Christabel Shepherd, Executive Headteacher of Bradford’s Copthorne and Holybrook Primary Schools, shares 10 tried-and-tested approaches to developing Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.

"They just haven’t got the words!” This is something I have heard a number of times in my teaching career. As all teachers know, the consequence of children ‘not having the words’ means they are unlikely to be able to express themselves clearly. They may not be able to get the most from the experiences we offer. They are often judged by individuals beyond the school as lacking ability. They may display frustration and a lack of self-belief which, in turn, can lead to low levels of resilience and, in the case of many of the children I’ve taught, a tendency to be passive learners.

Above all, the vocabulary gap exacerbates social disadvantage. We have all seen the effects that result when children don’t have the words they need to truly express themselves, and to paint a true and vivid picture in the mind of a reader or listener. We also know that a focus on oracy and ‘closing the vocabulary gap’ opens the doors of opportunity for children and allows them to soar.

Challenge for all

At both the schools I lead, ‘challenge for all’ is a non-negotiable and at the heart of our ethos and vision. Both schools are members of NACE, and we believe that providing challenge for all our learners develops ability, raises aspirations, engenders resilience and is a key feature of a high-quality education.

Central to providing ‘challenge for all’ is a focus on high-quality language acquisition and use by pupils. How can we challenge learners effectively if there is a notable vocabulary gap, especially in terms of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and use of Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary? How can we embed higher order questioning and higher order thinking skills if the children can’t access the language?

Teaching Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

I think most of us feel comfortable teaching Tier 3 vocabulary. It’s usually technical, often subject-specific, and we teach this in a very direct and focused way through a rich curriculum where key words and their meaning are explored and used in context.

Tier 2 vocabulary can be more difficult for children to grasp. It often expresses ‘shades of meaning’ which can be extremely subtle, and much of it relies on an experience and understanding of root words, prefixes and suffixes. As teachers, we are so used to experiencing these words or skilled at working out what they mean that we may assume they and their meaning are familiar to children too.

It is vital, therefore, if we want our children to engage effectively with the whole curriculum, articulate their thoughts, learning and aspirations, and access real challenge, that we have a whole-school focus on closing the vocabulary gap. We must directly teach and promote the understanding and use of Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.

If you visit Copthorne Primary, where this approach is fully embedded, you will find wonderfully articulate young people. Our children are confident, active learners who relish a challenge and are not afraid to question adults, direct their own learning and express their views and opinions. Just being in their company for a few minutes makes my day.

Take a look at the Copthorne Pupil Parliament on YouTube (it’s just four minutes). Most of the children you’ll see arrived at the school with no English and are now able to think and speak fluently in at least two languages. Here’s how we do it…

1. Five-minute stories

Present children with three or four age/stage-appropriate Tier 2 words. The words must be those they have met before or have roots, prefixes or suffixes which they have experience of. Give them five minutes to write an engaging short story which must include the given words. This gives children the opportunity to use these words in their correct context, applying their developing knowledge of the shades of meaning, whilst developing long-term memory of the vocabulary. We adapted this idea from Chris Quigley who suggests using this strategy with words from year group spelling lists. Similarly, Tier 3 vocabulary can be developed by asking children to use a given selection of words in a summary about their learning in a particular subject.

2. Silent discussions

Get learners to discuss a topic through written communication only, using given Tier 2 or 3 vocabulary.

3. Model the language

When modelling writing, act out how to ‘think like a writer’, justifying and explaining your word choice, especially around synonyms from Tier 2. 4Talking school Provide opportunities and groupings for talk in every subject to ensure it absolutely pervades the whole curriculum. For example, try talk partners, debating, school council, drama or film-making. Use the ‘Big Questions’ resources at oxplore.org to promote debate and encourage the use of high-level vocabulary in context.

5. Language-rich environment

On every display, pose key questions using the appropriate technical vocabulary. This includes a ‘challenge’ question using Tier 2 vocabulary. Expect a response to the questions from the children. Display an appropriately aspirational (Tier 2) ‘word of the week’ in each classroom. After they’ve worked out its meaning, encourage the children to use it in their talk and writing and find its synonyms and antonyms.

