Teaching and Learning Handbook (A Best Practice Guide)

Planning a course

A course might involve just 2 or 3 sessions or a series of lessons over a year. It is important to have an overview of the course content and skills required to successfully achieve the outcomes.

Consider the following questions:

1. How long is the course (weeks or sessions)?

2. Does the course content divide into smaller sections?

3. What skills need to be developed over the course?

4. What is the level and experience of the students?

5. Is there a logical order to teaching the content?

6. Is the level of course appropriate to the level of the learner?

7. Determine the requirements of the awarding body

a. Hours of delivery

b. Mode of assessment

As you plan your course you should use the college's scheme of work.

Here is some guidance on completing the sections of the scheme of work:

Topic Content

This section is the what part of the scheme and should outline the content of each of the sessions throughout the course/unit/module of delivery. You should normally include a main heading (which might be taken from the awarding body specification or your own course breakdown) followed by a more detailed idea of what the session(s) will contain. Where possible it is beneficial to reference the relevant learning outcomes as laid out in the course specifications. (To include cross cutting themes and Habits of Mind)

This section is intended to identify areas that embed good practice within specific areas of the curriculum and should consider the following:

Habits of Mind

1. Persisting
2. Managing Impulsivity
3. Listening with Understanding and Empathy
4. Thinking Flexibly
5. Thinking About Thinking (Metacognition)
6. Striving for Accuracy
7. Questioning and Posing Problems
8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
10. Gathering Data Through All Senses
11. Creating, Imagining, Innovating
12. Responding with Wonderment and Awe
13. Taking Responsible Risks
14. Finding Humour
15. Thinking Interdependently
16. Remaining Open to Continuous Learning

Method and Resource

This section is the how part of the scheme and should outline the teaching and learning strategies you plan to use in the session (such as class discussion, lecturer-led exposition, role play, pair work or practical work). This is an important section for your planning as it allows you to use a range of activities over time to ensure variety and to include opportunities for differentiated learning. There is further discussion of this in the teaching strategies section.

Method of Assessment

This section has two purposes. First, you should describe the way you intend to use the activities in the session to assess progress in understanding and skills. This could include various types of formative assessment, such as question and answer, written responses, presentations or group discussions. Second, you should outline any homework, coursework or assignment work to be completed outside the session, including deadlines for work that is to be formally assessed. There is further discussion of this in the assessment section.

Review of Planned Progress

It is to be used on a weekly basis to record what progress has been made in the sessions. It is an on-going record of work. It might simply confirm that the activities and content have been covered, or might record any sections carried over or changed. This section is important in circumstances where classes are covered by another teacher at short-notice, but also provide useful information when planning to deliver the same course in the future. Some of you might prefer to keep a separate record of work. If so, it is vital that this is readily available in your work base.

Planning a session

The scheme of work provides a structure for the course. The next thing to do is to plan for individual sessions. These can vary in length, activity and level, but all need detailed planning to be effective. The college has a standard lesson plan that you are required to complete for each session.

Here is some guidance on the areas to include lesson planning:

Aims and Objectives

Is a general statement of intent showing the destination of the session, while an objective is a more specific statement about what the student should know or be able to do by the end of the session.

The number of aims for a session might vary. Each session should have at least one aim, three aims are probably the most that you would realistically need.

Examples of Lesson Aims:

• To investigate the benefits of alternative therapies.
• To explore the role of the World Bank in the economies of East Africa.
• To examine the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh.
• To revise the safe storage of meat products.

To achieve the aim(s) of the session you will need to identify a number of objectives or learning outcomes. These should be focused on the student and you need to be able to check or assess the extent to which the objectives have been achieved.

The two main types of lesson objective are:

Knowledge-based objectives (demonstrated by describing, listing, explaining etc…)

Skill-based objectives (demonstrated by solving a problem, completing a practical task, constructing something etc…).

The easiest way to word an objective is to use a phrase such as by the end of the session each student will be able to….

Examples of Lesson Objectives:

• By the end of this session all students should be able to label a diagram of a newt's digestive system.
• By the end of this session all students should be able to assess the impact of the World Bank on the economy of Kenya.
• By the end of this session all students should be able to list Handel's key orchestral works.
• By the end of this session all students should be able to conjugate the future of the verb 'to be'.

