Berkhamsted Research - Issue 2

R

ISSUE 2

AT BERKHAMSTED

Welcome to the second issue of Research at Berkhamsted, our annual publication exhibiting research by staff and students across the Berkhamsted Schools Group. Issue two builds on the strong and innovative foundations established

by Nick Cale (Deputy Head, Academic Performance).

It seeks to more directly contribute to staff ’s continuing professional development, celebrate moves to increase student involvement in teaching and learning, and institute an exciting link with Sevenoaks School in Kent (another like-minded, research-informed school). As well as detailing staff and student research projects, issue two features: a specially commissioned article on Behaviour for Learning (BfL) written by Dr. Roland Chaplain, the University of Cambridge’s Behaviour Management Specialist; an evaluation

by Joe Beadle (last year’s Head Boy) of what, – according to evidence, –‘works’ in teaching; and a series of book reviews, including a contribution by Nick Townsend, our Head Boy and part of our student focus group on teaching and learning (the ‘Learning Leaders’).

I am not the first to say that ‘we live in exciting times for educational research’ (Muijs 2020): this is thanks, in part, to a lessening of the gulf between academic (pedagogic) research and the practice of teaching – a ‘bridging’ of the ‘gap’ as Carl Hendrick and Robin Macpherson have recently termed it (2017). Once only the preserve of the so-called ‘ivory tower’, pedagogic research is now increasingly available to teachers – and teachers are increasingly becoming researchers to inform their practice. Rather than fumbling in the dark for strategies and practices founded on fads, myths, and anecdotes, schools and teachers now have opportunities to take more robust, research-informed approaches to what they do. Indeed, Roland Chaplain advocates exactly that in his opening article. ‘What is the most effective way of managing pupil behaviour?’ calls for a research-informed approach to BfL in particular, advising readers to develop ‘a sound knowledge of relevant theory, based on robust empirical research and its application’ to ‘enhance […] teaching and make it easier to explain and justify […] to pupils, parents, and colleagues’.

Chaplain, however, cautions against applying research blindly.

Instead he advises us to be certain of ‘its compatibility with a teacher’s beliefs and goals, as well as the school’s context’. This idea of empowering or giving autonomy to the research-informed teacher – as championed in Ann Mroz’s recent Times Educational Supplement editorial (2019) – chimes with Joe Beadle’s ‘Learning “learning”: an evaluation of my pedagogical experiences in Berkhamsted School classrooms’. Using what a Sutton Trust Report from 2014 defines as ‘great teaching’, Beadle appraises teaching and learning at Berkhamsted from a student’s perspective.

His bold and novel article interrogates what “great teaching” actually means to question the generalised, one-size-fits-all policies and practices that research-informed pedagogy could bring about in schools. He questions whether ‘great teaching’ is quantifiable just by examination results, or whether other factors should also be taken into account.

Teachers’ fostering of ‘intrinsic enjoyment’, creativity, and an enduring zest for learning are some of the other measures he suggests.

The articles by Anna Dickson, Elizabeth Benson and Debbie Cooper, and Eliza Taylor all strike an encouraging balance between traditional and progressive approaches to teaching to which Beadle alludes (that is, teaching geared towards assessment performance, and teaching that inspires and equips students more broadly). At the same time, these writers show that their projects combine research with professional experience. Dickson’s research stresses the importance of knowledge retention for enabling students to ‘do’ History for A-level examinations. Yet her study of an intervention involving weekly knowledge quizzes also demonstrates her forging of intrinsic motivation, engagement, and independence in her Sixth Form students. Knowledge as the crucial foundation of learning is a similarly important thread according to Benson and Cooper, who share how an increased knowledge of language has transformed Early Years pupils' progress in assessments and creative engagement with books. Along similar lines, Taylor outlines approaches to tackling longer philosophical texts in the A-level classroom to improve her students’ examination performance whilst also

I hope that you enjoy this second instalment of Berkhamsted's research journal. I'd like to thank James Cutler, our Head of Research and editor, as well as everyone else who contributed articles to the publication. Covid-19 has demonstrated how flexible and adaptable the teaching profession needs to be in the modern world and the more we can engage with both academic research from universities, and action research from schools, the better position we will be in to best serve the needs of all pupils. Here at Berkhamsted we are proud of the research-driven approach to both Teaching & Learning and our pastoral work.

Hannah Butland Deputy Head of Teaching and Innovation

Contents forging intellectual curiosity and reading stamina.

Two articles where progressive approaches to education are valued at least as much as traditional ones, and with strong research bases governed by teacher experience, are Jon Cheetham’s and Elen Harris’s. Initially published in Sevenoaks School’s Innovate journal, their inclusion here stems from an embryonic research network developing between both schools, thanks to conversations with Mark Beverley (Director of Sevenoaks’ Institute of Teaching and Learning). Cheetham’s article suggests how reading poetry aloud to care home residents can be potentially fertile – but also problematic – ground for improving student wellbeing; Harris’s investigates whether certain dialogic approaches to feedback have ‘a quantifiable impact on student metacognition’. Community Service Coordinator, Kath Tomlin’s piece on ‘Feedback to Move Forward’ quite aptly follows these articles. It describes her continued successful employment of similar metacognitive approaches to feedback (discussed in issue 1), even though their effectiveness is ‘difficult to quantify’.

What is the most effective way of managing pupil behaviour?

by Roland Chaplain 2-5

Librarian Gosia Pudelko-Kelly’s article functions as a bridge in this issue between teaching-focused research, and both examples of student engagement with research and a series of academic book reviews. The Library plays a similarly important bridging role within the school’s research community. It connects teaching staff and students with academic research, which is evident in Pudelko-Kelly’s description of how our Library seeks to collaborate more with teaching staff ‘to improve pupils' research and critical thinking skills’, and to help foster ‘lifelong learning’. These are evident first-hand in former student Fabien Bryans’ summary of his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), which explains his search for functionality and cyber security in designing ‘a lightweight cryptosystem’ for pacemakers; and in Year 13 student, Nick Townsend’s book review, which is followed by two more reviews by Martin Walker and Estelle Couture respectively.

Does reading poetry aloud to care home residents have a beneficial effect on student wellbeing?

by Jon Cheetham 21 - 23

They round off what I hope you will agree is an exciting second issue. It aims to catalyse ideas, challenge existing practice, and provoke further dialogue about the relationship between research and practice, and, perhaps, what constitutes ‘effectiveness’ in effective teaching. I thank Hannah Butland (Deputy Head of Teaching and Innovation) for her help in planning and assembling it.

Dr James Cutler (Editor), November 2020 Head of Research

Learning ‘learning’: an evaluation of my pedagogical experiences in Berkhamsted School

by Joe Beadle 6-8 Teams, Targets, or Beat the Teacher

by Anna Dickson 9

- 12

‘Five a Day’ Stories and the ‘Million Word Gap'

by Elizabeth Benson and Debbie Cooper 13 - 17 Do we have to read it all, Miss?

by Eliza Taylor 18

- 20

A quantitative study into feedback strategies and the impact upon metacognition

by Elen Harris 24 - 27 The Library and skills for lifelong learning

by Gosia Pudelko-Kelly 28 - 30 Continuing to feed back to move forward

by Kath Tomlin 31 Designing a Cryptosystem: EPQ

by Fabien Bryans 32 - 34 BOOK REVIEWS Learning How to Learn

by Nick Townsend 35 When the Adults Change Everything Changes

by Martin Walker

36 - 37 Drive

by Estelle Couture 38

Works Cited

39 - 40

What is the most effective way of managing pupil behaviour?

The problems that teachers experience managing disruptive behaviour begin with initial teacher training, which, in its various forms, has a long history of not providing comprehensive training in behaviour management (c.f. Merrett and Wheldall 1993; Williams 2018). In 1989, The Elton Report concluded that disruptive behaviour was an issue for most teachers, even those in ‘well-run schools’. Thirty years later, disruptive behaviour is reportedly ‘endemic’ in English schools (Williams 2018) despite a major shift in teacher training from universities to school-based – a move intended to improve behaviour management skills.

Williams (ibid.) found that almost 50% of teachers believed that their teacher training programme had NOT prepared them to manage pupil behaviour. As a result, many teachers rely on picking up behaviour management strategies along the way in a grab-bag fashion, some of which work for some people. Those teachers who did not learn about behaviour management theory during their training may feel that theory and research are largely irrelevant. Many books on managing behaviour often contain statements like ‘this book avoids dry/ boring/ complex theory and research’ and go on to say how their book is based on common sense and their experience as a teacher.

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Despite their rejection of theory and research, their collections of anecdotes, good ideas, tips, collectively constitute their implicit theory of how to manage behaviour in class. What is missing from this type of advice is consideration of the volumes of established research and theory about managing behaviour. This article gives a brief overview of some of these underlying theories and offers suggestions as to their use in Classroom Management.

Having a sound knowledge of relevant theory, based on robust empirical research and its application, will enhance your teaching and make it easier to explain and justify your approach to pupils, parents, and colleagues. There is nothing more practical than a good theory (Lewin 1951). However, merely reading about theory is insufficient, unless the resultant knowledge guides and improves your practice. Evidence-based practice requires decisions to be based on the best available, current, valid, and relevant evidence, which is consistently and systematically evaluated.

When it comes to behaviour management, the term evidence-based practice is widely misused. Top tips, anecdotes, and hearsay do not equate to evidence! Behaviour management research draws on contributions from disparate traditions and perspectives (Emmer and Sarbornie 2015). Selecting what works best requires engagement with the theoretical and philosophical assumptions which underpin the evidence, alongside its compatibility with a teacher’s beliefs and goals as well as the school’s context. This should all be incorporated in a classroom management plan (CMP). A comprehensive and effective CMP should include how whole-school, classroom and personal factors might influence the strategies, techniques, and procedures used (see Chaplain 2016, 2017 for details). It should not just focus on producing an orderly environment to create the conditions for academic learning; it should include ways to enhance pupils' social and moral growth (Chaplain 2016, 2017; Henley 2010). All CMPs should be proactive, that is, more concerned with preventing undesirable behaviour rather than reacting to it.

This means teaching pupils how you want them to behave by making your expectations explicit and then reinforcing them as near to the event as possible (Chaplain 2016, 2017). However, classroom management planning should not be a static process since factors such as pupils’ socio-emotional development, what happens at the whole-school level, and beyond the school gates may necessitate change. A competent teacher has the ability and flexibility to adapt to such changes (EU Commission 2013).

“Rigorously researching what works best in respect of managing pupil behaviour should be routine in education. Judging the validity of a claim that one approach is better than another should be based on objective empirical research, not what sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately, that is not always the case in reality” Chaplain 2016, 2017 In order to give direction to your CMP and determine which strategies to use to create a positive classroom climate, your CMP should be framed within a robust empirically-based approach, founded on established theory and research, and which has been tested and shown to be effective within a classroom. Many seemingly appealing strategies do not have an empirical base.

