As part of my studies for the Certificate in School Management & Leadership with Harvard University, I share my notes here from the Leading Learning module.  This particular module is about developing the school systems and culture to facilitate excellent teaching and learning. 

In terms of teaching and learning, there are three systems in schools: the instructional system, the curriculum system, and the data system. Each of these systems can be effective independently, but they are best when they work together and affect each other. Students are at the centre, as they are the reason why these systems exist.

Each of these systems work together to facilitate the education of students.

If any part of the system is weakened or misaligned, the educational leader must make necessary adjustments to get back on track.

For example, misalignment in the curriculum system might look like when activities in lessons do not match curriculum objectives. Curriculum alignment is well organised and designed to facilitate learning, free of academic gaps, and aligned across lessons and year groups.

Misalignment in the instructional system might look like teachers not having the skills and training to teach complex texts. Instructional alignment means engaging teachers in developing new skills.

When the data system is misaligned, it is not providing information for the educational leader to clearly diagnose gaps at the school. Data system alignment should collect data that will allow educators to understand the gaps at the school and take action on realigning all three systems.

When all systems are aligned as they should, every child in the school is surrounded by high expectations and skilled teaching.

Universal Design for Learning

It is a school leader’s responsibility to build flexible systems and structures that prioritise  problem-solving and equity, using all resources available to understand the needs for all groups of students.

One way a school can become such an organisation is to implement Universal Design for Learning. Universally designed systems in schools are guiding practices that provide flexibility in ways students engage, benefitting all students.

In summary, Universal Design for Learning provides a framework for guiding educational practice that:

a) provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged.  For example, information may be provided in a variety of formats, such as text, audio, video, and hands-on learning.

b) reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and students who are English language learners.  This can mean, for example, giving students more than one way to interact with material and to show what they are learning. Students might choose between taking a pencil-and-paper test, giving an oral presentation, or doing a group project.

Universal Design for Learning is underpinned by the principle of engagement.  Teachers are encouraged to look for multiple ways to motivate students. Some ways are to have students make choices about assignments that feel relevant to their lives, allowing them to get up and move around the classroom, and providing options for movement like flexible seating and flexible grouping.

By effectively meeting the diverse needs of all your students, including students with disabilities, through individualised and innovative teaching practices, Universal Design Learning facilitates inclusive education.

In addition to Universal Design for Learning, teachers should be familiar with Bloom’s taxonomy, which is a practical tool to use, providing a framework in which to plan challenging lessons that help to ensure students’ progress is maximised – a fundamental tenet of successful teaching.  

As I explain in my article, ‘Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to the Classroom’, Bloom’s taxonomy provides an excellent foundation for lessons, as it can be used as a framework in which to deliver appropriate activities, assessment, questioning, objectives and outcomes.

The Importance of Writing for Students

Of all the language arts skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—writing is the highest, most challenging, and important skill. However, writing is often a skill that students do not get to practise frequently enough in the classroom. A recent research brief by the Learning Agency Lab found that “just a quarter of students in middle school and high school write for at least 30 minutes a day, a minimum standard set by learning experts for the development of writing skills.”

As educators, it’s imperative that we ensure students are writing enough in their day-to-day activities. Writing makes students think. It forces them to take a position and defend it. It helps them develop and demonstrate the ability to understand, weigh, decide, analyse, and synthesise. It also helps them learn to persuade, to support their ideas with evidence, and to show they know the difference between facts and opinions.

In today’s digital world, where texting and instant messaging are the norm, it’s more important than ever that students learn to write clearly and logically and for different purposes and audiences. Moreover, writing helps develop our brain’s ability to focus and promotes long-term memory.

The evidence suggests that students need three things to develop their literacy skills:

• Regular practice with nonfiction texts
• Reading, writing & speaking in evidence from the text
• Building knowledge through content rich nonfiction

One of my own initiatives in school to improve students’ writing outcomes has been to set up blogs for our students. The blogs have provided each child with an opportunity to put together a purposeful collection of their best written work as well as helping to record their learning journey.  You can read more about my experience creating these blogs for students here.

