The Progressing Beyond Level 6+/Grade B+ Bexley science project

1. The Progressing Beyond Level 6+/Grade B+ Bexley science project Review, Learning and Planning Conference Friday 10th July 2009 The Marriott Hotel, Bexleyheath.

2. What is this project? • It’s Wave 1 intervention – which is • Quality Classroom Teaching • Wave 2 being outside class with small groups focussing on closing specific skill and knowledge gaps • Wave 3 – working with individuals. • Professional development for LPs and teachers • Contribution towards preparation for department leadership

3. Success criteria? • Progressively more pupils making two + levels progress to the higher levels and grades • More teachers skilled in how to cause pupils to function at the higher thinking levels in science • Better monitoring and smart intervention to ensure good progress is made • Breaking through glass ceilings.

4. How? • 6 key focuses • Audit to decide focus • Baseline capability measured • 4-step progress strategy • Delivered by drip-feed through existing programme of learning. • Teacher Guidance resource • Online resources: http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/182091 • Other resources - • Progress monitoring tools - whole school, department, LP specifically constructed • Lessons have formative assessment to track progression • Future lessons responsive to specific needs to meet learning demand of higher level/grade

5. Feedback from lead professionals • Ade Magaji – BAB • Matt North – Trinity • Tom Dean – St Columba’s • Robert Long – Cleeve Park • Sri Pavar – St Catherine’s

6. Bexley Progressing to Level 6 and Beyond Project – targets 2008-09

7. Funding and network group • Out of school hours half-termly CPD - £75 per session. Best nights? • £400 funds to support in-school CPD/additional resources – e.g. staff training, additional analysis time – in for September! Plan it use please. • July 2010 Review, Learning and Planning conference. Supply cover costs as available, but at least £50 per delegate.

8. Lessons learned for improvement goals

9. “Improving Lead Professionals” • ‘Lead’ – leader – leader of people, leader of teachers, leading the best way forward, leading to and for success – not failure or mediocrity. • ‘Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.’ Peter Drucker

10. Professional • Expert • Dedicated • Vocational motive • Enthusiast • Exact, precise, reliable • Gets the job done • High standard

11. Lead Professional • Accelerates the learning rate for most • Increases enjoyment for most • Breaks through glass ceilings for most • Has a deep understanding of the elements of successful learning and teaching • Produces intelligent caring and responsible people

12. Lead Professional important criteria for success - Task • What? • Why? • When? • Who? • How? • Where? • How will you know?

13. Planning for success 2009-10 – focus on who (which students to cause to succeed) • Analysis of FFT estimate data for Years 8, 9, 10, 11– see folder for data • Year 7 and Year 8 - Total Boys, Girls, All • Year 7 and Year 8 Total predicted L6+ - Boys, Girls, All • Years 10 and 11 - Total Boys, Girls, All • Years 10 and 11 – Total predicted grades A/B

15. Planning for success – focus on what strand(s) • Using online resource get to know the other strands better.

16. The misconceptions strand • Pupils with 11-6 years of physical,social, cultural life experience have formed often deep beliefs and interpretation explaining material, life and ‘scientific’ cultural phenomena. • These beliefs about the world are often deep-seated and importantly, contribute towards their identity (personal, familial, community, peer-identity, role-models). • Osborne et al, (2003 and 2007) show school learning ability ties closely with the identity constructing project young people are fully engaged with. Teachers must understand which contexts and approaches to learning match the respective identity-building projects types young people are about, so that the learners will identify with the purpose and manner of learning. • Nevertheless, young peoples’ constructs may be intuitive, but almost always based on some evidence. Science explanations often are not intuitive, e.g. ‘The sun doesn’t move, the earth does’ - and requires much moreevidencebefore a person is willing to fundamentally re-construct the thought and belief framework they are willing to commit to as corresponding to reality better than their previous alternative framework..

17. Model of learning • “I think of learners less as empty vessels needing filling up with knowledge, and more as glowing embers needing fuel and air to become brightly burning conflagrations – giving forth much useful heat, light and power to do more.” Martin Berry (retired chemistry teacher/HoY6, Chis and Sid) at Hurstmere Science Specialism opening event 25 June 2009.

