Building Communities Online ish

Relationships play a key part in what I do. As a professional and as a teacher. What I love is getting to know, and helping people. I recently presented at Canopy Live on building communities online. This is a session I trimmed down from a full day's training that Dr Lou Mycroft and myself offer colleges and schools ( happily discuss more about this with anyone interested, anytime). We talk about the practice of care in what we do and making people feel valued.

Forgive me for forgetting where I heard it, but the saying, you haven't arrived in the room until you have spoken. How do we create that culture of safety for students to feel that they have arrived and able to speak?

In the #JoyFE #IdeasRooms the opening round is always 'How are you?' This is a perfect way to arrive in the space, everyone feels valued, everyone is heard, no pity party is held but pain is acknowledged. And sometimes we need to say we are not OK and for that to be acknowledged for us to start to feel better. yet when teaching, this is a question I tread very carefully with. It is not that my students are worth less than my colleagues who I share this caring practice with. It is that I want my students to feel safe.

We know teenage years are incredibly awkward for many, we have lived them after all. If I were not OK when I was 16 and my maths teacher asked how I was, I am not sure what my answer would have been. possibly, 'yeah fine', and move on to the next person or maybe 'actually I'm unwell and I really need help because I have recently experienced X'. The first answer worries me as a teacher. I want my students to feel that they can talk to me about anything. I really do. How do I know when they are fobbing me off and saying they are fine when they are not? How do I unpick that as a teacher who sees them once a week? But it is the second answer that concerns me most.

A few weeks ago I was teaching online and I asked my students my own version of a question that welcomes them into a space. (Secret revealed shortly, hold on!) In the chat box came all the answers from my students and I commented on them as they came in. Then a student posted, "I've got the rona." 

When you ask "How are you?" You have to be prepared for the raw, honest and hurtful response that you may hear. You have asked how the other person is, and they are choosing to share. You can't preempt that response, therefore you cannot regulate your emotions to what is about to come your way. You are open and vulnerable to what is coming, you made your position clear when you asked "How are you?" Whilst vulnerability is brave and respected it is not a naturally comfortable position.

So what did I do with my ill student? I (rightly or wrongly) offered empathy, offered support and offered them a breakout room to chat more. Their reply was "nah, it's just having to isolate that does me in" 

What my student wanted was for how they are feeling to be acknowledged, they didn't need any help at that time. It is wonderful that I am aware and I can offer support for them in other classes and check on their health in a follow up message later. But they weren't annoyed at having Covid-19, they were annoyed at having to isolate. This then prompted a lengthy 15 minute chat between students about how isolation was causing havoc with their work and personal lives outside college. 

Honestly, as an adult, these were not the concerns that I was expecting. But this is what we do, we expect certain behaviours from students. Prensky (like or loathe the term digital native and immigrant) talks about how teachers need to communicate in the language of students. I struggle with a lot of what Prensky wrote in that piece but I think there is something in our expectations as teachers vs what students reactions. I am not talking about inappropriate behaviour nor refusing to engage with work. I am talking about how we, as adults, think along one path and students may think along another. How we expect students to respond to "How are you?" and how they choose to respond may be different.

So what do I do? I ask a random question that falls into my head. My previous top 10 hits have included asking "favourite sci-fi film?" "Pepsi or Cola?" "Best size of Easter egg?" "Favourite Christmas song?"

What am I trying to do? I am trying to welcome my students into the space by asking an extremely low stakes question. I can then engage with responses and hopefully build rapport. They have arrived in the space once they have spoken. This started off with good intentions and has been well received. So much so that with a returning student (a student who didn't achieve their target grade and is being compelled by law to resit again) said when introducing me to our new class together "You will like her, she asks all sorts of questions to get us going, she is funny like"

Coaching for motivation

I have been working with a colleague recently who was struggling to motivate students. They were looking to fix 'the problem'. We began unpicking 'the problem'. NB the students are not 'the problem'. The issues that my colleague experienced are the same that we all do from time to time; they don't listen. Work is of poor quality, students don't attend. These are all things that have happened to me in my FE classroom, face to face and online. My colleague said "it's different for you, your turn up"

My students have always turned up. I am that maths teacher that will go to their sports lesson sit on the sidelines waiting for them to catch my eye and then leave. No words exchanged but a knowing look and they will attend next week. I am that teacher that when I bump into you in the canteen I will challenge you for your attendance the previous week. I am that teacher that will ring home and ask if everything is OK if you don't attend as I may have a welfare concern. I care about your maths attendance.

I'm not saying my colleague doesn't care, of course they do, all teachers do. I genuinely believe that as it's not a profession you continue in lightly as it is so demanding. I asked my colleague what had they done about the poor attendance. They said they had emailed tutors, they had set extra online work for those who had missed out. I asked, if they weren't motivated to attend would they be motivated to do work online. My colleague suggested they might send praise cards home for those who do good work online. I think this is a brilliant idea but it won't fix 'the problem'.

'The problem' could be that the learners have a negative mindset. They are not engaged. Years ago, as a college, we removed the first 2 weeks of the scheme of work and looked at having a growth mindset. It led me to the work of Carol Dweck. Her TED talk on believing that you can improve is worth a watch here. The power in giving learners the believe that they can improve in maths is such a buzz. It is honestly why I do what I do. 

A lot of what we do in FE maths is to build and re build confidence with maths. Dalby and Noyes (2020) have evidence to support what my colleague is going through is sadly a wide experience "Teachers also find themselves trying to enforce attendance with students exhibiting emotional problems (e.g. anxiety) due to prior experiences of failure." FE maths students believe they have failed maths already. We have to undo that and teach them the power that they can improve. 

We set expectations of our students. In the face the face classroom this might be your mobile phone policy. Are they allowed or not? Online this might be cameras on or off? Your norms and your expectations determine the course your students take, if these are too high they may lose motivation. If they are too low students will vote with their feet or their mouse and not attend. Teachers have to find that sweet spot. In an observation I had with a group of games design students (who would rather be playing computer games, than learning maths, wouldn't we all?!) I was praised for my behaviour management. I was staggered, they barely did enough work for me in the session. There was lots of noise that I had to address. I said to the observer, all I did was teach and the lesson fell below my standards. 

