It’s unsurprising that adapting to online teaching came with its own set of challenges. Besides the technological hurdles, teaching and learning often takes place asynchronously, teachers don’t immediately see the reactions of their students and communication has to go through new and different channels. Even well-established classroom strategies don’t work in the same way anymore and need to be reconsidered under the implications of distance. 

To ensure a continued high-quality education for pupils, we’ve launched one-of-a-kind online CPD events for teachers; bringing together educators from all around the country and inspiring meaningful conversations about some of the most important teaching strategies in the context of distance learning. Something which really sets this apart from other distance learning offerings is that we recognise that developing knowledge is only part of the process. If teachers are to make impactful changes to their practice the learning must be followed up with teacher practice, reflection and collaboration to develop and sustain the skill. For this reason we have also made available the full suite of IRIS Connect video tools for free. Teachers can now, at the click of a button, capture teaching and learning on video to reflect on, analyse and share with colleagues. 

Experience high-impact CPD this summer term. Sign up to one, or all of the following interactive and collaborative distance learning webinars and get free access to the IRIS Connect platform for you or your school. 

1. Dialogue and Oracy

It’s vital that learners have the oracy and communicative skills required to discuss learning with their peers, and respond to questioning and assessment, all of which gives teachers an opportunity to discover where best to focus on that learner’s development.

However, this doesn’t come naturally to children, who are not usually required to provide reasons, build on the ideas of others or argue their case in everyday life. If we are to develop a ‘dialogic classroom’, we need our children to talk productively together when they are in pairs or groups. This means employing modelling, but it also means actively teaching learners to use educated, exploratory talk (Mercer, 2000), which can be characterised as talk in which we can hear questions, reasons and discussion being used as a tool for thinking together. 

Therefore, the teacher’s construction of dialogic interactions in whole class settings can model the expected interactions between pupils when they work together in groups. 

With teachers and pupils now working together over distance, this becomes even more challenging. How can we continue to develop learners’ oracy and communicative skills? Do you consider your learners to currently have sufficient opportunities to engage in dialogue with peers?

Find out by joining our distance learning webinar on dialogue and oracy and discussing with fellow educators from around the country.

2. Instruction and practice

Understanding and correctly applying instruction is fundamental to effective teaching. Too much information can lead to cognitive overload. 

The way we present new information can reduce cognitive load and increase learning, helping pupils retain information. For example, dual coding is the process of combining verbal materials with visual materials. There are many ways to visually represent material, such as with infographics, timelines, cartoon strips, diagrams, and graphic organizers. When you have the same information in two formats – words and visuals – it gives you two ways of remembering the information later on and has a smaller impact upon cognitive load.

Cognitive overload can lead to pupils becoming disengaged with the learning. This is much harder to manage in an online context as the non-verbal cues you would receive in the classroom become harder to spot. That being said, there are some great online tools to manage cognitive load. 

Learn more about these tools as well as practical strategies for instruction and practice with our online distance learning webinar.

3. Questioning

Teachers use hundreds of questions every day so it’s important to use them with purpose. From a pedagogical point of view they serve two crucial roles:

• To check for understanding i.e. to identify misconceptions and provide corrective feedback.
• To develop metacognition and self regulation, that is, to help students develop a better understanding of themselves and their progress and to make deeper connections within the content.

It’s important to strike the right balance between the two and to use them strategically and at the right time within the learning process. The outcome of a good question, whatever its purpose, is that it causes thinking.

Improving your questioning technique can help develop a positive learning culture in your teaching – both in the classroom and through synchronous online activities such as video-conferencing – by encouraging more in-depth exploratory dialogue.

What types of questions should I consider using? How can I support learners with higher order questioning? How can I focus on the importance of questioning in distance learning? 

Answer these questions and delve deeper into the varied possibilities that distance learning can provide for both you and your learners with our distance learning webinar.

4. Assessment and Feedback

Formative Assessment, along with effective feedback, is one of the most impactful parts of teaching and when it is done well can foster significant improvement. 

A key part of assessment is providing pupils with rubrics to assess both their own work, and also that of their peers. With pupils now socially distanced, and perhaps also working asynchronously, ensuring that peer-evaluation remains a focus will be a challenge facing many educators, meaning it is paramount that teachers have visibility over the work that learners complete.

Then providing these learners with information that allows them to reduce the gap between what is evident currently and what could or should be the case is the important role of feedback.

It’s been shown that the focus of feedback and the form it takes, can have a significant impact on learning outcomes. Crucially, this impact can be either positive or negative i.e poor feedback harms learning.

Under the implications of distance, how can we adapt feedback to ensure it drives procedural fluency as well as self-regulation in learners?

Find out by joining our distance learning webinar on assessment and feedback and discussing with fellow educators from around the country.

