no action without research no research without action · you should love the research question. a...
TRANSCRIPT
1
No Action Without ResearchNo Research Without Action
FOREWORD
2
SIG GOAL
Reflect upon and improve pedagogy practice in Year 1 so that it reflects more closelythe philosophy associated with the Foundation Phase.
DAY 1Input from the Learning Partnership, Wales
• What does highly effective Foundation Phase practice look like in Year 1?
Self-reflection• Which aspects of our practice are going well?• Where do we need improvement?
Reaching agreement on a focus for the Action Research Project• What will the research question be?• In what format will our findings be presented?
BACK AT SCHOOLImplement new and improve ways of workingCollect data at the beginning and end of the projectAnalyse the data to measure the impact of the changes to pedagogy and practice
DAY 2Input from the Learning Partnership, Wales
Growth Mindset versus Fixed Mindset• How might our beliefs and attitudes impact on the success of new initiatives• How well are we prepared for the changes to pedagogy and practice outlined
in ‘Successful Futures’ and ‘A curriculum for Wales, a curriculum for life’?
A closer look at ‘Successful Futures’ and ‘A curriculum for Wales, a curriculumfor life’
• What are the proposals?• How do they fit with Foundation Phase philosophy?• What is Estyn saying about the proposals?
Show and Tell• What has our action research told us?• How might we learn from each other?• Where do we go from here
REASONS TO START ACTION RESEARCH
1. Helping an individual child2. Improving and enriching the curriculum3. Developing professional content knowledge4. Improving or experimenting with teaching strategies and techniques5. Exploring the relationship between your beliefs and current classroom practice6. Exploring the impact of deliberate changes in pedagogy/practice7. Advocating social justice and/or changing attitudes8. Understanding the teaching and learning context for a specific
individual/class/cohort
Whilst the research undertaken by schools in this SIG group touched upon almost allof the reasons outlined above, the main reasons were:
•Exploring the relationship between your beliefs and current classroom practice
• Exploring the impact of deliberate changes in pedagogy/practice
You should love the research question.
A good classroom action research question should be meaningful, compelling, andimportant to you as a teacher-researcher. It should engage your passion, energy, and commitment. It has to be important foryour personal and professional growth; it should stretch you intellectually andaffectively.
A good research question is manageable and within your sphere of influence. Thequestion is aligned with your work; you can address it within the confines of yourclassroom. It is focused and not so ambitious, big, or complex that it requiresextraordinary resources, time, and energy.Action research works very well for educators because the cycle offers an opportunityfor continued reflection in our on-going practice.
Following the school based research, it is important to reflect upon the following:• What story or stories does the data tell? • What meanings can be found as a result of the data analysis? What have you
learned about your teaching practices?• Does the data analysis confirm, or disconfirm, the effectiveness of the action
or intervention? • What are the implications of your study for improving the teaching practices
of colleagues? • Were there unexpected findings? • Has your research question been answered? • What new questions would you ask for future action research studies?
3
SCHOOL INDEX
Albany Primary School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Coryton Primary School . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Llanedeyrn Primary School . . . . . . . . 18
Park Lewis Primary School . . . . . . . . . 24
Severn Primary School . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
SUMMARY
The focus of the research project was to develop the effectiveness of enhanced andcontinuous provision ensuring the children were having the opportunity to apply,consolidate and further develop their skills independently. The main strategyimplemented allowed for more pupil voice which encouraged the children to engagemore within the continuous and enhanced provision. The outcome from the researchproject is that we now have a cohesive approach to providing quality enhanced andcontinuous provision, resulting in more engaged children and staff.
CONTEXT
Albany Primary School is a two form intake and has 460 pupils on roll, including anursery. We are situated in the middle of Cardiff and are approximately 75% EALchildren, with 48 languages and 21% free school meals. The project focusses onYear 1; there are 30 children in each class with approximately the same number ofboys and girls. The 2 classrooms are situated next door to each other and each classhas 1 teacher and 1 fulltime LSA. Both classrooms are physically smaller than anyother year group in the Foundation Phase. The project focusses on enhanced andcontinuous provision and how we allow for the children to apply, consolidate andfurther develop their skills. It involved many aspects from how it is planned for,managed (in relation to adults) and how it could provide the best possibleopportunities for the children to practise, refine and challenge their skills. DuringWeek 1 we gained evidence and research, in Week 2 any necessary changes to thephysical environment were addressed, Week 3-6 allowed for the implementation ofthe new strategies and measuring its impact.
Albany Primary SchoolHow can I improve the quality of independent learning and
skills through enhanced and continuous provision?
