An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta
Department of Education and Science
Subject Inspection of Classical Studies
REPORT
Saint Joseph’s CBS
Drogheda, County Louth
Roll number: 63840C
Date of inspection: 12 December 2006
Date of issue of report: 21 June 2007
Subject provision and whole school support
Summary of main findings and recommendations
Report on the Quality of Learning and Teaching in Classical Studies
Subject inspection report
This report has been written following a subject inspection in St Joseph’s CBS, Drogheda. It presents the findings of an evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in Classical Studies and makes recommendations for the further development of the teaching of this subject in the school. The evaluation was conducted over one day during which the inspector visited classrooms and observed teaching and learning. The inspector interacted with students and teachers, examined students’ work, and had discussions with the teachers. The inspector reviewed school planning documentation and teachers’ written preparation. Following the evaluation visit, the inspector provided oral feedback on the outcomes of the evaluation to the principal and subject teachers. The board of management was given an opportunity to comment in writing on the findings and recommendations of the report; a response was not received from the board.
Subject provision and whole school support
In St Joseph’s CBS, Drogheda, Classical Studies is provided in the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes. Students are informed of subject choices at pre-entry through a booklet and an information evening held for students and parents. In the senior cycle, an open night is also held for fifth and sixth-year students. Since such information sessions provide opportunities to promote the subject, the Classical Studies teaching team could consider devising specific measures to inform parents and students of the value of Classical Studies as a curricular option.
The subject is offered on one option band in each of the two programmes, alongside subjects that, in most cases, require double periods. Such arrangements do not offer optimal teaching and learning conditions for Classical Studies. For example, in first and second year, three periods per week, one double and one single, are allocated to Classical Studies. In third year, four periods are allocated and these take the form of two doubles. Thus, in the junior cycle, students are, in effect, exposed to the subject only twice a week. Moreover, the provision of three lessons per week in first and second year places great pressure on teachers to cover the course in good time for the Junior Certificate examination. It is therefore recommended that the school provide four periods of Classical Studies in each of the first, second and third years of the junior cycle, and that these periods be evenly distributed over the school week. This would help to ensure that students are given every opportunity to achieve their full potential in the subject at Junior Certificate level.
In the Leaving Certificate programme, the allocation of five periods per week is good. However, again, lessons take the form of two double periods and one single so that distribution is very uneven. The school should therefore consider offering the subject on a different option band. Classical Studies is not offered in Transition Year (TY). As this programme provides a bridge from the junior to the senior cycle and also an opportunity for students to study Classical Studies ab initio, it is recommended that St Joseph’s CBS enrich its existing TY programme with the subject, commencing in 2007-8 academic year. Advice on content and materials for Classical Studies in the TY programme is available from the Classical Association of Ireland-Teachers (CAI-T).
There is good access to audio-visual equipment and information and communications technology (ICT) in St Joseph’s CBS. The integration of ICT into the teaching and learning of Classical Studies was noted during the course of the evaluation and is highly commended. While it is reported that the acquisition of print and other resources in the area of Classical Studies is challenging, the easy availability of ICT within the school goes some way towards meeting these difficulties. The school also has a library that can be accessed by students and teachers. The subject is taught by an experienced professional team with a very strong interest in and commitment to Classical Studies and a willingness to develop the subject. The teaching of the senior cycle is rotated where possible. The school should ensure that the pool of expertise available to the subject is widened and that all teachers have experience of the Leaving Certificate programme in the interests of forward planning and continuity of Classical Studies as a curricular option.
Planning and preparation
There is evidence of good planning at an individual level. The teaching team meets informally at the start of the school year and from time to time thereafter. There is a strong commitment to the subject and a good collaborative ethos among team members. However, there is no formal departmental structure, no co-ordinator and there are no formal meetings with set agendas or minutes taken. Perhaps, as a consequence, there is not a coherent, co-ordinated and holistic approach to the delivery of the subject throughout the school. This is an area for development and it is recommended that structures be put in place as soon as possible to redress the situation and that the role of co-ordinator be agreed and undertaken by one of the team. This could be done on a rotating basis, if necessary. It is desirable that management allocate sufficient designated time to the teaching team for meetings.
