The Mercian Trust Expertise Exchange- Issue 1 Autumn 2022

Expertise Exchange

Issue 1: Autumn 2022

“Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.”

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Dylan Wiliam

Using ground rules to discuss sensitive topics in the classroom

Sophie McPhee, Trust Lead Professional for PSHCE and SMSC provides some advice on how to handle sensitive topics in classroom discussions

Ground rules are most often used in PSHE, perhaps, but they can be adopted for any subject which covers sensitive topics, such as genetic diseases in biology, abortion in religious studies, or the struggle for civil rights in history.

Pupils are more likely to adhere to such rules when they have created them together as a group rather than being issued them by a teacher, which can appear to them as yet more edicts to remember. After they have come up with their list, you can fill in any gaps. This can be a good moment to recap the Equality Act 2010, asking pupils to recall the nine protected characteristics. It can then be a ground rule to not treat someone differently on the basis of these.

Key things to consider when creating the ground rules will be whether every pupil is obliged to contribute verbally, and how a pupil might signal that they are feeling uncomfortable or ‘triggered’. You can offer them a ‘time out’ option, but often pupils do not like to draw attention to themselves by walking out, especially if they are upset. Therefore, reassure

pupils that you will be observing their body language and facial expressions throughout the lesson and will respond discreetly and sensitively to any signs that they might be feeling uncomfortable. Always report any concerns that arise during such lessons to your pastoral team in line with your school’s safeguarding policy.

Other ideas to consider for ground rules are: challenging the opinion or the behaviour and not attacking the person, non-judgemental listening, maintaining confidentiality and anonymity when sharing stories. However, ground rules do not need to always refer to the general concept of respect; they can also encourage pupils to be unafraid of what they might call ‘awkward silences’ and allow such silences to create space for thoughts and feelings to emerge

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During the lesson, refer back to the ground rules if they are being contravened. You may even be as bold as to get the group to decide at the time of making the rules what the sanction for a nonadherent might be! When used regularly, pupils should only need a brief recap of the ground rules, or they could be displayed somewhere; however, this should be a working document and not set immediately in stone when created. In addition, the rules may be slightly different for each class.

For more detailed support on psychological safety in the classroom, feel free to contact me via email.

Alongside her teaching committments, Sophie McPhee runs ‘Change your Mind’, a volunteering and enrichment programme whereby 16/17 year-olds plan and deliver health and wellbeing workshops to 10/11 year-olds in their local area. You can read more about this work, here: https:// qmgschangeyourmind.wordpress.com/

Sophie McPhee can be contacted via email at s.mcphee@qmgs.merciantrust.org.uk.

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The use of Comparative Judgement to support tier entry decisions

Eliza Wade, Trust Lead Professional for MfL shares an approach to increasing the reliability of data in MfL

Earlier this year Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Dr Jo Saxton, expressed a desire to move away from tiered exams, due to the difficulty of making tier decisions and the risk of put a “ceiling” on student achievement. The MFL department at Q3 Langley also experienced these challenges and wanted to find a way to improve the reliability of their end of year nine data, in order to make better decisions about tiers for the next GCSE cohort. I was first introduced to Daisy Christodoulou’s comparative judgement system by the English department at Q3 Langley and subsequently went on to study it in more detail during my Master’s. I suggested to the Curriculum Director for MFL, Kate Williamson, that we use comparative judgement to help support the tier of entry decisions.

Using a comparative judgement system can increase the reliability of data in a number of ways. Firstly, it is much easier to compare two pieces of work and decide which is better, than to make a judgement on a single piece of work with a criterion-referenced mark scheme. Secondly, the system includes a reliability metric, which shows how far in agreement teachers

are, and can allow you to be more or less confident about the results you are analysing. Finally, by using a blind marking system comparative judgement can help alleviate some of the biases associated with traditional marking. Overall, it was quick and simple to set up the end of year assessment through No More Marking and as a result, the department was able to make more confident judgements about which tier of entry was most suitable for each student. Due to the ease and success of the project, Kate intends to repeat this process to support future tier decisions.

