Nurture Featured Teacher for March 2024: Glenda Ua Bruadair, The King's Hospital School Dublin

Introduction 

Here at Nurture, speaking with teachers and school leaders is our bread and butter and we have come to understand the importance of school culture and the success of new adaptations like Nurture. In the bustling environment of The King’s Hospital School in Dublin, one teacher shines brightly as an example of how to strive for a positive school culture through dedication and innovation. Glenda Ua Bruadiar, a post-primary English teacher, has been selected as the Nurture Featured Teacher for the month of March. Glenda’s role is multi-faceted and she is a busy bee acting as the English Department Coordinator and the School Self Evaluation Coordinator. Her many roles and responsibilities underscore her commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. 

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Nurture Lead Teacher

Not only is Glenda already juggling these responsibilities, she is also the Nurture Lead Teacher in The King’s Hospital School, Dublin promoting the principles of Nurture with her fellow colleagues and perfecting its usage in her own classroom. Throughout the academic year, she has shared her expertise with her colleagues, organising training for new Nurture teachers and assisting them in their Nurture journey. Through her efforts, Glenda has fostered a culture of collaboration and professional development among her peers, creating an environment where innovative practices can thrive. Most teachers reading this will automatically think of their own school’s version of Glenda, someone who is always happy to help and share best practice with colleagues without hesitation. This is our opportunity to celebrate these teachers, through the example of Glenda. 

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School Culture 

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“We are lucky to have a staff that is interested and open to new things”

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One of the key factors that have contributed to the success of Nurture in Glenda's school is the culture of openness and curiosity that permeates the school. In Glenda's own words, "we are lucky to have a staff that is interested and open to new things." This spirit of receptiveness has been instrumental in driving the adoption of Nurture and has paved the way for its successful implementation in this school as teachers are dedicated to and interested in quality assessment and feedback to improve the outcomes for students.

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Collaboration and Collegiality

"Collegiality is the cornerstone of professional growth and development in education. When teachers collaborate and support each other, student achievement soars." - Dr. Robert Marzano (Reference) 

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All teachers will know that no teacher is an island, and collaboration and collegiality are the must-have vehicles to school school progression. In the words of Dr. Robert Marzano, “collegiality is the cornerstone of professional growth and development in education. When teachers collaborate and support each other, student achievement soars”. 

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The King’s Hospital School is an excellent example of a school where collaboration allows student achievement to thrive. Having facilitated Oide's programme on 'Formative Assessment Through The Use of Digital Portfolios' with her colleague Melanie, the two began putting in place the next steps to deliver on this programme. Melanie took responsibility for putting Oide's streamlined process into poster format to disseminate to all classrooms. This process aligned perfectly with the step-by-step process to assessment and feedback being used by Glenda and other teachers in Nurture. This level of collegiality allowed all teachers to work in sync with one another through a common goal- to streamline their approach to formative assessments, through the professionalism and collegiality of both Glenda and Melanie.

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Melanie’s work in this regard fed into Glenda’s work as School Self Evaluation Coordinator and, during our discussion with her about this piece she was at pains to emphasise the excellent work completed by her colleague. Glenda’s work as a Nurture Lead Teacher also allowed her to highlight how Nurture mirrored the recommended approach to assessment and feedback by Oide stating, “both are the same process. Nurture is the digitised version of Oide’s approach” which made their endeavours in this area far more streamlined and effective. This seamless alignment enabled both teachers to achieve their educational goals effectively and, by default, enhance student outcomes. 

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Student Outcomes

“In a group of students who used Nurture and re-drafted their work, 18 out of 21 students enhanced their results in the second draft, with improvements ranging from 4% to 40%.”

Through both the use of Nurture as an assessment and feedback tool which, by default, follows the streamlined process outlined by Oide, Glenda has observed significant improvements in the attainment of her students. In a class of 19 students, all students who engaged with Nurture and re-drafted their work showed improvement in their second drafts, with 9 students making substantial progress. Similarly, in a separate group of students who used Nurture and re-drafted their work, 18 out of 21 students enhanced their results in the second draft, with improvements ranging from 4% to 20%. These results underscore the importance of targeted feedback and opportunities for students to revise and refine their work. 

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‍Conclusion 

While Glenda is our Nurture Featured Teacher of the month, she is the representative for the positive culture which exists in this school whereby teachers are open to new ideas and methods to transform their teaching and learning, improving student outcomes as a result. The collaborative efforts of Glenda, Melanie and their colleagues are exemplified in their poster on digital assessment and feedback. This poster, and the work being done on Nurture in this school are testament to the dedication and expertise of educators in all Nurture schools where a culture of continuous learning and improvement is both encouraged and given the conditions to flourish. 

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