April 2013
At the end of this session
You will be able to
 Identify the six key skills of the Junior Cycle and some
of the elements and learning outcomes for each skill
 Become more aware of the different teaching and
learning activities which students need to participate
in to develop these skills
 Identify ways of embedding the key skills in the
curriculum for incoming first years
Background for Change?









PISA Report 2009
ESRI Report (Emer Smyth 2009)
New Junior Cycle in two to three years – best to be prepared
Current economic situation
Universities report students with a skills deficit
Advances in brain research and how we learn
School culture of adapting to and managing change and
meeting the needs of students
Continuity with primary education
Evidence from NCCA Network Schools
Professionalism and teacher responsibility
The Starting Point for planning a new Junior
Cycle Programme
 The eight principles for Junior Cycle Education
 The 24 statements of learning.
 Literacy and Numeracy and the 6 Key Skills.
The 6 Key Skills
 Literacy &
 Numeracy
Working with others: Group Work













Appoint a group leader and a time keeper
Allow ten minutes to complete this task
Open the envelope and place all of the strips of paper on the table
Each member takes 5 strips of paper
Each member reads aloud what is written on the strip of paper
The group discusses the statement and decides whether it is an
ELEMENT or a LEARNING OUTCOME
Separate the ELEMENTS from the LEARNING OUTCOMES
Place the ELEMENTS underneath the ELEMENTS heading on the
chart
Read aloud the learning outcomes again and decide which LEARNING
OUTCOME is associated with which ELEMENT
Place the LEARNING OUTCOME opposite the appropriate ELEMENT
on the chart
Continue until all LEARNING OUTCOMES are placed on the chart
On completion compare your chart with the KEY SKILLS master sheet
How successful was the group in identifying the elements and the
corresponding learning outcomes?
8
How can we integrate the Key Skills into subjects?
 By developing existing good practice in interactive




teaching and learning approaches
By considering some different ways of teaching,
assessing and evaluating
By looking very carefully at “learning outcomes” in
relation to assessment tasks
By building on and further developing the pool of
expertise within the staff
By reflective practice
Key Skills: Resources
 Website: www. juniorcycle.ie
 Toolkits:
-Managing Information and Thinking
-Managing Myself
-Working with Others
 Staff Library:
Beyond Monet(Barry Bennett & Carol Rolheiser)
The Teacher’s Toolkit (Paul Ginnis)
Cooperation in the Classroom (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec)
Embedding Key Skills
 Developing Key Skills is a process
 Not simply about introducing active
learning methodologies
 It’s a way of planning, teaching and
assessing
 It requires reflective practice
Target group for embedding of Key Skills:
Incoming First Years
 Induction Programme
-Key Skills teaching and learning methodologies approach
eg. students complete learning styles questionnaires/quiz
(Managing Myself: Knowing myself)
-Social skills and language for working together need to be
taught
 Parents
-Input on Key Skills for of incoming first years
 Student Journal
-Key Skills insert (Teacher journals also!)
Incoming First Years
 Classroom:
Posters, desk layout, learning outcome board
Today I will:
New words:
Homework:
3 parts to each lesson:
1.Introduction: Core content learning outcomes & Key Skill
learning outcomes made explicit
-Let students know what they will learn and why (What’s
the bigger picture?)
-Share with them & involve them in generating the
success criteria (What does a model answer look like?)
2.Core content: to include group work, paired activities
etc.
3. Conclusion: to include reflection on core content and on
Key Skills performance
During lesson:
 Language of Key Skills becomes common
place
 Key Skills status acknowledged throughout
lesson
 Key Skills given value in Assessment
Key Skills: A closer look: Some practical ideas
MANAGING MYSELF
Element: Knowing Myself
Learning Outcome: recognising my personal strengths
and weaknesses
Journaling: Invite students to keep a learning journal or
write a blog about themselves and their learning
-helps identify goals, record evidence of success and
reflect on their learning needs
(More information in toolkit)
MANAGING MYSELF
 Element: Setting and achieving personal goals
Sharing
Learning
Outcomes
&
Success
Criteria
Providing
students
with an
exercise
checklist
KWL
Chart
KWL Chart
Leaving Certificate Applied: Social Education
Unit 2: Taking Care of Yourself
What I KNOW:
Social & Health Education 1
Name:
What I WANT to know:



What it means to be healthy
The factors which contribute to a
healthy lifestyle
Signs of stress in everyday life
How to cope with stress
Ways of maintaining good health