6
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
The main issue was that in Year 1 the enhanced provision activities had become lostand there was an increasing amount of continuous provision, due to both classroomsbeing quite small the noise level was escalating and affecting the learning environment.Staff also found it time consuming and at times difficult to always think of ideas forenhanced provision. The other concern was how to best manage it with less staff thanin the Nursery/Reception. We therefore set out to improve the quality of ourenhanced provision to ensure children were having the opportunity to apply skillsthey had learnt and extend them.
STRATEGIES - PLAN
We planned to look at our current provision, we scrutinised our physical environmentand areas of learning; were they engaging enough, were they gender specific?Subsequently we observed our current provision and whether it was appealing to thechildren. Every day we completed a time sampling activity during the morning andafternoon sessions at various times. They lasted for 30 minutes and every 5 minutesduring that time we marked which area the children were at. Furthermore weinterviewed the children to gain a better insight into their thoughts about theclassrooms and their learning.
We then introduced an enhanced/continuous provision planning document whichincluded all of the areas in the classrooms. We then introduced the planning grid tothe children and modelled how this planning document would be for them. Theteacher would share a stimulus with the class for the forthcoming week and then thechildren would have think, pair, share time to devise activities for the different areasin the classroom. The teacher would then annotate the ideas onto the planning sheet;the ideas would be discussed, amended and added to as necessary. At the end of Week6 the children were re-interviewed and another time sampling activity took place. Wealso interviewed staff that had been involved in the changes.
METHODS USED
The main type of methods used would be qualitative data; the children’squestionnaires and staff opinions. Quantitative data would be used during the timesampling activity to gain evidence of the effectiveness of the areas in the classroom.
7
TYPE OF ACTION RESEARCH
The two Year 1 classes (60 pupils) were part of the action research project. The twoYear 1 class teachers were leading it with two LSA’s involved as well. Following ourtime sampling exercise the evidence gathered identified that most areas were beingused with only the reading areas showing less appeal to the children. Neither readingarea was gender specific and the children had actually chosen what they wanted theirreading areas to look like, it wasn’t cluttered with books, there was a range of fictionand non-fiction books, all the books were linked to the topic but what we realised wasthat they were not accessible to all. We needed to actually put books in there fromdifferent reading levels so all the children could go to the area and be successful atreading. With a couple of the other areas (numeracy/ creative/ writing) we took awaysome resources so the children could see what was there, but in general all the areaswere engaging and inviting. We also decided to share some areas, for example oneclass has roleplay whilst the other was allocated small world and the same with thesand and water.
The main strategy to improve the quality of enhanced/ continuous provision thoughwas introducing the planning grid and the use of pupil voice. Each classroom alsodedicated an area/table to enhanced/continuous provision where projects thechildren had completed during these opportunities could be displayed. An iPad waskept on the table for children to take photos if it was not possible for their work to bedisplayed. Time was then allocated to sharing the children’s work with the rest of theclass.
We also introduced rewards and praise for children who had attended a set numberof different activities and gave spot prizes to encourage children to go to various areaswithin the classroom.
8
OBSERVE
Initially the children found the creative area activity easier to plan for and the teachershad to guide more with the writing and numeracy table ideas. To support the childrenthe teachers provided resources to prompt the children as to what equipment wasavailable to them. However, as the weeks progressed the children became much moreconfident at thinking of their own activities for these areas and understanding whatskills they would be applying. During the week the children would also think of moreideas which we simply added to the grid. If an activity was not being used we discussedthis with the class and would change it as necessary.
We observed the children visiting more of the different areas and not just focussingon their favourite, as they didn’t know which area was the spot prize or which activitywould get the reward. The display tables were a great success and the children tookpride in showing their work to their peers and staff. The quality of what the childrenwere producing in the different areas also improved.
At one point we observed that both writing tables, which had initially been verypopular, were now not attracting many children. When we discussed this with ourclasses it was because they didn’t want to complete that specific task at the table, theywanted to do their own writing. We therefore reduced the enhanced activities at timesand just allowed for continuous provision. The teachers have also found that they aremuch more prepared as the activities are all written down on one planning documentand LSA’s know exactly what resources are needed.
Though we have only had a short amount of time to carry out this research project wehave seen a positive impact on the quality of our enhanced and continuous provision.To gain a more accurate measure it would be beneficial to reflect upon its impact atthe end of this academic year. This is because the teachers would now like to reducethe amount of focussed tasks to allow for an adult to work more within theenhanced/continuous provision activities.
