Tanglin Edu Vol. 4

TANGLIN EDU

SHARING BEST PRACTICE AND RESEARCH FROM TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL AND AROUND THE WORLD

VOL.

Meaningful Mindful Practices in the Classroom

Removing Fences and Building Connections: Considerations for the Role of Ecological Dynamics in Developing Performance in Youth Swimming

Developing Effective Feedback Strategies at Key Stage 3

Resources

John Catt Publishers

johncattbookshop.com/titles

John Catt is of the leading publishers of professional development books and works with some of the most highly-regarded educational authors in the UK. Dedicated to education at every level, their library covers a wide range of topics that are embedded in the latest research and innovative thinking.

Blogs

https://blog.pearsoninternationalschools.com/essential-reading-for-teachers-in-2021/

In this blog post, Charlotte Sauce provides an essential reading list for teachers who want to “stay ahead of the curve” on topics such as diversity and inclusion; the advancement of technology in education; mindfulness; and the science of learning.

Further Reading

The long stretch of the summer holidays is an ideal time for teachers to reflect on the past year and build on those thoughts, ideas and classroom strategies that, perhaps, we haven’t had time for. Here is some inspiration to support your professional learning this summer and help you to underpin those reflections with the latest research.

Books

Like a Writer by Jennifer Webb Webb collaborates with eight expert writers to give real insight into the ritten form, and offers practical teaching strategies that go beyond the English classroom. This is a great resource to help improve writing across the curriculum. It includes chapters on how to write like a poet, a playwright, an academic and a journalist, and there is even one that explains how to speak like a politician!

Websites

olicav.com

This excellent resource is produced by Oliver Caviglioli and features poster summaries of educational ideas. Caviglioli’s work on dual coding will help teachers to reflect on how better to use visuals in their teaching.

Podcasts

The Teacher’s Point of View

TJ Juttla interviews key names from across the UK’s education sector, offering a range of inspirational ideas.

Designed for use in primary and secondary schools, further education colleges and a range of other educational settings, Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli’s excellent resource Teaching Walkthrus: Five-Step Guides to Instructional Coaching focuses on a range of evidence informed teaching strategies in the following areas:

• Behaviour and Relationships

• Curriculum Planning

• Explaining and Modelling

• Questioning and Feedback

• Practice and Retrieval: Building secure long-term memory and fluency

• Mode B Teaching: Delivering a range of learning experiences to deepen and extend learning.

There is also a recent follow-up that includes more expert voices. The series informed professional development in the Junior School this year and made a positive impact.

Edited by Peter O’Brien, Deputy Head (Pastoral), Junior School

Evidence-Based Practice

Meaningful Mindful Practices in the Classroom

by Laura Holmes, Class Teacher and Head of Infant PSHCE/Lifeskills

I recently read a World Happiness Foundation article that debated, “In a world where there are so many problems like COVID-19, society being ripped apart at its seams, and all the injustice, is mindfulness and meditation really relevant?”

The writer’s response was a resounding, “Yes, mindfulness is relevant. In fact, I’d say with all the problems we have going on in the world right now, cultivating a sense of mindfulness is more important than ever before.”

I wholeheartedly agree, especially for the children we teach. Here’s why…

What I’m working on

I am looking into the research on mindful and meditative practices in the classroom, and the application of this with Infant children. Mindfulness is a simple technique that emphasises paying attention to, and being consciously aware of, the present moment in an accepting, non-judgmental manner. You can practice mindfulness over any length of time: for the duration of a single breath or for your whole life. You can practice it while waiting in a queue or walking down the street. Mindful meditation is an activity in which you make time, deliberately and

consciously, for cultivating mindfulness. (Alidina, 2019)

What the research says

It isn’t only at times of difficulty that mindfulness can be incredibly helpful; studies have demonstrated it is useful in everyday stressful situations. “Adversity comes at us from the moment we are born. Infants get hungry and tired, toddlers grapple with language and self-control and, as children develop, life grows ever more complicated. Developing relationships, navigating school and exercising independence — the very stuff of growing up — naturally creates stressful situations for every child. At each developmental stage, mindfulness can be a useful tool for decreasing anxiety and promoting happiness” (Gelles, 2020).

Within education in particular, mindful practice has been proven to help “boost students’ attention skills, as well as develop coping mechanisms for stress” (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2019).

