·       Has great intellectual curiosity and exceptional memory.

·       Learns easily and rapidly with a broad attention span when interested.

·       Is superior in the quantity and quality of vocabulary compared with their peers.

·       Has ability to do effective work independently.

·       Exhibits keen powers of observation.

·       Shown initiative and originality in intellectual work.

·       Has great interest in the nature of man and the universe (problems of origins and destiny, etc.)

·       Possesses unusual imagination.

·       Follows complex directions easily.

·       Is a rapid reader, having reading interests which cover a wide range of subjects.

Roscrea - 5th years and 8 students. Using exam papers more and marking schemes and streaming of students into higher band and lower bands. Issue of AEN and EAL brought up as well. They wanted the big questions as opposed to the small ones. IT also given little credence

Newport - Athena and 6 students. Group work very unpopular and IT also given little credence. Feedback not valued. They want extra work and suggested reading and to work independently and self-directed. Insights on Teams could be used to measure that. Marks they got and the family pressures identified as the most important motivating factor.

In creating their own written, visual and multimodal texts, students also explore the influence or impact of subjective language, feeling and opinion on the interpretation of text. Students also use and develop their creative thinking capability when they consider the innovations made by authors, imagine possibilities, plan, explore and create ideas for imaginative texts based on real or imagined events. Students explore the creative possibilities of the English language to represent novel ideas.

Working Independently is the preferred method of learning 56% 

Teacher sharing the learning and I learn it was the next highest 44% no other option chosen. 

50 % said grades were the main motivator /38% feedback from teachers. 6% - (1student ) chose parents and 6% chose option 4 explained to them as other. Response for other was SELF) 

94% get feedback from the teachers 50% said yes and 44% said sometimes 

100% said they feel a little bit challenged. 

Action taken

·      Survey given to focus groups re: how they learn and how they achieve

Feedback from students

·      Teachers need to push more able students

·      Drive attainment more by showing marking schemes

·      ICT- not seeing the value of this

·      Stream the classes into top, middle, lower tiers

·      Would appreciate more formative feedback

·      Would like to be challenged more

Actions to be discussed at next English dept meeting

·      Co-create success criteria/ marking scheme with students

·      Scaffold key words using effective questioning – Blooms taxonomy/awareness of Higher order questioning-moving to the top of Bloom’s taxonomy -going from effective to very effective to highly effective

·      The use of modelling/visualizing  the answer

·      Give the stronger students a choice/more work to push them/challenge them

·      Discuss scheme of work on a termly/annual basis in order to plot space learning – some work often needs to be revisited and learned 5 times before sinking in. Factor in assessments also and be more conscious of the scheduling.

·      Should students have a test copy with feedback ?

·      Critical literacy- Inquiry/Discussion/Look / Analyse

10^th December 2024

Items discussed:

·      Feedback from student survey given to department members

·      Feedback from CoP delivered to department members- strategies for improvement discussed

·      3 new strategies agreed on as a department to implement next term:

·      1. Peer observation

·      2. Higher order questioning

·      3. Mind map

1. Discussed data collected and possible areas of focus arising from same, 

Sucess Criteria, effective questioning etc. With 5^th yr English teachers. 

2. Area of focus decided on – Co Creating Sucess Criteria – focusing on introducing marking scheme  

3. When planning and scaffolding longer written pieces, familiarise students with Marking Schemes and develop (co create) Success Criteria with these in mind  

4. Aim is to develop awareness and more focussed answering in More Able students  

5. in addition: Support with additional resources on Teams - extended reading and interviews for example  

6. Make students aware of yearly plan so aid focus 

7. Suggested Action Plan 

• Target set with students - Athena 

• Teacher Observation - Perhaps teachers pair up Marie / Hannah – Laura / Emilee Ramona free P2 Fri can facilitate cover observing teacher during this time. 

• Pick 2 students to observe lessons – identify strategies they are looking for beforehand. - Provide checklist 

• Compare Feb March / results with Oct results. 

• 5^th years HL - Studied Text Assessment in Jan, then Comparative Text 1 

• Resurvey students. 

·       https://folens.ie/blogs/knowledge-hub-english/useful-articles-and-resources-for-junior-cycle-and-leaving-cert-english-teachers

·        

https://www.juliangirdham.com/resources-1

https://www.juliangirdham.com/online

♦ Teachers found it beneficial to hear “high achievers” voice on their learning and valuable to get their feedback.

♦ An online team for sharing resources between English teachers in different schools.