It was then that I learned I had high standards. We don't we all have teacher discretion and it is that discretion that sets our expectations. It isn't easy for me because mine turn up like my colleague said to me. I have worked hard to get mine to turn up. I spend a lesson getting to know my students. I like to know why they are here and why they didn't achieve a grade 4 before. I love to hear how significant this grade 4 will be for a health care worker who wants to be a nurse and begin that journey together. That is the joy of FE maths. 

Years ago I covered a lesson for a colleague, it was a level 2 drama students maths class. We had a lovely lesson. A month later I asked my colleague I had covered for how Bushra got on in her race. My colleague looked blank, she didn't know. I had learned that Bushra races for Team GB in the indoor hurdles and had a funding race coming up. It was then that I learned part of my high standards are finding the motivation for my students and using this to guide them and together we form high expectations for their learning journey.

Sadly I was unable to fix 'the problem' for my colleague who originally asked for help with students lacking motivation. What we learned was that we have different expectations and different standards. Neither of us are right of wrong but 'the problem' can only be fixed when my colleague finds a balance between their expectations and the motivation of their students.

New term, new challenges

 How did we get to half term and me not write a blog about the start of the year?

There has been a shift in what I am seeing to gathering evidence as soon as possible. I am guilty of this too. That CAG TAG hell has forced change. Change can neither be good or bad when we are in it I feel, so time will tell as to whether this is long term the right approach. I seek no joy in setting initial assessments, local and college wide ones. Whilst I see the benefit of knowing what students know I also see the significant harm issuing initial assessments can do.

The argument, "students are used to assessments" rings partly true, there would be an expectation from them for us to initially diagnose. Likewise it is an opportunity for students to shine. For them to celebrate what they can do. This idea I like, the opportunity to shine. Yet it jars with me how we assume performance in an exam style scenario is success. Wrestling with the linear programme of GCSE maths study and an end of year summative exam is the defining grade for their efforts. So is it best that we get students ready for this process?

Also, if we are giving a diagnostic to learn what students can and can't do, will one diagnostic give us this information? Another point I am musing is...majority rule.

When planning lessons, can we honestly say, hand on heart that we are individually planning for every student, every lesson? I have observed some masters of this craft, and even then I saw groupings happening and majority ruling. If a class of 20 students have all done well on substituting algebra there could be some adjustment in the lesson to stretch them. But in the same class of 20, if 2 can do expanding brackets and 18 can't, do we have the space to send the 2 who can to another classroom or area to work on expanding double brackets whilst we concentrate on the skills the 18 need? Yet how often, do we set the diagnostic, do all the things with it, and then park it?

There is no blame attached, we are busy. When I am planning I will add a comment to my scheme of work at relevant weeks with top performers from diagnostics to remind me that they will need different work, potentially. Yet before the lesson I will always check for knowledge in the next week's topic, and often this isn't what the diagnostic told me. Factors affecting this are, what questions did I ask, how are they different to the diagnostic as well as the time lapse from the diagnostic to now. One time one student openly told me they wrote a random number down so they could go to lunch. We can't account for every situation.

Some teachers (not current nor recent colleagues) diagnose and then plough on through the scheme of work regardless. Again, there is no blame attached. And there is a performative expectation that the whole GCSE maths content be covered in one year. There are one year schemes of work that condense the two year programme for FE. Likewise there are local schemes that are full of topics, that work for our students.

Recently I reviewed a scheme of work for a college. A former colleagues asked me to give their new scheme a quick glance with their maths staff. We had a lovely meeting, all sharing how a personalised curriculum is best for students, how students do better when we adapt. How hefty the scheme is and it is daunting so if we can trim it down it will really help students. We had a lovely discussion. I then opened the scheme and it was full, every lesson, with a lesson slide deck to teach from.

I am sure that siren in my head was loud enough for the world to hear. If we are going to personalise the curriculum, we need to leave space for that to happen. Absolutely theme the week, assign a topic and maybe plan some activities that might work. But we can't verbatim plan the slide deck that we teach from, can we?

When I chatted to the maths team they were very open and said we still have a curriculum to cover. And that's it we still have a LOT to cover. Personalising the approach is wonderful, but that one year you don't teach vectors and the question comes up (this has happened to me and still hurts) means students have a right to be upset that they weren't thoroughly prepared for the exam.

And that is what it comes back to, we have a linear, rigid summative exam that is paper based. All the things we do in the classroom have to lead to that point. But I am not sure that day 1 paper based diagnostic assessments are the way we should start that preparation. If everything we know about teaching comes back to relationships, how do we build those whilst forcing students to sit a diagnostic early doors?

Move over SPaG, MATH is on the scene

I am writing this following our event Opportunities for FE English and maths #FEconnect cutt.ly/FEmathsEng. We opened the day with a discussion between Jonny Kay (https://twitter.com/jonnykayteacher) and myself guided by Lou Mycroft (https://twitter.com/LouMycroft). During the discussion I suggested a whole college marking policy for maths. Most likely colleges have one for SPaG but possibly not maths. Why not?

We spend a lot of time in FE, and we used to in schools when I was in them, trying to put English and maths front and centre. Jonny and I argued that co teaching and collaboration should happen across disciplines in colleges. If Pythagoras is being taught in the vocational area, maths staff need to share how they would teach it and a consistent approach to be taken across the college. We carefully craft policies for every eventuality and we may even have a maths marking policy and code, but what do we do in our day to day tasks to support the development of maths?

I remember maths stairs being a necessity, an equation revealed or a fact to be recalled as you ascend. Yet when the same students answers maths problems in hair and beauty there was no consistent maths marking to help build connections to the maths qualification they were studying. SPaG policies and marking codes are almost a given, common currency transferable between institutions. If you arrive at a new school or college you can guess 'SP' probably means spelling mistake in work maybe even '//' is new paragraph. This currency of whole college and school marking has become the norm for English. Some have moved away and things will always shift though.