6. Weekly vocabulary lessons

Take an object or theme and, using pictures, sound and film, support children in developing their high-quality descriptions using Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, as well as more metaphorical language.

7. Reading across the curriculum

Maximise every opportunity in all subjects to teach reading skills and explore Tier 3 vocabulary in context. Use guided reading as an opportunity to really explore and pull apart those ‘shades of meaning’ for Tier 2 words in a range of text types. This allows for those rich conversations about specific word choice, meaning and effect.

8. Reciprocal reading

Introduce pupils to a whole-class text in small, manageable chunks. At the same time, thoroughly explore all new Tier 2 vocabulary. Encourage the children to use the words’ roots, context and any relevant existing knowledge to clarify meaning. Taking the time to explore misconceptions in reading and vocabulary use is a key feature of reciprocal reading and stops children from ‘glossing over’ words they don’t recognise.

9. Headteacher’s book club

Introduce extended guided reading groups for more able readers in Y5 and 6. Issue a challenging text to learners, along with an initial focus, and give pupils two to four weeks of independent reading time. Then meet together to share afternoon tea, discuss the book and explore new Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary. Encourage the children to use the new words in their writing and talk activities.

10. Year group writing events

Stage events such as an alien landing to stimulate pupils’ imagination and provide a specific context for the use of given Tier 2 and 3 words.

This article was originally published in Teach Reading & Writing magazine.

Christabel Shepherd is a NACE Associate and Trustee, and Executive Headteacher of Copthorne and Holybrook Primary Schools. She has extensive experience of leading on school-wide provision for more able learners, having used the NACE Challenge Framework to audit and develop provision in two schools, with both going on to achieve the NACE Challenge Award. Christabel regularly contributes to NACE's CPD programme, as well as delivering bespoke training and consultancy to help schools develop their provision for more able learners within an ethos of challenge for all.

Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.

In this article, originally published on the Psychology Today website, NACE patron Richard Bailey explores the problem(s) with praise…

There have been a number of reports and research articles trying to help teachers distinguish between effective and ineffective practices. One useful example comes from the University of Durham, when a team led by Professor Robert Coe reviewed a wide range of literature to find out what works, and what probably does not, in the Sutton Trust report What makes great teaching? Review of the underpinning research (2014).

Among the report’s examples of teaching techniques whose efficacy is not supported by research evidence was the widely discredited idea of "learning styles," as well as commonly used practices like "ability grouping" and "discovery learning." Even more surprising for many readers, perhaps, was the inclusion of "Use praise lavishly" in the list of questionable strategies. This is likely to be surprising because praise for students is seen as inherently affirming and beneficial by many people and is a core element of a positive philosophy of teaching, coaching, and parenting. In a similar way, criticism is now frequently condemned for being negative and harmful.

There are school programs and sports organisations based explicitly on the dual premises of plenty of praise and minimal criticism. And the rationale for this is usually that praise bolsters self-esteem and criticism harms it. In effect, this is the "gas gauge" theory of self-esteem, in which praise fills up the tank with good feelings and social approval, and criticism drains it.

Creating positive learning experiences

How can one not applaud the movement towards more positive approaches to education and sports? Especially for young people, these settings should be joyous, exciting experiences, and we know from vast amounts of research evidence from the United States and elsewhere that this is not always the case (link) (link).

We know, for example, that bullying, harassment and abuse still hide in dark corners, and that far too many parents, coaches, and teachers confuse infant needs with adult wants and infant games with professional competitions. We also know that such behaviours drive children away from engagement in and enjoyment of these pursuits because young people, if not all adults, know that learning, playing sports, and taking part in other activities are supposed to be fun.

Consider sports specifically for a moment. Research from the United States suggests that sports participation drops by 30% each year after age 10. According to a report from the National Alliance for Youth Sports, over 70% of children drop out of organised sports by age 13.

