Why 'Effective Communication' at Peak?
In response to our CIS 5 year visit in November 2013, the team suggested that we find ways to identify and analyse data to enable us to evaluate our success in ‘living our Mission statement.
Council of International Schools (CIS) 5 year report - visitors comments
“The school has begun a process identifying enablers by which the key elements of the Mission Statement may be achieved. The visitors suggest that the school continues this process and identifies additional ways in which the various key attributes described within the Mission Statement and the supporting IB Learner Profile are further articulated in terms of practices, pedagogies and programmes. In doing so, the school is encouraged to look toward the identification and analysis of relevant data that would enable an evaluation of its success in achieving its Guiding Statements."
In response to suggestions in the report from the Council of International Schools (CIS) and to ensure that we are ‘living’ our Mission Statement, we decided to focus our action research (ACT) on developing an understanding of what an ‘effective communicator’ looks like at Peak School – what we are doing well and what we could develop further to enhance the learning of or students.
Our intention is to gather data/ collect evidence, evaluate the evidence and take action to enhance the students communication skills.
Each year, as part of our Strategic plan, we intend to take one of the 6 key attributes of our Mission statement, identifying and analysing evidence to understand how we articulate these key attributes through our practices, pedagogies and programmes. The key areas in our Mission Statement are : Effective communicators, Confident critical thinkers, Enthusiastic Life long learners, Integrity and Socially responsible global citizens.
Lines of Inquiry
- How effectively we communicate at Peak School
- Ways to further improve communication skills at Peak School
Our Plan
Our initial plan was to develop a continuum so that we could measure what an effective communicator would look like from Year 1 through to Year 6. Once we started looking at communication as a whole we realised this would be more complex than we anticipated. Also we questioned whether, by investing so much time in a document , would anyone refer to it when we have detailed scope and sequence documents as points of reference which cover most areas of communication. We decided our time would be better invested in focusing on specific areas which would enhance the learning experiences of our students.
Having collected opinions from stakeholders an area for further enhancement would be speaking and listening skills. We concentrated our Action learning on developing speaking , listening and presenting skills.
Having collected opinions from stakeholders an area for further enhancement would be speaking and listening skills. We concentrated our Action learning on developing speaking , listening and presenting skills.
Gathering Evidence
Students
We asked students their thoughts as to what they thought an ‘effective communicator’ would look like. (What might they say/do)
We asked them at the start of the year in Term 1 and again in term 3. The students added to the list in different coloured post it notes so that we could see the progress in their thinking
Students were asked 'How could we improve the communication at Peak School '
Some of their responses :-
Sometimes people don’t want to say things to their friends but they need to talk to someone *
I like it when we have a chance to speak out. *
I get nervous if I have to talk in front of lots of people
If I need to share my feelings I talk to my friends
Teachers should hear your side of the story
We had Circle time in Year 2 and we could express how we feel.
It would be good to have circle time like we did in Year 2 …but more sophisticated.
Some of my friends are really good at talking in assembly (do you like it)?) No I feel too scared
We can express our feelings and thoughts in our writers notebooks
We went down to Y2 to tell them about our role models. When I did this it made me feel good. * (Why?) Because I had a chance to talk about personal stuff.
Teachers
In September 2015 we held a whole school staff meeting initially asking teachers what they thought the students responses may be? (powerpoint)
Teachers were asked ‘ What do Effective Communicators look like in Y1-Y6 and we collated their responses.
Teachers' responses
In September 2015 we held a whole school staff meeting initially asking teachers what they thought the students responses may be? (powerpoint)
Teachers were asked ‘ What do Effective Communicators look like in Y1-Y6 and we collated their responses.
Teachers' responses
Educational Assistants - Thinking about 'Effective Communication' our EA's discussed 'What do we do well?' and 'How could we improve?'
Parents were also asked to share their opinions about how effectively we communicate
Parents' survey
Parent feedback on Student led conference
'Communication' is such a huge area. It is part of practically everything we do.
So what next?
We decided that to have maximum impact we would start small and expand from there , choosing specific areas of focus.
Having collected and collated the opinions from stakeholders, areas for further development in school are speaking, listening and presentation skills. We narrowed the focus of our action learning on these areas through the development of Public Speaking, Circle time and Visual presentation.
Parents were also asked to share their opinions about how effectively we communicate
Parents' survey
Parent feedback on Student led conference
'Communication' is such a huge area. It is part of practically everything we do.
So what next?
We decided that to have maximum impact we would start small and expand from there , choosing specific areas of focus.
Having collected and collated the opinions from stakeholders, areas for further development in school are speaking, listening and presentation skills. We narrowed the focus of our action learning on these areas through the development of Public Speaking, Circle time and Visual presentation.