The Benefits of Discourse for Students

Research has also shown that having strong discourse between students can positively impact several important academic outcomes, like increasing students’ test scores, engagement, and reading comprehension. Student discussion is also how educators can really understand and evaluate the impact of their teaching.

However, when researchers quantified how much of classroom time is actually spent on giving students the opportunity to have a discussion, the numbers were relatively low. In most classrooms, an overwhelming majority of the time is spent on what University of Melbourne professor and education researcher John Hattie refers to as “teacher talk.” Hattie found that on average, “teacher talk” accounts for “70% to 80% of the class time.” This demonstrates that despite the importance of student-level discourse, there is a gap that exists in many schools today. I have written a summary of John Hattie’s research here.

Getting students to meaningfully engage in discourse can be incredibly powerful.  This is because strong discourse is built on students’ ability to connect, respect, and understand one another.  However, for this type of connection to occur, and for these meaningful conversations to take place, students must be able to really listen to one another. 

The skill of listening, truly listening, is quite profound.  It includes several elements like eye contact, reading facial expressions, and reflecting back what one has heard in a way that conveys understanding and that checks for understanding.  And when students are able to listen deeply, this not only further
develops skills in discourse and academic discussion, but it also develops students’ capacity to be empathic and caring.

The Role of School Leaders

As school leaders, the work you do is to benefit the student, but the focus of the work is on improving and supporting the practice of adults you lead. The vision and strategy is built around a simple belief: My actions as a principal can positively impact the practices of educators so that teachers can have more impact with the students they serve.

Some teachers may prioritise the act of teaching content as opposed to focusing on ensuring that students are learning the content.  If teachers have this mindset, they will likely need support in changing it.  That is why it is the leader’s responsibility to begin pushing the conversation about learning gaps past the level of what students are and aren’t doing to look at what teachers
are and aren’t doing.

These types of conversations can be difficult, and faculty may be resistant to owning learning gaps.  Yet, these conversations must take place.

To help guide these conversations, school leaders should consider evaluation questions to gather information and reflect on what needs to improve. It also includes questions around systems and structures alignment and the work that a school leader needs to do to better support teachers to drive outcomes for students.

Examples of Evaluation & Structural Alignment Questions:

What needs to change to help all our students learn at high levels?

Do you have the data collection systems in place to get the level of information required to understand students’ needs?

What are teachers doing (or not doing) in their instruction that is helping or hindering students’ performance?

Has time been allocated for teachers and school leaders to understand and use data?

What are you doing (or not doing) as a school leader that is helping or hindering teachers’ performance?

Are instructional tools and curriculum aligned with the stated vision for the school?

There are key best practices leaders can keep in mind when facilitating data discussions: 

1) Ground the conversations in data. By using student work as evidence in data conversations, as well as an exemplar to compare it against, discussions between faculty can be focused on specific gaps instead of on personally charged assumptions. 

2) Encourage faculty to own the process of interpreting the data. Giving teachers the answers before they have a chance to reflect may cause them to feel disconnected from the process and may make them less likely to change their practices. 

3) Support faculty by modelling data analysis if they are struggling to own the process and change their practice.

4)Hold teachers accountable to changing their teaching. Ultimately, it’s the responsibility of the leader to motivate, inspire, encourage, and support their faculty and do whatever is necessary to ensure instructional improvement through enhanced teaching.

Studies of high-performing schools show that there are several factors that must be in place to achieve school-wide system alignment to promote inclusive education: 

• A strong inclusive vision
• Distributed leadership
• Structures for collaborative problem-solving
• Strong relationships with parents and the community
• Reforms situated in the instructional core 
• Support for school-level universal design for learning at the school and classroom levels

Creating a Strong Instructional & Caring Culture

A culture is the integration of espoused norms and beliefs and enacted behaviours and practices, and a strong culture is one where those things are in alignment.

In a culture of caring, students are supported in caring for each other and expected to do so, including caring for those who are different from them in background and personality and other characteristics.

The way leaders can begin building a robust culture of caring is to focus on relationship development and the way that faculty and staff relate to and support students. If school staff are able to model the school’s core values and caring behaviours with students, then students themselves will be able to model it when interacting with peers and other adults.