Framing your CMP

It is important to remember that any knowledge you acquire in respect of behaviour management – as with any other new knowledge - is filtered through your existing beliefs and principles, that you have accumulated through your life experiences. These will include your established beliefs about why pupils behave the way they do, your expectations in respect of behaviour in your class, and your perceived capability to manage them.

Among the many evidence-based approaches, cognitive-behavioural approaches have a long-established record of measurable effectiveness in managing pupil behaviour (c.f. Mayer et al. 2009; Ruttledge and Petrides 2012).

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consequences

support

connectedness

positive

behaviours

emotions Cognitive-behavioural approaches (CBA) draw on models and methods from educational, psychological, and neuroscientific research about behaviour management and wider aspects of human behaviour. They are organised on a continuum which utilises behavioural methods at one end and cognitive at the other, with varying levels of each in between. They are a loose collection of models and methods arranged around the premise that emotions and associated behaviours result from a transaction between the environment and a pupil’s interpretation and appraisal of it – which can be positive or negative (Friedberg and McClure 2003). Our thoughts and feelings about events, even those that have not occurred, can have a profound effect on our functioning.

Many research projects have demonstrated the effectiveness of CBA in managing disruptive behaviours in pupils (Mennuti et al. 2012).

CBA can be applied at the group level (e.g. social problem solving) or individual level (e.g.

ADHD pupil). Behavioural approaches focus on manipulating the environment to change behaviour (e.g. changing a classroom seating arrangement to reduce chattering).

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They can be used to address organisational influences (e.g. establishing classroom routines) or developing social skills. Cognitive elements can be used to address cognitive deficiencies including self-control of impulsive behaviour and self-regulation of emotions in social contexts.

Providing activities which lead to pupil selfcontrol means less time is wasted on dealing with misbehaviour increasing the time available for meaningful work. Cognitive approaches have an emphasis on spoken communication and require a trusting and safe relationship between pupil and teacher. Hence behavioural approaches, which do not rely solely on spoken communication, would be more suitable for pupils with limited language skills (e.g. younger/ SEND pupils). I next consider two important factors of classroom climate that contribute to effective behaviour management.

relationships

disruptive body language

Classroom climate – some organisational and psychosocial factors

Classroom climate is the sum of the global emotional and management aspects of the classroom (Babad 2009). At one level it concerns organisation, such as the development of classroom routines and procedures, which makes life predictable and results in pupils feeling safe and secure. Routines are what is known in social psychology as a behavioural or social script (Fiske and Taylor 2013). A social script is a set of behaviours and consequences that are expected in a particular context and in school will vary from lesson to lesson, and teacher to teacher. To be effective routines need to be taught explicitly until they are established, and the quickest way to do so is by using a behavioural approach (i.e. reinforcement of desired behaviour).

Reinforcement can be tangible (e.g. stickers, points) or social (e.g. verbal support). Done correctly this provides a foundation for a positive relationship with a class by association between a teacher and the reinforcer (something they like).

The quality of social interaction between teacher and pupil has a direct relationship with the psychosocial classroom climate, including pupils’ social behaviour. A positive climate is associated with a sense of connectedness and enjoyment which leads to greater pupil engagement with learning and less disruptive behaviour (Crosnoe et al. 2004). Social elements of classroom climate are dependent upon how teachers communicate their expectations through verbal (VB) and nonverbal (NVB) behaviour.

Whilst language is the primary means of communicating, Kostic and Chadee (2014) emphasise the importance of NVB since they convey emotional states. Although teachers can exert volitional control over what they say, they are less adept at controlling their facial expression and body language (Babad and Taylor 1992). Teachers who claimed they could control their NVB were found to be least able to do so (Babad 2009). Communication can be corrupted through ‘emotional leakage’, undermining what is being said when it is not consistent with other NVB being displayed. For example, Ekman (2009) found that micro-expressions of emotion, which last for less than 0.5 seconds, often do not match what is being said or gestured, and so reveal the true emotional state of an individual.

Babad et al. (2003) have carried out a series of studies of primary and secondary pupils in which they were required to judge NVB of teachers without hearing what was being said. They found that pupils as young as 10 could easily detect favouritism and did not appreciate it. Where this occurs, pupils are more likely to respond negatively. Since cognitive approaches require a trusting relationship between teacher and pupils, contradictory messages from teachers are not conducive to forming such relationships. It is possible for teachers to learn to control their NVB but is easier for some than others. One method of starting this process is to video yourself teaching*. Then review the video with the sound turned off and evaluate the messages being conveyed to different pupils. Do the messages seem similar as judged by physical proximity, body posture, gesture, eye contact, smiling? You can carry out the same process with trusted colleagues to determine the inter-rater reliability of your conclusions.

In sum, there is no one-size-fits-all CMP to manage disruptive behaviour effectively.

Classroom dynamics are fluid, so to make your CMP effective you need to monitor and evaluate it in order to respond to a changing classroom climate. However, the evaluation can only be as robust as the research on which the CMP is based. * NB ensure child safeguarding policies are followed when using recording equipment in the classroom

BIO Dr Roland Chaplain MA(Cantab), C.Psychol., AFBPsS is an author, psychologist, and the Behaviour Specialist at Cambridge University. He has provided Behaviour Management training to over 5000 primary and secondary PGCE trainees and also provides CPD many to schools. His most recent books are Teaching Without Disruption in the Primary School (2nd Edition) 2016; and Teaching Without Disruption in the Secondary School (2nd Edition).

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Learning ‘learning’: an evaluation of my pedagogical experiences in Berkhamsted School classrooms In this brief report, I shall evaluate my experiences from seven years at Berkhamsted School in response to the article ‘What Makes Great Teaching?’ (Coe, Higgins, and Major 2018).

This article outlines pedagogical practices deemed to contribute positively to learners’ attainment, practices that are unevidenced and counterproductive, and methods by which to evaluate such practices. Its broad premise is that teaching quality is defined by “learners’ progress”. However, seeking to evidence the article’s claims is susceptible to confirmation bias, as itself acknowledges, and its objective approach to effective and ineffective practice risks generalisations that are uninformed by the individual contexts of institutions and students.

Therefore, by discussing learner awareness and independence, instruction and revision of content, super-curricular activity, and creativity within the classroom environment, this report will place the practices discussed in the article and beyond it within the context of Berkhamsted’s school-wide pedagogical approaches, and, in my experience, what has been successful in Berkhamsted classrooms.

According to the article, students’ understanding of why content is taught in the way that it is constitutes an important teaching approach. Berkhamsted institutionalises this approach in its school-wide adoption of the Building Learning Power programme (BLP). Based on the research of Professor Guy Claxton and with an eye to the unpredictable future working world, BLP is comprised of ten dispositions – namely: persevere, notice, question, link, reason, explore, plan, review, collaborate, listen – which give learning habits and their cognitive, social and emotional applications equal importance to course content itself. BLP is Berkhamsted’s central approach to encouraging learners’ independence and awareness of how and why teachers teach in the ways that they do – in other words, through BLP, students learn ‘how to learn’.

In its inauguration, BLP was mostly implemented explicitly – for example, displaying logos on the board or on worksheets to indicate the particular disposition(s) of focus for the lesson, or indeed with the teacher telling the students the disposition(s) of focus.

However, the most productive applications of BLP later came to be as an accessible way for pupils to visualise the characteristics of a ‘good learner’; to integrate the notion of ‘learnable intelligence’ (Perkins 1995) into the instruction of course content; and as a model that ensures that none of these qualities, essential to life beyond the education system, are neglected 6

as (examination) content is taught. Therefore, in the development of BLP’s role in Berkhamsted classrooms, disposition awareness and coverage proved most useful when used as a tool in teachers’ preparations for, and approaches to, lessons. This contrasts with students being directly asked or told about the dispositions themselves (or, in the words of the article, when students are challenged ‘to identify the reason why an activity is taking place in the lesson’). In response to the article, the effectiveness of BLP as a pedagogical institution cannot be wholly measured by ‘learners’ progress’ if this means by assessment results, or indeed progress whilst within the education system as a whole; BLP serves as a multifaceted preparation tool for the wider context that lies beyond it.

From this basis derives, in my experience, some of the other teaching attributes advocated by the article.

Berkhamsted’s pedagogical approach supports the article’s discouragement of ‘passive’ study methods, such as re-reading and highlighting texts, and instead advocates ‘active recall’ and ‘spaced repetition’ in a bid to retain knowledge against the ‘forgetting curve’. Particularly in examination years, Berkhamsted teaching does indeed orientate itself towards continuous assessment of past content, coupled with the provision of model responses, in concurrence with the introduction of new content. The article also approves of questioning learners on topics before they are taught, with the view that learners may at least attempt to rationalise concepts and principles for themselves. Indeed, Berkhamsted commonly adopts this approach, particularly in the departments of the sciences and Mathematics.

Whilst my experience is that Berkhamsted does not follow the practices deemed ineffective by the article – for instance, A-level students are largely not allocated to their classes according to their ability –, one of the approaches discouraged in the article has, in my experience, been adopted productively in Berkhamsted, that being to encourage learners to discover 'key ideas' for themselves, as opposed to entirely direct instruction. The notion of ‘discovery learning’ – most often in the form of presenting learners with a problem without all the skills or knowledge to solve it fully – has been successful in some Berkhamsted classrooms, again, often in those of Science and Mathematics, as

it engrains the personal experience and memory of initially encountering an unfamiliar problem into the learner’s eventual grasp of the content. It is logical that complementing, or preceding, direct instruction with ‘discovery learning’ can be particularly effective for some learners. ‘Learning by doing’ fosters learners’ ability to react to and tackle problems whose bases seem foreign, which is a vital skill for examinations and the world beyond them.

Furthermore, Berkhamsted has begun to incorporate technology-based ‘flipped learning’ into its pedagogical institution, which challenges students to self-learn content at home, and then to come to class ‘ready to learn,’ by working through questions, collaborating with their peers, and putting to their teachers questions and issues that they had encountered in the self-learning process.

As a complement to whole-class, direct instruction, flipped learning promotes teachers’ individually orientated interactions with students, nurtures students’ collaboration, and gives teachers time in class to react to and address students’ (erroneous) understandings of the content. Also noteworthy in Berkhamsted’s approach to flipped learning is that students are given an electronic device, which encourages responsibility and personal asset management. To conclude, though the article gives minimal credit to approaches other than direct instruction, teachers’ providing learners with the resources and support to learn independently and to discover core concepts for themselves, in my experience, renders content more memorable and the learning process more interactive and enjoyable; it spurs students to become self-sufficient in their learning, and responsible in their location of resources.

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However, what stands out in my experiences of Berkhamsted teaching is absent from the article.

Super-curricular opportunities are of particular focus both alongside and within A-level teaching at Berkhamsted, promoted on a voluntary, rather than obligatory basis, and performed in both formal and informal settings. It creates opportunities for student leadership, both of other students – namely, organising super-curricular events, such as the Crawford Society – and in terms of leadership over one’s own learning, interests, and academic progress. With super-curricular enrichment, what should be of focus is learners’ intrinsic enjoyment, rather than as some ‘means to an end’ (for example, for university applications).

