Debbie Hill
Head of Languages & School Consultant Teacher
Location UK
Activity
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Debbie Hill made a comment
During lockdown teaching we have tried very hard to enable our hearing impaired students to access our lessons and resources. Captions and sub titles have been very helpful, but have been problematic when teaching MFL in the target langauge.
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@RobynWhitehouse Absolutely, and I think a lot of current research will help us all to do this more effectively moving forward. At the moment a lot of students (my experience is in a secondary school) see online learning simply as a response to the pandemic rather than understanding all the benefits. It will come, but it will take time.
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Debbie Hill replied to Lynsey Holton
@LynseyHolton Contribution: one of Ginsburg's seven C's of resilience.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
The messages in this speech are as important to me as the mother of boys as well as a teacher of girls. My duty as a parent as well as an educator.
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@LynseyHolton Do you have strategies to combat this higher anxiety, lower estimation of ability in your school?
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Debbie Hill replied to Michelle Venn
@MichelleVenn How fortunate you are to be in a school that promotes this type of professional development! Good luck with your next step.
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Debbie Hill replied to Heather Selvadurai
@HeatherSelvadurai It is very true that there is a considerable investment in time to meet, plan, review and discuss next steps. In my experience, the quality of the discussion about teaching and learning with like-minded colleagues in a bespoke project involving our own students has made that investment of time really worthwhile.
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Debbie Hill replied to Alex C
@AlexC You might find that a focus presents itself; this is how some of my projects have started. Sometimes a conversation with a colleague along the lines of "I wonder if ....." Good luck on your journey!
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I was once given this advice as a younger teacher seeking promotion!
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Absolutely; I couldn't agree more. I find that I am increasingly looking at ways to develop resilience in my students. This is just as important as their academic development in my opinion.
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Debbie Hill replied to nassima medjebar
@nassimamedjebar Once you have the agreement of colleagues, the next step is to find a focus of enquiry which will be of lasting value to you all. I wish you every success!
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@JoOrgill Yes, another very popular option! We have 4 strands to our menu which girls can choose from: Practise, Reflect, Explore, Prepare
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@LynseyHolton I'm sorry you can't add to the page Lynsey; I'll ask the team if someone can look into this. Many thanks for sharing your ideas here.
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Debbie Hill replied to nassima medjebar
@nassimamedjebar I wish you much success using this! Do you already have a specific plan in mind?
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I agree Lynsey; I have found that this approach really furthers student engagement.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
Really enjoying reading all your thoughts on feedback; we have a group looking at effective feedback in our school at the moment, involving student voice as well.
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Debbie Hill replied to Alex C
I agree 100% Alex!
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Debbie Hill replied to Alex C
Another familiar situation Alex. I always try to make sure my agenda has two parts: Strategic Development (which focuses on teaching & learning and has at least 50% of the meeting time) and Points of Info (which I try to get through as swiftly as possible).
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Could you ask students to summarise their findings from the collaborative work, or to reflect on how effective the activity had been for their learning?
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Debbie Hill replied to Alex C
@AlexC That is a familiar dilemma Alex and I fully understand your point. However, by offering your students opportunities to collaborate and develop confidence and the ability to work as a team you are indeed preparing your girls for the world of work. Have you ever asked your students to come up with exam-type questions, in order to unpick what a good answer...
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@HeatherSelvadurai can you give some examples of what you have learnt about your students when watching group dynamics?
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Debbie Hill replied to Rhiannon R
I'd like to be a learner in your classroom Rhiannon! The ability to collaborate is such an important skill, much valued in university courses and the world of work.
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Debbie Hill replied to SHADRACK LIMUNGI
I have enjoyed reading your comments this week Shadrack. Good luck as you try out some of these techniques!
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I recognise the situation of teacher-centred learning from my time in India. Are there any possible opportunities in your classroom to try and introduce an element of discussion?
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Debbie Hill replied to Helen McConnell
Sometimes my students will say "I know this is a stupid question but ....". My reply to that is that there are no stupid questions, now what did you want to ask?" What happens to those confident 7 year olds mentioned above by @Louisa Gardner?
