Thringboard: Issue 3, November 2022

Issue 3 – November 2022

Thringboard

A journal for teacher development and research

Social identity leadership in Uppingham rugby by Dr Sammy Hanrahan, Head

of Clinical Applications

Using the talent development environment questionnaire as a tool to drive excellence in Uppingham’s Champions Programme

By Dr Andrew Hall, Director of

Rugby

Does implementing Stoic Practices improve wellbeing in a boarding house for girls aged 13-18?

by Katherine Hanrahan, Housemistress of Constables

Effective flipped learning by Linda Soto, Head of French

The value of becoming an ECT mentor by Harry Harrison, Head of Design & Technology

Welcome to the third edition of Thringboard. As teachers, we are constantly encouraging our charges to take ownership of their learning, urging them to identify their strengths and weaknesses whilst supporting them in taking effective steps towards personal and academic growth. It goes without saying that this type of self-reflection is equally important in our own professional development as practitioners, as is our ability to find meaningful solutions to the problems we identify.

The articles in this issue are all examples of the staff body at Uppingham reflecting on the efficacy of their practice, be that academic, managerial, extra-curricular or pastoral. The first three articles are a summary of interventions which are currently being explored and investigated, offering a fascinating insight into the ways in which pedagogical initiatives are being employed to enhance the pupil experience at school.

The final two articles address two areas which are integral to the Educational Strategic Plan. The first concerns flipped learning, a tool which encourages pupils to work independently and be responsible for their own learning. The other looks at the value of ECT mentoring, particularly important if we are to retain and develop outstanding practitioners at Uppingham School.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback on the issues raised in this edition of Thringboard. Please let us know if there are any areas of professional development you would like to see covered in future issues, or if you have any constructive suggestions on how to improve before issue #4.

Hugh Barnes Assistant to Assistant Head: Teacher Development

Social identity leadership in Uppingham rugby

by Dr Sammy Hanrahan , Head of Clinical Applications

I investigated Social Identity Leadership by merging components of Social Identity Theory and SelfCatagorisation Theory, and questioning how SIL enhances group function in Uppingham Rugby. Breifly, these theories descibe how individuals act as group members, how movement between groups, purpose and status (vs outgroups) of the group effect how people idenfity and mobilise personal and collective effort towards individual or shared goals. These theories focus on behaviours and values that one sees as shared with others, refelcting one’s capacity to be defined in terms of shared social identity (SI).

SIL

SIL focuses on four principles; a shared sense of “us”, acting like one of “us”, putting “us” first and making “us” matter. SIL has been investigated in business, education and sport, with encouraging findings. SIL has been linked to increases in individual and group effort and efficacy, group identification, attendance, and reductions in mental health and anxiety. However, little is known about SIL in school sport or residential schools. At Uppingham pupils belong to multiple groups, allowing selfcategorisation between SIs, making it a suitable model for examining SIL.

SIL in Uppingham rugby

I interviewed 12 Lower Fifth rugby players and used deductive thematic analysis to generate themes exploring perception of SIL (“improving lives, not just rugby” and “relationships”).

Themes underpinned pupils’ reports of coach behaviour using SIL principles. Pupils’ valued SIL as well as coach focus on building relationships and personal development. Interestingly, SIL was vital in pupils’ sense of why certain groups “mattered”. This was strongest in rugby and house SIs (where SIL principles were reported), but absent in academic/co-curricular groups (where SIL was lacking), as highlighted by these data:

“I think (Uppingham Rugby) subconsciously makes you a better person without you realising… You’re changed as a person. Whereas in (academic) lesson, I get the knowledge, but my personality wouldn’t change.”

The implications of this project are that group leaders could enhance group function (and associated individual development) by enacting SIL, and centring SI behaviours and values on relationships and improving lives, not just your subject. The full report discusses pupil experience of SIL, navigation of SIs, and suggestions to implement SIL. Please feel free to ask to see the results or to chat about implementing SIL in your groups.

“I feel like with a teacher they’re focused on you caring about their subject, whereas rugby it’s the whole thing”.

“I think it helps, as a development of a player, but also as development of a person.”

“you feel like you’re part of the house… part of rugby like you belong to a team… you feel part of a certain group.”

Using the talent development environment questionnaire as a tool to drive excellence in Uppingham’s Champions Programme

By Dr Andrew Hall, Director of Rugby

Over the last two decades interest in optimising the talent pathway in sport has shifted from talent identification towards talent development, specifically attending to the talent development environment (TDE). The way in which an environment can shape, challenge and support developing talent has been shown as paramount for success (Webster et al., 2017) so naturally we were keen to see how our own TDE – The Champions Programme – faired. The Champions Programme aims to equip our most promising sporting students with tools to (hopefully) help them realise their sporting potential and thrive in their place in the world once they leave Uppingham.

