GEMS WORLD ACADEMY

TEACHING AND LEARNING

HANDBOOK 2020 TO 2021
Introduction

Teaching and Learning is the core purpose of any school, and it is therefore essential to
establish a powerful, clear, and shared vision for teaching and learning. This handbook sets
out that vision.

GEMS World Academy’s vision is about depth of learning for all students to access high
quality learning experiences, that build through global contexts through inquiry-based
learning, and promotes the application of their understanding, knowledge and skills to
effect change in their communities.

VISION

Teaching at GEMS World Academy is about depth:

● DEPTH IN TEACHING: ​Our staff are experts in their fields, and not “facilitators.” It is the
role of our staff to demonstrate success to students, and to equip them with the
knowledge and skills to achieve it.
● DEPTH IN LEARNING: Our students are held to high expectations. They should be
engaged and excited by challenging content, and appropriately supported to achieve
outstanding progress from Nursery to Grade 12.
● DEPTH IN LEADERSHIP: ​Teaching and Learning is the primary focus of every teacher,
Middle Leader and Senior Leader in the school. Transparent and formative performance
management, and extensive Career Professional Development at all levels will support
all staff in meeting our standards.

To achieve this, we need to harness the power of consistency. We can only achieve the best
results for our students if we all work towards the same expectations.

This handbook sets out those expectations. As such, it can be considered a framework for
teaching and learning at GEMS World Academy. It is structured around the teaching
standards, and it is hoped that this will be of particular use to trainees.

This handbook should be read alongside the Staff Handbook, found on Firefly

It also seeks to provide some practical advice, by providing strategies which are used
successfully across the GWA. These are highlighted in yellow boxes.

There is still considerable room for departments to develop their own approaches, in line
with our belief that teachers are facilitators of learning - but this handbook provides the
guidelines which should be consistent across all lessons.

We hope you find it useful, and enjoy teaching at GEMS World Academy - Dubai.
Contents
Page
1. Expectations 3
1.1 Growth Mindset
1.2 The IB Learner Profile
2. Making Progress 4
2.1 Context Sheets
2.2 SEN Passports
2.3 Student Ownership
2.4 Exercise Books
2.5 Digital Work
3. Subject Knowledge 6
3.1 Subject and Curriculum Knowledge
3.2 Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy
3.3 Oracy
4. Planning and Teaching 7
4.1 Responsibility for Planning
4.2 The WA Lesson Structure
4.3 Key Questions, Learning Outcomes and Success Criteria
5. Differentiation 10
6. Assessment and Feedback 11
6.1 Assessment for Learning
6.2 Written Feedback
6.3 Literacy Marking Codes
7. Behaviour Management 14
7.1 Our Values
7.2 Creating a Positive Classroom
7.3 Rewards
7.4 Sanctions
7.5 Equipment
  
1. EXPECTATIONS
We have high expectations of our students. This is based on our belief that our students all
deserve to be safe, secure and successful at the GWA and beyond. This document contains
details of the GWA standards and outcomes which will be evaluated over the course of the
year. These evaluations will be recorded on BlueSky. Further details on these evaluations
are found in the staff handbook.

1.1 Growth Mindset

At the heart of everything we do at GEMS World Academy - Dubai is a belief in the Growth
Mindset; in other words, that intelligence and character can be developed. This underpins
our planning, our teaching and learning, and our feedback to students. The core principles,
and how they contrast with a more “traditional” approach, are summarised in the infographic
below. This is displayed as a poster in every classroom:
1.2 The IB Learner Profile
At GEMS World Academy we should make regular and explicit reference to the IB Learner
Profile. This is a set of ten attributes and skills, all of which can be explicitly and deliberately
improved upon. It should be referenced whenever possible in discussing students’
behaviour and work. The ten attributes are as follows; inquirer, reflective, communicator,
principled, open minded, knowledgeable, balanced, caring, thinker and risk taker. A poster
displaying these can be found in every classroom for ease of reference.
 GWA Strategy: Embedding the IB Learner Profile

Inquirer ● Hypothesis creating and testing

● Opportunities to explicitly interrogate the process of research
● ‘Three before me’ - encouraging students to use their brains, books and
buddies before asking questions to their teacher
● Create exciting and pithy key questions to heighten curiosity

Reflective ● Dialogic marking through students responding to actions in SLA marking

● Opportunities to explicitly reflect on their learning, successes and areas for
development

Communicator ● Well structured group work

● Student presentations
● Planning for a variety of different outcomes that use different communication
skills e.g. speeches, letter writing, roleplays

Principled ● Connecting learning to important ethical questions

● Creating a classroom environment in which students feel empowered and
equipped to express and defend their views

Open-minded ● Creating a classroom environment in which different perspectives are

presented and equally valued
● Activities whereby students are encouraged to ‘put themselves in someone
elses’ shoes.

