PDM: Speaking, listening and learning. The professional development meetings (PDMs) in schools TERM 1 TERM 2 TERM 3 PDM 1 PDM 6 PDM 5 PDM 4 PDM 3

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1 The professional development meetings (s) in schools : Speaking, listening and learning The purpose of the Intensifying Support Programme (ISP) booklets These booklets are designed to support schools in setting up a school improvement programme that draws together the strands of raising standards and improving teaching and learning. Context These materials have been produced as part of the ISP. This programme aims to work in partnership with schools and LEAs and to coordinate support. The four key themes running through the ISP and providing the focus for the work are: raising standards and accelerating progress; improving the quality of teaching and learning; improving the conditions for learning; developing the school as a professional learning community. The ISP booklets have been produced separately for all schools so that they can be part of their school improvement materials. The booklets provide suggestions for a sequence of professional development meetings (s). All the materials referred to are available on the Primary Strategy website ( Non-negotiables and write RAP Review RAP 1 and write RAP 2 Review RAP 2 and write RAP 3 TERM 1 TERM 2 TERM 3 Review RAP Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2004 Intensifying Support Programme

2 The seven original booklets cover the key areas of the programme and are designed for use by schools to support the school improvement cycle of audit, plan action and review. Introducing the Intensifying Support Programme (ISP) 1 Introducing the ISP in school and setting curricular targets for the first half-term 2 Sharing objectives 3 Questioning 4 Modelling and demonstrating 5 Problem solving and investigating 6 Taking stock and evaluating progress In addition, there are supplementary s, of which this is one. The supplementary s can also be used as part of the programme, depending upon the identified needs and priorities of the school. They currently include: Assessment for learning 1: Day-to-day assessment strategies Assessment for learning 2: Feedback on learning The s The s are timetabled half-termly staff meetings that introduce the focus for the half-term and review previous work. In the pilot the s were an effective mechanism for improving teaching and raising standards because: their regularity kept the programme as high profile and attendance was expected from all staff; the priority for each meeting was linked to the half-termly priorities on the raising attainment plan (RAP), which also identified the linked monitoring and support; they followed the same agenda each time: introducing the half-term literacy and mathematics curricular targets; introducing the teaching and learning focuses for the meeting and linking them to the key themes; the emphasis on professional discussion and the use of individual development plans (IDPs) supported staff to reflect on progress since the last meeting and current practice, to set individual short-term targets and to extend opportunities for professional dialogue among all staff. Notes to the presenter The prompts in this booklet are intended as possible examples of topics for the. You will want to make decisions about the focus and content of the session and adapt it according to the development of individual schools. The booklet is written to be used with a school staff but the should be led either by a consultant or by a member of the SMT. As you present the session, keep the key messages in mind so that participants leave the training with a clear understanding of where they need to focus their development over the coming half-term. Record relevant contributions on a flipchart as you work through the session so that participants can use these prompts when they complete their IDP towards the end of the meeting. You may wish to divide the flipchart into three sections to cover Teaching strategies, Conditions for learning, the Professional learning community. The s are written so that they include input, activities and discussion. It is worth including practical examples or video sequences in the training. As you take participants through the session, note staff who are confident in this area and could share their expertise by, for example, supporting colleagues in school. Also note staff who are less confident and who may need more focused support over the half-term. For each prepare sheets of layered curricular targets for literacy and for mathematics, with one target for each year group. Decide whether you or the staff will add a child-friendly version of the targets to the sheets. See the Resources list for details of the Primary National Strategy literacy and mathematics targets. You will need to prepare activities and identify video extracts for use in the section focusing on teaching strategies. 2 Intensifying Support Programme Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2005

3 Agenda for : 1 Review and reflect on progress since the last meeting. 10 mins 2 Set class curricular targets for the half-term. 20 mins 3 Focus on the key themes: improving the quality of teaching and 20 mins learning, improving the conditions for learning and developing the school as a professional learning community. Input on improving the quality of teaching and learning: 4 Identify targets and complete the IDP. 10 mins Note: The agenda and materials are written to be used in one meeting but in the ISP pilot many schools had two meetings each half-term because they found this more effective, and, particularly at first, they needed extra time to separate sections 2 and 3. Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2005 Intensifying Support Programme 3

4 1 Review and reflect on progress since the last meeting Participants review the IDP targets they set at the last. They discuss with colleagues successes and areas which still need addressing. They record their needs for future development and support, noting whether these are individual needs or part of a wider issue. Participants review the progress of their class against the curricular targets. 2 Set curricular targets The curricular targets are the key focus for raising standards and accelerating progress and for assessing progress. Key messages: Raising standards and accelerating progress Setting targets for this halfterm Resources This section covers identification of curricular targets for the whole class and the targeted group for the half-term. Make the following points. Remind colleagues that the school has identified key curricular literacy and mathematics targets on which to focus. These will be broken down into small targets for each half-term for each class. Share the focus areas for targets for this half-term. Share with each year group their half-term targets for reading, writing and mathematics for the class. There should not be more than three targets in all. Lead a discussion on what children will need to know to achieve each target. Link the points raised to input from the literacy and mathematics coordinator. Lead a year group discussion on teaching the targets (when to teach each target, in which subjects, etc.). Remind staff that they will need to plan to teach the targets over the half-term and assess class progress towards the targets so that they can share information about progress at the next meeting. Remind staff that the expectation is that the majority of children will achieve these targets and will be working at age-related levels (with some differentiation). Targets will need to be made explicit in the classroom (see Improving the conditions for learning). Remind staff that in the Foundation Stage children will be involved in making choices about the next steps in their learning, linked to their needs and interests. Link targets for this half-term to NLS target statements and NNS key objectives (for the Foundation Stage link to the QCA guidance Curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage). For further details see and the CD-ROM and 1 booklet. 4 Intensifying Support Programme Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2004

