portmarnock community school donal o’ mahony. our experience – over three phases... autumn 2012...
TRANSCRIPT
Portmarnock Community School
Donal O’ Mahony
Our experience – over three phases...
Autumn 2012
2013 / 2014
2014 / 2015
Portmarnock Community School
850 pupils approximately, co-educational
Wide catchment-area across North County Dublin
Strong academic and extra-curricular focus
Some historyPortmarnock Community School became an
NCCA Junior Cycle Network School in May 2012
I am the Link-teacher
Very supportive Principal, Pat O’ Riordan
I presented about the possibilities involved with Junior Cycle reform to my colleagues in September 2012
N.S.P.I
A new vocabularyFramework documentShort CoursesSubject specificationsToolkitsKey SkillsStatements of LearningAssessment for LearningModeration Priority Learning UnitsPortfoliosLevel Two learning programmes (L2LP’s)2014: J.C.S.A. – Junior Cycle Student Award
Keep in mind – the student experience is central
In Portmarnock there seemed to be a lot of interest in Short Course development
Why this interest?A strong history of innovation in Transition-
year e.g. Photography, Heritage, Film, Animation, English, History...
A confidence and capacity to introduce new and innovative methods of teaching
Junior Cycle reform – an opportunity to mainstream from Transition-year to the Junior Cycle
NCCA support from 2012
Online space – J.C. 2.0
Many teachers from Network Schools were very active in this during 2012/2013
Lots of ideas
www.juniorcycle.ie
Noticed that many Link schools were working with their strengths, whether Short-courses, Assessment for Learning, Key-skills etc
We promisedSupport to teachers
November 2012:
In-house staff-development particularly in the area of Key Skills (used a cross-subject approach)
Denise Kelly from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) presented in the school to about fifteen teachers (who volunteered) on Short Course development
Very well received – learned a lot
We lead...Management and I are very supportive of the
move from product to process in relation to learning
Want to develop the students appreciation of the “how” and “why” of learning over a period of time
This is a rationale we bring to the table at all meetings
We asked...Teachers to volunteer to develop their own
Short Courses
This was at a time when the NCCA had subject titles for their for Short Courses but no developed ones as such (not the case now)
The NCCA had a template however which was (is) what the teachers worked off
Areas to be coveredTitle1. Introduction to Junior Cycle: Standard for all
short courses2. Rationale: Setting the course in the broader
context3. Aim4. Links: Statements of Learning / Literacy and
Numeracy / Key Skills5. Course Overview6. Expectations for Students7. Assessment and Certification8. Resources
Some teachers worked as a group
Some alone and then consulted each other
Denise Kelly (NCCA) was available for advice via email. I was the conduit, as the Link-teacher
Three Short Courses emerged – Media literacy (David Clarke and Aileen Bradley), Animation (Karen Tynan), Robotics (Michael Sweeney and Danny Murphy).
Decisions...December 2012 and January 2013
Principal, Deputy Principal, Link-teacher and our Time-tabler
Go with two Short-courses? Yes
Which ones? Animation and Media Literacy
Why these two?The Robotics Short Course was not fully finished
Animation had been highly developed in Transition-year
Animation and Media Literacy very much complemented each other - Good mix of ideas – teachers saw possibilities between the subjects
Attractive to boys and girls
Caveat about using pre-existing courses
Material must be re-modelled for the younger students, taking into account the principles of the Junior Cycle Framework
Where on the timetable?Within an existing option-block
No change to the structure of the timetable as such
Treading slowly...
Students have to do both Media Literacy and Animation
One double each – for three years (c. 120 hours each)
Block with Materials Technology (Wood), Home-Economics and Technology
An option block that allowed corresponding subjects to be taken in 4th / 5th Year
Banding meant two class groups – offered it to one class in the band
Twenty-four students
School certificate at end of Third-year (2016)
Assessment focus in Second and Third-year
There was a very strong presentation to the parents and guardians of the incoming Sixth-class (January 2013)
Covered a lot of positives about Junior Cycle reform and education in general
Our choice of Animation and Media Literacy reflects what is relevant to real-world needs and expertise
Digital Animation and Media
Minimised the use of the phrase Short Course and looked at it as the introduction of a new subject
A digression! I think the term Short-course was unfortunate
“You mean I’m going to replace my subject with a short-course”
“I’ll be a short-course teacher...”
There is the potential of short-courses to promote and develop subjects, and indeed to define the identity of a school over time
Back to Portmarnock!
A draw from the hat if oversubscribed...
67 students applied
Lessons learnedA lot of work (time) developing in-house short
courses – teachers found the Short Course Template a challenge, but fulfilling when completed
Reliance on one teacher – what if our animator leaves?
Don’t become a hostage to one teachers specialism...
Implications for numbers in the other subjects in the block
Lessons LearnedNeed for some updated training in Animation –
speed of change of applications
The need for technical backup – in our case relying on a technically literate teacher to manage software updates for the animation teacher
Need for digital resources – Broadband and Wi-Fi
NCCA in discussions on ICT infrastructure
ICT Infrastructure
Lessons Learned
Need for time for conversation with fellow Short Course teachers
Lessons learned
Using First-year to establish the Group-work and other skills – no assessment focus is of great value
Its insights like this that give an idea as to how First-year might be re-imagined...
Lessons Learned
Don’t presume that because students opt for a course that they have certain competencies
Don’t underestimate students either – confidence built during First-year is now becoming obvious
Hard work to establish the course identity
Keep trying to establish the Short Course / New-subject identity – do things to highlight the course – at Assemblies, on the website etc.
2014 / 2015 Context is changing
NCCA has drafts of eight Short Courses for incoming 2014 First-years – consultation process in place
2014 / 2015 Context changed in/for PortmarnockTwo teachers have been involved with the
NCCA, examining aspects of teaching and learning from the Short Course in Coding
Two P.E. teachers have been exploring possibilities with the Physical Education Association of Ireland and the draft Physical Education Short Course
One P.E. Teacher had developed a Sports Science module in Transition Year
2014 / 2015Decided to introduce two new short courses /
subjects
To spread the load amongst a variety of teachers / subject areas
In the same block
Offered to both bands
A minimum of 48 students
2013 / 2014
Coding – as per the NCCA draft short course specification – two teachers
Sports Science – at the request of a member of the P.E. Department, who has developed his own Sports Science course in Transition Year – two teachers
Current teacher concerns
Sports Science – to develop a separate identity from the existing Junior Cycle P.E. classes
Timetabling needs around Sports Science
Assessment in general, assessing our own students in particular and exploring moderation
Other ConcernsCosts associated with these courses – can
students asked to pay for swimming? Buses for external trips...
Any formal funding for running Short Courses from the NCCA or others?..... Saving money one way, so give us money another way
Do we need to look for sponsorship?
Do we need to develop linkages with a University who will work with us as a local-school?
Other concerns
Started to collect feedback from current First-year parents / guardians
Students were telling them about the subjects
Concern about feedback to date
Other concerns
If we go with Robotics in 2015 / 2016, what subject would we place with it so as to attract the balance of boys and girls?
What do parents think of the changing of the Short Course subjects each year?
What are the implications for Transition Year?
Assessment / ModerationWe are conscious we have got the Short Courses
off the ground in a creative way – now want to get the Assessment right
Support for Short Course Assessment / Moderation training for teachers
We would like Portmarnock to get support from the NCCA in developing this, not alone for the Short Course teachers, but for all teachers in the school
Website www.juniorcycle.ie
Twitter @JCforTeachers
Thank you!
Twitter @domaho
Website www.elearningisland.ie