Making Good Progress in KS2 English

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Making Good Progress in KS3 Science
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Focusing on progression

• Key questions
• In what ways do we track for progression across
  the subject?
• How is the information used to identify those
  pupils who are making slow progress?
• Which individual pupils and specific groups of
  pupils are currently identified through our
  tracking?
• What actions are we taking to support these
  pupils?

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School Pupil Progression Chart

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Discussion (1)

• Consider the national pupil progression charts
  for Key
• Stage 3 science and the schools own charts
• How do the schools charts compare to the
  national ones?
• Who are the pupils in your teaching groups who
  are potentially slow moving or falling
  behind?
• What are some of the reasons for these pupils
  making slow progress in science?

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Investigating progress in science at Key Stage 3
(1)

• The findings presented on subsequent slides arise
  from investigations focusing on slow movers in
  science, identified in terms of conversion from
  KS2 to KS3
• The factors affecting conversions from Level 3 to
  5, Level 4 to 5 and Level 5 to 7 were
  investigated
• A relatively small sample of 33 schools was chosen

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Investigating progress in science at Key Stage 3
(2)

• The investigations included
• Focused discussions with approximately 215 pupils
  in Year 8 and Year 9
• Discussions with headteachers/ senior leaders,
  subject leaders teachers
• The findings have been cross-checked with
  evidence obtained by Ofsted, the National
  Strategies and the Training and Development
  Agency (TDA) and appropriate actions agreed with
  these partners

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Pen portrait of the pupils struggling to progress
from Level 3 to Level 5

• were usually keen to talk about their work,
  although a small minority were very reserved and
  quiet
• were often very disorganised (typically they did
  not take books or writing equipment to their
  lessons, they didnt organise their homework,
  etc.)
• had very little memory of the work they had been
  doing in science apart from that covered in the
  last lesson
• were not aware of their difficulties so, for
  example, they didnt acknowledge any specific
  difficulties with science and had very optimistic
  expectations of the levels they might achieve in
  the national tests
• displayed short concentration spans in lessons
  and quickly lost the thread of what they were
  doing
• were often associated with low-level disruption
  in lessons (talking, walking about, etc.)
• liked practical work or activities such as
  quizzes

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Pen portrait of the pupils struggling to progress
from Level 4 to Level 5

• were often enthusiastic in class but could be
  lazy when it came to homework and, possibly as a
  result, written work was often incomplete
• lacked any self-help strategies, other than
  asking the teacher
• were conservative in their approach to learning
  and would not take risks
• liked working in groups, but typically this only
  happened in practical work
• saw few links between the work they did in
  English and mathematics with their science work
• lacked the skills of analysis and evaluation,
  preferring to concentrate on description
• had good speaking and listening skills but found
  reading difficult and were frustrated by their
  inability to commit their ideas to paper
• did not like copying from textbooks or the board

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Pen portrait of the pupils struggling to progress
from Level 5 to Level 7

• were articulate and could express their ideas
  clearly and precisely orally, although some
  displayed weaknesses in reading and writing
• were keen to contribute and particularly enjoyed
  being involved in discussion, either as a
  whole-class or in small groups
• were usually attentive in class but a number were
  of a sociable nature and very talkative
• were usually confident and secure in their
  ability but some were reticent and quiet in class
• were for the most part highly motivated and
  committed to their work but a significant
  minority were less positive, for example giving
  only cursory attention to homework and rarely
  devoting sufficient time to revision
• did not respond to extension tasks, either
  because they didnt feel confident in tackling
  harder questions or because their level of
  commitment to the work was limited

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Discussion (2)

• Do you have pupils in your teaching groups who
  fit these profiles?
• Which of the characteristics most closely match
  those of the pupils in your groups who are
  potentially slow moving or falling behind?

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Obstacles to progress for all slow moving pupils
starting at Levels 3, 4 5

• Do you have pupils who
• Experience a relatively small proportion of
  investigative work, particularly in Years 7 8?
• Do not like copying from textbooks or from the
  board?
• Would benefit from a clearer understanding of
  level-related learning outcomes?
• Have little time in their lessons to discuss
  their ideas and misconceptions?
• Rarely work in groups except in practical work?
• Have difficulty with the literacy demands of the
  subject?
• Struggle to work independently?

