So, we all have them but what makes a good one?

The reason for the question is not to start a new trend in what to call them and how to share them, but to explore the quality and clarity of our objectives.

One reason why some students don't make excellent progress is that they make daily progress, in sometimes fuzzy or irrelevant learning objectives. Over time this does not help them to make the progress they could if objectives were sharper and more relevant.

Do you have a school definition of a learning objective? If not we may all assume we mean the same thing. We may even call it the same thing, but are we perhaps all steering in different directions whilst calling it 'learning'?

My definition is: essential knowledge, skills and understanding for progress.

Essential has two branches: essential for the subject and essential for the student.

Why not look at a learning objective and ask Is this essential for progress in the subject? If so it should be repeatable hundreds of times in a wide variety of contexts. Now ask Is it at the right level for each student? This differentiation in standard is key to ensuring the objective is not only essential for the subject but also essential for the student.

Eg:
Objective: To use paragraphs appropriately
Context: A report about rivers
Level 2: group related information into paragraphs
Level 3: sequence paragraphs
Level 4: develop paragraph so that it leads on to the next

It may be worth exploring the clarity of objectives in explaining progress before changing teaching methods.

Let me know if you have a school definition for a good quality learning objective.

The school curriculum is everything you do, both in school hours and beyond. The trouble is, the National Curriculum has grown to dominate the school curriculum. It was never meant to.

I welcome a curriculum review that slims down the National Curriculum. This doesn't mean we will have a narrow school curriculum, unless schools see the National Curriculum as the only thing they teach.

This is a great opportunity to customise the school curriculum to give the school character.

The best schools I work with first decide what they want to teach and only then ask what have they have got to teach.

Is it clear in your school the difference between the school and the National Curriculum?

Read more at Posterous

 The Importance of Teaching, The Education White Paper 2010, was published November 2010.  Here is a quick guide to some of the main features and how Chris Quigley Education will be supporting schools.

The Quality of Teaching

The quality of teaching is the most important factor in how well children do at school.  In order to reflect this, OFSTED will be reformed.  It will, from September 2011, focus on:

•  The quality of teaching
•  Leadership
•  Achievement
•  Behaviour

This means that school leaders will be expected to:

• Drive up the quality of teaching through their observations
• Carry out as many lesson observations as they think necessary (no limit)
• Show how lesson observations are helping to raise achievement.

 We will be helping schools by running conferences on managing the quality of teaching.  This will cover:

• How to observe a lesson
• How to ensure lesson observations are productive and helpful
• A definition of learning, and what to look for
• How to move good teaching to great.

 If you can’t make it to any of these, these books may be useful:

• How to observe a lesson
• Making Good Teaching Great
  

Curriculum

The government plans to slim down the content of the National Curriculum.  The White Paper highlights that the National Curriculum was NEVER meant to be the entirety of what is taught in schools.

 The white paper states the government will:

•  Reduce prescription and leave teachers to decide how best to teach the curriculum
• Take away the dominance of the National Curriculum in what schools teach – leaving schools to decide what is taught
• Give schools greater autonomy and scope for teachers to decide what will inspire children
•  Encourage a broad range of subjects, not a narrowing to just basic skills
• Review the National Curriculum and EYFS curriculum, for implementation in 2013.

 We will be supporting schools by running our internationally acclaimed Curriculum Master class that helps schools to:

• Personalise their curriculum,
• Reduce the dominance of the National curriculum
• Decide key drivers for the curriculum
• Plan for memorable, motivating and inspiring contexts
• Ensure high measurable standards are achieved.

 The government’s intention to make subjects the focus of the National Curriculum fits with our resources, which show how to plan for progression in subject skills from levels 1 – 5 of the national curriculum.

 Books that support schools in curriculum development:

• Creative Themes for Learning
•  Key Skills
•  Key Skills in the Early Years
• Planning a (subject) skills based curriculum

 THE CURRICULUM IS LIKELY TO NOW FALL UNDER THE HEADING OF LEADERSHIP. This means that school leaders will be held more accountable for WHAT is taught in their school.