Read more about IRIS Connect’s impact on the EdTech Impact platform: https://www.edtechimpact.com/products/iris-connect/

Schools are well-known for their openness and celebration of diversity when it comes to students, but some LGBT teachers still feel isolated and uncomfortable to talk openly about their sexuality. Schools are heteronormative workplaces and being a person who is not ‘straight’ requires some careful navigation. Headteachers and school leaders have a responsibility to sustain a school environment that welcomes diversity, supports equality, and defends all staff, including those who identify as LGBT. If you are a school leader who identifies as heterosexual, or is not part of a minority group, you are less likely to notice the exclusion or the discrimination that may be happening in your school. 

As an LGBT teacher and a gay man, I have been subjected to abuse and discrimination throughout my life for loving someone of the same sex. Even though government legislation has strengthened over the last few years, there is still a long way to go. As an LGBT teacher, I am hyper vigilant and cautious about who I ‘come out’ to. This feeling of uncertainty is because being straight is the preferred and presumed sexuality. Choosing to ‘come out’ to students, families and colleagues is fearful, as you do not know their opinions and beliefs when it comes to the LGBT community. Making your school LGBT+ friendly must begin with small, deliberate steps. We must acknowledge that this will not happen overnight, but with thoughtful planning and strong leadership, a school can improve its culture of inclusivity for everyone.

When making cultural change in your school, it is important to avoid tokenism. It is superficial to teach diversity for a week or a month as a bolt on to your curriculum, when that is the only time you discuss LGBT rights or teach how to be anti-racist. All members of your school community are needed to make real change, deliberately walking the walk, instead of just talking the talk. 

Below are my five top tips for making your school LGBT+ friendly: 

1. Use Inclusive Language 

Making small changes around inclusive language can have a huge impact on either making people feel accepted and/or feeling excluded. 

Here are my suggestions:

• Instead of greeting your staff team or students with, ‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls’, say, ‘Good morning everyone’. With this, you have included all genders and identities without assuming everyone identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth.  
• Challenge students and colleagues who continue to use phrases that diminish showing emotion or acting like a particular gender. For example: ‘man-up’, ‘you throw like a girl’, and ‘boys don’t cry’. 
• Stop organising students into boys’ teams and girls’ teams, find different ways. 
• Avoid reinforcing gender stereotypes.

2. An LGBT+ friendly school is everyone’s responsibility

• It is a mistake to think that creating an LGBT+ friendly school should solely be the responsibility of the ‘gay teacher’. It should be a collective responsibility. Headteachers, senior leadership teams, teachers and the rest of the school community should be actively working together to promote an inclusive and diverse environment, ensuring all members of staff and students feel safe and can be their authentic selves. 
• CPD and INSET days could involve external speakers, offering your staff a refreshing voice and a different perspective. 
• LGBT+ people experience the world differently to their heterosexual counterparts, and school leaders should give them a safe space to talk about their experiences, with the support of their LGBT allies.

3. Be Proud of LGBT Visibility 

If you are showing a prospective same sex family around your school, or a LGBT teacher comes for an interview, or a new student who may identify as LGBT or does not know their sexuality, how do they know that this school or future workplace is a safe and inclusive environment where they can be their authentic self? 

Here are some suggestions:

• Give teachers a choice to wear LGBT badges/pins or have LGBT lanyards
• Display the Pride flag inside and outside your school. There are many flags here that represent the LGBT+ community. 
• Displays. Show your visitors that you celebrate inclusion and diversity. Have displays celebrating LGBT stories and issues. 
• Encourage LGBT+ teachers to make a network or support group where they can talk about LGBT issues and use this to show that LGBT+ voices matter.
• Have your senior leadership team and staff go on a learning walk, where the focus is LGBT inclusion. Can you see it represented in your school?

4. Have an inclusive and diverse curriculum

Your curriculum should be well planned and deliberately tailored to minority groups and should not be left to chance. To avoid tokenism, these practices should be carefully planned and seen across all subject areas. 

Here are some suggestions:

• Children’s story books should include and promote different family dynamics, including same sex couples, single parents, foster parents, disabled children and parents, families of colour, families of different religions. Here are some ideas. 
• In mathematics, have word problems that are inclusive of same sex families. Instead of Mrs. Smith or John, have names that come from a range of countries and heritages.
• In your presentations, ensure that the pictures you use show a range of minority groups. 
• In your humanities curriculum, teach about colonisation, the impact of imperialism, and celebrate indigenous communities and customs. See here for more about decolonising your school curriculum. 
• Diversify your set texts, offer a range of authors, not just white, heterosexual men.

5. Educate Yourself 

I believe the best way to learn more about the LGBT community is to educate yourself, have an open mind and be comfortable with being challenged. I feel there can sometimes be a fear about people who do not belong to a certain minority group, making a mistake or unconsciously offending someone, or using a term or acronym that is outdated. 

Here are my suggestions:

Read books and use organisations that specifically discuss LGBT voices in education and whole school approaches:

• Catherine Lee’s ‘Courage in The Classroom. LGBT Teachers share their stories’.
• Shaun Dellenty’s ‘Celebrating Difference. A Whole School Approach to LGBT+ inclusion’.
• Andrew Moffat’s book series for the No Outsiders programme. 
• These organisations offer a plethora of teaching resources: Schools Out, Stonewall Education, Mermaids UK, LGBT Ed, and The LGBT Primary Hub. 

