Author: Y. McBlain

April 4, 2014

Teaching for Deep Learning Facilitators Review Their Impact So Far

On Thursday 3rd April 2014 Falkirk Teaching for Deep Learning programme facilitators reviewed the impact of the programme with Yvonne McBlain, Curriculum Support Teacher. Falkirk’s team of facilitators noted that the sessions they have delivered in their schools so far have had the following impact:

Learners are more aware of intended learning and children are now becoming more skilled in generating SC.

We are more aware of the HOTS vocabulary and using them in our LI & SC.

The children are more familiar with the terminology.

Staff are more creative with embedding HOTS in the learning.

More opportunities for sharing good practice.

More opportunities for doing peer visits.

Teachers have been made aware of the importance of professional dialogue.

Staff are valuing the opportunities for professional dialogue.

We now have solution-focused meetings.

Teachers decide on an action from the session to focus on.

Teachers are learning from each other – practice/dialogue

Programme has developed devolved leadership in schools and has developed facilitators’ presentation skills/confidence/professional knowledge of own craft.

General practice of dedicated professional – skilled in delivery of sessions & building capacity.

Distributive leadership opportunity through delivery of sessions.

While making these assertions about the impact of the programme, the group identified the following sources of evidence:

Gateway feedback/evaluations

Teachers created their own action plan linked to the session.

5 teachers will have observed other teachers by the end of the session. This has never happened before!

Start of session staff feedback on previous actions & impacts – share in pairs/lollipop sticks/graffiti board – “post its” kept by facilitators as evidence.

Limited – barriers of school culture/workload

Lack of understanding of the possible impact but hopefully will develop through ERD process.

Traffic lighting – daily plans, QA feedback for LI & SC

Feedback, monitoring visits, evaluations, child’s learning, child’s awareness of HOTS.

In addition, facilitators are also beginning to compile specific evidence of impact on their colleagues and pupils within their establishments. Mary Jalland facilitated Session 6 – Using Higher Order Skills Taxonomies as part of Teaching for Deep Learning (Click to view), and Session 14 – Creating a Positive Learning Environment which Supports Teaching for Deep Learning (Click to view). Click here to read how Mary and her colleagues at Westquarter PS noted their impact.

Iain Farrington facilitated Session 6 and Session 3 – Effective Questioning as part of Teaching for Deep Learning (3 Questioning click to view). As a result of these, Iain and his colleagues are trialling the use of a higher orders skills planning sheet as part of their planning processes (Click to view). Together they have integrated a range of changes to their practice in order to deepen pupil understanding of the skills they are developing. In the longer term, this will support pupils in recognising and recording their own progression and achievement, and help them maintain a strong learning log and/or profile.

March 26, 2014

Bo’ness Primary Schools work on Kinneil Museum Project

Yvonne McBlain, Curriculum Support teacher with Falkirk Council Education Services has helped to co-ordinate partnership work between Bo’ness primary schools and Falkirk Community Trust. The Trust has appointed Hanneke Scott van Wel and Lindsay Lennie to take forward their Kinneil Museum Engagement for the Future Project. On March 25th, Lindsay and Hanneke began working with primary 5, 6 and 7 pupils from each Bo’ness primary school to explore their links with their local heritage. The learning experience involved studying a range of old maps of Bo’ness and opened pupils’ eyes to the many changes which have taken place in their landscape over the last 400 years!

Observations from Kinneil PS p6/5 pupils included:

“We’ve found out that Bo’ness was called something different long ago.”

“We can find Kinneil School in this one (map) and can’t in the other one.”

“They(person who made the map) haven’t got the two potteries and they don’t have the gas works…we found a football ground but they didn’t have it.”

The pupils had brought in a picture or object from home and were asked to consider whether it connected to the places they had identified on the maps. One group said: “We found the town hall ‘cos that’s where the Fair takes place.”

Hanneke and Lindsay will ensure that each class taking part in the project has these learning experiences to prepare them for a whole cluster working day on 20th May in Bo’ness Town Hall. On that day each class from each school, will contribute/pool their expertise on their specialist aspect of Bo’ness history, and use this to co-create a historical timeline of their town. This process and its end product will form the pupils’ contribution to the wider community consultation taking place in order to ensure that the new museum displays reflect a true picture of the interests and experiences of the community they are designed for.

