Teaching, Learning and Research INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. NQT/RQT Pathway Update 2. MLT Pathway 3. Research Library – How has ‘Spikes’ influenced my leadership? 4. Today’s Leaders, Tomorrow’s Heads – Andrew Bunney’s reflections on the Headship Pathway. 5. Fellowship: Do Individual Language Plans help EAL students? 6. Journal Club – looking back over two successful Cake and Journal meetings. 7. The Learning Scientists: Working Memory.
“Your ambition, their journey.”
There have been lots of exciting development opportunities for all staff across the Trust, which is having a significant impact on the development of our colleagues and subsequently making a profound difference to the lives of our young people and the local community we serve. In this issue, we reflect on the impact of the Professional Development Pathways. A variety of staff from across the Trust have been keen to reflect their experiences and evaluate their learning journeys to help better understand the PLD opportunities on offer. Through this staff reflection on PLD we can begin to unpick what participants have learnt, how they use what they have learned, and the effect on the learning of children and young people. (TDA, 2007)
NQT/RQT Pathway
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Overview
So what’s the impact?
September saw the start of our Trust NQT pathway, which is using “Teach Like a Champion” as the core text.
Through the pathway, NQTs have been afforded the opportunity to network with others and developed their professional practice.
Our NQTs have attended 6 sessions throughout the Autumn term and have actively been engaging with Doug Lemov’s work. Sessions have been interactive and have included exclusively video material, lively debate, hints and tips as well as professional reading and essential reflection. The outcomes of this pathway have developed a culture of evidence-informed practice have been extremely positive. The NQTs were keen to share their views on the highlights of the pathway…
Through this networking opportunity, one participant mentioned that through professional discussion with other NQTs, they were able to think about new ways of doing things. An example of this is where a participant has used greater collaborative partnerships and enhanced questioning techniques in their lesson, which was observed by a senior teacher as “very effective”.
The most significant session for me was the ‘use of discussion for learning’. Our school currently has a focus on dialogic classroom. We are being encouraged to use this throughout the curriculum as a way of increasing children’s speaking and listening, as well as further engaging them in their learning – so this session helped me significantly.
I took a lot from a number of sessions. I found the ‘questioning’ CPD very informative and I found the ‘discussion in lesson ‘session thought-provoking.
NQT
Classroom presence and classroom position which covered a few sessions. This had an immediate impact to my teaching. Moving around the room and positioning myself near specific students help maintain a calm and constructive environment as they both knew they were being observed more as well as had easy access to support and guidance.
PATHWAYS
I found the planning/lesson structure session the most significant. It challenged me to create lessons with just one objective that is succinct and to the point.
MLT Pathway Update
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Our Middle Leadership Pathway has been specifically designed to prepare teachers for the role of Middle Leadership roles. This course takes a practical approach to making the move seem less daunting and provides the necessary support and challenge to develop your leadership skills. Through the use of Leadership Matters resource library, participants are able to conduct a LM360 to hone-in on their leadership dispositions and to develop their leadership strengths and areas for development. This pathway has had a powerful impact on staff who have been new to the Director of Learning and Scholastic Excellence Leader role, with some participants pursing accredited pathways with our friends at the National College of Education and the University of Buckingham. Here are some of the experiences of our participants and the impact it is having on their everyday practice and leadership.
“It has empowered me to make my own judgements on how to complete QA of my own year group in a supportive manner. Going in and supporting my tutors rather than pulling them up for the things that they haven’t done well.”
It has changed the way I which I manage my workload and use my team effectively around me in order to have a supportive network. Praising staff when they have done something well and if they have supported a student, making them aware giving the acknowledgement. Also, how to deal with challenging conversations and the angle to take, in order to have a positive outcome with the necessary support put in place.
“A key way the course has changed my practice is in the way I planned for and chaired meetings as well as how I implemented change using a meetings outcomes. This has made a big impact not only for my own time management but also in ensuring that members in my faculty do not have their own time wasted. As well as this, the leadership matters material has gave me a good insight into the power of research and how this can impact daily practice.”
“I was unaware of John Kotter’s work on the 8 step change model or the work done by Knoster, Thousand and Villa. This has simplified my thinking about the change process. I can see that building a smaller ‘change team’ could both relieve pressure on leadership, providing a clear vision has been shared. This would enable development of other team members and ensure key ingredients for a successful change are in place. It will also empower other team members and reduce any negative effects of change on individuals. The resource planning cycle, although common sense, is also a useful tool. I can see a way forward through what will be both a challenging and exciting time.”
