Curriculum, teaching and support

Guidance, ideas and examples to support schools in developing their curriculum, pedagogy, enrichment and support for more able learners, within a whole-school context of cognitively challenging learning for all. Includes ideas to support curriculum development, and practical examples, resources and ideas to try in the classroom. Popular topics include: curriculum development, enrichment, independent learning, questioning, oracy, resilience, aspirations, assessment, feedback, metacognition, and critical thinking.

Top tags: pedagogy questioning enrichment research oracy independent learning curriculum free resources KS3 aspirations cognitive challenge KS4 assessment language literacy feedback resilience critical thinking maths metacognition collaboration confidence English creativity wellbeing lockdown vocabulary access mindset CPD

Four ways Covid restrictions have affected learning and development

Posted By Jonathan Doherty, 19 May 2022

Dr Jonathan Doherty, NACE Associate

Covid-19 has presented schools with unprecedented challenges. Pupils, parents and teachers have all been affected, and the wider implications in schools are far from over. From May 2020, over 1.2 billion learners worldwide have experienced school closures due to Covid-19, which corresponds to 73.8% of enrolled learners (Muller & Goldenberg, 2021). The pandemic continues to have a significant effect in all phases of our education system. This blog post captures some key messages from research into the effects of Covid-19 over the past two years and highlights the effects it has had on young people – particularly on the development of language and communication skills.

1. The pandemic negatively affected achievement. Vulnerable pupils and those from economically deprived backgrounds were most affected.

When pupils do not attend school (whilst acknowledging that much great work is done at home), the disruption has a negative impact on their academic achievement (Sims, 2020).

The disrupted periods of partial school closures in England took a toll academically. DfE research (Pupils' progress in the 2020 to 2022 academic years) showed that in summer 2021, pupils were still behind in their learning compared to where they would otherwise have been in a typical year. Primary school pupils were one month behind in reading and around three months behind in maths. Data for secondary pupils suggest they were behind in their reading by around two months.

Primary pupils eligible for free school meals were on average an additional half month further behind in reading and maths compared to their more advantaged peers. Research has highlighted that the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and others is now 18 months by the end of Key Stage 4. Vulnerable pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans scored 3.62 grades below their peers in 2020 and late-arriving pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) were 1.64 grades behind those with English as a first language (Hunt et al., 2022).

2. Remote teaching during Covid changed the nature of learning – including reduced learning time and interactions – further widening existing gaps.

‘Learning time’ is the amount of time during which pupils are actively working or engaged in learning, which in turn is connected to academic achievement. Pre-pandemic (remember those days?!), the average mainstream school day in England for primary and secondary settings was around six hours 30 minutes a day. The difference between primary and secondary is minimal and averages out at 9 minutes a day.

During the period up to April 2021, mainstream pupils in England lost around one third of learning time (Elliot Major et al., 2021). We know that disadvantaged pupils continue to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Levels of lost learning remain higher for pupils in more deprived areas.

School provision for online learning changed radically since the beginning of the first lockdown. Almost all pupils received some remote learning tasks from their teachers. Just over half of all pupils taught remotely did not usually have any online lessons, defined as live or real-time lessons. Offline provision, such as worksheets or recorded video, was much more common than live online lessons, but inevitably reduced the opportunities for pupil-pupil interactions.

Parents reported that for most pupils, time spent on schoolwork fell short of the expected school day (Eivers et al., 2020). Pupil participation was, on average, poorer amongst those from lower income families and those whose parents had lower levels of education (Eivers et al., 2020). Families from higher socio-economic backgrounds spend more financially to support their children’s online remote learning. At times, technological barriers, as well as significant differences in the amount of support pupils received for learning at home, resulted in a highly unequal experience of learning during this time.

3. There has been a negative impact on pupils’ wellbeing, socio-emotional development and ability to learn.

A YoungMinds report in 2020 reinforced the effect of the pandemic on pupils’ mental health. In a UK survey of participants aged up to 25 years with a history of mental illness, 83% of respondents felt that school closures had made their mental illness worse. 26% said they were unable to access necessary support.

Schools play a key role in supporting children who have experienced bereavement or trauma, and socio-emotional interventions delivered by school staff can be very effective. Children with emotional and behavioural disorders also have significant difficulties with speaking and understanding, which often goes unidentified (Hollo et.al., 2014).

The experience of lockdown and being at home is a stressful situation for some children, as is returning to school for some children. While some studies found that children are not affected two to four years later, other studies suggest that there are lasting effects on socio-emotional development (Muller & Goldenberg, 2021).

Stress also challenges cognitive skills, in turn affecting the ability to learn. Trauma, emotional and social isolation, all well-known during the lockdown, are still too frequent. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain which is responsible for higher-order thinking and decision-making, is the brain region most affected by stress. Stress-related impairments to the prefrontal cortex display impaired memory retrieval (Vogel & Schwabe, 2016) and difficulties with executive skills such as planning, problem solving and monitoring errors (Gibbs et al., 2019).

4. National restrictions have curtailed the pandemic but had an adverse effect on communication and language.

Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns have had a huge impact on children’s speaking and listening skills. We are only beginning to understand the scale of this. Preventative measures such as the wearing of face masks in school, social distancing and virtual lessons, all designed to address contagion concerns, have negatively impacted on communication in all the school phases.

Face masks cover the lower part of the face, impacting on communication by changing sound transmission. They remove visible cues from the mouth and lips used for speech-reading and limit visibility of facial expressions (Saunders, 2020). Speech perception involves audio-visual integration of information, which is diminished by wearing masks because articulatory gestures are obscured. Children with hearing loss are more dependent on lip-reading; loss of this visual cue exacerbates the distortion and attenuation effects of masks.

Social interaction is also essential for language development. Social distancing restrictions on large group gatherings in school have affected children’s deeper interactions with peers. “Peer talk” is an essential component of pragmatic language development and includes conversational skills such as turn taking and understanding the implied meaning behind a speaker’s words, and these have also been reduced (Charney, 2021).

How bad is the issue? A report from the children’s communication charity I CAN estimates that more than 1.5 million UK children and young people risk being left behind in their language development as a direct result of lost learning in the Covid-19 period. Speaking Up for the Covid Generation (I CAN, 2021) reported that the majority of teachers are worried about young people being able to catch up with their speaking and understanding. Amongst its findings were that:

62% of primary teachers surveyed were worried that pupils will not meet age-related expectations
60% of secondary teachers surveyed were worried that pupils will not meet age-related expectations
63% of primary and secondary teachers surveyed believe that children who are moving to secondary school will struggle more with their speaking and understanding, in comparison to those who started secondary school before the Coronavirus pandemic.

Measures taken to combat the pandemic have deprived children of vital social contact and experiences essential for developing language. Reduced contact with grandparents, social distancing and limited play opportunities mean children have been less exposed to conversations and everyday experiences. Oracy skills have been impacted by the wearing of face coverings, fewer conversations with peers and adults, hearing fewer words and remote learning where verbal interactions are significantly reduced.

Teachers are now seeing the impact of this in their classrooms. The I CAN report findings show that the majority of teachers are worried about the effect that the pandemic has had on young people’s speech and language. As schools across the UK start on their roads to recovery and building their curricula anew, this evidence reveals the major impact the pandemic has had on children’s speaking and understanding ability. The final Covid-19-related restrictions in England have now been removed, but for many young people and families, this turning point does not mark a return to life as it was before the pandemic. There is much to do now to prioritise communication.

Join the conversation…

As schools move on from the pandemic and seek to address current challenges, close gaps, and take oracy education to the next level, NACE is focusing on research into the role of oracy within cognitively challenging learning. This term’s free member meetup will bring together NACE members from all phases and diverse contexts to explore what it means to put oracy at the heart of a cognitively challenging curriculum – read more here.

Plus: to contribute to our research in this field, please contact communications@nace.co.uk

References

Charney, S.A., Camarata, S.M. & Chern, A. (2021). Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Communication and Language Skills in Children. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 2, Vol. 165(1) pp. 1-2.