The LGBT Primary Hub offers a snappy timeline of our history and glossary of LGBT vocabulary.

However, lockdown also provides an opportunity to encourage students to think about and prepare for their future. No matter what entry route to work a student is planning on taking; whether that’s leaving school to do an apprenticeship, going straight into work or attending university and then seeking internships and graduate jobs, they must be equipped with the skills to thrive in the future of work as well as the skills to get through the hiring process, which will be a novel and scary experience to many. Now is the perfect opportunity to prepare them for that. 

So, how can schools and teachers encourage students to engage more with early careers and build their confidence in the future?

1. Involve the parents

Parents hold a big influence over your students and you can definitely use this to your advantage. Keeping parents informed and supplied with useful resources can help with reaching students and encouraging them to engage more with early careers. Some ideas on how to go about this would be:

• Sending an email out to your parent contacts with a list of helpful early career resources
• Sharing informative articles to help parents understand the early careers market so they are in a better position to provide advice.

2. Utilise digital resources

Early careers recruiting has become almost fully digitalised. Gone are the days of handing in physical CVs to employers. Employers now look for candidates who have invested in themselves before applying for an opportunity and now is the time to encourage students to build their online presence to get ahead.

A huge number of companies have now converted their once physical offerings to digital ones. Make use of sites with resource libraries to help you explore and digest exactly what’s on offer. We’re all aware of how much extra time students will be spending on their phones now they’re working in less supervised environments so why not encourage them to use their phones more proactively? If your school has a policy that doesn’t allow students to use their phone in school, now is the ideal time to engage them with helpful career and employment apps and tools.

Providing a variety of resources is also key to keeping students engaged. ‘Digital exhaustion’ and countless reading tasks can cause students to disengage rapidly. Recommend podcasts they can listen to away from the desk and direct them to informative videos for a change of pace. Live online events have exploded in number since lockdown began – you could even encourage students to attend virtual workshops that do the teaching for you! 

3. Use a personal touch

Don’t underestimate the power of a personal check-in with your students. If you haven’t already, contact them and ask them directly how they are feeling about their future prospects and what they need from you. 

One idea suggested by a young person is to create focus-groups of students with similar ideas on what they want to do after school (i.e. college, apprenticeship, university) and encourage them to have weekly online meetings to support each other with applications.

4. Make the most of the platforms students are already using

We know that young people love using apps like Instagram to connect with their peers but also to learn new things. Why not encourage them to spend some time following career-related pages or employers that may be of interest to them? Companies are using these apps more to showcase days in the life of employees, what their cultures are like and how sustainable and inclusive they are: things that are increasingly appealing to young people when making career-based decisions.

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Most importantly, when guiding students through the turmoil of having to decide on their next steps in an uncertain future, communication is key. Be open, understanding and honest with your students. They will be the ones shaping the post-COVID 19 future.

Useful resources:

Careers and Enterprise Company Activity Provider Directory

LifeSkills with Barclays

I began teaching four years ago in a diverse, multi-ethnic school in London. Being black and a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, this was ideal for me as I felt as though I fitted in. That burning feeling of being the ‘different’ one in the room no longer existed, I finally belonged somewhere. It wasn’t always like this, however. My journey to teaching was not an easy one – it was one that was met with many bumps in the road, a few relating back to my race and religion. 

A few months into my NQT year I realized that there were more bumps on this road to come. I continued to face situations in which my race and religion were attacked – whether this be through microaggressions of racism, or blatant prejudice remarks from my co-workers. These comments hurt. Some affected me to the point that they made me question whether this fight to be a teacher was worth it anymore. Why do I find myself constantly defending the essence of who I am? How hard would I have to fight to progress in my career? Nevertheless, I trudged on and I am about to complete four years of teaching.

Throughout those years, I met the most amazing black women, who would fearlessly highlight concerns around diversity and representation issues in the curriculum. It never occurred to me that there was an issue with what the children in my classes were consuming when it came to the people in my PowerPoint presentation, or the animated characters I would use to engaged them in their worksheets. My resources were, unfortunately, lacking BAME (Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority) faces. Consequently, when this sunk in, I really had an ‘Oh no!’ sort out moment. I’d felt I’d let my all the children in my class down, especially the black children in my class. I’d also felt like I’d let myself down. My everyday presence was suppose to be that pillar of diverse visibility – yet I now know that was not enough..

A few memories stand out regarding this topic, one being receiving planning for a PSHE lesson on families and poverty. There were two slides full of images – one slide showing happy families that weren’t poor – the majority of them being white. The other slide showed happy families again, but this time they were clearly living in poorer conditions than those in the first slide. Sadly, many of these families on the second slide were from BAME communities! I felt as though this was sending a hugely negative image to the children – a message basically supporting the view of there being a great deal of poverty in Africa and little else. I personally took it upon myself to modify the message these images were sending. My example may seem like a small one at that, however without that simple act of intervention, I believe the impact would have been nothing lesson than damaging. 