For further information on Comparative Judgement, please go to www.nomoremarking.com

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Increasing Creativity in the Classroom

Michelle Jeanneret is the Trust Lead Professional for Art and Design and is based at Q3 Great Barr. Here, she shares some ideas for teachers wanting to increase creative aspects of their lessons.

Creativity is often misunderstood to be just about artistic abilities. At its core, creativity is a life skill that crosses all subjects and enables both students and adults to think, create, connect and inspire.

By introducing a more creative approach to our classrooms we can help to equip students with skills fit for their futures. Rather than just focussing on retaining information more creativity in the classroom will help to spark a student’s natural curiosity and develop an approach of self-learning to engage and inspire.

Artwork by Jenai Daley- Year 13 Pupil at Q3 Great Barr

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These are my top tips on how to increase creativity in your classroom.

1. Learn by doing- explore, discover and develop

Many of us learn and comprehend what we are doing when we have a hands-on approach. Create a learning experience that engages each student to be actively involved.

2. Encourage curiosity

Don’t do all the teaching! If we provide students with the knowledge they need to answer a question we have given them, we are testing their ability to remember and recall information.

3. Allow failure

There is so much pressure on students and teachers to achieve results. We often don’t recognise the amount learnt when we don’t get it right the first time. Learning through ‘what didn’t work’, creates valuable lessons.

4. Ask open questions

The language we use will affect how much we help students open and how confident they will be to try different things. Asking your class questions and providing challenges for discussion can help students engage much more in a subject.

5. Embrace creativity within the everyday learning

Embedding a creative approach on a daily basis to deliver the curriculum will help to support students’ thinking and creative skills. Provide opportunities for them to create original work, independent learning, self-initiated projects, and experimentation.

Not everything needs to be evaluated

Developing learning takes time and practise. By being assessed, students can feel under pressure to always come up with the ‘right’ answer first time. It is helpful to provide chances for them to learn, think, and discover without threats of immediate evaluation.

Support one idea to lead to another idea

One idea often leads to another idea and within this creative thinking process, the student is creating connections and owning their own journey of learning. Providing opportunities for learning journeys to be created supports each child to create their own fully engaged learning adventure. Consider ways in which pupils can reflect on the journey of their thinking and learning, and show them that progress isn’t always linear.

Introduce sensory stimuli

Activities that stimulate the senses can trigger different responses and connections. Introducing sounds, colours, shapes, tactile objects, stories and movement supports individual ideas and thoughts to be developed.

If you would like to read more about creativity in the classroom, read the following:

https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/teaching-and-assessing-creativity-in-schools-in-england/

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23 Equations: The app that supports the learning of equations for GCSE Science

Helen Perera is the Trust Lead Professional for Science and is based at Q3 Great Barr. In this short article, she outlines the benefits of the 23 Equations App in supporting pupils in their revision of equations.

The Ofqual proposal for the changes to physics and combined science GCSEs in 2023 closed on the 20th October and whilst it looks likely students will have the revised equation sheet again, this year having the equation sheet is only useful if students are able to rearrange those equations, remember the units for each variable, substitute correctly and can identify when to apply it.

The 23Equations app lets you ‘Learn your equations… wherever you are!’ a free app for students which in my opinion rivals the likes of Kerboodle, Carousel, Tassomai and Century Learning Tech for rote learning of equations. The app is available on Microsoft, Google Play and Apple App store; there is also some availability for free on the web.

So why such high praise? Well.. after students pick their course (Physics or Combined), exam board and tier they only see equations relevant to them; the app can work like a pack of index cards. There are word and symbol versions of the equations and information about units, including common alternatives, students can also see how the equations can be rearranged. Students are able to select topics they want to focus on or they can create their own lists and prioritise areas of difficulty. Students can add their own notes to the flash cards.

After learning the equations it’s time to use them. For questions, students can select their topic and level of difficulty and if they want exam style questions or quizzes with the option to select the speed quiz. They can review their statistics for time spent, difficulty level and accuracy and can compete against themselves. There is a built-in physics calculator and units keyboard to enter answers and get instant marking feedback. For incorrect options there is the option to have the answer modelled step by step. The app lays out answers to questions as clearly as you would train students to do in the exam.

