The more things change, the more they stay the same. I have experienced three different professional development opportunities...all within the last two weeks. I have determined that professional development in the UK is as exciting, useful and interesting as it is back home.
First, for two hours during class time two weeks ago, I had to be trained in the health and safety laws pertaining to children and teachers in the UK. Basically this was a review of the mandatory reporting process when teachers learn about any abuse that puts a child in danger. Since I work with children, and it is a law that all people who work with children be trained, I needed to participate.
Second, about a week later, from about 5 p.m to 6 p.m. last Wednesday night, Fairfield teaching staff gathered with their departmental counterparts from a nearby school, Webley, to discuss the differing ways things are done in each school. This conversation was followed by a curry buffet - but since the curry man was running late, and I had quite a distance to travel, I skipped the curry and got mine for lunch the following day.
Third, on Thursday this past week I attended an AQA examining board session in Hereford from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Frankly, I was sent on this mission because a) someone from the school is mandated to attend each year to calibrate all schools who are using the mark schemes for coursework, and b) Jayne & Mel have already been in the past- so I drew the short straw! Preparation for this included each member of the department being required to read about 20 student work samples provided in the mark scheme booklet, determining a grade for each and then further determining, as a full department, a consensus mark. Once at the meeting the "correct" marks were provided and each school in attendance was to report their "consensus" scores - for which a +/- of 4 in one category and 7 in the other was acceptable. Fairfield scores were indeed within the acceptable marking criteria.
The majority of this training involved reviewing the entire mark scheme booklet, that I had already read prior to attending... basically the leader of the workshop read the booklet to us. We then went through each individual student work sample and discussed any discrepancies or questions. During these discussions I interposed some questions to further hone my understanding of the differences between the US and the UK. I did determine and perhaps confirm, that the UK is much more test oriented than the US; and, indeed most schools are working within very prescribed guidelines of instruction. Test scores determine placement on the League Table, a ranking of the "best" schools in the area, and something many parents consult when deciding on the school where their children will attend. It is much more "competitive" in the UK as far as where your child can attend a high school. Unlike the US, where a small amount of school choice is available, and where most students attend the publicly funded school in their town or opt to go to a private school at their own expense, people here can choose form among many schools in the catchment area. Students then apply to these schools, visit and are then accepted or rejected. If rejected from a school, a family can appeal to a higher educational body, who can overrule or support the appeal. High test score results are imperative to enticing families to choose a school. Also, the more students in a school, the more funding is available and the higher the salary for the head teacher. This kind of pressure is not as high in the US.
Most teachers in attendance expressed the desire to study individual works of literature in more depth than they do currently, rather than focus on excerpts and bits of chapters. I heard of "theme" based units, where more focus is put on a whole piece of literature and linked videos, where multiple pieces of course work are assigned using that one piece/theme, thereby allowing students to choose their best piece of work and submit that as their coursework. For example, a student may read a piece of dystopian literature and write a literature/reading coursework essay, present a speech on propaganda as their speaking and listening component, watch the film based on the book and write a film review, and write an original piece of writing based on dystopian themes. They then would study another novel with a different theme and do the same, thereby having multiple pieces of coursework to choose from. It was interesting to hear about various ideas of differentiation, from alternative essay topics to selection of literature based on gender preferences. I also appreciated hearing about the many pieces of literature being used throughout Hereford to address coursework assignments, from timeless classics to very modern pieces. Since I have not yet had the opportunity to observe at a different school, this was appreciated as it is nice to know how things are done outside the realm of Fairfield. (I will be going to Hereford Academy this week to observe.)
The remainder of the session consisted of being trained to use the speaking and listening mark schemes by watching video sessions of student presentations of work. New exam guidelines and a review of the new controlled assessment processes was also done in the afternoon. Coursework pieces are evolving from open ended time frames, where the literature, computers and notes can be used to complete the work, to more "controlled" environments, where time limits will be imposed, teacher input will be limited and word processing systems will also be limited if computers are used. Controlled assessment would be much more similiar to what is done in the US regarding exams such as MCAS, AP and SAT.
Overall, professional development in the UK is not that much different than what is often provided in the US. Some are mandated by law and still others can be a mix of useful information and boring routine. In the end, I still believe that a healthy session of teachers teaching teachers, where best practices and instructional modalities are shared with each other, is the very best form of relevant professional development. Add a curry buffet to this and it could be perfect!