Knowledgeable ● Keeping the conceptual as well as the content at the forefront of lesson
planning.
● Using learning outcomes as a way of exploring how progression in
conceptual understanding can be achieved,

Balanced ● Introduce opportunities for mindful reflection tasks in lessons

● Encourage wider reading in your subject and offer reading lists

Caring ● Incorporate opportunities to connect learning to charitable actions

● Maintain a positive narrative of the power of education and young people to
change the world

Thinker ● Encourage students to reflect on previous learning to apply this to new

problems
● Design activities that enable students to ‘think outside the box’
● Offer high levels of challenge in lessons through depth and extension tasks

Risk-taker ● Consider the use of praise; focus on praising effort and the process, not
intelligence or ability
● Explain some brain science in lessons; emphasise the idea that new
neurons are created with more practice and more learning
● Use mastery learning techniques in teaching - achieving a very high success
rate before moving on to the next topic
● Give plenty of opportunities for students to ask their own questions

In addition, the IB’s Approaches to Teaching and Learning (ATL) has five categories that
underpin best practice in the classroom. These are: Communication, Social,
Self-Management, Research and Thinking. Some ways to support implementing these in
lessons can be found ​here​.
 
2. MAKING PROGRESS

The role of the class teacher is to ensure all students make progress. For this to happen,
both the student and teacher need to have some understanding of what grades they should
be aiming for, and how to improve.

Context Sheets

Understanding your class data is essential to ensure effective learning and progress. You
can access your class data through iSAMS. Once logged on, click ​Teaching and Exam ​>
Assessments and then choose the class which you wish to view to assist in completing
your ​contact sheet​. You should use your context sheet to identify:

● Each student’s ​Target Grade in your subject. At GEMS World Academy, we expect
students to make better than average progress, and that is reflected in our
challenging targets
● Which students are EAL learners, and what stage of learning English they are at
● Which students have SEN needs
● Which students are Emirati.

Once every term, you will enter the following data:

● An ​On Track For grade. This is our reporting grade. It indicates what a student will
get at the end of academic year if they continue learning at their current trajectory.
This is not guesswork; level descriptors have been carefully established for each
year group to identify what students should be doing at each stage of their education.
● An ​Attitude to Learning ​grade. This represents whether a student is not meeting,
meeting, or exceeding their current target..

Once you enter your data, you will be able to see whether students are on track to meet their
target grades. This will be indicated in the progress column as follows:

Meeting or exceeding target

One grade below target

Two grade below target

More than two grades below

target

You should check each term which students are red/yellow, to identify in class interventions.
Monitor class intervention in 6-8 week blocks, if required please bring students data and
implemented interventions to RTI meeting for next level review.
Student Support Services

Learning Support and Students of Determination

All students who have identified as requiring additional learning support needs require an
individual Learning Support Document or an Individual Education Plan. This is a short
document summarising the student’s SEN needs, and what strategies you can use to
support them. You can find these on iSAMS.

English as an Additional Language

All students who have identified as requiring additional support due to being new to English
will have an Individual Language plan. This is a short document summarising the student’s
language needs, and what strategies you can use to support them. You can find these on
iSAMS.

Student Ownership

It is important that students feel a sense of ownership over their own progress. There is no
single strategy to ensure that this happens; rather it is the result of developing a growth
mindset in students.

Two key aspects, however, are ensuring that students take pride in their books, and that
they respond to feedback. In particular, students must be able to identify what steps they
need to take to improve their work (see Section Six: Assessment and Feedback)

Exercise Books

Students have one exercise book for each subject. which must contain all classwork and
assessments. Students are responsible for looking after these books, and should only be
given a new book when they have filled up their previous book. If students lose an exercise
book, they will be responsible for replacing it.

Each department has a specific colour, shown below.

Department Book Colour Department Book Colour

English Light Green MFL Red

Maths Orange Enterprise Dark Green

Science Blue Expressive Arts Folders

Humanities Pink PE Yellow

*These will be phased in as books are reordered.
Presentation of Exercise Books:

• Date​: Students should write the on the right hand side of each piece of work and
underline it with a ruler.
• Title​: Students should write the Key Question of the work in the centre of the page
and underline it with a ruler.
• Homework​: Students should clearly write the letters H/W in the margin where they
begin homework tasks.
• Pens​: Students should write in blue or black ink unless they are doing review and
improve, or self/peer assessment (this should be in green pen - See Section Six)
• Pencil​: Students should draw any pictures and graphs using a pencil and ruler where
necessary or at the teacher’s instruction. All colouring should be with coloured
pencils - ​not felt tips.