Also, studies find children benefit from learning mindfulness in terms of improved cognitive outcomes, social-emotional skills and overall wellbeing. In turn, such benefits lead to long-term life improvements. For example, positive social skills in early childhood predict improved education, employment and mental health outcomes in adulthood (Jones et al., 2015).

1. The amygdala is activated when detecting fear and reacting to

emotions including strong emotions such as fear. Following sessions of mindfulness, this part of the brain may be less activated (Lutz et al., 2008).

2. The hippocampus is critical to learning and memory and helps regulate the amygdala. It is more activated following mindfulness sessions (Goldin & Gross, 2010).

3. The prefrontal cortex is most associated with maturity, regulating emotions and making wise decisions. This part is proven to be more activated and developed following mindfulness (Chiesa & Serretti, 2010).

Seeing it in action

I spent much of the first half-term of the year in the classroom introducing children to both mindful practices, such as guided meditations and visualisations, as well as the concept of simply being mindful; being open and aware in the present moment.

How Mindfulness Develops Our Brains

1. The amygdala

2. The hippocampus

3. The prefrontal cortex

Here are some examples from across Tanglin of where teachers are engaging with research to inform their practice, and trialling new and exciting changes to positively impact student outcomes.

Now, whether it’s a one-minute breathing exercise, 10 minutes spent listening to music and responding creatively and instinctively, or a 30-minute mindful yoga session, we incorporate mindfulness into daily classroom life. The children also understand to stop, pause, notice their breath and how their body is feeling whenever they wish, particularly if they are feeling emotions such as anxiety or sadness. It would be great to discuss this further with anyone keen to bring more mindfulness into their classrooms or lessons.

Impact on learning

As the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are activated through the mindful practices in class, a child’s memory, recall, decision-making and regulating of emotions improve. This enables children to progress academically as they think more clearly.

What I’ve noticed

Within my classroom there has been an obvious increased general improvement in:

• Attention and focus

• Listening skills

• Cognitive development

• Behaviour

• Independence

• Empathy and perspective taking

• Social skills

• Verbalising of feelings

• Emotional regulation

• Resilience towards challenging tasks

• Reduced anxiety.

I have seen these positive effects of mindfulness, well reported in a range of sources and research, first-hand through conversations with my class, observations of the children and by witnessing their interactions with others. Of course, these positive changes may be the result of other variables, but when children verbalise or write down that they feel calmer after a guided meditation or they feel much better about themselves after a mindful movement session,

it is evident these practices have an important role in their daily lives.

Further Reading Websites

For research, strategies and practices, visit mindfulschools.org or nytimes.com/guides/well/ mindfulness-for-children Books

The following is recommended for both educators of young children and parents: susankaisergreenland. com/mindful-child/

Looking Over the Fence

Removing Fences and Building Connections: Considerations for the Role of Ecological Dynamics in Developing Performance in Youth Swimming

by Andrew Hailey, Director of Aquatics

I hope to heighten awareness and in doing so, highlight developing performance using an ED lens.

What is the “fence” (the status quo)? The status quo is arguably a linear systematic process that has married evidence from empirical research and has disproportionately supported the adult elite level of the sport, which coaches have copied onto youth swimmers (Dekerle 2020). Casualties of the traditional system have been high dropout rates and a lack of holistic development, and have included reasons such as falling out with the coach, injury, burnout, age related issues, and more (Baker et al., 2009). The tendency to drill and instruct swimmers to achieve a perceived perfect model is arguably not coaching but instructing, as suggested by Lyle and Cushion (2017), and we are now faced with disturbing statistics, such as that 73% of young swimmers drop out of the sport before the age of 13 (Schloder 2016).

Introduction

In this article I aim to provide awareness of a world beyond the current status quo and a methodology that could help coaches better understand the broader environment around swimming.

Awareness

of other methodologies

has been influential in other sports. Rugby, diving, martial arts and hockey have all been shown to use a successful understanding of Ecological Dynamics (ED) and concepts from it, such as Non-Linear Pedagogy (NLP), (Seifert & Davids, 2017, and Lee et al., 2014). Its use, beyond team sports, however, has been limited (Light, 2014). In exploring different approaches,

An engrained culture has left these practices unchecked. Rothwell & Stone (2018) describe these socio-cultural constraints, while further research suggests how this information can be harnessed to challenge the cultural bias I believe is dominant in swimming. Such bias is engrained because of the form of life around swimming (Rothwell & Davids 2019). Coaching success is defined by coaching successful swimmers to the top level; to receive recognition, notoriety and financial reward. This could be in part why there has been little change in approach: the top of the sport does not feel the pinch of the problems from below. Dekerle (2020) explains that most scientific research is not dedicated to youth swimming, possibly because while records continue to be broken and Olympic medals are still won, the model that has fed this system will retain the status quo. The rhythm set by the top of the sport arguably beats on with little regard for the fallout (Dekerle,

2020). A move away from this could cost a coach their job or cause fear of making mistakes: understandable concerns in a risk-adverse world.

