contents Hello FROM OUR HEAD I am excited to introduce you to the first ever edition of Forest Gate Community School's Teaching and Learning newsletter, compiled by our very own staff.
Part of our school motto is to 'strive' to be better. Your pursuit of excellence will be showcased in our newsletter every term.
So, grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy this feast of brilliance at your leisure.
Thahmina
3 BLOG FEATURE: WHAT DO YOU CALL A TEACHER WITHOUT A CLASSROOM? Yamina Bibi
4 DPR DIGEST 5 CST EDI REMOTE LESSON PLANNING Toby Holloway
6 MOT YOUR MCQ 7 LIGHTING FIRES Oliver Walsh
8 DPR SUPERSTAR TLC NEWSLETTER | 2
WHAT DO YOU CALL A TEACHER WITHOUT A CLASSROOM? What a term. I’m sure many of us, if not all of us, will agree that last term was the strangest of our teaching careers. Whether you’ve been teaching for 2 years or 20, remote learning is a new experience for many of us.
Yamina Bibi @MSYBIBIBLOGS WWW.MSYBEEBS.WORDPRESS.COM
Being a teacher without a traditional classroom and students working away in them is heartbreaking but of course, necessary. I know it is keeping our students and colleagues safe and helping to save lives so I am glad the government made the decision. I think however it’s okay to admit that I miss the smiles and greetings of colleagues, the chatter of students, students trying to ‘spud’ me, students making me laugh, classes actively engaged in talking about literary texts and colleagues sharing their favourite lessons of the day amongst many others. This new ‘normal’ way of working and teaching means adapting the way we’ve been doing things in education. But the thing about us teachers is that we’re used to change. So of course, when it was announced that schools needed to close, teachers showed their adaptability, their resilience, their kindness, their generosity and their desire to actively contribute to society by staying at home and doing the best they could to support students and colleagues. In these desperate and difficult times, when many of us are fighting our own personal battles, I have seen teachers shine and share their light (mind the cliche). I’m so proud to be part of this profession, working with the colleagues I do, teaching the students I adore and serving my own community. Okay so I might not have a classroom but I have a laptop and internet access (many of my students do not) and I’m doing my best to teach remotely and provide resources to ensure that the poverty gap does not increase as a result of this. Most importantly, I just want my students and colleagues and their families to stay safe, be well and know they are loved in these strangest of times. Through Google Meet and DPR, I’ve been able to keep in touch with my students, continue to teach some lessons, share resources and just try and show my students I care. This care is both ways as I’ve had students emailing me to ask how I am and how my dad and family are. What more could a teacher want? What I’m learning from this- and I’m sure there’s more to learn- is to remind ourselves that we are not alone in this, despite being isolated and far away from each other. We are all in the same situation trying our very best to do the best for our students but we also need to be kind to ourselves. Teachers are so selfless that we forget that we need to take care of ourselves too. Many of us have children of our own and balancing this new way of living must be challenging to say the least. Sometimes, we’re not going to get it right and that’s okay. Some days we’ll just want to eat junk food, sit in our pjs, call our family and friends and watch ‘Gavin and Stacey’ and that is most definitely okay. When we look back at this time, how do we want to be remembered? What do we want our families, friends, students and colleagues to say about us in these times? How do we want to remember ourselves? I will remember how we all contributed to our communities, whether we’re teachers, support staff, office staff, cleaners, dining staff, NHS workers, supermarket staff; the list could go on. We all have something significant to contribute and we should all be proud of what we’re achieving now and will continue to achieve together. Please take care of yourselves and the ones you love and continue being phenomenal!
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TAKE AWAYS FOR YOU TO TRY
COLLABORATE
D P R D I G E S T
FEATURE Providing feedback is the most powerful tool to improve the outcomes of pupils, especially those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Research by EEF has suggested that effective feedback can add on average eight months progress for relatively low cost.
The DPR Collaborate feature is an ingenious way for teachers to continue to improve the life chances of students and promote their progress by communicating meaningful feedback linked directly to a key objective.
The teacher and student collaboration can be effective in some of the following scenarios: Provide meaningful feedback to help students secure particular KOs Provide stretch and challenge tasks Provide further follow up of misconceptions from online lessons and quizzes Take learning beyond the classroom and curriculum Attach links and resources that have been automatically identified for each KO directly from the resource portal.
Click on your class and select the student you want to communicate with
Communicate by typing or voice recording your feedback and attach relevant resources
Click on the speech bubble of the specific KO
Click the resource tab to automatically find resources for the specific KO
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Community Schools Trust EXPLICIT DIRECT INSTRUCTION Remote Lesson Planning: reflections by Toby Holloway As a geography trainee who has been at FGCS since February, the last few months have been somewhat of a learning curve. One thing that really helped me with my planning was the CST Explicit Direct Instruction framework, and this has been equally valuable while planning lessons that will be taught remotely.