As the school leader, oftentimes when you see a problem in the classroom, it’s really the symptom of a deeper, fundamental issue. This means you should have a defined process in place for digging deeper into the problem of practice. This process could include using tools like rubrics, conducting walkthroughs, and looking at more detailed student data.

After pinpointing the instructional gap and gaining a greater understanding of the problem, leaders can begin to engage their faculty in the process of tackling the challenge. This step is crucial, because in order for teaching and learning to improve, teachers must be engaged and held accountable for learning gaps. The conversation should shift from “what” students aren’t learning to “why” they aren’t learning. And although these conversations with faculty may be difficult, there are some key best practices to keep in mind to increase the likelihood of success: 1) Ground the conversations in the data; 2) Encourage faculty to own the process of interpreting the data themselves; and 3) Support teachers by modelling proper analysis. After going through the analysis, the key is then to move to action and actually change instruction.

When setting new goals and moving towards progress, it’s also key for leaders to be focused on how to make the work and the processes sustainable. This can be done by celebrating the small successes along the journey and letting staff and students know that their efforts and hard work are seen and appreciated.

Building a Culture of Collective Learning

School leaders have the power to create a culture of continuous improvement.

They can lead by example and role modelling, openly talking about the importance of continuous improvement, consistently asking for ideas and responding to them, and empowering faculty to make incremental improvements in their daily work.

When facing a community of teachers who have not yet bought into the goal of constantly improving student outcomes, leaders who focus on the “why” are able to build shared instructional leadership.

Involving teachers in sustained dialogue and decision-making around issues central to teaching and learning will lead to a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Principals can establish school-wide mechanisms for faculty development that cut across all of the schools’ grades, such as a professional learning committee.

Seeking out champions is another effective strategy. Champions are those in your community who are enthusiastic about improvement, can provide input, and can become part of a group that tackles challenges.

Teacher Learning to Increase Student Learning

Creating a vision and communicating that vision are also important steps. Connect the vision to critical aspects of your school’s work like teacher development, collective learning, and staff empowerment, and communicate it frequently and powerfully.

Interdisciplinary teams in schools are powerful because they can attain a level of creativity and breakthrough that cannot be achieved by a single-discipline team.

When implementing a new system at your school, always start with the willing–faculty or staff who have demonstrated an interest in going through some kind of training or professional development.

There is often significant tension in schools between development and evaluation. School leaders need to be strategic, thoughtful, and transparent about when they are visiting a class for developmental purposes and when it’s a formal evaluation. To alleviate tensions, build a culture of trust and collaboration, and be approachable, respectful, and supportive.

When teachers are learning new practices and approaches, the school leader is responsible for creating the space for learning, feedback, and practice while holding them accountable for making changes in their teaching.

Leveraging Innovation and Technology for Learning

Leaders today have an especially important role to play in technology use in their schools, given its impact on nearly every aspect of our lives and our students’ education. It is important to ensure that teams integrate technologies and innovations with the goal of making teaching and learning more robust.

When integrating any innovation or new technology, evaluate its purpose and ask, “What’s the underlying theory of change for the implementation of this technology or innovation?” As you learned in Module 1, clearly aligning new initiatives to your mission and goals is critical.

To be most successful in implementing a new technology or innovation, use co-creation. Involve the people who will be implementing the change and make sure any technology initiative is practical and “people-centred.”

When implementing a new initiative in your school, remember the Cuckoo Effect. Coined by Peter Drucker, the Cuckoo Effect says that “any foreign innovation in a corporation will stimulate the corporate immune system to create antibodies that destroy it.” In other words, the dominant force of an organisation—its existing vision, systems, structures, and culture—tend to prevail over a new paradigm. To avoid this effect and give a change initiative the best chance for success, you can provide extra support and flexibility to the team implementing the change, freeing them from aspects of the organisation’s dominant systems and culture that may hinder their progress.

Leader as Learner

Great leaders focus on their own development and constantly seek out learning opportunities. Being a learner is about trying new things, welcoming feedback, and seeking out other points of view, even when it’s difficult. An avenue for principals to learn is exploring resources outside of school, such as a forum connecting principals in your district, or a national association for principals who are committed to the
ongoing development of school leaders.

