ATS October 2010
Spanish
Subject Inspection
Aims
To identify, acknowledge and affirm good practice.
To promote continuing improvement in quality of education.
To promote self-evaluation and continuous development by schools and staff.
To provide quality assurance in education system.
Outcomes
While recognising ethos of school:
Give an outside perspective
Positive interaction
Look at new ways of doing things
SUPPORT
Meeting with Principal
Whole-school support for subject
General matters ie. school planning process
Subject choice and how decided
Forming of groups – mixed ability?
During lesson
Short introduction to students
Review of copies
Attendance / assessment record
App. 5/10 minutes interaction with students at end of lesson
Feedback to team
Identifying strengths and any areas for improvement where relevant
Consistency between oral and written reporting
Encouraging school development planning process
Feedback to Principal
On whole-school support and teaching and learning in subject area in general
Evaluation of
Whole-school supportPlanning and preparationTeaching and learning:
MethodologyClassroom managementClassroom atmosphereLearning and achievementStudents’ engagement
Assessment
Whole-school support
Subject provisionStudent mobility and choiceDeployment of staff and timetablingProvision of resourcesSubject co-ordinationPlanning process – time providedICT accessAny extracurricular activities for
Spanish
Planning and preparation
Planning structures
Department planning
Individual planning
Preparation of work
Planning for resources
Planning and preparationSyllabus-based:
thematic approachlanguage awarenesscultural awarenessintegration of skills
Awareness of students’ interests needs and learning styles
Learning outcomes clearStudents’ awareness of clearly
identified short-term learning objectives
Methodology
Lesson aims, structure and paceUse of target language for classroom
management and medium of instruction
Suitability of level of language and content
Continuity with previous lessonsTime management
Methodology contd.
Range of strategies for student involvement – strategies for active learning
Use of resources - suitability of authentic teaching materials
Attention to grammar –systematic and integrated
Attention to pronunciation and intonation
Classroom management
Management of classroom activitiesAttendance and progress monitoredStudent affirmationNature of classroom interactionsMaintenance of disciplineChallenge and motivationClarity of instructions
Learning
Students’ engagement with classroom activities
Understanding – how demonstratedKnowledge, skills and competence –
how demonstratedEncouragement of independent
learningStudents challenged to reach their
potential?
Assessment
Assessment modes and outcomesRecord-keeping / reportingOral / aural assessmentHomework assigned, monitored and
correctedCommon year group tests if feasible
Some issues
Tendency to over-rely on textbooks and past exam papers
Lack of contact with target language country and community
Need for greater use of the target language
Tendency to teach the four language skills in isolation, rather than in an integrated manner
Narrow range of teaching strategies
…
Over-use of translation as a teaching methodology
Reliance on memorised material in preparation for oral examinations
Lack of opportunity for students’ oral participation
Imbalance between teacher-directed learning and independent learning
Insufficient student-student interaction
Good practice
Target language used for all classroom interactions
Thematic approach – integration of skills
Strategies for active student participation – pair work, group work, role play, games, brainstorming, debates etc.
…
Differentiated learning for mixed ability
Use of visuals – (flashcards, pictures, photos etc.) to introduce vocabulary and to support development of language skills
Oral assessment in junior cycle
Encouragement of learner autonomy
…
Collaborative planning for teaching methodologies - central storage and sharing of resources
Students exposed to good range of authentic listening material
Students exposed to a wide variety of suitably challenging reading material, including literary material
…
Teacher-based classroom – Spanish materials and display of students’ work
A good range of effective questioning is used
Appropriate attention is paid to development of cultural awareness
…
Writing tasks evoke personal response from students leading to authentic language use
Teaching of writing derives naturally from work in listening and reading
Use of formative comment-based assessment
Resources
PPLI websiteNCCA websiteSupport services (Kevin McDermott)Instituto CervantesSummer courses – ConsejeríaCluster groups ATS