Specialism in distance swimming is encouraged from a young age, despite swimming being characterised as a late specialisation sport (Dekerle, 2020). Dekerle summarises part of this culture: “The culture in swimming training unfortunately remains that of high training load, often in terms of volume in many clubs. This tempts coaches into prioritising such approaches even with swimmers of a young age. This is despite clear evidence of (1) no superior effect of high volume, low-intensity training versus low-volume, high-intensity training, (2) overuse injuries, physical and mental burnout when the training load is too high to cope with.”

Recent research has highlighted the greater importance of motor coordination in the prepubertal period before the central nervous system has matured, suggesting the use of shorter distances rather than large volume-based sets in developmental stages is preferential (Birat et al., 2020). Swimming guru Wayne Goldsmith recently described the traditional model:“For over a century, the sport of swimming has been “physiology” driven, i.e. the greatest focus in the sport has been on physical preparation. The dominant coaching ideology around the globe has been built around the idea of “fitness” and concentrates on the physical preparation of swimmers. In addition, many of the most influential texts and research into swimming training in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and even in this current decade have concentrated on the physical development of swimmers. And flowing through this writing has been the following principles:

• Swimming is a predominately aerobic sport;

• Swimming training should be primarily focused on developing the

aerobic capacity of the swimmers;

• The best way known to develop aerobic capacity is to complete training sets and practice activities which are relatively long in duration, i.e. 20-60 minutes; low intensity, i.e. 60-75% of maximum intensity; and performed continuously, i.e. with limited rest Goldsmith (2020).

Additionally, Greyson et al (2017) suggest training should be in the region of 20 hours per week for 10 years. This could be true, but we should consider a study from Australia that showed only 15.9% maintain participation in swimming for more than 10 years (Moulds et al., 2020).

Technical training is also coached in a mechanistic way, where the coach projects their image of perfection onto athletes and skills are broken down, before being pieced back together, like a machine. This is known as a reductionist approach (Seifert & Davids, 2017).

Swimmers are expected to fit the model, as opposed to the coach changing the model to meet individual athlete needs. For example, periodisation arguably is a tool for athlete management rather than generating performance. Bosquet et al., 2007, presents data for tapering that shows a 7-21 day drop in load by 41-61%. I would argue it is difficult for a coach to successfully access such a wide range and know what is best for their individual athletes. How can a coach know if any swimmers fit this model? Armstrong and Welsman (1994) showed that VO2max moves towards a ceiling in adolescence, suggesting that as coaches we cannot ignore volume. The question is, how can we better use it as just one of many constraints to support development? Awareness of other methods such as ED can open a greater landscape, bridging the gap between theory and practice, thus helping design evidenced-based practices (EBP).

1: Chow (2020) NYSI Symposium

The Ecological Dynamics Framework (How to Remove the Fence and See the Landscape)

“The gardener cannot actually “grow” tomatoes, squash, or beans – she can only foster an environment in which the plants do so” - Stanley McChrystal (Woods et al., 2020).

Ecological Dynamics comprises of Ecological Psychology: the study of mind and body; and Dynamical Systems Theory: the study of human movement. While this approach has gained traction in sport and coaching, its impact in swimming has been relatively small. An increased number of journals and books on the approach support the need for swimming coaching to design more athlete-centred practices, and to study coaching using a different lens.