Numerous studies report that many children are put off participating in sports by an over-emphasis on winning and that this effect is especially strong among girls. Children are too often presented with a narrow and uninspiring range of opportunities, and while many love team games and athletic events, others find these traditional forms of physical activity irrelevant, boring, or upsetting.

Remember: this pattern of children dropping out from sports is happening as the health and happiness of young people are being compromised by unprecedented levels of physical inactivity. With activity levels low, and predicted to go even lower, we cannot afford to turn children off sports, and the movement toward more positive athletic experiences is undoubtedly a movement in the right direction.

There is a danger, though, in embracing praise as wholeheartedly and unconditionally as some parents, coaches, and teachers seem to have done.

When praise goes wrong…

Praise for students may be seen as affirming and positive, but a number of studies suggest that the wrong kinds of praise can be very harmful to learning. Psychologist Carol Dweck has carried out some of the most valuable research in this regard. In one study from 1998, fifth-graders were asked to solve a set of moderately difficult mathematical problems and were given praise that focused either on their ability ("You did really well; you're so clever") or on their hard work ("You did really well; you must have tried really hard”). The children were then asked to complete a set of more difficult challenges and were led to believe they had been unsuccessful. The researchers found that the children who had been given effort-based praise were more likely to show willingness to work out new approaches. They also showed more resilience and tended to attribute failure to lack of effort, not lack of ability. The children who had been praised for their intelligence tended to choose tasks that confirmed what they already knew, displayed less resilience when problems got harder, and worried more about failure.

What many might consider a common-sense approach – praising the child for being smart, clever, or "a natural" – turned out to be an ineffective strategy. The initial thrill of a compliment soon gave way to a drop in self-esteem, motivation, and overall performance. And this was the result of just one sentence of praise.

Some researchers have argued that praise that is intended to be encouraging and affirming of low-attaining students actually conveys a message of low expectations. In fact, children whose failure was responded to with sympathy were more likely to attribute their failure to lack of ability than those who were presented with anger. They claim:

“Praise for successful performance on an easy task can be interpreted by a student as evidence that the teacher has a low perception of his or her ability. As a consequence, it can actually lower rather than enhance self-confidence. Criticism following poor performance can, under some circumstances, be interpreted as an indication of the teacher's high perception of the student's ability.”

So, at the least, the perception that praise is good for children and criticism is bad needs a serious rethink: praise can hinder rather than help development and learning if given inappropriately. Criticism offered cautiously and wisely can be empowering.

Well-chosen criticism over poorly judged praise

These findings would seem to call for a reconsideration of a very widely held belief among teachers and coaches that they should avoid making negative or critical comments, and that if they must do so, then they should counter-balance a single criticism with three, four, or even five pieces of praise. This assumption is clearly based on the "gas gauge" model of self-esteem described earlier, viewing any negative comment as necessarily damaging, and requiring positive comments to be heaped around it in order to offset the harm.

I am unaware of any convincing evidence that criticism or negative feedback necessarily causes any harm to children's self-esteem. Of course, abusive comments and personal insults may well do so, but these are obviously inappropriate and unacceptable behaviours. Well-chosen criticism, delivered in an environment of high expectations and unconditional support, can inspire learning and development, whilst poorly judged praise can do more harm than good. Even relatively young children can tell the difference between constructive and destructive criticism, and it is a serious and unhelpful error to conflate the two.

We actually know quite a lot about effective feedback, and that knowledge is summarised nicely by the educational researcher John Hattie: "To be effective, feedback needs to be clear, purposeful, meaningful, and compatible with students’ prior knowledge, and to provide logical connections.”

I suggest that it would be extremely difficult to deliver feedback that is clear, purposeful, etc. in the context of voluminous praise. Eventually, the parent, teacher, or coach simply ends up making vague, meaningless or tenuous platitudes. And this can cause more damage to the learner-teacher relationship than criticism.