The app allows students to use it for free but there is now the option for a paid version which allows teachers to set tests for their students and automatically see the results with prices ranging from £35-90 depending upon the size of the year group. I personally encourage the use of the free app for Year 10 and 11 students..

You can read more about the app and its benefits here: https://23equations.com/index.html

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Reflection Piece: Moving Beyond Routine Processes in Mathematics

This year, I have been exploring some of the “big ideas” proposed as best practice by the National Centre of Excellence for the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM)/

In my personal practice, I am looking to support students to think more mathematically. I have come to a realisation that too many students are able to recall routine facts and perform routine procedures without understanding the underlying structures. So many students then are unable to recall these over a long period and unable to build on and apply their mathematics learnt.

For me, historically, assessment for the most part has focused on routine processes and facts rather than understanding. Responsive teaching has, in a similar way, focused on students who can’t recall procedures and facts rather than those who perform well on routine content without any sense of understanding.

I am looking to develop my personal assessment and evaluation of good mathematics teaching as more to do with students’ capacity of being able to take what they have learned and either use it or build on it. I am looking at short term but too often fleeting successes as less of an achievement than I once did and often something without any lasting impact.

The “Checkpoints” published by the NCETM are a wonderful resource I am looking to use and develop more in my practice. This quote by Mark McCourt in his book “Teaching for Mastery” resonates well with what I am trying to focus on: “An effective mathematics

education system is one that focuses on teaching approaches that maximise subsequent progression, rather than pursuit of short term, superficial success.”

For more information, please access the NCETM website here: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/

Ben Adams, Trust Lead Professional for Mathematics, considers his next steps for his teaching practice in Mathematics and is based on Queen Mary’s High School.

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The Accelerated Learning Cycle

Rian Holloway is an Assistant Headteacher at Walsall Studio School and is also the Trust Lead Professional for Performing Arts. Here, she discusses the work of Alistair Smith and the Accelerated Learning Model.

Firstly, some things to remember about the process:

• The Accelerated Learning Cycle supports teachers in creating a positive learning environment

• We know that learning is accelerated when students are engaged in active learning

• Students should understand how they learn as well as what they learn

• Appropriate, well-judged pace is needed within every lesson

• It’s imperative that lessons are challenging and are supported by a climate of high expectations

• Collaboration among learners is a must

• There is a variety of activities that appeal to all learning styles

• The teacher is not the main ‘actor’ in the performance

• All human beings naturally go through a cycle of learning every time they learn something new.

Let’s look in a little more detail about the stages of the process.

Phase 1: Connect

The first phase in the Accelerated Learning Cycle is Connect.

Learners bring their past experience to you when they begin a new learning task. This means that their past experiences with learning—whether they were positive or painful—walk into the classroom with them.

Learners seek meaning in everything they do. If they are being ‘forced’ to take the course or qualification, if it appears to have no relevance to their life, you are the teacher will set up barriers to learning that will be almost impossible to overcome.

This is the phase of learning in which you are the teacher presents new material. Ideally, you present it in ways that are interesting, challenging and relevant to students’ lives. Be encouraged to use many different methods that draw on multiple intelligences, learning preferences, and the fives senses (smell, taste, sight, sound, touch).

Phase 2: Activate

The second phase of the Accelerated Learning Cycle is Activate.

This is phase where the instructor ideally helps learners integrate the new material in many different

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and creative ways. It is a time when the instructor encourages learners to experiment in a safe and supportive environment, make mistakes, get feedback, and build competence.

Here, teachers encourage students to cooperate and communicate with each other, put together team projects, observe real-world phenomena, and solve real-life problems.

This should be the dress-rehearsal where you as the teacher models processes, allows students to be included in the understanding, walks through activities and challenge misconceptions. Students should be in a safe environment where they can get things wrong but are supported by the teacher and their peers to correct misunderstandings.