Research Library: How ‘Spike’ influenced my leadership
By Michael Lucas – Headteacher at The Beech Academy
Book Review: M Lucas Spike: Rene Carayol – What are YOU great at? René Carayol, leading business guru, top keynote speaker on Leadership and Culture, executive coach, shares the magic and simplicity of the SPIKE (Strengths Positively Identified Kick-start Excellence) philosophy. Bio: Michael is an Evolve Trust Headteacher, currently working as Headteacher at the Beech Academy. He studied at Nottingham Trent and Loughborough Universities starting teaching at All Saints’ Catholic Academy, Mansfield in September 2003. After progressing up the ranks as an Assistant Curriculum Leader, Head of Year, Assistant Head Teacher, Senior Assistant Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher, he joined the Evolve Trust in September 2015. His previous role as Director of School Improvement was Trust wide where he oversaw the Professional Learning Pathways, Pupil Premium, Learning Teaching and Research as well as undertaking specific work to support development needs in the Brunts, Beech and Bramble Academies. “Find a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life” - Confucius As part of the Head Teacher Institute at the Evolve Trust, we regularly read core texts, review them as a team, apply the relevant strategies and evaluate the impact of these over time. This opportunity to stop the ‘education bus’, reflect and then go again to strive to be better than before is a fundamental aspect of how Leaders of the future need to adapt and drive continuously forward to sustain improvement for the young people, communities and staff we serve. ‘Spike’ by Rene Carayol was chosen for one of our core texts this year after Claire Cuthbert and Carl Atkin attended the ‘UP Leadership conference’ and heard Rene’s Keynote. They found his talk inspirational and thought provoking, particularly on his position on leadership strategies. Unfortunately, to hire Rene for the day would cost thousands so he won’t be attending our PLD day in July, however, the book is a close second and as with Rene’s keynote , the content and execution of his and others opinions on leadership really resonated with me, not only as a leader but also personally. I would highly recommend this book for not only leaders in school but quite simply anyone who is keen to explore the psychology of how people behave, how you can play to other’s strengths but more importantly how we need to adapt in an ever changing world.
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“Inertia is more crippling than mistakes” – Rene Carayol Our journey in to this book started with us reflecting on ‘our’ spikes! So what is a ‘Spike’? A ‘Spike’ is what makes you unique, it is in your DNA, it is within your personality, it is innate to you but something you and others can enhance and thrive on as everyone has strengths. As a Leader, I interpreted this as targeting the positives in people strengths, helping them find their spikes, having ambition for them to move out of their comfort zone to learn new skills and knowledge. This is a balancing act with personalities, but I have a new found respect for acknowledging that surrounding myself with people with apposing spikes is a good thing for all teams and is integral to striving and driving change to get the best out in the team I serve. So what are my ‘spikes’? After listing three (which took some time), I asked my ‘better half’ to name my spikes and thankfully we were almost in sync. If any of you that are reading this know me, I’ll leave you to review my spikes and let me know in the corridor! As an Executive Team, we also reviewed our spikes openly and the consequence of this was the room was full of people with different spikes, apposing spikes allied with some spikes where there were aspects that crossed over. Rene states that “far too many leaders tend to like people who are just like them”. I personally have experienced this in my career some time ago and eventually, the team fractured when it was left behind because there were no opposing views or ‘collision fueled affairs’ as Rene calls them. Different opinions are healthy and assembling a team of people that has similar spikes is a risky strategy as there has to be a balance of spikes and an openness to change. Surrounding yourself with people who have similar strengths can lead to a resistance to change, professional relationships that are fueled by a constant desire to feed more of the same because happiness, safety, having always done it a particular way is the most important feeling. In the end, change catches them up and poor productivity and efficiency is the result because the goal posts have moved before your very eyes and then it is too late to respond! Johan Cruyff, as referenced in the latest book I am reading, ‘The Barcelona Way’ also refers to the way we cannot be a victim and still remain a winner – never hire or promote in your image.
