This quick sequence is focused at literacy leaders – both Literacy Coordinators, Studying Leads, or Curriculum Deputies – with a key position in main literacy to make sure that pupils entry the curriculum and reach assembly the educational calls for of faculty.
Each faculty coverage needs to be seen by way of the eyes of a lately certified trainer on a full timetable, with a tough class or courses.
While you start with this assumption, it instantly makes you contemplate the issue stage of embedding any shiny improvements, modified curricula, or new educating strategies. Even a seemingly minor new educating technique have to be built-in into a posh array of present habits, courses, timetabling, and classroom peculiarities.
Then we contemplate literacy. Its scale and scope are close to limitless: studying, writing, speak routines, spelling, grammar, enhancing, textual content decisions, textual content decisions, curriculum planning, and pupils’ literacy limitations and so on. The checklist goes on.
With these challenges attending growing educating strategies and trainer habits, it is sensible for literacy leaders to rigorously about implementing a small variety of significant however manageable literacy developments.
COM-B – A useful mannequin to think about trainer behaviour change
It’s useful to attempt to distil down a probable literacy problem/growth, corresponding to ‘enhance the studying of informational texts and curriculum entry’.
First, what particular trainer behaviours are we want to assist? As an example, it might be we wish academics to appraise the issue stage of all informational texts they’re utilizing. Along with that, it might be we’re after academics pre-teaching ‘keystone vocabulary’, or planning retrieval quizzes on the premise of chosen tough informational texts.
We then might contemplate what lively pupil behaviours we’re desiring to assist, in order that pupils learn informational texts extra efficiently. It could be that we educate them older pupils particular note-taking methods, corresponding to Cornell Notice-making, to assist them chunk down, navigate and report difficult informational texts.
Upon getting refined the specifics you’ll be able to then use the COM-B mannequin to mirror additional on the behaviour change we’re after. The COM-B behaviour mannequin, is a part of a ‘behaviour change wheel’ devised by Susan Michie and colleagues. On the coronary heart of the method is a helpful consideration of the drivers of human behaviour – academics or in any other case:
You may apply the mannequin to the related literacy method you want to assist:
Functionality: This describes each the bodily and psychological functionality to undertake a behaviour. As an example, do academics have the power and stamina, together with the deep information and abilities to replan classes and focus in on altering the studying method to tough informational texts. On the subject of informational texts, there may be possible a topic information problem to collate a spread of apt texts and to have the ability to break them down and scaffold them appropriately.
Alternative: This describes each the bodily alternatives (time for SOL planning and bodily assets – corresponding to new textbooks) and social alternatives (do my division or part group colleagues need to make comparable modifications and need to collaborate?). Maybe the chief actuality right here is giving over the time to make a change and having a group of colleagues working with you. With out these helps, alternatives are at all times restricted. Bear in mind the busy RQT on a full timetable?
Motivation: This describes a reflective motivation (whereat academics plan and mirror upon their work, thereby influencing our attitudes and behaviours), together with our computerized motivations (such because the habits that drive our day by day observe). In fact, if in case you have each ‘functionality’ and ‘alternative’, then motivation is extra possible. With informational texts, our curriculum planning might steer our educating approaches, together with our recurring approaches to efficiently scaffolding tough texts in our topic or part. In reality, academics simply might not recognise there is a matter, and so are simply not motivated to vary.
COM-B and Literacy Priorities
Utilizing this mannequin to mirror on any proposed literacy priorities can show helpful. For instance, if there are challenges with regard to trainer information or approach, then CPD is the answer. And but, if motivation is low, or there may be too little time or alternative, then CPD is more likely to show crucial however inadequate.
You may attempt it shortly. You need to enhance the educating of the enhancing course of for pupils’ writing in any respect key phases throughout a variety of academics and TAs? Effectively, what trainer downside is that this fixing (motivation)? How a lot topic information and confidence do academics have in explicitly educating sentence variation or spelling patterns (functionality)? The place within the faculty day are these approaches being embedded and the way do academics discover the time to offer significant suggestions to pupils (alternative)?
Now, contemplate the method to behaviours that drive improved spelling, enhancing, and writing accuracy from a pupil perspective. Functionality, alternative and motivation nonetheless apply.
We might come to new reflections as literacy leaders. A CPD session, or perhaps a sequence of coaching, is unlikely to show a silver bullet.
Not solely that – it will not be that academics are immune to adjusting their literacy practices in any respect – it might simply show that they don’t seem to be wholly clear what particular behaviour modifications are literally crucial within the classroom. As an example, academics might perceive an intention to learn extra prolonged texts, however they aren’t clear when or how finest to enact prolonged studying throughout the restricted scope of present curriculum time.
Let’s contemplate each literacy growth, certainly all faculty enchancment plans, by way of the lens of that harried, enthusiastic RQT going through a stacked timetable. COM-B may assist to raised assist and steer profitable change. If we’re main literacy, in no matter position, let’s guarantee we seize each alternative to affect and assist academics to make profitable modifications.
Learn the sequence:
Half 1: ‘Main Literacy… And Perennial Issues’
Half 2: Main Literacy…And Influencing Lecturers
Half 3: Main Literacy…And Purposeful Skilled Growth
Half 4: Main Literacy…And Speaking Complexity
Half 5: Main Literact…And Evaluating Influence