Phase 3: Demonstrate

The demonstration phase is where the students have the chance to demonstrate what they have understood. For teachers to have a clear perspective of where each individual is within the learniner.

You may do this in a variety of ways, such as students solving a similar problem to those that you have been working on so far as a collective, following the I do, we do and now you do concept, or completing an assessment.

Ensure that you as the teacher shares a success criteria to support students progression and also support AFL processes. This will also allow students to recognise and evaluate their achievements.

This phase develops the students resilience and independence.

This phase will provide you with significant information on whether or not your students are at the right place to enable you to continue with your lesson sequence.

Phase 4: Consolidate

When you reach the consolidation phase of the accelerated learning, you bring everything together.

You and the students are to share and discuss their findings to target and challenge misconceptions.

Also ensure your students and yourself as the teacher reflect on it, and determine what the next steps are to apply the learning or to delve deeper.

Also, take note of new questions, and decide how you will use the learning once the class is finished.

This is a crucial part to enforce future planning.

You can read more about the Accelerated Learning Cycle here: https://alistairsmithlearning.com/about/

Or, contact Rian Holloway to discuss how the model has been adapted for WSS by calling: 01922 211292

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Source: https://invasioneducation.wordpress.com/about/accelerated-learning-cycle/

Discussing Curriculum with Clarity

Tracy Goodyear is the Director of Teacher Development. Here, she discusses how a framework for curriculum conversations within and beyond teams can support teachers to take ownership over their department’s curriculum.

I’m always conscious of new colleagues joining schools and departments, learning a new set of structures, lessons and ways of operating. Starting anywhere new is difficult. Induction conversations with middle or senior leaders may not always allow for deep conversations about the purpose behind the curriculum currently in place. Without being clear on an overall purpose of the department’s curriculum structure and planning, book scrutinies, learning walks, and pupil voice evidence only goes some way in measuring the effectiveness of the education being provided. They operate on the surface only.

As a Head of Department, I always felt I needed to know, for sure, that teachers knew why we decided to plan the learning we did, at the time we did, and I always felt it was crucial that that discussion went further than any discussion of external examinations. It wasn’t enough to say ‘ well, we’re doing it in Year 8 because they need it at GCSE’.

What I struggled with though, was how to invite that conversation. Of course,I had ‘soft’ evidence through our department meetings that we all knew the direction of travel, we had a learning policy for the department and a clear vision statement, but I never really gave colleagues the opportunity to express and to articulate why we did what we did, when we did it. Furthermore, I didn’t give opportunities for colleagues to articulate how knowledge and skills had been built over time and way we chose the approach we did. I didn’t have a useful structure for those conversations either.

These 6 considerations may be a starting point for Heads of Department, or for colleagues within or across departments to start considering the ‘ what,’, the ‘why this, why now? ‘ of their curriculum.

How could I use this structure?

1) As a coaching tool in your teams

You will never get the best out of your colleagues if they feel as though this is further scrutiny- Instead, this provides a useful tool for a coaching conversation with your team or between colleagues in your teams. It gives enough of an opportunity to discuss their passion for their subject and unpick their why (Stage 2) and then to consider whether the best possible foundations have been laid for the new learning to take place.

When used in a coaching capacity, it also allows colleagues to feel excited about discussing and sharing their expertise of their subjects- probably a luxury not afforded as often as it could be.

2) As a Quality Assurance tool

There will undoubtedly be questions here that colleagues may not know the answers to. This is a sign that the intent either isn’t clear, or hasn’t been communicated clearly enough. This should be an indicator for you to take some sort of remedial action as a HOD. What does this tell you? What might you do as a result? (and it won’t be to ‘tell’ colleagues the answers, they need to feel invested in this, they can only do that if they fully recognise and understand

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the purpose, not just have the purpose told to them!).

Consider: which areas does it force you to question? Are there patterns emerging in certain sections that make you need to check your assumptions further?

3) As a tool for personal reflection

As a HOD, practise running through these questions and see if you are able to clearly articulate the responses. If not, what should happen next as a result?