Content

Your scheme of work should have an overview of the content of each week. In planning a specific session you will need to expand the detail of what you intend to cover. At this stage you should consider any areas of the topic that you need to research further.

Cross cutting themes must be an integral part of your scheme of work, however, there is not an expectation that all of the cross cutting themes are evidenced in each lesson plan.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

This section outlines how you intend to deliver the content. It should include the following:

Timings

You should give a general idea of how long you anticipate each part of the session will take. You will probably think in blocks of 10, 15 or 20 minutes most of the time.

Teaching Strategies

This applies to what you are going to do. This might include lecturer-led exposition, demonstration or question and answer sessions.

Learning Activities

This applies to what the students are going to do. This might include a written exercise, group or pair work, presentations or practical work.

Assessment

This should show how you intend to assess how successful you achieve your lesson objectives. This applies both to the formative assessment you use in the session and how it links to the summative assessment of the course.

Resources

This section allows you to consider what materials you will need to prepare. This might include handouts, visual aids, electronic resources or materials for practical work. When planning this you should make arrangements to get any equipment you may need.

Health and Safety

You need to consider any implications the session might have for the health and safety of you, your students and others in the college. For many classroom-based sessions you will have no special health and safety considerations so a statement like 'classroom-based activity which is subject to the college's normal health and safety policies and procedures' can cover the session. If your session has extra considerations (such as practical work) you should discuss with your subject team how best to complete this section.

Homework

Finally, you should specify what work the students should complete after the session. This might be formally set work to be handed in and assessed, an exercise to complete, informal practice or preparation for the next session.

Pro formas for Schemes of Work and session plans can be found on the staff intranet.

Best Practice
Planning & Preparation

A well-planned lesson should:

The Physical Environment

It is worth considering what can be done to make the physical environment support teaching and learning.

For classroom based activities consider the following questions:

• Are staffing levels appropriate?
• Does the room layout support the planned activities?
• How flexible is the room layout?
• Do you use activities that suit the room or do you adapt the room to suit the activities?
• Is the room tidy and uncluttered?
• Does the room contain imagesand material relevant to the subjectand approriate to the learner group (age, level, current)?
• Does the room contain any examples of student work?
• Can you use wall displays in your teaching?
• Do areas that are used for practical activities comply with health and safety regulations?
• Are sufficient resources available?

For activities outside a classroom setting consider the following questions:

• Are staffing levels appropriate?
• How do you establish the boundaries of the learning area?
• How do you minimise the distraction your students might experience?
• How do you monitor students' involvement in the work?
• How do you monitor issues of health and safety?
• Are sufficient resources available?

The college's Student Learning Agreement outlines the general behaviour expected from our students. It might be beneficial to re-enforce these and add any subject-specific issues. Possibly, you could negotiate a set of class rules from the start of the course. This might be considered too much like a school approach, but has the benefits of engaging the students in a discussion of appropriate behaviour and setting a context for the consequences of inappropriate behaviour. The rules, and consequences for breaking them, could then be displayed in the classroom.

Inappropriate behaviour might include:

• Poor attendance
• Lateness
• Food and drink in class (except for water)
• Lack of work in class
• Lack of work outside class
• Rudeness to you or other students
• Use of phones or ipods
• Threatening language or behaviour
• Behaviour or activities that is a disruption to other learners

Example of Class Rules

1. Arrive on time.

2. Switch off phones, ipods etc.

3. Pay attention to the teacher.

4. Get ready to work (get out pen, paper, text).

5. Show respect to other members of the class.

6. Take an active part in class activities.

7. Help other students when you can.

8. Keep all work up-to-date and organised.

9. Complete all coursework assessments by deadlines

10. No food or drink in the classroom

It is imperative that all staff within course teams and across courses adhere to the above guidelines inorder for them to be effective within the teaching environment.

Student Monitoring

We have a crucial role in providing our students with a safe and stimulating learning environment, but we also play an important part in our students' pastoral well-being.

the college there are slight variations in the way students are monitored, but certain principles are common to all students.

