EIP 2 Session 4 PowerPoint presentation (including speaking notes)

Slide 1

Empowering Improvement Project 2

Session 4: Reflecting on learning and teaching

Speaking notes - In this fourth and final session we are considering aspects of core question 2.

Slide 2

Responding to core question two

How is the school/organisation setting about achieving the vision, within its own context?

The school’s/organisation’s ongoing work impacts on:

- the quality of learning and teaching;

- the appropriateness of the curriculum, including the development of digital skills;

- the promotion of the learner’s health and well-being; and

- broader safeguarding.

The school/organisation monitors, evaluates and reviews continuously the effectiveness and impact of its work.

Speaking notes - Much of what we reflect on in this session relates to aspects of how the school or organisation is setting about achieving their vision within their own context.

Slide 3

School Development Planning.

Slide 4

New framework based on 5 core questions

Image showing the five core questions:

Question 1 – What is the school’s/organisation’s vision and what informs it?

Question 2 – How is the school/organisation setting about achieving the vision, within its own context?

Question 3 – How does the school/organisation monitor how well it and its learners are doing and how responsive is it to overcoming challenges and barriers?

Question 4 – How does the school/organisation define, celebrate and embed success for all learners?

Question 5 – How is the school/organisation creating the right conditions for the growth and development of a community of learning?

What is the school’s/organisation’s vision and what informs it?
How is the school/organisation setting about achieving the vision, within its own context?
How does the school/organisation monitor how well it and its learners are doing and how responsive is it to overcoming challenges and barriers?
How does the school/organisation define, celebrate and embed success for all learners?
How is the school/organisation creating the right conditions for the growth and development of a community of learning?

Speaking notes - Question one of the new framework reflects the why.

Slide 5

New framework based on 5 core questions

Image showing the five core questions:

What is the school’s/organisation’s vision and what informs it?
How is the school/organisation setting about achieving the vision, within its own context?
How does the school/organisation monitor how well it and its learners are doing and how responsive is it to overcoming challenges and barriers?
How does the school/organisation define, celebrate and embed success for all learners?
How is the school/organisation creating the right conditions for the growth and development of a community of learning?

Speaking notes - Questions 2-5 - The how.

Slide 6

How do we know how well our learners are doing?

Professional discussion – Lesson observations.

Learner’s work – Talking to learners.

Assessment information – Questionnaires/Consultation.

Build up a comprehensive picture of your school/organisation.

Considering the holistic development of the child and young person:

- how well are our learners doing?

- is it well enough?

Slide 7

An honest and accurate baseline

The baseline will:

state clearly the school’s/organisation’s current position in relation to the vision;
provide an accurate starting point from which to measure improvement; and
identify what is going well as well those areas that could be better.

Slide 8

Planning for improvement

Have a clear, shared and understood vision. Ensure everyone is clear on:

Why change is needed (in relation to that vision);
What change is needed; and
How the changes will be achieved.

Have a clear action-planning process. Ensure everyone is clear on:

Why improvement is required;
What amended and simple actions will lead to improvement; and
How the impact of these changes can be measured.

Slide 9

Workshop one

Image of a rope bridge above trees with text ‘The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.’ Stephen Covey

Speaking notes - Attribute quote. Stephen Covey (educator, author and businessman). ‘The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.’

I am sure you would agree that the work of any school/organisation is heavily weighted toward what happens in the classroom.

While staff have everything to deal with from a broken home to a broken toilet- what is happening in the classroom is really the core business.

It’s just that in order to deliver the core business there are so many other considerations to be taken into account - the community context in which we are working. And of course, the social and emotional and wider needs of the learners are as relevant to teaching and learning as their abilities.

Slide 10

Workshop one

Moving image of Fred and Barney from ‘The Flintstones’ with text ‘Just keep your eye on the ball, Barney-Boy’.

In your groups, consider: How do we keep the main thing, the main thing?

Slide 11

Feedback

Colourful graphic of people gathered around a desk.

Slide 12

Keeping the main thing the main thing

Establish a clear, shared vision.
Establish an honest accurate baseline.
Value professional dialogue.
Identify and embed interventions that work.
Make the most of all available support.
Review the use of accommodation and resources.
Be willing to make reasonable adjustments.
Value professional development.
Ensure targets are tightly focused on outcomes for the learners.
Focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning.