Elliot Major, L., Eyles, A. & Machin, S. (2021). Learning Loss Since Lockdown: Variation Across the Home Nations [online]. Available at: https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/cepcovid-19-023.pdf

Eivers, E., Worth, J. & Ghosh, A. (2020). Home learning during Covid-19: findings from the Understanding Society longitudinal study. Slough: NFER.

Gibbs L., Nursey, J., Cook J. et al. (2019). Delayed disaster impacts on academic performance of primary school children. Child Development 90(4): pp. 1402-1412.

Hollo, A., Wehby, J. H., & Oliver, R. M. (2014). Unidentified language deficits in children with emotional and behavioural disorders: a meta-analysis. Exceptional Children 80 (2), pp.169-186.

Hunt, E. et al. (2022) COVID-19 and Disadvantage. Gaps in England 2020. London: Education Policy Institute. Nuffield Foundation.

I CAN (2021) Speaking Up for the Covid Generation. London: I CAN.

Muller, L-M. & Goldenberg, G. (2021) Education in times of crisis: The potential implications of school closures for teachers and students. A review of research evidence on school closures and international approaches to education during the COVID-19 pandemic. London: Chartered College of Teaching.

Saunders, G.H., Jackson, I.R. & Visram, A.S. (2020): Impacts of face coverings on communication: an indirect impact of COVID-19. International Journal of Audiology, DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2020.1851401

Sims, S. (2020) Briefing Note: School Absences and Pupil Achievement. UCL. Available at: https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeob/cepeobn1.pdf

Vogel, S. & Schwabe, L. (2016) Learning and memory under stress: implications for the classroom. Science of Learning 1(1): pp.1-10.

YoungMinds (2020) Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs. Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/media/3708/coronavirus-report_march2020.pdf

Tags: confidence disadvantage language lockdown oracy pedagogy remote learning research resilience underachievement vocabulary wellbeing

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Lessons from Beijing: a personal reflection on teaching more able learners in China via Zoom

Posted By Keith Watson FCCT, 08 November 2021

The opportunities that present themselves to teachers these days are truly amazing. Last summer the chance to write and deliver a Zoom-based programme of learning to primary-aged pupils in Beijing was presented to me. Yes, Beijing. How could I refuse the opportunity to apply an English teaching style to another culture? Through a partnership between NACE and a private educational provider I embarked upon a programme of 16 two-hour sessions over a period of eight weeks via Zoom, using Google Classroom for resources and homework. The lessons were taught from 7-9pm 9pm Beijing time. Would my teaching keep the nine-year olds awake on a Sunday night?

The context

The education company I worked with offers what it terms ‘gifted and talented programmes’ to all ages and across the curriculum. The pupils mainly attended international schools and had their school lessons taught in English. The programmes have previously been delivered in person during the summer holidays by overseas teachers, primarily from the US. A move to Zoom-based learning after the pandemic has proved successful and now lessons are offered throughout the year in the evening and at the weekend with parents paying highly for the courses. The company organised the programme very well with training and support for the teacher at every stage. It is an impressive operation.

I taught an English literature unit based upon a comparative novel study using ‘The Iron Man’ and ‘The Giant’s Necklace’ – texts familiar to many Key Stage 2 teachers. The pupils worked hard in lessons, listened well and thought deeply. They retained knowledge well and I used retrieval practice at the start of most lessons. They completed these tasks eagerly. They were a pleasure to teach. Off-task behaviour was rare, pupils laughed when jokes were made – though of course humour was lost in translation at times (or maybe my jokes were not funny).

What worked?

Central to the learning was the pupils reading aloud. They loved this. It gave me the chance to clarify meaning, check vocabulary and asks questions at depth. All pupils read, some with impressive fluency given it was their second language. Parents commented they were not used to working this way. I think in other courses they often read for homework and then in lessons answered questions at length and then wrote essays. Despite being young there is an emphasis on academic writing. One pupil referred to his story as an essay, revealing that writing a story was unusual for his studies. Writing the story was a highlight for the pupils, one I suspect they are not used to. The reading also allowed for targeted questions, which the parents seemed to like, having not seen the technique used before. Yes, parents often sat next to their child, out of my eyesight, to help if needed. Hearing them whisper what to say on occasion was a new one for me.

To get an idea of the dedication of the pupils and support of the parents, it is worth mentioning that one pupil joined the lesson while travelling home on a train from her holiday. With her mum sat next to her, she joined in the lesson as best she could and all with a smile on her face. Another pupil said her father had asked her how she was reviewing the learning from the previous lesson each week. Learning is valued. Technical difficulties were rare but when they arose the pupils were proactive in overcoming difficulties, moving rooms and logging on with another device. Resilience and self-regulation was noticeably high. The last lesson included a five-minute presentation from each pupil on what they had learned from the unit. Pupils prepared well, the standard was high and pupils showed depth of understanding of the themes covered.

Addressing the language gap

As a teacher the main challenge to emerge was the gap between the pupils’ understanding of complex literary concepts and the use of basic English. The units are aimed at what is termed ‘gifted and talented’ yet at times I needed to cover areas such as verb tenses at a basic level. In English assessment terms the students were at times working at Year 6 greater depth for reading and some aspects of their writing, but were only ‘working towards’ in other areas.

I have decades of experience teaching EAL learners, the majority of whom attained at or above national expectation at the end of Key Stage 2 despite early language challenges. Here the gap was even more pronounced. Should I focus on the higher-order thinking and ignore what was essentially a language issue? I decided not to do that since the students need to develop all aspects of their English to better express their ideas, including writing. I did mini-grammar lessons in context, worked primarily on verb tenses in their writing and when speaking, and prioritised Tier 2 vocabulary since Tier 3 specialist vocabulary was often strong. They knew what onomatopoeia was, but not what a plough was, let alone cultural references like a pasty. Why would they?

Motivations and barriers

At the start of each lesson, I welcomed each pupil personally and asked them, ‘What have you been doing today?’ Almost every answer referred to learning or classes. They had either completed other online lessons, swimming lessons, fencing lessons, piano practice (often two hours plus) or other planned activities. Rarely did a pupil say something like ‘I rode my bike’. Having a growth mindset was evident and the students understood this and displayed admirable resilience. Metacognition and self-regulation were also evident in learning.

However, one area where the pupil did struggle was in self-assessment. The US system is based on awarding marks and grades regularly, including for homework. I chose not to do this, thinking grades for homework would be somewhat arbitrarily awarded unless something like a 10-question model was used weekly. The research on feedback without grades suggests that it leads to greater pupil progress and this was my focus. It would be interesting to explore with the students whether my lack of grade awarding lowered their motivation because they were used to extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation. Does this contradict my assertion that growth mindset was strong?

Another issue emerged linked to this – that of perfectionism. One pupil was keen to show her knowledge in lessons but was the only pupil who rarely submitted homework. A large part of the programme was to write a story based on ‘The Iron Man’, which this student did not seem to engage with. At the parents’ meeting the mother asked if she could write for her child if it was dictated, a suggestion I rejected saying the pupil needed to write so that I could provide feedback to improve. It became clear the child did not want to submit her work because it was ‘not as good as their reading’. The child had told me in the first lesson that they had been accelerated by a year at school. I fear problems are being stored up that my gentle challenges have only now begun to confront and that may take a long time to resolve. This was not the case for the other pupils, but the idea of pressure to work hard and succeed was always evident. I realise the word ‘pressure’ here is mine and may not be used by others in the same context, including the parents.

Parental support

So, what of parental engagement? The first session began with getting-to-know-each-other activities and a discussion on reading. After 20 minutes the TA messaged me to say the parent of one pupil felt the lesson was ‘too easy’. Nothing like live feedback! I messaged back that the aim at that point was to relax the children and build a teaching relationship. A few weeks later the same parent asked to speak to me at the end of the lesson. I was prepared for a challenge that did not materialise. She said her child liked the lessons and she loved the way I asked personalised questions to extend her child. She was not used to her being taught this way. I used a mixture of cold-calling, named lolly-sticks in a pot and targeted questions, which seemed novel and the children loved.