9
10
OUTCOMES
The changes made have resulted in a cohesive approach to enhanced/continuousprovision. From speaking to staff that have taken part in this action they feel they knowexactly what the children should be achieving in the different areas of the classroom.They feel less stressed trying to think of ideas for the different areas as the children doit for them. The staff have observed the children completing tasks in areas that theywould not have previously attempted. More significantly staff have noticed thechildren taking much more pride in what they are doing away from a focussed task,as this work is celebrated and given a status through the display table and dedicatedsharing times. The noise level in the classrooms has reduced.
From the children’s follow up questionnaires they still enjoy all of the areas aroundthe classroom but they now know exactly what is expected of them and they like being‘the teacher’ planning the activities for the different areas.
EVALUATION
The teachers feel that the action research project has fulfilled its aims and broughtabout a change to their practice which has had a positive effect on the children’slearning. The only unexpected outcome was enhancing too much on occasions andstill allowing for that element of continuous provision. Reflecting on the project itwould have been beneficial to have tracked individual pupil’s movements around theclassrooms, focussing on those children who continuously favour one area.
The planning document and system of using pupil voice has been disseminatedthroughout the Foundation Phase. The project has allowed for staff to get back todoing what they do best and ensuring that the children have the best possibleexperience of the Foundation Phase.
NEXT STEPS
For the whole of the Foundation Phase Staff:• Allow for an adult to be working with enhanced/continuous provision. • Take focussed tasks into the areas of learning instead of a table top activity.
CONCLUSION
Through the changes we have made to our practice we feel that we have now createda quality enhanced and continuous provision which enables the children to apply,consolidate and extend their skills. The key strategies to its success was introducing aplanning grid and allowing for pupil voice. This empowered the children and resultedin them wanting to complete the activities that they had thought of and moreimportantly wanted to do. Assigning a display table was also pivotal in raising theprofile of what the children were achieving away from a focussed task and moresignificantly dedicating time to acknowledging the children’s effort and achievements.
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
Foundation Phase National Training Pack Module 4 Play and Active Learning (WAG)St Philip Evans RC Primary School 2013 (Estyn best practice)
RESOURCES
Albany School Presentation PDFListening to Learners PDFProvison Overview PDFTime Sampling PDF
CONTACT DETAILS
Lisa Mullane & Amy LangAlbany Primary School02920 499520
Lisa Mullane: [email protected] Lang: [email protected]
11
Coryton Primary SchoolHow to improve children’s understanding and assessment of
their work and to independently improve/ suggest the next stepsin the Foundation Phase setting in Year 1
SUMMARY
The focus of this project is to introduce effective classroom strategy to improve selfand peer assessment in my classroom. Firstly the children were interviewed abouttheir thoughts on self-assessment focussing on middle ability children. Children werethen introduced to Mr Men characters to assess their work. They used these duringextended writing tasks. After two weeks they were asked to assess a friend’s work. Atfirst they all were happy with their work but as time passed they began to be morethoughtful and analytical when looking at their own and others work.
CONTEXT
Coryton Primary School is a small school in North Cardiff with a mixed catchment.It has 240 children on role including Nursery. The Year 1 class has 30 children, 16 boysand 14 girls. The focus group interviewed consisted of 4 girls and 5 boys of averageability. The project on self-assessment took place over 6 weeks, 4 weeks before theEaster holidays focussing on self-assessment and then 2 weeks during the summerterm focussing on peer assessment.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
There was a whole school INSET on reviewing the marking and AFL policies inschool. From that it was decided to look at a new strategy to improve children’s ownassessment of their work, making them more reflective. This in turn would give themownership of new targets to be worked on and improved for next time when theyapproached a writing task.
12
STRATEGIES - PLAN
It was decided that in order to have a baseline of where children were, a questionnairewould be given to the middle ability children asking them various questions abouthow they feel about their work. It also asked if they knew how they knew if they haddone well and what they needed to do to improve for next time. Questionnaires canbe seen in appendix 1. The class did some work on building a positive ethos duringPSE sessions focussing on it being ok to make mistakes and celebrating successes.See class display (Appendix 2).
Carol Dweck stated in her book ‘Mindset’ that children have different beliefs in theirown ability.
"In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, theirtalents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and thentheir goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growthmindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developedthrough effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily thinkeveryone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone canget smarter if they work at it." (Carol Dweck, ‘Mindset’ 2006)
The children were then introduced to Mr Men characters in a class display to focustheir ideas when assessing their work. (Appendix 3) The display was a point ofreference with smaller pictures in pots for the children to attach to their work.(Appendix 4 and 5) During plenary sessions children could explain why they hadchosen each Mr Man character and why. The teacher then scaffolded the assessmentprocess for next time. After 2 weeks of self-assessment the children were asked to be‘peer’ teachers evaluating a partner’s work (see Appendix 8). They could choose theirown partners. Good work would be celebrated. At the end of the 6 week period thefocus group completed a questionnaire (Appendix 9)
METHODS USED
Research was undertaken and evidence was gathered through qualitative data -questionnaires, displays, observations, marking work with children and talking tothem.
