The Enquiry | 004

A Note from the Editorial Committee

004. JOURNAL

Welcome to the Michaelmas term edition of our staff Learning and Research Journal, the Enquiry. Across this issue you will find a wealth of ideas and reflections from members of the Downe House community about all things educational research and Teaching and Learning.

We begin, importantly, with a section devoted to student perspectives about their own learning experience. Here, we asked students from different year groups to write a brief summary of something they enjoy or find useful in their learning. They were given no further brief or guidance. The comments are, not surprisingly, very insightful!

We then move onto four articles that each look, in different ways, at the kind of learning environments that we build here at Downe House. Kerry Treacy, for instance, explores a specific start of lesson routine she uses in order to maximise student focus and learning. Joanna Harrop then shares with us her smiley face strategy, easy to implement but high impact, before Matt Godfrey offers us an update about the important collaborative work taking place between Downe House and Radley College. We finish this section with an article by Jenny Hill exploring the wealth of research materials staff and students have at their disposal.

Next, there’s a fascinating article by Nicola South-Klein that explores some of the recent research surrounding translanguaging, which is a power classroom strategy, especially for those with EAL. Keeping with this topic of classroom talk, Andrew Atherton explores the concept of ratio and what this might mean for classroom teaching.

We end with a timely article by Jane Basnett who offers us an update about the excellent work being done at Downe House towards our commitment to digital pedagogy as well as our next steps.

Our thanks go to everyone that took the time to write and submit an article as well as Sue Lister who was instrumental in preparing and designing this edition. The next edition of The Enquiry will be published in Summer 2023 as a retrospective of Lent Term 2023. A Call for Papers will be announced soon, but if you have an idea and would like to contribute please do get in touch with any member of the Editorial Committee.

A STAFF JOURNAL DEDICATED TO REFLECTIONS ON EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TEACHING AND LEARNING AT DOWNE HOUSE SCHOOL

Scan to read all editions of The Enquiry

The Enquiry Editorial Committee

Andy Atherton

Charlotte Williams

Kerry Treacy

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

A Student Perspective: Classroom Environment, Small Steps, Videos, and Class Discussion

OJ AYOOLA (UIV) TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING A SAFE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS BREAKING LEARNING INTO SMALL STEPS.

Personally, I think there are two main strategies that are significantly valuable to my learning.

The first one is setting a safe class environment. The benefits of this would be that students are not afraid to attempt answering hard questions because they know that if they make mistakes, it would be used to help them build on their knowledge and not be used against them. It goes without saying that most teachers are very good at this but I think the best way for teachers to create that safe environment would be to not demonstrate frustration when the student cannot yet comprehend a concept, that way the student would not shy away from asking questions. A safe environment also allows other teaching strategies to be used more effectively. An example of this would be asking students questions midlesson; this is good because it allows them to think quickly and accurately but sometimes it can be off-putting and so the student thinks more about being on the spot than the answer to the question. Whereas in an environment where they feel safe, they would attempt the question without the fear of getting it wrong.

The second strategy is for the teacher to break down the lesson. Whether it is the concepts that are trying to be taught or the task that needs to be done, breaking it down into smaller steps makes it more manageable for the student both physically and mentally. Breaking down makes what is trying to be done more mentally manageable for the student because it makes it less daunting and gives them reassurance which leads them to believe they can do it. It allows the student to make steady progress and that way they can unlock their fullest potential and get to the top.

The analogy of climbing a wall can help to understand this point. When climbing a wall, being at the bottom, looking up at what you have to climb to get to the top can be very overwhelming. The person who is watching the person climb can help by doing one of two things. They can encourage the person to get to the top or they could prompt the person in small steps about where to put their foot next. In most cases, the second option would be more effective for the climber. The belayer would not have to prompt the climber much because the climber would begin to think in broken down steps and be able to get up higher this way. Regardless of the help, the climber is still doing it independently just with assistance which is completely fine. Applying this analogy to the classroom, if a student needs help, they will accomplish what needs to be done more effectively if they receive the task in steps. The small steps create urgency

and so the student learns to prioritise and avoid procrastination. It isn’t spoon-feeding, it is just guiding.

SOPHIE SCOTT (LVI) DISCUSSES THE IMPORTANCE OF VIDEOS AND DISCUSSION.

Primarily I think it is really useful when teachers use videos for learning purposes. For example in Politics when explaining ideologies and voting systems. I find this method really easy to understand when it comes from someone other than the teacher, as it changes the pace of the lesson. I really enjoy making presentations of sections within a topic, this enables me to do further research and enhance my knowledge in this field. Another teaching method I find essential to my learning are class discussions, these allow me understand other people’s perspectives on topics (especially in Politics) as well as enriching my own knowledge of the topic. Furthermore, partner work is extremely useful as sometimes I find it easier to communicate and discuss within smaller groups before opening up discussion within the class. Overall, I would say a range of teaching techniques enables me to engage in class which I find to be the most useful to my learning.

GEORGINA DAWSON (UV) EXPLORES THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCUSSION, RETRIEVAL PRACTICE AND WATCHING VIDEOS.