Unfortunately, not every teacher is forward-thinking, and not every teacher has colleagues that aren’t afraid to talk about racism. I was lucky enough to have met some amazing black teachers who pushed me to not only feel grateful that I made it to where I am (and think that was enough), but also to think critically about my practice and how what role race plays in education. I am by no means well versed in this topic at all – I can only talk from experiences, reflection and engaging discussions I have had. However, I can confidently say that the curriculum in the UK does not fully support visibility and diversity. When teaching across the curriculum, whether it be English, Maths, Art or even ICT, significant black individuals who lead in these fields must be presented and discussed amongst children.

Additionally, race and religion aren’t explored enough in PSHE lessons. The theme in PSHE lessons surrounding these topics tends to be driven by this vague notion of ‘everyone is different but should be treated equally’. Now, this is a fantastic idea to drive home with young children, however it is simply not enough. Children need to be explicit about racism and why it is wrong (in the most child-friendly way, of course), so that they may be fully equipped to deal with situations they may encounter in the future. We need to embed these seeds from the very beginning. Another suggestion, would be that all schools should offer whole-school CPD around this issue. Firstly, CPD regarding inclusivity in the workplace, including what is appropriate and not appropriate to talk about with colleagues and children. Secondly, CPD concerning how to be reflective on diversity when planning for lessons. Unfortunately, organizing training like this would need to come from Senior Leadership in most schools, you can try and make suggestions, but ultimately the big decisions aren’t ours.

I’ve had a few discussions with white teachers about this topic, and the recurring theme seems to be they do not want to seem tokenistic when planning. I’d argue that this fear is what is holding us back from making our lessons more inclusive. Let those fears go, and try your best to reflect the wonderful diversity the world offers – and if you’re unsure about something, ask! Ask a BAME colleague or friend – there’s no question that can’t be answered. Ultimately, the world is becoming somewhat of a scary place and there is a undeniable responsibility on our shoulders as educators, myself included towards shaping future members of society. We have a duty to the children from minorities in our classes, to showcase and celebrate different cultures and races, everyday and in every lesson. 

Resources to get you started:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18U4r7TfnY9b9ahaUYkZH8_l98iE382_h/view – A Google Drive resource created by @BLK_Excel_InSci on Twitter celebrating and exploring black scientists. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FpbD7YA1A9vUvasH6Jv5h1Lh5maHYIdT – @BAMEWeTeach on Twitter has created a Google Drive which has resources encouraging more racial awareness and diversity (including a great reading list with books that aren’t all about racism, but instead promote black voices).

Schools in the last decade have wrestled with reducing the barriers that young people have faced in and out of schools. We have seen countless initiatives that have attempted to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots. Educational technology has long been seen as the great leveller, as it has the potential to give young people a modern learning experience and engaging content.

However, edtech is just a tool or an enabler to help enhance the teaching and learning experience. It needs outside involvement to motivate individuals, create emotional connections and provide genuine interactions. But quite often, depending who is controlling the narrative, the technology can be positioned to be the silver bullet or saviour to all our problems. This can be detrimental to schools because they end up spending huge sums of their budget on edtech that is costly to sustain and function on a daily basis. 

The sudden appearance of coronavirus forced schools to become digital and changed the way we’ve done schooling. The majority of schools started to place work on their VLEs and delivered online teaching sessions. The concept of young people learning online and teachers being able to monitor progress became the new norm. However using edtech to paint over the cracks was always going to be an issue. Being in lockdown was going to present a mixed experience for young people depending on their home environment, family structure and technology access. 

It was evident that edtech and schools expectations of doing work at home was a big ask due the current curriculum’s structure around exams and measurable targets. This style requires teachers to be hands on and guide students through their learning experience. 

Another issue was the lack of tech young people have at home to access the resources that teachers had uploaded. Once again this shows that not all families have the same privileges, access or capabilities to function effectively at home. However, some schools have offered young people tablets and laptops to help them access their work from home. These quick fix solutions do help to reduce some of the barriers in the interim but present new unforeseen challenges. 

Recent news reports have shown that only 20% of young people have engaged with the content that teachers have uploaded online. The need to think differently in this crisis may lead to having a different sort of curriculum in the future for example a portfolio based curriculum where students use a range of online tools to solve a problem that they are passionate about. Currently, edtech tools are mainly empty vessels which depend on the teacher to populate with content. 

Much of the classwork uploaded online is the same work that demotivates young people in the classroom. What would be interesting to see if we gave young people more ownership in designing their own edtech experience and tools. This might encourage them to have a greater interest and experience using the technology. The future of edtech looks bright if they are ready to address the societal issues that schools face on a daily basis.

