuel will never look quite the same again…
Independent Study
Coaching
Ben Rogers (Head of Independent Study Coaching)
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ndependent study coaching focuses on developing pupils’ self-awareness of their responsibility to engage with their own learning. Whilst the attention is aimed at academic learning, the outcomes should have a positive effect on all aspects of life. The process starts with a meeting between a pupil and coach to understand each individual’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Information is gathered through a series of conversations which generate specifically targeted mindsets, study habits and daily routines. These personalised tasks, if applied consistently, lead to a much more fulfilling and productive learning process.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”- Amelia Earhart Study habit and daily routine adaptations can be simple tasks but are often the most challenging to apply. They require a conscious ‘decision to act’ and a strong personal reason to maintain. A parent or teacher telling a pupil what to do is rarely enough. Commencing homework as soon as you get home or leaving your mobile phone in another room whilst you work are easy to identify
but require discipline and desire repeat consistently. I like Amelia Earhart’s quote above, but there is a sense that the role of tenacity or determination is diluted. Through pupil feedback, tenacity is frequently identified as an admirable character trait within role models. One of the study coaches’ roles is to work with pupils to highlight opportunities where a conscious application of determination is required. The completion of said act (completing homework or revision) then becomes an exercise in discipline training which, if successfully completed, can be much more rewarding and satisfying. Whilst these habits and routines show clear benefit to studying, it is the long-term strengthening of a growth mindset that carries the largest benefit. Adapting a mindset takes time and patience so regular short meetings provide the perfect environment to share challenges and reaffirm what requires their focus. Slowly but surely negative perceptions of topics such as effort, failure and discipline can be broken down and rebuilt for a more confident, healthy, and happy individual.
Teaching & Learning IN NUMBERS Julia Johnson (Director of Teaching and Learning)
2 6 20 6 15 34 2 60
pupil surveys about their teaching and learning
70 92 71 0 % % responses from pupils giving their feedback on teaching and learning
of sixth formers answer ‘always’ or ‘often’ to the statement ‘There is a positive atmosphere in the class and I know my teacher wants the best for me.’
over
governors have carried out ‘Friday Takeaway’ e-mails pupil pursuits this year to sent to staff with top tips experience a ‘day in the life’ on teaching and learning of an Emanuel pupil
of sixth formers agree that ‘My lessons always give me the opportunity to learn effectively and develop my knowledge’.
44, 000
meetings of Teaching and Learning Committee, sharing best practice and research across departments
student visits to Firefly per week
over
webinars for parents staff involved in a peer sixth formers mentoring observation project across lower school pupils on study skills and the lower school with a revision techniques focus on differentiation
individual training courses attended by teaching staff
Re-writing History Laura Aitken-Burt (Classics, History and Politics)
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istory may seem like a set of facts to be learnt and remembered to take valuable lessons from for our own times and lives. However, as a discipline, it is important to note that historical narratives are creative enterprises that have been written from certain perspectives with selected sources and nuance of writing. The words chosen can make a huge difference to what is understood and told to future generations. In this way, History is an art form which varies between different historians who construct their own stories from the sources they select and their own social, political, gendered, racial and cultural background of their own existence.
textbooks will enable students to have the opportunity to study units as varied as African Kingdoms, Islamic caliphates, Medieval China, Mughals, Edo Japan, Mongols, Ottomans, 19th century Europe and Global imperialism across multiple empires. By focusing the enquiries on these areas themselves, rather than as tangential to British history, students will be able to immerse themselves in a different culture to hear different voices from the past which have been overlooked for so long. Indeed, this is the first set of KS3 textbooks to ever cover such a wide range of global history for British schools.