Parent meetings were held half-way through the unit and feedback about things like the questioning wasvery positive. The extremely upbeat response was surprising since the teaching seemed a little ‘flat’ to me given the limitations of Zoom but that is not how it was received. The pupils seemed to enjoy the variety of pace, the high level of personal attention, the range of tasks, the chunking of the learning and the sense of fun I tried to create. Parents asked when I was delivering a new course and wanted to know when I was teaching again.

Final reflections

So, what did I learn? Children are children the world over, which we all know deep down. But these children apply themselves totally to their work. They expect to work hard and enjoy ‘knowing’ things. Their days are filled with activity and learning. Zoom can work well but still the much-prized verbal feedback is not the same from 5,000 miles away.

And finally, as a teacher I have learned over the years to be professional and to keep teaching whatever happens. When a pupil said they didn’t finish their homework because they were traveling back home, I enquired where they had been. ‘Wuhan’ they replied. Without missing a beat, I further asked, ‘So what do you think about the plot in chapter two then?’

Would you be interested in sharing your experiences of teaching remotely and/or across cultures? Is this an area you’d like to explore or develop? Contact communications@nace.co.uk to share your experience or cpd@nace.co.uk to express your interest in being part of future projects like this.

Tags: feedback language literature lockdown mindset motivation parents and carers pedagogy perfectionism questioning remote learning vocabulary

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Phiddlywinks: have you tried it yet?

Posted By NRICH, University of Cambridge, 04 June 2021

In March this year, NACE members had the opportunity to preview and trial a new maths game being developed by the team at NRICH – a University of Cambridge initiative providing free online maths resources that promote challenging, enriching learning experiences.

The game in question has now been launched, and in this blog post the NRICH team explain how it works, and how you and your learners can get playing.

Question: What happens when you bring together Tiddlywinks and football?

Answer: You get Phiddlywinks!

In this blog we’ll learn more about Phiddlywinks, including the charismatic mathematician who inspired the game and role of NACE members in bringing it to our screens.

What is Phiddlywinks?

Phiddlywinks is a strategy game for two players. The winner is the first player to get the white counter into the coloured region at the opposite end of the board. Player 1 is aiming for the blue region and Player 2 for the red region.

The game begins with the white counter in the centre circle.

Players take it in turns to either:

Place a black counter on the board or
Move the white counter.

The white counter moves by jumping in a straight line over one or more black counters. A player may be able to make more than one jump when it is their turn.

To get started, consider this screenshot from a game which is underway. Both players have chosen to use their turns to add black counters to the board (you’ll notice that the white counter remains in its starting position). It is Player 1’s turn. Can you see how Player 1 might move the white counter to win the game?

Here’s one possible winning move:

Player 1 clicks on 7E (or 8F) and the white counter moves to 9G
Player 1 clicks on 9F (or 9E) and the white counter moves to 9D
Player 1 clicks on 9C and the white counter moves to 9B
Player 1 clicks on 10B and the white counter will move to 11B, winning the game!

Do take some time exploring the interactivity. To help you learn to play the game, we’ve uploaded more mid-game scenarios here. You can also print off black and white or colour versions of the board.

Who was the inspiration behind Phiddlywinks?

John Horton Conway was a prize-winning mathematician who loved creating new games for all ages. He is best known to many for creating the Game of Life. He also developed a game called Philosopher's Football (also known as Phutball) which challenged players to manoeuvre a ball across a large grid towards their opponent's goal-line. Not surprisingly, the game soon became popular with his university students.

We have taken Phutball as the inspiration for our Phiddlywinks. We piloted the developmental version of the game with NACE members at a specially organised online event attended by both primary and secondary colleagues. The feedback from teachers attending NACE event, and the follow-up response from the classes of NACE members who kindly trialled Phiddlywinks with their classes, enabled our team to prepare the game for its release.

Phiddlywinks is almost identical to Philosopher's Football except that the white ball has become a white counter and the players have become black counters. The rules are the same but Phiddlywinks is played on a much smaller board. The way the counters move reminded us more of Tiddlywinks than football, hence the alternative name.

The NRICH team would like to acknowledge the support of NACE and its members who kindly trialled our initial version of the game, giving us invaluable feedback which informed the development of Phiddlywinks.

What maths games and activities have you and your learners been enjoying this year? Share your ideas in the comments below or in the NACE community forums.

Tags: enrichment free resources maths problem-solving remote learning

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Assessment in a remote learning environment: what have we learned?

Posted By Ann McCarthy, 16 March 2021

NACE Research & Development Director Dr Ann McCarthy explores the evolution of remote assessment over the past 12 months, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Over the past year schools have been developing remote learning solutions. These are systems, platforms, methods, or tools that enable remote learning. As the year progressed the quality and flexibility of these have improved. The need for improvement does not reflect teachers’ commitment at the start of the first lockdown, but the limitations caused by available technology, training in the use of the technology, and pupils’ access levels.

In October 2020, the Department for Education stated that all children attending state-funded schools must be given immediate access to remote education if they needed to self-isolate, or if restrictions required pupils to stay at home. Schools were expected to have a contingency plan in place for remote education so that pupils had access to meaningful and ambitious work every day. Provision was to include online tools which allow for interaction, assessment and feedback and high-quality online and offline resources and teaching videos. To support this, they aimed to increase pupils’ access to the internet and introduced Oak Academy.

By March 2021, schools were in a much better position to provide high-quality remote learning, having developed a variety of solutions. Live (synchronous) learning takes place when schools have videoconferencing in place for real-time lessons. Dependent on the age of the pupils and the availability of technology both within the school and at home this may be for a few short sessions each week or for all lessons. Self-paced (asynchronous) learning is also being used. This may utilise technologies such as recorded videos, teaching software, quizzes, games or TV programmes. This may also use more traditional learning tools such as textbooks, worksheets or other written or practical activities which do not make immediate use of a computer. Asynchronous learning enables pupils to work on the same work as others in the class but with more control over when they study and how long they spend on each task.

How effective is remote learning?

The EEF's Rapid Evidence Assessment on Distance Learning stated that teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered. The EEF found that there was no real difference between synchronous and asynchronous teaching. If all elements of effective teaching are present and teaching builds clearly on pupils’ prior learning, then pupils will learn well.

The EEF found that peer interactions and support for pupils to work independently can both provide motivation and improve learning outcomes. They did, however, note that ensuring access to technology is key, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and this has been seen to be a problem throughout the lockdown periods. Teachers have also had to be aware that different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content and pupils. One strength of remote learning is that it also provides more opportunities for pupils to take more control of their learning and as such they might also engage in a greater degree of individual learning where they can follow their own learning interests or study a whole-class topic in a different way or in greater depth.

Assessment principles when learning remotely

The wide range of possible teaching input, learning access, learning engagement, home support and learning output has led to greater consideration of assessment: its purpose; use and reliability. The Ofsted Handbook (2019) states that: “When used effectively, assessment helps pupils to embed knowledge and use it fluently and assists teachers in producing clear next steps for pupils.” The headteachers’ standards (2020) require headteachers to ensure “valid, reliable and proportionate approaches are used when assessing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the curriculum”.

The principles are important, but when moving from classroom contact to remote contact teachers and leaders have had to resolve some practical issues. So, how and what do you assess when learning is remote? In some schools, adaptive software is in use for elements of the curriculum. This responds to pupils’ online learning and adapts the content and practice accordingly. This enables the teacher to monitor learning and focus on in depth one-to-one support. In other environments nonadaptive software is used to set the tasks but the teacher must monitor the learning outcomes closely. What must not be lost in the drive to use remote learning and technology to support this is the place of assessment in the learning process.

“Pay particular attention to securing alignment between curriculum, assessment and teaching, and of these to the school’s ambitious goals for pupils.” – NPQH Framework (2020)

The Chartered College (2020) recognises the challenges related to moving from classroom to remote assessment and feedback. They show the principles of good feedback and assessment can still apply if they are reframed to fit this new context. When planning learning activities assessment must be considered in relation to the possible outputs and the potential of the output being the work not solely of the individual student concerned.