5 3 Improving the quality of teaching and learning: Speaking, listening and learning Training sequence Aims of Introduction, purpose and key messages Linking teaching strategies to progress in literacy and mathematics Notes This section is for guidance only and it is expected that schools will choose from what is suggested and adapt it to meet their own needs. The materials are written to be appropriate for the whole school, although for the Foundation Stage it is important to think of activities rather than lessons. To explore the role of speaking and listening in learning. To review current practice, and use of the PNS/QCA materials Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfES G). To encourage the school to develop a more systematic approach to the use of speaking and listening to support the achievement of the curricular targets. Purposes of speaking and listening for learning This introductory session could be covered in less detail if the school has used, or is intending to use, some of the available training units. This would allow more time to focus on the relationship between speaking and listening and the curricular targets. Possible activity Ask participants to discuss why developing speaking and listening is important for learning. Language is an integral part of most learning and oral language in particular has a key role in classroom teaching and learning. Children s creativity, understanding and imagination can be engaged and fostered by discussion and interaction. Children use speaking and listening to solve problems, speculate, share ideas, make decisions and reflect on what is important. Most social relationships depend on talk and in the classroom children s confidence and attitudes to learning are greatly affected by friendships and the interactions that support them. Refer to the PNS/QCA publication Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfES G) which includes a handbook, key objectives, a video, leaflets, posters and training materials. The materials are all related to the four aspects of speaking and listening in the National Curriculum programmes of study for English: Speaking Listening Group discussion and interaction Drama Although the requirement to teach speaking and listening is found in the programme of study for English, best practice embeds this teaching in all subjects across the curriculum. Speaking and listening, reading and writing are interdependent. Teaching and learning about language and how it is used in the different areas will develop all three of them. Most children try out ideas in talk long before they are able to try to put them down in writing. Reading gives children models of language, and reading aloud helps children to become familiar with the cadences and uses of language. Speaking and listening, reading and writing are not only interdependent, but also mutually enhancing. All areas of the curriculum offer distinctive opportunities for developing children s speaking and listening. The purposes and types of talk appropriate in different subjects such as hypothesis and experimenting in science, causal reasoning in history, creating patterns in poetry, problem solving in mathematics provide specific opportunities for speaking and listening. Therefore, it is necessary to teach speaking and listening explicitly across the curriculum, not just in English. Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2004 Intensifying Support Programme 5

6 Possible activity Ask participants to consider four key speaking and listening objectives for their year group (for some suggestions see pages in the handbook from Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2) and identify subject links focusing initially on literacy and mathematics. Encourage participants to share additional effective subject links from their own practice. Ask participants to identify targets and discuss how speaking and listening strategies or activities could be used to support children s achievement of curricular targets. Linking teaching strategies to the literacy hour and daily mathematics lesson This section could be covered in less detail if the school has used, or is intending to use, some of the available training units. This would allow more time to focus on the relationship between speaking and listening and the curricular targets. The discussion about opportunities for speaking and listening within different parts of the literacy hour and daily mathematics lesson is valuable. Given the significance of speaking and listening for children s learning, it is important to allow adequate curriculum time for it to be taught. There should also be opportunities, both planned and incidental, for children to revisit, apply and extend the speaking and listening skills that they have been explicitly taught. Best practice in planning would include the identification of key speaking and listening objectives within medium-term plans. See page 18 in the handbook from Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 for examples. The role of the teacher is central to developing children s talk in the classroom. Teacher behaviours have a significant impact on what children say, how they say it and the opportunities they have to develop their skills as speakers and listeners. Parents are also important in supporting the school s work in speaking and listening. It is helpful to explain to them how talk contributes to learning across the whole curriculum. All good teaching of speaking and listening involves: modelling appropriate speaking and listening; encouraging sensitive interaction; ensuring that goals are set with clear criteria for success; planning opportunities for children to investigate, apply and reflect on language in use. See page 20 in the handbook from Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2. Excellence and Enjoyment: a strategy for primary schools (DfES G) explicitly recognises the importance of securing the place of speaking and listening both as a key foundation for literacy and also as an essential component of all effective learning. Speaking and listening is relevant to all parts of the literacy hour and integral to the daily mathematics lesson, especially where work goes beyond simple recall or the routine following of procedures. Within ISP, speaking and listening is a key tool for supporting achievement of the curricular targets for literacy and mathematics. This link will be explored further in this. In shared/ guided time In the lesson introduction, children can be asked to reflect on the learning objective and discuss and generate success criteria. Questioning and discussion can be used to illicit children s prior knowledge. In whole-class teaching, children can be given opportunities to discuss and share ideas in pairs. In whole-class teaching, questioning techniques and interactive strategies can be used to promote engagement and involvement in learning. In whole-class work, shared reading and writing provide opportunities for discussion when working in detail on texts, looking at meaning and considering the use of literary techniques to achieve particular effects. In the oral and mental starter, children are expected to give more than a single short oral response, explaining and justifying their strategies to others. In group work, talk can be used to support and extend discussion in guided reading or writing sessions. 6 Intensifying Support Programme Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2005