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As an avid reader of leadership books in the school holidays, this book brought me back to the ‘Comfort Zone’ diagram as growth can only occur once the safe, comfy and relationship fueled control zone is left behind. At our PLD day last year, Andy Buck referred to Mary Myatt’s book, ‘High Challenge – Low Threat’ where optimal performance and development is achieved when people are pushed away from the safety blanket in to an area of safety but also high challenge. Rene’s words link so closely for me in that we as leaders have a responsibility to develop our own staff, grow our staff to become great, provide them with opportunities to excel and in an environment of playing to peoples ‘spikes’ under the conditions of high challenge – low threat. Growth only occurs when you take risks, acquire new skills, extend yourself, set new goals, conquer objectives and grow as a professional and a person. The format of the book is very simple, Rene’s application of the chapter titles perfectly identifies this with there being the ‘right’ way to play to people’s spikes with the opposing strategy crossed out in the title also. E.g. my particular favourite is Chapter VII – Wait for Instructions. Take the Initiative. From the outset of the Chapter, you are intrigued to review the identified behaviours, evaluate your own and other’s default drivers but also draw conclusions at the end of the chapter by deciding which suggested ‘spike’ do you align yourself with. The writer draws you in to put your own opinion on contextual situations, and hopefully allows you to reflect on how you could ‘you’ do things differently moving forward in this clever way. Change is ‘good’! And there is nothing wrong with a bit of disruption as long as the moral compass faces north and our ‘WHY’ is clear and concise! Some of the key questions and conclusions that Rene captivated me with were: - Are you a creature of habit or an early adopter? Completing 360 reviews is a great way for you to find out what others think of your habits! - The future promises more change than ever before – it’s coming faster and faster. With a new Ofsted framework about to land, don’t we just know it! - Job titles aren’t necessary – clarity, backing and empowerment provide the joy in our jobs! - Founders Syndrome is damaging to teams – titles being important, status being a priority, ‘knowledge is power’…but what is should be about it that ’power is influence’, our ‘WHY’ is and has to be the key driver, being ambitious as team, not as an individual, leave the egos at the door, having a go even if it doesn’t work but we do not stand still because change is going to happen regardless so we move on! - Take risks on young talent and promote early…if you’re good enough and up for a challenge, then you’re old enough! - Leadership vulnerability is important as you as an individual can’t have all the answers - Humility works!
Page 7 On a practical level, as a senior team at Beech we discussed aspects of some of the key points that I saw as key spikes to assist us with adapting to change in term 1. We reviewed these in term 2 and will come back to them in term 3 as I believe as Rene states “It is foolish to replicate your strengths and idiotic to replicate your weaknesses”. The team I serve is about us having a shared responsibility in playing to each other’s spikes as I am not, nor will I ever be the oracle of education. What is clear to me from reading this book is that ‘Alignment remains Key’ and contributing to and serving our pupils to the best of our ability promotes the loyalty, trust and an environment of healthy challenge but support for the team. Kids come first!
A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. —Rosalynn Carte
That being said, the book does have some drawbacks for me personally as some of the supporting stories/case studies are very lengthy and in places lost my enthusiasm. Also, without sounding like I am anti-USA as having absolutely loved my first trip to the States recently, some of the wording and application of the themes is a bit over the top but quite possibly this is down to my spikes clearly not being enthusiastic enough! Something to work on for me! Nevertheless, the Spike review at the end of each chapter and the punchy introduction into the next chapter reinvigorates your thirst for more so it is absolutely worth a read! I’ll leave you to reflect on two of the chapter reviews. “A Leader serves their people” “Do not too readily accept that because something was true in the past, it will be true today”. Change is happening; we need to ‘Evolve’ to not only keep up, but to have Ambitious Futures for the communities we serve in an ever-changing world!
References: - Spike: What Are You Great At? – Rene Carayol - The Barcelona Way: Unlocking the DNA of a Winning Culture – Damian Hughes - High Challenge, Low Threat: Mary Myatt - The Comfort Zone: TWH - Leadership Matters and Honk: Andy Buck
Today’s Leaders, Tomorrow’s Heads: A review
By Andrew Bunney – Assistant Headteacher at The Beech Academy
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The Programme Today’s Leaders, Tomorrow’s Heads The programme has been face-to-face and focused on the Headteacher standards, unpicking what it really means to be an Evolve Trust Headteacher. This has been an intensive course and one that I have fully immersed myself in as part of my own professional development. All the PLD sessions have been based on the latest research and evidence-based practice, providing us with the opportunity to put the theory into practice through some practical assignments. Throughout the programme, a critical part of the sessions have been around feedback on your own and others performance. This has enabled me to develop my current leadership practice further by reflecting and adapting to situations when faced with them again, particularly around leading others. The focus of the sessions have included;
Diagram - Today’s leaders, tomorrow’s heads programme schedule.
