CEC CPD Journal 2021

CPD Journal 2020 – 2021

July 2021

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Cowes Enterprise College

Welcome from Victoria Wells, Vice Principal I'm very proud to welcome you to Cowes Enterprise College’s third annual CPD journal.

We have been inspired this year by Evidence Based Education’s Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review https://www.greatteaching.com/ a credible evidence summary of the elements of great teaching practice.

The review provides a structured point of reference for the things teachers do, know, or believe, which have been found to be related to how well their students learn. The overarching goal is to help teachers take ownership of their professional learning and to help them enhance their practice for the benefit of students.

So, what are the best bets for teachers to invest time and effort in if they want their students to learn more?

They have reviewed existing research studies and frameworks that are relevant to the components and routes to improvement of teacher effectiveness. Their aim is to help teachers make better decisions about what they can best do to improve their effectiveness.

In summary, they have identified four priorities for teachers who want to help their student learn more: 1.

2.

3.

4.

understand the content they are teaching and how it is learnt create a supportive environment for learning manage the classroom to maximise the opportunity to learn present content, activities and interactions that activate their students’ thinking

The collation of our CPD this year is broadly organised under these priorities. We also added our own priority which is Oracy. This builds upon our professional development work over the past two years and we were keen that we continue to develop this area of practice in our school.

Once again, the delivery of professional development was hampered by another period of remote teaching early in 2021. However it was a great opportunity to share good practice around remote teaching and learning and we collectively developed a website where we could all learn from each other whilst not being present in the building together. We continued with weekly snippets of CPD through the briefings but this journal represents the deep thinking and consideration each member of staff who contributed has engaged with.

In this journal you will see a mix of approaches from action research to literature reviews. We were able to introduce more flexibility for staff this year so their work for the journal could run alongside the steep learning curve that came with a more developed approach to remote teaching.

This journal is testament to the self-motivation of professionals we have here at Cowes Enterprise College and the unending pursuit of improvement so our students can continue to benefit from even greater teaching.

Thank you for all your efforts during a challenging year,

Vicky

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Contents Welcome from Victoria Wells, Vice Principal .................................................................................................... 1 Understanding the content ................................................................................................................................ 5 Cath Hollyhead - What impact does “game playing” delivered during lockdown teaching have on the engagement and learning for SEND students? ........................................................................................ 5 Charlie Day - Using a Flipped Learning Approach to Increase the Level of Understanding of Content Delivered in A Level Biology to Improve Outcomes..................................................................................... 10 Kristian Parker-Meadows - High expectations and challenge for all, the impact of seating plans and achievement................................................................................................................................................. 16 Rona Love - What impact does focussing on literacy in Science, delivered over one academic year have on the comprehension of GCSE question papers for KS3 students including Year 9 transition? ..................... 18 Hazel Walker - What impact do spaced repetition and self-teaching have on progress and attainment for LPA students in Maths?................................................................................................................................ 21 Aaron Hartup - What impact does the use of short exam questions have upon the students understanding of the content, gauged through self-review, in Year 12 A Level PE? ........................................................... 23 Simon Hughes - What impact does the use of knowledge organisers have for Year 10 boys in the preparation for completing BTEC Sport assessments? ................................................................................ 26 Tom Harding - What impact does the use of concrete resources have on addressing misconceptions in place value in mathematics over a period of 3 weeks for low prior attainers? .......................................... 28 Creating a supportive environment ................................................................................................................. 32 Oscar Artacho Esplugues - How can ‘informal teaching’ be introduced in our music curriculum? Planning a Popular Music scheme of work – a literature review .................................................................................. 32 Natalie Lawrence - What impact did the Covid-19 pandemic have on students’ conceptions of learning in Key Stage 4? ................................................................................................................................................. 35 Adam Brown - Creating a supportive classroom environment by focussing on student motivation – applications of the self-determination theory and the organismic integration theory. ............................. 38 Lisa Pitman - Coloured resources and overlays: help or hoax? ................................................................... 40 Jemma Harding - What impact does a positive self-esteem have on a child’s success at school? ............. 43 Maximising the opportunity to learn ............................................................................................................... 47 Jessica Lewis – How can we begin to tackle disadvantage? ........................................................................ 47 Cecelia Bloom - High Expectations and Challenge for all ............................................................................ 49 Vanessa Wester - Considering how to maximise the opportunity to learn within a classroom or virtual setting .......................................................................................................................................................... 52 Antonio Giannotta - What impact does giving “un-marked” papers to students to self-assess during the exam period have on student engagement in assessment feedback for year 10 GCSE students? ............. 56 Jo Gibson - How can we maximise student engagement in internal assessments when students are learning entirely independently? ............................................................................................................................... 59 Eleanor Rutherford - Analyse the use of praise, rewards and sanctions in promoting behaviour for learning ...................................................................................................................................................................... 62 James Moloney - Literature review: Using manipulatives to help understanding in Maths ...................... 66 2

Rebecca Price - How can I improve students’ use of technical vocabulary for tools, equipment, materials and machinery?............................................................................................................................................ 73 Andrew Green - High expectations and challenge for all: reaching the peak of your moutain .................. 74 David Sanchez-Brown - How do we maintain high expectations and challenge for all sixth form students against a backdrop of raising anxiety and mental health challenges? ........................................................ 76 David Foster - Review of Rosenshine’s Principles in Action ........................................................................ 78 Donna Brihmani - How can we reduce the impact of ‘Music Performance Anxiety’ in KS4 students to allow them to achieve optimal performance outcomes? ..................................................................................... 88 David Durbridge - Can the inclusion of “Kahoot” internet based quizzes during distance learning, January to March 2021, improve the attendance, engagement and feedback of students for year 8 to 11 students? ...................................................................................................................................................................... 91 Activating hard thinking ................................................................................................................................... 95 Kate Moloney - What impact does literacy intervention, delivered over a half term, have on the writing skills of students who are low prior attainers? ............................................................................................ 95 Alex Kingswell-Cleaves - Literature review: Activating hard thinking – the heart of great teaching. ...... 102 Eniko Rus - The CPA approach – helping students with the ‘encoding’ process ....................................... 106 Fiona Ryan - Developing motivation and confidence in the Maths classroom. ........................................ 110 Rebecca White - 21st Century Skills in relation to the English Curriculum ................................................ 116 Justine Doughty - It’s all in his head: How ‘sentence expansion’ can help students become fluent, confident writers (in all subjects) ............................................................................................................................... 123 Julia Doughan - Approaches to mentoring ................................................................................................ 126 Emilie Rajasingam - What role does ‘Assessment for Learning’ play in the Teaching and Learning of Modern Foreign Languages?.................................................................................................................................... 130 Nick Wiltshire - ‘Into the Fourth Dimension’: Getting students to think hard about the material you want them to learn. ............................................................................................................................................ 133 Lorna Churms - Literature Review of Cognitive Load Theory and its application to learning. .................. 136 Tamsin Jackson - What impact do self-regulated learning strategies have on unlocking foreign language texts at A level? .......................................................................................................................................... 139 Laura Augustus - What impact does The Eden Method of Assessment, delivered over one term, have on the progress made by the students in 11EN7? .......................................................................................... 142 Victoria Leonard - Back on Track: Fewer things, greater depth by Mary Myatt – implications for schools .................................................................................................................................................................... 146 Sallyanne Stanford-Clarke - What impact does practical work, followed by short quiz style assessment, delivered over half a term, have on understanding abstract concepts for year 8 middle ability students? .................................................................................................................................................................... 149 Kelly Wiltshire - How can ‘Do now’ tasks be used to set high expectations? ........................................... 153 Lynsey Greenfield - How can we activate ‘hard thinking’ with good questioning? .................................. 164 Sarah Rouse - What impact does giving students a 4 minute” No questions, silent thinking time” have on 7Y2 to encourage them to activate their thinking to solve maths problems during terms 1 and 2? ........ 166 Catherine Eriksson - What impact do strategies used to encourage higher level, independent thinking have on academic attainment in 10XX? ............................................................................................................. 169 3

Michelle Vidovic - Question: In Sport and Exercise Sciences does Dual Coding enable lower band students to understand, embed and apply knowledge to achieve greater success in written exams? ................... 177 Rob Stichbury - What impact does different teaching techniques used on Microsoft Teams delivered over the winter lockdown period have on attendance of Year 7 science lessons for 7x2 and 7y1? ................. 185 Gemma Calloway - ‘Dwelling on the Delicacies’ ....................................................................................... 190 Alex Duffin - How Physical Education Incorporate Literacy/Oracy Leading to High Quality Lessons. ...... 193 Sara Cody - How can I best activate hard thinking amongst A Level Sociology students?........................ 197 Julie Crane – Mental Health at Work......................................................................................................... 201 Michael Hoare - Promoting transfer knowledge and knowledge retrieval in year 7 SEND students ....... 204 Victoria Wells – What impact do recorded ‘live’ modelling of writing have on the quality of student exam responses in Year 10 History? .................................................................................................................... 207 Oracy .............................................................................................................................................................. 209 Karen Beck - What impact does discussion work, delivered over 2 terms (in and out of Lockdown), have on the construction of analytical paragraphs for year 8 English students?.................................................... 209 Craig Mussell - Oracy in Science to overcome practical deficiencies ........................................................ 214 Jade Beale - The Importance of Oracy in the Curriculum .......................................................................... 216 Helen Cater - What impact does using the strategy ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ over six weeks have on confidence and general Oracy skills in Art for students in 7X3?................................................................ 219 Ann Wright - What impact does targeted Oracy within KS3 Art & Design lessons have in overall levels of confidence and use of subject specific language? Delivered over part of the Summer Term. ................. 224 Sarah Wyeth – Barriers to oracy in the classroom. ................................................................................... 228 Laura Burnett - The Impact of Oracy on Writing ....................................................................................... 232 Blake Rayner - Can oracy activities improve performance in long answer written exam questions in science? ...................................................................................................................................................... 235 Moira Henderson – Dialogue Teaching: Desirable but ‘Doable’ into Today’s Classrooms? ..................... 239 Katie Samuel - Exploring the use of abstract thought in developing student responses. ........................ 246 Claire Brooks - How can I ensure quiet students engage in Oracy-based activities?................................ 248 Elizabeth Stannard - Oracy resources ....................................................................................................... 252 Sarah Welton - What impact does literature focussed oracy tasks delivered over two weeks have on the comprehension skills for Year 10 in comparison to Year 8? ...................................................................... 254 Rachel Kitley – Imperfect Leadership............................................................................................................. 257

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Understanding the content Cath Hollyhead - What impact does “game playing” delivered during lockdown teaching have on the engagement and learning for SEND students?

Intent The purpose of my research was to investigate whether I could remove the barrier of pupil disengagement that comes with past failures by deploying the asset of the human trait of competitiveness. One conversation I will always remember is with a year 10 pupil who told me that she used to enjoy maths in primary school but now it is just too hard, she does not like it anymore and will never be able to do it. My ultimate goal is to prevent my current year 7 class ending up as demotivated and fearful of mathematics as my current year 10 were when I met them in September 2020.

The aim of the research was to enhance pupil engagement during national lockdown and improve my pedagogical methods of teaching mathematics to my students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). From the start I would like to propose a change to this ‘label’ to differential educational needs (DEN). I believe this to be a much more appropriate ethos removing the inference that it is our students themselves that are the issue as opposed to our perceptions of them and established teaching methods. The motivation for my research was not only to help my SEND pupils achieve their full potential in mathematics but also to give them the confidence to pursue whatever goals and dreams that they have for their lives.

Personally, I want to inspire my pupils not to let anything get in their way, I stand in front of them with my own visible disabilities doing my best to teach them not to fear but to embrace mathematics. I let them know my expectations: I do not accept SEND as an excuse for you not to achieve your potential. The additional barriers I wish to address include low self-esteem, low levels of pupil and parent engagement, lack of resource allocation to SEND pupils and low levels of understanding of differential needs.

Figure 1 shows the percentage of SEND pupils for England, the IOW and in our Academy. It has become increasingly apparent to me, for many of my SEND pupils, they can perform the procedures in class but then if asked a couple of days later to repeat this they are unable to do so without substantial scaffolding. So repetition, whilst working ‘in the moment’, is not transferring the knowledge to their long term memories.

Figure 1: Percentage of SEND pupil by academic year data are taken from Gov.UK.

I researched whether 2021. introducing a weekly game playing element would introduce a competitive edge and ‘hide’ the fact we are performing mathematics. This has been implemented and evaluated in my virtual classroom.

Research The methodology used for my research and intervention was Action Research (AR). In its simplest interpretation AR is a methodology which combines research and action linked by evaluation and reflection. One of the earliest definitions of AR I found was published by Lewin in 1947 as: “a three-step spiral 5

process of (1) planning which involves reconnaissance; (2) taking actions; and (3) fact-finding about the results of the action”.

AR recognises the volatile bonds between a person’s actual practices, their personal understanding of their practices and the conditions in which they practice (Kemmis, 2009). It therefore provides a perfect tool for reflection and improvement based upon evidenced based research. However AR is not without its critics including: questioning if theory-based evaluation can be used to derive causal relationships, the focus of study can be too narrow and not applicable on a large scale, differing methodologies hindering comparisons and evidence judgement bias (Simons, 2003). However at its core the purpose of AR does not seek just to add to a known body of knowledge or to discover causal relationships but must improve existing practice (Selwood and Twining, 2005). To be considered successful AR therefore must be continually monitored and assessed.

The UK Government’s SEND code of practice states that “persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours” and “slow progress and low attainment” do not necessarily mean that a child has SEND and for each individual a detailed assessment of needs should occur. Psychologist Jason Moser studied the neural mechanisms and concluded that when humans make mistakes a synapses fire causing the brain to spark and grow (Moser et al., 2011) .Evidence suggests that if pupils struggle but are ultimately successful with a task, it is more likely they will remember the material (EEF, 2017). Repetition and instant feedback during a game enables students to evaluate their performance and encourages them to persist or to intensify their effort to complete required tasks (Thomas & Macredie, 1994).

It has been proposed that playing games is more in line with today’s students' habits and interests (Prensky, 2001) and can teach even difficult and complex procedures by providing the opportunity to (Charles and McAlister, 2004): ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

engage the pupils in action activities enable motivation and satisfaction invoke different skills and knowledge reinforce mastery provide interaction and decision making.

With reference to lower ability pupils, who may have low confidence in their mathematical ability, Ku et.al., (2014), found that they attained better performance from game-based learning than those using a paper based setting. They concluded the bidirectional relationship between confidence and calculation performance was enhanced by immediate feedback of performance. The reported the results of two quantitative studies, using game play, found that it positively impacted the arithmetic ability of their students (Shin et.al., 2012). Testing, via quizzes, has also been shown to reduce the rate at which information is forgotten (Pashler et.al., 2003).

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Action From 18th January until 5th March 2021 we were in national lockdown and classes were held on line via Microsoft Teams. I taught some of my classes live for three hours a week and for the last lesson used the free online games resources from the Goteachmaths website. The quiz required the knowledge taught in the preceding week. The objective was to test their understanding of topics taught and engage them with virtual learning and the subjects tests are listed in. The games consisted of Shootout requiring a calculation and an answer and Penalty Shootout where multiple choice answers were available (Figure 2).

Figure 2: On line games implemented as part of AR during lockdown.

Evaluation Live feedback from my students about our game playing was both positive and encouraging – I received many messages expressing how much they enjoyed doing the quizzes and that they are enjoying our mathematics lessons together I saw their competitive side and a desire to participate and win from even the most reserved and introverted pupils. I believe this was also an element of being on-line and away from the pressures of a live classroom. Attendance rates range from 0% to 100% with an average for year 7 of 68%, year 9 of 67% and year 10 of 53% and nine out of twenty five attending more than 90%. The qualitative feedback I received implies that introducing a weekly game contributed to my high attendance rates and my favourite quote “I actually enjoy these maths lessons”.

The results of the in-school tests were positively correlated with achievement in the quizzes whilst not demonstrating a causal relationship it provides evidence that the knowledge had been retained by those students who scored the highest quiz marks e.g. Figure 4. The repetitive nature of the questions gave them the chance to practice the mathematics we have Figure 3 Scatter graphs displaying correlation coefficient showing positive correlation between on-line quiz scores and percentage mark in related mathematics test back in the learnt in a low risk classroom. environment where I was able to explain methods and they had a chance to try again with different numbers.

I also received email feedback from parents excerpts of which include: 7

➢ Year 7 parent - Hi there, hope you're ok. I just wanted to say thanks v much for all your lessons while school was off they were v useful for S. Also, thanks for her lovely Easter egg for winning the quiz. ➢ Year 7 parent -Her confidence and wanting to attend school really improve, we have had less meltdowns at home too. I also feel her Maths skills improved as she came home one day and said she had got 100 percent in her Maths test which has never happened before. I’m very proud of O and feel that she has worked really hard during this period as she really wants to improve in Maths.

Conclusion In my classroom I advocate the ethos of getting it wrong is how we learn and what safer environment to do that than in a low-stakes game. The competitive environment of scoring points, I believe, gave my students the desire to attend the on-line lessons as they needed this knowledge to win. I also believe that by succeeding in gaining points it helped to remove their perception that they cannot ‘do mathematics’. The positive correlation between scores in the on-line games and the classroom assessment demonstrated the knowledge had been retained several months later. Going forward I am going to keep a game playing element in my teaching.

Since returning to school, after lockdown, I have made one particularly successful change using what I have learnt as a result of this research. I have two one hour 1:1 sessions every week with a year 9 pupil who has had many periods of exclusion and herself refusing to come to school. She has therefore missed a lot of classroom learning of mathematics. I decided to do quick fire questions such as solve

x+3=10 x+3=10 and would let her beat me in answering the questions quicker. She seemed to revel in beating me and it fired up her competitive spirit. After two weeks she said to me: “Miss I never never thought I would say this but can we do some algebra”.

References Charles, D. and McAlister, M., 2004, September. Integrating ideas about invisible playgrounds from play theory into online educational digital games. In International Conference on Entertainment Computing (pp.

598-601). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

EEF (2017):Metacognition and Self-regulated learning Guidance Report. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/metacognition-and-selfregulated-learning/ Hopkins, C. and McKeown, R., 2002. Education for sustainable development: an international perspective. Education and sustainability: Responding to the global challenge, 13.

Kemmis, S. and McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. In N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.). Beverley Hills CA. Ku, O., Chen, S.Y., Wu, D.H., Lao, A.C. and Chan, T.W., 2014. The effects of game-based learning on mathematical confidence and performance: High ability vs. low ability. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17(3), pp.65-78.

Lewin, K., 1947. Frontiers in group dynamics: II. Channels of group life; social planning and action research.

Human relations, 1(2), pp.143-153.

Moser, J.S., Schroder, H.S., Heeter, C., Moran, T.P. and Lee, Y.H., 2011. Mind your errors: Evidence for a neural mechanism linking growth mind-set to adaptive posterror adjustments. Psychological Science, 22(12), pp.1484-1489.

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Pashler, H., Bain, P.M., Bottge, B.A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M. and Metcalfe, J., 2007.

Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning. IES Practice Guide. NCER 2007-2004.

National Center for Education Research.

Prensky, M., 2001. Fun, play and games: What makes games engaging. Digital game-based learning, 5(1), pp.5-31.

Selwood, I. and Twining, P., 2005. Action research. Practitioner research.

Shin, N., Sutherland, L.M., Norris, C.A. and Soloway, E., 2012. Effects of game technology on elementary student learning in mathematics. British journal of educational technology, 43(4), pp.540-560.

Simons, H., 2003. Evidence‐based practice: panacea or over promise? Research papers in education, 18(4), pp.303-311.

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Charlie Day - Using a Flipped Learning Approach to Increase the Level of Understanding of Content Delivered in A Level Biology to Improve Outcomes Introduction: A Level qualifications were reformed in 2014 and teaching of the reformed qualifications began in 2015. A Level Biology reform resulted in a broad curriculum which demands a depth of understanding of the content enabling students to apply knowledge to a range of scenarios. The reform also ensures that students develop their practical skills and are required to complete a series of practical investigations to gain the practical endorsement. This has meant that more time within lessons has to be devoted to practical and laboratorybased tasks, however students are still required to have an in-depth understanding of the theoretical content. Due to the demands of the course, at times lessons can feel overwhelming for students because of the amount of content delivered, the pace at which it has to be delivered, and the requirement of higher level/deeper thinking to make good progress. These challenges in delivering A Level Biology have meant that some students struggle throughout the course, and some students do not make as much progress as other students. It has been suggested that flipped learning could be used to guide students through lesson content at home, while using lesson time for application and practical activities.

Aim and Objectives: The aim of this project was to use the skills learnt during the period of remote learning to develop a system student could use to access key content at home, to improve their understanding of the content, and be able to retrieve the content at a later time. To achieve the aim of the project a series of videos were recorded, quizzes produced, and exam questions identified. Students were given access to all of these resources and lesson time was spent discussing, applying, and working collaboratively to develop a deeper understanding of the home learning.

Literature Review: Flipped learning refers to an approach whereby blended learning is used to deliver lesson content to students through online resources and implement more active learning strategies in-class under teacher supervision (Hava, 2020). Resources used for flipped learning can include; videos, e-books, PowerPoint presentations, podcasts, and knowledge organisers (Burke & Fedorek, 2017). The use of flipped learning and delivering lesson content outside of lesson hours suggests that more teacher-student contact time can be devoted to increasing depth of understanding and addressing misconceptions. This can be achieved through the use of active learning strategies, including; question-answer, discussion, group work, problem-solving, laboratory experience, exam technique, and application (La Marca & Longo, 2017).

Research suggests that students fall broadly into two categories of learning approaches, surface learning approach or deep learning approach. Surface learning refers to students using low levels of cognitive activity and rely on memorising content and accepting new information. Deep learning refers to students using higher levels of cognitive activity as they aim to understand content critically, linking new ideas to existing ideas, and apply information to novel contexts (Hall et al., 2004). It has been suggested that by using flipped learning, student engagement in the course increases and teachers are able to facilitate deeper learning in the classroom (La Marca & Longo, 2017). It has also been suggested that flipped learning allows teachers to engage students in the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, such as analysis and evaluation (Krathwohl, 2002). Students are able to achieve deeper thinking as they can secure a sound knowledge of topics covered through the use of videos, textbooks and quizzes. Students are able to replay and pause videos, recap information, and check their understanding (Bordes et al., 2020). It has been suggested that students using a deeper learning approach and the use of flipped learning improves both engagement and academic performance (Elmaadaway, 2018).

There are many barriers to flipped learning which may make this method of teaching unviable. Technological barriers including; lack of internet access, lack of an appropriate device and troubleshooting video and sound 10

problems which may mean some students are unable to access the lesson, therefore unable to make progress (Bower et al., 2017), and may exacerbate the digital divide. It has also been suggested that students may lack motivation to complete pre-reading or using resources before lessons, therefore missing learning opportunities (Lew & Nordquist, 2016).

Method: A series of recordings were produced, and a Google Site was made to integrate the videos. A recording was produced for each lesson using Loom, a quiz made using Google Forms, and past exam questions selected from OCR Exam Builder. It was deemed important that students were able to access all resources in one place to avoid any confusion.

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Students were asked to complete the online lessons in advance of their face-to-face lessons. Students were asked to upload their independent study work to their individual folders on OneDrive. Before lessons the quiz scores were analysed via the Google Forms response system.

During face-to-face lessons an emphasis was placed on common misconceptions from the quizzes completed, discussion of the content and group work. The aim of these sessions was to deepen understanding and apply knowledge. Students completed a Seneca Learning task and given a cheat sheet to consolidate their learning after the lesson.

To identify if this style of flipped learning had an impact students completed a series of practice questions. This set of questions had been completed by previous cohorts and so a comparison between teaching styles could be made.

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Results: To identify the impact of flipped learning a comparison between the current cohort and previous cohorts can be made. Each cohort completed a set of questions for Module 5.

Figure 5: Average class scores for a test comprised of past exam questions. Blue indicates content delivered via traditional teaching and orange indicates teaching delivered through flipped learning.

As it can be seen in Figure 5, the cohort that used flipped learning achieved between 10% and 15% higher than previous groups that completed the same test after traditional teaching. However, although this indicates that flipped learning has a high impact there may have been differences between cohort ability therefore measuring progress would have been a better indicator of impact.

To identify if flipped learning did actually have a positive impact, a comparison can be made between the tests completed after traditional teaching and after flipped learning by the 2020/2021 cohort.

2020/2021 Cohort Average Test % Teaching Approach

Test

Average Class %

Cells and Microscopy

45

Biological Molecules

51

Plasma Membranes

50

Exchange and Transport

44

Module 2 Practice Questions

65

Module 3 Practice Questions

63

Module 5 Practice Questions

65

Traditional Teaching

Flipped Learning

Figure 6: Table of the average percentage score achieved by the 2020/2021 Year 13 Biology cohort.

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Figure 7: Average test percentages for the 2020/2021 cohort. Blue indicates traditional teaching and orange indicates the use of a flipped learning approach.

The results table and bar chart both show that the average test score was higher after flipped learning was used. On average traditional teaching scored 48% and flipped learning scored 64%. Although flipped learning was higher in all tests used, it should be noted that these were all different tests and therefore those tests that used traditional teaching may have been more challenging than those completed after flipped learning.

It is also important to note that those tests completed after flipped learning were a used as a revision tool and the content had been covered by traditional teaching prior to the revision period.

Conclusion: From this research it can be suggested that flipped learning could be used to improve outcomes in A Level Biology as students appear to have a better understanding of the course content. Students are also more equipped when discussing content during lesson time and are able to extend their knowledge further through the use of application questions. Students developed exam technique and felt more confident to challenge the content they have been taught. Additionally, the use of low stake quizzes allowed students to monitor their own progress but also ensured any common misconceptions could be addressed during lesson time.

However, there are some issues that surround flipped learning. A lot of time is required to produce the resources and there has to be a level of trust that students will complete the required work before the lesson.

Other challenges include the IT requirements needed by the students, and students being able to manage their time to ensure they complete the pre-lesson work.

The challenges of flipped learning could be overcome by using YouTube videos and Kahoot quizzes, GCSEPod, and BBC BiteSize to overcome the workload issues. Ensuring students upload their work to their own individual OneDrive folder also means that their independent study work can be monitored, and students not completing/uploading work can be challenged.

It is felt that flipped learning can be used effectively by 6th form students as they have independent study sessions timetabled. By using flipped learning student can use their independent study time effectively, which aims to improve outcomes by improving student’s understanding of the course content and develop higher level thinking.

Reference List Bordes, S., Walker, D., Modica, L J., Buckland, J., & Sobering, A. (2020). Towards the optimal use of video recordings to support flipped classroom in medical school basic science education. Medical Edition Online, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2020.1841406 14

Bower, M., Lee, M., Dalgarno, B. (2017). Collaborative learning across physical and virtual worlds: Factors supporting and contrasting learners in a blended reality environment. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(2), 407-430. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12435 Burke, A., & Fedorek, B. (2017). Does “Flipping” Promote Engagement?: A Comparison of a Traditional, Online, and Flipped Class. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(1), 1124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417693487 Elmaadaway, M. A. N. (2018). The Effect of a Flipped Classroom Approach on Class Engagement and Skill Performance in a Blackboard Course. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(3), 479491. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12553 Hall, M., Ramsay, A., & Raven, R. (2004). Changing the Learning Environment to Promote Deep Learning Approaches in First-Year Accounting Students. Accounting Education, 13(4), 489505. https://doi.org/10.1080/0963928042000306837 Hava, K. (2020). The Effect of the Flipped Classroom on Deep Learning Strategies and Engagement at the Undergraduate Level. Participatory Educational Research, 8(1), 379394. https://dx.doi.org/10.17275/per.21.22.8.1 Krawthwohl, D. (2002). A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 212-218.

La Marca, A., & Longo, L. (2017). Addressing Student Motivation, Self-Regulation, and Engagement in Flipped Classroom to Decrease Boredom. International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 7(3), 230235. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijiet.2017.7.3.871 Lew, E K., & Nordquist, E K. (2016). Asynchronous learning: student utilisation out of sync with their preference. Medical Education Online, 21(0), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v21.30587 Sheelavant, S. (2020). Google Classroom – An effective tool for online teaching and learning in this COVID era. Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 14(4), 494500. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v14i4.11527

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Kristian Parker-Meadows - High expectations and challenge for all, the impact of seating plans and achievement.

Being an effective Physical Education (PE) teacher is having the ability to teach in classroom and practical contexts. First and foremost different methods of delivery, high expectations and the ability to review what is working and not working will give the students the best possible chance to succeed.

It is not uncommon to see some students thinking PE is just about ‘taking part in sport’, but there is a theoretical aspect of PE. In KS4 students can opt in a BTEC Sport option, A GCSE PE option or Sports Leadership option, which entail both theory and practical content. Therefore, creating a stimulating learning environment is key to success and removing the stigma of being on a sports course where you will just ‘play sport’.

To create an optimal learning environment seating plans are used to minimize disruption to the lessons, and reduce the likelihood of behaviour problems. A problematic issue with a new cohort, are students sat next to others who might impact the opportunity to learn? The influence of data such as pupil premium and SEN are good initial indicators when setting out seating plans, but this doesn’t’ take into account friendship groups, who works well together and so forth. I am researching the impact of ‘how seating plans support behaviour management, which can promote high expectations and achievement’.

Main body: A classroom environment can hinge on many different factors, these can include relationships, equipment and resources available and expectation of the students (Parsonson, 2012). Minimizing the impact of these factors, having clear routines, showing consistency are all key to success. One method Rosenshine (2012) implies is the importance of reviewing previous learning, checking on any problems and the outcomes leading to higher achievement scores than other classes who did not. To support high expectations, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (2019) suggests three proactive approaches; “knowing and understanding the students and their influences”, “Teach learning behaviour alongside managing misbehavior” and “use classroom strategies to support good classroom behaviour”. All include the importance of knowing the schools behaviour policy as well as understanding the students you have in front of you. Creating a culture where shared beliefs and values are shared, through routines that should be automatic allow for consistency in the class.

Having clear expectations of behaviour, using behaviour-specific praise and monitoring students are effective methods of reducing disruptive behaviour within school (Narhi, Kiiski and Savolainen, 2017). One of the most prominent concerns in a classroom is behaviour management for teachers (Fabiano, Reddy and Dudek, 2018). Fabiano et al (2018) advocate new and experienced teachers need effective classroom and instructional management skills, due to the fact significant concerns surrounding good behaviour management. One method to support this through common interventions teachers use in day to day practice; these include adapting seating plans, using praise, building rapports and relationships and creating an inclusive environment (Peterson-Nelson, Young, Young & Cox, 2009; Reinke, Herman and Stormont, 2013).Parsonson (2012) indicates creating tables to form rows as a proactive strategy, instead of group seating on tables. This could be a method of identifying individuals for interventions so no one is missed out in groups.

To support students, other factors need to be considered, variables such as table positioning, lighting, where you are sat in the room can impact the interactions the students have to behave or misbehave (Wannarka and Ruhl 2008). Fernades, Huang and Rinaldo (2011) echoes this, implying, how the layout of the classroom impacts control, the participation and the level of work completed.

Conclusion:

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From the findings, it is evident seating plans have a big role in the classroom environment. Setting high expectations, following behaviour management strategies and carefully altering seating plans to support students is effective in promoting good behaviour.

Benefits of future research would include how seating plans and tasks set may impact learning, whether specifically working in pairs, a set group positively impacts or negatively impacts behaviour and the opportunity for success. While the information collated is relevant, I believe a hands down culture and teachers asking questions for understanding no matter where you sit will impact positively where you sit.

The importance of feeling included in the lesson, regardless where you are sat needs to be considered and in future research, student responses through questionnaires, would be a good tool to research the effectiveness of learning from a student’s point of view. Most of the literature is dated, therefore further and current studies would give accurate results for teacher and the participation and behaviour of students within lesson.

It is important to consider whether classes are mixed ability, mixed gender, any educational needs, resources and relationships with teachers and students. This is a complex idea that hinges on many different factors which could impact on the engagement of learning and the work produced by the students.

Bibliography: Capel, S. & Whitehead, M. (2013). Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A companion to school experience. London: Routledge.

Education, Endowment Foundation (2019). Improving Behaviour in Schools: Evidence Review.

Fabiano, G., Reddy, L. and Dudek, C. (2018). Teacher coaching supported by formative assessment for improving classroom practices. School Psychology Quarterly. 33 (2) P293-304.

Fernandes, A. C., Huang, J., & Rinaldo, V. (2011). Does where a student sits really matter? The impact of seating locations on student classroom learning. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies, 10(1), 66‐77.

Narhi, V., Kiiski, T. and Savolainen, H. (2017). Reducing disruptive behaviours and improving classroom behavioural climate with class-wide positive behaviour support in middle schools. British Educational Research Journal, 43 (6), 1186-1205.

Parsonson, B. (2012). Evidence-Based Classroom Behaviour Management Strategies. 13, (1) P16-23.

Peterson-Nelson, J., Young, B., Young, E. & Cox, G. (2009). Using teacher-written praise notes to promote a positive environment in a middle school: Prevent school failure, Alternative Education for children and Youth.

54(2), 119-125.

Reinke, W., Herman, K. & Stormont, M. (2013). Classroom-Level Positive Behaviour Supports in Schools Implementing SW-PBIS: Identifying Areas for Enhancement Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions 15(1) 39-50.

Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies that all Teachers should know. 36 (1) P12-19.

Wannarka, R. & Ruhl, K. (2008). Seating Arrangements that Promote Positive Academic and Behavioural Outcomes: a Review of empirical research. 23 (2) P89-93.

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Rona Love - What impact does focussing on literacy in Science, delivered over one academic year have on the comprehension of GCSE question papers for KS3 students including Year 9 transition?

INTENT The issue My challenge is directly in response to the fact that last September, some of the 9Y/Sc1 students started calling me their ‘English Science Teacher’. What did they mean? How important is this perception? What was I doing that lead to this strange label?

9Y/Sc1 is a Key Stage transition group that we are teaching Higher & Foundation GCSE concepts to; we knew that most of this group would opt for Triple Science and those remaining would be placed in a Year 10 group where there will be an expectation for them to maintain a pace & depth pertinent to Higher Tier students.

The label of English Science Teacher was given as at the beginning of every lesson I write on the boards terminology I intend to use and/or present as new vocabulary. I believe that this is different from keywords alone, so in science we look at a glossary of terms, these can be found on all our knowledge organisers & also in the Appendices of each specification from the exam board.

I am trying to gain a deeper understanding into the link between glossary & Oracy in Science – are they indeed mutually exclusive OR maybe independent events?

Target students I decided to use the class 9Y/Sc1 as my target students. This groups is broadly a fair split on gender with only a couple of students having…..BUT they all have two things in common, through my eyes. They all ‘want to do well’ so have high expectations and they all work with the ‘hang on my every word’ principle which makes them sponges for acquiring knowledge and key-skills.

I gave them all a questionnaire, (31 students) as a starter and asked them to complete it without asking any questions, which they did. (See Glossary Vs oracy).

Research •

Teaching literacy is not always explicitly done in science. However, if students are to understand and take part in science, they need to make sense of a variety of words, both scientific and non-scientific.

In this way, good literacy is as important to a student’s science education as an understanding of evolution or atomic structure.

thescienceteacher.co.uk/literacy-for-science/ ➢ Often, we predominantly look to the syllabus in terms of our medium-term planning and bolt through a lesson/topic without ‘introducing’ the terminology OR present as a glossary ‘at the end’ of a topic – is this good practice?

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➢ The case for promoting literacy across the secondary curriculum is urgent and essential. Too many pupils still emerge from our schools without the confident and secure literacy skills they need to thrive as adults.

Improving literacy in secondary schools: a shared responsibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ➢ The above Ofsted report is very interesting as it includes many case studies from Primary to Post16 Education. The report links ‘how’ literacy is balanced/achieved and identifies the outcomes of each strategy and they are not always positive. ➢ The national Literacy trust promotes this article by Amanda Fleck – How to help students decode science vocabulary | Feature | RSC Education ➢ Getting to grips with the constituent parts of words can promote students’ understanding and use of scientific language ➢ So how can we introduce key vocabulary in science? Many of us display keywords at the beginning of a lesson, and encourage students to write down the meaning of the words. However, this can take a considerable amount of time and, with the pressure to teach content and concepts, we can feel limited in the time we can allocate to this.

Using debating to promote Oracy in Science – ➢ Oracy in Your Classroom Lesson Plan Template Talking Starter (5-10 mins): ➢ Suggestion two – Balloon Debate Display a range of themed prompts on the board, e.g. “Coal”, “Nuclear power”, “Wind energy” etc. All of these prompts (which can be concepts, characters etc.) are in a balloon which is rapidly sinking. We need to decide which one to throw out of the balloon. Each student should choose a prompt and prepare a short speech explaining why they deserve to stay in the balloon. Choose one student for each prompt to take part in the debate.

The rest of the class should vote for the winners/losers of each round.

Oracy-in-Your-Classroom-Lesson-Plan-Template.pdf (esu.org) After studying all of the above I am determined to embed some of these ideas into future classroom strategies; see Action below.

Action Which teaching processes and strategies I tried that were different?

1) Giving KS3 students a word, Science-related and giving them 5 minutes to use it in full & meaningful sentences – 2) Using the debating technique for KS3 students – for or against argument.

3) Giving a glossary of terms at the beginning of every lesson to KS3 transition students to see if they felt more empowered as a result of this.

Evaluation 1 Above relating to - thescienceteacher.co.uk/literacy-for-science/ Reflections by (student) Light is a reflection from the sun.

It can travel through because as there is smoke the sun need to reflect harder for it to shine through and because it can see anything.

Objects: ➢ A glass of water ➢ A brick a teddy ➢ A hand 19

➢ A clear bottle ➢ A shadow ➢ The objects that can go through are: a glass of water, a clear bottle and a shadow ➢ The objects that can’t go through: a hand, a brick and a teddy bear It is clear to me that is s sometimes advantageous to give students ONE word at a time to use in their Oracy.

2 Above relating to - Oracy-in-Your-Classroom-Lesson-Plan-Template.pdf (esu.org) The Year 8 students made presentations to give advice to a 40 year old male or female; overweight, went to the pub 5 times per week, smoked 20 cigarettes a day & never exercised. Their remit was to decide whether to give them advice to cut down on everything gradually or go to extremes thus putting short-term health requirements first. All of the class told me that with the exception of the heart dissection, they enjoyed this lesson MORE than they usually do.

Their responses had 1 element in common – I had given them a broad scope in which to work – I had NOT delivered their Oracy?

3 Above relating to - Improving literacy in secondary schools: a shared responsibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Glossary Vs Oracy Questionnaire What is a glossary?

What is oracy?

Is it helpful having the keywords on the board at the beginning of the lessons?

YES/NO Do you feel more empowered to use terminology once we have examined the meaning of words at the beginning of the lesson?

YES/NO Please give 2 examples of vocabulary I have introduced this way that you can place in a sentence – and do so.

Can you give 2 examples of vocabulary I have introduced this way that you ‘cannot’ place in a sentence?

Questionnaire results – out of 29 responses – 22 students understood a glossary.

10 Students understood oracy.

27 Students responded YES to both feeling more empowered to use terminology once the meanings of the words were examined at the beginning of the lesson.

All 27 students gave meanings of recently learnt vocabulary.

5 students gave examples of words I had recently taught in this way that they COULD NOT use in a sentence.

Contrary to the Ofsted findings, my students did feel empowered when I used a glossary at the beginning of the lesson & they did feel it helped their Oracy to develop – or did it just make them feel more secure?

Evaluation – What next?

Plan for September: To have a weekly glossary/oracy slot – but student driven.

To continue to promote debating whenever possible as a means to empower oracy.

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Hazel Walker - What impact do spaced repetition and self-teaching have on progress and attainment for LPA students in Maths?

Intent The issue The intent of this project was to find ways to embed key learning and to enable students with low confidence and resilience to independently work on multi-step questions. A range of strategies were used throughout the year but this study focuses on two key topics in which different strategies were tried and the impact was measured through the success of the students in answering questions on these topics in their end of year assessment. The students were not successful in answering questions on these topics at the start of the year.

The students selected were in the same year 8 class. They have low literacy and numeracy levels. It was important to work on these two key areas with this group to ensure they are able to function as part of a fullsize maths class in year 9 and to be able to work towards a grade 4 at GCSE. SEN Passports for various students in the group advised; Deliver Instructions verbally 1:1.

Keep instructions short and concise.

Break down activities/tasks into chunks.

Action Spaced Repetition I trialled this with Ratio which is a key topic at GCSE and is challenging for the students as the questions can be asked in many different ways. I picked four key basic skills for ratio and put a question for each in their Daily Starter which repeated the questions with different numbers over a period of two weeks. I then repeated the same questions at least once a half term. I also added some memory aids in ie Ann and Bob were always in the dividing into a ratio and scaling up problems so we would talk about Ann and Bob throughout the year, even when not doing ratio work and likewise associated fractions and ratio with kitchen tile colours.

Self-Teaching I realised through the above work and related assessments that there was a larger issue that needed dealing with, as although they could all talk me through exactly what I needed to do to solve these problems, only half of them were able to answer assessment questions correctly.

I reflected on how I had adapted my teaching to meet their passport requirements and realised that they were rarely having to think through anything remotely challenging for themselves as I was taking great pains to break everything down for them and explain it really clearly, and although this this meant they enjoyed their lesson and felt successful, I wasn’t allowing them to struggle over it and build the confidence needed to tackle worded questions, especially those that are designed to need decoding and reordering, in an assessment.

For Averages, we had a text book in the classroom that gave an explanation of each average in turn with some examples, followed by questions that started with very little wording and built up to more problem solving and worded questions. It had clear explanations that they would be able to follow, but enough reading that it would be a challenge.

For the first lesson on the Median, I asked them to start reading the explanation as they finished their starter, then after we had gone through their starter answers I made sure they were all on the correct page and 21

started to ask them questions about what was written, giving them time to find the answer on the page and asking them to read out what it said. Their competitive spirit was engaged in finding the answer first. More encouragement was needed to get them to really thing about what it meant.

I then explained to them that we were going to work on their reading for understanding, that I wasn’t going to show them at the front how to answer the questions and that they needed to read and re-read the explanation and examples rather than ask for help. I set it up as a challenge to be independent and they were on board with it. A few still put their hand up every few minutes and had to be prompted to read the text and examples and explain it back to me but eventually they realised they needed to, and could, work it out for themselves. I had the advantage of them being a small group so I could easily monitor what they were doing and give them positive feedback if they were struggling. They also had quick feedback by checking their answers in the back of the book.

In the next lesson, following their starter, they were asked to find the explanation page again and use it to fill in a Frayer model for the Median. At this point, some had answered all the questions on the Median and some were moving onto the next average. They had to finish all the questions before moving on so by the end of the week they were all working on different things but following the same structure. We always started with a range of questions, for some it was recall of what they had done the previous lesson and for others they could use the text to look up the answer for what was to come next. All students covered the core learning, including problem solving tasks before we moved on. We all completed Frayer models at the same time as part of the Q and A sessions to ensure no mis-conceptions crept in from them working independently.

Evaluation Strategy one had a significant impact on all the students being able to talk verbally about how to answer the question if posed verbally in person, but only half the students got full marks on the related questions in the end of year assessment and some got no marks at all.

The outcome for strategy two was very similar, although they were able to tackle more challenging questions and, at the time I was impressed by how well they did with some of the more complex questions, showing that the capability is there. I would have liked to have had more time working on this.

Moving forwards, both strategies had an impact on their knowledge recall orally but far more work is needed on reading and responding to the questions on assessments, as over the years, they have developed strategies like just looking for the numbers and doing something with them rather than taking time to read the whole question in order to identify key words and actions.

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Aaron Hartup - What impact does the use of short exam questions have upon the students understanding of the content, gauged through self-review, in Year 12 A Level PE? Intent I have chosen this specific component to investigate as have noticed that there can be a big gap between year 11 and 12 studies due to the increased use of terminology they may not have been faced with before and much of the A Level PE content is all new content that students will not have learnt about previously in Level 2 qualifications such as GSCSE PE and BTEC Sport. This is also the first cohort that I have taught the A level course to and also the first cohort to not have sat and examination before entering into the 6 th form here at Cowes Enterprise College. This is something that having spoken to the students at the beginning of the year can be very daunting and nerve wracking for those students. Many of these students have missed out on a range of teaching and learning due to Covid-19 situations, whether through school closure or selfisolation and might suffer because of this.

The subject specific knowledge involved within A level PE is of a high complexity and includes a vast range of tier 3 vocabulary which is both required to be understood by myself as the teacher and the students themselves. This knowledge needed for teachers to be able to teach this content is “acquired from other people either formally and deliberately (e.g. by being taught) or informally and casually (e.g. by interacting with physical education teachers or playing in a sports team)” (Capel, 2007). For some students who have not studied GCSE PE or BTEC PE at Level 2 the methods of understanding the content and developing their subject knowledge needed to be experimented with to ensure the best method is used, whether this be visually, verbally or through practice etc.

One of the methods in particular that I wanted to use was the use of quizzes and quick-fire past paper exam questions via the use of question cards. I wanted to use this with the aim of increasing the students understanding of the content that was being taught throughout the year. In particular Component 3 of the year 12 A Level PE course which focused on the Socio-Cultural Issues in sport which was a brand-new topic for the students in this year’s cohort.

Research I began to carry out some research into how this method could be used successfully and if in fact it would work in developing the student’s ability to understand the content being taught. Jose Picardo (2020) looked into how the use of quizzes and low-stakes assessments are not just good for providing teachers with information about how much a student knows and what they still need to learn to inform future planning but how they can also be used to enable students take advantage of the benefits of ‘retrieval practice’, where recalling things from memory actually helps to strengthen retention of that knowledge. This is something that I believed could work with this particular cohort and trying to develop their methods of retrieval and how this can aid and develop their own subject knowledge and understanding of the content being taught.

Rosenshine (2012) said how it is simply not enough to present students with new information and material as this will just be forgotten unless there is methods of rehearsal and retrieval used to help store this information into their long-term memory. The use of the mini tests and use of questions cards sprung to mind when I thought of how I could use the method of retrieval in all of my lessons from the start of the year to the end. Rosenshine also developed some instructional principles of teaching and these included being able to ask a large amount of questions to check their responses and beginning each lesson with a review of the previous lesson. Both of which have been a key element of my teaching and has been underpinned by the schools use of ‘Do Now Starters’ and plenaries of lessons.

Butler (2010) looked into the method of repeated testing within lessons and the impact that this can have upon a student’s transfer of learning and how well they are able to retrieve the information after the testing.

He used 4 experiments that examined how repeated testing and repeated studying affected retention and 23

transfer of facts and concepts. From this research he found that using repeated testing, “this produced superior retention and transfer on the final test relative to repeated studying. This indicated that the benefits of test-enhanced learning are not limited to the retention of the specific response tested during initial learning but rather extend to the transfer of knowledge in a variety of contexts.”

Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke (2006) did a lot of research into the use of retrieval practice and how this can influence the understanding of content amongst students.

They looked at using free-recall tests without feedback upon a passage students had studied, they then used retention tests and showed an improved recall substantially higher than that without using the retention tests. They found that prior testing produced substantially greater retention than studying, even though repeated studying increased students' confidence in their ability to remember the material. Testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it.

Action Throughout this year I have tried and experimented with a number of different methods and strategies to enhance their understanding of the content. Every lesson has involved a starter questions that is normally based upon a review of the previous weeks lesson, thus has allowed me to test their recall knowledge and assess how well they have understood the content so far, these have been short, quick and self-marking questions that they can recall and can base further planning on, often I would revisit these questions at the end to again check their recall abilities. I found this worked to some extent but would often find it very limiting and didn’t challenge them enough, I also found them to be checking previous weeks lesson before entering the room in anticipation for the questions. This meant it wasn’t a fair reflection upon their understanding.

Alongside the Do Now starter questions based upon previous lessons I have used a range of Kahoot and Quizlet quizzes to try a different medium of testing, these were good as they allowed me to see what areas in particular all students were struggling on and also enabled me to see individuals scores and which answer they got right and wrong and could set tasks from this for future learning. I often used these twice, once towards the start of a module to see the current ability and knowledge level and then once towards the end to monitor and check progress from the students, this gave a good indication of the progress made and those who didn’t make the progress expected and can form the basis of an intervention from there.

Another technique used where question flash cards, these had the questions on one side and the answers on the other, these were given to students to try and answer and they could then check the correct answer from the back. I found these to be successful in testing students upon the knowledge being taught in lessons and all cards matched along with the course specification. I was able to use these within pairs too and they were able to test and quiz each other, this allowed the student testing the other to also have a go at answering the question and correcting the student, with the intention of not looking and knowing the answers themselves.

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I have also used end of section summary questions throughout the year and have been successful in gaging this to aid planning and assessments of students understanding based upon the content covered. This has then been marked and feedback handed to them to use for further revision and preparation for future assessment and exams.

Evaluation Through the process I received a number of positives and negatives form the use of each method. I found all of the methods I had used to be successful but like mentioned before there were number of fall backs to some methods. The predictably of the testing lead to a number of students finding a way around the testing and last minute cramming to ensure they were successful, I found this to be an issue as it wasn’t a fair reflection upon their knowledge and lead to a false sense of confidence surrounding the content covered.

The random question cards, with their unpredictability were found to be more of a success due to students not being able to predict what questions would be coming and would test their knowledge from recent and past lessons, rather than just focussing on recent knowledge, this fell in line with the research from Roediger and Karpicke where they used a range of time scales within their research to show more successful retrieval from longer time frames.

All of these methods are going to be used within future years as have all had a range of success using, and this keeps the mediums varied to prevent repetitive use and predictability.

References Butler, AC (2010) Repeated testing produces superior transfer of learning relative to repeated studying.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 36(5): 1118-1133.

Capel, S (2007) Moving beyond Physical Education subject knowledge to develop knowledgeable teachers of the subject. Curriculum Journal 18 (4) Picardo, J. (2020) Using online quizzes to check and build understanding Roediger, H. and Karpicke, J., (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning. Psychological Science, 17(3), pp.249-255.

Rosenshine B (2012) Principles of instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know.

American Educator 36(1): 12–19.

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Simon Hughes - What impact does the use of knowledge organisers have for Year 10 boys in the preparation for completing BTEC Sport assessments?

Before choosing to focus on a Year 10 Boys BTEC Tech Award in Sport, Activity and Fitness class I first thought about the overall use of knowledge organisers and how they could be used to help with assessments for all students. This was deemed to be too general, so a specific class was chosen as I had tracking data available to analyse the impact that the use of the knowledge organisers had when completing 3 different assignments.

After reading a passage from Cornerstones Education my initial thoughts that the use of knowledge organisers should accompany the vital subject content was shared.

“Carefully sequenced knowledge acquisition is integral to a high-quality curriculum, enabling children to develop a deeper understanding and to perform increasingly complex skills. Resources such as knowledge organisers are the ‘foot soldiers’ of this curriculum. They are tools to help children gain, retain and build the knowledge and skills as set out in your curriculum intent – not a separate bolt-on resource.” (cornerstoneseducation.co.uk).

The knowledge organisers used by the PE department when teaching the course content for Component 1 were available for use shortly after the 1st assignment had been completed. This has partly helped with my investigation as I was able to look at the content of first submission work, and then compare it to any resubmissions where knowledge organisers were available and also to work submitted for assignments 2 and 3. I found that more key words were included and that students had identified the command words for different assessment criteria, therefore describing, explaining and justifying the different parts of their work in greater depth and detail. This contributed to nearly all students achieving the baseline criteria (level 1) and most working within the level 2 criteria. Simple single sentence answers were being replaced by detailed paragraphs using explanations.

During and following the teaching of the component content I placed the knowledge organisers at the front of the class and would refer to the key words, with meanings and also the assessment criteria so that the students were able to see what was being asked of them and when to apply descriptions, explanations and/or justifications for the different tasks in their assignments. I was careful not to rely solely on the knowledge organisers to ensure a clear understanding of how to approach assignments as it was key that the class had covered all content and made sufficient notes to assist when completing their assignments. Becky Sayers states in an article on Teachwire that if used on their own students will only secure a bare minimum of subject knowledge during lessons.

“Without proper guidance, some teachers can become overly reliant on knowledge organisers. The result of this approach is that pupils’ knowledge will be extremely shallow, as they have only been given the bare minimum, leaving them unable to make connections or understand the significance of events.” (teachwire.net) During lessons in the formal assessment period only feedback referring to the assessment criteria is permitted, so having the knowledge organisers present proved to be a useful aide for my students as they could check that they were completing tasks correctly by identifying the command words and make direct links to the criteria in which they would be assessed on. The use of the knowledge organisers from that start of a unit of work and its continued use throughout the delivery of the content also has the benefits of being a good tool for increased retention of facts due to students having constant access to key words and topics.

Another benefit also stated by Neil Almond on thirdspace learning is that they are excellent for inclusion.

Students of all abilities can access them allowing a clearer understanding of the content they will be assessed on.

“5 benefits of using knowledge organisers Knowledge organisers are an excellent tool for inclusion 26

For our low attaining pupils (by low attaining I am referring to the differences between what pupils in the class know) use of knowledge organisers offers an excellent way to help fill those gaps.

Used appropriately, knowledge organisers can increase retention of facts With a knowledge organiser providing the key information and, providing the pupils use them correctly, these facts can then become part of a pupil’s long-term memory.” (thirdspacelearning.com) For my chosen Year 10 class (18 students) there were a similar amount of students that either used resubmissions for each of the 3 assignments for Component 1, and some that took retakes for assignment 3.

In each instance students made the required changes to their work to allow them to achieve a higher grade in their final submissions. When giving initial feedback following their first submissions I strongly encouraged students to use the knowledge organisers the check their work against when completing resubmissions/retakes. For assignment 1 and 3, 30% of students moved up at least one grade on the assessment criteria, and for assignment 2, 45% improved their work to again achieve the next highest grade.

What are my next steps following the research I have completed?

Through both the use of knowledge organisers in lessons and from the various articles I have read I plan to embed the use of the knowledge organisers from the start of teaching Component 1 with students. This will be one tool that I hope continues to help all students have a better understanding of key terminology and assessment criteria so when it comes to formal assessment they all have an equal opportunity of achieving solid level 2 grades with fewer needing to resubmit work. Whilst not all students use them as much as others, knowledge organisers have definitely had a positive impact when used properly, in contributing to the successful completion of BTEC Tech Award coursework.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. https://cornerstoneseducation.co.uk/news/what-are-knowledge-organisers-and-how-can-we-usethem-in-the-primary-classroom/ https://impact.chartered.college/article/organising-knowledge-purpose-pedagogy-knowledgeorganisers/ https://www.teachwire.net/news/why-every-teacher-should-use-knowledge-organisers https://classteaching.wordpraess.com/2018/09/14/using-knowledge-organisers-to-improveretrieval-practice/ https://blog.teamsatchel.com/case-study-improving-results-and-reducing-workloads-withknowledge-organisers-and-quizzes https://thirdspacelearning.com/blog/knowledge-organisers/

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Tom Harding - What impact does the use of concrete resources have on addressing misconceptions in place value in mathematics over a period of 3 weeks for low prior attainers?

Intent: This CPD study spends time exploring the errors and misconceptions of place value and interventions put in place to address these issues. It focuses on the importance of understanding the value of digits, how this influences mental calculation methods and the role of the class teacher in ensuring that children have good conceptual understanding or that misconceptions are quickly addressed.

Rational ‘A good understanding of place value of whole numbers and its extension to decimal numbers is vital because it is the basis of both our mental and written calculations’. Casey (2000). Thompson (1998) also suggests that the concept of place value is fundamental to a child’s understanding and number operations. The importance is also highlighted by the attention to detail and support in ACME’s recent response to the draft National Curriculum published in June 2012 ‘children should not read 46 as ‘forty and six’ but instead interpret 46 as ‘forty and six’ (ACME 2012; p31), suggesting a deep conceptual understanding rather than superficial. This is particularly relevant to Cowes Enterprise College where children appear to be entering Years 8 and 9 without the deeper knowledge, which whilst might be sufficient for Primary Mathematics, will unfortunately prevent future development of the subject in a secondary school.

Having discussed potential focus areas for this CPD work with maths colleagues at school, it was unanimous that place value was the key area that both required more attention at CEC but also stressing the importance in the wider sphere. During a recent lesson observation of a lower attaining group where multiplication was being taught in Year 7, I noticed children’s difficulty with understanding the mental link with multiplying as single digit by two digits. This is backed up by the National Strategies Paper ‘Teaching Children to Calculate Mentally’ 2010 where is states that ‘a child that knows that 2 x 7 = 14 and 6 x 7 = 42, can work out 26 x 7 by partitioning 26 into 20 and 6 and multiplying the tens and ones separately, from which the answer of 140 + 42 = 182 is readily obtained’ (DFE 2010; p14). Therefore this clearly identifies the need for children to understand the value of digits clearly before progressing Subject specific: When reading in more detail about the progression in place value, I came across evidence obtained from the NCETM states that children at all key stages have difficulties in understanding many aspects of place value.

In particular, children who have such problems will encounter many difficulties when attempting to order a set of numbers.

Key steps in development for the learner 1) 2) 3) 4)

5) 6)

Ten – The concept of 1 having another, different value from one unit is an important principle for children to grasp.

Tens and units – Understanding that tens and units can exist side by side.

Number names – Knowing that instead of naming a number ‘one ten and three units’, we give it a name, thirteen.

Hundreds, tens and units – The children should be aware that when they have ten tens they have no single digit to express this in the tens column so they should consider linking the tens together to make one hundred.

Numbers in different forms – The number 36 is usually thought of as 3 tens and 6 units, but it can also be thought of as 2 tens and 16 units.

Thousands, hundreds and tens of thousands – At this stage the children should realise the repetitive nature of column values.

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Steps taken from https://www.ncetm.org.uk/public/files/2042723/ These six steps, which form an important part of the progression in place value, clearly need to be taught by giving children an opportunity to explain their thinking. When collecting data from a colleagues, they site the use of kinaesthetic, concrete resources as one of the most important factors for ensuring conceptual development and therefore solid progress in the six steps above. With these steps having been taught well, progression to other areas of place value becomes easier for the children. This is backed up by Koshy, Ernest, Casey (2000) who state that ‘before children decompose they must have a sound knowledge of place value and ‘to help them with this, the teacher must talk about ‘exchanging a ten for ten units’ etc’.

Action: Identification of errors of misconception (analysis of diagnostic work) The interventions and questions designed over a period of 3 weeks were purposely put together to draw out a deeper conceptual understanding in an attempt to reveal where misconceptions have simply been ‘quickly fixed’ to move on the next lesson. It is the ‘why’ questioning that pulled out this understanding and formed the basis of the research and enables the teachers to intervene and correct the mistake.

In my year 7 class, the two questions that presented the biggest challenge (both answering and explaining) were: 1. Put a ring around the number that is the biggest 13.34 or 13.33 and explain ‘why?’

2. Which two numbers could go between 0.24 and 0.26 and explain ‘why’?

Both Sowder (2012) and NCETM data share the opinion that the problem is associated with children not understanding that a decimal is part of a whole number or shape. Sowder explains that the place-value name for 0.642 is six hundred and forty-two thousandths’ and not ‘642 ones’. This can also be shown as a fraction…

642 1000 The guidance for teachers on misconceptions data produced by the NCETM also states the misconception that ‘Children don’t understand that digits after the decimal point represent parts of a whole. (They either see them as some abstract idea or even read them as whole numbers) This is often connected to a lack of understanding concerning fractions (and an inability to relate fractions to decimals). Furthermore, Fuson and Briors (1990) recommend that children should work with Dienes blocks to model calculation’. This suggests that the kinaesthetic pedagogic approach might prevent confusion associated with simply associating numbers with names e.g. tenths. That said, a contrasting argument to this is presented in the work by Thompson (1998) who states that there is an in-build assumption by Fuson and Briors that children who work with this apparatus will make the necessary connection between the practical activity they are carrying out with the materials and the procedures of the algorithm they are setting out on paper.

Figure 1

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Most of the children in the research were confused when prompted for any explanation relating to digits smaller than hundredths (see figure 1 for an example of one of the children’s responses) In the ‘thinking’ model research conducted by Steinle and Stacey, the child fits well into the ‘Trancation thinking (2dp)’ theory. The child has stated that ‘you can’t have another one’ suggesting that 0.25 is the only number that exists. That said, there are signs of potential development and deeper understanding that could be addressed in a future lesson; they write the number ‘0.24.5’, which, whilst is incorrect in many ways, does suggest that they are thinking in terms of the next column being smaller – therefore, by intervening and breaking down a tenth block into 10 equal pieces, showed how 1 hundredth can also be broken down into ten equal pieces.

Another child is more confident about the second number, identifying that 0.25½ is between 0.24 and 0.26, which actually is true (in terms of hundredths and thousands), but there is question over whether the child would understand the half refers to 5/1000 or whether 0.244 would also fall between. As a result, I was able to use the 6-stage approach combined with a decimat to provide a visual representation for the child on how a hundredth can be halved.

Figure 2

Evaluation In order to address this misconception, the focused intervention was on the kinaesthetic learning in order that the children understand that there is a ‘same value’ but ‘difference appearance’ of numbers. For example, 0.5 could also be written simply as .5 or ½ or 50% or 5/10 etc. Richard Dunne (MMMS, 2011) stated that ‘what is taught early paves the way for what is taught later’, and suggests introducing these values to children as early as Year 1!

According to research carried out by Roche (2010), children often find the misconception that a ‘decimal can be treated like a whole number’. The children in the study who understood that 0.91 was close to 1, would quickly determine that 30.1 x 0.97 would be close to 30. However, these children were in the minority, and most would treat 0.97 as 97, resulting in an answer of 3000. This was also evident in 8/14 of the children when addressing misconceptions at in my class at Cowes. Using the 6-step method, I was able to address these concerns using a variety of concrete resources in order that the students were able to ‘see’ and ‘feel’ the number. The next step therefore would be to continue with the CPA method and invest further time in 30

guided-group work where concrete, kinaesthitic resources are used alongside current methods such as the bar-model to ensure that a deeper understanding is achieved.

Reading list: Thompson, I. (1998) The influence of structural aspects of the English counting word system on the teaching and learning of place value, Research in Education, 59, 1-8.

ACME 2012 Response to the draft National Curriculum, June 2012 www.acme-uk.org/media/10100/20120814%20part%202_final.pdf Ryan, J, and Williams, J. (2010) ‘Children’s Mathematics understanding as a work in progress: Learning from errors and misconceptions in Thompson, I. (ed) Issues in Teaching Numeracy in Primary Schools. Maidenhead :OUP Fuson, K.C., and Briars, D.J. (1990) ‘Using a base-ten blocks learning/teaching approach for the first and second grade place value and multi-digit addition and subtraction’, Journal for research in Mathematics Education 21, 180-206 Barmby, P., Bilsborogh, L.Harries, T. and Higgins, S. (2009) Mathematics: teaching for Understanding.

