An Roinn Oideachais agus Scileanna Department of Education and Skills Subject Inspection of Science and Biology REPORT St Angela s Secondary School, Ursuline Convent, Waterford Roll number: 64990D Date of inspection: 8 November 2012
REPORT ON THE QUALITY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING IN SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY INFORMATION ON THE INSPECTION Dates of inspection 7 and 8 November 2012 Inspection activities undertaken Review of relevant documents Discussion with principal and teachers Interaction with students Observation of teaching and learning during eleven class periods Examination of students work Feedback to principal and teachers MAIN FINDINGS The quality of teaching and learning observed in most lessons was good or very good but there was scope for development in a few lessons. High standards are set and achieved for personal and academic performance and students demonstrate outstanding qualities in attentiveness and application during lessons. Whole-school support and provision for the subjects is very good but there is significant demand on the three laboratories. The use of subject department planning time for the purpose of improving teaching and learning is progressing well but there is scope to develop the subject plans. MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS In further building on the good approach being undertaken to practical work in Science, teachers should focus on developing students skills and confidence in designing and planning open-ended investigations. To continue improving teaching and learning, it is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on promoting independent learning in senior cycle. Subject plans for Science and Biology should be developed with the setting of agreed key learning outcomes for each year. Appropriate plans should be developed collaboratively for each of the modules in TY and these should be evaluated annually. 2
INTRODUCTION St Angela s is an all-girls voluntary secondary school in Waterford with an enrolment of 861. It provides a compulsory Transition Year (TY) and all programme options for Leaving Certificate including the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA). TEACHING AND LEARNING Eight lessons were observed, covering all years and programmes and involving all teachers of the subjects. The quality of teaching and learning observed in most lessons was good or very good but there was scope for development in a few lessons. Teachers set very high expectations for personal and academic performance with very high outcomes being achieved in the lessons observed and in the State examinations. Students displayed excellent attentiveness in all lessons and applied themselves productively to learning both individually and co-operatively, adapting successfully to the mode of instruction and to all tasks presented. They demonstrated their learning eagerly, presented their written work to a high standard and articulated very good responses to questions. There were many excellent examples where lessons were delivered as a combination of teacher instruction and an integrated series of task-based challenges for students. In these lessons, good planning led to productive student activities that enabled students to build on previous learning and to engage in co-operative learning. Some lessons, however, would have benefited from the incorporation of such approaches. In some senior cycle lessons, teachers used creative approaches to enable independent learning among students including modelling, the use of learning tools, tasking students to summarise and compare, and instructing students in the features of good note making for homework. In less effective lessons, there was reliance on the transcription of notes and on the textbook. To continue to improve teaching and learning, it is recommended that teachers collaboratively review and share each other s good practice in facilitating independent learning. During lessons, the internet and a good range of electronic resources were accessed quickly and used seamlessly to support learning. However, attention needs to be given to ensure the content of presentations is easily visible from the back of the classroom. Good emphasis was placed on practical experiences of the subjects for students. Experimental work was well organised and students demonstrated very good skills of observation and inquiry with the completion of good quality written laboratory reports. Lessons observed met the requirements of the science and biology syllabuses in terms of content and most of the practical skill development. Lesson delivery in TY, however, should focus on required skills development and be guided by the Departments TY Guidelines. In some classes, the investigative approach to Junior Certificate Science was excellently facilitated by teachers and, other times, was less well developed. In particular, teachers should provide more regular opportunities for students to engage in the planning and designing phases of conducting open-ended investigations. Progressively developing students skills and confidence in these when conducting coursework A from first year onward will enhance outcomes in coursework B by year three. 3
Assessment was very well integrated into the teaching and learning processes. Good variety was evident in the assessment strategies used during lessons and for homework and these included opportunities for peer correction and e-learning. Consideration should be given to extending assessment to marking students practical work as a component of school-based examinations. This would more accurately reflect the Junior Certificate marking for Science. The attention by students to homework and to tests was very good. In most instances, good information was provided by teachers in the feedback given to students on their written work. There is an opportunity for teachers to extend the use online examination marking schemes when correcting homework as a means of sharing the criteria for success with students. The learning environment throughout the school is vibrant and print-rich. Teachers gave good attention to literacy referencing key words and equations at times. Students demonstrated good literacy overall. There is an opportunity for teachers to use scientific articles to further support literacy in the subjects. These could be sourced from a range of texts and differentiated for reading ability and curricular programme. The development of a whole-school approach to graphing would be worthwhile in supporting numeracy. SUBJECT PROVISION AND WHOLE SCHOOL SUPPORT Subject provision including timetabling is very good. Science is provided as an optional subject in junior cycle and uptake is good. Science is studied by all LCA students. Three senior science subjects are provided as options in TY and Leaving Certificate. The uptake of Biology is high. A beginner s science module and a horticulture module are also offered in TY. There is good teacher deployment and good support for professional development. The three laboratories are very well maintained with very good ICT facilities and they have been developed as stimulating environments for students to learn and do practical work. However, there is significant demand on access to the laboratories given the number of groups studying science subjects. A sizeable number of lessons are conducted in classrooms. Creative use is made of the demonstration room but it cannot be a substitute for a laboratory. PLANNING AND PREPARATION The use of collaborative subject planning time for the purpose of improving teaching and learning, as well as laboratory organisation, is progressing well. The group works in a supportive manner, demonstrating motivation for new approaches and reflective practice. Subject plans for Science and Biology have been prepared and these show good planning for learning support and for curricular content. To develop the subject plans further, consideration could be given to adapting the curricular sections of the plans to a layout that would link topics with learning outcomes, teaching and learning methodologies, available resources and assessment options. In building on the good planning observed in listing the agreed topics for each year, it would be useful now at this stage for teachers to discuss and list a set of skills to be achieved by students in each year. Establishing these would bring greater consistency to 4
learning experiences across the school and reaffirm that teaching and learning match the intended objectives of each syllabus and programme. The activity could be undertaken in tandem with the recommended refocus on investigative skills and independent learning. Planning for the TY science modules requires development. It is recommended that plans be developed for each module in accordance with Department s TY Guidelines. The plans should include module objectives, student learning outcomes and evaluation criteria to assess the attainment of intended outcomes. They should be evaluated and reviewed annually by the science department. The draft findings and recommendations arising out of this evaluation were discussed with the principal and subject teachers at the conclusion of the evaluation. The board of management was given an opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and recommendations of the report, and the response of the board will be found in the appendix of this report. Published May 2013. 5
Appendix School response to the report Submitted by the Board of Management Area 2: Follow-up actions planned or undertaken since the completion of the inspection activity to implement the findings and recommendations of the inspection Main recommendations as noted in the report to be implemented. 6
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