Since planning gives direction and cohesion to the teaching of the subject, it is recommended that a subject plan be written up for Classical Studies as soon as possible. The subject plan should have a clear focus on the learning outcomes and key skills expected of each year group taking due cognisance of syllabus requirements. A timeframe for syllabus delivery should be agreed and choice of topics could also be reviewed to ensure that these are meeting the needs of learners. Care should also be taken to ensure that there is a natural continuum between the topics chosen for the Junior Certificate and those selected for the Leaving Certificate examinations. Given the infrequency of lessons due to the prevalence of double periods, the pace of syllabus delivery requires careful management. This is a matter that should be addressed by the department as a whole, since, during the course of the evaluation, it was noted that the pace of delivery was too slow. The team could begin collaborative planning by combining the existing individual documentation for specific year groups. There should be evidence of action planning to deal with areas that the department identifies as a priority and a timeframe for review of the plan should be agreed. Records of meetings and agendas should be kept so that progress can be mapped. Information on subject departments and planning is available at www.sdpi.ie.
In the event of Classical Studies being provided in Transition Year, it will be necessary to draw up a comprehensive plan for the subject and due cognisance should be taken of the principles of TY, the rich educational opportunities that the programme offers, including cross-curricular themes and independent learning. Assessment modes should take account of these opportunities.
In addition to schemes of work for each year group, the subject plan should include assessment policy and procedures, department policy on homework and the maintenance of notes and folders. Assessment policy should be informed by assessment for learning approach and information is available at www.ncca.ie. It is also desirable to include a list of methodologies, taking into consideration the broad category of learning styles that applies in any mixed-ability setting. There should be a strong emphasis on active learning methodologies. The department should document its differentiation strategies for students with special educational and/or language needs. Apart from close liaison (formal and informal) with the school’s learning-support department to inform the teaching of students with special needs, the department might also find it useful to consult the following: www.sess.ie and www.ilsa.ie. For information to assist in developing strategies for teaching students with language needs, Integrate Ireland Language and Training can be contacted at www.iilt.ie.
The Classical Studies plan should list resources currently available to the department so that present and future needs can be identified and action taken. The department could investigate the suitability of e-learning software such as the resource that complements the Cambridge Latin Course. Useful links can be accessed through university classics department sites for example, www.tcd.ie/classics and www.classics.ox. Other sources of interest are the Perseus Project, Diotima and the Beazley Archive. Specialist texts may be available through Hellenic Book Services, the Bristol Classical Press and university press publications from Oxford and Cambridge. (These resources are neither prescriptive nor exhaustive.)
Since the department has engaged well with ICT, an electronic folder should be created to include the department’s plan and a range of resources such as worksheets, cloze tests, supporting notes and PowerPoint presentations. Teachers could draw on (and develop) these resources on an ongoing basis to assist in individual lesson planning and long-term schemes of work for their classes. Material from the Department of Education and Science (DES) and from the State Examinations Commission (SEC) such as the chief examiner’s reports could also be included.
Learning and examination outcomes should be regularly reviewed at departmental level with a view to identifying areas of concern and devising strategies to deal with these.
Teaching and learning
Syllabus related topics such as Alexander the Great, The Athenian Acropolis, The Roman Army, and Mycenae and Troy were the subject matter of lessons, which, in most cases, were well planned and in some, were excellent. While content was in all cases stimulating, care should be taken not to overload a lesson with a high volume of material in a lecture style format, however interesting the content. The desired learning outcomes of each lesson should be written on the board at the start of the lesson so that students and teachers can evaluate progress. The lesson’s closure phase should ensure that the outcomes have been achieved. The best lessons made good use of available resources and these were deployed well. Handouts featuring maps and question sheets were to hand. ICT resources were well planned: a PowerPoint presentation illustrated the general topic in one lesson; in another, the group was taken to the computer room to engage in individual research. In the lessons visited, there was no clear evidence of differentiation and this is a matter that should be reviewed and strategies devised to ensure that the learning needs of all students are being catered for.
A variety of teaching strategies was employed in the lessons observed. The board was used well for illustration purposes and maps and diagrams were an effective visual aid, clarifying understanding. It is a syllabus objective that students should be able to “examine visual aids critically and constructively to extract information from them.” While many students responded well in this regard and were able to use subject-related language with ease during class interactions, a few tended to disengage and remain passive. Each student should be required to independently examine visual material, to correctly label and describe features and to evaluate and articulate a personal aesthetic response both orally and in writing. Worksheets to accompany illustrative material whether on handouts or on the board, may prove useful in this regard and ensure that all students are engaged. It is recommended that more use be made of active learning strategies. Group and pair work and collaborative projects could be encouraged. Exemplary practice was noted in one lesson where learning autonomy was promoted and students engaged with enthusiasm. Each student had access to a computer and a specific, achievable task was set for the lesson. Students were issued with a worksheet and worked independently. Some degree of collaboration was also possible. At the end of the lesson, students reported their findings in a whole-class activity. A high level of carefully structured student involvement was in evidence and a good balance was maintained between group, whole-class and individual activity.
