Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FINAL REPORT
Albert P. Joseph
ID No. 20052880
Of the Requirements of
Trimester 3, [2014]
Email: albert.joseph@open.uwi.edu
Executive Summary
The social studies department at the Levron High School consists of four teachers and a
department head who is responsible for the department. As a school, the administration has set
aside Wednesdays for planning to ensure that students are receiving quality instruction.
Several of those gaps included a lack of planning on the part of teacher, assessment and
scoring guides and rubrics not being taken into consideration and recording of students’ grade
being almost non-existent. These are caused by a number of factors from inefficient resources
and tools to a lack of monitoring and motivation, as well as roles not being clearly specified.
To address the problems interventions were identified which will include performance
design and development. Key strategies under these interventions to be implemented include:
strategic planning and management, documentation and standards, information systems and
training. It is hoped that with these interventions the department can begin to see more positive
outcomes.
3
Table of Contents
Title Page………………………………………………………………………… 1
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………… 2
Performance Analysis………………………………………………………………11
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..21
Reflection…………………………………………………………………………...22
References…………………………………………………………………………..24
4
The Levron High School was built over twenty two years ago in an effort to provide more
secondary school places for students on the island. Ever since the school was built it has had to
endure many challenges, primarily the label of being a “bad school” and a host of indiscipline
problems which some persons indicate are due to the school being built on a site which was used
The secondary school caters to over six hundred students who come into the school with
averages ranging from ten percent to forty percent and in rare cases sixty percent, if a child’s
parents chooses to send him/her to the school. Many of the students who come to the school are
students who struggle with literacy and numeracy and added to that come from homes with many
social problems. There are a total of five forms, with four classes at each level.
Students are offered a number of subjects which include the core areas of mathematics,
English, social studies and science and technical subjects such as technical drawing and
woodwork. Food and nutrition, foreign languages and physical education are also some of the
offerings of the school. Even with more technical and hands-on subjects students find it difficult
to cope due to literacy concerns and as a result the school has over the years experienced a very
The school has a very large teacher population, forty-two teachers to be exact. Almost
ninety percent of the teachers have been trained and teacher qualifications range from A-levels to
master’s degrees. The school is known to be one with the most highly qualified teachers and
teacher to student ratio on the island due to the needs of students who gain entry into the school.
The school is headed by the principal and vice-principal and two counsellors also provide
support to students. While the school has had many challenges, it has had its share of successes
5
as well. The school is considered to have one of the best visual arts programmes and has had
students who have gone on to excel in a number of areas including aviation, medicine, law and
Human Performance
Teachers at the George Charles Secondary School operate within subject departments to
ensure that there is collaboration among teachers so that students at the various class levels are
on par with each other and to see to it that schemes and lessons are planned effectively. Each
department is headed by a head of department and Wednesdays have been set aside for
departments to meet and plan. Teachers are expected to keep scheme and record books where
they write in their weekly schemes, daily plans and records of what transpired during the course
of the cycle.
The problem that exists is that often times members of the departments do not meet and
teachers do not see the need to plan daily lesson plans once they have set their weekly schemes.
Teachers feel frustrated knowing that often when they teach, the concepts taught do not remain
with the students. As a result of students skipping classes, teachers also find it hard to administer
assessments and keep records for certain students. The high level of disrespect encountered by
teachers also increases the frustration level and makes it difficult to manage the classroom
effectively.
Global Issue
A lesson plan is a teacher’s detailed guide to instruction. While many teachers believe
that they are able to navigate their way through the lessons without a formal plan, there is need to
ensure that teachers are prepared to adequately address student needs. Boikhutsio (2010)
indicates that lesson planning and preparation have been seen as an integral part of teacher
teachers can lead to a waste of time and effort, teacher and student frustration and reduced
whether or not the goals of instruction are being met (Edutopia, 2018) and can determine
whether there is complete mastering of concepts covered. These assessments are necessary since
they provide students with feedback about their learning (Mavis, 2010).
Statement of Purpose
Time has been set aside by the administration of the school to ensure that there is
thorough planning within departments. During this time there is usually brief discussion as to
where teachers are at and then teachers prepare a scheme of work for the week. The problem
faced with this method is that daily plans are not discussed or planned together which usually
results in different content being brought across to students of the various classes of the same
year.