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Debbie Hill replied to Julia Thomson
That is a really interesting idea Julia; I had never thought about the girls who avoid landing in the pit in the first place. I guess we just have to make sure there is no avoiding it (with the gentlest of pushes?)
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Debbie Hill replied to Helen McDonald
We have an "Open Homework" week where we simply give the students a title or theme (e.g Space, Light). The creative work, the artefacts produced are amazing and students love the element of choice and freedom.
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I like the idea of your additional paragraph challenge; do you teach mixed or single sex groups? Would you present the challenge in a different way depending on the make up of the group?
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Debbie Hill replied to Zee Valley-Omar
A very powerful tool indeed.
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Debbie Hill replied to Helen McDonald
This is such an important point; it is vital that our students see us as lifelong learners and realise that not everything comes easy to us, just because we are teachers!
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I really like your 3 "R"s Stacey.
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I agree with what you are saying about double standards; we need to prepare our students - of both sexes - to be alert to these particular examples of inequality in the workplace and how to address them.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
Wow! Welcome to the course everyone; I'm really looking forward to exchanging views and ideas with you all. I am helping girls and young women find their voice and achieve their goals by working alongside teachers like you who want to make a difference.
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Debbie Hill replied to Fernanda Losardo
@FernandaLosardo You summarise the benefits really well. The wonderful thing about courses such as these is that even if you are working alone in your school, experiences and ideas can be shared in a forum such as this.
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Debbie Hill replied to Patricia Benvenuti
@PatriciaBenvenuti Yes, every single one of us - students and teachers
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Debbie Hill replied to Nuran Ally
@NuranAlly Absolutely! The willingness to collaborate is key.
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Debbie Hill replied to Elena S
@ElenaS Thank you! Another feature for me to try out!
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Debbie Hill replied to Carol S
Yes, for me too. Like Barbara below, I teach Languages but the podcast idea opened my eyes to its value in so many different curriculum areas.
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Debbie Hill replied to Barbara Stucky
Yes, I agree: this type of technology is invaluable for Language teachers. I think the podcast for these History students made me (and our students) realise the value of the recording feature for Humanities subjects in order to showcase quite different skills.
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Debbie Hill replied to Joff JK
Yes, it was the perfect opportunity and was received very well by the students.
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Debbie Hill replied to Eduardo Mórlan
It is a great step forward for language teachers to have a range of options for recording our students, both in terms of evidencing progress and also in being able to offer valuable and individualised feedback to those students.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
I love this idea! I am the first to own up that I am no digital expert and am always keen to accept advice, help and ideas from my students on digital matters in particular. It is really important for them to see "lifelong learning" in action. I often offer the students a choice of media when producing a piece of work and am always impressed by the results and...
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Debbie Hill replied to Elena S
@ElenaS I love the idea of practising pronunciation; I didn't realise there was a record option!
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Debbie Hill made a comment
Our school is part of an Erasmus+ project with four other schools in Europe. It's a great way for both the students and the staff to share ideas and experiences.
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Debbie Hill replied to Carol S
Hi Carol Have you considered the Lesson Study model?
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Your comment about "day to day usage" is key to this debate. Peter Dudley's Lesson Study model is a collaborative approach to CPD, or as I prefer to call JCPD (J = joint) which is conducted in your own school, with your own pupils and colleagues. I have yet to find a more relevant form of JCPD.
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@LydiaGrant I use student voice in a number of different ways: exit tickets, face to face, google surveys and good old paper surveys too. The important thing is to start from the student as learner: how do they learn most effectively? what tools do they already have? would they have liked a different task or another option? what would they do differently next...
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Debbie Hill replied to Jemma Godfrey
@JemmaGodfrey so much can come out of a joint planning meeting; often totally unexpected things too!
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Debbie Hill replied to Carolyn H
@CarolynH That is brilliant! I'm so pleased. Yes, start small and when your Head sees the impact that your study has, then I am sure you will win even more support. I wish you good luck and a really productive learning experience for everyone involved.