One element of my learning that I really enjoy and value is discussing certain points and opinions with my classmates. I find that this not only helps me to gain another point of view or to find new ideas, but it also gives me a break from the lesson and helps me to be more focussed afterwards.

I also find that doing small non–revised tests helps me to understand how much I have learned so far. For example in Biology with Dr Yabsley, we often do short one-word answer tests on Post It notes either individually or in groups. This not only helps us to put our knowledge to the test but also helps us to find what we need to revise more. Another example of factual recall is in English with Dr Atherton. At the beginning of each lesson we answer a question or do a small task that is related to a previous lesson, I find that this really helps with remembering quotes or analysis that would otherwise have taken a long time to remember.

For fact based subjects, I personally really value watching videos and doing online quizzes (such as Kahoot!) in class, sometimes videos can simplify and use good anagrams for facts that are hard to remember. Online quizzes are also really useful as they not only test our factual recall but they also add a fun and competitive element to the lesson, which I think is really important in order to keep us interested and engaged.

ANOTHER TEACHING METHOD I FIND ESSENTIAL TO MY LEARNING ARE CLASS DISCUSSIONS, THESE ALLOW ME UNDERSTAND OTHER PEOPLE’S PERSPECTIVES ON TOPICS

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Creating classroom expectations: Do Now!

KERRY TREACY (HOUSEMISTRESS YORK, TEACHER OF DRAMA) EXPLORES HER USE OF A ‘DO NOW’, WHICH IS A START OF LESSON ROUTINE. SHE EXPLAINS ITS MANY BENEFITS AND WHAT EXACTLY IT LOOKS LIKE IN HER OWN TEACHING.

You’re finishing a lesson with your UV and reflect on their productivity and engagement. You notice that they have a common goal to achieve their best and maximise their learning to best prepare them for their future. They are one step closer to meeting their target grades which will open doors for them in terms of their A Level choices. You’re feeling positive as they were utilising every second of your teaching. They leave as you start setting up for your next lesson and you realise, you have the Remove. Excitable, energetic, talkative Remove. You think to yourself, ‘Do I have the energy for this?’ as you hear them coming towards your classroom door. You can hear them discussing how they’ve decorated their dorms and you consider how can you get them on task and engaged in your lesson. You start to tap into your energy reserve as they enter telling you all about their day, the book they’re reading, the rehearsal they’ve just had or how their sibling loved your subject at school. To not seem rude or

show an interest in them, you entertain this as you highlight the task they need to start on their board or in their OneNote. At this point, someone calls out that their Surface is not connected to the internet as another student calls out to help. The quietest student has begun the task and awaits further instruction as you notice another drawing on their Surface as they missed the initial instruction. Before you know it, the first five minutes of your lesson has been spent getting the class in, focused with their devices logged on and the task up for them. When you teach a single a week, you clock that over a term you could lose up to an hour of lesson time getting them started and you now see how you’re not always able to get through the content. When meeting the Remove this year, I was reminded of their excitable energy which can derail the start of the lesson, leading to less work being completed. I had to rethink how I set up my class and create a productive learning environment from the moment they entered.

When looking at creating a positive learning environment in the classroom, Cheng uses the Moos and Trickett’s Classroom Environment Measure which focuses on four levels; the relationship level considers student’s involvement in tasks as well as the relationship between teacher and student, the individual growth level which focuses on the

tasks set by the teacher as well as academic competition between students, the system-maintenance level focusing on the organisation of the classroom as well as the rules set by the teacher and how they are reinforced and finally, the system-development level which considers the methodology that a teachers applies in the class to innovate learning (1994: 222). From this, it becomes clear that a system that incorporates organisation, clear rules and academic innovation and competition will create an environment that engages students from the offset. Firstly, let’s look at the importance of routines in our classroom. We know that humans are creatures of habit and like to know what they are meant to do and how they are meant to do this. Rogers explains that students have responsibilities as the learners in the classroom however, as teachers, we expect our students to know what these are with no instructions or clarity (2000: 27). In order for students to do what we expect them to

WHEN LOOKING AT CREATING A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN THE CLASSROOM, CHENG USES THE MOOS AND TRICKETT’S CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT MEASURE WHICH FOCUSES ON FOUR LEVELS;

do, we need to spend part of our first lesson outlining these rules and expectations for a shared agreement to be made (Rogers, 2000: 27). When taking on a new class, I spend the first 10-15 minutes of my first lesson with them outlining how we enter the classroom and what they should expect from me as their teacher. From this, we can create an agreement of what I should expect from them as the students

which allows them to begin to take responsibility for their learning from the offset. This does mean that instructional time is used for their first lesson taking up valuable teaching time. This is a sacrifice that I make to benefit future lessons and their learning going forward. Bonfadini examines the use of verbal instructions used at the start of each lesson and concludes that this increases the chances of students developing

problems within the lesson (1985: 44). How do we then create a positive learning environment that decreases instructional time at the start of the lesson but encourages learning. Enter Doug Lemov.