 

Leadership

After the quality of teaching, the quality of leadership is the most important factor determinant of pupils’ success.  As schools become more autonomous, accountability will grow. The most pressing issue for schools will be the way they are judged by OFSTED.

 

We will support schools by running the following conferences and services:

•  A 5-day leadership course held at our Newcastle offices, designed for leaders on the route from Good to Great. (Limited places available)
• A 2 day leadership conference, to be held in Sheffield in June giving the latest information on the new OFSTED proposals and implications of the White Paper.
• Our popular Creative leadership course, led by inspirational Andy Meller
• Chris Quigley’s new and exciting course on the Secret Code of Great Leaders
• Our managing the quality of teaching course
• Sensible self-evaluation.

 

Achievement…(attainment)

Standards in basic skills will still be the main focus for holding schools to account.  RAISE online will remain, but the measure of CVA will disappear, to be replaced with the percentage of pupils making 2 levels of progress at key Stage 2 as the main measure of progress.

 We will be supporting schools by offering:

•  A summary of your RAISE data, so you can present it to governors and staff.
• We will continue to offer advice on your Self evaluation
  

 

Assessment

Assessment will continue to be the focus for judging standards, but the government will not pursue APP (Assessing Pupils Progress) materials.  Instead they will leave it up to schools how best to assess pupils. (SATS remain for now at the end of Key Stage 2)

 We will support schools in hosting courses on:

• Effective assessment of key learning in subjects.
• We are also looking for schools and Local Authorities to join us in some ACTION RESEARCH in this area.  Please contact us for more information.

 

Behaviour

Behaviour is one of the main things preventing graduates entering the profession and one of the most stressful aspects of classroom management for existing teachers.  Whilst attainment and progress has never been so scrutinised, many school leaders and teachers feel that behaviour is stopping some children from succeeding.

 We will be supporting schools by running 2 courses on behaviour.

• Behaviour for NQTs led by Andy Meller
• Managing behaviour throughout the school led by Chris Quigley

 

For more details please visit http://www.chrisquigley.co.uk

 

 

 

Creativity means all sorts of things to different people. But what does it mean, and what is the difference between a creative curriculum and one that is just imaginative? Read all at http://www.chrisquigleyeducation.posterous.com

My problem with the term creativity is that it is often used to describe the arts. But creativity is more than that. Great scientists are creative thinkers. Great mathematicians use numbers and concepts creatively. One thing is certain: That success comes from creative thinking and the ability to come up with ideas that may have some value. So what about a definition of creativity: purposeful Ideas with value. A creative curriculum is one that has educational purpose, ideas and measurable educational value.

The educational purpose should be split in two: what we need to teach (based on what we know about our students)and what we have to teach (the statutory curriculum).

Ideas bring the content to life. Great teachers don't just deliver the curriculum but inspire. But there is no point in designing a purposeful, inspiring curriculum if it has no measurable value.

We need to plan which skills and knowledge students will acquire and, over time, how understanding will grow. Then we need to measure it. So a creative curriculum is one that has real purpose, inspiration and value. That is much more than thinking of a title and putting some links together. That's what I call an imaginative curriculum. But without purpose and value it is not creative.

Do you have a creative curriculum?
Sent from my iPhone

This is a phrase that many schools now use to describe their method of marking pupils' work. But what does it mean and is it effective? Read all at http://www.chrisquigleyeducation.posterous.com

The basic principle of the approach is to mark to the objective, showing where pupils have met the criteria and giving guidance on how to improve, with an opportunity to make those improvements. There are however, a number of flaws in this process. First is that it assumes the objective is the right objective, taught at the right time, at the right level for pupils. This, in my experience is not always the case. In fact, many schools use national strategies to obtain their objectives, which are often set out in blocks or units of work. But are these what the pupils need to attain what is expected if them? Too many knowledge objectives and not enough skills is often the case. Or, too many skills and not enough application if them to a wide range of contexts.

