Teaching and Learning | TLC| The English School - A Second Century of Excellence

The Teaching and Learning Community (TLC)

The Big Picture
Quality of teaching is the single most important driver of pupil attainment and a range of other positive outcomes.

Education Endowment Foundation 2019

The Teaching and Learning Community (TLC) was established at The English School to provide a conducive environment for developing, sharing, and practising our professional skills. Our purpose is to provide direction and leadership in improving Teaching and Learning processes across the school.

Our ultimate aim?
A more fulfilling, effective, meaningful, and thus happier experience for our pupils.

This will result in the improvement of skills for all those involved in the teaching and learning process. We constantly strive to develop a pupil-centred culture further, encourage professional collaboration, and engage colleagues in dialogue that will encourage consistent, healthy reflection on current practices.

Research has proven that professional collaboration is perhaps the strongest factor impacting the quality of teaching and, hence, improving learning.

Rigorous training and regular meetings for the TLC group have been implemented. At the same time, working with departments and individual teachers has provided staff opportunities for constructive dialogue and ongoing professional development. The group is already conducting internal training. Over the last four years, the TLC has undertaken training in active learning, formative assessment and retrieval practice. In the forthcoming academic year, 2024-2025, the focus will be on collaborative learning, and the TLC will take the lead in supporting teachers and departments in this aspect of T&L.

The TLC also constantly reviews current educational research, enabling it to develop a culture that strives to improve the learning experience for every child at our school, according to their needs and state of readiness.

Members
Chair: Popi Grouta, Deputy Head i/c of the Curriculum popi.grouta@englishschool.ac.cy

Other members are listed below:

1. Maria Constantinidou, History teacher maria.constantindou@englishschool.ac.cy
2. Christina Ioakimidou, Head of Greek christina.ioakimidou@englishschool.ac.cy
3. Christina Papadopoulos, English teacher christina.papadopoulos@englishschool.ac.cy
4. Christos CSY. Symeonides, Physics teacher christos.symenides@englishscool.ac.cy
5. Chrysoulla Constantinou, Spanish teacher chrysoula.constantinou@englishschool.ac.cy
6. Evanthia EPO Polyviou, Greek teacher, HoY 6/7, DDSL eva.polyviou@englishschool.ac.cy
7. Leonie Hadjithoma, Music teacher, HoY in lower school, Erasmus + coordinator, PSHCE coordinator, SEN leonie.hadjithoma@englishschool.ac.cy
8. Stavroula Neokleous- SLT i/c of Digital Literacy Stavroula.neokelous@englishschool.ac.cy
9. Marilena Neocleous, Greek teacher Marilena.neokleous@englishschool.ac.cy
10. Stalo Achilleos, Spanish/French teacher staloachilleos@englishschool.ac.cy
11. Sylvana SJA. Jamgochian, Head of History sylvana.jamgochian@englishschool.ac.cy
13. Vanessa Crambert, Head of Modern languages vanesa.crambert@englishschool.ac.cy

Administrator: Ms Elena Michaelides (EMI) elena.michaelides@englishschool.ac.cy

What we have achieved so far

Training all teachers on several aspects of effective teaching

Training sessions focused on active learning from 2020 to 2022, formative assessment from 2022 to 2023, and retrieval practice from 2023 to 2024. Collaborative learning will be the focus from 2024 to 2025.

Active Learning: the training objectives in 2020-2021 were:

To understand what active learning is and why it helps students improve
To identify and apply some active learning techniques
To take a couple of these techniques and use them in the classroom and feedback in departmental meetings by half-term.

In 2021-2022, the objectives of training were:

To understand Fixed versus Growth mindset
To understand how beliefs shape learning
To discuss ways of changing mindsets- language, feedback, a culture of error
To use Learning objectives, Success criteria and Questioning to support learning

In 2022-2023, the TLC led training on ‘Embedding Formative assessment’:

The objectives were:

To reflect on our response to the pandemic- why FA needs to be the priority
To understand the relationship between FA and responsive teaching
To demonstrate strategies and techniques of FA- how to activate learning objectives & use them meaningfully in lessons
To provide practical tips for enhancing the wider assessment ‘diet’ in order to boost student engagement and progress (feedback & success criteria, self and peer assessment, stretch & challenge)

2023-2024, A spaced and interleaved curriculum: retrieval & review (revision) & improving student learning and outcomes:

The objectives were:

To understand the cognitive science behind Rosenshine's principles 1 and 10- the importance of spacing review of the material in the learning process
To understand why interleaving and spaced review is more effective than massed practice.
To understand how cognitive load theory can affect our practice
To explore techniques for daily, weekly and monthly reviews

2024-2025, training on collaborative learning:

Session objectives:

To consider the place of collaborative learning in the reviewed curriculum in Year 1
To reflect on our current practices
To consider the essentials of group work
To examine some effective collaborative learning approaches

Training students on study skills and the growth mindset
Sessions with all students focusing on the growth mindset and the demonstration of effective study/revision techniques such as mind maps, flashcards, note-taking, studying with a buddy, and time management skills. These sessions are now an integral part of the lower school PSHCE program.

Workshops with parents in lower school on the growth mindset, study skills, the importance of homework and ways to support the children's health and mental wellbeing.

Coaching new teachers based on the GROW (Goal, Reality, Obstacles (or Options), and Way Forward) model to enable new teachers to adapt and develop in the new work environment. Coaching by the TLC runs along a mentoring program that provides subject-specific support and guidance.