The Chartered College’s Distance Learning Resource Pack (2020; member login required) provides some clear tips about successful remote feedback and assessment, including:

Assessment should be purposeful and provides meaningful, actionable information.
Questions should help the teacher to assess what pupils have learned already and where they might need some more support, as well as helping them to test their own learning.
Students should help to design questions, as they will revise study material while they put together a question board.
Students should know when tests are low stakes or no stakes and understand that these are only used to help learning.
Structured responses, prompts and partially completed templates may be helpful for pupils working without a teacher.
Hinge questions can be used to check understanding and allow pupils to move on or receive further support.
Multiple-choice questions with well-planned incorrect answers allow teachers to spot common misconceptions.
In online learning sessions, prepared questions and use of the chat function, whole group or individual responses promote engagement and tracking.
A daily ‘big idea’ question supported by multiple smaller questions can provide the teacher with information about engagement and learning.
Pupils need feedback, which should be task-specific, providing a clear direction. Verbal feedback can be beneficial as an alternative to written feedback. Feedback on independent work is particularly important.
Self- and peer-assessment remains an important part of the assessment process with the use of group chat or breakout rooms and shared learning.

The Chartered College’s report on effective approaches to distance learning (2021) states that “formative assessment is crucial in providing regular feedback to help students improve and to inform future teaching. Therefore, in order to maintain academic achievement, it is important that this continues to take place during distance and blended learning. During distance learning, teachers are less able to rely on incidental formative assessment opportunities and, therefore, will have to be more systematic and intentional about how and when assessment will take place.”

When planning for remote learning, some assessments only need minor adjustment but others need to be completely changed to reflect the change in teaching methods and potentially changes in the learning sequence. Teachers have had to revisit the intended learning outcomes and the assessment strategies needed to measure these. They also must protect academic integrity. The Department for Education (2020) suggested the use of dedicated software for questioning and discussion, and live feedback and marking.

Remote assessment practice reported by NACE member schools

NACE members were invited to respond to a survey on their practice in assessing remote learning, with a particular focus on provision for more able learners. NACE schools provided feedback on their remote assessment practices and the resources used to support these.

When using synchronous practices, teachers reported using online discussion, questioning, the use of the chat function, live view of written work and live marking of work. Assessment of asynchronous learning included low stakes quizzes either produced by the teacher or created by dedicated software, online assessment tools, e-portfolios, work uploaded and marked using a learning platform, and work assessed via email. In some schools the technology makes it possible to live view or mark as well as marking and returning work. This is more often seen with older pupils. Online assessment tools have enabled teachers to provide individual or whole-class feedback and use outcomes to inform planning.

Where pupils have greater opportunities for independent learning, they are likely to be engaged in longer-term projects, essays, or research activities. These tasks are more likely to utilise greater detail in assessment criteria being shared with the pupils and more opportunities for individual feedback. For these and other tasks, GRIT (growth resilience independent task) pupil responses are used to help them to understand and develop their own learning.

The choices made in each school are driven by ethos and existing policies and procedures, but they have been rolled out in accordance with the circumstances. In general, schools report that they are using the available advice from EEF and others. They have had to make choices about the technology being used, including the means of communication, learning platforms, and other online resources. They have then had to make this work based on the availability of technology in pupils’ homes and their ability to engage with the technology.

Many teachers confirmed that pupil voice is effective in assessing during remote learning, especially when learners have been working independently. Teachers have tried many different approaches to assessment and feedback. Peer interaction during remote learning can motivate pupils and improve outcomes. Assessment strategies using peer marking and feedback, sharing models of good work, and opportunities for live discussions of content, are possible and are reported to be increasingly effective as pupils get older.

Feedback to pupils has varied according to the task and between schools. This ranged from a comment “well done” to detailed written feedback. The use of success criteria continues to be important when giving feedback on tasks. Some teachers have given open-ended feedback as they would in a class situation. This has enabled them to adapt and differentiate work to the unique situations of the children as well as their ability. Others have been calling pupils to answer questions raised in online chat, to address outcomes in activities such as group agree/disagree questioning, online quizzes, or independent work. Online comments at the end of a piece of work have been shared with pupils. Emails have been sent to parents where children do not access online learning.

This range of responses reflects the range of practice and the differences in access to technology, training in the use of technology and home learning environments. Where possible, the methods used for teaching, learning assessment and feedback are like those used in class as this provides consistency and stability to the pupils when they are not in school.

Opportunities and concerns when using remote learning

Considering the advice available to schools, the increased availability of internet access, learning platforms and dedicated software, one might assume that there is an equitable learning experience for all pupils. Schools have invested in a distance learning infrastructure and are now able to provide a blended learning approach which will enable pupils to make progress. However, what pupils learn, how quickly they progress and their depth of understanding are not necessarily the same as they would be in school. Pupils spend most of their remote learning time working independently and may not have home support.

NACE member schools have recognised the range of responses to home learning from pupils. Some more able pupils thrive in an environment where they can manage their day and their learning. Home learning provides pupils with time to reflect and research so that mastery, analytical skills, and problem solving can be developed. Not all pupils cope with these greater freedoms and many miss the collaborative nature of the classroom where they can enhance their learning by engaging in cognitive discourse. Others lack resilience or the metacognitive skills needed to learn without the support of the teacher. Teachers raised concerns that some pupils may have developed gaps in learning and understanding. Others were concerned that there was learning fatigue and that continued remote learning impacts on the health and wellbeing of the pupils.

Challenges when using remote assessment

Within a classroom environment visual clues are often used to assess understanding and learners’ confidence, but these are not easy to establish through online learning. When engaged in remote learning, teachers find it more difficult or impossible to use the normal assessment practice of tracking learners' work and assessing their progress in skills. One major barrier to assessment is that teachers do not know the level of support each learner receives at home from family members. Some pupils receive significant input and have considerable access to additional learning materials, support and guidance. Other pupils work in isolation and lack any additional resources, support or learning capital which would enable them to respond well to learning tasks. These differences not only impact on the quality of learning, but also on the teacher’s understanding of what pupils know, understand and can do independently.

A second issue related to assessment and reported by NACE member schools was that not all pupils engage with or complete the work. Written work completed at home is not always submitted and when it is the teacher is not always clear as to whether the child completed the work independently.

Some schools report difficulties in the assessment of foundation phase learning based on outcome alone, which is what is seen from remote learning, particularly for those with limited access to online sessions and activities. Normal assessment practice would be far more fluid and formative questioning part and parcel of the process. This is far more difficult to achieve remotely, especially where parents are present and 'supporting' the child by answering for them.

How does this apply to more able pupils?

The surveyed NACE schools recognised the many difficulties and pitfalls in providing remote learning and assessment. Despite this they remained committed to high-quality provision which embraces assessment as an integral part of the process. As one member commented: “This is very much a work in progress and we are learning as we go, always striving to improve.”

NACE's research suggests that cognitively challenging learning environments are dependent upon curriculum design, management of learning and cognitive discourse (read more here).

In planning learning for more able pupils, schools have made best use of available technology and have adapted the curriculum to reflect the new learning environment. They have created new learning opportunities and adapted existing ones, but cannot manage all aspects of the pupils’ home learning experiences. Some more able learners do not have the same learning advantages as others and as such there will be difference in outcomes and in the responses to assessment measures. The greatest difficulty in using remote learning and assessment to develop cognitively challenging learning for more able pupils results from the absence of rich and extended talk and cognitive discourse which would be found in the classroom. Short periods of engagement online cannot generate the quality of language which would be present in the classroom throughout the day.

Returning to school: what next?

As pupils and teachers return to face-to-face teaching and learning there is much to consider. How will teachers use the assessments undertaken during remote learning to plan for next steps and to resolve any lost learning or misconceptions? Will disadvantaged more able pupils have the same opportunities to achieve as others whose learning has progressed well? Where more able pupils have taken their learning beyond the expected standard, will they have opportunities to continue to deepen learning having returned to a classroom environment?