Responsibilities of the Tutor include:

1. To keep accurate and up-to-date attendance records for all classes.

2. To keep accurate and up-to-date records of marks, grades or general progress for all students.

3. To speak to a student as soon as an issue of attendance or work-rate becomes apparent.

4. To refer any continuing problems of attendance or work-rate to the Course Tutor.

5. To inform the Course Tutor if any changes to a student's course of study is required.

6. To thoroughly plan and prepare sessions in advance of delivery.

7. To ensure that the needs of the individual learner are met (differentiation).

8. Inform the Course Tutor of any special exam arrangments that need to be applied for.

9. Ensure that if an LSA is supporting learners they are conversant in advance with:

• Learners' specific needs.
• Session content.
• Changes in timetable.

Being Observed

It is worth considering the following questions on the do's and don'ts of how you conduct the observed session.

What information/paperwork do you need for the session?

To make the observer's (and hopefully your) life easier gather any relevant information for the session into a pack.

The pack should include:

• The session plan
• The relevant scheme of work
• List of students
• Any handouts for the session

How should you respond to the observer?

You should begin by welcoming the observer into the class, ensuring there is a free seat for them. Hand them the pack of information for the session, making them aware of any other issues that might be relevant. Then, introduce them to the class and explain why they are there. Ideally you should already have briefed your students so they know what to expect.

How do you deal with student issues lateness, mobile phones, behavioural issues, etc...

The main point here is that you are seen to be in control of the session. If you have engaged your students in a discussion about appropriate behaviour along the lines discussed earlier in this section, then student behaviour should not be an issue when observed.

What is an observer looking for in the session?

A graded observation is part of the college's internal quality cycle judged against Estyn's Common Inspection Framework, and the PMAR process.

• Use if Direct Questioning
• Cross Cutting Themes
• Differentiation
• Planning & Preparation
• Variety of teaching strategies
• Habits of Mind
• Record of Attendance
• Classroom Management
• Assessment methods
• Role of the Support Assistant

How do you deal with feedback?

You are entitled to have feedback from any observed session. Take it as an opportunity for a professional discussion and identifying staff development requirements and good practice. If you think you have been misrepresented, clarify any factual inaccuracies or give any further relevant information on your feedback sheet.

Best Practice
Classroom Management
(Behaviour)

Classes in a well-managed learning environment should:

The VAK Model

The VAK model has been developed by a number of educational theorists, most notably Dunn and Dunn. It divides learning preferences into three main types:

More recently a fourth category of Tactile has been added. This refers to students whose learning is based on use of the hands and has similarities with the kinaesthetic category. Typical activities include underlining, taking notes and handling objects to get a sense of them.

Some of the appeal of the VAK categorisation is its simplicity and easy application in teaching strategies. In Coleg Powys it is easy to diagnose students quickly from completing the BKSB and Learning Styles computerised assessments. Possibly the greatest benefit of this kind of testing is that it encourages our students to think about the process of their learning. The danger of it is that it has the potential to 'pigeon-hole' students in one category rather than stressing it is a preferred style. Students should be encouraged to develop all styles of learning. 

The Whole Brain Model

The Whole Brain Model was developed as the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument. It was developed for use with adults in business and is therefore more suited to literate adults than younger learners and, as such, could be quite useful for our students. It takes the concept of the right/left brain hemispheres and identifies four learning styles. Like VAK this model emphasises that all styles should be developed by an individual, although there are likely to be strong preferences.

The benefit of the model is in encouraging a range of teaching strategies that will appeal to 'left and right brain' learners.

The Multiple Intelligences Model

The multiple intelligences model was developed by Howard Gardner in 1983 and is not strictly about learning styles, but intelligence and behaviour. Nevertheless it is a useful indicator of the differences that exist in the students we teach. The model takes the view that there are eight 'intelligences' and each person has developed all of them to a certain extent with a preference for one of two.

One of the benefits of this model is the level of detail which allows us to combine a wide range of activities. The naturalistic intelligence is often seen as a contributory factor to some students' restless or disruptive behaviour in class. Although it might not be practical to go outside frequently, it is possible to bring images of nature into the classroom or open a window from time to time. 