It is no surprise that I am absolutely convinced that Doug Lemov has created practical solutions to engage our students and increase productivity as well as learning in the classroom. Taking on board Rogers, Cheng and Bonfadini’s

research, it becomes clear that Lemov’s ‘Do Now’ activities is the answer we have been looking for. Lemov explains that students should never enter the classroom wondering what is expected of them or what they need to be doing as they enter (2014). He created a system wherein a short, achievable task is on the board as the students enter with clear instructions that can be followed without teacher instructions. These tasks tend to be a review task which allows students to consolidate previous learning or recall learning from early learning. The aim is that the task must relate to the learning that will take place in the lesson. There are some strict parameters to a ‘Do Now’ activity which encourages independence as well as a positive learning environment; activities should last no longer than five minutes otherwise teachers run the risk of the activity taking over the teaching (Lemov, 2014). Clear instructions should be visible on the board that leave no room for misinterpretation. This reduces the risk of students asking questions and disrupting them developing their independence. A task should be clear and achievable with an extension task to encourage the more able to develop their understanding on a deeper level whilst encouraging the less able to aspire to meeting these tasks. Lastly, the task should be displayed in the same way each lesson. In doing this, you are establishing

a routine and meeting your expectation as the teacher. When adopting this method, I use visual cues both in person as well as on the board that indicate that the work should be completed in silence and individually. A countdown timer, which is visible for the students, is used to further develop time management and keep the students on task. Their OneNote is set up clearly with the date and the Do Now activity clearly marked on the page to further reduce questions. In addition to this, I started to use classical music which plays quietly as they enter and for the duration of the Do Now activity. In doing this, it sets the mood and atmosphere for the lesson demonstrating to the students that they should be calm and on task.

I have yet to meet my LIV class as they have been in Sauveterre for the Michaelmas term, but when they return, I will be adopting this method to introduce the expectations and create a learning environment which is conducive for their development in my subject. When planning your next Remove lesson, or planning a lesson with trickier students, I encourage you to adopt the Do Now activity to establish a learning environment and expectations that suit your teaching. Stick with it for a half term and see if there is a difference in their productivity and engagement from the start of the lesson.

Bibliography

Cheng. YC, Classroom Environment and Student Affective Performance: An Affective Profile, The Journal of Experimental Education, 1994, Vol. 62, No. 3, pp 221-239

Bonfadini. JE, Management of the Learning Environment, The Journal of Epsilon Pi Tau, 1985, Vol. 11, No. 1/2, pp 41-45

Lemove. D (2014), The Do Now: A Primer, Doug Lemov’s Field Notes, Available at URL: The Do Now: A Primer | Teach Like a Champion (Accessed on 19.12.2022)

Rogers. B (2000), Classroom Behaviour: A Practical Guide to Effective Teaching, Behaviour Management and Colleague Support, London, Books Education

Making Students Smile: The Smiley Face Strategy

JOANNE HARROP (TEACHER OF BIOLOGY) SHOWS US A VERY SIMPLE BUT VERY POWERFUL STRATEGY THAT SHE USES IN HER CLASSROOM.

Chatting with Andy Atherton about marking and feedback during a Learning and Research Lunch recently, I mentioned that I often use smiley faces to give simple feedback on work. This is something I have done for a long time, but did not consider it was a ‘strategy’!

Often, I will simply use the smiley face beside good answers to give the individual a warm and fuzzy feeling beyond a simple tick. At the most basic level, I suppose it shows that I have really read what they have written and that their answer is good. It may be that for a student who I know always struggles with a percentage change question for example and then gets one right I would give a smiley face and a positive comment. I will give a smiley face for good achievement (5/5 for example) or for good effort or for following previous advice. Even if a student has not done well overall in a piece of work they may well get several smiley faces for good answers to individual questions or a well written part of an answer. In exceptional circumstances I may even give a double smiley face!

The homeworks I set in Biology from UIV all the way through to

UVI are often iGCSE or A level past paper questions which have a mark scheme. If a student has written an excellent answer, hitting the marking points and written it in a concise and logical manner, I will often write their name next to the corresponding point on the mark scheme. Then, when I am going through the homework or test I will ask “has anyone got a smiley face for this answer?” If a few students put their hand up I choose one of them to read out their answer to the class slowly enough for others to write it down. My hope is that the individual who gets to share their answer with the class gets kudos and the other students benefit by having a model answer for the question. I aim to

get as wide a range of students as possible sharing their answers. I have been using this smiley face ‘strategy’ for years and find it simple and effective. I certainly have students trying to get smiley faces so I suppose they must like them!

OFTEN,

I WILL SIMPLY USE THE SMILEY FACE BESIDE GOOD ANSWERS TO GIVE THE INDIVIDUAL A WARM AND FUZZY FEELING BEYOND A SIMPLE TICK.

Building Closer Links between Downe House and Radley College

MATT GODFREY (DEPUTY HEAD) SHARES SOME OF THE INCREDIBLY EXCITING COLLABORATIVE WORK BEING DONE BETWEEN DOWNE HOUSE AND RADLEY COLLEGE.

