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Over the weeks that the TLC has met we have discussed aspects of
differentiation in various Key Stages with input from Henry Manual, Alison
Macintosh and Amanda Reid. As chairperson, I would like to acknowledge
the contributions that have been made by these colleagues. It has been
invaluable and I would like to thank them for their unparalleled support.
The first task that we had was to discuss what differentiation is and how
this manifests itself in the classroom.
It was agreed that differentiation was making each lesson as accessible as
possible to every child in the class. This was then expanded upon and the
definition of every child was developed to encompass Special Educational
Needs, Learning Support, English as a Second Language and Gifted and
Talented.
The group then discussed techniques for creating differentiation in the
class. These fell into four distinct areas: Outcome, Task, Resources and
Support.
The Action plan will focus on these areas and the best way to achieve
differentiation across all classes in the school.
Over the weeks that we have been meeting we have analyzed plans from
various parts of the school and in our own areas. We have discussed
curriculum planning and how each Key Stage plans. We have also
discussed the barriers to learning and discussed this with colleagues in
specific areas of the school.
It was felt that it was not practical to have a planning format across the
school as different areas of the school have different objectives and
outcomes. However, it was felt that moving students on in terms of
differentiation had many similar elements. The action plan will discuss the
way forward in regard to this.
As part of the fact finding mission it was necessary to gauge the situation
in all areas of the school. Key Stage 3 was the area that highlighted some
of the biggest issues. Many of the children in Key Stage 3 have not been
able to benefit from the ground floor teaching that is put in place in Preprep and Key Stage 1, particularly in English, as they were too old when
Haileybury Astana opened its doors. This is because they joined the school
earlier than Year 7 and so many of the children in Years 8 and 9 are still
learning academic English.
This means that differentiation in Key Stage 3 has a different form to the
rest of the school. In the lower schools the class teacher is able to
differentiate with activities that support and extend depending on the
Class Support
The TLC felt that in class support in the form of TAs was essential in PP,
KS1, KS2 and KS3. The incidence of this support in KS3 was low however
and we felt that there should be more TAs for KS3 which would have a two
sided affect. An extra person would ease the burden in the class on the
teaching team which would create extra time for differentiated planning,
structured marking and activities that will enhance learning.
Vocabulary
The idea that vocabulary can be given to the class before a lesson is a
good one. The question of how this can be done can be a vexing one.
Teachers deliver the lesson when the lesson starts, the class and the
children in it are able to be taught when they are in the classroom.
This model of the classroom today can be in some cases restrictive and it
is essential for teachers to think outside the box as it were. In this case
if we consider the classroom as the box then learning that can happen
away from it in a structured manner will enable better learning to take
place in the classroom.
The idea that children could see the lesson before its actual classroom
delivery is not new and in the best schools in the world a Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE) platform allows this to happen. Mark Ramsey has been
working hard to move this idea on at Haileybury Astana and has been
having extensive talks about IT in the school and a VLE.
With the idea that a class could have access to lesson content before the
lesson I have explored software called Edmodo. This allows classes to be
set up that are either linked to each other or autonomous but that can be
given assignments, feedback, activities and lessons before the actual
lesson.
In year 5 we have been working on Edmodo for a few weeks as a pilot to
show what it is capable of. The children are completely engaged and talk
to each other about school, each other and the assignments all the time.
Every conversation has to be in English as this is the language of Edmodo.
The TLC feel that each class in PP, KS1, KS2 and each subject year group
in KS3 needs to have an Edmodo set up to allow the class to access lesson
content away from the class and before the lesson begins.
Summary