Students should ensure that their book is neat and in particular that it always and that all
loose sheets are either stuck in.

Pupil books should be clear records of learning, and should act as excellent resources for
student revision. As such it is good practice to consider formatting exercise books to include:

● A contents page:​ Leaving the first page of the book blank to create a contents page
which students update regularly with lesson topics.
● Numbered pages:​ Getting students to number the pages in their book so that they
can refer to the numbers in their contents page.
● A glossary​: Getting students to create a glossary at the back of their books that
contains all of the key subject terminology

Digital Work

For digital coursework, the teacher should create a Google Drive folder for their class. Each
student should have their own folder, which both they and the teacher can access. As a
result, the teacher must be able to access students’ work at any time.

Front Cover
Students should clearly label all books and folders with the information below. The front
cover should otherwise be free of any other writing / graffiti.

Full Name, Tutor Group

Subject, Class Code
Class Teacher
Target Grade
 
3 SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE
3.1 Subject and Curriculum Knowledge
Teachers are expected to have strong knowledge. This is not just about the subject itself;
teachers should be aware of the pedagogy of how to effectively teach their subject, and of
the various syllabuses that they teach. This is an area in which the GEMS World Academy is
particularly keen to support teachers’ CPD including supporting and actively encouraging
staff to become examiners; please consult the Staff Handbook for more information.

3.2 Modelling
It is important that students come to develop an understanding of what high quality work
looks like in a subject, and of how their work will be assessed. Modelling is a particularly
effective strategy.

3.3 Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy

Literacy, numeracy, and digital skills are ​not ​just the province of English, Maths; we are all
responsible for developing students’ literacy and numeracy skills. Opportunities to develop
each of these are included in Unit Plans, and it is important to make the most of these
chances.

3.3 Literacy
At GEMS World Academy, we have chosen to focus on literacy, and particularly oracy.
Literacy for all students is an essential skill that provides the foundation for learning and
progress in all areas of the curriculum.

There is no single tactic to improve literacy; rather, it needs to become an integral part of all
of our teaching and learning. The following are particularly important; Identifying key words
for each lesson, and teaching their definitions. Consistently modelling appropriate, formal
language of instruction - both spoken and written. Always correct literacy errors - whether
spoken or written. Provide appropriate scaffolding to help students with poor literacy skills
with both spoken and written responses.

3.4 Oracy
Particularly in the current climate, we need to ensure that we are promoting the use of oracy
in lessons as far as possible. Whilst this can initially be potentially overwhelming in terms of
getting students to remain on task whilst speaking, the benefits of oracy for learning are well
documented.

Students of all abilities should have the opportunity to discuss work before attempting to
write their answer. In terms of ensuring that students remain on task, having a bank of words
that they have to include in their discussion is one way of encouraging focussed discussion,
as is the provision of sentence starters for oral discussion. We are using the Voice 21
Framework for this initiative in conjunction with Talk for Writing strategies.
GWA Strategy: Using talk to scaffold writing
What is it? How do you make it effective?
Before completing written work, students ● Have a clear outcome​ - what do you
formulate and discuss ideas. want students to get from the discussion
● Have a time limit​ - students should feel
Why is it effective? a sense of purpose
● Talk is how we make sense of the world ● Carefully structure the task - ​having a
around us; series of questions to work through is
● Gives students the opportunities to better than one vague one
generate ideas together ● Insist on full sentence answers
● Is less intimidating to students than ● Be explicit​ - how are students
beginning to write from scratch developing the four Voice 21 strands of
oracy - ​physical, vocabulary, cognitive
and social/emotional​?

Example:
Teacher:​ In a few minutes, you’ll be writing about how the director has created suspense in this
scene. First, I want you to discuss your ideas in groups. I’m going to give you three minutes. I’d like
to know three techniques the director has used to create suspense, and I want you to agree as a
group on how successful she was. Ok? That’s three techniques used to create suspense, and you
need to agree on how successful she was. Three minutes... off you go.
[Students discuss; teacher circulates and redirects any students off task]
Teacher: ​Ok. Hands down - I’ll take some answers from each of you. First technique please…
Michael?
Michael: T ​ he weather
Teacher: ​That’s a good start, but could you answer in a full sentence, please?
Michael:​ The weather is stormy which makes the scene tense.
Teacher:​ Well done. Now to make it even better, let’s remember we’re trying to improve our
linguistic skills by using academic vocabulary. Can you include one of our key words from today?
Michael:​ The director uses pathetic fallacy to create a dark and stormy mood. E ​ tc.
4. PLANNING AND TEACHING WELL-STRUCTURED LESSONS

Curriculum Planning

Given our belief in growth mindset, discussed above, our planning is aspirational and starts
with the belief that all students can achieve success in all of their subjects. Our curriculum is
backwards planned; we start by looking at the skills and knowledge students need for IB,
subjects, and then plan our courses to ensure that students get the best possible
preparation.

