Fishing for Evidence of Impact

In this article Gill Rowland, Hazel King, Penny Webb, Alison Cogger and Karen Vincent use seafaring imagery to portray a research project focussed on enriching mentoring within a school university initial teaching training partnership. They report on the professional development benefits gained from use of their framework for both school based mentors and university-based tutors.

The partnership between school-based mentors and university-based tutors plays an important part in the education of the next generation of teachers. This article shares the findings of a university’s research project seeking to understand both the barriers and enablers to school-based mentors’ professional development. Incidentally, this research project is also supporting the university-based teacher educators’ professional development. During the process, the group adopted seafaring metaphors to describe their work. These have been used throughout this article to assist with navigation. The findings of this research will be used in the further development of support for mentoring and tutoring within the initial teacher education partnership.

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      string(331) "This document reports domestic and international evidence on physical education (PE) and sport in primary and secondary schools. The majority of the statistics are taken from the most recent PE and Sport Survey, which was commissioned by the Department for Education, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s ..."
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      string(364) "... Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in sport ■ The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) found that over a third of ..."
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      string(377) "This document reports domestic and international evidence on physical education (PE) and sport in primary and secondary schools. The majority of the statistics are taken from the most recent PE and Sport Survey, which was commissioned by the Department for Education, and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s Taking Part survey.
Leadership Briefing 8.01 (85)"
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      string(4193) "■ International Sport Schools ■ Sports schools are mainstream secondary schools which assist young elite athletes to pursuetheir secondary education, while also training and competing at an elite level. ■ In most countries, sports schools were founded in the early 1990s. The number of sportsschools in each country varies widely: from one in Canada (which has 22 sports) andSingapore (14 sports); 10 each in Belgium and Italy (including ski colleges); 22 in Finland; 25in the Netherlands; 36 in Australia; 38 in Germany and 61 in Sweden (Radtke and Coalter,2007).Entries and attainment in GCSE PE ■ In 2012, 97,800 pupils entered GCSE PE. This is 16% of the cohort and compares to 18% ofthe cohort that entered in 2001 and 24% of the cohort in 2007, when entries peaked. ■ In 2012, 71% of pupils achieved grades A*-C, compared to 53% in 2001. ■ There was no difference in the percentage of boys and girls achieving an A*-C in 2012, with71% of boys and 71% of girls achieving an A*-C.Entries and attainment in A-level PE ■ In 2012, 17,135 pupils entered A-level PE. This was 2.2% of the cohort. Entries peaked in2008 when 3% of the cohort entered A-level PE. ■ In 2012, 41% of pupils who entered PE A-level achieved grades A*-B. ■ Girls have consistently outperformed boys in achieving A*-B grades: in 2012, 50% of girlsachieved A*-B grades compared with 34% of boys.Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on participation in sport ■ The Taking Part survey (DCMS, 2013) found that over a third of 5-10 year olds (36.2%) andover half of 11-15 year olds (51.6%) had been encouraged to take part in sport ‘a lot’ or ‘alittle’ as a result of the UK hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. ■ Those children who responded that they were encouraged ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’ to take part insport by the Games, said they were more interested in sport and in new sports, were takingpart in sport more often and taking up new sports, and they intended to participate moreoften and in more sports. ■ Around a fifth of children (19.6% of 5-10 year olds and 22.8% of 11-15 year olds) had takenpart in sports activities in school linked to the Games.Most common sports to participate in ■ The most common sport for 5-10 year olds was swimming, diving of lifesaving, with almosthalf (47.6%) having taken part in the last four weeks. There were significant increases inparticipation in tennis since 2010/11, whilst participation in walking or hiking, rounders, andangling or fishing had significantly decreased. ■ For 11-15 year olds, football (including five-a-side) was the most common sport, with 56.1%having played in the last four weeks. Since 2010/11 there have been significant increases inparticipation in football, rounders, tennis, rugby, cricket, table tennis, and athletics, track andfield events, running races or jumping, and a significant decrease in participation in walkingor hiking.Participation in PE and sport by pupil characteristics ■ Schools where a high percentage of pupils took part in three or more hours of PE and out ofhours school sport were more likely to be categorised as having low numbers of pupils onfree school meals (FSM). ■ Schools in deprived areas were over-represented amongst the lowest performing schools interms of their participation in PE and out of hours school sport. ■ Schools achieving the lowest levels of participation in three hours of PE and out of hoursschool sport tended to have a relatively high proportion of children from an ethnic minoritybackground and pupils with special educational needs (SEN). ■ Across all year groups boys were more likely to take part in three hours of PE and out ofhours school sport than girls..WEB LINKEvidence On Physical Education And Sport In Schoolshttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226505/Evidence_on_physical_education_and_sport_in_schools.pdf"
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Leadership

