Focus on Key Stage 3 Practices

Tuesday 1st March 2005Omagh Teachers' Centre

Martine ClémentAdviser for Modern languages and EAL

WELB

Aims and Objectives • To look at strategies to

– Enhance motivation– Develop pupils’ confidence and

competence• To explore ways of

– Developing pupils’ thinking skills– And Creativity

• To start exploring the context of Curriculum Review

Organisation of the Day

• Coffee break: 10:30 – 11:00• Lunch : 1:00 – 2:00• Finishing time: 3:30

Contents• Context in which we are currently

working• Proposals for Modern Languages in the

review of the Curriculum• Classroom Practices for greater pupils’

engagement– Thinking skills and formative

assessment practices (questioning, modelling…)

– Creativity

The contextStrengths:•Primary Language growing•European Context•Nuffield•Business Community

Weaknesses:•Current Programme of Study•GCSE•Lack of alternatives at KS4•Results compared to other GCSE and A Levels•Disapplication•Pupils’ attitude

Opportunities:•New Programme of study•Curriculum review•KS4 development in England•ICT and C2K•Costello•European Language portfolio•Citizenship

Threats:•Curriculum review•KS4 options•Range of subjects at key stage 4•Disaffection of students•Learning for life and work

The Context

• Strengths:– Primary Language growing– European Context– Nuffield– Business Community

The Context• Weaknesses:

– Current Programme of Study– GCSE– Lack of alternatives at KS4– Results compared to other GCSE

and A Levels– Disapplication– Pupils’ attitude

The Context• Opportunities:

– New Programme of study– Curriculum review– KS4 development in England– ICT and C2K– Costello– European Language portfolio– Citizenship

The Context• Threats:

– Curriculum review– KS4 options– Range of subjects at key stage 4– Disaffection of students– Learning for life and work

Curriculum Review Implementation

Key stage Date Comments

KS1 year1 Sept 07 Not yet finalised

KS2 year 5 Sept 07 Not yet finalised

KS3 Sept 07 Further guidance to be issued

KS4 Sept 07 Has just been put back a year

Primary LanguagesELB/CCEA pilots

• BELB and SEELB: Early Years• NEELB: Peripatetic / class teacher• SELB: Accreditation. The European

Portfolio• WELB: KS2/KS3 transition

13 primary schools2 Post primary schools

Primary Language• Timescale:

– 10 years away• Contents:

– Skill based √– Which language?????– Number of languages?????

• Consultation with Post-primary teachers

The Revised Programme of Study

• Has been designed in response to an evaluation of the previous one

• Allows connections with other areas of study

• What will we keep• What will get rid off?• What will we have to modify?

What we will keep• The 4 skills development• The rang of stimuli• The range of purpose• Talking about experience, feelings

and opinions• Talking about where we live, the way

we do things• Talking about self and others• Transfer language to other contexts• Incorporate ICT• Incorporate Numeracy

What we will change / increase• Awareness of language and comparing

languages, develop thinking skills, break down use of language

• Maintain personal contact• Unfamiliar contexts and real life

situations: social issues, vocational contexts

• Creative use of the language, explore use of language, make choices

• Culture of TL countries and regions• Presentations

What we will change / increase

• Asking questions• Research • Explore problems alone and in

groups• Develop learning skills• Take part in self and peer

assessment

What is absent

• Most of the contexts and topics• No mention of level descriptors

Keeping them in at Key Stage 4

• It’s hard but it’s not challenging• It’s boring, you just learn things off• I don’t understand• It’s mechanistic, you follow the

text book and there is no personal engagement

• Lack of relevant context• Xenophobia• Discrepancy in GCSE results

Making Language Lively at KS 3The principle The actionFocus the teaching Plan learning objectives and ensure that

pupils know what they are

Make concepts and conventions explicit

Use questioning, explaining, modelling

Structure the learning

Use starters, plenaries and a clear lesson structure

Make learning active

Provide tasks in which pupils make meaning, construct knowledge and develop understanding and skills through problem solving investigations and enquiries