Teachers are now tasked with the challenge of managing learning recovery, assessment and new learning simultaneously, while rebuilding the relationships and expectations of the classroom.

Assessment of learning summer 2021

As pupils return to school there is another issue related to assessment. Pupils due to complete a course of study this year will have an assessed outcome which is no longer linked to a final examination. Where the remote assessment is well-established and provides a direct link to what has been learnt, teachers will be able to report on pupils’ learning accurately. However, in many schools, pupils will return to school to face a series of activities which provide evidence of what they know. Pupils’ qualifications this year will be based on school assessments.

“Teachers must assess their students’ performance, only on what content has been delivered to them by their teachers, to determine the grade each student should receive.” “Heads of centres will have to confirm that students have been taught sufficient content to allow progression to the next stage of their education.” – Ofqual (2021)

Teachers have increasingly recognised the importance of creating a link between curriculum, planning, teaching, learning and assessment. Is this examination requirement going to mean that pupils spend more time having their learning measured at the expense of developing as learners? How could the examination system work so that it fits with the way in which teaching and learning takes place?

We will continue to consider these inter-related issues as we explore assessment methodology, opportunities, limitations and next steps for more able learners.

With thanks to all the NACE member schools who have so far contributed to our work in this area. To share your own experience, please contact communications@nace.co.uk.

References

Chartered College of Teaching (2020). Distance Learning Support Pack.
Chartered College of Teaching (2021). Education in times of crisis: Effective approaches to distance learning.
Education Endowment Foundation (2020). Best evidence on supporting students to learn remotely: Rapid evidence assessment examining the existing research to support the remote learning of pupils.
Department for Education (2020). Headteachers’ Standards.
Department for Education (2020). National Professional Qualification for Headteachers Framework.
Department for Education (2020). Remote Education Temporary Continuity Direction – Explanatory note.
Ofqual (2021). Decisions on how GCSE, AS and A level grades will be determined in summer 2021.
Ofsted (2019). School Inspection Handbook.
UNESCO (2020). COVID-19 response – remote learning strategy.

Additional resources and support

Read more from our “rethinking assessment” series
NACE spring & summer series: support to reflect, review and develop your provision

Tags: assessment feedback lockdown remote learning research technology

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The power of effective feedback in remote teaching and learning

Posted By Jonathan Doherty, 17 February 2021

Dr Jonathan Doherty, Leeds Trinity University

The pandemic has significantly changed how and where learning takes place. For the first time in history, teachers are tasked with providing education remotely, beyond the school. Not without its challenges, this does provide an opportunity to rethink the core principles of teaching and learning and at the same time promote high standards of achievement.

Technology can help excite, engage and empower more able learners. It opens new channels of communication. It is a chance for learners to own and shape their own learning and it creates opportunities for tailored learning. In his podcast, Assessment and feedback in an online context (February, 2020), Jamie Scott suggested that the principles of good feedback and assessment apply to the online environment; they just need to be reframed to fit a new context. This blog post discusses one important aspect of teaching and learning – feedback – and provides some strategies to promote this in the context of remote teaching.

The power of effective feedback

Hundreds of articles have been written about feedback and its role in knowledge and skill enhancement and on motivation to learn. When effective feedback is combined with effective teaching, it can be very powerful in facilitating learning. John Hattie (2007) placed it in the top 10 influences on pupil achievement. So what is it and why is it such a powerful facilitator of learning? Feedback is “the process in which learners make sense of information about their performance and use it to enhance the quality of their work or learning strategies" (Henderson et al., 2018, p. 16). This definition of feedback goes beyond just providing comments about pupils’ work. It describes the process of using information resulting from a task to make improvement. Feedback can come from different sources: beginner learners require much scaffolding, while prompts to do with self-regulation are appropriate for more able pupils.

Task prompts include:

Does the answer meet the success criteria?
Can he/she elaborate on the answer given?
Is there other information that could be included to meet the criteria?

Process prompts include:

What strategies were used and why?
What does this tell me about his/her understanding of key concepts and knowledge?

Self-regulation prompts include:

How can he/she monitor this work?
How can he/she reflect on his/her own learning?
What learning goals has the pupil achieved?
Can you teach another pupil to…?

Decades of education research support the idea that greater learning comes from teaching less and providing more feedback. In remote teaching, there are reduced opportunities to pick up on pupils’ non-verbal cues such as nods, frowns and expressions of elation from new understandings normally seen in a classroom. Whilst these might be interpreted as important cues, they are not the most reliable sources of feedback and are in effect poor proxies for learning. In remote teaching and learning, it is more difficult to get such feedback, which means we need to be much clearer on the purpose of the activity, its assessment and the ways in which feedback is given.

Effective feedback, given remotely or face-to-face, reduces the “gap” in learning – that is the space between current and desired understanding. Feedback is most powerful when it helps learners negotiate the gap between where they are and where they need to be. It should address three fundamental questions:

Where am I going? Pupils must understand their goals and what success at those goals looks like. Goals relate to feedback by informing learners on what is needed (success criteria) so they can direct and evaluate their actions. It allows them to set reasonable goals ahead.

How am I doing? This entails feedback about past, present or how to progress from the starting point to the next or endpoint. It is information about progress, about personal performance and attitude to learning. It offers information about what is and what is not understood and allows learners to track their performance.

Where to next? This feedback helps learners in choosing the next appropriate challenges, to achieve self-regulation, the strategies to work on for greater fluency and ultimately deeper understanding. Feedback allows pupils and teachers to set further appropriately challenging goals for ongoing learning.

Effective feedback is NOT… supplying only a mark for a piece of work or giving a generalised comment. “This is a poor piece of writing” is a value judgement and not good feedback. Similarly, “You might want to use more paragraphs”, is advice and not helpful feedback either.

10 essentials of effective feedback

Feedback resides in what is received and interpreted by a student, rather than what a teacher believes has taken place.
Feedback is only successful if pupils use it to improve their performance.
Feedback is more effective when the criteria for success are known in advance and where the goal to achieve success is shared by pupil(s) and teacher.
The purpose(s) of the feedback should be made clear and be specific.
It should be timely and given as soon as possible.
It must assure learners that meeting cognitive challenge is part of learning.
It should be elaborative, i.e. telling the learner something about their work that they were not able to see for themselves.
It works best in a positive, affirming climate (including online classrooms).
It should help to teach more able learners to answer their own questions and develop self-regulation skills.
Feedback must challenge pupils to invest effort in moving forwards.

Conclusion

Effective feedback is one of the powerful enablers of learning. Consistently asking “Where am I going? How am I doing? Where to next?” embeds this in deep learning and aligns with classroom assessment. It is not an isolated nor time-consuming process.

References

Hattie, J.& Timperley, H. (2007) The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research. Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 81–112
Henderson, M., Boud, D., Molloy, E., Dawson, P., Phillips, M., Ryan, T., & Mahoney, P. (2018). Feedback for learning: closing the assessment loop. Australian Government Department of Education and Training.
Scott. J. (2020) Assessment and feedback in an online context. Evidence-based Education. Podcast 24th February. Accessed 14 February 2021.

Additional reading and support:

Tags: assessment feedback lockdown remote learning research

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Improving assessment in the current education context

Posted By Hilary Lowe, 14 January 2021

Hilary Lowe, NACE Education Adviser

Despite and also because of what is happening around us currently, we are returning to the big questions in education – what should schools be teaching, and how should we assess that on a day-to-day basis and for the purposes of public accountability and progression throughout all phases of education?

All the big questions are complex, but assessment is a particularly devilish one. It raises issues of course such as what we should be assessing (and ‘measuring’) and when, but also of how to reflect the different rates of progress and the learning capacities of different young people, of how to assess skills as well as knowledge, and of the place of current and possible future technologies in educational assessment. Assessment must also address wider questions of educational equity.

The smaller questions are also important – of how everyday formative and summative assessment practices in all classrooms, real and virtual, can be as effective as possible. All teachers must become as proficient in assessment as they are in pedagogy – two sides of the same coin. We return therefore to the central importance of high-quality, evidence-informed professional development and evaluation and planning tools for schools.