Maidenhead: OUP Spooner, M (2002) Errors and Misconceptions in Mathematics, London: David Fulton Casey (2000) NCETM (2010) Guidance for Teachers on misconceptions https://www.ncetm.org.uk/public/files/2042723/ (accessed 14.06.13) Koshy, Ernest, Casey (2000) Sowder. J. (2012) Place value as the Key to Teaching Decimal Operations http://commoncore2012.homestead.com/Grade_Level_Files/Fifth/Math/Q1Curriculummapresources/prof essionaldevelopment/place_value-decimal_operations.pdf (Accessed 15.06.13) BERA BERA Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (2011) http://www.bera.ac.uk/about/who-we-are Richard Dunne (2011), MMMS

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Creating a supportive environment Oscar Artacho Esplugues - How can ‘informal teaching’ be introduced in our music curriculum? Planning a Popular Music scheme of work – a literature review In today’s modern society, music plays a vital role. Music is constantly present in our lives: one can be exposed to music in a variety of settings without even realising it – from watching television to walking by a musician playing in the street, or even waiting for a doctor’s appointment. According to the ‘Measuring Music 2020’ report carried out by UK Music, during the year 2019 the music industry generated a contribution of £5.8 billion towards the UK’s economy (Ukmusic.org, 2020). Although 2020 was a devastating year for the music industry and the arts in general, according to an article by the British Phonographic Industry, the consumption of British music, especially through streaming, generated £519.7 million (Bpi.co.uk, 2021). This, as seen in both reports, is mostly thanks to current popular music artists.

Through the years, popular music has also reached the academic context and is now studied in universities as an academic subject. Thus, the National Curriculum and schemes of work for primary and secondary education have adapted to include not only classical music as the focus, but also other practices such as popular music. In order for the curriculum in schools to reflect this and include the practice and study of popular music, however, the delivery of the teaching of music needs to change – as popular music is very different to traditional, classical music. Thus, as part of my project this year, I decided to focus on the planning of music lessons based solely on popular music, and how to efficiently teach this style of music and create a scheme of work around these ideas.

Literature review For the planning, I wanted to focus mostly on helping my pupils developing their performance skills, as well as developing a set of what I called ‘band skills’ – skills that are very important when performing with a band but can also be translated to other contexts, such as non-verbal communication skills. I wanted to focus in performing because, as every musician and music educator knows: ‘performing’ is at the heart of music and music-making – without this element, there would not be music at all. This is supported by the National Curriculum for Music in Key Stage 3, which states that pupils should engage in all aspects of music, including performing confidently (by singing and/or playing instruments) in a range of different styles using solo and ensemble contexts (2021:5).

According to Jonathan Savage, ‘music is a vital part of every child’s (…) educational experiences’, as it impacts their emotional, physical and social development (2012:4). However, in their book Getting the buggers in tune, McCormack and Healey point out that ‘too often, activities in the classroom are repetitive or limited, so pupils perceive music in school to be unrelated to the enthusiasm (…) that derives from the experience of music in their private time’ and that ‘Key Stage 3 pupils are the most likely group for disengagement in school music’, despite being at the same age in which ‘students develop a strong interest in music out of school’ (2008:35-37). As teachers, we must ask ourselves how is this happening and what can we do to avoid it. One possible answer that has been given is the inclusion of popular music in the classroom. However, it is a fact that pop music is not learnt in the same way as classical music is. Dunbar-Hall wrote in 1999 that ‘the underlying differences between art music and popular music (…) make the methods of studying art music unsuitable for popular music’; and stated that ‘it is necessary to construct models through which popular music can be taught’ (1999:217). In a study about teaching popular music, Lucy Green explains the fundamental differences between how the learning of classical and pop music: where classical music is taught through learning notation, passing different grade exams and through the labour of teachers considered ‘master musicians’, popular music is mostly learnt through other practices, such as ‘picking up’ skills and knowledge by listening, watching and imitating musicians and by making reference to those recordings that involve their chosen music. She called this method ‘informal’ teaching, as opposed to ‘formal’ teaching (2002).

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Green’s first book lead to the creation of ‘Musical Futures’, a project based on her findings on informal teaching and on the need to ‘find new and imaginative ways to engage young people in meaningful and sustainable music activities’ (Musical Futures, 2019). Green wrote a second book in which she mentioned Musical Futures and analysed the methods she had observed in her first study, and how these could be applied to the classroom. She defended that ‘the overriding learning practice for most popular musicians (…) is to copy recordings by ear’, and she talked about ‘purposive listening’ as opposed to ‘distracted listening’ (2008:6). She also mentioned in her findings how ‘notation plays hardly any part in the popular music world’ (ibid:7-8), and she described how copying recordings is usually a solitary activity; however, popular music learning is also characterised by its social nature, with ‘group activities occurring in the absence of adult supervision (…) [being] of great importance’, meaning this practice could be characterised by two different types of group learning: the conscious ‘peer-directed learning’ and the subconscious, imitation-based ‘group learning’ (ibid:7).

In her philosophy of learning, the role of a teacher is more of a secondary one – in her findings, Green wrote that ‘the role of the teacher throughout the project was to establish ground rules for behaviour, set the task going at the start of each stage, then stand back and observe what pupils were doing. During that time, teachers were (…) to diagnose pupils’ needs in relation to their goals and, after a period of time, also act as ‘musical models’ through demonstration, so as to help pupils reach the goals they had set for themselves’ (ibid:24-25). The practice of informal teaching and learning, according to Green, ‘can introduce fresh and constructive ways for music teachers to approach their work, and worthwhile new perspectives on pupils’ capacities and needs’ (ibid:2).

Although Green had a good point in the way that informal teaching is the best way to incorporate pop music in the classroom, ‘formal’ practices should not be forgotten, as they work to introduce other kind of concepts.

As Folkestad wrote, ‘formal-informal should not be regarded as a dichotomy, but rather as two poles of a continuum (…) In most learning situations, both aspects of learning are in various degrees present and interacting in the learning process’ (2006:143-144). It was ultimately this reflection that inspired me to write and develop the schemes of work I focused on.

Designing the curriculum After researching popular music in the classroom and the different methods to teach it, inspired by Green and Folkestad, I started writing my own set of lessons. The focus of my curriculum is on utilising a mixture of ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ approaches in order to teach popular music and instrumental skills to the Year 7 students over eight weeks. This combination of formal and informal approaches is what Philpott (and others before him) have referred to as ‘constructivism’ (2016:34-40). For Philpott, there is three different types of musical knowledge: the knowledge ‘about’ music, the knowledge about ‘how’ music works, and the knowledge ‘of’ music. In his eyes, informal teaching and learning deals with the last type of knowledge. He relates this to the work of Swanwick, who made a strong case for placing the knowledge ‘of’ music at the centre of music education (1979); however, Swanwick stated that the other two kinds of learning (knowing ‘about’ music and ‘how’ music works in the words of Philpott) can take place with building meaningful relationships with music (knowledge ‘of’ music). Thus, what inspired me to write this scheme of work was the informal approach seen with Green, but also the ‘constructive’ approach described by Folkestad, Swanwick and Philpott.

As I have mentioned before, I chose the focus of my lessons to be the Year 7 students and helping them build not only skills on instruments such as keyboard, guitar, bass and drums; but also ‘band skills’ that are a pilar to any music-making and can also be translated to other subjects. The unit I designed takes place about halfway through the students’ first year at CEC; this was planned specifically for the middle of the year, as at this point, they have already had lessons building basic skills needed for music learning and can use this unit to develop those skills and to start building the ‘band skills’ mentioned before that they will need later-on in their musical life, as well as some new instrumental skills and a love for the subject.

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With all of this in mind, I created a scheme of work based on the principles of informal and constructive teaching, with the end goal of performing popular music. I created it with the idea of celebrating a ‘Battle of the Bands’ event in lesson towards the end of the scheme, because I wanted to give the students a ‘real-life’like situation. I decided that pupils would first be split into two groups for all lessons in the first half-term, as to create a rotation system: for the first half of an hour, one group would be focusing on the new skill chosen for the week (guitar/bass/drums), while the other group would focus on practicing their keyboard skills; and half-way through the lesson, both groups would swap tasks. For the second part of the scheme, students will be split into bands and will prepare a small performance as part of a ‘Battle of the Bands’ event. This split in the scheme of work is related to the two different types of learning mentioned by Green in her book (as seen above). During this unit, the role of the teacher delivering the lessons will be to demonstrate what is expected and set the behaviour expectations, and then to constantly check progress by walking through, helping pupils and asking them to show what they are up to. After each lesson, students will write in their books about their progress in the lesson and their next objective, using the book during that term as a ‘performance diary’ of sorts. I will be trialling this new scheme of work with the next cohort of Year 7 joining CEC in September and will be evaluating the success of the set of lessons then.

Bibliography Dunbar-Hall, P. (1999). ‘Designing a teaching model for popular music’ in Spruce, G. (ed.) Teaching Music.

Third Edition. London, UK: Routledge.

Folkestad, G. (2006). ‘Formal and informal learning situations or practices vs formal and informal ways of learning’. British Journal of Music Education, 23:2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Green, L. (2002). How popular musicians learn: a way ahead for music education. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Green, L. (2008). Music, informal learning and the school: a new classroom pedagogy. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. McCormack, I. and Healey, J. (2008). Getting the Buggers in Tune. Cornwall, UK: MPG Books Ltd. Philpott, C. (2000). ‘The what, how and where of musical learning and development’ in Cooke, C., Evans, K., Philpott, C. and Spruce, G. (ed.) (2016). Learning to teach music in the secondary school, 3rd edition. London, UK: Routledge.

Savage, J. (2012). ‘The key concepts for musical teaching’ in Savage, J. and Price, J. Teaching Secondary Music.

London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd. Swanwick, K. (1979). A basis for music education. Windsor, UK: NFER-Nelson.

Other sources Bpi.co.uk (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.ukmusic.org/research-reports/music-by-numbers-2020/ [Accessed 20 June 2021].

Department for Education (2021). Model Music Curriculum: Key Stages 1 to 3 – Non-statutory guidance for the national curriculum in England. [online] Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9743 66/Model_Music_Curriculum_Full.pdf [Accessed 08 July 2021].

Musical Futures (2019). Background Musical Futures. [online] https://www.musicalfutures.org/who-we-are/background [Accessed 20 June 2021].

Available

at:

Ukmusic.org (2021). [online] Available at: https://www.bpi.co.uk/news-analysis/streaming-powers-britishmusic-exports-to-new-high-in-2020/ [Accessed 20 June 2021].

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Natalie Lawrence - What impact did the Covid-19 pandemic have on students’ conceptions of learning in Key Stage 4?

1: The Intent I first became interested in learning as a concept after reading an article published by the Chartered College of Teaching, which argued that teachers must focus on the learning their students are doing, not the classroom tasks they are setting (Hendrick & Heal, 2020). It made me consider how we can best know what students know and for me personally, sparked a further interested in questioning and ‘talk’ in the classroom.

Yet, the focus for this project does not revolve centrally on this theme, but a related growing interest of mine; how students themselves view learning. Having reflected on (and as a result developed) what I believe learning to be over my short career as a teacher, I sought to find out whether this matched the view of my students, or whether the views of students and teachers are mightily different. Seeking an answer by delving into existing studies, I concluded that research into conceptions of learning is currently dominated by attempts to clarify what educators believe learning to be- hence the origination of this project, of which the focus is simple, to investigate what students think ‘learning’ is.

The 2020/21 academic year was disrupted by the global Coronavirus pandemic, whereby schools were closed to students and staff for many weeks. It only seemed right to incorporate the huge changes to teaching and learning brought by this event into my project and hence upon return to the school site in April 2021 I aimed to research students’ conceptions of learning, after having experienced learning from home. This project is potentially important because, working in a school with high levels of disadvantage, I am also curious to know the impact of the Covid- 19 pandemic on conceptions of learning of these students in particular. Already the target of ‘pupil premium’ funding, with a particular focus in recent years on ‘white working class boys’ I hope to see if there are any characteristics of the thoughts and feelings of this group that are particularly marked.

Furthermore, it would be of interest to know how learning from home affected beliefs about learning among groups in differing ways, for instance between males and females.

2: The Method The project utilises qualitative methodology within the paradigm of phenomenography (see Marton, 1986).

I will select a sample of students from year 10 and undertake a discussion about learning with them, which will be guided by a series of prompt questions such as ‘can you explain a time when you were particularly successful at learning something?’ In order to maintain ethical principles, I will seek permission from both the student and parents/guardians and select the students using an alphabetical list and random number generator. The interviews will be transcribed and consequently analysed using relevant literature to discuss any themes arising. In addition to this I will ask each student to choose 4 images from the internet that display what learning means to them. Metaphor analysis will then be used to reveal what the students conceive about learning, before being asked to put their thoughts into words. Literature suggests that metaphor analysis is effective for revealing the impact of past experiences therefore I deemed it a relevant and interesting addition to the project. (Bas & Kivilchin, 2020, p. 274.)

3: The Research Watkins states that conceptions [what one believes] reflect experiences (Watkins, 2002, p.2) so through this project it is hoped that we can better understand students’ experiences of learning through the Covid-19 pandemic. There are currently a lack of studies about conceptions of learning with students in secondary schools therefore I also hope to add to a growing field of research. The main questions I seek to answer are: ➢ What are secondary school students’ conceptions of learning? ➢ What do students think constitutes successful learning? ➢ How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected how students think about learning?

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Literature discussing conceptions of learning is vast. Since 1979, when Saljo first identified 5 conceptions, theory has greatly developed. Saljo’s conceptions were five broad themes, ‘(1) The increase of knowledge (2) Memorizing (3) Acquisition of facts (4) Abstraction of meaning (5) An interpretative process (1979). However, this base was later built upon by Martin et al. (1993) who studied conceptions over a much longer time period and simplified and extended Saljo’s original categories by altering the titles and including a sixth ‘changing as a person’. Allan (1996) took research about conceptions and sought to apply it to the impact on learning. He concluded that quality of learning is affected by conceptions because conceptions alter how students undertake learning tasks. Similarly, Purdie et al. (2000) linked conceptions to approaches, and suggested that certain conceptions are more likely to result in either ‘surface’ or ‘deep’ learning, which in turn influences learning outcomes.

The most recent influential research is from Purdie and Hattie. In their original work they developed a measure of conceptions using 45 different items and theorized that there should be nine categories of conceptions of learning (1997). Further to this they applied the measure in their 2002 study where it was concluded that ‘students who are found to have a limited conception of learning should be helped to see that learning is a multifaceted construct that is best understood from multiple perspectives and achieved in a variety of ways’ (p. 28). Purdie and Hattie’s in-depth review has since been simplified, to encourage involvement in the discussion by educators. For instance, Yuksel & Sutton-Brady (2007) gave metaphorical names to the differing conceptions identified by Purdie and Hattie, such as ‘simplifier and ‘philosopher’. I intend to analyse my interviews and images by identifying which conceptions appear most frequently and feel that Purdie and Hattie’s work is the best framework to use, as this offers clear identifiable factors within each conception.

4: Evaluation Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic research for this project was disrupted, even once students had returned to school full-time. Consequently, whilst the interviews and image gathering are complete, at the time of writing there has been limited scope for analysis. What has been found so far however is an apparent variation in the ability of students to articulate their conceptions of learning. Some students were incredibly confident discussing their beliefs and thoughts whereby others struggled. It was interesting that students conceptions also seem to revolve remarkably around outcomes/performance (such as doing well in tests or exams) and few failed to see learning as occurring beyond school. This is pertinent because previous research suggests that conceptions of learning in students are broad- that many see learning as a means of personal development and something that is lifelong. My early analysis suggests that this may need to be revised.

Furthermore in the short-term, such findings may indicate that the lack of access to personal development activities provided by schools, such as enrichment, social interaction and pastoral support, due to the Covid19 pandemic may have had a significant impact on students. Such information would be valuable to teachers and school leaders and it is hoped that further analysis of findings will provide further phenomenological insight, which could help to guide how schools should approach teaching and learning in the coming academic year.

5: Bibliography Allan, J. (1996) ‘ Learning outcomes in higher education: The impact of outcome-led design on students’ conceptions of learning.’ In G. Gibbs (Ed.), lmproving student learning: Using research to improve student learning (pp. 244-253), Bas, G., & Kivilchin, Z.S. (2020) High school students’ conceptions about learning and instruction: A metaphor analysis’, Journal of Pedagogical Research, Volume 4, Issue 3.

Hendrick, C., & Heal, J. (2020) Just because they’re engaged doesn’t mean they’re learning. IMPACT. Online at: https://impact.chartered.college/article/just-because-theyre-engaged-doesnt-mean-learning/ accessed 13/07/2021.

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Marton, F. (1986) ‘Phenomenography-A Research Approach to Investigating Different Understandings of Reality’, Journal of Thought, Vol. 21, No. 3.

Marton, F., Dall’Alba, G., & Beaty, E. (1993) ‘Conceptions of learning’, International Journal of Educational Research, 19.

Purdie, N., Dart, B., & Burnett, C. (2000) ‘Students’ conceptions of learning, the classroom environment, and approaches to learning’, Journal of Educational Research, 93.

Purdie, N.. & Hattie, J. (1997). ‘The development and validation of an instrument to assess students’ conceptions of learning’, Paper presented at the 7th conference of the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction, Athens, Greece.

Purdie, N., & Hattie, J. (2002) ‘Assessing Students Conceptions of Learning’, Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology. Vol 2.

Saljo, R. (1979) ‘Learning about Learning’, Higher Education, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 443-451.

Watkins, C. (2002) ‘Effective Learning’, Research Matters, No. 17.

Yuksel, U., & Sutton-Brady, C. (2007) Conceptions Of Learning: An Exploratory Study In The Context Of Marketing Students, Journal of College Teaching & Learning, Volume 4, Number 4.

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Adam Brown - Creating a supportive classroom environment by focussing on student motivation – applications of the self-determination theory and the organismic integration theory.

Self-determination, or a person’s ability to make choices and manage their own life, is an important concept in psychological health and wellbeing. Self-determination allows people to feel that they have control over their choices and lives. It also has a significant impact on motivation by way of giving a sense of being able to behave and act in a way that will directly impact their outcomes. The purpose of this literature review is to give an overview of the self-determination theory; and a sub-theory of this, and begin to analyse the practical implications for how teacher’s practice can provide optimal learning contexts.

The self-determination theory suggests that our students are motivated to grow and change by three innate and universal psychological needs: competence, connection and autonomy. When these needs are fulfilled students are able to become self-determined. The concept of intrinsic motivation, or engaging in activities for the inherent rewards, such as a need to gain knowledge or independence, plays an important role in selfdetermination theory.

It can be argued that some educational institutions place too much emphasis on control, rewards and competition, which could hamper self-motivation. This culture of control and extrinsic motivation may result in lower levels of resilience in the classroom and even more catastrophic reductions in motivation, when students are faced with academic challenges. Teacher training and practices should develop to become more ‘autonomy supportive’ practices.

Organismic Integration Theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985) explains different forms of extrinsic motivation and how these are regulated. The least autonomous type is ‘external regulation’, which includes motivation to obtain material rewards and avoid punishment. ‘Introjected regulation’ is slightly more internalised and based on behaviours designed to avoid feelings of guilt, anxiety and shame, or to improve the ego, feelings of value, or pride. ‘Identified regulation’ involves assigning a conscious value to a behaviour in such a way that the action is accepted when it is personally important. For example, a student engages in revision for an exam, not for the enjoyment or to avoid a sense of guilt but because the act of revising well is believed to be beneficial for the achievement of their own personal goals, for example academic success, career or personal development and growth. ‘Integrated regulation’ represents the most autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. Integration occurs when regulations have been identified, evaluated and assimilated. For example, a student will continue to engage in independent study, not for the enjoyment but because it aligns with their own belief system and the link this has on external outcomes. It feels like the right thing to do.

Studies investigating high school drop out rates discovered that students with lower levels of intrinsic motivation and identified regulation, were most likely to quit when faced with challenge. Students who were more persistent in academic challenges also demonstrated higher levels of introjected regulation.

Autonomous motivation has been linked to motivation and persistence in school work, for example picking up additional reading and optional exercise / study. Interjected regulation is also linked to persistence in school, as many tasks might be perceived as uninteresting, however, there is a psychological cost to this.

Interjected regulation can inhibit the development of cognitive strategies and results in lower wellbeing.

Autonomous motivation and integrated regulation are linked with more in depth learning and challenge seeking behaviours. Coupled with perceived competence, these are identified as important predictors of challenge preferences.

Classroom environments should be designed to develop perceptions of competence, which highlights the importance of target setting and reviewing with the classroom as well as the mentoring and coaching that takes place between staff and students, including early CEIAG discussions. Students with higher autonomous motivation also report greater enjoyment and satisfaction at school. In fact, students who had developed the 38

characteristics of high intrinsic motivation and identified regulation along with high external and integrated regulations, experienced higher achievement, concentration and satisfaction, with lower absenteeism and anxiety.

Teachers who are autonomy supportive have been found to foster students’ autonomous motivation. It is also suggested that teachers’ autonomy support may buffer the negative effects associated with certain academic programmes, for example those that are very demanding, competitive and rigid, such as medical degree and to a lesser extent GCSE and A Level specifications. The manner in which teachers invest in the students therefore appears to be more relevant than the quantity of investment, for example the amount of involvement.

Structure pertains to everything that helps make the learning environment consistent and predictable. This enables students to self-regulate their academic behaviours more efficiently. However, communicating expectations, guides and rules to students should ne done in an autonomy supportive manner so that they will not be internalise in a controlled fashion. Providing structure can therefore be autonomy supportive as well as controlling.

Conclusion and recommendations Student motivation is determined by three key factors: autonomy, competence and connection. Positive teacher and student relationships will provide for a sense of belonging and relatedness. Mentoring and coaching within the classroom that is focussed on supporting the development of personal targets, that are reviewed in a timely fashion; and the use of unexpected positive feedback during tasks, will help support a sense of competence and autonomy. Students will begin to believe that their actions have significant and positive outcomes. Conversations that are autonomy supportive, which address personal areas to develop and encourage students to accept responsibility in outcomes, empower students to act to fix and improve performance and correct mistakes will develop self-determination. Ultimately student motivation is optimised when there are meaningful external motivations but ones that are identified and integrated regulations alongside intrinsic motivations, when they feel they have some personal control and when their behaviours align with something that is important to their self-concept.

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Lisa Pitman - Coloured resources and overlays: help or hoax?

After recently being given the opportunity of training to be a diagnostician of Irlen Syndrome and with the increased numbers of students using overlays and requiring coloured resources, as SENCO and a classroom teacher I wanted to know just how effective these classroom adjustments are and a little about the science behind them.

What is Irlen Syndrome?

“Irlen Syndrome (also referred to at times as Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, and Visual Stress) is a perceptual processing disorder. It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information. This problem tends to run in families and is not currently identified by other standardized educational or medical tests.”

(THE IRLEN® INSTITUTE, 1998-2021) According to (Irlen, Reading by the colors, 2005) Irlen Syndrome results when an individual has difficulty in processing full-spectrum light efficiently, this perceptual problem is now called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) and will give rise to reading or learning difficulties. As it is a perceptual dysfunction rather vision problems and so is not picked up by optometrists.

than

There are five factors that a person may experience: • Light sensitivity – individuals experience problems with glare in their environment and on the printed page.

• Inadequate background accommodation – Trouble dealing with high contrasts. For those with SSS the white background can overpower the black making the letters less readable.

• Poor print resolution – Letters that dance, vibrate, pulsate, and move on the page.

• Restricted span of recognition – Difficulty reading groups of letters, notes, numerals, or words at the same time.

• Lack of sustained attention – An inability to maintain concentration whilst doing tasks such as reading, writing, or working on a computer.

During research in the early 1980s, Educational Psychologist, Helen Irlen found that students who had struggled to read reported that reading using a red overlay improved the distortions they saw on the page.

Irlen then went on to work with other colours and develop Irlen Spectral Filter lenses that are precisiontinted on an individual basis, filtering out the exact wave lengths of light creating the perceptual difficulties.

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Figure 4 A few of the symptoms of Irlen Syndrome (Carol Leynse Harpold, 2014)

Since it was first proposed there has been a lot of scepticism and mistrust around the diagnosis of Irlen Syndrome. It has been heavily suggested that the use of overlays and filters were a placebo and that the research was limited (Irlen, The Irlen Revolution, 2010). Added to this The Irlen Foundation has the monopoly on the process stating on the website that “Only a certified Irlen diagnostician can identify the optimal color-correction hue and saturation.

Colored lenses provided by optometrists and vision specialists to treat reading problems are NOT the same as the Irlen Method. These professionals do not have the right colors, or diagnostic process for color selection. Inaccurate color selection can result in headaches, eye strain, and fragmented brain processing resulting in more distortions and reading problems.” (THE IRLEN® INSTITUTE, 1998-2021) Diagnosis and spectral filters are expensive, with limited diagnosticians available.

Irlen addresses some of these issues saying that there are now well over 6 years of research and long-term use of these resources has proven beneficial, furthermore research has been carried out independently for the past 20 years that supports the data and benefits of the Irlen Method. Irlen however does not cite this research in her book.

Research findings The research of (Henderson, Tsogka, & Snowling, 2013) asked the question: do overlays have advantageous and reliable benefits for reading in undergraduate students with and without dyslexia? It found that both 41

groups read jumbled text faster with a coloured overlay than without, however the dyslexic group did not show greater gains than the control group despite reporting significantly more symptoms of visual stress.

However, coloured overlays did not improve reading rate or comprehension of connected text. The improvement in reading speed with an overlay was not reliable and was significantly reduced at retesting for dyslexic students. These results question the value of coloured overlays as a tool for identifying visual stress and as a form of remediation for the reading difficulties associated with dyslexia.

In contrast to this it has been shown that when dyslexic children can read using a self-chosen coloured overlay, their reading speed increases by about a 25% (Wilkins, 2002) moreover, even though non-dyslexic children benefit from the use of coloured overlays, the benefit resulting from the use of coloured overlays by dyslexic children is higher than that seen with non-dyslexic children (Singleton & Henderson, 2007) Meanwhile (Torjesen, 2015) states that studies reinforced the argument that coloured overlays and lenses are unlikely to help with reading difficulties in children with dyslexia. Studies examining the effectiveness of these reading aids have tended to be poorly designed or inconclusive.

Conclusion The literature and research available around Irlen Syndrome and the effectiveness of coloured resources and overlays is contradictory to say the least, so should we be printing resources on coloured paper and recommending that students use overlays? The findings are inconclusive. Anecdotally, I have seen the difference these tools can make to a student’s ability to access the learning materials. Are overlays overused and unnecessary for some that use them, possibly, however deciding who really needs them is extremely difficult. Could some improvements in reading speed and accuracy be a placebo effect, again quite likely but does that really matter? If spending an extra couple of minutes finding the right colour paper and working out how to use the photocopier lowers that student’s barrier to learning whether actually or psychologically, is that not time well spent? It is the little accommodations that can add up to aid a student’s progress. If coloured resources could be the difference between a 3 or a 4, then despite the lack of tangible evidence of benefit from scientific studies it is something that we need to continue to provide.

Works Cited

• • • • • • • •

Carol Leynse Harpold, M. A. (2014). OT's with Apps and Technology. Retrieved August 12, 2021, from https://otswithapps.com/2014/10/18/irlen-awareness-week-oct-20-24/ Henderson, L. M., Tsogka, N., & Snowling, M. (2013). Questioning the benefits that coloured overlays can have for reading in students with and without dyslexia. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs(13), 57-65.

Irlen, H. (2005). Reading by the colors (Updated ed.). New York: Penguin Group.

Irlen, H. (2010). The Irlen Revolution. New York: Square One. Singleton, C., & Henderson, L. M. (2007). Computerized screening for visual stress in children with dyslexia. Dyslexia, 13(2), 130-151.

THE IRLEN® INSTITUTE. (1998-2021). irlen. Retrieved August 12, 2021, from https://irlen.com/colored-filters/ THE IRLEN® INSTITUTE. (1998-2021). What is Irlen Syndrome? Retrieved from irlen: https://irlen.com/what-is-irlen-syndrome/ Wilkins, A. (2002). Coloured overlays and their effects on reading speed: a review.

Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists), 22(5), 448–454.

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Jemma Harding - What impact does a positive self-esteem have on a child’s success at school?

Intent: This review discusses the importance of understanding the role that children’s self-esteem and wellbeing plays in realising a child’s success at school and how the creation of a supportive environment can impact on this.

Rationale: Peck said: ‘Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.’

Self-esteem is a springboard for success. To have a solid grounding in self-belief and resilience ensures that one is enabled to handle potential set backs with ease and grace, rather than being demoralised and ingratiating a sense of failure. Success in later life occurs when failure is embraced as a part of life and an opportunity to learn. That mistakes are regarded as an important path in future growth and success.

This is not rocket science – to do well, you need to believe in yourself. However, what is more complex is how to determine the exact strategies that can encourage and build up confidence in children and their learning at the same time as when young people are battling with their main job of growing up.

But, what is this magical holy grail of ‘positive self-esteem’ and how can educationalists support, nurture and develop this in the children we teach? A secondary question is: ‘why does it matter so much?’ In essence, positive self esteem is simply when people feel good about themselves. This is essentially important for growing and developing children because it is logical to surmise that children who are positive about themselves as a starting base, feeling confident and capable, they will then be able to value themselves, their abilities and channel that with the challenge of learning and achievement in school.

Self-esteem fluctuates throughout our lifetime, sometimes day to day or even hour to hour! Creating and fostering a positive self-esteem takes time. Even harder is the challenge of maintaining a self-esteem. This is something that requires daily attention – ‘it’s a muscle that requires regular exercise!’ Self-esteem is how much people value themselves. The environment is a key element of achieving this. From classroom set up to the language used within, there are simple things that make a really big difference to how children are able to have the security to trial and error and subsequently learn, progress and achieve their potential.

When children are secure in themselves, they are more likely to be open with a Growth Mindset to therefore become more resilient (both in themselves socially and academically) to learning from mistakes, seeking out challenges and indeed also have confidence to ask for help when needed.

The research shows that children with positive self-esteem feel good about themselves and are in a positive frame of mind for learning. They are more motivated to keep trying and to ask for help.

We know why it is important but the big enquiry question I was interested in developing further was: ‘How is this achieved in the classroom and indeed the wider school environment?’

Action: I was mindful to be aware of how children talked about themselves over a period of time and observation and I found the results of this really interesting. Some children who appeared ‘secure’ and ‘confident’ outside the classroom were often those who were less academically resilient in the classroom. Confidence to speak out was not the same for these children. It inspired me to investigate how important was the environment both inside the classroom and the wider environment. My research and practice generated the answer of: Very.

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The development of the Change Team and the key focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing for the whole academy has helped so far in ensuring that all children are developing the skills and strategies to become more confident and resilient learners. The action of writing key educative units for the Personal Development curriculum on ‘Every mind matters’ to actively teach the importance of positive well-being but to also teach students the strategies to achieve this has to date proven effective. In developing the personal development curriculum and teaching a group myself, I have been able to implement a range of key strategies wholescale at the academy that enable young people to further develop themselves both as learners but importantly, as individuals.

Within my own teaching group, I took the results of my observations of some of the children who outside the classroom appeared the most confident yet inside the classroom were the opposite and I employed several strategies that I researched about to see the impact. The results were pleasing. I was able to generate three main conclusions: -

Never assume! Sometimes those who appear the most confident really are not Model the small things Remember they are all children

Some of the strategies to boost confidence in the classroom that I actioned based on my reading were: Strategies: 1) Getting them involved in their learning – to actively voice things. Showing you value every opinion – showing that you want every opinion and question and actively show you consider them 2) Praise and actively acknowledge accomplishments 3) Always use respectful language and communication – no shouting, greet with use of a name and eye contact – treating everyone as an individual 4) Create realistic expectations – knowing each student’s profile but at the same time showing that your expectations are high and the sky is the limit – actually verbalising this so it is clear and not assumed!

5) Embracing a growth mindset and actively using the language of growth in the classroom – ‘Adding the word ‘yet’ to things the children say’. Doing a voice out and student retort: Teacher: ‘Can we do it?’ Students: ‘Yes we can!’ This can be used as a teacher monologue and for when we are teachers are trying to do something!

6) Giving every child a voice – no such thing as a silly question or answer (actively verbalising that to students) 7) Creating a sense of ownership – ‘What do you think? What could this look like?’

8) Don’t compare one student to another but model the behaviour from yourself: ‘Look at me I am standing still and listening to you all.’ Or, ‘I hadn’t thought of that before – thank you!’

9) Practice self-acceptance – voice personal strengths– when adults do this in front of the students it creates a culture that it is ok to celebrate success. Practise oracy skills in a safe and warm environment – use the language of inclusion – ‘we are all learning’, ‘have a go – what’s the worse that can happen?!’, ‘Can your pen make friends with the paper now? (Rather than – you need to wrote now!’

10) Focus on the small achievements – creating a culture of celebration and success – Choosing a child that is unexpected and complimenting them.

11) Give a strategic role to certain students to create a sense of self-worth: ‘You are now responsible to stop me after 3 minutes talking but leaping up with the mini whiteboard in the air that has a picture of a face with a cross on the mouth.’ (Then deliberately letting them have the opportunity to do this!)

A selection of the verbal phrases I actioned are also below: • •

“You are capable." ...

“You've got this." ...

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•

“I believe in you." ...

• “You can do hard things." ...

• “Let's try it together." ...

• “How'd you do that?"…

Throughout the Personal Development planning and teaching, the oracy focus has really helped in creating supportive environments to foster confidence in the children. In being able to actively voice thoughts and discuss, it was demonstrable how more confident the young people were in being able to them commit their thoughts to paper. I really feel connected to the old saying of: ‘great writing flows on a sea of talk.’

In rushed times, it can be tempting to encourage a piece of writing post a brief discussion, but based on both the literature and the experience, children feel more supported in developing their classroom confidence when proper time is really taken to ensure topics have been discussed and critically verbalised through a variety of oracy strategies.

Some of the research also talks of the importance of the physical environment in addition to verbal strategies for best supporting learning. For example, classroom layouts. The grouping of tables in clusters rather than rows for active discussion and creating the sheer physicality of support via the arrangement of the desks in the environment. I have often tried this in my own practice and prefer the positive outcomes it can bring for some teaching and learning. By also integrating practical elements to learning, children have the opportunity to develop wider skills alongside those rooted to the curriculum. The use of the Inspiration zones or outside spaces for creative teaching and learning is one area that I like to explore in my own practice and we are so fortunate to have here.

Evaluation and Reflections: The research is clear. Happy, confident children make for happy and confident adults – who are able to cope effectively with life’s knocks and twists and turns. What better grounding for the achievement of personal goals and success?

In terms of creating a supportive environment in the context of CEC, there are three many areas within the school where this can be achieved and some of the strategies that I have detailed above are common across all of the areas.

• Pastorally and interventions • The classroom • Approachability of all staff – we all play a role.

From the adult who greets them at reception to the adult who maintains the site. From the adult who teaches them a subject to the adult who offers them tissues and time to reflect. From the adult who intervenes for their greater good when things go wrong to the adult who helps guide to pick up the pieces. Whatever our role, we are all integral to the overall creation of a supportive culture here at CEC. The importance of a supportive environment does not stop beyond the classroom. Creating a supportive environment also relates to the culture within a child’s wider environment -in our context, the wider school environment is something that we can really influence. I find it an amazing privilege to be able to have an influence on the experiences and well-being of children that attend CEC. Each member of staff holds the power to influence the thoughts, feelings and development of every young person on our roll. The development of the culture of growth more broadly is really evident throughout the academy. The language of ‘yet’ and evidence of many caring and respectful relationships between adults and children is tantamount to the developing culture of an overall wider supportive environment.

Care. When asking the children, they say the biggest thing that makes a difference is an adult that shows them that they care. That doesn’t necessarily mean that adults do just what the children want. Caring takes many forms. For example: taking time to listen, putting in boundaries to help guide and educate when mistakes happen or simply saying hello in the corridor using the individual child’s name.

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What is clear from the research and practice is that these things matter. Creating and fostering a positive self-esteem in children is integral to success and achievement. The power of addressing a child by their name, a smile and some small strategies implemented consistently by all staff everyday make such a difference. To coin a phrase – we must sweat the small stuff as from little acorns big oaks do grow!

Reading list: -

Student Self-Esteem: A Vital Element of School Success. Volume 1.

Walz, Garry R.; Bleuer, Jeanne C. Banish Your Self-Esteem Thief: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Building Positive SelfEsteem for Young People: 9 (Gremlin and Thief CBT Workbooks) Bos, A.E.R., Muris, P., Mulkens, S. et al. Changing self-esteem in children and adolescents: a roadmap for future interventions. NEJP 62, 26–33 (2006).

Hosogi, M., Okada, A., Fujii, C. et al. Importance and usefulness of evaluating self-esteem in children. BioPsychoSocial Med 6, 9 (2012). www.youngminds.org.uk Endo T, Inoue S, Araragi C: Psychology of Self-Esteem. 1992, Kyoto: Nakanishiya shuppan Ziller RC: The Social Self. 1973, New York: Pergamon M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth

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Maximising the opportunity to learn Jessica Lewis – How can we begin to tackle disadvantage?

Introduction PISA 2015 Survey results (Vol 1): Excellence and equity in education comments that successfully reducing inschool variation has been described as; “The greatest educational challenge of our time”.

I have been aware of within-school variation for years but looking through the literature for tackling disadvantage I was drawn to ISV articles. I am shocked and somewhat horrified by the statistical differences found across the UK. PISA 2015 highlighted that ISV on an International scale with UK schools showing 24% more ISV. As a school we make the point of stating that all students should expect a high level of education and opportunity regardless of class/teacher/cohort but it did leave me to question… do we do enough to implement strategies to create impact?

I do believe that the life chances of our students will be effected by within-school variation but we possibly have a tendency to accept to some degree that there will be a variant depending on who is teaching and timetabling, rooming etc.

Another aspect raised this year has seen the phased introduction of the Cowes Way and resource consistency, there are arguments for using the same resources with differentiation and arguments that teaching styles can be hampered. I was interested in how this effects student outcomes hence my review focuses around tacking disadvantage with particular interest in ISV. Text 1 - Summary and commentary NCSL. (2009) ‘Reducing in-school variation (making effective practice standard)’. www.tda.gov.uk I was interested in the five key areas highlighted where action can be taken to reduce ISV with a view on how these could be implemented within my own practice: 1. The collection and use of data 2. The role and effectiveness of middle leaderships 3. The quality of teaching and learning 4. Listening and responding to student voice 5. Standardising procedures The article takes the reader through each of the key areas and a gives detailed support on how these areas can be tackled. It is very much like a manual with tasks and strategies for each key area. The author also gives a questioning section for each area to allow the reader to think and strategically plan how the implementation could work but it lacks examples of actual practice with real teachers in real schools. This took me to my second text which was written by a New Zealand Principal (albeit a Primary School) who used the NCSL article to practically apply the five key areas as well as interviewing other teachers across the UK to see how they have been implemented the NCSL strategies.

Text 2 - Summary and commentary Vanderpyl R. (2016), Sabbatical Topic: Reducing In-School variation (In-school variation is a slow burn but ends with a big bonfire). New Zealand.

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Based in New Zealand, I found this article when looking at how schools outside of the UK are remedying inschool variation. Vanderpyl gave clear examples of how the five strategies were using within his own practice with various results. I found this literature to be written with real life experience of genuinely trying to combat ISV. There are examples of success and also less successful observations, it felt like a genuinely written article from someone who truly understood the issues with ISV and implementation in schools based on experience.

Part of this article was dedicated to interviews with other teachers who have also implemented the five key areas again highlighting issues and remedies.

The two articles together give a picture of ISV implementation and a basis to implement this using the strategies found in the NCSL along with the pitfalls highlighted by Vanderpyl.

Addressing in-school variation for the future It has been impossible to conclude this review without acknowledging the powerful research and finding a way to use this in future planning and resourcing. In particular I plan to have a relentless focus on the quality of teaching and learning with a systematic monitoring of lessons using well-understood criteria with opportunities for staff to share and negotiate ideas based on the key five areas. I am particularly keen to experiment with the Student Voice and to be brave enough to allow students to take the opportunity of student voice to respond to teacher comparison.

Finally standardising operating procedures such as data monitoring and core aspects of lesson planning to ensure consistency of good practice. All staff in the faculty have been instructed to utilise the Cowes Way lesson template to ensure lesson planning consistency and this literature review has allowed me to justify pushing staff to be uniform in their planning and delivery.

PISA 2015 results (Vol 1): Excellence and equity in education states: “The landscape of educational attainment in the United Kingdom would be transformed if every school brought the average of its lowest-performing pupil groups and lowest-performing teaching areas up to the level of the best in its own school”.

Bibliography NCSL (2006) ‘Narrowing the Gap (reducing within school variation in pupil outcomes)’. www.tda.gov.uk NCSL. (2009) ‘Reducing in-school variation (making effective practice standard)’. www.tda.gov.uk Ofsted 2008 ‘Using Data, Improving Schools’ (reference: 070260) PISA. Survey 2015 p4 Reynolds, D – NCSL (2007) ‘Schools Learning from Their Best (the within school variation project)’.

Nottingham.

Sobel D. (2018) ‘Narrowing the Attainment Gap: A handbook for schools’. Bloomsbury, England.

Vanderpyl R. (2016), Sabbatical Topic: Reducing In-School variation (In-school variation is a slow burn but ends with a big bonfire). New Zealand.

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Cecelia Bloom - High Expectations and Challenge for all When I heard the phrase ‘High expectations and challenge for all’, for the first time, my mind focused on differentiating my lesson so that all students could access the topic and complete the required tasks.

However, after reading various articles I now have realised that this is a far more complicated issue.

Paul A. Kirschner and Mirjam Neelan have stated that, ’The current problem in education is a lack of learner motivation’.

Lessons are ‘boring’, ‘not appealing’, ‘unattractive’, so learners do not achieve to their full potential.

So there must be ways to get better results from students and to encourage better input from students.

Technique 1 Not ok not to try, set high expectations for everyone.

By encouraging all children to answer questions in the class, the whole class will eventually realise that the teacher will not leave you alone until a question has been answered. This can be achieved by getting a student to answer a question in the end or at least repeating the answer that another student has answered.

An example; ask a student what 3 x 8 is, that student does not know, so ask someone else once the answer has been given go back to the original student and ask them again.

Or get the student that does not know how to answer a question listen to another student explain how to answer the question and that ask the first student to follow those instructions to answer the question.

Students in the classroom should realise that if they say they cannot answer the question or if they answer the question incorrectly, then they will be encouraged to give the correct answer once help has been given.

A response where the student has tried to just say, ‘I don’t know, should end with the student answering the question and others following it.’

Technique 2 Set a high level of correctness When students answer a question, don’t correct their answers, instead wait for the correct answer by assisting with obtaining the best answer.

For example, asking about volume in a maths lesson, a student gives the answer that volume is length x width x height. This is not the definition of volume, but how to calculate the volume. The teacher can explain this and then ask the original student what volume actually is, they can wait for an answer from that student or go to another student until the answer is obtained to a sufficient standard for that age group.

Technique 3 Stretch it When students have given the correct answer, instead of saying yes well done and moving on, the teacher can ask another question of the same level or ask an even tougher question.

This technique is of course important for differentiation.

There are two good benefits from this method, one being removing the possibility that the answer was obtained by luck and not by thorough understanding of the method. The second being that the student can be moved forward, applying their knowledge to more difficult questions, keeping them engaged and encouraged to learn more knowledge.

Questions that can be asked in order to stretch the child’s knowledge are: 49

➢ How or why . Explaining how they got the answer, ➢ Asking if there is another way of answering the question.

Using these techniques can assist with our high expectations of all students and trying to push students to answer questions when their initial thoughts were that they could not answer them.

Instead of ignoring them, assist them in finding the answer by questioning them in a certain way. This will help with their confidence and hopefully encourage them to answer those types of questions in the future.

Technique 4 Format matters It’s not just what students say that matters but how they communicate it.

Students persistently make errors in class as they have misunderstood a concept or they have remembered it incorrectly, find simple and minimally disruptive ways to identify and correct errors. Here are two ways where the error can be identified and then corrected; Identify the error by repeating it back, asking if they think it’s correct, and they may realise their mistake or another student may be able to help with their mistake. The other way is to begin the correction and allow the student to complete it.

Technique 5 Without apology Sometimes the way we talk about a topic, gives the student ideas about that topic as well. Even though we may think it’s a difficult topic or an easy topic, it may not mean that the students do as well. That also goes with the topic being boring or interesting as well.

Instead of describing the topic as difficult, try and get the students to see that it may be challenging at first, but after repeating the steps, it is not so difficult any more.

Instead of allowing the students to think something is boring, try to think of a way to engage the students into the topic or the process.

Admit that the topic may be difficult but with positive comments like, ‘I know that if you practise the method you will be able to do this, as you have completed questions like this before very well.’

These five techniques are very interesting when you start trying them. The expectations of the students change if you do not move from student to student when asking questions. Or if you move back to a student to get them to repeat an answer or ask them to now explain the method. It does keep the students engaged and helps with their listening skills. Asking the students to repeat what they have said, but with the correct term being used, allows all the students to acknowledge that correct word and allows the teacher to remember to use it. Also, remembering to use encouraging words and positive comments brings a more positive attitude to the topic that we are covering and helps motivate both teacher and students.

Of course, these techniques do not motivate all students and some of these techniques may be daunting for some students in some subjects, but the ethos in the classroom can be changed with these methods.

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Vanessa Wester - Considering how to maximise the opportunity to learn within a classroom or virtual setting Introduction to Literature Review: Based on the Great Teaching Toolkit When considering how to maximise the opportunity for students to learn in a classroom, as identified in the Great Teaching Toolkit1, many factors such as the ability or size of the class have to be considered. During a pandemic, however, it is relevant to take into account external factors that might affect the student or teacher, such as personal circumstances or basic necessities such as a good WIFI connection!

It has been identified by the Great Teaching Toolkit2, that ‘the strong, overarching goal here is to help teachers take ownership of their professional learning and to help them enhance their practice for the benefit of students.’ Indeed, taking time to identify where your strengths and weaknesses lie as a professional, and how to embellish your enjoyment and role as an educator seem to take a back seat if your primary focus is planning and marking. ‘Your resources are precious; you have no time to waste.’3 In essence though, many strategies used to engage students remain consistent whether they be delivered in person or online. It is my aim to highlight the consistencies or challenges that teachers face in either case and draw upon key research to investigate potential solutions.

Main Overview: The Great Teaching Toolkit4 is considered to be ‘a breath of fresh air’ by Dr Tristan Stobie in his foreword. He considers its value to be a ‘clear focus on areas of practice that have the potential to improve student learning and outcomes’.

Furthermore, he critically acknowledges that ‘At the time of writing, the educational world is in turmoil caused by the Covid-19 crisis.’ The Pandemic has shifted learning in all environments and will undoubtedly have farreaching consequences. However, there is no doubt that ‘Teachers have had to learn quickly to adapt, teach online and support learners in new ways. A number of commentators have speculated on the implications for the future of schools and the nature of the teaching profession.’

Indeed, both students and teachers alike have to get used to the fact that teaching is not a face-to-face experience anymore. The ability to reassure students by allowing small groups to form within a classroom, sit next to a student that needs support, or encourage peer-to-peer explanations, have temporarily become impossible to do due to stringent seating plans and contingency measures put in place for track and trace.

The use of a mini white board from a distance is as close as you might dare to get.

During lockdown at the start of 2021, alarm was raised by the Chartered College of Teaching’ by ‘members polled following the first week of term. Despite the national lockdown and escalating infection levels seen across the country, under 1% reported a decrease in pupils attending schools. Dame Alison Peacock highlights “unsustainable and unsafe” situation… Our teachers are showing great dedication, professionalism and

1

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021

2

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.9

3

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.10

4

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.4

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leadership. Our communities need to work with us to support young people and keep everyone safe. We need to show trust in our teachers, they know what they are doing.’ 5 Trust is indeed something we should all consider since students need to feel secure when online and reassured that what they are learning is useful and that any work they do is valued. Feedback has potentially never been more important than when given via an online setting.

The Chartered College of Teaching notes that ‘Key insights include6:  Over half of members reported increased workload, the majority feel their wellbeing being impacted negatively  Almost 90% of teachers feel supported by their colleagues  Over 50% of teachers reported increased workload. Over 60% of teachers are struggling with work/life balance and report that during this crisis they are finding it more difficult to balance the demands from work and home life  Over 63% feel that their wellbeing has been negatively affected by the current situation  Access to the internet is an issue. Almost 88% of teachers report that some of their students do not have access to the internet or the devices needed to enable online learning. In 20% of cases, it is believed that only half of the students have adequate internet/device access  Most teachers do not feel confident in supporting children who are grieving or have experienced trauma  80% of teachers agree that their most vulnerable students have been particularly affected.  Teachers are not confident that hygiene and social distancing rules can be implemented well in educational settings.

Taking all of this into account, the key focus of this literary review is the third model from the Teaching Toolkit, identified as ‘Maximising opportunity to learn.’7 There are three key features of this focus and so I will consider these consecutively.

1. Managing time and resources efficiently in the classroom to maximise productivity and minimise wasted time (e.g., starts, transitions); giving clear instructions so students understand what they should be doing; using (and explicitly teaching) routines to make transitions smooth. 8 The first element of this dimension relates to the efficient use of time and resources. Great teachers plan activities and resources so that everything works smoothly. Settling down time at the start of a lesson or after a transition is minimised – students get started on meaningful work straight away and work right up to the end of the lesson. Part of this is about giving students clear and simple instructions so they know exactly what they should be doing.

Routines can also be an element of great teaching – explicitly teaching students a pattern of behaviour that will be used regularly. 9 In essence, as a teacher it would be wise to anticipate problems with settling down at the start of any lesson, and adopt a consistent approach that student expect and identify with. If students know that at the start of 5

80% OF TEACHERS SEE PUPIL NUMBERS ‘GREATLY INCREASED’ COMPARED TO FIRST LOCKDOWN by Dame Alison Peacock https://chartered.college/2021/02/02/80-of-teachers-see-pupil-numbers-greatly-increased-compared-to-first-lockdown/ :First accessed 1st March 2021 6

Education in times of crisis: Teachers’ views on distance learning and school reopening plans during COVID-19 https://chartered.college/teachersviews-on-distance-learning-and-school-reopening-plans-during-covid-19/ :First accessed 1st March 2021 7

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.6

8

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.27

9

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p. 29

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any lesson, they will have a few questions to answer or a problem to consider whilst other students arrive or to allow for the register to be taken, they will take this as the normal. A mixture of questions, with the possibility for challenge or stretch for more able students, will allow students to engage. In addition, asking for feedback on performance of the task after completion, by either marking the questions, asking for feedback, or by asking specific students, will potentially help them feel that the work was worthwhile and give them a sense of achievement. All of this is possible and consistent with either a face-to-face or online experience.

2. Ensuring that rules, expectations and consequences for behaviour are explicit, clear and consistently applied. 10 The second component is about the consistent and fair application of rules. Rules and expectations should be clearly understood and accepted by all students. Violations should be rare, but when they do happen are treated fairly and appropriately, and as consistently as possible, so that students know that predictable consequences will follow. 11 In the classroom setting, when a student does not follow the rules sanctions may follow. This could take the form of a reminder, warning, or potential expulsion from the classroom for something persistent or more severe. So long as you consistently follow these rules, the students should with time accept the state of play and not challenge instructions.

Online, this is tricky. Depending on the policy adopted by the school, potentially students might not have the ability to talk aloud (if unable to unmute) or be restricted to listening if unable to operate the chat function.

In addition, WIFI issues could see either the students or teacher lose connection. This could result in emails, which a teacher may not see until the end of the lesson. This link once broken, could lead to frustration and disinterest. So, having good communication is definitely an issue. Perhaps, making it clear that all lesson instructions can be read somewhere else if the lesson is not attainable online would increase engagement by students unable to attend through no fault of their own.

3. Preventing, anticipating & responding to potentially disruptive incidents; reinforcing positive student behaviours; signalling awareness of what is happening in the classroom and responding appropriately.’ 12 The third element concerns preventing and responding to disruption. One of the features of great teaching is that disruption is not seen, but this is often because the teacher has successfully anticipated and prevented it happening. Kern and Clemens (2007) review research on ‘antecedent strategies’ – whole-class and individually-targeted strategies that teachers can use to “establish a classroom environment that is positive, orderly, predictable and motivating” as a way of preventing disruption and managing student behaviour.

The term ‘withitness’ was coined by Kounin (1977) to describe a teacher’s awareness of what is happening in the classroom, even when their attention appears to be elsewhere. Great teachers do not actually have eyes in the back of their head, but their students may think they do. A key part of this skill is that the teacher signals their awareness, perhaps with just a look or movement, so students feel they are under surveillance.

10

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.27

11

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p. 29

12

Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p.27

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Great teachers also use praise and positive reinforcement to support desired behaviour (Calderella et al., 2020). When disruption or disorder does occur, teachers respond firmly and appropriately to minimise the effect on learning.

Great teachers draw on targeted approaches that are tailored to the individual needs of students with a history of challenging behaviour. 13 As mentioned above, online, setting clear rules to prevent disruption could be an issue. If students start an inappropriate chat you would have to find a way to stop it continuing and be vigilant for anything you consider inappropriate. Establishing clear ground rules at the beginning, and letting students know that any infringement of your online rules will be passed on to Year Team or Head of Department might reduce the chance of disruption. Prevention can most certainly be more effective than the cure.

In addition, the use of positive feedback and praise is always something that can be used effectively when teaching. By setting them a challenge for a few minutes after you have introduced some work, and then using a poll or system by which to give feedback – for example, by raising your hand in reality or by using the virtual button – you could engage students and ultimately promote their self-esteem. It is also useful for the teacher to know that the students have been paying attention and do understand the work set.

Unfortunately, it could be the case that usually disengaged students might not be attending virtual lessons and the reality is that it will lead to less disruption for the class at the expense of their education. The real challenge after lockdown ends is to reintegrate pupils who have barely done any work or had support over a series of months. Teachers leading extra after school sessions or having support from government to provide extra funded sessions might be the way forward as the great catch-up begins.

FOOTNOTES and BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ 2. Chartered College of Teaching: https://chartered.college/ 3. Distance Learning: How effective is it, according to a meta-analysis of research?  Research Digests Author: Gemma Goldenberg  May 19, 2020 4. 80% OF TEACHERS SEE PUPIL NUMBERS ‘GREATLY INCREASED’ COMPARED TO FIRST LOCKDOWN  Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching  https://chartered.college/2021/02/02/80-of-teachers-see-pupil-numbers-greatly-increasedcompared-to-first-lockdown/  February 2, 2021 5. Education in times of crisis: Effective approaches to distance learning 6. https://chartered.college/effective-approaches-to-distance-learning/

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Great Teaching Toolkit: https://www.greatteaching.com/ First accessed 1st March 2021, p. 29

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Antonio Giannotta - What impact does giving “un-marked” papers to students to selfassess during the exam period have on student engagement in assessment feedback for year 10 GCSE students?

Intent - The issue The issue I am addressing with this action research is engagement in assessment feedback in year 10 GCSE students. Over the Corona Virus Lockdown period it was clear that quality of engagement in the remote learning was varied and so on return to school some sort of assessment was required to identify areas of weakness and areas in need of development. These assessments were also a learning opportunity for the students to re-familiarise themselves with exam technique as well as the course content. In class assessments, it became apparent that students were more interested in their scores and comparing performance than with identifying how they can improve.

Targeted students The group I am focused upon is the year 10 GCSE Computer Science class. I selected this group as a focus because after the interruption to their learning it was apparent that there would be much differentiation and intervention required to get them to a confident start in year 11. Some students had managed to keep upto-date and others had forgotten the previous learning and missed the lockdown learning too.

Research Having engaged with recent documents on cognitive load and effective feedback strategies I wanted to be able to give personalised feedback to each student but I also wanted to avoid over-loading them with too much information. Ferguson’s research (2011) shows that “students felt that written feedback that was timely and personalised regarding their specific piece of work was the best feedback option. This feedback needed to be positive, clear and constructive with a focus on acknowledging their successes and guiding them towards future improvement.”

Further to this, inspired by the book Embedded Formative Assessment, I wanted to develop the practice of returning “un-marked” papers. Dylan Wiliam talks about “engineering effective classroom discussions, tasks and activities that elicit evidence of learning” and “providing feedback that moves learners forward”. The class sat two papers in April and then were to sit two mock papers (in the style of their actual year 11 final examinations) in June.

The intention was that the personalised feedback from the April examinations would inform and mould a personalised revision trajectory that the students could engage with. I then went on to develop the practice after the Mocks to address some of the concerns the students had.

Action Papers returned un-marked for students to self-mark – April papers were marked directly into a spreadsheet in the first instance and papers were returned to students with minimal marking. Where the markscheme was open to interpretation or I wanted to give some more specific advice, comments were written on the papers, but for the most part the papers were unmarked. This had the effect that students were forced to engage with the marking scheme and think critically about what they had written. Despite the educational benefits, this was not very popular and after asking for feedback on this intervention, for the mock examinations the strategy was modified. Papers were 56

photocopied before marking and so blank copies were returned to the students to mark, but teacher-marked copies were available after the self-marking lesson so that both sets of marks could be compared. This felt more natural to the students, who liked to see the hand-written feedback and more importantly, the ticks.

Individualised feedback sheets – due to entering the marks directly into the spreadsheet, I was able to use mail merge to create personalised, question-by-question feedback sheets for each student. I included positive feedback, celebrating what went well, and also indicating what detail they would need to get the marks available in that question. Although I had already calculated topic totals and percentages, I purposefully left these areas blank for the students to calculate them themselves and draw their own conclusions as to which was their strongest and weakest areas. Had these figures been on the feedback sheet, there would have been a danger of students feeling overwhelmed by all the numbers.

After the mock exams, as I had hand-marked the papers I did not have the typed comments. Instead, a line was left for the student to make their own notes. This succeeded in the desired effect of increased engagement as they had to listen to the class discussion about the question and work out what the take-away learning point was for themselves.

However, this removed the positive personal comments, so I added these at the end of the summary instead.

Open revision tasks – Wiliam talks about “activating students as owners of their own learning” for example, by helping students know where they are going and where they are on the curriculum journey. To do this student workbooks were shared on Notebook via Teams and students were able to access all topic areas of the syllabus that we had covered. This meant that as well as the general revision questions available on websites like Quizlet and Blooket, students could take more ownership and focus their revision on the topics that they had already identified as their weakness. By submitting the assessment /in Teams, I got a notification that there was work to mark and was able to do that directly into the Notebook file, and use the detailed rubric to also give summative feedback on the workbook. These were relatively easy to generate from the PowerPoint resources that I had already available. It was easy to see the engagement of students as Teams assignments shows work submitted and work not submitted. It can also show those who have not even seen the task. This allowed me to chase up those who found engaging with the workbooks more difficult. In some case, they explained that they were spending more time on Seneca Learning or GCSEPod. I was able to verify this in those platforms too.

All materials available – To further support this “activation”, all module summaries, workbooks (which have the key learning questions for each module), and programming support materials are available on Teams in the Class Materials section. Although these were also sent to students via email, they found it empowering to know that they are all in one place. Wiliam (2017) also identifies the importance of setting out milestones in the progress journey so that students can plan their own next steps and become increasingly independent.

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To this end, topic deadlines were set on Show My Homework and Teams simultaneously in line with the revision timetable published so that students would be able to comfortably cover all topics.

Evaluation The main focus of this intervention was the engagement with feedback after formal assessments, rather than actual performance in the exam. The students were more engaged when they knew that their papers had been marked and that they would see the marks. The process of making photocopies of papers before marking was time-consuming (and arguably wasteful?) but important to allow the students to both mark their papers and see the teacher’s marks and feedback, which increased engagement.

Changes in GCSE Level 10 8 6 4 2 0 -3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

Over half of the students were able to improve their GCSE Level in the period from April to June. This is remarkable considering how much harder the Mock paper was.

Next steps 1. I shall continue to mark photocopies of assessments for exam classes to aid understanding of the requirements of the marking scheme.

2. The spreadsheet and mail merge document created was tailored to the papers specifically, so to “reuse” these would require tweaks for future assessments; the feedback worked because the questions were linked to the Assessment Objectives and the topics covered in that paper.

3. Going into year 11 the materials required for revision are all set up and students can add to the Notebook any other sites or ideas they have that help.

References Wiliam, D (2017) Embedded Formative Assessment: (Strategies for Classroom Assessment That Drives Student Engagement and Learning) Perfect Paperback https://impact.chartered.college/browse-issue/?issue=issue-12-assessment-and-feedback https://impact.chartered.college/browse-issue/?issue=special-issue-january-2019-education-technology Ferguson, P (2011) Assessment & Evaluation in Higher EducationVol. 36, No. 1, January 2011, 51–62 http://www.informaworld.com Student perceptions of quality feedback in teacher education

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Jo Gibson - How can we maximise student engagement in internal assessments when students are learning entirely independently?

Summary of main findings: The main findings of my study are: 1) 1:1 feedback is essential for student engagement with internal assessment.

2) Consolidating learning activities are needed at a greater level and frequency.

Intent - The issue The issue I am addressing with this action research is around year 12 BTEC students. They arrived in September with a unique set of circumstances where they did not sit GCSE exams and had had an extended period of time away from any kind of study or learning. A large portion of the group had not spent their periods of lockdown in any meaningful way from their perspective. The majority of the students did not attend our school before sixth form so were also not familiar with the arrangements in our home learning policy.

With their BTEC course there is a requirement of internal assessment that continued during the second and third lockdown. This presented a unique challenge as this internal assessment would likely be used as evidence for a Teacher Assessed Grade (TAG) for their scheduled external assessment sittings in the summer term.

The purpose of my action was to increase engagement to lead to an increase in progress made in the internal assessments.

Targeted students The group I am focused upon is year 12 Applied Law. I selected this group as a focus because they had this unique set of circumstances that presented real barriers to their ability to work independently and to work at home. Without addressing this it would limit their progress. They had no prior learning within this subject.

Research, action and rationale I asked teachers in other schools about ideas for increasing engagement with the students and then decided to implement the following: 1:1 weekly tutorials – I did this regularly for two students at their parents request. During these sessions I shared my screen with their internal assessment and wrote comments in red going through for what we discussed. As we use the one drive system it meant that students would see my comments on their work when they next opening it. These were very successful as they mirrored the level of support I could provide in the classroom and actually gave a greater level of support than I had managed to achieve in a ‘socially distanced’ classroom. Some students would come prepared with questions to these sessions and were keen to engage with them to show what progress and achievements they had made.

‘Games’ during the lessons – To prevent students attending the lesson but not engaging I used a range of activities to ensure they participated during the lesson. When I interviewed students they wanted more interactive lessons and not a lecture. The two most successful ‘games’ were making a wordsearch containing key terms, where I would read out a definition and students had to give the correct term but also tell me where it was on the grid. The second was for me to have a table of definitions on the screen and then write the terms in a different order in the chat. We would then go through each definition and students had to respond with an emoji on the correct term. Initially these were a massive ‘hit’ with the students but once a strategy had been used once the students engagement dropped if an activity was repeated. I concluded in 59

my reflection of this that this was something to use occasionally as it did not have the engagement and impact of other methods I tried.