March 25, 2014

Filming for Pupil Learning to Achieve Policy

Yvonne McBlain, curriculum support teacher with Falkirk Education Service, is continuing the filming process for Falkirk’s pupil version of their education policy Learning to Achieve. For the past two years, pupils from as many Falkirk schools as possible have been contributing to the creation of the policy in collaboration with Yvonne, staff in their schools and at the centre. Click here to see the paper version. Pupil council members have played a leading role in the organisation of the tasks at every stage. They suggested that the policy should be digital, and as dynamic and visual as possible.

Yvonne offered all schools the opportunity to be involved in this creation process and currently, secondary pupils are sharing their thoughts on their role in getting the most from their education. Many pupils are taking the opportunity to share and celebrate the educational experiences they have had so far.

On Friday 21st March, St Mungo’s RC HS S5/6 sociology students were filmed in conversation about their role in their own education. These students spoke eloquently about what they would like their lives to be like in 10 years time, and how their education has equipped them for this life. Paul and Martin from Baby Grand Productions are the media partners providing technical support for the creation of the policy.

Carrongrange High School pupils were filmed during their Enterprising Fridays and Life-Long Learning experiences. Each Friday pupils develop their skills for learning, life and work within a range of elective groups.

At Braes HS in the afternoon, a small group of S3 drama pupils were also filmed in conversation. They had prepared some thoughts on how best to conclude the policy video and “acted” out a conversation which they felt would do that well. Their vital task was to persuade and communicate a summary of the policy message to their target audience – every Falkirk pupil!

Mariner Support Service pupils will be filmed on 31st March sharing some of their diverse learning experiences and then all of these parts will be edited with the content already created by S4 Denny HS Creative Industries pupils in conjunction with Baby Grand Productions.

February 3, 2014

Deanburn Nursery Jack Frost Storyline

Yvonne McBlain from Falkirk Education Services curriculum support team is working with the nursery team at Deanburn Primary School on a Jack Frost storyline. Caroline McKay, principal teacher, and Karen Stewart, Senior Early Year’s Officer wanted to explore how the storyline approach could help their children learn about winter in a creative way. The whole nursery team were keen to explore new ways to fit in all of the essentials of planning, assessment, observation and recording of pupil progress. For the last two weeks Yvonne has supported the team in the nursery for one half day per week. The team have then developed, observed and responded to the children’s interests over the rest of the week in order to evaluate impact on learning and develop next steps. For more information about what has been done so far, click on the documents below.

Click here to see the planned learning for 20.1.14

Click here to see the planned learning for 27.1.14

Click here to see the planned learning for 3.2.14

These simple plans are put into the large-scale floor books where the team are recording how the children use the Jack Frost character to develop their understanding of winter. This story started the storyline off, and the team intend to use Twitter as one of their ways to involve parents in the learning.

January 22, 2014

BBC goes to Bonnybridge Primary School

Yvonne McBlain from Falkirk Council Education Service Support and Improvement team heard an item about Bonnybridge PS on Radio Scotland on Tuesday 21st January 2014. She was delighted to hear about P.6/7 from Bonnybridge Primary and their work with the BBC Commonwealth Class project. Michelle Cairns and her class worked on their debating skills and learned about issues and topics affecting countries within the Commonwealth.

The debates were fun and interactive and allowed the children to voice their opinions and thoughts appropriately. The project gave the pupils a fantastic platform for learning about tolerance, equality and working together in a real life context which will be valuable lifelong. Being part of this learning has had a huge impact on the children involved. The BBC contacted the class following their participation in previous debates, asking if they were happy to be filmed debating “in action” for the BBC.

The motion for the filmed debate was homelessness in Commonwealth countries and how this related to the Commonwealth games. The children took part in a Skype call with a school in India in which they were able to ask questions and interact with another Commonwealth country. This experience enabled the children to see themselves as a part of the wider world and to really think about how they can contribute as global citizens. Click here to link to the television broadcast in BBC Iplayer, here for the Good Morning Scotland radio piece, and have a look at the written piece here on the BBC website.

This interdisciplinary learning experience offered the children an opportunity to apply their debating, talking and listening skills within the Commonwealth context. It also offered them a valuable opportunity to develop new knowledge and skills through partnership working with the BBC. Isn’t it great to see Falkirk schools featuring so prominently in the media!

January 17, 2014

New Interdisciplinary Learning Blog!

Yvonne McBlain and Malcolm Wilson of Falkirk Council Service and School Improvement Team have created a new interdisciplinary learning blog. Yvonne will develop and maintain this blog as a major element of support for IDL across Falkirk Council education establishments. She is working hard to fill the blog with useful material and valuable IDL practice. Click here to visit, and contact yvonne.mcblain@falkirk.gov.uk if you have suggestions, ideas or interdisciplinary learning practice to share.