In researching this blog post I lost hours on an image search of whole school marking policy. Lots of // and SP and P. All familiar to me. One post I read said that the marking policy must be printed in size A1 in the classroom so that all teachers adhere to it! I remember in my NQT re-marking a set of books that I had marked in the wrong shade of green and I was terrified my mentor would tell me off. They didn't; but they did point out that my students were using the wrong coloured pens for reflections. I'm not proposing maths teachers head down this route, but a more unified marking code may help bring maths out in other areas more to be celebrated.

The EEF found that there was little difference of impact of teacher using coded Vs non-coded marking, as long as students knew what the codes meant. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/evidence-reviews/written-marking/. They suggested that time can be saved for teacher in using coded marking. Maybe this is why SPaG took off, everyone has or had one, each with a nuance for their institution.

What I can't let go of though is a maths code. I know in primary I have seen some use of maths marking codes in my local area. I haven't seen it in secondary (granted not visited very secondary school around and would love to be shown successful examples). In colleges I haven't seen it either. Again if you are successfully using a maths marking code please share your experiences, I am keen to learn.

I often say we are the double glazing sales people of education as maths teachers. Everyone needs windows but they are reluctant to pay (put the effort in) for them. I know this is a generalisation, though, but I hope that you get my meaning. We are on the back foot from the beginning. We talk a lot about embedding maths in other subjects. Julia Smith (https://twitter.com/tessmaths) (on our podcast e-m-booth.site) suggests that my embedding maths we are pushing it down and squeezing it in. Julia suggests we should be enhancing out maths in other subjects. I think she is on to something.

In vocational subjects that tokenistic embedding of maths can happen. 

"When we look at graphs of data maths will be embedded in this unit of work."

Great, graphs, perfect! What I always say is, ask that next question. What does the data tell you? What would happen if the outliers were removed from the sample? What percentage of success can you assume from this data? Whenever I talk about embedding (or enhancing) maths I want staff to ask that extra question. Conversely, those not taking a tokenistic approach maybe actually teaching units that involve serious calculations. Think about the calculations needed in electrical engineering or motor vehicle or catering. These calculations will be being taught in colleges, but then we may encounter another conflict. The methods chosen might not be the methods used by the maths department. Who has checked for consistency of message? Who is looking out for the interests of the students here? Imagine being taught ratio one way by your vocational tutor (I have 4 ratio methods that my students regularly come to class with from school!) and the next day being taught it another way by your maths tutor? This could easily happen. Consistency is key.

Move over SPaG MATH is on the scene.

M - clear method used

A - accuracy in the stages of calculation

T - task met

H - Work is set out in a clear, legible manner.

Anytime there is maths being used in work, this code can be applied. In vocational subjects that have maths, in study skills sessions that cover maths, in maths lessons. There can be a consistent message. Adding in here for progression from functional skills to GCSE, consistent message is also key to supporting students in feeling settled. This MATH message suggested is also consistent to GCSE and functional skills marking codes as well.

GCSE and functional skills maths have coded marking too. M for method is common currency as is A for accuracy. The setting out of work is key skill we, as maths teachers, push. The examiner wants to award marks (trust me I examine for an awarding body) but only if they can follow the working out. High standards of the setting out of work is not only a great study skill; it is important when submitting work to be marked externally, which probably isn't just happening in students' maths subject but in their vocational subject also.

The time saved by teachers in marking using a code, as the EEF (ref above) found, is worth considering. Time saving, wherever found, should be explored. The MATH marking code, as I suggest, may save time and deliver a more consistent student experience. I would also include the movement to a coded policy could enhance the student experience further as it moves away from tick and flick. 

A tick at the end of the work doesn't tell a student what was good. Likewise a X at the end doesn't explain what or where they went wrong. I would love feedback to be given to inform students on every piece of work but we have to be mindful of teacher workload. I'm not going to stray into the difficulties in students receiving quality feedback, that might be another blog. A coded policy may be a handy bridge between tick and flick to full feedback, whilst also bringing focus on maths across all subject areas too.

In this example, the method and answer are correct but the setting out of work is wrong. There is no 24 x 37 = 888 but task met has been awarded as we can imply that is what was meant by the student. The method chosen hasn't been accurately applied, the 24 should have been where 88 is and 888 should arrive on the left hand side. I have indicated where the high standards also applies with the formation of 2 in 28. This may seem harsh to non maths specialists but these are the margins that can cause grades to change. Exam papers are scanned into a computer system to be externally marked for GCSE. Clarity is a key skill required. Opinions on this are all valid but these are the facts and the job of the maths teacher is to prepare students for their final exam, as it stands.

This is a paint mixing example from motor vehicle. Here the method is sound but there are errors in following through with numbers so A is not awarded. It is nearly set out and so H is awarded but the task hasn't been met as the final answer is incorrect and T isn't given. I can vision student reflecting on this and seeing that they have made mistakes within their working out using this code and seeking further guidance, or a teacher initiated discussion around the errors. The code is not the end of the journey but hopefully a consistent and speedy way to promote maths and high standards across colleges.

In this example the method is sound, there is accuracy throughout until the final stage which has meant the final answer is incorrect. H wasn't awarded as there is a mis-alignment of the expanded bracket and the =44. 

I think M sits well, is there a sound method being used? A, is the student accurate in their application of the chosen method? T, have they answered the question that the teacher set them correctly? H, does the work read easily?

I have tried, unsuccessfully at a college previously, to embed this marking code. The college had a whole college numeracy marking code and didn't want to change. That code wasn't used by staff, it wasn't reviewed, it wasn't on A1 printouts on the walls (maybe that's where it fell down?) And it was a full page long. It had numeracy, processing, shape all included. For example, of drawing shapes must be done with a ruler. That awarded the [] mark on the code. 0 indicated correct order of digits. You get the idea. It was lengthy and not shared regularly, most importantly it wasn't led from the front. Was it a policy to grab if OfSTED asked if they had one maybe?