Student feedback – I did regular student feedback sessions where I gathered feedback and ideas of future sessions. This was particularly important in terms of engagement as I needed to know what the students needed and could access in order to make progress. Some feedback I sought was that students needed more time, rather than more instruction or resource so that was something I could adapt in my assessment plans.

This is essential for engagement. Students engaged more in approaches they suggested as they already had a commitment to them. It is also important to note that student feedback had to be ongoing to be effective as needs changed as time went on.

Sharing exemplars / examples – During some sessions I would share exerts from samples of marked learner work with commentary from the exam board. This gave students a visual on what the expectations and requirements are with their internally assessed work. It also showed the difference between ‘stating the law’ which gained no credit in their internal assessment and ‘applying the law’ which is what the assessment criteria targeted. This idea was useful from a content and progress point of view but the engagement level was quite low as it required me to lecture the students and this style of teaching and learning is not something I would do in a face-to-face classroom setting. Students did not engage well in these session but said they found them informative.

Stepping progress milestones – The students found it too daunting to look at a whole assignment and complete it over a six week period without the structure and support of face-to-face lessons. I would therefore focus on the content and requirements of one part of a task each week with the expectation they would spend the remaining curriculum time of the week on that part of their coursework. Students had all chosen a similar piece of legislation about terrorism so different media sources could be shared and discussed in this forum to explain the influence on parliament. There was a limit to the success of this as students would begin a section of internal assessment work and then once they became unsure of anything they would not continue with the work or use any of the mechanisms to ask for help such as emailing me.

Coursework drop in sessions – I then had a lesson each week where student would log onto Teams and leave it on in the background whilst completing their internal assessment. They could then ask questions and get and immediate response from me which would support them in a similar way to a classroom environment.

These were not well attended and students indicated that they preferred to work without the distraction of Teams running and others asking questions. Students regularly worked with headphones in so these sessions did not give any returns for their engagement so were discontinued.

Resource libraries on Teams – I uploaded all the assessment materials for the course onto Teams as well as relevant and interesting media articles and all lesson resources so student could independently access subject and course specific resources. I referred to these during sessions and 1:1’s with students and they did access these when home learning. This supported them in their subject knowledge of the Applied Law course. It was also a useful reference to get case examples and legal precedents that had been referred to in teaching.

One drive ‘paperless’ working – When at school we set up one drive folders where student work would be stored. Students shared this folder with me and gave me editing rights which allowed me to write comments in red that students could view when they next opened their work. The engagement in this was high as students could action and respond to the feedback and therefore make good progress. This also supported the transition between school and home learning.

Next steps 1) Now we have returned to face to face teaching I am going to continue to use the one drive system for coursework and engagement with feedback.

2) I am going to continue with the resource libraries on Teams and have set this up for other groups.

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3) 1:1 weekly tutorials away from lesson times were successful in terms of engagement and progress so I will offer these each half term for level 3 students or according to student demand.

References My research for this study was all primary research and my own reflections on my teaching practice.

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Eleanor Rutherford - Analyse the use of praise, rewards and sanctions in promoting behaviour for learning Praise, rewards and sanctions are important in a learning environment. When used effectively together it creates a student who will demonstrate positive learning behaviours as well as enhancing their character. It is human nature to seek praise and rewards, and in a learning environment this should be reinforced as it helps pupils to develop. As adults we like to be told we have done something right or well and this is the same for pupils. (Ellis and Tod, 2015) If a teacher who has a good relationship with a pupil and who they respect gives them positive feedback, then they will display positive learning behaviours for this teacher as they want their respect. (Ellis and Tod, 2015) Praise and rewards should also reflect the needs of the students and be tailored to them, for example, some students require more personal praise, whereas others will thrive on general praise given.

Sanctions are also key in a successful learning environment. Without sanctioning unacceptable behaviour, students fail learn that their actions will not be tolerated and therefore will continue with their negative behaviour, resulting in a negative learning environment. This can cause disruptions and can have an effect on others potential for learning. There have to be consequences for behaving poorly in a learning environment so that students learn at a young age that following instructions and behaving in the way society expects is hugely beneficial to succeeding in life. Sanctions and consequences may possibly be considered the only way students will learn what is the right way to behave. However, this view is contradicted in many educational resources such as Ellis and Tod (2015) and the Department of Education (2005), who believe that positive reinforcement will have a longer lasting effect and is more beneficial to student’s development than constantly relying on sanctions to change a student’s behaviour. (DfE, 2005) From my own teaching I have noticed that there needs to be a balance of praise, rewards and sanctions to create a successful learning environment. Not everyone agrees with praise and sanctions in a learning environment. There are schools who do not give out any rewards as they do not praise standard expected behaviour.

Praise and rewards Before we can implement praise into our teaching, we must first ask ourselves what is praise and how is it used in a learning environment? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, praise is ‘to express admiration or approval of the achievements or characteristics of a person or thing’. (The Cambridge Dictionary, 1995) We praise students for a variety of reasons; for achievements, for positive behaviour, or for making a serious attempt at an activity/task. While there are many different types of praise and rewards, the main methods used in education are verbal and physical. These include verbal congratulations or feedback, certificates, prizes, reward points, half-termly or termly treats such as discos, films, trips, vouchers or having responsibilities such as prefects, peer mentors, buddies or helpers. Research suggests that the way we give verbal praise should be phrased in certain ways depending on what the teacher is trying to say; feedback and praise should be positive, and if an evaluative portion needs to be given, it should be the minority of the overall engagement. The idea of verbal praise being ‘descriptive, providing information to the pupil on the learning behaviour they have exhibited that has drawn this positive attention’, (Ellis and Tod, 2015:104) looks at giving positive feedback to the student as well as explaining what they have done to be given this praise. I feel that this theory works well in a learning environment, as students understand exactly why they are being praised, and so the praise having a lot more meaning to the student.

People also believe that we can praise students too much and that this can become counterproductive. Tom Bennett points out that students earn rewards over time and ‘praise and rewards have to be earned to be meaningful’. (Bennett:2) This suggests that giving out rewards too frequently can result in the praise becoming meaningless.

As teachers we need to ensure that we only praise when it has been earned. My teaching has shown me that we need to give the right sort of praise, but unfortunately this is not always used in the right way. I agree that ‘the wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behaviour. The right kind motivates students to learn’.

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(Dweck, 2007:34) I have found that praise works best if it is tailored to the individual student. It seems more sincere and meaningful to the student, thereby, creating a stronger relationship. Building relationships with students is of vital importance in developing a positive learning behaviour. Gaining an ability to adapt praise and rewards specifically to an individual is vitally important. For example, if the teacher knows that the student is shy and does not want to draw attention to themselves, a simple mouthed ‘well done’ or a very quiet word at the end of the lesson can be far more effective in motivating that type of student compared to bringing them up to the front of the class and causing embarrassment.

I have noticed a trend in how the students prefer to receive their praise. Certain students, particularly those in older classes, much prefer private praise. While this can be seen across the board, it is most evident in Year 9. It seems that the main reason is due to embarrassment in front of their peers. Is it important to know or be able to quickly read your students in order to praise or sanction appropriately to keep a positive learning environment.

One of the key points Charlie Taylor’s Behaviour Checklist emphasises, is to encourage students to behave in the way that you want them to and that using praise is a good way to get this result. (DfE, 2011) I feel that this is extremely important to implement in a learning environment as it underlines the behaviour that you are expecting students to portray without patronising them. Another emphasis from the checklist, referred to as ‘parallel praise’, is ‘praising children doing the right thing more than criticising those who are doing the wrong thing’. (DfE, 2011:4) If you focus only on criticising those who are doing wrong it can start to portray a negative impact to those who are behaving and they may start to feel that their positive behaviour is not being noticed. I have observed that this is more evident in KS3 classes as almost all of the younger students really want to please and be given praise and rewards. Thus, if their positive behaviour is not being praised, they may feel that their behaviour is being viewed as poor. This can have an overall effect on the way students view praise and rewards. The overall focus on Charlie Taylor’s Behaviour check list is that positive praise and rewards are a necessity in the classroom.

Sanctions To use sanctions effectively in our teaching, we must first identify what exactly sanctions are. According to the Cambridge Dictionary a sanction is ‘a punishment given when someone does not obey a rule or law’. (The Cambridge Dictionary, 1995) In an educational sense this would mean not obeying the classroom rules set out by the teacher. When we think of sanctioning a student, it is generally considered a punishment and not something most students want to happen. Giving sanctions can cause a break down in the relationship between teacher and students but it is also a necessity when a student’s behaviour is unacceptable.

While I have discovered that there is a need for both praise and sanctions in a classroom, I believe that praise should always outweigh the amount of sanctions. Ellis and Tod amongst many have looked at the idea that praise is key, however using positive corrections and sanctions are also necessary. Always using sanctions will in the long run, cause a school to suffer more from bad behaviour than a school with positive atmospheres in their classrooms. (Lord Elton, 1989) Creating a positive atmosphere in the classroom is extremely important in promoting the positive learning behaviours that we would like students to have.

Using a variety of strategies before going straight to sanctions is a principle looked at by Ellis and Tod. They believe that the teacher should work with a range of strategies that look at correcting behaviour positively before issuing sanctions. Some of the strategy’s teachers could explore include; phrasing corrections, timings and the nature of corrections, tactical ignoring, non-verbal signals, simple direction, choices and consequences and delivering blank messages. (Ellis and Tod, 2015) The way we phrase our corrections as a teacher is extremely important. This way we are focusing on the behaviour that we want to see being displayed rather than emphasising the unwanted negative behaviour. (Ellis and Tod, 2015) I have noticed that it is incredibly important to phrase corrections positively to KS3 pupils, in particular year 7s. Students at this age really want to please, and if they feel they have done something wrong, it is possible 63

to lose the attention of that student for the rest of the lesson. As well as phrasing corrections positively, it is also important to think carefully about our timing and the nature of our responses to student’s negative behaviour. This decision should be made based on how much the negative behaviour is having an impact on the development of other students learning. (Ellis and Tod, 2015) When thinking of timing, we need to think about how these corrections are being framed.

Using statements that are negative such as ‘don’t’, ‘no’ or ‘stop’ can create an undesirable atmosphere in the classroom and increase challenging behaviour. Tactical ignoring is another strategy that involves the teacher actively making the decision to not address a particular display of behaviour. (Rogers, 2011) This, combined with, non-verbal signals also have great effectiveness. ‘The teacher look is a common example, this typically involves slightly prolonged eye contact, often coupled with a pause in speech to indicate disapproval’. (Ellis and Tod, 2015:108) This technique stops disruption to the lesson and gives students the chance to make a positive choice and change their behaviour. If the disruptive behaviour is only very minor, such as quiet chat, students respond well to non- verbal communication and sometimes only need a simple reminder. The final important strategy to try before moving to sanctions is looking at choices and consequences. Students know that they choose how to behave, and if they make negative choices it will lead to consequences as staff will follow the behaviour policy. This strategy ‘puts the responsibility for behaviour on the pupil’ (Ellis and Tod, 2015:110) and shows students that they always have a choice even if they have previously made a negative choice the previous lesson. Choices and consequences also make the correction of behaviour less like a personal attack towards the student and very clear of the fact the student had made the wrong choice and will now have to accept the consequences. (Ellis and Tod, 2015) Giving a sanction is the final step after exploring the strategies discussed above. Sanctions could include; class based sanctions where pupils are moved away from friends, lunchtime or after school detentions, being moved to a different classroom or being removed by a member of senior leadership team. I have learnt that it is important to remember that disciplining a student is not emotion free. A pupil may lash out if they do not agree with the sanction or feel it is unfair, even if the teacher is just following the behaviour policy given by the school. ‘whatever the sanction, it should be imposed calmly and assertively’. (Ellis and Tod, 2015:115) Some schools have very strict behaviour policies and focus more on sanctions than praise and rewards.

Having sanctions in place is important and students need to know when they have crossed the line with their behaviour. However, positively correcting a student and working through different strategies before using sanctions shows that you understand, and are a fair, and relatable human being.

Repairing and rebuilding relationships can be challenging, as the student may feel that they cannot trust you anymore, or they can no longer speak to you comfortably about any issues. I have noticed that some students, once given a sanction, will avoid conversation and eye contact until steps have been put in place to rebuild that relationship.

Finally, ‘it is important to informally self-monitor who you are directing behaviour related corrective comments towards’. (Ellis and Tod, 2015:118) If the teacher is frequently directing sanctions to particular students, those students may feel picked on, isolated, or like there is no point in even trying to behave, because their teacher does not like them. This effect is heightened when there is a perceived disparity in the sanctions being handed out.

Conclusion Overall having a good balance between praise, rewards and sanctions is key in a learning environment.

Having praise and rewards promotes a positive classroom atmosphere and encourages students to continue working hard. Positive corrections and sanctions even out the balance and are really important in ensuring unacceptable behaviour is kept to a minimum and that the behaviour policy is being followed. I believe my thinking has shifted in regards to how we praise and sanction students. It is important to know your students and have good relationships so that you are able to personalise both praise and sanctions to that student. I 64

feel that implementing strategies before going straight to sanctions help to keep those relationships and gives teachers the opportunity to make these strategies more personal to the pupil.

Bibliography Bennett, T. (n.d.). Behaviour- Punishing with rewards : when praise becomes a sanction.

Dweck, C. (2007). The Perils and Promises of Praise.

Education, D. o. (2011). Getting the simple things right: Charlie Taylor's behaviour checklists.

Education, Department for. (2005). Behaviour and Attendance Strand. London: Crown.

Ellis, S., and Tod, J. (2015). Promoting Behaviour for Learning in the classroom. London: Routledge.

Lord Elton. (1989). The Elton Report (Discipline in schools). London: Cown Copyright.

Rogers, B. (2011). Classroom Behaviour (3rd Edition). London: Sage.

The Cambridge Dictionary . (1995). The Cambridge Dictionary. London: Cambridge University Press.

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James Moloney - Literature review: Using manipulatives to help understanding in Maths Helping pupils to understand mathematical concepts is one of the more challenging aspects of teaching the subject, especially to pupils who have struggled previously in the subject or when a new topic has been introduced. This often leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy that they’re not good at mathematics. Supporting pupils through concrete manipulatives and visual representatives help students in their understanding of the subject and will enable them to make connections with previous learning. In the long term, using manipulatives will potentially help pupils master mathematical concepts to progress their skills. The importance of visualising concepts in mathematical activities is vitally, important and using a range of manipulatives, both concrete and virtual, will help pupils in their understanding.

Using manipulatives in teaching mathematics has a long tradition and there has been a lot of research in this area. Concrete manipulatives, such as dienes, Cuisenaire rods, coins, counters and algebra tiles, allow students to construct their own thought processes for more abstract mathematical ideas and processes. As well as aiding the development of a pupil’s mathematical knowledge and understanding, manipulatives have the potential to involve pupils in their learning more and also increase interest and enjoyment of subject.

Sutton and Kruger (2002) found that pupils who are exposed to using manipulatives over a sustained period of time express an increased interest in mathematics. This long-term interest in mathematics translates to increased mathematical ability (Sutton & Krueger, 2002).

The National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) stated in 2013 that using manipulatives in classroom improved pupil achievement. “To develop every student’s mathematical proficiency, leaders and teachers must systematically integrate the use of concrete and virtual manipulatives into classroom instruction at all grade levels.” (NCSM, 2013)] Amongst the large volume of research in this area, Ruzic & O’Connell (2001) found that long-term use of manipulatives has a positive affect on pupil achievement by allowing students to use concrete objects to observe, model, and internalise abstract concepts.

Manipulatives have historically been concrete materials used to demonstrate a mathematics concept or to support the teaching of a mathematical topic. They have become a mainstay of mathematical instruction across the world. (Correa, Perry, Sims, Miller, & Fang, 2008; Puchner, Taylor, O’Donnell, & Fick, 2008). In America one study found that across different school catchment areas teachers reported using manipulatives nearly every day (Uribe-Flórez & Wilkins, 2010).

Some examples of concrete manipulatives.

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Algebra tiles.

Using algebra tiles.

Through evolving technology concrete manipulatives have been aided with visual representatives (source Manipulatives - MathsBot.com)

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A visual method for an expanded and factorised expression (NCETM 2019)

Manipulatives have generally been concrete objects that can be seen, handled and physically manipulated by pupils so that they can have a clearer idea of what is being taught. This ultimately will enable them to move onto more abstract parts of maths as their understanding of the subject deepens. A mathematical manipulative is any “object, picture, or drawing that represents a concept or onto which the relationship for that concept can be imposed. Manipulatives are physical objects that students and teachers can use to illustrate and discover mathematical concepts” (De Walle et al 2013). In recent times the use of more visual manipulatives has been bought into the classroom through improving technologies. Manipulatives, both concrete and visual, are a range of mathematical tools that are recommended by the Mathematics Process Standards included in Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000).

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Teaching using manipulatives in mathematics has been around for more than two hundred years. Some of the key inspirations in the use of manipulatives have been Jerome Bruner (1915–2016), Zoltan Dienes (1916– 2014), Maria Montessori (1870–1952) and Jean Piaget (1896–1980). All of these researchers have highlighted the use of manipulatives to aid in the development of pupil understanding. It has been suggested that children begin to understand symbols and abstract concepts only after experiencing the ideas on a concrete level (Piaget, 1952). Pupils whose maths lessons which focus on using manipulatives will be in a better place to make connections between abstract mathematics and their surrounding world thereby enabling them to make progress (Mattock, 2019).

Although using manipulatives is vitally important they are not always used. This is down to a number of reasons; The idea that manipulatives are only for primary school pupils; they should only be used with those who struggle the most and that pupils will not use them in the appropriate way. These are all issues that can, and should, be overcome in order for connections to be made between a concrete or visual manipulative and the abstract mathematics behind it.

Over the past half century research has been conducted into the use of manipulatives and it has been found that using manipulatives is influential in teaching mathematics and in developing pupils learning and understanding. Studies by Suydam & Higgins (1977) and Sowell (1989) concluded that pupils long term understanding was improved by the use of manipulatives. In these large research projects there were over one hundred different studies to draw from.

The book “Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics” released by the National Research Council (2001), on mathematics, stated “The evidence indicates, in short, that manipulatives can provide valuable support for student learning when teachers interact over time with the students to help them build links between the object, the symbol, and the mathematical idea both represent.” (p 354).

In 2009 the United States Education Department carried out an investigation looking at what can help pupils who struggle with mathematics. Their report states that they recommend using physical manipulatives alongside visual models to help with ppi understanding of various topics. They also recommend using the CPA approach (concrete, pictorial, abstract) when teaching new mathematical concepts. The CPA approach has been developed and used extensively in Singapore and its use aids the mastery curriculum that many schools across the UK are now using.

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Source What Is The Concrete Pictorial Abstract Approach? CPA Maths: A Guide For Primary Teachers (thirdspacelearning.com) The CPA method has links to work carried out in the 1960s’. Bruner (1966) had pupils start off using concrete/physical manipulatives to try to answer and explain a mathematical problem. From there they would be asked to look for any sequences or forms that they noticed and potentially predict what might happen in other scenarios. The pupils would take down their ideas in the form of pictorial/visual representations of the concrete resources they used. By using the concrete, and then pictorial methods, pupils have understood the reasoning behind the mathematical concept and then can move into the abstract step. This step is the formal method for writing mathematics. By using the CPA approach, pupils gain a greater insight into the topic and, as they progress through various mathematical topics, they should be able to make links between them.

The frequency of how often pupils use manipulatives is also important. Looking at data and classroom studies, Wenglinsky (2000) states “when students are exposed to hands-on learning on a weekly, rather than a monthly basis, they prove to be 72% of a grade level ahead in mathematics” (p 27). By using manipulatives frequently, it will help pupils’ understanding of the physical idea and then move into the abstract mathematics.

Using manipulatives with pupils regularly offers an opportunity to effectively assess whether pupils are understanding the topic. Seeing what they are producing through a concrete manipulative or visual representation can give a teacher an effective insight into the student thought process. This simple and effective use of formative assessment will then inform the teacher of what problems and misconceptions are being made. By using concrete and visual manipulatives “improved formative assessment helps low achievers more than other students and so reduces the range of achievement while raising achievement overall.” (Black & Wiliam (1998), p 141). Using concrete and visual representations not only aids pupils, but also has the potential to close gaps between low and high achievers, something that is very relevant to education at this time, given the recent history of lockdown and student engagement.

Using manipulatives in mathematics offers potential formative assessment opportunities as put forward by Wiliam (2011). Using manipulatives and visual representations through learning activities show evidence of understanding. It allows pupils who have understood the topic to help and teach their peers and 70

by offering the use of manipulatives, pupils are having to be active in their own education. Through using a variety of manipulatives pupils are positively involved in mathematics and taking ownership of their work.

This all provides vital feedback to the teacher who can then assess gaps in lerning, address misconceptions and ensure progress is made.

Conclusion There has been a lot of research in the area of using manipulatives in the mathematics classroom. Pupils may be able to remember what they need to do for a particular topic over a short period of time. But to understand and apply what they have learnt, and then use previous knowledge and teaching to another problem, requires a deep level of understanding which can be achieved through using concrete and virtual manipulatives in the first instance and then apply it to more abstract problems.

Pupils need time to use manipulatives in order to use them effectively and to be able to apply them to more complex mathematical problems. By using a variety of manipulatives and with increased frequency pupils will have a greater chance to identify similarities between ideas and compare them sensibly (Son, Smith, & Goldstone, 2011). Using manipulatives frequently over a long period of time will lead to thoughtful ideas, by the pupil, between the manipulative and the abstract concept of mathematics (Martin, 2009).

The importance of depth of conceptual understanding in mathematics and not just remembering a rule or a trick cannot be understated. Using a variety of manipulatives (concrete and virtual) alongside pictorial representations to help aid pupils understanding of mathematical ideas is vitally important and when used correctly, will aid understanding, and ultimately progress.

References •

Ball, D. L. (1992). Magical hopes: Manipulatives and the reform of math education. American Educator: The Professional Journal of the American Federation of Teachers, 16(2), 14-18.

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Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment.

Phi Delta Kappan, 80 (2): 139–148.

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Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Correa, C. A., Perry, M., Sims, L. M., Miller, K. F., & Fang, G. (2008). Connected and culturally embedded beliefs: Chinese and US teachers talk about how their students best learn mathematics.

Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 140-153.

EEF(2017) Improving Mathematics in key stage two and three, guidance report Martin, T. (2009). A theory of physically distributed learning: How external environments and internal states interact in mathematics learning. Child Development Perspectives, 3, 140-144.

Mattock, P (2019) Visible Maths: Using representations and structure to enhance mathematics teaching in schools, Crown House Publishing NCEE (2009) What Works Clearinghouse report Assisting students struggling with mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for elementary and middle schools National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (2013). Improving student achievement in mathematics by using manipulatives with classroom instruction. Denver National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (2019) Mastery Professional Development, Algebra Tiles.

Available www.ncetm.org.uk/media/8d84e790f22943a/ncetm_ks3_representations_algebra_tiles.pdf National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

National Research Council (2001). Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. J. Kilpatrick, J. Swafford, and B. Findell (Eds). Mathematics Learning Study Committee, Center for Education, Division of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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Puchner, L., Taylor, A., O’Donnell, B., & Fick, K. (2008). Teacher learning and mathematics manipulatives: A collective case study about teacher use of manipulatives in elementary and middle school mathematics lessons. School Science and Mathematics, 108, 313-325.

Ruzic, R. & O’Conell, K. (2001). “Manipulatives.” Enhancement literature review. https://www.cast.org/ncac/Manipulatives1666.cfm.

Son, J. Y., Smith, L. B., & Goldstone, R. L. (2011). Connecting instances to promote children’s relational reasoning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108, 260-277.

Sowell, E. (1989). Effects of manipulative materials in mathematics instruction. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 20: 498–505.

Sutton, J., & Krueger, A. (Eds) (2002). ED Thoughts: What we know about mathematics teaching and learning. Aurora, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.

Suydam, M. & Higgins, J. (1977). Activity-based learning in elementary school mathematics: recommendations from research. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education.

Uribe-Flórez, L., & Wilkins, J. (2010). Elementary school teachers’ manipulative use. School Science and Mathematics, 110, 363-371.

Van de Walle, J.A., Karp, K.S., & Bay Williams, J.M. (2013). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally. 8th Edition. Boston: Pearson.

Wiliam, D. (2011). Embedded formative assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Wenglinsky, H. (2000). How teaching matters: Bringing the classroom back into discussions of teacher quality. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

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Rebecca Price - How can I improve students’ use of technical vocabulary for tools, equipment, materials and machinery?

When I first embarked upon this CPD I had witnessed a young man in Hurst’s asking for ‘that thing you make holes with’. I was mildly amused by the conversation that followed. The man behind the counter was very patient and tried to tease the information from the customer. No, the customer did not want to buy a drill, he wanted ‘the thing that goes in a drill to make holes’. After a lot of discussion involving; masonry bits, Jennings twist bits, hole saws, bit and braces, flat bits and forstner bits. The next question was ‘what material’ it emerged that the man wanted to make an extra hole in his belt, so a drill bit was not required but either a wad punch or a leather punch plier. The exchange got me thinking that even if students do not take D&T at level 4 it is still an important life skill to be able to use the (almost) correct technical language.

We do place emphasis on correct technical terminology at KS3 but I think it could be improved. A few positive examples; students have keywords on the board and are encouraged to use them when they write a step by step guide/making diary of how they made their product and in their evaluations. IPK always explains that a saw has two names, a first name and a second name e.g. tenon saw. I think this is a good way to explain this to students.

I was all set in my planning to explore how to get KS3 students to use the correct technical language both orally and in their writing and have a control group. Then due to external factors this could not go ahead so I switched to the Literature review.

The papers I found useful were; ‘5 Vocabulary Teaching Myths’ Alex Quigley, ‘Six Steps to Better Vocabulary Instruction’ Robert J. Marzano and ‘Empowering Students through specific vocabulary instruction’ Joan Leikam Theurer and Shannon Arbildo.

Marzano cites his six step process, which seemed to me to be a bit arduous. However he then goes onto filter this down into a three step process which includes students having to write their own definition of the words, to ‘represent their understanding of a new term by drawing a picture’ and using games to consolidate the learning. I was pleased to recognise these three elements in my teaching through the making diary and word searches. I would like to explore the use of word games more rather than just the obvious word search.

In chapter 5 in ‘Closing The Vocabulary Gap’ Alex Quigley explores ‘Vocabulary Teaching Myths’. He explores the myth that children will expand their vocabulary just ‘by simply being at school’ he admits there is some truth to this but to my mind students will not learn technical vocabulary through the reliance on this. He quotes Neil Postman ‘If you eliminate all the words of a subject, you have eliminated the subject’. I fully agree.

Joan Leikam Theurer and Shannon Arbildo advocate using the teaching of ‘root words’. I do this at KS4 when for example explaining what ‘anthropometrics’ means but then it occurred to me to use this method at KS3 for example the word ‘evaluation’. If the students understand etymology of ‘evaluation’ they are more likely to understand what is required of them.

Many of the technical words we use in D&T have been passed down from craftsman to apprentice verbally.

There can be differences in tool names depending on where you are regionally. For example cramp versus clamp and rebate versus rabbet. This could cause confusion for the learner if teachers use different terms. I think moving forward we need as a department to come up with a definitive list of the terms we use. One example is the electric saws the students use, they can be called fret saws, reciprocating saws or Hegners. All are correct and the variations would be understood by examiners. A success I have had this year has been when teaching Textiles. Students will often ask for ‘string’ when they mean thread. In my classes this term students have now started correcting each other, which I see as a move forward.

From reviewing the articles I feel I found some pointers to improving technical vocabulary which I have adopted and intend to expand.

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Andrew Green - High expectations and challenge for all: reaching the peak of your moutain “Poli, Poli”. “slowly, slowly, our guides repeated through the night, and encouraged us to keep taking our tiny steps towards the top.” (Dana’s fundraising story, HAEUK.org) Dana recalls the clear, simple encouragement of local African guides’ that enables climbers to put their next and therefore best foot forward. Yes, it is a challenge to climb and to be invited to put that foot forward is a ‘then and now’ high expectation at altitude. Inevitably, the springboard of experiences and opportunities to challenge oneself to become the person at the top of their own mountain comes from the skills and inner self-belief developed through challenges. “You can do it” has to be implicit; doesn’t it?

Building stepping stones. Single steps forward on the way to the high-altitude peak of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. Everyone will one day climb Kilimanjaro is a belief I hold. Helping everyone find their Kilimanjaro facilitated with the ideation of how, with opportunities one provides they can develop, that when they do find their Kilimanjaro they are in readiness to climb it.

In the classroom then, if we are to consider Doug Lemov’s “100% right means there is no challenge” (Doug Lemov (2010) ‘Teach Like a Champion’) we surely need to provide a culture and environment that ensures students are able to put a step forward yet know they are building their capabilities for their journey and peak – visualising their challenge, even each step. That shared and common goal of developing and enabling them to create their ‘utility belt’ of approaches, to step forward is surely a lifetime’s work. Quite simply, yes.

Building experiences of greater and further, step by step.

However, if we consider further Lemov’s mainly language skills focused writings of a breakdown of steps: ‘no opt out, right is right, stretch it, format matters and without apology’ are we able to apply working in a nonlanguage skills context.

Taking the term 'no opt out’ could be seen as a challenge in itself from the onset. One that Lemov suggests: “you don’t have to get the answers right in my class, but you will be expected to try” With this in mind, the expectation is there within the explanation, “you will try”. Providing the opportunities where students always opt in is a climate of success. Thus, having high expectations and providing challenge for all. We are then supporting and facilitating the development of our charge to see their steps are a part of success, even when they may not feel that success is attainable at that time.

“Trying” as such in any given context feeds the potential for a development of how we see the practice that we present to our students. But what of the content, resources and intent of these experiences we present?

Lemov goes on to write: “the material students need to master to succeed and grow is exciting, interesting, and inspiring”.

If the material is supported through students interacting, peer to peer discussion, sharing, competition and teamwork along with clear structures that make stepping forward successful these can become a toolkit for developing students in the classroom.

Facilitating these parameters suggesting challenge and high expectations does not necessitate threat or unequivocable concern amongst the students to answer correctly. A signposted activity of ‘cold calling’ I believe induces not challenge but fear unless well structured. Yes, it might provide students to be accountable but also embodies fear. Practised however, it becomes another useful tool.

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“Imagine being a student in that classroom who is not sure they know what the teacher is after and waiting to see if they are going to be picked, my palms sweat just thinking about it.” (Mind your language – Using language to reduce threat and increase participation in the classroom - Tim Taylor - 5TH OCTOBER 2018) Tim Taylor’s writings and concern of challenges that embodies ‘threat and concern’ for students surely locks our charges into a cul-de-sac of freezing, rather than unfolding their knowledge and application, as well as spirit of engagement. Supporting the notion that questioning could be more enquiry based, I feel supports the intention that a supportive construct enables rather than disables. “move towards an enquiry question that will anchor the learning and everything the students do in a lesson or series of lessons to respond to the question posed”.

Debbie Light’s statement supports the notion that students will learn, students do learn and supports accountability through enquiry within activities. This is illustrated in lessons where students complete pick’n’mix activities that enable students to choose their route though the learning, when in a challengebased environment. They then can reflect amongst peers on why they chose that route, their level of success and how they move forward. “it is vital that when offering students choices they are held accountable for the work they produce.” (Stretch and challenge in your classroom, Debbie Light, 28 June 2017) In Debbie’s writing she discusses that teachers having from the onset “a belief that all students can” supports the notion that challenge isn’t just for a few students. This accountability is a useful tool as part of a framework of achievement and meeting the criteria can be student led.

Tim Taylor helps further to describe a subtle yet fundamental support and planning reminder in “Upping the challenge but keeping the threat level low”. Back then to the encouragement of the local guides to take one step at a time is I see as being the mantra behind Tim’s statement. These are integral challenges that students feel are within reach within the bigger goal. That teetering effect of too much challenge and the student freezes versus what Tim writes as being manageable.

I feel in conclusion that students to be challenged is right and that they enjoy the journey if they become well practiced in the provision and agree the goal they are chasing. This can be in a single lesson broken down into smaller elements of success along a series of lessons.

“Rather than accepting students’ first responses, giving students an opportunity to practise their response” If the safety net can be their own peers with opportunities to develop and hone their skills, whether the context of the learning is language skills and feedback or practical skills, or both, students learn to put this what might have seemed mountainous goal of being challenged in site, to become their reality ‘one step at a time’.

In conclusion, setting the bar high from the onset and assuring students that through encouragement and a step-by-step activity, will see them reach their learning goal. With challenge comes safety when active and a backbone of well-considered planning that when set from the start enables the bar to remain high and maintain high expectations for all. Along with a deep-seated belief that all students can: ‘poli’poli’.

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David Sanchez-Brown - How do we maintain high expectations and challenge for all sixth form students against a backdrop of raising anxiety and mental health challenges?

The past 18 months has been challenging for us all and particularly for our sixth form students. The enforced isolation at a seminal time in the development of identity, coupled with uncertainly and disruption to learning, exams and university progression have taken a significant toll on confidence and aspiration. The marked increase in anxiety and mental health challenges I have noticed within my own practice is reflected in national surveys such as by the Mental Health Foundation and Young Minds. Findings include that “teenagers' mental health is under severe pressure as the pandemic continues (Mental Health Foundation in partnership with Swansea University, the charity MQ Mental Health Research and Leaders Unlocked December 2020)”.

“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on many of the young people we heard from – some told us that they are deeply anxious, have started self-harming again, are having panic attacks, or are losing motivation and hope for the future. We know that some young people will be dealing with multiple pressures, especially those who have been bereaved or experienced other trauma during this time. (Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs Survey 4: February 2021) Given that our students will face terminal- high stakes exams in the near future, how can we ensure they are effectively prepared to tackle high expectations and challenge while being mindful of the mental health and anxiety hurdles many are facing?

The first challenge is to reconnect students with their goals and aspirations and to ensure there is a deep intrinsic element to their goals. Ntoumanis et all 2014 find that “pursuing goals with autonomous motives sparks greater positive outcomes in terms of behavioural investment (both immediately and interest in future investment) and psychological well-being”. Goal setting therefore is a key factor in ensuring motivation, especially if that goal is achievable through an actionable plan.

Maintaining motivation will be the next key hurdle to overcome while considering how it is related to achievement. Guay, F., Marsh, H. W., & Boivin, M. (2003) find that motivation does not always lead to achievement but more often, achievement leads to increased motivation. They conclude “ the results of our study provide stronger support for this important link between prior self-concept and subsequent achievement. This chimes with a quote from Amy Cua- “Nothing is fun until you are good at it” ( Battle Hymn of the tiger mother 2011). If our students are to succeed it is vital that they experience success and are then able to maintain motivation to strive towards further success. The concept was recently illustrated to me when students were enabled to retake class assessments a week later than the initial assessment. There was improvement in achievement across the cohort, but more unexpected was the reported increase to work ethic and motivation following the success of the second assessment. Once students saw the progress they had made and understood the intrinsic reward for their efforts, motivation to succeed was increased. The subject teacher reported much improved work ethic among the cohort and a communal desire to succeed.

Could this be a reason to include increased opportunity to retake assessments, learn from previous mistakes and allow the success of increased progress and learning to perpetuate intrinsic motivation?

Once motivation is increased, we need to be wary of the relationship between engagement and effective learning. Are engaged students experiencing challenge and high expectation in their learning? Nuthall (2007) states “Our research shows that students can be busiest and most involved with material they already know”.

For sixth form students engaged in substantial independent, self-directed study, it is vital that we ensure they invest their time in tackling challenging concepts in addition to the vital knowledge recall and practice testing as described by Dunlovsky et al (2013).

For challenge and high expectations to be low threat, motivation needs to be intrinsic in nature. We need to ensure that all students feel the satisfaction of achievement and progress and are able to build on this through increased motivation to succeed and persevere toward their goals and aspirations. We also need to 76

ensure a balance between high stakes terminal assessment and opportunities to succeed through celebrating progress and effective study skills. Our students need to be empowered to maintain a healthy balance between their wellbeing and academic studies and strive towards high expectations while relishing challenge as an opportunity to succeed.

References: Mental Health Foundation in partnership with Swansea University, the charity MQ Mental Health Research and Leaders Unlocked -December (2020) https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/news/teenagers-mental-healthpandemic Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs Survey 4: February (2021) https://youngminds.org.uk/media/4350/coronavirus-report-winter.pdf When the Going Gets Tough: The “Why” of Goal Striving Matters Ntoumanis et all (2014) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jopy.12047 Guay, F., Marsh, H. W., & Boivin, M. (2003). Academic self-concept and academic achievement: Developmental perspectives on their causal ordering. Journal of Educational Psychology.

Amy Chua -Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011) G.Nuthall- The hidden lives of learners (2007) Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: PromisingDirections From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J., and Willingham, D.T. (2013) Oakes & Martin- The A level Mindset (2016) Hendrick & Robinson- What does it look like in the classroom? (2017)

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David Foster - Review of Rosenshine’s Principles in Action Rosenshine’s ‘Principles of Instruction’ sets out 10 research-based teaching principles with suggestions for classroom practice. These principles overlap and work together to ensure strong learning outcomes.

The Principles of Instruction 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Daily Review Present new material using small steps Ask questions Provide models Guide student practice Check for student understanding Obtain a high success rate Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks Independent practice Weekly and monthly review

Rosenshine’s Principles in Action combines the Principles of instruction into 4 strands ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Sequencing concepts and modelling 2, 4 and 8 Questioning 3 and 6 Reviewing material 1 and 10 Stages of practice 5, 7 and 9

I strongly believe in the Rosenshine principles of teaching, offer a firm and well-researched approach to effective knowledge transfer and teaching. I will consider each strand in detail.

Strand 1: Sequencing concepts and modelling ➢ Present new material using small steps Teacher should spend time at looking at their curriculum and see how it can be broken down in small instructional steps. In sports a student will learn a the first few steps in a complex movement and then add additional steps maybe one or two at a time. The same principle can lend itself to many mathematical procedures such as adding fractions.

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As can be seen adding fractions is made up of several steps students may need extra help or guidance at a particular step for adding fractions.

Providing models Good modelling is a key feature of giving good explanation by a teacher. They can be in various forms such as physical representations, conceptual models and explicit narration of a teachers thought process when thinking through a problem. In mathematics the use of physical manipulatives such as Dienes blocks or algebra tiles can help students learning about numbers or algebra.

Worked examples as described by Rosenshine and John Sweller reduce cognitive load. The idea is to “reduce level of completion leaving students to finish problems off and ultimately do it themselves.” Each example completes less and less steps so that students gradually increase how much of the example they can complete.

Provide scaffolds for different task Scaffolds should only be temporary such as the scaffold on a building site they are there only to help with the student learning but removed as the student becomes more competent. A situation should not arise when students becomes over reliant on the scaffolding.

A scaffold problem what fraction of the shape is shaded? Each version of the question can be answered.

number information

algebraic information

no information

In most problem-solving subjects such as maths there are a relatively small number of archetypal problems so exposing students to different versions of the same problem greatly reduce their cognitive load.

Another form scaffolding is to tackle misconceptions highlight common mistakes and supporting students for checking for their own mistakes.

Strand 2 Questioning Questioning is perhaps one of the most important aspects of teaching.

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Teachers should ask a large number of questions, get students to explain what they have learning, check the response of all students and provide systematic feedback and corrections.

Rosenshine observed that the most effective teachers asked a lot of questions involving many students that probed their understanding. Also, they get students to explain their answers, and the thinking behind their given answers.

Teachers should avoid cold calling use a variety of strategies including no opt out (Lemov); say it again better; and think pair share. When seeking a whole class response tools such as mini whiteboards are very useful.

Questions should be probing questions that illicit full responses from students and strategies mentioned previously avoid the classic “I don’t know” response from students.

Check for student understanding As noted by Sherrington checking for understanding “is probably the single biggest common area of improvement” amongst teachers. (Sherrington) Checking for understanding provides two key benefits firstly teacher gets feedback from the class and knows which part of the lesson needs to be revisited. Secondly the more students explain their understanding the more likely it will improve their long-term retention of new information they have been taught. Checking for understanding should be at the heart of all teacher practice.

Strand 3 Reviewing material Daily review helps support the development of fluency we do this in the maths department through our DICE activities which consolidates the new skills have been taught during a two week cycle. Weekly and monthly review is to ensure that learnt material is not forgotten as per Ebbinghaus forgetting curve below.

To make daily, weekly and monthly review effective, every student should be involved; students should be able to check what they have got right and wrong; students should know in advance what knowledge they will be assessed on; no scaffolding or prompt cards should not be used, students should think for themselves.; a mix of low stake quizzing, multiple choice questions, knowledge maps, verbal quizzing; reviews should be time efficient and workload should not be unsustainable for teachers.

Stand 4 Guide student practice Guided practice are learning activities involving “thorough explanations, high frequency, short answer questions, with plenty of modelling, corrective or affirming feedback and aspects of re-teaching where gaps remain.”(Sherrington).

If students are doing “seatwork” Rosenshine’s description of students working, teachers should be circulating the classroom monitoring closely student’s work picking up any early misconceptions.

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Obtain a high success rate Ideally according Rosenshine’s research teachers should provide sufficient practice to create an 80% success rate. If it drops to even 70% students are only practicing making errors. If students’ success is much higher than 80% then they require more challenge.

Independent practice Rosenshine’s suggest the work set as independent practice should be similar to work set during guided practice. Student’s work during independent practice should produce as high possible a success rate to minimise corrective feedback by the teacher.

It is important that when students are doing independent work is that they rely on their resources such as memory retrieval, fluency skills they should have built up and generating their own feedback and setting their own goals for improvement.

In conclusion as Sheringham points out teaching can be expressed in three easy steps: I do it, we do it, you do it. As long as students have ample time to complete independent tasks.

Overall Rosenshine’s Principles in Action by Tom Sherrington is an easy read that gives a practical overview of Rosenshine’s Ten Principles of Instruction that can be used in the classroom and I would recommend to any teacher. In light of this for the maths department I have created a lesson template that includes many aspects of Rosenshine’s Principles to be demonstrated in the classroom in the new academic year. The template is designed so that not necessarily every slide is incorporated in 1 hour lesson but over a series of lessons. See Appendix 1

References Lemov, D (2015) Teach like a Champion 2.0 Rosenshine, B (2012) ‘Principles of Instruction: Research-based Strategies that all Teachers Should Know.’

Sherrington, T (2019) Rosenshine’s Principles in Action Sweller, J, Ayres, P, Kalyuga, S (2011) Cognitive Load Theory

Appendix 1

Slide 1

The title is the topic being studied. The title needs to be written in books and expectations of presentation reinforced.

(THUD title, heading, underline, date)

Title:

The lesson objective should be displayed clearly as the students enter.

DICE

It will be directly related to the scheme of work.Students do not need to copy it into books.

DICE Activity This should be given out to students as they enter the room and be a recap of previous learning.

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Slide 2

Students should mark their own DICE work, discuss with their partner their wrong answers.

Title:

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The teacher should then lead a class discussion addressing common misconceptions and students should DICE Answers correct their work (if not already done so).

Key Vocabulary

Slide 3

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Slide 4 Key Questions

1.

2.

3.

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Answers should be presented next to questions so students can self mark.

Answers

1.

2.

3.

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Knowledge Recall

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Slide 5

New knowledge is presented here – supported through the use of concrete examples to consolidate learning.

Teaching/presenting:

Teachers will typically model the new learning to take place and ensure understanding through questioning.

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Lesson development

New material should be presented in manageable chunks.

Visual aids, prompts and multimedia are used to ensure knowledge retention.

Slide 6

Example

Your turn

Activities and tasks are assigned for students to work upon together.

Teachers work directly with those still finding the new knowledge challenging.

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Students may discuss, co-produce, and build upon their Joint deconstruct practice knowledge – consolidating their learning.

Feedback, teacher monitoring and questioning enable the teacher to evaluate if there are any misconceptions/ gaps in learning.

Once assured there are not, students can move to the next stage.

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Slide 7

Example

Activities and tasks are assigned for students to work upon together.

Your turn

Teachers work directly with those still finding the new knowledge challenging.

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Joint practice

Students may discuss, co-produce, deconstruct and build upon their knowledge – consolidating their learning.

Feedback, teacher monitoring and questioning enable the teacher to evaluate if there are any misconceptions/ gaps in learning.

Once assured there are not, students can move to the next stage.

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Slide 8

Hinge questions should feature throughout the lesson to address and correct misconceptions as soon as possible.

A good source Diagnostic Questions or White Board Activity

Hinge question

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Slide 9

Modelled – Practice Q.:

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The teacher can use specific hinge questions throughout to check students understanding before moving on to new learning or to applications of learning.

New contexts can be introduced and/or discussed here.

This is a preamble to independent work.

The teacher should ensure students have a scaffolded example(s) to help guide them when they are working independently.

Modelled – Extension Q.:

Guided 9 practice

The teacher works on (or models) a problem(s) similar to that (those) to be completed by students.

The teacher will describe the thought processes involved in the production – verbalising the cognitive processes.

Students be given a task which is similar to the one modelled, but not exactly the same.

They will reflect upon what the teacher thought/said and what the final product “looked” like.

Students will response(s).

then

produce

their

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Slide 10

Practice:

For most students, they will work entirely independently of the teacher at this point.

Extension:

Teachers will circulate and support the minority who still need guidance. This should be minimised.

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Independent practice

Teachers should also circulate to check for levels of mastery.

In nearly all lessons there should be a period of independent practice.

Slide 11

Consolidate/Challenge:

Extension:

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This activity should give all students the opportunity to consolidate and reinforce what has been learned. End the lesson on a positive note, lead students to think they had a successful lesson – perhaps give different options/ difficulty questions to choose between.

Strengthening activity

Slide 12

This could be a low stakes quiz or activity where students can work in pairs or groups. The purpose is to consolidate the lessons learning objectives and practice what has been learned in different context.

Exit quiz

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Exit quiz

Not all lessons will warrant (or have time for) a lengthy exit quiz so this could be a couple of diagnostic questions to tease out any misconceptions before moving on next lesson.

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Slide 13

Definition

Image/example

Example sentence

Word

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Real -life context Big idea

Key word

Slide 14 Key learning points 1.

2.

3.

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

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To be used towards the end of a topic students to copy into their books. Fill section based on a particular keyword supplied by teacher.

To be used towards the end of a topic, or after a couple lessons.

Next steps 1.

2.

3.

______________________ ______________________ ______________________

Feedback to teacher and students on the extent of learning will determine the Summary focus for future lessons. and next steps

Students will reflect on the next steps for their learning.

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Donna Brihmani - How can we reduce the impact of ‘Music Performance Anxiety’ in KS4 students to allow them to achieve optimal performance outcomes?

I have always maintained a deep interest in mental health, particularly anxiety, and therefore feel this to be an appropriate area for me to explore. Coincidently, during a conversation with a group of my GCSE music students, I was asked if I could help them to overcome their nerves when facing the performance element of their course. A discussion on this topic followed and I made the decision to make this the focus of my CPD study. Therefore, I intend to research and implement the pedagogical methods intended for approaching performance anxiety in relation to the GSCE music qualification course requirements.

Our chosen examination board for music is AQA. In line with the other examination boards and the National Curriculum (DfE, 2013), there is an element of music performance to undertake constituting 30% of the total marks for the qualification. Students must perform a solo as well as perform as part of an ensemble which is internally marked and externally moderated. This is an Ofqual specification consistent with each of the music examination boards, not just AQA. Both performances combined must last a minimum of four minutes.

It has become evident that the performing component of the course causes apprehension and on several occasions, my students have voiced their concerns about it. With a range of tools and knowledge surrounding musical performance anxiety, I hope to help these students to reach their full potential and not be at a disadvantage through suffering unnecessary fear of performing on their chosen instrument.

Literature Review We have all, at one time or another, felt the intrinsic reaction to flee or fight, when faced with a difficult or uncomfortable situation. We can thank our ancestors for this chemical response which potentially affects us psychologically and/or physiologically. This primitive reaction is known as ‘fight or flight’.

(Cherry, 2019).

During a musical performance, we are not in fear of our lives, however the threat posed to us is multifaceted, for example, that of embarrassment, exposure, judgement, criticism and fear of failure (Spahn, 2015 pg 129).

Over the duration of a decade, research would indicate that Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) has transformed from A relatively neglected psychological phenomenon that rarely appears in mainstream psychological journals or textbooks. (Kenny and Osbourne, 2005 pg 103) to being recognised and referred to as a specific type of social phobia which requires therapy (Spahn 2015).

Similarly, as in the flight or fight response, the reaction takes place in direct correspondence to the environment we find ourselves in, with the impact of the environment being noted as vital (Daubney & Daubney, 2018). That said, it is very interesting to note when evaluating relevant literature, that little is mentioned of the actual environment, but much more so to the cognitive behaviour surrounding MPA. Nevertheless, as little mention as there is of environment, there is much mention of the importance of implementing MPA strategies at an early age. This is highlighted in the opening paragraph of a psychological intervention article.

(MPA) can be distressing for many young people studying music, and may negatively impact upon their ability to cope with the demands and stressors of music education. It can also lead young people to give up music or to develop unhealthy coping habits in their adult music careers. (Branden, Osborne, Wilson, 2015).

MPA in children was initially recognised incidentally by Simon and Martens (1979) during an investigation of sports anxiety in adolescence. In 2009, a definition was given of MPA based on all of the available literature at the time, defined in Kenny’s seminal work in this area Music performance anxiety is the experience of marked and persistent anxious apprehension related to musical performance that has arisen through specific anxiety-conditioning experiences and which is manifested through combinations of affective, cognitive, somatic and behavioural symptoms. (Kenny 2009, pg 433) 88

The National Plan for Music Education (NPME) states that in each key stage from KS2, performance opportunities should be provided regularly throughout the school term. This would help students to be more accustomed to the concept of performing if it were a regular event. Performance/sharing opportunities available within individual schools (ideally at least once per term) and jointly for clusters of schools for all pupils (ideally at least once per year). (Education, 2011) In 2018, the ISM published ‘Play: A psychological toolkit for optimal music performance (Daubney and Daubney 2018). I aim to implement these strategies into my scheme of work, alongside addressing specific areas which have been identified as significant to MPA. The factors I will consider are: Preparation, Catastrophizing/Negative thinking, Motivation/Values and Environment/Audience.

Preparation: Helping students to build a regular practice regime is a key component to not only effective practice, but continued enjoyment. (McPherson, Davidson & Faulkner 2012) Anxiety prone musicians should pick easy, familiar works to perform, especially for auditions or important public performances. However hard preparation may turn a difficult work into a relatively easy one, thus reducing performance anxiety. (S.Coxon 2016 pg 38).

Catastrophising/Negative Thinking: Findings would indicate that sufferers of anxiety disorders are able to imagine the worst possible outcomes rather than having a more realistic approach. More common examples are the preliminary assumption of poor performance and the imagining of mistakes- so called catastrophizing. Performers who prioritize a high level of thinking showed more MPA than those who had a realistic assessment of the performance.

(Osborne and Franklin 2002) Negative, catastrophic interpretations feed debilitating performance anxiety, which is a significant occupational health issue for a high proportion of professional musicians as well as those training (Matei, Ginsborg 2017. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages the performer to ‘accept’ these negative thoughts and even welcome them, rather than try and push them away. ACT- is about learning to notice thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations, and be willing to allow them to come with you while you move in the direction you care about. Notice, be willing and take action. (ACT 2019) ‘Play’ (Daubney and Daubney) also mentions the influence of mind-full thinking, being in the present moment and building resilience to not be distracted by the negative thinking.

Motivation/Values: MPA is known to have a detrimental effect on a musician’s motivation, to the point of avoidance. This is a conflicting emotion within our students because the performance element of GCSE is a requirement rather than a choice. None the less, it is still essential to identify motivation in order to fulfil individual outcomes and goals. Particularly being able to identify intrinsic and external influence that impact on motivation.

Environment/Audience A whole chapter is dedicated to ‘Environmental Influences’ in Mcpherson’s The Science and Psychology of Music Performance and begins with the quote Environmental and genetic factors affect individual development from fetus to adult, both generally and in the case of music. Parents, teachers and peers strongly influence this development.

Again, ‘Play’ (Daubney and Daubney 2018) talks in-depth about the musical environment and offers practical strategies that I will endeavour to implement into my teaching.

The strategies emphasise how stress and pressure from your environment can be effectively managed, to help you achieve optimal performance more often. (Daubney & Daubney 2018) The consideration of the environment is crucial to the study of MPA and to also the link between ‘Preparation’ and ‘Environment’ which is stated in a study directed specifically at reducing MPA in music undergraduates. Having or 89

encountering stage fright or performance anxiety before or during a live performance would be minimized if adequate rehearsals are done on stage in the presence of their own classmates or course mates. (Zakaria, 2013).

Summary, Suggested Reading and Bibliography It is undoubtable that MPA is a significantly negative factor in many musician’s lives, either as a young musician beginning their career or as a professional. It is also evident that MPA, when uncontrolled can have a detrimental effect on the outcome of a musical performance. The current GCSE qualification requires the candidate to perform on their chosen instrument for a minimum of four minutes. This performance will make up one third of their mark and therefore I believe it is essential, as a teacher to deliver the necessary knowledge and pedagogy to ensure the young musician can perform to their optimum ability without being inhibited by the grip of the social anxiety disorder known as Music Performance Anxiety.

ACT for Music, https://actformusic.com, 04/02/2020. BRADEN.A, OSBORNE.S & WILSON.S, (2015), Psychological Intervention Reduces Self-Reported Performance Anxiety in High School Music Students, Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 6, page 1-9 COXON.S, (2016,) AQA GSCE Music Study Guide, Great Britain, Rhinegold Education DAUBNEY.G & DAUBNEY.A, (2017), Performance Anxiety, A Practical Guide for Teachers, London, ISM Trust DAUBNEY.G & DAUBNEY.A, (2018), Play: A psychological toolkit for optimal music performance, ISM Trust FAULTLEY.M, DAUBNEY,A, (2015), ISM, The National Curriculum for Music, London, Incorporated Society of Musicians FEHM.L & SCHMIDT.K, (2006), Performance Anxiety in Gifted Musicians, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Volume 20, pages 98-109 GCSE MUSIC-AQA, https://www.bbc.co.uk GRAVELLS.A, (2014), The Award in Education and Training, London, Sage Publications Ltd KENNY.D & OSBORNE.M, (2006), Music Performance Anxiety: New Insights from Young Musicians, Volume 2, pages 103-112 KENNY.D, (2011), The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety, United States, Oxford University Press KHALSA.S, (2013), Yoga Reduces Performance Anxiety in Adolescent Musicians, Alternative Therapies, Volume 19, pages 34-44 MATEI. R & GINSBORG.J (2017)m Music Performance Anxiety, What We Know About What Works, The Royal College of Psychiatrists MAYO CLINIC HEALTH SYSTEM, https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org 19/02/2020 MCPHERSON.G & PARNCUTT.R, (2002), The Science and Psychology of Music Performance, New York Oxford University Press.

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David Durbridge - Can the inclusion of “Kahoot” internet based quizzes during distance learning, January to March 2021, improve the attendance, engagement and feedback of students for year 8 to 11 students?

Intent a. The issue My early 2021 experience of remote online learning was not very positive. The attendances at “MS Teams” meetings were poor for most of my classes and for those where the students were attending in higher numbers I was frustrated with not being able to interact with them. Unlike face to face teaching, there was no practical way to spark discussion and students weren’t asking the questions I would have expected. It was also impossible to see from their body language that they were following and understanding the lesson.

Furthermore, there was the suspicion that some students were logging in and then not paying any attention while I was presenting the lesson. I say suspicion, when you randomly select a student to respond to a question and you are greeted with a silence then you know they are not really “there”.

So, there were three problems to address:1) Improve attendance to “live lesson”.

2) Have all the students actively taking part in a meaningful way.

3) Provide immediate feedback and obtain evidence that they understood what was being

delivered.

b. Target students All of my classes presented one or more of the three problems listed above and so I was going to use “Kahoot!” with all classes as and when appropriate to the sequence of lessons.

Attendance at “MS Teams” sessions was the biggest problem with my year 9 and 10 classes, with the year 8s it was interaction and the top set year 11s I was most concerned with checking their understanding as we progressed through the topics. c. Research “Educational research has shown that students who are actively involved in the learning activity will learn more than passive students.” (Butler, 1992; Murray, 1991).

“Experiments with the early prototypes showed that Lecture Quiz increased student motivation, engagement, and perceived learning through entertaining social learning activities” (Wu, Wang, Børresen, & Tidemann, 2011).

“Student Response Systems” e.g. “Kahoot!” Have shown to have a “positive effect on exams” (Caldwell, 2007); and “increased student attendance” (Burnstein & Lederman, 2001);

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“There is extensive evidence that student engagement in lectures improves understanding and academic results.” (Prince, 2004).

“Compared to those taught traditionally, students learned their lessons in two-thirds of the time.” (Kulik and Kulik 1986).

Action So a solution to these problems might be the use of “Kahoot!”? For those not familiar, this website allows teachers to deliver live quizzes (usually with multiple choice answer options) which the students can take part in individually by entering a quiz code into their laptop, iPad or phone shared by the teacher. I have used these in the classroom in the past, where students had access to computers, and they are popular with the students. It was evident that, rather than displaying the question/answer screen on the classroom whiteboard, the live screen could be presented to students working remotely using the “share screen” function. The fact that the students have to answer on-screen questions throughout the session means they have to maintain attention or the teacher knows as the number of responses does not match the number of attendees in “MS Teams”. It would normally be the case that I set the students to work on a lesson or group of lessons independently and then follow that up with a live “MS Teams”/“Kahoot!” session. Rather than use the “Kahoot!” quiz as a simple test, I would use the questions as a framework for delivering the topic and discuss the key points linked to each questions as I went, often describing why some of the multi-choice options were wrong as much as why the correct response was the correct answer. When there was a particularly low success rate for a particular question within the class, I could then spend a bit more time discussing this part of the topic. Motivation is achieved by the presentation of a leader board after each response and there are pop-ups naming individuals who are on a “hot streak” of several questions right in a row or those who have jumped up the most places. a. Why did you select this/these approach(es)?

While there are other platforms available, as I have said, students are familiar with “Kahoot!” and following completion, a detailed analysis of individual and class performance is provided in spreadsheet format at the end of each session. In addition to this, there is the ability to set the quiz for students absent from the live session so it can still be completed and scores achieved belatedly. While the activity completed in this way does not satisfy all of the issues I was trying to attempt, it did, at least, enable absent students to engage in a different way and also provided a raw score for the task. Finally, for its basic use, “Kahoot!” is free

Evaluation a. Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

Attendance: The first table details the percentage of engagement from non-“Kahoot!” remote learning activities compared to the “Kahoot!” session which immediately followed the next lesson (12 non-“Kahoot!” and 12 “Kahoot!” lessons) January to March 2021.

Lesson Format Year Group

Non Kahoot!

Kahoot!

Difference

Year 8

41

78

+37

Year 9

25

61

+36

Year 10

16

36

+20

Year 11

76

90

+14 92

Total %

40

73

+33

In every year group there was more “interest” in engaging with “Kahoot!” sessions rather than other forms of lessons.

Engagement: By definition, once the students have committed to attending the live session, they will all be engaging by providing real-time answers to every question – in a similar way to having the class respond using mini white boards in a classroom setting (with the advantage of them not being able to look around the class and copy another student’s response). The leader board and player announcements are positive motivators.

Feedback/Evidence: Apart from knowing the numbers selecting correct and incorrect response after each question during the quiz itself (and being able to respond with detailed explanations of when widespread misconceptions are evident) a downloadable report gives data for each question and each student’s response for each question.

Answer Summary Answer options

▲

Is answer correct?

Number of received

answers

Consumable

Deficiency

■

♦ Communicable

●

✘

✔︎

✘

✘

0

25

0

3

Transferable

Rank

Player

Total Score (points)

Correct Answers

Incorrect Answers

5

J

19416

22

7

6

E

16595

20

9

7

F

16458

19

10

8

H

16301

20

9

Player

Answer

Score (points)

Current Total Answer Score (points) (seconds)

D

✘

0

922

7.9

E

✔︎ Communicable

932

1859

2.71

F

✔︎ Communicable

925

1797

3

H

✔︎ Communicable

958

958

1.7

Transferable

time

The three tables above show sections from the spreadsheet automatically generated following the session.

Both class performance and individual student performance is recorded and, crucially, any misconception (widespread incorrect answers) can be identified. b. What next?

Moving forward I intend to continue to use “Kahoot!” quizzes intermittently and when appropriate. There are two obstacles which need to be overcome. Firstly, the time needed to compile appropriate quizzes which 93

mirror the structure and order of the existing lessons. More difficult to overcome is the lack of IT availability.

Currently there are insufficient numbers (a class set of 31) of laptops/iPads available for most year groups and the computer suits are unavailable for booking.

“Kahoot! During lockdown was fun!” (R.M. 8Y3 July 2021)

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Activating hard thinking Kate Moloney - What impact does literacy intervention, delivered over a half term, have on the writing skills of students who are low prior attainers?

Intent: the issue Use capital letters and full stops in your writing. How many times have we heard teachers of English (and myriad other subjects!) state these age-old words, only to be disappointed when their students don’t do it?

I found myself pondering this issue when, after the January lockdown, I inherited a small group of year 8s whose Key Stage Two standardized scores for their writing were an average of 90. Two of the four students in the group were not entered for the writing; poor attendance and disapplication adding to the issues creating barriers for these students. Initially, I took the approach of small group work, focusing on using the Hackney Literacy Trust resources to develop oracy skills and to help break down the texts into small chunks.

Concentrating mostly on TALK strategies (track, add, listen, keep asking relevant questions) to develop responses and inference skills, it soon became apparent that while these students were able to respond verbally, and with some degree of articulacy, there were serious barriers when it came to their written communication. Therefore, the key challenges facing the group in terms of writing were establishing the basic building blocks of writing in order to communicate their meaning with a greater degree of clarity.

Target students As the group consisted of only four students, all with similar issues with their writing, I have been able to target each student very specifically. However, for the purposes of my action research, I have focused on two students, both of whom had gaps in knowledge with their understanding of sentence construction, leading to chaotic responses which were hard to understand.

Student A: male, uses avoidance tactics to delay any kind of writing, verbally articulate and has a sound level of inference skills, confident speaker. Has a diagnosis of ADHD, along with difficulties with writing, as stated on his pupil passport. Standardised scores at KS2: reading-86, GPVS-90 Student B: female, struggles to develop ideas in writing and has a weak vocabulary. Lacks confidence in any aspect of reading, writing and speaking and has SEMH needs as well as an EHCP for dyslexia. This student also has writing issues stated on her pupil passport. Standardised scores at KS2: reading: 80, GPVS-no score available.

Both students have responded well to interventions and there has been a marked improvement in their written work, and in their independence in approaching it.