Additionally, in an educational sphere increasingly dominated by technology and efficiency, geared towards preparation for the working world, the greatest teaching that I have experienced at Berkhamsted has been propelled by the teacher’s own individuality and personality, as this integrates students’ positive memories and experiences of the classroom environment into their retention of content. To ‘great teaching,’ creativity is essential and indispensable.

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Effective pedagogical practices are those which give equal place to learning ‘how to learn’ as to learning the content itself. This is channelled in Berkhamsted’s adoption of Building Learning Power. Independence in thinking, collaboration, and approach to content, is a salient attribute that teachers should encourage in their students.

Though approaches to this are varied and novel, in time we may assess whether Berkhamsted’s

introduction of technology-based flipped learning has been the optimal way of achieving this. Activities that generate an interaction with and adaptation to the changing world beyond the classroom are of considerable importance to learners, who are often motivated by the ‘real world’ relevance of what they learn in class. The incorporation of technology into Berkhamsted’s pedagogical approach is therefore promising. Above all, however, teachers should inspire and enrich an authentic passion for learning and creativity in every student, which should never be compromised in the wake of technology’s role in education. This returns me to the article’s term “learner’s progress,” as mentioned in the introduction, as the “yardstick” for teacher quality. As we evaluate pedagogical practice in an educational context increasingly dominated by vocation, assessment, and results, creativity and the intrinsic love for learning are the qualities that differentiate learners from their counterparts. The mind that feels drawn to and stimulated by creative thought is the mind of an individual, and the mind of an individual is that which is capable of influencing others. Ultimately, the teacher’s role is to foster this.

BIO Joe Beadle studied at Berkhamsted for seven years on Music and Academic scholarships. In his final year, he was appointed Head Boy. He studied French, Spanish, English Literature, and Mathematics at A Level and obtained 4A*s; he also obtained an A* in his Extended Project Qualification on modern Chinese religious politics, and an A in AS-Level Creative Writing. He is now an Organ Scholar at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, where he reads for a degree in Chinese Language and Literature.

Teams, Targets, or Beat the Teacher: which strategy is most effective in motivating Sixth Form students to retain knowledge?

Rationale behind the research

Since becoming a teacher in 2014, I have immersed myself in one particular aspect of teaching and learning that I believe should be a priority for any practitioner: the role of knowledge in the History curriculum and its emancipatory value. I see secure substantive knowledge as an essential prerequisite to students deploying skills in this subject and indeed to doing history.

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This is best exemplified when considering the demands of the current A-level assessment. The question below is taken from a recent past paper set by a leading examination board: ‘Rebellions in the years 1549 to 1571 stemmed from the weakness of central government.’ Assess the validity of this view.

As part of the two-year linear course, students are required to engage in both a depth and breadth study, the latter of which comprises of a vast overview of more than one hundred years of Tudor history. A-level candidates are expected to construct an answer that is ‘fully analytical with a balanced argument and wellsubstantiated judgement’. Indeed, the demands of this question require students to demonstrate sophisticated historical skills. However, this A-level question will remain inaccessible to young historians until they can first accurately select relevant material on the specific topic within the precise timeframe (which in this case nastily spans across the reigns of three different monarchs). Therefore, only when the dates, acts, and facts are secure can students show off their skills and enjoy having the space in their brains to do history.

A struggle endured by the History department is to ensure all our students are fully equipped with the ‘non-negotiable’ knowledge necessary to access the assessment material by the end of Year 13. I therefore chose to experiment with new strategies designed to motivate students in a Year 12 class to retain knowledge. For the purpose of this case study, ‘non-negotiable’ knowledge took the form of key dates that together made up an overview thematic timeline of the entire Tudor period. Given that each A-level class was dedicated a further twenty minutes of teaching time during the 2018-9 academic year, I rationalised that this time could be devoted to weekly quizzes, requiring students to retain and recall key dates.

I hoped to explore the motivations of the thirteen Year 12 students who were participants in this research and to subsequently draw tentative conclusions on which strategies most effectively motivated students in retaining and recalling accurate subject knowledge. I tested students in three different cycles over the course of two terms, recording results and student feedback on each of the strategies outlined below:

What motivates students in the Sixth Form to retain knowledge?

Teams Will students be more motivated to retain knowledge when competing as part of a team with their peers in weekly quizzes on key dates?

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Targets Will students be more motivated to retain knowledge when aiming to meet personalised targets they have set in advance of weekly quizzes on key dates?

Beat the Teacher Will students be more motivated to retain knowledge when aiming to beat the teacher (who is also participating in weekly quizzes on key dates)?

Summary of literature review

Several of the most commonly recurring historyspecific techniques used to support memory retention involve different forms of testing, encouraging frequent knowledge retrieval.

Much evidence has been collected proving successes enjoyed by students who employ the ‘spacing effect’: practising material several times after learning it, with each review separated by increasingly lengthy periods of time. In 2013, researchers from a number of American universities published an insightful review of hundreds of studies all focused on improving memory, knowledge, and learning (Dunlosky et al.). Along with distributed practice, it was practice testing that was rated as having high utility.

Repetitive yet spaced out testing gave students time to forget what they had learned. This proves useful as the brain once again has to undergo the effortful process of strengthening neural pathways and re-establishing retrieval routes, cementing knowledge into the long-term memory, exactly as outlined by Storm, Bjork, and Bjork in their work ‘Accelerated relearning after retrieval induced forgetting: The benefit of being forgotten’ (2008).

Alongside the literature surrounding strategies to support students in retaining knowledge, I also considered the concept of student motivation.

Traditionally, teachers and indeed schools have adopted a ‘carrot and stick’ approach when seeking to get their students to transform information into knowledge, or put simply, to learn: praise and rewards for those who are successful, and sanctions and re-tests for those who are failing.

But motivation specialist Daniel H. Pink (2009) believes motivating students is more complicated than this somewhat simple formula. He dismisses the typical motivational model of rewarding and punishing behaviours to see more and less of them retrospectively. Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us argues that human motivation is largely intrinsic (rather than extrinsic) and that there are three factors that lead to better performance: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Therefore, it is the individual’s desire to self-direct themselves to improve and make progress towards a meaningful goal that is essential to them being motivated. It is clear from these advocations that motivation and efficacy go hand in hand for our Sixth Form students.

Key findings

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When a classroom culture is effectively established, Year 12 students can enjoy weekly testing.

When launching this Action Research project and the setting up of weekly quizzes with my Year 12 historians, I had anticipated some negativity from the students towards such regular testing.

Yet each week the students embraced the twenty minutes designated to recalling key dates with great enthusiasm. All students used the flashcard packs to prepare for tests in advance. Indeed, I was surprised when all students in the class said during individual interviews that they would like to continue with weekly quizzing into Year 13.

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When having the autonomy to set their own personalised targets, Year 12 students aim high and are motivated to achieve mastery.

100%

Despite predicting that my students might choose low percentage targets to aim for in the weekly testing, the opposite happened in reality.

Students became competitive and continued to aim higher with their targets over the course of project. By the final week of round two, a number of students were setting targets of one hundred percent in a test that demanded fluent recall of forty key dates.

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1066 The Battle of Hastings

3 When asked about their intrinsic

motivations, aiming for high predicted grades and knowing the purpose of what they are doing is important to Year 12 students.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, when interrogating students’ individual motivations during one-to-one interviews, results revealed that the most referenced motivating factor was the desire to receive high predicted grades from their teachers, which would, to an extent, dictate the opportunities available to them after leaving the Sixth Form. In addition, it was clear that the students were more motivated to work towards a goal when they could see the purpose behind the task they were being asked to complete and believed that it was serving them on the path to mastery.

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When given the opportunity to ‘beat the teacher’, those who are predicted to be the highest attaining are the most motivated.

Students predicted to be the highest attaining were, according to ALIS data, the most motivated during the ‘beat the teacher’ round. When I asked further questions about this strategy in individual interviews, it was clear that some students who had lower ALIS predictions had the mindset that they would be unable to recall key dates more accurately than me, so did not feel motivated to aim for this goal.

Recommendations

Firstly, I would recommend that A-level teachers confront the content-heavy nature of their subjects and emphasise to students the ‘non-negotiable’ nature of knowledge. Explicitly relaying the importance of secure and detailed subject knowledge in answering exam-style questions will ensure students appropriately embrace the two-year linear A-level course as a marathon, rather than a sprint, requiring consistent 12

revision of manageable chunks of material, as opposed to last-minute cramming (which many Sixth Formers engaged in at GCSE level).

1215 The Sealing of Magna Carta 1346 The Plague (Black Death)

Furthermore, I would advocate Arrives in England introducing frequent testing of some form into lessons in both Year 12 and Year 13. Rather than using this as a tool to assess students, testing should instead 1455 Wars of the Roses Begins be used as a process to allow individuals to strengthen neural pathways and help transform information into knowledge 1564 William Shakespeare is Born that is importantly embedded in their long-term memories. Before setting up a routine of quizzing, it is vital that the students have accepted the purpose 1605 Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder of what they will be reviewing and Plot are discovered attempting to retain, and how it will serve them in mastering an area that will be useful in attaining what they aspire to achieve.

1815 The Battle of Waterloo Finally, taking into account the fact that aspirations are individual to each student, some degree of autonomy in the regular 1837 Queen Victoria Becomes Queen testing is preferable. For example, in this particular case study, allowing students to set their own targets had a notable 1945 V-E Day marks the end of impact in their motivation and was Second World War frequently diagnosed in one-to-one interviews as a positive element of the second round of testing, which was not only the most popular amongst students 1989 Tim Berners-Lee invents the and most used independently, but also World Wide Web the strategy which led individuals to attain the highest marks in recalling key dates.

One of the things that has pleased me most about conducting this research project is the willingness with which Sixth Form students have engaged with and indeed enthusiastically embraced putting their brains through the effortful process of revising and subsequently retrieving knowledge. I am hopeful that the students have not only finished the year with more knowledge (and the ability to recall at least some key dates!), but also a more informed awareness of the importance of secure subject knowledge and an insight into their own intrinsic motivations that they need to drive them for the rest of their school career and beyond.

BIO Anna Dickson has been teaching History and Politics at Berkhamsted since 2017, and has recently paid particular attention to supporting Sixth Form students in retaining knowledge for these contentheavy A levels.

'Five a Day’ Stories and the ‘Million Word Gap'

What role do stories and storytelling play in the oral language development of children in the Early Years? Is there a link between the number of stories that children are exposed to over the course of a school day and the impact on their ability to use story structure in their learning?

Analysis of data from the last two cohorts of Early Years pupils at Berkhamsted has revealed gaps in some children’s knowledge of book language and story structure. We wanted to explore if there was a connection between the exposure of children to a wide and repeating range of stories, and their development and progression in communication and language, including oral and written storytelling. Our hypothesis was that, in general, our parents can be ‘time poor’ and sometimes not able to invest quality time in exposing children to stories, perhaps choosing to opt for generally unsupervised visual media over oral and written storytelling. As a result of our observations of previous cohorts, we identified that this was particularly evident in the children’s limited knowledge and range of traditional tales, generally knowing those adapted into animations (for example, Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled) as opposed to the more traditional ‘Brothers Grimm’ fairy tale. Based on professional experience, recent cohorts of children find it difficult to engage in imaginative role play, demonstrating a limited knowledge of storytelling techniques to enhance their ideas, structure, and characterisation.

