Great Teaching Toolkit: Evidence Review

As teachers, what areas of professional development should we focus on to have the most impact on our learners? This report by Cambridge International and Evidence Based Education aims to help teachers identify the areas they can work on in their own professional development that will have the most impact on their learners’ outcomes.

The report reviews existing research studies and frameworks that are relevant to the components and routes to improvement of teacher effectiveness and identified four priorities for teachers who want to help their student learn more:

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      string(3455) "people involved in the care and development of children with special educational needs. This is particularly important at the moment when families and schools are facing increased challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. BOOP provides a great solution for connecting and providing open channels of communication between children, parents and professionals, using a positive and engaging digital platform.’Consistency and structureUsers and their supporters can create individual schedules that can link to visually appealing resources.  There can be no doubt this lessens the impact of unexpected change and reduces anxiety. BOOP features mood measurement and other feedback tools, allowing everyone involved to monitor all aspects of development and wellbeingGemma Cushley is an independent autism consultant, who works with schools and families to support children with SEND during the pandemic.  She is currently using BOOP to support children with high levels of anxiety, to help structure their day, and the feedback she receives from the children and parents alike has been remarkable.‘The children and families I support love BOOP.  For the children it is really exciting as it gives them control in a very tailored way and I see them communicate much more than before.  For parents, it offers a totally new way to communicate with their child.  I am a real advocate.  BOOP is unique, there is no one size fits all.  It strengthens collaboration greatly between parents, schools, children, & other professionals, which has always been needed, and is even more crucial now as we work towards tackling the impact of the pandemic on children with SEND.’Adults tooThe app is being used in adult education as well as Alison Anderson, curriculum area manager for supported learning at Belfast Metropolitan College explains. ‘We support adult learners aged 16 – 60, and here, BOOP has been tailored to support more than 400 students with different needs and abilities,’ she said. ‘What stands out for us is the app’s ability to empower students with ownership of their learning journey in a way that has not previously been attainable.  We are currently at the early stages of rollout, and the impact on teaching and learning has been immense; our plans are to make BOOP an integral part of the teaching toolkit here at the centre.’Post lockdownBOOP was not conceived with the pandemic in mind but has been massively helpful to those using it during this period. It may also prove its worth when young people return to face-to-face education. Some SEND pupils have thrived during lockdown as they have been allowed to work at their own pace, take breaks when they need rather than at prescribed times.BOOP is an exciting new technology that could play a key role in improving outcomes for children with SEND, both in removing barriers to learning and reducing the impact of the pandemic.For further information about Boop, click hereSteve Smith, consultant, Moxton EducationIn his 20 years in education and 23 more in the IT industry, Steve has been focused on the use of education technology; and retains a passion for it.  He has led the judging panel for the Northern Ireland schools’ ICT Excellence Awards for the past five years; seeing first-hand how the use of technology can transform leadership, management, administration, learning and teaching."
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ICT and Apps

Boop - An App That Provides A Wraparound Solution For Young People With Special Needs