Reasons why people use drugs

The effects of smoking and benefits
of not smoking

Basic information on drugs and their
effects on the body

Various ways in which smoking,
alcohol and drugs are portrayed in
the media

The effects of alcohol on the body

The laws in relation to alcohol use

Effects of addiction on the addict,
their family and the community


Date:
What I LEARNED:
Webquest
WEBQUEST: DEMOCRACY & GOVERNMENT
Q1. Abraham Lincoln said democracy is __________________________
________________________________________________________
Q2. The way in which our democracy works is described in a
document called The C___________.
Q3. Our C______________ is called B______________ na
hE___________.
Q4.Each section of this document is made up of a____________.
Q5. The laws contained in this document cannot be changed unless the
majority of Irish people agree to do so. The people can decide by voting in a
r_________________.
Q6. The Irish Government is called the O________________.
MANAGING MYSELF
Element: Setting and achieving personal goals
Learning Outcome: Learn from my past actions and
make changes if necessary
My top 10 mistakes: When students have built up a
certain amount of corrected work, they make a list of
their 10 most common errors. Students compare lists in
pairs and report back to class. List could be laminated
and turned into a bookmark for use when doing a
written task.
Common Correction Code? (Literacy)
MANAGING MYSELF:
Element: Being able to reflect on my learning
Reflection
Techniques that take just a few minutes at the end of
class:
 Turn to a partner and take turns sharing- ‘ The thing I
learned today is…’/ ‘The skill I developed today is…’
 One minute reflection: Something I learned, a
question I still have, something I’m not sure about.’
 Simple reflection worksheet (See pg. 15 Toolkit)
 Include reflection section at end of every worksheet
3,2,1 Technique
MANAGING MYSELF
Traffic Lighting:
 Students use traffic light markers to label their work
according to how well they understand a topic
= good knowledge
= partial knowledge
= very little understanding
 Students can then recognise areas of learning where they
need to concentrate their efforts or where they may need
help.
Managing myself toolkit also contains:
 Tips on giving better feedback to students
(changing from judgemental to informative)pg.20
 Self-assessment worksheet for written work pg. 31
 Assessing my group work skills worksheet pg. 32
 Peer assessment of a presentation pg.33
MANAGING INFORMATION AND THINKING
 Element: Being curious
 Create a supportive classroom ( it’s ok to be wrong, it’s
good to ask questions, we like to explore ideas and not
just take them at face value etc.)
 Help students to consider different perspectives
: -Walking Debate /The Value Continuum (decide-justifydebate. Offer students chance to adjust position!)
In the Hot Seat-Student in Hot Seat takes on role of
character from fiction/history or person from another
part of world facing a particular challenge. Student must
answer questions from characters’ perspective
MANAGING INFORMATION AND THINKING
 Element: Gathering, recording, organising and evaluating
information/ Thinking critically
 Fast reading techniques: Skimming and Scanning
 Help students to evaluate the quality and source of website
information
-The WWW Technique: Who, What, When
Can you trust the source?
Publication date
can affect accuracy
Can you trust the information?
Graphic Organisers-a visual way to organise
information
Mind map (a personal learning document and
great revision tool)
Representing information in form of picture
or poster
 English: Picture to show imagery in poetry/ key
moments in a story
 CSPE/Science/Geography: Digital pictures to
represent key concepts
 Using images can generate lots of interest and idea
- Google Images, istockphoto.com and online
newspapers great for sourcing images
Tagxedo/Wordle
Word clouds – great for Key Words
MANAGING INFORMATION AND THINKING
 Element: Reflecting on and evaluating my own
learning
Self-evaluation-Monitoring my own progress
Two Stars and a Wish
Name:___________________________
Subject:__________________________
Use the two stars and a wish to tell me two things
you really liked about your work and one thing that
could be improved.
WORKING WITH OTHERS
 Element: Developing good relationships and dealing
with conflict
 Agree a classroom charter or set of ground rules
 See toolkit for:
5 tips for students giving each other written feedback
10 tips for successful group work pg.11 of toolkit
Student checklist on ‘Reviewing my Working Together
Skills’
Top Tip: When assigning individual roles, make sure
students are aware of what their job is! Explain each role
clearly.
WORKING WITH OTHERS
 Elements: Co-operating & learning with others
 Think, pair, share
 Square
 Brainstorming and snowballing
 Co-operative reading-summarising pairs
 Jigsaw Learning
 Placemats
 Students work in pairs/small groups to prepare
worksheet for class & marking scheme
Jigsaw Learning
 Step 1: Students arranged into groups, each group
given subtopic & must become expert in it & agree how
they are going to teach it to their classmates.
 Step 2: Groups mixed and take turns teaching subtopic
to each person in group.
Placemats
 Form of collaborative learning that combines writing and







dialogue
Ensures accountability and involvement of all students.
Small groups (3-4 students) working both alone and
together around a single piece of paper.
Top tip: Use A3 size paper for group activities!
Teacher constructs task/question carefully.
Students work alone first and record ideas.
Students share ideas with group, these are recorded in the
centre.
Sharing takes place between groups.
Different ways of designing placemats, depending on
number of students in group:
Peer-assessment
WORKING WITH OTHERS
Element: Respecting difference
Practical classroom ideas pg.21 of Toolkit
Examples:
 Use differentiated teaching strategies
 Try to create a culturally diverse learning environment
through resources, images and classroom displays
 Have a world map on the wall to remind us that we
live in a global community
 Display inspirational quotes/images of people from
different cultures and backgrounds
Using digital technology
Sharing expertise:
 ICT
 Interactive Methodologies (group work, debating, role
play, drama)
 AFL
 Co-operative/Collaborative Learning
 Other areas
 Any other suggestions/ideas for committee?
 Use e-mail to share resources
Conclusion:
Step by step
Blending a traditional curriculum with a
modern pedagogical approach
Enhances the learning environment
Evolution not revolution!
 Best of luck & thank you!