Issue 3 Summer 2019
I was actually looking for books on literacy, when I noticed the positive reviews received by ‘Boys Don’t Try? Rethinking masculinity in schools’ Aware that our data shows middle-ability boys at Bablake tend to achieve lower ‘value added’ than other pupils, I thought I would give it a go. Overall, I was not disappointed. While the style is sometimes overly anecdotal, I found two chapters in particular gave me pause for thought. In ‘The engagement myth’, Roberts argues convincingly that teachers often think they are boosting boys’ engagement because they accept common assumptions without question. For example, he suggests teachers think they are doing the right thing by introducing competition into classrooms and linking their teaching to ‘typical’ boys’ interests like football. Teachers also assume that boys have different learning styles - they like to move around, learn from hands-on activities and to move around the classroom. Roberts argues that there is little evidence to support these assumptions. Instead he suggests, ‘teach boys in exactly the same way that you teach girls. High challenge. High expectations. No gimmicks. No shortcuts.’ Treating boys as a special case simply reinforces the stereotype that they do not achieve as highly as girls. The chapter on peer pressure also provides food for thought, as illustrated in the adjacent diagram (p.53, Fig 3.1). Solutions are not easy, Roberts argues, as, ‘nothing less that a culture change will improve outcomes for underperforming boys’. Creating an ethos of excellence for all, tackling harmful attitudes about masculinity, changing the mind-set of the most influential male pupils and being more aware of the impact of staff behaviour and language are some of the suggestions he makes to achieve this culture change. Overall, I would recommend this book. It stresses that good teaching is good teaching, regardless of the gender of the pupil. Social and cultural factors help to explain lower attainment by some boys, but these can be overcome by schools who face the problem head-on and adopt the right strategies.
This academic year we have identified 14% of Bablake pupils as having a home language other than English. This equates to 103 out of 753 pupils. Multilingualism can take many forms, and it is likely that a number of ‘EAL’ (English as an Additional Language) pupils remain unidentified. In a school like Bablake with high academic expectations, many of our multilingual learners face a unique set of challenges. Cummins (1979) introduced the idea that learners of an additional language do not achieve language proficiency in one stage, but reach different levels of fluency along substantially differing timelines. He made the distinction between Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (‘BICS’) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (‘CALP’). BICS refers to the conversational language skills used in everyday social interactions, which take an average of two years to acquire. CALP refers to the spoken and written language skills required for formal academic learning. CALP can take an average of five to ten years to acquire. For multilingual learners, this represents a key disadvantage if their teachers presume a high level of academic fluency based on their well-developed conversational skills. At key stage three, EAL pupils generally have adequate linguistic skills to cope with the demands of the curriculum. However, as they progress into GCSE and A-Level, the requirements for higher-level vocabulary and academic writing skills can begin to hinder the progress of otherwise intellectually able learners. I have selected 15 key classroom support strategies suggested by the Bell Foundation that aim to improve the educational outcomes for EAL learners with a well-developed level of English. 1. Clearly model and repeat the vocabulary and language structures required to achieve good levels in the subject area. 2. Allow more thinking time to process complex information and/or language structures. Provide opportunities to verbalise written tasks with non-EAL speakers prior to writing, to allow modelling and review before committing to paper. 3. Create regular opportunities for learners to answer questions that are more complex in terms of language, structure and thinking: What would happen if …? What could you have done differently …? Is there any evidence for …? 4. Draw attention to figurative language and idioms and use quick rephrasing where necessary. 5. Provide a range of opportunities to listen, including to different speakers, accents and aural media. 6. Be aware of, and explain, cultural references that EAL learners may not understand. 7. Provide scaffolding language such as: evaluating (… might be biased because…); use of conjunctions (however, in spite of…); justifying (The evidence for this is…); analysing (The most likely reason for…, was…). 8. Develop the learner’s vocabulary across the curriculum, building systematically on their current knowledge, e.g. creating subject-specific word glossaries and opportunities to use new language within subject-related activities. 9. Point out the differences in the vocabulary and grammar of spoken/written and formal/informal English. 10. Analyse the learner’s spoken English in the academic context, and highlight areas for development and challenge in grammar, sentence construction, etc. 11. Continue to check, rather than assume, that the learner has understood heard content, especially the finer details or where more complex language is used. 12. Overcome communication barriers with parents by making school information clear and accessible through visuals, clear language and use of translations where necessary. 13. Keep parents informed of topics covered in class; encourage them to discuss and research at home in their first language and/or English. 14. Give parents useful websites on curriculum topics, particularly if homework involves internet research. 15. Recommend well-known books and films, e.g. Harry Potter, and TV programmes that will build up the learner’s literary and cultural frame of reference.