Build confidence by being present

The psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz describes a conversation he had with a school teacher named Charlotte Stiglitz – the mother of the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz:

"I don't praise a small child for doing what they ought to be able to do," she said. "I praise them when they do something really difficult – like sharing a toy or showing patience. I also think it is important to say ‘thank you’, … but I wouldn't praise a child who is playing or reading.”

Grosz watched as a four-year-old Stiglitz showed her a picture he had been drawing. She did not do what many would have done (including me when I taught this age group) and immediately praise such a lovely drawing. Instead, she had an unhurried conversation with the child about his picture. “She observed, she listened. She was present,” Grosz noted.

I think Stephen Grosz’s conclusion from this seemingly everyday event is correct and important: being present for children builds their confidence by demonstrating that they are listened to. Being present avoids an inherent risk associated with excessive praise, as with any type of reward, that the praise becomes an end in itself and the activity is merely a means to that end. When that happens, learning, achievement, and the love of learning are compromised. 

Praise is like sugar. Used too liberally or in an inappropriate way, it spoils. But used carefully and sparingly, it can be a wonderful thing!

This article previously appeared in Psychology Today (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smart-moves). 
Copyright Richard Bailey

Andrew Johnston, Teacher, Science Coordinator and Head of Research and Development at Copthorne Primary School, shares five approaches to develop resilience for all learners in your school…

The number of children under 11 being referred for specialist mental health treatment has increased by 50% and waiting times for such treatment have trebled (BBC freedom of information requests, July 2019). The Youth Association has recently called for mental health to be taught as part of the national curriculum. Furthermore, the Department of Education has said that early intervention is key to preventing mental health challenges later in life.

Clearly, there is a huge role for schools to play in supporting our young people to have good mental health. Unsurprisingly, there is also evidence that focusing on wellbeing is likely to impact positively on learning outcomes. The EEF has recently published recommendations for improving social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools – reporting that well-implemented SEL teaching has the potential to give learning gains of +4 months over a year.

What does this mean in the context of supporting our more able learners? Those with high achievement and/or potential can often be anxious about their academic performance. Students who are repeatedly told they are very able, and who find failure impossible to consider, often have problems associated with anxiety and self-worth. I would argue that these students need to be taught that failure and struggle are an essential element of learning and a normal part of life. As highlighted in Element 3c of the NACE Challenge Framework, it is important to consider “social and emotional support” as well as academic provision for the more able.

Many schools are already teaching ‘resilience’ and ‘wellbeing’: dogs in school, outdoor learning, mentoring and school-based therapy are some of the provisions being offered. As all schools will know, the new Ofsted framework places significant emphasis on curriculum: “Curriculum matters, as it defines the knowledge and experiences that learners will receive beyond their home environment.” With this in mind, it is important to consider whether we are teaching resilience and SEL as ‘add-ons’, or as integrated aspects of a broad curriculum.

Researcher and lecturer David Glynne-Percy highlights the importance of ensuring all learners have access to opportunities to develop resilience and self-esteem – particularly through extracurricular activities offered as part of the school day, so they are accessible to pupils who rarely stay after school. His research also highlights the benefits of opportunities to compete, develop competence and receive feedback – all helping to develop resilience, confidence, leadership and sustained engagement.

Serving an inner-city community, providing children with fresh experiences is one of the main drivers of our new curriculum. We have focused on enriching our curriculum in the following ways:

1. Working with the Brilliant Club to raise aspirations

We work with the Brilliant Club to raise the aspirations of our most able learners from families who have not yet had a university graduate. Supported by lecturers at Leeds and Manchester Universities, participating pupils can experience university lectures, complete academic assignments and get a taste of what it is like to continue their education at university and the opportunities this can afford them.

2. Wellbeing-focused school clubs

Our children have had the opportunity to develop their wellbeing through cooking, arts and crafts and sports clubs. Last year, as part of a programme focusing on essential life skills, we began a cycling club for pupil premium children and low prior-attainers – providing opportunities to develop fitness and balance, alongside the experience and challenge of mastering a new skill. As part of this, children were recently able to attend a UCI event in Bradford as part of the 2019 Cycling World Championships and represent our school there. We found these children developed an ambassadorial role and now encourage their peers to be involved. Children’s feedback shows that they feel valued members of the school and have further developed a sense of belonging. This year we will assess whether this impact leads to better engagement in other aspects of school life and improved academic outcomes.

