1. Lead Teacher guidance
The
Lead Teacher
guidance document (doc, 307KB) aims to provide advice and
support for Lead Teachers in MFL Strategic Learning Networks. It
examines some of the issues that may arise for Lead Teachers as
they work with a group of MFL teachers from other schools and how
they can organise the activities they have planned for the SLN,
including a possible agenda for a launch meeting for the
network.
A document providing further top tips for
Lead Teachers (doc, 376KB) organising a network meeting is also
available.
2. Making the best use of online
e-modules
Lead Professionals were asked at regional
meetings in May 2007 to use the online e-modules
to focus on a particular objective. The following documents are a
collection of the comments received from Lead Professionals, about
which parts of the nuggets are useful when looking at particular
objectives. They are meant as a starting point for teachers in a
network and are in no way comprehensive.
Example handout - raising boys'
achievement (doc, 390KB) Additional points -
raising boys'
achievement 2 (doc, 391KB)
Improving
motivation and engagement with a particular focus on boys (doc,
383KB)
Improving
motivation and engagement in years 7, 8, 9 (doc, 392KB)
Improving
motivation and engagement through ICT (doc, 382KB)
More
effective use of ICT resources (doc, 383KB)
Develop
confident and independent learners (doc, 392KB)
Develop
creative, risk-taking language learners (doc, 379KB)
Developing
speaking skills (doc, 387KB)
Developing
writing skills (doc, 385KB)
Developing
thinking skills (doc, 383KB)
Developing
literacy and learning (doc, 385KB)
Maximising
the potential of all pupils in a two year KS3 (doc, 382KB)
Developing
pupils’ cultural awareness and understanding (doc, 383KB)
Raising
attainment at the end of KS3 (doc, 383KB)
Raising
achievement in years 7, 8 and 9 (doc, 384KB)
Increasing
the range of strategies to promote pupil use of target language
(doc, 384KB)
Improving
accuracy, speed, less support, confidence with target language at a
faster rate (doc, 383KB)
If you would like to add any comments to these
documents or create a similar document for another objective we are
happy to display it here for the benefit of all teachers and local
authority professionals. Please email Jodie Kloss.
3. Using multiple e-modules to focus
on one objective
As can be seen by the collated
comments above, each video clip on the e-module is often relevant
to more than one teaching and learning theme. A former Regional
Trainer in the South West has put together a document
which navigates the e-modules for video clips linked to specific
SLN objectives (doc, 58KB). This is very much aimed at SLN leaders
in the South West but may save all teachers time looking for useful
clips on, say, boys’ achievement or other issues not directly
mentioned in the titles of the e-modules.
4. Support for SLNs looking at
transition from KS2 to KS3
CILT's 7-14 Project
In
April 2007 the DCSF commissioned CILT to run a project focusing on
effective transition from KS2 to KS3 in languages. Find out more.
Exploring the transfer and transition
e-module
The 14th e-module is
called 'Transfer and Transition'. It is new material, not
repurposed, though it makes links to existing Strategy guidance and
materials from other agencies.
The module relates to the interactive self-evaluation
tool - which is designed to help leadership teams to assess the
stage of development of the school as a whole in selected areas,
including transfer and transition.
There are 5 generic issues identified in the
interactive self-evaluation tool related to transfer and
transition. They are:
- Use of data
- Targeting support and intervention
- Continuity of curriculum, teaching and
learning
- School ethos and climate for
learning
- Parent partnerships
During one regional meeting, we asked Lead
Professionals to explore the module and focus on the three aspects
highlighted, since these relate most closely to issues in languages
and to the content of the new module. Their notes are collated:
5. Support for SLNs looking at
transfer between KS3 and KS4
14 to 19 - Reshaping
languages
CILT's 14-19
webpages include many case studies which highlight ways to
improve pupil motivation, use forms of alternative accreditation
and other awards, such as the Language Leader award and use of
target language. Some of the case studies focus on Key Stage 3
classes, such as those using Asset languages. The microsite
includes video clips and support information, which gives further
information about how you can replicate the models described in
case studies.
Exploring the Motivation and
participation online module
The National Strategies
e-module Motivation and participation helps all secondary
schools engage, motivate and challenge language learners across all
key stages. In addition, for schools where languages are now
optional at Key Stage 4, it gives examples of how learners can be
encouraged to participate in courses beyond the end of Year 9.