What I'm suggesting here is a brief whole college marking code. Wherever calculations are used they are marked the same way. Consistency of message aligned to GCSE and functional skills maths marking codes. But it must be led, it can't be assumed others will follow it, maths needs pushing to the top of the agenda! If college resit results are to improve, something has to change. If you have a SPaG marking code do you have a maths one too? I would love to know more, is it commonly used, is it equally used as much as SPaG?

And if you don't maybe you might consider applying my MATH example?

Context whole links included to be more accessible rather than hyperlinked behind a word of text. I am a consultant to colleges on their teaching and learning, EdTech and embedding of maths; whilst still teaching GCSE maths in an FE college.

Student Feedback Worth it?

 This post is inspired by a thread from Twitter here started by Jude Mortimer (She is well worth the follow too :)

We were discussing the pros and cons and time saving tips on giving FE maths students, particularly adults, written feedback and target setting. Let me tackle target setting first off. I set my students targets at the start of the year. This is personal to them. I know it should be grade or qualification related, and sometimes it is. But sometimes it is to develop my English understanding of maths to support my son in high school. Once it has been, to be able to help my foster kids with their maths when they start high school. Most often it is, to get a grade 4 so I can apply to be a nurse/teacher/lawyer/paramedic/and so so many more careers that require it. My students are engaged with their target, we refer back to them regularly. I write them in all our student documentation on our systems. Minimum target grades are always entered and one grade above prior qualifications or an agreed minimum grade between me and the student if no prior qualifications are held. I will often refer to student targets in their one to ones with me. Rightly or wrongly I still do one to ones at least once a term. I set revision work for my students in my classroom and call them all one to one to a separate room and chat about their progress. I find it really useful to have quality time together and away from others to avoid awkwardness. I am by no means prefect in my lesson style but I am sharing truthfully what I do.

Work scrutiny was the next part of the thread. My department has booklets we have made and these are to be ready to be called upon when needed for work scrutiny as well as 3 times a year in formal work scrutiny periods. My student's work is never readily available. Not sorry. Why do I want to keep their work? Why does it need to be kept in a drawer in the office? Radically I let my students take their work booklets home. I let them reflect on their notes and revise from them all the time. I actively encourage them to do it! I call the booklets in ahead of work scrutiny week but I won't see them in between times. And that's OK. My feedback is given in another format as well. These booklets are covered in student marked work and my verbal feedback that they capture or highlighted notes to remind them to refer back to a specific example they copied form my modelled board work.

This has led to department discussions. I am a huge fan of everyone in the department try to do the same things at the same time for consistency so it doesn't sit well with me that I do something different. But I genuinely don't get why I need to keep their booklets? They make notes in them, they write in them, they reflect on them, they belong to them not me. It is their learning journey.

The thread then asked for tips on what should go into department booklets. I have to admit I don't think we have ever nailed this, in all the incarnations. But I do insist on QR codes being added to each page. The QR code links to a video from YouTube related to the topic. Giving students support that when they are revising from their booklet they can see some modelled work to help them address some misconceptions. Or if they are absent they can see an overview and seek out more work. One of my biggest challenges is getting the titles we call topics over to students. I am often asked, what do you call this question? I want to do more of them. So in the booklets is an exam question on the topic and the title. Like forming expressions for isosceles algebra questions or ratio for the 10p 5p question, if you know you know!

So then I was asked how do I give feedback, and how much written feedback to my students? I have found a process that works for me, it may not work for you and I am not saying it is brilliant. It is actually pretty basic but, like I say it works for me. In our college we need to have summative assessment that is defined in the lesson. We also need to give students next steps. I don't have an issue with this and have included it in my feedback template. So here it is:

I have used this with 16-19 and adults alike and it has iterated over the years and this is it's current version. Well it has been like this for 2 years now! 

Checkpoints - from sharing the learning intentions all the way through my lesson I ask students to reflect as to where they are on the progress line. The aim is to visually see progress over the lesson and them celebrate that. If they don't make progress, which happens!, it can also promote messages form students as to what has gone on. At each episode in the lesson I do a mini assessment, usually an exam question, and then I ask them to reflect on their progress line.

Assessment - the defined assessment in the lesson will be flagged as such by me. Here I ask them how did it go? This can be a score from the student of their opinion on how the assessment went.

Follow up - this is where I respond and provide next steps. These and my retrieval grids are on the tables at the start of the lesson. I collect them in at the end, read and respond to them, scan them in so I have a record and return them to students the following lesson. 

Text messages - Here students chat with me. They capture my verbal feedback. We discuss private issues that they don't want to share in class time. We identify barriers to learning that they may be experiencing. Or simply students ask questions they are too scared to ask in class. I have read it all in these messages! The foster mum alerting me to a new child on placement and her being unable to do any homework the coming week. Through to the 16 year old starting a new job and needing to move back in with his dad and wanting to chat about how that was making him feel. I find that this space gives my students space to share their voice.

Here are some examples:

You can see my green pen scribbles replying and responding, and in these examples there aren't many next steps other than referring to let me know how you get on after attempting the homework. I love to see the progress marks growing as the lesson goes on. I love to hear my students voices, those conversations we struggle to have in large classes, so it is great we can do this privately too.

Obviously this is all in the face to face classroom. When online teaching my students have made use of the private chat in Google Chat and we still have these conversations. I ask them to enter their progress in a Google Form during the lesson. The same form over and over again. It is 1 question, rate where you are against the learning intentions. The beauty of Google Forms is that the responses are time stamped so I can see the journey in the Google Sheet after the lesson.

Like I said this isn't perfect but this is what works for me, if it has sparked an idea for you to use, please let me know!

Welcoming Spaces

As I venture into my new world of self employed freelancer I am finding myself seeking ways into new spaces. Yet that pesky impostor syndrome is always there, asking me to double check and wipe my feet before I go in to a new room. Am I welcome? Such an important question whether impostor syndrome strikes or not! What am I here to say? What am I here to learn? If I can answer these questions whether the imposer strikes or not I am steadier on my feet. 