The process of writing the textbooks has been a long labour of love. I have learnt a lot from the research I had to do in order to think about how to condense academic texts into something comprehensible for KS3…and the crushing agony of having to cut interesting information for the strict 800 word count for each spread! It has reminded me how important words are, as I have now contributed a piece of narrative into the telling of the past. It’s certainly a more inclusive one with an effort to try and at least partially attempt to redress the imbalance of male to female ratio of characters named in textbooks (the hurdles to even overcome this were quite Representation matters, because students take away astounding). But even so, with many sources that survive important meanings from the stories we tell them. It is our being so focused on high politics and the world of rich men duty to try to uncover as many varied stories as possible, across all continents, the limits of having such a small amount not just to tick a diversity box or in response to recent of space to tell a story of entire civilisations was really hard. events but simply to acknowledge the true diversity of human experience that has always existed but old narratives I hope that teachers in the classroom will be able to take the have failed to tell. Even if some voices are lost forever, it is text in the books as a narrative starting point to springboard important to reflect on how and why that might be the case. their own inspiration for other places and to find out more to impart to our students. It requires continued research and Since January 2020 I have been co-authoring the second effort to engage with new evidence and to constantly remind edition of Harper Collins’ Knowing History textbook series ourselves to think from different perspectives – after all, this which is expanding to cover units from across the world. is what the purpose of History should always be about. From the fall of the Roman empire to the present day, these One might think that these are quite high concepts for KS3 students to grapple with. But it is important that we explain to students that the narratives in history we hear about are creations from a selected group of sources. What if we look at accounts, objects or sites from different countries and different peoples? What if we look for the lives of women or the lives of the poor? What if we creatively try to think about these erased histories if they are hard to find in the source material?
RESILIENCE – predictor for success? Naomi Boyd (Deputy Head of Sixth Form)
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esilience, bouncebackability or GRIT are all terms we have heard over the years within the teaching field. Although different terms, they ultimately mean having the ability to overcome adversity. Having resilience allows pupils to ‘bounce-back’ from difficult times and to learn from challenges. Regardless of what buzzword we use, the research into the positive implications of having these characteristics is overwhelming. Over the last two years, psychologists have had the rare opportunity to review resilience in the real world in response to a serious and life-changing event: the coronavirus pandemic. Research from a YouGov focus group has shown only 30% of the sample were negatively affected (YouGov, 2020) and other research found 87% of people said they were using at least one coping strategy (Resilience Research Centre, 2020), suggesting these people may have had protective factors. Having resilience in these situations can protect you from the negative consequences. This can be in the form of personal attitudes, social skills, and positive thinking (Jowkar et al, 2014).
solving skills, empathy, well-defined goals and having high self-efficacy can contribute to positive academic, social and health outcomes (Benard & Diaz, 1999). To test the pupil’s resilience, I gave them an impossible task. They were given an incomplete set of instructions to make an origami peacock. Although breaching some ethical guidelines (deception), it was incredibly insightful to observe their responses to this situation. It was alarming how quickly, and how many, pupils gave up saying “I just can’t do it”, instead of looking at alternative methods to help them. When debriefing the pupils, I asked them to reflect on their actions and whether they show similar responses if being taught a more challenging topic. By keeping an open mind and having a growth mindset, they can respond more positively to difficult scenarios, hence developing resilience.
It is useful for pupils to be given opportunities to fail. I often encourage pupils to change their approach to failure and view it as an opportunity to learn. You either win or you learn. A ‘lack of success’ can only help you reflect on what worked well, what didn’t and how to improve for the next These protective factors are also applicable to other time. We need to nurture the pupils in understanding that aspects of your child’s life, such as academic, emotional, success is due to a multitude of factors. As Matthew Syed and behavioural. Resilient pupils can sustain high levels of said, “It is practise, not talent, that is the secret to success”. achievement motivation and performance despite the Be resilient, fail at things, and most importantly, learn from presence of stressful events (Alva, 1991). Developing your experiences. internal factors such as strong communication and problem-
Useful resources: https://positivepsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/3-Resilience-Exercises-Pack.pdf https://www.boingboing.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/resilience_framework_-_children_and_young_people_ LATEST_VERSION.pdf