HAVE YOUR CLASSROOM READY I’ve found that this phase is just as important for remote teaching as it is in school. If instructions are ambiguous at the start of the lesson there is a much greater risk of disengagement. With linked DPR KOs, I have tried to make sure instructions are clear on the assignment portal using Purpose, Audience, Language and Layout guidelines (P.A.L.L.) These are reiterated in the DPR group chat with clear and concise instructions on the lesson slides.
RETRIEVAL STARTER
Retrieval starters can still be used just as effectively in remote teaching. I have tried out online quizzes such as Seneca Learning that allows the students and I to quickly identify their strengths and areas for further development. I use this to collaborate further with the students via the DPR.
PRESENT NEW MATERIAL IN SMALL STEPS AND MODELLING
Building up to the main phase of independent learning in small steps is even more important now that we are not there to pick up cues from pupils whether they have understood the material. I ensure pupils are provided with concise information followed by clear instructions and then a question to consolidate their understanding before moving onto the main independent task. Short clips accompanied by questions to assist note taking are also useful. Modelling is probably one of the hardest parts of teaching to replicate online - nothing can quite replace a teacher modelling something live to a class. I have included exemplar answers along with sentence starters and carefully thought out success criteria to help students. I have also showcased pupils' work on the DPR chat and have had students peer assess the WWW/EBI. Not only does this boost their morale, it is also effective in modelling what is expected of them.
INDEPENDENT WORK AND LIVE MARKING
Instructions for the independent task should be crystal clear and the DPR chat is a platform for me to check and clarify pupils’ understanding of the work set. The independent task is always related to the DPR KO, to make it ‘meaningful’. The live marking has been effective when students have shared their work with me via google docs and I provide instant feedback. Feedback is also given immediately once the students submit it through the assignment portal with an expectation of pupils fixing their work further.
REVIEW LEARNING PLENARY
A ‘remote’ plenary serves as a way to check for understanding one more time and the most effective way for me has been using quizzes. I have tried to keep these short and consistent so the students are aware that they are reviewing their learning and know what to do. Google Forms quizzes are a great way of consolidating learning and checking students understanding. I tend to use 5-question, multiple-choice quizzes that are automatically marked. It also allows me to revisit content over time to aid better memory recall. TLC NEWSLETTER | 5
An MOT for your MCQ
A summary of Professor Stuart Kime's ResearchEd Durrington CPD April 2020
In this current climate of distance learning, multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are a common type of assessment used by teachers in many different subjects to assess the learning of their pupils. Writing effective MCQs can positively increase their value for learning. This investment is necessary, because good MCQs are difficult to construct but when constructed properly, can be very powerful in the assessment of pupils, especially as a tool for distance learning. 1. ASK A QUESTION
What was the name of William Shakespeare’s wife? a) Anne Harraway b) Anne Hathaway c) Anne Hallaway Use letters rather than numbers Use vertical formatting This increases clarity ‘Distractors’ (incorrect answers) should be broadly similar choices
3. stem question content
It should be meaningful (“choose the statement which is true” is not meaningful - ask it as a question) It should be motivating for pupils It shouldn’t contain irrelevant material - things that distract their thinking - clean up the questions Don’t make it negatively phrased (“which of the statements are not…”) If you have to phrase it negatively, make it really clear, eg. put it in bold
2. guidelines
Each question should align with clear DPR Key Objective Should not be trivial in content Don’t waste their time on nonsense Don’t include unnecessarily hard vocabulary (unless you’re testing this) Take into account gender and cultural differences (eg names you use etc) Don't include deliberately tricky or opinion based questions
4. content of the alternative
The 'key' is the correct answer The two others are the ‘distractors’ (incorrect answers) Having a choice of three is best. It is easy to come up with two distractors Alternatives should be similar in content, mutually exclusive and not overlap Each incorrect answer should point you to a misconception you could address Don’t give greater detail in the correct answer - it gives it away!
5. want to find out more?
Blog: Time to increase the quality of the multiplechoice questions you use! https://evidencebased.education/increase-qualitymultiple-choice/ Chartered College article; Using online quizzes to check and build understanding: https://my.chartered.college/2020/03/ using-online-quizzes-to-check-and-buildunderstanding/ TLC NEWSLETTER | 6
IS THERE A TOPIC IN YOUR SUBJECT YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE? WHY DO YOU LOVE THIS TOPIC? WHY SHOULD YOUR STUDENTS LOVE IT AS MUCH AS YOU?