To Model Learning at Your School:

– Spend more time in learning activities.
– Ask more questions.
– Don’t assume you know everything, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
– Ask for feedback.
– Encourage others to experiment, take risks, and accept failure.

Family-School Partnerships to Support Student Learning

Families play a crucial role in student learning. When families and school teams work together, they can jointly support students’ education, health, and development.

Research shows that the level of family engagement within a school can have a significant impact on student outcomes. It’s linked to higher academic achievement, better student behaviour, and enhanced social skills. It can increase graduation rates, test scores, and attendance.

When it comes to engagement in your community, what matters most is that you adopt a partnership mindset—recognising that families are key contributors to the success of your students and school—and that you regularly seek out opportunities for strategic family-school partnerships that will support your students and school in achieving their goals.

Concluding thoughts…

It is the role of the school leader to ensure that all teachers have high expectations and the skills to implement those high expectations.  This requires the systems to develop, support and monitor teaching and learning in the school.  Systems and structures, in fact, are the key ingredients in making any organisation function at a high level, and strategic alignment — as well as continuous realignment of capabilities, resources, and management systems — needs to happen to maintain that level of achievement. When designing whole-school systems and structures, it is important to be flexible and keep standards high by using principles of universal design to support and serve all students.

The term “culture” can be used to describe both the instructional practices in a school, as well as the relationships between adults and students and the level of caring within a school. It is the role of the school leader to help establish and maintain a school-wide culture that supports continuous improvement. After all, building a culture of positive continuous improvement and learning
is at the heart of every successful school.

Learning never ends, and school leaders have the power to be role models by embracing the practice of
the leader as learner.

Technology, when used purposefully and in alignment with your school’s goals, has the potential to improve teaching and learning at your school and broaden experiences and opportunities for your students.

Finally, students’ families are critical partners in achieving success for your students and school, and that engaging families strategically and respectfully can positively affect academic outcomes.

During our TBS Conference the other week, I attended a 4-day leadership course delivered by Karen Ardley Associates.  As the course was specifically tailored for middle leaders, I came away with many practical insights that I could readily apply to my own role as a curriculum coordinator and line manager.  The purpose of this post is just to summarise my reflections and key actionable takeaways from the four days.

DAY 1 – All about you as a leader

The course began with an emotional intelligence (EI) self-analysis, which I found to be a valuable tool in order to highlight my EI strengths and consider areas for further development.  According to Karen Ardley, emotional intelligence “is the ability to understand, use and manage our own emotions and respond to the emotions of others, in constructive and purposeful ways.”  The importance of emotional intelligence as a factor for creating better leaders became even more clear to me after listening to Ben Walden‘s keynote speech, when one point stood out – we cannot show leadership for others when we are not living it in our own lives.

Apparently, emotional intelligence makes up two-thirds of effective job performance – only one third is cognitive and technical ability.  In terms of self awareness and management, we need to ensure that we manage our emotions in order to control our behaviours.  A key point made on the course was that the first step to developing positive leadership behaviours is to control our self talk.  Optimism, it would seem, is a key characteristic of the best leaders.  Numerous studies support this assertion, along with other benefits such as better health and increased longevity.  The Nun Study was used as one particularly interesting example, showing that nuns who expressed more positive emotions lived, on average, a decade longer than their less optimistic peers and they were far less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

The discussion about emotional intelligence and leadership then neatly led onto looking at Benjamin Zander’s work:

Using the orchestra as an analogy for leadership, one of my main takeaways from Benjamin Zander’s TED talk is the idea that the conductor never makes a sound.  In other words, the best leaders inspire leadership in others – and we can see it’s working for our audience because of their “shining eyes”.  As Benjamin Zander explains, ‘The eyes never lie.  If the eyes are shining, then I know that my leadership is working.’

As a conductor of an orchestra, I realised the music was beautiful and I wasn’t making a sound.  

The conductor who does not make a sound can focus on making others more powerful.  This makes sense: if people you’re managing feel lively, energetic and connected, they’re more likely to perform at their best.