Our interest in researching children’s development of early language began with the publication of Bold Beginnings: The Reception Curriculum in which Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) took a sample of good and outstanding primary schools highlighting best practice. The report found that ‘reading was at the heart of the curriculum in the most successful classes.’ (OFSTED 2017).

It also specifically mentioned one Early Years teacher who introduced a ‘Five-a-Day’ read-aloud programme, engaging children in five stories, narratives, and information texts each day. HMI observed that the children were immersed in the sounds and experiences of the stories. Leaders at the school in question believed this had revived reading for pleasure and made a significant difference to children’s attainment in reading and writing.

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Current research by Law et al. (2017) also found that there was increasing evidence that oral language skills do make a difference to later performance, recognising the importance of intervention being multifaceted; for example, ‘facilitating dialogic book-reading, scaffolding classroom interactions, fostering narrative skills, or teaching vocabulary explicitly.’ This was supported by Roskos (2004), stating that Early Years teachers needed to ‘intentionally plan language learning experiences that help children go beyond what they already know and can do.’

They need to ‘develop children’s oral language by creating conditions for them to learn through everyday conversations, and through instruction that includes guided participation, scaffolding, and practice opportunities to use language effectively.’

Our research then led us to Jessica Logan, an assistant professor of Education at the University of Ohio. By working on the assumption that board books contained an average of 140 words, while picture books contained an average of 228 words, she calculated how many words children would have heard by the time they were five years old related to the number of books that had been read to them. She discovered that children who were never read to would hear 4,662 words; those read to 1-2 times per week would be exposed to 63,570 words; 3-5 times per week, 169,520 words; daily, 296,660 words; and five books a day, 1,483,300 words. This discovery resulted in her penning the phrase ‘The Million Word Gap’ (Logan et al. 2019).

This led us to introduce ‘Five a Day’, which ensured that all classes in both Stepping Stones and Reception would hear a higher number and more variety of written texts and nursery rhymes.

Each day, every child would be exposed to at least five written stories; this could be via wholeclass reading, reading in small groups, assemblies, one-to-one reading with an adult, in Drama

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lessons, through audio or visual modes. Some of the stories included those by Julia Donaldson for their rhyming, repetition, and more sophisticated language; Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Jeanne Willis’ Bog Baby for its links to developing understanding of the surrounding world; and a range of traditional tales including ‘Little Red Hen’ and ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff ’, which introduced a simple, predictable story structure, character ‘types’ (‘good’ and ‘bad’ ones), and a moral.

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.

If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.

Albert Einstein One of these books became ‘Book of the Week’, linking to the cross-curricular topic and read to the children every day.

For example, Whatever Next by Jill Murphy supported Reception’s journey topic ‘On Our Way.’ After reading Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, Reception went to the woods to create their own stick character, using adjectives to describe their creation.

In Nursery the children made paper chain Hungry Caterpillars using pictures from the book (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) to sequence the events and retell the story.

We challenged children to learn by heart the story structure, characters, plot, and language within the book. By immersing the children in stories, we provided opportunities across the curriculum to explore, engage, and enjoy the book.

Once

Reception boys engaging with Bog Baby in the natural environment

Two Nursery boys ‘reading’ stories to each other

Nursery children retelling the 'Great Race' story of Chinese New Year using toys

Reception re-enacting 'The Gingerbread Man' for their Lent performance

Assessment in the Early Years consists of the Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception which cover six areas, three prime (Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, and Physical Development); and four further areas (Literacy, Maths, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts). A baseline assessment completed by their class teacher in September was then tracked and monitored over the ‘Six Term Journey’ of the Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception), and against the Early Years Outcomes at three points of the year to ensure the children were progressing in line with age-related expectations. These served as guidance rather than a definitive assessment tool, so using video recordings, observations, informal pupil conferencing, and planned adult-led learning also produced evidence of children’s engagement in a story.

upon a time

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Over the course of our year-long study, we witnessed how the enjoyment of stories increased amongst pupils. After exposure to a variety of texts, children were observed choosing to read independently, acting out stories in their roleplay, using props to retell stories, and repeating story language during whole-class reading and in child-initiated activities. As we hoped, by repeating and retelling the same story, children learnt them by heart, often asking for them many months after they had been ‘Book of the Week.’ Their delight at revisiting a book was evident, as was their demonstration of good recall of the plot, characters, structure, and repeated refrains. We found that it particularly helped children with EAL (English as an Additional Language), and speech and language delay in its developing of their confidence. Reading the same story multiple times gave opportunities to hear language sequences they could recognise, rehearse, and repeat, therefore widening their vocabulary and speech.

Immersing the children in a story throughout a week or topic allowed us to observe children engaging in imaginative role play and using enhanced vocabulary in their conversations with peers. This led to children transferring their oral language into written learning. By the end of Reception, children were able to retell a story using story-specific words and phrases demonstrating their understanding of a familiar text.

Percentage

As experienced teachers, we know the positive impact that increasing story opportunities for children should have. We were therefore pleased that observations, videos, and teacher assessment supported the improved results.

This is shown by the assessment data in the graph below (Figures 1 and 2), which shows that the number of children exceeding age related expectations in Communication and Language increased from the previous year’s cohort. This provided tangible evidence to support our theory that increasing the number of stories that children were exposed to during the day would increase their language and vocabulary. In both year groups, the percentage of children working below age-related expectations reduced, while the percentage of children working above age related expectations increased within the same academic year.

Figure 1: Nursery Baseline Data compared with End of Year Assessment Data for Pre-Prep Cohort 2018-2022

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Emerging

Expected

Exceeding

Emerging

2018 - 19 Nursery Baseline

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Exceeding

2018 - 19 Nursery End of Year

Communication and Language Assessment

Listening and attention

Expected

Understanding

Speaking

What was particularly pleasing was the percentage of children exceeding age related attainment in their speaking.

However, we acknowledge that this research is limited by the number of pupils, the length of the intervention and by the geographical and socio-economic diversity of the pupils within the school. Focusing our research on the youngest children at Berkhamsted, we feel that we have created a foundation on which their future learning will build. It will be interesting to analyse the current Reception cohort, having had two years of the ‘Five a Day’ intervention, in the future.

We found that making a small change made a significant impact on Communication and Language. ‘Five a Day’ has continued this academic year through which we are monitoring the progress of the children moving into Reception as they complete their Foundation Stage journey.

Our research has found that books have had a significant impact on children’s development and by linking all areas of the curriculum to a text, children appear more engaged. It has demonstrated a considerable impact on their language and literacy, as well as in other areas of the curriculum (for example widening their geographical learning of Antarctic by reading Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers).

“ The more we read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you will go.ˮ Dr. Seuss

Percentage

The constraints of the timetables, curriculum needs, and the demands on time mean that finding ten minutes, five times a day can be a challenge. However, we have found that benefits more than outweighed this. In the words of Albert Einstein: ‘If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.’

Figure 2 End-of-Year Data for Nursery compared to Reception for Pre-Prep Cohort 2017-2021

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Emerging

Expected

Exceeding

2017 - 18 End of Nursery Assessment

Emerging

Communication and Language

Listening

Understanding

Expected

Exceeding

2018 - 19 End of Reception assessment

Speaking

BIO Elizabeth Benson is Head of Year, an Early Years and Primary Teacher, a Member of the Pre-Prep SMT, and Head of IT at the PrePrep.

Debbie Cooper is Head of Year, an Early Years and Primary Teacher, a Member of the Pre-Prep SMT Team, and Head of Wellbeing at the Pre-Prep.

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Do we have to read it all, Miss?

How can using ‘Bentham’ by John Stuart Mill enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of Utilitarianism in a Sixth Form classroom?

Why I wanted to study this

“Do we have to read it all, Miss?” This is a question I find myself answering frequently in lessons (from Year 7 right up to Pre-U A-level lessons) and reflecting on regularly. I often find myself asking: ‘Did I give them too much reading?’; ‘Was the reading too hard?’; 'Maybe I should have broken it down for them?'. In my subject, Philosophy and Theology, students need to be able to engage with written texts, literature, and narrative in meaningful and thoughtful ways. Yet students A-level students in particular – are generally reluctant to engage with philosophical or religious texts, especially lengthy ones. They regularly approach them with a negative mindset. My research therefore aimed to investigate why pupils have this perception of reading and how reading in the classroom can be most effective for learning.

If I think back to my own school days, I can fully empathise with the negative mindset of reading complicated, difficult, and sometimes laborious texts. I recall reading texts that I neither understood nor followed. I do hope this is not something that my students experience, but there is still negativity that goes with being asked to engage with and read a challenging text. I have also noticed students’ keenness to write down a ‘decoded’ or ‘simplified’ version of the topic we are engaging in. They are keen to have the ‘knowledge’ handed to them in an easily digestible way, rather than trying to engage and question the text themselves. This issue of students wanting to be ‘spoon-fed’ knowledge seems to apply to all ages of secondary education, from my experience.

The Value of Literature

My interest in the value of reading texts is shared by a number of education professionals. A recent article in the Times Education Supplement entitled ‘Reading Motivation’, for instance, focuses on the differing causes that result in children’s reluctance to read (Quaine 2019). It shows a real barrier in getting students to engage in any kind of text. Alison Flood has reported on this area for the Guardian newspaper numerous times.

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Back in 2015 she reported that there had been a ten percent decrease in the number of American youngsters that read for ‘fun’ (Flood 2015). This report also showed some interesting changes in how children reported their enjoyment of reading as they got older, stating that forty-four percent of children in the survey reported that they enjoyed reading more when they were “older” (ibid.).

The broader purpose of this project was to explore the use of a philosophical set text within a Sixth Form classroom. During a seven-lesson sequence, twelve Sixth Form students aged between sixteen and seventeen were asked to reflect on and examine their own learning experiences of reading and learning from the text. The three main areas of focus of the study were how students viewed the use of the text, whether understanding the historical context of the set text could help students with their contemporary understanding of ethical concepts, and the best teaching methods to achieve this. The research design was then shaped around a constructivist epistemology (that is, the idea that knowledge is constructed), within which a case study approach was chosen to allow me to gain a deep understanding within an interpretivist perspective (that I, as the researcher, have an impact on the study through being involved in it). To suitably fit this project, I then chose the qualitative data collection methods of questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and pupil work. The data collected was then analysed using an open coding system and thematic coding style to identify the emergent findings. My findings were that student perceptions of reading and studying a longer, more

challenging philosophical text varied throughout the project, but, on the whole, had improved by the end of the lesson sequence; that understanding the historical context helped student engagement in the text; and, lastly, that it is key to use a range of teaching methods when studying a set text. My reflections on the data generated also enabled me to draw conclusions about my role as a practitioner and make suggestions for future research within this context beyond the parameters of this study.