Slide 13

“Schools who are successful at managing the quality of teaching and learning do not have any more time than others. They just choose to spend it differently”. Tweak to Transform, Mike Hughes

Image of book cover ‘Tweak to Transform’ by Mike Hughes.

Speaking notes - Mike Hughes in Tweak to Transform wrote that ‘schools who are successful at managing the quality of teaching and learning do not have any more time than others. They just choose to spend it differently.

This is something to think about.

These schools would argue that this is how success is embedded.

With this in mind we reflect on a few aspects of leadership that are key to keeping the main thing the main thing in your school/organisation (see next slide).

Slide 14

Keeping the main thing the main thing

As a leader:

build relationships;
make time for personal reflection;
prioritise events, courses and spaces that allow you to do this;
respect the value of team thinking and problem solving; and
think about how change is managed.

Moving image of Fred and Barney from ‘The Flintstones’ with text ‘Just keep your eye on the ball, Barney-Boy’.

Slide 15

“Dialogue coupled with reflection and moved to action creates the conditions for transformative learning.” Donovan, Meyer, & Fitzgerald, 2007.

Slide 16

Images of Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction; Hattie’s barometer of influence; and Pam Sammon’s Characteristics of effective practice

Speaking notes - There are so many examples of papers, thinking and research that can be used to prompt reflection and staff discussion to get the conversation going and help a team to begin to develop a shared understanding of what effective teaching and learning in our school, in our context looks like.

Perhaps a starting point with staff could be having those group conversations around what effective teaching and learning looks like and sounds like within a classroom, how does it make the learner feel? How does it make the teacher and other staff feel? Using a summary from a research paper could prompt a discussion.

Here are some ideas to prompt discussion with staff around effective T and L, including and only by way of example: Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction; Hattie’s barometer of influence; Pam Sammon’s Characteristics of effective practice; Mike Hughes - Majenta, and Tweak to Transform.

Slide 17

Workshop Two

What would you expect to see and hear in a contemporary classroom where high quality teaching and learning are happening?

Speaking notes - Workshop two.

Slide 18

Feedback

Colourful graphic of people gathered around a desk.

Slide 19

Learning Insight Profile

Two images of extracts from the Learning Insight Profile.

Speaking notes - The use of the LIP helps fulfill ETI’s commitment to promoting processes of self-evaluation which will endure beyond the period of the inspection as per the new purpose of inspection.

LIP aims - first page on LIP. Please take five minutes to read the introduction to the LIP (the blue page). This is about:

Moving away from judgements

Greater transparency as it can be used as part of a school’s/organisation’s self-evaluation around learning and teaching and will also be used on inspection.

Non-threatening – not attributed to an individual lesson or teacher and note the language GW and EBI

Everyone can be involved in populating this

Generate discussion around teaching and learning

Collective responsibility for the quality of learning and teaching and promoting consistency of approaches across the school/organisation.

Slide 20

Guiding principles of inspection

Learners are at the heart of everything we do.
Inspections/evaluations are impartial, reliable and based on first-hand evidence.
Inspections/evaluations are transparent and involve schools/organisations as fully as possible.
An important focus is the quality and impact of learning and teaching.
Evaluations (inspection findings) are reported constructively, balanced fairly and focused on empowering improvement in the interests of the learners.
Effective practice is recognised, affirmed and shared.
Inspections are proportionate to need.
The context of each school/organisation is taken into account to inform the inspection activity, which will be adapted accordingly.
Engagement in inspection/evaluations will empower organisations in their improvement journey and build capacity.
As a reflective organisation we will continue to encourage and act upon feedback on how the inspection process can be improved

Speaking notes - The LIP is also linked closely to the commitments ETI have made around the principles of inspection.

Note - number 1: the focus on the learner, number 4: the commitment to place an important focus on the impact of teaching and learning, number 6: around recognising, affirming and sharing effective practice and number 9: to empower organisations in their improvement journey and build capacity.

Slide 21

Reflection

Following on from this session, consider taking time to look through and discuss the Learning Insight Profile (LIP) for your phase.

Consider as a staff, how you think the LIP (or a similar self-evaluation tool) could be introduced or used in our school/organisation.

Speaking notes - The LIP is available on ETI’s website.

Slide 22

Questions

Graphic of person and question marks.

Slide 23

Thank you!