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Learning & Skills Conference
15 May 2013
Improving teaching, learning and assessment
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Overview
To identify common problems and the key challenges
To explore strategies to improve teaching, learning and assessment in your organisation
To consider five achievable steps that you can take in the next three months to improve teaching, learning and assessment in your organisation
Sir Michael Wilshaw…..
“We have made the link between outstanding providers and outstanding teaching unequivocal in the revised Common Inspection Framework. We do not expect every lesson observed to be outstanding, but we do believe that the cumulative impact of high quality teaching and learning drives up learners’ progress and achievement.”
Findings from inspections
Positive features of learning sessions
Enthusiastic and motivated staff:
have high expectations of learners
focus on learners’ vocational and subject expertise
engage learners in stimulating and challenging learning activities using relevant & innovative resources
help learners to work collaboratively with other learners
use information learning technology successfully to help learners become more independent in their learning
plan to meet all learners’ needs
Intermesh on-and off-the-job learning activities - set relevant work to be completed on-the-job to support off-the-job learning
The impact of this is
Learners:
develop strong communication skills
develop high levels of independence and can complete tasks set effectively
gain a detailed understanding of their work, can explain ideas well, answer questions and confidently meet their customers’ needs
produce work of a high standard, including work products, coursework and in examinations
Weak aspects of teaching and learning
Poor attendance and punctuality.
Learners are not clear what they are meant to be doing, or the outcomes aimed for.
Lack of support for those who are struggling.
Insufficient challenge for the most able.
Weak teacher questioning – too superficial, not covering all learners, not extending and developing learning.
Weak classroom management - not dealing with behaviour issues.
Learners spend too long listening to the teacher/trainer and those who are not participating are not picked up.
Poor assessment that is not timely.
Weak aspects of teaching and learning
Learning is not individualised with superficial planning.
The pace of learning is often too slow and learners are not challenged sufficiently in sessions or work or through target setting to realise their full potential.
Feedback is insufficiently detailed and poor grammar and spelling is not always corrected.
Provider lesson observation grades are often overgenerous because observers focus too often on teaching rather than learning.
Performance management of teachers/trainers is weak and does not secure consistency in the quality of teaching and learning.
Key challenges and opportunities facing us
What do you do?
How can you rapidly improve teaching, learning and assessment in your organisation?
Do your teachers/trainers/assessors know what is good and outstanding?
Do you focus extra resources to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment when success rates and other outcomes measures are below the provider target?
Are you focusing on the right things?
How are you using performance management to bring about rapid improvement in teaching, learning and assessment?
Do you know:
How good the teaching is in every session?
If learning interventions and coaching are good?
How good the teaching is in maths and communication?
If the assessment strategy is effective to improve the pace of achievement for each learner?
What progress learners are making and whether their progress is monitored properly?
Critical and uncompromising evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment
Critical and uncompromising evaluation of teaching, learning and assessment
Firm performance management to bring about rapid improvements in teaching learning and assessment
Firm performance management to bring about rapid improvements in teaching learning and assessment
Towards good and outstanding teaching and learning
Instilling a culture of quality improvement with a clear focus on teaching learning and assessment
Targeted, high priority training initiatives for underperforming staff
Activities
Activity 1: In your group consider:
What are the most obvious areas for improvement in
your provision that have stopped you being judged good
for teaching, learning and assessment?
What internal or external
barriers have meant that you have not been able to resolve
the weaknesses? What key strengths does your provision
have that you can
build on?
Activity 2: Group task – put these issues into the order in which you would expect to tackle them to improve teaching, learning and assessment
Progress monitoringProgress monitoring Attendance and punctualityAttendance and punctuality
Initial assessmentInitial assessment
Tutor/trainer expertise Tutor/trainer expertiseAdditional learning supportAdditional learning support
Progress in off-the-job sessionsProgress in off-the-job sessions
English and mathematicsEnglish and mathematics Planning of off-the-job sessionsPlanning of off-the-job sessions
Assessment/markingAssessment/marking Assessment to inform learningAssessment to inform learningQuality workbooks/handoutsQuality workbooks/handouts
Subject area managementSubject area management
?