Your chance to contribute: NACE member survey

NACE has a keen interest in contributing to the debate about how everyday assessment practices and public accountability systems may be improved and reformed to the benefit of all learners, including the most able. As an organisation serving schools directly, we plan to start by looking at aspects which have current and practical application for teachers, informing the development of resources (including enhancement of the NACE Curriculum Audit Tool) and training programmes to support schools. Our engagement will also take account of the rapidly evolving context in which schools are working, and of the importance of improving day-to-day formative and summative assessment practices.

Our initial focus will be on:

The assessment of remote learning;
Assessment literacies and practices to promote the learning of more able pupils.

Both areas will of course make reference to issues of educational equity.

As a membership organisation we very much want to involve our members in our work on assessment, and to that end we are inviting members to respond to an online survey focusing on remote feedback and assessment. This will be used alongside a review of emerging best practice and theory in everyday assessment practices, including assessment of remote learning. Your survey contributions will be an important part of our work in this area, and we will feed the initial results back, so that you can benefit from others’ experiences. .

To contribute, please complete the survey by 4 February 2021.

Contribute to the survey.

Tags: assessment CPD feedback lockdown pedagogy remote learning technology

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New free maths resource to develop self-reflection and motivation

Posted By Ems Lord, 13 January 2021

NACE is proud to NACE is proud to partner with Cambridge University’s NRICH initiative, which is dedicated to creating free maths resources and activities to promote enriching, challenging maths experiences for all. In this blog post, NRICH Director Dr Ems Lord shares details of the latest free maths resources from the team, and an exclusive opportunity for NACE members…

In this blog post, I’m delighted to introduce NRICH’s new child-friendly reflection tool for nurturing successful mathematicians – part of our suite of free maths resources and activities to promote enriching, challenging mathematical experiences for all. We very much hope that you enjoy exploring it with your classes to support them to realise their potential. Such innovations are developed in partnerships with schools and teachers, and we’ll also be inviting you to work directly with our team to help design a future classroom resource intended to challenge able mathematicians (see below or click here for details of our upcoming online event for NACE members).

At NRICH, we believe that learning mathematics is about much more than simply learning topics and routines. Successful mathematicians understand the curriculum content and are fluent in mathematical skills and procedures, but they can also solve unfamiliar problems, explain their thinking and have a positive attitude about themselves as learners of mathematics. Inspired by the 'rope model' proposed by Kilpatrick et al. (2001), which draws attention to the importance of a balanced curriculum developing all five strands of mathematical proficiency equally rather than promoting some strands at the expense of others, we have developed this new model and image which uses child-friendly language so that teachers and parents can share with learners five key ingredients that characterise successful mathematicians:

Understanding: Maths is a network of linked ideas. I can connect new mathematical thinking to what I already know and understand.
Tools: I have a toolkit that I can choose tools from to help me solve problems. Practising using these tools helps me become a better mathematician.
Problem solving: Problem solving is an important part of maths. I can use my understanding, skills and reasoning to help me work towards solutions.
Reasoning: Maths is logical. I can convince myself that my thinking is correct and I can explain my reasoning to others.
Attitude: Maths makes sense and is worth spending time on. I can enjoy maths and become better at it by persevering.

Using the tool during remote learning and beyond

This reflection tool helps learners to recognise where their mathematical strengths and weaknesses lie. Each of the maths activities in our accompanying primary and secondary features is designed to offer learners opportunities to develop their mathematical capabilities in multiple strands. We hope learners will have a go at some of the activities and then take time to reflect on their own mathematical capabilities, so that when full-time schooling returns for all they are ready to share their excitement about what they have achieved, and are eager to continue on their mathematical journeys.

At NRICH, we believe that following the current period of remote learning, success in settling back into schools will be aided by recognising and acknowledging the mathematical learning that has been achieved at home, and encouraging learners to reflect on how they see themselves as mathematicians. It may be that some learners will not recognise the value of what they have achieved while they have been out of the classroom, because what they have been doing at home may be quite different from what they usually do in school. We want learners to appreciate that there are many ways to demonstrate their mathematical capabilities, and to recognise the ways in which they behave mathematically. By inviting children and students to assess their mathematical progress on a broad range of measures, we hope to change the narrative to recognise what learners have achieved, rather than focusing on what they have missed.

Get involved….

As the current period of remote learning continues, we’re continuing to develop new free maths resources, and we always value input from teachers. On 3 February 2021, the NRICH team is hosting an online meetup for NACE members during which we’ll share an exciting new classroom resource, currently under development, intended to challenge able mathematicians. The session will involve an opportunity to explore this new resource and share your insights to help inform its future development. We look forward to working with you. Details and booking.

Very best wishes for 2021 – the NRICH team.

Ref: Kilpatrick, J., Swafford, J. and Findell, F. (eds) (2001) Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics. Mathematics Learning Study Committee: National Research Council.

Tags: confidence free resources lockdown maths metacognition mindset motivation remote learning

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Challenging more able learners post-lockdown: 5 practical strategies

Posted By Catherine Metcalf, 01 October 2020

For all of us in the teaching profession, September 2020 has been a return to school we are unlikely to forget for many years. Amongst the struggles, anxieties and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the UK have reopened to all pupils, and teachers have found themselves at the centre of media and political scrutiny as they attempt to craft and deliver a ‘recovery curriculum’ for learners. There is a balance required between addressing and supporting pupil wellbeing, whilst assessing the impact of four months of school closure on educational attainment. As much as I read about ‘lost time’, ‘regression’ and ‘recovery’, the reality of being back in the classroom has, for me, brought about many different questions: Where are these learners at now? How can I best support them? And perhaps more importantly, do I need to change my expectations of where they should be and how well they will progress? These questions are all pertinent for more able learners, many of whom have worked consistently and independently at home throughout the lockdown.

I find myself thinking… no. Perhaps a ‘recovery curriculum’ is not what these children really need. Instead, do learners need the consistency they have come to expect from their teachers and schooling? A consistency of “keeping standards high for everyone” (Sherrington, p148) will ensure that our expectations of all learners, and particularly our more able learners, are behind all the decisions we make regarding curriculum. I am reminded of a TES article I read in April 2020 headlined ‘Dumb down at your peril!’ As practitioners, we need to ensure that we do not inadvertently add to the time lost by lowering our standards and expectations of learners. If learning really does “require forgetting” (Wiliam, 2016) then the classroom becomes an exciting place for innovation this year as we are able to move learners forward in a new way, ensuring our teaching focus is on moving forward, rather than looking back. (For additional perspectives on this, take a look at NACE’s free “beyond recovery” resource pack.)

Here are five practical ways I’ve been putting this approach into practice:

1. Encourage learners to explore and share their passions

For many more able learners, the time spent at home will have been a positive experience. The additional time to explore their passions (reading, writing, painting, problem solving) and really delve into areas of interest is something that school often struggles to provide. I believe that our “curriculum is more than the lessons” (Waters, 2020) and so taking the time to talk with more able learners about their experiences during lockdown is vital. This insight allows us to plan tasks where the pupil becomes the expert, e.g. the learner leading a class session, teaching others about their talent, sharing their work (writing, art) or creating a ‘how to’ guide/video which can be used by their peers. (I’ve found this has been particularly successful with classroom mathematics and learners with sporting talent.)

2. Draw on current events to develop independent thought and debate

Many more able learners are likely to have high levels of interest in contemporary issues surrounding the pandemic. In my experience, these children (even at age 10 and 11) are beginning to form and question their own opinions, undertaking their own research, watching the news and reading online, and engaging in discussion (often with adults) at home. Harnessing these issues in the classroom provides an opportunity to teach “creative and critical thinking” (one of the 12 pedagogical approaches required in the new Curriculum for Wales 2022 – read more here), and provides an excellent stimulus and authentic context for many cross-curricular skills, e.g. debating, evaluating information sources and identifying bias.