There was an appropriate emphasis on the development of concepts in a lesson observed: students were encouraged to distinguish between myth and history and to offer evidence to illustrate their understanding and to corroborate their arguments. An emphasis was placed on the chronological sweep of history and links were made with modern history. For younger students, it would be useful to illustrate the historical continuum by mounting a timeline chart on the wall.
The use of humour enlivened classes in a few cases and illustrative analogies helped to clarify understanding. Questioning strategies were generally used well for review of material covered in earlier lessons and in order to encourage speculation and evaluation. There was, however, in some lessons an over-emphasis on global questioning and this encouraged either chorus answering or confident individuals who tended, in a few cases, to monopolise question-and-answer sessions. Questioning technique should be reviewed to ensure that a balance is maintained between global and individual questioning and that each student is given the opportunity to communicate during the course of the lesson. In whole-class activity, some students asked questions and these were treated with interest and as an opportunity for developing understanding. In interaction with the inspector, many students showed a good knowledge of the course and were confident in their answering. Seating arrangements were conventional in the classrooms visited. Consideration could be given to varying seating layouts to facilitate group work and active learning strategies and to allow for more teacher movement. Good practice was noted in one instance where the teacher moved around the classroom to monitor students’ work.
Classroom management was very effective and good standards of behaviour were expected in all lessons. Students were, for the most part, purposeful and interested in their work, particularly in those lessons where use was made of good resources and where the lessons were well planned with an emphasis on interaction. In one classroom visited, a stimulating environment was created for the teaching and learning of Classical Studies and this should become the standard for all classrooms where the subject is taught. Of particular importance is the display of students’ own work, for example projects, as this gives the learners ownership of and pride in their work. In general, students showed enthusiasm for the subject and there was a very good rapport between the students and teachers.
Assessment
Appropriate homework is set for all classes. In the best samples, homework tasks were regularly corrected and dated. Exemplary practice was noted in one group where substantial assignments were set and assiduously corrected, and where helpful positive feedback was given to students with an emphasis on assessment for learning. The standard of presentation was also high. Good practice was noted in a junior cycle class activity where students marked their worksheets and the self-evaluation process provided an opportunity for the teacher to offer immediate feedback and to provide clarification. In another example, oral question sessions were used to assess the effectiveness of learning.
Copybooks were generally well maintained and notes in some were a useful learning aid. While records of assessment are kept in some cases, the practice is not universal and this is matter that should be addressed. Since accurate record keeping facilitates the maintenance of student profiles, informs assessment and provides accurate information to students, parents and other concerned professionals, it is recommended that the practice of accurate record keeping be universal. There are formal in-house examinations at Christmas and summer and mock examinations are held for certificate exanimation classes. Class tests are also held. Communication is maintained with parents through formal written reports, parent-teacher meetings and the school journal.
Summary of main findings and recommendations
The following are the main strengths identified in the evaluation:
- The subject is taught by a widely experienced and committed team with a willingness to develop the subject further.
- There is a positive attitude to the subject in the school.
- The integration of ICT into the teaching and learning of the subject is highly commended.
- Lesson planning and the use of available resources were good.
- A good range of teaching strategies was used and classrooms were effectively managed.
- Good assessment practice and record keeping was noted in some instances.
As a means of building on these strengths and to address areas for development, the following key recommendations are made:
- Formal department structures should be initiated and collaborative planning for the subject should commence as a matter of urgency.
- Timetabling allocation and distribution should be reviewed to create optimum learning conditions for the subject.
- Active learning methodologies should be used and care should be taken to ensure that all students are on task and engaged during lessons.
- The practice of keeping accurate records should be universal.
- Management should strongly consider offering Classical Studies in Transition Year as a logical extension of its existing provision in the junior and senior cycles.
Post-evaluation meetings were held with the teachers of Classical Studies and with the principal at the conclusion of the evaluation when the draft findings and recommendations of the evaluation were presented and discussed.