Document(s) Description Owner Location

Curriculum Booklets An overview of the year’s curriculum. DoL Website /

(see template) Available to parents/students. Drive

Unit Plans Key planning document​, outlining DoL / Drive

(see template) what will be taught in a unit (typically IB
4-6 weeks). Unit Plans include: Coordinator
● Specification Objectives
● Key Questions and Outcomes
● Assessments and Success
Criteria
● Suggested Activities for each
lesson

Lesson Plans Optional. These are not required for Teacher N/A
(see template) internal observations.

Lesson Resources Should be produced for each lesson, Teacher Drive

(see templates) and should normally follow the GWA
lesson structure (outlined below)

Student Resources Student resources (e.g. activities, Teacher Firefly /

slides, homework) should be ManageBac
uploaded to the relevant VLE

Responsibility for Planning

Curriculum Booklets and Unit Plans will always be produced by the departments. Often,
departments choose to work together to produce a centralised bank of lessons and
resources; indeed, the benefits of collaborative planning have been well proven.

However, class teachers must still allocate proper time to review, adapt and differentiate
these resources to ensure that they meet the needs of their classes.
The GWA Lesson Structure

Consistency is powerful. All GEMS World Academy lessons are based on the same basic
structure and follow the Know Understand Do (KUD) approach to better facilitate
differentiated learning experiences. This structure should only be deviated from occasions
when there is a compelling reason (e.g. extended assessment).

Phase Purpose Teacher’s Role Student’s Role

Learning on Establish a positive Greet students and check Enter classroom and
Entry Know - K learning environment. uniform prepare for learning,
(10 mins Review prior learning Reinforce established commence learning
maximum) classroom routines - take provided on entry
attendance
Review lesson Connect current Critical questioning to assist Participate in discussion
objectives learning with prior students in making deeper in making connections
(LO) learning and Key connections between prior with prior and current
(5 mins Concept and current learning and the learning and relationship
maximum) Key Concept with Key Concept.
Update notebook with
date/ LO

Main Activities Introduce/explore new Learning will vary depending Participate in the
(depending on knowledge, on purpose and include: learning experience
lesson length understanding or skill. High quality direct Question, discussion
there may be Application of new instruction, Inquiry-based Agency for learning
1-3 activities) knowledge, activities, consolidation of
Understand – U understanding or skill. learning, critical thinking,
Do - D question
AfL Strategies

Plenary and Review learning, Summarise learning, Reflect on learning,

Exit connect back to LO connect with LO and next connect with prior
and key concept steps, AfL to assess learning, LO and next
understanding steps.
Key Questions, Learning Outcomes and Success Criteria

All lessons must have the following three elements:

Element Definition Example

Key What students need to know by the What is social justice?

Concept end of the lesson, phrased as a How can social justice change
question. This should also be the people?
lesson title. The same KQ can stretch
across more than one lesson.

Learning What students need to ​do​ ​during the Introduction​: Define Social Justice
Outcomes lesson. Should be phrased using an Development​: Discuss Social
active verb (e.g. “explain”). These are Justice within our human rights?
differentiated into: Depth​: How can social injustice
● Introduction ​- basic change a person’s perspective?
understanding
● Development ​- consolidate
understanding
● Depth​ - stretch understanding
All students should aspire to meet all
three objectives, though outcomes will
be differentiated.

Success These should be provided for every 2 - 4 Marks:

Criteria significant ​task (normally the
Develop/Deepen tasks). 4 - 6 Marks:

Written in student friendly language, 7 - 8 Marks:

with specific criteria for students to
self-assess against. Avoid
generic/vague grade descriptors.

Should be grade-linked.
 
5. DIFFERENTIATION

It is self-evident that we want all students to be given work which is both accessible and
challenging. However, that does ​not ​mean that we expect teachers to plan lessons in
triplicate, with different worksheets for every task. Whilst this may be important for some
groups, at the core of differentiation is the teacher’s ability to know their students’ needs, and
then provide for them in whichever way best supports meeting these needs.