3. Explore digital teaching and learning, together

The new Welsh Curriculum also requires teachers to use a “blend of approaches” in the classroom (12 Pedagogical Principles CfW 2022). For many learners, particularly more able learners, the opportunity to use digital technology as part of their everyday ‘learning diet’ (Waters, 2020) has been exciting and for me, it has been an element of lockdown I am determined to sustain in my classroom. We have, together, explored new software and learnt new skills, with the children often emailing me to say “Miss, I found a much easier way of doing this…” There is always the risk that it can feel intimidating as the teacher to admit that the learners may be ahead of us. However, in my experience, it is an incredibly motivating concept for learners, particularly more able learners, as they are keen to share and model their learning for me and for others.

4. Embrace the challenge: make it harder!

Mary Myatt’s words struck such a chord with me – a chord that has resonated all the more since returning to school: “What do most children want? … Harder work!”

With my head swimming with ‘recovery’, ‘catch-up’ and ‘back-filling’, I approached my planning this year with some trepidation. Lesson three of the maths scheme we use at school presented learners with a Chinese counting frame, unlike anything I had ever seen, as a tool to develop place value understanding. My first thought on looking at the lesson was, “Perhaps I will miss that one out!” I convinced myself that I could justify skipping the lesson as we had missed so much and I could give myself and the learners an easy ‘get-out’ of this lesson. However, troubled by that looming TES headline, I reflected on ways I could make the lesson approachable… could the learners potentially reach the ‘hard’ lesson? With some additional planning time, the use of some highly effective concrete manipulatives (Skittles and chocolate buttons) and the shift in my own mindset to embrace the challenge, the children rose to and exceeded my expectations – understanding the lesson, completing the work and craving “some more hard lessons please!”

5. Continue to strengthen links with parents and carers

Finally, the time spent home-learning has provided us with a unique opportunity to engage with parents and carers in a different way. The contact we have had with parents, providing academic and in many cases emotional support, has strengthened our relationships with the home, and for our more able learners this can be such a valuable additional tool. I have been able to recommend reading material from nominee lists for awards, provide challenging maths activities online (such as The Daily Rigour) and work one-to-one as an editor for a learner who wanted to write her own novel at home!

Furthermore, I have gained an additional team of experts in the parents of my class, drawing on their skills, career paths and interests to enhance the curriculum provision in my classroom.

References

Myatt. M., Curriculum Thinking: A Masterclass, 16.10.19
Sherrington. T., The Learning Rainforest, 2017
Waters. M., Seminar: From the big picture to the finer detail, 13.03.20
Wiliam. D., The nine things every teacher should know, 2016 (summary available here)

Further reading:

Tags: independent learning lockdown parents and carers remote learning technology

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Beyond the “recovery curriculum”: moving forward with secondary teaching and learning

Posted By Neil Jones, 07 September 2020

Neil Jones, NACE Associate

This article was originally published in our “beyond recovery” resource pack. View the original version here.

In the context of “recovering” teaching and learning at secondary level, I want to suggest that the principles of working with the most able learners remain the same. The crisis – as crises do – has provoked polarised responses: Tiggerish optimism about opportunities to change the way education works on the one hand; Eeyorish despair on the other, doubting whether anything can be recovered during or after this hiatus.

There is no doubt that this crisis has brought disasters with it for young people and their secondary education. But crises reveal, in a sharp and heightened way, what is already the case. It remains the case that schools need:

To include the most able students explicitly in their thinking, for those students’ benefit and the benefit of all;
To use current technology (the word “new” gives away how slow we can be), intelligently and responsively, to enable excellent work from the most able students, independently and collaboratively;
To remember that teaching and learning, with the most able and with all students, is fundamentally a human relationship, not a consumer transaction.

Below are some suggestions that you may already be considering as you gear up to get back into the secondary classroom.

1. Take “accelerated learning” seriously – but don’t use it as “cramming”.

Tony Breslin, in the draft preface of his forthcoming book Lessons from Lockdown: the educational legacy of COVID-19 (Routledge, to be published end of 2020 / beginning of 2021), writes: "from a societal and educational standpoint, post-virus rehabilitation is not about how quickly we can get back to where we were. Nor is it about reconstituting our schools in the image of ‘crammer’ colleges, obsessed by catch-up and curriculum recovery, as if all the last few months have left us with is a shortcoming in knowledge and a loss of coverage." [Emphasis mine]

This is an important point, worth serious reflection. Teachers and most parents will understandably be anxious to make up for lost time and lost learning, particularly those whose children and students are at the pinch points of transition between key stages. Breslin continues: "Rather, it is about how far we can travel in light of our shared experience, and the different educational and training needs that will surely manifest themselves in the years ahead. It is also about acknowledging those longstanding shortcomings at the heart of our schooling and education systems, around persistent inequalities of outcome, around the need to build inclusion and attainment alongside each other rather than posing them as different and sometimes conflicting opposites, and around attending to the wellbeing of children, their families and all who support their learning – as if we could build a sustainable education system without doing this." [Emphases mine]

Most teachers would agree, surely, with the wisdom here. “Cramming” or force-feeding our students course content as if we were fattening geese, would be horribly stressful, and pedagogically ineffective in the long term. Yet there is an opportunity for us, instead of “cramming”, to take accelerated learning very seriously indeed.

In his article exploring current priorities and opportunities for primary schools, NACE Associate Dr Keith Watson highlights Mary Myatt’s insistence on professionals paring back course content to the essentials. He is, of course, right to point out the dangers of narrowing the curriculum even further. As an English teacher, I understand why the GCSE exam boards have elected to remove poetry from the exams, but it chills my blood to think of the lost potential for thought, feeling and understanding that this represents – particularly for our more able students.

I do wonder, though, whether we now have an opportunity to introduce just a little more urgency – but not panic – into teaching and learning. Accelerated learning strategies aim to achieve both inclusion and attainment in learning, in the ways that NACE has advocated for so many years: help your most able students to go as far and fast as they can; teach to the top, support from the bottom, and so on. This approach should still be used; we will just have to use it on less material. Don’t over-rehearse, i.e. don’t plan to teach new Year 10 students six months of missed Year 9 course content first. Do over-learn, with regular, no-stakes tests to embed knowledge and build confidence and mastery. Crucially, teach what needs to be taught now and scaffold knowledge and skills “just in time.”

A document that has garnered interest, originating from the US, is the Learning Acceleration Guide published by TNTP. Like anything, you’ll not want to swallow it wholesale, but it does give a range of sensible suggestions, including those set out above. The main thrust is that we should not panic about teaching new material, as if the students will never be ready for it. Instead, teaching new and necessary material, if scaffolded, can prompt memory of previous learning and help students “catch up” by stealth, rather than by “remedial action” that brings their learning up to speed to where they should have been, rather than where they could be now. This is clearly a leading attribute of the challenging classroom at any time in history, pre- or post-COVID.

2. Be bold with remote learning – “homework” could be transformed.

You may have found yourself cursing Zoom, Loom, Vidyard, Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom at several stages over lockdown; or you may have been excited to learn how to use them, because you had to. Most likely, like me, you felt both. But I can’t complain any longer that I don’t have time to learn about “flipped learning”. For those students with access to a laptop, we should continue to experiment with how far we can enable students to work independently and with each other. Again, this is an opportunity for us to make a virtue of necessity.

At our school, and I’m sure at yours, our departments have put in place planning and resources that can be both taught in the classroom and remotely. A lot of labour has been put into producing packs of work. For the more able students, however, we mustn’t stop offering exciting invitations to push their interest further.

For the last two years, I’ve been able to group the most able students by subject and year cohort and set them up to research and write up their own projects, guided by their interest. I have been impressed and inspired by how well I could trust students to be “entrepreneurial” in their independent work, supported pretty minimally by caring subject specialists, but a lot by each other. We use Microsoft Teams to enable this, and I would point you to Amy Clark’s blog post on this topic for further possibilities in using Teams. See too, the recorded NACE webinar on using technological platforms to develop independence (member login required).