Action research When it became apparent that simply reminding these students to use full stops was not having any impact on their work, I undertook some research to explore different ways of introducing and cementing this knowledge. As this is something we usually expect students to learn at primary school and is an expectation of the Key Stage Three National Curriculum, I felt I needed to look at research into the primary classroom in order to effectively address why this fundamental building block of effective writing was so tricky both the learn and to teach.

An initial Google search lead me to the Herts for Learning blog (hertsforlearning.co.uk) where I discovered a blog entry addressing this very issue. The blog entry (March 2018) written by Penny Slater, posited that for some students, the issue with full stops and sentence demarcation in general, ‘was not so much a case of having forgotten where the full stop should go: the reality was that they did not really know where it should go in the first place.’ It occurred to me then, that rather than it being down to thoughtlessness in writing, or, as Slater calls it, a ‘seemingly laissez faire approach to sentence demarcation’, that I needed to get to the 95

root of the issue and assess where their prior knowledge lay. Did these students know, other than reciting ‘at the end of a sentence’, where to use accurate sentence demarcation? Did they know how to recognise a full sentence? Could they define and name the key ingredients of a full sentence?

Further reading around this area supported the concept of explicit instruction as a means of teaching students effective writing skills. In ‘The Writing Revolution’ (Hochman and Wexler, 2017), the authors assert that there are six ‘basic principles’ of teaching writing: 1. Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in in the early elementary grades.

2. Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.

3. When embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction can be a powerful tool.

4. The content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing activities.

5. Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.

6. The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.

Focusing on the first two of these principles, I set about creating a unit of work, linked to the curriculum content of writing a scary story, which would explicitly address the skill of sentence construction, developing three key skills and areas of knowledge: 1. Could students distinguish between a fragment and a complete sentence orally/visually/explaining their reasoning?

2. Did students know what grammatical elements made up a complete sentence?

3. How could I ensure that, once taught and practiced, this knowledge would be retained?

As the first step, I gave students free choice to write any story they wanted, and with very little in the way of help, other than a mind map of potential ideas on the whiteboard, asked them to write a paragraph or short story.

Student A’s response is here:

Student B’s response is here:

It quickly became apparent that, while there was some knowledge of sentence construction, it was inconsistent and hindered the understanding of both responses. It is clear that in both examples there are comma splices, as well as sentences which lack any kind of demarcation at all. This baseline assessment enabled me to ascertain that there was a significant gap in this area. Knowing that being able to use high 96

level punctuation and sophisticated grammatical structures is essential for GCSE success, and knowing that without this essential skill, students would struggle to develop the necessary skills to ‘showcase their use of dashes, colons and semi-colons’, (Slater, 2018), I developed my approach.

Hochman and Wexler (2017) suggest that a method which helps students understand the concept of what a sentence actually is consists of exploring fragments and complete sentences as this ‘helps students understand the concept of a complete sentence and discern sentence boundaries.’ Their suggestion to do this orally was where I began and so I created this activity as a starting point:

Students were given these examples, which I talked through with them, modelling inflection and pauses to aid meaning. Students were swiftly able to grasp that some were fragments because they didn’t make sense, which lead to discussion about what these sentences were missing. Students were able to explain that, for example, that we didn’t know who, or what, was racing quickly, or that we didn’t know what had happened to produce a result, or what would happen as a consequence. Students categorized these examples and from there, we discussed what commonalities were evident in the fragments and complete sentences. This seemingly simple activity had illustrated to students that creating a unit of meaning necessitated a specific set of ingredients, which enabled us to move forward in our understanding.

Following on from this, and still using oracy to engage with different sentence types and fragments, I introduced the technical vocabulary ‘subject’ and ‘verb’. Andy Tharby (November 2013) writes ‘Colour-coding is another quick and simple way to ensure focus on skills.’ Based on this research, we colour coded sentences, while discussing which words were the subjects and verbs, while experimenting with saying fragments, whic helped the students begin to understand what was missing. This direct and explicit instruction was fundamental to developing student understanding of the necessary components of a sentence, while also enabling this concept to become more concrete in their knowledge.

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Student A

Student B

Having addressed the issue of being able to identify sentences and fragments and introducing key technical vocabulary and knowledge, I had to then ensure that we retained that knowledge. Using ‘Rosenshine’s Principles in Action’ (Sherrington, 2019), which states that daily, weekly and monthly review is ‘a powerful technique for building fluency and confidence’, I began to embed regular, low-stakes, recall quizzes in lessons, allowing me to quickly check for understanding and assess what elements would need to be retaught.

I planned to regularly review with students their knowledge and understanding of sentence construction and, in keeping with the tenets of Rosenshine’s Principles, also introduced new material slowly, frequently revisiting and reteaching where necessary.

Work from Student A-regular quizzing to secure previous knowledge.

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Work from Student A-regular quizzing which enabled prior knowledge to be recalled and new knowledge to be introduced.

Work from Student B- regular quizzing to secure previous knowledge.

Work from Student B- regular quizzing which enabled prior knowledge to be recalled and new knowledge to be introduced.

As you can see from the student work here, both students secured their knowledge of sentence construction and were quickly able to name the key components of a sentence, even if not using the technical vocabulary, and there is clear evidence of progress in terms of retaining knowledge. Furthermore, and perhaps more significantly, both students showed a growing confidence in class, which lead to greater application of these skills.

Returning to developing student ability to apply sentence construction, I then looked at methods which could help these students apply their newly secured knowledge. Making sentence construction more visible had been a success when colour coding, and returning to the Herts for Learning blog, the idea of ‘Seeing the Sentence’ techniques seemed the next logical step. The premise of this is that students use different coloured pens to develop a piece of writing, with accurately demarcated sentences. I subsequently adapted this idea and encouraged students to simply begin a new line to demarcate sentences, and this has worked to tremendous effect, as you can see in the final pieces of work produced by these students.

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The final step in this sequence was for students to independently write a short story, with a specific focus on sentence demarcation. Students were series of images to help them develop a character, a situation in which to place them, and all of this was modelled and supported. Once students had gathered and generated their initial ideas, they then wrote independently.

Student A-independent writing

Student B-independent writing

Evident here is clear progress in terms of confidence, independence and crucially, knowledge and application of sentence formation. Student A has been more adventurous in terms of sentence construction and so there are errors; however, the general structure is more secure than at the beginning of this unit and there is greater consistency and awareness of sentence demarcation, which creates more coherence within this response.

Student B has focused on ensuring her sentences are accurate and while there is less variation, there is again, greater consistency and definite progress made in terms of accuracy and knowledge. Both students are much more confident now and the practice of retaining and recalling information has enabled both of them to feel more assured in class.

What next?

In summary, the things that had the single biggest impact was making the process of sentence construction visible; that direct, explicit instruction which I referred to at the beginning of this piece. Modelling sentence construction and demystifying the process has had a hugely positive impact on the students’ work, as seen in the examples above. The logical next steps here would be to continue to implement regular reviews using low stakes quizzes, modelling of longer and more complex sentence constructions and to encourage students to evaluate and review their own work. In all the literature I’ve read, the overwhelming message when teaching writing is that students need time to review and edit their work. Quigley (2013) arguably puts it most succinctly: ‘Get students to review the writing.’ There are, of course, time constraints within the curriculum and so building dedicated time into units of work for specifically focusing on the editing and review process is a necessity if we are to produce confident writers. For this specific group, I would share model examples of effective writing, as recommended by both Quigley and Tharby, explaining the process of improvement explicitly, so that students would develop confidence in evaluating their own work.

I suspect this is an issue with which we will be confronted again and again, and the strategies and processes I have followed here will be aspects I incorporate into my day to day teaching much more explicitly. My students have developed the knowledge I wished them to but also, and this is absolutely fundamental, their fear of writing and ‘getting it wrong’ has diminished and they have developed more confidence and understanding of writing as a process. Now, when I utter the words ‘Use capital letters and full stops in your 100

writing’ in lessons, there is a confidence that everyone is able to apply this skill knowledgably and successfully.

References Curtis, C (2019) ‘How to teach English’ (Ed. Beadle, P) Carmarthen, Wales: Crown House Publishing Department for Education (2013) English Programmes of Study: Key Stage Three Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2442 15/SECONDARY_national_curriculum_-_English2.pdf Hackney LIT programme. Available at: LIT Programme resources | Hackney Services for Schools Hochman, J, Lemov, D and Wexler, N (2017) ‘The Writing Revolution’ San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass Quigley, A (2013) Shared Writing; Modelling Mastery https://www.theconfidentteacher.com/2013/03/shared-writing-modelling-mastery/

Available

at:

Sherrington, T (2019) ‘Rosenshine’s Principles in Action’ Melton, Woodbridge: John Catt Slater, P (2018) Don’t Forget your Full Stops! Available at: https://www.hertsforlearning.co.uk/blog/dontforget-your-full-stops Tharby, A (2013) Modelling Writing…And the Meaning of Life Available https://reflectingenglish.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/modelling-writing-and-the-meaning-of-life/

at:

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Alex Kingswell-Cleaves - Literature review: Activating hard thinking – the heart of great teaching.

‘Activating hard thinking’ is the concept developed by Evidence Based Education, which forms the fourth dimension of their Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review, aiming to ‘transform teacher professional development’ through their model of teaching learning, a system that encourages continual development (Durrington Research School, 2020). This literature review will focus on the fourth and final dimension of the model, ‘activating hard thinking’, which Evidence Based Education defines as ‘the heart of great teaching: getting students to think hard about the material you want them to learn’, and which they further subdivide into six elements: structuring, explaining, questioning, interacting, embedding and activating (Evidence Based Education, 2020, pp. 30-31). For the purposes of this review, I have chosen to focus on two of the six key elements, which link together well, and which I believe to be most relevant to my subject area and therefore will directly impact my practice in the classroom.

Fig. 1: Excerpt from the Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Report (Evidence Based Education, 2020, p. 6) demonstrating the six elements of the fourth dimension regarding activating hard thinking.

Structuring Structuring forms the first element of the fourth dimension, which revolves around giving students an appropriate series of tasks for learning, which are considered and matched to the learners’ needs, signposting objectives and progress, and scaffolding tasks when necessary (Evidence Based Education, 2020, p. 6). These ideas can be seen to be supported by Myatt, who argues that we are sometimes guilty of oversimplifying in order to make lessons accessible to students, and that lesson activities may therefore be delivered ‘without consideration of challenge’. She believes that the use of texts in classrooms may pose the answer to this conundrum, so long as they are carefully chosen and students are appropriately prepared, for example through highlighting and discussing higher order concepts and tier three vocabulary in advance (Myatt, 2020, pp. 70-71).

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Furthermore, Bjork highlights the importance of introducing ‘desirable difficulties’; these being termed as such because they ‘trigger encoding and retrieval practices that support learning, comprehension, and remembering’ through the use of learning tasks that require high (but desirable) levels of effort (Bjork, 2013).

However, Bjork and Bjork are quick to point out that the method in which these challenges are presented is pivotal to their success, as they may become ‘undesirable difficulties’ if the students lack the prerequisite knowledge or skills in order to approach them successfully (Bjork & Bjork, 2011, p. 58).

The Bjorks’ work is reminiscent of a much earlier offering, that of Vygotsky, who put forward the idea of the zone of proximal development, the ‘distance between the actual developmental level as determined by individual problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers’ (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). As Walsh points out in his summary, there are boundaries that frame students’ zones of proximal development; pushing them too far beyond the topmost limit may lead to frustration and disengagement, but not pushing them enough makes it unlikely they will think hard (Walsh, 2020). This is echoed by Sherrington’s point that, whilst this may be a necessary decision, ‘as soon as you decide not to teach something to students on the basis that it’s too hard, you’ve closed a door to them’ (Sherrington, 2017, p. 161). In other words, finding the middle ground is likely to be a challenge, however worthwhile, particularly for teachers of mixed ability classes, as although we do not wish to push students to past the point of their capabilities, nor do we want to ‘close a door’ to them.

In summary, Bjork and Bjork’s works concur with the principal of structuring put forward by Evidence Based Education, as emphasis is placed here on raising the level of challenge for the learner, whilst providing the appropriate level of scaffolding for the needs of the individual, in order that these tasks are achievable and can be tackled successfully. They also agree with the fundamentals of Myatt’s argument, as although no reference is made to the use of texts specifically in Bjork and Bjork’s works, they do concur with the idea of careful preparation of tasks which are appropriate to the individual’s needs; not too difficult as to be unachievable, but not lacking challenge and therefore failing to stretch the student. However, this poses a challenge to us in the classroom, when we may be faced with thirty students with differing needs – how do we ensure that each of these individual learners is challenged at an appropriate level for their own stage of development?

Questioning This forms the third element of Evidence Based Education’s principle of activating hard thinking, and revolves around the use of questioning to encourage elaboration of concepts and ideas, as well as elicit student thinking and assess understanding. Indeed, the ability to effectively question students whilst retaining their engagement is described by Morrison McGill (2020) in his review of the Great Teaching Toolkit as ‘the greatest asset any teacher can master.’

Kennedy suggests that purpose must be considered alongside practice – understanding not just the ‘visible behaviours’ of teaching, but more importantly the purpose behind these practices, and how they contribute to the lesson as a whole (Kennedy, 2016, p. 7). To this end, Evidence Based Education (2020, p. 34) suggests that questioning can be divided into two types; to promote deep thinking, or to assess understanding, both of which are treated as equally valid tools if the purpose of questioning has been carefully considered, in order to pose meaningful and appropriate questions and adapt to the response provided.

This reflects Rosenshine’s third principal – to ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students. By asking a large number of knowledge recall questions, Rosenshine found that test scores for students were improved, but more importantly, they discovered that more effective teachers used many more ‘process questions’ (Rosenshine, 2010, p. 12). In other words, they found that the most effective teaching involved questioning where students were expected to elaborate on or explain the reasoning behind their response.

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Indeed, this is seen as such an important part of teaching practice that it has been included in the Teach First core induction programme, as part of the new Early Careers Framework, whereby the importance of questioning for these two purposes is expounded, and practical strategies are explained in more detail (Teach First; Department for Education, 2021). Furthermore, as part of their Dynamic Model, Creemers and Kyriakides (2011, p. 35) put forward three key ideas in relation to questioning, the first of which is the use of different types of questioning (to assess understanding or to process and expand deep thinking) at the ‘appropriate difficulty level’, an idea which reflects the Rosenshine’s numerous works, as summarised above.

In summary, it is clear from the consistency of much of the available research that effective questioning forms a vital part of activating hard thinking, as by pushing students to elaborate on their ideas, or explain their reasoning, we are asking them to make links between the concepts studied and their own ideas, thus deepening their understanding of the topic. This links well to the first element of activating hard thinking, as questioning requires the use of structure – asking the appropriate questions to the appropriate students at the appropriate time in order to stretch and challenge them in their learning, and this is why I chose to focus on these two elements of the fourth dimension.

Overall, it is clear that there has been comprehensive research carried out during the last few years, reviewing and building upon works previously available, in order to create a useful and comprehensive model, based on evidence, for reflective professional development.

This is particularly pivotal given the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which teachers (amongst many other professions) have had to be flexible, adapting teaching practices to support students in new ways. This has given us the opportunity to reflect on our practice as educators, and consider the core principles that form the cornerstone of our profession. As demonstrated through the Great Teaching Toolkit, and the evidence review that underpins it, by focusing on the six elements of the fourth dimension, we can activate hard thinking, and by doing so, return to the heart of great teaching.

Bibliography Bjork, E. L. & Bjork, R. A., 2011. Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In: M. A. Gernsbacher, R. W. Pew, L. M. Hough & J. R. Pomerantz, eds.

Psychology and the real world: Essays illustrating fundamental contributions to society. New York: Worth Publishers, pp. 56-64.

Bjork, R. A., 2013. Desirable difficulties perspective on learning.. In: H. Pashler, ed. Encycloepaedia of the mind. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Creemers, B. & Kyriakides, L., 2011. Improving quality in education: Dynamic approaches to school improvement. Oxford: Routledge.

Durrington Research School, 2020.

Activating Hard Thinking.

Available at: https://classteaching.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/activating-hard-thinking/

[Online]

Evidence Based Education, 2020. Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review. [Online] Available at: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/584543-great-teaching-toolkit-evidencereview.pdf Kennedy, M., 2016. Parsing the practice of teaching. Journal of teacher education, 67(1), pp. 6-17.

Morrison McGill, R., 2020.

The Elements of Great Teaching.

Available at: https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2020/06/20/great-teaching-toolkit/

[Online]

Myatt, M., 2020. Back on track: Fewer things, greater depth. Woodridge: John Catt Educational Ltd. Rosenshine, B., 2010. Principles of instruction. Educational practice series, 21(1), pp. 1-32.

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Sherrington, T., 2017. The learning rainforest: Great teaching in real classrooms. Woodridge: John Catt Educational Ltd. Teach First; Department for Education, 2021. Core Induction Programme: Session 5 - Questioning. [Online] Available at: https://www.early-career-framework.education.gov.uk/teachfirst/teach-first/self-directedstudy-material/3-what-makes-classroom-practice-effective/5-questioning-60-mins/ Vygotsky, L. S., 1978. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Walsh, M., 2020.

Thinking hard or supportive challenge.

Available at: https://www.letsthinkinenglish.org/thinking-hard-or-supportive-challenge/

[Online]

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Eniko Rus - The CPA approach – helping students with the ‘encoding’ process Intent – The issue Many believe, that the key to excellent teaching is in the possession of excellent subject knowledge as a prerequisite as well as, in creating a positive classroom environment where young people are willing to learn and are capable of learning. This means good behaviour, with minimal disruptions, planning and structuring lessons, which are primarily student focused with a well-established balance between teacher and student interactions. The Ofsted description of an ‘outstanding’ lesson reflects these beliefs: ‘Pupils need to be making excellent progress, to be using resources tailored to their needs, and to be exposed to a range of teaching methods. They should respond with interest and enthusiasm.’

As teachers, we all seek to develop professionally, learn new methods, approaches and improve our teaching.

Many of us will fall in the trap of being over-enthusiastic, where we try out new ideas immediately and often discard them, before properly analysing the impact they had on our students’ learning.

In my desire to support my students the best way I could, I needed to understand more how students learn and store new information and to that end I have focused my personal teaching development and research this year towards understanding the Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory, how it works and how it could help me develop better teaching strategies, as well as having familiarised myself with Rosenshine’s Principals of Instructions. Most notably his second principal, which requires presenting the new teaching information in small steps, in order to better understanding. Both theories explain how our working memory has a limited capacity. So, if students are presented with too much information at once, the brain suffers from something known as overload. This causes the learning process to slow down or even stop since the brain can no longer process all the information being presented at that one time. Introducing the new material during a sequence of lessons and in small steps, addresses the limitations of our working memory and how it is quite small.

‘The goal of learning should not be to acquire a whole lot of unrelated facts or items of knowledge. They should be interconnected and relatable to each other in order to build greater coherence and depth of understanding’ – Steve Garnett.

During my teaching of algebra I have encountered many students who cannot see the purpose of learning algebra, they are unable to make connections between concrete and abstract ideas. Students, as well as many of us teachers, believe that some algebraic concepts need to be learnt by presenting them with wellplanned modelled examples and then practiced, until students become fluent and therefore are able to encode parts of their learning.

We must remember that knowledge and understanding are interconnected and that all students are able to visually encode new learning material easier. As teachers we should dedicate a greater importance to helping students visualise abstract algebraic concepts, to make use of their thinking skills and methods they practice in maths and everyday life. In the process we can further develop and deepen their algebraic thinking, show them that, through the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) process, they can bridge the gap between what they like, such as straightforward and concrete mathematical problems, towards the more abstract algebraic examples.

Target students I have focused on a high ability Year 9 class (set 1/9), consisting of 31 students. The students relied on a solid prior mathematical knowledge and their mathematical/algebraic thinking was well developed with fluency in maths being strong. Although they were able to generalise number patterns using algebraic symbols, I have found that it became difficult for students to make connections, activate, plan and regulate their own learning and embed more abstract algebraic concepts in their long term memory. In other words, when teaching them, I have identified that they have gaps in their understanding of algebra and therefore they struggled to recall prior algebraic knowledge when this was needed to support the new learning.

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Action Which teaching processes and strategies did you try that were different?

The Concrete Pictorial Abstract (CPA) approach is a system of learning that uses physical and visual aids to build a student’s understanding of abstract topics and it is quickly becoming one of the most fundamental learning theories to be implemented within any mastery classroom. It was first proposed by Jerome Bruner and used as a means of scaffolded learning. According to his beliefs the abstract nature of learning (and this is especially true in mathematics) is a “mystery” to many children. It, therefore, needs to be scaffolded by the use of effective representations and any new mathematical concept introduced in three stages, taught simultaneously: •

Concrete (enactive) – is the ‘doing’ stage. It involves the physical manipulation of objects to explore structures, find commonalities and rehearse the mathematics. During this stage, students use concrete objects to model problems. Unlike traditional maths teaching methods where teachers demonstrate how to solve a problem, the CPA approach brings concepts to life by allowing students to experience and handle physical (concrete) objects.

When I used the CPA method during my lesson of ‘Completing the square’, in the concrete stage I introduced students to the algebraic tiles (manipulatives) and gave them the opportunity to explore how to represent quadratic expressions using algebra tiles and rearrange them in perfect squares. At first, students were asked to represent easier quadratic expressions, which have made a complete square when rearranged and then I gradually increased these in difficulty to facilitate discussions and explore further ideas related to the method of completing the square.

During the class discussion I noticed that when pupils were acting on the mathematics with the manipulatives they were also more likely to form the language to communicate concepts and ideas. It also gave me a better insight of where the misconceptions lie and allowed pupils to develop their ability to communicate mathematically and to reason.

•

Pictorial – the ‘seeing’ stage – Here, the visual representations of concrete objects are used to model problems. This stage encourages students to make a mental connection between the physical object they just handled and the abstract pictures, diagrams or models that represent the objects from the problem.

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The transition from the previous stage happened almost instantaneously. The class enjoyed drawing and colouring in their pictorial representations and I felt they were all ready for the next stage as visualising the abstract problem of completing the square made it more accessible.

• Abstract – symbolic stage, when we make use of abstract symbols to model problems. Students will not progress to this stage until they have demonstrated that they have a solid understanding of the concrete and pictorial stages of the problem, which my class has easily done as a high ability class. This stage might involve more of the teachers’ input, who could be introducing abstract concepts if necessary (for example, mathematical symbols) or model the answers, but as students have already demonstrated a greater understanding they will be able to make connections and start encoding their new learnt information.

Why did you select this/these approaches?

Before I completed the CPA online training course in June, 2020, I believed that the use of concrete resources is mainly beneficial at primary level, when teaching KS1 and KS2 students and I found it hard to see how pupils who use the CPA approach would be able to build on each stage towards a fuller understanding of the concepts being learnt and how the information and knowledge would be internalised to a greater degree.

The online training gave me the opportunity to see how each stage of the approach acts as a scaffold for subsequent and connected learning.

I soon followed up this initial course, with two further courses on algebraic manipulatives and it became obvious how effective the CPA process could be in teaching traditional methods with minimal teaching input even at KS4 level, and how the encoding of the new information would take place more naturally and effectively.

Evaluation Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

I feel students have enjoyed being involved in the process of recognising and analysing abstract algebraic ideas and relationships, using concrete, practical activities and pictorial representations. When I listened to their conversations, during group work (mostly the concrete activities), or looked at their representations, modelled answers and practice work, I noticed they were all involved and the completed work has been done to a higher standard than usual. Later, when faced with similar problems, students were able to retrieve the encoded information and, although they were still relying in some cases on the pictorial representations, they were also able to formalise their answers using abstract algebraic notations. The product, the end result is promising, as I truly believe, using the CPA approach I was able to teach some difficult algebraic topics, in a fun way and also helped students make connections more spontaneously than before.

What next?

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I found that the CPA approach was, overall, useful to encourage students to explore, understand and generalise mathematical ideas and I know I will be using this strategy in my future lessons. My biggest challenge and next step will be to find new resources, which help to take advantage of this teaching method, as well as to adapt my teaching and questioning. Undeniably, it will be an important task to always find the right balance between well-extended questioning – teacher input and allowing the students the freedom to make connections, generalise and therefore, be actively involved in the construction of their knowledge and bridging the gap between concrete, pictorial and abstract representations of mathematical problems.

Reading ➢ Steve Garnett, Cognitive Load Theory, 2020 ➢ Rosenshine, Principles of Instructions, 2010 (mostly overviews) ➢ Neil Denby, Training to teach, 2012 ➢ Bruner Jerome, The process of education, 1960, The Harvard University Press ➢ Bruner Jerome, The culture of education, 1996, The Harvard University Press ➢ David Weston and Bridget Clay, Unleashing great teaching, 2018 ➢ John Hattie, Visible learning for teachers, 2012 ➢ WhiteRoseMaths: CPA approach - course material ➢ Brown, Laura L., What's Singapore Math?, PBS. Retrieved September 19, 2013. ➢ Rachel Rayner, The CPA Approach, 28th May, 2016

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Fiona Ryan - Developing motivation and confidence in the Maths classroom.

Intent d. The issue For my CPD project this year I took part in the ‘High Fives’ project, run by Hampshire Services, in conjunction with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Councils.

The following aims were proposed by the High Fives team: ➢ Improve outcomes for IOW students at grade 5+ in the Basics measure (English and Maths). ➢ Develop students’ motivation and confidence through participation in conferences and enhanced positive attention in school. ➢ Achieve longer-term impact on teaching and learning through sharing resources and pedagogy with teachers Obviously, due to the Covid restrictions, we were unable to work towards the second aim this year.

Therefore, the focus of this aim was shifted onto developing motivation and confidence in the classroom. e. Target students I taught a middle ability Year 11 group, sitting a Foundation Mathematics paper at the end of the year. From this group, I selected a number of students who I felt were capable of reaching a grade 5, with a bit of additional support. The methods I selected should also help other students in the group achieve a grade 5 (or 4), resulting in a wider impact at key stage 4, over time, than with just the focus pupils.

‘Mathematics education is a key to increasing the post-school and citizenship opportunities of young people, but today, as in the past, many students struggle with mathematics and become disaffected as they continually encounter obstacles to engagement.’ (Anthony and Walshaw, 2009, p.6) During my years of teaching, I have always strived to make maths accessible and enjoyable for my students, especially for those who have struggled in the past. Both my University dissertation and last year’s CPD journal entry focussed on the importance of the relationship between attitudes, anxieties and mathematical ability. f.

Research

My research was based around finding an approach that would be easy to embed and that students would get on board with. The discussions with teachers from other Island schools helped develop my ideas. Some teachers were adding more recall opportunities in to their lessons, however, recall is already a big part of our maths lessons with our Daily ICE tasks, so I needed something different. Through outside reading, I decided that an organised approach to structuring their mathematical workings and arguments, would be most beneficial. ‘[An] organised approach to learning … is driven by the need for achievement and the use of space and time to achieve a task. The intentions of those who adopt [such] achieving strategies are to strive to gain high grades.’ (Murphy, 2017, p.2) It is well documented that manipulatives and models can greatly improve a students’ mathematical understanding. As manipulatives are not permitted in an exam scenario, a modelling method would be most suitable.

‘Effective teachers draw on a range of representations and tools … [and these] are most effective when they cease to be external aids, instead becoming integral parts of students’ mathematical reasoning. As tools become increasingly invested with meaning, they become increasingly useful for furthering learning.’

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Action b. Which teaching processes and strategies did you try that were different?

For my project, I decided to create an acronym for students to use to help structure their answers to the more complicated, ‘wordy’ problems in their Maths papers. These questions typically differentiate a grade 5 from a grade 4, so in order for the issue to be addressed students would need a reliable method to access these questions.

‘Successful mathematicians … solve problems, explain their thinking and have a positive attitude about themselves as learners of mathematics’ (NRICH, 2020) The acronym I developed was ‘DUCK’ (Appendix A gives a more detailed explanation of each ) D – Diagram U – Underline C – Calculate K – Know Although I have previously taught exam skills to groups of year 11 students, this was the first time I had explicitly outlined an approach that could be adopted and adapted for all types of questions. I created examples of the method for algebraic, geometric and ratio and proportion problems. (Appendix B shows one worked example as presented to the class) c. Why did you select this/these approach(es)?

I designed the DUCK method specifically to encourage students to focus on annotating given diagrams, or creating their own. Having taught the target group of students for 2 years (in year 9 and 10) I was already aware that they often had the mathematical ability to tackle these problems, but lacked the confidence to begin answering them. Through my experience in marking mock papers, I often see diagrams ignored – however, marks can be awarded for annotations, so I felt it was vital that students understood this and used diagrams as a way of organising and recording their mathematical thoughts and ideas.

‘Although it has been emphasised since the eighties of the past century that the teaching of mathematics should include solving problems and point to the use of mathematics in everyday life, in reality it seems that this kind of teaching has not actually come to life (Dindyal et al., 2012) and that this continues to be one of the unattainable goals of teaching mathematics (Stacey, 2005).’ (Žakelj, 2018, p.207) Even if a student could not answer a question fully they would at least have an opportunity to attempt a question and begin the problem solving process, perhaps gaining a few extra marks, but most importantly increasing their confidence throughout the paper.

‘Perhaps most importantly, we want learners to feel positive about themselves as learners of mathematics’ (NRICH, 2020)

Evaluation c. Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

This academic year was very different to previous years, so it is hard to know how successful this project has been, or whether students were influenced by other additional factors that would not normally occur. When given mock exams back, I encouraged students to look back at questions they had not answered, and reminded them of the DUCK method. Appendix C shows two examples of student work and improvement after these reminders. Using DUCK allowed them to organise their thinking and spot ‘the first step’ to answering an otherwise inaccessible question. For these students the method clearly had an impact.

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Appendix D shows an example of a student using DUCK independently in a mock exam. You can clearly see the diagram and use of underlining to correctly annotate and go on to answer this question.

Fourteen out of thirty students in my class achieved their grade 5, with a further fifteen securing their grade 4. This was a tremendous accomplishment, and exceeded even my own expectations!

As noted previously, I cannot be sure that DUCK is solely responsible for this improvement, however, I have confidence that it has played a part. d. What next?

Looking forward to next year, I will aim to introduce the DUCK method to my new classes. I believe this method could work with any year group, so will be introducing it to my KS3 group early on. I believe it can also be used for higher attaining students. Next year I will be teaching a higher set year 11 – they will need encouragement and strategies to maximise their marks to achieve grades 8 and 9. Again, DUCK can be used to organise and structure their answers to ensure this happens.

I would also like to use DUCK more in feedback given to students (Appendix E), especially when mock papers are returned. This gives them an area of focus for improvement for the next round of exams.

Reading Anthony and Walshaw Available at: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Educational_Practices/EdPractices_19.pdf Dennessen Available at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/edri/2019/3745406/ Jones Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312880486_Diagrams_in_the_teaching_and_learning_of_geom etry_some_results_and_ideas_for_future_research Long Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308093151_Approaches_to_teaching_primary_level_mathema tics Murphy Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309499351_Student_Approaches_to_Learning_Conceptions_of _Mathematics_and_Successful_Outcomes_in_Learning_Mathematics NRICH Available at: https://nrich.maths.org/14682 Wigley Available at: https://nrich.maths.org/content/id/7768/Models.pdf Žakelj Available at: https://tner.polsl.pl/e54/a17.pdf 112

Appendices Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

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Appendix D

Appendix E

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Rebecca White - 21st Century Skills in relation to the English Curriculum Rationale For the past few years I have been tasked with teaching Functional Skills English. This is basically a set of students who require extra intervention in the fundamental skills of English.

I commenced my ‘FS’ teaching journey two years ago by utilising published and recommended resources especially written for a group like this. It wasn’t long before it became abundantly clear that my class were not enthused by this diet and were thus completing tasks with minimal effort or achievement. I then utilised and adapted resources recommended by colleagues who had more experience of lower sets, but these also failed to spark any enthusiasm for learning. To attempt rectify this, I painstakingly made my own imaginatively presented resources targeting all the areas I thought they might have an interest in. Thus, my dismay was even more bitter when I calculated that, although they had enjoyed these far more, still their retention of fundamental skills was inadequate.

Over time, in an effort to improve their attitude to learning, communication with this group continuously highlighted their disinterest in education in general. It was obvious they really could not appreciate what the syllabus offered to them and what it provided in terms of their future aspirations (and surprising, they did have aspirations). This led me to consider the knowledge and skills incorporated in the existing (and only recently adapted) English syllabus and thus to research different ideas and perspectives of the current thinking around 21st-Century skills.

Definition of 21st Century Skills and Goals As far as 21st Century skills go, it seems the UK is somewhat behind the curve in research into this area compared to Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA. Quite obviously, the basics of numeracy and are undoubtedly important to master as fundamental life skills, but to begin my Literature Review I will start with the perspective derived from the web site of The National Association of Colleges and Employees in the US. They identified the key 21st century skills and goals as primarily ‘soft skills’ such as problem solving, leadership and work ethic as well as basic technical skills such as digital fluency, and the focus areas within these being: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication or the 4 C’s.

Discovery Education’s blog (Using Project-Based Learning to develop 21st century Skills, 20/08/20) believes that lessons which tap into these 4 Cs simultaneously are the most effective in terms of immersing students into future real life environments. By using problem solving project based lessons (PSB) students re forced to access their ‘metacognitive strategies’ which, in turn, develop within them a greater understanding of how they learn. advocates that by using this understanding, students can then navigate a path to success with any challenge. It helps them internalise work habits such as organisational and prioritising skills required to work as an effective team in any circumstance. By understanding the significance of these skills in goal achievement, motivation and self-esteem are enhanced.

To elucidate, PBL and just doing a traditional ‘project’ are two very different things. Luminary Lab’s blog ‘Helping 21st-century learners gain 21st-century skills’ a team of educational consultants based, again, in the US explains the traditional project requires the teacher to cover a topic ‘…using a combination of passive activities like listening to lectures, reading textbooks etc.’ and students then regurgitate information to complete a task. This, they argue, is passive learning, and information is very unlikely to be retained or build key skills. PBL, in contrast, incorporates inquiry as part of the learning and creating process. By confronting students with open ended questions that frame students work around important issues, debates, challenges and problems, students can then explore answers and solutions inspired by their own cognitive skills.

Very few of the web sites I used for my research, however, provided me with any substance as to how to incorporate and facilitate PBL into a curriculum and those that did mention this, at all, aimed their ideas at

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the humanities and sciences. Edutopia’s ‘How Project-Based Learning Builds 21st Century Skills’ (2/5/12) provided the basic model of: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Students compare information from different sources Draw conclusions based on analysis Solve authentic complex problems to answer the question with no single solution Give feedback to other student’s work Convey ideas using media Answer an audiences questions Evaluate experiences

In my search for more ideas on the actual implementation of PBL in the classroom, I then embarked upon an exceptionally lengthy body of research by Springer, 2017: ‘21st Century Skills Development Through Inquiry – Based learning’. Its promise of ‘adaptations to didactic teaching and learning approaches to open new doors for individual and collaborative knowledge construction and sharing’ lured me into trawling through its copious pages to discover further insight (and I did discover some rather interesting grids and diagrams, which I have attached).

Interestingly, the beginning of this study juxtaposed the grades of students the traditional project approach with those receiving the PBL approach and citied a far improved reading and literacy ability with the PBL group. It was made clear that gathering evidence from texts as well as Sadly, the inhibiting factor with the PBL approach was the workload involved in the pedagogical leadership of bringing together all disciplines in collaborative efficacy. It basically suggested, that to implement this approach effectively would take a lengthy and transformational diversification from our traditional separate subject approach. Further reading highlighted the requirement for complete re-resourcing of information literacy and media literacy relevant to suffice in depth inquiry. Having adopted sufficient collaborative tools, it is imperative that teachers ‘…take necessary measures to ensure sufficient and effective communication among students…’ The collaborative ‘Inquiry Design Process’ would be something entirely new to the majority of teachers and this surely would be an important and fundamental skill requiring perfection if the PBL approach was to be successful. Ongoing professional development would be vital, and is there the expertise out there to facilitate this?

Reflection At this point, although I could see how English might be relevant in PBLs in terms of the process, it would certainly need to be as part of an integrated curriculum to be successful. It would need to be interdisciplinary.

Becoming more and more demoralised about whether any of this research could be of benefit in any way to my current teaching practice, I turned my attention towards other arguments around the metamorphosis of curriculum ready for the 21st century, one of them being the ‘Subject v Competences’ argument. This was important for me because, in my subject, English, the appreciation of works of literature is a major part of the syllabus and just as important as the incorporation of literacy skills across the curriculum. Having watched, ‘The ‘Big Debate’ on raiseonlinetraining.co.uk. involving Matthew Taylor (RSA and the ‘Open Minds Curriculum’) et al. verses the more traditional separate subject curriculum advocates, it was obvious that even in the Humanities and Sciences, experts agree that separate disciplinarian teaching is as important as cross-curricular skills. However, as much of current teaching syllabus is confined by timetable and staffing restrictions, could a curriculum ever be flexible enough to allow the facilitation of both?

In this video, the case was also made for whether secondary education should actually just be defined by employability? It made the valuable assertion that giving students a good basis in the core values of respect and morality was just as important.

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Furthermore, Will Hazel in his article in the TES 23rd August 2018 asks ‘Does GCSE really act as a legitimate measure of functional competence?’. He makes the point that the 30 per cent of students who don’t achieve a Grade 5 ‘… may nonetheless have a basic level of competence, but gain little from GCSE apart from humiliation and misery’. It did remind me of my FS group. Interestingly, a current news item in much of the media at the moment is that John Lewis, Marks and Spencer’s, Hermes, MacDonald’s and many more companies have complained at having to provide basic literacy and maths skills to new employees due to their lack of competence in Literacy and Maths. However, I am sure, students like this in most schools would be receiving support to reinforce these skills, but it seems despite our focus on these in these groups, long term learning is not taking place. In addition, derogatory comments such as, ‘Now that teachers are marking GCSEs, they will not be worth the grades will not be worth the paper they were written on.’ alongside the growing apprehension and suspicion of parents about what ‘Just university educated teachers’ are teaching their children and whether, ‘the current school provision actually delivers a sound level of general knowledge, current affairs and economics,’ cannot be ignored (The Spectator, May 21).

Broadcasting recently on a popular news platform, June 2021, Sue Harwood, the Headteacher of Lichfield Cathedral School, who recently chaired a Heads’ Conference, explained that at this conference, of over sixty different leaders from across the country, there had been an ‘obvious commonality of severe concerns around schools who were producing ‘blanket curriculum’’. She explained that the growing network of academy chains and conglomerates across the country has resulted in the curriculum of their individual establishments becoming far less individualised and no longer fit for regional differences. Not only this, senior managers are said to be ‘constraining individual teachers from doing what they do best’ by not letting them invest in their own schemes of work and lesson plans. She also criticises the ‘kneejerk reaction’ of the ‘Liberal Elite’ in curriculum management whose response to ‘outrage by minority groups such as Stonewall and Greenpeace’ has often resulted in a loss of a ‘rational sense of balance’. She asserts that the best schools will not be happy ‘doing what they’ve always done’ and that a curriculum fit for the 21st century must create the best opportunities and lead to best outcomes for students and therefore needs to be bespoke for the demographic of the school intake and the individual teaching groups.

Robert Halfon, Chairman of the Education Select Committee, again on a current radio broadcast June 20121, insists the exit from the pandemic is the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ and the best educators have be prepared for a complete overhaul. For Halfon, the key to making education fit for the 21st-century digital revolution and closing the attainment gap is to stop thinking of skills training and academia as separate. He recommends that the focus for schools should be on rectifying the big inequalities of the disadvantaged, particularly the White Working Class who statistically achieve far below all other ethnicities and also have very disproportionate representation.

Another consideration of importance in the ability to reform the current somewhat currently passive curriculum ready for the 21st century is timetable design. Although leaders acknowledge subject provision is still very much dictated to by staffing and timetabling, they advocate that it is most important that schools do not prioritise problems with timetabling over valuing vocational/technical and PB led learning. It needs to be facilitated equally to academic studies, and the current situation with staffing and timetabling is prohibitive to the improved attainment recognised by the student- centred syllabus. In fact, if students are to progress on to ‘Degree apprenticeships’ – the schemes being currently being contemplated by education reform groups and employers in subjects such as engineering or accountancy where students work towards a degree on the job, then surely it makes sense that their preceding studies underpin preparation for these.

In addition, there would also have to be a radical shake up of teacher-training. Even now, however, most teaching courses struggle to make their syllabus relevant. (Yes, copious lesson planning ad. nausea is still ‘a thing’ and behaviour management hardly touched on!).

In reality, for this to ever happen, schools would have to learn to become far more flexible. As the Springer report highlighted, schools who embarked upon the incorporation of PB struggled with the pedagogical 118

leadership required to facilitate the bringing together of all disciplines, as well as the appropriate resources to enable it.

Also, although as far back as 2013, D Myhill et al. in the most extensive school based progress in writing research ever produced in current times, produced the ORE report ‘Grammar for Writing? An investigation into the effect of Contextualised Grammar Teaching on Student Writing,’ in which specialists insisted the isolated teaching of grammar was failing as it was passive learning, and therefore ‘…very unlikely to be retained or build key skills.’ yet the isolated teaching of grammar instead of explicit teaching in context has become synonymous country wide with ‘English Mastery,’ the curriculum advocated in many federations, so why would their senior leaders embrace the need for radical change such as more coherence across the curriculum?

Conclusion Fundamentally, this study has confirmed to me that although arguments have habitually raged between adherents of a “knowledge-rich” curriculum and those who want it to be “skills-based,” valuable learning must also engender creative, flexible, entrepreneurial and open-ended challenges in a PB style. It is also important that it is, ‘…interspersed with the social fundamentals that develop a well-rounded student; a more flexible and targeted PHSE syllabus, plus global, economic and political understanding which engenders a sense of national pride’ (Springer).

In my opinion, in terms of the English curriculum and its reform ready for the 21 st century, although there is no doubt reading complex works of literature fosters critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication, to incorporate problem solving and the ability to confront students with open ended questions that frame students work around important topical issues, debates, challenges and problems in a more PB format would mean it would possibly have to delivered in a much more cross-curricular programme.

In consideration of this, if we, despite some growing reticence, are to continue along the path of preparation towards GCSE, PB which incorporates inquiry as part of the learning and creating process could add value to the current English Language curriculum.

Also as, ‘Retention of some space for discrete subjects as we currently know them is important.’ (Springer), English Literature could be taught as a discrete subject. Springer also advocates that, ‘Students who want to in subjects that interest them without the constraints of limited time must be able to go into great depth’.

Obviously, not everything will be able to be squeezed in; as Springer cities ‘Choices must be made – by children where possible, not adults’.

So… I ask myself: will the extra three billion of Education funding the government has provided for education be used for educational reform or shall we run scared and stick with what we know?

Frankly, having taught for over thirty-five years and seeing very little development in curriculum design, I remain sceptical.

Appendix Thinking Engendered in PBL.

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Ideas for Implementation of PBL

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Links to read/watched material ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

What is Project Based Learning? | PBLWorks 21st Century Skills Development Through Inquiry-Based Learning | SpringerLink How Project-Based Learning Builds 21st-Century Skills | Edutopia Using Project-Based Learning to Develop 21st Century Skills | TGR EDU Explore Cory Cummings – Exploration in Digital Education Experiential Learning Depot - Experiential Learning Depot Homepage Helping 21st-century learners gain 21st-century skills | Luminary Labs (luminary-labs.com) The Big Debate | RAISEonline & Fischer Family Trust Training and Consultancy Videos (raiseonlinetraining.co.uk) 122

Justine Doughty - It’s all in his head: How ‘sentence expansion’ can help students become fluent, confident writers (in all subjects) I’ve lost track of how many parents I’ve met at parents’ evenings who shrug their shoulders and scratch their heads, announcing that their son can ‘remember things and he can talk about them. He has ideas, but he can’t get them down on paper! It’s all in his head.’ We’re all familiar with this scenario: students (particularly boys) who engage in class discussions, express their ideas verbally, and answer questions. Equally, we’re also familiar with that dreaded phrase we often hear during cold calling: dunno. (we all know we can’t accept that, of course: there is no opt out – but that is not what this is about).

Picture this: The teacher stands at the front of the room for 25 minutes and delivers picture perfect input, models exquisite paragraphs, leads the class through a fantastic discussion where every child takes part and is able to evidence perfect retrieval of earlier material and link their learning to the ‘big picture’. The energy in the room is palpable. With the satisfaction of a job well done, said teacher finally ‘hands over’ to the students allowing the little cherubs to prove, in writing, what they have learnt. The room is silent but for the scratching of pens on paper and the grinding of wheels turning in the young minds that have just been fed a rich diet of ‘robust, challenging, and that much loved buzz phrase: ‘high quality’ material. Said teacher wishes someone had popped in, witnessed the genius, or walked by to observe and could also rejoice in the success of a lesson well delivered and well learned. Smiles all around. Satisfied and feeling smug, said teacher cracks her knuckles in delight after the lesson as she sits to mark the work of the students who just were offered an ‘ofsted worthy’ performance.

And yet.

And yet…. The first book is woefully ‘pithy’ with chicken scratch scrawled in small bursts of meagre ideas, thinly presented. But where is the depth, said teacher laments!? Where is the analysis? Said teacher hopes it’s just the first one and perseveres, confident that the next, or maybe the next, or surely one soon, will be as detailed and as ‘juicy’ as it should be. Said teacher starts to sweat and feels a headache coming on- double checks that the student has a copy of the modelled paragraph. Said teacher screams in her head: but... I did!

We did! You did! And then the next book is opened in a fit of despair. I believe I have made the face below many times (excuse the grammatical error – it is unforgivable, I know).

Part of me rebels: but they were listening! They were on board! (in case it isn’t clear by now, said teacher is me).

Why are students who do remember details, who do learn the material we present them with, and who do engage, unable to express themselves confidently and fluently in their writing? What is the missing link?

In English, we’ve tried to use many different mnemonics and other parlour tricks to try to help students with expository writing: SEIZE, PEEZR, PEE, PETAL, PEEL. I think we can all agree that often, there is something missing. The trouble with using mnemonics for scaffolding is that these quick fixes can often lead to stilted, robotic writing that cannot pierce as deep as we need into the material.

In my quest to find ‘the missing link,’ I came across a jewel of a book ‘The Writing Revolution’ by Judith Hochman and Natalie Wexler.

Hochman contends that the minutia of fluent expression is not taught properly in schools, most likely because dwelling on the seemingly mundane details of connectives and sentence expansion is not exactly sexy fodder for discussion in any capacity nor does it require the all-signing all-dancing magic tricks that many of us 123

believed for so long was what was needed for an observation. She maintains that ‘syntactic control [is] the link between better writing and better reading’. Deeper thinking cannot be expressed, and sometimes even explored verbally, without the skills to express thought in meaningful, connected and detailed sentences.

The programs more prolific than this write up will allow, so I will briefly summarize some of them that we plan to roll out consistently in English (and hopefully the wider school community) in the Autumn Term. If it seems simple, that’s because it is. The methods are simple: the key is in consistent, deliberate and thoughtful application in a variety of contexts.

Six Key Principles 1. Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the early primary years.

2. Sentences are the building blocks of all writing.

3. When embedded in the content of the curriculum, writing instruction is a powerful teaching tool.

4. The content of the curriculum drives the rigour of the writing activities.

5. Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.

6. The two most important phases of the writing process are planning and revising.

No smoke and mirrors – just useful ideas. Very refreshing.

A few I’ve been trialling are: 1. Identifying and fixing sentence fragments ___ queen isabella and king ferdinand (fragment) ___ columbus never reached ___ the sailors were tired and frightened ___ in three ships ___ columbus was an Italian sailor.

After marking these examples F or S, students should convert the fragments into correct the punctuation and capitalisation.

sentences

and

2. Using conjunctions: ‘because, but, so’ Seeds need light to grow because __________.

Seeds need light to grow, but _____________.

Seeds need light to grow, so ______________.

This works to review / retrieve content as well as improving writing skills at the same time as checking comprehension. This has worked especially well with expository writing in year 10.

3. Using appositives: Mrs Doughty, a Canadian, teaches English at Cowes Enterprise College.

An appositive is another noun, embedded in commas, that provides more information about the subject of the sentence. Taught explicitly through content, it means students will start to include more detail about whatever they’re learning about.

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4. Using subordinating conjunctions Although we know...

Since Hitler believed in...

If we can ensure we take care of ourselves, Before we learn to run, we must..

When plants do not get enough water...

Explicitly teaching students, in all subjects, to use subordinate conjunctions means teaching them how to express links across ideas.

that

we’re

Hochman’s book has many more of these practical that build into a measured and deliberate program that enhances students’ ability to write. Most of us know the building blocks needed to build fluent writing, but what we do too often is take for granted that these little nitty gritty bits should be par for the course. For me, Hochman’s book provided the key to the missing link for borderline students who just need that extra help to express themselves when they have all their ideas ‘in their head’ and can’t get it down onto paper.

Hochman, Judith C. and Natalie Wexler. The Writing Revolution Jossey -Bass , 2017

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Julia Doughan - Approaches to mentoring This year, I undertook mentoring training provided by OAT and I shall set out some of the most useful points from the six sessions.

The first session was about fundamentals. What is a mentor? What makes a good mentor and what role should they play in teacher development?

Mentoring and the development of early career teachers is increasingly recognised as a crucial part of any overarching strategy for improving teaching and learning. The early years in any teacher’s career are essential for embedding good practice, alongside the ability to reflect and the confidence to experiment and continue to develop as their careers progress. Effective mentoring not only helps to develop excellent teachers, it can also improve teacher retention as trainee and early career teachers are properly supported through times of slow progress or difficulty. Furthermore, mentoring also plays an important role in securing good outcomes for students, as a well-trained teacher, confident in their practice, will be better able to deliver effective lessons where students are supported to make good progress.

The role of a mentor is complex and varied. Not only does a mentor guide and instruct, they should also be adept at listening and questioning, at knowing when to step in and when to step back. They also need to be available and approachable, as a shoulder to cry on or a sounding board, someone to fight your corner, someone to give you encouragement and someone who, when necessary, will gently suggest that maybe teaching is not the career for you. Evidently, these roles may sometimes be in conflict. It is all very well being a shoulder to cry on, but sometimes, a difficult conversation with the mentor may be the reason for the tears.

Lynn How (2018) suggests that ‘being a mentor includes being mother/father, motivator and coffee companion.’ In other words someone who is sensitive to the needs of the trainee and able to judge and anticipate what those needs might be as well as reacting appropriately to them.

Further to the description set out by Lynn How above, Rachel Lofthouse (2017) considers that for the trainee, mentoring is ‘giving them support and ensuring that they build up their professional capacity, knowledge and skills’. She also suggests that one of the key benefits to arise from the proper attention being paid to mentoring, is the development of a coaching culture within the school as a whole which I shall touch on later.

One of the potential barriers to good mentoring is workload and the need to devote the necessary time to the mentor relationship. Of Lynn How’s ‘Top Ten Mentoring Tips’ the first one is ‘Be available’. Establishing routines and setting aside a meeting time at least once a week is essential. However, it is also important to be available for a quick catch up where necessary and to give feedback as soon after an observation as possible to ensure the greatest impact.

Following on from this, the next two training sessions addressed the need to maximise observations and feedback and to set effective targets. Paul Bambrick-Santoyo, in Get Better Faster (2016) sets out the following six-step structure for effective feedback, which employs an Instructional Coaching model. The brackets explaining the steps in more depth are mine taken from the lengthier explanations in the book: Preparation for feedback – during the observation 1. Praise (give concrete examples of where the trainee has met a goal and elicit from them why it was effective) 2. Probe (Ask why they took specific actions. What is their understanding of the impact? Where did the action not meet the intention? Model how it could have been done differently) 3 Action step (Choose one action step related to the teacher’s PD goals. Which action step will have most impact.)

4. Plan ahead (Script changes into upcoming lesson plans. Script the language and actions to be taken.

Consider different scenarios) 126

5. Practice (Role play the plan and stop at the point of error to give immediate feedback. Repeat until successful) 6. Follow up (set dates for revised lesson plans to be completed and for observations) This method has many benefits, not least in giving a clear, easy to follow structure to meetings and highlighting the importance of establishing which action step is needed and why as well as how to implement it. In the early stages of mentoring, this approach could be invaluable in helping to establish meaningful targets from the beginning. Sherrington (2020) in his ‘Walkthrus, Five Step Guides to Instructional Coaching, also focuses on clear instruction and showing what needs to be done as opposed to just telling. Once again, this method offers concrete steps to improving specific areas of practice and can be very useful as a tool for demonstrating what an action might look like, particularly for a trainee whose experience in the classroom is limited. Although, that is not to say that more experienced teachers will not also benefit from Sherrington’s book. Another key merit of this approach, which I believe now to be simply good practice, is the advice to focus on only one or at most two steps at a time. In my experience, one clear target that the teacher can take away and work on each time can be very powerful. By contrast, a raft of action steps that are likely to overwhelm the new teacher and on which it would be almost impossible to give any meaningful feedback would be less so.

Nevertheless, Bambrick-Santoyo’s six steps can also seem a bit prescriptive and, particularly as the newer teacher becomes more confident and moves into their early career, a less directive approach to mentoring conversations may prove more effective.

In her paper, Lofthouse, discusses the need to ensure that conversations make the most of limited time and help to move the trainee forward. She notes that ‘mentoring conversations can be a transformative space where important aspects of professional conduct can be debated and emerging professional identities (…) can be constructed’. Both Lofthouse and Bambrick-Santoyo suggest that effective mentoring can only take place in a non-judgemental setting. If what we are trying to achieve through observation and feedback is, ‘Not to evaluate teachers but to develop them.’ (Bambrick-Santoyo), then we need to embed a culture which is both open and non-judgemental and which enables all teachers to reflect, without fear, on both their strengths and weaknesses as practitioners. This being the case, Lofthouse’s discussion of the importance of developing a ‘coaching culture, becomes even more essential. She posits that, experienced teachers can learn a lot from newer teachers and the mentoring conversation needs to be a dialogue, albeit one where scaffolding is provided by the more experienced teacher. She also suggests that the skills developed as a mentor can help to embed the strong coaching culture across the school that she feels is necessary and goes so far as to say; ‘Mentoring can form part of the social glue between colleagues. It should support the emergence of a network of strong professional relationships which empower the new teacher to play an active role and to meet the needs of the school community’. So, although mentors necessarily work within the school culture, they can play a pivotal part in shifting that culture towards the open and collaborative which can only be a good thing.

Although mentoring is by definition a relationship between an ‘expert’ and a ‘novice’, coaching also needs to become part of the conversation. A purely top down approach is not conducive to open and honest discussion. If a student is worried about judgement or sees themselves at the bottom of a hierarchy, they are less likely to be able to talk about where they feel their weaknesses are, or admit to when they think they have not performed as they should. There needs to be an understanding that anyone can have a horrible lesson sometimes and it is not necessarily an indication that you are not cut out to be a teacher. Often, when things do fall apart, that is where we can really examine what key actions (or inactions) were to blame.

Depending on the situation and at what stage the newer teacher is, a less directive approach might be more appropriate. A conversation with skilful questioning and active listening on the mentor’s part, where solutions can be worked towards collaboratively and the trainee is given the space to take the initiative, can prove a catalyst to deeper reflection and sometimes help to move the trainee on after a dip or a plateau.

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Andy Buck discusses the differences between mentoring and coaching in his book, The Basic Coaching Method, (2020) and I have reproduced his diagram below:

Perhaps one of the key skills of a mentor is knowing when to move from a purely instructional, more directive approach to a more collaborative, coaching model. It is always important to consider which approach or combination of approaches might achieve the greatest impact. The importance of developing active listening skills is highlighted by Buck, How and Lofthouse as well as the importance of questioning as a means of triggering reflection. Also highly important is a non-judgemental tone of voice and manner. Much as in the classroom, our unconscious behaviours can give away what we really feel and it is important to be aware of this.

A coaching model can be particularly effective as new teachers begin to move through the early years of their teaching. At this point, a purely directive approach could be counterproductive and not give the teacher the chance to take ownership of their own development as well as to feel a fully equal member of the team. In his article Coaching v Mentoring, Jones (2014) suggests that the difference between the two is that ‘mentoring is a way of managing career transition whereas coaching is used whenever an individual feels the need to evaluate their professional capabilities’. He follows this up by saying that, ‘It’s the ability to take ownership of CPD that really separates coaching from mentoring.’ In this definition, coaching is something that takes place as part of CPD rather than with trainees. However, the need for reflection and accountability inherent in coaching makes it an important tool in the armoury of the mentor too.

Evaluation e. Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

The student I mentored and whom I will continue to mentor as she becomes an early career teacher was very receptive to guidance and extremely reflective which made my job as a mentor much more straightforward.

However, there are always difficult conversations to be had and there are always dips and plateaus which can make the student feel that they are not making progress. Overall, I think that the techniques I learned, the toolkits provided as part of the course and simply the exercise of reflecting on the process of mentoring, were very valuable.

What next?

Helping to embed good practice throughout the college. Should mentoring training be mandatory for all mentors or might that be counter-productive? How useful is it to consider how techniques developed and used for mentoring can feed back into improving teaching and learning more generally?

Reading Much of what I have written owes a heavy debt to the training materials produced by Gary Seal as part of the course. Particularly the Toolkits and the pre-reading materials.

Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2016) Get Better Faster How, L. (2018) How To Be A Good Mentor https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2018/10/27/good-mentor/ Jones, A. (2014) Coaching v mentoring: What works best for teachers? Article 128

Lofthouse, R. (2017) Improving mentoring practice through collaborative conversations. A Thinkpiece Working Paper Sherrington, T. Walkthrus, Five step guides to instructional coaching

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Emilie Rajasingam - What role does ‘Assessment for Learning’ play in the Teaching and Learning of Modern Foreign Languages?

Just a little over two decades ago, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam, along with other educational professionals, started an extensive research project under a group they formed and called the Assessment Reform Group (ARG). It is obvious from their choice of title that their foremost aim was to challenge and influence policies and practice on all aspects surrounding assessment with the conclusions drawn out from their research.

Stripped back to its etymology, the word assessment originates from the Latin assidere which can mean to sit beside or to give comfort. The evolution of its meaning has been quite dramatic if one refers to the current definition for assessment according to The Oxford English Dictionary. In a general context, to assess means “to evaluate or estimate the nature, ability or quality of someone or something”. Put into an educational context, assessment refers to any strategy used to track pupils’ progress, and therefore to evaluate their learning ability.

Assessment is a natural process to both children and adults alike. It is in human nature to evaluate ourselves and others. But, in order to validate and make this assessment relevant, external feedback is necessary.

Therefore assessment cannot be dissociated from the teaching and learning process. The intrinsic connection has been proved to be such an important issue that, in 2011, the Department for Education (DfE) implemented its Teachers’ Standards and assessment became one of the minimum requirements for teachers’ practice. Standard 6 clearly states that the teacher must be able to make “accurate and productive use of assessment” and more specifically to “make use of formative and summative assessment to secure pupils’ progress”.

The purposes of assessment seem to have shifted slightly and have greatly developed over the years. While assessment was more teacher-focused in the early days of the ARG, it slowly became a two-way process. For example, WOOTTON (1998) states that: The principal purpose of pupil assessment is to enable us to evaluate our own effectiveness as teachers and to tell us whether our lesson objectives are appropriate.

On the other hand, PACHLER (2007) fully integrates the interaction between the teacher and the pupil and declares that assessment allows teachers to “evaluate the effectiveness of [their] planning and teaching”, and provides both pupils and teachers “with the evidence needed to inform further learning”. Through this feed-back and feed-forward process, the teacher can then modify their teaching strategies and decide how the lesson should proceed. It is also PACHLER who gives a detailed list of the various reasons why assessment takes place. Indeed, according to him, assessment is used to determine if lesson objectives have been met; to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies; to identify specific needs for pupils to develop their learning; to measure performance; to gain accreditation; to predict pupils performance; to provide data on school’s performance; to feedback pupil’s progress to others; to motivate and to influence pupil’s placement.

To some others (DILLON, 2011), the purposes of assessment are simplified and categorised into three main points: assessment for learning, assessment for reporting attainment and assessment for accountability.

Assessment for Learning requires strategic planning from the teacher and needs to be fully integrated into teaching and learning. Learning objectives and outcomes must be clearly identified and planned for. The teacher needs to be able to adjust their teaching style in order to tweak the learning process as the lesson develops. AfL also enables the teacher to respond immediately to individual needs and difficulties. Examples of AfL strategies include: direct questioning, mini-plenaries, use of blackboards, hands-up techniques, homework and all other strategies used by the teacher to check that lesson objectives are being met.

How does Assessment for Learning relate to the teaching and learning of Modern Foreign Languages in particular?

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In a Modern Foreign Language classroom, the teacher can take advantage of Assessment for Learning strategies and implement them in all four skills required, i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening. SMITH (2018) emphasises that:

conscious use of formative assessment in the classroom can be an invaluable tool to help develop the pupil’s foreign language skills, but needs to be fully integrated in the language learning process.

The implementation of those strategies can only become effective when the teacher fully understands its principles and is fully committed to put them into practice. The use of target language can be a powerful tool to reinforce those learning strategies and even introduce new ones. As previously mentioned, it is essential for the teacher to fully understand Assessment for Learning strategies in order to maximise effectiveness and progress. Learning strategies and processes can then be taught to pupils. In order to promote progress and learning, the strategies that the pupils are already using must be explicitly explained. Clear modelling, along with explicit expectations from the teacher, is also crucial in this process. The pupils could potentially become very effective users of Assessment for Learning techniques on their own learning and progress.

SMITH (2018) summarizes the range of strategies that students can use in a Modern Foreign Language classroom and categorises them into four simple headings: •

the task management can allow the pupils to monitor their organisation skills and own progress, and also to self-assess their comprehension and production in the target language;

•

the use of their own cognition allows them to retrieve information from prior learning or general knowledge;

•

the use of imagination can help them create metal representation of concept in the target language ;

•

the use of resources such as the dictionary or any other relevant language resources (Internet, interactive applications, vocab mats) promotes the autonomy of the leaner and their collaboration with peers.

In order for pupils to become independent language users, the teacher must ensure to share learning objectives and success criteria with them. (JONES, 2008). Put into practice, these strategies are proven to work well in the MFL classroom, especially with regard to the teaching of reading and listening skills, as they improve learning outcomes and encourage pupils’ learning.

In 2010, Ofsted stated in their Annual Report that “assessment remains an area that schools find challenging.”

Unfortunately, even though Assessment for Learning has been at the forefront of educational reforms since the Assessment Reform Group started, according to Ofsted’s latest Annual Report, learning and assessment is still problematic. In all educational providers, from colleges, to Multi-Academy Trusts and independent schools that were not rated outstanding, inspections report that learning and assessment is often weak or ineffective, the questioning of pupils by teachers can be poor, and that feedback and marking is inconsistent.

In order maximize the effectiveness of Assessment for Learning and raise standards and levels of attainment, all parties involved at every level of the educational process (pupils, teachers, parents, departments, policymakers and government) must become proactive actors who can demonstrate a real commitment to implement it.