Secondly, very little attention is paid to assessments as it relates to methods, rubrics and
scoring guides. Assessments are supposed to serve as a key communicator as to how students
are performing. As a result of this project, it is hoped that teachers will thoroughly take time to
prepare a blueprint for the term which will consist of units to be covered, assessments to be
assigned and the rubrics and guides that will go with them. It is also hoped that greater
collaboration among teachers will be done to put together lesson plans for the various topics and
Researcher’s Motives
Participation in this project is primarily out of concern for the students of the school.
Due to the nature of our school, where students are coming in at the common entrance level with
scores as low as 10% to 40% there is need to ensure that students gain something meaningful at
the end of their five years. It is imperative that we plan effective lessons that will keep students
motivated, help increase their academic standing so that they can experience success. Teachers
must be held accountable for preparing lessons that meet student needs and set high expectations
and to set assessments that help improve instructional delivery and student performance.
The social studies department consists of an HOD and four other teachers who teach the
various levels. For the purpose of this research the teachers will all be selected because of the
small size of the population. The principal will also be selected since he is the one who sets
policy at the school. To select the participants, a purposive sampling method will be used.
According to Creswell (2007) this method allows the researcher to select individuals and also the
site.
In order to gather data for this research the main methods that will be used are the
interview and questionnaire. The principal will be interviewed, while the teachers from the
department will be issued questionnaires. Extant data analysis will be used to help determine
8
teacher expectations as it relates to planning and instruction. This will include a review of
Questionnaire to teachers
The following questionnaire has been designed to gather information for an assignment on
Human Performance. I would be grateful if you assist in completing this questionnaire to
determine gaps in performance. All information gathered will be used solely for the purpose of
this research.
Yes no
2. How many years of experience have you had in the profession?
Yes no
9
12. What suggestions would you make for greater efficiency in preparing daily lesson plans?
Yes no
14. What reasons are there for not planning in the scheme books?
15. In your view how effective is the scheme book for planning?
16. How often are scheme books or other lesson planning materials checked by
administration?
17. Do you always take into consideration assessments when you plan?
Yes no
21. How do you use student results in the classroom?
22. Are rubrics and scoring guides used for each assessment task that you administer?
Once the data has been gathered, there is need to determine what patterns and trends can
be found within it. The data gathered may be qualitative or quantitative. Based on the data
gathered various methods will be applied. Where qualitative data is gathered the information
will be summarized and organized into categories. Attention will be paid to key similarities in
respondents’ answers.
11
The analysis summary worksheet would be used to clearly state the need of the organization,
gaps that may be prevalent and to highlight causes as well as proposed interventions.
Performance Analysis
Gap Analysis
Data gathered revealed that there was a gap in the completion of teachers’ schemes.
Teachers were not taking into account assessments during the planning stage and as a result did
In terms of the desired performance it was determined based on feedback from the principal that:
1. Teachers are to prepare daily lesson plans and weekly records in their scheme books since this
2. There must be evidence of students’ performance in the various subject areas. This would
require teachers to assess students in the various units that are taught and keep records of
3. Heads of Department and teachers are required to meet every Wednesday to plan lessons and
All teachers who filled out the questionnaire were qualified teachers with over ten years
of experience which meant that they had the knowledge of what was expected of them as
teachers in the school and classroom environment. Teachers of the department indicated that
while they were given the time on a Wednesday, either two persons would meet and very little to
12
no planning was done. Often teachers would simply copy the objectives from the syllabus into
Teachers were aware of their job description despite the fact that they indicated that the
To determine what was currently happening at the school within the department, I found
it necessary to develop a questionnaire for teachers that would look at two sets of questions. One
was based on lesson planning and the other relating to assessments. The four teachers within the
department were asked to fill out the questionnaire as truthfully as possible. Extant data analysis
was also performed by taking a look at the education act and identifying what teachers’ roles
Inefficient planning of daily lessons by teachers. There was little use of the scheme books
Organization Analysis
After a review of school documents the following information on the school’s vision,
a. Vision: To transform this school into a comprehensive institution thereby equipping our
students with the necessary acumen which will cater for all aspects of their total
development.
13
b. Mission: every child upon graduation will be functionally literate, numerate, technically
approach.
The organization has outlined its vision, mission, aims and objectives; however the strategies
to be used to achieve these have not been clearly stated and communicated to the entire
organization.