For further information about curriculum design and discussion, feel free to attend one of our Curriculum Development Sessions, which take place weekly in a range of different subject areas. The upcoming dates are included in the CPD Digest, or contact Tracy Goodyear by email: tracy.goodyear@merciantrust.org.uk

Further to this, please see the recommended reading below on curriculum design and implementation: https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/taking-curriculum-seriously/

Christine Counsell’s Blog, focusing on curriculum, implementation, leadership of curriculum: https://thedignityofthethingblog.wordpress.com/

John Tomsnett on the principles and parameters of curriculum design: https://johntomsett.com/2022/08/31/this-much-i-know-about-the-priciples-and-parameters-of-curriculum-design/

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Reflection Piece: My Journey with Literacy

My journey with literacy has been a struggle. I do not consider myself academically strong. As a student at a run of the mill comprehensive school, I had to grapple with spelling, punctuation, grammar, and I rarely picked up a book. I battled with the conventions of literacy and, if I’m honest, I still do, suffice to say that literacy does not come easy to me.

When I qualified as a Geography teacher and we had the annual literacy training where we all had to stick some key words on the back of the classroom, that was the extent of my involvement in literacy. I naively thought literacy was somebody else’s problem, thinking: surely that’s for the English department to sort out, I’m too busy trying to create passionate enthusiastic geographers!

There were two events that created monumental seismic shifts in my thinking:

I attended a training event called, ‘Don’t call it literacy’, by Geoff Barton. I believe it was his second slide that stated:

“If I am a teacher of history, science, or art, I have to take responsibility to teach my students how to read and write and speak like a historian, scientist or artist. That’s not about literacy: it’s about good teaching”. (G. Barton, 2014)

That quote alone had a huge impact. The penny suddenly dropped of the disservice I had been giving my students. I was neglecting to teach them how to write fantastic extended answers, how to read like a geographer by explicitly teaching tier 2 and 3 words. By recognising links between the physical and human world, and the interaction and interconnections between topics, I had not taught them how to talk like a geographer by using technical geographical language, and to consider the precision of word selection when answering questions like this one:

Mark Harris, Evidence Lead in Education at Billesley Research School and Assistant Vice Principal for Teaching and Learning at Q3 Academy, Great Barr, takes us on his personal literacy journey, signposting evidence-based learning and practice. This article was published in Autumn 2022 as part of the EEF Blog.

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No matter how well I had taught my students about earthquake-proof building design or the use of seismometers to record ground movement, the students could not access the question because of the word ‘mitigate’. So began my journey to explicitly teach my students how to read, like a geographer.

This journey of discovery coincided with my new role as Teaching and Learning lead, so all the research and reading I was undertaking I was able to share across the school to support all staff to improve their practice. This school-wide approach to improve the reading ability of students has recently been recognised within our Ofsted report:

Leaders pay serious attention to ensuring that all pupils can read. They quickly identify pupils who need help with their reading when they join the school. These pupils get good support from experienced and skilled staff. Consequently, these pupils are becoming more confident and fluent readers. Leaders also place a strong emphasis on promoting reading across the curriculum…, teachers ensure pupils routinely read articles and academic papers as part of their learning.

One of the key drivers to improving the reading ability of our students has been the introduction of disciplinary reading. This is supported by the research and the guidance report created by the EEF entitled ‘Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools’. It contains details of seven recommendations. We decided to tackle the first three with the introduction of the Disciplinary Reading Programme:

1. To prioritise ‘disciplinary literacy’ across the curriculum

2. To provide targeted vocabulary instruction in every subject

3. To develop students’ ability to read complex academic texts

During Disciplinary Reading, students will read a text that will develop the student’s knowledge, understanding, or skills of the subject or the topic they are currently studying. The text may be fiction or non-fiction, including newspaper articles, journals or extracts from books.