During the Regional Network Meetings for Lead
Professionals, one activity involved looking at the module and
considering why and how they would make best use of the video
footage in the module. Download the collated
national comments (doc, 66KB).
6. Coaching resources
The KS3 MFL
Dissemination and Development Programme encouraged SLNs to use
coaching as part of their strategy to work on objectives. Reports
have found that the best form of CPD is collaboration: either
teacher to teacher or teacher to specialist interaction.
In December 2007 the National Strategies
produced an online
coaching module. It is designed to develop over time teachers’
skills and strategies in coaching and other forms of collaborative
professional learning, such as mentoring, class visits, joint
planning, informal peer discussion, and small group sessions and
meetings.
During the Regional Network Meetings for Lead
Professionals, one activity involved considering what kind of
collaborative activity has taken place in SLNs. Download the
collated
national comments (doc, 51KB).
Steve Illingworth from Salford LA is kindly
sharing his documents, which help teachers make a note of their
progress in coaching and its impact. The
document
is available to download (doc, 44KB).
7. SLN activity
ideas
Meeting icebreaker 1 - 'speed
dating' from our Regional Trainers in the North East, Andrea
Simpson and former Regional Trainer Steve Mulgrew.
1. Chairs are arranged in two rows,
facing each other
2. Group members sit on the chairs
and talk the person opposite
3. A countdown timer is used and
set at an appropriate interval. Or download the countdown
presentation (ppt, 761KB) - this counts down from 5 minutes in
an automatic loop: delete slides as appropriate to reduce the
amount of time given.
4. Group members may have a prompt
sheet and/or a grid to fill in
5. When the timer reaches zero,
everybody moves one seat to the left and the countdown starts again
(those at the left-hand end of each row will move to the opposite
side)
6. The activity ends when everybody
has spoken to everybody else; group members then have an
opportunity to continue their discussion with a ‘date’ of their
choice (time spent on this is at the facilitator’s
discretion)
Meeting activity 1 - from our
former Regional Trainer Martine Pillette.
“Here is a device I have used a couple of times recently with SLNs
who have AfL as part of their objectives: without first mentioning
that I was going to do so, I used plenty of features of AfL in the
way I conducted those sessions, for example:
- encouraging peer responses in full audience discussion
- group activities with clear guidelines/criteria
- encouraging reflection re. next steps
Towards the end I asked participants to reflect on which
features of AfL I had put into practice in the sessions. This
helped reinforce some key messages - e.g how to make AfL
an integral part of lessons in the day-to-day context rather
than once in a blue moon.”
Meeting activity 2
- Martine Pillette: “Here is a device I have been
using with an SLN and which can work for a variety of objectives
and is particularly appropriate for helping to acquaint/ reacquaint
teachers with the KS3 MFL framework and the
Programme of Study. I used it for developing creative writing
(especially for levels 4-6) and conducted it entirely via
questioning.
Here is, roughly, the sequence of questions I used:
1. Relating to writing
skills, what do you wish your pupils could do better by the end of
Year 9? (this helped identify the features of quality writing)
2. What do the
National Curriculum levels 4-6 descriptors say about writing?
(eg level 6 is not just about past/ present/ future. This led to
'Which PoS objectives are particularly relevant to creative
writing?' and to 'Which Framework objectives are relevant?')
3. What do YOU mean by
creativity? (We started investigating how the Creativity nugget
defines creativity, eg it’s not just about 'writing poems';
not just about writing and speaking)
4. To improve writing
by the end of Year 9, should we only be putting the spotlight on
Y9? (ie importance of a firm foundation earlier on; not just 'topic
words': transferable language, substitution activities, etc.
This led to an even closer look at the Framework of
Objectives.)
5. Can practice in
other skill areas help towards the development of writing? (helped
generate more joined up thinking between the four skills)
6. Which of these
quotes are relevant to our discussion and why? (quotes from The
Invisible Child)
7. Present the key
points that have arisen from our discussion in the written format
of your choice, for example mind map, bullets, speech bubbles, etc
(how to engage reluctant writers)
All the above set the scene for all the
concrete examples which followed (teachers’ activity styles.)”
Meeting activity 3 - from our
former Regional Trainers in the East Midlands and West Midlands: a
Diamond Nine activity to generate discussion in response to the
question:
What would make the work of an SLN both effective and
sustainable?
Download the statements
(doc, 27KB) Find out
how a Diamond Nine activity works.