Environmental Analysis
organization are the parents and the Ministry of Education. The Ministry’s influence on the
school is such that the ministry determines the standards that need to be achieved by the students
as it relates to the curriculum. However, there is no direct contact between teachers and ministry
officials. The school has often been in last place or near the bottom after being ranked by the
ministry after students write the Caribbean Examinations Council CSEC exams.
The students’ parents are also expected to play a major role in supporting the school as
stated in the motto but very few parents make the effort to get involved in their children’s
b. Work Environment- All teachers within the department are qualified teachers who
hold a bachelor’s degree in education and have had many years of experience as teachers.
However, there are two new teachers to the social studies department. The basic resources that
teachers need to perform their roles are provided but there are times that teachers have to
14
purchase materials if they need to enhance lessons. Teachers are expected to use the scheme
book for preparing weekly plans, daily plans and at the end of the week to record what was done.
Teachers feel that the design of the book is not catering to their needs and thus use other books
for planning.
In terms of feedback from anyone as to whether lessons are planned thoroughly and
making suggestions for improvement, this is virtually non-existent. There are no consequences
for not preparing a lesson plan or preparing assessments for the students. Assessments are
usually summative in nature, meaning that students are usually assessed at the end of the term to
c. Work- At the department level the HOD is responsible. This is an unpaid position and
the HOD is still required to perform in this role in addition to their teaching periods. The role of
the HOD is not clearly defined but it is assumed that she is supposed to supervise the department
and offer assistance to teachers who need support. It is not certain as to whether she is supposed
Teachers’ responsibilities include preparing lesson plans, and ensuring that assessments are
administered. These assessments should be used to determine the progress that students are
making in social studies. Records of students’ progress are to be kept in the scheme book.
d. Worker- Teachers are very knowledgeable about their jobs as all teachers have
attended the teachers training college. However, not all teachers put into practice what they
know. The teachers also possess a range of skills which are also necessary for teaching the
social studies programme. The teachers also require further assistance in the area of assessment
to ensure that varied forms of assessment are used and that results of such assessments may be
used to diagnose student problems and to improve instruction. Data gathered has revealed that
15
there are no incentives offered to teachers for exemplary performance. Many teachers within the
department also indicated that they were demotivated to come to work because they were not
seeing results from students. In their view students continue to show a lack of interest.
Cause Analysis
There may be several reasons why certain gaps exist in an organization. Thomas Gilbert
cited in Van Tiem, Moseley, & Conway-Dessinger (2012), identified several behaviours that
would lead to understanding the causes of such gaps. These are information, resources,
Information Within the department there is clear indication that heads of department do
not have sufficient information on what their roles are as heads. Teachers within the department
do not receive any form of feedback on lessons that they might prepare to determine whether
they are covering all the essentials in lesson planning. Teachers are also not clear as to who
Resources Teachers have most of the resources that are needed to perform their jobs.
They complain though that the scheme and record book is not adequately meeting their needs
Incentives There are no incentives given to teachers for their exemplary work. Teachers
also believe that the one form of reward that would have them work harder, which are students’
results are not forthcoming and thus they do not apply as much effort to their work as they
should. Teachers indicated that they are not very much motivated in the workplace.
16
Knowledge and Skills Teachers do have the necessary knowledge and skills to perform
the job for planning of lessons. The concern is that all teachers have not received specialized
Interventions
Based on the gaps identified and causes, the following interventions are suggested:
Need 1: All daily lesson plans will be prepared by teacher of the department
Performance Currently teachers do not prepare daily lesson plans on a continuous basis. The
Gap 1:
goal is to have the teachers see the importance of lesson planning and thus plan
Cause: Tools/ Teachers do not feel that the prescribed scheme book is ideal for lesson
Resources 1
planning at the secondary school level. They indicate that with a cycle method
and the teaching of various forms the design of the book is not what is required.
Motive
They also feel that there is no need for lesson planning as they are well aware
Training-Teachers will be trained in new methods that can be used for the
17
Planboard which allows teachers to schedule all their classes online and then
put in the necessary content such as videos, graphs, tables, text and pictures that
will be used during a lesson. Lessons can be easily modified, moved to another
Documentation and Standards- There must be a clear outline of the role of the
Head of department. That role should include the need to monitor teachers’
planning and to provide clinical support to teachers who require assistance with
role as teachers which include thorough lesson planning and effective delivery
of lessons.
for having been consistent in preparing lesson plans. That would also require
the appraisal of teachers on an ongoing basis to determine how well they are
doing.