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Debbie Hill replied to Lauris Grundmanis
I find it useful to make a note of anything that I might be thinking of developing, or when a colleague says "I wonder if ......" Sometimes those chance remarks or thoughts can lead to a great study.
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I think it is great when students recognise that we are also lifelong learners and not the finished article. It's modelling exactly what we want them to be.
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I agree. We've just conducted a student survey at my school about the effectiveness of different types of feedback; some dislike peer assessment because they feel people are being too kind or not specific enough. There is much work to be done on effective feedback.
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Debbie Hill replied to Jane Sladdin
Another idea is to have a "silent conversation". I put up sheets of A3 paper around my classroom with different questions and students have to walk around and write down their own contributions. We then look at all the responses together as a group. This ensures that everyone has made a contribution, albeit in a non-verbal way. I've done this as a staff...
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I agree! Any more examples out there of what this can look like in the classroom?
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Do you have an opportunity to share your expertise and good practice with your colleagues?
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Debbie Hill replied to Elizabeth M N
You would make an ideal member of a Lesson Study group with your particular skills.
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Debbie Hill replied to Lauris Grundmanis
Do you already have an idea for a focus?
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Debbie Hill replied to Jemma Godfrey
The Lesson Study model refers to teacher "tacit knowledge" which we all have and which we call upon regularly and often unconsciously; the beauty of this model is that it enables this tacit knowledge to surface through discussion, which can then be shared with others
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Debbie Hill replied to Carolyn H
A Lesson Study has some flexibility and it can be adapted to fit your own school and situation. It is important to have the full support of your senior management team in recognising this process as high quality staff development which impacts directly on the learning in the classroom; for example, could you have some cover to observe another colleague? Could...
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Debbie Hill replied to Hobbes Pleason
Such a powerful word.
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It is interesting to note reactions when I offer no instant feedback or praise to responses in class; I often bounce the question to someone else to keep the discussion going but those students who have responded are expecting my immediate praise.
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As a teacher of MFL I agree. There is a huge shift I find between the younger students who are happy to try out new language in a supportive environment and the increasingly self-conscious 14 year old. This shift often coincides with the start of GCSE courses where the stakes are higher. How do we maintain the confidence of those younger years?
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Debbie Hill replied to Katharine Childs
Love "what have you got in your hand?" I use the Learning Pit in my MFL lessons regularly, to explore how we overcome (linguistic) challenges.
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Debbie Hill replied to Lindsay Patience
If we create the right conditions in the "learning zone" we can help to develop that confidence and self- belief, however we need to work on developing the resilience to deal with set backs and in asserting themselves in new contexts, including the work place. What do others think?
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Debbie Hill made a comment
What a huge range of experience and expertise! I am really looking forward to collaborating with you over the course.
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Debbie Hill replied to Lindsay Patience
Absolutely Lindsay and hopefully our sharing of thoughts and ideas over this course will enable us to dig deeper and look at how to address this.
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Debbie Hill replied to Augusta Cooper
Good luck; I have had some great student discussions focused on the learning pit.
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Debbie Hill replied to Emi-joe Irvine
See comments above re length of assignment. We discovered this was an issue if the assignment was too short.
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Debbie Hill replied to Jane Sladdin
I'm not an expert in primary education, but I do think this can be introduced successfully in this phase. I have a colleague who has used some of the ideas from this MOOC with her year 1 class, with fantastic results.
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Absolutely; maybe our next step should be a MOOC or similar for parents.
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Debbie Hill replied to Elisa H
We're still working on it.
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That's great; getting students to teach something they have learnt really helps to embed that learning. I am also experimenting with the element of choice I give my students, both with class work and with learning beyond the classroom as well. So far, they have responded really well to the element of choice, and have been willing to challenge themselves.
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Debbie Hill replied to Elisa H
Sorry about the submission problems. Will try to investigate further.
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Which is absolutely fine, as these shifts and changes take time. Gradually, with your planning and your reflections, you will see the shift towards "high confidence"
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I think the fact you didn't have a lot of support will have made it much more difficult; it is those opportunities to bounce ideas off colleagues and reflect together with them that makes our own learning so enriching.