The A-level class participating in this study was studying the Cambridge Pre-U Theology and Philosophy course.

The mark scheme for the two papers that examine the course clearly specifies that to achieve the top marks in essays students must show evidence of wider reading.

The course also has four set texts for students to study: two texts for each paper ( Paper 2 -Philosophy and Paper 3 -Ethics ). Short extracts of these texts are then given to pupils in the exam and they are expected to use their knowledge of the rest of the text and topic to fully answer a question about the given extract. The importance of students being well-read in their subject area is thus plain to see.

What I did

The sequence of lesson that I developed for this research was designed to give students an insight into the life of John Stuart Mill so that they had a background understanding of the context of his writings in ‘Utilitarianism’. I then decided to take student through the text chronologically, using the following teaching strategies.

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Historical context of Mill’s life - Podcast: In Our Time - J. S. Mill; Questions to guide listening through podcast; Timeline of the political and social context of the time

Talking points (discussion points to draw out key thoughts and ideas) based around the text

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Talking points – based around the text

Accountable Independent Reading (reading where pupils have to complete tasks alongside) – questions to answer as they read

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Accountable Independent Reading questions to answer as they read

Teacher reading aloud

Flipped Homework – reading at home individually; discussion in class

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What the data showed

A number of positive findings emerged during the undertaking of this study. After studying the whole essay, pupils clearly expressed that they found the historical knowledge of the context of the writer and text beneficial to their wider understanding.

Although there was a range of responses, I was pleased to see that, at the end of the sequence of lessons, students’ perceptions of using a set text had improved. Given that the class had little knowledge of Mill and his essay on 'Bentham' before this sequence of lessons, I can confidently identify two main ways that students benefited from using this text to help with their knowledge and understanding of Utilitarianism: it increased students’ confidence to use the knowledge they had gained; and it allowed them to explore an original text to gain a deeper understanding of the topic and passion for the subject. Though I could point to various examples to demonstrate my point, one pupils’ writing in their essay showed a particularly high-level of knowledge and understanding:

"Mill is not rejecting Bentham analysis, in fact he greatly admires it. However, he thinks the human condition is too complex to be reduced down so concisely and by doing so Bentham has missed out important aspects."

This student has clearly highlighted the nuanced but important similarities and differences between the ethics of Bentham and Mill. Another student also articulates this subtle but key difference in his work:

"Mill believes that due to Bentham’s limited understanding of human nature he failed to see this [the different types of pleasures humans experience], and that his reductionist thinking had led him to reduce the concept of pleasure and pain to the point it is too simple."

Another pertinent example came in the form of one student using knowledge and understanding gained from the lesson based around class reading and talking points. This pupil addressed how Mill commended Bentham for the methods he used in his philosophy and drew on their different life experiences to express how and why this might be the case. They referred directly to the text, before stating how ‘Bentham led such a privileged lifestyle that his conceptions were too basic’.

What I learnt

I have realised from this study that the sequencing of different teaching methods is particularly key. Structured discussion style lessons worked well at the beginning to help engage students in the text, followed by the independent style lessons, which allowed students more autonomy over their learning, and, lastly, further discussion of the main themes of the text. Such a structure allowed students to develop their level of independence in reading and accessing the text at a comfortable pace This project has also opened up some key areas that could be researched further, such as student motivation for reading (especially among older students) as this is the stage when they are encouraged to read further for subject knowledge and university applications.

Investigating what motivates and engages older students to read would be a logical next step, as would promoting independence and the ability to embrace challenge. During my research, I noticed that there was, among some students, a fear of reading a challenging text independently. They were consistently looking for 20

confirmation that the information they were picking out from the text was ‘correct’, which was surprising among students who would soon need to study almost completely independently at university.

I have come away from this research project having broadened my understanding of how students engage with a text and the way they learn from it. This has taught me the importance of realising that each student learns differently and engages in learning in an individual way; knowing your class, I have learnt, is key.

I would encourage all teachers to use more original literature in their classrooms. I have seen first-hand the learning and skills benefits that doing so can offer students. Engaging with literature can provide insightful and thought-provoking lessons, if approached and accessed in the right way.

BIO Eliza Taylor was Head of Bartrum House and a teacher of Theology and Philosophy. She has recently undertaken a M.Ed at the University of Cambridge for which a longer version of this essay was her thesis. She is now teaching at Feltonfleet Prep School, Cobham.

Does reading poetry aloud to care home residents have a beneficial effect on students’ wellbeing?

As part of our Voluntary Service Unit programme, a group of students from Years 10-12, have been reading poetry aloud to care home residents in the local community. The Poetry By Heart project is inspired by The Reader Organisation, which runs community reading projects and conducts research into the wellbeing benefits of the shared experience of reading poetry aloud (Billington et al. 2011).

Poetry is more effective than prose for this purpose because of its use of rhyme and rhythm, and compressed language, which has been shown to have a unique effect on cognition (Billington et al. 2012). In my experience, students regard poetry as the most difficult element of literary study precisely because it is so radical in the singularity of its manner and mode of expression. If we are going to take a poem seriously we must think differently in order to triangulate meaning via our own limits of understanding, the conventions of language as we know them through everyday usage, and the unique and creative expression of the poet’s own subjective experience and sense of the thing described within in the poem (Taylor 2003).

Rather than experiencing poetry as a strange and rarefied language, reading poetry aloud, enlivens and foregrounds its nature as a living art form or a way of communicating common human experiences. In popular psychology literature this feeling is sometimes referred to as ‘connectedness’ (James 2007; Gilbert 2010). Recognition and appreciation of ‘connectedness’ is evident in some of the reflections of students engaged in this VSU activity.

If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.

If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

Chinese Proverb

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The positive benefits of reading poetry aloud for care home staff and residents is evident in their feedback to us. This is expressed in terms of gratitude, humility, compassion, and sincerity; all virtues that attest to an experience of ‘connectedness’. Exercising virtue, like the feeling of connectedness, can be interpreted as evidence of the existence of wellbeing. In the literature on this topic, an important distinction is made between eudaimonic and hedonic orientations to wellbeing (University of Glasgow 2010).

The terms hedonism and eudaimonia can be differentiated according to the emphasis placed on the individual self and on other people. According to Broksopp (2018), short-lived hedonistic pleasure is about ‘instant gratification’ and ‘hedonic activities include the 'thrill' of buying new things, a 'like' on social media and various other addictive activities that all form part of what is known as the 'hedonic treadmill' meaning that the more we have, the more we want’. Eudaimonic wellbeing, on the other hand, is about ‘finding meaning and purpose in our day-to-day life and living in accordance with our inner values’. It is ‘a feeling of connectedness with yourself, others and the world around you.’ Unlike hedonism which is oriented towards gratifying one’s self, eudaimonia is outwardly focused and requires engagement with others and with one’s environment and willful service of something greater than ourselves (ibid.).

have acted altruistically and that is as far as their thinking on the subject needs to go. Despite the ostensible altruism of the action, the experience generates a wellbeing payoff for the student that is self-gratifying.

Students sometimes experienced complex and dissonant feelings when attempting to reflect on the value of the activity. One student wrote with ironic detachment: ‘I seldom think about the impact I have made on their lives or about how compassionate I am, as feeding my ego with how much of a good person I am, takes the selflessness out of selflessness’.

McMahon and Estes (2011) note: ‘Existing empirical research suggests… that eudaimonic approaches may be relatively more important for wellbeing than hedonic approaches.

For example, daily eudaimonic activity was found to be more robustly associated with wellbeing than behaviors aimed at experiencing pleasure or obtaining material goods’.

Altruism, a source of eudaimonia, is something the Poetry by Heart students’ value highly. Their written reflections frequently refer to the value of doing something kind purely for the benefit that it brings to listeners. In one student case study, their reflection suggested they felt good because they 22

Again what is paramount in this example is a sense that virtue is a given and that thinking about it might even undermine the value inherent within the action.

The frame of reference for evaluation is the self, and if there is any wellbeing benefit to be derived, it is certainly hedonic.

Despite their assumptions of virtue based on their altruism, there is a lack of evidence for eudaimonic wellbeing in the students’ reflections. This does not necessarily mean there is none; various factors may be limiting their engagement. Levels of emotional maturity and feelings of embarrassment when talking about emotions, for example, could be further inhibiting influences on the students when reflecting on their experience.

To look further at students’ motivation and priorities, we can examine the experience of a Year 11 student who dropped out of the activity because she was suffering from anxiety about her GCSE exams which were still six weeks away.

The student was highly motivated by academic achievement and her expectations of success were contributing to her anxiety. She felt overloaded with work and needed to reduce her activities to give herself time to rest. In consultation with her parents and her pastoral tutor she decided that her VSU activity could be missed because it was less important to her than academic work. The student felt that her VSU was something she had to do, because the school required her to do it. We might infer that she did not experience a significant enough wellbeing benefit from the activity to want to do it when she felt down and tired. The priorities of all (student, parent, and the pastoral tutor) are predicated on the need for maximum scores in the anticipated exams. This is indicative of the application of ‘instrumental reason’ to a situation focused on a student’s wellbeing and mental health (Taylor 2003).

Taylor (2003) suggests that in the absence of other criteria, the value of our actions is determined according to ‘cost-benefit’ analysis. In this example an attitude towards education that carries an implicit, silent set of moral value judgements is being justified by instrumental reason. There is no recognition from the child, parent or the educator, that the simple act of reading a poem aloud to another person is beneficial to a wider group of people than the individual student. This is sacrificed in the interests of maximal exam grades and mental health and wellbeing, arguably become secondary considerations.

In the context of evaluating the wellbeing benefits of reading poetry aloud, my observations suggest that any positive wellbeing in the form of feelings of connectedness are mitigated by the priorities of the students. The high academic standards of the school and the competitive selection process for entry mean the students who attend the school already have a greater than average tendency to be attainment driven and goal-orientated.

Similarly the number of applications made to elite, high tariff universities reflects the importance of status to the students when planning their futures. However, the existential imperative of instrumental rationality need not be an ‘Iron Cage’ that restricts all potential improvements to student wellbeing (Taylor 2003).

Until the implicit moral values are recognised, however, it is difficult to see how any significant change in the culture might be realised. Whether a more prolonged engagement with the activity of reading poetry aloud would help offset the current bias towards the hedonic orientation of individual students may be worth further exploration. Possible improvements might include a more thoughtfully structured programme of education, more creative techniques to facilitate student reflection about the activity and greater integration of the activity within the curriculum.

BIO Jon Cheetham Jon Cheetham is a Teacher of English at Sevenoaks School.

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A quantitative study into feedback strategies and the impact upon metacognition Introduction

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) marking review report (Elliott et al. 2016) highlighted two areas where there was a paucity of research: ‘Testing the impact of marking policies which are primarily based on formative comments and rarely award grades’ and ‘Investigating the most effective ways to use class time for pupils to respond to marking’. This piece of action research attempts to ascertain if marking without grades, and providing feedback with a grid and comment, leading to directed improvement and reflection time, creates a quantifiable improvement in students’ metacognitive abilities.