Job Analysis
teachers during a planning session. This needs to be clearly laid out by the
administration. Some of these areas should include weekly and daily planning,
Need 2: Teachers will effectively prepare assessments for the various lessons and will
also prepare the rubrics and scoring guides that need to go along with those
assessments.
Performance Assessments are done “en passant” or seen as an afterthought and there is no
Gap 2:
thorough planning of the methods to be used. Scoring guides are not prepared
but marks are randomly assigned to students which are not based on set
that they can inform instructional practices and give teachers sufficient and
the department.
will give guidance on how to improve. Teachers while in the classroom can
and weakness.
Need 3: There is a need to ensure that teachers keep records of students’ grades
Performance Teachers have reported that they do not keep records of students’ grades.
Gap 3:
These grades are essential to providing feedback to teachers on whether
students are making progress and these marks are also necessary for external
examination purposes.
Cause of gap 3: Since many teachers are not taking the task of planning assessments seriously
there is the gap in keeping records, because very often there are no records to
be kept.
Tools: Record keeping for future use serves as a major concern. While there
is a section of the scheme book for keeping students grades, these records are
often lost due to staff turnover and due to scheme books not being collected or
.
20
for each level for the year. There is need to decide on the targets to be met at
all levels by the end of a term and the year. Once this is done as a department
persons for assessments and rubrics and a system must be put in place to
ensure that all students’ grades are entered into a database which can be
important as an intervention.
Conclusion
Having identified the gaps within the department at the school the challenge was now to
identify the causes and select interventions that would best eliminate those gaps. The first gap
identified indicated that lesson plans were not being prepared by teachers on a daily basis.
Causes included issues with resources and ineffective tools. A decision was taken to train
difficult to determine how students were performing. Teachers did not appear to have adequate
knowledge on how to prepare rubrics for assessment and were not using varied assessments. As
a result the problems will be addressed using performance support from teachers of the
department. This will take the form of action learning and learning organizations.
Finally, in addressing the gap of not keeping records or misplacing records of pupils’
performance the intervention will be organizational design and development. This will take the
form of strategic planning and management and team building strategies. A database will be set
up where all can access the information and also increase communication among members of
staff. Greater communication and team building will ensure that the department functions as a
cohesive unit.
22
Reflection
For me, this course started on a very rough road. I still am not sure whether I have gotten
myself organized for this course even as we approach the end. A sore point for me was not
getting the hard copy of the textbook which would no doubt better prepare me for each step of
the assignment. With this being said, I am extremely pleased that I got the opportunity to do this
In every facet of life, be it at home or in the workplace, we come into contact with human
beings whom we have to work with. Some may be very industrious while others may have a
non-caring attitude. As a result tasks that are assigned may be left undone and gaps may exist.
This course helped in critically analysing why certain gaps exist in an environment. Surely, I can
see that the skills learnt in this course can be applied to any area of my life. I have so far been
able to offer advice to my principal, head of department and even the coordinator of our youth
organization. There is no doubt that the skills learnt in this course are essential since there are
In this course, I believe that what went well was the way in which the course page was
laid out. This gave me easy access to the readings and other content that was prepared for us.
The use of videos to cement our learning was also commendable. While we sometimes frowned
upon the numerous postings that had to be done, I was pleased to have my peers critique what I
I believe that more guidance is needed from the course coordinators. Sometimes I felt
that I was isolated on an online desert. It was a little unclear as to what was expected of us in the
group forum for the initial stages. I think there is also a need to give clearer instructions in that
regard.
23
Overall, I have seen the relevance of this course to teaching. Often times we learn things
that are very irrelevant to our needs, but not in this case. I intend to use the knowledge that I
have learnt to bring about improvements in my workplace and to bring greater satisfaction to the
people whom I interact with. Thanks Dr. Hill for making this possible. You have been
supportive during this programme. I would certainly recommend anyone to do this course.
24
References
Boikhutso, K. (2010). The theory into practice dilemma: Lesson planning challenges
http://www.academia.edu/4078905/The_theory_into_practice_dilemma_Lesson_planning
_challenges_facing_Botswana_student-teachers
Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches
http://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-importance
Henrichsen, L., Smith, M.T. & Baker, D.S. (1997). Planning effective lessons for language
http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/lessonplanning/
Mavis, B. (2010). Assessing student performance. In W.B. Jefferies &K.N. Nuggett (Eds.). An