DAY 2 – Leading and developing others

The second day began with a quote by the British researcher and management theorist, Meredith Belbin:

Nobody’s perfect but a team can be.

This, along with mention of Bill Gates’ emphasis on developing the best teams, set the foundation for introducing the idea of a high-performing team.  According to Karen, a high performing team:

– achieves high levels of leadership confidence

– build its capacity to implement change effectively

– nurtures energy and enthusiasm for learning and teaching

– develops and shares its knowledge, skills and expertise

– builds esteem of all members

In order to better understand how to develop a team and get to the high-performing stage faster, we studied Tuckman’s 4 stage model for team development:

At the forming stage, the leader needs to be directive – providing structure for the team and clarifying expectations about how the team process will be initiated.

During the storming stage, the leader coaches the group by helping them focus on the goals and expectations, managing process and conflict, generating ideas, and explaining decisions.

As the team enters the norming stage, the leader acts primarily as a facilitator by providing encouragement, helping to build consensus, and giving feedback.

Finally, at the performing stage, the leader still facilitates the team process, but tasks and objectives are delegated.  The leader oversees and identifies when the group is moving to a different stage.

The Prioritisation Matrix

DAY 3 – Leading teaching and learning

As we looked at what made effective teams and successful initiatives, we naturally moved into a discussion about giving feedback.  Research shows that oral feedback is potentially the most effective way of providing professional development and learning opportunities.  Effective oral feedback has the following features:

– begins with something positive (a headline) – not “How do you think it went?”

– specific

– asks questions to develop understanding – aims for dialogue

– describes behaviours not the person

As an example of how oral feedback should be given, we watched this video, The Story of Austin’s Butterfly by Ron Berger:

In order to receive feedback effectively, the following points were identified:

– listen to the feedback carefully before responding

– be careful you fully understand what is being said

– ask questions for clarification and exploration

– seek other opinions rather than relying on one source

– decide what you will do as a result of the feedback

As leaders of teaching colleagues, we need to be particularly aware of using coaching strategies for developing teachers’ classroom practice.  After watching two filmed lesson observations, the following coaching questions were used to assess the success of lessons and provide effective feedback for the teacher:

1.  Did all students achieve the learning objective?

2.  How do you know?

3.  What will you do about those who didn’t?

4.  How will you assess and use students’ prior knowledge?

5.  How did you liaise with your teaching assistant before/during/after the lesson?

6.  What can students do now that they couldn’t at the start of the lesson?

7.  How did you make sure students know their next steps in learning?

8.  How did you make sure all students know your high expectations?

9.  How did you provide challenge for all your students?

10.  Did the students enjoy the lesson and how do you know?

I like these ten questions because they have the power to refocus from problem to solution.  Certainly, the need for effective feedback, especially for developing teachers, cannot be understated.  In fact, our discussion about coaching and giving feedback to teachers reminded me of this excellent TED talk that Bill Gates gave on the subject:

After studying the theory of coaching and feedback, we were given a practical exercise to do.  Working in pairs, we were asked to think about an important issue we were facing and practise a role-playing exercise in which we took turns to play both the roles of coach and the person being coached.  I found this to be a useful experience both in terms of getting feedback on my way of dealing with a particular issue and helping to clarify my own understanding of what makes a great coach.

The suggested coaching process to support professional development can be distilled into three stages (based on Gerard Egan’s Skilled Helper):

Stage 1 Analysis

Where am I now?  What’s happening here?

Stage 2 Direction setting

Where do I want to be?

Stage 3 Action planning

How will I get there?

Clearly, asking the right questions is a fundamental technique for guiding the person that you are coaching, so that they can find their own solution.  This in itself can be a powerful way of unlocking leadership potential in others.  As Karen explained, it is not the role of the coach to provide answers or to give advice, but to support the development and learning of the professional learner – to inspire self-directed change.  In order to develop coaching skills further, it is important to become increasingly committed to:

– understanding one’s own learning needs

– reflecting on one’s practice

– taking an ever-more active role in one’s own learning and the learning of others

– acting on what is learned to improve student learning

DAY 4 – Practising leadership

On the last day, we looked at what made effective meetings, strategies for dealing with challenging people and, for the last activity, we were asked to deliver a 10-minute presentation about an initiative that we wanted to introduce.

