Consistent delivery in your subject
Hello Curriculum Thinkers,
How do specialists in your subject improve the consistency of teaching in their departments?
That’s what we’re looking at today.
Below we’ve shared a single lesson from a selection of talks, which touch on improving curriculum delivery, across a range of subjects.
Your fellow members discuss how they train, improve subject knowledge, co-plan, observe, give feedback, evaluate and more.
They also give a sneak peek at the resources they use to achieve greater consistency.
But first, huge thanks to everybody who’s helped answer the 26 subject-specific questions from last week.
It makes a massive difference when you help other out. 🙏
Oh, and have a great half term if you’re off next week.
If you’d prefer to read this post inside the community…
📈 Lessons on how to improve curriculum delivery in your subjects
🎨 Art.
Be clear on what you want your teachers to know and be able to do. Design and deliver a training programme to support them.
Julie Couzens, Head of Art at Oak Wood School designed this short programme for Art colleagues.
🛠️ Design & Technology.
Observe teaching, identify the highest leverage improvement step and coach teachers to get better.
Beverley Simmons, Lead Teacher of Food at Chiswick School uses instructional coaching techniques to identify highest leverage action steps to help improve teaching.
📚English.
Give teachers the subject knowledge they need to deliver a unit before they deliver it.
Dena Eden, Director of Secondary English at Inspiration Trust, provides teachers with a teacher guide for the unit they teach.
This “Julius Caesar Teacher” guide complements the core knowledge document and workbook they use. It is aimed at teachers who are a non-specialist in this area and for those who are specialists, there are extra suggestions to add to the teaching of hinterland in the unit.
🌍 Geography.
Use the evidence based recommendations (from the Ofsted Subject reviews) to create a review framework with a focus on teaching.
Marzan Ahmed, Assistant Headteacher at Forest Gate Community School, summarised the Ofsted recommendations reviews in the Geography Subject Review to create this…
🏰 History.
Give teachers the knowledge they need to teach a unit before teaching it.
Ed Durbin, History Lead at Yate Academy, shares key readings he’s gathered over several years of teaching empire with his team before they teach.
👋 Languages.
Be clear and train teachers on how students will be taught.
Jenny d'Arcy, Lead Practitioner at Harris Academy Greenwich, trains her team on techniques like choral repetition, language rehearsal, phonics and more.
📊 Maths.
Plan how you are going to teach, together.
Wayne Partridge, Head of Department at Henley Bank High, sets time aside to plan with his team using core questions in KS3.
⚖️ PSHE.
Write and practice scripts to help (non subject specialist) teachers overcome the common student objections and questions.
Eleanor Schranz, Achievement Director for PSHE at Harris Academy Battersea, considers them and gives non specialists a resource like this one.
🕌 RE.
Prep teachers by working with the texts you teach before teaching them
Katherine Hawthorne, Lead Professional (RS) at Q3 Academy Langley sets time aside with her team to discuss and annotate their text before they teach them.
🧬 Science.
Be clear and communicate what teaching approaches you will use as a team.
Chanel McPherson-George, Assistant Headteacher at Bedford Free School, articulated them in their Science Department Handbook when she was a Head of Science.
🧠 Social Science.
Teach teachers on how to teach specific student skills before teaching them.
Mark Schvetz is 2i/c Religious Studies & PSHE, and Psychology teacher at Dorothy Stringer School, he identifies the skills his students need to improve on (eg evaluation) and trains his team on how to teach them.
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