What makes a good Do Now? Building a culture of success and student accountability through targeted questioning.

By Mark Rogers

1. I start every French lesson in the same way, by asking three students respectively to give me the day, date and month in French. The questions are graded, with students that need their confidence built asked the day and month, as these are the most accessible. When it’s the first lesson in a particular month, I may ask a higher-attaining student as the challenge to recall the month from over a year ago can be quite high. All this serves to constantly reinforce key vocabulary, such as number formation.

I then promote engagement with the key question, by asking three more students to translate key parts, again graded in this case by bronze, silver and gold. The example here requires the recall of the question word ‘que’ (what), the conjugated verb ‘fais’ (do) and the application of a reflexive pronoun ‘te’ (yourself).

These six questions should take around a minute to facilitate, as students open books and start to title their page before moving on to the Do Now.

2. Here, the base (introduction) task for the Do Now is to unscramble the sentences, which are based on content from the previous lesson and across the term/year so far. They do this independently, allowing me to circulate and check the progress of one or two highly vulnerable students that may need help. This is rare, but when they need it, I write the first letter of each word in their work to scaffold. The development task is to translate the sentence and students that complete this can apply their creativity to continue the final sentence in their own words. A task like this (prepared for a Year 7 group) can be completed in about 5-6 minutes.

3. For assessment, I’ll ask students to switch to green pen. I will then ask a middle-attaining student to give me the English for the first sentence, then a lower-attaining student to give me the French. This pattern is repeated for sentences 2-4 with the increasingly challenging questions reflecting to whom I am asking them. Finally I will ask for an example of the Depth task. In many cases, I will know what the students have written from circulation, so the public questioning is not so much for my own assessment, but more to build the culture of success in the classroom, improving confidence and giving the students a chance to show off what they can do. When it comes to getting students to produce a foreign language, this really is essential.

Critically, all of this also serves to promote student agency and build accountability. Once the Do Now has been assessed, in this case I will have asked 14 different students a question and asked one to show off their Depth task - all within the first 10 minutes or so of the lesson. Notwithstanding circulating to check on their work too. There are no passengers!

Reflection question: How can these principles be transferred to a Do Now in your subject?

Thoughts From A Trainee: Evaluating The Implementation Of Behaviour Policies

 By Lorenzo Stefanile

When considering what to focus on for our PGCE-required “School Based Study”, Joyce Wu and I found ourselves consistently coming back to WA’s behaviour policy and how it is implemented. My only other educational experience has been working as an LSA in an independent school in London which was quite a contrasting experience to my time at WA. At my previous school, it almost seemed like there was no behaviour policy; teachers were not allowed to give detentions, and consequently there was often disrespect and defiance from the students toward the teachers. Therefore, after arriving at WA and seeing how there was a clear and well-defined behaviour policy that was implemented by all teachers, made me curious to explore the concept further. 

We divided our study and consequent presentation into three parts:

1. Understand through the literature on the subject and discussions with other teachers, what the true purpose of a behaviour policy is, and how we can measure its efficacy.

2. Collect and analyse as much quantitative data as we could from Arbor on exclusions, detentions and G22. Send out and analyse surveys from teachers and students about the WA behaviour policy (thank you to all those who filled it out).

3. Draw conclusions from the quantitative and qualitative data we have collected and make some suggestions on how we can improve our behaviour policy.

We focused first on defining the purpose of a behaviour policy and settled on several points which include:

• To provide an opportunity to put shared values about the ways school communities are expected to behave into practice

• To enable each pupil to have an appropriate environment for learning and each teacher to create a suitable environment

When considering how one could even measure the success of a behaviour policy, we settled on two ways; the first is quantitatively using data on exclusions, rewards, and exam results; however, we agreed that the more important measures were the socio-personal ones like classroom behaviour, social relationships, student wellbeing and teacher satisfaction. As we found from a report of a school that created a hugely successful new behaviour policy from scratch:

“Any successful organisation needs to engage with all those in the organisation to be ‘partners in change’. [The team in charge of developing the policy must make] great efforts throughout the development of the project to seek the participation of all the key players in the school, the teachers, parents and, above all, the pupils in all aspects of the formation of the new policy.” 