“Privilege is invisible to those who have it” – Dr Michael Kimmel

Start from where people are

With schools reopening to more of their pupils this month, staff wellbeing is vital in order to manage this new normal of education. It’s important to understand there may well be a periphery of emotions for school staff, along with some professional and personal conflict. As educators we have a strong sense of purpose and duty of care to meet the needs of our pupils, however this time of pause has provided us the space to breath and reflect on what our life priorities are. There may also be a shift of focus from work to family life or simply a need to slow down, for others, the lockdown may have provided an opportunity for professional growth and development. Wherever you sit within this gauge, know that it’s ok to prioritise your own wellbeing and still effectively fulfil your roles to a high standard.

Pupils will have their own stories to tell of how their lockdown experience has played out. Offering a safe space for these narratives to be shared is key for recovery. We have the opportunity to flip the narrative from post-traumatic stress to post traumatic growth. I am a firm believer that we need to start from where people are in order to move forward with any kind of wellbeing prescription.  

Nurture First, learning second

For children and young people to regain a sense of safety, it’s important to offer a healthy hub where building secure relationships is a priority. Trust and empathy are key ingredients for successful transitions back to school. Understanding the impact of our words can also play a huge part in helping children feel comfortable. The language we use has incredible power in re-establishing safe relationships. Wellbeing first and learning second, effectively if you look after the wellbeing, it takes care of the learning. I know this to be true through my work as Wellbeing Lead at Lessness Heath Primary School. We now have the data to show that placing an emphasis on wellbeing has increased the outcomes for our pupils and their families. People often ask me; how do you measure wellbeing? My reply is simple, you only have to walk into an environment to pick up if the people there are happy and engaged. A key question to ask yourself is “would you younger self thrive in your school community?”

Social distancing doesn’t mean emotionally distancing 

Human beings are instinctively built to connect with each other, in these unprecedented times we are regularly being advised to socially distance in order to stay safe. These guidelines go against human nature to socialise and interact with others. We know that physical connections play a huge role in enhancing our wellbeing. To grow a sense of connectedness whilst respecting the government guidelines we must promote emotional links in order to lay the seeds for long term future recovery, resilience and reform of the system in normal school life.  

Deconstructing Wellbeing 

The best recipe for wellbeing post COVID-19 is a collection of the following:

• The 3 R’s, Relationships (create a sense of connection and belonging), Regulation (whole school practices to help regulate children’s emotions and promote physical and emotional safety) and Reflection (providing a safe space for the noticing, and wondering for people to reflect on their experiences of what’s happened
• Be outwards facing and build collaborations and networks for preventative and early help work
• Amend key principles, values and policies to align with the new landscape in education (bereavement and relationships policies)
• Provide high quality mental health training to enable staff to recognise and respond to children and young people’s mental health needs
• Whole school approach means capturing the voice of needs of every person in your school community, feeding back and responding to
• Nurturing schools, nurture hearts, develop a trauma informed approach to therapeutically meet the holistic needs of pupils
• Create a universal directory of useful links and resources that support potential emotional health needs for both staff, pupils and their families
• Provide opportunities for fun and laughter in these serious times humour and excitement can provide a welcomed light relief

Most importantly celebrate the positive experiences and learning in lockdown, many of us would have taken something good from these exceptional times. What will you be taking with you into your new normal?

Helpful Resources 

The Anna Freud Centre

Education Support 

LGFL Wellbeing Connected Digital Resource

The Education People

Child Bereavement UK

Young Minds

Mentally Healthy Schools Website

Heads Together Charity

MHFA England

The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust

PSHE Association

Winston’s Wish

How to deliver an interactive, social, subject when all social interaction ceases? Drama and the Performing Arts often feel like a poor relation anyway, having to fight for every penny and every bit of support despite the arts generating nearly £90 billion in revenue for the UK each year. So I didn’t want drama students and their teachers to struggle. I set about creating home study and distance learning packs for drama lessons at KS2 and KS3. 

As I suspected, drama is a very difficult subject to transform into a worksheet! But I did it. I gathered activities from a huge back catalogue of ideas and lesson plans and adapted them for home use. Then I devised new worksheets that I knew students could tackle independently. The difficult part was trying to make the activities feel fun and creative and not like a written test. The end result was two Drama and Theatre Home Work Activities packs, a KS3 Drama Vocabulary worksheet pack, a Role On The Wall pack, a Storyboards pack, a Facebook Profile worksheet pack – for exploring character! – and, finally, a Zoom Performance pack to support teachers and students in giving theatre performances via the Zoom platform. Great materials for distance learning or using in the socially distant classroom. 