I am a schools based teacher who moved into FE. This means I can relate to high school teachers and FE teachers about our work. The work is essentially the same. Education. The buildings are different but the core aim is the same. When I moved to FE I was sneered at by my schools colleagues. They felt I was making a mistake. They knew, as did I, that my pay would be dwarfed in FE and I would incrementally earn more if I stayed in schools. But I was saddled with numerous student loans and in NQT+2,  FE were going to pay me more so I jumped, with every intention of returning and re joining the school spine in the future.

The trouble was the longer I spent in FE the more I loved it. The wide variety of subjects. The wide range of abilities. The awesome settings. The subject experts and interesting people wherever you go. FE is the most welcoming place in education. No matter where you live, what your qualifications are or where you have been before you are welcome. Be it a 16 year old needing to resit and joining on a level 1 with maths and English GCSE's or if you are a 74 year old adult who wants to meet new friends and study IT. All are welcome. 

So I never left FE, well until now. I haven't actually left though, I still do my maths teaching in FE. I can't not teach, it is what I do. Whether it is coaching, mentoring, influencing that I do in my day to day freelance work, I now I will always crave that maths classroom. So I still teach. I am proud of that, I love having those light bulb moments with students when I teach a new topic and it finally clicks. That is probably the main reason I never returned to schools. The fact that my maths students are re sitters and I help them unlock that maths ability. That it the magic of the job.

Now I am a freelancer, a consultant, a speaker, a whatever you need me to be. I am entering more and more spaces. Different colleges invite me in to share my latest work or my latest ideas on edtech or how to embed maths in curriculum areas. I do it all. Yet not all audiences are welcoming. Essentially often I am the CPD speaker. I am doing CPD to staff. Rarely have they chosen to be there. Rarely have they asked to work with me. Rarely do they want to be there. I don't take this personally but I recognise that CPD is a personal choice and many organisations still force it upon staff rather than involve them in the decision.

A recent college didn't want me there, the audience made that known mid session. They also made it known in the feedback afterwards. But I asked my self. What am I here to say and what am I here to learn? I was there to say how to create active engaging activities online and I was there to learn what challenges teachers face. I learnt the frustrations of the staff were the same as I had experienced and witnessed colleagues experience. I learnt that through my own experience of this and the ideas I was here to share, that things could get better for these staff. But they didn't want me there and didn't listen. Yet I left confident in that I had said what I wanted to and I believed in my approaches. There were no hard feelings. 

Yet the unwelcoming nature of the space remains. The staff were having CPD done to them. There was no choice. The college had failed to seek the participants thoughts on what they wanted to learn about, the college had decided what was best. It is the same as when I enrol my children in an after school activity. If I choose the club or lesson it isn't welcome but if they choose a new sport to learn they are excited. But then organisations face spiralling costs and adding more options for CPD means more costs. I would argue though that with so much CPD now online surely some traditional face to face costs, of large conferences for example, are no longer in the expenditure budget so could be reassigned?

The impostor though did strike me recently when I was considering contributing to a HE event. That snobbery my school colleagues had expressed towards FE was multiplied and magnified by this HE event. Their approach did not welcome me in. They mase me feel like an intruder. I had bravely stuck my toe in the door and knew what I was there to learn. However I was not sure of what I was saying and how it would be received. I retreated and forgot about the HE event. I blinked it away and removed it from my memories. Then the deadline came around and I was reminded of the event again. 

I was fortunate to be part of a nationwide community of practice of fellow advanced practitioners via AP Connect. I took my idea to a #FestivalFriday #IdeasRoom. If you have yet to experience an ideas room, please do come along to a #JoyFE one on a Wednesday evening 8pm GMT, all are welcome (DM for link). In an ideas room, everyone takes turns and shares the space. Each idea is developed for those who bring one, and for those who don't bring on of their own they actively listen and their contributions help form the shared idea. It is magical. 

One Friday I shared my idea about my contribution to the HE event. We went in a round and the other participants shared their freshest thinking. Quickly it was identified through discussion that the impostor was holding me to ransom. Then one participant said something that gave me my own light bulb moment. 

"There would be no HE without FE"

In hearing this the impostor quietly silenced. I knew what I wanted to say and I submitted my idea to the HE event. The next stage of the process couldn't have been more welcoming, there was no sneering in the next stage of the HE event planning team. It has become a beautiful space to be part of. I am proud to say I come from FE and this is what I want to contribute. That pride is cemented in me by the strength my community of practice, be it #APConnect or #JoyFE give me. Education is a welcoming space as a whole, the end goal is always the same.

What I have learnt now is those same rules my parents gave me when making friends as a child still apply. Try to be nice, if they are mean, be twice as nice, if they are still mean walk away. 

If a space doesn't feel welcoming, try to amplify the positive affirmative action or message you came to share. If it still isn't welcoming it is OK to walk away it may be an off day for them, it probably isn't personal to you. And that impostor can go back in their box.

asynchronous for all

As I've been blogging my journey in teaching online has led me to asynchronous teaching. Asynchronous teaching allows learners to learn at their own pace. I construct the routes but they choose the path. Choice is key here for me. My learners are used to the choice and they are invested, they know their own journey through every lesson. They have the comfort of knowing that they have a backup plan to scaffold for them too.

But why did we end up at asynchronous? My class are adults. The traditional barriers for adults returning to education are listed here by the DfE in 2018. There are 3 key ones that I want to focus in on; childcare, work commitments/costs and fear. The beauty of FE is that it is the most welcoming of all education establishments. My adults have already taken a significant step in enrolling on my course. They want to be here. In the traditional battle of hearts and minds of a maths teacher, this is a huge advantage.  Although they have enrolled in our class there are still logistics involved. To attend every week they need to be away from work in good time. There can be no staying late for meetings at work on this evening. They need to give their kids tea early so they can be back out of the door in good time to get to the community centre for class. All not impossible tasks but require skillful juggling by my learners. Juggling that I recognise and appreciate.