Reflection The programme has given me the opportunity to learn directly from the CEO, Director of School Improvement and influential guest speakers, such as Dr Ben Laker on what skills, knowledge and behaviours are required to become an effective Headteacher allied with being a member of the Beech SLT on a day-to-day basis. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with and learning from a group of staff across the Trust, who are aligned to the Trust’s vision & values and who share the same moral compass for the communities we serve. It was evident from the outset that we all have high aspirations to develop as individuals to further impact our pupils so they achieve their potential. It has also allowed me develop and challenge my current practice through evidence-based research and given me the confidence to lead in different aspects of strategic leadership across the Trust. Some key aspects of learning from the course have included: The importance of developing a clear mission, values and beliefs for aligning staff The delivery of formal presentations to the critical audience The understanding of setting and applying key priorities for a school Leading your leadership team and how to quietly redesign the school and transform the communities we serve
Page 9 As part of the programme, we have also been given the responsibility to lead on a Trust/school based project, to challenge and develop our knowledge and skill set. I had the pleasure of collaboratively planning the PLD day on July 5th which brings together a Festival of Education for the Evolve Trust staff. In planning the day, a key priority has been providing staff with the chance to take ownership of their PLD and decide which sessions will meet their individual training needs and enhance their practice. I feel it is important that our family of schools come together to collaborate and innovate and an opportunity to reflect on the strengths and areas of development for their school but also personally. We are all learners of our trade and having days like this to reflect are essential in our growth and development. I’m really looking forward to delivering a day that encompasses the heart and energy of good professional learning allied with an opportunity to catch up with staff across the Trust. In October 2017, I attended the Evolve Alliance conference, which focused on visioning and leadership. It challenged me to think about my ‘why’ and re-think my current role at that time. In my previous school, I wasn’t given any opportunities to develop my practice or given any direction with my career. I had to rely on Twitter and friends in other schools as a sounding platform. At the conference, I felt the passion and energy after talking to and listening to staff on the day and saw the journey that the Evolve Trust where on and I wanted to be a part of it. Since joining the Trust in September 2018, I have had exposure to some invaluable aspects of senior leadership and opportunities to further my knowledge and challenge my thinking. ‘The today’s leaders, tomorrow’s heads’ programme has demonstrated the commitment and passion of the Trust to develop staff within and lead key priorities within our respective schools and make a difference to the life chances of our youngsters. The programme has helped my prepare for the next the stage of my development and I am excited about further opportunities to add to my skill set, leading on key priorities for respective schools within the trust from September. Key Texts Spike – What are you good at? (Rene Carayol) The one type of leader who can turn around a failing school – (Alex Hill, Liz Melon, Dr Ben Laker and Jules Goddard)
How effective is retrieval practice?
By Joshua Morris – Teacher of History
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Joshua has been at the Brunts Academy as a History School’s Direct Participant and has taken a particular interest in retrieval practice and its impacts on student outcomes. During this year, Joshua has done quite a bit with The Brunts and Magnus Academy. As part of his university research, Joshua has conducted action research into the efficacy of retrieval practice on student outcomes.
“Does the Regular Use of Retrieval Practice Bell Tasks Improve Summative Assessment Grades in History?”: A Comparative Study of Two Key Stage 4 Classes Rationale In today’s educational climate “Children now are almost universally identified by their grade in school, much as adults are identified by their job or career”, so it is imperative that all time spent in the classroom is utilised to its upmost potential in order to allow students to succeed in both summative and formative assessment. Most importantly, by capturing the start of lessons which psychologist’s label the ‘prime learning time’1, students are more academically prepared and ready to engage in the learning journey. But how do you successfully engage students from the door? Retrieval Practice. Retrieval Practice, ‘a strategy in which calling information to mind subsequently enhances and boosts learning’1, shapes students with a rich subject knowledge base that allows them to access higher ability learning – the main aim of the new curriculum at the Brunts Academy moving forward, and typifies the purpose of curriculum nationally. I completed an independent study to prove my thesis that retrieval practice bell tasks, at the start of every lesson, would enable students to perform more successfully in summative assessments than those that did not. To do this I compared two different Year 10 class groups: one from the Brunts Academy without retrieval practice and another from the Magnus Church of England Academy with retrieval practice, over a six week period. Methodology The data collected for the study was quantitative and included individual students predicted grade, previous summative assessment grade as a current working grade, current residual value, new summative assessment grade as a new current working grade and new residual value. These pieces of data were manipulated through a ‘bivariate analysis’ to quantify the impact of retrieval practice on the Study Group, who of which were engaging with regular retrieval bell tasks. In contrast, this data was compared to the Control Group who did not engage in retrieval bell tasks. To ensure the data was comparative, both groups had been taught for six weeks on the same topic of Nazi Germany and studied the same subject content. This was then assessed using a summative assessment; in a formal style examination at the end of the six week period, of which was designed in line with both school exam boards; AQA and Edexcel. Although both schools used different exam boards, the assessment created for the study group covered the same subject content and only differed on question structure and wording, to complement the required exam board specifications.