3. Developing breaktime and lunchtime provision

As part of our curriculum development, breaktime and lunchtime provision was completely redeveloped last academic year. Staff, including mid-day meal supervisors, were trained to support children to play a range of games and activities during lunchtimes and playtimes. This resulted in a vast improvement in behaviour across the school during these periods, but also allowed children to develop their social and emotional skills as they received feedback and instruction from staff.

4. Incorporating growth mindset

Consider this list summarising the behaviour of individuals with fixed mindsets:

·         Overgeneralising from one experience (e.g. a single test)

·         Exaggerating failures relative to successes

·         Categorising themselves in unflattering ways

·         Setting self-worth contingencies e.g. “If I do not get the highest mark in the class in my maths test I am a failure (or will be in trouble with my dad).”

·         Losing faith in ability to perform tasks

·         Underestimating the efficacy of effort

As a school we saw that these statements described some of our highest-achieving pupils.

Over the last three years, we have introduced growth mindset across the school, aiming to encourage children to enjoy challenges, embrace mistakes and understand that risk-taking is an important part of their learning. After initial training, teaching staff have completed cycles of lesson study to assess the impact of this approach. We have found that all groups of children are more open to trying difficult tasks or new skills and fewer children have a fear of failure or appearing less intelligent if they make mistakes.

Further to this, we asked staff to follow this guidance for supporting learners, including the more able:

1.      Tell them ability is not fixed.

2.      Encourage risk-taking in lessons.

3.      Refuse to help students who have not attempted tasks.

4.      Highlight failure as part of learning and praise effort.

5.      Down-play success but praise effort.

5. Appointment of a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Champion 

The appointment of a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Champion in 2017 has helped raise the profile of mental health and wellbeing across the school and our multi-academy trust for both staff and learners. This staff member has developed a range of strategies to teach resilience and mindfulness – taking risks, celebrating mistakes, open-ended tasks, mastery-style teaching – and has worked with parents to help them to understand the impact of self-esteem on their child’s success at school.

Read next: 4 ways to avoid “But am I right Miss?”

Charlotte Bourne, Deputy Head of Learning at Shakespeare’s Globe, shares four places to get started with the free online resources developed by the theatre’s education team.

As well as being an iconic cultural venue, Shakespeare’s Globe provides free resources for schools, supporting teachers to create learning opportunities that provide challenge for all. With materials available for teachers and learners across all phases, our education resources are designed to:

·         Offer flexibility within the teaching of Shakespeare through active approaches, rehearsal room techniques or technology – giving opportunities for children to flourish across a range of domains;

·         Add breadth to learners’ understanding of vocabulary through interrogating language choices;

·         Add depth to leaners’ understanding of the relationship between Shakespeare’s texts and their contexts;

·         Use them as a springboard to wider learning opportunities, such as homework projects or longer-term investigations.

Each year we also run a “Playing Shakespeare” microsite which tracks a production as it is developed and performed. This year’s microsite is dedicated to Macbeth (details below).

Ready to go deeper with Shakespeare? Here are four places to get started…

1.      ‘Discover' zone

Great for an introduction to Shakespeare or a focus on context, the Globe website’s ‘Discover’ zone provides a wealth of information on: the history of Shakespeare’s Globe(s); factsheets about Shakespeare's world; blog posts from the Globe; music at the Globe; ‘ask an actor’ podcasts.

Our fact sheets – on Shakespeare, London, writing plays, actors, indoor theatre, special effects, the first Globe, playhouses, audiences, and costumes and cosmetics – are particularly useful for introducing students to Elizabethan and Jacobean contexts in an accessible way at KS2, and can easily be adapted to your lesson objectives. For example:

·         Support the development of critical literacy skills: “We have very few accounts of how the audience behaved, and most of them are about ‘bad’ behaviour. This probably tells us more about what was considered ‘news’ than about how audiences behaved all the time.”