Secondly, we gathered and analysed survey data from both teachers and students. We received some interesting feedback. The staff’s feedback on the behaviour policy can be summarised as the following:

• Routines and reminders/warnings are seemingly the most effective methods of behaviour management at any age

• Some staff struggle to find time to run detentions

• Sometimes there are inconsistencies in enforcing the behaviour policy

• Activities that are more reflective may be preferable to a sanction such as G22 in some instances

• There can be teacher bias in terms of which students they sanction

The students’ feedback was surprisingly similar in that they reported that:

• Some teachers appear to have their own behaviour rules

• There can be a lack of consistency in enforcing behaviour policy

• Some teachers need to communicate more patiently with students and create a respectful relationship

• There can be teacher bias in terms of which students they sanction

These results show a general consensus among the staff and student body on which areas need improvement.

So, what are the next steps? How can we improve? 

There are certainly some implementations that every teacher could personally put in place, such as the following:

• Regular communication with students and staff to evaluate the implementation of the behaviour policy

• Encourage verbal positive feedback and physical rewards for good behaviour. 

• If the parents can see the reward, it’s even better, as the students get double the praise. Contact parents for positive achievements like accumulation of house points, not just for detentions.

However, as a teacher wrote in response to the survey we sent out:

“A policy on its own is not sufficient at deterring unexpected behaviours. Its success is underpinned by staff approaches, good relationships with students and consistent application over time” – anonymous WA teacher

Teaching Outside The Classroom: Does It Make A Difference?

By Mira Jugoo

Learning outside the classroom is not a revolutionary idea and the benefits of fresh air represent a significant part of educational theory since time immemorial. Break and lunchtime at WA are less regulated and closely associated with building soft skills and well-being. They represent the times when friendships are formed, games are created, the pressures of the classroom are relieved, and for us as teachers, the chance to have those “playground” conversations with some of our most challenging students can make a difference in the classroom. The importance of learning outside the classroom to develop the cultural capital of our students and providing out-of-school learning opportunities is well recognised today (DfE, 2015). Additionally with the widened scale of learning loss experienced by our students as a result of the Covid pandemic, and, in particular, the impact on disadvantaged pupils (46.9% of the school population at WA) who have clearly endured the most, the use of learning environments other than the classroom is more significant than ever. Despite the positive associations of learning outside the classroom to improve pupils’ academic achievement in several subjects (Nielsen et al., 2019), the opportunity to do so is often restricted to PE sports fixtures and a few selective trips and is not fundamentally incorporated into learning contexts across the different departments. In a time of rigid curricula, significant loss of learning time over the pandemic, reduced school budget, high accountability frameworks, and a school environment in which leaders are very aware of the risk in every sense of the word, there is a justified fear that schools might deprioritise education outside the classroom. The benefits of learning outside the classroom are invaluable to our young learners as fundamentally it improves their engagement with learning, develops their IB profile, allows them to demonstrate their HERO values, and improves their resilience, self-confidence, and well-being. Teachers also benefit from these opportunities which boost cohesion and bonding opportunities, bring a sense of belonging, and widens and develops their pedagogical skills (Waite, 2011).

Y12 IBCP Marketing Trip to investigate the ice-cream market in Chelsea

Year 9 Young Enterprise pupils budgeting for their Christmas Market stalls Do Ofsted value outdoor learning and residential provision? It is not only teachers and pupils who recognise the benefits of outdoor learning experiences; Ofsted has celebrated the value of outdoor learning and published examples demonstrating how schools have effectively used this. Recent Outstanding Ofsted reports note that; ‘Extra-curricular opportunities include hiking, camping, adventure days, museum, and theatre visits. These make a profound difference to the pupils’ experience of the world and broaden their horizons. Pupils embrace all opportunities with open arms' Preston Muslim Girls High School, January 2017 ‘The curriculum includes numerous opportunities for pupils to learn beyond the school. Pupils participate in a broad range of trips which play a significant part in enriching the curriculum’ Oasis Academy Byron, June 2016 When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development (DfE, 2015). Ofsted also recommends that schools ensure that their curriculum planning includes sufficient well-structured opportunities for all learners to engage in learning outside the classroom as a key, integrated element of their experience evaluate the quality of learning outside the classroom to ensure that it has maximum impact on learners’ achievement, personal development and wellbeing ensure equal and full access for all learners to learning outside the classroom by monitoring participation in activities by different groups of learners and removing any barriers.