Our students, in these times and in all times, should be putting in at least as much creative labour as their teachers. A remarkable result of more enforced student independence is how much more we can trust them to adapt, re-combine and invent new responses to the information and tasks we give them. Many students, at all key stages, are adept at using technology in a way that most of their teachers haven’t been.

Consider, too, how you can use technology to gather student voice so that you know how your most able students are faring; and even better, garner suggestions from them of how they would like to extend the curriculum, so that they feel they have a say in the direction of educational travel. As always, these students’ insights into their experiences of teaching and learning bring us priceless information on what’s going well and what’s not. Online platforms make this process so much easier now.

3. “Humanity first” – but that doesn’t necessarily mean “teaching second”.

Barry Carpenter’s work on the very notion of a “recovery curriculum” has received widespread coverage among school leaders and teachers. At one stage in his talk for the Chartered College of Teaching, Carpenter urged teachers to “walk in with your humanity first, and your teaching skills second.” In the context of the therapeutic, wellbeing-centred vision for recovery from the shocks and anxieties of the last year, this clearly makes sense. With more able students in mind, however, and especially the exceptionally able students we teach, we must remember that study is an intrinsic part of their humanity: they are one and the same thing.

Again, then, crisis reveals what is already present. Our more able students will still need to know, in their relationships with their teachers and with supportive peers, that it is cool to be clever, interesting to be interested, exciting to be excited by the discoveries involved in learning. They do not need to be glum, or despair that they have stopped learning, because we can be confident that we are always learning if we have a mind to, and seek – as Dr Matthew Williams advocates – to turn work into study.

Those interesting questions that we pose; that palpable delight in our own subject interest; those personalised phrases of praise; the hints and foretastes of exciting future study and work – all those confident connection-points with our more able students are always vital, and continue to be so as we all move forward into an uncertain “first term back”. I found at the end of the summer term, teaching small bubble-groups of sixth formers, that they were desperate to talk and explore what was going on. So was I! This is clearly no surprise. The teaching skill required here will be to move between the personal and the abstract, as it always is in pedagogy worth the name.

Our most able students often think and feel things at a greater intensity. Managing this intensity with the general intensity of the overall experience of socially distanced schooling will take skill and humanity – but we as teachers are not in uncharted waters here: it is what we do under normal circumstances, too.

Join the conversation: NACE member meetup, 10 September 2020

Join secondary leaders and practitioners from across the country on 10 September for an online NACE member meetup exploring approaches to the recovery curriculum and beyond. The session will open with a presentation from NACE Associate Neil Jones, followed by a chance to share approaches and ideas with peers, reflecting on some of the challenges and opportunities outlined above. Find out more and book your place.

Not yet a NACE member? Starting at just £95 +VAT per year, NACE membership is available for schools (covering all staff), SCITT providers, TSAs, trusts and clusters. Bringing together school leaders and practitioners across England, Wales and internationally, our members have access to advice, practical resources and CPD to support the review and improvement of provision for more able learners within a context of challenge and high standards for all. Learn more and join today.

Tags: collaboration curriculum independent learning KS3 KS4 lockdown remote learning technology

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7 key questions to review your use of digital teaching and learning

Posted By Elaine Ricks-Neal, 13 July 2020

NACE Challenge Award Adviser Elaine Ricks-Neal shares seven key questions to help schools, teams and departments review their use of digital learning and plan for continued development.

Recent events, through necessity, have catapulted schools into a change of existing practice to meet the challenges of remote learning. An interesting outcome has been the rapid increase in skills and confidence levels of many teachers in the use of digital learning technologies and with it a growing enthusiasm to explore the potential of technology to really transform the way we teach and how pupils learn. Through effective use of digital platforms, tools and apps, many schools have enabled pupils to access the curriculum in rich and engaging ways, signposting pupils to quality online resources they can use independently, encouraging collaborative learning and finding ways to personalise learning and feedback to pupils, often with the added bonus of greater involvement of parents in that process.

With this unprecedented level of teacher, pupil and also parental engagement with technology, is this now the time for schools to revisit their vision for digital learning, providing a structured opportunity for colleagues to reflect on what has worked well and next steps? Below are seven key questions for teachers, phase teams, departments and schools.

Note: Remember to keep the focus on the impact on learning; don’t be side-tracked by looking at digital resources in isolation.

1. What has worked well?

Set aside dedicated time to share the digital resources and approaches you have used, commenting on the quality of the materials and how they supported your learning objectives. What worked well? How do you know? What could be the next steps?

2. How can curriculum and lesson plans be adapted?

Look at curriculum plans and learning objectives and identify where in the planning phases you could use digital learning. Be clear about why and what the learning impact would be. For example, increased cognitive challenge and access to complex material in class and home learning? Developing pupil independence? Are there distinctive opportunities for your most able pupils?

3. How can we involve pupils as partners in digital learning development?

Discuss how you can explore the impact of approaches through consulting pupils about what they see as the benefits, possible pitfalls and opportunities of using technology to help them learn. How can the pupils’ own skills now be further developed? Consider setting up a focus group of able pupils to monitor the impact of new approaches.

4. Are there opportunities to work with parents more effectively?

Make the most of the high levels of recent parental engagement to consider any new opportunities presented by digital learning to help parents engage with and support their children’s learning at home and in school. Workshops on learning platforms and online resources available to support their child’s learning? Seeking their own views on the recent remote learning experience?

5. What are the digital skills that teachers now need to develop?

To build on newly grown/growing confidence levels, identify future skills and CPD needs individually, as a department, and as a school.

6. Do we now want to revisit our vision and policy?

Use the discussions as a basis to revisit your teaching and learning, more able and/or other relevant school policies. Is the vision for the use of technology to impact on teaching and learning fully articulated and agreed by all colleagues? Do you want to add new commentary on aims or provision?

7. How do we plan for continuous improvement?

Plan strategically from your discussions, integrating your action points into school improvement plans, and being clear about how the actions will be implemented, resourced and reviewed for impact.

The review discussion can feed into the broader whole-school vision of the transformative potential of technology to drive innovation and create autonomous learners who have the digital skills which are vital in today’s world.

Coming soon: new guidance on digital learning and the NACE Challenge Framework

Element 3 of the NACE Challenge Framework focuses on curriculum, teaching and support; it includes a requirement for schools to audit how effectively their vision for using technology translates into improved daily practice within and outside the classroom. In the autumn term, a new Digital Learning Review and Forward Planning Tool will be available for schools working with the Challenge Framework to support a review of current policy and provision in the use of digital learning.

For more information about the NACE Challenge Development Programme, click here or contact challenge@nace.co.uk.

Tags: Challenge Framework independent learning parents and carers policy remote learning self-evaluation technology

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The context

What worked?

Addressing the language gap

Motivations and barriers

Parental support

Final reflections

What is Phiddlywinks?

Who was the inspiration behind Phiddlywinks?

How effective is remote learning?

Assessment principles when learning remotely

Remote assessment practice reported by NACE member schools

Opportunities and concerns when using remote learning

Challenges when using remote assessment

How does this apply to more able pupils?

Returning to school: what next?

Assessment of learning summer 2021

The power of effective feedback

10 essentials of effective feedback

Conclusion

Your chance to contribute: NACE member survey

Get involved….

1. Encourage learners to explore and share their passions

2. Draw on current events to develop independent thought and debate

3. Explore digital teaching and learning, together

4. Embrace the challenge: make it harder!

5. Continue to strengthen links with parents and carers

1. Take “accelerated learning” seriously – but don’t use it as “cramming”.

2. Be bold with remote learning – “homework” could be transformed.

3. “Humanity first” – but that doesn’t necessarily mean “teaching second”.

Join the conversation: NACE member meetup, 10 September 2020

1. What has worked well?

2. How can curriculum and lesson plans be adapted?

3. How can we involve pupils as partners in digital learning development?

4. Are there opportunities to work with parents more effectively?

5. What are the digital skills that teachers now need to develop?

6. Do we now want to revisit our vision and policy?

7. How do we plan for continuous improvement?

Coming soon: new guidance on digital learning and the NACE Challenge Framework

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