I have high standards. Some often tell me too high but I like where my standards lie. Yet I am always supportive. My learners last year, pre covid, would let me know if they couldn't make class. Often accompanied with completed work or work arrived after the lesson. There was a mutual respect, I treated them as my equals which meant I respected the endeavours they had in arriving at class and respected when they failed in those endeavours but informed me that they were to be absent. Add in covid and we needed to re evaluate. Those who are still attending work are now in a more reactive space and late meetings have to be accommodated. Although children are at home they still need supervising for learners to attend the Centre for class, but who can be that adult in relation to bubbles and isolation? 

My adult learners and I agreed that rather than a cyclical attendance of bubbles we would all convene, together, every week online. It was from here we moved to asynchronous, but not immediately. This it the third barrier to education I mentioned, the fear.

My adults are all nervous. Everyone unsure of their own abilities in maths. This gcse that has eluded them for so long is now staring at them, taunting them, telling them it is out of reach. My job is to squash that noise and help my learners believe. I need to show them that maths happens in everyday life and we can apply those skills to this qualification. In the face to face classroom cold calling is a challenge. Last year Ruth left my class in week 2 when I dared to ask her a question. By week 18 she was modelling at the board. Let's now imagine that fear online. Compounded by their fear of their own digital skills. They are witnessing their children navigate platforms with ease that after many years are still alien to them. Cold calling is like a seance, knock 3 times if you know the answer. The fear is real for all my learners. Knowing this, I started with relationship building first i showed them how much I cared and we formed those bonds required for them to trust me to address that fear.

Meet Steve. Steve is early 20s and is working in a supermarket. He has been told that the supermarket would welcome him onto a degree apprenticeship once he achieves gcse maths. Steve enrols on my course. This isn't Steve's first course at our college. Steve has studied here for over 6 years. Every year attempting to achieve gcse maths. When I receive my registers there is a large highlighted mark next to his name and an accompanying 10 page document. This document includes all his prior learning support plans. Steve is diagnosed with 3 learning difficulties. He requires a teaching assistant (TA) one to one. He has 50% additional time allowed for exams. Steve is going to need me to carefully plan his learning.

When we began face to face, Steve was the only one to object to moving online, as he, quite rightly, wanted to know how it would work with his TA. I promised him I would have a think. Think I did and I reached out to the TA dept. Sadly there were no TAs available for my evening class. We can debate the morality of this later. Essentially our college only secured TAs 9-5 and 5-9pm on 2 evenings a week. My lesson day was not one of those 2 evenings. I therefore knew Steve's TA support would be out of class unless I changed my approach.

Evaluating the 3 factors that are known to prevent adults from returning to education I decided to give asynchronous study a trial. The lessons are shared on a Friday, work is due by Thursday and on a Thursday there is a shorter session where we workshop exam questions on the weeks topic. In switching to this my keyworker students no longer had added anxiety for attending extra meetings. Parents no longer had to rush food down with their kids in order to leave the house on time. No one was dealing with unnecessary risks by mixing bubbles for childcare to attend class, and Steve could do his lesson with his TA in a 9-5 slot.

The work that I set all my learners involved a video of me talking over my slides, as per the way it old have done it face to face. Then they would do a task, ideally self marking and easy to re attempt. This allows my learners to get instant satisfaction from being correct, be it their first of 10th attempt. They didn't need to wait for me to come round and mark in the face to face classroom so why do they online? I always hand out answers with tasks when face to face. Learners tick and flick their own work, I give them feedback. This is the same online, they submit their marked work and I give detailed, personalised feedback with next steps.

Steve declined TA support. He wanted to give it a go just me and him. We had a long chat and he said he works better with his mum at home and if I was OK with it he wanted to give it a go with his mum helping him. We agreed weekly we would have a 10 minute checkin 1 to 1 before the workshop to address misconceptions. I was anxious,  I had never taught to this degree online before. I was the only maths teacher teaching asynchronously and I had to document that Steve had declined TA support which meant he would struggle to get any later if we needed it. But fortune favours the ....

Week 1 Steve took 18 attempts on the homework but achieved 100%. His asynchronous classwork was also all correct, I couldn't track number of attempts though. In our discussion he asked me probing follow ups to some of the questions. This told me he had participated in the work and was trying to progress. Week 2 was a similar story but there was an exchange of messages mid way through the week where Steve was adamant he was right but the website was telling him he was wrong. I videoed myself answering the same question and sent it to him. He had been wrong and could now see where he went wrong. Steve, using my video for a prompt reattempt the work and submitted it all correct.

Week 3 Steve came with a long list of questions to his 1 to 1. All of which were reasonable given the topic and were what I had planned for the live workshop session. So we had a chat about how Steve was finding the course instead and saved his questions for the workshop. Week 4 and 5 Steve came with common misconception questions again to the 1 to 1. We glossed over them and I said we would do them in more detail in the workshop. Steve was happy and we talked about how his shift pattern had changed and it was a good job we didn't have set times for classes. In the live workshop in week 5 Steve unmuted after an example and said. I think I get this now, can I go? Of course he could, the workshops were only ever a mop up, the asynchronous work is what mattered. 

Week 6 Steve cancelled his 1 to 1 but came to the workshop. He also helped a fellow student out by explaining he originally made the same mistake but realised what he had done wrong. I struggled to stop the Cheshire cat grin from appearing on my face at my pride at his depth of knowledge of the topic. That joy of learning is infectious and is the main reason I say in the job. Seeing Steve develop and grow gave me the biggest buzz. Proud doesn't come close. He told me his enjoyed learning and helping others.

Sadly I had to leave the group at Feb half term. In my final workshop Steve came along. It was great to see him as he didn't always feel the need to attend workshops anymore as he was doing so well! He didn't have any misconceptions that needed looking at, he was flying. Dont get me wrong there were multiple messages exchanged between Steve and myself weekly about work and workload. Mainly Steve's questions were for conversation and confidence, not errors that he needed addressing. He was doing very well. When he came to my final session and unmuted to answer a question after a modelled example. I was beaming again. He unmuted a second time to help a peer out who lost her trail of thought when explaining her workings out. He stayed on at the end of the call.