Quality marking, surely begins with assessment of need. The best assessment is based not on tests but the needs of pupils now so they are given teaching that helps them to attain. Excellent subject knowledge is key to good assessment. The second problem is that by only focusing on the objective, we ignore other success or failure. The success if applying something from weeks ago, or the failure to use skills learned yesterday. When we don't say anything about errors, we are, in effect saying it doesn't matter. This means we are inconsistent with our messages. Perhaps the phrase Quality Marking means focused marking to today's small piece of learning. But true quality gives the bigger picture and recognises the key steps pupils need for success, whether they are being acquired today, or practised from previous lessons. What do you think?

Sent from my iPhone

The real purpose of the curriculum is to help every child find their talents, not to raise standards in writing. Read more at http://www.chrisquigleyeducation.posterous.com

One of the most important secrets of success is to try new things. Not for the sake of it, but because we never know if we will be good at things until we try. Everyone is good at something, but some haven't yet found out what. The curriculum should help children find what they are good at. Perhaps even more important is the feedback teachers give so that children know if they are accomplishing anything. But mist schools give little quality feedback beyond English and mathematics. How clever does that make the child who is good at geography feel?

What about the child who is great at leadership and imagination but struggles with the abstract mathematics they are exposed to every day? How clever do they feel?

My book on Key Skills shows how to teach key subject skills from Level 1 to Level 5 of the English National Curriculum. I'm hoping it helps to plan a curriculum where opportunity to accomplish is in every classroom. Find out more at http://www.chrisquigley.co.uk

Many educators are talking about children leading learning by following their interests. Chris Quigley dismisses this as a fashion that will pass. The case for this approach is that children will be naturally inquisitive and explore their environment. Rather than telling children what to learn, they will learn better by following their needs. There are many other reasons like this cited as reasons for the approach. But there is a major problem in relying on this as a basis for education... Read all at http://www.chrisquigleyeducation.posterous.com  

When you don't know what you don't know, it is very hard to decide what it is you would like to know. When you don't know what you can't do, it's hard to decide what new things you would like to do. And... If you don't understand what you don't understand, it is very hard to decide what new understanding you need. Teachers, on the other hand DO know what children need to help them to reach developmental goals. So, they develop an environment and experiences that help children to do what they NEED to do rather than what they want to do. Teachers, not children are leading the learning. However, children who develop well STEER the learning. They decide which parts of provision they prefer. Teachers then get to know children, their interests and their strengths, and use this to decide how to alter the environment or provision so that they access activities and resources that they previously chose not to access. Throughout this process, expert subject knowledge and understanding of developmental needs is leading learning, not the children.

Older children should not be asked what they want to learn. Instead they should be given the structure of educational purpose, with content that meets the needs of the community and fulfils the statutory curriculum. From this educationally purposeful starting point, children can then form their own individual lines of enquiry. That way, children steer rather than lead. How many children will choose to learn about the legacy of past societies, if they have never heard if them? How many children would choose to find out the geographical processes that shape our environment and how this dictates how settlements form and develop if they know nothing about it. How many children will chose to use sculpture as a medium for conveying a thought feeling or idea if they have never experienced sculpting materials?

Whilst many schools say children lead learning, perhaps...and hopefully they mean children steer learning.

At last! a simple way to track children's progress in the Early Years. Get chapter 1 FREE. Read all at http://www.chrisquigleyeducation.posterous.com 

This new book and CD helps Early Years teachers to identify the Key Skills children are developing and the development level.  Simple and easy to use.

Coming soon to Chris Quigley Education Ltd.

Welcome to Chris Quigley Education's Posterous page.

We here at Chris Quigley Education are looking forward to the new school year and will be running the following conference's throughout the UK in 2010/2011. Read all at http://www.chrisquigleyeducation.posterous.com 

LED BY CHRIS QUIGLEY:

• A 21st Century Curriculum: Leading the Learning Revolution
• Inspecting Teaching, Learning and Assessment
• Secrets of Success
• Power Learning: Boosting Productivity in Lessons

 

LED BY ANDY MELLER:

• The Risk Factor: How we lost risk taking in schools and why we need to get it back
• Creative Leadership: How to energise your school

Please visit our website to find a conference near you and for more information.