Meetings

As obvious (or not) as it may sound, the best meetings are fun and enjoyable.  Essentially, they are conversations that lead to action – they are not about information giving.  We had the opportunity to experience this by getting into groups and engaging in a role-play of a ‘high energy’ meeting.  This required a clear and purposeful agenda (timed, prioritised), ground rules (listen with an open mind, encourage everyone to participate) and the use of relevant materials (post-its, pens, paper, etc.)

Following a meeting, for larger teams, Karen showed us this method of using dot stickers to quickly gauge and visually represent the popularity of the team’s preference when there are two or more possible options over an issue. In this hypothetical example, we were asked about our preference regarding when to hold a team meeting. We needed to use three stickers for our strongest preference, two stickers for our second best choice and one (or no stickers) for our least desired choice.For larger teams, Karen showed us this method of using dot stickers to quickly gauge and visually represent the popularity of the team’s preference when there are two or more possible options over an issue. In this hypothetical example, we were asked about our preference regarding when to hold a team meeting. We needed to use three stickers for our strongest preference, two stickers for our second best choice and one (or no stickers) for our least desired choice.

Challenging people

I found the advice about how to deal with challenging behaviours useful.  For difficult conversations for example,  the following suggestions were provided:

– Choose the location

– Plan and script

– Predict likely responses

– Use assertive statements

– Think win:win

Lauren Mackler from Harvard Business School also has some great tips about how to manage difficult conversations:

Presentation

For the last activity, we each had to prepare a presentation to be presented to other members of our group and someone from senior leadership.  This activity was a surprise and, having only an hour to prepare, I enjoyed the challenge of presenting an initiative that I wanted to lead.  Using just a Flipchart and pen, it was also a good exercise to present without the use of any digital technology!

 Personally, I like to follow a simple three-step process to presentations: what, why and how.  The ‘what’ sets both the purpose and context for the presentation.  The ‘why’ helps to engage the audience by giving them a reason why they should care.  Finally, the ‘how’ provides the explanation about how the initiative will be developed.  I find that following this structure helps to give a presentation clarity and organisation.

As always, with any activity like this, the most useful part is to get feedback.  In our group, we each took turns presenting and then watching and evaluating the presentations of our peers.  We evaluated aspects such as control of space, use of voice and body language.  Based on my own feedback, I had communicated my message well – I  just need to remember to smile more! 🙂

It is also worth mentioning that when it comes to presentations, less is more.  The simpler and more succinct you can make your message, the better.  After all, as both teachers and students, we know that we all have limited cognitive loads at any one time.  By making your message easier to absorb, it becomes more memorable, and ultimately, more likely to be acted upon.

Concluding thoughts…

By the end of this 4-day leadership course, I felt that I had gained a much better insight into my own strengths and areas of development as a leader.  I was especially happy to come away with so many practical leadership ideas and strategies.  One of the key messages, I believe, is that the best leaders are positive and inspire leadership in others through effective coaching and feedback strategies.

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As a computing coordinator, I am always looking for useful ideas to enhance the computing curriculum.  One of the best online resources I refer to is The Barefoot Computing project, which is an initiative in England to help teachers to teach the computer science elements of the new primary computing curriculum. Funded by the Department for Education and run by the British Computing Society, Barefoot Computing provides some excellent free teaching resources to help enhance computing lessons.

Ofsted’s National Lead Inspector for Computing, David Brown, delivered an extremely useful presentation at the launch event for the Barefoot Computing project last year.  Although I work internationally (and don’t need to worry about Ofsted), I feel that the information provided is relevant to anyone serious about computing education in schools.  David shared his advice about what Ofsted expects from schools delivering the computing curriculum, and this advice is divided across four areas:

pupils’ achievement

teaching

the computing curriculum

leadership

These are also the general areas evaluated during an Ofsted inspection to assess the overall effectiveness of a school.  I have paraphrased this advice in condensed form with my own reflections underneath.