Assessment for Learning still has not lost its battle though. It is still a recurrent debated topic in various educational resources and still continues to influence policies. In an article from a recent issue of Teaching Today entitled “Osfted to refocus inspections”, Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, reports that detaching focus on test results, but concentrating on the “substance […] taught rather than exam grades” should be the priority.

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REFERENCE LIST AAIA, Association for Achievement and Improvement through Assessment. Available from: www.aaia.org.uk Assessment Reform Group (2003) The Role of Teachers in the Assessment of Learning, Cambridge: School of Education, University of Cambridge.

BLACK, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998b) Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment.

London: GL assessment.

DILLON, J. and Maguire, M. (2011). Becoming a teacher, Issues in the Secondary Education. 4th ed. Berkshire, England: Open University Press, pp.222-235.

JONES, J. and Wiliam, D. (2008) Modern Foreign Languages inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Modern Foreign Languages Classroom. London: GL assessment OFSTED (2017) The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children Services and Skills. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-annual-report-201617-education-childrens-servicesand-skills Oxford English Dictionary [online]. Available from: www.oxforddictionaries.com PACHLER, N. and Redondo, A. (2007) A practical guide to teaching modern foreign languages in the secondary school. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, pp.27-41.

SMITH, S. (2018) Becoming an outstanding languages teacher. Abingdon: Routledge, pp.165-178.

Teaching Today, Issue 112 – December 2018.

WOOTTON, M. (1998) Marking and Assessing, On your own in the Classroom, Nightingale Teaching Consultancy.

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Nick Wiltshire - ‘Into the Fourth Dimension’: Getting students to think hard about the material you want them to learn.

In June 2020, Evidence Based Education published their Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review14, outlining the ‘best bets’ for teachers who want to invest their time productively in teaching and learning activities which benefit their students. The review outlines 4 key elements, or ‘dimensions’: ➢ understand the content they are teaching and how it is learnt ➢ create a supportive environment for learning ➢ manage the classroom to maximise the opportunity to learn ➢ present content, activities and interactions that activate their students’ thinking The fourth dimension focuses on the activation of ‘hard thinking’ in students. In the preamble to the specific document outlining this approach published directly by Cambridge International, it describes activating hard thinking in the following way: “In many ways, Dimension 4 represents the heart of great teaching: getting students to think hard about the material you want them to learn. It may also be the hardest part of the job to learn, partly because it is rare to get reliable feedback about whether it is working: student learning is invisible, slow and non-linear, so how can we tell if it is happening?”15 Evidence Based Education divides this fourth dimension into 6 elements which build to enable students to think ‘hard’ about their learning and make good progress in lessons. The key elements are: ➢ Structuring ➢ Explaining ➢ Questioning ➢ Interacting ➢ Embedding ➢ Activating The evidence presented in the Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review has been further explored by Chris Runeckles from Durrington Research School16 and further developed by colleagues from Durrington in a blog post on Class Teaching17, where there is a focus on interpreting the evidence in the review for teachers in the classroom. Runeckles makes the key point of summarise the importance of activating hard thinking by arguing that “Unless we are successful in our endeavours to activate student thinking most of what we teach will not be remembered.”

Furthermore, Runeckles picks out a significant quote from the review: “Great teachers present content activities and interactions that activate their students’ thinking.” This statement, therefore, clearly poses significant questions about how lessons and learning are planned, structured and delivered within our own curriculum. Runeckles also highlights the fact, echoing, the preamble to the Cambridge International document mentioned above, that a large proportion of the thinking that students do in our lessons is “frustratingly invisible”, but that the review and the concept of Dimension 4 provides a “useful framework through which to articulate the composite parts of how we can attempt to positively affect the thinking in our classrooms.”

Runeckles also highlights a key finding from the review. Namely, that “there is no simple recipe for a set of behaviours that will achieve a particular student outcome.” Runeckles summarises a scenario whereby one teacher might present and explain a concept in one lesson which activates hard thinking but might do the same again the next day in a different context without the same result. Again, this raises implications for our own practice within school. Clearly, a rigid approach to planning learning may not have the impact of 14

https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/584543-great-teaching-toolkit-evidence-review.pdf https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/584541-4.-activating-hard-thinking.pdf 16 https://researchschool.org.uk/durrington/news/activating-hard-thinking 17 https://classteaching.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/activating-hard-thinking/ 15

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activating ‘hard thinking’ and therefore a more reactive and flexible approach may be required which embodies the concepts outlined in the review but which can be adapted through a process of reflection, review and collaborative planning to meet the needs of individual students or groups in a given context.

Runeckles provides a summary of the six elements inherent to ‘activating hard thinking’ in his blog, which are further developed with more practical suggestions in the Class Teaching blog referenced above. When considering ‘structuring’, the careful planning and sequencing of learning as well as the selection of tasks which ensure students can be challenged in their thinking but not ‘switched off’ from learning is crucial. In terms of ‘explaining’, the importance of understanding cognitive load theory is important. When ‘Questioning’ and ‘Interacting’, the types of questions asked by teachers to students are vital and “evidence for the importance of feedback in learning is abundant” according to Runeckles. When ‘Embedding’, Runeckles highlights the debate in the review around the use of practice and retrieval in some frameworks, specifically mentioning Rosenshine, but not others. In Class Teaching, the use of other effective learning strategies such as interleaving, varying the conditions of practice, elaboration and self-explanation, is emphasised. Finally, when ‘Activating’ metacognitive and self-regulation strategies that encourage students to plan, monitor and evaluate are suggested.

So where does that leave us? The Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review helps, in the words of Class Teaching, to “help to shape a framework for great classroom practice, that will cause students to think hard.”

The review and its analysis by Runeckles and Class Teaching can help us to reflect on our own practice, curriculum development and faculty or department working and in very simple terms the following points can be drawn out: ➢ When structuring our lessons and curriculums, we need to share learning goals which show students where there learning fits into the ‘bigger picture’, as well as sharing examples of tasks and work that demonstrates it in practice. ➢ Collaboratively, we need to plan tasks that promote deep thinking rather than surface thinking.

Class Teaching suggests focusing on abstraction, generalisation and the connectedness and flexibility of ideas, rather than just the reproduction of facts. ➢ As departments or groups of teachers we need to carefully think about how we sequence the tasks set, so that knowledge and skills are accessible and developed as required. This is important in the short-term, for example in the context of a lesson, but also over the longerterm. ➢ When thinking about explaining new concepts to students, as practitioners we must understand ‘Cognitive Load Theory’ and use this to break complex ideas or procedures into smaller steps. ➢ Similarly, we need to reflect on how we might modify or create new schemas (a network of connected ‘bits’ of knowledge) by connecting new ideas we are explaining to existing knowledge the students have. ➢ Whilst questioning has always been an important aspect of classroom practice, the review suggests that questioning is a vital component of helping students think hard. We need to think about the type, rather than the quantity, of questioning we use in our practice. One suggestion from Class Teaching is to ask questions, where appropriate, which ask students “to give explanations and justifications for their answers, describe their thinking process, elaborate on their answers explore implications, ‘what-ifs’ and connections with other ideas.” ➢ Feedback and the way it is used is important in ‘activating hard thinking’. This is true both in terms of what feedback is given directly to the students but also how we use feedback to inform our own planning. This has implications for faculty/department teams as well as individual teachers because of the flexibility needed within the curriculum to allow us to do, as Class Teaching suggests, re-teaching if needed. ➢ As faculties/departments are we giving opportunities for students to practice aspects of our subjects which we need them to fluent and confident in? Alongside this, we need to reflect on how and when we distribute or space this practice to maximise the opportunities for students develop long term recall of understanding and whether opportunities for retrieval practice require deep understanding and connected thinking.

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➢ Finally, in terms of ‘activating’, Class Teaching poses the question of how we “wean” students of their dependency on the teacher. This is a very interesting and serious point. As a result of lockdown and disruption to learning, there can be, anecdotally, a sense teachers need to fill learning by ‘spoon feeding’ it to the students. Clearly, in the long run this does nothing to activate hard thinking and for the development of a deep, rich and independent understanding in our students. ➢ Similarly, Class Teaching asks whether teachers “avoid using strategies that work for novice learners e.g. presenting limited, structured content and worked examples, with expert learners, allowing them to tackle whole problems instead.” This has implications for faculty/department teams for how they plan for the differentiation and structure of the learning within groups of students.

Overall, the Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review, as well as the analysis by Runeckles and Class Teaching, poses interesting questions about how we can best plan for effective teaching to lead to ‘hard thinking’ in our students and therefore a deep understanding of the content we are teaching them. By its very nature, as the author of the Cambridge International document outlines, it is the invisible part of the learning process, but the one that is perhaps the most important for the outcomes of our students. Frustratingly, Runeckles acknowledges the problems with attempting to nail down a simple set of instructions or activities which activate ‘hard thinking’ every time for every student. However, the practical questions posed in Class Teaching do make useful suggestions and a possible roadmap for faculties, departments and classroom practitioners to maximise their approach for the best opportunities to activate ‘hard thinking’ and deep understanding in their students.

Bibliography: Shaun Allison, Chris Runeckles et al., ‘Activating hard thinking’, classteaching.wordpress.com, Durrington Research School, 2020 Chris Runeckles, ‘Activating hard thinking’, researchschool.org.uk, The Research Schools Network, 2020 ‘Great Teaching Toolkit Review’, cambridgeinternational.org, Evidence Based Education, 2020 ‘04 Activating hard thinking’, cambridgeinternational.org, Cambridge International, 2020

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Lorna Churms - Literature Review of Cognitive Load Theory and its application to learning.

Introduction Cognitive psychologists are researchers who study various aspects of cognition, such as attention, memory, and consciousness (Zivony, 2019). Within cognitive science there are various branches such as dual coding, interleaving and retrieval practice. For the purpose of this literature review I will focus specifically on Cognitive Load Theory. The main goal of Cognitive Load Theory is to optimise learning of complex cognitive tasks by transforming scientific knowledge of cognitive structures and processes into guidelines for instructional design.

Cognitive architecture.

Cognitive architecture processes are tied in with human evolution and can be separated into two parts: biologically primary and biologically secondary. Biologically primary knowledge is knowledge that we have specifically evolved to acquire over generations and can involve such things as recognising faces and learning to speak a native language. Acquisition of this knowledge does not require explicit instruction and is largely unconscious taking place with little to no effort. Biologically secondary knowledge is cultural knowledge we have evolved to acquire and can involves things such as learning to read and write and perform arithmetic.

Acquisition of this knowledge requires explicit instruction and is conscious, requiring a lot of effort. Cognitive Load Theory is concerned with the acquisition of biologically secondary knowledge and how biologically primary knowledge can be used in order to facilitate this.

In order to fully understand Cognitive Load Theory we first need to understand the research surrounding our memory and how it works. Memory consists of our short term memory and long term memory. The short term memory has a limited capacity, typically it can hold what is known as ‘the magic number 7 +/- 2’ which means between 5 and 9 items (Miller, 1956) and a limited duration of typically no more than around 20 seconds (Peterson and Peterson, 1959). In comparison, the long term memory is able to store an unlimited capacity of information which can last a lifetime. The processing of new information is heavily constrained because any new information needs to be processed by the working memory and then transferred into the long term memory. Information can be transferred to the long term memory store through a process of repetition and remembering. In order to form a memory, the brain must store any new information so that it can be accessed again later, this is done through a process called encoding. Memories are encoded in three ways: 1. Acoustic – repeating and making the information stick. Such as repeating a phone number again and again.

2. Visual – converting the memory to mental images. Remember the old adage that you ‘never forget a face’, yet it is hard to put a name to that face.

3. Semantic – if new information can be linked to existing knowledge or understanding then it is better remembered.

As pupils acquire more learning and then relate this learning to existing knowledge, schema acquisition has begun. The goal of teachers is to help a student construct schemas which will enable them to recall knowledge without hesitation.

Cognitive Load theory – intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load As our working memory is of a limited capacity, Cognitive Load Theory focusing on two aspects: intrinsic cognitive load and extraneous cognitive load. Intrinsic cognitive load is the load associated when the core learning takes place. It is intrinsic cognitive load that we want the students’ working memories to be occupied with. In comparison, extraneous cognitive load comes from the manner and structure of the instructions. It 136

can draw students’ working memories away from the core information to be learned. The fundamental recommendation of cognitive load theory is that in order to increase learning, we need to reduce extraneous load and optimise intrinsic load. Extraneous load comes from the instructions pupils receive. Instructions which are poorly designed, unclear, ambiguous or incomplete take up space in the working memory and do not contribute to learning. For example, the use of concrete examples is a very effective teaching and learning technique. However, if the chosen example is something that the students don’t know, it can be a distraction and have a negative effect, due to the increased cognitive load. Thus, it is important that when using examples to link them to prior learning as this way the extraneous cognitive load is reduced and we can increase the intrinsic cognitive load.

Optimising intrinsic load Intrinsic load can be optimised through numerous ways such as appropriate curriculum sequencing. The curriculum should follow a logical structure and content should be built on top of previous content and links between them explicitly made. It is crucial to revisit past topics in order to help students link new information to prior knowledge. This can be done through pre-teaching such as delivering a portion of the content before the main lesson, and reinforcing it through revision. However, over time this can reduce the intrinsic load experienced by students when they attempt the final, complete task. Another way that intrinsic cognitive load can be optimised is through segmentation. Segmentation is the process of breaking down complex lessons or information into smaller parts. Sweller stated “for learners with low prior knowledge, there are considerable advantages to providing a segmented approach, where intrinsic load is considerably reduced by providing first a task with a lower level of element interactivity followed by a more complete task with higher level of element interactivity” (Sweller et al. 2011). Additionally, intrinsic cognitive load can be optimised by the expertise-reversal effect. Novice students often lack an understanding of how certain problems should be approached, and therefore benefit from worked examples which provide a high level of guidance and structure. Problem solving provides practice that more expert students need to automate their skills.

Reducing extraneous load.

Extraneous cognitive load can be reduced through numerous ways. The first is through redundancy effect, where we eliminate unnecessary information and do not replicate necessary information. This is because ‘the most common form of redundancy occurs when the same information is presented in different modalities’. When information is presented simultaneously in written and spoken form, both sources of information are vying for the same working memory resources, and therefore inferring with each other so, ideally you should not read from your slides. Another way of reducing extraneous cognitive load is through the split-attention effect. Information that must be combined should be placed together in space and time and information should only be placed together in space and time if it can’t be understood in isolation and is essential rather than redundant. A third way of reducing extraneous cognitive load is through the modality effect, this is where information is presented via auditory and visual channels in tandem to eliminate visual split-attention and expand working memory capacity. The modality effect is concerned with working memory capacity during instruction. This is where dual coding can be beneficial as the memory trace dual coding creates remains in the long term memory long after instruction.

Conclusion In this literature review I have discussed Cognitive Load Theory. I have focused on how the memory works, what Cognitive Load Theory is and how we can optimise intrinsic cognitive load and reduce extraneous cognitive load. Ultimately, Cognitive Load Theory focuses on removing unnecessary information which can take up precious room in our working memory by using aspects of the students’ prior learning and long term memory. This does not mean that students are limited to the basic facts but that we are far more cognisant of the instructions that we are giving the students, the worked examples that we are providing them with 137

and the curriculum that we have designed for them. By focusing on these areas we can maximise the working memory of the students in front of us and encourage a deeper level of learning.

References De Jong T (2010) Cognitive load theory, educational research, and instructional design: Some food for thought. Instructional Science 38(2): 105–134 Garnett, S. (2020) Cognitive Load Theory: A handbook for teachers. Crown House Publishing Limited.

Gathercole S and Alloway T (2007) Understanding working memory. A classroom guide. Harcourt Assessment. Available at: https:// www.mrccbu.cam.ac.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/WMclassroomguide.pdf Lovell, O. (2020) Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory in action. John Catt Educational.

Miller, G.A. (1956). The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information, Psychological Review, 63 (2): 81-97.

Paas F, Renkl A and Sweller J (2003) Cognitive load theory and instructional design: Recent developments.

Educational Psychologist 38(1): 1–4.

Peterson, L., & Peterson, M. J. (1959). Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 193–198.

Shibli, D., & West, R. (2018) Cognitive load theory and its applications in the classroom. Impact. 2, 18-20.

Retrieved from Sweller, J: Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning, Cognitive Science, 12 257-285 (1988) Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Cognitive load theory. New York: Springer http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=16332&site=eds-live Zivony, A: What is Cognitive Psychology. The British Academy. Blog post from 5th August 2019. https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what-is-cognitive-psychology/

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Tamsin Jackson - What impact do self-regulated learning strategies have on unlocking foreign language texts at A level?

The Issue / Target Students.

At A level MFL students will, generally, not have previously tackled a long authentic text in a target language [TL] and embarking on a set novel or play can be daunting.

Nowadays many students choose to study a language in combination with STEM oriented subjects and so do not benefit from the added input from Arts based or English courses. They may therefore require careful teacher input to develop a coping and responding mechanism when facing literature analysis essay questions.

My target group would be my current A level students in French and Spanish as we begin to study the Spanish play ‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba’ by Lorca and the French novel ‘L’étranger’ by Albert Camus. Neither of the two pupils I have chosen is taking English at A level and they are studying combinations of other subjects which do not contain a literature element.

How can MFL teachers encourage self-regulation and reflection in their A level students when approaching texts in the TL for the first time?

Research.

According to the EEF [Education Endowment Foundation] Teaching and Learning Toolkit, metacognition and self-regulation have the biggest impact on learner progress followed by feedback and reading comprehension strategies. Self-regulatory strategies have high impact for a very low cost.

Metacognition is ‘thinking about thinking’. Put simply, it is the awareness and understanding of thought and the processes of thinking.

Key to the metacognitive approach is that self-regulated learners are aware of their strengths and weaknesses and can, therefore, motivate themselves to engage in and improve their learning.

To activate such critical thinking we should promote the development of learner independence and autonomy when approaching texts in the TL and stimulate metacognitive reflection.

The Global Metacognitive Institute recommends a number of learning strategies for second language teaching and learning with a focus on: a. Metacognitive reflection. b. Reading strategies. c. Reflection questions. d. Literacy development.

Elena Díaz , contributor to ‘Ideal Teacher.com’ and associate consultant for Durham Education states that the answer to enabling students to retain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of concepts studied is by harnessing the power of their long-term memory through retrieval practice.

Cognitive psychologists and educators appear to agree that the best way to combat forgetting and to make sure students can access knowledge when they need it is to ensure they practice recalling it regularly – this includes recall linked to literature analysis.

Repeated recall through self-generated questioning and ‘bookmark’ prompts can increase the students confidence in accessing and analysing a text and should lead to them having a more effective recall of detail.

This coupled with self-regulated learning strategies should help students gain the most out of their set texts.

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Action.

Metacognition can help students to become ‘reflective learners’, able to think independently and in-depth about how to improve their own learning. It involves planning, monitoring, evaluating and regulating. How can I encourage my students to become more reflective and effective learners?

A key part of this will be ‘Pre-Reading Reflection’. I will encourage my students to ask themselves a checklist of questions as recommended by the Global metacognition Institute: ‘’Am I ready to read?

What is the best state of mind for me to read effectively?

How can I minimise distractions that could disturb my reading?

What happened in the previous reading?

What questions do I have about this that I am hoping to answer?

What do I think will happen next?

How can I help myself stay focused while reading?

Which strategies help me process and unlock the text?’’

Here are strategies I will build into my lesson planning and ask my students to do in order to get more from their reading: a. Generate your own questions about the text WHILST reading – be curious and inquisitive. No question is a ‘silly’ question! b. Put the text into your own words using the TL.. c. Re-read the bits you are unsure about. Don’t just skim and move on. d. Create mind maps on key ideas, themes, characters and quotes as an on-going task WHILST reading rather than as a revision task at the end. Be responsible for your own information. Take charge! e. Pause regularly to check you really understand the text. Reading is not a race! f.

Use your imagination to visualise the text and relate to the context.

g. Create an overview of the text in your mind, summarise as you go. h. Make predictions about what might happen next, try to justify your ideas. i.

Try to connect the text to your own experiences and feel its relevance.

Evaluation.

Due to lockdowns and a prolonged period of personal absence I have not been able to fully exploit all of the strategies I have outlined.

The use of self-reflective questioning has proved useful and the creation of mind maps, visualisations and summaries WHILST reading have been useful to develop independent processing and understanding of the texts.

I have also encouraged annotating the texts whilst reading and will aim, in future, to use these recommended symbols: 140

! This is interesting/important. ? I found this part of the text confusing.

P I predict…I think this because… :] The character feels…because… + This implies that…/means that…

Time spent by the students on thorough annotating has encouraged deeper reflection, ownership of their own learning and has later aided their retrieval of evidence. Frequent tasks on evidence retrieval and questioning leads to greater recall.

Moving forward I would like to adopt the use of ‘pedagogical bookmarks’ and perhaps produce versions in the TL. Bookmarks could be produced in-house and laminated at very little cost. The annotation symbols above could be on one ‘bookmark’ and thinking/writing stems could feature on another. Students would put them in their books and frequent use would reinforce their critical thinking.

Thinking/writing stems with TL prompts could include: ‘’Summarising: The main point is…One of the main themes is…The text explores…The text implies…

Evaluate Understanding: One thing I struggled with …I wasn’t clear about…I can explain to others about…

Questioning: I am curious about…A philosophical question raised is…A question I would ask is..

Predicting: I predict that.. I think that…because… The outcome will be that…’’

References Carrell, Patricia L. Metacognitive Awareness and Second language Learning. The Modern Language Journal.

Vol 73, No 2.

Conti, Gianfranco. The Language Gym. Díaz, Elena. Does your Teaching Make it into your Students Long-Term Memory? Idealteacher.com. 14/5/19.

Education Endowment Foundation. 2018. Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning.

Global Metacognition Institute. Learning Strategies for Second Language Learning.

Seidel, Sabina. 21 Must Use Reading Activities. Idealteacher.com. 7/11/19.

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Laura Augustus - What impact does The Eden Method of Assessment, delivered over one term, have on the progress made by the students in 11EN7?

Intent For the 2020-21 academic year I was given a year 11 class of 26 girls who had been identified as underachieving in year 10. The reasons for the under achievement ranged from a wide range of social to medical reasons as well as the repercussions from Covid and the term spent learning at home. I was tasked with raising their confidence when working in English and with that, their attainment grades with an obvious deadline to work to. The class had target grades from 4- 7 but most students were working at a grade 4 in September 2020.

I decided to focus on the whole class, rather than a few specific students, as the approach I was adopting allowed for this because it encourages all students to take ownership of their strengths and weaknesses when writing analytically. The ability to write analytically is heavily weighted in the Assessment Objectives for both English Language and English Literature so this was another factor as to why I went with this line of research. The Eden Method of Assessment breaks up the Reading and writing skills needed at GCSE into 18 different objectives so it makes it very clear for the students to see what they need to do to achieve. Each assessment at GCSE focusses on different objectives where we score students on a scale of 1-4 depending on how they have mastered the skill, 1 showing the mastery.

1 The skill is evident in 95% + of their work.

2 The skill is evident in 70-94% of their work.

3 The skill is evident in 50-69% of their work.

4 The skill is evident in 0-50% of their work.

Mastered

Strength

Developing

Weakness

When students have completed an assessment, their scores are converted into a graph for them to see very clearly how they have been rated against each of the assessment objectives and targets to improve their work. This allows them to see strengths in their work as well as weaknesses. The student below has mastered W6 but needs to improve W8.

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Action In a piece of pre-reading, a statement really resonated with me. Graham Nuthall, in The Hidden Lives of Learners (2007) suggests, “Students can be busiest and most involved with material they already know. In most classrooms… each student already knows about 40-50% of what the teacher is teaching.” This made me think about what was going on in my classroom and that students will always complete tasks that they are comfortable doing because they know they will succeed at them. However, to make progress, students need to be moved from their comfort zone so that they are pushing themselves to learn new ideas and this will see them make more progress and their learning will be more long lasting and durable.

This image is one I often use with my students to show them that it is okay to be struggling with new concepts, but as thinking is required when they are in the “struggle zone” that is when the maximum amount of learning takes place. As Andy Tharby states: “Preparing for our students to get and stuck and having the strategies is unstick them is a long-term venture and can be best encapsulated by the principle of challenge.”

The Eden Method of Assessment, does that. It “encourages LAT/MAT/HAT students to work independently and make self-improvements: one skill and one step at a time.” (Eden Method of Assessment, Reynolds. 2017) By using the graph that is specific to their work, they are able to acknowledge their strengths and celebrate what they have mastered, but most importantly focus on the area of improvement that they need to do and move into the struggle zone to make those areas of improvement. Tharby also states that if we want students to achieve we should, “set single challenging objectives.” The Eden Method, allows this to happen, but the objective is tailored to each individual student so they are closing their own specific gap.

After the first assessment, in September 2020, the students scored an average mark of (students are aiming for a low average): Writing Reading Combined Class 1.94 2.11 2.02 143

Year group

2.52

2.74

2.63

The main weaknesses were coming from students when they had to write analytically. In English we teach them the SEIZE method (Statement, Evidence, Infer, Zoom, Effect) The weaknesses were coming from aspects associated with that style of writing so I knew that I would have to teach the skills explicitly to help raise attainment. When planning further analytical lessons, I would always signpost to students where the Reading objectives were being taught and give an example of how to perform well at each objective level. Below is a sample from a PowerPoint that shows the references to the Reading objectives R8-14 that allow students to clearly see where they need to focus their analysis. This would have been supported with a live model where students who had “mastered” particular objectives would have had the lead in writing that particular sentence (s). As Tharby says, “Once excellence has been achieved and created, make sure it kept and shared. It is important students understand the level you expect and that the level is achievable within the context of your classroom or department.” This allows students who achieved excellence to show off their knowledge and consolidate it by teaching others. It also allows students in the class to see that the expectations I have of them are realistic and achievable; if their peers can master a skill, so can they.

Evaluation By structuring a number of my lessons this way, it had a huge impact on the students and the scores they were achieving. It enabled them to really focus on the skills they need to improve whilst being confident that they would be achieving some credit with the skills they had already mastered. I was able to group students according to their scores, strengths and or weaknesses so that they could help each other write analytically and improve their scores which in turn would improve their GCSE grade. Hywel Roberts in Oops! Helping children learn accidently, says that “students learn best when they have established an enquiry leading to ownership.” He also said that “the core content has to be relevant or students will not engage.” The Eden Method of Assessment allows the students to make the curriculum relevant to themselves by improving the objective they are scoring the highest mark in. This allows for them to continually improve all of their analytical writing until all 36 objectives are scoring a 1.

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Due to Covid, the lock down and the way students were subsequently assessed, I was only able to use this method of assessment in the Autumn term, but the data shows the improvements that were taking place: Writing Reading Combined First assessment Class 1.94 2.11 2.02 scores Year group 2.52 2.74 2.63 Final assessment Class 1.70 1.55 1.63 scores Year group 2.45 2.25 2.35 There were marginal gains in the writing objectives, but the reading objectives were showing significant improvements and if I had been able to use this method throughout the rest of the academic year, I am confident those scores would have decreased even further as the students were very engaged in their learning as they had ownership of what needed to be done. As the students went into their TAGS, it was also a useful reminder for them as to what their strength were as well as what they needed to focus on when writing analytically. Therefore, The Eden Method of Assessment, when used in a term with 11EN7, did have a positive impact as it allowed them to make individual progress at their own rate and be guided by their peers who had already mastered specific skills.

The English department use The Eden Method of Assessment with year 10 and this has been a useful tool as they transition from Key Stage 3 to 4. The intention is to continue it in the next academic year too as they need to take more ownership of their own learning and attainment. It enables the teacher to focus on the specific skills that individuals need so it is a quality tool we have for teaching and learning.

Reading Graham Nuthall, in The Hidden Lives of Learners (2007) Andy Tharby: https://classteaching.wordpress.com/2019/01/10/everyday-challenge/ (2019) Tom Reynolds: https://www.eden-method.com/the-method (2017) Hywel Roberts. Opps! Helping children learn accidently. (2012)

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Victoria Leonard - Back on Track: Fewer things, greater depth by Mary Myatt – implications for schools Given that the ‘quality of education’ judgement within Ofsted’s education inspection framework now places greater emphasis on the curriculum18, this aspect of provision has become a higher priority for schools.

Indeed, much work has already gone on at Cowes and across the country in terms of curriculum development and the aim of this literature review is to share with you the key ideas, themes and recommendations from Mary Myatt’s book, Back on Track.

As Myatt passionately argues, the solutions to overcoming achievement barriers lie in understanding the curriculum and in what children are meant to know19. We can achieve this by creating a well-planned, wellsequenced curriculum with coherence and purpose. The word coherence comes from the Latin ‘to stick together’, and when we think about the curriculum coherently by paying attention to the big ideas, it becomes much simpler to teach and for pupils to understand.

This book has been a long time in the making but was published at a pivotal time in our history during the COVID-19 pandemic. Myatt argues that the lockdown has forced us to reflect on our work in schools, revealing what activities are necessary and impactful compared to what could be cut back or even eliminated20. At the core of this work is the importance of doing ‘fewer things in greater depth’ – a mantra that is repeated throughout the book and forms the title of the first section.

Myatt’s examination of time – particularly in relation to wellbeing and workload – seems particularly relevant given the recent reforms brought about by the DfE’s ‘Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy’21. At school level, Myatt calls for a return to our core principles in order to ensure that we have real clarity about our purpose and values. At teacher level, Myatt encourages us to reflect on directing our energies to the activities that have the greatest impact on pupil progress22.

An important tool to enable reflection and evaluation is the Eisenhower matrix23, which examines the importance versus the urgency of a task. In order to get to what really matters and has impact, we must eliminate activities that are neither urgent nor important. This sentiment is echoed by Kat Howard and Claire Hill in their book, Symbiosis: “We need to be forensic in ensuring our focus and efforts are steadfastly invested in what will genuinely improve our curriculum and outcomes”24.

The fundamental thing, Myatt argues, is to create time for more thinking rather than more activity in order to shift to a place of greater and deeper purpose25. In order to “avoid the tyranny of content coverage”26 we must focus on developing a curriculum underpinned by the importance of conceptual development rather than task completion. To achieve this, Myatt emphasises the need to identify the concepts and big ideas that underpin our curriculum to aid planning and deepen learning.

In section two, entitled ‘Priorities aligned’, Myatt makes the important distinction that completion of a task and understanding are not the same thing, but are often confused27. To assess whether pupils have really

18

Ofsted (2019), “Education Inspection Framework” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educationinspection-framework/education-inspection-framework 19 Mary Myatt, Back on Track (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2020), 79.

20 Ibid., 15.

21 Department for Education (2019), “Teacher recruitment and retention strategy” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy 22 Mary Myatt, Back on Track, 19.

23 https://libguides.hull.ac.uk/introduction/matrix 24 Kat Howard and Claire Hill, Symbiosis (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2020), 27.

25 Mary Myatt, Back on Track, 21.

26 Ibid., 47.

27 Ibid., 50.

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grasped what we have taught them, we need to take the time gather responses during lessons by asking questions and adapting our teaching accordingly. Only then, will we be able to honestly and accurately evaluate the impact of our teaching and learning.

Myatt goes on to argue that our time is much better spent making careful, formative assessment of pupils’ learning as opposed to pre-planning for differentiation. Myatt even suggests that the practice of differentiation goes against the curriculum principle that all children should be following the same course of work28. This echoes the work of Harry Fletcher-Wood, who advocates that the most effective form of differentiation is through responsive teaching and well-structured support29.

Reflecting on the difference between support and differentiation, Myatt describes support as “live conversations and additional unpacking of the content”30, whereas differentiation is pre-planned and risks limiting what children can do. We must maintain our high expectations for every child by offering demanding, concept-rich and complex work by preparing for the top and supporting pupils to get there. We can achieve this through high-quality modelling and checking for understanding.

Cue the guru of formative assessment, Dylan Wiliam, who outlines three key steps in the EEF’s guidance report on ‘Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning’31. Firstly, we need to elicit the right kind of evidence in order to assess progress, address misconceptions and provide guidance. Secondly, the feedback we provide must be well-timed and focused on moving learning forward. Finally, and most importantly, we must give students the opportunity to act on the feedback.

Following a review of the core curriculum principles, Myatt then examines the ‘School systems’ in section four and reinforces the philosophy that we need to do fewer things in greater depth. Similar to the recommendations from the EEF report, Myatt explains that the main purpose of assessment is to inform our practice and make a difference to learning.32 We need to focus on high-quality feedback that pupils can act on and ensure that our policies make this meaningful and motivating.

Myatt outlines that one of the most efficient ways of maximising the impact of feedback and minimising workload is through whole-class feedback, where the teacher summarises strengths and areas for improvement33. This links to the DfE’s guidance on reducing workload, which states that all marking should be manageable and focused on the single purpose of advancing pupil progress34. As Myatt concludes, we should think of marking “as feedback that supports progress over time”.35 So, what are the implications of this body of work? Reflecting on Ofsted’s framework and the three strands of intent, implementation and impact, we need to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of our practices and ensure that they focus on improving pupil outcomes. As the EEF recommends36, we must treat implementation as a process, not an event, echoing Myatt’s philosophy that we need time and space to come to the place of deep work by prioritising what really matters.

Bibliography:

28

Mary Myatt, Back on Track, 54.

Harry Fletcher-Wood, Responsive Teaching: cognitive science and formative assessment in practice. (Routledge, 2018).

30 Mary Myatt, Back on Track, 54.

31 Education Endowment Foundation (2021), “Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning”. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/feedback/ 32 Mary Myatt, Back on Track, 113.

33 Ibid., 115 34 Department for Education (2018), “Reducing school workload” https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/reducing-school-workload 35 Mary Myatt, Back on Track, 118.

36 Education Endowment Foundation (2019), “Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation” 29

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Mary Myatt, Back on Track (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2020) Kat Howard and Claire Hill, Symbiosis (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2020) Harry Fletcher-Wood, Responsive Teaching: cognitive science and formative assessment in practice.

(Routledge, 2018).

Ofsted (2019), “Education Inspection Framework” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework/education-inspectionframework Department for Education (2019), “Teacher recruitment and retention https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy Education Endowment Foundation (2021), “Teacher Feedback to Improve https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/feedback/ Department for Education (2018), “Reducing https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/reducing-school-workload

Pupil

school

strategy” Learning”. workload”

Education Endowment Foundation (2019), “Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation” https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/a-schools-guide-toimplementation/

Further reading: Clare Sealy and Tom Bennett, The researchED Guide to the Curriculum (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2020) Mary Myatt, The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2018) John Tomsett and John Uttley, Putting Staff First (Woodbridge: John Catt, 2020) Ruth Ashbee, Curriculum: Theory, Culture and the Subject Specialisms (Oxon: Routledge, 2021) Teacher Development Trust (2015), “Developing content/uploads/2015/10/DGT-Summary.pdf

Great

Teaching”

https://tdtrust.org/wp-

https://www.marymyatt.com/blog/why-i-wrote-back-on-track https://impact.chartered.college/article/rethinking-teacher-wellbeing/

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Sallyanne Stanford-Clarke - What impact does practical work, followed by short quiz style assessment, delivered over half a term, have on understanding abstract concepts for year 8 middle ability students?

The Issue My aim is to evaluate the benefit of active learning, in the form of practical work in science, on the understanding of more abstract concepts, for which deeper and harder thinking is required. I have decided on this focus as students enjoy practical work and look forward to practical lessons. The majority of them take part willingly and look actively engaged with their learning. Practical activity should lead to measurable progress and understanding. However Graham Nuthall (2007) observed that “just because they are engaged doesn’t mean they are learning”. Perhaps students are just keeping busy because practical work is fun, involves interaction and doesn’t include too much writing.

I have decided to focus on students in the middle of the attainment spectrum. There seems to be a substantial body of work addressing raising the achievement of both SEND and higher ability students. Students who are of middle ability seem, in my view, to be targeted less often. I have selected a group of 10 students, who will remain anonymous for the purpose of this study. These students all enjoy practical work and are generally well engaged, but perhaps do not complete the write up with as much enthusiasm. This could be because they are not sure of what they have learnt following the activity or it could be they see the written part as less important but have gained some deeper understanding nonetheless.

Research Active learning techniques is a term used to describe a range of teaching and learning strategies that allow students to construct the meaning of the topic being covered rather than being told what to learn (Freeman et al., 2014). Active learning techniques promote deeper thinking and therefore a greater understanding of the topic being taught (Curzon & Tummons, 2013, p. 64). This greater understanding of concepts allows students to apply their learning and new knowledge to exam style questions (DeHoff, Clark, & Meganathan, 2011). Active learning promotes the use of a number of different strategies throughout lessons which allows for greater engagement but also encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning as well as the teacher (Simonson, 2017).

A wide variety of learning techniques, including group work, practical investigation, and discussion can be used to effectively encourage deeper thinking (Curzon & Tummons, 2013, P. 264, P. 265). DeHoff et al (2011), have shown that using practical work, students were better prepared to complete long and short style examination questions. At key stage 3 students are introduced to the concept of longer answer and 6 mark questions but often are not equipped with the appropriate thinking skills to score highly on these. It has been argued that practical investigations in Science increases higher order thinking and critical thinking amongst students (Momsen, Long, Wyse, & Ebert-May, 2010). Research at a secondary education level indicates that practical investigations work well with students in Key Stage 3 as there is time within the curriculum for students to conduct practical investigations (Sharpe & Abrahams, 2019). Following the investigations students can then be encouraged to think more deeply about the meaning of the results or observations they have made, leading to a better understanding of the underlying concepts.

In addition to practical investigations, quizzes can also be used in Science as a form of active learning and it has been suggested that quizzes increase student engagement and participation in lessons (Cook & Babon, 2017). They are also a useful low stakes method of assessing students’ understanding of the concepts they have been learning.

Action In light of the research cited above I decided to undertake some practical activities in which the students could engage, despite the limited facilities for these due to teaching outside the science lab. Over the first 149

half of the summer term I delivered a series of lessons which began with the teaching of the theory, followed by a quick quiz, then a practical session followed by another quick quiz. The idea was to see if the scores on the quiz improved following the practical session. If the students were merely performing ritualised activities in place of actively thinking (Nuthall, 2007) there should be no change in the attainment of students in the quizzes. However if the practical work had led to deeper thinking and greater understanding of the concept being taught then an improvement in score should be noted.

The series of lessons began with a theory lesson on the structure of the leaf, linking the different cell types with their functions and explaining why different types of cells are found in specific places in a leaf. As a starter in the following lesson students were given a quick quiz with 5 questions of increasing complexity.

This was followed by a lesson on microscopy, where students made a slide of the bottom of a leaf to show stomata and guard cells, linking these structures with gas exchange, thus making the concept of gas exchange more real for students. This was then followed by the same quick quiz to ascertain if the students had improved their knowledge and understanding following the practical session.

We moved on to a series of lessons on plant nutrition, with the practical aspect a guided-planning investigation using different types of fertiliser with different chemical formulations to compare the effects of different nutrients on plant growth.

The third series of lessons looked at continuous and discontinuous variation, followed by a practical lesson spent recording variation in shoe size and hand span and representing these findings graphically.

Evaluation The first quick quiz differed from the usual 5 question starter in that as well as recall questions, there were questions which required more thinking time and a more detailed answer. The class was informed of this so they would recognise that a more detailed answer would be needed. The questions posed consisted of two recall questions and 3 questions which required deeper, more connected thinking in order to complete them accurately. The questions are listed in appendix 1.

The results showed that recall was good with 8/10 target students successfully recalling the answers.

However the answers to the questions which needed deeper thinking showed that the target students were less confident. Only 5/10 used the word photosynthesis in the answer to q.3, and said that carbon dioxide was used to make “food” rather than “glucose”. None of the target students linked the distance travelled by sunlight through the leaf to the position of the palisade layer and only 3/10 students could explain that the guard cells controlled the opening of stomata to allow carbon dioxide to enter and oxygen and water vapour to leave the leaf during the day, but that it was also important to be able to close the stomata to avoid excessive water loss either during periods of high temperatures or during the night when no photosynthesis takes place.

From observations over the years its reasonable to say that most students know plants make their own food using the process of photosynthesis, however fewer students appreciate that plants are able to actively control the processes of gas exchange and water loss as their concept of plants is that they “do nothing”.

Thus linking structure and function in a leaf requires students to first accept that plants can respond to their environment. Whilst students are adept at identifying adaptations to the environment in animals they do not show the same level of conceptual understanding of adaptations when referring to plants. Thus questions which require students to think about complex processes, and to link these with external pressures such as temperatures, daylight or water availability, become quite difficult.

During the practical session students removed the lower surface of a leaf and mounted this on a microscope slide to view the stomata and guard cells found in abundance on the leaf’s lower surface. This activity suddenly brought leaves to life for the majority of the class who were surprised to see that rather than being smooth there were clearly defined structures which could allow gases to enter or leave the leaf and which were either open or closed.

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The results from the repetition of the quick quiz supported the idea that practical sessions do improve understanding leading to deeper thinking as students generally were more confident at answering the deeper thinking questions than previously. In the target group question 3 was answered much more successfully with 8/10 students using technical language. 6/10 could relate that the palisade layer at the top of the leaf carried out photosynthesis as sunlight would not have to travel far to reach the chloroplasts. Some noting that they observed no chloroplasts in the layer at the bottom of the leaf. 6/10 students could explain the purpose of guard cells was to open and close the stomata but only 4/10 linked this to preventing water loss during hot spells or at night when no photosynthesis occurred.

The following two series of lessons showed a similar improvement following the practical session. However due to the limited time spent undertaking the trials it cannot be stated conclusively that the improvements in understanding and ability to answer questions which require linking thinking and concepts is entirely due to practical activity. This improvement could be attributed to several factors including repetition of the same questions in the quizzes or having been exposed to the concepts being studied on more than one occasion.

To take this further I would need to look at a bigger sample, perhaps from several classes, over a more extended period of time, covering practical activities from biology, chemistry and physics. I could also vary the questions asked rather than just repeating the same quiz but ensuring the same focus of the questions; knowledge recall, describing, linking and explaining concepts. This would prevent the possibility of students learning by rote what the answer should be rather than applying deeper thinking skills and should give a more comprehensive view of whether or not practical activities do improve conceptual understanding and promote deeper level thinking.

References Cook, B. R., & Babon, A. (2017). Active learning through online quizzes: better learning and less (busy) work.

Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 41(1), 24-38. http://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2016.1185772 Curzon, L. B., & Tummons, J. (2013). Teaching in Further Education: An Outline of Principles and Practice (7th ed.). Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com DeHoff, M. E., Clark, K. L., & Meganathan, K. (2011). Learning outcomes and student-perceived value of clay modelling and cat dissection in undergraduate human anatomy and physiology. Advances in Physiology Education, 35, 68-75. http://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00094.2010 Freeman, S., Eddy, L., McDonough, M., Smith, M., Okoroafor, N., Jordt., & Wenderoth. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and maths. PNAS, 111(23), 8410-8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111 Momsen, J. L., Long, T. M., Wyse, S. A., & Ebert-May, D. (2010). Just the facts? Introductory undergraduate biology courses focus on low-level cognitive skills. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 9, 435-440. http://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.10-01-0001 Nuthall, G. (2007). Hidden Lives of Learners. Wellington NZ:NZCER Press.

Simonson, S. R. (2017) To Flip or Not to Flip: What Are the Questions?. Education Sciences, 7(3), 71-81. http://doi.org/10.3390/edusci7030071 Appendix 1 – Questions from quiz on leaf structure.

Name a gas which enters a plant through its leaves.

(1)

Name the cells which contain large numbers of chloroplasts and carry out most photosynthesis.

(1) Describe how carbon dioxide is used in the leaf.

(2) 151

Link the function (job) of a palisade cell to its position in the leaf.

Explain how guard cells control gas exchange in a leaf.

(2) (4)

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Kelly Wiltshire - How can ‘Do now’ tasks be used to set high expectations?

Over the last few weeks I have been reflecting on what I have done during 2020-2021 in terms of curriculum, assessment and importantly the lesson delivered. The blended learning approach / hockey cokey (in-out, inout) of being in school and remote learning has meant that a significant aspect to reflect upon has been engagement. From engagement spreadsheets tracking online learning to engagement in the classroom as monitored by ATL’s and TPI’s and grades, getting pupils (and keeping students engaged) in their learning has become a fundamental focus this year. Throughout the year I have been focused on making sure that the start of lessons, be it in person or remotely, has a purposeful start. As part of that I believe that the ‘Do now’ starter task can have a significant role to play in this engagement, but also setting high expectations for the learning that will take place.

The ‘Do now’ task, a strategy from Doug Lemov’s ‘Teach like a Champion 2.0’ has been part of the Humanities faculty implementation of the ‘Cowes Way’ for the last 2-3 years. According to Tavassoly-Marsh (2021) an effective ‘Do Now’ should conform to four critical criteria to ensure that it remains focused, efficient and effective: 1. It should be in the same place every lesson 2. It should be completed without any direction from the teacher, or discussion with peers 3. It should take between 3-5 minutes to complete and should involve all students putting pen to paper 4. It should preview the day’s lesson or review previously covered content Indeed Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Instruction also has links to the ‘Do now’ task, as summarised below. Principle 1 of reviewing learning at the start and this can be a useful purpose of the ‘Do now’ task. It can make connections in the overall schema of learning between what has been done before and retrieval. As Sherrington outlines “Students do not necessarily recall recent learning readily and it pays to anticipate this rather than become frustrated by this’ (Sherrington, 2019). Therefore the ‘Do now’ task can be a means to review via questioning or quizzing.

For principle 6 the ‘Do now’ task can provide a checkpoint to ensure understanding and to adapt to address misconceptions in learning. Jones (2019) stresses that “addressing misconceptions and supporting the process needed to move information to long-term memory in order to retrieve it at a later date” and this supports the view that “topics must be revisited a retaught” only by doing this can be help student to overcome the forgetting curve Figure 1 –A summary of Rosenshine’s and maximise their learning”.

10 Principles of instruction For Sherrington and Caviglioli (2021) ‘Do now’ tasks (https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/guidehelp to establish and reinforce routines and to “get

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to-rosenshine-principles-ofinstruction)

them thinking as quickly as possible”. Having a

‘starter task’ is nothing new and in the Geography curriculum there has always been a place at the beginning of the lesson to promote awe and wonder in the subject, with an emotive image, infographic, fact or map.

However Tavassoly Marsh also expressed concern about a ‘Do now’ being just a ‘glorified starter task’.

However if the above 4 criteria is met then the ‘Do now’ allows the teacher to: a.

Strategically plan spaced knowledge retrieval

b.

Formatively assess understanding of the whole class to look at strengths and misconceptions c. Respond to misconceptions d. content

Narrate the links between taught content and new

e.

Hook the new learning onto pre-existing schema

f.

Support a student’s cognitive load

g.

Allow the student to self-regulate their learning

Tavassoly-Marsh (2021) I therefore have focused on these 7 benefits of ‘Do now’ tasks and reflected upon what we have done and what we can still so for us in the Geography department in the future, to ensure we have high expectations from the moment we meet and greet out students. a. Strategically plan spaced knowledge retrieval We have 4 assessment objectives at GCSE that have formed the basis of our assessment of progress for KS3 from September 2021 onwards. Our use of ‘GEOG you memory’ ‘Do now’ tasks have helped us to tackle AO1 (Demonstrate knowledge of locations, places, processes, environments and different scales), AO2 (Demonstrate geographical understanding of concepts and inter-relationships between places, environments and processes) and AO4 (use a variety of skills and techniques to investigate questions and issues and communicate findings) (Edexcel, 2015). Our curriculum does make use of spaced practice at KS4, and increasingly at KS3 to allow key information “that is presented repeatedly over spaced intervals is learned much better than information that is repeated without intervals (Bjork and Bjork, 2021). We therefore repeat some key knowledge in multiple ‘Do now’ tasks and we have found it effective to repeat key skills such as TEA to repeatedly allow opportunities for student to master this and develop confidence. We can therefore plan some ‘Do now’ tasks in advance to ensure a strategic overview of skills and addressing AO’s across a topic. Examples below are from KS3 and KS4...

Figure 2 – Example of TEA used at KS3 in year 8 Topic 6. This connected prior learning about China and how its population has grown, but linked to the content of the lesson by making the data focused on rural and urban populations. TEA has been used a task in lesson and so is helping to recall their graph interpretation skills (AO4)

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Figure 3 – Example of TEA used at KS4 in year 8 for Topic 4. It recalls key AO4 skills but also the key language used to distinguish between the different geology in the UK.

Figure 4 – Example of TEA used at KS4 as part of remote learning / blended learning when year 10 where in school in summer 2020.

Figure 5 – An example of TEA used at KS5 in order to analyse data sets

b. Formatively assess understanding of the whole class to look at strengths and misconceptions At GCSE our ‘Do now’ tasks have allowed us focus on retrieval (AO1 and AO2) and skills (AO4). GEOG your memory as an acronym stands for: G = Go back to last lesson, E -= earlier in the topic, O = older than a week (or month) and G = Geographical skills. We focus on one aspect of the GEOG in order to ensure pace and focus.

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Figure 6 – Example a GEOG your memory involving pie charts that show change over time. This is a common GCSE AO4 focus and a ‘describe’ or ‘compare’ question. A common misconception is that student will either a) not use data or b) try to explain the trends

Figure 7 – Example of a GEOG your memory that allowed for recall and retrieval from the previous lesson with brief exam questions (3x 2 marks) in order to check for strengths with development of ideas (linked to suggest command word)

Figure 8 – Example of GEOG you memory with 10 1 word retrieval questions all linked to keywords. This helps to judge who has mastered these key terms but also who will need intervention in order to address any misconceptions. c. Respond to misconceptions For me this means that ‘Do now’ tasks have to be planned and thought about. This can be in response to verbal feedback from the previous lesson, marking of a particular piece of work or a sample review of some student’s book after the previous lesson, to inform the subsequent lesson plan. It is impossible to mark every piece of work a student does so using ‘Wiliam’s four quarters marking’ (Hendrick and Macpherson, 2017) misconceptions are most likely to be identified when students work is ‘Marked in detail’ and ‘Skim marking’ of which these make up 50% of Wiliam’s identified marking load. Peer and self-assessment make up the remaining 50% and whilst these may not support teachers identification and response to misconceptions to initial 50% does mean that a review of learning completed previously can be undertaken in a time efficient manner. This allows for the ‘Do now’ tasks to appropriately respond to group of whole class misconceptions and reteaching to be done if required.

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We can plan these ‘Do now’ task to have purpose for example the example below link to areas of misconception.

Figure 9 – a GEOG your memory task to check for misconceptions between the ‘ation’ processes taught in the previous lesson. By me modelling the sequence of the keywords (a misconception from the previous lesson), student should focus on the AO2 skill of explaining the cause for each.

Figure 10 - In this second example a misconception was that Taiga forests experience no human interruptions due to their remote locations. In addition the photos allowed for AO4 skills development and connection previous learning to the learning in the lesson.

Figure 11 – In this third example the retrieval focus linked to landscapes taught at the beginning of a year 10 topic. The photo prompt was to check for misconception in the use of keywords used to describe these landscapes and features within them.

d. Narrate the links between taught content and new content This is where a secure scheme of work or medium term plan is important. For us in Geography, we have spent time in collaborative planning sessions thinking carefully about the sequencing of the learning across KS3-5.

The ‘Do now’ tasks can provide an opportunity to ask “questions from previous topics that help pupils to recall the information they will be applying in this lesson” (Enser, 2019). Sherrington and Caviglioli (2020) use Shimamura’s MARGE model to help consider how student can relate ideas (the R in MARGE) and describe the ‘zoom in and ‘zoom out’ that is required for students to connect the small picture of one specific idea to a bigger picture of a whole topic. A ‘Do now’ task can provide an opportunity for closed or multiple choice questions, focused on specific vocabulary or broader explanations or processes or relationships in 157

Geography. Alternatively it can provide a bridge between a sequences of lessons that link to an extended piece of work, as seen here:

Figure 12 – In a sequence of 3 lessons about Lagos in a year 8 topic the ‘Do now’ task helped to connect the lessons and ensure that challenge was the start of the lesson.

This example used a brief video clips as a focus.

Figure 13 – This example here was the 3rd lesson in the sequence and was used to reinforce the idea of evidence as an integral part of their extended piece of writing.

Figure 14 – This is an example from KS5 where synoptic skills need continual practice in order to become embedded.

This ‘Do now’ task was a connection between the idea of traditional resource demands and future changes in the way energy could be sourced.

e. Hook the new learning onto pre-existing schema As I have made reference to earlier, the awe and wonder possibilities I geography are greatly supported by the use of visual images. The ability to infer is a transferable skill at KS3 across humanities and the example below provide examples of where high challenge has been used. “Teach to the top” as emphasised by Sherrington and Caviglioli (2021) ensures that “the conceptual depth and sophistication of the material or 158

the degree of practical difficulty are always demanding for your highest attaining students… this high challenge approach benefits everyone”.

Figure 15 – This example set a high level of challenge due to the open ended nature of the phot and possible interpretations. The prompts on the right helps to provide a scaffold and as Sherrington and Caviglioli (2021) state “How can I help you climb higher?”

Figure 16 – this example is from the same topic and enables students to select a question of appropriate challenge and tackle it.

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Figure 17 – a provocative image used to introduce the concept of international law and the protection of human rights.

The questions provide a challenge, especially as not context is given for the image.

Figure 18 – the same image was used in a subsequent lesson with different set of question to promote further challenge.

f. Support a student’s cognitive load Cognitive load was part of my focus last year and therefore I did not want to be repetitive, but it is important to consider for ‘Do now’ starters. The diagram below from Hudson (2021) helps to summarise the concepts of memory as discussed by Jones in her 2019 book.

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Figure 19 – Summary of multi-store memory (@MissH_biology) The ‘Do now’ task can help to engage the short term memory but in order for it to be retained the retrieval aspect of ‘Do now’ tasks need to be activated.

In addition Jones (2019) makes referred to the ‘procedural memory’ and the ‘Do now’ tasks linked to TEA is an attempt to allow students to almost turn on their autopilot: “automacy involves knowing how to do something so well that we don’t stop of consider each stage of the process, it just happens seamlessly and effortlessly… procedural memory is important because… the process becomes automatic so that working memory is freed up and can instead he used to focus on the content or questions instead of how to complete a task” (Jones, 2019).

Jones in 2020 does however warn against retrieval practice just taking place in the ‘Do now’ task alone. She argues that “retrieval practice is so effective it shouldn’t be limited to a ten-minute tsk. Times needs to be dedicated to this strategy … [and for] feedback and reflection too”. This is an important consideration for us (see final thoughts). g. Allow the student to self-regulate their learning The quiz style questioning of some ‘Do now’ tasks lend themselves to self and peer assessment. Sherrington and Caviglioli (2020) emphasis that not only is revealing the answers to the whole class time efficient, but that “students can see or hear the answers so they can compare their own for accuracy”. Students will be able to check their progress and praise give for correct answers. We have made use of red pens as a means to correct answers that are incorrect and this is something that is more effective in the classroom compare 161

to an online learning environment. Identified gaps in knowledge can be noted by the teacher and student alike and plans to address the gap can be considered.

One area to develop in our ‘Do now’ tasks moving forward can be the use of MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions). Christodoulou (2016) promotes the use of MCQs as a means to assess progress and give meaningful feedback as well as the all importance aspect of challenge, “the testing effect as a powerful argument for increasing the amount of quizzing and assessment in the classroom… [MCQS] are particularly effective ways to realise the benefits of the testing effect” (Christodoulou citing Little, I et all (2021) and Bjork, E. Little, I and Storm, B (2014)). This is an additional aspect to focus on moving forward.

I have already included examples of GEOG you memory tasks and these work well in a classroom situation, we discovered that online, the use of MCQs worked more effectively to check progress at the end of their lesson and tasks set. It was an important meant to ensure challenge was a feature for those who were diligently completing all the work set, but also allowed student to check their progress and improve their scores week by week. The succinct nature of the GEOG your memory ‘Do now’ task avoids cognitive overload and allows a clear and management self-regulation of learning.

Final thoughts - What we need to do with ‘Do now’ tasks now: ➢ Thinking time – should silence be insisted upon for ‘Do now’ tasks? The expectation to complete the task has been made clear but do we need to help facilitate the thinking time and space to allow the student to meet the high expectations we have set? The movement between bubbles has reduced the effectiveness of meeting and greeting and ownership of the classroom by the teacher. Upon our return in September the return to remaining in one or two classroom’s will make the effectiveness of setting up the lesson more impactful and we can look to establish the expectation of silence to ensure that the ‘Do now’ is completed. ➢ Can we make use of MCQs more? We can reflect and review for parts of the curriculum that have not been taught in 2020-2021 (topics 1-3 for GCSE for example and Topic 4a at A Level). This may provide some quick retrieval practice that ensures that the task can be completed without any direction from the teacher, or discussion with peers. ➢ We also need to reflect on the size of the task and time taken 3-5 minutes needs to be the maximum time allocation and this may be supported by the use of silence. However the checking may impact this and so we need to be mindful of this as part of our overall lesson plan. ➢ Make sure that the ‘Do now’ task does not just become a start – it must try to achieve the 7 benefits as outlined and reflect upon and also it needs to provide the key aspect of high expectations for all learner of mixed attainment.

References Jones, Kate (2021) @Kate_Jones_teach Hudson, G (2021) @MissH_biology Tavassoly-Marsh, J (2021) https://fhesteachingandlearninghub.wordpress.com/2021/04/29/do-nowtasksintent-v-implementation/ Sherrington, T (2019) Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, Woodbridge, Suffolk: John Catt Educational Busch, B and Watson E (2019) The Science of Learning: 77 studies that every teacher needed to know.

Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Enser, M (2019) Teach like nobody’s watching: The essential guide to effective and efficient teaching.

Pearson Edexcel (2015) Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in Geography B – Specification – Issue 2. Pearson Education Limited: London.

Hendrick, C and Macpherson, R. (2017) What does this look like in the classroom? Bridging the gap between research and practice. Woodbridge: John Catt Educational 162

Bjork, A and Bjork E Applying Cognitive Psychology to Enhance Educational Practice. Accessed: https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/research/#spacing Christodoulou, D (2016) Making good progress? The future of Assessment for Learning. Oxford University Press: Oxford Jones, K (2019) Retrieval practice: Research and resources for every classroom. John Catt Educational: Suffolk Jones, K (2021) Retrieval practice 2: Implementing, embedding and reflecting. John Catt Educational: Suffolk Sherrington, T and Caviglioli (2020) Teaching Walkthrus: Five step guides to instructional coaching. John Catt Educational: Suffolk Sherrington, T and Caviglioli (2021) Teaching Walkthrus 2: Five step guides to instructional coaching.

John Catt Educational: Suffolk Inner Drive (2021) https://blog.innerdrive.co.uk/guide-to-rosenshine-principles-of-instruction

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Lynsey Greenfield - How can we activate ‘hard thinking’ with good questioning?

Questioning is “as crucial to teaching as air is to breathing”.

(Quigley, 2012) Particularly in a subject such as Science, ‘questioning’ for a deeper level of understanding is clearly embedded at the core of the curriculum, but as teachers, what are our most effective questioning methods to use with students to activate their ‘hard thinking?’

This literature review will analyse the different purposes for teachers using questions and how they can be used effectively to stretch students of all abilities.

Coe et al (2020) states that “Teachers use questioning for two main – and quite distinct – purposes: to promote students’ thinking, and to assess it”. At a basic level, I agree this is true, but it misses the point, that the most useful assessments are formative in nature and therefore are intrinsic in the learning process to support students in continuing to make progress. Hence I prefer, to consider the two purposes to be connected - entwined even.

Nonetheless, during my research I opted to concentrate on the former purpose stated above, as this is what I believe will enhance ‘hard thinking’. Although I recognise the equal importance of using questions to assess and evaluate for planning future learning (this could be a whole other literature review), as the formative cycle is fundamental in developing thinking since both students and teachers need to know what knowledge needs to be built on.

Coe et al (p.34, 2020) stipulates that “asking a lot of questions is not a marker of quality; it’s about the types of questions, the time allowed for, and depth of, student thinking they provoke or elicit, and how teachers interact with the responses”. Expert teachers have the questioning skills to promote deep learning with a higher level of abstraction.

In my search for some practical hints and tips to improve my own questioning skills I found Boxer’s article (2019) ‘Challenge beyond Bloom’s’, and I have to confess I began reading it with the assumption it would help me to build on my existing use of bloom’s taxonomy in my current questioning and task setting. I was initially skeptical of Boxer’s cynical view of Bloom, however, he makes very good points (with examples) of how the command word in a question is not the only factor to affect the level of challenge. He summarises with the following: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

“The command words can be superficial The Bloom’s model doesn’t account for intrinsic difficulty – content demand Challenge can be regulated by the number of things the student needs to do – task quantity The timing is crucial: what is easy for a child today is hard next week because they forget it – internal resources ➢ Even when the variables above are controlled, challenge can be altered by providing students with external supports” (Boxer, 2019) Boxer has illustrated his findings in this equation:

(Boxer, 2019) The model demonstrates that, when task quantity and content demand are high then the level of challenge will also be high, but the lower the prior knowledge and external support, the higher the challenge too.

Considering how these 4 factors interact is a valuable tool for posing questions and for setting appropriately levelled tasks.

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Contrary to Coe et al’s (2020) notion that questioning has two distinct purposes, Quigley (2012) suggests questioning may vary with the natural flow of a lesson, where it can: initiate the learning process; develop the learning, and finally, evaluate it.

I originally began my research simply looking for ways to improve my questioning to get students to ‘think harder’, but I have found there is clear evidence for helping students to pose their own questions and create a ‘culture of enquiry’. Quigley (2012) believes education is becoming too focused on closed, recall questions for the exam system, and that teachers need to get students critically involved, maximizing creativity and encouraging the asking of good, thoughtful questions. He broaches concerns of overuse of questioning that is low order, factual recall, which has developed from an ‘answer focused culture’.

“In a culture of enquiry, questions are no longer the domain of the ignorant; a tool to trip up the teacher – they become dynamic – more about critical involvement, stretching knowledge and enriching understanding” Quigley (2012). This is something that I have felt strongly about since the start of my career, possibly because as a science teacher, scientific enquiry naturally lends itself to the culture of questioning. I have had many parent meetings where I have suggested one of the next steps in learning for a student is for them to be the ones asking the questions, rather than to simply ‘answer more questions’.

It feels refreshing that the importance of students doing the questioning has been recognised, as opposed to other literature on the topic that I have read, for example, teachers’ varying their use of command words when framing questions to evoke deeper level thinking (Burnage 2018). In his article, Quigley (2012) explores the idea of effective questioning being the “ultimate guide for formative progress”. He offers ten top tips for questioning, many of which involve strategies to support students in posing the questions themselves.

Based on the reading I have done, the key point in developing students’ hard thinking, is in helping them to connect and elaborate ideas. Shimamura (2018) suggests using the ‘three C’s’ (categorise, compare and contrast) and ‘elaborative-interrogation’ (asking, and answering, ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions) to support them in achieving this.

Following this literature review, I will be developing my classroom practices further to incorporate time spent consciously teaching students to ask good questions and not just answer them. I will endeavor to create a ‘culture of inquiry’ in my classroom that opens minds and provokes truly independent thought.

