[Sec] We Can See CLEARRly Now: Lessons from a Pedagogical Framework

English Language & Literature Branch EL Secondary

The 2022 EXCEL Fest provided an opportunity for us to share some “snapshots” from the journey we’ve had so far designing and using the CLEARR pedagogical framework. We addressed three key questions:

1. Do we really need another “innovation”?

Syllabus revisions may lead to more explicit guidance in terms of what to teach, but the added detail may make it challenging for teachers when they consider how to scope and sequence the learning outcomes. A pedagogical framework helps them connect the dots, allowing them to more fully exploit the content provided in the syllabus. At HQ level, CLEARR allowed the Sec team in ELLB to develop units of learning in Voices at Play, the instructional materials supporting implementation of ELS2020.

2. What questions does a pedagogical framework like CLEARR answer?

CLLIPS and ACoLADE, the principles and processes of EL teaching and learning in ELS2020, can be seen as questions we pose ourselves as we design EL programmes. Some of the key questions that CLEARR helps us answer are:

• How do we contextualise language skills around types of text and themes relevant to adolescents?

• How do we integrate language skills?

• How do we sequence learning outcomes for spiral progression?

3. What are some lessons we learnt while using CLEARR?

We’ve learnt that innovation is …

• Play: To design CLEARR, we played with the building blocks earlier teams created for us – CLLIPS and ACoLADE.

• Resilience: Not the resilience of the team (which is obviously necessary), but the resilience of the innovation itself, whether it stands up to the test of repeated use. As we used CLEARR to design units and explained CLEARR to various stakeholders, our confidence in the framework grew, and our understanding of its potential deepened.

• Community: Without the support of colleagues from NIE and ELIS, CLEARR would not be refined into a tool that all members of the Secondary EL fraternity can get behind. Many complex and intense conversations were invested in the development of CLEARR, all of which have led to an innovation we can rely on as a representation of what the community believes should happen in the Secondary EL classroom.

Click on the PDF below to view the presentation deck:

EXCEL2022_CLEARR.pdf

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