Most of the activities require nothing more than paper and pens – all necessary templates are also provided – but I wanted to involve some practical creative activities too. One of the tasks involves students creating mini movies of script extracts (also provided) and these have been great fun to watch. Some of them have even made it onto the Arts On The Move YouTube channel (under 18s only) and show a fabulous amount of creativity and humour: 

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Although all of the packs are devised for KS2 and KS3 they’re suitable for a range of student abilities, and not just for schools in the UK either. I’ve tried to include as many non-technical activities as possible too – because not every student has access to the internet – but they may have to resort to good old-fashioned books for some of the research! I know, from social media and email feedback, that I’ve done a good thing in creating these materials and I’m glad that I’ve been able to bridge the gap and support those on the creative side of teaching and learning. Because these have been created to help teachers, nearly all of the packs are free and those that aren’t cost only £1 to download. I love my subject for its elements of sharing and inclusivity and believe that the shared experiences of drama, theatre, music and the rest of the arts are what gives society its heart. Arts On The Move will do what it can to support drama teachers until the lights go up again. 

Teachers can access the distance learning drama and theatre teaching resources by going to:

https://www.artsonthemove.co.uk/e_shop/resources.php?subject%5Bdistancelearning%5D=distance+learning&APPLY=filter 

Solutions such as video interviews and online assessments are quickly becoming the new method of choice for remote hiring, but both can be a daunting prospect for students and graduates who are unfamiliar with these processes and requirements.

So, with the entry-level hiring season upon us, how can you step in as educators to help prepare your students? In this article, we will walk you through the basics of video interviews – including what they are, what they will involve, and how to set them up successfully.

What is a video interview?

One of the first things you should recommend students establish when asked to take part in a video interview is what type it will be. There are, in fact, three different types of video interview:

Live video interviews – The candidate and interviewer speak in real-time via video link.  

On-demand video interviews – The candidate is asked a series of pre-recorded questions by the employer. They then record their answers and submit for the hiring manager to review later.

Interview assessments – The candidate follows the same process as with on-demand interviews, but the questions are designed to gather information that can be analysed as part of a technology-assisted pre-hire assessment test. 

For the purpose of this article, we are going to deal with the first two types as these are the most common.

What video interviews will involve

A video interview, just like an in-person or phone interview, is the candidate’s chance to shine and share the knowledge and experience they have to offer as it relates to the role they are applying for. With this in mind, it is important to remind your students to relax, have fun, and let their skills and personality shine! They should remember that the recruiter is on their side and wants the interview to go well – they want to find someone brilliant.

In order to go about this, most interviews will be built around the following question types:

Situational judgement questions – The candidate will be asked what actions they would take when confronted with a hypothetical job situation i.e. “A customer has just gotten off the phone with another support representative and is angry. Describe what steps you’d take to calm them down.”

Scenario-based simulations – The candidate will be asked to simulate their actions in a hypothetical job scenario. The key difference between this type of question and a situational judgment question is that they’ll act out their response, rather than explain it.

Past behaviour questions – The candidate will be asked to relate past experiences and previous challenges they’ve faced. For example: “Tell us about a time you calmed down an angry customer. What steps did you take, and why?”

We’d recommend that candidates develop a list of stories and experiences they can apply to different types of questions. Some of the places to find common interview questions include Glassdoor and Indeed; however, many interview questions are designed for use in a specific job role, so it’s best to search for questions from interviews for the specific role for which a candidate is interviewing.

How to prepare for a video interview

When helping students to get ready for any type of video interview, the best advice you can give them is to prepare in pretty much the same way they would for a normal in-person interview. This includes everything from the upfront research they do, to the way they dress, and how they respond to and engage with the questions. However, one additional aspect that is important to take into consideration is the environment and technology:

Location, location, location – With everyone working from home, it is going to be important for students to find a quiet location where they can devote the time needed to complete the interview. Remember, the employer will see and hear what goes on around them, so they need to make sure they pick a spot that’s quiet and free from distractions. Most on-demand interviews take 20-30 minutes, but we’d recommend putting aside an extra 15 minutes to be on the safe side. Live interviews may be a little longer but we’d expect the recruiter to provide an idea of timings in advance.

Lighting matters – A video interview isn’t a screen test so students won’t need to set up a full on film studio, however there are a few basics they’ll need to bear in mind, such as not sitting with their back to a window or a bright light source as this isn’t flattering. But they will need a well-lit room otherwise their face might not be clearly visible.

Test equipment – The great thing about video interviews is that they can be completed on whatever device your students have.  As long as it has a front-facing camera and audio capabilities, it should work for a virtual interview. That said, you should always recommend your students test their gear before starting the process. This includes making sure the device is on and has enough battery, as well as testing the internet, microphone, camera and volume. If they are taking an on-demand interview, most platforms will run equipment checks automatically before the interview starts.

Conclusion

Video interviews are becoming the new norm for companies looking to hire during the pandemic and this isn’t likely to disappear any time soon. This is not something that students need to fear. Video interviewing not only gives them an opportunity to apply for a wide variety of jobs at the touch of a button but also a chance to tell their story and convey their talents to a company that might not have looked at them based on CV alone. With the correct preparation and understanding of video interviews, your students can enjoy a successful interaction and hopefully pursue the job of their dreams.