18. HEAVYExplain equal volumes of wax, wood, aluminium, and lead have different masses. EXPANDExplain how water, air and copper expand when their temperature rises. BOILExplain what is happening as water boils. DIFFUSEExplain how perfume spreads.; how NH3 and HCL move through a tube of air DISSOLVEExplain how salt dissolves in water SQUEEZEExplain how liquids and solid can’t be squeezed but gases can difference when scratching ice, jelly, steel, slate? Developing your particle model HARDExplain the difference when scratching ice, jelly, steel, slate? SNAPWhat happens when a copper wire in tension snaps? INTERSTITIALHow alike are mixtures of water/alcohol and sand /peas? MADE OF –Explain what water, ice, steam, charcoal, aluminium, wax, methane gas are made from OSMOSISExplain how water can move through membranes. BONDS How many bonds can oxygen, hydrogen and carbon have from CO2, H2O, CH4, C2H5OH MELTWhy doe the temperature of the melting wax stay the same while more heat is being absorbed?

19. 4 steps method + • See 4 steps + Teachers Guide • See National Strategy Framework of Learning Objectives: http://www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/110235 Select: Learning Objective/Strategies for progression/Barriers • See handout of barriers for Particle Model

20. Explain how: (1) plastic bags are stronger in one direction than at 90o; (2) a Party popper works (3) a solid elastic band stretches Using ‘Framework Learning Objectives’ and ‘APP Guidelines’ present a level 7/8 exposition for peer assessment. Must refer to the four categories of expression: • Speech • Visual • Concrete Model • Text

21. Key aspects to describe and evaluate in your presentation • Identification of and tracking of FFT B and D L6+/Grade A*-B targeted students. • Selection from 6 strands – which ones, why. • Scheme of work contexts/units strands developed through • Details of use of Steps 1-4, + evaluation • Evidences of impact of intervention using resources on students, on you, on other colleagues • Statistical impact – see next three slides – plus add your own – e.g. boys v girls impact. • Conclusions and forward thinking 2009-10.

22. 2008-09

23. Bexley LA project evaluation data

24. +Core exam taken by Y11 during Y10 and/or Y11 * Or one GCSE science for Triple students.

25. If time • The following ..

26. Building the Evidence BaseOverview and key findings from year 1 Philippa Cordingley and Paul Crisp CUREE

27. The map of research reviews • We started by mapping the relevant reviews of research. The map identified 6 key trends: • The effectiveness of learning that is context based • The importance of connecting curriculum with home and community experiences; also parental involvement in children’s learning in the home • The impact on pupil motivation and learning of structured dialogue in group work and of collaborative learning

28. Six Key Trends • The need to create opportunities to identify and build on pupils’ existing conceptual understandings • The need to remove rigidity – to allow time and space for conceptual development • The need for excellence and professional development in subject knowledge for curriculum innovation, especially in relation to context-based learning

29. The case study on talk illustrated ways of: Prompting and supporting students in their use of language, and modelling productive and exploratory talk Offering regular opportunities in different curriculum areas to develop and reinforce collaborative skills Structuring groups to give everyone chance to speak, and managing the mix of personalities Establishing and displaying ground rules for talk Teaching students explicitly the skills to underpin the rules Creating speaking, listening and ideas frames Developing a clear rationale for linking group work, talk and curriculum development

30. Constructivism • Constructivism is a theory of learning stating that learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. • It involves a more open type of planning. • Study programmes design teaching around a learning objective, gather resources, and provide students with an opportunity to explore, build, and demonstrate their learning, becoming more tuned-in and ready-to-learn effectively from authoritative teaching (Scott, Leeds Uni, ‘Dialogic + authoritative’ teaching). • It shifts the learning environment to one in which the teacher recognises the validity of the learner who needs to be able to express personal viewpoints in a positive social learning group climate in order for further meaningful learning to occur. • Teacher switches between didactic instructor and facilitator/buddy/coach

31. 5 E's of Constructivism • Engage - students encounter the material, define their questions, lay the groundwork for their tasks, make connections from new to known, identify relevance • Explore - students directly involved with material, inquiry drives the process, teamwork is used to share and build knowledge base • Explain - learner explains the discoveries, processes, and concepts, that have been learned through written, verbal or creative projects. Instructor supplies resources, feedback, vocabulary, and clarifies misconceptions • Elaborate - learners expand on their knowledge, connect it to similar concepts, apply it to other situations - can lead to new inquiry • Evaluate - on-going process by both instructor and learner to check for understanding. Rubrics, checklists, teacher interviews, portfolios, problem-based learning outputs, and embedded assessments. Results are used to evaluate and modify further instructional needs.