This deep knowledge of student needs is essential at every stage of planning and delivering
a lesson. It should be used both to shape the planned learning outcomes and tasks, as well
as provide different levels of scaffolded support throughout the course of the lesson.

It should be emphasised that differentiation needs to be shown in every lesson, but

there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach.

Types of Differentiation

Broadly speaking, differentiation tends to fall into three forms:

Differentiation by: Description Time Cost

Input Providing different resources for students. Potentially High

very time consuming, although can often be used
quickly to help LA students access work, e.g. by
writing sentence starters on board. May be most
helpful for more challenging classes, whereby
planning in this way can support best behaviour for
learning.

Output Students are expected to complete work to different Medium

levels. HA might be required to evaluate the evidence
provided, for example. This can usually be done by
providing slightly different instructions on one slide,
and shouldn’t require producing separate resources.

Questioning The teacher uses their knowledge of the students to Low

target specific questions in class discussions towards
specific students.

Group Students are placed in groups (which can be regularly Low

shuffled around) so that students can work on specific
skills or concepts. Mixed-ability groupings may also
be helpful with certain tasks, whereby students of
different abilities can take different allocated roles.
See strategy file below.

Note: Where differentiating by input / output / group, we continue to use the same
Introduction / Development / Depth language which we use for outcomes.
Given its relatively low time cost, differentiation by group is a particularly effective way to
ensure that all of your students make progress in a lesson. This is why it is included in the
GWA Lesson Structure (see previous section).

WA Strategy: Differentiation by group

What is it? How do you make it effective?
A very effective, easy way to differentiate.
1. Plan independent work - ​This strategy
Students are grouped in order to work on relies on students having work they can
developing specific understanding or skills. get on with while you work with groups
2. Start with AFL - ​Use AFL to identify
Why is it effective?
which group(s) would benefit most from
● Allows you to intervene in a targeted
intervention
manner with students who most need it 3. Be flexible - ​There is no reason you
● Encourages student talk and allows cannot move groups around during a
them to learn from each other lesson in response to their needs
● Requires minimal planning - just 4. Use other adults - ​If you have an LSA,
effective AFL! give them a group to work with

Example:
[The teacher has just finished using mini whiteboards and has identified six students who
haven’t grasped how to balance an equation]
Teacher: ​Great, thank you everyone. You can put your whiteboards down. So, I’m going to ask you
all to start going through the questions on the worksheet which Ahmed is handing out. I’m going to
be helping a few different people, so I need you to work quite independently for now. You’ve got
ten minutes… off you go.
[The teacher then goes and gathers the six students who got the questions wrong onto the
same table]
Teacher: ​Alright, everyone. Thank you for trying earlier. I noticed you were struggling a bit to get
the right answer, but that’s great as it means we can now figure out what we’re missing! So let’s run
through a few more together to make sure we all understand how to do this…
 
6. ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING AND FEEDBACK

According to Hattie (2008), feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning
and achievement. Feedback is an integral part of the teaching and learning process at
GWA and aims to bring about a positive improvement in student learning. “Students
actively engage in assessing and reflecting on their learning, acting on feedback from
peers and teachers to feed forward to next steps in learning” (IBO, 2018).

Feedback is best when it is:

● Timely ​- Students must still remember the work when they get feedback;
● Regular ​- Students need to be used to getting, and acting upon feedback;
● Actionable ​- Students must be able to use the feedback to improve their work.

Marking is an important part of this, particularly when reaching summative grades. However,
effective use of AFL to identify gaps in students’ knowledge and intervene accordingly can
be even more effective - particularly as it is often almost instantaneous. As a result, both AfL
and marking are at the core of our pedagogy at GEMS World Academy - Dubai.

Assessment for Learning

AFL is important, and its benefits have been proven repeatedly. It can take a variety of
forms, but tends to have five outcomes:
1. Students understand what ​successful ​work looks like for each task they are doing
(see Modelling, in Section Three)
2. Questioning ​enables a student, with the teacher’s help, to find out what grade they
are on track for​ (see Hands Down Questioning, below)
3. The teacher provides ​feedback ​to each student about how to improve their learning.
4. Students become more independent in their learning, taking part in ​peer- and
self-assessment​ (see Written Feedback, below)
5. Summative assessments (e.g. mock exams) are also used formatively to help them
improve ​(see Written Feedback, below)