Boxer, A (2019). Challenge beyond Bloom’s. Available: https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/challenge-beyond-blooms/ Burnage, S. (2018). CPD workshop: Effective questioning. Sec-Ed. Available: https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/bestpractice/cpd-workshop-effective-questioning/ Coe, R., Rauch, C.J., Kime, S. and Singleton, D. (2020). Great Teaching Toolkit: Evidence Review. Cambridge Assessment International Education.

Available: https://bibliotecadigital.mineduc.cl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12365/17347/33%20Great%20teaching%20t oolkit%20evidence%20review..pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Quigley, A (2012). Questioning – Top ten strategies. The Confident Teacher. Available: https://www.theconfidentteacher.com/2012/11/questioning-top-ten-strategies/ Shimamura, A. (2018). MARGE. A whole-brain learning approach for students and teachers. Available: https://shimamurapubs.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/marge_shimamura.pdf

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Sarah Rouse - What impact does giving students a 4 minute” No questions, silent thinking time” have on 7Y2 to encourage them to activate their thinking to solve maths problems during terms 1 and 2?

Issue and Target Group In this middle set of year 7s I had noticed that in maths lessons as soon as they did not know what to do their hands shot up to ask questions. They were not used to trying to think through the problem themselves and deciding what maths they needed to use. Not instantaneously knowing how to answer a question made them uncomfortable. It was a case of “I can’t do this” or “I don’t know what to do” so they did nothing. I wanted to address this, build their resilience and teach them that it is ok not to know immediately and that sometimes you just had to start doing something rather than nothing in order to help activate their thinking.

Research Richard Rusczyk wrote a paragraph in “How to Work through Hard Math Problems” that sums up how I felt when I saw students just sitting and not even trying to have a go. “Do something. Yeah, the problem is hard.

Yeah, you have no idea what to do to solve it. At some point you have to stop staring and start trying stuff.

Most of it won’t work. Accept that a lot of your effort will appear to have been wasted. But there’s a chance that one of your stabs will hit something, and even if it doesn’t, the effort may prepare your mind for the winning idea when the time comes.”

The nrich.maths .org article “Developing a Classroom Culture that supports a Problem-solving Approach to Mathematics” encouraged me as a teacher to put myself in the students shoes and see how it felt and what I did when I got stuck. (I did not like it!) The article goes on to ask the question “What’s happening in the classroom?” This made me think about how to go about encouraging students resulting in putting up some questions to prompt the students into thinking if they needed it. More importantly to continually reiterate to the students that it is ok to make mistakes to give them the confidence to have a go.

In Craig Barton’s book “Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain” He suggests giving the students 4 minutes silent thinking time for a problem, before any questions or discussions. He suggests that Silence (i)

allows students to concentrate without any distraction

(ii)

encourages students to think before they ask for help.

(iii)

stops students and teachers being fooled by collective wisdom

(iv)

helps students make connections at the point when they are ready and not when their neighbour is ready

(v)

gives students the opportunity to experience, reflect upon and enjoy their surprise of discovery

(vi)

Equity (allowing students who are less confident, processing issues conditions such as ASD the support of silence to thrive.)

I was intrigued as to whether this would encourage students to think. He also reminded us as teachers that if we ask a student to explain their answer, we need to give them thinking time to formulate their thoughts.

In our desire to get through lessons I am guilty of not doing this and am mow much more conscious of allowing students thinking time and discouraging others interjecting!

The nrich.maths article “Engaging Students, Developing Confidence, Promoting Independence” suggests some strategies to use to develop students’ confidence when they are stuck. These include offering higherorder, open ended tasks to get students used to being ‘stuck’ and offering tasks in which students have to identify and correct errors and encourage similar reflection on their own work. I have been including more 166

of this type of activity as it also shows their comprehension of a topic. They also suggest encouraging students to explain their difficulties to the rest of the class, vocalising the problem and following up with an open discussion.

Action After reading Craig Barton’s book, I decided to give the students problems and give them a ‘4 minutes no questions, silent thinking time’ to see if this would help activate their thinking. Some of these were on topics that had been taught and some were for me to discover what they know before a topic was taught. After each time we would have a discussion as to how they felt, what they were struggling with and strategies that would help next time.

Evaluation The first problem I gave them in term 1 involved order of operations in a function machine.

.

Many of the class were visibly uncomfortable and 4 minutes seemed like a long time. Several put their hands up despite the fact that I had explained that I wanted them to think and not ask questions and seemed frustrated they could not ask to get an immediate response or assurance that they were on the right track.

From the sample of responses shown above there was a range of answers from not trying, not understanding to figuring out how to explain their thinking to a comprehensive explanation.

Lockdown then happened. So in the middle of one online lesson, we tried this again. In some ways that was easier as we were not in the same room. There were a couple of students who typed questions in the chat 167

box and then typed in that they had figured their own answers out. I wonder if typing the question was equivalent to “vocalising the problem” mentioned in the nrich.maths article and actually ‘asking’ the question helped the students to answer it themselves.

The third time we did this we had learnt about direct proportion and this is a problem about inverse proportion. After a minute I wrote silently on the board “What is the same, what is different about this problem?” After two minutes I wrote “Can we still use the multiplicative box method?”

This is also an example of the identify and correct the error type of problem recommended by nrich.maths.

Here are a few of the variety of responses. All bar 2 of the students were now confident to have a go…even if they were wrong. The lower circled answer knew the answer was not correct but did not know how to work it out. 5 students fell into this category. The other circled answer is correct. 8 students got the correct answer. Many of the students were trying to use ideas and methods we have previously used..….They were thinking!

What next?

Now students know what is expected in the 4 minutes I would like to try the method suggested by Craig Barton where they do 4 minutes silent work, then 2 minutes paired sharing, another 4 minutes silent work and then 2 minutes sharing etc.to see if this will help them build confidence in their thinking abilities. It will be interesting to see how this improves as they grow older.

I think that when the students enter in year 7 some of them are not mature or brave enough to be able to independently think without constant reassurances they are on the right linen. This may have been more apparent this year after their education was affected both in year 6 and 7 by Covid.

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Catherine Eriksson - What impact do strategies used to encourage higher level, independent thinking have on academic attainment in 10XX? The focus of my study is upon evaluating the impacts of strategies implemented to encourage higher level, independent thinking for a small group of selected students. Evidence will be collected over the academic year of 2020-2021 and due to the unique and challenging circumstances within which teaching took place (due to the Covid-19 pandemic), the findings will be highly inconsistent with a ‘normal’ approach to teaching.

It is also important to acknowledge that once lockdown restrictions ease, the challenges will continue through the rest of the academic year.

Initial strategy ideas include: -

Break out groups

-

Modelling

-

Exam question structure skills

-

Peer discussion

-

Live, timed assignments with appropriate review tasks

Outcome evidence will vary, especially given the fact that much of the study occurred during lockdown teaching. Evidence will include observations, conversations and insights into the progress being made with individual students. Professional judgement and observations are key in developing an understanding of individual student needs and can be used to create future steps and targets.

The issue: Independent, higher level learning is an extremely difficult skill to teach. It requires students to take risks, think outside the box, challenge their own thinking and complete a task with the knowledge that failure or potentially not getting everything perfectly correct is a distinct possibility. For students to access higher level, independent thinking, they need to have the self-confidence and resilience to accept that they will make mistakes.

Focus students – criteria for selection:

A summary of the individual students identified can be seen below: Student A: Lacking in self-esteem, masks insecurities with low level disruption and chattiness. Under performing with missed exam questions a significant issue.

Student B: Appears unmotivated. Frequent communication via email with parents usually leads to improvements in outcomes. However, independence is lacking and attainment is lower than expected.

Student C: This student has high subject targets but frequently (yet inconsistently) under performs. Social distractions are significant here.

-

Students of varying needs, personality and behavioural characteristics

-

Low self-esteem/fear of failing

-

Lacking in motivation and independence

-

Low attainment/under performing

Student D: This student demonstrates a significant lack of self-confidence and belief. Questions are left unanswered which make providing effective feedback very challenging.

Research I decided to explore a wide range of strategies, being selective in their adaptation, integration and challenge level for the students I chose to focus upon. I have selected 4 below to show their value and relevance.

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Source 1: https://www.teachthought.com/ ‘Re–teaching is a necessary part of any scheme of work if there is an important element of the module, topic or lesson that students just haven’t grasped.’ This point is critical to remember when it comes to revision.

However, I do not believe that as teachers, we should not simply re-teach. Content should be familiar, yet the skills used to unlock and retrieve the correct knowledge should be engaging, efficient and consistent.

Within Geography, we utilise a flashcard system. Students undergo a consistent approach to knowledge retrieval and reprocess the information to make it increasingly familiar and available for application in an exam situation. If flashcards are created and then put to one side, the student risks forgetting the revision experience and its content entirely, thus falling into the trap of the ‘forgetting curve.’ Challenges faced with this approach include the ability of the students to utilise their flashcards to their full potential and this is something we plan to address with these students as we move forward into year 11. ‘In 1885, Ebbinghaus published his research that showed that if no attempt is made to retain information, it will be subject to the now–famous forgetting curve.’ Taking revision resources to a higher level to challenge the mind to retain information could be a challenge I observe.

I also plan to explore the impact of ‘10 methods of scaffold learning’ with the focus group, alongside other ideas and strategies generated from my own experience and through the reading of research and other appropriate sources.

Source 2: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/584541-4.-activating-hard-thinking.pdf Section 4.2 of this document focuses on activating hard thinking. The importance of clarity within a teacher’s explanation is emphasised here. If teachers can provide ‘clear, concise, appropriate, engaging explanations,’ students should be able to connect with the learning and utilise a wide range of learning techniques, such as using examples effectively, building connections and using modelled examples to further enhance and demonstrate the skills needed to produce high quality work at the appropriate challenge level.

The use of effective, open and probing questioning is essential in enabling students to activate their potential for higher level thinking and independence. Students should be given adequate thinking time without being rushed to formulate their answer. Equally, providing this time emphasises the fact that the student is expected to make a contribution and they will not be able to avoid providing an input by simply opting out.

Providing structure is required is acceptable but in a way that engages the student and gives them an opportunity to make a valid contribution.

Source 3: https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/higher-order-thinking/ Blooms taxonomy provides the foundation for many elements of a teacher’s training and subsequent career.

By returning to the principles outlined within the model, students are provided with opportunities to activate their higher level of thinking and ultimately begin to work increasingly independently.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill identified that ‘most students report that high school was largely about remembering and understanding large amounts of content and then demonstrating this comprehension periodically on tests and exams. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a framework that starts with these two levels of thinking as important bases for pushing our brains to five other higher order levels of thinking— helping us move beyond remembering and recalling information and move deeper into application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and creation.’ I believe that thinking can be pushed to a higher level by reversing the model to enable students to essentially ‘re-remember’ the information by independently demonstrating the skills they have been taught to refresh and re-apply the knowledge in the correct context. This is something of particular interest with regard to the flashcards we encourage the students to make prior to assessments.

Source 4: https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/effective-feedback-top-tips-for-teachers/ ‘Feedback is continually reported to have significant impact on the progress that students make.’ The quality, quantity and style of feedback must be effective and efficient on both the teacher and student time demands.

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The use of green and pink highlighters are used within my own practise to identify strengths and areas to improve. In addition to this, on pieces of work selected for a more forensic marking approach, targets are provided and a response required from the individual student to move forward. Targets are often personalised questions generated from the work provided and with the individual student’s needs in mind.

Actions by me up to Jan 21

Impacts

Actions by me Jan to March 21

Impacts

Actions May 2021

Small group work to work together on structuring 8 markers.

Live completion of the question with immediate submission.

Discussion about requirements and use of resources.

Sentence starters and structure used.

Work submitted immediat ely after the session.

Incomplet e but highlighte d the thinking inputted to the task.

Offer of support with 8 mark question.

Sentence starters, guidance and brief talk through before starting the answer.

This time, student A worked independently.

Instead of requiring an addition session with me, he completed the work during the lesson and checked in with me on several occasions to check he was on the right lines.

Moved seating to the front upon return from lockdown learning.

Enabled one to one support, specific questioning, prompting to return to tasks.

Small group work to work together on structuring 8 markers.

Live completion of the question with immediate submission.

Discussion about requirements and use of resources.

Sentence starters and structure used.

High quality work submitted immediat ely after the session.

Offer of support with 8 mark question.

Sentence starters, guidance and brief talk through before starting the answer.

Student B worked independently, did not miss the deadline and produced a piece of high quality work.

Communicated this to parents as positive reinforcement.

Moved to seat with space around him upon return from lockdown.

Improved attitude and work.

Work quality improved, assessment outcomes are improving.

Contributions to Q and A improving.

Small group work to work together on structuring 8 markers.

Live completion of the question with immediate submission.

Discussion about requirements and use of resources.

Further reminders given as promised with extended due date.

Offer of support with 8 mark question.

Sentence starters, guidance and brief talk through before starting the answer.

Work was completed in the lesson time and was of a high quality. Sentence starter suggestions were provided but student C worked independently to complete the work.

No

No specific changes other than communica tion with parents with regard to behaviour and focus.

Parents

Recent assessments were promising, revision had been supported at home.

However, concern about distraction to other students.

There is now a need to provide increased work structure to enable student A to focus on the tasks, include challenge tasks within this.

Student A Student B Student C

Impacts

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Sentence starters and structure used.

additional support needed.

Student D

Decided to add student D into my March review following success with him contributing in small group sessions in Feb 2021 during lockdown.

very supportive.

Student D has moved to the front row to enable me to speak to him quietly, build confidence to return to the tasks.

Huge impact on work produced during class, motivation, amount and quality of work completed.

However, email sent home and to year head and tutor to communicate concerns with assessment outcomes and possible confidence block to achieving.

‘Essentially, feedback whether it’s written or verbal, aims to bridge the gap between prior or current achievement and the success criteria.’ This is particularly prevalent when considering the individual needs and challenges for individual students. Feedback should be personal and applicable to the individual.

Ultimately, this enables students to make progress and targets to be created that are personal, adding to the value felt by the students themselves.

As this article from SecEd summarises, feedback should be timely, simple and specific with the students being able to utilise this learning opportunity to make improvements on their work, transferring the feedback targets to their next assessment opportunity.

Implementation of ideas: Much of my work with the focus group revolved around 8 mark questions, exam preparation and exam technique, incorporating key learning points from my reading. From the point at which I identified the student focus group, I explored a range of strategies in an attempt to provide higher level thinking opportunities and to increase independence.

I am a firm believer that consistency and clarity are essential in ensuring quality learning takes place. By utilising the =, +, -, = structure each and every time an 8 mark question is tackled (see image 1), the students know what to expect and fall into the pattern of structuring their answers using this approach. Additionally, it is often observed that some students within the teaching group overall, automatically move on to self-evaluate their work before I have moved on to this overall.

As well as the =, +, -, = structure, I encourage the use of 3 ‘this means that’s’ (TMT’s) within each paragraph.

The purpose of this strategy is to provide a simple yet effective tool to expand upon the points made, essentially obtaining marks available for expanded explanation.

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My approach to supporting the students in tackling 8 mark questions is shown below.

March 2021 – student focus group update: I was also interested to explore the ’10 methods to scaffold’ learning structure as outlined in the Teacher Toolkit (www.teachertoolkit.co.uk). Over a period of several weeks, I focussed on implementing and evaluating the impact of a range of strategies. As expected, some were more valuable than others due to the individual learning styles of the students and their personalities. Yet as the summary table shows, with the right strategy, students can unlock their potential to think to a higher level and move forward with confidence.

Y4

Y1

Y4

Y4

Y3

Student B

Y2

Y4

Y2

Y2

Y4

Y4

Y3

Y4

Y1 (not required as skills are Y1 there, motivation lacking)

Y3

Y4

Y3

Y4

Y4 – worked very well for Student D over email and Y2 Teams during small group sessions.

Y4 – modelling boosts confidence and reassures.

Student D is very low in selfconfidence.

Y4

Y3

Student C

Student D

Y3

Y4

Don’t assume what Mode learning and the students already be imaginative know Know what the end goal is

Y4

Don’t use all modelling ideas at once Use the visualiser

Make mistakes

Y4

Show students what to do when they don’t know what to do

Speak your thoughts (could also include remote messages and emails)

Student A

10-Methods-to-ScaffoldLearning-by@TeacherToolkit.pdf

Modelling

Talk it through

I will mark with a Y, the strategies I have used and add a score out of 5 on how effective I think it was for the student (5 = very effective). It was not realistic for me to evaluate all of these strategies given the bubble structure, resources available and context of the current topic and lessons planned.

Students overall value the use of modelled answers as they provide reassurance and ideas. Recent utilisation of the ‘I, We, You’ approach (See image 2) has provided further valuable learning experiences and provides a bench mark from which to strive forward from. Students do not enjoy making mistakes and focussing on the mistakes made lowered selfesteem. However, student D has been driven to improve but this has only occurred following successes and praise.

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Summary of action impacts: Break out groups: This was not possible in reality in a physical sense given the restrictions COVID 19 created.

However, break out groups provided surprisingly impactful in a Teams context. Students stayed on after the main part of the taught lesson to receive targeted intervention to complete an 8 mark question. The original teaching resources were used to support students to write their 8 mark answer. The independent, small focused group context, along with the opportunity to ask questions via the chat function and over email, enabled the small group to have personalised tuition. This resulted in students accessing the question (even though the teaching resources were the same as those originally used with the rest of the group), but with structured times to complete each paragraph. Higher thinking was activated in this environment as I believe student confidence was boosted with the security of the virtual classroom and element of anonymity. The resulting answers submitted were at least 2 marks higher than previous attempts with a strong structure and question focus. The challenge however then became the linkage made from that learning experience to the next. I believe this is an area requiring further attention in the future with these particular students.

Modelling: This has proved invaluable within the context of exam questions. Modelling has (and will continue to) provide students with the opportunity to view exemplar answers and provides further opportunity to reflect upon their understanding and application of their knowledge in the appropriate context. Recent work has focussed upon a structure called ‘I, we, you.’ This was introduced within the key stage 3 curriculum and has since been used to challenge year 10 students within the context of 8 mark questions. The strategy allows for flexibility in its application and essentially revolves around modelling of an answer, evaluation and transferal of the strengths identified. Model answers can either be introduced before or after the student has written their own answer; there are benefits to both approaches. Introducing the answer before the student attempts their own answer provides an opportunity to view the ‘best’ approach. The strengths can be identified and potential weaknesses too. This answer is then removed and the students transfer the strengths to their own work. Additionally, by swapping the ‘I and the You’ around, the students can identify the strengths within the model answer and use them to implement within their own work, ultimately selfevaluated and increasing their mark potential.

Exam question structure skills: Mock exams undertaken in May 2021 uncovered some interesting and surprising results. Attainment was lower than anticipated for a range of reasons (the impact of lockdowns being significant as well as a lack of independent revision time). However, a positive outcome was the extent to which the students transferred their skills in accessing 8 mark questions using the consistent structure introduced within lesson time. Despite students finding the exam environment and time demands challenging, a significant number of students attempted the 8 mark questions by having the confidence to utilise the =,+,-,= approach. In addition to this, both teacher and student marking have been invaluable in providing targets to move forward. ‘By narrowing down the focus in this way, the teacher is better able to spot the gaps in both individual students’ and whole–class learning.’ (www.teachertoolkit.co.uk) TMT (this means that) was also identified as a strength within the exam papers with students utilising this familiar and consistent approach from the classroom environment to tackle questions with the command word of ‘explain.’ Frequently, the context of the question was misunderstood and this was linked to a lack of independent revision (further emphasised by the strength of answers where topic material had been covered in class).

Moving forward – a summary: ➢ Consistency of approach ➢ Boost independent revision skills ➢ Utilising revision material once its made

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Blooms Taxonomy cements the need for further processing of this information. Creating the flashcard (albeit independently – a valuable skill in itself) forms one of the first stages of revision. However, with the ignition of higher level thinking, students will be able to develop their skills further to ‘analyse, apply, understand and ultimately remember. Essentially, creating a ‘full circle’ (or even arguably a reversal) model to consolidate understanding and process revised material in order to apply to exam questions in a pressurised environment.

Peer discussion: The role of peer discussion has been variable and so far, its positive impact limited compared to other strategies used. The virtual classroom during lockdown situations removed the opportunity for students to discuss their ideas. However, it did provide an opportunity for students to share their ideas virtually when in small group settings (break out groups). Students to read and listen to the input from other students via the group chat and occasionally unmute of the microphone. However, peer discussion is significantly valuable when students have the confidence and ability to think independently and in the current situation, I believe that this has been dented due to students’ isolation from the classroom.

Moving forward – a summary: ➢ Reintegrate the opportunity for student peer to peer discussions ➢ Peer evaluation and subsequent feedback Live, timed assignments with appropriate review tasks: The consistent and frequent use of time pressured tasks has enabled students to practise their exam planning and written answers. Students become more confident with the pressures created with time constraints and ultimately build upon their ability to refine their answers, only including the relevant and appropriate subject content.

Moving forward – a summary: -

Continue to practise working in timed conditions

-

Prompt, effective feedback to further improve, consolidated by viewing model answers

As I move towards the concluding points of this report, I feel it is important to identify two particularly significant factors that has impacted upon the success of the identified students in fulfilling their potential with independent higher level thinking. Covid 19 involved (to date) to full school closures hereby students were required to work independently from home under very challenging physical and mental health conditions. The impact of this cannot be underestimated the ability for the students to think and work independently, with confidence, has been significant. Work must be done to encourage and instil independence within the students, enabling them to interpret tasks and exam questions. Students need to feel confident and valued in the contributions they make which will ultimately enable them to unlock their potential and level of higher thinking.

The second factor become particularly prevalent during phone calls made to parents. Covid 19 has brought with it exceptionally high levels of strain upon young peoples’ mental health and with this has come the understandable focus of parents on maintaining their child’s well-being. This has come at a cost of pressure from parents being reduced in relation to homework deadlines and revision. A strong relationship was identified between topics revised in class and attainment v topics left for students to independently revise and a consequent lack of attainment.

Increased parental engagement and a significant investment from the school in pastoral support and mental health services will begin to work towards healing the wounds created by Covid 19. Alongside this, we aim to provide subject newsletters including key revision and assessment dates to enable students (with the support of parents and carers) to access and challenge themselves independently.

Concluding points:

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‘While higher order thinking is an excellent way to approach learning new information and studying, you should integrate it with other effective study strategies,’ www.learningcenter.unc.edu. In addition to this, it is responsibility of teachers to get to know the individual students, adapt teaching and revision strategies to suit learning styles and provide opportunities to further develop and enhance the learning experience. My study has shown that with hard work from all key ‘players,’ progress can be made. However, when one element of the team becomes disengaged and reduces their motivation to succeed, building back to positive attainment and outcomes becomes increasingly challenging.

The students I chose to focus on are about to embark on their year 11 journey. I feel personally responsible for their outcome within Geography but as my research and study has shown, team work is key. I can provide the platform and foundation to progress from, the scaffolding to structure the way and feedback to boost confidence and set realistic targets, but this can only be possible and successful if the individual students have the confidence and skills to unlock their potential to think in the higher level as independently as possible.

References: Teacher Toolkit, Ross Morrison McGill, MARK.PLAN.TEACH., and 10 Methods to Scaffold Learning www.teachertoolkit.co.uk SecEd The Voice for Secondary Education, Helen Webb, Effective student feedback: Top tips for teachers, https://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/effective-feedback-top-tips-for-teachers/ The Learning Centre, The University at North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Higher Order Thinking: Bloom’s Taxonomy, https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/higher-order-thinking/ Great Teaching Toolkit, Activating hard thinking, https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/5845414.-activating-hard-thinking.pdf Teach Thought, Beckie Stobaugh, Shifting Your Assessments To Grow Higher-Level Thinking, https://www.teachthought.com/

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Michelle Vidovic - Question: In Sport and Exercise Sciences does Dual Coding enable lower band students to understand, embed and apply knowledge to achieve greater success in written exams?

‘Every teacher disseminates knowledge, but very few have ever been taught how best to impart knowledge effectively so that pupils can understand and apply it. Having the awareness of what dual coding can do, will make you a better teacher.’ (Teachers Toolkit, Accessed 16/02/21).

If we build our careers upon imparting knowledge and make this the main aim of our everyday job and therefore lives, why is it claimed by others that many of us are not taught how to do this in the most effective and efficient way? This study was aimed at activating hard thinking in sixth form sport and exercise science lessons, which required me to understand the best way to pass on my knowledge to this group of mixed ability post 16 learners so that they not only took notes that they could regurgitate, but that they understood the content of the specification and could apply it in any given context…The key…Dual Coding.

What is Dual Coding?

This learning theory was first defined in 1971 by Allan Paivio who saw it as a theory of cognition.

The importance of this wording is shown below when looking at the difference in definitions between cognition and learning.

Cognition: ‘The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses’ (dictionary.com, accessed 16/02/21).

Learning: ‘The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught.’ (dictionary.com, accessed 16/02/21) Both are about acquiring knowledge through experiences but the definition of cognition refers to the understanding of knowledge.

Another key term used in the definition of cognition is ‘senses’, this is vital to the theory as the underpinning concept is about the teacher imparting knowledge in more than one way. The main concept behind the Dual Coding theory is therefore that learning is not about the individual necessarily writing endless notes or teachers keeping a detailed paper trail of how each element of the specification is taught but instead is about the teacher being able to immerse the student in their learning through the use of visual and oral literacy as well as images, creating a memorable mental mind map for each individual learner through the ‘formation of mental images’ in order to aid understanding and application which in turn provides the evidence that the students has learnt the content of the specification, allowing a higher qualification grade to be received, rather than learning to recite the specification in order to simply pass the course.

Alongside this the student should be able to identify a learning pattern which is consistent across the college/subjects they study.

Dual coding is therefore: ‘combining words and visuals such as pictures, diagrams, graphic organizers, and so on. The idea is to provide two different representations of the information, both visual and verbal, to help students understand the information better.’ (Sumeracki, accessed 16/02/21).

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This is well depicted by Hays Teaching and Learning (2018):

What did I identify as already taking pl ace?

For a PE teacher dual coding on the surface appears common practice- we demonstrate and explain a skill using specific coaching points, encouraging students to observe each other and feedback by showing video clips/replicating what we see and discussing information we can see, however when moving to a classroom this at first did not seem as natural as there is content that must be covered and it can sometimes feel a rush to fit everything in. However, as I gained experience and started to observe what was happening in my classroom, I realised that this did not need to be any different from a practical lesson. Leading on from this I began to move away from masses of written work and assignment based tasks, as although these are important and a necessary element to assessing application of knowledge, I began to realise that in my subject they did not aid the cognition process in relation to understanding content, grasping concepts and learning to apply knowledge to different contexts. Instead all they showed me was that the students could take notes off the board, write them down and re-write them (some more successfully than others) into an essay which was not the aim of my job or course and would not allow students to reach their full potential.

Having begun to research dual coding I have realised that there are some elements of my teaching which take this into account and there are other elements that I have begun to apply to this theory but required developing which this performance development focus has allowed me to do. There were of course other elements which on reflection need changing completely or at the very least adapting in order to make them as successful as possible.

As a department we have developed over the last few years a minimum planning sheet which is combined with the scheme of work and identifies all the elements of the unit which needs to be covered. For me this 178

represents the 5minute lesson plan which has been developed by others over the years and falls directly in line with how to successfully plan a session which includes dual coding.

5 minute Plan

(Teacher Toolkit, Accessed: 16/02/21) Alongside this, this academic year we have also looked to develop a power point for each lesson using the Cowes Way template. This has been vital to my development as a theory teacher as although I may not always use the power point to teach from, my students know that there is one which matches the lesson in order for them to refer back to not necessarily the detail that was covered but the content. I include in these power points slide to represent the way in which we complete tasks so if we are doing Pictionary there is a slide to show it, if we are using playdough there is a slide with instructions as to what we are doing etc. By using this I developed a structured routine and students understand what to expect from my lessons, Teachers Toolkit states that a streamlined approach to both lessons within a subject and also the wider college is vital to the success of students and so bringing in the use of Cowes Way templates this year has enabled the PE department to fall in line with this. At the start of each lesson my slides are always the same and enable students to settle quickly whilst I talk to them and organise for the lesson. There is a DO Now, followed by a THUD slide, objectives are then shared before the content of the lesson begins. Students can identify from the slide whether the task is going to be independent, discussion based or assessment and this allows them to prepare for each part of the lesson alongside my verbal instructions. I have found that the use of these power points has made lessons smoother as there are less questions about whether or notes need to be taken etc. and so students are able to read the information and listen without added distractions or wondering what is coming next. I believe examples such as those in Appendix B, have enabled me to both develop my delivery and the cognitive process the students undergo within the lesson.

I believe at the start of this academic year and as a progression throughout my teaching career, I have used different learning and teaching styles to determine how to present information and as a result throughout have been using different materials and working towards the use of dual coding but now having focused on this way of teaching over the last few terms I believe I am bringing these ideas together and successfully delivering sessions through the use of dual coding with what looks to be promising results, Sumeracki would back this trail of thought (accessed, 2021). Previously I may have verbally explained the task without a visual instruction or provided notes to be written and gone over key points but not read everything to students.

Whilst I am confident the new approach is more successful for the lower band students, due to the delay of exams I won’t have confirmation of this until January 2022, however the class tasks and mock papers given suggest the approach is working well for the target group as well as all other students who are fully engaging.

What else have I now tried?

One area of development I felt my teaching needed in order to support the new course assessment styles at level 3 was to ensure I could teach students how to apply their knowledge of the muscles, bones and planes of motion to any given sporting movement and present this information in the form of an essay.

Within the exam this question accounts for nearly half the marks of the paper and having studied different papers to find ‘the weak’ point I realised a student could pass the paper from answering the last two questions which were based on this style of answer. Having researched dual coding and read about Mrs Mueller’s English class and the need to apply dual coding to essays without including pictures for no reason and causing what Sumeracki described as cognitive overload I was able to apply the research to my problem 179

and create a scaffold for any given movement analysis question. Actually from researching mark schemes and finding if there was a common formula I found that they presented their information for assessors in the same way, showing that my scaffold would enable a student to include all the information they needed as a plan for their essay.

The table Mrs Mueller developed is shown below:

(Sumeracki, accessed 16/02/21)

The table I now use for Sport and Exercise Students is shown below:

At the beginning of the year I banded students into the following groups: WTP-NP P-M D-D* I found that the students I had put in the D-D* bracket could answer the essay question and gain full marks without use of the table, however with use of the table they consistently are able to gain full marks. But my main concern was my WTP-NP students, many of whom are relying on an extended diploma in sport and exercise sciences as their stepping stone to the next stage, this means that it is vital they pick up these marks in the mandatory exam. When first giving them the information these students could point to the correct muscle group and identify the basic names, along with bone and joint names. However, when giving them a written assessment their answers gained them very little if any points as often the content was a few random words on the page with nothing to link them together or to the question. So we tried a new approach and 180

began breaking down the question into tables, adding more columns each time (as shown in Appendix A).

This proved incredibly successful and the mock papers showed these two questions to be the most well answered with the lower band students able to gain up to 8 out of 12 marks, so whilst the D-D* student was still able to outperform due to their application of extra knowledge in the essay question, the gap was significantly closed. On the whole all students drew the scaffold at the top of the page before answering the question, those in the middle band that did not, did not show as much progress, again showing its success and the need for every student in the class to approach this style question in the same way.

Some other examples of activities I have used include Pictionary where the students have to explain the picture and accompanying content before they can gain a point, this has allowed a competitive element as well as a way in which students can verbally express their knowledge helping for quicker and more accurate assessment for learning. Students work in teams and are given a key word or a definition for key terminology, they then translate this into pictures before other members of the group have to identify and explain the content using the picture to help, we have also used Dingbats to do this which has also been successful and I have found engages students well.

How has online learning influenced my use of Dual Coding?

Online learning has significantly influenced my development of dual coding as I have understood more the need to develop further teaching materials in order for students to gain a fully engaging lesson/series of lessons.

One task that I found in the past worked well and was again working towards dual coding was the use of creating a mountain model to explain the adaptations the body must undergo in order for someone to survive and successfully perform at altitude, previously I have worked with students and used discussion and Q+A to draw out key terminology and information, however over lock down this was not possible and I wanted to find a way to allow students to do a more active form of learning and incorporate dual coding.

I divided the teams into a temperature team and an altitude team, each group were given an information pack with the specification requirements and instructions on what they must achieve. I talked through this pack and also produced a loom video for them to refer back to. Alongside this I scanned pages of their textbook and created a loom video which enabled me to read each section and talk them through it. Students then worked in breakout rooms on teams to create an information booklet, model and resources to check assessment for learning when they presented the information to the other team. Teams also had to be confident enough in the material they were teaching to be able to successfully conduct Q+A sessions from both students and myself when presenting. By providing the materials it has allowed teams to work at their own pace but produce the materials needed and come to me individually with questions. In order to ensure teacher input each lesson they also watched parts of a film based on temperature and altitude and afterwards had to answer questions upon it relating to the bodies reactions and adaptations. Students had to therefore understand and be able to apply the content they were researching rather than simply making notes on to a power point to read out.

Comparison of assessment results I have summarised my mark book in order to show where students started and where I would now place them based on AFL from assessed tasks on movement analysis.

Before Dual After Dual Coding Coding Approach Approach WTP-NP Band F

P 181

NP

M

F

WTP

NP

M

NP

M

F

P

NP

P

NP

D

NP

P

F

P

F

P

P-M Band P

M

P

M

P

D

P

P/M

D-D* Band M/D

D*

Conclusion I have always worked with the concept of ‘learning styles’ and ‘teaching styles’, where I have tried to determine what styles fit a group best and planned activities based on that assumption, however having researched and developed resources based on dual coding I believe that whilst this is important that it is also equally if not more important to ensure the initial information is provided in different ways whether that be sequential or parallel before providing students with a choice of summary tasks in order to differentiate the application of knowledge and fit their learning needs. This is not only in order for them to achieve in an assessment but apply their knowledge after the course ends to different situations.

As a result of this research I hope to continue to develop this approach with my teams and the lower college exam classes.

References Dictionary.com, Cognition. https://www.dictionary.com/ (Last Accessed 16/02/21).

Dictionary.com, Learning. https://www.dictionary.com/ (Last Accessed 16/02/21).

Hays Teaching and Learning: Excellence through habit https://hayestl.com/2018/09/17/dual-coding/ (Last access 16/02/21).

(2018).

Dual

Coding.

Teacher Toolkit, What is Dual Coding Theory? https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2019/04/08/dual-coding/ (Last Accessed 16/02/21).

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Sumeracki, M., The Learning Scientist: Dual Coding and https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2019/6/6-1 (Last Accessed 16/02/21).

Learning

Styles.

Appendix A Examples of tasks from a series of lessons after the initial teaching of the content.

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

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Appendix B An example lesson power point from a theory lesson.

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Rob Stichbury - What impact does different teaching techniques used on Microsoft Teams delivered over the winter lockdown period have on attendance of Year 7 science lessons for 7x2 and 7y1?

Intent g. The issue 7x2 and 7y1 are both mixed ability science classes. Home learning outside of lockdown for both of these classes is mixed in outcome, with students typically returning 60% homework. However it is likely that with time, over the months of January, February, March that attendance of live MS Teams lessons will reduce, particularly as fatigue, student workload and number of lessons increases. I hoped to implement a range of teaching styles to build interest and engagement of the online content, developing new teaching ideas that I had not used before to improve the online experience for these students h. Target students 7x2 and 7y1 are mixed ability group but with streaming from the maths department providing a different dynamic in terms of raw ability and also aptitude for new things. In Year 7 testing, CAT4D-SAS scores for each class vary, with an average score of 100.0 for 7y1 and 92.5 for 7x2. With this understanding we can predict that the attendance to science for 7x2 will decay more quickly, without sufficient intervention to keep students interested enough to log in each lesson. i.

Research

My background in IT was very poor, so I didn’t understand how MS Teams worked, I had never taught online and definitely felt unconfident with delivering inspiring lessons. In early 2020 the first lockdown since WW2 braced the country and secondary teachers across the UK were expected for the first time to teach remotely.

By the start of 2021 there was some research into the techniques of online teaching globally, including on MS Teams but not specific to science.

Poston, Apostel and Richardson are teaching staff at Bellarmine University, Eastern Kentucky and produced a paper on Using MS Teams to enhance engagement, 2020. Henderson et al. prepared a paper on Using MS Teams to deliver medical education at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust London in 2020. Besharat and Behak published ‘The impact of MS Teams’ App in enhancing Teaching’.

Henderson et al. focussed on direct mechanisms to increase attendance including; Publishing a timetable and instructions on how and when students access lessons, publicising lessons in different ways, i.e. email, SMH, teams, and scheduling lessons at the most effective times, such as 9am rather than 2pm after a busy day of lessons.

Poston et al. focussed on a study where all online teaching was required to be delivered through MS Teams.

The identified positives of this were that it works across platforms and devices – Mac, PC, mobile, that teachers can record and post videos, use video chat with whole classes or smaller groups, and that students themselves can post images and notes – this latter function being something I did not try but looked useful.

Bsharat et al. found that the most successful application of MS Teams is to enable students to share files and content, including using screen sharing options, and that this creates an interactive atmosphere between students, teachers and the wider community – for instance parents and other teaching colleagues. ‘Once learners are inside a team and a file is shared, Sharepoint will send this file’ and thus students get email updates with the work and expectations placed upon them, giving a more immediate feel. They concluded that teachers should increase the self-esteem of students (while they are sat at home feeling generally grumpy in the middle of a pandemic) by allowing them to participate more using all functions in MS Teams.

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d. Why did you select these approaches?

My first approach to teaching on teams was to schedule an online lesson for an hour in the week that suited my own work/life balance at that time, not taking into consideration whether students would attend or not.

In the figure below, one particular lesson on Thursdays had appalling attendance.

Figure 1, Attendance of additional ‘questions’ meeting by each class 7y1 (blue) and 7x2 (orange) during the winter lockdown. These proved immensely unpopular owing primarily to a late slot late in the week.

Lessons were dry and followed repetitive format of waiting for every person to arrive, often delaying the start of lessons by 10 minutes, and offering complaint at not everyone attending. Lessons were framed around long powerpoints, with students expected to take notes, then go over the powerpoint afterwards and complete activities. Attendance dropped and expected activities were submitted by very few students, right from early January.

Figure 2, Attendance by each class 7y1 (blue) and 7x2 (orange) during the winter lockdown

I struggled in particular with using MS Teams and its functionalities, and had to send emails to CEC IT support and OAT IT support to get functions such as hands up and polls even working, this held me back and delayed the start of applying more interesting teaching techniques quite significantly Figure 3, Display of the meeting chat function. Also the options functions (3 white dots) not being available in one version of MS Teams to enable polls and hands up. By 1st Feb I was able to allow students chat functions but these were not focussed or particularly academic.

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A typical lesson on 1st January included a long powerpoint, in the case in Figure 3 here, 18 slides long, vague instructions and a multitude of different expected tasks. While students did attend well in this first week (93% attendance for 7y1) students did not submit many tasks to me on SMH. Students would be silent entirely, not interacting and on one occasion I taught for 40 minutes straight before noticing a deluge of emails I had received informaing me that my microphone had been switched off the entire time.

Figure 4. Excessively long powerpoint with vague instructions and a multitude of tasks.

Upon conducting my research, from Henderson et al. I began to craft the timings and mechanisms of advertising lessons. From Poston et al. and Bsharat et al. I realised that I needed to take responsibility for the content I delivered, the accessibility of it, and also building on interactivity. I learned how to access options to turn on comments and hands up functions, as well as polls. Polls in particular were very popular and students began to make notes on which options they were choosing and why they got things right/wrong. I don’t have any screenshots of these polls unfortunately but for 6th form teaching this worked very well too.

As I improved the content of lessons and the mechanisms of advertising, attendance by both groups started to increase, from 25th January to mid February, an increase I could not have forecast.

Instructions on SMH now looked simplified and directed students to a single page in a powerpoint slide, as in Figure 5 here.

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Figure 5. Simple instructions on SMH. Linking to a simple page in a powerpoint with hyperlinks. Powerpoint slides my 1st March numbered just 6 pages of clear, well laid out activities and expectations.

Figure 6. Pre-recording of videos to be watched at any time did build understanding by students, though were not watched by nearly as many as had attended the live lesson.

Evaluation f.

Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

To begin with, as Henderson et al. identify, it is very difficult to evaluate the success of MS Teams teaching over traditional face to face, and work should be done by the research community on how to evaluate this in the future.

It is clear that from 25th January there was at least 3 weeks of clear improvement in attendance of lessons, culminating in an all-time high of 100% for 7y2 in particular (the more academic of the two classes) which I was not expecting. Fatigue was in place by this stage so I do put this down in a large part to my understanding how the more advanced functions of MS Teams worked, combined with the better structuring of lessons and the advertising of lessons following the research of Henderson et al. and Bsharat et al. in particular.

After the winter half term, attendance for both classes did drop off though, quite considerably, though this was also a school-wide issue, and was still at over 60% in total for my two classes which is not considered poor. g. What next?

From Poston et al, the idea of students themselves posting content such as images and notes would be something I would like to try to build engagement with lessons, with increased accountability placed on students. Specifically they identify from research that students writing collaborative papers or designing a powerpoint on teams is fun and engaging.

The use of MS Teams will hopefully not be something I depend on in the near future, as we move out of the global pandemic. However I have learned lessons in engagement and the importance of fun which I plan to take forward starting September 2021, and these include.

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-

More ‘hands on’ experiences for students in class

-

Greater opportunity to share work completed by students, such as with a solar system factfile project completed in July 2021, where students then get to show off their work in class – see figure below.

-

Greater opportunity for students to share their opinions in class, for example with misconceptions, misinformation (flat earth, anti-vaxxers), and on future issues such as electric cars.

-

Less question answering and more open scientific investigation.

Figure 6, students bringing in work from home to show the class; Solar System Fact files

h.

Reading

Bhsarat et. al. March 2021. The impact of Microsoft Teams’ App in enhancing Teaching.(Accessed April 7 th 2021). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349831186_The_Impact_of_Microsoft_Teams'_App_in_Enhanc ing_Teaching-_Learning_English_during_the_Coronavirus_COVID19_from_the_English_teachers'_perspectives'_in_Jenin_city Henderson et al. 2020. Keep calm and carry on learning… (Accessed January 7th 2021) https://www.rcpjournals.org/content/futurehosp/7/3/e67.full.pdf Poston et al. 2019. Using Microsoft Teams to Enhance Engagement and Learning with any class. (Accessed January 7th 2021). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/323028119.pdf

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Gemma Calloway - ‘Dwelling on the Delicacies’ Activate Harder Thinking Delicacies are appreciated for tasty flavours; the care taken to provide quality, and the sense of ‘richness’ in which they are served up, then consumed. We don’t need to extend the metaphor to get the idea, but in order for students to activate ‘hard thinking,’ we must deliver classroom ‘delicacies.’

Firstly, current spheres that explore harder thinking strategies for students suggest that we must not be afraid of challenging texts. Equally, we should avoid prejudice that only certain ‘types’ of students can access more difficult material until we try, or that we need to produce curriculum plans that ‘play up’ to what we think secondary-age children like. As Jennifer Webb describes: ‘Student interest doesn’t mean that things need to be fun, or that we have to pander to their current interests.

It is, instead, our duty to broaden their horizons. They already know things about their favourite football teams and musicians, so let’s stretch them and give them examples of powerful, challenging journalism.’ (p.73, on Write like a Journalist.)

Webb’s book delivers a clear message that- in order for students to write well- they need to experience exposure to a range of quality texts. Likewise, Tom Sherrington (The Learning Rainforest) marries up the students’ ability to be creative in the subject with the students’ ability to be precise. Sherrington states that classroom expectations should focus on ‘detail, accuracy and precision....’ since ‘Rigour in this context goes hand-in-hand with creativity, open-endedness and experimentation’ (page 159). Any English teacher will know that- to achieve top marks- students must show authenticity and originality, whether that be an impressive piece of writing, or a carefully executed interpretation. To even meet the expectations of passing English mark schemes, students must show a relevant and focussed understanding. More and more students can access these realms if they are exposed to high quality teaching and texts. Sherrington suggests: ‘the more rigorous the general approach is [in the classroom,] the more confident then teachers and students are to go ‘off-piste.” (p. 159).

Peps McCrea, who is passionate about ‘Motivated Teaching’ (2020,) agrees that ‘making lessons fun’ and ‘offering simple rewards’ results in short-lived, extrinsic motivation for students (who often just remember the reward, instead of the learning). Fostering intrinsic motivation is the key to building long term learning (p.36). To activate hard thinking, we must carefully consider the quality of what we are placing in front of students on a regular basis.

Writer of the book ‘Cleverlands,’ Lucy Crehan, visited schools within the top-performing education systems in the world to observe what was substantiating this status. She concludes that having ‘high expectations’ was one of the distinguishing factors with regards to student outcomes. Crehan, like Myatt, also emphasises the need for fewer things in greater depth. What she observed across Finland, Canada, Shanghai and Japan was mixed-ability classes with curriculums that placed ‘an emphasis on mastery... fewer topics are covered, meaning that everyone has the opportunity to reach at least a minimum standard in their understanding of each topic’ (p.249). Crehan was keen to point out that our own education system, at times, moves quickly in comparison to other countries. What we can take from these countries- putting it simplistically- is to slow down and unpack topics fully. Once students become well acquainted with the content, and begin to master it, then ‘repeated success doesn’t just increase expectancy, it increases proficiency’ (McCrea, p.51,) thus much can be achieved in a classroom of proficient learners. This prioritises student independence and automaticity at tackling tasks that requires harder levels of thinking. We want to achieve classrooms whereby students are proficient at ‘thinking well.’

Mary Myatt points out that- whatever set of students are sat in front of you- you will always need to provide scaffold. However, she is keen to point out that differentiation must be skilled and artful. It is best done through precise and targeted questioning, ‘live’ in the moment. Myatt states that true differentiation is achieved through ‘live conversations and additional unpacking of the content during the lesson’ (p.54). It is 190

about addressing misconceptions, there and then. Myatt states that providing extra tasks or adapting additional tasks can be pointless and unproductive- if it is not conducive to providing students with detail and appropriate challenge. Equally, she points out that ‘all children are entitled to the richness’ of challenging texts, and Tom Sherrington (The Learning Rainforest) is in support of this notion; refuting the suggestion that ‘high quality texts’ leads to elitism. Sherrington implies that it would be elitist not to equally teach all students text of a high standard and provide an arena for all students to voice opinions and tackle misconceptions surrounding these texts.

Furthermore, Sherrington proposes that we need to continue teaching ‘to the top’ of the class. He reiterates that we should not put our own limits on students: we should teach to the top and then scaffold- mainly through thorough questioning- where it is needed. Sherrington is adamant that these kinds of classrooms only exist when classrooms are instilled in ‘rigour’ (page 157). ‘The curriculum content is always at its most challenging so everyone is exposed to it... through appropriate scaffolded support, all students are pulled along in the wake’ (page 156). It is important we do not put limits on our students. If we truly want to prepare them for life, we must not hold back in our attempts to amplify students’ cultural capital.

To achieve this, Mary Myatt recommends that teachers ‘Marie Kondo’ lessons (in a realistic way) and only keep what brings ‘joy.’ By this, she reinstates that we want to eliminate any worksheets and resources that don’t cater to the richest part of a lesson. In fact, in Myatt’s book ‘Back on Track: Fewer Things, Greater Depth,’ she is keen to express that teachers should present conversation that is careful and whole-class orientated, and she repeats that- in true Kondo style- any materials provided should be ‘beautiful’ (p.87). By this, Myatt proposes we avoid limp, quick resources downloaded from the internet, and instead place our energy on finding excellent texts to expose students to- in turn, drawing students’ attention to what we (as experts in our field) find worthy and ‘beautiful’ within the text. Lucy Crehan (Cleverlands) also interestingly notes that the top performing countries often utilise high-quality textbooks in classrooms to springboard discussion and hard thinking.

Classrooms need space for more challenging thinking. ‘Great English teachers will focus as much on how the words make them feel as they are spoken and experienced- as much as on their technical function and wider meaning.’ (Sherrington, P.155).

Sherrington highlights the significance of high quality texts- it is these texts that- when indulged by the teacher, and delivered in a passionate and delicate manner- will impact students the most. Students will progress most when they are in a classroom which engages every individual in the experience of focussed, quiet thinking. Students then have opportunities to then talk in only meaningful ways- and because they, too, become engaged in what is being taught. McCrea reminds us that ‘motivation is a system for allocating attention’ (p.18). We must be able to bring students’ attention to the crucial learning; all students need to be on board with the focus of the room. In turn, students will then find (more) motivation to learn, and see the importance of the learning. McCrea writes about the value of ‘norms,’ and the way societal human nature functions on ‘norms.’ In the classroom, ‘norms’ are inevitable- and teachers will secure better motivation for harder learning if they ‘leverage the influence of group behaviour’ (p.75). When doing this well, our classrooms become a place of ‘belonging’ - and belonging is powerful.

Conclusively, these texts envisage classrooms whereby hard thinking is activated through high expectations; careful classroom conversation; quality texts and mastery-level depth. In doing this, we have the potential to create learning that is ‘beautiful,’ engaging and refined- we are the subject experts, after all, so we can bring the ‘delicacies’ to the table.

References: Crehan, L. (2018). CLEVERLANDS: the secrets behind the success of the world’s education superpowers.

Penguin Books.

Mccrea, P. (2020). Motivated Teaching. S.L.: Createspace.

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Myatt, M. (2020). BACK ON TRACK: fewer things, greater depth. S.L.: John Catt Educational Ltd. Sherrington, T. (2017). Learning rainforest - great teaching in real classrooms. John Catt Educational Ltd. Webb, J. (2020). TEACH LIKE A WRITER: expert tips on teaching students to write in different forms. John Catt Educational Ltd.

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Alex Duffin - How Physical Education Incorporate Literacy/Oracy Leading to High Quality Lessons.

Within this literature review I will be looking into how incorporating literacy/oracy in Physical Education (PE) lessons have raise standards leading to a deeper breadth of content, enabling high quality lessons.

At Cowes Enterprise College (CEC) we believe in developing student’s ability to: “Speak, listen, read and write for a wide range of purposes, using language to learn and communicate, to think, explore and organise. We know helping students to express themselves clearly orally and in writing enhances and enriches teaching and learning in all subjects” (Cowes Enterprise College, 2021) Last accessed 17/06/21.

We promote high standards of literacy across the whole curriculum at CEC by using FEAST: 1. Full sentences - both spoken and written.

2. Formal, Standard English – no slang.

3. Active listening including eye contact, good posture and concentration.

4. The teacher providing sentence starters for spoken responses.

5. The correct technical (Tier 3) vocabulary will be used and teachers will model it constantly. (Cowes Enterprise College, 2021) Last accessed 17/06/21.

The concept of learning through movement is not solely about the learning of physical activities but also the learning of other aspects of the curriculum and beyond (Association for Physical Education, 2014). PE plays a unique role in that it is not purely about education of the physical, but involves the development of other key skills such as language, social and cognitive skills (Capel & Breckon 2014). In all classrooms, students are required to read, write, listen, and communicate. Physical education is no exception (Lapp et al, 1999). There are various methods we use when implementing literacy/oracy into PE lessons at CEC though the use of FEAST:

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We incorporate reflective writing using Full sentences, for core lessons this is normally delivered in the form of a match report, this also encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning as they are asked to reflect on the content of match played which then encourages students to read further into the topic.

At level 3 sport and exercise science, it is essential that students learn not only the higher level content/literature but also learn how to formally present work for the reader.

It is therefore necessary to teach students how to use the correct standard of language and terminology as well as enforce high expectations of their written assignments in order to prepare them for communication through documentation for their next stage in life.

There is a big emphasis in the PE department to stop the use of ‘slang and banter’ and utilise English which is formal.

In PE lessons Banter is a key issue, for example ‘O miss it’s just Banter’, banter has been associated with a “lad culture “mod football, which in the UK represents a culture that men and women may identify with (Phipps & Young, 2013).

Banter provides some with a means of engaging in socially divisive and offensive communication behaviours such as sexism, misogyny, and racism (Phipps & Young, 2013). Such instances of “banter” highlight how the use of seemingly humorous and/or teasing remarks can mask or legitimise negative intentions, potentially obscuring their interpretation. By only accepting formal Standard English in both theory and practical lessons, this has thus led to students having a deeper meaning and understanding of the correct content, for example when students peer assess rather than saying ‘yes, mate’, they would use language such as ‘Well done, your technique was good’ and explain coaching points.

A key element to teaching a high-quality PE lessons is Active listening, Willis (2018) explains the communication skills go further than speaking and listening, but turned into nonverbal behaviour, emotions and therefore leading to a deeper meaning. This includes eye contact, good posture and concentration.

An example of this would have been in my BTEC level 3 sports psychology lesson where students were asked to present their key findings of content. This involves students waiting their turn and considering what their peers have to say before stating their opinion through feedback in a classroom discussion (Waterford, 2020).

Health and safety in PE is crucial, as we teach high risk activities like javelin and trampolining. Therefore students must be actively listening by paying attention, showing you are listening, providing feedback, defer judgment and respond appropriately to enable student to safely take part in the lesson. Waterford (2020) explains that students with strong active listening skills retain more information, leading to less frustration in class and feeling more prepared (Buglas S.L et al, 2020).

Sentence starters are used to help develop spoken/written responses, this method is designed to help students with the appropriate language, we do this by giving a ‘do now starter’ hand out, then students feed 194

back to the class their discussion point using Q&A. In theory lessons BTEC Sport level 2, thoughtful tasks are given to help students break down the topic and enable them to develop their written responses.

Olander (2018) states that students do benefit from sentence starter as it offers a guide to help with organisation and therefore lead to ‘jump start thinking’ this then encourages positive interaction and helps to prevent students from becoming anxious, when asked a question verbally/written.

We also ensure that we use the correct Terminology (Tier 3) key words to empower and give a deeper breadth of content to students, this is demonstrated in the form of power points, posters and visual ads which help to reinforce key vocabulary and support the development of critical reading skills, as well as reinforcing subject content knowledge in PE (Weiller-Abels, 2010). These are also used outside of lesson time, for example in changing rooms and classroom walls.

Please see below an example of visual ads that are handed out to students when taking parting part in core PE. Murata (2003) explains that visual representation in PE lessons adds interest to content material and enriches the learning, which helps to develop active thinking and involvement of students, both physically and mentally as it gives students the correct terminology

though the use of sentences and illustrations.

To conclude – it is clear that PE naturally lends itself to literacy development, particularly in the area of oracy (Palmer and Corbett, 2003). Physical Education also acts as a stress reliever and is proven to aid the student’s concentration and therefore progress in other lessons. Student’s therefore need to find FEAST work useful and memorable but not repetitive. In order to achieve this staff need to work together. Within the department we have achieved this by looking at where the official videos and teaching of FEAST best fits within a module and if it is being delivered by one member of staff then another can see and tell students to 195

apply it without repeating the core information and simply reminding students instead. This has enabled us to embed FEAST in every lesson as students are able to do this naturally leading to higher quality PE lessons.

This is aided by the communication skills which are essential to working as part of a team and so life skills are developed which further link to their literacy development. Our faculty handbook focuses on this and our department objective is as follows: “To enhance the student’s development of social and emotional, psychomotor and cognitive capabilities”.

This is not a new concept, yet one which has been shown through history: ‘Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of its capacity when the body is healthy and strong’ – John F. Kennedy.

Reference Page: Association for Physical Education.

(2014).

Advocacy http://www.afpe.org.uk/advocacy-a-leadership Last accessed 17/06/21.

&

Influence.

Available:

Buglass, S.L., Abell, L., Betts, L.R. et al. Banter Versus Bullying: a University Student Perspective. Int Journal of Bullying Prevention (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-020-00085-0 Last accessed 27/06/21.

Capel, S. & Breckon, P. (2014). A Practical Guide to Teaching Physical Education in the Secondary School. (2 nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Cowes Enterprise College. (2021). Literacy support. Available: https://cowesec.org/for-students/readingsupport . Last accessed 17/06/21.

Lapp, D., Fisher, D., & Flood, J. (1999). Integrating language arts and content areas: Effective research-based strategies. The California Reader, 32(3), 35-38.

Louis Olander. (2018). Use Sentence Starters to Prompt Writing and Discussion. Available: https://udlforteachers.com/use-sentence-starters-to-prompt-writing-and-discussion/ . Last accessed 15/06/21.

Murata, N. M. (2003). Language augmentation strategies in physical education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 74(3), 29-32.

Palmer, S. & Corbett, P. (2003). Literacy: What Works? Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Phipps, A., & Young, I. (2015). Neoliberalisation and ‘lad cultures’ in higher education. Sociology, 49(2), 305– 322.Available: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038514542120.Last accessed 27/6/21.

Waterford. (2020). The Value of Listening in the Classroom: How to Teach Your Students Active Listening. Available: https://www.waterford.org/education/active-listening-in-the-classroom/ . Last accessed 12/06/21.

Willis, J . (2018). The Value of Active Listening. Available: https://www.edutopia.org/article/value-activelistening . Last accessed 27/06/21.

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Sara Cody - How can I best activate hard thinking amongst A Level Sociology students?

Introduction Sociology is a subject that calls for hard thinking. The issues and debates within the course are all ones that require extended reflection, thought and evaluation. Ultimately, hard thinking about the issues covered in the course is a crucial factor in understanding and recalling the information needed to reach high attainment in the exam. Yet it is often lacking in students.

Why is it so frequently absent? Partly because the issues are complex and therefore off-putting or challenging to many students. Partly because it is easier and quicker to just copy down information rather than engaging in it. Also, on a practical level the sheer content of the course is such that time is of the essence and activities that encourage hard thinking are frequently shelved due to time constraints.

This literature review seeks to explore and answer two questions: How can hard thinking be activated in the Sociology A Level classroom? And how can it be done efficiently within the restrictions of the current curriculum?

Analysis Why is hard thinking important?

In ‘Improving Education: A Triumph of Hope Over Experience’, Professor Rob Coe emphasizes the importance of hard thinking, encapsulated in the quote ‘learning happens when people have to think hard’. This suggests that in order to learn effectively and retain information, we need to reach a level of thought where we are not just recording and recalling, but processing at a deeper level. This is also emphasized by John Hattie in ‘Visible Learning’, who states that the process of hard thinking is to move from ‘surface’ to ‘deep learning’, moving from basic understanding to linking, comparing and problem solving using the information.

Similarly, in ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’, Daniel Kahneman proposes a ‘dual system model’ in which there are two types of thinking. System 1 thinking is easy, quick and automatic. This can be linked to the majority of current classroom learning, as students mechanically recall information and record notes. However, System 2 thinking is hard, slow and effortful, linked to logic and calculation. This is the type of thought that leads to learning, according to Professor Coe. It requires more focus.

The initial understanding, however, appears to be crucial to hard thinking. According to ‘The Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review’, hard thinking teaching strategies are ‘overwhelming and inefficient for learners who do not have the required background knowledge’, but ‘optimal and necessary when they do.’ This is interesting on several levels. Firstly, the implication that a level of background knowledge is required before hard thinking can take place, and secondly, the words ‘optimal and necessary’ make it clear that once background information is embedded, further learning will only take place if a more active, problem-solving level of thought is encouraged. The prerequisite prior knowledge is definitely something I accept. Within Sociology, a base level of understanding of Sociological theories is required for students starting the course before debate, discussion or hard thinking can be developed. However, I am interested by the view that it is optimal and necessary to reach that level of hard thinking before deeper learning takes place. This has real implications for a lot of the learning that takes place within the Sociology classroom.

As seen in the ‘The Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review’, hard thinking can be linked to problem solving.

Daniel Willingham, in ‘Ask the Cognitive Scientist What Will Improve a Student’s Memory?’ says that in order to remember something i.e. learn it, we need to think hard about it. However, in his blog ‘Further Problems with the thinking hard proxy for learning’, David Didou argues that learning does not equate to thinking hard, arguing it is possible for a student to think hard but not learn anything.

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On reflection, I feel that if a student has the prior background understanding, then hard thinking must normally result in learning. Additionally, it would result in ‘learning how to learn’ so the process of hard thinking would be valuable in itself.

How can hard thinking be activated in the Sociology A Level classroom?

1. Focus One key factor in hard thinking appears to be the ability to focus. Daniel Goleman, in his book, ‘Focus: the Hidden Drivers of Success’ emphasises the number of distractions we face and the impact this has on hard thinking. When reflecting on the number of distractions within the average Sociology lesson, it is possible to appreciate what an impact this may have.

Cognitive load theory is also interesting in the context of this discussion. ‘Germane Cognitive Load’ is information that is necessary and relevant to the learning at hand, with all extraneous detail removed, so that learning can be best processed and retained. The NSW Centre for Education, Statistics and Evaluation summarise that ‘Theorists of cognitive load assert that instructional material has maximum effectiveness when it reduces extraneous load (which is not relevant to learning) and increases germane load (which is directly relevant to learning).’ This links to Goleman’s emphasis on focus, in the context of the Sociology classroom implying that a review and refinement of course materials might be effective.

This is further supported by another aspect of focus referred to by the NSW centre is not overloading students with unnecessary information or ‘extraneous load’. The ‘redundancy effect’ argues that ‘students do not learn effectively when their limited working memory is directed to unnecessary or redundant information.’

This is an interesting view that can be criticised. In the A Level classroom it is important to offer students extra study options and additional information, such as the textbook and further reading to add to a Powerpoint and notes when reflecting on a topic. Would this cause the ‘redundancy effect’? Could this be overcome by offering it as an independent choice or option? The issue there is that more committed students might feel they had to take this study option and feel overwhelmed by it, despite the teacher’s instructions.

Perhaps the solution is narrowing the focus of thought to the context of the task and learning objectives.

2. Confidence A second key factor to consider is students’ confidence in developing hard thinking, through the classroom environment. In ‘A Culture of Error’ Doug Lemov describes the importance of a classroom environment in which mistakes are encouraged. This interesting concept involves practical ways in which a teacher can encourage students to risk thinking harder. One example is ‘praise students who are brave enough to ask questions’. Certainly in the Sociology classroom many students are reluctant to ask questions at first but develop this skill during the first term once a positive classroom environment is established.

Furthermore, it is suggested that this confidence can be directly impacted by student-teacher relationships and the importance of a supportive classroom environment for facilitating hard thinking. In ‘Teacher-Student Relationships and Engagement: Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Improving the Capacity of Classroom Interactions’ Robert C. Pianta, Bridget K. Hamre, and Joseph P. Allen discuss attachment theory and argue that students will ‘become more self-reliant and able to take risks’ if they have an adult who provides ‘consistent’, ‘predictable and safe’ responses and feedback to their thoughts. This would suggest, perhaps, that regular routines and embedding the structure of hard thinking within a safe and recognisable format in the classroom might encourage risks.

Can it be done efficiently?