Literature review

Metacognition concerns not just what students are learning, but how they are learning (i.e. how they learn best by ‘learning to learn’ (Quigley and Stringer 2018)). Training students in metacognition creates ‘more awareness and understanding among pupils to help them engage and embed their learning more effectively’ (Mughal 2018). Developing students’ metacognitive abilities is thought to increase progress by an additional seven to nine months (Evidence Based Education 2018; Lockyear 2018). Assessment for learning (AfL) involves formative feedback. It identifies where students are in their learning, where they need to get to, and how to get there (Wiliam 2011). AfL is known to ‘substantially increase student attainment’ (Elliot et al. 2016). One strategy to demonstrate to students how to progress learning is the provision of assessment criteria prior to completing an assessment. This is thought to have a positive impact in assisting student understanding of task requirements (Bell et al. 2013).

Assessment criteria grids can be particularly beneficial for providing feedback. Methods to help students to engage with feedback to assist their metacognition include ‘closing the gap’ marking where the teacher puts a double tick next to a good point, or writes coded feedback such as WWWT? (what’s wrong with this?) or RTQ (read the question). The student then works to identify why this specific feedback was given and seeks to improve (Fletcher-Wood 2013), therefore engaging more than they would having simply read written feedback. Coded feedback encourages students to self-correct rather than relying on having mistakes corrected (Bates 2016). Interestingly, research suggests there is no discernible difference in outcome between providing coded or lengthier written feedback, so long as students understand the codes (Elliott et al. 2016).

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Another method to improve student engagement is not providing a numerical grade as ‘grades stop learning’ (Wiliam 2011). It is argued that feedback with grades dictates a greater level of ego involvement and competition with students competing with peers for the better grade (Woolfolk et al. 2013), as opposed to greater task involvement from just giving comments, which students have to focus on more thoroughly (Wiliam 2011). This sense of competition can be particularly detrimental for anxious pupils, those lacking in self-confidence, or those less prepared for assessments (Woolfolk et al. 2013). The EEF marking review (2016) recognises that students will not benefit from feedback unless time is given to respond to marking. Such time has various different names – ‘feed forward time’, and ‘directed improvement and reflection time (DIRT)’ (Kay et al. 2016). Studies suggest it is valuable to give students DIRT time in class to engage with and respond to feedback (Elliott et al. 2016).

Methodology

In their first Geography lesson of the academic year 2018-19, all Year 8 geography students undertook a ‘Learning and Study Strategies Inventory’ (LASSI) questionnaire (H & H Publishing 2018) to test their baseline study skills.

LASSI is noted as a ‘statistically valid and reliable tool for the diagnosis of study skills’ and is a useful tool for evaluating intervention strategies (Weinstein et al. 2018). The LASSI questionnaire consists of questions testing: anxiety, attitude, concentration, information processing, motivation, selecting main ideas, self-testing, test strategies, time management, and using academic resources.

A t-test established that there was no significant difference at baseline testing (LASSI-1) between the intervention and control groups in any of the LASSI component variables.

Elen Harris’ 8X class was used as the intervention set, whilst her 8F class was used as a control with a ‘business as usual’ approach to feedback. ‘Control’ group feedback on assessed work included comments written on student work, with an overall comment and grade. Intervention students were provided with feedback on a standardised template, designed after reviewing existing literature. Key features included: a marking criteria grid, and space for teacher comment and student feedforward targets. Importantly, no grades were provided.

The template works by the teacher highlighting the relevant marking criteria met by the student and adding coded feedback to their work. Six intervention group students were part of a focus group to gain their opinions on feedback strategies.

The LASSI questionnaire was repeated (LASSI-2) after the last assignment of the year. Maths Teacher, Paul Parham, then completed statistical analysis of both the baseline and post-intervention LASSI data to ascertain if the DIRT feedback techniques had a quantifiable impact upon student metacognition.

Findings and discussion Method of feedback

The feedback grid is easy to use and quick for the teacher to mark and add a comment. Comments occasionally repeat the grid so must be meaningful. Marking codes are time efficient, though need to be adapted for each assessment, and a bank of codes can be accumulated over time. Focus group students liked the method of feedback, though it took a couple of reflections to get used to this style. As a consequence, the intervention class fell slightly behind other classes in terms of content delivery. This could be rectified by re-planning lesson content and students would become quicker at completing as familiarity increased.

In the focus groups, interestingly, male students stated they would prefer to receive a grade as they believe it demonstrates where they are in their learning and how much they need to do to improve, with the potential to track progress. Conversely, female students liked not having a grade; they believed this lessened stress levels by reducing competition in class and made them focus more on the feedback and assessment criteria. Students praised the provision of marking criteria and found it incredibly useful to see exactly what they needed to do for an assessment. Interestingly, they viewed their involvement in the creation of assessment criteria as a waste of time, as they could be getting on with the assessed piece of work instead.

The students viewed spending class time on DIRT as pointless, stating they were simply reiterating points the teacher had already made. They naturally review feedback, undertake self-assessment, and think about how to improve anyway. Students who volunteered for the focus group are all high achieving, self-motivated students who are perhaps more likely to do this than lower ability students (and therefore this might be an anomaly). When asked whether different teachers or departments having different approaches to feedback was difficult, students did not perceive this as a problem as long as feedback was clear and consistent students could manage different feedback mechanisms.

LASSI results

The t-test looking at boys and girls mean scores revealed that there was no significant difference between boys’ and girls’ overall scores in LASSI-1 or LASSI-2, nor in any individual metacognition components, apart from the use of study aids in which girls performed significantly better than boys (boys mean score of 20.93 (standard deviation (SD) of 4.72) and girls 24.22 (SD of 5.03) in LASSI-1 leading to p = 0.003, and boys 20.37 (SD 5.06) and girls 24.16 (SD 5.01) leading to p = 0.001 in LASSI-2). It could be said that boys should therefore be encouraged more to utilise study aids in their work, though the results are not statistically significant enough to conclude that boys should be given more support in this area and again this would need confirming via another study.

Interestingly, the t-test also demonstrated that there was a significant difference in anxiety levels between boys and girls in LASSI-2 (boys mean score of 30.08 (SD 7.54) and girls 22.43 (SD 7.37) leading to a p-value of <0.005) with boys performing better than girls. Although boys had performed better than girls in LASSI-1 (boys 27.38 (SD 7.45 and girls 24.43 (SD 6.87) this was not significant at the 5% level (p = 0.066) suggesting girls’ anxiety had got worse throughout the academic year.

This was investigated further using a paired t-test and it was found that boys performed significantly better in dealing with anxiety between LASSI-1 and LASSI-2 (p = 0.007) while girls showed no significant difference (p = 0.072). Hence, although girls’ ability to cope with anxiety had got worse as the year progressed, this was not significant at the 5% level (though it did approach statistical significance) and the reason for the gap widening was down to boys coping better in this instance.

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When using a t-test to analyse LASSI components longitudinally between LASSI-1 and LASSI-2 there is no significant difference at the 5% level between component scores, suggesting that the intervention strategy had no impact upon students’ metacognitive abilities. Despite this, in the intervention group the two biggest changes approaching statistical significance over time were in attitude (p = 0.074) and test strategies (p = 0.089). It could be inferred that the DIRT approach did have some impact on these components of metacognition, though the result is not significant enough to firmly draw this conclusion and students would be exposed to many other feedback methods in the school which could have affected this. In addition, multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrates that LASSI-2 scores were not affected by whether a student was in the intervention or control group, further giving evidence that the DIRT template intervention did not have an impact.

The multivariate linear regression analysis gives further evidence to the t-test results for differences between boys and girls, as gender was found to significantly affect LASSI-2 scores in anxiety, attitude, concentration, information processing, motivation, and time management, as well as the total LASSI-2 score. Beta coefficients at 95% confidence intervals demonstrate that girls’ scores are less than boys’ scores after adjusting for the effect of LASSI-1 total scores, whether the student was in the intervention or control group, nationality, age, and distance from school. The largest effect for a single metacognition component was the adverse effect on anxiety (ß= -7.656 with a p value of <0.005). This is in contrast to the focus group indicators with respect to anxiety.

It was also found that distance from school significantly affected LASSI-2 scores in anxiety, selecting main ideas, and time management, alongside the total LASSI-2 score with increased distance leading to a higher component score. For example, for each additional mile away from school, the anxiety score increased by 0.181 (p = 0.010).

However, the magnitude of this effect is very small and far less influential than gender.

For consideration

This study is on a small scale over a short time period; a larger scale, longitudinal study is recommended to test whether DIRT strategies do have any impact upon metacognition over a longer time period. The metacognitive benefits may not be clear at the end of the year, but will be apparent in sustained results in subsequent years (Lockyear 2015). It was difficult to fully attain results over just one academic year with a relatively assessment light curriculum and it is suspected that over a longer time period, with a more cohesive approach involving other departments, DIRT would have an impact. This recommendation is difficult to achieve in Sevenoaks due to students moving classes each year and department approaches to feedback differing. It would also be interesting to further study the impacts of anxiety and sleep etc. on student metacognition. If these further studies were to occur and had statistically significant findings then it would be recommended to include elements of metacognitive training into the PSHE curriculum (for example, to aid students in these areas).

BIO Elen Harris Elen Harris is a Teacher of Geography at Sevenoaks School.

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The Library and skills for lifelong learning As a librarian, I know how essential it is that all pupils are taught appropriate digital research skills, the significance of critical thinking, and how to use credible sources of information from an early stage in their senior school career. It is the aim of the library to keep looking for new ways and tools to teach and implement this best practice in school.

Indeed, for the last couple of years, I have been fortunate enough to attend conferences organised by JCS Online Resources, one of the leading suppliers of academic electronic resources for education and an advisory body for how to embed them within the curriculum. Both conferences brought together librarians, teachers, and specialists in the field of information and digital literacy, who showcased practical initiatives of collaboration between the library and teaching staff to improve pupils’ research and critical thinking skills.

Inspired by the inaugural conference, ‘From Digital Literacy to Independent Learning: Challenges and Opportunities for librarians and teachers’ (with an excellent range of presentations and talks), I reflected on some of the most significant sessions. These focused on creating a culture of critical literacy at school, the importance of research and referencing skills using online databases, as well as how, in an increasingly demanding and changing world of digital technology, schools need to find ways to ensure that their students can be equipped with critical thinking skills to use information they find effectively and purposefully.

Digital and Information Literacies decoded

Many people mistake ‘digital literacy’ for the ability to use digital technologies or related resources in a safe and secure way. Some suggest it is a set of basic computer skills related to the use of software or online resources. But this is far from the whole picture.

The American Library Association’s digital-literacy task force provides this definition:

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‘Digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.’ (ALA 2020)

JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) goes even further and offers a digital capabilities model describing digital literacy as skills which fit individuals for living, learning, and working in a digital society: for example the ability to use digital tools to undertake academic research, writing, and critical thinking as part of personal development.