Given the importance of AfL, we expect it to be used regularly in all subjects. There are
countless AfL strategies, but there are three which we have found work particularly well at
Westminster Academy:
1. Hands Down Questioning (which must be used in all lessons)
2. Mini Whiteboards
3. Quizzing
These are considered on the next two pages
GWA Strategy: Hands Down Questioning
What is it? How do you make it effective?
A highly effective questioning strategy, where
1. Be positive - ​Avoid catching out
students are not allowed to put their hands up to students who are daydreaming!
answer questions; the teacher selects which 2. Be systematic - ​Use your context sheet
students answer each question. ​AT GWA, most to ensure that ​all ​students answer
questions should be Hands Down. 3. Take your time - ​Give all students time
before selecting one to answer
Why is it effective?
4. Break it down - ​Break big, complex
● It allows the teacher to systematically
questions into a series of small ones
check understanding; 5. Challenge all students - ​Don’t just give
● It creates a culture of accountability, lower ability students easy questions!
where students think about every 6. “Pose, pause, bounce, pounce” - ​Ask
question the question, give thinking time, collect
● It maintains lesson pace. answer(s), go back to the class for
feedback on the answer

Example:
Teacher: ​So let’s see what we can remember. I need a definition of an alkene… Tyrese?
Tyrese: ​I think it’s where there are twice as many hydrogen atoms as carbon atoms, plus two more
hydrogen.
Teacher​: Thank you. Do you agree… Alia? And why?
Alia: ​I disagree. I think that’s an alkane, not an alkene, Miss.

GWA Strategy: Mini Whiteboards

What is it? How do you make it effective?
Students use the mini whiteboard in their 1. Be clear - ​write the question(s) on the
student planner to answer a question. Answers board so students don’t forget it
are then held up for the teacher to check. 2. Ensure students raise their boards at
the same time
Why is it effective? 3. Use the data​- if there are
● Quick way to check whole class misconceptions, address them. If
understanding and identify mistakes several students get the same wrong
● All students are engaged answer, why?
● Encourages growth mindset; students 4. Insist on good handwriting ​- it is an
can have a go and make corrections if important skill for students, and means
they’re wrong you can assess answers more easily
5. Use different questions​ - mini
whiteboards are great for both open and
closed questions

Example:
Teacher:​ Alright, let’s check we all understand this. You’ve got ten seconds to get your mini
whiteboards out please… thank you. Now I need you to write three words to describe the mood in
this passage… [teacher checks all answers]... Thank you. It’s interesting that four people thought
the mood was melancholic. Can someone explain why that is a good answer… Carlos?
 GWA Strategy: Quizzing
What is it? How do you make it effective?
Students answer a series of quiz questions, 1. Manage the process - ​if using RAG
either through holding up Red/Amber/Green cards, make sure students all answer at
cards in their planners to answer multiple choice the same time; if writing answers,
questions, or by writing and self/peer-assessing ensure no copying
answers. Using ​Kahoot​ to create chromebook 2. Use the data​- if there are
quizzes is also a useful approach. misconceptions, address them. If
several students get the same wrong
Why is it effective? answer, why?
● Quick way to check whole class 3. Carefully design questions - ​ask
understanding and identify mistakes questions which will test understanding,
● Harder for students to change answers and where the wrong answers are still
(like asking students to put their thumb plausible
up, horizontally or down)

Example:
Teacher:​ Alright, let’s check we all remember our vocab work from earlier. We’re going to do five
quick questions. First, when did World War Two start? What is the French for dog? Red for chat,
amber for chien, green for vache. I want to see your cards in three… two… one… now!

Written Feedback
Written feedback is important, but can be time consuming. At GWA, students are expected
to regularly self- and peer-assess using ​green pen​; ​this provides the majority of
feedback in any book. Teachers can also use their lesson time to “live mark”, by making
notes in books as they circulate. Teachers mark in ​red pen​.

Formal marking is therefore restricted to diagnostic marking of pre-planned questions,

summative assessments. Our expectations are summarised below:

Types of Feedback

Should reference success criteria, rubrics or checklists.