As diligent practitioners, we frequently reflect on the effectiveness of the program, acknowledging what we consider are its strengths and crucially examining how we might look to improve. These ongoing critical reflections are central in our aim of becoming a world leading body in talent development but they are arguably incomplete as they lack the perception of a crucial voice; that of the pupils. Subsequently we aimed to explore the effectiveness of the Champions program through the lens of the pupils using the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire (TDEQ).

Developed by Martindale et al. (2010) the TDEQ is an ecologically validated tool (Martindale et al., 2013) that measures the key holistic and generic processes involved in effective development of individuals with the aim of facilitating sporting potential to world class standard (Martindale et al., 2010). The questionnaire comprises of 59 questions across the following seven factors:

1. Long term development focus

2. Quality preparation

3. Communication

4. Understanding the athlete

5. Support network

6. Challenging and supportive environment

7. Long term development fundamentals

In using the TDEQ in a similar way to Cupples et al. (2020), we were able to evaluate the Champions Program’s strengths and weaknesses as well as designing interventions targeting these perceived areas for improvement (Hall et al., 2019).

Method

The TDEQ was issued to 83 pupils during their Champion’s lesson last term and took approximately 15 minutes to complete. The pupils were not required to provide their names on the questionnaire but were asked to highlight their major sport (rugby, tennis, hockey, netball, cricket) to assist with the specificity of any potential intervention. The TDEQ was examined on a question-by-question basis. Each question offered a six-point response scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree, where a low score represents a strength and a high score an area to improve.

Mean scores were established for every question. Items scoring two and below were perceived as strengths with those scoring three and above, areas for improvement.

Results and conclusion

Unsurprisingly, there were a significant number of features across our Champions program that the pupils recognised as strengths. The focus on the fundamental skills for example, the availability and accessibility of the coaches to the pupils, the effective planning of sessions and the purposeful nature of session content as well as the integration of the athletic

development staff with the sport specific coaches. Across the five core sports there were also two consistent areas where the pupils considered there to be room for improvement, namely the specificity of goal setting and training under pressure.

With these findings, as well as continuing to improve those features perceived as strengths within the program, the Heads of Sport designed an intervention to tackle the perceived areas to work on. At the time of writing and in tackling the first area to improve, we are one week into our five-week specific goals intervention with this year’s Champion’s cohort. Each pupil has been tasked to reflect on their intended performance, the components of that performance as well as reflecting on their ‘self’ regarding performance behaviours. Each coach is then responsible for weekly meetings to review and discuss the pupils’ goals.

Ensuring the pupils play a part in their Champions journey is fundamental for the program. This intervention, using the TDEQ, has been crucial in reinforcing this central tenet.

References

Cupples, B., O’Connor, D., & Cobley, S. (2020). Assessing the Ecological-Context Strengths of School-Based Talent Development Programs in Rugby League. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2020.1769010

Hall, A. J. A., Jones, L., & Martindale, R. J. J. (2019). The Talent Development Environment Questionnaire as a Tool to Drive Excellence in Elite Sport Environments. International Sport Coaching Journal, 6(2), 187–198. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2018-0041

Martindale, R. J. J., Collins, D., Douglas, C., & Whike, A. (2013). Examining the ecological validity of the Talent Development Environment Questionnaire. Journal of Sports Sciences, 31(1), 41–47.

Martindale, R. J. J., Collins, D., Wang, J. C. K., McNeill, M., Lee, K. S., Sproule, J., & Westbury, T. (2010). Development of the talent development environment questionnaire for sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 28(11), 1209–1221.

Webster, L. V., Hardy, J., & Hardy, L. (2017). Big hitters: Important factors characterizing team effectiveness in professional cricket. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1140.

Does implementing Stoic Practices improve wellbeing in a boarding house for girls aged 13-18?

by Katherine Hanrahan, Housemistress of Constables

Previous research has indicated that the wellbeing of adolescents has decreased over the last decade, with a particular decline since Covid. There have also been some novel findings in the use of interventions, based on Stoic philosophy, to improve wellbeing. The aim of my Masters was to investigate Stoicism in the boarding house.

What is Stoicism?

Here, Stoicism does not refer to enduring hardship or pain without displaying emotions. It can often be misconstrued as an inward-looking philosophy but it actually focuses on living the most virtuous life that you can in order to have the best possible impact on your community. It demands followers to live by four virtues; wisdom, justice, courage and temperance.

The Stoics believed that you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it. As Epictetus said in Enchiridion,

‘It is not events that disturb people, it is their judgements concerning them’

Although Stoicism originated around 300 BC, it has woven its way into modern culture. There are clear overlaps between Christianity and Stoicism; St Paul was said to be influenced by the Stoics and the four virtues of Stoicism are a subset of the virtues listed by Aquinas. Frankl went on to develop Logotherapy after his imprisonment at Auschwitz; there are clear threads of Stoicism within his work. Both Ellis and Beck (founders of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, respectively) cited Stoicism as a being a key influence.

The findings

The Constables girls were asked to volunteer for a study to see if Stoicism could have a positive impact on their wellbeing. The intervention consisted of reading a short excerpt from a Stoic philosopher and then doing a relevant exercise each day for five days. Out of the thirteen girls that volunteered, six completed the whole week.