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Obstacles hindering progression from Level 3 to
Level 5 in science

• Typically pupils
• Enjoyed practical work but often this involved
  following instructions and they rarely chose
  their own methods or approaches
• Were put off by test questions which presented
  experimental methods and results, particularly
  when the contexts were unfamiliar
• Produced bar charts with insufficient attention
  to accuracy and presentation
• Showed limited longer term recall of previous
  work
• Struggled when dealing with abstract rather than
  concrete ideas
• Were able to demonstrate a greater level of
  understanding orally than in writing
• Had difficulty in making the transition from
  writing descriptions to writing explanations
• Had difficulty in interpreting command words such
  as explain, analyse and evaluate
• Rarely benefited from closely co-ordinated
  literacy support in English and science
• Found written feedback in their books difficult
  to respond to

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Obstacles hindering progression from Level 4 to
Level 5 in science

• Typically pupils
• Found practical work enjoyable although it often
  involved following detailed instructions
• Were not aware of any progression in the skills
  required in investigative work
• Struggled to remember and use the correct
  scientific terminology, especially that related
  to variables
• Found the application of scientific ideas and
  knowledge in unfamiliar contexts very challenging
• Were better at understanding a question when it
  was read out rather than when they had to read it
  themselves
• Rarely wrote more than a few linked sentences and
  when they did the writing was largely descriptive
  rather than explanatory
• Found the interpretation of graphical evidence
  problematic
• Spent a relatively high proportion of their time
  on undemanding worksheets

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Obstacles hindering progression from Level 5 to
Level 7 in science

• Typically pupils
• Enjoyed practical work but could not always say
  what they had learned from it
• Rarely produced extended pieces of writing in
  order to develop explanations, justifications or
  arguments
• Rarely had short-term curricular targets to focus
  their learning and marking rarely made reference
  to high value curricular targets
• Only found out at the end of a unit, often via an
  end of unit test, what aspects they needed to
  focus on
• Had targets which set relatively low expectations
  given their prior attainment at KS2

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Discussion (3)

• Which of the descriptions and obstacles to
  progress are most pertinent to the pupils you
  teach?

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What all slow moving pupils starting at Levels 3,
4 5 in science need

• A planned and progressive approach to the
  development of investigative skills across the
  whole key stage
• A varied approach to the transmission of
  information and use of resource material which
  reduces copying to a minimum
• Access to specific level related criteria linked
  to the work they are doing, with opportunities to
  use them as part of peer and self-assessment
• More opportunities to talk about their ideas and
  understanding, particularly in pairs or small
  groups, and especially before undertaking writing
  tasks
• A tight focus on the specific aspects of reading
  and writing which limit access and progress,
  including aspects such as the interpretation of
  command words in instructions (e.g. describe,
  explain, etc), as well as structured approaches
  to developing writing supported by talk for
  writing strategies
• Support in developing self-help strategies and
  encouragement to work with a greater degree of
  independence

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Actions to support progression from Level 3 to
Level 5 in science

• Pupils need
• Learning objectives and expected outcomes which
  have a skills focus
• More experience of making decisions about
  planning in accessible contexts
• Support to develop confidence in applying
  knowledge in unfamiliar contexts
• Support to improve their understanding of the
  purpose and application of graphical
  representation
• Lesson structures which more closely support the
  learning needs and provide a coherent view of the
  overall purpose of the work
• Consolidation of concrete ideas and simple
  terminology prior to considering more abstract
  ideas
• Experience of strategies such as role play to
  help to explain and illustrate abstract ideas
• A coherent approach to intervention, including
  specific links with other intervention
  programmes, particularly with English where
  obstacles to progress in science include aspects
  of reading and writing
• Short-term curricular targets

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Actions to support progression from Level 4 to
Level 5 in science

• Pupils need
• Clear learning objectives and outcomes,
  especially related to How Science Works in all
  lessons
• Opportunities for more investigative work with a
  clear purpose and outcome and the use of fewer
  instruction sheets
• A greater awareness and understanding of the
  steps in progression in investigative skills
• Greater practise at applying knowledge and
  understanding
• Support in reading scientific information and
  test questions for real understanding
• More opportunities to develop writing that
  requires explanation and justification rather
  than just description
• Support in interpreting graphical information
• Less time spent on completing undemanding
  worksheets

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Actions to support progression from Level 5 to
Level 7 in science

• Pupils need
• Clear learning outcomes, especially related to
  How Science Works, shared in all lessons so that
  pupils are clear about the purpose and success
  criteria of the lesson
• More opportunities to undertake extended writing
  in order to improve the development of arguments
  and evaluations drawing on strategies used in
  English (e.g. point, evidence, explanation)
• Clear guidance and explicit teaching of the
  skills needed to write an extended explanation at
  a high level, in increasingly complex and
  abstract contexts
• A curriculum and assessment system which promotes
  coherence and the links between units of work and
  supports the use of high value curricular targets
  related to aspects of knowledge and understanding
  which are regularly reinforced
• More opportunities to link ideas and evidence and
  discuss the ethical, social, political, moral and
  emotional influences on decision making in the
  development, use and application of science

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Discussion (4)

• Next steps
• What do you think are the key issues arising from
  this session for the department?
• What should be the departmental priorities to
  meet these pupils needs?