27 Feb 2021

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      string(5027) "from a differentgeographical location.Vernier Software & TechnologyVernier Software & Technology (www.vernier.com), a leading innovator of scientific data-collection technology for K-12 and higher education, launched new wireless technologies toimprove STEM education. Graphical Analysis for Android allows students to wirelessly streamdata from Vernier’s LabQuest 2 and from Logger Pro to an Android device and then analysescientific data.Students can use Graphical Analysis for Android to simultaneously collect and graph datafrom multiple sensors. Additionally, students can graph manually entered data, and accessthe same analysis and annotation features used for sensor-based data collection. It alsoautomatically saves data and annotations within the app so students can view and analysedata after class or at home. The launch of Graphical Analysis for Android helps meet thegrowing demand for data analysis on Android devices designed for the classroom.Why WIGT?At least 25 per cent of Ofsted’s judgement onyour school will officially be about your qualityof teaching and learning. In fact this is anunderestimate. The  inspectors’ view of teachingand learning in your school, and as importantly,what systems you have in place to monitor andimprove it, will colour the whole Ofsted report.The WIGT (What is Good Teaching?) Toolkit ismore than just a lesson observation tool, it’s asystem for monitoring and mentoring for improvedteacher performance and can be used at classroom,department or whole school level. The WIGT hasbeen developed over many years and used in schoolsand local authorities across the country.“We recommend the What is Good Teaching? Toolkitto all of our schools. It has become a key tool in helpingschools to look more closely at learning in the classroomand to identify next steps for improvement. It is arigorous and versatile framework which can be used tosupport teacher self evaluation or for leaders to identifywhole school areas to work on.”Principal Adviser for School Improvement –West BerkshireThis is precisely what  WIGT is! A unique qualitystandard for teaching and learning that modelswhat teaching will look like if it is outstanding,good or requires improvement.Uniquely however, it manages to make the implicitqualities of excellent teaching and learning explicit(what outstanding teachers do, often withoutrealising or being able to relate to others) andenables observers and the observed to recognisestrengths and areas for development. The skills ofthese teachers can then be used to inform otherteachers in the school.Used consistently it enables everyone to have aclear understanding of Ofsted’s expectations andsupport the drive towards outstanding teachingand learning for every child.What is in WIGT?The toolkit includes a series of formats which allow foreasy recording of insightful ‘judgements’ about theobserved teacher/s’ performance. The system is basedon what teachers can do rather than what they can’t doand is therefore very unthreatening. However, it makesvery clear how far they have to travel to reach the nextstandard level. In detail the Toolkit includes:■ Teaching quality standards for all Key Stagesincluding the Foundation Stage■ Formats for teacher self evaluation■ Formats to enable pupils to evaluate theirown learning■ A framework to support student/pupilsupport work scrutiny■ Materials to support the development of awhole school policy for teaching and learning■ A manual to guide the lesson observer■ A pen drive/USB with all the pages so that theycan be easily photocopied and a Powerpointexplaining how WIGT should be usedThe toolkit will ensure that the Senior LeadershipTeam (SLT) are confident to make judgements onthe quality of teaching and learning. It will enablepaired observations to moderate judgements,ensuring the school achieves the consistencythat Ofsted expects, leading to sustained andembedded good practice.Going beyond Ofsted!If you are striving towards beingoutstanding you need, inSir Michael Wilshaw’s own words:“…a clear and demanding criteriafor a school to be judged ‘good’ or‘outstanding’. A good school shouldhave at least good teaching, andan outstanding school should haveoutstanding teaching.”What is Good Teaching?WIGTPlease send orders to:Imaginative Minds Ltd, 309 Scott House, Gibb Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B9 4DTT: 0121 224 7599  or  F: 0121 224 7598  E: enquiries@imaginativeminds.co.ukAvailable NOW to order Price£125 +VATA framework forobserving andimproving teaching andlearning, fully alignedto the Ofsted inspectionprocesshttp://www.teachingtimes.comButton 10: Page 1: OffPage 2: Page 3: Page 4: Page 5: Page 6: Page 7: Page 8: Button 11: Page 1: OffPage 2: Page 3: Page 4: Page 5: Page 6: Page 7: Page 8: Button 13: Page 1: OffPage 2: Page 3: Page 4: Page 5: Page 6: Page 7: Page 8:"
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Digital Learning

The best of BETT 2014

28 Feb 2014

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      string(5693) "needs of one particular learner group more deeply.Once an area for enquiry has been identified, it is importantto decide upon the best ways to engage in the research:What type of evidence will be required?Who will I involve in the research?How can I involve those people?What are the time limitations?How can these be overcome?How will I share the findings more widely with colleagues inthe school to be able to directly impact upon whole schoolprocesses, practices and understandings?How does my area of enquiry fit in with existing whole-schoolpriority areas for development?Gathering evidenceThroughout the whole cycle of enquiry, a range of different typesof evidence will need to be gathered.To develop understanding of the issue of underachievementwithin your school context, possible starting points will includethe need to explore and examine the perceptions of learning,achievement and underachievement, with evidence from a rangeof different people within the school context, and also to examineavailable assessment data to be able to compare perceptions withthe reality of underachievement within the school.Following from this, the focus for the enquiry will be refined,leading to the identification of different types of evidence thatneed to be gathered. This may include observations of pupillearning or teaching, or it may involve the implementation of a newapproach to address the issue that has been exposed, followed byobservations, review and interviews with pupils and staff involved.nnnnnnnhttp://www.teachingtimes.comEvery Child UPDATE nwww.teachingtimes.comThismonth’sThe importance ofPractitionerresearchdiscussing and sharing findings:An important part of action research and reflective enquiry withinthe school context is the need to continually involve colleagueswithin discussions to more fully understand how issues such asunderachievement are perceived within the school context.Linked to this is also the need to plan opportunities to sharefindings as they emerge through the research process withcolleagues, in order to be able to agree new ways forward toaddress the issues that have been identified.Further opportunities to review actions introduced andimplemented as a result of the discussions then also need to beplanned to involve a range of different perspectives and voices.The templates at the end of the edition will provide furtherpractical support in planning and developing effective and usefulaction research projects.For now, we need to think carefully about how actionresearch can be embedded within school settings, or, as we willsee in Janet and Nicola’s article that follows, how it can form partof an innovative collaboration between schools, to build reliableand meaningful evidence bases about what works for pupils inyour own particular school setting.references1. Hopkins, D. (2008) A teacher’s guide to classroom research.Columbus: Open University Press.2. Altrichter, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P. and Somekh, B. (2008). Teachersinvestigate their work: An introduction to action research across theprofessions. London: Routledge. p. 147. (2nd edition) .3. Durrant, J. and Holden, G. (2006) Teachers Leading Change: DoingResearch for School Improvement. London: SAGE Publications.Why WIGT?At least 25 per cent of Ofsted’s judgement onyour school will officially be about your qualityof teaching and learning. In fact this is anunderestimate. The  inspectors’ view of teachingand learning in your school, and as importantly,what systems you have in place to monitor andimprove it, will colour the whole Ofsted report.The WIGT (What is Good Teaching?) Toolkit ismore than just a lesson observation tool, it’s asystem for monitoring and mentoring for improvedteacher performance and can be used at classroom,department or whole school level. The WIGT hasbeen developed over many years and used in schoolsand local authorities across the country.“We recommend the What is Good Teaching? Toolkitto all of our schools. It has become a key tool in helpingschools to look more closely at learning in the classroomand to identify next steps for improvement. It is arigorous and versatile framework which can be used tosupport teacher self evaluation or for leaders to identifywhole school areas to work on.”Principal Adviser for School Improvement –West BerkshireThis is precisely what  WIGT is! A unique qualitystandard for teaching and learning that modelswhat teaching will look like if it is outstanding,good or requires improvement.Uniquely however, it manages to make the implicitqualities of excellent teaching and learning explicit(what outstanding teachers do, often withoutrealising or being able to relate to others) andenables observers and the observed to recognisestrengths and areas for development. 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Special Needs