·         Introduce learners to how performance conditions impact on texts: “There were practical reasons why some plays were better suited to indoor theatres. Indoor theatres had a small stage (about half the size of an outdoor theatre’s stage). There were also stools allowed on the stage: the most expensive seats, where rich ‘gallants’ sat to be seen as well as to watch. This gave the actors far less space for big battles or crowd scenes. On the other hand, the smaller space and the candlelight enhanced a play’s magical effects.” This could be followed by an investigation into which of Shakespeare’s plays learners think would suit each type of theatre.

2.      Staging It

An interactive filmmaker for desktops and tablets, Staging It aims to help learners understand Shakespeare’s texts from a director’s perspective and offers the option to virtually stage a scene at the Globe.

Actors are filmed performing a moment of a play on the Globe stage. Each line of their speech is shot four times, each time performed in different ways (happy, flirtatious, defensive, etc.). Students decide which clips to add to the dynamic storyboard to build a final scene. They can then interrogate the choices they made, and the impact of these on how each character is perceived.

These resources support students in recognising that the text is a conscious construct, shaped by the context in which it is received – vital preparation for GCSE English that can be introduced at KS3 through this resource.

Follow-up questions can be used to support the development of critical thinking: How am I looking at this character? What leads me to have this viewpoint? What does my viewpoint ignore? Is there another way to look at them? How might [a different culture/gender etc.] view them? Which of these possible viewpoints makes the most sense given the text? This could be modelled in advance by the teacher, as “revealing the thought processes of an expert learner helps to develop [these types of] metacognitive skills” (EEF, 2018).

3.      Teach Shakespeare

The Globe’s website for teachers, Teach Shakespeare provides hundreds of learning resources in multiple formats: photos, video clips from previous productions, synopses, audio interviews, fact sheets and schemes of work. Designed with input from teachers, the site can be searched by age range, play, format, or purpose (e.g. lesson plan/exam revision). No signup is needed to access the resources.

Many of these resources incorporate rehearsal room techniques. These have experimentation, collaboration and reflection at their heart, and encourage students to make their own discoveries about the text.

For example, this resource suggests the activity ‘walking the line’ to investigate Shakespeare’s use of metre: foot up on unstressed syllables and down on stressed syllables, noticing and commenting on irregularities in the ‘Gallop apace’ speech in Act 3 Scene 2 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The ‘commenting’ is particularly important, because it is the collaborate nature of reflection that helps further the metacognitive talk referenced above. We provide video clips showing the actors undertaking some of these techniques, to model the insights that come through actively exploring the text in this way.

4. Playing Shakespeare

This site provides a gateway to all our previous production-specific websites created as part of the Playing Shakespeare project, each of which tracks a production from rehearsal to final performance. This year’s microsite is dedicated to Macbeth, with previous productions covered including Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew. Each of these sites contains photos, interviews with the cast and director, design briefs, articles and teaching activities.

The interviews with cast members give students the opportunity to unpick the texts in performance – a key aspect in appreciating the form. Listen to several Macbeths discussing their interpretations, for example, can help students understand that, unlike a novel, a drama text is incomplete on the page.

There are research articles on particular plays, written for a KS3-4 audience moving to focus in more detail on the relationship between text and context. These provide a rich exploration of writer's craft that cannot be separated from context, and can be used to model the integrated approach to this required for higher-level literary analysis.

Our Macbeth 2020 website has launched and will begin tracking the production in January!

Ahead of his workshop on this topic, NACE Associate Ed Walsh shares seven key components of a challenging KS3 science curriculum…

“Is our KS3 course doing its job?” This is one of the most powerful questions a science leader in a secondary school can ask.

The new GCSE courses are no longer really new; many teachers are finding their way around the specifications, developing aspects such as the running order of topics, time allocated to activities and applying emphasis to areas that results analyses indicate are deficient.