Results of the Study The results from the Control Group and Study Group, demonstrates how retrieval practice ‘powerfully strengthens learning’ to enable students to strive in summative assessments.1 This is showcased in the difference in average mark of students in the assessment after the six week study period, when comparing Appendix 1 and 2. The Control Group achieved an average of 11.1 out of 28 achieving a grade 3+ (see Appendix 1), compared to the Study Group’s mark of 14.5 achieving a grade 5 (see Appendix 2). This difference in summative attainment grade shows that students who engaged with retrieval bell tasks were able to transfer learnt knowledge more successfully, as the knowledge was stored in their long-term memory and was more accessible during the assessment. This data supports the thesis of Pan and Agarwal, that states retrieval practice enables students to produce more ‘meaningful explanations’ that are rich in subject knowledge and terminology.1 As Pan argues, the use of retrieval practice allows students to perform a crucial cognitive pathway of ‘recognize-remembering-apply’ when answering a question, which allows students to achieve ‘optimal results’ in their summative assessments, as has been evidenced by the data collected. 1 The gap in achievement between the groups is further shown when comparing the class groups new current working grades, when contrasting the percentages of a standard pass, high pass or fail at GCSE. In Appendix 6 it showcases the Control Group’s collective class results after the summative assessment at the end of the study. The class came out with a 64% fail rate, with only 32% of the group achieving a ‘high pass’ and a further 4% achieving a ‘standard pass’. When compared to the Study Group in Appendix 7, the fail rate was drastically lower at 26%, accompanied by improved percentage of students achieving a ‘standard pass’ at 26% and even higher number achieving a ‘high pass’ at 48%. Statistically, the data demonstrates that by using systematic retrieval practice, over a six week period, it doubles the percentage of students in a class that can achieve a ‘standard pass’ at GCSE, and further improve those that achieve a ‘high pass’ by +16%. The most staggering change that is highlighted across Appendix 6 and 7 is the difference in the number of fails, with retrieval bell tasks reducing the percentage of fails in a class to only 26%, whereas no retrieval practice led to a higher rate of fails at 64%. By examining this alarming difference, it confirms the theory raised by Ebbinghaus of the ‘forgetting curve’ of memory. It shows that when information is not entrenched in to long-term memory, students forget key subject knowledge and hence are unable to apply this knowledge to their written assessment. This is because students in the Control Group only created short-term memory during lesson time and in wider revision; a type of memory which is only applicable to questions that students have seen or attempted before. This overreliance on short-term memory causes students to develop an ‘illusion of knowing’, as students become overwhelmed by familiar subject knowledge in their short-term memory and are unable to apply this knowledge to different contexts.1 It is because of this ‘illusion’ that students do not properly address the key concepts of each question in History assessments, because of their lack of critical understanding of the subject content and how this should be applied accurately.