Activity 3: The leadership challenge – do you have the capacity to improve?
On a scale of 1 to 4 assess the capacity to manage change of:
the senior leadership teamthe subject managersthe teaching/training staffother staffthe learners.
How far do your answers align with the planning and priorities in your action plan?
What actions can you take to strengthen your weakest teams?
Activity 4: How would you performance manage these situations?
Robert Elee is your head of communications and has been teaching for 20 years. The quality of teaching in his sessions is usually a grade 3-‘requires improvement’ and occasionally ‘good’ (according to your senior managers) but only more able learners make expected progress in his sessions. His planning tends to be ‘one size fits all’.
You are the new Vice Principal curriculum recruited from another college. The quality manager is Jane Doe who was an unsuccessful applicant for the post. From your initial analysis of the observation of teaching and learning system you feel that Jane Doe’s observations are the weakest out of the whole team, and show signs of significant over-grading.
Activity 5: Think about your own self assessment, action plan on teaching, learning & assessment
Do these features of strong action planning appear in your plan?
Performance management and professional development are both crucial in supporting improvement
Robust performance management with clear and measurable targets for all staff
Targeted professional development, evaluated against impact on achievement
+
So what priorities have you set
for continuous professional development?
Think about your own planning and identify what it means for the development of
teachers/trainers.
Skilled senior managers ensure that all middle managers are also effective at leading and monitoring teaching
Frequent and rigorous diagnostic monitoring of teaching and learning
Use evidence and engage staff in developing improvement plans
Make use of identified best practice within the provision, for example, coaching
Use other providers to share best practice and provide a vision of ‘outstanding’
Deliver high quality professional development
Monitor the delivery and impact of initiatives – achieve consistency
Targeted support and robust performance management where staff do not respond to change
How providers successfully improve teaching, learning & assessment
Activity 6: Is your lesson observation system effective?
Internal/external observers Number observers –
consistency Credibility of observers Generic or subject specific Focus on learning Frequency To grade or not to grade Relevance of paperwork Moderation Activities during
observations such as talking to learners, looking at portfolios, registers and assessment records
Reflect on your own system.
What are the positives?
What will you change to have the biggest impact?
Activity 7: Improving communication and mathematics Discussion topic
Teaching, learning and assessment: Do staff have the necessary qualifications, skills and experience to teach communication and mathematics effectively?
Is learners’ work marked/assessed properly, do they receive constructive feedback and know how well they are doing? Does this support learners in understanding the purpose of studying these subjects?
Are they able to apply their skills in a vocational and generic context?
The qualifications: Are the qualifications offered the right ones for the learners? Are they at the correct level, and assessed in the most appropriate way and at the right time?
Activity 8: improving communications and mathematicsDiscussion topic
Who has responsibility for this?
Are observations of teaching, learning and assessment carried out and how is the information from them used?
How well are data collected and used? Does this look at the effectiveness of different strategies and the success of different groups?
Is self-assessment of communications and mathematics carried out separately or as part of each subject area?
How do you currently identify under-
performance in subject areas?
What action do you take once under-performance is identified?
Do you feel your observation of teaching and learning process is sufficient to give you an accurate view on the standards of teaching, learning and assessment? How can you be sure?
What will you do differently that would effect greater or more rapid improvement?
Final Discussions
Successful actions to improve teaching, learning and assessment Accurate self-assessment and clear action plan
Effective monitoring of learning in sessions
Robust monitoring of the quality of learners’ work to set high standards
Accurate & honest feedback to teachers and trainers
Identification and sharing of good practice
Clear identification of actions for improvement
Outstanding training for staff
Effective use of data
Strong focus on learning
Having a vision – is it good enough?
?