Downe House and Radley College have enjoyed close relations for a long time; their proximity and their many shared values mean that siblings often attend the schools, and there have been many socials and other collaborative projects involving boys and girls from both schools over many years.

In 2020, pupils and staff at both schools started to explore the possibility of broadening the scope of our collaboration and formalising it into a coherent strategy. In the same year, the

social media campaign ‘Everyone’s Invited’ had highlighted the need for all schools to work hard to build positive relationships between boys and girls, and so the desire to work more closely with Radley was also a response to this.

A committee of six Upper Sixth Formers was established in both schools and these groups met on several occasions to decide on a way ahead. The groups presented their ideas and plans to the Headmistress and the Warden of Radley in October 2021: they did a brilliant job, and the project was taken forward enthusiastically.

The Downe House team of Upper Sixth Formers – Ayanfe, Danna, Maddi, Poppy, Rosie and Sophie –and their Radley counterparts did

a superb job initiating and running this project during the academic year 20221-22. In the first year alone, over 30 varied collaborative projects – academic, co-curricular and social – have taken place involving pupils from UIV (Year 9) upwards.

This is a student-driven project and those involved have worked hard with staff at both schools to agree the Vision and Objectives of the strategic partnership and to broaden the range of activities completed by the girls and boys.

THE VISION

By working together on mutually beneficial projects, both schools provide all students with direct and meaningful experience of working with the opposite sex, preparing them fully for life beyond school while retaining the integrity and value of single sex education. Relationships of respect are created through academic, cocurricular and social interactions. In formalising our long-standing links, we ensure that plans are sustainable, and the impact is measurable.

THE OBJECTIVES

• To create relationships of respect between students

• To provide opportunities for personal development

• To promote academic excellence

One notable success in terms of

academic collaboration has been the Humanities Symposium, which was hosted by Downe House in May 2022. This event stretched some of the two schools’ most academically curious Year 10 and Year 12 pupils (Pciture 2) The plan is for Radley to host a STEM Symposium in the Spring Term of 2023, and for the two symposia to become annual events.

Another exciting collaboration in the Michaelmas Term was between the two History Departments. Radley opened its extensive WW1 archive to Downe House girls and our own archivist provided information about our alumnae’s and other local women’s contribution to the Great War effort. These sources enabled some excellent historical research which was conducted by teams of pupils from both schools.

There have been many other

academic collaborations between the two schools. The Year 9 geographers have now come together twice to do field work together. The Biology Departments have worked together, exploring the curriculum together and listening to guest speakers. Our Sixth Form scientists have visited Radley for lectures in molecular science and sustainable chemistry. The is a flourishing book club, coordinated by the schools’ English Departments, which have brought together large groups of boys and girls to read and discuss novels such as Ishiguro’s ‘Klara and the Sun’ and Evaristo’s ‘Girl, Woman, Other’.

The Art Department have a very successful, ongoing relationship which has involved collaborative workshops, comparison of sketch books and practical and discussion-based activities around

the Elgin Marbles. The girls involved in this project even spoke directly to all the Downe House teachers during a special training session to explain how beneficial they had found this collaboration. The group of six Radley UVI boys and six Downe House girls who comprised the original committees have now passed the baton on to the same number of students in the year below. This new team, which has renamed the partnership as ‘The Respect Project’, met in June 2022 to get to know each other and to start planning how to enhance the Project further.

Downe House enjoys strong relations with many other schools and of course it is important that those links are maintained and grown alongside the special connection we have with Radley so that our pupils benefit from as wide an exposure as possible to other environments.

The new Respect Project Teams from both schools (Picture 1) met at Downe House at the end of last term have several exciting developments in mind. They are planning a new collaborative Debating Society and additional sporting events, too. Also, they will be trained to talk to younger students about consent and related issues with a view to leading discussions with the younger pupils in their school about building positive relations with the opposite sex.

DOWNE HOUSE ENJOYS STRONG RELATIONS WITH MANY OTHER SCHOOLS AND OF COURSE IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THOSE LINKS ARE MAINTAINED AND GROWN ALONGSIDE THE SPECIAL CONNECTION WE HAVE WITH RADLEY

05.

JENNY HILL (MURRAY CENTRE AND LIBRARY MANAGER)

OUTLINES THE WEALTH OF RESOURCES WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL, ALL INCREDIBLY VALUABLE FOR WHEN WE WANT TO CONDUCT OUR OWN RESEARCH OR TO HELP STUDENTS CONDUCT THEIR OWN.

At Downe House, students and staff have access to a wide range of high-quality educational resources that will aid and support teaching and learning. In this quick guide, I have listed all resource links that we currently provide within our Oliver library system. Paid for resources are in bold.