Furthermore, the study shows that utilising every second in the classroom effectively over the six week period can lead to students achieving a higher summative attainment grade. Rather than crammed revision techniques closer to the assessment point, the study’s results show that ‘spaced retrieval’ exposes students to subject knowledge more regularly and enables them to master the knowledge required to achieve, as evidenced in Appendix 2 in the changes between the old and new current working grades of the Study Group.1 It evidences Carpenters quote ‘mastery is to spend more time learning’, as the students in the Study Group were spending more time learning in every lesson, due to bell tasks starting upon entering the classroom.1 Thus, it allowed students to continually relearn knowledge every lesson and cement this in to their long-term knowledge repeatedly. The gulf in disparity in summative attainment between the two groups is present further when analysing the difference in residual value after the six week study period. Appendix 3 presents this data, by comparing the before and after average residual values of each class. The data collected from the Control Group shows a decline in residual value, with the class moving further away from their target grades. The residual value decreased over the six week period from -1.5 to -2.2, with a decrease of -0.7. This demonstrates that without retrieval practice, the students were less able to transfer subject knowledge in to different contexts and thus produced a lower score in the summative assessment, hence being further away from their predicted grades.1 Whereas, the Study Groups residual value improved by +0.3 and brought the average residual of the class up from -1.2 at -0.9. Thereby, when supported with the evidence in Appendix 4, the data from the Study Group shows that students that engage with retrieval practice are statistically more likely to close the gap between their summative attainment and predicted grade and are more successful in summative assessments. This is shown by the change in residual value of the Study Group, from 25 students having a negative residual at the start of the study to only 6 after the six weeks (see Appendix 4). This influential change is unrecognisable when compared to changes seen in the Control Group, with 25 students having a negative residual value before the study and 16 remaining after the six week period. From these findings, it evidences Firths theory that students who are exposed to retrieval practice bell tasks consistently become normalised to the ‘testing effects’ of examinations and hence are able to perform more successfully in test conditions, after continually being exposed to these conditions in the classroom.
Conclusions In reflection of the study and data collected, it fundamentally shows that retrieval practice successfully leads to students achieving a higher grade in summative assessments. When contrasting the data collected from both groups, Control and Study, it shows that by implementing systematic retrieval practice bell tasks over a six week period it closes the gap between student’s predicted grades and current working grades and therefore reduces the residual value they score between them. This provides clear evidence to support my original hypothesis behind the study, that retrieval practice bell tasks have a positive correlation with an increased summative attainment grade. Moving forward in to my professional practice as a qualified teacher, I will continue to promote the use of retrieval practice and implement it as a weekly bell task exercise, to both retain and test students’ subject knowledge continuously. Most importantly, it will challenge students to prevent the ‘rapidity of forgetfulness’ from occurring in the classroom and consolidate their subject knowledge in to long-term memory.1 Henceforth, in the study retrieval practice made students more successful at applying learnt knowledge in summative assessments and became more confident in engaging in the strenuous examination culture of today’s grade dominated education system.
By Yasmin Ensor – Teacher of Art
Page 14 Using Individual Language Plans for help EAL Students
Yasmin is a teacher at the Brunts Academy and is conducting action research into the efficacy of Individual Language Plans on EAL students. Currently in the data collection and analysis phase, the results look promising. Moreover, Yasmin has been involved with the Nottinghamshire County Council EAL training to enhance the quality of EAL provision and raise student outcomes. As part of Yasmin’s Masters Accreditation, Yasmin has been working with Rachael Blazewicz (Lecturer in Education at NTU) to write-up her research findings for an academic audience. Yasmin will use her research to reflect on her professional practice and produce an impact for report for the Trust and for Nottingham Trent University, which will feed into the school priorities. Excitingly, Yasmin has been invited by NTU to present her impact report at the Nottingham Institute of Education Partnership Research Conference, to fellow academics and other schools in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. This is an amazing opportunity for staff to showcase research in action with a wider audience. Yamsin was keen to share the rationale for her research focus. Below is an extract of her literature review as part of her Masters work. We wish her the best of success with this exciting pathway. Rationale: EAL is an acronym used within teaching to describe pupils who speak English as an additional language. Without the correct support and differentiation, EAL students may be unable to access the curriculum, depending on their proficiency within English and the support they receive (Demie & Lewis, 2017). Some pupils may appear fluent in conversation, but struggle with written English (Conteh 2015 p66). Although findings from the DFE (2018 p22) suggest that the attainment gap between EAL and non EAL learners is minimal, there are several barriers to learning that could impact the progress of these students. Conteh (2015) outlines several myths concerning EAL learners that could be detrimental to their progress, including keeping first and additional languages separate to avoid confusion, using immersion rather than teaching to learn english and assuming a learner is too old to become competent in English due to speaking their first language (L1) for an extended time. The number of EAL students each year has continued to rise since 2010 (Department for Education, 2018), but how can schools best support them?