13
14
TYPE OF ACTION RESEARCH
Year 1 (30 Pupils) and Year 2 (28 pupils) classes were used in the research project. InYear 1 the class teacher, PPA teacher and TA worked together to set up a climate ofconfident children able to self-assess. The main strategy to improve self-assessmentwas the use of Mr Men icons attached to a piece of work after it had been completed.The classroom had a new display put up and small pots of Mr Men pictures. Thechildren were asked to use higher order thinking skills to evaluate their work,questioning and looking more carefully at their work in order to improve it next time.They needed change their attitude from ‘I am happy with my work’ to other moreinsightful targets to work on next time e.g. ‘my letters need to sit on the line’.
During the active stage of research the teacher introduces the Mr Men characters tothe children. The children were reminded during extended writing tasks that thesewere Mr Men tasks which needed to be self-assessed. The teacher then also markedthe work with the child stated what next steps could be worked on for that piece ofwork. (Appendix 6) After the first week the teacher evaluated the type of Mr Menbeing chosen and referred the children back to the display board highlighting othersthey could choose. In weeks 2, 3 and 4 children began to choose different Mr Menand become more thoughtful and analytical about their work. (Appendix 7). In week5 children were asked to choose a partner to evaluate their work using the Mr Menicons.
As the project progressed children needed reminding of the different Mr Mencharacters and the options they were allowed to choose. I feel that children benefittedfrom the peer assessment of their work as fresh eyes gave them a different insight intotheir work and how it could be improved. The focus group then completed a secondquestionnaire.
OUTCOMES/EVALUATIONS
The impact of refining the self and peer assessment process in the Year 1 classroomhas meant that children have a clearer idea about what a good piece of work looks like.They are also more focussed on how to improve for next time. Using the Mr Mencharacters made this more fun for the children as they could relate to them. Middleand Higher ability children found it easier to evaluate their work and were workingwith a ‘growth mind-set’ they were able to persist with tasks more, work hard andlisten to advice on how to improve next time. Whereas it was noted that less ablechildren had a more ‘fixed mind-set’ they still chose Mr Men characters which reflectedthat they had tried their best or were happy with their work and did not move to amore analytical approach to assessing their work. This information has been sharedwith the Year 2 teacher and will then be rolled out to the rest of the school. It is hardto measure the impact of this project yet as it has only been carried out for a shortperiod of time. It will be useful to reflect upon its success after a year when other classesand Year groups have had a chance to take it on board.
NEXT STEPS
• Continue using a mixture of self-assessment and peer assessment in Year 1 writing tasks with the Mr Men characters.
• Disseminate this information to staff during INSET and roll out over the whole school using differentiated Mr Men see examples in Appendix 5 and evaluate its success/ impact
• Develop a KS2 assessment sheet for pupils to track which Mr Men charactersthey use, ensuring coverage of all characters relevant to their Year group to develop progression.
15
16
CONCLUSION
I feel that through using the classroom strategy of Mr Men characters for self and peerassessment there has been an improvement in children’s thinking about their work.They are more insightful and can recognise the next step for the most part. It has tobe acknowledged thought that this project is in its early stages and that over timechildren will become more familiar and confident with assessing their work using MrMen characters. As they move through the school, it is hoped that children will refinetheir self and peer assessment skills as they have further opportunities to do so.
REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. Dweck ‘Mindset’ (2006)
CONTACT DETAILS
Paula CosbyCoryton Primary School02920616792
SUMMARY
Following the initial session at Llanelli Learning Partnership we felt the need to ensurethat our children were more engaged with their learning. We wanted to explore ProjectBased Learning and the impact it has upon engagement. In order to implement ProjectBased Learning, we needed to change our daily timetable as well as the way we plan.We decided to use the children’s ideas about where to go next and to create a displaywhich followed the children’s learning
We discovered that despite seeing an increase in engagement during the six weeks, itwas not a long enough period for us to evaluate the true impact that Project BasedLearning had upon the children’s engagement. As a result, we will continue our workon Project Based Learning for the duration of this academic year.
CONTEXT
Llanedeyrn Primary School is in the eastern suburb of Cardiff. There are currently 54children in Year One. Four of these children are educated within the Special ResourceBase. Of the mainstream classes, there are eight children on the SEN register, one ofwhom is statemented. There are 24 girls and 26 boys and 11 of these have English asan Additional Language.