Recommendations:

Given the clear benefits of outdoor learning, more needs to be done to ensure that children and young people are provided with the opportunity to leave the classroom. To improve access for every child to an experience outside it is recommended that:

1. Senior Leader Teams are exposed to the benefits of the learning opportunities provided. Research suggests that when SLT members support learning outside of the classroom, a shift occurs across the rest of the school with teachers becoming more confident in holding lessons outside. This could usefully be included in programmes for aspirant senior leaders
2. Alter the language used to describe outdoor and residential learning so that outdoor learning is not seen as an enrichment activity, but rather an integrated part of the curriculum with clear learning objectives and outcomes.
3. Develop low cost or resource-light provision that makes best use of partnerships between schools and local businesses in the area.
4. Celebrate the participation of the students following the outdoor learning activity through the academy’s website / newsletter / Twitter page and reward their behaviour
5. Share the workload with other colleagues such as one member of staff could complete the Evolve form while another could draft the consent letter.
6. We are very privileged to have Ms Edwards as our ECA coordinator and this is a luxury for us as teachers. Indeed it has been reassuring and practical to benefit from her expertise during the planning and preparation of visits.

And finally... have fun with the students and enjoy the bonding experience. They will not forget these opportunities provided and will always be grateful. References: Department for Education. (2015). Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: articulating success and good practice. Retrieved April 21, 2017 from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/47 3974/DFE-RR411_Supporting_the_attainment_of_disadvantaged_pupils.pdf Nielsen, G., Mygind, E., Bølling, M., Otte, C. R., Schneller, M. B., Schipperijn, J., Ejbye-Ernst, N., & Bentsen, P. 2016. A quasi-experimental cross-disciplinary evaluation of the impacts of education outside the classroom on pupils' physical activity, well-being and learning: the TEACHOUT study protocol. BMC public health, 16(1), 1117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3780-8 Ofsted, 2004. Outdoor education: aspects of good practice (HMI 2151), www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/2151 . Waite, S. 2011. Teaching and learning outside the classroom: personal values, alternative pedagogies and standards, Education 3–13, 39:1, 65-82, DOI: 10.1080/03004270903206141 Further Reading: Behrendt, M., & Franklin, T. 2014. A review of research on school field trips and their value in education. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 9, 235-245. http://doi.org/10.12973/ijese.2014.213a Gardinier, L. & Colquitt‐Anderson, D. (2010). Learning abroad. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2010, 23-29, http://doi.org/10.1002/tl.417 Morris, M. 2019. Education Outside the Classroom:An Assessment of Activity and Practice in Schools and Local Authorities, DfES. Ofsted, 2004. Outdoor education: aspects of good practice (HMI 2151) www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/2151 . Learning outside the classroom manifesto (ISBN 978-1-64478-861-3), DfES, 2006; Schauer, H., 1992. Education outside schools. Education and Computing, 8(1-2), pp.149-153.

Health and Safety Executive Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel (OEAP); www.oeap.info

Bitesize Research: Creating a supportive classroom

This week, I wanted to share with you an interesting concept from Evidence Based Education, which characterises the key elements of good teaching into four different areas or ‘dimensions’. The area I want to focus in light of coming back into school is ‘creating a supportive environment’ which is the 2nd of the four dimensions.  

Objectives: To understand the key elements of creating a classroom supportive environment for great teaching.

Summary:  

The key elements contained within the evidence-based approach proposed here are for dimension two are:

• Promoting interactions and relationships with all students that are based on mutual respect, care, empathy and warmth; avoiding negative emotions in interactions with students; being sensitive to the individual needs, emotions, culture and beliefs of students

• Promoting a positive climate of student-teacher relationships, characterised by respect, trust, cooperation and care

• Promoting learner motivation through feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness

• Creating a climate of high expectations, with high challenge and high trust, so learners feel it is okay to have a go; encouraging learners to attribute their success or failure to things they can change

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

 

• How important will these be when we return to face-to-face teaching?

• What strategies can I use to demonstrate and build these particular elements of teaching in the classroom?

If anyone would like to discuss this further with Jaya - please comment below! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.