Best Practice
Learning Styles

A good lesson which takes account of learning preferences should

Twenty Learning Strategies

When selecting teaching strategies the importance of variety cannot be overstated. To differentiate for individual students’ learning styles it is vital to combine a number of strategies within a session and over a sequence of lessons.

Consider the following twenty teaching strategies for use in your teaching.  Then you could consider whether any of the other methods might be worth a trying. 

Examples of good practice using these methods may be drawn from peer observations.

Starting and Ending Sessions

The first and last five minutes of a teaching session should be productive.  It is important to start promptly as it sets the tone of the learning.

STARTING A SESSION

Student behaviour on arrival:

• Make the students aware of the importance of arriving on time.
• Never ignore late arrivals.
• Devise a set procedure for students to follow when arriving at the session (e.g. get pen and paper ready, switch off mobile phone etc….)
• Have a clear procedure for students arriving late) e.g. apologise and explain lateness).
• Involve students who arrive late in class activities as quickly as possible.

Starting activities should:

• Act as a link to the previous session.
• Be easily achievable
• Be a short exercise (about 5 minutes)

Examples of starting activities include:

• Kinaesthetic re-cap exercise, such as sorting cards into order or jigsaw type exercise.
• Creating a mind map of the content of the last session.
• Making a list of things they remember from last session.
• A quick multiple choice worksheet.
• If in a computer room – an interactive quiz.
• Demonstration /recapping of practical session.

ENDING A SESION

Activities at the end of a session should:

• Be built into the structure of the sessions and allow time for review.
• Review the learning objectives with the students.
• Review the learning process with the students (e.g. how did they find a particular exercise?)
• Have a short exercise for students to reflect on what they have learned in the session.
• Maintain learner focus until end of session.

Examples of activities to use at the end of a class include:

• Getting students to share two things they have learned from the session.
• Getting students to reflect on one activity or concept they found easy and one they found hard.
• Getting students to confirm what work they need to do before the next session.
• Quick-fire Q&A exercise.

Higher Order Thinking Skills

Higher order thinking skills will be known to some of us through familiarity with Bloom’s Taxonomy. This is a system that categories different learning objectives or tasks that teachers set for their students. He divided these into three ‘domains’;

1. The affective domain deals with the way students react emotionally to situations. This is divided into five levels of response from simply receiving information to changing aspects of their beliefs or actions.
2. The psychomotor domain deals with physical manipulation of the body, a tool or instrument in activities like construction, playing music and so on. Bloom did not divide this further, but subsequent research has explored this.
3. The cognitive domain deals with thinking skills and is probably the best known area of Bloom’s research. He developed six levels of increasing complexity for the tasks teachers set. It begins with basic knowledge and develops a hierarchy to evaluation. The main application in teaching is to help us develop activities that logically direct the student up the ladder of skills, rather than expecting high order skills to emerge spontaneously.

These six levels of complexity are usually split into Mastery Tasks (knowledge, Comprehension, and Application) which reproduce knowledge or skills and Developmental Tasks (Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation) which require skills such as reasoning, critical evaluation and judgement. These are the higher order skills.

There is sometimes a misconception that the higher order skills apply to higher level qualifications. In fact students on all course levels should be encouraged to develop these skills. For example a level one catering student who is expected to choose the appropriate knife to use for a particular task has to use evaluating skills.

To help apply this taxonomy to your teaching you could think about appropriate activities for each level of skill. Here are suggestions for setting questions at the right level.

Writing Frames

Writing frames can be a good way to provide our students with a support of ‘scaffold’ when carrying out a writing task. They are particularly useful for students who struggle with extended writing, or for those who struggle with planning and organisation.

Benefits of using writing frames include:

• Helping students understand the structure of the task.
• Giving guidance on style for different parts of the task.
• Leading students to cope with more sophisticated writing tasks.
• Building confidence for some students.  

Dangers of using writing frames include:

• Limiting creativity and originality of approach.
• Reducing a writing task to a box filling exercise.
• Making students to dependant on frames.
• Becoming too generic and not linked to a specific task.