Recent studies suggest this approach can help to design training models to become more athlete centred (Woods et al., 2020). ED suggests a more individualised and integrated nuanced approach. We can arguably improve our coaching effectiveness by targeting the bio-psycho-socio needs that have been argued to define true coaching effectiveness (Côté & Gilbert, 2009). The landscape offers us opportunities that could support swimmers better in their journeys. A key ED concept is for coaches to support interactions in the athlete-environment relationship (Araújo et al., 2006). This can help improve practice representativeness by looking beyond a volume-focused model. People are complex systems and are not programmes to be coded to perform (Seifert & Davids, 2017, and Light, 2014). As coaches, we

Figure

Experiential Knowledge Empirical Research EBP

Beliefs (understanding) impact practices

Traditional Reductionist (newman & Newman, 2010)

1. Neuromaturational (McGraw, 1945: Gesell, 1954)

2. Information processing (Schmidt, 1975)

• Development process is orderly

• Progresses in a linear

• Motor skill changes atributed to maturation of CNS

• Emphasises maturation

Comtemporary Interactionist (Newman & Newman, 2010)

1. Dynamical systems

2. Ecological Dynamics (Davids et al. 2002; Chow et al., 2007)

• Development process is not orderly

• Progresses in non-linear

• Motor skill changes are heavily influenced by interactions

• Motor Skill changes are heavily influenced by interactions

• Emphasises movement experiences

Spectrum of instructional styles

Drill-practice Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU)

hope our swimmers can change or implement technical instruction or feedback, but if our swimmers require big shifts or leaps in skill, this can be a challenge (Araújo et al., 2006). Rather than using a reductionist approach to technical coaching, we can use principles underpinning ED that treat the swimmer as a complex, adaptive system, and that focus on the interactions with the environment to elicit skilled movement adaptation (Seifert & Davids, 2017). See Figure 2.

One example from martial arts showed that local-level behaviour of individual combatants led to spatiotemporal synchronisation at the global level of a fight (Krabben et al., 2019). This research in martial arts could support some links into swimming because of the similarities of individual skill requirements to be performed under pressure. “Decision-making behaviour is best considered at the level of the performer-environment relationship and viewed as emerging from the interactions of individuals with environmental constraints over time towards specific functional goals.” (Araújo et al., 2006).

Out of ED come other practical approaches that could be of some use to swimming. When we consider

Constraints-led approach

Implicit learning

that build on developing the intrinsic motivation of swimmers through implicit learning emergence, rather than explicit instruction (Masters 2000). NLP approach has been shown to support the three principles that underpin self-determination theory (SDT), ensuring practice sessions engage an individual’s sustained intrinsic motivation (Renshaw et al., 2012).

Non-Linear

the needs of the swimmers and understand the basics of what motivates a person to want to learn, ED opens some interesting avenues and proposes a change in the role of the coach. Rather than being a solution finder, coaches should be environment builders that create invitations for action. I see approaches such as nonlinear pedagogy (NLP) and constraints-led approaches (CLA) do this. See Chow, J et al., (2016) and Renshaw et al., (2019). These approaches can be used to blend coaching styles

It is important to recognise the physiological empirical evidence around what it takes to be an elite level swimmer, but it should be reinforced that volume isn’t the only constraint coaches can use to improve performance. We should understand how to support athletes to stay in the sport long enough to gain the physiological adaptations needed. What is proposed is an awareness that enhances the other factors at work that will support athletes’ bio-psycho-social holistic entity. “It’s moving through the water at maximum speed, with great technique, outstanding skills, powerful underwater kicking and doing it with a well-developed set of mental skills to manage and master the pressure, pain and stress of competitive environment” (Goldsmith, 2020).

Figure 3: Practice design framework (Chow et al., 2016). Representativeness

DesignPrinciples

Attentional Focus

Design Principles

Design Principles

DesignPrinciples

Goal-

Figure 2: Leo Ng (2020) NYSI Conference

Below:

See Figures 3 and 4 for examples of the practice design framework using an ED lens.

Discussion & Considerations

A change in what we call successful/ effective coaching could be targeted using different criteria. Such a definition can be found in Côté & Gilbert’s 2009 paper on coaching effectiveness. In adopting this, the rhythm we march to could change: with an ED framework, a combined bottom-up and top-down approach could be used to better marry performance with development, something ED describes as a “bi-directional” approach.

Swimming is a sport that has not changed much in format in more than 100 years; one might ask, “Does it need to?” I believe that with the introduction of the International Swimming League, we could see a change of dynamic in the sport. There is now less down time in the season, meaning swimmers need to be fast year round and more versatile, so as to offer a team more options to score points. Seifert (2020) expresses a consideration that resonates with ED for coaches working with young swimmers. In trying to stabilise

a swimmer’s stroke length, he proposes an interesting alternative practice that does not solve problems for swimmers, but helps guide them to make decisions under pressure. He argues that this skill is what’s needed when performing: “Interestingly, one may wonder whether a better approach wouldn’t be to allow swimmers to experience and develop a large range of stroke rates so that they become more prepared to face more difficult situations, i.e. of challenging constraints (e.g. fatigue, adversity, approach of the wall for the turn)” (Seifert, 2020).