Llanedeyrn Primary SchoolWhat happens to children’s engagement when implementing
project based learning?
18
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
It was clear to the staff within the Year One team that we needed to engage the childrenwith their learning. The children were happy completing learning activities but therewas little ‘buzz’ around what they were learning. We decided that we wanted to makethe children more excited about their learning. We wanted them to rush home to tellstories of what they had been doing each day.
We came to the conclusion that Project Based Learning could be the way forward andimmediately changed our timetable and planning to better suit the initiative.We resolved that the children needed more ownership over their learning andtherefore decided to introduce a weekly question and answer session during whichthe children would discuss what they had been learning and what they wanted to donext.
STRATEGIES - PLAN
Our plan was to introduce the concept of Project Based Learning and evaluate itsimpact on engagement levels of the children.
METHODS USED
Week 1: Our first step was to ask all parents to complete a questionnaire [see annex1] regarding the current level of engagement of their child with their learning. We alsoobserved a small group of children and used the Leuven Scale of Involvement to assesstheir current engagement level [see annex 2].
Week 2-5: During these weeks we changed our weekly timetable, the way we plan andintroduced the weekly questioning and answering sessions. We also created aninvestigation area and display which would become the backdrop for the actionresearch.
Week 6: During the close of the research, we invited parents to complete a secondengagement questionnaire and observed the same children as observed during weekone.
19
20
TYPE OF ACTION RESEARCH
The entire Year One team was involved with the action research. The main changesmade were planning, daily timetable, using children’s interests and ideas, changes tothe environment and creating a project display.
ACT
As previously stated, in order to fully implement Project Based Learning, we knewthat we would need to change our daily and weekly timetable. Our previous timetabledid not allow for continuation of activities from day to day and did not allow time forobserving and talking with the children about their learning. Our new timetable meantthat we could continue activities over a longer period when suitable and also ensurethat we spoke to and observed the children each week.
In addition, we changed our planning to match the new timetable [see annex 3]. Thenew planning format became more fluid and allows for changes during the week.We started the project with a discussion about what the children would like to focus on and used this as the basis of the study [see annex 4].
Following the initial discussion, we created a new area within the classroom. Theintention was that this area would develop with the children’s ideas over the duration of the project [see annex 5].
Once the project was up and running, we continued the weekly discussions with thechildren about where to go next. We ensured that there were hands on, practicalactivities each week and also incorporated many collaborative activities.
As the project developed, we created a display of the children’s questions, ideas andcompleted work [see annex 8].
As the project came to a close we asked parents to complete a second questionnaireregarding their child’s engagement [see annex 6] and also observed the same groupof children as observed during week 1 [see annex 7].
OUTCOMES
Upon evaluating the questionnaires completed, there appears to be little change inparent’s perception of engagement.
Findings from question one:On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited is your child about coming into school?The initial questionnaire gave an average score of 9/10 and the final questionnairegave an average score of 9.1/10
Findings from question two:On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited is your child to tell you about their day in school?The initial questionnaire gave an average score of 7.5/10 and the final questionnairegave an average score of 7.6/10Upon evaluating the observations completed using the Leuven scale of Involvement,50 % of children observed moved up to the next level on the scale. 33% of childrenobserved stayed at the same level and one child was unable to be compared as he wasmoved on to the school’s nurture programme.
EVALUATION
Upon completion of the research, we felt that Project Based Learning had improvedthe children’s levels of engagement. Having said that, we also feel that six weeks wasnot a long enough period of time to truly assess the children’s changes in engagementand we will therefore continue with the project until the end of the academic year.Parental questionnaires showed fewer changes in engagement than we had originallyanticipated but initial engagement levels recorded by parents were higher thanexpected.
In hindsight, it may have been more beneficial to select a cross section of parents tocomplete both the initial and final questionnaires in order to more accurately comparethe findings.
We feel that the biggest impact has been made by changing our daily timetable to allowfor more time to observe and discuss learning with the children. By doing so, thechildren have had more ownership of their learning which has increased their levelsof engagement.
21
22
NEXT STEPS
Now that the research is complete, we will continue with our new approach for theduration of the academic year. At the end of the year, we will decide if we wish tocontinue with Project Based Learning for the foreseeable future.
CONCLUSION
We have certainly seen improvement in the children’s levels of engagement during theresearch period and consider that Project Based Learning does have a positive impacton children’s engagement levels. The study was too short to gather enough evidenceto compare the level of increased engagement so we will continue with our projectuntil the end of the academic year.
