In the new Ofsted Framework “I” is for Implementation. In this blog I will consider how we implement our curriculum and prepare for Ofsted. Above all I will touch on how this approach will benefit our students. Once we have thought about the Impact we are going to have we have to think about how we are going to execute it.
Implementing a curriculum
Implementation: Teachers have good subject knowledge with support from leaders; teachers present subjects clearly and identify misconceptions; taught to remember in the long term; use assessment effectively; environment, resources and materials all conducive to positive learning; rigorous teaching of reading, mentioning reading for pleasure and phonics.
Implementation simply means the process of putting a decision or plan into effect. As teachers this means how we execute our curriculum & scheme of work. Implementing a curriculum is all about taking our ideas, planning & schemes and putting them in to practice. It seems clear that Ofsted want to see what we have planned and then see it in action in a classroom.
As Music Teachers we firstly need to look at what we are teaching and why, and I touched on Intent in my previous blog. But we then need to think about how we implement it. This train of thought got me thinking about Music Technology.
Implementation Using Technology
We want our students to learn about Rhythm. We write a scheme of work and consider all of the terms, concepts and ideas. We then think about what our Intentions are – why are we teaching this. Once we have considered all of this we start to think about what we are actually going to do. And so we think about how we might be able to use Music Technology. This for me is the correct pathway to take. All to often we think, right I want to use Music Tech because I feel I should.
What we need to do is what out intentions and then decide if Technology is a good way of implementing that particular scheme of work or lesson. I often find that I will use technology for something that could have been a lot more practical or singing based. But I also often forget the power of using technology to create something small that will help students learn.
Implementation Using Singing
Singing is a great way to put our intentions into effect within a scheme of work because it is a whole body experience for the students. If we want them to learn about harmony, then getting them to sing in harmony is a good way of doing this. At Christmas time I will often get students singing carols to learn about cadences, chords and melody lines.
But we mustn’t force singing on the students if it won’t help us implement our intentions. Singing must be a tool that will help us and not hinder us. But having said that there is never really much wrong with getting students to sing.
Implementation Using Listening
One way we can execute our curriculum is through listening. I have been thinking about this alot and I am finding that students simply don’t listen enough. I know that they have headphones in most of the time, but they aren’t really listening to music. When I was younger, listening to music was more of a decision. You had to go to a library or a shop to get a CD or recording – how many people remember teaching with cassette tapes.
We therefore have a duty to show students how to listen in order to learn and this is going to be a the topic of a future blog. Implementing a topic on melody and using listening as the tool is a great of reaching the intentions behind out schemes of work.
Ofsted & Implementation
Ultimately Ofsted will want to see that we are implementing what we say we are in our schemes of work. They will look out our intentions and then look for how we are choosing to deliver them. They want to see that students are making progress through well thought through implementation. We have to come up with ideas for a lessons and then look at the best way of delivering those ideas for our learners.
And every class is different and we need to show that we are thinking through what we are doing. One class might learn through singing in a different way to another class. Music Technology might be great for some and not for others. But we are the teachers and we need to look at how we are implementing out curriculum.