This conversation is a snapshot of the current time. Transition is always a time of understandable anxiety, made a lot worse by a global viral pandemic and a lack of certainty on safe school reopenings. However, by the end of the conversation, I was convinced that not only could a meaningful transition for her child still happen, but that this moment could actually offer schools a chance to re-think and re-make transition to make it a more meaningful process in the future.

To hold that transition from primary to secondary school is important in a child’s development, is about as uncontentious a view as one can hold in the noisy world of education. Academic and social development of KS3 learners is supported by a successful transition, where the necessary scaffolds are put in place for primary students to become successful secondary learners. Moreover, a successful transition increases feelings of belonging to a new school, impacting on long term well-being and feelings towards school and education more generally.  

All students need time to adapt when making such a substantial change as students undergo transition. It makes sense that a successful transition needs to be a gradual, immersive process of change. In his book ‘Transition’, Dave Harris draws the distinction between ‘transition’ and ‘induction’, the latter defined as the introduction of students into a new school setting – frequently this is implemented as a one-off day in time to welcome students to high school. This day is a useful and important part of transition, but it isn’t enough to account for the emotions and anxieties expressed in the phone call I held with the parent. Many components are needed for a longer term transition to be successful. Yet, induction, not transition, will likely be the experience of many new year cohorts. It tends to happen either on a day at the end of July or in the first week of September, with otherwise limited exposure to the high school building, curriculum and school values and processes.  

Relying on induction days for transition can in fact be damaging both socially and academically. Often, one-off induction days mean longer than normal assemblies, showier than normal lessons and some sort of baseline test. In the first instance, giving students unrealistic expectations of what an average day at high school looks like is misleading and can lead to long term trust issues. Secondly, students in transition have enough to think about and acclimatize to without being forced to sit in a hall to complete a test. You don’t need to be a neurologist to assume that scores in baseline tests might be compromised when the participants are also worrying about huge Year 11s on the corridor all of a sudden, timetables which are just letters and numbers, and a whole new set of rules. Schools that focus solely on this type of induction day model as opposed to long term transition give students little time to develop a sense of belonging, and a sense of trust in the school, making it very difficult for them to feel safe, secure and able to learn.  

In defence of this process, I’ve spoken to colleagues who say that this type of shock therapy is good for the students as it throws them into the deep end of the rigors of KS3 and 4 study. But transition shouldn’t be about survival; instead it should provide a platform and structure to engage and excite students in a new stage of life. Unsurprisingly, the majority of students believe that primary school was more interesting than secondary school, and levels of engagement from KS2 to 3 tend to fall. There are plenty of reasons behind this, but a poor transition is certainly one of them.  

As such, pastoral leaders needn’t feel that transition is doomed now that induction days are unlikely. Instead, the current situation provides us with an opportunity to think creatively about innovating transition. The focus has to be on ways to engage students regardless of the barriers, especially as research projects growing gaps in the progress for some children during lock down. Now more than ever, transition must be inclusive and focused on need. This sounds like hard work. It is. But it is also essential.

Any successful transition must foster a feeling of belonging and trust in new students. School closures have given secondary schools the potential to steady the flow of information going home to students and families, allowing time for key messages to be reiterated and embedded over months.  

Tom Sherrington never tires of stressing that Rosenshine’s principles are not a checklist, and the same goes here. The suggestions below are the principles that I have found useful for a successful remote transition in my context. I have included some practical examples, but school staff are the experts of their context and should apply the advice to match it. 

The principles are as follows:

1. COMMUNICATION
2. SHARING VALUES
3. ENGAGEMENT

Nothing revelatory here. Induction days are often focussed around these, but as we have seen these one-off days in isolation are inadequate in properly embedding these principles before September. 

1. COMMUNICATION

This needs to be relentless and include all necessary stakeholders. Transition should work to allay student fears. Typically, this has been done in one way or the other during an induction day. It is based on the premise that an 11-year-old, sitting in a room with other 11-year olds that they have never met before, listening to an adult they have never seen before, is likely to volunteer those fears openly and articulately. If you are waiting until then to address students’ anxiety, then you’re possibly too late. With most schools at least partially closed, we have the chance to intervene now. That means phone calls home (to the home of everyone if possible), working with primary colleagues on meaningful handovers of students, and giving students themselves chances to share their worries in a safe and sensitive manner. The Transition Team at my school have been working tirelessly in calling home, arranging online conferences for handovers and producing resources for students to proactively consider their feelings towards secondary school. At this point, I feel better prepared at understanding the types of concerns I am likely to encounter in September than in any previous year. It also builds trust and collaboration; we all know that parents and carers appreciate communication from school and are a vital source of support over transition.  