To explore ED approaches, I asked two swimmers to feed back on a session I conducted. The session was designed to improve stroke efficiency, using a constraints-based approach (CLA) and using analogies to aid implicit learning (Masters et al.,2000). Figure 5 provides an example of what I used to coach for comparison.

Example Feedback

“The set helped me realise how I ‘have’ to hold my streamline longer and add in two extra kicks underwater. But if I used three, I would just lose momentum. I made the times and reduced stroke count. It just felt easy to hold pace because I couldn’t afford to do any poor pulls in my stroke”- Swimmer A

“I learnt that my kick is rubbish and I swim dragging my legs around. But, once I realised this, it affected my efficiency and pace. I felt so smooth and could totally feel the roller skates on my hands”

- Swimmer B

Learning emerged in a very individual way; the task afforded opportunities for the swimmers to adapt under pressure and learning emerged. A consideration is to further explore ED and its application within swimming; this could be in the form of a workshop that aims to support coaches in understanding its rationale, how it can be integrated

with the constraints faced by coaches, and to harness forms of life. There needs to be support for coaches to explore in the same way we would want our athletes to (Rothwell & Davids 2019).

Summary

There is now an opportunity for swimming to adopt a bottom-up approach, as presented by Dekerle (2020), where performance is examined from a youth perspective rather than extrapolating backwards. This links with one of the key ED principle of bi-directional interactions. This approach is important, as Dekerle (2020) explains:“With a paucity of studies in youth swimming, the reader is often invited to review and question their understanding using a comparative approach with the adult swimmer where appropriate.”

Hopefully, with increased research on youth swimming, new approaches will start to emerge. I believe ED offers a framework to learn from and make connections with our environment, including other sports (Wormhoudt et al,. 2017), and to achieve better understanding of these connections, through empirical theory and experiential knowledge, that leads to improved EBP. With the fence removed, the landscape for

Figure 4: Practice design framework (Machado, J., et al., 2018)

Figure

Developing Effective Feedback Strategies at Key Stage 3

by Sophie Chalmers, Geography Specialist, Senior School

Throughout Key Stage 3, Geography students carry out a range of exciting and relevant formative assessments that focus on issues on both a local and global scale, and assess a variety of skills. These include examining sustainable sailing trips around the Great Barrier Reef; evaluating the impact of new MRT lines on Singapore’s remaining primary rainforest; expeditions to extreme environments, and more. Each project aims not only to ignite students’ passions and interests in the world around them, but also to develop critical and analytical thinking skills, knowledge and understanding that leads to greater independence. However, an unfortunate, yet common, theme across Years 7, 8 and 9 is the inherent anxiety that is caused by the word “assessment”. I believe this fear stems partly from a lack of effective

feedback and understanding of the assessment process itself.

What the research says

Feedback is most effective when students have a clear idea of the expected outcome of an assessment and know what they are working towards. Clarifying the success criteria gives learners a goal to work towards and gives them space to think, structure their ideas and demonstrate relevant skills in a more coherent way. Effective feedback also requires learners to be able to comprehend the feedback they receive, both throughout the

learning process and at the end of the task. This allows them to adjust their work along the way, a process that encourages self-regulation and reflection, as well as develops an understanding of where their strengths and areas for improvement lie. Lastly, the teacher needs to be able to reflect on the effectiveness of the instructions given through discussions with students and colleagues, in order to make appropriate adjustments to the assessment and/or their delivery of it (Hattie, 2012). Processes such as these make thinking visible throughout the learning process,

Example of Top Success Criteria Being Unpacked

giving the teacher a clearer idea of what students understand and what they don’t.

What I’m working on

Over the past two years, I have been working on integrating strategies into the classroom that help develop more effective feedback practices. These aim to take the fear of assessment and build up student confidence and independence in their approach to different formative projects. This has primarily been done through collaboratively unpacking the success criteria for different projects in class. Each project has a tailored rubric that outlines the specific tasks and the skills they aim to assess. Students are encouraged to interpret each criteria and put it into their own words, ask questions, imagine what it would look like, and explore how they can demonstrate that criteria by sketching our plans and relevant diagrams. This activity encourages greater interaction with the rubrics, and furthers self-regulation and reflection throughout the learning process. Students can use their ideas as a checklist to ensure that they have fully addressed each part of the task. At the end of the assessment, they can then compare their own interpretation of their success with the teacher’s feedback and reflect on the outcome of the assessment more meaningfully.