Achievement in Computing:

– pupils demonstrate excellent understanding of important concepts in all three strands of the computing curriculum and can solve challenging problems

– pupils make highly effective use of a wide range of age appropriate hardware and software

– pupils show positive attitudes towards the subject and working constructively with others

– pupils show high levels of originality, imagination, creativity and innovation in their understanding and application of skills in computing

Seymour Papert developed the idea that the best way to construct knowledge and understanding, is through the construction of something shareable, outside of a student’s head.  In other words, when pupils are consciously engaged in making things for others, learning happens most effectively.  The collaborative and sharing functionality of the web certainly makes this very easy.  Pupils can now use software like Scratch or Google Apps for Education for example, to create their own programs and digital content, and then share this with the rest of the world.  This interaction made possible is probably the greatest benefit of the Web for educational use.  This is exciting because it increases the potential for students to achieve greater levels of success than would otherwise be the case.

Teaching in Computing:

– it is informed by excellent subject knowledge and understanding of developments in computing pedagogy

-teachers have a high level of specialist knowledge and facilitate active learning in computing, which ensures pupils’ achievement

– it is rooted in the development of pupils’ understanding of important concepts; it enables pupils to make connections between individual topics and to see the ‘big picture’

– lessons address pupils’ misconceptions very effectively; teachers’ responses to pupils’ questions are accurate and highly effective in stimulating further thought

– teachers communicate high expectations, enthusiasm and passion about computing to pupils; they challenge and inspire pupils to produce the best work they can

– teachers use a very wide range of innovative and imaginative resources and teaching strategies to stimulate pupils’ active participation in their learning

One of the most effective teaching interventions identified by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is feedback.  Digital technologies certainly facilitate more opportunities for feedback.  Feedback given to pupils who post their work online for instance, provides scaffolding in which they can build on their knowledge base.  In this way, learners work within what Vygotsky (1978) would call their ‘zone of proximal development’.  (This dynamic, incidentally, is at the heart of a social constructivist approach to teaching and learning).  Computers of course, can also provide immediate feedback.  In programming, there is a very tight feedback loop – it’s usually obvious whether the code runs as it should do or not.  Encouraging learners to grapple with bugs in code (rather than solving the problem for them) can be a very effective way to help them develop their computational thinking.

The Computing Curriculum:

– an imaginative and stimulating curriculum is designed to ensure learning for all pupils

– the curriculum is broad and balanced with all three computing strands covered well

– the contexts in which computing is taught are relevant to pupils’ lives

– links with other subjects in the school are productive in strengthening pupils’ learning in computing

– pupils are expected to use their computing knowledge, skills and understanding in realistic and challenging situations

– pupils’ have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how to stay safe when using new technologies

– rigorous curriculum planning ensures the subject makes an outstanding contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Most of the old ICT curriculum is still present in the new computing curriculum.  One of the strengths of the former curriculum was the creative, practical projects that pupils could take on.  As highlighted in David’s advice, this is something that we can improve upon with the new curriculum, which includes a lot more rigour.

Leadership of Computing:

– leadership is informed by a high level of subject expertise and vision that has a clear impact on the performance of teachers and the learning outcomes for pupils

– there is a strong track record of innovation in computing

– subject leadership inspires confidence and whole-hearted commitment from pupils and colleagues

– continuing professional development is well-targeted and thoroughly evaluated for its impact; it includes up-to-date training for teaching staff

– computing has a very high profile in the life of the school and is at the cutting edge of initiatives to raise pupil progress

– access to computing equipment is outstanding, and the school is likely to have promoted the use of mobile technologies; the computing infrastructure enables pupils and staff to have very good access to their work and to the school’s learning resources at all times, and contributes to pupils’

– there is an age-appropriate e-safety curriculum that is flexible, relevant and engages pupils’ interest; that is used to promote e-safety through teaching pupils how to stay safe, how to protect themselves from harm and how to take responsibility for their own and others’ safety

– rigorous e-safety policies and procedures are in place, written in plain English, contributed to by the whole school and updated regularly.

The key here, I would say, is for leadership to provide professional development opportunities to improve the confidence and expertise of staff delivering computing lessons.  In doing so, computing can hold a very high profile in the school and be more likely to benefit from proper policies and procedures in place.