Here is an example of a writing frame from the National Literacy Trust.

Art-Writing Frame for a Critical Study

Best Practice
Teaching Strategies

Effective teaching should:

Summative Assessment

Summative Assessment refers to assessment activities which are intended to gauge a student’s knowledge or ability at a certain time. This often leads to accreditation.

Summative assessment, then, is quite specific and usually applies to work produced at the end of a unit or course. It might include assignments, coursework or examinations and usually follows awarding body criteria. Often it leads directly to a qualification or progression to the next stage of a course.

The content of summative assessment is usually quite prescriptive and our main job is to ensure our students are clear about the requirements. For work completed through the course, such as assignments or coursework, it is vital to be clear about requirements and deadlines. Also, you should give specific information concerning any help or guidance you are allowed to give, rules on use of rafts and details of how the work should be presented.

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment refers to assessment activities which are intended to help the learning process. The activity and feedback are more important than the result. Formative assessment, then, is much more relevant to our day-to-day teaching. It is sometimes referred to as Assessment for Learning and is the main tool we use to diagnose student progress and give advice on improvement strategies.

1. Effective Questioning

Questioning is the assessment strategy we use most. Think of the number of questions you might use in a typical session from welcoming students to more subject-specific questions. The success of our teaching relies on the effectiveness of our use of questions to check our students' knowledge and understanding. The questions we use fall into a number of categories such as formal or informal; written or verbal; open or closed. They can be of different levels of complexity so we can use the same principles previously discussed on Bloom's taxonomy. We can then move students from low order to high order questions. Just as all teaching methods are valid in the right situation, all questioning strategies have some value as long as we use a variety and choose appropriate methods for the situation. The following table contains some common questioning strategies showing some of the benefits and disadvantages.

When using any questioning strategy consider the following issues.

Participation Rate:

How many of the students are likely to be involved in the exercise?

Teacher Feedback:

How confidently do you know that most of the students understand the topic being discussed?

Student Feedback:

How confidently does each student know that they understand the topic being discussed?

Student Comfort:

Are students put on the spot or can they remain passive?

Thinking Time:

How much time are students given to think about the answer?

Written evidence may be used for Awarding Body purposes

2. Effective Feedback

Whichever method of assessment we use it only becomes formative when the feedback we give helps the student to review and improve. Consider the feedback you give to students. Is it more useful for you or the student? Is it truly formative, giving specific guidance for your students to improve? To help reflect on your use of feedback and possibly give more insight into how we can make our written or verbal feedback more effective, consider the following two well-known studies.

Black and Wiliam - Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment (1998) Professors Ian Black and Dylan Wiliam carried out a review of hundreds of studies into effective assessment. Their findings showed a very clear distinction between summative and formative assessment.

The traditional approach seen in many schools was summed up as "teach, test, grade, and move on." This approach is summative as it shows the teacher and student how well the student has performed, but does not give specific advice for improvement, nor an opportunity to check if the student is able to correct mistakes.

Black and Wiliam proposed a best practice model of "find faults and fix". This involves teaching a topic, setting work from which you can diagnose any problems and set targets for improvement. This model supports the ethos of differentiation as it emphasises the needs and abilities of individual students rather than getting to a fixed point at the same time.

Butler - The Effects of Task-Involving and Ego-Involving Evaluation on Interest and Performance (1988)

Dr Ruth Butler carried out a study into effective assessment and feedback. She examined the effect of different types of feedback on student motivation and performance. Her main finding was that giving a grade or mark on a piece of assessed work did not help a student to improve. In a controlled experiment she found that:

• Those who had comments only improved performance by 33%
• Those with only grades declined significantly
• Those with comments and grades declined appreciably

She also found that low achievers' interest was undermined by grading while high achievers' interest was sustained throughout the experiment whichever group they were in.