Impact on learning

Developing an effective feedback strategy is an iterative process that can take time to develop. Each project sheds light on what can be done to further improve the feedback cycle through collaborative conversations with colleagues and interactions with students. Although a time-consuming process at first, the activity has proved to be incredibly valuable. Listening to conversations between students on the different success criteria was extremely useful as it highlighted specific issues with the rubrics that had previously been overlooked.

For example, the initial rubric used some language that was inaccessible to students. They were also struggling to identify the key words in the success criteria, so certain words were highlighted to help with this. To avoid them focusing on a numerical result/quantifying their attainment, we used words as descriptions for each level (outstanding/excellent/good etc.) Building this activity into the assessment process has allowed students to develop a deeper understanding of what they need to do and set them clear goals to aim for when carrying out their work. It increases their independence as they approach subsequent assessments. KS3 teachers have observed that this activity has reduced the stress and fear that students associate with the assessment process, and given them clear targets to work towards.

What I’ve noticed

Having carried this out with multiple classes, I have noticed that students are more willing to clarify their doubts and question the task that they need to complete. It has also allowed me to help guide students through the process more effectively by encouraging selfregulation through simple questioning in class and directing students back to the success criteria that they have spent time unpacking. Greater consideration has been put into how they demonstrate the skills they are being assessed on, as well as other transferrable skills such as the overall presentation of their work and referencing. Student reflections after the completion of the task have also been more insightful and have clearly highlighted the areas they need to work on moving forward.

Seeing it in action

This strategy has been adopted by teachers of KS3 Geography. Not only has it provided clear aims for each formative assessment that uses a rubric, but it has also facilitated greater standardisation

across classes with regards to expectations and outcomes.

Further reading

Making Thinking Visible https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/ default/files/Chapter%201%20 MTV%20Ritchhart%20Sample.pdf Know Thy Impact (Hattie, 2012) ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/ Know-Thy-Impact.aspx (abstract only) Know Thy Impact: Teaching, Learning and Leading thelearningexchange.ca/wp-content/ uploads/2017/04/Know-Thy-ImpactTeaching-Learning-and-Leading.pdf

Exploring the Impact of a Quieter Education

by Peter O’Brien, Deputy Head (Pastoral), Junior School

What I’m working on I was initially drawn to Jamie Thom’s excellent book A Quiet Education (John Catt Educational Ltd) during the circuit breaker period of 2020. Among the many children who experienced challenges during remote learning was a group of children who appeared to be thriving. I considered these students to be the more introverted members of the class; they were embracing the opportunity to work at their own pace, make more non-verbal contributions to discussions, have time to go back and reflect on their learning, and work in relative quiet.

Thom begins A Quiet Education with the observation that schools are anything but quiet: “They reverberate with noise, with a hubbub of activity in almost every space. The interpersonal demands are huge: talk and communication dominate every space,” he writes. So, how do we create an

environment in which students with naturally quiet temperaments can thrive?

It is estimated that introverts make up at least one-third of people and alarming to think, therefore, that around eight students in each class are likely to find the average school day socially exhausting. Throughout his book, Thom poses a series of questions for reflection, several of which informed my professional development this year. The key considerations for me were: Do we provide adequate support for our introverted students? How can we encourage greater acceptance and celebration of quiet virtues in modern schools? And, how can we promote the importance of quiet virtues in building both character and learning?

What the research says

Introversion is often mistakenly correlated with shyness; some introverts may indeed be shy, but certainly not all. The word “shy” implies being frightened or intimidated in social settings, but introverts are often simply more energised by their own company. In fact, they can be highly skilled in social situations, and as powerful observers they can be effective and empathetic listeners.

Carl Jung first popularised the terms “extraversion” and “introversion” in 1921. According to Jung, the human mind has certain innate characteristics that are “imprinted” on it as a result of evolution. An attitude, according to Jung, is a person’s predisposition to behave in a particular way. There are two opposing attitudes: introversion, and extraversion/extroversion. He states: “Each person seems

to be energised more by either the external world (extraversion) or the internal world (introversion).”

