Training Assembly

• Video- gave general answers. Saw peers as resource, work out problems for selves, then ask teachers.
• Skills trumpeted as important
• Year 9 Experiences- includes Tom Pickard. Lead Learners tasked with assisting teachers with implementation in the classroom.
• Students want more of an opportunity to feedback in lessons (www, ebi).
• Discussion of Move to KS4:
  • competencies less important
  • like focus and independence
  • some see no difference
  • sometimes the same competences are often picked by multiple members of staff e.g. I1

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• Staff focus more on making yr 9 competency based
• lesson plans are asked for, to see if competences are being delivered, how well.
• Differing practice- lack of confidence/ knowledge, getting to grips with it. Picking easy competences too much, or just treating a competency as a reference on the board
• Three rooms for training- Student Lead Questioning (students to ask questions about what they are learning, develop high order thinking and to challenge others), embedding competences (drawing on experiences of lead learners) and Literacy ( building and sharing strategies in developing literacy- it underpins all areas. There is a shared responsibility to embed this in OM).

Staff given
OM: Diane Mason (not med), (Ivan Richards), Ruth White,
Non OM: Bina Kumari (teaching assistant), Dave Trowman, Prashsant Kundalia.

Marconi Group- Risk taking.
Sonja Science

• Difficult to get into
• don’t know if it works
• Better in teaching- links in to curriculum- confidence and skills (harder in older years)
• Expectations- independent learners, read books and speak to others

Brunel Group- Making a Difference

• Planning lesson- students assumed to be highly independent
• Issues of blending skills and content of specific subjects
• Going in different directions, MST Group, not merely one subject. Broad Lesson planned, hook for next few weeks. A launch session for several subject areas.

New

• Change approach
• Discussing work
• Enjoy questions and curiosity of students. Students like to “run with ideas”
• Students expect more from staff- not dry lessons, interaction
• Yr 8 highly planned,
• Competencies create a common learning language to motivate and direct students
• “I don’t understand” is rarely heard
• Less knowledge from KS3, but get it quicker

Groups

• Faster acceleration of good students
• less of those who aren’t involved
• the less able are supported by their peers- its accepted as being okay to make mistakes

National Curriculum

• Overly revisited in other schools
• Students still don’t retain information- RSA students are able to find it though
• Problem of process over content- can’t educate for content. Fear it devalues actually knowing things to a degree.

Eleanor Bernerdes LNC

• Students not willing to sit there.
• OM students still shy, not ready for Drama- perhaps a bit too expecting of them, could ease them in. Expectations not accurate
• Students dealing with their characters and who they are- struggling with selves.
• Streaming causing new issues- mixing people who are loud and those who got by being academically good- not used to other kinds of competition. New environment.
• Wants to avoid pass/fail learning.
• Written work- some is excellent- got them to write generic fairytales- about 5 of 30 did not know how to start. Have done this before- just fear. Given out stationary prize for best work

Anonymous stuff

• Good quality teaching, not curriculum, key
• www and ebi are reeled off by students- not really though about
• sets-have own dynamic- issue of standing out in different ways (see above)
• Length of day- 3 hr lessons. Can’t sit back and do any marking- risking rest of lesson being lost to distraction
• No time to think
• Cant repeat anything- have to cram it all in. Students feel different over different days- one off day risks an entire subjects week.
• Difficult to meet colleagues- little free time. Eleanor has no frees with her team or team leader- harder to plan things.
• Team mostly young and with no disabilities. Many colleagues couldn’t stand for 8 hours. Need to carry everything around with you, not enough equipment in all rooms.
• Intensity of day good for some- they see rewards.
• Ruth White- says there is more positive learning, greater involvement in learning, consciousness of the need to learn. Changing the school was a political decision, there was an upturn anyway- 63% A-C Grades. Not disadvantaged enough to warrant the inclusion of TeachFirst- Sandwell brings down local figures. Successes in the past for students- e.g. going to Oxbridge. BUT has instilled a sense of self-belief. Yr 9s have a whole different set of aspirations.
• Students feeling underprepared- theories given by staff- concerns of parents towards OM, now Yr 8 feel better. Also the idea that older students were (either from starting or walking past it every day for a year).

• Music and Arts at OM- no specialists with serious knowledge or experience,
• really need that to succeed at the teaching

• Staff are tired at the end of the week- ten week terms. Little time to reflect.

Dave Trowman Interview

• Little useful to add
• 2 1/2 years at Tipton, KS4 PE
• Quicker learners, easy to volunteer and work together.
• Not expected- students would take a lead role- speed of picking up.

• lesson plans from staff on the training day are often generic and similar to KS3. Often they are set in the first few weeks of term.

Bina Kumari

• Less staff time to interact.
• Yr 9 struggle with maths- little at OM
• Not yet focused for longer work- but proceeding

Technology assistant

• All years, KS4 and OM
• BTEC engineering- new
• Students are more willing to learn, less frightened,
• Not spoonfed on course
• even low attainers doing well- once given guidance, shine
• smaller groups- gain peer feedback
• Some enrichment work so advanced, it could be A Level work.

Mr Fellton

• Triple Sciences- academic- content to cover for exams
• Not enough content- just teaching it now
• Fair to say OM merely revising primary work
• Yr specialise in subjects, don’t need to know everything.
• 3 hrs allow for proper experimentation
• Easier to keep track of lesson plans and classes- just two a day

Not good at student led questioning
alot of new staff at the school
groups complain about each other and tasks during feedback sessions
Where are teachers going to go after this school?
Whole different teaching style.
Staff not well equipped- critique of training instructions.