3. Peer and Self-Assessment

One important aspect of formative assessment is the active involvement of the students. An effective way for us to engage our students in assessment is to get them to mark or assess their own work or that of other students. The main benefit of this is that it helps the student become more familiar with the assessment objectives of the course, which means they will be better able to understand what is required by the awarding body. It should also help to increase students' confidence when facing assessment. To make this a beneficial activity it needs to be handled carefully, taking into consideration the peer group  and differentiation of the learners

Here are some suggestions to bear in mind:

• Be clear with students about the purpose of the peer or self-students have assessed.
• Spend time building up students' knowledge of assessment criteria.
• For extended answers, start with smaller exercises.
• Develop coversheets for the student and teacher to fill in.
• Students will probably find it easier to do self-assessment before peer assessment from within their group.
• Be careful who you pair for peer assessment.

• Use anonymous peer to overcome issues of peer pressure.
• Add your own comments once students have assessed the work, highlighting and differences and areas for improvement.
• Targets for improvement should be set with the student using the SMART approach to make them meaningful.
• Establish a system whereby students are able to find two good points and one area for improvement in a piece of assessed work. This helps to give students a framework for assessment and makes them identify weaknesses without being too critical.

Assessment Policy

Each subject area should have an assessment policy that can be shared with students. The policy should give clear guidance to elements of formal assessment, especially summative assessment that will lead to an outcome. It should also give examples of the type of formative assessment that is used on the course. The constraints of the awarding body should be maintained at all times. A policy could contain some of the following elements:

Summative assessment

• Dates for submission of coursework
• Rules on submission of draft work
• Deadlines for assignment work
• Penalties for late or non-submission of coursework/assignment work
• Details of examinations
• Links to specifications
• Guidance on required presentation style for formal work

Formative assessment

• Examples of the types of formative assessment used
• Reasons for using formative assessment
• Type and regularity of coursework
• Timescale for return of coursework
• Penalties for late or non-submission of coursework
• Links to any online examples of formative assessments

Best Practice
Assessment

Effective summative assessment should:

The assessment process should be designed to ensure the learner is guided towards a successful completion and attainment (outcomes)

Effective formative assessment should:

Moodle

The most significant development in ILT at the Coleg Powys has been the creation of our virtual learning environment (VLE), which uses Moodle.  We can use it in a number of ways in our teaching.  Some of us use it as a place to keep all our digital resources, while others use it to manage all aspects of our courses.  Depending on your current utilisation consider one of the following sections:

New to Moodle

If you do not have a course on Moodle you should be confident that establishing one is straightforward.  There is a lot of support available to get you started and you will find it is easy to begin, irrespective of your experience of IT.  Have a look at some of the courses currently available and speak to colleagues who are using it to give you ideas.  Before setting up a course it is recommended that you consider the following points.

Before you request a Moodle course:

1.     Identify a course that you have prepared resources for, and for which many of your resources are saved electronically.

2.    Identify a suitable Unit or Module to start your Moodle area.

3.    List in teaching order the topics to be covered.

4.    Identify relevant material for this unit/module which are in electronic versions (Word, PowerPoint, Websites etc)

5.    Gather the material together.

6.    Identify topics for which material is needed.

7.    Make or find any additional, appropriate electronic material.  This will be an ongoing process and can be divided up between staff who teach on the same course.

Once you have set up a course on Moodle it will take time to build it up to become a significant part of your teaching.  Remember, you do not need to put your entire course online before using it.

Resourced-based Learning

Already Using Moodle?

If you are currently using Moodle it is worth considering ways to develop its role in your teaching.  Consider the quality of your existing course by asking the following questions:

1.     Is your course structured in the most useful way (would it be better by week or topic)?

2.    What do your students think of the materials/course?

3.    Are there materials on the course that are not used?

4.    Have you created any digital resources that are not uploaded?

5.    What new materials would improve the course?

6.    Where could you find existing materials that could be used in your course?

7.    Could you use more features of Moodle (such as the forum, journal or assignment)?

8.    How do you use Moodle during classroom teaching?

The term Resource-Based Learning is used of teaching and learning activities where a student works with a collection of resources to gain new knowledge or skills.  It is often found in the context of distance learning, but can also be used to support other classroom-based teaching methods.  Most activities will now use digital resources and can exploit our students’ familiarity with IT.