JISC Digital Capabilities the Six Elements

think critically and make balanced judgments about any information we find and use. It empowers us as citizens to develop informed views and to engage fully with society’ (ILG CILIP 2018).

It is crucial, then, for both libraries and teachers to help our students become more information literate, and consequently fully engaged with society. This is especially important in a society in which many citizens find it difficult to separate ‘fake news’ from ‘real’, or differentiate between thorough journalism, advertising, and party political broadcasts.

Future-proofing through collaboration Information data and media literacies Digital creation innovation and scholarship

ICT proficiency

Digital learning and self development

Digital identity and wellbeing

Communication, collaboration and participation

(JISC (2015). Digital capabilities. https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-students-digital-literacy).

This model includes ‘information literacies’ as a crucial part of our digital capabilities.

The understanding of the term ‘information literacy’ has also developed significantly over the years as technology has advanced exponentially. Initially considered as an ability to apply information resources in the workplace (Zurkowski 1974), it was later widened to include the awareness of the information needed, the ability to locate it, assess it, and use it efficiently (American Library Association 1989). Today, CILIP’s (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Information Literacy Group offers a fitting and very comprehensive description of ‘information literacy’ as ‘the ability to

At this year’s conference, much of the research undertaken in a variety of schools confirmed that students had great confidence in their own ability to spot fake news, but, in reality, their confidence was largely misplaced. Younger pupils also showed a lack of skills, knowledge, and understanding of their actual research need. They displayed ineptitude in using websites effectively and an absence of perseverance to conduct research thoroughly.

As a school, it is vital for us to help enable pupils to use those crucial skills and support their development in a digital society in order to increase their employability and boost these transferable skills for the future. A recent government study suggests that ‘digital technologies including AI created a net total of 80,000 new jobs annually across a population similar to the UK’ (HM Government 2017).

As passionate information literacy professionals, the Library Team has become even more determined to enrich and evolve current initiatives in the area of digital literacy and its collaboration with the teachers to achieve this. We know that the only way to support and reach our common aims is to work together and find paths to try to transmit those skills to our students.

We have expanded the number of joint, library-based KS3-4 research projects across subjects and greatly increased 'exposure to research skills' training sessions with individual Sixth Form classes. These training ‘e-clinics’ are tailored to support the A-level coursework and current topics. All include additional exploration of selected printed credible resources.

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The library’s research skills lectures, as part of the EPQ taught programme, include topics such as search engines for academic work, smart and more efficient use of Google, evaluating sources, and the importance of use of credible ones. We also help students search effectively in academic online platforms and teach them how to reference their work properly – an invaluable university skill.

Last year’s conference also confirmed how important it is for the library to offer more relevant curriculum and age-appropriate online platforms and resources to support research across the years. With the help of a group of selected academic staff, the library reviewed the usage of the e-resources offered at that time and confirmed our own experiences of some being largely underused. We have identified why this may have been and improved the range of suitable, relevant, and appropriate e-resources. Currently, we are working on finding new routes to offer them to students and staff, to give all the best opportunity to use trustworthy, credible, and authoritative online resources for education.

Our initiatives have been met with interest and excitement from other schools and libraries. We were asked to provide a short video highlighting Berkhamsted Library’s development of research skills in their pupils and support of information literacy (especially digital), which was screened during the 2019 JCS conference “Digital Literacy in Schools: building capabilities” in Birmingham.

Our help and support do not end with pupils, though. The Library is keen to assist and provide aid and guidance to all staff while they are undertaking projects for their professional development and training. We have successfully initiated collaboration with staff undertaking Action Research projects, delivering sessions on how we can support them, and arranging individual ‘how to’ sessions.

Our aim is to collaborate and establish, we hope, an idea of the library as a learning hub for the whole school community. The library staff continues to actively seek new routes to offer pupils opportunities to develop their skills, and to reinforce the need to be better and patient lifelong researchers. We realise it must be implemented from Year 7 and continue throughout the years and across the subjects, when possible. We are therefore always open to new ideas and projects in which we can use our expertise and support development of pupils’ research skills. So far we have worked with the History, Sociology, Politics, English, Careers, PSHE, and Geography departments, but are keen to work with more.

Our values in action – a final note

As we are all aware, state schools are suffering terribly with budget cuts for resources and the CPD budget is often non-existent. I have had an opportunity to meet many librarians with our local state schools, whose experience and possibilities are very different from ours at Berkhamsted.

As a library, we are part of the local schools’ network and have helped some schools already by donating books and textbooks. We have also decided to extend our help (thanks to Richard Thompson and the Berkhamsted Society) by sponsoring our local, partnered state school librarian (from Adeyfield) to attend the 2019 JCS conference.

Our core value of serving others was therefore put to practice as the sponsoring allowed Adeyfield School’s librarian to gain valuable knowledge and practical ideas on how to introduce and implement digital literacy initiatives in her school. Without Berkhamsted’s financial assistance to allow the librarian’s conference participation, Adeyfield School’s pupils may have not got the opportunities to improve their digital literacy skills at school.

BIO Gosia Pudelko-Kelly is the Library Services Manager at Berkhamsted.

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In 2015, my Action Research project explored methods of marking and feedback with a Year 9 and a Year 11 class. Five years later, I still use the methods as a part of my everyday marking at all Key Stages – and find them integral to teaching writing skills.

The ‘green dot’ task is used to mark a writing task where technical accuracy is heavily weighted. Green dots are placed in the margin on the line where there is an error.

Sometimes a clue is added (i.e. SP for spelling) to help students find their error. It is standard practice for me to green-dot a photocopy of pupils’ work at the same time as I mark the original. The pupils then work on their green-dotted copy - identifying and correcting their errors - before they see their marked original with teacher feedback. This means they already have an idea where their technical pitfalls lie before they receive their marked work. It also restricts the perennial frustration that the students only want to see the grade rather than review the feedback. There are still issues with pupils correcting the wrong mistake – collaboration works well here.

Frequently, not being able to ‘find’ their error is due to their noticing skills: often if I read the sentence out, pupils then spot the error themselves.

I have seen evidence that conducting this exercise before seeing their marked work helps the students to recognise the value of proof-reading, as well as aiding self-target setting. It is useful to invest the time on this in lessons and I now ‘green-dot’ even for short writing tasks, not just formal assessments. The task is often conducted with a view to redrafting – even if it is one section of the work.

For many pupils it is now their normal way of receiving feedback.

Using highlighters has also been a development of the green dot method – particularly in light of the fact that green-dotting feels like a negative way of giving work back: “Here are all your mistakes”. Positive words and phrases are highlighted in one colour (i.e. the most effective use of vocabulary, linguistic, or structural features in one colour, and technical errors in another). This is a quick way for students to immediately see if their writing is having impact. I also use this for analytical work to draw attention to where they have met the assessment criteria et cetera.

This has become so routine that students talk about their targets as such: ‘I need to put more yellow in my descriptive writing’; or ‘I need to do more blue at the end of my paragraphs’ (blue meaning links back to the essay question). Some members of the English Department are using similar green-dot methods and we have standardised highlighting colour codes.

Some English teachers are reluctant to use highlighting methods and prefer to write feedback – we are teaching writing skills after all. I would like green-dots to become a standard marking practice and can see the benefit of this being a whole-school literacy policy. It is difficult to quantify the difference it makes in terms of pupil progress but certainly these methods have created a curiosity about technical accuracy and help students to view writing as a process that evolves: proof-reading and redrafting begin a fundamental part of that process.

BIO Kath Tomlin is always seeking new ways to inspire pupils through reading and their writing, despite teaching English for 19 years. She has a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature and can usually be found reading YA novels. Her role as Community Service Co-Ordinator gives pupils opportunities to volunteer locally and it is a delight to see the impact this has on the pupils as well as those they provide support for.

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Designing a Cryptosystem to Improve the Cyber Security of Pacemakers: an Extended Project Qualification The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Internet of Thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (IoT) is a term to describe lightweight computer devices which are being used in our everyday society. It is an area of technology which is rapidly growing to encompass every part of our modern day life; it is being adopted in devices such as our lightbulbs and our fridges.

The medical industry has also started to use IoT devices to improve data collection on patients and improve their safety. Having said this, IoT devices are often vulnerable to multiple cyber attacks which can result in a third-party having control or gaining data from them. One way to improve the security is to securely encrypt the data being sent and received by the devices.

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A pacemaker is a small device weighing no more than 50 grams. It consists of a pulse generator, a battery, and a small computer along with one or more leads to attach to your heart. The computer detects if the heart is beating slower or faster than it should be and uses the pulse generator to respond to these situations appropriately. Pacemakers which share data using communication channels such as Wi-Fi are devices which belong to the ‘Internet of Medical Things’ (IoMT). These devices share confidential medical data and so should have proper encryption before sending the data. However, in cryptography there is a trade off between performance and resources required for a given level of security. For lightweight devices such as pacemakers, these important resources include: energy consumption, memory, and time. If these resources are used too much on encryption, then it might jeopardise the actual functionality of the pacemaker – potentially endangering people’s lives.

For my Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) artefact, I aimed to design a lightweight cryptosystem to secure data transmitted from a pacemaker. The created cryptosystem had its effectiveness judged through the extent to which it met the requirements specified in the design criteria below. Crucially, this evaluation utilised empirical data and evidence created by measuring the metric of time to execute the algorithms. Ultimately, an informed judgement was made and led by the evidence and data created.

THE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS WERE: 1 The cryptosystem should be able to run on an

Intel® Core™ i3-6100U Processor in under 1.2 seconds; 2

It should use mathematically approved encryption protocols for any algorithms used;

3

Key generation must be truly random, and the key size must be large enough to be considered secure;

4

Any libraries used in the code must be shown to be secure;

5

The Cryptosystem must be protected against any relevant attacks.

These design requirements were created from guidelines and standards from official government and standardisation bodies such as National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Cybersecurity of Excellence (NCCoE), National Health Service (NHS), and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Following the typical structure, I divided the cryptosystem into two separate parts. For the first part, I planned to use an asymmetric encryption algorithm to securely share a key between the pacemaker and the receiver. For the second part, I used a symmetric encryption algorithm to encrypt the contents of the message.

An important decision I had to make was to decide the specific asymmetric and symmetric algorithms that I would use. In considering the asymmetric algorithm, I was not able to use any fractal based encryption algorithms in order to abide by the second requirement as the mathematics underpinning them has not yet been recognised as secure by the cryptographic community or by standardisation organisations. Therefore, for the asymmetric part of the cryptosystem my options were limited to RSA and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC).

RSA has been used for longer than ECC and so arguably has been more rigorously tested. Having said this, ECC is accepted by the cryptographic community as well as being endorsed by standardisation organisations.

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Moreover, a large advantage which ECC has over RSA is that ECC uses smaller key sizes whilst remaining as secure as RSA. The smaller key size allows the cryptosystem to run faster and so would use less memory. ECC would thus be better suited for the first design requirement than RSA. The most logical algorithm to pick was ECC, which I used for my asymmetric algorithm.