RESOURCES
Llanedeyrn Case Study PDF
CONTACT DETAILS
Mrs Kirsty PriceLlanedeyrn Primary School02920 736420
23
24
Parc Lewis Primary SchoolWill introducing passports and on-looker observations improvethe quality of learning in the continuous/enhanced provision?
SUMMARY
I didn’t always feel there were enough quality observations going on in the classroomenvironment. I decided to start using an adult floating around the areas to makeobservations and ask questions to probe children’s thinking.
I also wanted to know whether children were engaging fully and extending themselveswhen using the areas. I used a before and after tally chart to monitor this alongsidethe on-looker observations. This helped me find out if there were popular andunpopular areas in the class. By introducing a learning passport children wereencouraged to use all areas.
CONTEXT
The setting for the action research was in a Nursery/Reception unit consisting of 59pupils. 16 Nursery girls, 12 Nursery boys, 12 Reception girls and 19 Reception boys.Reception children are all full time and 14 Nursery children are full time.
The team spent one week monitoring the areas and listening to pupils responses.I then introduced the learning passports to Reception children and a floating adultwhich ran for 5 weeks before collecting our results.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
I wanted to find out whether children would have better learning experiences byensuring there is an adult to make observations and ask question to extend thechildren’s learning. I was worried that areas were not always being used as plannedand that Nursery and Reception were using the areas the same and showing noprogression with their play and learning. I was worried that some children were notvisiting certain areas or they only stayed in the same areas that they enjoyed the most.I hoped by introducing the learning passport and the presence of an adult wouldencourage the children to go to all areas of learning.
STRATEGIES - PLAN
1. Introduce a learning passport to give to Reception children. This is to be changedon a fortnightly basis.2. Always plan for one adult to be floating
25
26
TYPE OF ACTION RESEARCH
QUALITATIVE DATA
Before the project I did a Pupil Voice to ask children about the areas of learning in ourclassroom. They talked about their favourite areas and about areas they do not like touse. After the project they spoke about their passport and how they now try to visitall the areas to achieve the challenges.
This was an individual research project within the early Years Unit. Three LSA’s, onenursery nurse, the children and myself were involved in the project.
When using their passports children used more areas than they were using previously.They could also talk about their learning experiences and any problems orachievements they faced doing the challenges.
I now have an adult floating who is monitoring the areas, making any observationsand asking questions to probe children’s thinking. This has had a positive impact onthe children’s learning whilst using the continuous/enhanced provision. Children have become good role models and are learning from each other. Often themore confident children will feedback to the class about the areas, we found otherchildren then wanted to try these activities.
Through pupil voice and our tally results we know children want to go in all the areasthroughout the week to get their stickers and are now using areas they previouslyavoided. I have had children in the writing area who would never have gone there asa choice before.
The passport is a good resource for me to monitor the children’s learning even whenI am not working with them on a focus task.
During the feedback children discuss how they completed the challenge and tell uswhat other challenges they would like to do in those areas which is then used to plangiving the children input into their learning.
By using the passports throughout the Foundation Phase we can now showprogression in the children’s learning and play in the different areas.
NEXT STEPS
Children to begin using Ipads as a visual aid to help them feedback to the class aboutwhat they have been doing.
CONC LUSION
• We now have an adult floating who is monitoring the areas, making any observations and asking questions to probe children’s thinking.
• Children have become good role models and are learning from each other. Often the more confident children will feedback to the class about the areas,we found other children then wanted to try these activities. Way forward – children to start taking pictures of their work and mirror to show the class.
• Children want to go in all the areas through out the week to get their stickersand were now using areas they avoided previously. I have had children in thewriting area who would never have gone there as a choice before. This is a good resource for me to monitored what areas are being used.
• During the feedback children discuss how they completed the challenge andtell us what other challenges they would like to do in those areas.
• By using the passports through out the Foundation Phase we can now showprogression in the children’s learning and play in the different areas.
RESOURCES
Parc Lewis Primary School Presentation PDF
CONTACT DETAILS
Aimee-Lee AllenParc Lewis Primary School01443 486836
Aimee-Lee Allen: [email protected]
27
28
Severn Primary SchoolWhat happens to learning in my classroom when I change the
learning environment to incorporate calmer, more neutralcolours in displays and work more as a year 1 unit?
SUMMARY
After attending the first day of the ‘Seize the Day’ course we are very excited andinspired by what we have seen and learnt.
We have been asked to complete an Action Research Project within Year 1 to ensurethe Foundation Phase is still being implemented in an effective and engaging way.We have decided to look at our learning environment and how the ethos of theFoundation Phase is being taughT.