Self-reported wellbeing and Stoic attitudes were measured before and after the intervention. The results found that there was a strong correlation between levels of Stoicism and wellbeing. There was a significant increase in the levels of wellbeing, with a large effect size. Levels of Stoicism increased, but it was not statistically significant.

These are preliminary findings; with such a small sample size it is not possible for it to provide any definitive answers. However, if there was a strong correlation between Stoic attitudes and wellbeing, perhaps it is worth considering how we can encourage Stoicism in our students.

Practical suggestions

I am not suggesting that we force every student to read the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius or Seneca’s Letters to a Young Stoic. However, some careful questioning of pupils could encourage Stoic mindsets.

• Ask them to list all of their concerns about a specific situation and categorise them based on what they can and cannot control. They should focus their efforts on things they can control.

• Ask them how someone they look up to would respond to a similar situation; to consider an emotional role model.

• Ask them how they have demonstrated self-care and care for others during the day.

This is a very brief summary, but if you are interested in learning more, please do get in touch.

Effective flipped learning

by Linda Soto, Head of French

Flipped learning is a pedagogical approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted: students are introduced to the core material and grammatical concepts before the lesson, with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers, alongside activities facilitated by teachers to aid skill development. It helps to prioritise active learning during class time. The aim of the flipped classroom is to develop pupils’ autonomous learning experience, giving them choice and flexibility over what and how they learn. So, what work would I want pupils to look at without me, and why?

Ideally, I want my lesson time to be used supporting students to explore the concepts they find challenging. Giving them content to study prior to the lesson allows less able students to learn at their own pace – or at least exposes them to the new vocabulary or grammatical concepts required to access the task at hand. Higher ability pupils will deepen their knowledge and tackle higher linguistic concepts and expose themselves to a wider range of authentic materials. In the flipped learning scenario, I can give lower school pupils a lengthy text to read, asking them to recognise different tenses, or to jot down vocabulary and phases they would then find useful and interesting when having to produce their own paragraphs and answers to speaking questions. Since students are expected to complete the task independently, I find giving them a choice of materials to learn more engaging.

How do I check they have covered the pre-lesson content and material?

A simple test of learning for students to complete prior to the lesson, or as a starter activity that make use of that knowledge, allows me to gauge the level of work completed (or, more importantly, the range of understanding across the classroom). This informal testing can consist of a translation drawing from the key vocabulary and grammar points they had to learn, a grammar challenge where they would be expected to show their work and explain the concept to their peers, or a comprehension exercise. Lesson time is dedicated to clarifying, deepening their knowledge, and targeted language practice.

Effective flipped-learning is a learnercentred approach that involves students being active, and accountable. Pupils have to be comfortable with the process of studying independently and need clear structures to follow. It has taken me time with some classes to model desired approaches to research and note-taking, and to teach them how to go about tasks before sending them off to complete these independently. However, this frees valuable time within the lesson to engage with students individually and provide them with support and extension more effectively.

Effective flippedlearning is a learnercentred approach that involves students being active, and accountable.

The value of becoming an ECT mentor

by Harry Harrison, Head of Design & Technology

Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are now being referred to as early career teachers (ECTs). The change in direction has been implemented to provide greater protected time over a two-year period. ECTs receive a 10% reduction in year one and 5% reduction in year two.

An early careers teacher is at the start of a journey that will provide numerous challenges, new experiences and fantastic moments that will shape the future for many students. An ECT mentor plays a vital role that directly influences how successful an ECT becomes. Having the opportunity to mentor and coach an ECT is one that should be grabbed without hesitation. Not only does it help to develop your own practice as you frequently review your own pedagogy, but it provides key support to an ECT where you help expand their love for teaching as they embark on their educational journey.

The process of mentoring an ECT is not onerous; it allows you to spend time working consistently with another practitioner where you explore all areas within your discipline. In your first year as a mentor, you get a period a week allocation, giving you the necessary time to plan, organise and structure each week. Weekly meetings, daily check-ins and half-termly reports are all part of the role to ensure you provide the necessary support to challenge, inspire, and implement new ideas for the ECT to flourish. The most rewarding part of the mentoring experience has been to see the development of an ECT, as they recall, review and reflect on their new experiences. Just like our own practice, there are of course lessons and days where things don’t quite go to plan. The response and support that a mentor can provide really does shape the way in which the ECT progresses, something I have particularly enjoyed being a part of.

Mentoring an ECT has provided an added excitement and creativity to my teaching over the last four terms. I have reflected on, and reviewed, my own practice outside of my normal expectations, resulting in a greater understanding of my teaching. It goes without saying that we can all aspire to become better teachers, which I feel I have done due to my time as an ECT mentor. If you are considering becoming an ECT mentor, and value additional time to reflect on your own teaching, then you should most certainly not hesitate to help inspire another up and coming professional.

An ECT mentor plays a vital role that directly influences how successful an ECT becomes.