In his blog ‘Thinking Hard – Practical solutions for the classroom’ Alex Quigley aims to offer teachers straightforward and practical ideas to support hard thinking, yet he argues ‘there is no short-cut to hard thinking’. This in itself encapsulates the problem at hand. Quigley claims that a teacher should first assess prior knowledge, then misconceptions – what ‘they think they know’ – being as important as actual 198

knowledge. He states ‘Just finding out what they know goes part of the way in supporting them to think hard’.

The issue with this approach is that – as implied – it could be time-consuming. For any technique to work long-term in a classroom, it must be efficient and time-saving, not add extra work. So one must question ways in which to ascertain prior knowledge without it being a lengthy exercise. Possibly it could be embedded within a process of risk-taking questions, as advocated by Doug Lemov, thereby allowing misconceptions and understanding to be made clear at the same time as encouraging hard thought? Quigley argues that getting students to formulate their own questions is a good way of encouraging active thought, and this would fit within this process.

However, Quigley’s approach might not in itself be too time-consuming as it can also be embedded within the daily work of the classroom. He writes that ‘any strategies in the classroom which support a deep and rich vocabulary, with a broad knowledge base, will help our students to think hard.’ A deep and rich vocabulary, in my opinion, comes from wider reading, therefore Quigley would support a wider reading list for students, yet the danger of removing focus and creating the redundancy effect could be argued against this approach.

Ultimately, Quigley helpfully suggests two techniques for teachers to encourage hard thinking: ‘Stop, wait and listen’ and ‘Think for yourself’. For ‘Stop, wait and listen’ he writes ‘if we don’t wait for them to answer our questions properly, or those of their peers, then we strip them of the capacity to learn how to think hard’.

This for me has been probably the most illuminating suggestion within my literature review. As a teacher, I struggle to stop and wait, partly due to time restraints. Building in a lesson structure in which I can encourage inner reflection among students – not even discussion – is definitely something to consider.

In ‘Think for yourself’ Quigley suggests teachers should explicitly teach the processes of independent learning, and in ‘Motivating students’ Paul Trainor argues similarly that ‘giving students choices to make decisions over their learning journey’ encourages independent thought. Like Quigley, Trainor also argues that skills such as hard thinking should be taught explicitly but also reinforced by students modelling these characteristics. This would fit with Ron Berger’s view in ‘An Ethic of Excellence’, where he argues that every student should have an internal picture of what excellence looks like, and be given examples to work from, a view Alex Quigley supports. However, whilst this is clearly effective early on in the learning process, is it actually useful further on in the process of hard thinking? According to the expertise reversal effect, ‘the heavy use of worked examples becomes less and less effective as learners’ expertise increases, eventually becoming redundant or even counter-productive to learning outcomes’ (Leslie et al. 2012; Pachman, Sweller & Kalyuga 2013; Yeung, Jin & Sweller 1998). I have observed this in the classroom as students become more confident, giving them examples can become restrictive to their thoughts and can hold higher-ability students back.

Implications for my classroom I intend to trial the following strategies for encouraging hard thinking in Sociology over the next academic year:

•

Explicit ‘think hard’ questions.

•

Stop and think strategies throughout the lesson.

•

Recognising ‘hard-thinking’ as a named strategy to tell students ‘it is going to be OK to struggle with this’ – building resilience and confidence.

•

Building independence/options.

•

Ensuring germane knowledge.

•

Auditing prior knowledge.

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Conclusion The outcome of this literature review has been to lead me to recognise that hard thinking, firstly, is mostly valuable when building upon established prior knowledge. I intend to develop my practice by considering the following hypotheses and seeing how they work in practice: Firstly, excellent examples are only useful up to a point – students should be encouraged to extend beyond them. Secondly, classroom practice and routines should embed the habit and practice of hard thinking and encourage student confidence in risk taking, as an element of independence and thought is essential. Finally, ways of gaining focus should be considered and only germane information provided, in order to facilitate effective thought.

Bibliography ‘Thinking Hard – Practical solutions for the classroom’, Alex Quigley ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’, Daniel Kahneman ‘Further problems with the ‘thinking hard’ proxy for learning’, David Didou ‘Activating-hard-thinking’, Shaun Allison ‘A Culture of Error’, Doug Lemov ‘Ask the Cognitive Scientist What Will Improve a Student’s Memory?’ Daniel Willingham ‘Focus: the Hidden Drivers of Success’, Daniel Goleman ‘Teacher-Student Relationships and Engagement: Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Improving the Capacity of Classroom Interactions.’ Robert C. Pianta, Bridget K. Hamre and Joseph P. Allen.

‘Improving Education: A Triumph of Hope Over Experience’, Professor Rob Coe ‘Motivating Students’, Paul Trainor

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Julie Crane – Mental Health at Work Teaching is one of the most rewardable careers there is as we are able to have an impact on every individual student that we come across whether that be for a short or long period of time. As we are all aware, teaching is hard work and along with the highs there will inevitably be low or challenging times too. During the last two years, teachers have had to adapt in response to the Covid-19 pandemic but how aware have we been or are we in relation to providing Mental Health First Aid in the Workplace?

Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA England) state that “1 in 6 workers will experience depression, anxiety or problems relating to stress at any one time.” In 2018/2019, “there were 602,000 cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain”. According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) “in 2019/20 there were an estimated 828,000 workers affected by work related stress, depression or anxiety. This represents 2,440 per 100,000 workers and results in an estimated 17.9 million working days lost”. The average prevalence for all industries is 1.570 cases per 1000,000 workers over the period 2017/18-2019/20 and cases in education is above this with 2,170 cases per 100,000 workers. So what are the causes? Before we look into this we need to define key point.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines mental health as: “a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

In simple terms this means that an individual with good positive mental health will be able to cope and function with daily life.

The WHO also states that “work is good for mental health, but a negative working environment can lead to physical and mental health problems”.

According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) “One in four people in the UK will have a mental health problem at some point.”

Risk factors can increase the risk of an individual experiencing mental ill health. Some of these are related to outside the work environment such as lifestyle choice, prejudice and discrimination, family history, financial worries or negative or traumatic life experience e.g. bereavement, family breakdown, illness etc. Others are linked to the work environment. These include: Health & Safety policies that are missing or inadequate, poor communication, poor management practices, limited participation of individuals in decision making, lack of work/life balance, high or unrelenting workloads and bullying and psychological harassment.

Kidger, J., Brockman, R., Tilling, K., Campbell, R., Ford, T., Araya, R., King, M & Gunnel, D. (2015) in their research paper Teachers' wellbeing and depressive symptoms, and associated risk factors: A large cross sectional study in English secondary schools(accessed 1/6/21), state “Michie and Williams (2003) cited long hours worked, work overload and pressure, lack of control over work, lack of participation in decision making, poor social support and unclear management and work role as key factors associated with psychological ill health and sickness absence.” On top of this, we are already seeing a rise in the number of cases in children with “one in eight 5-19 year olds has at least one mental disorder”. This along with a national pandemic has raised the pressures that teachers are dealing with on a daily basis, but are we aware of the link between teacher and student mental health and wellbeing? Daniszewski, D.(2013) thesis on Teachers mental health literacy and capacity towards student mental health cited Friedman 1995, that a main source of stress for teachers was linked to “teacher-student interactions, such as the management of disruptive student behaviour, discipline problems, low motivation and minimal effort”. These are not recent issues, however as a result of the lack of involvement to virtual lessons etc due to the covid pandemic this has increased the stress on both students and staff in order for progress to be measured.

A more recent study by Harding, S., Morris, R., Gunnell, D., Ford, T., Hollingworth, W., Tilling. K., Evans, R., Bell, S., Grey, J., Brockman, R., Cambell. R., Araya, R., Murphy, S., & Kidger, J. (2019) reported that “better 201

teacher wellbeing is associated with better student wellbeing and with lower student psychological difficulties as well as lower teacher depressive symptoms being associated with better student wellbeing”.

This goes hand in hand with the later study and is a reason why restorative approaches are implemented in schools as an early means of repairing the relationships between staff and students. The importance of positive relationships, early intervention, providing support, person centred approaches and referring to specialists are all strategies used to promote well being and should be implemented for all employees as well as students. However we must remember that a person centred approach is required as all people react and require different methods to assist in relation to mental health.

The Wellness action plan (WAP) is a proactive approach to managing mental health at work. It is an agreed confidential document between the employer and employee. It acts as a personalised practical tool that can be used to safeguard and prevent or reduce the stress triggers and risks rather than dealing with mental health issue once it arises. It allows for a Personalised approaches for an individual to support their own mental wellbeing.

An example of a Wellness Action Plan can be found in appendix 1 – taken from CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health Advocacy in the Workplace Workbook Mindfulness is another method that can be implemented in schools and used across the board from students to staff. Baker-Jones, J., Lord, L., & Kuyken, W. (2018) article – Mindfulness in schools: Is it just another trend?

States that “Both Staff and students find aspects of school life a challenge.” She goes on to illustrate the how using mindfulness practises could be useful in the case of a teacher and a disruptive year 8 pupil. In his book, Think like a monk, Jay Shetty refers to the monkey mind whereby our mind is overwhelmed by multiple branches, controlled by anger, worry, fear, overthinking, distracted and anxious. The monk mindset “focuses on the root of the issue and creating actionable steps for growth by lifting an individual out of confusion/distraction and helps us fin clarity, meaning and direction”. One way is by focusing on meditation and breathing techniques. Jay recommends the following breathwork preparation. “Find a comfortable position, close your eyes, lower your gaze, make yourself comfortable, roll back your shoulders and bring your awareness to calm, balance, ease, stillness and peace, whenever your mind wanders bring it back to calm, balance, ease, stillness and peace, focus on natural breathing pattern breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, when you inhale feel that you are taking in positive, uplifting energy, when you exhale, feel that you are releasing negative, toxic energy, lower your left ear to your left shoulder as you breathe in and bring it back to the middle as you breathe out, lower your right ear to your right shoulder as you breath in and bring it back to the middle as you breathe out. Feel the breath with no rush or force in your own pace at your own time”.

As we welcome the Educational Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) into the College as part of the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) service for the Isle of Wight, We need to ensure that the focus is not just on students but also by ensuring the ten step approach is fully implemented in the College for all employees.

References https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.pdf https://mhfaengland.org/mhfa-centre/research-and-evaluation/mental-health-statistics/ https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/mental-health-in-the-workplace https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/mental-health.htm Kidger, J., Brockman, R., Tilling, K., Campbell, R., Ford, T., Araya, R., King, M & Gunnel, D. (2015) Teachers' wellbeing and depressive symptoms, and associated risk factors: A large cross sectional study in English secondary schools 202

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S016503271530762X?token=64E5D778CFB1AE09736CD68606E6 BA98F099DC58AA95C174B6AF36ADC4F53BC52BC2CEB134D8B4886BFCF5A0E8067D9A&originRegion=euwest-1&originCreation=20210711155846 Daniszewski, D.(2013) -Teachers mental health literacy and capacity towards student mental health https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2480&context=etd Harding, S., Morris,R., Gunnell, D., Ford, T., Hollingworth, W., Tilling. K., Evans, R., Bell, S., Grey, J., Brockman, R., Cambell. R., Araya, R., Murphy, S., & Kidger, J. (2019) -Is teachers’ mental health and welbein associated with student’s mental health and wellbeing? file://cec-vsrv-file/Staff/JCrane/Downloads/1-s2.0-S0165032719305919-main.pdf Baker-Jones, J., Lord, L., & Kuyken, W. (2018) – Mindfulness in schools: Is it just another trend? https://impact.chartered.college/article/baker-jones-mindfulness-schools-another-trend/ https://mindfulemployertensteps.co.uk/resources/Leeds-Mindful-Employer-Leaflet%202020.pdf Shetty, J (2020) Think like a Monk. Thorsons Publishers London CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health Advocacy in the Workplace Workbook

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Michael Hoare - Promoting transfer knowledge and knowledge retrieval in year 7 SEND students Introduction: This article outlines a small experiment into promoting transfer knowledge and knowledge retrieval in Year 7 SEND Mathematics pupils. Transfer knowledge refers to transferable knowledge. Knowledge that can be appropriate across different topics or even different subjects. Knowledge recall is an extremely important element in school as students are taught information and later asked to the recall or apply that knowledge in some form of assessment for learning (AFL). Pupils will struggle to recall knowledge over time as detailed by the Forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus, 1880). Therefore, knowledge recall practice is an important tool in all classrooms to help students progress and achieve their best. The experiment will focus on SEND pupils as AfL tools such as topic tests are particularly important with regards to low-achieving students and students with learning disabilities by Fuchs et al. (1997). These students may struggle more than non-SEND pupils with recalling and transferring knowledge from one topic to another, improving recall and subsequently results in these students should have the effect of raising achievement overall (Black and William, 1998).

Literature review: Knowledge recall is often associated with deep thinking. we often refer to Blooms taxonomy (1969) to explain deep thinking. We would like to think that we are pushing students up the Taxonomy from simply remembering content to hopefully reaching a point where students can work independently or perhaps create content. In order to travel up the pyramid, a pupil will need to start at the beginning with remembering content. Pupils need a base of knowledge before they can progress to deeper thinking and also pupils will need an understanding of how to think critically in the subject being taught (Bailin et al., 1999). While the hierarchy implies an order and importance, this is often critiqued, especially as tests tend to centre around knowledge recall (Anderson and Sosniak, 1994 and Lawson, 1990). Especially topic tests, where all elements of the test are taught at some point.

Part of being able to think critically in the subject is being a flexible thinker and even being able to compare different subjects. When pupils learn about a new idea, their knowledge is inflexible: tied to the context in which it was learned. This cannot be avoided, it is how new information enters long-term memory: “a natural step on the way to the deeper knowledge that we want our students to have” (Willingham, 2002). Therefore, Flexible and deeper thinking must be taught over time, pupils will need to be taught a skill in different contexts. For example, simplifying fractions and simplifying ratios require a very similar skill to each other and are also a similar concept to finding Highest Common Factors (often abbreviated to HCF).

Deep thinking must be accessed by pupils being able to transfer knowledge from one topic to another and therefore pupils becoming able to apply existing knowledge to new questions and situations (Barnett & Ceci, 2002). Perhaps in the same or maybe in different classrooms. Transfer can be supported by retrieval practice – the act of recalling prior knowledge. After completing a unit, pupils can be asked to retrieve core knowledge and concepts frequently to ensure they retain them (Pashler et al., 2007).

Method: I have chosen to test recall and flexible thinking through a topic test on a year 7 group, paying extra attention to the SEND students in that class. The topic relates to fractions. To test flexible thinking and knowledge transfer I have decided to run the test a few weeks after the teaching of the topic. This should allow some time for the forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus, 1880) to take effect. First as time passes students will begin to forget taught topics and the knowledge and expected results of the test would be lower. However, alongside the teaching of the subsequent topic (ratio) there will be retrieval practice in the form of “do it now starters”.

This knowledge recall practice should reduce the effect of the forgetting curve. The ratio topic itself has some similar elements to the fraction’s topic such as equivalent ratios and simplifying ratios, this is a skill that students will hopefully be able to transfer from the fraction’s topic, therefore pupils will be accessing deep 204

thinking (Barnett & Ceci, 2002). The reverse should also hold and the deep thinking promoted by the act of transferring knowledge should work to strengthen the knowledge previously taught in fractions.

From the literature outlined in the review and the method defined I would expect pupils to perform at least as well in the topic test with a time delay as they otherwise would at the end of topic. If topics were unrelated and students were not practising recall of prior knowledge I would expect students to perform worse (Pashler et al., 2007). To test this hypothesis, I will compare the mean results of SEND in previous topic tests and the fractions topic assessment.

Results: Student

Mean topic test

Transfer topic

1

20.3

20

2

11

11

3

9

10

4

4.3

3

5

3.75

6

6

14.5

18

7

8.25

13

8

7.5

2

9

4

6

10

6.4

6

Mean

8.9

9.5

Conclusion: From the results table I can conclude that my hypothesis that students would perform at least as well in the transfer topic as they had previous is broadly correct. However, I do not feel that this little experiment suggests that the attempt to promote deeper thinking and transfer knowledge has led to increase in students recall knowledge when completing an exercise or task such as the fractions test. This is a sample of 10 SEND students. The topics are different and the tests themselves are different. There is variation in what students score in different tests between different topics. One student may have a strength in coordinates and another ratio. While I do not believe this experiment tests the hypothesis in a meaningful or reliable way I believe it opens the door to others to try and test the theory. From the outlined literature and my findings, I would suggest more research into teaching related topics and transferable knowledge within a series of lessons should be pursued. I would also suggest testing and researching how one topic can be used to strengthen its previous or perhaps even the following topic.

References: Anderson, L., and L. Sosniak. (1994). Bloom ' taxonomy: A forty-year retrospective. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bailin, S., Case, R., Coombs, J. & Daniels, L. (1999). Conceptualizing critical thinking. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 31(3), 285-302.

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Barnett, S.& Ceci, S. (2002). When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer.

Psychological Bulletin, 128(4), 612-637.

Black, P and Wiliam, D. (1998b). Inside the Black Box. Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment.

London: G L Assessment Limited.

Bloom, B.S. (1969). Some theoretical issues relating to educational evaluation. In R. W. Taylor (Ed.), Educational evaluation: New roles, new means: The 68th yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Evaluation, Part II (pp. 26-50).

Ebbinghaus, H. (1880). Urmanuskript "Ueber das Gedächtniß". Passau: Passavia Universitätsverlag.

Fuchs, Lynn S., et al. (1997). “Effects of Task-Focused Goals on Low Achieving Students with and Without Learning Disabilities.” American Educational Research Journal 34, no. 3, pp. 513-543.

Pashler, H., Bain, P. M., Bottge, B. A., Graesser, A., Koedinger, K., McDaniel, M., & Metcalfe, J. (2007).

Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning. US Department of Education. bit.ly/ecf-pas.

Willingham, D. (2002). Inflexible Knowledge: The First Step to Expertise. American Educator. bit.ly/ecf-wil5.

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Victoria Wells – What impact do recorded ‘live’ modelling of writing have on the quality of student exam responses in Year 10 History?

Students find live modelling of writing very helpful however during the period of remote learning this became more challenging. In my year 10 History class there was a significant literacy need especially in relation to exam technique. Possibly due to prior periods of remote learning students did not have the level of experience in exam answers that previous cohorts will have.

I had 5 target students in my class with SEND need linked to literacy or historic poor engagement or lack historical detail in extended writing when it came to exam responses.

This quote from David Didau resonated with me; “And then, once we’ve seen how a product works, we should guide students through the process of making models. Science and mathematics have long traditions of making models. Such modelling involves abstraction and simplification, in order to better understand a particular feature of the world. In practical subjects the model, be it a pencil case, drawing, cup cake, dance will be created Blue Peter style by the teacher as an example of what success looks like. This is of course very useful. But of much more use is allowing students to observe the process of creation.”

I realise that the most powerful part of the modelled writing approach is co-construction; “helping them (students] tread the path to mastery, but we, as teachers, take the primary role as expert guides. It is much more than just a demonstration – it is an active process which can engage the entire grouping in effective questioning and feedback.” During remote teaching it was no longer an organic process where students could interact and contribute ideas to the written answer as I wrote it but they were more passive behind their screens. Therefore I looked to tweak my approach to still ensure the writing process was modelled but trying to maximise other approaches which work better in remote teaching conditions.

I continued to model writing but found that where attendance to live lessons was sporadic at times not all students could benefit from this valuable technique. Therefore I began to record my narrated ‘live’ model answers so students could consult it, pause or rewind at a later date. This also would provide a useful resource for the future too. I decided to place the emphasis on my recorded ‘live’ writing to nominalisation a task students felt more confident to tackle independently. I firstly wrote a paragraph in ‘everyday’ language which I recorded. I then modelled going through the paragraph and elevating the language to be ‘more like a historian’. David Didau recommends that “This focus on shifting student’s ‘everyday’ to academic language is particularly useful.”

I used an IPEVO Mirror Cam to convert my laptop camera into a visualiser which meant I could complete this quite easily remotely. I was able to record my modelling with my narration to assist students. Students were then asked to firstly watch the video to see the method of construction and approach to that type of exam question then take a different sample paragraph and elevate the language replacing everyday terms for specific tier 3 history vocabulary and highlighting the key parts of the structure.

Students were then given a third question to tackle with a one paragraph response. These were one paragraph of an 8 mark exam responses equating to approximately 4 marks.

Student 1 3

Student 2 2

Student 3 3

Student 4 3

Student 5 2

Before intervention After 5 4 3 4 3 intervention This demonstrates in this short example that progress had been made. For student 3, who achieved the same mark there was a different issue which meant a higher mark was not achieved in this case the detail subject knowledge required for the question given due to missed remote lesson.

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Overall this was a useful adaptation to a strategy I had already used but it inevitably was not as powerful as the approach when deployed in person during lessons with true co-construction. However for remote teaching this did have a positive impact upon student success in these types of answers. Students felt more confident in their structure and approach to this type of answer also the videos proved a useful ongoing teaching resources for me.

References: https://www.theconfidentteacher.com/2013/03/shared-writing-modelling-mastery/ https://learningspy.co.uk/english-gcse/teaching-cycle-stage-2-model/ Alex Quigley; Closing the Reading Gap (2020) Alex Quigley; Closing the Vocabulary Gap (2018) Diane and James Murphy; Thinking Reading (2018) David Didau; The Secret of Literacy (2014) Hirsch; Why Knowledge Matters (2016)

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Oracy Karen Beck - What impact does discussion work, delivered over 2 terms (in and out of Lockdown), have on the construction of analytical paragraphs for year 8 English students?

Intent The issue With a mixed ability English group (grade 3-6 previous achievement), Mastery lessons often target the middle range of expectation. Tackling the concept of analytical paragraphs for reading response tasks has always required an adaptation of these lessons. For even the brightest of students, previous written responses had lacked depth and detail within individual / personal responses. By focussing on more specific oral engagement activities, it was hoped to address this issue.

Target students Individuals from 3 main ability groups – within the year 8 English class - were targeted with the intention of raising grade achievements: quieter / less orally responsive individuals were specifically focussed upon in each group. These individuals were generally getting ‘stuck’ within a particular grade criteria and particularly needed to expand personal responses etc.

Research It is generally acknowledged that students need the opportunity to mull and react. Valuable awareness of an individual’s understanding can be gauged simply by ‘listening in’ on focussed conversation: ‘ "Dialogic Teaching" means using talk most effectively for carrying out teaching and learning. ... Through dialogue, teachers can elicit students' everyday, 'common sense' perspectives, engage with their developing ideas and help them overcome misunderstandings.’ 1.

However, the classroom is full of individuals with a whole variety of oral confidence levels wherein the discussion experience can often be simplified or deemed less valuable for those quieter members of the class.

Through research reading, this started to become more obvious: ‘In “In Defense of the Solitary Learner: A Response to Collaborative, Constructivist Education,” Hopper (2003) observed, “There are many students . . . who may appear to be disengaged, even catatonic, when they are in fact silently but vigorously grappling with a concept or problem”’ 4.

As a teacher, it had always seemed imperative to me that everyone should be equally engaged in discussion tasks when, actually, further understanding was needed as to the possible reasons behind the ‘quiet child’.

‘Reda (2009) revealed that college students expressed a variety of reasons for silence, including feelings of anxiety and a lack of control when forced to speak aloud in class, difficulties with learning how to speak in an academic voice, challenges with knowing what an instructor wants to hear, fear of social judgment, difficulties with adjustment to college and academic rules of communication, students’ own inner dialogues and self-critique about their views, and a desire to listen, pay attention, and reflect.’ 4.

‘Creating a more balanced classroom requires pushing both the introverts and the extroverts out of their comfort zones while ensuring that some assignments also play to their strengths … so more students have opportunities for quiet learning. ("silent dialogue" or "silent conversation" in which students participate in the form of written communication)… In this way they are "conversing" and engaging in a way that supports reflection and quiet learners.’ 2.

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Opportunities for alternative messaging during the Lockdown phase actually did enhance the communication opportunities of certain students.

However, a recurrent suggestion has been that being out of our comfort zone, providing the opportunity for exploratory talk and experiencing challenges to one's ideas, is the optimal ideal within a lesson - what Claxton described as getting ‘confused, frustrated and stuck’. 6.

Trying to minimise anxiety in oral situations might well reduce a students’ cognitive challenge therefore activities needed to be selected with a careful balance in mind.

Action ‘…structured dialogue during lessons, where students are encouraged to participate verbally and given space and time to reflect upon and discuss complex ideas, is linked with: •

Cognitive gains, including improved results in English, maths and science, the retention of subjectspecific knowledge, and ‘transference’ of reasoning skills across subject areas (Jay et al., 2017);

•

Personal and social gains, including attitudes towards learning, enhanced self-esteem and selfconfidence, and a reduction in anxiety (Hanley P et al., 2015); (Gorard et al., 2015), and;

•

Civvic engagement and empowerment, increasing children and young people’s ability to debate issues, while also increasing understanding about social issues and ability to manage differences with others (Nagda and Gurin, 2007).’ 5.

Two literary heritage units provided the content for these lessons: Shakespeare’s The Tempest – delivered mostly through remote learning – and Orwell’s Animal Farm – once back in the classroom. It was interesting to observe which techniques translated well in both situations and which needed obvious adaptation.

Linking a quotation to a contentious statement works really well to spark an instant response from the confident speaker. This worked particularly well with more vocal members of the class, which, in turn, got the cogs whirring for the others. To capitalise on this, the opportunity was given for individuals to note down their reactions before continuing this discussion as a pair and then extending their ideas into an analytical paragraph. Here is where the seating plan plays a significant role – enabling partnerships wherein both parties feel comfortable to share ideas yet one more inclined to provoke a reaction in the other. With paired responses building on initial thoughts, parallel writing tasks completed immediately after seemed to gain depth and detail.

‘Desensitizing the fear in small, supportive settings is crucial for students who are afraid of the spotlight.’ 3.

With Lockdown, obvious adaptations were needed: instead of small group discussion, break-out rooms of 3 or 4 were established, each time with a contentious statement to discuss.

However, for some, the potential ‘safety’ of break-out rooms was more intimidating than messaging in the chat box; for others, the technology caused a few issues. The most successful medium for communication seemed to be the interactive PowerPoint. When studying The Tempest, a debate was established to consider the nurture v nature debate. For this, after opportunities to share in break-out rooms and use the chat facility, the class contributed to a Teams linked PPT (with individual accountability but opportunity to share viewpoints). The topic allowed the students to address the main theme but through a more individual – contemporary – perspective. Using key quotations in this manner (and being able to constantly refer back to them - in the context of debate – meant that the ‘fear’ evoked by studying Shakespearean language was surpassed by desire to communicate their viewpoint.

See Example 1.

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A second task, gave students a specific character to comment upon. By modelling a response ‘live’ students were able to see the type of end product required. Having the ‘thumbs up’ and ‘chat’ function on Teams, enabled everyone to communicate understanding or the need for clarification. ‘an effective way for her to get her needs met and for you to show her that her participation is valued.’7.

For this, they were carefully paired so not held individually accountable and could use each other as a sounding board.

See Example 2.

Evaluation Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

The analytical paragraphs gradually developed for the Shakespeare assessment and – having transferred this approach into the George Orwell unit – continued into the summer term, raising most scores by at least one grade. With Animal Farm came the added advantage of face-to-face teaching. For this, more of the class seemed enthusiastic and keen to share their opinions, creating the ‘knock-on’ effect of confidence running throughout the class.

Top grade individuals, now constantly engaging in discussion of each other’s work, showing engagement beyond the literal understanding of the text – up a grade through much better exploration of points and paragraph extension.

The lower grade individuals, previously often confused with the ‘what and how’ of paragraph construction, are now much clearer a writing paragraphs: their ideas are better organised. Up one grade by summer term.

Despite this progress, Lockdown brought a whole new set of insecurity issues for one member of the target group. Increased anxiety meant they had lost focus during remote learning. Through supported discussion and careful reinforcement activities, this individual is, at least, back (with continued support) to pre-existing grades.

What next?

Obviously, the lower grade students will still need further reinforcement of paragraph structure to enable their independent ideas to have greater impact and the anxious student will continue to need smaller group intervention opportunities; however, overall, this approach was generally deemed successful and open for further future development next year.

Reading https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/programmes/tseda/ 1. https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-school/fall-2015/engaging-the-quiet-kids/ 2. https://www.goguardian.com/blog/learning/how-to-engage-quiet-students-in-the-classroom/ 3.

Medaille Usinger Engaging Quiet Students 4.

Impact journal of the Chartered College of Teaching: Speaking up: the importance of oracy in teaching and learning (Will Millard and Amy Gauntmay 2018) 5.

International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2020: Teachers’ strategies for enhancing shy children's engagement in oral activities: necessary, but insufficient? 6. https://childmind.org/guide/teachers-guide-to-selective-mutism/ 7.

Universally Speaking The Communication Trust 11-18 211

Talk the Talk Confident Communication for Life Example 1: Prospero says of Caliban: ‘A devil, a born devil, on whose nature Nurture can never stick; on whom my pains, Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost’ Is he right?

•

Are people born as good or bad?

•

Or is it possible to change someone’s inherent personality (through nurturing or the lack of nurturing)?

•

What has had more influence on the way you are: your inherent personality (the way you were born), or the way you have been brought up (nurtured)?

Example of individual responses (accessible to all): N.B I don’t think people can be born badly it is just how they react to things in the future and taking wrong decisions.

People can still change themselves in the future if they take the right decisions and learn from their mistakes.

L.R I don't think people can be born with bad behaviour or actions but rather taught views by people around them that influence their ideas.

People's actions can also be a factor of the reason for their behaviour and if they’ve been mistreated, just like Caliban

JC I think Caliban is not necessarily evil he has grown up in a toxic environment and has not had another parental figure other than Prospero who is not kind to Caliban.

Nature a nurture is very important as it helps you interact with people in a socially acceptable way. I think without nurture you won't necessarily be bad just that you won't know how to act with other people.

E.S I think that people can change if they do something bad and get punished for it then they can learn how to be a better person and learn from the bad things that they have done. I also don't think that people can be born bad; it’s the actions that they take that could lead them down the wrong path.

FM - I don’t think people were born either good or bad, but the people they grow up with, will have an effect on that. I think that both have an effect on you equally.

NF – It would be hard to reason with a killer - even if they had been brought up well - if their mental health had been corrupted by some sort of dreadful event in their later life.

Example 2 Outcome from a group responsibility task (on characters being good or bad): Antonio usurped Prospero, his brother. He is the current Duke of Milan. Shakespeare compares him to ivy showing that he has a poisonous personality and therefore is a baddy. However, he could have usurped him for the right reasons like the fact that Prospero was neglecting his role as Duke of Milan. He was spending too much time studying and not enough time taking on his responsibilities. Slowly, his brother became more 212

and more involved in running Milan and wanted the title of Duke to go with all the responsibilities he was taking care of for his brother. This raises an interesting question of was Antonio in the wrong when he usurped Prospero. The fact that he tried to kill his brother was wrong, but was it just him trying to get him out of the picture so he had total control over Milan. It is difficult to tell whether Antonio or Prospero was in the wrong. Can they both be right? Can they both be in the wrong? Antonio did what he did for the right reasons, but went about it in the wrong way. He needed to discuss with his brother his worries and give him the choice, either change how you are acting or hand power over to me. In conclusion, Antonio is not a baddy, just someone put in a difficult situation and went with their instincts, but their instincts were wrong. He made some bad decisions along the way, but had good intentions. This does not make him a bad person, it just makes him a bad leader. The fact that he ganged up with the King of Naples just showed good instinct, not a bad person. He made a strong ally. This shows good instinct as a ruler. However, when Alonso and Gonzalo are put to sleep by Ariel, it is Antonio who convinces Sebastian to kill them and take the throne.

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Craig Mussell - Oracy in Science to overcome practical deficiencies Intent The issue The closures and subsequent year group bubbles due to covid-19 have drastically impacted the students in terms of their practical skills in Science, and their ability to respond successfully to the investigation based questions in assessments. Each year group has had drastically reduced opportunities to engage in safe practical work as a result of safety regulations about access to resources such as an eye-wash station for certain chemicals. The impact has been felt in many ways, ranging from less engagement in certain topics to reduced confidence when responding to assessment questions.

Poor levels of scientific literacy ensure students are limited to sitting the foundation paper, thus forcing a limitation on their grade. In many, this leads to frustration and inability to write detailed responses to some of the longer answer questions, and the long term result of that is a refusal to engage with the task in hand.

The department focus this year was underperformance of high prior attaining students, so detailed attempts of the investigation based questions would be critical to facilitating an increase in the number of students sitting the higher tier paper, and opening up the possibility of the top grades.

Target students These procedures were used to some extent with all year groups, but after considering the issues of long term engagement associated with all literacy tasks, specifically written ones, I chose to focus this study on my Key Stage 4 classes. The literacy requirements for their assessments are significantly greater, and an inability to articulate the practical techniques would result in a noticeable drop in achievement and progress.

There are a minimum of 10% of the marks available for knowing the key practical techniques, and with 6 marks between grades normally, a loss of those marks could result in a drop of nearly two grades for each student. Even for students with lower literacy, the aim was to reduce the level of scaffolding as we progressed through the year to ensure they were ably prepared for the forthcoming rigour of the assessments.

One of the main concerns was the impact on students potentially sitting the higher paper, as the loss of the marks associated with practical work would often result in them not maintaining sufficient a standard to justify the higher tier entry, in turn limiting the outcomes they’re able to achieve. It was vital that we were able to ensure an increased confidence in this group of students, as the exam boards made it clear these questions would be included, albeit without the expectation that students would complete the practical work themselves.

Research The online article from Voice 21 assisted with the planning around oracy and students wearing masks. This was an obvious difficulty, but the tips provided around clarity and volume were very useful. This is also closely linked to the article on closing the language gap by The MCA Way. The development of metacognitive strategies can only develop exam style responses.

Whilst the topic discussed by 8 year old Ummihani Hanif in the Lancashire Telegraph wasn’t related to Science, it showed that being able to express yourself verbally was incredibly important to being able to construct arguments in written form.

Action What was tried that was different?

Top combat the issues, I have had to consider the knowledge they would usually have, and determine the best way to provide that knowledge without them physically doing the practical. I have been exploring the 214

use of videos and demonstrations combined with verbal and written descriptions of the necessary practicals.

A standard demonstration for my groups this year has involved me getting students in the room to use the correct scientific terminology to describe the step carried out. This is also true when watching a video of a practical by pausing it to get students to correctly describe and explain the steps, prompting the use of correct terminology where it wasn’t used initially.

Once the demonstration or video are complete, the students are then expected to use the correct terminology to write the procedure in their books. To scaffold this for lower ability students I would provide a keyword list either on the board, or on paper, with the added possibility of sentence starters for those with lower literacy.

Normally the assessing of these questions is not ideal for a self-assessment task as there is a degree of subjectivity, but students engaged in multiple attempts at self-assessment so they could see the required level of detail to achieve a level three response. This was designed to ensure that they were able to structure responses successfully in their GCSE assessments.

Evaluation Were the adopted strategies effective?

High/ Middle/Low attaining pupils: The outcome for high prior attaining students was noticeable in terms of overall percentage of entries for the higher tier paper. This increased from 8% in 2019 to 22% this year. It is still not where we’d like, but shows a pleasing trend. The overall performance of the higher tier students was slightly improved compared to 2019, which given their experiences shows that we’ve managed to develop their confidence to levels at least to that seen normally, if not beyond.

For low prior attaining students I think the increased use of scientific literacy was helpful, but the experience wasn’t as memorable as doing the work themselves, and resulted in more confusion about what some of the terms meant. This resulted in a slightly reduced progress overall in this group of students.

SEND: There was a slight dip in SEND performance for combined science, which is a disappointment, but I do feel that combining the changes with the first hand completion of the practical work would develop their understanding and confidence.

Pupil premium/ FSMs: No noticeable change to beyond the general improvement noted above, the was a very minor improvement overall in FSM students.

Next steps I firmly believe the development of scientific literacy in an investigation based setting is something that can go hand in hand with a normal delivery of the curriculum. I will be continuing with the development of key terminology and verbal/written responses to practicals and demonstrations in the hope that the combined techniques result in an improvement across all prior attainment groups as well as supporting SEND and disadvantaged students. I must add that the improvement to pupil premium students and non-pupil premium students are both vitally important, and ensuring increased opportunities for all is the overall aim.

Reading ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

https://literacytrust.org.uk/resources/developing-language-and-literacy-science/ Kerboodle – Activate resources rationale (for identification of key terminology) Oracy and reintegration - https://voice21.org/back-to-school/ Importance of equality and equal opportunities https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/19086641.watch-incredibly-powerfulspeech-8-year-old-girl-moving-teachers-tears/ ➢ Closing the language gap - https://themcaway.wordpress.com/2021/01/31/closing-thelanguage-gap-remotely-why-oracy-is-more-important-than-ever/ 215

Jade Beale - The Importance of Oracy in the Curriculum Learning takes place when effective communication is taking place. As teachers, it is an integral part of our job to carefully consider how and what we are communicating to our students and how this is received. We reflect on how well an idea was communicated; how effective our questioning was; how much subject specific vocabulary we modelled, but how often are we explicitly teaching our students these skills and why should we?

Millard argues that speech and communication lies in the heart of every classroom (Millard, 2019) and with this in mind, it is imperative that we are teaching students how to use their speech and communication for present and future success. In the context of literacy across the curriculum as an integral component of teaching (Barton, 2013), oracy is of the highest importance (Didau, 2014). As teachers, it is our responsibility to not only demonstrate high standards of oracy, but to explicitly teach students how to reach high standards of oracy.

Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language and listening. (Voice21, 2021) The term was first coined in 1965 by Andrew Wilkinson in attempt to provide clarity when applying “speaking and listening” skills in the curriculum. He believed that this part of the curriculum was overlooked in the context of literacy, which was predominantly reading and writing focused. (Wilkinson, 1965). Fast forward 56 years and sadly, the same statements are still being made by educational professionals, with Voice 21 stating that: “For too long, oracy had been undervalued and overlooked within state education.” (Voice21, 2021) Despite the lack of time oracy is given in the current curriculum, awareness is spreading and increasingly schools are dedicating time in their curriculum to this integral component of education. Alexander also agrees with the notion that the curriculum shouldn’t be predominately reading and writing: “Put simply, talk, or oracy, is the foundation of how all subjects are comprehended. (Alexander, 2013). With this in mind, it is clear that our planning needs to consistently be building in opportunities for oracy to enable students to build a basis of new concepts and skills before further interrogating their learning.

Voice 21 believes that oracy is much more than an effective learning strategy, believing that it is central to social mobility and future success, stating that: “In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them. It is also a route to social mobility, empowering all students, not just some, to find their voice to succeed in school and life.” (Voice21, 2021) As teachers, it is imperative that we are consciously working towards closing the gap between disadvantaged learners and their peers to ensure that all students are able to reach their full potential and are able to access all the opportunities that come their way. Sadly, the Isle of Wight has had one of the biggest “Disadvantage Gaps” in the UK (Jo Hutchinson, 2018) and within Cowes Enterprise College, our students’ backgrounds range from the most deprived in the UK to nearly the most affluent. Therefore, it is important to not make the presumption that students already have the language and communication skills to effectively harness oracy opportunities in the whole school curriculum. For the future success of all of our students, it is vital that we are implementing and explicitly teaching students “how to talk” which, according to the most recent Voice 21 Impact report, “narrows gaps, enabling less advantaged students to fulfil their potential” (Voice21, 2021).

Cowes Enterprise College’s mission statement is simple: Educate for life (CEC, Vision and Values, 2021).

Increasingly, studies are showing that a school that has a huge focus on oracy, is a school that not only nurtures students academically, but also socially and emotionally. In a recent report from the Welsh Government (that oracy Cambridge have cited), it has become evident that oracy education has a significant impact in three areas of a student’s future: cognitive outcomes (improved curriculum learning and reasoning skills); social and emotional outcomes; and life outcomes (overcoming social disadvantage, fewer exclusions, improved future earnings) (Cambridge O. , 2020). It is clear to see that investing in high quality talk within 216

our school’s curriculum will boost academic performance as well as ensuring that our learners have the skills to express themselves emotionally and integrate socially. While we may often preach to students about making good choices behaviourally, are we giving them the tools to approach difficult situations? As a tutor, I have had to have some difficult conversations with students regarding poor behavioural choices and I am extremely aware of how I am conducting myself within this conversation. While this is good practice in one sense, there also needs to be a focus on empowering the student that I am speaking with to express themselves in a way that allows them to communicate their frustrations in a respectful and controlled manner. Moving forward in to 2021/22, particularly after two years of disruption in education, it would make sense to empower all of our students with the communication tools that they need to succeed academically and emotionally as they proceed with their disrupted educational journeys.

Oracy Cambridge believe that oracy is both a pedagogical concern (learning through talk) and a curriculum concern (learning to talk) (Cambridge O. , 2020). At university, many teacher training lectures centred around the importance of learning through talk. In my early career I would always feel particularly satisfied from setting small group discussion tasks. In one particular lesson, I remember feeling disappointed in a few students who had immediately decided upon an answer without any discussion. On reflection, it is clear that I wasn’t providing a scaffold to enable students to discuss the topic in both an exploratory and critical manner and that the students needed to be explicitly taught how to have such conversations and experiences. By having a larger focus in the curriculum, all teachers and educational institutions will have the skills, strategies and time to explicitly teach students how to talk. In collaboration with oracy Cambridge, Voice 21 has created an extensive catalogue of oracy resources that are adaptable to all subjects and easily implemented in to the classroom. The basis for all resources is stemmed from The Four Strands of The oracy Framework: physical, linguistic, cognitive and emotional. (Cambridge V. 2., 2018). By applying a simple framework across a whole school and therefore across all year groups and curriculums, the students will be able to apply their skills in a range of settings and situations both academically, socially and emotionally. The need for a whole school approach is also echoed in the most recent Speak For Change report, stating that: “Without leadership and school-wide recognition, contributors asserted that oracy education would be negatively impacted.”

(Change, 2021) It is clear that a whole school approach is the key to success when implementing the necessary Oracy Framework across the curriculum.

Looking forward to the next academic year, every education professional will know the huge challenge ahead of us as the result of two years of disrupted education. A recent poll conducted by CfEY and the University of Oxford, has reported that the school closures have had an “overwhelmingly negative impact on spoken language development” for students eligible for the pupil premium (Change, 2021). If this is put in to the context of our school, that is 26% of our students (CEC, Pupil Premium Strategy Statement, 2020) for whom the gap has widened and it is important now, more than ever, that we are equipping students with the spoken language tools they need to succeed and adapt to the challenge ahead.

References Alexander, R. J. (2013). Improving Oracy and Classroom Talk.

Barton, G. (2013). Don't Call it Literacy! What Every Teacher Needs to Know about Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. London: Routledge.

Cambridge, O. (2020, January). Our submission of evidence to the Oracy All Party Parliamentary Group.

Retrieved from Oracy Cambridge: https://oracycambridge.org/appg-submission-of-evidence/ Cambridge, V. 2. (2018). Oracy: The Four Strands.

CEC. (2020). Pupil Premium Strategy Statement. Cowes Enterprise College.

CEC. (2021). Vision and Values. Retrieved from Cowes Enterprise College: https://cowesec.org/ouracademy/vision-values 217

Change, S. F. (2021). Final report and recommendations from the.

Didau, D. (2014). The Secret of Literacy. Wales: Independent Thinking Press.

Jo Hutchinson, D. R.-J. (2018). Education in England: Annual Report. Education Policy Institute.

Millard, W. (2019). Speaking Up: The Importance of Oracy in Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from Impact Journal of Chartered Teaching: https://impact.chartered.college/article/millard-importance-of-oracy-inteaching-learning/ Voice21. (2021). Voice 21 Impact Report 2021.

Wilkinson, A. (1965). The Concept of Oracy: English in Education.

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Helen Cater - What impact does using the strategy ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ over six weeks have on confidence and general Oracy skills in Art for students in 7X3?

The issue: Wanting to continue with the oracy and literacy focus from last year, as a Department we had already identified a lack of confidence when students are discussing their own work or that of others. Starting with yr 7 students we proposed to work on oracy skills in order to build confidence as students’ progress throughout the school. This would take place alongside practical work and could be done in starters/plenaries, as well as questioning whilst working.

I chose to work with 7X3 as it is a mixed ability group with a large proportion of shy, timid students who do not choose to participate voluntarily in class talk and seem to have some anxiety about voicing their thoughts.

To complicate matters there would be additional challenges due to the Pandemic this year; group work was made impossible due to the Covid restrictions and forwards placement of desks. Wearing of masks in the classroom would impede the flow of talk and made it hard to hear what student were saying. This meant that audio files could not be easily recorded, in order to create transcripts to reflect on the progress of class discussions in a more detailed way.

Research: Eisner( 2014) champions the Arts within the current climate of standardizing educational structures to measure progress and promotes the Arts as a way to “afford opportunities to transform brains into minds”, shaping individuals and their thinking. A starting point for my focus on Oracy was also found in the ideas of Alice Stott (Voice 21), who stresses the need to create a culture where every voice is valued, believing that the benefits can be found across the curriculum. If we can place value on the ideas and opinions of the students, it not only contributes to their sense of self-worth but also builds a sense of community and belonging (Stott, Gaunt, 2021). Indeed, sharing ideas requires a level of trust in students which would need to be built on in the classroom.

The online CPD Oracy Network event in March hosted by Amy Rose also served as a catalyst to my thinking and provided specific strategies to use that could be adapted to the Art classroom. ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ seemed an excellent way to discuss images and visual stimulus. What particularly resonated was the idea that of class talk is often based on a series of monologues, structured in the IRF format (Teacher initiates, Student Response, Feedback). Students rarely listen to and hardly ever respond to each other. From experience I have often found that they will just call out their ideas without any thought for what others are saying. Consequently, the teacher continually has to prompt, question and redirect the discussion. This means the teacher talks too much and works quite hard at sustaining the flow of talk. The ABC strategy of Agree, Build, Challenge (also mentioned by Amy Rose) offers a way of linking student contributions without total dependency on the teacher and aims to promote listening and respect of others ideas. It works on building ideas as a group and moves away from traditional class structures of IRF. I was very conscious of the disjointed nature of class talk in my own classes and desperately wanted to move away from this.

Researching further, I found that the National Galleries of Scotland already use the strategy ‘I see , I think, I wonder ’ as a way of starting a conversion about Art and uses it as part of Gallery Education program with schools. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, also use this format to teach critical thinking through Art where students drive the conversation by voicing observations, thoughts and questions. The routine helps students reason with evidence, before questioning and investigating. The Educator asks,’ What do you see that makes you say that?’ in order for students to share interpretations grounded in evidence. The format used, stems from the Harvard project Artful Thinking (2006) which puts forward the idea that deeper, more purposeful and more thoughtful discussion, in turn leads to more independent learning behaviour.

Generating more meaningful questions, leads to new understanding and moves from the merely descriptive to the analytical.

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Initial Data: An initial Oracy questionnaire was given to 7X3 to understand their thoughts and feelings related to speaking and listening and take the temperature of the group . (Kindly adapted from Moira Henderson’s version )The headline figures were not all together unexpected. ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

75% of students did not feel confident or would never speak up.

However 50% felt confident with friends and 92% listened to friends and responded.

80% hated being put on the spot by the teacher A staggering 88% said they would rather write ideas down on paper.

Only 19% felt safe to speak out without fear of ridicule.

This last figure was worrying and so I proposed to try to build a safe space by discussing oracy more explicitly, encouraging active listening by watching the Feast video and setting some class rules for talk. To address the dislike of being put on the spot, I proposed to use post-it notes for students to write their ideas down first before using the cold calling strategy. I tried to build discussion into the lessons using the ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ format to talk about interesting and thought provoking paintings. During lockdown I had already trialled this in an online lesson with yr 7 and had found that even in the chat function the format, particularly the I wonder questions, provoked some thoughtful ideas.

Implementation:

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23rd April- We began with peer discussion and post- it’s to decide group oracy rules and how to be an active listener. I also introduced the idea of Agree, Build, Challenge, to respond to each other’s ideas. We looked at Munch’s painting, the Separation, which lent itself well to discussion. (I see, I think, I wonder format was on the PP on the board). After 5 minutes for thinking time using the Post-It notes, I was surprised to see so many hands up wanting to participate. Students expressed different interpretations of the painting and were able to say ‘I agree with’ or ‘I disagree with’, depending on their ideas about the image. A normally very quiet Sen student gave a very eloquent description of what he thought was happening in the painting. Overall, I felt the session had gone positively and several students spoke who would not have normally. (Post it notes with student ideas below).

Several activities were carried out in the following weeks as students got used to the I think, I see, I wonder format . One week I tried to focus solely on enjoyment and used a pair work activity where one student

described a picture and the other had to draw it from the instructions. However, the pictures were not all kept secret and it did not quite work as planned. (This had previously worked well with yr 10).

A Lesson in May: The following transcript is from hand written notes made at the time in class to document a discussion in a starter activity based on the painting ‘The Two Frida’s’ by Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo. I chose the painting as it is visually arresting, and multi-layered

Transcript Excerpt Discussion 7X3 Student A: I wonder if the one on the right is trying to save the one on the left?

Student B: I think one of the women is the more perfect twin, the one in the blue and brown dress., because the other one looks like she is bleeding.

Student B: Going back to what student A said, the one in blue is probably saving the one in the bright dress.

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Student C: Yes, one has given up the life for the other one.

Student D: She has given half her heart to the other girl because she might be dying.

Student E(SEN): What if it is more of a metaphor? Maybe the girl in the blue dress is more heartless.

Other comment…..then Student F: About what E said,I agree because her heart looks like it’s stone and the red is sharing her passion for life.

Student G: I wonder why their hearts are attached? I agree with F who said she has a heart of stone.

The success of the discussion seemed to come partly from the fact that the image was thought provoking and open to interpretation. I was heartened to see that after reminders for Agree, Build, Challenge, students listened more actively and were able to build on each other’s ideas. My role in the discussion, was to repeat what each student has said out loud so that the whole class could hear (as many talk really quietly) and then designate the next person to speak. The time for preparation with the post-it notes, definitely seemed to have been positive in providing everyone with at least a small starting point to contribute. Some notes were quite detailed and even those who dislike writing were able to note down some key words to describe what was going on. One male student wrote: Women, unibrow, surgery, sister /twins/conjoined twins, which acted as a prompt at least for his verbal contribution.

Alexander (2017)* suggests, that dialogic teaching helps develop the core skills of listening, responding, forming questions, evaluating ideas, reasoning and justifying opinions. I feel that using the images for discussion I was beginning to see this in action .The ‘I see, I think, I wonder’ format, is a powerful tool to this end, leading to deeper and broader knowledge through observation and reasoned interpretation Amanda Burritt (2014 ). In fact, this thinking format can be applied to all parts of the curriculum and I have come across visual examples in practice of examining objects in science, exploring geographical knowledge, as well as its use in maths and history. Perhaps, other teachers at CEC, might also be interested in this as a crosscurricular strategy, for oracy and thinking?

See Think Applied to a lesson .

Wonder science

https://thinkingpathwayz. weebly.com/seethinkwon der.htmlesson.

Results The implementation of the oracy activities were not fully consecutive over a six week period as originally planned. There was some change of teaching routines where 3 lessons were led by an NQT teacher. I feel that this break in the activities will have impacted the outcomes of the project. However, at the end of the time period I gave out the questionnaire for a second time to see if there were any significant changes in answers and how students were feeling.

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This time, 58% of the class said they felt Ok or very confident when speaking in class. This was a positive increase from only 25% in the initial survey. There was also an increase (from 30% to 50% of students) who felt that talk was a way of helping them to refine and clarify their ideas and an increase in those who enjoyed sharing their point of view. A few more students said that they enjoyed discussing paintings and Art works, but apart from this, the number of students ticking the statements stayed about the same. Those that didn’t feel safe to speak out in class only decreased by 2 students (from 9 to 7). Consequently, I realise that building a safe environment, to ensure the trust and sense of community referred to earlier, will only happen over time and is a work in progress, especially with students that are anxious and timid by nature.

Conclusion: Students quickly became accustomed to the routine of ‘See, Think, Wonder’ and implementing specific oracy activities at the start or end of lessons, has had a positive effect on the confidence of some students. As a group (7X3) they have learned to listen to each other more, purposefully responding to the ideas of others, instead of just stating their own. Some of the discussions were quite animated and I think enjoyment helped build a positive atmosphere in the group. Confidence increased by giving them more thinking time and the possibility of writing down some ideas as a basis for talk.

In future lessons, I will build on the use of thinking partners for the I think section, which will also move away from just the written notes. As part of the orchestration of the discussion, more focus on ‘What do you see that makes you think that?’ will build on the idea of visual evidence and extend justifying and reasoning.

Using the question ‘What are you going to remember about this art work?’ at the end of the discussion will also refocus the things that stand out for them.

There is still a lot of work to be done on Oracy ,however, I look forwards to using both ‘See, think, wonder’ and ‘Agree, Build, Challenge’ with other groups next year, aiming to increase the confidence of our students to voice their opinions, listening and responding purposefully to others. Arnott (2014) believes that “constructive conversation can only improve reading and writing skills”. Thus, exploratory talk becomes a powerful tool for increasing independent learning behaviour.

Bibliography: Arnott, Nikki ( 2014) : Substantive Conversations – The importance of oracy in the classroom Burritt, A ( 2014) See, think, wonder; Using the cultural collections to bring breadth to education, University of Melbourne Collections, issue 15, December 2014 Eisner. E.W.(2014) The Art and the Creation of Mind, a curriculumjouney. files.wordpress.comnga.gov.audiovideo/teaching critical-thinking-through-art html Gaunt, A. Stott, A. ( 2019)) Voice 21, Transforming Teaching and Learning through Talk Harvard (2006) Artful Thinking https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/ArtfulThinkingFinalReport-1.pdf National Gallery of Scotland :https://www.nationalgalleries.org/learn/see-think-wonder Stott, Alice ( 2019 ) Voice 21,Valuing Every voice https://thinkingpathwayz.weebly.com/seethinkwonder

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Ann Wright - What impact does targeted Oracy within KS3 Art & Design lessons have in overall levels of confidence and use of subject specific language? Delivered over part of the Summer Term.

IntentTo improve levels of Oracy within Art & Design lessons at KS3, and further support whole school Oracy.

The issue – Currently KS3 students do not have the confidence and skills to speak fluently about Art images, and also their own Artwork, leading to less depth of understanding of concepts and contexts further on within the Art & Design Curriculum at GCSE and A Level.

Target students The group I selected was aYr7 Art group, mainly as they are a mixed ability group that I had enough time to carry out several excercises, in order to make some useful judgements and see how effective the strategies might be.

Research The main aim is to keep building on the research I have done previously and extend the Departmental strategies we have begun to devise regarding Oracy. T. Sherrington and S. Stafford (Great Teaching Techniques: A Culture of Speech) say that, ‘By creating a wide range of speech opportunities within the curriculum, we can ensure that students develop fluency in the formal Standard English’. I know that there is often an acute time pressure within Art & Design lessons to focus on the practical skills, so in order to support and nurture an ‘Oracy Culture’ there must be a shift in the balance of practical time over speaking and discussion time in the Art & Design Department. My aim is to start at the most basic levels of Oracy and build from there.

As N Mercer highlights, ‘the role of the ‘school’ environment being some students only chance to develop a repertoire of talking skills’ means there is a real need for Oracy. As Mercer comments ‘It is too easy for us all to assume that a young person has mastered ‘Oracy’ automatically’. From this viewpoint I decided to show and model how to speak about Artwork via two tasks which I have trialled with Year Seven students.

I gained much inspiration from publications such as Voice 21 Speaking Frankly which states that, ‘Good levels of Oracy are achieved when students are given opportunities to…’

‘Develop a range of verbal skills, and are introduced to Oracy with clear guidance when using key vocabulary.’

The tasks I have tried out have made a start on the journey towards more eloquent students at CEC. Suggestions from this the Speaking Frankly publication are: Creating familiar and established talk protocols.

Using sentence stems to prompt pupils to engage with the contributions of their classmates and give reasons for their views, whilst a list of target vocabulary highlights higher-level language for students to select and use.

For teachers to get students in class to talk in purposeful and meaningful ways, to model good speaking and listening in their practice, track their pupils’ progress in speaking skills and value and celebrate the spoken word.

Carry out explicit planning and intentional guiding of pupils’ talk (such as scaffolding discussions and giving students talking guidelines and roles).

‘Talk supports thinking, and that means it supports learning.’

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Amy Gaunt, Primary Teacher and Oracy lead, School 21 Beyond the first priority of learning the meaning of the terms there is a confidence barrier in using them.

Students often simply don’t feel comfortable using formal speech because it feels false; it isn’t natural. This is clearly an impediment to learning. (Tom Sherrington)

Action ‘Beyond the first priority of learning the meaning of the terms there is a confidence barrier in using them.

Students often simply don’t feel comfortable using formal speech because it feels false; it isn’t natural. This is clearly an impediment to learning.’ (Tom Sherrington) I first used a questionnaire to use as a baseline of how confident students felt in general about speaking out in class. This I then repeated at the end with a small selection of students (as some were at UKSA) to see if their confidence had improved or their outlook towards Oracy had changed.

The tasks that the students carried out were as follows: Describing a picture to someone who can’t see the picture. This was to see if students could describe in more detail and also to see if students could listen and build a picture in their minds of the images being described.

The ‘game’ format in pairs was devised in order to make things more fun and less intimidating.

They were also asked to practise using Key Words in describing what they were doing in class, using prompts and Key Phrases to a partner/ friend. Again this was intended to build basic building blocks on which to build in subsequent lessons and years further on in KS3 and beyond. The aim was to make it ‘easy’ to do, no larger audience, just getting used to hearing their own voice using more formal and specialist language.

Most of my reasons for approaching this issue in these ways were from the Voice 21 initiative, where Oracy was embedded throughout the school, and the emphasis was on a whole school approach. With this I mind was aware that our Year Seven students could be the starting point for our Art Department strategies that we could then build on each year to eventually have an integrated approach throughout KS3, 4 & 5.

Questionnaire Results (30 students) ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

76 % - Did not feel confident speaking out in class.

86% - Didn’t want to look stupid in front of other people if they got something ‘wrong’.

93% - Didn’t like being put on the spot with a question.

14% - Didn’t want to look too keen in class.

The ‘Describing Game’ The students were separated into two groups; one describing, one listening. The describers were given a sheet of images and asked to silently choose one to describe to their partner. They then described the image.

The listening person then had to choose from the range of images to see if they got the correct one. There was a very mixed success rate, however, this wasn’t the main goal.

The students engaged in describing the images really well, they seemed to like the idea of a game and did not give the answer away to their partner when they were trying to choose the right image. I asked a small sample of students about the task and how difficult they thought it was and also what they thought they had learned from the game. Most students thought it was difficult at first but then got into it as they found more details to describe. Some deliberately tried to make it easy for their partner and some did the opposite, the boys in particular saw it as a challenge and got into the competitive spirit. The partner who was listening and choosing the image at the end, was sometimes less engaged and involved in the task (this could be due to individuals’ attention spans). Most said that they found it a useful way to stretch their describing skills as the images were deliberately all very similar. They commented on how they didn’t do much describing in this way in other subjects, even in English lessons.

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Ways in which I would improve this task would be: ➢ Do the game more often ➢ Supply key words for the describing students to help them use more technical and specialist words. ➢ Possibly have some prompts to create a more regulated sequence of descriptive statements.

Examples of the sheets of images the students were given to describe.

Say It Do It Task This involved a simple task of asking the students to tell the person next to them what they were going to do in the lesson. E.g. ‘Today I am going to mix Tertiary colours using a Primary and a Secondary colour, and paint them onto my design.’

There were simple prompts on the board connected to the main tasks of the lesson. Then the students were asked to repeat what they had done at the end of the lesson but with an added evaluative comment. These were supplied on the board to help students begin to use the more formal, structured and specialist language that we want them to eventually spontaneously use of their own accord.

This task was repeated several times throughout the last half term and I noticed some students began to get more confident with this task, however, the lack of time available to build up a routine and develop confidence with speaking about their own work, meant that there wasn’t any significant improvement seen overall. However, despite this I feel that the task would, over time, if used and reinforced enough, would help students gain the vocabulary necessary to be able to speak more expertly and fluently about their own artwork.

Evaluation What next?

Next September I will continue to use the ‘Say It Do It’ task and try to build up a regular expectation that students say something to each other about what they are doing in class. There will need to be more detailed word banks, phrases and time given to this, in order to build confidence over time.

The strategy is fairly simple and basic and relies upon repetition over time to be effective. There is a need to start with small achievable goals that can be developed into something more natural and automatic as students move through the years becoming more adept at talking about ‘Art’.

There is also the issue of some students who do not have a ‘friend’ with whom they feel comfortable to talk with, or even students that have other issues and difficulties with speaking and reading. All of these intricacies will need to be considered when developing resources and lesson slides.

I am looking forward to encouraging our students to speak in class more confidently and build on these strategies that I have begun with Year Seven students, and hopefully over time this will gradually permeate through each year group.

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‘We place students at an enormous disadvantage if we do not teach them how to use the prevailing formal, standard English code if their background has not given them the skills to use it spontaneously.’ T. Sherrington

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Sarah Wyeth – Barriers to oracy in the classroom.

I don’t think any of us doubt the importance of oracy in the classroom by now. So why isn’t oracy threaded through our curriculum in a slick and integrated way? Why are we not all proficient dialogic practitioners?

There was a question in a recent feedback form to staff asked, ”Should we add to our non-negotiables that we only ever cold call in lesson? No hands up, apart from when ‘taking the temperature’ of whole class understanding / comprehension.” This got me thinking about how hard it is to get some students to speak at all let alone extend their answers. We tread that line of attempting to expertly stretch and challenge our keen outgoing students yet support and coax our less confident ones. We all know a particular student with their hand up before the end of a question has been finished and you know they haven’t formulated an answer and when they do, it may only be very loosely linked to the topic and possibly involve a tedious tale of a distant relative. You know this student needs validation but you also need to crack on with the learning.

At this juncture, the cold calling route only seems humane but teaching and learning aimed towards strong oracy skills needs planning for and building.

How can we remove the barriers to effective classroom oracy? My two main sources for answers are ‘Speaking up: The importance of Oracy in teaching and learning’ by Will Millard and Any Gauntmay 2018 and ‘The State of Speaking in Our Schools’ by Will Millard and Loic Menzies – Voice 21. I also asked two of my classes for their ideas.

Here is a table found on p55 of ‘The State of Speaking in Our Schools’ by Will Millard and Loic Menzies – Voice 21 exploring the barriers to oracy.

Here are 5 main barriers and potential ways of tackling them.

Time “If teachers think ‘we’re wasting time’ or ‘we’re spending too long talking’ [then] maybe that means that the talk hasn’t been scaffolded correctly. If you’re doing really good talk and they’re working really well, then it really will support thinking about those [learning] outcomes” Amy Gaunt, Head of Oracy Primary, School 21 Teachers will always need to balance the demands of a content heavy curriculum with how that content is consumed. When teachers feel confident in building in well planned oracy tasks, this will enable better access to that curriculum.