CONTEXT
We have a lively group of children in year 1, with a large percentage of low achievers.We felt the learning environment wasn’t being utilised to its full potential, two separateclasses were cramped with two role play areas, two book corners etc.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
Our aim is to create a more spacious and better resourced unit using calmer coloursand natural materials.
STRATEGIES-PLAN
Over 6 weeks we intended to implement and gather data around our researchquestion. All Year 1 staff members were actively involved in developing the project.
• Questionnaires (appendix 1) to colleagues in both Key Stages to find out their initial feelings about our current learning environments,
• Colleagues to complete the same questionnaire at end of the project.• Children’s questionnaire (appendix 2 ).- photographs of rooms shown to
children.• Week 1 - start changing our classrooms and begin to change our displays to
use hessian backgrounds to provide a calmer environment.• Week 2 - will be introducing children to the new areas and how to use them
appropriately.• Keep doors open between the two classes for the majority of time and closing
them only for RWI sessions.• Week 3 - begin to gather data and evidence on how the new environment is
impacting on the children’s learning and ask the children their thoughts. (giving us the opportunity to make any necessary changes half way throughthe project).
• Week 4 & 5 – assess any noticeable changes to children’s behaviour and attitudes, whether or not they are using the whole unit freelyIn the final week we hope to prove that by working more as a unit and havinga calmer more neutral environment, helps the children engage and learn in amore suitable and fun way.
METHODS USED
First we completed the children and colleague questionnaires.Then we opened the doors between the two classroom and they have not been shutsince! Next we rearranged and removed furniture, creating more space and free flowbetween all areas. We thought about where the areas should be situated for ease ofaccess and balance across the unit.
See Appendix 3 – Unit plan.
29
30
TYPE OF ACTION RESEARCH
We invested some time in developing the new areas as we now have one reading, roleplay, creative, malleable and small world areas.
In order to create the desired atmosphere, we set about gathering resources from avariety of locations such as the woods, school cupboards the beach, parks and shops! Items included:
• Hessian fabric• Brown paper• Natural materials – driftwood, sticks, pine cones, shells, pebbles, Bamboo,
pot pourri, wicker baskets, wooden pegs, string etc.• Pots
See Appendix 4 for itemised billing.
Now we could get going, we started to change displays and accessible resources andthere was no stopping us!
As we progressed through the project we talked to the children and asked theiropinions, some children were kind enough to bring in resources from home e.gbaskets. It was the children’s idea to have a cake sale to raise some funds for ourprojects. (Apendix 5)
OBSERVATIONS
More physical space was created straight away, giving a less cramped environment.As we embarked on our changes, the children took an interest straight away. Theyresponded to the natural materials, particularly in a tactile way and began to access allareas within the unit.We found that by having just one of each area, they were better resourced and easierto manage for staff. It encouraged children to move around the areas and mix withfriends in the ‘other class’.As the weeks went by there was a noticeable change in some of the children’sbehaviour. There was a general calmness throughout the unit; this included the staffin Year 1.A big part of research has been the physical change in the environment and it is evidentto see, photographs were taken before and after. See appendix 6.
EVALUATIONS
As a year 1 team we feel we have achieved what we set out to do and that the end resulthas been a success. There is a calmer atmosphere within the unit and children areaccessing the areas.However, some children still ask if they can go ‘next door’.
The colleague questionnaire was not implemented as intended. We wanted it to becompleted whilst children were in the class, but this not realistic and was completedduring an inset when there were no children or activities set up.The follow up questionnaire is yet to be completed and will be in the near future.Many staff have come to have a look at our project and have given very positivefeedback.
• “I found the environment to be calming yet stimulating. I’m enthused.”• “I find the classrooms to be tranquil.” • “It looks very calm.” Anon
Also a few teachers are planning to include aspects of our project in their ownclassrooms.
As a staff we have learned that this achievable on a small budget.
NEXT STEPS
A couple of our staff members were recently lucky enough to go to Italy and see ReggioEmilia in practise. We hope to work closely with each other, to share ideas and furtherdevelop children’s independence. We are planning to re-address our continuous and enhanced provision to allow morechild initiated activities to be encouraged and completed.As a staff in Year 1 we need to focus more upon planning activities as a unit, ratherthan two classes. We are going to look in to Team Teaching and having one memberof staff timetabled to observe and question children during enhanced and continuousprovision.The physical environment we have created is easy to maintain and we will continueto develop and enhance it further. We already have ideas of how to add features andwhere we want to take the project.Visiting Trimdon Nursery and Wingate Primary is planned for later this term. Wehope to gain more knowledge and ideas from our visit to implement in our ownenvironment.