♦ COP English meetings could be set up for English teachers that you could dip in or as needed – depending on the topic.

♦ AI is making it more difficult for English teachers – Could there be CPD training on AI specifically for English teachers.

♦ Time was a significant challenge for this project due to busy life of school and weather conditions.

Students during focus groups stated that they were happy to be included and appreciated having their voices heard. The analysed data suggests the following for students in relation to success criteria, 

1. Enhancing Independent Learning: 

   - Both documents highlight that a significant proportion of students prefer working independently. Co-creating success criteria empowers students by allowing them to define what success looks like in their independent tasks, which aligns with their preferences and promotes ownership of their learning. 

2. Incorporating Feedback: 

   - The importance of teacher feedback is a recurring theme. By involving students in creating success criteria, teachers can clarify expectations and provide more focused and actionable feedback that resonates with the criteria students helped establish. 

3. Addressing Challenge Levels: 

   - The data indicates that students feel "a little bit challenged" but not enough to reach their full potential. Co-creating success criteria encourages students to set challenging yet achievable goals that push them beyond their comfort zones while maintaining a sense of control over their learning journey. 

4. Motivation and Engagement: 

   - Grades and self-motivation are primary motivators for students. When students are involved in defining their success criteria, they can create benchmarks that are personally meaningful, which can heighten motivation and investment in their work. 

Students were also surveyed at the end of intervention on their understanding of Sucess Criteria. Key points from this survey showed, 

1. Widespread Understanding: 

   - All respondents indicated that they understand the term "success criteria." 

2. Definitions Provided: 

   - Success criteria were commonly described as: 

     - A checklist or set of guidelines to ensure task completion. 

     - Specific goals or standards to achieve full marks or meet requirements. 

     - A way to measure what students should know or accomplish by the end of a task or lesson. 

3. Common Themes in Definitions: 

   - Focus on achieving standards (e.g., "full marks," "successful completion"). 

   - Emphasis on understanding requirements and goals for better task execution. 

   - Use of success criteria as a tool to align efforts and outcomes. 

• Rubric for effective success criteria to give to teachers 

• Support with additional resources on Teams - extended reading and interviews for example 

• Teacher /student observation (if time allows) 

• Scaffolding and model answers 

• Marie and Ramona  reflection diaries  

• Padlet created for project sharing 

• Marking scheme give to students. 

• Co Created Success criteria recorded in students copy and on board. 

Follow up meetings took place to discus progress. Teachers were supported in this by senior management who provided either cover or Croke Park hours for meetings. 

English department coordinator supported teachers by feeding back information from regional COP, chairing project meetings, facilitating discussion and reflection. 

Teaching and Learning coordinator supported teachers through organising meetings, recording minutes, sharing resources, collating resources, creating padlet and feeding back to Senior leadership team. 

https://padlet.com/ramonamorgan/nr-tipp-cop-english-motivating-high-achievers-bcc-mcvf4hjnqlov2aq1 

   - Both documents highlight that a significant proportion of students prefer working independently. Co-creating success criteria empowers students by allowing them to define what success looks like in their independent tasks, which aligns with their preferences and promotes ownership of their learning.

2. Incorporating Feedback:

   - The importance of teacher feedback is a recurring theme. By involving students in creating success criteria, teachers can clarify expectations and provide more focused and actionable feedback that resonates with the criteria students helped establish.

3. Addressing Challenge Levels:

   - The data indicates that students feel "a little bit challenged" but not enough to reach their full potential. Co-creating success criteria encourages students to set challenging yet achievable goals that push them beyond their comfort zones while maintaining a sense of control over their learning journey.

4. Motivation and Engagement:

   - Grades and self-motivation are primary motivators for students. When students are involved in defining their success criteria, they can create benchmarks that are personally meaningful, which can heighten motivation and investment in their work.

   - All respondents indicated that they understand the term "success criteria."

2. Definitions Provided:

   - Success criteria were commonly described as:

     - A checklist or set of guidelines to ensure task completion.

     - Specific goals or standards to achieve full marks or meet requirements.

     - A way to measure what students should know or accomplish by the end of a task or lesson.

3. Common Themes in Definitions:

   - Focus on achieving standards (e.g., "full marks," "successful completion").

   - Emphasis on understanding requirements and goals for better task execution.

   - Use of success criteria as a tool to align efforts and outcomes.

This data shows strong familiarity with the concept of success criteria among respondents, with an emphasis on its utility for clear goal-setting and task focus.