Making learning engaging and motivating

Use stimulating activities and materials

Making Language Lively at KS 3

The principle The action

Develop well paced lessons with high levels of interaction

Use collaborative tasks and talk for learning

Support pupils’ application and independent learning

Use prompts, frames and other form of support and targeted intervention

Build reflection Teach pupils to think about what and how they learn and involve them in setting targets for future lessons

Starter activities• They set the tone and create the 1st

impression• They are meant to intrigue puzzle and

amuse• Settle the pupils down• Must be quick and snappy• Something they can attempt on their own• Must have a learning point• Quick engagement• Doesn’t need to be finished

Modelling• Demonstrating a range of skills• Making explicit the decision making process• Coaching• Slowing down the process• Develop the confidence in the process

being demonstrated• Learning become inclusive• Promotes independence• Helps picture the outcome as well as the

process

Questioning• One of the principal tools in the

formative assessment toolkit• Immediate way to assess learning• A stimulus to use language• Make them challenging• Build in waiting time• Model how to answer questions• As part of plenaries: TL vs. English

Thinking Skills

The ability to understand or become aware of the process that took place in order for the learner to make his own a new skill, knowledge, understanding, value or attitude

Thinking skills: AdvantagesTeacher:

• Identifies gap in the knowledge or the thinking process

• Shifts from transmitter to facilitatorPupils:• Gain knowledge through active

involvement• Intrinsic motivation• Raided self esteem and confidence• Greater independence• Greater social skills

Sorting Activities• Sort by shared characteristics• Pattern spotting and spotting exception• Processing, reasoning• Justifying your solution• Can be used at any stage of the lesson:

starter, presentation, practice, plenary

Maps from Memory• Memorising:

– Language learning strategies– Visual and spatial intelligence– Paying attention to details

• Pupils working in groups reproducing pictures and texts from memory

• Making explicit the skills used to carry out the activity

Reconstruction• The previous activity relies on visual

ability, this one on audio skills• Reconstruct a text after having

listened to it 3 times• A bit like an old fashioned dictation but

– A collaborative activity– Emphasis on the process

• Discuss how pupils managed to complete the task

Sequencing• An opportunity to talk about language

• The work can be at word, sentence or text level

• Pupils are given chunks of text which they have to reorganise in a meaningful and grammatically correct way

• Based on existing knowledge about the language

• Forces pupils to attend to details

Mysteries• A problem to solve or a key question to

answer• Deal with ambiguity through addressing

a question which has no single correct answer

• Higher level skills of inferring• Weighing pro and cons and

compromising• An alternative to reading

comprehension questions

Plenaries • The debriefing at the end of an activity or

at the end of a lesson• Promote reflection and metacognition• Pupils verbalise how they have

approached and completed the task• Help fix the new knowledge , skill,

understanding in the long term memory• Clarify what is important and what isn’t• Rectify remaining misconceptions or

errors

Plenaries• Deepen the understanding• Help make links• Relate directly to the lesson objectives• Need to be planned and varied• Active participation of the students• TL or English?

CreativityFirstly the characteristics of creativity

always involve thinking or behaving imaginatively. Second, overall this imaginative activity is purposeful: that is, it is directed to achieving an objective. Third, these processes must generate something original. Fourth, the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective.

Creativity Characteristics of a creative person:• Questions and challenges• Makes connections and sees

relationships• Envisages what might be, speculates• Explores ideas, keeps options open• Reflects critically on ideas, actions and

outcomes

Creativity: why?• Develops understanding and control of

language• Develops flexibility• Encourages independent use• Encourages and relies on transfer• Pupils develop a sense of purpose• They enjoy experimenting• Language is used for a “real purpose”• Makes language memorable, interesting,

enjoyable and empowering

Websites• www.welb-cass.org/ follow link post

primary/special then Modern Languages• www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3/respub/f

s_mfl_tr• www.ncaction.org.uk/creativity/whatis.htm• http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/ Hot potatoes:

website for quizzes, word-searches and more• http://www.jecris.com/rigoler.html jokes in French