SUBJECT SIXTH FORM

General academic JSTOR

The CIA World factbook

Art The Tate Gallery

Web Gallery of Art

Classics Massolit

Latdict

Lexilogos

Computing

Current Affairs The Day

The Times/Sunday Times

The Guardian Financial Times Issues Online

TED talks

Drama Drama Online

Economics and Business

Digital Theatre

The Economist

A-level Economic Review

A-level Business Review

Tutor2U

Financial Times

English Connell Guides

Literary Reference Centre

Emagazine

A-level English Review

Massolit

Geography A-level Geography Review

The New Internationalist

Royal Geographical Society

The CIA World Factbook

History/ Politics

A-level Modern History Review

A-level Politics Review

History Reference Centre

Audiopi

Massolit

History Today

Active History

Tutor2U

Law A-level Law Review

Maths MyMaths

Integral Maths

Music Grove Music Online

PE A-level PE Review

Reading for pleasure

Religious Studies

A-level RS Review

Massolit

Dialogue

Science A-level Biology Review A-level Chemistry Review A-level

Physics Review Science

UPPER SCHOOL

JSTOR

The CIA World Factbook

The Tate Gallery

Web Gallery of Art Grove Art Online Aesthetica

Craig N Dave

Teach-ICT

WW3 Schools

BBC Bitesize

Typing Club

The Day

The Times/Sunday Times

The Guardian Issues Online TED talks

Drama Online

Digital Theatre

LOWER SCHOOL

JSTOR

The CIA World Factbook

The Tate Gallery

Web Gallery of Art

Teach-ICT

WW3 Schools

BBC Bitesize

Typing Club

Grok Academy

The Day Issues Online

TED talks

Drama Online

Digital Theatre

Connell Guides

Literary Reference Centre

Massolit

Audiopi

Century Tech

Wideworld GCSE Review

Royal Geographical Society

The CIA World Factbook

Hindsight GCSE Review

History Reference Centre

Audiopi

Massolit

History Today

Active History

Tutor2U

MyMaths

Century Tech

Grove Music Online

VLe books

Audiopi

Science Reference Centre

Century Tech

Audiopi (Physics & Biology)

Connell Guides

Literary Reference Centre

Century Tech

History Reference Centre

History Today

Active History

MyMaths

Century Tech

VLe books

Science Reference Centre

Century Tech

Sociology/ Psychology

Reference Centre

A-Level Sociology Review

A-level Psychology Review

House | Learning & Research

HOW TO ACCESS THESE RESOURCES

These resources can all be found within the Oliver Library System. All staff and most students now have an icon on their desktop for quick access.

When you enter the System, you will see your own personalised homepage where you can search the library book collection, curate your own resource lists, find inspiration for a new book to read, see when current loans are due back and renew them, if required.

On the lefthand side of the Oliver homepage, there are links to the Learnpath Guides, split into the three school sections – Lower School, Upper School and Sixth Form. Simply click on the section and you will be taken to the subject areas and resources as listed above.

Students should be encouraged to search here first for the information they need to complete an assignment. Whilst it is easy to head to a mass search engine such as Google, the sheer quantity of information there can be mind-boggling and its quality and accuracy can be questionable. By using the resources that we provide, students can guarantee good quality, well-curated and often peer-reviewed content that is, in many cases, specifically written for the courses they are studying.

Should any members of academic staff wish to add other resources specific to their subject, this is easily done.

Here is more detail about some of our key resources: JSTOR

Founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1995, JSTOR is used in more than 11,000 schools, universities, and institutions around the world. The collections in JSTOR include peer-reviewed scholarly journals, respected literary journals, academic monographs, research reports, and primary sources from libraries’ special collections and archives. JSTOR’s journal collections usually include all issues back to the inception of the journal, contain PDF images of original articles in each issue, and are full-text searchable through each article. With participation and support from the international scholarly community, JSTOR has created a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive of scholarship and continues to greatly expand access to scholarly works and other materials needed for research and teaching globally.

In order to search JSTOR effectively, students do need some initial guidance. The typical natural language search used on a mass search engine will not necessarily yield the targeted information required. Because of the large amount of content available to secondary school students, teaching them how to refine their search terms is helpful.

Hodder GCSE and A Level Review Magazines

These are an invaluable resource as the content is specifically relevant to the A Level and GCSE syllabuses of the subjects listed above. They make the latest academic research accessible to students, with topical content and articles linked to curriculum topics. The library holds physical copies of current and past editions but the Learnpath link now takes you to a searchable online database that enables students to find relevant

information quickly and efficiently. All staff and students at Downe House can use their email address to create their own user account to access these.

Massolit

MASSOLIT provides short, curriculum-mapped video lectures for GCSE and A Level. There are more than 3,000 lectures from world-leading academics across six subjects. With Massolit, students have access to world authorities in the arts, humanities and social sciences who would be impossible to get into schools. These are a perfect revision tool and enable students to explore their subjects in a slightly different way and at greater depth.

Audiopi

Like Massolit, Audiopi provides short GCSE and A Level tutorials, but in a podcast format. Written by teachers, examiners and academics, they are useful in lesson preparation, provide an opportunity for flipped learning and are an excellent way of allowing students to explore their subjects independently. They are exam board-specific with a conversational style that helps to develop critical thinking.

CLASSROOM TALK

Translanguaging: What is it and how can I enable it in my classroom?