Jung also acknowledges that nobody is a complete embodiment of one attitude over another: “There is no such thing as a pure extrovert or a pure introvert. Such a man would be in the lunatic asylum.” If everyone has some degree of introversion, then it follows that any successful strategy would benefit all learners in the classroom.

Impact on Learning

There is a wealth of takeaways from this book that can support class teachers, along with several practices that should be eradicated from classroom practice; those “I do that, too!” moments that unfortunately resonate. The first one I wanted to address was the negative thinking that can sometimes be aimed towards introverts. The

adjectives that define introverts are often anything but celebratory: “shy”, “reclusive”, “sensitive”, “withdrawn” and “antisocial” are just a few. As teachers, we often fall into the trap of defining these students as hardworking but quiet. The recipients of that dreaded conjunction are frequently prodded (by parents, by teachers, by their peers) to “come out of their shells”. I challenged this idea by celebrating quiet skills such as compassion and empathy; the ability to work independently; metacognition; motivation; and active listening – in my team meetings, in the culture I created in my classroom and at Parent Teacher Conferences. At no point did I set a target for students to “put their hand up more” or “make more verbal contributions” in class.

The next area I wanted to focus on was celebrating silence in the classroom. Silence can be hard for children and for that reason, it can be closely correlated with sanctions. I wanted the children to embrace silence so, in the first few weeks of the academic year, we worked at establishing it as one way of enabling learning in the classroom. We connected the idea of silent working to the demonstration of kindness; the creation of a learning environment in which everyone could flourish. Silence is a vital precursor for expert performance and for finding what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls “flow”: the condition in which we find ourselves immersed in a task. Classrooms that are noisy and energetic could limit young people’s ability to think clearly and so harness the inner dialogue that is so vital to their learning.

This practice includes the class teacher; unless we curb our own impulse to speak, silent conditions will not be possible. I am guilty of over-narrating in various (sometimes all) parts of a lesson. Even during periods of silent work, I am aware I have interrupted with

loud interjections of “Well done everyone: you are working so well independently,” or “You have five minutes remaining.” Now, before I speak, I ask myself, “Will my words support the learning in the room?” The modelling of silence is a powerful teaching strategy. The technique involves modelling a process on the board without talking. When the example is complete, I provide the explanation of the “what” and the “why”. Not only is this approach underpinned by the research of reducing cognitive overload of the working memory, it’s also an excellent behaviour management tool: when you begin modelling a process in silence, the students will also be completely silent and engage with the content more deeply.

Thom talks about the difference between using names and knowing names. This knowledge has changed the way I ask questions; I am not so reliant on cold calling. A “using names” technique I have previously used in my classroom is choosing students at random to answer a question – in my case, using lollipop sticks. Forcing students to talk when they are not prepared, or when they have little to say, may damage their confidence. Changing my approach has meant those children who are confident in sharing their ideas in actuality share less, but deliver higher quality responses.

The remote learning period taught me the value of wait time when posing a question and the importance of enabling students to share their responses in non-verbal ways. Students need to feel that classrooms are rich in dialogue and discussion, whether or not they contribute verbally, so the use of apps like PearDeck and Padlet are key components of my lessons. There needs to be an expectation that students are reflecting and developing, and being pushed just outside their comfort zone; these tools help hugely in ensuring all

students are active participants and feel their contributions are valued.

What I’ve noticed

I cannot speak highly enough of A Quiet Education and how much it has impacted my practice. In becoming more aware of how to support the more introverted students in my class and celebrating quiet skills and virtues, I have seen a positive influence on all learners, and received positive feedback from those students and their parents. In this most recent period of remote learning, I noticed that not only did the more introverted members of the class continue to flourish, but many of the more extroverted children were able to thrive. I wholeheartedly agree with Thom’s point that without moments of introspection, learning can never move beyond the superficial. Alongside the communication and dialogue that education requires, we need to create space for silence, individual reflection and deep thinking.

Seeing it action

This book extends beyond how we can support students and describes the benefits that “quiet” teachers and “quiet” leaders can bring to education. It also shows how embracing quieter values could lead to improvements in teacher wellbeing and classroom practice. If anyone in our community reads the book and would like to discuss its ideas further, please get in touch.

If you would like to contribute to the next issue of Tanglin EDU, please contact Peter O’Brien via peter.obrien@tts.edu.sg