Self/Peer Process should initially be modelled and scaffolded for students.
Assessment Purpose is to give immediate feedback, identify misconceptions and develop
assessment-capable learners.
Frequency: Multiple times per week
Takes place during independent and guided learning in class.
’Live’ Should be immediately actioned if necessary.
Feedback Can be verbal or written
Purpose is to correct misconceptions and any literacy mistakes (marking).
Frequency: Daily
Includes both individual comments and whole class feedback.
Written Should be immediately actionable with time provided.
Feedback Purpose is to correct misconceptions and provide next steps for improvement.
Frequency: As per subject leader’s guidance.
GWA Guide to Feedback

Informal Marking Formal Marking

Feedback
Self/Peer Home Formative Summative
Live Marking
Assessment Learning Assessment Assessment
Students use Strength
Strength Strength
How is it “Green” on Notes are in Literacy
Literacy codes Literacy codes
marked? self/peer margins codes
Action Action
assessment Action
Correct L
How do Correct Correct L Correct L
Correct errors errors
students errors if errors errors
if appropriate Redraft using
respond? appropriate Respond to A Redraft using A
A
At least once During most At least 4
How often At least once a At least 4
every two independent times/semest
is given? cycle times/semester
lessons tasks er
Student Student Student
Where will
Student Student notebooks or notebooks or notebooks or
it be
notebooks notebooks assessment assessment assessment
seen?
conditions conditions conditions

Formative and summative assessment feedback can count in place of home learning as long
as the feedback is evidenced in student notebooks.

Marking Codes

General Feedback Codes

Code Meaning Description

Identify a strength within the student’s work. Be specific and link with key
S Strength learning objectives. Example: ​Excellent use of quotes to support your
opinion.

Literacy errors should be corrected using the codes below. It is not

necessary to write out anything more than see above, though you may
L Literacy
wish to comment on recurring patterns. Example: ​Ensure you are using
the same tense throughout the paragraph.

Identify 1 or 2 actions for the student to respond. Avoid giving more than 2
actions; this can be overwhelming for students. Students should respond to
A Action their Actions in Green Pen within a given timeline.
Be specific. Example: ​Redraft paragraph 3, use academic/unit
vocabulary​.
Literacy Codes

When correcting literacy mistakes, the following codes should be used. Students should then
correct these in green pen. These codes are included in student planners should they need
to look them up.

Code Description Student Response/Action

// New paragraph needed N/A

Sp Spelling Mistake Students correct error, then “​Cover, Copy, Compare​ ”.

C Capital letter mistake Students correct the error.

P Punctuation mistake Students add, remove or correct the error.

Gr Grammar mistake Students correct the error.

V Vocabulary Students up-level vocabulary (e.g. use a synonym).

? Meaning/Handwriting Students rewrite the sentence/paragraph.

unclear

Literacy Codes – Early Years

Code Description Student Response/Action

Sounding out Student to practice with teacher modelling

Capital letter Students correct the error

Full stop Students correct the error

Finger spaces Students practice using finger spaces

Vocabulary Students up-level vocabulary (e.g. use a synonym).

Letter formation Students practice correct letter formation.

There is no way around it; marking takes time! It is, however, a very important part of the
teaching and learning process. SLA proformas, considered below, are one way to reduce the
time spent on marking.

The other key point is that, if you are to spend your time marking, it’s essential to get the
maximum benefit from your efforts by ensuring students respond to your marking. Students
must use their green pen to correct literacy mistakes and respond to your Actions - it is
suggested that you do this as your Do Now every time you give student’ books back.

GWA Strategy: SLA Proformas

What is it? How do you make it effective?
Before marking, the teacher produces a 1. Plan ahead - ​what do you expect
proforma of probable strengths and actions for students to do well / make mistakes on?
students. Instead of writing these comments out 2. Collaborate - ​one SLA sheet can be
in full, the teacher then reads the student’s work used by multiple teachers if they set the
and circles the relevant comments. same task
3. Include a space for actions​ - this
Why is it effective? makes it easier to manage whether
● Reduces time spent marking students are green penning their work
● Can be planned centrally and used for 4. Maximise the impact​ - marking is time
same assessment across year group consuming, so it’s essential that the
● Strengths can be doubled up and used students get the maximum benefit from
before/during task as Success Criteria it! Use your next Do Now to make sure
they read and respond to their
feedback.

Example:
Teacher:​ Good morning, everyone. I have marked all your assessments. There was lots of really
good work, but we’ve all got things we can improve. So for your Do Now, I’d like you each to open
your book and turn to the SLA sheet I’ve stuck in. You have ten minutes to read over your
comments and use your Green Pen to respond to the actions. Off you go.
7. BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
Our Values

The best approach to behaviour management is to create a firm but positive classroom
environment, where students feel safe, secure and successful. They should be taught to
self-regulate their behaviour. Again, Growth Mindset gives us the belief that behaviour is not
fixed, but can be taught.

This can best be done through discussions of the values surrounding behaviour. The below
poster references our core values; the GWA Values (GENIUS), GEMS Core Values, and
how these fit in with the UAE agenda. For ease of reference, this poster can be found in
every classroom.