31
32
CONCLUSION
We feel learning has improved. The children are focussed and are becoming moreindependent in accessing an enriched and stimulating learning environment.Working as a Year 1 unit has been a huge success as the children have larger, betterquality areas to work in.
As staff we have found it easier to manage the fewer, yet better quality, areas and findthe neutral colours and natural materials have a calming effect on us.
RESOURCES
Children’s Questionaire PDFClassroom Plan PDF
CONTACT DETAILS
Stacey Dando and Kate ParrySevern Primary School029 2038 7507
33
34
ANNEX 1Action Research Project - Format
Researcher’s Name:
School:
Title: Action Research QuestionE.g. How well does the physical environment support ‘high level talk’ in play contexts?
Summary:Write a short paragraph that identifies the focus, main strategies and main outcomesof your Action Research Project.
Context:What do readers need to know about your school/class/group to enrich theirunderstanding of your project? Include details about the target group - type age, typeof learners (full time, part time), gender, and some details of the specific context ofthe project. Include timescales in this section.
Problem Plan aAct aObserve aReflect
Aims and Objectives (Problem)What were the issues that you wanted to explore/wished to address? How did the issue/s emerge? What did you set out to achieve?
Strategies a. PlanWhat did you plan to do? How did you go about it?
b. Methods UsedWhat kind of research did you undertake? How did you gather the evidence?
• Quantitative data: anything you can count that shows the project has had animpact.
• Qualitative data: People’s views, opinions; what people think about yourstrategies or interventions; what they say about their experiences.
• Case studies: ‘stories’ that you gather e.g. to show how the project has affectedan individual or group.
c. Type of Action Research (Individual/group/whole School)Who was involved in the project? (Groups/individuals, staff and pupils - others?)Key strategies to implement in researching the question? (Classroom organisation, changing/enhancing the environment, higher orderthinking and questioning, resources and materials, attitudes…)
(Act)Describe the actions implemented and undertaken during the project.Give a factual account of what happened during the ‘Active’ stage of the research.
(Observe)As the project progressed, were any actions/approaches more effective than others? Did you change the way you went about any part of it? Why? Were any aspects of your strategies particularly effective or innovative? Were any changes/adaptions made because they did not work as well as youanticipated?
Outcomes(Reflect)What impact have your strategies had on those you are seeking to benefit? (I.e. Whatyou did and how you did it Result.)What has been the ‘distance travelled’? E.g. What was your starting point and what isthe current end point? What has changed? How and why?Are there further implications?
35
36
Link this section to accurate and reliable data you have gathered that evidences theimpact of your strategies. Try to use quantitative, qualitative data and case studies toshow this.
Evaluation
How far did you achieve your aims? Were there any unintended/unexpected outcomes? What worked well, less well? Is there anything you would do differently? How will you share your findings? What have you learned from doing this project? What has the organisation/School learned?
Next stepsWhat are you planning to do next? How will you/the School take the project forward? How far is what you did, or achieved, sustainable?
ConclusionAnswer your research question in a few sentences.
References and BibliographyIdentify and reference all additional reading or research.
Contact details: Please make sure you attach contact details to your report.
Supporting documents: Include anything that might be useful to others and illustrates your strategy / approach/ methods, eg questionnaires, information sheets, guidance notes, checklists.
ANNEX 2Estyn Guidance
Work on the new curriculum is in the early stages of development. However, schoolscan begin to prepare themselves for the future by considering the following questionsas part of their self-evaluation:
• Does the curriculum that we offer currently help pupils to develop accordingto the ‘four purposes’?
• What can we do to promote these four purposes further within our current arrangements?
• How confident are we as school leaders in our capacity to inspire, support and evaluate innovation in our school curriculum?
• How can we encourage creativity, variety and individuality in our approaches,also achieving consistency and coherence in the curriculum that we offer andin the way that we deliver it?
• To what extent is our school (leaders, teachers and support staff) ready to embrace change and willing to engage with pioneer schools in developing the new curriculum?
• How do our teachers and support staff gain the skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to develop the new curriculum?
• How can we build on the creativity that exists already among our staff and others to develop their imagination in relation to the curriculum?
• Do we provide a wide range of additional extra-curricular experiences for ourpupils and recognise all their achievements?
• Do our teachers and support staff understand formative and summative assessment and use assessment information to raise standards and to maximise the progress that pupils make?
• Do we use assessment to help pupils to improve their own work and the workof others?
• Do we ensure that our pupils build well on what they have already learned when they move through and between schools?
• Does our school develop the full range of pupils’ ICT skills and digital competence?
Estyn Annual ReportPublished 2016
37
38