In response to the new 9-1 grade English GCSE, this Outstanding Teaching, Learning and assessment (OTLA 3) project in 2017/19, Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (GBMET) wanted to raise standards in post-16 English. They wanted responsibility for developing English skills to be shared across curriculum areas by making a core group of staff confident of improving students' reading, research, planning and assignment writing skills.
Digital badges offer a way of accrediting skills often unrecognised by formal qualifications; skills essential to success at college and beyond. The aim of this 2017/19 digital recording of English and maths (DREAM) outstanding teaching, learning and assessment (OTLA 3) project by Eastleigh and East Sussex colleges was to see if using digital badges towards Functional Skills and GCSE qualifications in maths and English improves learner motivation, achievement and employability. By the end of the project, nearly 400 learners across the two colleges enrolled with the Open Badge Academy.
This Outstanding Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (OTLA 3) project, led by Newcastle College working with Community First North East, from 2017 to 2019, was initially designed to encourage collaboration and research among practitioners working in alternative education. It gave practitioners opportunities to explore the ingredients to create truly ‘alternative’ education programmes for young people not in education, employment or training. Early findings revealed the potential the alternative curriculum also had for improving most programmes targeting 16-19-year-olds.
In their Outstanding Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (OTLA 3) project in 2017/18 Kendal College and HMP Haverigg built on a previous Education and Training Foundation (ETF) project piloting the 'Effective Practice Guidelines' (EPGs) for assessment and tracking. They tested EPG-recommended approaches, such as ‘limiting assessment to what is necessary’ and ‘assessing for self-belief and motivation’. They focused on GCSE maths progress (or lack of it) at a microscopic level to enable learners to recognise, record and ‘own’ their progress.
Using action research to promote more effective partnerships between teachers and student support assistants.
This Outstanding Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (OTLA 3) project in 2017/18 sought to prompt adult GCSE and Access students to make more effective use of feedback from teachers. Since learners enrol at college with a variety of academic starting points, the project team hoped this would help them set meaningful stretch targets for learners and enable learners to set their own short-term goals and take greater control of their learning.
This action research project, which trialled new exemplar Functional Skills maths and English activities, was part of the ETF Phase 3 Outstanding Teaching, Learning and Assessment programme in 2017/18. The aim was to investigate the newly created activities, to evaluate their effectiveness, and to identify training other teachers might need before using them. The project found that an experienced subject specialist teacher would be able to use the activities but an inexperienced teacher would struggle without guidance.
All seven prisons in the North East of England and Cumbria took part in this NOVUS offender learning Outstanding Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (OTLA 3) project in 2017/18. The aim was to design and implement a “teach-meet” approach to promoting outstanding practice through teach-meet events, focusing on maths, English and ICT. Participants included maths and English teachers, learning support specialists, managers and vocational trainers, representatives from the prison and probation services, and prisoners.
The Creative Futures outstanding teaching, learning and assessment technical skills project aimed to drive
Building on existing policies and procedures they used a combination of approaches, which included opportunities for groups of staff to openly discuss the challenges and opportunities which the general subject of E and D presented. This encouraged them to develop a bank of locally tested and validated resources and reworked ideas for E and D teaching alongside attendance at relevant community events such as College Pride. Learners contributed by exploring how E and D in teaching, learning, and assessment might better reflect their concerns, experiences and gaps in knowledge.