NICOLA SOUTH-KLEIN (TEACHER IN CHARGE OF EAL) SHARES WITH US CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH SURROUNDING A STRATEGY CALLED TRANSLANGUAGING, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY EFFECTIVE FOR EAL STUDENTS AS WELL AS OUTLINING HOW TEACHERS MIGHT USE IT.

I heard about translanguaging at the recent NALDIC 30 conference. For those of you who have not yet heard of NALDIC, it is the National Association of Language Development in the Classroom (the professional association for EAL teachers).

The term translanguaging derives from the Welsh trawsetietu, which was originally devised by Cen Williams and was used specifically to refer to the pedagogical practice of asking pupils to purposefully alternate between their languages. Whilst initially translanguaging was thought of as a pedagogy to be used in a teaching context, other scholars have subsequently widened the term to include the language practices of multilingual communities where people regularly switch from one language to another in everyday communication.

In their 2012 research paper, Translanguaging: Developing its Conceptualisation and Context, Lewis, Jones and Baker define translanguaging like this:

“both languages are used in a dynamic and functionally integrated manner (…) It concerns effective communication, function rather than form, cognitive activity as well as language production”.

The most important word her is “integrated”. We often think of bilingual people as having two separate languages. However, translanguaging moves away from this idea towards one where each speaker has one full linguistic repertoire and can make full use of all of their languages depending on the context and purpose of communication. This is further supported by research evidence from neuro-science which shows that differently named languages are not represented or controlled by different parts of the brain (Grosjean

– 2010, Bilingual: Life and Reality). In other words, we have one set of language skills from which to select the items we need to communicate effectively.

Where educational policies exist, either explicitly or implicitly to limit multilingual learners only to use the majority language in a school setting this could be viewed as severely limiting their learning. From a monolingual perspective this can be difficult to appreciate. Imagine you are asked to retell a familiar story but without using any words beginning with the letter s. By simply removing one letter from your repertoire the exercise becomes a huge challenge. Just think what we are asking multilingual learners to do if we tell them to avoid using an entire language.

Conversely, encouraging students to purposefully use all of their language sends a powerful message about multilingualism as a strength. More importantly it demonstrates that all languages are valued equally, promoting a positive view of diversity. Interestingly, it also has an effect on academic outcomes; when students are permitted to use their full linguistic repertoire we allow them to access more challenging concepts. It is important to recognise, however, that translanguaging is not a scaffold to make learning easier, particularly for students with weaker language skills in the majority language. On the contrary, translanguaging is meant to enable all students to access difficult concepts using all the resources they have and to develop academic proficiency in both the target and home languages.

By now, you might be thinking this all sounds wonderful in theory but how do I facilitate translanguaging in my own classroom? The whole idea might simply fill you with fear and trepidation.

One of the contributors at NALDIC 30, talked about introducing instructional routines to enable translanguaging within lessons. Simple and repeated structural activities can allow teachers to create a supportive, predictable learning environment for multilingual learners. They can also make it less

threatening for teachers to encourage translanguaging within their classrooms.

The idea which I liked the best and which I have tried in some of my IELTS Preparation group lessons is “ThinkPair-Prepare-Share”. This routine could be used with monolingual learners as well.

Think

Student (on their own) thinks about a problem/ question in their preferred/home language.

Pair

Student joins another who shares their home language and they discuss their ideas in that language

Prepare

Together they get ready to share what they have discussed in the target language, e.g. English.

Share

They both share their ideas with the class in English.

In my IELTS groups, students have used this routine at the start of a new topic and also for gathering ideas before answering IELTS academic essays. Since trying this approach, the students have found it easier to plan and structure their writing as well as improving the content. It has also led to them using a wider range of higher level vocabulary. My students’ recent IELTS test results have also shown improvement for the writing component which is the only encouragement I need to keep enabling translanguaging in my own classroom.

If you are interested in finding out more about translanguaging, I would recommend you read Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective – Ofelia Garcia (2008).

ALL LANGUAGES ARE VALUED EQUALLY, PROMOTING A POSITIVE VIEW OF DIVERSITY.

07.

IN

THIS ARTICLE, ANDREW ATHERTON (DIRECTOR OF LEARNING AND RESEARCH) EXAMINES THE CONCEPT OF RATIO, OFFERING SOME CONCRETE WAYS IT MIGHT BE EMBEDDED INTO CLASSROOM TEACHING.

In his Teach Like a Champion 2.0, Doug Lemov makes the claim that ‘one of our most important goals as teachers is to cause students to do as much of the cognitive work – the writing, thinking, analysing, talking – as possible’ (234). In order to try to describe and reflect on how to create such a learning environment, he devised the concept of ratio.

Ratio refers to two very closely related aspects of the classroom: Participation ratio: the number of students who participate in whatever task or activity has been set and how often.

Think ratio: the level of intellectual and cognitive rigor that is being facilitated in whatever task or activity has been set.

Lemov argues that the ultimate aim of any learning task or activity, arguably the classroom more generally, is to secure the highest possible ratio where the maximum number of students are thinking really hard. What is the quality and depth of thinking students are engaged in and how can we help to ensure the highest possible number of students are engaged in it?