2. VALUES

For students, the potential problem with school ‘values’ is that they are often necessarily vague and need to be contextualized within schools. In transition, the sooner new students can identify the meaning of the school values, the sooner they will understand what to expect when they start entering the school building. Linking this to the first principle of communication, the values of a school need to be communicated to students in various ways given the unlikelihood of induction days. Use communication with home to promote your school website and social media and give examples of how your values can be applied by students. At my school we have created a ‘Transition Zone’ on our website packed with blogs, videos and challenges linked to our values. In our ‘Transition Activities Pack’ sent home with the school welcome pack, activities are designed to support students to unpick our values and to start to demonstrate them before September. The activities also prompt students to think about how they are feeling about Year 7 and the challenges it may bring, and through the various forms of communication we provide avenues on how any potential challenges can be addressed. Crucially, embedding the school values prior to September increases student feelings of belonging and trust in the school. Going through this process remotely may appear more difficult than face-to-face, but it can still be meaningful and effective in developing positive mindsets come September. Furthermore, you don’t have the pressure of trying to squeeze it all into an induction day.  

3. ENGAGEMENT

Research tells us that we’ve been getting motivation wrong for years. Learners are more likely to be motivated and engaged when they feel they are making progress; learning leads to motivation, not the other way around. Thus, if you are putting effort into producing packs to send home and setting challenges to instil values, then celebrate and model the students who return work that exemplifies these values. In our context, our Transition Zone and a strong school Twitter presence has provided a useful tool for doing this. Again, it’s another effective way of engaging students and getting students to feel like they belong. 

When acknowledging student’s reticence leading up to September, it is essential that a transition period promotes the opportunities and enjoyment that can be had at high school. However, sometimes induction days can end up giving a false impression of school life. If students are treated to explosions using Bunsen burners and treasure hunts, for example, they might feel a bit cheated around mid-October. Our strategy utilises student voices from older students to give our transition cohort a better understanding of school life, and so our new students are better able to picture themselves in the school environment, and they get a more authentic view about what day to day life in the school is like.  

So, the potential in remote transition is clear. By focusing on these principles, it is still possible to offer an immersive and perhaps even more meaningful transition. In the future, by all means, reintroduce induction days; they are undoubtedly important if planned well, but your school will now also have more inclusive embedded practices that allow for transition to stretch even further.

Transition from Year 6 into Year 7 has always been a vulnerable point in our school system, with some studies suggesting that the success of this transition greatly impacts the likelihood of those students not only achieving well, but also leading happy and fulfilled lives. This year, ensuring a smooth transition is more important than ever, yet conditions are more against us than they ever have been. 

Transition has long been my passion – I know that face-to-face contact with primary colleagues is the best practise to build lasting relationships with them, and obtain nuanced information about our incoming students and their families. Sitting on tiny primary school chairs that surely won’t withstand my weight, receiving an unsolicited cuddle from a wandering snotty-nosed but adorable Year 1 child, and sweating profusely in the world’s hottest library area, all whilst trying to remain professional, has been the highlight of my summer months for the last 9 years. Speaking to the new students, and answering endless questions (yes, yes I do know your older brother…and yes, this does explain a lot about the information I’ve just received about you from your teacher…) and seeing the hope, excitement, and joy in their eyes, then feeling like a celebrity when they all wave and bellow ‘HELLO MRS FLOWER’ when they join us in September is heady stuff. 

This year, how can we still support these students and their families during the restrictions of lockdown? And more importantly, how can we recreate the joy and excitement?

More than ever, personalised contact is so important, and as a minimum I would strongly recommend the following:

With primary colleagues:

• Holding phone calls with their teachers and support staff
• Holding zoom meetings with vulnerable students, their families and other agencies
• Inform them of the plans for transition, so that they can use this to reassure anxious parents and students
• Keep in touch, and ask for regular updates if a student or family is of concern or particularly vulnerable

With parents and carers:

• Send out a video introducing key staff with warm welcome messages
• Enable them to contact someone if they have any questions or worries
• Keep them updated – even if the information on transition is ‘tbc’, let them know that you’re thinking of them and working on plans
• Provide them with the logistical information they would have received at events such as Transition Evening – uniform, school rules, how to register with ParentPay etc

With students:

• Send a video virtual tour of the school
• Ask parents to share the video introducing key staff
• Provide fun activities for a virtual transition day
• Contact them – yes all of them – to welcome them to the school
• Reassure them

With your own colleagues:

• Keep them updated – they are aware plans are ever changing, but having some sort of idea what will be happening is useful
• If they are going to be year 7 form tutors, let them know. I’m sure they will be delighted to film a welcome to their new students, or even contact them themselves

Once they start, presumably at some point in September, avoid the temptation to go straight into timetabled lessons and baseline testing. Students, particularly ones that are new to your school, will need a gradual induction process. This is more important than ever this year. The importance of getting the Transition Mission right this year cannot be overstated. As I sit sadly at home in my cape, emblazoned ‘Captain Transition’ (yes really – a parting gift from my old school) I mourn the loss of perching my not inconsiderable behind on those tiny plastic chairs this year. But in my own small way, I hope I can support colleagues to continue the Transition Mission in this most difficult and different of years. 

To support colleagues leading on transition, please do read the series of blog posts that I’ve curated from various transition experts, all covering a different aspect or viewpoint of transition on my blog: www.thehappyleader.wordpress.com