For my symmetric encryption algorithm, there were a few common algorithms including Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), blowfish, Data Encryption Standard (DES), and Salsa that I considered. However, only one of them, AES, is endorsed by standardisation organisations. Consequently, in order to comply with the second requirement in the design criteria, I decided to use AES. Despite this, I could use AES with a key length of 128, 192, or 256 bits.

Research suggested that using a key size of 128 bits was secure enough and would only be at risk of being broken given quantum attacks take place. An additional merit to using a 128 bit key was that its smaller size meant that the cryptosystem would run faster, which would help with the first requirement. Therefore, I opted for AES with a 128 bit key for the symmetric algorithm in my cryptosystem.

Having created the cryptosystem and run tests to gather data, I reviewed the results.

For the ECC algorithm, it was important to acknowledge that the average execution time of 3.589 seconds exceeded the target time of 1.2 seconds. Ultimately, this meant that the ECC algorithm had failed to meet the first requirement in the design criteria. Having said this, one needed to consider that data from the patient may only need to be encrypted and sent weekly instead of daily. If this were the case, then the program would have to run in under 8.4 seconds (7 x 1.2), which this implementation of the ECC algorithm managed to do.

For the AES algorithm, the time taken to encrypt the message to be transmitted was more or less constant over the range of data tested at an average time of about 0.042 seconds. However, I expect that there was a slight increase in encryption time as the number of characters to encrypt increased. Nonetheless, this would not yield a long increase in the time to encrypt unless the data to be encrypted was exceedingly long, which for a pacemaker was unlikely to be the case. Overall, the AES program ran consistently and quickly making it a successful symmetric encryption algorithm for a lightweight device such as a pacemaker.

Exploration into various different attacks suggested that the cryptosystem was secure against all major attacks aside from a timing attack.

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A timing attack uses the time delay of computing the encryption process through noting the time taken by

the algorithm to run. This allows an attacker to learn information about properties of the key being used. In the case of the ECC algorithm, the time taken to generate keys varied from three to four seconds for the pacemaker. This suggested that there may be a vulnerability here which could be exploited by a timing attack. This variation in time could be attributed to the different keys being generated resulting in an attacker potentially being able to determine the size and other possible characteristics of the key being generated. Ultimately, this was a sizeable issue for the cryptosystem and probably the most threatening attack.

However, there were potential improvements which could be made to the ECC algorithm to reduce the threat of the attack. For example, the process could sleep after finishing until the five second mark after having finished executing.

This would cause all readings from a timing attack to yield five seconds which would severely obscure a lot of the information which could be found by analysing response times.

To briefly summarise my results, the Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) side of my cryptosystem performed suitably quickly for weekly communication and was resilient to most attacks apart from a timing attack. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) side had excellent computational performance and was also secure to all the attacks for which I tested. In addition, the total storage size required from the cryptosystem was minimal, making it applicable to a computer system even if the system has a small amount of storage.

Overall, I managed to achieve with certainty three out of five of the requirements (requirements: two, three, four) and partially met one of my requirements (requirement five) and only failed to exactly meet one of my requirements (requirement one). I would consider this to be a moderately successful outcome at achieving the specified points in the design criteria. The iterations undertaken during the design of the artefact were all grounded by research, and realised through careful and deliberate decision making. Thus, the evidence suggests that my original task of ‘designing a cryptosystem to improve the cyber security of pacemakers’, has been quite successful.

This conclusion is demonstrated through the successes of my artefact’s performance, and how the weaknesses of the artefact have been evaluated with solutions discussed, which, if applied, would confirm the conclusion that you can improve the security of pacemakers through the use of a lightweight cryptosystem.

BIO Fabien Bryans is a former student who studied A levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, and Economics. He is now reading Computer Science at Sidney Sussex, Cambridge.

BOOK REVIEW

Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying

by Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski.

2018. New York: Tarcher Perigree.

Learning How to Learn by Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski is an engaging and authentic study of how humans learn. While it clearly states it is a ‘Guide for Kids and Teens’, it gives an in-depth account of how the human brain functions and each chapter is founded in academic research. Unlike some books on the topic, this one seeks to make the knowledge accessible to anybody who is not a neuroscientist.

Although in places patronising (especially when you first begin to read), the authors deliberately spend time building their neurological metaphors to enable the reader to understand the more complex parts of the research into the human brain. From ‘attention octopuses’ to friendly space aliens and mouse runs (used to illustrate neurological pathways and synapses), Oakley and Sejnowski bring an element of comedy and light-heartedness to what is a deeply complex field of study, allowing the intended youthful audience to maintain attention and understanding.

What perhaps is most enjoyable about the book is that it applies its theory. Rather than instructing what happens in our brain and leaving the reader to draw their own conclusion, it gives suggestions of strategies to try. My favourite of these is the Pomodoro effect. After introducing the problem of procrastination, it instructs the reader to remove all distraction, set a timer for 25 minutes of concentrated work, and then follow that up with a reward. At first such an idea seems unusual, but Oakley and Sejnowski put academic research at the forefront of the reasons for trying it.

I found this book most helpful in being able to assess why I, and those around me, are not necessarily learning effectively. It allows you to self-reflect on whether your own learning techniques are successful and if there is something more effective that you could be doing. More than anything, the book breaks down the stigma attached to learning and serves as a gateway to more advanced neuroscientific literature.

BIO Nick Townsend is in Year 13, Head Boy, and a Learning Leader, a member of a pupil focus group examining school learning.

BOOK REVIEW

When the Adults Change Everything Changes Seismic Shifts in School Behaviour by Paul Dix. 2017. Carmarthen: Independent Thinking Press.

When the Adults Change Everything Changes focuses on outstanding behaviour management in schools. We are invited to consider whether the instinctive reaction to negative behaviour is likely to be effective, with Dix opining that great behaviour management is often counter-intuitive.

‘Great behaviour management is counter-intuitive. What seems to be the most obvious response to poor behaviour, what is instinctive, often makes the situation worse. A simple shout to castigate a child emerges from a base instinct that is never the intelligent response to poor behaviour.

Humiliating children should shame them but for many it seems to fuel their fame and reputation. Heavy punishment may seem to crush behaviour in the short-term, it may even remove the problem for the teacher temporarily, but it doesn’t teach improved future behaviour to those who really need to learn it.’

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Dix argues that small positive changes consistently applied by all staff over time can have a transformative impact on a school. He suggests that standing at the door of a classroom, smiling at the start of every lesson to welcome each student, and shaking their hands will improve behaviour. He highlights the importance of staying calm when angry and of giving them what they do not want when they misbehave, namely a cool, mechanical and emotionless response.

He suggests that we save our displays of emotion, passion, and enthusiasm for when students behave well.

The dangers of being drawn into confronting secondary behaviours are highlighted, and we are offered practical strategies for doing and saying the right things in the heat of the moment in the form of scripts, tones, questions, and systems. When these techniques are combined with empathy, a desire to look at root causes, and a perseverance which understands that ‘kids need a hand…… and for it not to be withdrawn’, Dix suggests that behaviour will improve dramatically and the students will follow us anywhere.

In the chapter entitled ‘Some Children Follow Rules, Some Follow People’, Dix identifies the common traits of the best practitioners; he sees that their ability ‘to manage their own response so it is predictable, consistent and empathetic’ is at the heart of best practice in behaviour management.

There are also striking parallels with Steve Head’s idea of a ‘149 culture’. We learn that too much time and attention can be given to negative behaviour. Many people end up talking about the problems that five students are causing, rather than the excellent behaviour of the other 785 children who might be behaving beautifully but receive little recognition.

BIO Martin Walker is Head of Sixth, Teacher of French and German, and a Former House Master and Head of Department.

The power of restorative approaches to behavioural problems is contrasted with the futility of punishment without reflection and follow up: ‘Punishment is not a good teacher. It is scattergun, random and disproportionate. Restorative approaches teach behaviour. Simple.’

It is refreshing to read about the power of positivity in the classroom; Dix suggests that we smile and let our students know that we enjoy our jobs. He believes that the best teachers know that how teachers behave is ultimately more important than how students behave. It is both challenging and inspiring to consider the implication that, if we are good enough, they will be good enough.

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BOOK REVIEW

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

by Daniel H. Pink (2009). New York: Penguin.

Drive by Daniel H. Pink is a highly praised book on motivation. It is aimed mainly at organisations and businesses but reading it made me realise a big part of my life is spent on motivating people: motivating myself in report writing time (we have all been there), motivating my two young children to put their shoes on for school in the morning (the struggle is real), and, most relevant here, motivating a classroom of English speakers to learn French (yes, the struggle is real here too).

Pink’s key points that are relevant to education are that we need to move away from thinking of our students as ‘Type X’ personalities: that is to say, rule followers, motivated by external rewards such as stickers, house-points, good grades, etc. Alternatively, children are ‘Type I’ personalities: they are inherently motivated to achieve something when there is a sense of fun and when their internal ‘free flow’ is engaged. The ‘if you do this, you will get this’ carrot and stick approach works in the short term only and strips away the fun of learning.

Three ideas appeal to me to try in the classroom:

A lesson of complete freedom to allow students to learn what they would like to learn, letting them choose their team (teamwork and helping others is also an intrinsic motivator mentioned by Pink), and giving them the tools to accomplish something, as long as they show their results in the next lesson. A sense of autonomy is highly motivating.

A ‘goldilocks’ assignment: sit down one-on-one to adapt an assignment to the particular student. The assignment should oscillate between boredom and anxiety, being not too easy nor too hard, but just right.

This would be initially time consuming but encourages long-term engagement and mastery.

Show straight away how learning the topic will benefit them.

This is common sense for sure. However, are our lesson objectives demonstrating what we would like students to achieve, or what they would benefit from in achieving those objectives?

Reading Drive prompted me to think: ‘I am writing this review, in my own time, on a book of my own choosing, with no external motivation and having fun getting into the flow of writing… So, Pink must be onto something, right?’

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(And if you still don’t fancy reading the book, Pink is everywhere from TedTalks to Youtube, and you can take your own personality type test on https://www.danpink.com/drive.html.)

BIO Estelle Couture is Head of Languages at the Prep School, mother of two bilingual troublemakers, native French speaker, and keen reader.

Works Cited Introduction by James Cutler

Hendrick, C., and Macpherson, P. (2017). What Does This Look Like in the Classroom? Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice. Woodbridge: John Catt Educational Ltd. Mroz, A. (2019). Research is vital – but teacher empowerment even more so. TES, 14 June, 1.

Muijs, Daniel. (2020). Cognition, learning and educational research. Impact, 8, 1-4.

What is the most effective way of managing pupil behaviour? by Roland Chaplain

Babad, E. (2009). The social psychology of the classroom. New York: Routledge.

Babad, E. and Taylor, P. (1992). Transparency of teacher expectancies across language, cultural boundaries. The Journal of Educational Research, 86(2), 120-125.

Babad, E., Avni-Babad, D. and Rosenthal, R. (2003). Teachers' brief nonverbal behaviors in defined instructional situations can predict students' evaluations.

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