Before attending a twilight training session I had only used OneNote for storing emails. I had little idea of its scope for use in the classroom. Whilst I can’t sell OneNote to you as a life-saver – it won’t plan all your lessons or mark your homework - I have found it a truly useful tool. I can upload lesson resources to a single master file, which I can easily copy to the relevant student groups through Teams – a tool students already use. I can then add information tailored to student need. Each file acts as a whiteboard for the lesson so our thought processes, plans and notes are not lost each time I clear the board! I no longer have to wait for everyone to finish taking notes which is especially useful for students who struggle to copy information quickly. Pupils have access to their own secure areas, enabling them to add their own notes to the correct point in the lesson series and to upload homework or practice questions. This is helpful for those who struggle to stay on top of a paper folder. Having our lesson “thought processes” mapped and saved, as well as a space to store lesson resources, has been invaluable when students have been absent for one or more lessons. OneNote can act as a “saveable” whiteboard
The ‘Collaboration Space’ has been a major asset. We have used it to mark timed essays as a class – a great opportunity to share good practice and help students develop their understanding of how to apply mark schemes effectively. We have also used it to plan evaluations as a group, “cutting and pasting ” paragraphs from different pupils to decide the best structure of an answer. Students have been able to see multiple alternatives to essay construction which they can then apply to their own work. OneNote is a perfect tool for student led activities. I can see how each student is learning, where their strengths and weaknesses lie, whilst at the same time creating a learning resource students can access long past the lesson itself.
A useful tool for collaboration and student led activities
Using past papers to practise exam technique and prioritise revision topics is one of the most powerful tools available to pupils when preparing for exams. These papers can obviously be used in either test or open-book conditions, and part of the judgement used by the teacher is in choosing which approach gives the most valuable learning experience to pupils. Test conditions consume a considerable amount of teaching time, but, on the other hand, they clearly help with stress training and improve timing. For a subject like chemistry, exam board mark schemes can be used to produce a perfect answer and have become readily available on the Internet. I have become increasingly frustrated at the number of times I found myself ticking off a set of responses that were clearly copied from a mark scheme when papers had been completed in open-book conditions. I did not want to give up on this valuable exercise, however, as I believe that this is the most effective way to revise. I decided that use of different colours was the way to move forward. For all past papers that I set in open-book conditions, I now ask pupils to go through their paper three times. The screenshot below shows a typical set of instructions. I use OneNote to post each assignment so pupils can return to each paper if they want to.
The advantages of this approach include: 1. It makes it clear that the teacher is perfectly aware that answers are out there. 2. It is easy for both pupil and teacher to identify the topics where more revision or guidance is needed. 3. It results in more independent reading of text books. 4. It improves the ability to produce a concise yet complete answer. 5. It helps to raise confidence levels, as pupils gradually see more and more ‘brain’ marks getting awarded. 6. It reduces the workload for the teacher.
I have used this approach with my classes all year, and I certainly detect a more earnest approach to past papers in class. I also use a progress table in conjunction with the past papers. This allows pupils to monitor scores, but also asks them to identify two key areas for revision each week. It all helps them to develop their abilities as independent learners. It may not be suitable for all subjects, but certainly it is worth a try if your subject features closed response questions.