'I just wanted to say thank you, no one has ever found a way to help me learn and you did, I can do it. In a class I get lost I don't know whats going on, but here, the way you lay it out, I can and I know it's working'

The pandemic has robbed us of many things but also opened new avenues. I have done more CPD than would ever have been possible since lockdown 1. If I had met Steve in class fave to face we would have got him a TA in class and we would have continued as per his previous experiences. Despite my confidence in my teaching abilities in terms of helping him, I know he wouldn't have achieved the level of independent learning he has this year. Let's look at what he said, 'xthe way you lay it out', the videos, the modelling, the short self assessing tasks. The immediacy of the feedback of these tasks worked for Steve. He also said 'in class I get lost' we all know that feeling, as a learner, in a class where we have lost what's going on in a lesson. We have had a lapse where we lost what was going on and we now can't keep up. For Steve this was every lesson. Easing the pressure of learning asynchronously helped him. It removed the fear.

So when we look at synchronous and asynchronous models do we look at them in terms of inclusion models? 

Reflecting Forward

I write this as we have just finished our Reflecting Forward session on GEG UK. You can watch the recording here. I was in conversation with Daren, Shannon and Ian, who are all worth a follow if you are on Twitter. We discussed the importance and reflecting on our practise as educators. A few things came out that I wanted to share now.

Reflective practise is nothing new. When I did my teacher training I was encouraged to write my lesson reflections after the session on a proforma, this formed my evidence of meeting the required standards. I loved it. I loved celebrating the wins and I sadly, really loved trying to put a positive spin on the fails in my classroom. Those reflections helped me develop at a rapid pace as was required on my PGCE. I was fortunate to be on placement with a peer so we reflected together. Coincidently my peer lived local to me and we were able to car share to placement. Those car journeys became invaluable. Whilst teaching in the same department in a school of only 800 students we still struggled to see each other during the day. Different breaks and lunch duties, combined with we were very much used as supply cover, meant our paths rarely crossed. We would debrief with each other in the car on the way home and share our many failures of the day. We then learnt that there was a staff funded breakfast club (I'm not going to address the poverty divide of this time 10 years ago that has shifted very little in that time today, but I want to make the point, this was 10 years ago!) for the students so we started getting into work earlier to help feed the students. We were then mixing with colleagues from other departments and those reflective conversations with them shaped our days too. I remember a drama teacher sharing an ice breaker game that had gone well in her lesson. I immediately tried it with bottom set year 8 and we had a more productive lesson than the day before. I remember the languages teacher talking about call and response but asking students to pick the next respondent. I tried it with year 7 who were so excited to be active vs what I had done previously. Through those connections in breakfast club my practise changed, and many of those changes remain in my practise today.

Yet if you asked me at the time how I reflected, it was on the proforma from university with document ref TP4. I valued these connections and discussions but I didn't see them as my reflections, that was an isolating process done late at night before my assessor arrived. But which held more power and influence in my practise? Well both, the informal conversations informed my decisions and my reflections on the proforma. They were intertwined. In our GEG UK event we all concluded that these informal connections are important when reflecting. So how do I do this now I am more experienced?

When we were face to face we had a tiny cupboard office for all of us to drop bags off, eat lunch and plan sessions. It was a grim space visually. Planning happened in my classroom at the end of the day and I rarely went to the cupboard. But when I did it was to reflect. Mainly moan but actually reflect. 'I've just had group A and you will never guess what happened' someone would respond with 'I had them yesterday and they were the same' in that supportive comment I could immediately reflect and think the issues of my lesson were perhaps outside factors at play with the group. I would then individually reflect when I returned to my room and think, what can I do about it next time, how can I engage group A so that these external issues don't affect my lesson, how can I engage them more?

I was always a fan of scribbling over my lesson plans. The printed template of the school I was in would be beautifully planned, sequenced on a lovely piece of crisp paper in my plastic wallet on my desk throughout the lesson. Then after the lesson I would take it out of the wallet, and using a different coloured pen I would scribble and destroy it, proudly! I would scribble on each episode the initials of students who did or didn't engage well. I would annotate episodes we needed to go back over next lesson as it wasn't secure. I would star episodes that went well to remind me to praise them next lesson. It would be covered in annotations, arrows, stars, and big text to remind me of important things. That was my reflection and me learning from the experience of the lesson, planning what adjustments I was going to make for next lesson.

When lesson plans were no longer a mandatory requirement, when evidence of planning came in, I stopped using paper templates. As much as I enjoyed planning and reflecting, when time's tight anything that becomes optional is removed from my task list. We moved to mini schemes of work, the old units of work for a series of lessons with the main highlights being the planned episodes. These were printed out and popped in my plastic wallet on my desk and dutifully scribbled over after the lesson. Old habits die hard. When I became multi site these stopped being printed. But I still scribbled all over them, but this time via adding comments to the doc online. Selecting the episode and inserting a comment, after the lesson, with initials for those who needed a bit more on this and how I was planning to address it next lesson. Happily even my online units of work docs were hideously scribbled all over and rightly looked a mess with all my annotations.

I became multi site when I moved into an advanced, whatever work you use in your instution type role. Essentially a coaching and mentoring role for staff. I mention role and rank for the purposes of highlighting that I still choose to teach. I need to experience the ever changing spheres of the classroom, reflect and adapt in order to best support my colleagues and peers. If I fully moved into what I call trainer land, where everything exists beautifully on paper, my empathy for coachees would be affected. I need to live and breath the challenges of the classroom, at this time, in this institution to have my freshest thinking to share. 

This reflection is an isolating process. This blog today is an isolated process. Although it stemmed from a discussion with others I am reflecting on my own here and now. With the world as it is now we are seeking and valuing those connections even more. So how do we connect and reflect as a department, as a faculty? 

As a member of the collective #JoyFE we are all about seeking and practising joy in further education. FE is similar to community college in USA but has many differences too. In #JoyFE we celebrate the #Microjoys of the day. A #Microjoy is a joyful thing that happened. Looking at my experiences above, the car journeys with my peer would be a #Microjoy. The sharing of lesson reflections over the breakfast club too. Finding time to reflect and scribble on my lesson plans a #Microjoy aswell. How can we, as educators, reflect and celebrate those #Microjoys with our peers? 