Among the benefits of research-based learning is the high level of involvement for the student, as they control the project.  It also enables them to develop important study skills like planning, organisation, critical thinking and presentation.  To use resource-based activities effectively we need to plan in detail and consider the following issues:

• The nature of the task.

• The amount of guidance the students will be given.

• Strategies to differentiate the activity.

• The resources to be used.

• How the students can access the resources.

• Monitoring of student progress on the project.

• Support to be given during task. 

Best Practice
ILT

To use ILT effectively you should:

How Students Differ

A good way to start thinking about differentiation is to consider ways students differ from each other and to assess the extent to which these differences impact on the learning process.

Here are some examples:

MOTIVATION

One important area of difference between students is their level of confidence and motivation. The BASICS model has been devised as part of accelerated learning programmes, such as that developed by ALITE. It helps teachers to support students in order to increase their self-esteem and motivation. It takes the view that the teacher is the principal influencer in the classroom and shapes a student’s belief in their ability.

THE BASICS MODEL

Belonging

• Students want to feel part of the shared experience – do we involve all students?

Aspiration

• Students want to know they can improve – do we sell the benefits of learning?

Safety

• Students want to know they are free to take risks – do we create a “safe” learning environment?

Identity

• Students want to know they are recognised – do we value their individuality?

Challenge

• Students need to be stretched – do we have high expectations of all students?

Success

• Students want the satisfaction of success – do we identify their improvement?

SUPPORT FOR STUDY

Some students will have identified learning needs such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD. Some might be visually impaired or have mobility problems. Others might have basic skills needs. To fully support these students we will often need specialist help from trained staff from the learning support team.

Working will colleagues for the planning and delivery of our subject might be unfamiliar to many of us.

Consider the following questions about the extra support we give students:

• Do we need to use a diagnostic test to spot any unidentified problems?
• Are we aware of what help is available from the learning support team?
• How can we encourage students to get extra help?
• Do we need to provide materials in different formats (such as large copy)?
• How could we best incorporate learning assistants in our class?
• Are our rooms suitable for students with mobility problems?
• Do our digital resources take into account issues of readability (such as use of colour or overlays (colour filter)
• Identify extra resources of time and equipment to complete assignment/course work.

GIFTED AND TALENTED

Gifted and talented students are defined as those who are (or who have the potential to be) significantly ahead of their peer group in one or more subjects.

• Gifted refers to abilities in one or more academic subject.
• Talented refers to abilities in sport, music, creative and performing arts.

Sometimes the phrase more able is preferred to gifted.

Within individual courses much is done to support gifted and talented students. To build on current good practice it would be useful to consider the following questions:

1. Is there a specific system for identifying and supporting gifted and talented students in your course?
2. What examples have you got of stretch and challenge exercises used in your course?

To help identify gifted and talented students the following characteristics were identified by Ofsted. They are not intended to be a checklist, but a guide.

A gifted and talented student may:

• be a good reader
• be very articulate or verbally fluent for their age
• give quick verbal responses (which can appear cheeky)
• have a wide general knowledge
• learn quickly
• be interested in topics one might associate with older people
• communicate well with adults – often better than with their peer group
• have a range of interests, some of which are almost obsessions
• show unusual and original responses to problem solving activities
• prefer verbal to written activities
• be logical
• be self-taught in their own interest areas
• have an ability to work things out in their head very quickly
• have a good memory that they can access easily
• be artistic
• be musical
• excel at sport
• have strong views and opinions
• have a lively and original imagination/sense of humou
• be very sensitive and aware
• focus on their own interests rather than on what is being taugh
• be socially adept
• appear arrogant
• be easily bored by what they perceive as routine tasks
• show a strong sense of leadership
• not necessarily be well-behaved or well-liked by others

Putting Differentiation Into Practice

For most of us the biggest obstacle to differentiation is teaching a group of differing abilities and skills to the same outcome.  Although it is possible to aim for different levels in NVQ, OCN, GCSE and BTEC qualifications, this does not allow for differences such as learning preference.  For exam-based qualifications such as AS and A level all students must cover the same content and prepare for the same assessment. 