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Students really appreciate the fact that we are learners too.
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Hi Jeannette. I wonder if you and like-minded colleagues could offer to give a short presentation at a future meeting with a Q & A session afterwards? I know time is tight and agendas are full at such meetings, but it would be wonderful to raise the status of T & L at this level of discussion.
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Debbie Hill replied to Elisa H
Hi Elisa. My recent experience is in a girls' only classroom but I would urge you to keep asking the question; the quality of the discussions and the sharing of ideas here in this forum are great and hopefully some more advice will come through this medium.
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Sharing good practice at its best! Great discussion here.
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Debbie Hill replied to Kate Marson
Yes, many colleagues have been curious about this strategy, only to discover they do this under another name!
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Debbie Hill replied to Tina Beattie
Collective responsibility is key.
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Jeannette, as a governor, could you request that Teaching & Learning becomes a regular item on future agendas?
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Debbie Hill made a comment
I'm going for environment: as educators and parents we need to create the right environment for girls to grow, face challenges, fail and bounce back.
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Having visited lots of university open days very recently with my two sons, I was interested to hear at many of them about the emphasis on collaborative learning, which was also assessed as such. The drive for this was that employers are seeking so much more than paper qualifications now; they want evidence of the soft skills as well e.g. the ability to work...
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Yes, you are right. Knowing the needs and story behind each student is vital if you are going to achieve the right climate in your classroom.
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As you say, so important to allow time for reflection as well.
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I'm trying very hard to give an element of choice in classroom and beyond the classroom learning opportunities: enormous praise given to those who step out of their comfort zone and go for the challenging activity, knowing they will inevitably make mistakes ....
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Time to listen to your inner cheerleader Claudia!
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I try very hard to promote the culture of the "inner cheerleader" in my classroom. Sometimes we are so focused on targets for improvement, it can appear as if we are overlooking all those positives. In terms of life choices, I am reminded of a response by Cheryl Giovannoni, the CEO at the GDST at a recent Q&A at our welcome conference, that the most important...
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Angela, this is so true: we need to have our parents fully "on message" as well.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
I teach MFL and I am also learning a new language. I sometimes talk to my students about my frustrations and my setbacks with my own learning so that they can see this is a perfectly natural part of the learning process.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
Great for improving listening skills as well. I'm thinking I could also use this to develop spontaneous use of target language in MFL learning.
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Debbie Hill replied to rachel brennan
In a previous mixed school I sometimes paired boys with girls in MFL. This is going to sound very stereotypical, but the girls were more focused and kept the boys on task, whilst the boys were not afraid to have a go and make mistakes in the target language. This worked well for everyone as long as I kept altering pairings/groupings.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
For the past few years our school has had a "golden lesson" week on the calendar, where each member of staff produces their own GL. We indicate on a sheet when each lesson will be and what format it will take, so that anyone who is free can pop in and observe. We've taken a break from that idea this year, however, it is something I hope we will re-visit as a...
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Debbie Hill made a comment
My starter activities usually re-visit prior learning so I am going to experiment with No. 2: identify issues and challenges from prior learning and "problemise" the topic. I also love the idea of a Challenge Week; I'm going to raise that with the pastoral team in school in January.
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That, and a shortage of curriculum time as well.
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Debbie Hill made a comment
What a great way to visualise the struggles that students can encounter when going beyond surface knowledge. So important for language teachers who want their students to manipulate the language rather than simply repeat parrot-fashion but who also realise this is where students will encounter difficulties and may give up. Seeing the learning pit as a natural...
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I sometimes get my students to set their own challenge too.
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Yes, I think so too. When students make a mistake in a sentence, I sometimes ask them to make one change without telling them what the mistake is. Sometimes they make the wrong change, but get there eventually, often with peer help and they have a better understanding of the language as a result.
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Having parents on board is vital; as a Language teacher I am used to hearing "I'm no good at languages", from parents as well as students.
