Teaching & Learning

Teaching and Learning is what Wildern is all about; it is our primary job and is integral to the work we do every day. Every member of staff is encouraged to be part of our Professional Learning groups (PLGs) who research pedagogy, trial its usefulness and embed its practices to ensure that we stay at the forefront of educational thinking, innovation and enquiry.

We believe that students learn best when they:

• Enjoy their learning
• Are interested, motivated and engaged
• Achieve success and gain recognition
• Are given tasks which match their ability
• Clearly understand the learning objectives, content and expectations for lessons
• Are confident, feel secure and are aware of boundaries
• Are challenged and stimulated
• Are involved in their own learning and are encouraged to think about new ideas and ask questions
• Are encouraged to extend their classroom learning during study time at home
• Are encouraged to develop their analysis and thinking skills
• Are involved in evaluating their own and others’ progress (AfL)
• Know their level of performance, understand the assessment criteria and can see themselves progressing, knowing how to improve

We know excellent teaching is achieved when:

• Students are challenged with work appropriate to their ability
• Lessons are well planned and resourced to engage all students
• Assessment for Learning is taking place including peer/self assessment
• Teachers are seen as energetic and enthusiastic for their subject and have good subject knowledge
• Learning objectives are shared and discussed with the class at the start of the lesson
• The lesson consists of a variety of bite size activities using a range of learning styles
• Plenaries are well structured, involve the students and re-cap on the learning objectives of the lesson
• Students are supported to improve their work with formative comments
• ICT is used to enhance and enrich the quality of teaching
• The teaching style is varied and acknowledges variations in learning styles, maximizing student engagement and enquiry
• Students are motivated to behave well within a consistent behaviour management framework
• Student progress is tracked, monitored and reviewed regularly
• Assessment is used to inform planning, teaching and progress
• Students are encouraged to think about their ideas and ask questions

We believe that our classrooms cultivate these ideals in order that students acquire the essential study skills, love of learning, resilience required for life after Wildern.