In this post, we explore this concept of ratio in more detail, how to leverage it within the classroom, and offer some specific strategies, both digital and otherwise, to use.

THINKING ABOUT RATIO: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?

Using Lemov’s definition of ratio, we could map it out on a graph like the below, taken from a blog post by Adam Boxer

The aim, of course, is to maintain students in the top right-hand area of the graph, where lots of students are thinking hard a lot of the time. This supports Robert Coe’s very broad definition of learning that it ‘happens when students are thinking hard’. Ratio as a conceptual tool is a highly valuable lens to think

through lesson activities or plans, or even more automatic interactions like questioning routines. How do we create a classroom environment where we increase the probability of the maximum number of students for the maximum amount of time sitting in that top right-hand corner?

We might imagine, for instance, an interaction as routine as cold calling and think about it through the idea of ratio. The ideal routine for cold call is to ask the question to the whole class, offer wait time for thinking, and then specify the student you would like to answer. Why? By doing so you maximise class ratio.

If you were to say the student’s name and then ask the question it is likely your participation ratio and

thinking ratio would be low, or at least lower than it could have been: as soon as the class realises they won’t be expected to answer this specific question there is a high chance some will zone out, after all they already know who is going to be answering the question. But, by asking the question and allowing wait time the ratio should be high as there still remains the possibly anyone could be asked and so a much higher number will be considering their response. Or, we might imagine a scenario where we ask a question but then don’t allow much wait time or ask a flurry of questions one after the other. The participation ratio might be high as all are engaged, but the think ratio is likely to be lower as some in the class may not have had enough time to engage with the question before it is answered by someone else.

Another really interesting scenario in which ratio as a conceptual lens comes into play is when thinking about where to stand during classroom discussion. Imagine you’ve just asked a student a question and they begin to answer. The natural inclination is likely to be to move towards that student to listen to their answer. What might this do to your ratio, though? There is a possibility other students in the classroom will, even subconsciously, think of the now ongoing conversation as between one student and the teacher, perhaps

switching off and not paying attention. However, according to Paul Bambrick-Santoyo in his excellent Get Better Faster, it is much better from the perspective of ratio to in fact take a step away from the student answering the question. This signals to the rest of the class that this is not an intimate conversation but rather one that includes everyone and as such everyone ought to be attentive to it.

HOW DO YOU MAXIMISE RATIO IN THE CLASSROOM?

Here are some ideas, strategies or possible tweaks to classroom routines that might help to maximise ratio, both think and participation:

1) Cold call with names first so as to build engaged accountability (everyone thinks because anyone might be asked to share their thoughts)

2) Wait time for anything between 5 and 30 seconds when asking a question so that as many students as possible have the opportunity to think through the question before it is answered by someone

3) Preface class discussion with an expectation that everyone in the class writes first so that everyone has the opportunity to formulate their views and no one has the opportunity to opt out of the thinking

4) Turn and talk or paired discussion before group discussion

so that more students have a change to rehearse and test out their thinking

5) Using mini whiteboards so everyone has to answer the question or formulate their thoughts, but instruct students to have boards facing down until called upon to answer to maximise think ratio

6) Questioning routine that moves from teacher to student to another student rather than as a loop between teacher and different students (somewhat affectionately labelled pose-pause-pouncebounce) so that students are more likely to be attentive to other responses as they know they may be asked to share their views on what has been said

7) Rapid fire questioning that bounces from student to student, which Lemov calls ‘pepper’, although one might be cautious here as whilst the participation ratio might be high the think ratio may not

8) Choral response where all students answer a question at the same time, making sure participation is high and allowing the teacher to pick up on any obvious anomalous responses. Most of these are taken directly from Lemov’s initial discussion of ratio, but there are, of course, many other ways to ensure high ratio within classroom interactions.

DIGITAL PEDAGOGY

Digital Learning at Downe House: where we are now and where should we be heading?

JANE BASNETT (HEAD OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL LEARNING) OFFERS AN IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT THE CULTURE OF DIGITAL PEDAGOGY AT DOWNE HOUSE AS WELL AS OUR NEXT STEPS.

The one-to-one surface programme at Downe House has been running now since 2017 and there are many positives about our approach and the impact it has for our pupils and the teaching body. We can look at what we have done and feel that we have achieved a great deal.

We have the facilities and technology to collaborate, communicate, build resilience, get creative and get our students digitally ready for their futures.

Furthermore, we have a system in place to train new colleagues to use technology so that they can hit the ground running when they join us. This training path is also available for current members of the common room and incorporates two pathways that lead to obtaining the MIEE badge. Indeed, many of our colleagues are MIEEs (Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts) and it was a pleasure to celebrate their success in an INSET in the

Michaelmas Term. I look forward to welcoming many more to the DH MIEE Team.