7 In independent time In the plenary Application Application Improving the conditions for learning: key points Teachers plan independent time to plot and guide the learning towards the outcome. In independent time the teacher uses questions to promote the social context for dialogue. During independent work children have opportunities to share ideas about in-depth work, helping them to reflect on and refine their learning and extend their thinking. During independent work children often need opportunities to apply what they know to new contexts and situations. Speaking and listening can be used to share ideas and explain and refine thinking. The plenary is the time to determine what children have learned and how confident they are about the subject matter. In the plenary the teacher returns to the objectives and focuses on the outcomes. Speaking and listening can be used to reflect on, and evaluate achievement against, the success criteria. Discussion can be used to explore next steps for future learning. Plenaries can involve oral evaluation and consolidation of what has been learned. In the plenary, feedback involves explaining what has been learned and identifying any misconceptions. It can include inviting children to consider what they have been learning and why and how they can apply their learning in different contexts. Possible activity Watch key sequences from the Speaking, Listening and Learning video, e.g. Year 4 term 1 Celts and Romans. Ask participants to discuss in pairs: the teacher s role and behaviours; the characteristics of children s talk used; how talk supports subject specific learning, and learning about speaking and listening; the teaching sequence, classroom organisation and management. See pages 9 and 10 in the handbook from Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2. It is suggested that schools identify one or two key messages from the categories Conditions for learning and Developing the school as a professional learning community to link to the teaching strategy and focus on in the. The conditions for learning provide the classroom context for effective teaching and learning. Key conditions to support effective learning are as follows. Visual prompts in all classrooms support the development of positive behaviours for speaking and listening. Prompt cards for a variety of speaking and listening strategies (e.g. talking partners, hot seating, jigsaw groups, twos into fours) are displayed and referred to in lesson introductions. The physical arrangement of the classroom and the role or focus of any additional adults encourages the development of speaking and listening, and the participation of all children. Success criteria for achievement of learning outcomes include speaking and listening. Steps for success and strategies for achievement of curricular targets identify opportunities for talk. Developing the school as a professional learning community: the following key points support this. Children are clear about what they are learning and what they will achieve, and how talk can support their learning. Talk is valued by teachers, pupils, additional adults and parents/carers, and is explicitly addressed within planning and teaching. Teachers share with children the relationship between the specific lesson outcomes, the wider speaking and listening objectives and achievement of curricular targets. Children can talk about what they are learning and how they will be able to improve their work. Possible activity Ask participants to consider the curricular targets they are going to address over the coming half-term, and identify speaking and listening objectives and/or activities that will support achievement of the identified targets for literacy and mathematics. Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2004 Intensifying Support Programme 7

8 Resources Examples of ways of promoting positive behaviours for speaking and listening; prompt cards for speaking and listening strategies, etc. QCA/PNS: Speaking, Listening and Learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfES G) PNS Learning and Teaching materials Creating a Learning Culture: classroom talk NLS flyer Talking in Class NNS Mathematical vocabulary book NNS Using assess and review lessons Working with gifted and talented children at KS1 and 2: English and mathematics (QCA and NLNS 2001) Video of Year 3 mathematics lesson on division NLS and NNS resources are available on the DfES literacy and numeracy websites ( Using curricular targets in Year 2: materials for teachers, parents and carers (DfES ) Using curricular targets in Year 6: materials for teachers, parents and carers (DfES ) 4 Identify targets and complete the IDP Each participant is to agree an outcome for the four key themes for this half-term and set them as targets on his or her IDP. These IDP targets need to relate to the curricular targets and teaching strategies that are being explored. Individual Development Plan Focus of : Targets Literacy Mathematics School target(s): Class target(s): Focus Outcome(s) Action(s) and comments Raising standards and accelerating progress Curricular targets for the whole class and identified group are set Improving the quality of teaching and learning Teaching strategies: speaking, listening and learning Improving the conditions for learning The learning environment Developing the school as a professional learning community Class target group and teaching focus are identified Children work towards the targets Speaking and listening is explicitly planned for and used to support identified learning outcomes Classroom organisation and layout supports speaking and listening Prompts for positive speaking and listening behaviours and talk strategies are displayed in classrooms Additional adults are used to support talk activities Success criteria include speaking and listening outcomes that are shared and understood by the children Children know the class target, what they have achieved and how well they are doing 8 Intensifying Support Programme Primary National Strategy l DfES l Crown copyright 2005