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