Recently, I enjoyed looking through many class Teams as part of the school’s work scrutiny and I saw some fabulous examples of organised Class Notebooks (CNB) with plenty of content, exam advice, pupil friendly schemes of work, prep and feedback. In one instance, there was a lovely feedback video that could be shared with colleagues, in another, a video had been created to describe a poem and, in another instance, links had been embedded to some online tutorials from a website to which this department clearly subscribes. Obviously, the videos and links can be reused the following year helping to put a dent into lesson planning. For many departments the content in the CNBs are pdfs and documents where the pupils write their responses.

So, this is where we are. But could we go further?

To help us answer this question, let’s consider the SAMR taxonomy which provides a conceptual framework for teachers to use to help them infuse technology into learning and teaching. It’s not, in my opinion, the best of the taxonomies out there but for the purposes of this article, it is useful.

SAMR, (figure 1) was conceived by Dr Ruben Puentedura, a Harvard teaching fellow, in 2010.

PEOPLE OFTEN TALK ABOUT TEACHING

‘ABOVE THE LINE’ (I.E., AIMING FOR MODIFICATION AND REDEFINITION). THIS WOULD MEAN PUTTING MORE FOCUS ON THE TECHNOLOGY AND DIMINISHING THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING.

Firstly, this taxonomy is NOT a ladder and success does not mean that we must redefine everything. People often talk about teaching ‘above the line’ (i.e., aiming for modification and redefinition). This would mean putting more focus on the technology and diminishing the importance of teaching and learning. This is not how this taxonomy should be interpreted. We can fall anywhere on that taxonomy and ideally we will be falling at various times, where appropriate, on all of the categories.

So, where exactly are we on this model? As a school, currently, we do substitution very successfully. Our Class Notebooks (CNB) have replaced, for the most part, exercise books and indeed textbooks. But the question must be asked, do we augment, modify, or redefine in any way? Thinking about those feedback videos and embedded links, yes, there are certainly good examples of this. However, where substitution is the only category we are hitting can we consider other options? For example, can quizzes, once completed on paper or on a page in the CNB be completed as a form?

Well, the answer is, yes, they can, and in a few cases, they are. It’s satisfying to see that Microsoft Forms is being used by many colleagues across the school. Using Microsoft Forms is advantageous for both pupils and teachers. The former receives instant feedback and the latter has immediate access to some rich data about their pupils’ progress. It would be great to see more of this.

Redefinition, despite what the infographic says, does not always have to mean being creative with technology it can simply be using collaboration tools or Immersive Reader. We have the technology to collaborate

successfully. The collaboration space in Class Notebook is an obvious starting point and its educational power was demonstrated in our last INSET and now, the much improved and beefed up Microsoft Whiteboard is an amazing space where pupils can collaborate without any merging issues. Here, for example, is a snapshot of a Lower Five whiteboard (Figure 2)

In this lesson the pupils contributed individually to create a resource for the whole class. Elsewhere in school Minecraft is being used in geography lessons (and maybe elsewhere too?). For example, pupils are creating contour maps and oxbow lakes which allow them to develop a deeper understanding of the physical features studied.

Thus, with the tools we have at our disposal we are able not only to substitute but also augment, modify and redefine the work we do with our pupils. The more we can use collaboration spaces, online quizzes to build long-term memory, Immersive Reader to support all our learners, and tools like Minecraft to enable deeper learning then the further we can push teaching and learning. As a school we are making progress in terms of the SAMR model – there is plenty of evidence to suggest this – but there is room now to really embrace all the categories and go further still. We can, as a matter of course, look to augment, modify and redefine what we are doing in our classrooms and there will be positive outcomes for both pupils and teachers.

Further Reading:

How to Use SAMR Model in Designing Instruction (An EdTech Integration Guide) | Research.com

The TPACK Framework Explained (With Classroom Examples) | PowerSchool

Figure 2 Lower Five French Collaborative Whiteboard

Figure 2 Lower Fifth French Collaborative Whiteboard

NOTICEBOARD

THREE BLOGS TO READ Making Sense of Worked Example Research –Mathematics with Worked Examples (wordpress.com)

In this blog post, Maths teacher and author Michael Pershan explores some of the research underpinning worked examples.

A note on marking and feedback (instapaper.com)

Deputy Head and author Kat Howard explores the topic of feedback and marking

ONE VIDEO TO WATCH

Headteacher Jude Hunton explores some of the research behind building a memorable curriculum

STAFF RESEARCH LIBRARY SHOWCASE: OUR BOOK OF THE TERM

Strategies to Increase Pace –TomNeedham (wordpress.com)

Tom Needham looks at what we mean (and don’t mean) by pace. ‘Include more pace’ is one of the most common pieces of feedback from lesson observations, but what does it actually mean?

Jude Hunton: “Chunk it, don’t flunk it” Leading & teaching a memorable curriculum | ResearchED

Our book of the term, and many more, are available for staff to borrow in the Staff Research Library, situated in the Staff Common Room.

DUAL CODING WITH TEACHERS BY OLI CAVIGLIOLI

Dual coding is becoming increasingly popular as a way in which to embed information in long term memory and this book offers various practical steps and ideas to implement dual coding into teaching.