First, for two hours during class time two weeks ago, I had to be trained in the health and safety laws pertaining to children and teachers in the UK. Basically this was a review of the mandatory reporting process when teachers learn about any abuse that puts a child in danger. Since I work with children, and it is a law that all people who work with children be trained, I needed to participate.
Second, about a week later, from about 5 p.m to 6 p.m. last Wednesday night, Fairfield teaching staff gathered with their departmental counterparts from a nearby school, Webley, to discuss the differing ways things are done in each school. This conversation was followed by a curry buffet - but since the curry man was running late, and I had quite a distance to travel, I skipped the curry and got mine for lunch the following day.
Third, on Thursday this past week I attended an AQA examining board session in Hereford from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Frankly, I was sent on this mission because a) someone from the school is mandated to attend each year to calibrate all schools who are using the mark schemes for coursework, and b) Jayne & Mel have already been in the past- so I drew the short straw! Preparation for this included each member of the department being required to read about 20 student work samples provided in the mark scheme booklet, determining a grade for each and then further determining, as a full department, a consensus mark. Once at the meeting the "correct" marks were provided and each school in attendance was to report their "consensus" scores - for which a +/- of 4 in one category and 7 in the other was acceptable. Fairfield scores were indeed within the acceptable marking criteria.
The majority of this training involved reviewing the entire mark scheme booklet, that I had already read prior to attending... basically the leader of the workshop read the booklet to us. We then went through each individual student work sample and discussed any discrepancies or questions. During these discussions I interposed some questions to further hone my understanding of the differences between the US and the UK. I did determine and perhaps confirm, that the UK is much more test oriented than the US; and, indeed most schools are working within very prescribed guidelines of instruction. Test scores determine placement on the League Table, a ranking of the "best" schools in the area, and something many parents consult when deciding on the school where their children will attend. It is much more "competitive" in the UK as far as where your child can attend a high school. Unlike the US, where a small amount of school choice is available, and where most students attend the publicly funded school in their town or opt to go to a private school at their own expense, people here can choose form among many schools in the catchment area. Students then apply to these schools, visit and are then accepted or rejected. If rejected from a school, a family can appeal to a higher educational body, who can overrule or support the appeal. High test score results are imperative to enticing families to choose a school. Also, the more students in a school, the more funding is available and the higher the salary for the head teacher. This kind of pressure is not as high in the US.
Most teachers in attendance expressed the desire to study individual works of literature in more depth than they do currently, rather than focus on excerpts and bits of chapters. I heard of "theme" based units, where more focus is put on a whole piece of literature and linked videos, where multiple pieces of course work are assigned using that one piece/theme, thereby allowing students to choose their best piece of work and submit that as their coursework. For example, a student may read a piece of dystopian literature and write a literature/reading coursework essay, present a speech on propaganda as their speaking and listening component, watch the film based on the book and write a film review, and write an original piece of writing based on dystopian themes. They then would study another novel with a different theme and do the same, thereby having multiple pieces of coursework to choose from. It was interesting to hear about various ideas of differentiation, from alternative essay topics to selection of literature based on gender preferences. I also appreciated hearing about the many pieces of literature being used throughout Hereford to address coursework assignments, from timeless classics to very modern pieces. Since I have not yet had the opportunity to observe at a different school, this was appreciated as it is nice to know how things are done outside the realm of Fairfield. (I will be going to Hereford Academy this week to observe.)
The remainder of the session consisted of being trained to use the speaking and listening mark schemes by watching video sessions of student presentations of work. New exam guidelines and a review of the new controlled assessment processes was also done in the afternoon. Coursework pieces are evolving from open ended time frames, where the literature, computers and notes can be used to complete the work, to more "controlled" environments, where time limits will be imposed, teacher input will be limited and word processing systems will also be limited if computers are used. Controlled assessment would be much more similiar to what is done in the US regarding exams such as MCAS, AP and SAT.
Overall, professional development in the UK is not that much different than what is often provided in the US. Some are mandated by law and still others can be a mix of useful information and boring routine. In the end, I still believe that a healthy session of teachers teaching teachers, where best practices and instructional modalities are shared with each other, is the very best form of relevant professional development. Add a curry buffet to this and it could be perfect!
No comments:
Post a Comment