Ddtal_Strategy_and_Policy_in_Relation_to_Practice

Strategy and Policy in Relation to Practice Give an example of a regional or national strategy or policy that has informed your practice or influenced the way you work and critically review its usefulness. In 2007, the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) published the Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills framework (PLTS). One of the reasons for introducing these criteria after much consultation was to target students who were not talented academically. Instead it listed and focused on qualities and skills needed to be a successful learner both throughout education and life. The framework is aimed at specifically KS3 and KS4 pupils and has six skill groups: ← Independent Enquirers ← Team Workers ← Creative Thinkers ← Self Managers ← Reflective Learners ← Effective Participators ← Under each area of focus there are a list of outcomes, detailing more specific skills, qualities and expected behaviours. By being able to demonstrate abilities and improvement in all these key areas, it is believed to encourage independent, responsible thinkers and learners. It is essentially a framework to explore and improve young peoples ability to learn: In essence, learning ‘how to learn’. I have recently used this framework whist planning and delivering a twelve-hour project with a group of eight excluded KS3 boys. The ‘Creative Challenge’ project, ran by Artforms (Education Leeds) is part of a year-long process investigating the learning behaviours, and how participants can transfer their newly learned skills into other areas of education. By focusing on three out of the six areas I was able to plan my lessons according to each skill outcome: Team Workers, Effective Participators and Creative Thinkers. Under the Team Work criteria, specific tasks were set in pairs and groups in order for the participants to be able to demonstrate the outcomes. ‘Collaborate with others to work towards common goals’ was one of the detailed outcomes written within this skills set and was achieved through a counterbalance exercise in pairs. I demonstrated actions that they were to replicate and perform with a partner. Once they had gained the understanding of the skills involved in partner and counterbalance work, I set a more creative task where they had to explore and discover their own means of producing a similar counterbalance action. The framework by its very nature allows skills to cross over into other areas of focus. For example, the exercise above also hit the criteria for Creative Thinking and within that the outcome could have easily have demonstrated ‘Generate Ideas and Explore Possibilities’. The outcomes are so fluid that it’s possible for a student to be able to show ability and awareness of maybe three of four skills at one time. When working with excluded groups on an alternative education program, this kind of loose framework can be applied to an existing scheme of work, enabling the teacher to achieve more than one outcome per session. To be planned and delivered alongside the National Curriculum would take much more preparation in order to hit targets from both frameworks. I found it questionable that Creative Thinking was taught as a skill through this framework. It is debatable whether creativity can be taught at all, or is it more instinctive' Isn’t instinct more of a human characteristic rather than the result of an educational lesson' I agree that creativity can be facilitated, but it is more about removing barriers in order to access creativity and imagination than teaching a specific skill. Creative Thinking was the hardest criterion to plan, deliver and evidence out of the three areas of study chosen, despite being evidenced in the above paragraph. Dance in itself is a creative form and so Creative Thinking was evident in each session, but perhaps no more than any other general dance session. Perhaps when teaching another subject that does not offer an immediate creative connection, for example Maths, this skill would be easier to demonstrate, therefore offering greater scope for skill development. dance having no ‘right’ or ‘wrong ‘ answers can promote creative thinking and creative action through allowing freedom of choice. One weakness within this framework lies within the assessment. There is no formal way to employ any means of summative assessment. How can someone really demonstrate a real skill when the outcomes are so generic' When the skills are qualitative and not quantitative, assessment is underlying and on-going. Many of the boys involved in this program knew what they ‘should’ say when questioned, then still continued to repeat actions and behaviours that were inconsistent. A real change in action comes from a change in behaviour and attitude and this comes from an increased understanding of self and consequence. Metacognition can only really be evidenced and assessed when applied in another setting or context, whether that is within education or socially as a life skill. This in itself makes a thorough assessment very difficult to manage and if at all it is only on a superficial level. It was much easier to assess my delivery and lesson content than it was to assess how far the group had developed into becoming independent, resilient learners. Focusing on being a Reflective Learner as part of the framework, offers some opportunity for formative assessment, self-assessment and to a certain extent, peer assessment. It can promote self-motivated learners who can recognise and discuss their own progression. More often within alternative education the processes of learning rather than the product are being more widely recognised and new systems of assessment are developing beyond the constraints of summative tests. However having that level of self-awareness at KS3 and sometimes KS4 is perhaps asking too much, especially for the group I worked with whilst using this framework. When the young people on Creative Challenge were asked to evaluate their own progress, they had difficulty in recognising their achievements or being honest about their lack of achievement in some sessions. In support of PTLS it does compliment and reflect the Every Child Matters agenda (DfES, 2003). The PTLS framework does provide further opportunity to engage all young people actively in more enquiry-based learning; Students can co-design their own learning, offering a chance to change their beliefs and habitual attitudes towards education. It focuses on the individual and what kind of person they want to be in the future, not just what job they want which can often become the only discussion during KS3 and KS4. The framework does not focus on subjects but concentrates on behaviour and social responsibility. Because of this, it offers endless avenues for differentiation and opportunities to employ various teaching styles, increasing focus on inclusive teaching and engagement of those who were previously non-achievers.