So how can we make our teaching more differentiated?  Here are some ways to increase differentiation:

1.     Differentiation through teaching strategies:

• Use a variety of methods to accommodate learning preferences (e.g. an activity in a session for each of the VAK preferences).
• Complementary activities (e.g. teacher-led talk followed by practical activity).
• Make specific activities more differentiated (e.g. if showing a DVD, give a worksheet that sets tasks to complete while watching).

Manage the make-up of teams for group[ work so that each group has a range of abilities and variety of skills (e.g. in an exercise that requires a presentation to the whole class try to include a mixture of organisers, talkers and writers).

2.     Differentiation through task:

• Arrange tasks by level of difficulty starting with short mastery questions leading on to more challenging tasks (e.g. short recall questions on the life of Napoleon leading to questions exploring possible causes for his actions – Bloom’s Taxonomy is useful here).
• Use open tasks that allow students to develop their own response (e.g. produce a summary of a topic – this means students might choose to make a written summary which could vary in its detail, they might choose a pictorial response, such as a cartoon strip, or a graphical summary such as a spider-diagram).
• Give a wide range of resources for students to use which researching a topic.  Some students will use all of them, others will use a limited number focusing on those they find easiest (e.g. give resources from books or articles as well as online material on the same topic).
• Produce handouts that will give extra help in completing a task and either choose who to give them to or wait for students to ask for more help (e.g. set a general research exercise using a set text and produce ‘crib’ sheets that list the key passages to include or a list of sub-questions).
• Give extension or stretch tasks for more able students.  These could be explicit tasks or just placed at the end of a longer task, so only the more able will reach them (e.g. a question for an A level student that explores b roader areas than included in the set specification, but will enhance the student’s understanding of the subject.
• Break up practical activities into smaller, more manageable elements.  Consider using specialist equipment where and when required to assist in completing the task.

3.     Differentiation through feedback:

• All feedback that gives a student specific advice for improvement is differentiated.  This is therefore the easiest way to differentiate (see earlier section on Formative Assessment).
• Give specific areas for improvement for this next piece of work (e.g. advising g that, in the next assignment or coursework, a student concentrates on giving more evidence to support answers).
• Use standard feedback sheets that comment on specific criteria making it easier for students to see progress in particular areas (e.g. use sections based on the assessment objectives set by awarding bodies).
• Use peer and self-assessment of work to give extra feedback (see earlier section on Formative Assessment).

4.     Differentiation through support

• Use learning support staff either during or outside class to give specialised help (e.g. students with difficulties organising their work could benefit from a few sessions in learning support).
• Use ILT to support learning (e.g. give access to PowerPoint presentations for students to go over areas that might be unclear).

Best Practice
Differentiation

Lessons that make good use of differentiation should:

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD): A severe difficulty in focusing and maintaining attention. Often leands to behavioural problems at home, education and work. Also called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Individuals with ASD are affected by their ability to: Understand and use non-verbal and verbal communication, interpret social behaviour, which in turn affects their ability to interact with others, and think and behave flexibly (ie. know how to adapt their behaviour to suit specific situations). Such inabilities are described as 'The Triad of Impairment'.

Brain Injury: The physical damage to brain tissue or structure that occures durign or after birth that is verified by EEG, MRI, CAT or a similar examination, rather than by observation of performance. When caused by an accident, the damage may be called Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Developmental Aphasia: A severe language disorder that is presumed to be due to brain injury rather than because of developmental delay in the normal acquisition of language.

Dyscalculia: A severe difficulty in understanding and using symbols or functions needed for success in mathematics.

Dysgraphia: A severe difficulty in producing handwriting that is legible and written at an age-appropriate speed.

Dyslexia: A severe difficulty in understnding or using one or more areas of language, including listening, speaking, reading, writing and spelling.

Dysnomia: A marked difficulty in remebering names or recalling words needed for oral or written language.

Dyspraxia: A severedifficulty in performing drawing, writing, and other tasks requiring fine motor skill, or in sequencing the necessary movements.

Specific Language Disability: A severe difficulty in some aspect of listening, speaking, reading, writing or spelling, while skills in the other areas are age-approriate.

Specific Learning Disability: The term referred to difficulties in certain areas of learning.