The staffroom is the natural home for teacher reflections and #Microjoy celebrations in the face to face school. But with modern  buildings sacrificing staff areas for work zones these are dwindling. It has also been a challenge to replicate now we are online. There are weekly drop ins for staff to come and have a natter. Anecdotally I see these having various success from department to department even within institutions. The idea is lovely, someone is there to talk to and connect with. The challenge is we often exist in hierarchies and the person who is there to listen may sit in a different part of the hierarchy meaning participants may be reluctant to join or share. There are other challenges with this approach but for brevity we will move on. I have seen Google Classrooms created for resource sharing. These would lead to celebrations of good lessons and #Microjoys but those reflections on challenging lessons may not be captured in this format. Daily briefings. Whilst they help connect us, they again are not a space where we can reflect.

I have no magic answer but I see Flipgrid and Wakelet as 2 tools that may help. 

Flipgrid is a video tool where you can pose questions and respond. There are other features too. I have blogged many times about Flipgrid, especially as a tool for teacher reflection here. Encouraging teachers to share a short section of video from their lesson then inviting peers to comment and reflect with them would be a fascinating experience. We have trialled it and my learnings are, staff are fearful of judgement and staff pick their best episodes. Personally I have no problem with staff picking their best bits, it shows they have the self reflection to identify what's good and what isn't which is a key skill. Staff being uncomfortable and not wanting to engage is harder to overcome. In our GEG UK talk Daren talked about the need to disconnect from the experience in order to reflect on it. It tied in with the discussion of discomfort on Shannon's 3CCs podcast here. But what about using Flipgrid to replicate that staffroom reflection?

Staff could record their reflections on their lesson, good and bad, on to Flipgrid. That's where I could have put my 'I've just had group A and you will never guess what happened' my colleague could reply via video or comments sharing their experience with Group A too. Although distant and apart as colleagues we could reflect together. But I am mindful that video isn't for everyone. This is where Wakelet comes in for me. Staff could type reflections, essentially mini blog, on Wakelet and those who want to use video can use the built in Flipgrid video feature in Wakelet. We are giving teachers a choice in the method of how they want to reflect. Staff can share resources via Wakelet moving the Google Classroom #Microjoy celebration space into the Wakelet too. You can also put a wakelet within a wakelet. You could have one for #Microjoys,  one for lesson reflections that have led to further questions and a need for support. Or staff could have their own private Wakelet to reflect across all the options above. If they choose to share they can add their Wakelet to the team or department Wakelet. I've a rough example wakelet here that showcases my ideas. 

Reflecting Forward -  https://wke.lt/w/s/7zv87f

Ultimately a pen and paper may be the tool of choice for reflections, learning from these experiences as we exponentially develop our online teaching skills should be reflected upon and celebrated as #Microjoys. 

Developing the 4cs through play

I created my Book Creator book #How2Part_e as a response to helping my own young children actively engage in video calls with children of a similar age. It then morphed into my go to games night activities for adults of a similar age to me! The result is over 30 games that actively engage all participants on the video call but they also develop some key skills. There is an opportunity to learn through play. 

"Children play to practice skills, try out possibilities, revise hypotheses and discover new challenges, leading to deeper learning." (UNICEF, 2018) 

The power of learning through play is known by many parents, caregivers and early years practitioners. The research and the evidence in the field supports the deeper learning that happens when skills are learnt through play. Looking at the current landscape of education, who wouldn't want to include a bit more play in their education? 

I am very active on Twitter (@WhatTheTrigMath) and have been sharing my book on there. I have responded to requests to give students a break by teachers. Requests by educators for go to starter activities to get learners engaged. Requests by practitioners for reward activities for hard working learners. I am even now seeing the book shared by others who have found it online and it is being re posted across many platforms, not just Twitter. This is great to see. Yet there is an opportunity to use these games to develop key skills, 21st century skills through play.

The 4Cs are some of the key skills our students will need for the future. These 21st century skills have been researched and developed, some iterations have 6 but the 4 core always remain: communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. Now that a significant amount of teaching is happening online these skills are coming more to the fore. Yet collaboration may have become more of a challenge in the traditional sense because of physical distance. Screen fatigue is now real and the novelty of schools being closed has almost certainly worn off. Are students active or passive in lessons? The longer they are passive the more disengaged with the content you may find them but how do you get them active?

I think join the band above sums up a great opportunity to develop creativity skills, not just in the making of the instruments but in creating original songs too!

 

Developing these creative skills through play and practical application is not only a great fun activity that can be received as a reward but it is an opportunity to possible develop a deeper understanding of the skill as it is done through play. The creative ideas learners develop would be a joy for any educator to see. (If you play these games and get some wonderful ideas please do share I would love to see what students create!) 

Many of these ideas will need to be collaborated on. Most of the games require teamwork elements. This isn't without thought. My initial aim was to engage and maintain positive relationships for my own children with their peers. My natural solution to this was through teamwork and collaboration. What could be more fun than working together on inventing a new product out of paperclips? For learners of any age! The relationship bonds that learners may be missing or those feelings of isolation we all experience in this new lockdown world can be balanced and hopefully resolved by playing these games. 

There is great power in giving students a voice. There is greater power in hearing learners find their own voice. In playing Never Ending Story learners will be working as a team in their breakout rooms devising a strategy through critical thinking. Developing their independence away from their teacher alongside their peers through collaboration and communication.

 

This game seems like a creative story telling game from the page and it is but the added element of each team continuing the story brings in strategic thinking. Let's say something about the moon and then the other team will say about a planet then we can say the names of them apart from one and then they will have to know all the planets! The creativity in the story, combined with the critical thinking of their words. They will have to actively listen when they return to the main call and be ready with their creative response. This all as individuals whilst playing as a team. Not wanting to let others down but feeling supported by the team discussion in the breakout room before.

These are just a few examples of how my games book bit.ly/How2Part_e can be used to develop the 21st Century 4C skills through play. There are many more in the book and as my #VIA20 Google Innovator continues more will be added, including any you may have to share?