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3  (a)  

  3  (a)  

 

   

SUMMARY  OF  STUDENTS  RESPONSES  TO  ENGAGEMENT  IN  LEARNING  

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SUMMARY  OF  STUDENTS  RESPONSES  TO  ATTITUDES  TO  LITERACY  

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4  (a)  

   

     

       

SUMMARY  OF  TEACHER  SURVEY  ON  TEACHING  APPROACHES  

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Diagnostic  Window  Review  Literacy  

 List  the  strengths  

 1.  Learner  outcomes  Attainment  of  curriculum  objectives            2.  Learning  experience  Engagement  in  learning            3.  Teachers’  practice  Teaching  approaches              

List  the  areas  for  improvement  

 1.  Learner  outcomes  Attainment  of  curriculum  objectives            2.  Learning  experience  Engagement  in  learning            3.  Teachers’  practice  Teaching  approaches              

List  your  findings  from  the  data                      

What  further  questions  do  we  have?  

Sources  of  Evidence  Used:          Source:  adapted  from  Michael  Fullan  “School  Self-­‐Assessment  The  Road  to  

School  Effectiveness”        

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Sample  School  Self-­‐Evaluation  Report  for  Post-­‐Primary  Literacy  Worked  Example  

 1. Introduction  

 1.1 The  focus  of  the  evaluation  

 A   school   self-­‐evaluation  of   teaching  &   learning   in   school  X  was  undertaken  during   the   first   term  of  2012.    Literacy   in  L1  English  and  how   the   teaching  and   learning   in   all   other   subjects   support   the   acquisition   of   literacy   skills  were  reviewed  in  1st  Year.    This  is  a  report  on  the  findings  of  the  evaluation    

1.2 School  context  This  sample  school  is  an  urban,  all  girls  voluntary  secondary  school  under  the  trusteeship  of  CEIST.    There  are  currently  700  students  including  70  are  EAL  students.  TY  is  well  established  and  LCVP  was  recently  introduced.  

2. The  Findings    

Learner  outcomes  • The  student’s  standardised  test  results  and  report  cards  from  the  primary  

school  were  gathered  by  the  Career  Guidance  Counsellor  and  analysed.    It  was   noted   that   the   STen   scores   for   reading   for   the   cohort   are   slightly  above  the  national  norms.    

• All   subject   departments   used   the   PDST   tool   for   analysing   results   in   the  Leaving  Certificate  and  Junior  Certificate  exams.  The  majority  of  subjects  compare  favourably  to  national  norms.      

• There  are  five  mixed  ability  first  year  classes  and  samples  of  written  work  across  the  curriculum  work  were  gathered  and  analysed  for  one  of  these  classes.   Findings:   Consistent   difficulty   with   sequencing   and   the  development  of  answers  was  observed.  

 Learning  experience  At   a   staff  meeting,   the   staff   scanned   through   the   evaluation   criteria   in   the   SSE  guidelines.    The  SSE  core  group  designed  a  student  questionnaire  on  attitudes  to  literacy   &   engagement   in   learning.     This   was   conducted   as   an   on-­‐line  questionnaire  using  Google  forms  and  administered  to  150  students  taking  three  class  periods  in  total.  By  using  an  on-­‐line  tool,  results  were  instantly  collated  and  analysis  began  immediately.    Sample  findings  

• 50%  of  students  read  for  more  that  one  hour  per  week  for  enjoyment.  • The  most  popular  reading  materials  are  magazines/comics  &  fiction.  • Very   few   students   believe   that   their   writing   is   legible   and   even   fewer  

students  edit  their  own  work.  • 17%  of  students  stated  that  they  do  not  like  writing  at  all  

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• More  students  prefer  to  write  on  a  blog/facebook  than  in  other  genres.    • Students  feel  more  comfortable  sharing  their  ideas  in  pairs/small  groups  

but   only   18%   said   they   feel   comfortable   sharing   in   whole-­‐class  discussions.  

 Teachers’  practice  

• In  general,  the  focus  of  teaching  is  on  knowledge  and  skills  more  so  than  literacy/numeracy  or  ICT.  

• Independent   learning,   listening   to   the   teacher   and   taking   notes   are   the  dominant  ways  in  which  students  are  enabled  to  learn.  

• Many  teachers  use  comprehension  strategies  in  their  teaching.  • 10%  of  teachers  use  editing  checklists  or  issue  their  own  set  of  criteria  for  

writing.      

Progress  made  on  previously  identified  targets  identified  in  the  current  SIP  

N/A  for  year  one  as  SIP  not  in  place  yet.    

4. Summary  of  school  self-­‐evaluation  findings    

4.1 Our  school  has  strengths  in  the  following  areas:  • STen  scores  of  1st  Year  students  for  reading  are  above  the  national  

norms.  • Attainment  in  the  majority  of  subjects  at  both  JC  &  LC  is  above  the  

national  norms.  • 60%  of  students  are  reading  fiction  for  enjoyment.  • There  is  a  critical  mass  of  teachers  already  using  comprehension  

strategies  and  students  teaching  and  presenting.  •  There  is  willingness  to  share  good  practice.  • Students  are  getting  some  opportunities  to  develop  oral  language  

and  are  confident  working  in  pairs  and  small  groups.      

 4.2 The  following  areas  are  prioritised  for  improvement  

• Increased   expectations   and   standards   in   writing   across   the  curriculum.  

• The  development  of  comprehension  and  group-­‐work  strategies  across  all  subject  areas.    

• Increase  the  number  of  students  taking  higher  level  in  certain  subjects  for  both  JC  and  LC.  

• Teachers  to  focus  on  the  development  of  literacy  as  well  as  knowledge  and  skills.        

4.3 The   following   legislative   and   regulatory   requirements   need   to   be  addressed.  

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