The aim is to:

- Build knowledge, understanding and skills of the current topic or subject

- To explore the subject in more depth by building prior knowledge, exploring context and developing cultural capital

- Use secondary text to support the understanding of

the topic

- Improve the students reading ability (age)

- Improve the students understanding of tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

This will be achieved by:

- Reading challenging text (text outside of the student’s comfort zone)

- Reading more non fiction

- Using ‘close reading’ techniques

- Write direct responses to text

Close Reading

Close reading involves reading that leads to deeper understanding of vocabulary and comprehension. It’s not reading to get the gist of something. Students will not gain a deep understanding without having a deep grounded comprehension of the selected text. It’s not good enough to know that Oliver Twist was an orphan, climate change is bad, and that cells are important.

Close reading is a strategy that allows students to read beyond their comfort zone and extend their vocabulary. It helps to develop their ‘language sense’. Close reading is the methodical breaking down of the language and structure of a complex passage to establish and analyse its meaning.

It is worth considering how we read using the analogy of telescopes and microscopes. We may read through the lens of a telescope to gain a broad vision and understanding of the text (quick reading of a passage with no real focus on a particular aspect of the text). Or we may read under the lens of a microscope, focusing on specific words or phrases to develop meaning and understanding. Text Dependent Questions are associated with looking at the text through the microscope to unpick the text and gain the deep understanding necessary to build schema.

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As students read through the text, you can use the following prompts to aid and develop understanding.

Prompts for Reading

- What do we/you already know about…..? (activate prior knowledge)

- What do we/you think this text is going to be about?

- What do you think will happen next?

- What do you think might happen in the future?

- What can you infer from the text?

- What are the tier 3 words in that passage?

- What does …………(tier 2 word) mean?

- Can you give me another word (synonym) for ………?

- Can we put that tier 2 word in another sentence?

- Can you summarise that paragraph?

- What are the key points from that paragraph?

- Can you put the ……in order of priority?

Having read through the text, and with the support and explicit teaching of tier 2 and 3 terminology, we then challenge the students to either apply their new knowledge to the lesson. This can be achieved by either answering some questions on the text (text dependent questions) or by using a graphic organiser to consolidate their understanding.

A graphic organiser is a teaching and learning tool that is used to organise information and ideas in a way that is easy to comprehend and internalise. They represent a supportive cognitive strategy that has been extensively researched with students with SEND. By integrating text and visuals, graphic organisers can show relationships and connections between concepts, facts and ideas. Graphic organisers can help

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If you are looking for ways to develop Literacy in your setting, please get in touch with Mark Harris by email at mark.harris@merciantrust.org.uk

You can find out more about the Billesley Research School and read more research-informed practice here: https://researchschool.org.uk/billesley/news

Contributors Wanted!

We would love to hear from more practitioners across the Trust who are experimenting with different, research-informed methods in their classrooms and areas of work.

If you’d like to share your experience and expertise in the ‘Expertise Exchange’, please get in touch with Tracy Goodyear, Director of Teacher Development (tracy.goodyear@merciantrust.org.uk ` @MercianTrustCPD https://www.youtube.com/@merciancpd

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The Mercian Trust Expertise Exchange- Issue 1 Autumn 2022

Expertise Exchange

Issue 1: Autumn 2022

CONTENTS

Discussing Curriculum with Clarity

Using ground rules to discuss sensitive topics in the classroom

The use of Comparative Judgement to support tier entry decisions

Increasing Creativity in the Classroom

1. Learn by doing- explore, discover and develop

2. Encourage curiosity

3. Allow failure

4. Ask open questions

5. Embrace creativity within the everyday learning

Not everything needs to be evaluated

Support one idea to lead to another idea

Introduce sensory stimuli

23 Equations: The app that supports the learning of equations for GCSE Science

Reflection Piece: Moving Beyond Routine Processes in Mathematics

The Accelerated Learning Cycle

Phase 1: Connect

Phase 2: Activate

Phase 3: Demonstrate

Phase 4: Consolidate

Discussing Curriculum with Clarity

How could I use this structure?

1) As a coaching tool in your teams

2) As a Quality Assurance tool

3) As a tool for personal reflection

Reflection Piece: My Journey with Literacy

the topic

Close Reading

Prompts for Reading

Contributors Wanted!