There, is, of course, a limit as to what can be achieved within KS4. If students are starting on their GCSE courses with limitations in their grasp of science then the more effective solution may lie in KS3. I’d like to share some ideas as to how learners, especially the most able, can be effectively catered for at this stage. It is, of course, relatively easy to pose questions and harder work to identify answers. With this in mind I’ve also included some links to useful references and resources.

1. Talk the (science) talk

What language is being used in lessons? Are students being supported, challenged and expected to ‘talk science’? This needs to go beyond knowing the right names for objects, to also having a command of connectives. Would an observer in your classroom catch use of words and phrases such as ‘because’, ‘therefore’ and ‘as a result of’ – not just by the teacher but by students as they are developing explanations?

Read more: Useful materials on speaking and listening can be found in Session 4 of the National Strategies Literacy in Science Training Materials.

2.  Ensure practical work adds value

What is the role of practical work in your science teaching and learning? Is it exploratory as well as illustrative? Does it prompt questions and ideas? Is it effective at developing the apparatus and techniques skills needed at GCSE so that able learners have, for example, mastered the use of microscopes by the time they start GCSE courses and can then concentrate on other aspects of investigations?

Read more: The newly published ASE/Gatsby report Good Practical Science provides benchmarks to support departments seeking to improve the effectiveness of practical science teaching.

3.  Review your use of questioning and command words

What kind of questions are being asked? A good starting point is to look at the command words used in GCSE specifications and consider whether students are being exposed to these all the way through their secondary science experience. As well as ‘describe’ and ‘explain’, are able learners being asked to evaluate, compare, contrast and suggest? As well as closed and specific questions, are you posing open and exploratory questions?

Read more: Guidance on questioning is provided in unit 7 of Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools (DfES).

4. Develop writing (quality, not quantity)

What is the role of writing? This is not a plea for lengthy, exhaustive (and exhausting) experimental writeups or even necessarily for anything of any length. It’s more that there is a case for getting students producing short pieces of high-quality writing that do a particular job well. This might be, for example, comparing and contrasting different materials for a car body, suggesting and justifying an energy provision plan for a particular location or analysing a graph that shows how different carrier bags respond to loads.

Read more: Useful materials on writing can be found in Session 3 of the National Strategies Literacy in Science Training Materials.

5. Ensure key concepts are covered and revisited

Have the ‘cornerstone concepts’ been effectively introduced and revisited? Is the concept of energy well developed and do students understand what is meant by an ecosystem? Such key concepts can be seen as tools that scientists can reach for when developing explanations; able learners should become more proficient in doing this.

Read more: An overview of how key ideas can be planned for in KS3 is provided in AQA’s KS3 Science Syllabus.

6.  Respond to learners’ needs

How responsive is the teaching to nurturing able learners and focusing on their learning needs? If these students are going to realise their potential at the end of GCSE then their KS3 experience needs to be tailored to areas in which they need a good grounding. For example, if they’re confident with the concept of a chemical reaction but less familiar with different types of reaction, can the latter be made a particular focus? Students who feel they are ‘treading water’ may not perform to the best of their ability.

Read more: A really good reference source on this is Dylan Wiliam’s Embedded Formative Assessment (2011, Solution Tree, 978-1-934009-30-7)

7. Develop science capital

Students are more likely to succeed if they see a purpose to their learning. Are there opportunities for them to see the doors that are open to young people who are competent and keen in STEM subjects? A good example of resources recently published to support this are the Royal Society’s series of videos with Professor Brian Cox – as well as demonstrating how experiments can be done in schools, they also show why these ideas are important and useful in society and highlight the cutting-edge research in each area.

Read more: This blog post from The Science Museum’s Beth Hawkins provides a useful introduction to the concept of science capital and how it can be developed. Plus, watch our webinar on this topic (member login required).

For additional support to develop your provision for more able learners in science, sign in as a NACE member to access Ed Walsh's NACE Essentials guide to realising the potential of more able learners in GCSE science, and recorded webinar on effective questioning in science.

Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.