LIGHTING FIRES Oliver
H i s t o r y
c a n
i r r e l e v a n t , a b i l i t y
T h e
t o
b u t
t e l l
j o u r n e y
s t o r y
a n d
a n d
c a n
b e
u n i o n i s m ,
t h e
f i g h t
c a n ' t
o f
h e l p
i n
B r e x i t
-
s e e
t h e
a l l
w e w e t h i s ,
h i s t o r y
a r e a s i t
t h e y
a
c a n c a n
t h e r e . t e a c h
s t a r t
u s
c a n
c l a s s
w o n d e r f u l i n j u s t i c e
t r a d e
t h e
t h e i t
1 9 t h
s t u d e n t s
g i v e s
t h e m
b e e n
t h e m
t o
s e e
q u e s t i o n
t e a c h e s
h e l p
o n .
u s
g u i d e
i t s
a n d
t o t h e
u s
s e e
f r o m
t h e
a
t r a d e
t h i s
i t ' s
t h e
t h e
t h e
h o w
s t o r y
i s s u e s
b i g
i s s u e
f u n d a m e n t a l
w e
s t u d e n t s
s k i l l s ,
i s
c e n t u r y .
i s
i n
g o
I t
c o n d i t i o n s
t e l l
a n d
r e a l i s a t i o n
w e
I
t h e
a n d
t h r o u g h
w h e t h e r
2 0 t h
t o d a y .
s u c c e s s
w o r k i n g
i n
i t s
f o l l o w i n g
i t ' s
u n i o n s
w o r l d
w h e r e m a n y
-
i s
a r e
p r o g r e s s i o n .
r o o t s
O n c e
t h e
o f
a n d
h i s t o r y
c o n s c i o u s s t o r y
o l d
w e
E v e r y t i m e
o f
h a v e
b e
w h e r e
e d u c a t i o n ,
d i s m a n t l i n g
i n
t o
w h e t h e r
p u n i s h m e n t .
i s s u e s
t o
a b o u t
a n d
f o r m s ;
v o t e ,
h a v e
t o
H i s t o r y
t h e
a
g o t
t o d a y
a n d
a l l o w
a
w e
t h i n g s
t o
t h e s e
s o c i e t y
o f
m a n y
a n d
s t u d e n t s
r e l e v a n c e
a l l o w s
t o d a y
i s
i n
f o r
c h a n g e s
W h a t
h o w
d i s m a y ,
t o l d
m a n y
b r i l l i a n t
a b o u t
c r i m e
b u t
i n e q u a l i t y ,
o f
t h e
R e v o l u t i o n
d e a t h
c h a n g e s
o f
t o
d e v e l o p m e n t
t h a t
a n d I
o n e
s e e m
s t o r i e s
I n d u s t r i a l f a i l u r e ,
o f t e n
Walsh
a
p a s t
o f g e t
a n d
t h e a n d
t o
t h e a
w h e r e
j o u r n e y
g r a s p
d i f f e r e n t
n e x t
b u t
g o t
o f
l i g h t
h o w
s t o r i e s
w e i t
i l l u m i n a t e
a n d
g e t c a n t h e
f u t u r e .
S t o r i e s
a r e
u n d e r r a t e d ;
h i s t o r y
i s
f u l l
o f
t h e m .
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SUPERSTAR! The DPR is an essential tool in our daily interactions with our students.
LOGINS
Daniel Vanstone
Fundamentally, it allows for us, them and their parents to see the progress that they are making. It helps inform our planning and allows us to help the students secure their key objectives through
1. DANIEL VANSTONE 2. ARNOLD ZAC-WILLIAMS 3. ZAHEED ZAHEED 4. SYED ABBAS 5. GEORGIA FRANCE
236 136 129 111 111
the various functions of the DPR.
Logins are based on DPR analytics for Term 2b.
WILL YOU BE THE NEXT DPR SUPERSTAR? Georgia France
Michelle Smiley
STAFF RESOURCE UPLOADS 1. GEORGIA FRANCE 2. MICHELLE SMILEY 3. MARY ANNE DAVIS 4. CHRISTOPHER VICTORY 5. MICHAEL MANN
38 38 37 37 33
Sociology Dept
DEPT RESOURCE UPLOADS 285% 21 8% 1 40% 1 29% 1 29%
1. SOCIOLOGY 2. MEDIA STUDIES 3. PE 4. ART 5. BUSINESS APPLIED
Resource rankings are based on DPR analytics from the beginning of Term 1 to the end of Term 2.
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