Understanding action research

11 Feb 2014

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      string(5704) "This month’s NEWSNearly half of youngsters cared for in England’schildren’s homes are accommodated in placesfar from their home and family, many in toughareas, new data released by the Department forEducation has revealed.The report, ‘Children’s Homes Data Pack’, released bythe DfE earlier this month, states that at the time of theirresearch, some 4,890 children were housed in children’shomes. Of these, 46 per cent were living in a homeoutside the boundary of their local authority while nearlya third (30 per cent) were living over 20 miles from theirfamily.Sixteen councils, including Bromley, Hackney andWarwickshire, place all their children outside their ownChildren in caresent to ‘far flung’homeshttp://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s NEWSlocal authority area.Twenty eight per cent of children’shomes were found to be in the 25per cent most deprived areas of theUK, with a further 26 per cent in thenext 25 per cent most deprived areas.Only 22 per cent of homes werefound to be in the 25 per cent leastdeprived areas.It is thought that sendingchildren so far from their familyand friends could make them morevulnerable to potential abusersand depression – especially sincechildren who live in children’shomes often have high levelsof emotional and behaviouraldifficulties. (According to a recentreport, 38 per cent of childrenliving in homes had a statementof special educational needs, 62per cent had clinically significantmental health difficulties and 74 percent were reported to have beenviolent or aggressive in the past sixmonths). The education secretary hasdeclared the practice ‘indefensible’.‘So, too, is the fact that more thanhalf of children’s homes are in areaswith above-average crime levels,’ headded.However, David Simmons,chairman of children and youngpeople’s board of the LocalGovernment Association, said: ‘Thereare very good reasons why somechildren in residential homes areplaced outside their home area. Thiscould be for their own safety, tobreak gang affiliation, to place themnear other family members or toaccess specialist services.’He admitted that the ‘historicproblem’ of clustering largenumbers of children’s homes in themost deprived areas ‘needs to beaddressed’, going on to explain thatcouncils, ‘with their knowledge andunderstanding of local areas, shouldhave greater say over where privatecare homes are set up.’Why WIGT?At least 25 per cent of Ofsted’s judgement onyour school will officially be about your qualityof teaching and learning. In fact this is anunderestimate. The  inspectors’ view of teachingand learning in your school, and as importantly,what systems you have in place to monitor andimprove it, will colour the whole Ofsted report.The WIGT (What is Good Teaching?) Toolkit ismore than just a lesson observation tool, it’s asystem for monitoring and mentoring for improvedteacher performance and can be used at classroom,department or whole school level. The WIGT hasbeen developed over many years and used in schoolsand local authorities across the country.“We recommend the What is Good Teaching? Toolkitto all of our schools. It has become a key tool in helpingschools to look more closely at learning in the classroomand to identify next steps for improvement. It is arigorous and versatile framework which can be used tosupport teacher self evaluation or for leaders to identifywhole school areas to work on.”Principal Adviser for School Improvement –West BerkshireThis is precisely what  WIGT is! A unique qualitystandard for teaching and learning that modelswhat teaching will look like if it is outstanding,good or requires improvement.Uniquely however, it manages to make the implicitqualities of excellent teaching and learning explicit(what outstanding teachers do, often withoutrealising or being able to relate to others) andenables observers and the observed to recognisestrengths and areas for development. 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Special Needs

Children in care sent to ‘far flung’ homes

24 Sep 2013