Journal Club
By Joe Morrin – Research Lead Practitioner
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The Trust’s Cake and Journal Club provided an invaluable opportunity for staff to discuss, review, and summarise a research paper each half-term over plenty of coffee and chocolate cake. Importantly, we pay particular attention on the research’s implications for classroom practice and this opportunity is open to all staff across the Trust. In the inaugural gathering, staff from schools within the Trust discussed Rosenshine’s (2012) Principles of Instruction and reflected on its importance in classroom teaching. Discussions highlighted that staff’s day-to-day teaching echoed much of Rosenshine’s (2012). Staff also agreed that there were particular points in the research that they wanted to focus on to assess whether or not it would have a measurable impact on students learning. So what has the impact been? “My focus is going to be on ensuring my classes engage in a daily reviews and as mentioned in the article, I may include some low risk tests after the review to help students embed some of the core skills for future recall.”
“It’s good to remind yourself too that if students haven’t grasped a concept, it is always worth adapting the plan of the lesson to address any issues, rather than continuing on regardless and risking misconceptions being allowed to form.”
Last term we looked at Harris’ (2009) Creative Leadership: Developing Future Leaders which gave insight into the limitations and opportunities to use creative leadership in our departments to build more discretionary effort from our staff. Moreover, it was a perfect opportunity for staff to share their dominant leadership styles and critically reflect on their different leadership styles. “This has given me the chance to look at my own leadership style and appreciate that I use different leadership approaches for different situations. This gives me different outcomes each time.”
Next meeting we will look at Chris Oates’ (2019) interview on ‘Vivienne Porritt – 10 % Braver: Inspiring women to lead education’.
Working Memory
By Althea KaminskeLearning Scientists
Working memory refers to your ability to manipulate and remember information over a short period of time (about two minutes). It’s very similar to short term memory, but when we use the term working memory we are emphasizing the manipulation of information. For example, if someone gave you a telephone number to write down, you might have to silently repeat the numbers to yourself while you search for a pad of paper. This task could be made more difficult if you try to continue with the conversation as you are searching for the pad of paper. Your ability to follow along with the conversation, while looking for a pad of paper, and while repeating those numbers to yourself, is your working memory. There are some differences between people’s working memory ability. For some people the task described above may seem nearly impossible - you fail to find the pad of paper, follow the conversation, or remember the numbers almost every time. For others, it’s a bit easier - while it may be challenging, you can usually follow the conversation, find the paper, and remember the number without skipping a beat. Differences in working memory have been associated with reading comprehension (1), logic and reasoning (2, 3), and IQ scores (4). Given the strong association with academics, a lot of research has been done on explaining differences in working memory and possible ways to improve it, particularly in school-age children (5). How Does It Work? There are several different theories about how working memory works. Theories vary in how they emphasize different aspects of working memory. Some emphasize the role of attention (6), others the ability to access and use past information (7), and others still on how inhibitory processes allow us to stay on task (8). However, most theories agree on the basics. Working memory involves at least four different skills and abilities working together. 1. Attention. Your ability to stay on task and ignore irrelevant information and focus on relevant information. While searching for the pad of paper to write a number down, do get distracted by the ongoing conversation about how your family is doing and forget to write the number down? While reading a longer text, like this one, are you able to read each section and remember the main points without wondering off halfway through? 2. Verbal Information. Your ability to use your inner voice to, well, talk to yourself. While you’re searching for the pad of paper to write the number down, do you repeat the number to yourself? If you were listening to a song like, oh, say, Jenny by Tommy Tutone, you might sing that song to yourself instead and forget the number you were supposed to be remembering. Similarly, if someone is talking to you while you’re trying to read this you will have a harder time remembering it. 3. Visual Information. Your ability to picture something in your mind. While trying to find the pad of paper you might visualize where it is in your desk drawer. Interestingly, your ability to form that mental picture does not interfere with your ability to repeat the number to yourself. Similarly, looking at pictures in a text doesn’t impair your ability to focus on the words. (The differences in how we usual visual and verbal information in our working memory helps explain why Dual Coding is effective). 4. Access to long-term memory. In order to manipulate and use information you have to have information to manipulate and use. While you are looking for a pad of paper to write down a telephone number during a conversation you need to remember what a pad of paper is, where you put yours, who you’re talking to, and why you even need this number in the first place. While reading this blog post you need to access your long term memory to remember Jenny’s number from the popular song, definitions of words, and why you cared about working memory in the first place.