December 18, 2013

Primary Probationer Teachers Get to Know the Teaching for Deep Learning Programme

Yvonne McBlain and Sharon Wallace of Falkirk Curriculum Support Team recently introduced the primary probationer teachers to the Falkirk Teaching for Deep Learning Programme. During this introduction, participants experienced programme session 1 “What is Understanding”. This session explores the concept of understanding and has been used by a number of teacher learning communities in Falkirk schools. Here are some of the definitions of understanding created by the probationer teachers:

Understanding is applying and transfering knowledge flexibly as well as being able to teach others.

Understanding is achieved through repetition (perhaps in different contexts).

Understanding is transferring the skill and knowledge to another context. Embedding the skill through revisiting.

– apply and transfer knowledge to other areas of the curriculum

– be able to explain to others

Click here to access Session 1 through Glow, and here to see the power point presentation from Sharon and Yvonne’s session with probationer teachers.

December 12, 2013

Coffee, croissant, controversy Planning Meetings

Yvonne McBlain and Karen Thomson of Falkirk curriculum support team facilitated two lively sessions recently with principal teachers, depute and head teachers. The initial session explored how our establishments were including each element of the NAR planning flow chart in their planning processes. Discussion focused on the numbers of layers of planning being used, and how this was contributing to the improvement of teaching and learning. Participants requested a second session to enable them to bring along and share their planning layers and documentation.

So, on 10th December Julie McKenna shared how Airth Primary are using a digital tool to manage their planning. Staff use this system to create discrete and interdisciplinary units of work in the form of planning wheels with skills and other information noted. They are able to track both the depth and coverage of experiences and outcomes and the progression of skills. At Airth PS, all staff collaborate to create the annual long term plan, and their planning wheels form the rest of their planning structure, with any other detail being recorded in the weekly plans. Julie and her staff now intend to develop how they integrate their assessment and recording into their planning.

Jill Stocks and Andrew Watson from Bonnybridge Primary shared how they use the Learning Unlimited tool “Realistic Record Keeping and Powerful Planning”. Bonnybridge PS staff work from the experiences and outcomes to create annual master plans for literacy, numeracy, and non core learning. Further detailed planning takes place in weekly plans, meaning that the school has two layers of planning. You can click here to see a collection of the master plans for second level. Staff are also using maths pathways to support their planning of progression in specific numeracy skills – click here to view. Jill and Andrew now intend to develop their tracking of coverage and depth of learning within the E & Os. They value the way this planning tool has enabled a significant shift away from a resource-led approach to planning, increased focus on the principles of curriculum design, and a reduction of paperwork for planning. Early years senior managers also shared their development of floor books as their main planning layer in nursery settings. They value the way floor book planning makes visible the relevance, personalisation and choice and progression of learning for pre and ante-pre school children. It was noted that not all practitioners are comfortable yet with not having additional layers of planning and documentation.

The rest of the meeting consisted of really valuable discussion of how to effectively integrate assessment, manage tracking and monitoring, and how to enhance awareness of when each of the four contexts for learning is being addressed. Click here to see the power point presentation for this second meeting.

November 26, 2013

Get involved in Falkirk’s Town Heritage!

Yvonne McBlain, Curriculum Support Teacher with Falkirk Council Education Services recently met with Julia Branch, THI Heritage Engagement Officer from Falkirk Community Trust. During this meeting, Julia and Yvonne explored a range of ways in which the Falkirk Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI ) http://glo.li/194nhCZ could contribute to the range of teaching and learning experienced by our pupils. The THI Team has been given permission to start, and are keen to work with interested establishments, practitioners and young people. The THI is grant giving initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland & other local partners. The project’s overall aim is to breathe new life into Falkirk’s historic Town Centre by improving the physical appearance of the area and enhancing the things that make Falkirk special and unique. This will include repairing and conserving important historic buildings, restoring traditional shop frontages, and improving the public realm. Alongside the physical regeneration work, Julia will be implementing a ‘Community Engagement’ programme, which will bring local history to life, offer the community and schools opportunities to learn about and promote Falkirk’s rich heritage. If you are interested in taking part in this part of the project or want more information please contact Julia via email julia.branch@falkirkcommunitytrust.org or phone 07739328530. Julia has created a really useful Pathfinder pack of classroom resources within Scran which you can access here http://glo.li/194nDtb , and more resources will follow.