Discussions of behaviour should be grounded in these values. For example: ​“Ahmed, you
need to write more than this for your homework. This is an ​opportunity f​ or you to improve
your understanding of geography, which will help you ​make the most of your education.​

Creating a positive climate for learning

Teachers need to be thermostats, not thermometers. Our role isn’t to wait for bad behaviour
and then respond to it, but to preempt disruptive behaviour by establishing a positive and
purposeful climate within our classrooms, and by heightening student engagement in
learning. This can be done in a number of ways, some of which are below:

● Planning highly engaging lessons that captivate student’s curiosity

● Setting high expectations for student work and behaviour.
● Praise specific behaviour, and, if possible, link the praise to our values. For example,
“Well done for being so responsible by helping Shaima understand quadratic
equations”
● Follow up verbal praise by issuing Rewards on iSAMS.
● Modelling the courteous behaviour you expect to see from students.
● Greeting students at the door in a friendly, smiling and positive manner.
● Making a positive phone call home.
● Listening to students.
● Taking an interest in students outside the classroom - their hobbies, for example.

Avoid the following:

● Taking poor behaviour personally. Children misbehave for many different reasons,
and dealing with it is a professional, not a personal, challenge.
● Sanctioning the whole class for individual behaviour. You will lose the goodwill of the
well-behaved students very quickly!
● Shouting. You may be angry, but it gives the impression that you have lost control of
your classroom, which undermines your standing with students.
● Generic and/or false praise. It dilutes the effect of genuine praise.
Rewards

Students generally like to succeed, and it is important to reward students for good work and
behaviour. The following are all viable strategies:

● Verbal Praise - be specific about what you are praising, and link to HERO values,
Growth Mindset or the IB Learner Profile where possible e.g. “Mustafa, I really like
how you’ve been an Inquirer today by asking loads of great questions”
● Positives on iSAMS - rewards can be logged for being an IB Learner (IB Learner
Profile)
● Phone calls home ​- students are often particularly eager for you to make a positive
phone call home to report on good effort
● Organising Reward events - for example, pizza parties after school for a class
which has worked particularly hard all term

Sanctions

There will inevitably be times when positive behaviour management is not enough. In such
cases, you should sanction the student, firmly and fairly.

As a first step, informal and non-invasive reminders may be sufficient. If not, the student
should be formally sanctioned in line with our Behaviour Policy.

Informal

Where possible, behaviour should be dealt with informally, positively ​and without
disrupting teaching and learning. The most effective behaviour management doesn’t give
the student the opportunity to show off in front of their peers. The following may be effective:

1. Non-verbal cues​: A quick, non-verbal signal that you are aware that the student is
not on task. For example, eye contact with a student who is not paying attention.
2. Positive, whole-group correction: A quick, verbal reminder to all students. For
example, ​“I need everyone listening, thank you.”
3. Anonymous correction: ​A verbal reminder that some students are not complying.
For example, ​“I’m waiting for two students to be quiet.”
4. Targeted, private correction: ​A quiet word with an off-task student, given while
other students are working. For example, “Joseph, I need you to focus on your work.”
Formal

If a student’s behaviour is disrupting teaching and learning​, a more formal approach

should be used in line with the behaviour policy. This is where consistency and shared
language are extremely important, so you should use language as similar as possible to the
below:

First Verbal warning “[Student name], I need you to focus on your learning
Strike Name on board by [improving behaviour, e.g. not talking when I am
talking]. This is your first warning.”

Second Name ticked “[Student name], you are continuing to disrupt

Strike Negative on iSAMS teaching and learning, so this is your final warning.
(Optional: detention) You will need to stay behind at the end to discuss your
behaviour. If I have to speak to you again, you will be
sent to the Withdrawal Room. Do you understand?”

Third Sent to withdrawal “​[Student name], unfortunately, you have ignored the
Strike room two previous warnings I have given you and continued
Phone call home to disrupt teaching and learning so you will be taken to
the Withdrawal Room. You will need to wait in silence
until you are collected.”

Equipment

Students should come to school each day full equipped with the following items. These
should be checked every day in AM Registration, and students missing items should be
logged by their tutors.

Item Stockist

Pens: Black, blue and green Widely available

Pencil Widely available

Rubber Widely available

Calculator for applicable gardes Widely available

iPad (BYOD - Grade 4 - 5) Parent Purchase

Macbook (BYOD - Grade 6-12) Parent Purchase

Water bottle Widely available. Students are responsible for

ensuring they have a bottle, which can be
refilled throughout the day.