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Shy / awkward / anxious students Student passports Often on a passport there will be a bullet point asking that a student not be asked questions in front of the class or asked to read aloud. Sometimes this can be seen as a strange request when the student in front of you is evidently more than happy to express themselves quite volubly. With those students who really do struggle with class participation, I would suggest that this is an opportunity to sit with the student and chat through their needs on the passport. Sometimes a partner is able to voice their ideas or small groups could enable confidence to grow. However, that child is not going to grow in being able to express themselves if always left out of class questioning and involvement. They would then have little incentive to engage with the material if they knew they ideas will never be sought. Surely, this reduces self-esteem in the long run.

Fear of disruption / break down in behaviour This is tackled in Voice 21 where you can find a list of suggestions. Especially helpful are the ideas of Amy Gaunt on p60.

Nothing to show for it The nature of ephemeral talk makes progress hard to check and record. There is also not a lot of research to provide evidence. However, in a small study by Dave Spence at the Wilmslow High school group, he demonstrated that setting up a process where underperforming students in a mixed ability Yr 11 class were able to progress after research into discussion tasks resulted in improvement in assessments. “Students’ marks across all abilities went up following this oracy initiative, and this was particularly pronounced when looking at SEN students’ attainment.”

Moira Henderson attempted to collect data in 2020 for a research project she had planned out.

Unfortunately, covid aborted the study but in her evaluation she comments that, “Although the impact of this research is not measurable in terms of hard data, the outcomes which I’ve seen during the students’ work, alongside comments from the students themselves, have convinced me that including more thoughtful prompts and sentence stems for discussion, along with creating a shared understanding of and familiarity with a language for discussing oracy, have great benefits to play in the classroom.” It is worth reading her paper for intervention strategies she used with the class.

High stakes curriculum/ attitudes from different subject areas / confidence in aspects of oracy Speaking assessments have been down graded in English to a bolt on extra that doesn’t hold much value to the students. “It’s now a box you have to tick, but it doesn’t actually count towards anything” says Mark Crossley, English Teacher and Key Stage 4 Coordinator (Voice 21). I would be interested if any employer ever looked at the grades assigned to these presentations. The irony is that employers have make it really clear that they are looking for employees that can communicate, lead teams, present and think on their feet.

Some subjects feel that oracy isn’t that important in their area or doesn’t aid learning. Voice 21 explores this in detail p64 – 67.

Student feedback I asked a Yr 7 and a Yr 8 class to fill in a questionnaire for me on oracy and their views. Both were classes that I had been experimenting with different oracy tasks. I had especially been trying to hand over managing the tasks to the students themselves. The answers the students gave were not particularly revolutionary but they showed awareness of the importance of discussion in the classroom.

Here are the general findings: ➢ Many were worried about the anxious, shyer students ➢ They felt that E1m and RS were particularly good places for discussion.

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➢ There was a real sense that discussions added fun and interest to the learning ➢ They saw the importance of building confidence and the link with future jobs and skills needed in the future ➢ There was a value placed on the point of view of others and the value of disagreeing with the teacher too. ➢ One student said they felt validated and supported when they offered their views ➢ Many felt strongly that teachers should only ask students with hands up – the idea that those not wishing to respond should be left alone. ➢ There was an overall appreciation for oracy in the classroom Here is some advice to teachers from the students: ➢ Teachers should set up tasks by prewarning certain individuals that they will be asked specifically so they need to be prepared. ➢ They liked the use of lolly sticks with names on and random name generators ➢ Timers ➢ They felt small group discussions leading to whole class feedback was effective ➢ Using prompts and structures to guide students to answers enabled the less confident students to build their answers.

Here is the advice from are ‘Speaking up: The importance of Oracy in teaching and learning’ •

• • • • •

Set clear ‘ground rules’ for talk during lessons (for example, by clarifying how and when students can contribute to class discussions, and what ‘active listening’ involves). Whole schools can also set expectations in this regard, such as in terms of how students should speak to their peers, and to staff and visitors.

Model the talk they expect from students (in terms of tone and etiquette, as well as vocabulary and content).

Ask great questions, encouraging different sorts of thought processes at different stages in the learning process. For example, teachers might prompt students to recall information at first, before then encouraging a deeper exploration of ideas.

Scaffold students’ interactions and responses during lessons, for instance, by using sentence starters.

Provide students with feedback on both what they say, and how they say it.

Seek and give colleagues feedback on their classroom talk during development lesson observations

Conclusion There is an All party parliamentary group looking into oracy that certainly shows government intention for change, “The pandemic has increased the imperative to act now. The Oracy APPG believes that there is an indisputable case for oracy as an integral aspect of education and that all children and young people should benefit from high-quality oracy education as a consistent and comprehensive entitlement of their education in school.” What ever happens with the Covid reboot in education, I believe that oracy has to be our duty to the future of our students. There may be massive changes to what we teach and how we assess but fundamentally we need to empower those in our care to speak up and be heard. They cannot let others speak for them and we need to remove the barriers.

“I want your voice to fill this school. I want your voice to be one of the many sounds that build this community.

I want you not just to talk but to listen. Listen to yourself: your breath, your heart and your true thoughts. I want you to listen to other people. I want you to discover the many voices that make up a human being. I want you to find your voice.” Daniel Shindler, Drama and Wellbeing Lead, School 21

References Dave Spence, Group discussion and extended writing Wilmslow High School 230

Moira Henderson To what extent does structured group work, implemented for eight weeks, improve the written outcomes among a low-attaining group of male students? Cowes Enterprise College Oracy cambridge, ‘Our submission of evidence to the Oracy All Party Parliamentary Group’ The Hughes Hall Centre for Effective Spoken Communication, January 21, 2020 Will Millard and Any Gauntmay , ‘Speaking up: The importance of Oracy in teaching and learning’ 2018 Will Millard and Loic Menzies, ‘The State of Speaking in Our Schools’ Voice 21.

Websites: https://oracy.inparliament.uk/speak-for-change-inquiry https://impact.chartered.college/article/millard-importance-of-oracy-in-teaching-learning/

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Laura Burnett - The Impact of Oracy on Writing The teaching of English covers a plethora of topics and skills that are inextricably linked to communication.

Whether students are tasked with writing an analytical paragraph on the presence of deceit in Macbeth, a persuasive letter on an inspirational figure or a short story, students ultimately need to be able to coherently deliver quite complex ideas in writing and communicate these with confidence. A retrospective glance at the purpose and aims of English from the national curriculum, reaffirms the importance of communication in the subject: ‘we must teach pupils to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others, and through and their reading and listening, others can communicate with them.’ (DfE, 2014) So often in my teaching practice, I see that pupils’ ability to ‘communicate’ with others is somewhat hindered and restricted by confidence. A student feels they know what to say, but cannot say it for fear of being incorrect or because they simply lack the vocabulary to express themselves. As discussed in Dialogic Teaching (Alexander, 2008) exercises for talk form an essential part of ‘empowering students for lifelong learning and democratic engagement’- a process by which confidence is grown in a ‘collaborative and supportive’ way.

Over the course of this year, I have positioned oracy and purposeful talk in the classroom at the forefront of my practice in a bid to help students avoid becoming ‘disenfranchised’ (DfE, 2014) by an inability to speak and write ‘fluently and confidently.’ Opening up the classroom as a ‘safe space’ with myself as an ‘orchestrator’ of discussion (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.76). As research and findings from School 21 has shown, schools which place oracy at the ‘heart of its provision’ find that pupils ‘reach standards in the top of all schools nationally, at primary and secondary’ with particular benefits for those from ‘disadvantaged backgrounds.’ (Myatt, 2020, p.147). The benefits of planned and strategic discussion for analytical reading and writing have been clear, but this is something I often neglect when it comes to preparing students for creative writing tasks. To what extent can verbal discussion and communication develop students’ confidence in approaching imaginative writing? Underpinned by the research and resources from School 21, I will explore this idea and refer largely to Back on Track, Fewer things, greater depth and The Reader in the Writer (aimed largely at key stage 2 learners, but with some highly transferable findings for the secondary environment) to consider the purpose of ‘high quality talk’ (Myatt, 2020, p.147) in the imaginative process.

Mary Myatt’s Back on Track takes a post-pandemic look at the education sector, posing the idea of doing fewer things really well. Myatt refers to oracy and the importance of stories and story-telling throughout the text, asserting that ‘high quality talk, and its twin, listening, underpins reading and writing’ (Myatt, 2020, p.147). In approaching more creative tasks, I often notice that students, across year groups, approach imaginative writing with an immense amount of enthusiasm. It is hard to quantify exactly why this is the case.

Perhaps students enjoy the flexibility the process of creative writing provides and the chance to exude a sense of their own personality in their work. As Myatt suggests, perhaps because it is ‘enjoyable […] it doesn’t feel like work’ (Myatt, 2020, p.64). It is always exciting to see students relishing the creative process and I frequently encourage pupils to bring their own personal experiences and worlds to their writing, whether it may be gaming, a hobby or a personal story of their own. As Myatt suggests, ‘we need to be fed. We cannot create something out of nothing. We need stimuli. We need ideas…the idea that everything needs to spring from inside us, without food or nourishment, does not hold true.’ (Myatt, 2020, p.61). As with analytical writing, I often provide students with loose writing frames and vocabulary mats containing keywords to help students write with ambitious vocabulary and develop their use of semantic fields. However, this can be a prescriptive approach and isolates students from their own individual imaginations – limiting ‘children’s confidence in taking control of the writing’ (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.76). Students, particularly in key stage 3, often say ‘can I change this so that...? Is it okay if I write it like this…? Do I have to use these words in my writing…?’ Students want to write, but wish to use their imaginations and inspirations to guide them. This is their response and I realise that I do not often gives students enough time to discuss their imaginative ideas with the ‘nourishment’ they need. Myatt proposes that ‘it is through talk that our ideas become concrete’ (Myatt, 2020, p.147) and that by allowing students the chance to communicate their ideas, they will 232

ultimately write with fuller and more developed ideas. I have seen the benefits of this practice already in my teaching. In preparing year 11 students for a creation of a pre-planned story for their Language Paper 1 response, I reminded students of the process of speaking and listening before dividing students into small groups to discuss potential narrative ideas. I gave students a discussion frame and a planning sheet on which to ‘jot’ down ideas. This is a beneficial process as students ‘often need to rehearse thoughts out loud before committing them to paper’ (Myatt, 2020, P.51). It was fascinating to watch students engage in this process; I realised that not only do students have a wealth of material to gather inspiration from in their ‘life worlds’ (Husserl, 1936) but also that their sense of imagination is palpable. Myatt goes on to express that ‘it is through talk that we can tell whether [our ideas] make sense or not, and we can refine them in the light of others’ responses’ (Myatt, 2020, p.147). Reflecting on Myatt’s comments in tandem with my work with other year groups, it is interesting how often I confer with colleagues on my own planning for lessons and resources, yet I rarely give students such substantial time to discuss ideas with their peers before an imaginative writing task – particularly in key stage 3. When I engage students in a ‘talk for writing’ activity, it is often only for 5 minutes or less. As Earnshaw asserts, ‘classroom talk’ should be an ‘integral part of teaching and learning’ rather than an ‘unstructured break in a lesson’ (Earnshaw, 2016). The creative or artistic process is so often a collaborative experience, fuelled by inspiration and feedback from other sources. So why not give all students this opportunity for a more holistic insight into the creative process?

To help students avoid producing ‘impoverished’ written work (Myatt, 2020, p.51), Barrs and Cork suggest that an ‘in depth discussion’ of a class model, followed by substantial time in which paired discussion for writing can occur, seems to be of huge benefit (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.77). In their important study into childrens’ literacy at key stage 2, Barrs and Cork explore the indissoluble connection between communication, reading and writing. A number of teachers were interviewed and observed on their literacy approaches, of which oracy was a fundamental component. In the study, some teachers ‘emphasised planning and talking before writing, and re-drafting and publishing of final drafts. In these classrooms, children generally began writing on their own and then worked with a partner or the teacher to edit their work when it was finished.’ (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.79). From initial experience I have had in my own teaching, allowing students time to have exploratory talk amongst themselves, ‘giving space’ to communicate about their ideas (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.78) without my overt presence, can be beneficial. In the study, some of the most successful writing in the project came about after a particularly involving discussion when children had generated plenty of initial ideas for writing. Once the students had the confidence in their opinions to write, they wrote ‘readily’ and their ‘first drafts showed how absorbed they had been in the fictional world’ (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.78). This supports Myatt’s idea that the ‘building blocks’ of discussion lead to ‘high-quality writing over time’ (Myatt, 2020, p.147).

Interesting, teacher intervention does not seem to occur until the end of the process. I immediately consider the impact of this on the work produced – are the story ideas developed? Does the student follow any particular structure? What about spelling, punctuation and grammar? Later, the study finds that ‘teacher intervention between children’s drafts’ appeared to be most effective encouraging them to develop their texts. It seemed to ‘provide children with an audience and the kind of immediate feedback which encouraged them to take their ideas further’ (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.79). This appears to show, therefore, the importance of thorough discussion at the beginning of the imaginative process – the teacher orchestrates a ‘general discussion about the text’ to help children understand the content’ to subsequently help them make ‘connections with their own worlds and experiences’ (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.72) and write with ‘more understanding and knowledge, from inside the story world’ (Barrs and Cork, 2002, p.73). This seems to place students more holistically as writers, gathering inspiration and using this to write before the editing process begins. As the teacher provides feedback between drafts, students are able to harness their own sense of creativity with confidence before constructive ‘notes’ from the teacher.

Looking forward to the next academic year, I intend to utilise oracy strategies more frequently as the benefits stretch far beyond enabling students to produce an interesting and compelling piece of imaginative writing.

Talk is an ‘entitlement for every pupil’ and ‘having one’s voice heard is at the root of confidence’ (Myatt, 233

2020, p. 148). This confidence and knowledge that their ‘ideas matter’ (Myatt, 2020, p.148) is a fundamental element of success in the classroom and I hope to encourage students to see imaginative responses not merely as lesson or exam tasks, but as creative ventures where they can express their voices, with confidence.

Bibliography Alexander, R. (2008). Towards Dialogic Teaching: Rethinking Classroom Talk Cambridge: Dialogos Barrs, M., V, Cork. (2002). The Reader in the Writer London: Centre for Language in Primary Education Department for Education. (2014). The national curriculum in England: Key Stages 3 and 4 framework document. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-englandsecondary-curriculum Earnshaw, B. (2016). English-Speaking Union and Voice 21. Speaking Frankly: the case for oracy in the curriculum English-Speaking Union, https://tinyurl.com/y4bqj596 Myatt, M. (2020). Back on Track: Fewer things, greater depth Woodbridge: John Catt Educational Ltd

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Blake Rayner - Can oracy activities improve performance in long answer written exam questions in science?

The Issue In recent years students at both GCSE and A level (Physics) have consistently struggled to do well on long answer (6 mark) questions in science mock exams and assessments. They often seem to have difficulty using the key terms with enough precision, even those that can struggle to develop their answers into something more than a list of facts. They find it difficult to compare/contrast, evaluate and also struggle to sequence answers correctly especially when putting forward ideas for multiple opinions on a topic. Often they produce a long, almost story style, answers which is time consuming and yields little in the way of marks for students.

The mark schemes used for science long answer questions means that students often gain only 1-2 marks as the higher level skills mentioned above need to be evidenced to move above these grades.

Target students This year I have had the privilege to teach 2 top set year 11 combined science groups. They are both very motivated with mid to high levels of ability and I felt they would attempt the activities in a positive way and also benefit from the experience in terms of exam preparation. It also meant as a controlled variable both groups were of a similar ability. In the wider context though this could apply to all exam year groups in science.

Research – After attending the Oracy CPD training a number of documents were shared with us focused on structuring a debate. I referred to 3 documents from The Hughes Centre for Effective communication, by Lyn Dawes, 2018. These were titled Exemplar discussion guidelines for exploratory talk, Talking points-talking about talk, and Useful guidelines for discussion. I also read a debate scaffold from Voice 21.

Action - Which teaching processes and strategies did you try that were different?

I selected two 6 mark questions on topics that would make interesting topics on which to have a debate.

Global Warming and Gene therapy.

Explain how human activities have led to increased global warming.

Describe the process of gene therapy from DNA extraction to viral implantation in the cells.

One group answered each after a standard lesson with no direct Oracy activities.

I then set up a debating activity where small groups students had prepare/organise their scientific/ethical ideas to argue for or against the use of Gene therapy and the idea that human activities are causing global warming. They then had to evaluate each other’s arguments.

The questions were selected so that the debate/oracy activity would not directly give them the answers, but would promote a deeper thinking about the concepts.

After this they completed the 6 mark question on that topic. (Note they did not repeat the same question this will be explained in the evaluation section)

Why did you select these approaches? Oracy has been a key theme in CPD across all the schools I have worked at, for a number of years. I have implemented various oracy based activities and strategies as a result of this training, but I have never actually taken the opportunity to assess its impact on performance. Here I wanted to explore the impact of oracy based activities on long answer exam questions in science and see if I could collect some data to assess the 235

benefit of the activities. The debating section of the lesson took around about 12 minutes for both groups.

20% of lesson time is a large section of a lesson so needs to be effective and worthwhile.

Evaluation - data 11x1 Global warming No Oracy

11Y1 Global warming after Oracy tasks

Total marks gained

Total marks gained

Total possible 102 marks

54

57

Percentage possible gained

Percentage of possible marks gained

78

of marks

53

Marks

Frq

Total possible Percentage marks difference

73

%

Marks

Frq

+20%

% increase or decrease

%

0

0

0

00

0

1

0

0

10

0

2

4

23

21

78 -16

3

6

35

31

8 -28

4

7

41

45

38 -3

5

0

0

54

31 31

6

0

0

62

15 15

236

11Y1 Gene Therapy no Oracy

Total marks gained

54

Percentage possible gained

78

11X1 Gene therapy with Oracy tasks

Total possible marks

of marks

Total marks gained 77

Percentage possible gained

102

of marks

69

Marks

Frq

Total possible Percentage marks difference

76

%

Marks

Frq

+7%

% increase or decrease

%

0

0

0

00

0

0

1

0

0

10

0

0

2

4

8

21

12

4

3

6

23

31

0

-23

4

7

23

45

29

6

5

0

38

54

42

3

6

0

8

62

18

10

Evaluation - comments Were the teaching processes and strategies adopted effective?

The data shows that in both groups the percentage of marks gained increased for both questions when the oracy based activity was carried out beforehand.

For the global warming question this increase was substantial at 20%, the increase was less pronounced at only 7% for the question on gene therapy. I believe this is, in part, due to the more accessible nature of the concepts in global warming, the fact that this is a relatively popular item in the media recently and the fact that the ethical arguments are perhaps less sensitive in nature. Therefor students were more involved in the discussion/debating/oracy based activities.

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Although both groups are set 1 year 11 so were as closely matched as is reasonably possible. 11Y1 had 17 higher prior attainers, 9 middle and 2 low. Whereas 11x1 had only 6 higher, 23 middle and 2 lower prior attainers. Despite this 11x1 still outperformed 11y1 when they did the oracy activity first, albeit by only 7%.

It is important to note that the groups did not attempt the question twice as this could have invalidated any results as improvements would have more likely been attributed to redrafting rather than the influence of the oracy activity. So I believe this was a key control measure.

The main reason for the percentage increases in total marks seems to be an increase in the volume of level 3 responses which put students into the 5 or 6 marks category. The key requirements to reach the level 3 responses usually involve an answer which has comparison, clear sequence, evaluation. In short the higher level skills in constructing an answer seemed to improve with the addition of discussion.

I assume this is because it gives students a chance to assimilate information but also to construct arguments and hear/produce responses What next? How are you going to move forward with students?

I will continue to use oracy based activities before the completion of 6 mark questions and try to vary the nature of the activity. Here I selected topics that could be debated quite easily without directly covering the core aspect of the question. Going forwards questions and activities will have to continue to be selected carefully to ensure they are working to improve student’s critical thinking and skills for answering the long answer questions, not just providing them with verbal answers which they then just write down. There could also be further refinement of the type of Oracy activity debates are only one activity, they do seem to have had a positive effect here however they are time consuming activities so there may be more efficient oracy activities that could be implemented and researched.

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Moira Henderson – Dialogue Teaching: Desirable but ‘Doable’ into Today’s Classrooms?

Nystrand et al 1997, 72 - “What ultimately counts is the extent to which Instruction requires students to think, not just report someone else’s thinking.”

Overview - the big debate During the 21st century, more so than ever before, the quality of classroom discourse has been a hot topic of discussion in school reform. Most would agree with Murname and Long 1996 that the new ‘basic skills’ required for high wage jobs include “the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing” and “the ability to work in groups with persons of various backgrounds.” This is seen as developing individual capital for a healthy economy and societal capital for healthy communities.

Few would disagree with the premise that verbal communication skills are crucial to success in academic life and beyond. However, rather regretfully, oracy in the UK still doesn’t have the status that oracy has in other countries where it is equal to reading and writing. Organisations such as the University of Cambridge, Voice 21 and the APPG are aiming to challenge and remedy this state of affairs. This is another area of inquiry which will not be explored here.

According to Lyle 2008, the dominant discourse in today’s schools is monologic which reflects behaviourist/absolutist assumptions - “knowledge is transmitted to learners by authority figures through unambiguous use of language.” Learning involves “passively and unselectively receiving and producing knowledge known by experts in its original, objective form.” This, of course, presupposes a power imbalance between the student and teacher and which sees the teacher as the source of knowledge and authority in which the typical discourse follows the IRF pattern i.e. ‘Initiation - response - feedback.’ Here the teacher asks a question (usually closed) to which the student responds before the teacher corrects any misunderstandings or comments. It does not encourage cognitive thought nor the exploration of ideas in a cumulative and coherent manner, rather the correction and transfer of knowledge. In addition, in many contemporary classrooms, “teachers do most of the talking.” R J Alexander 2005 p.2. Barnes (1969) comments that it is largely through teacher’s talk that “the students’ talk is facilitated, mediated, probed and extended … or too often, inhibited.”

Dialogic teaching, on the other hand, is a discourse that uses an inquiry dialogue wherein open questions are discussed through a collaborative effort to reach a sound and rational conclusion. This is more a reflection of sociocultural and constructivist theories of learning and reflects as evaluatist classroom in which students come to see knowledge as “the product of a continuing process of examination, comparison, evaluation and judgement … of different perspectives.” (Anderson 1977, Mead 1962, Piaget and inhelder 1969, Vygotsky 1962, Wertsch and Bivens 1992.) It is representative of the thinking in academic communities which encourages exploration, evaluation and rational argument about proposed theses. R J Alexander who has written much about developing dialogic teaching comments that this approach reflects the “intimate and necessary relationship between language and thought” and the power of spoken language to enable, support and enhance children’s cognitive development.”

It is an approach that links back to the desire to educate young students who are articulate, expressive, thoughtful members of society who bring individual and societal ‘capital’ to our world.

So what should a dialogic classroom look like? This is a classroom in which: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Power relations are flexible between student and teacher Classrooms are seen as a ‘learning community’ Students are encouraged to ask questions, participate in turn and to evaluate and build on answers Open-ended questions invite disciplinary inquiry Teachers assume a ‘scholarly ignorance’ and don’t supply answers to students Teachers treat students as “potential sources of knowledge and opinion” - Nystrand et al 2003 p.140 239

➢ Open-ended questions encourage students to problematize opening knowledge to higher-order thinking (Lefstein 2010 p.176) Just as in an academic community, students should be encouraged to challenge, support and compliment each others’ work, which offers grist for further inquiry and for students to learn how to talk like a mathematician, scientist et al. The value of the dialogic classroom is that the students become a selfcorrecting group. Language is the “tool of tools” which not only facilitates interaction but also fundamentally transforms individual cognition. (Cole and Wertsch 1996.) In a dialogic classroom, the group observes, practises and gradually internalises new ways of thinking.

R J Alexander names five principles of dialogic teaching that it be: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Collective Reciprocal Supportive Cumulative (this underpins inquiry and knowledge growth in academic communities) Purposeful.

However, as we will see, this demands much skill from the teacher working within the constraints of the curriculum, space, time, environment and student body. Whilst many teachers are already aware of the benefits of dialogic teaching, actually enabling true dialogue with the classroom is a different matter.

“If an answer does not give rise to a new question from itself, it falls out of the dialogue.”

Bakhtin 1986, p.168.

Main - Analysis of the effectiveness of dialogic teaching in the UK and Czech Republic.

The best known research project, run by the Cambridge Primary Review Trust and University of York aimed to raise the levels of “engagement and attainment across English, maths and science in primary schools by improving the quality of teacher and pupil talk in the classroom.” It focused on working with Year 5 teachers in 38 schools during the 2015/6 school year. Teachers were trained and mentored in emphasising dialogue through which pupils could learn to ‘reason, discuss, argue and explain in order to develop their higher order thinking as well as their articulacy.’ This research was widely reported upon and highly regarded by educational staff.

In the report’s key conclusions, two additional months of progress were gained in English and science and one month’s progress in maths compared to the control schools’ children. FSM children also made two months’ progress in English, science and maths and in fact, the effect of dialogic teaching on students from disadvantaged backgrounds was marked. This intervention was highly regarded and teachers reported the positive effect on student engagement and confidence. The programme built on the principles of dialogic teaching developed by R J Alexander in 2015.

However, the research programme did have its weaknesses. It was very challenging to implement within two terms and the effects of the intervention could have been possibly compromised by a) a change in teacher and b) a change in pedagogy. Some data was missing - 7 of the 38 randomised intervention schools did not complete post test measure GL assessment results. From the initial 4958 pupils randomised to intervention/control groups; 3912 completed post tests which amounted to 79% of original pupils. Other key factors related to time management, conflicting school priorities, the fear of teachers being videoed of being appraised as part of their Performance Management process and on the need for an evidenced ‘written culture’ for Ofsted. The recruitment target of 80 schools was not met and the programme required 240

substantial changes in practice. Most taking part conceded that two terms was an insufficient amount of time in which to develop and dramatically alter discourse in the classroom.

Another thought-provoking study took place in the Czech Republic by Klara Sedova, Zuzana Salamounova and Roman Svaricek in 2014 that examined dialogic teaching at lower secondary school level. Here discussion and dialogue were viewed as a form of ‘scaffolding’. They used the following markers to recognise dialogic talk within the classroom: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

The use of open-ended questions with no pre-given answers The use of ‘uptake’ - building on what has been previously said to create a coherent discourse More elaborate feedback provided by the teacher A discussion in which at least three people interacted for more than 30 seconds Evidence of exploratory talk (Mercer)

However, the researchers concluded that there was an obvious gap between the theory and practice.

Teachers tended to fall back on the familiar pattern of IRF and to dominate talk in the classroom. So which principles of dialogic talk were difficult for them to adopt and why? Their main findings were the lack of argumentation and misunderstandings caused by semantic noise.

R J Alexander summarised several key features that are essential for dialogic teaching. It has to be i) collective ii) reciprocal iii) supportive iv) cumulative and v) purposeful. The researchers concluded that these features are very difficult to achieve in the reality of the classroom. (See Appendix i and ii.) Their findings highlighted the following complications of implementing dialogic talk in the classroom: Collective - Students in a class have different zones of proximal development which makes it difficult for the teacher to engage the whole class. Collected data shows that the most motivated and most gifted participate in dialogic sequences. Whilst teachers will try to support weaker students for social reasons, this may discourage further elaboration or rational argument from students.

Reciprocal - Research showed that when teachers and students listen to each other, share their thoughts and consider alternative viewpoints - without activating all students - this can be at the expense of concentration and behaviour.

Support - There is a paradox of teachers trying to be supportive (encouraging talk) yet critical at the same time, which discourages students from making mistakes in a climate of ‘trial and error’.

Cumulative - true dialogic discussion needs to build on and extend the thinking of others. This is not always evident in the classroom. Discussion tends to be incoherent and uncumulative.

Purposeful - A teacher will often teach with a specific learning objective in view. It requires much skill, plenty of time and space to cover the curriculum and excellent subject knowledge to cope with spontaneous points arising in discussion which divert the course of the lesson. An open-ended lesson plan is not fit nor suitable for all teachers working under these constraints of external assessment and curriculum pressures.

However, despite feeling that “the concept of dialogic teaching is a satisfactorily developed theory, yet it is only infrequently realised in everyday teaching at Czech schools,” the Czech team concluded that discourse was evidenced in embryonic form as a stage of transition to dialogic teaching.

Conclusion: It would appear that, whilst dialogic classrooms are something to aim for, certainly for democratic, moral, social and academic reasons, in practice a truly dialogic classroom may not yet be achievable in entirety.

Without wishing to dismiss the evidential progress made by students in primary schools - two months’ attainment in English and science is not to be undervalued - certain practices may have to change in the 241

secondary classroom to promote dialogic teaching. These would need to be wholescale and widespread over a sufficient period and involve excellent training, modelling and mentoring of participants.

The researchers have noted no resistance to the idea of dialogic teaching. Educationalists are already convinced of its benefits, but to manage a truly dialogic classroom, considerations must be duly given to aims, time, space, student groupings, curricular demands and the outcomes desired by teachers.

Perhaps Freire should have the last word in the debate: “education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition.” With that in mind, perhaps we need to continue to strive for a more democratic and discursive climate in our classrooms today.

M Henderson 2021

Bibliography: Handbook of Discourse Processes - Graesser, Gernsbacher, Goldman (2003) London Great Teaching Techniques: A Culture of Speech. Sherrington and Stafford 2019 Student Thought and Classroom Language: Examining the Mechanisms of Change in Dialogic Teaching.

Reznitskaya and Gregory Role Classroom Language plays in Shaping Students’ Thinking - Cazdan 2011, Halliday 1993, Vygotsky 1981, Wells 1999 Dialogic Teaching - Evaluation Report and Executive Summary July 2017 EEF Sheffield Hallam University Towards Dialogic Teaching: rethinking Classroom Talk: R J Alexander Dialogos Developing Dialogic Teaching: Process, Trial, Outcomes - R J Alexander, 2017, University of Cambridge, UK Appendix i)

Insufficient argumentation - Extract 1 T: So, you are twelve or thirteen years old, you have heard a lot of different opinions, you certainly watch television and there are various programmes on this, you read books, scientific publications, so what do YOU think of the origins of the world? How did we end up being here? (Teacher looks at the students) Honzo, go on, tell me.

S Honza: (has been leaning on his hands up to that point, once asked he changes his position and sits straight): Well, so I...

T: Yes, what do you think?

S Honza: I guess I prefer the scientific explanation.

T: (observes Honza intently) The scientific explanation?

S Honza: Yep. T: So you mean the so called big bang theory?

S Honza: Well, probably.

T: (looks at other students in the classroom) We will not go into details today, we can keep that for some science lesson, Biology, Chemistry or Physics. (Looks back at Honza) So you prefer the scientific explanation, of course, I wouldn’t want you to think that if you prefer some other theory, for example the one described in the Bible, about which we will be talking today, that anybody’s gonna 242

be laughing at you (gestures with hands)...So just tell me what you have heard, what you think, so Honza prefers the scientific theory (observes the classroom)...

S Jindra: (raises his hand half way) T: So what about you, Jindra?

S Jindra: It’s the scientific theory for me, too.

T: So you mean the scientific theory, or a bit from this theory and a bit from another theory or what? (is looking at Jindra) S Jindra: No, the scientific one.

T: Sure.

S Jindra: Because had God existed, you know, ripping ribs out of people just hurts...

T: (is laughing) OK, so that is your opinion. What about you, Katka?

S Katka: I prefer the scientific one.

T: Aha, the scientific one (is nodding her head). OK, well, and what about you, Jana?

S Jana: I...

T: (interrupts the student) So you have been thinking, but you don’t have to think, you know everything already (is standing in front of the benches with folded arms and is looking at Jana) K. Sedova et al. / Learning, Culture and Social Interaction S Jana: Well, I don’t really know...I think I don’t believe in any theory, I believe in . . . (pauses for two seconds), well, I just think that I cannot imagine anything of that.

T: Huh (is nodding her head approvingly) So you have not given it much thought, you just take it for granted.

Comment: Asking for opinions which are not connected to each other No focus on scientific explanations or on what ‘scientific’ means Jana is incorrectly paraphrased by the teacher Only attempt at argumentation seen by Jarda in line 16 If we use indicators developed by Resnitskaya et al. (2009), the missing indicators are connecting ideas, explanation and collaboration No encouragement made to explain responses No ideas are connected in any way or explored Appendix ii) - Semantic Noise The extract describes a sequence recorded in a Czech language lesson which was observed at the Blue school in a class of eighth graders. At the moment of recording, Jan had been teaching for five years, out of which three had been spent with teaching in this particular class. He had not completed 243

his degree in Teaching of the Czech Language and hence was teaching the class as a teacher without a degree in teaching. Apart from teaching this subject, he also teaches some of the students in an optional subject on Drama. There are 20 students present in the classroom, 10 out of which are boys. The topic of the class is science writing. The teacher informs the students that they are to write a short science text on the universe. They go on and brainstorm an outline of the text and the students proceed to write their texts. The teacher then encourages them to read their texts aloud.

Only those students who volunteer to read are chosen to read. The second student reading is Matěj who starts speaking during the 28 minute out of 45.

S Matěj: There are eight planets in our solar system and one of the planets is Earth. There used to be nine planets, but one of them was dropped. Its name was Pluto. The planets spin around axis and the Sun is the heart of our solar system. The planets are listed as follows: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uran, Neptun. 280 K. Sedova et al. / Learning, Culture and Social Interaction 3 (2014) 274–285 T: Well, this is not that bad, but there are two descriptions that do not fit (he stands up and is moving towards the board) The first one is the thing about . . .

S Michal: Dropping.

T: you said that “it was dropped” (writes the clause on the board). And I also didn’t like the spinning around axis. Imagine that you have a planet here and an axis there (draws a planet on the board and an axis located away from the planet). So you think that the planet could spin like that? (is using his hands to gesture the movement) S Matěj: No. T: So what about the axis?

S Katka: ITS axis.

T: Exactly, it spins around ITS axes, right? So it spins around its axis, it needs to be precise. Why don’t I like you saying that “it was dropped?”

S Michal: Cause it’s nonsense.

S Gábina: Because it is not scientific.

T: It is not nonsense and I don’t mind that it is not scientific.

S Michal: It hasn’t got the meaning it is supposed to have.

T: I’m more interested in the formulation.

S Filip: How could it possibly drop away?

T: The words Matěj used are tinged. How? S Hanka: Emotionally.

T: Of course! If we start saying that, well, they are subjective, aren’t they?

S Nikola: The words do not sound right.

T: “was dropped” suggests that the whole action is in a way, perhaps, expressive, right?

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S Petr: But “was dropped” is not suggestive. (says in a low voice) T: So it is not nonsense. OK, well, will anybody else try to read it?

Comment: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

Collaboration is evident: teacher is eliciting students to elaborate their arguments further Participants do not reach mutual understanding by end of sequence Petr’s response - line 20 - neither he nor the teacher share the same understanding First example of semantic noise - Matej’s mention of “dropped” which is understood differently by students ➢ Teacher remains unaware of this misinterpretation and guides students towards improper phrasing ➢ Teacher does not understand the meaning of the responses and is not satisfied with any of them ➢ Learning does not take place as the teacher and students understand their responses differently

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Katie Samuel - Exploring the use of abstract thought in developing student responses.

It is well recorded the benefits of dialogic discussion in helping students to develop their thoughts, and subsequently their writing, but I intend to highlight how the use of seemingly abstract statements (inspired by concepts such as philosophy for children) can further push our students to develop high levels of personal responses.

Throughout the year, one of the things that has most interested me with engaging with students is the use of exploratory talk, specifically that which has been inspired using abstract statements. Therefore, when choosing the topic for my CPD, I naturally gravitated towards the idea of exploring philosophical questions and metacognition to expand students’ reasoning and rationale. Throughout my review I intend to combine aspects of Philosophy for Children (P4C), metacognition, and dialogic teaching in an attempt to highlight the benefits of abstract thinking.

Inspired by Professor Matthew Lipman, P4C originated in 1972 in the United States to encourage students to philosophies and question the world around them. Steve Williams highlights in ‘A brief History of P4C’ that Lipman believed education should not only be for the students' future, but a way in which one lives their lives. The concept of P4C is that the teacher facilitates questions that students can use to explore the world around themselves, not only examine concepts of religion and morality, but also art, culture, power, history and community. Essentially all the aspects that make humans human. To follow the path of progressivism.

Williams also outlines, on the P4C website, that the purpose is to encourage a dialogical discussion to explore themes and ideas to “become self-reliant and systematic thinkers” I personally believe that this is something that we should be encouraging our students to always do. To question their own thoughts and beliefs and explore the world in which they live – to discover who they are as people and the society that they live in; to decide if this is a society that they want for their future to be based in. Furthermore, by examining their own beliefs they can develop their cognitive links and general knowledge helping to solidify new information. It also helps students with the development of their language – specifically their emotional language.

P4C has also been used within the UK school system since the early 90s and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (2021) highlights that since 1972, “Philosophy for Children has been adopted by schools in over 60 countries as a way of developing children’s higher order thinking skills”. Studies by the EEF found that P4C secured, on average, two months progress in reading and four months progress for financially disadvantaged students with a further two months progress in their writing. This evidences that the use of philosophical debate is beneficial to all students as “75 percent [of students] arrive at school below average in language development.” (Gaunt and Scott 2019, ‘Transforming teaching and learning through Oracy’). The benefit comes from the idea that students are encouraged, not only to explore and explain their own opinions, but also to become active listeners - and witness high level oracy and language skills performed by their peers through teacher facilitation.

Williams gives example questions such as “I want to find truth, but how will I recognise it?” and “people say ‘mind your own business’. But when should I think something is my business?” and that as well as questioning, these ideas can be facilitated by looking at films, video clips and images or listening to music.

The main criticism of P4C is that the majority of research, and indeed practice, has primarily been aimed at primary aged children. However, the question we must ask ourselves is whether or not any of these tasks can be applied to secondary school students. It is my personal belief that they can. For example, for secondary English students, for example, within Cowes Enterprise, alongside many other schools, we study ‘An Inspector Calls’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’ as GCSE texts. Both of these aforementioned questions could easily be applied to each of these texts or even used to during revision; applying these statements to Marley’s “Mankind was my business”, or Inspector Goole’s “we are members of one body”. Likewise, History teachers could use these questions to examine the reliability of sources. Gaunt and Scott (2019) state that these skills are also beneficial cross-curricular; helping students to develop their rational and problem-solving skills and teaching them to work together as part of a group.

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There are a variety of different tasks that teachers can use in order to enable exploratory talking, such as ‘Would you rather’ - in which students are given two hypothetical scenarios, ‘always, sometimes, never’ - for insistence, using to consolidate skill knowledge or moral questioning. or even tasks such as ‘ranking sources for reliability’. However, what I am most interested in is using abstract statements to encourage deep thinking and discussion.

One such example of this is during preparation for my year eights end of unit assessment on ‘The Tempest’.

My students were having to answer whether or not they believed the character of Caliban to be a monster.

To prepare them for this I gave them the statements of ‘evil is not in our actions, but in our intent’, and ‘we are who we are because of those around us’. The students then debated their opinions on these statements as abstract concepts before then applying them to the character of Caliban. I personally found that the students engaged with this concept and quickly adapted their responses in order to develop what their peers had said. During these conversations, students raised points such as the ethical implications of killing someone in self-defense and the ‘nature nurture’ debate. They were then able to use these conversations as inspirations within their assessments allowing them to develop a thoughtful and personal response to the question. For example, one student wrote that “because both monstrous traits I have looked at seem to be brought out by Prospero’s treatment of Caliban, he would have had no need to be malicious or rude if Prospero had treated him well” and another student wrote that “Caliban cannot help but become a monster after his torturous life”, with a third student linking Caliban’s behaviour back to what “his mother, Sycox, would have taught him”. By including these ideas as debate topics in their lessons, the students were able to develop their thoughts and apply it to their work.

Using these debate discussions students can use oracy for metacognition opposed to metacognition for oracy this means that instead of merely learning skills to improve their oracy, the students are “offer[ed] ways in to thinking more deeply about the subject under discussion.” (Palladino, Voice 21) and that the role of the teacher is to ensure only that these conversations are “facilitated, mediated, probed, and extended” (Alexander, 2017). These concepts coincide with the recommendations of the Newbolt report in 1921, that highlighted the idea that “oral work is the foundation on which proficiency in the writing of English must be based” and that children should be taught not only to read and write, but to actively listen. It is our role as teachers to not only provide and model the language to use, but also model how to actively listen and respond. Furthermore, Grant and Scott (2019) highlight that creating a space in which students feel safe and valued in their opinions. This also helps them to “develop confidence and self-esteem".

Overall, it is my belief that we should be constantly and consistently encouraging our students to explore the world around them; to use abstract statements and the ‘big ideas’ as a lens in which to inspect not only their work, but also their personal beliefs and ideas. To develop themselves as not only academics, but as people.

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Claire Brooks - How can I ensure quiet students engage in Oracy-based activities?

According to the APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group), ‘Oracy is key to success in literacy’. Alex Quigley, in his book ‘Closing the Reading Gap’, states that “Oracy supports metacognition’. Menzies and Millard report that “Oracy boosts decoding skills and reading Comprehension”. How could I ignore this research from reliable sources? As an English teacher, of course I expect my students to develop their literacy and be aware of how they learn, but what could I do if some students were reluctant to participate in oracy activities? If it was only the confident speakers who were making most progress, my challenge was to get the quiet students in both my English and E1M lessons to fully participate in oracy-based activities.

I decided to focus on a year 7 English class. In this class, there are three students with ASD who do not like working in groups - this is specified on two of their SEN passports. One of the students used to wear defenders when we did ‘Turn and Talk’ tasks. There is another student who used to suffer from anxiety and speak so quietly that no one could hear. There are two students who spoke very quietly and took time to articulate their ideas, much to the frustration of some peers. In contrast, there are many confident speakers, some of whom already knew each other from Primary School, and had performed together in their school production of Oliver Twist, our first unit of work at CEC. I soon realised that I would have to prepare very specific scaffolding and roles to enable the quieter students to succeed, not just for academic/cognitive development but for their emotional well-being too. I also wanted the more vocal students to become better listeners.

I started by re-reading some material from Voice 21 and searching their most recent findings. I used Voice 21’s ‘Oracy Framework: Capturing Progress’ grid. Despite reading about the emotional and social impact of Oracy in ‘The state of Speaking in our schools’ I decided to focus on just the Cognitive and Linguistic aspects, as this was my reason for targeting these students. I studied several models of sentence starters used by various teachers and researchers such as Lemov’s ‘Habits of Discussion sentence starters’, Voice 21’s suggestions, and sentence starters displayed by a school in the Tower Hamlets Oracy Hub. I also researched the effect of roles within discussion such as clarifier and summariser. Although familiar with allocating roles to students, on reflection, in the past I had given anxious or shy students the role of recorder, scribe or assessor to avoid forcing them to speak. I found many good ideas for using oracy strategies to build vocabulary and discuss ideas, but I struggled to find out how any of these roles worked particularly well with students who do not like talking. According to Isabel Beck, “text is a far less effective vehicle for learning new words than oral language.” (2013). I had to find a way.

Approaches I used included: ➢ Adapting text on PowerPoint slides. I took out what I would say anyway, and instead added very specific instructions as to who to discuss the question with and for how long (See example below). This had the effect of a calm, focused start ASD students.

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➢ Modelling - I modelled how to use the sentence stems in the same way as we model written responses. I gave examples of when you might use each one in the context of the lesson, which helped to build students’ confidence. ➢ Display – We made a ‘Discussion Rules’ poster. ➢ Roles – I allocated specific roles with a focus on giving more vocal students a task in which they had to actively listen. ➢ Turn-taking – I trialled Lemov’s ‘Long hair, short hair’ to avoid wasting time with ‘A and B’ pairs. (“ I don’t want to be ‘A’ now”) ➢ Seating plans – I changed the seating plan to accommodate speaking partners. ➢ Listening targets for talkative students - I referred to Voice 21’s Listening Ladder.

Evaluation Roles - When looking at oracy resources I was using, I wondered if some were too childish as they were based on resources produced for primary school. However, I decided the dual coding on the role cards worked well, and although the images were simple, they were easy to interpret and did not affect the use of tier 3 vocabulary I expected students to use in their talk. I realised that I had not been spending enough time on clarifying exactly what was expected for each role. Some students – including my ‘quiet’ ones needed the roles in front of them to keep referring to, rather than looking at the screen. With practice, they became less reliant on the stems. Focussing on oracy made me much more aware of the three students who, given the chance, would dominate the whole class talk. By having certain roles, it provided clear boundaries.

Sentence stems – Although some students felt uncomfortable using formal, Standard English when speaking to peers, the added benefit was that they ‘got in role’ and continued to use this register beyond the sentence starter. One of the ASD students said she preferred to adapt some of the sentence starters, which I agreed to as they were also in formal English.

Discussion Rules Use formal English Take turns to speak Be an active listener Use the sentence stems Everyone’s ideas are welcome Be prepared to change your mind Focus on your role

Listening Ladder – Voice 21 suggest using the ladder “to support students to reflect on their discussion and to set targets” I found this useful for confident, loud students as it helped them to focus on listening to peers to be able to summarise what they said. By focusing these students on listening, the quieter students had more opportunity to participate.

Seating plans - I was limited this year by having all the SEND students on the front row. I initially thought it would work to pair a more talkative student with a quieter one to initiate the talk, but it soon became apparent that some quiet students did not speak at all. By changing the seating plan, two quiet students could encourage each other in a non-threatening way.

Discussion rules – having this poster attached to the wall was a useful way for me to indicate non-verbally (by pointing) that a rule had been broken.

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Overall, the combination of these strategies did support quiet students in the classroom. The student who sometimes wears ear-defenders at school has not worn them in English since returning after lockdown.

However, she does find she cannot articulate her thoughts in ‘Turn and Talk’ activities when everyone else in the class is speaking; there is no quiet space outside the classroom for this to take place either. One SEN and PP quiet student in particular has become much more vocal during oracy activities, which, she told me, has helped her both cognitively and emotionally – though not in those words.

However, as in the EEF funded pilot programme developed by school 21 and the University of Cambridge, there is a lack of qualitative data to support improved oracy in my English class. EEF “observed that although teachers felt that there could be longer-term academic benefits, no quantitative data on academic outcomes was collected; therefore, ‘the oracy assessment measure had limited reliability.”

What next?

In the next academic year, I will consider ‘Turn and talk’ partners when adapting the seating plan. I plan to use some of the resources I have made, such as the Discussion Rules poster and Discussion role cards next year, embedding these into my practice right at the start of term. I will also continue to use some of these resources in E1M lessons.

When Covid restrictions are lifted, seating plans will be more flexible, with small groups being able to sit in circle and make eye contact. I also want to make more use of the IZ spaces for 0racy activities so quiet pairs can stand apart from louder students. Having a more permanent classroom base will enable better display. I am aware that I need to plan oracy tasks in more detail, giving advanced warning to ASD students when longer oracy-based activities are, what role I will be giving them and whether there will be a change in the classroom set-up.

Finally, Voice 21’s Impact Report states: “teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners… is a route to social mobility, empowering all students, not just some, to find their voice to succeed in school and life.” At CEC, we educate for life; oracy is a crucial part of that education.

References Voice 21 References: Inclusive Oracy: students with SEMH Supporting quiet students in an Oracy-rich classroom.

Oracy: The State of Speaking in our Schools. Will Millard and Loic Menzies Voice 21 Impact Report 2016-2021 Kathleen Mcbride – How to Engage the Quiet Student Other references: Speak for Change: Final report and recommendations from the Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry April 2021 Tower Hamlets Oracy Hub Alex Quigley: Closing the Reading Gap Speak for Change: Final report and recommendations from the Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry April 2021 Doug Lemov: Teach like a Champion (Jossey Bass 2015) pages 311 – 340

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Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan. Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (New York: Guilford Press 2013) https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/voice-21 Susan Cain Ted Talk ‘The Power of Introverts’

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Elizabeth Stannard - Oracy resources ‘Teachers asking challenging questions—guiding pupils with oral feedback, prompting dialogue, and scaffolding productive ‘exploratory’ talk where appropriate—is an ideal way to share and develop effective learning.’ Mercer, N. & Dawes, L. (2008) The value of Exploratory Talk. In Mercer, N. & Hodgkinson, S. This year I have built on last year’s CPD oracy workshop that Moira Henderson and I ran exploring how to improve Oracy in the classroom and why it is important within literacy. I decided to adapt/ use as a starting point some of the resources we used in those workshops including ideas from Voice 21, to create a teacher planning kit for oracy in the classroom. My idea is to support improvements in the teaching of oracy with planning and assessment materials. The resources are: ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

a planning chart laying out a range of skills that create successful oracy, a teacher flow chart to focus your planning of oracy skills an active listening poster to remind everyone of the skills needed a discussion poster with sentence starters an assessment grid that could be used by students or teachers to assess students oracy skills

To support your planning of Orcay skills some useful website and resources: Thinking skills planning: Third space learning’s webpage: Metacognition In The Classroom: A 7-Step Practical Approach To Primary Maths Teaching. https://thirdspacelearning.com/blog/7-steps-eef-metacognition-primary-classroommaths/#11-5-talk-promote-and-develop-metacognitive-talkhttps://www.teachthought.com/learning/what-is-blooms-taxonomy-a-definition-for-teachers/

An excellent resource is this pdf from Blooms taxonomy.org which has many ready made questions for your to use https://bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf For example Remembering:

Questions: • What is…? • Can you select? • Where is…? • When did ____ happen?

• Who were the main…? • Which one…? • Why did…? • How would you describe…?

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• When did…? • Can you recall…? • Who was…? • How would you explain…?

• How did ___happen…? • Can you list the three..? • How is…?

• How would you show…?

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Sarah Welton - What impact does literature focussed oracy tasks delivered over two weeks have on the comprehension skills for Year 10 in comparison to Year 8?

Within Cowes Enterprise College, and indeed across many schools, as students get older they begin to feel a greater sense of social anxiety and allow their personal issues to increasingly invade the classroom. This means that many students try to say as little as possible when directed to answer questions, but I noticed this the most in Year 10.

With this in mind, I chose to measure the impact on specific oracy tasks which developed the Year 10s’ ability to speak aloud in comparison to Year 8s completing similar tasks over a two week period. I will be looking at how well the Year 10 students respond to the tasks and if their comprehension on Macbeth improves due to this; this will then be compared to Year 8s and their comprehension following similar tasks for Descriptive Writing and Animal Farm.

Intent: When researching last year, I found most resources and research for oracy was tailored more towards Primary than Secondary. Over the year, I have seen that Year 8 are generally more receptive towards oracy and listening/learning from one another; I wanted to spend time trying to address this issue with Year 10 and see whether these tasks could be adapted upwards to engage KS4.

This particular Year 10 carry considerable personal issues with them which has caused many of them to become consumed by the complexities of their circumstances within the classroom – often not being respectful to others who may be speaking. In addition to this, the double COVID lockdown they have experienced appears to have made them more lethargic and less driven to succeed. The knock-on effect of this has impacted not only their written work, but also their want to engage with the discussions in the room.

I decided to focus mostly on the students who speak the most within the classroom, but not necessarily about the topic offered to them. For the purpose of comparison, I have chosen similar students in Year 8 to focus on. The reason for this is to hone these students into having more productive conversations within the classroom with more guided tasks. This would then help the weaker students to hear and comprehend the text from their peers, and so hopefully more likely to retain the information required for their exams.

Research: Last year, I found various research which promoted oracy (as stated above, mostly with a Primary focus); in 2017, Antony Luby (in Combating Language Poverty: Improving oracy and dialogue in schools) offered an opinion that in thirty years, they had never experienced this ‘quality of conversation’ naturally. With this in mind, I needed to be aware of my questioning after the discussion tasks in order to try to raise the ‘quality’ of the feedback. There was little way in a class environment for me to offer this specific improvement to all students, so I adapted my tasks to have guidance for all, then challenging the responses from the few.

One of Luby’s example tasks was to listen to audio stories. Whilst studying the literature texts this year, the students engaged the most when other students read characters aloud from the play. However, it was a challenge finding students willing to read the play aloud; I also tried audio books, but many disagreed with the narrator (though I’ve had success with previous year groups). For this group in particular, neither of these options seemed a good fit for engagement.

Valuing every voice from Voice21 had several adaptable tasks for a secondary environment. One of the key sections I want to use is the discussion guidelines. This sets out really clear expectations which is exactly what the Year 10 group need to help them be more thoughtful towards the other students in the classroom.

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The use of key words at the bottom would also be helpful to practice some of the terminology necessary for their Literature exam.

Within the National Oracy Leadership Programme: Choosing engaging stimuli, Voice21 have several tasks which need minimum input to recreate for various subjects; one could potentially create an atmosphere of discussions and, more importantly, relevant opinions, and another could help consolidate the information needed to learn for an exam situation.

Further to the above, The Plymouth Oracy Project, 2019, offers key words to help promote better conversations, such as: speculate, imagine, explore (more detail in the task area below). These could be a great resource to develop discussions more specifically, and, with this Year 10 group in particular, offer triggers and guidance without seeming patronising.

Action: In regard to teaching processes, I chose a selection of tasks from my research above and applied them to Year 10 revision and the Year 8 Animal Farm unit.

One of the first tasks was titled ‘Would you rather?’ from the National Oracy Leadership Programme: Choosing engaging stimuli. For Year 10, I tied this into the contextual and thematic focuses of An Inspector Calls. This allowed the students to discuss and remind themselves of a previous topic; I believed it would also be effective at allowing the students to access their prior knowledge without realising it (as they are generally reluctant to revise themselves).

The second task was titled ‘Always, sometimes, never’ – also from the Voice 21, National Oracy Leadership Programme. I adapted this to reference all of the skills that the students need in their exams (and should know by this point already), but students needed to discuss which ones specifically relevant to certain questions. This task would be used to consolidate information and allow the students to revise through discussions.

The final task was using the discussion prompts from The Plymouth Oracy Project, 2019; I hope that this would be the most effective with the Year 10 students as it guided them towards developing their discussions in a more detailed, thoughful direction – something many of them struggle with as they often give short answers and do not develop their ideas further.

Evaluation: Having completed these tasks, I found the Year 10s were generally receptive, but quickly went off task. For instance with the ‘Would you rather?’ task, students were given a very short time frame, able to decide on their opinion and offer their ideas aloud. The problem came when developing these ideas and/or explaining why they chose the opinion they did.

Some students did well with this; an example was I asked a student to ‘Give me some hypotheticals’ to expand their ideas for the question Would you rather play it safe or accept the consequences? They replied stating ‘In a business, if you’re trying to sell a product and you went for it and it succeeded’.

In another example, a lower ability student who is more vocal was asked for their opinion on ‘Would you rather follow a bad leader or stand up for what’s right?’ They stated that ‘If you just follow a bad leader, then it will all be fine.’ I asked if their opinion would still stand if the bad leader was starving them or paying them the least amount possible. Their response was that if they stood up, they would just be ‘shot, dead’. Although 255

this was a valid point, this student’s non-verbals were leaning more towards this as a humorous comment rather than a serious one.

Comparably, the Year 8s began with relatively silly comments, but when questioned showed more depth of understanding as a class than the Year 10s. For instance in response to whether they would rather be by the forest or by the water, one student said ‘set a fire’ by the forest, and another said ‘drown’ in the water.

However, when questioned, the forest student developed their ideas into the resources a forest could create (such as creating housing, tools etc) and the water student developed into the fish that would be available for food. They also listened better to each other using statements like ‘similar to Student X’, or ‘I would also probably choose the trees because…’

Building on this, I then implemented the Plymouth Oracy discussion phrases in order to try to develop this Year 10 weakness and prompt them into a more detailed response. I gave them seven key terms and two minutes to discuss a quotation from Macbeth in preparation to feedback as a class.

An example of a weaker student speaking up transpired as (T – teacher, S – student): T: Let’s prove it then please. S, how do we know that we can’t trust them? S: Because they’re liars. T: When?

S: Always, like when they lied about killing Duncan.

This student started with a shorter answer, but gave a longer more specific answer for the second question.

I hope that this task would create the environment where students were able to extend their ideas, and in the majority it did!

Again, as a comparable to a Year 8 conversation with a weaker student: T: Explain, what made you think that? S: Well, he’s obviously not very nice. He’s very mean to everyone. I mean it kind of sounds like he just gets whatever he wants. I’d assume he wouldn’t behave like that for no reason.

The difference between these two is obvious; the Year 10 student required more input in order to develop their ideas further, whereas the Year 8 student was more able to articulate their thoughts and feelings without prompting. Although this is only looking at two examples, within these classes (both of which are mixed ability) I found that overall the Year 8s were less in need of scaffold to offer an idea, and Year 10 needed several extra questions to support – possibly aluding towards a reluctance in responding in front of their peers.

In regard to next steps, there is a two-fold development. Firstly, the Year 10s need greater stimulus and prompting. They are a year group who do not shy away from conversations and opinion outside of class work, yet when required to use these exact skills, they retract possibly to hide a lack of self-belief or perhaps as an auditory work avoidance tactic.

These student need more tasks like the Narrate, Explain, Speculate, but with more guidance on what the outcome of these discussions should look like without teacher questioning. It would be good to trial this over a longer period with more examples, some scaffolding, perhaps sentence starters to see if any of these additional methods help the students to enhance their oracy skills.

The second area would be the Year 8s. Although they are strong now, the nurturing of this skill needs to be maintained in order to retain the balance that the majority are able to articulate and extend their ideas without immediate teacher intervention. Fostering a love for sharing ideas and speculation on texts will be key to keeping this skill alive in KS3 through to KS4.

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Rachel Kitley – Imperfect Leadership Rachel was asked to contribute to Steve Munby upcoming book which is a sequel to ‘Imperfect Leadership: A book for leaders who know they don’t know it all’.

In 'Imperfect Leadership’ Steve Munby eloquently reflects upon and describes a leadership approach that is strong on self-awareness and positive about the importance of asking for help.

When asked to describe his own leadership style, Steve uses the word imperfect .

This is not something he apologises for; he feels imperfect leadership should be celebrated. Too often we are given examples of leaders who are put on some kind of pedestal, lauded as superheroes who have it all worked out and are so good at what they do that nobody else can come close.

This book is the antidote to that flawed perception.

'Imperfect Leadership' is an honest reflection upon leadership. It is about Steve's journey, covering his highs and lows and, ultimately, how he learned to refine and improve his leadership. It is about messy, trial-anderror, butterflies-in-the-stomach leadership and about thoughtful and invitational leadership and the positive impact it can have.

At the heart of the book are edited highlights of the 12 keynote speeches delivered to increasingly large audiences of school leaders between 2005 and 2017. These speeches, delivered at the Seizing Success and Inspiring Leadership conferences, form the structure around which Steve's story and insights are wrapped.

Steve's account covers some fundamental shifts in the English education system over this 12-year period and describes how school leaders altered their leadership as this context changed. Furthermore, it delves into how his own leadership developed as his personal context changed, and explores how the notion that a leader needs to be good at all aspects of leadership is not only unrealistic, but is also bad for the mental and physical health of leaders and will do nothing to attract new people into leadership positions.

Ultimately, Steve hopes that as you read this book you will see the value of imperfect leadership and of the positive impact it can make. For those reading it who have yet to step up into leadership, his sincere wish is that it will encourage and empower aspirational leaders rather than discourage them.

Below is a preview of Rachel’s contribution to Steve’s next book.

Making public promises.

Rachel Kitley: Cowes Enterprise College, Isle of Wight, UK

When I began my headship at Cowes Enterprise College, a secondary academy on the Isle of Wight, I stepped into a very challenging scenario – the school had been judged “inadequate” by Ofsted and was in special measures. The community reputation was poor, staff morale was low and the school’s new sponsor, Ormiston Academies Trust, had only just taken on the school. There had been numerous short-stay head teachers across a sustained period of over seven years and a couple of years earlier the entire student body had gone on strike, essentially about a lack of trust in the school leadership. This issue had been reported in the national media.

During my first week, a member of staff (and union rep) came unannounced into my office and said with no preamble: “We’re not going to do a thing you want us to do because you’ll be gone by Christmas”.

I needed people to believe in me as their new headteacher quickly and I had to build immediate trust across all stakeholders, if I was to achieve any worthwhile change. I made a public promise to all stakeholders that I would stay as the principal, earn their trust, be resilient and make the school everything it could be, quickly. I promised the Regional Schools Commissioner, a senior education official at the Department for 257

Education, that I would be the ‘arm of the community’. I promised the students I would put them at the centre of every decision I made. And I promised my own family that we would never regret relocating from London to the local community or moving the children from an outstanding London school to join what was then a special measures school. I promised the community that if the school was going to very quickly be good enough for my own children, then it would be good enough for everyone’s children. I managed to fasttrack a year’s worth of trust building into one term and when we had an Ofsted inspection just three weeks into my headship, I believe I was able to also instil trust in the promise of my future headship during the twoday inspection.

What key ingredients enabled me to condense gaining trust and credibility into such a short space of time? I believe I am a very warm, sincere and genuine person – what you see is what you get, and I don’t have frills.

I think that all this comes across loud and clear when anyone interacts with me; they pick up my characteristics quickly and so are willing to take a chance on me. If you couple all this with the fact that I “promised and talked out loud” to staff, students, parents/carers, and the community on numerous occasions in my first term, then it is clear that I made myself wholly available for people to believe in me and my key messages.

I spent time relationship-building, I listened, and I was open, honest and worked to create a sense of team. I focused on culture and ethos in every moment of the day – for instance, being pleasantly uncompromising in resisting pressure from people who believed they were entitled to special privileges. I began to win trust through promises – a huge breakthrough was when one influential parent said to me “I’ll give you a try”. I showed calm, decisive, child-centred leadership, modelling expectations in every conversation I had. First term quick fixes were about valuing people - introducing free tea/coffee to the staffroom and a weekly parent surgery and sending personally written thank you cards, for instance. I was eternally optimistic but also realistic about where we were.

I am now in my fourth year as head teacher. We have a very strong reputation in the community and are hugely oversubscribed, showing that the community has real faith in the school. I believe that I have met those public promises (of course we have much more to do and I continue to make promises). We are now rated “Good” by Ofsted, our GCSE exam results are the best on the island and more than half of our sixth form students are applying to Russell Group universities or to read Medicine.

Making public promises can be a really effective thing for an imperfect leader to do. They provide a level of accountability which can be far more powerful than the accountability you feel to an external body because you commit emotionally and whole heartedly to a personal promise. The public nature of a promise means others will believe in it too. A promise is simple and can also therefore help to keep something complex like the management of change simple. The school’s strength can come from the headteacher without you being a ‘hero head’ but by making authentic, honest pledges. I also know that you can get nowhere on your own – I’ve had great support from the whole staff team, from parents and from students, and from the leadership of Ormiston Academies Trust.

It’s easy to make promises, of course, but it also needs extraordinary levels of resilience to deliver on them and this comes from knowing yourself well and having good support networks. Most of all, you need to be totally committed to your promises at a moral purpose level.

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Crossfield Avenue Cowes Isle of Wight PO31 8HB Email: info@cowesec.org

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