I have just completed half a year teaching a group of 10 Year 6 kids. Lots of people described us as a booster class, but I am grateful for the chance to make it so much more. I think we learned a lot together.
What was the problem?
Having worked with the other upper KS2 staff for a while, I was offered a chance to do more for some of the kids at St Francis. Yes, they needed a boost. They were children who were well below their peers, and who had found little ‘improvement’ since year 3. Their progress had been inconsistent and their learning patchy. But there was more. Whether there were special needs, emotional, social care or behavioural problems, these were kids who had a common set of issues.
- Confidence – They were, in their own minds, (as well as the minds of many adults in their lives) failures. All had given up trying.
- Communication – Whether it was explaining an idea, a problem, or talking to peers, these children found it hard to express themselves.
- Collaboration – These were kids who used a range of strategies to hide the fact that they struggled to work with others.
What did we do?
I developed a three term plan, to focus on each area, and to build on both knowledge and skills.
Term 2 – Speaking and Listening – Victorians using eQuest – developing group roles, through structured activities, using a highly engaging story/game.
Term 3 – Daily science investigations – with a focus on scientific method. Lots of learning through failure and testing theories
Term 4 – Project Based Learning – Island project. “Can you create a convincing exhibition of your own (invented) island?’ – Critique protocols, fixed timeline, skills teaching (cartography, descriptive and persuasive writing )
Did it work? How would we know?
Obviously, the main measure will be the levels as they prepare for SATs… And I am pleased to say that almost everyone made significant progress beyond expectations. I was frustrated that the huge progress I can show in Science will not show for much,…but I know how much of a difference this ‘general knowledge ‘ will make to these kids in Year 7. Still, these are now kids operating at (or at the borders of) level 4.
The head had asked me to boost the learning with these kids but also to help them prepare better for secondary school, to develop more positive learning behaviours.
Using a pupil voice self assessment, taken at the start of the project ad at the end, again there has been very good progress. Of course, all measures have weaknesses, And I would have liked a more rigorous system. Although the one I used indicated progress, it is not evidence on its own.
The strongest evidence I have is on video, of children who could or would not be able to speak with confidence on even the simplest topic , showing off their work.
Meet Ella. She was one of the quietest kids I had ever worked with, who would have shrunk from talking in public in almost any setting, and for whom confidence was (perhaps) her biggest problem!
Overall, I learned a lot working with Swifts Class. I was given scope by the head to craft something that suited the kids I had. I realise that I was very lucky. Although this happened under the pressure of an impending Ofsted, and included an inspection, it is fair to say I had less constraints than my colleagues. My ability to provide a learning environment where open ended questions and challenge was most evident was while doing science (we also covered a ton of maths and literacy). However, without the ground work of teaching the basics of speaking and listening (discussion and group work) we could never have reached the depths of learning that they children found in building their own islands through a project based learning approach.
Thank you Swifts, for teaching me so much.