Language for Learning

A Lytchett initiative!

Hugh Notley

Language for Learning

This initiative, headed by Hugh Notley and based within Performing Arts, will seek to raise academic standards through an emphasis on developing techniques for helping students and staff use and manipulate language more effectively and efficiently. This work will operate alongside the other key initiatives - those are Independent Learning, AFL, Training School Activities and Guidance; the aim being to co-ordinate these initiatives in an holistic way which will greatly strengthen their overall benefits for the school.

Language for Learning will proceed by working with Departments on all aspects of language – from speaking and listening through to questioning techniques to formulating more effective reading and writing approaches. This will demand close work with students and staff as well as presentations at staff meetings and to the students themselves.

Departments will be worked with on a half-termly basis and the approaches will be tailored to the individual demands of the department. This weblink will track and record progress with departments and also offer a facility where all staff can have access to the language resources which are developed - these could range from PowerPoints on essay writing, to guidance on how to improve pupils’ speaking and listening  skills.

May 2010

So far the Language for Learning Initiative has worked on a school wide basis and with the following departments:

• Art Department on using creative writing and poetry as a way of introducing new topics in art
• Sixth-form – input on how to write essays (forums to large cohorts of students)
• Geography – general help with literacy and specialist vocabulary
• Science - extended project on making science writing more precise
• Science - school - wide competition on written accounts of key science events or discoveries
• Drama – a series of lessons for GCSE Drama students on improving their written skills for the Drama GCSE exam
• A school wide spelling quiz which extended to every department
• A school wide essay writing competition. The brief for this - to write an account of a lesson which pupils really enjoy and say why they enjoy it
• A guide for essay writing has been developed with the support of the English Department

INSET training has included courses on:

• How staff can improve their report writing
• Helping staff to help their students write better essays and self-analytical accounts
• Helping staff to guide their students by using non-academic writing as a basis for essays and examination answers
• Help for individual departments on post-examination issues

Future plans:

• Extended writing competition
• Work with the Maths team to identify links between literacy and numeracy skills in maths and exploring how one can help the development of the other departments
• Work with the English team to develop a consistent way of coding marked errors in written work and extending that coding as common practice across the school