Evidence On Physical Education And Sport In Schools

7 Aug 2013

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      string(286) "Trolling is a form of online bullying that can devastate young people. But the more you look into it, the more disturbing it gets, with new evidence emerging that some young people are trolling themselves. It this a cry for help or a form of self-harm? Ken Corish investigates."
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      string(315) "... relatively recent phenomenon. The image of a nasty Scandinavian monster sums up this activity for many, but it actually takes its name from a Canadian fishing term for trailing a lure behind a boat to see what bites. “Trolls” will often target vulnerable or belief groups, such as tribute sites ..."
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      string(286) "Trolling is a form of online bullying that can devastate young people. But the more you look into it, the more disturbing it gets, with new evidence emerging that some young people are trolling themselves. It this a cry for help or a form of self-harm? Ken Corish investigates."
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      string(5614) "content, it depends on the resilience of the person accessing them. If people are digitally literate, and if they are able to assess and challenge the site’s content then the sites aren’t dangerous. But that requires resilience on the part of the individual as well as making sure that young people have the education they need to help them make confident judgements about the site’s contents.Some schools are already beginning this journey as a component of their wider safeguarding education. Schemes like Common Sense Media and South West Grid for Learning’s Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum have been useful in beginning to map that process for many schools struggling to provide a balanced approach.Using the tools of the tradeThere has always been a public dilemma with advice on how to “abuse safely”. Much in the same way drug users may be provided with clean needles, people who self-harm need protection and advice.Organisations like Selfharm.co.uk provide online advice on harm minimisation – what to cut with, where to cut, what to do with serious issues like shock. This is freely searchable by someone looking for advice but again requires a digital understanding to sift out the good advice from the rest.One girl recounted how she had learned online how to adapt a highlighter pen by replacing the felt tip with a pencil sharpener blade to allow her to continue to cut when she was in school. On other sites you may find “Top 5 Ways to Cut Yourself” or a photograph of a wrist with dotted line lines drawn, one annotated “hospital”, the other “morgue”.Clear signposting of where there is good advice is critical to ensuring the right information gets to the most vulnerable, not only for young people but for professionals too.Auto-trollingTrolling is a relatively recent phenomenon. The image of a nasty Scandinavian monster sums up this activity for many, but it actually takes its name from a Canadian fishing term for trailing a lure behind a boat to see what bites. “Trolls” will often target vulnerable or belief groups, such as tribute sites to accident or suicide victims or faith groups, and drop a “lure” into the community. They feed on the oxygen of response. Their activity is often characterised as being “atemporal” meaning they do not respond straight away and certainly do not engage in two way responsive discussion. It’s often pointless attempting to engage in rational argument as it’s not what the activity is about, hence the advice: “don’t feed the troll”.Trolling is often associated with social broadcast sites like Twitter that are designed to be socially transparent. Whilst its attraction is its openness and reach (hence celebrity engagement), it is more difficult to manage the content that appears in your stream and who sees your content than with profile-based social media sites like Facebook. This makes it difficult to block or limit defamatory or aggressive content unless it is illegal or breaks Twitter’s terms and conditions of use which makes the comments all the more visible.What trolling does effectively achieve in most cases is a response, particularly within active social groups. If a particular individual is attacked, their immediate friends often respond with positive support and commentary.A recent development in self-harming behaviour is auto-trolling where a person uses these networks to direct emotional and psychological abuse at themselves. This is usually achieved by setting up a number of different bogus profiles which are then used to generate abuse directed at the user profile. This requires an intelligent understanding of how the technology works and a commitment to maintaining the activity to achieve realism – the shame associated with being discovered in many ways has a greater impact than physical self-harming, as it doesn’t have the same “credibility”. This resonates with the situation in which Hannah Smith found herself.In her recent article for PremierYouthwork.com, Rachel Welch, Director of Selfharm.co.uk, wrote highlighted a particular case study:“Ellie busily scrolls through Facebook after a frustrating day at school, reading multiple status updates from friends she only said goodbye to less than an hour ago. She ‘likes’ a photo of her niece recently posted by her sister-in-law, before adding ‘cuuuuuute <3’ in the comment box. After getting changed out of her uniform and fetching a drink, Ellie settles onto her bed and logs on to Ask.fm. Carefully and deliberately, she posts a question: ‘What’s the best thing about me?’ before quickly signing out. Heart racing a little, Ellie logs back in, only this time she isn’t Ellie, she’s using a profile called ‘Staceeyy’. She finds her question and replies: ‘Nothing. You are nothing.’”7Welch, herself a survivor of self harm and therefore with particular insight into the mechanics of these processes, continues:“Ellie’s experiences of posting messages to herself also led friends to worry that she was being bullied, and some would even join in the threads to try and defend her. ‘It was awful,’ she says. ‘My friends were trying to protect me and stick up for me, so to keep it up I ended up posting nasty messages to them too. It was killing me seeing them get so angry on my behalf, and it was then that I knew I had to stop. It wasn’t about hurting other people, it was about hurting myself.’”There is no doubt that the catharsis digital self-harm can provide, the release often described by those who self-harm, seems"
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Behaviour Management

Don’t Ignore Trolling in Your School!

7 Nov 2017

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      string(357) "... approval and Maths – No Problem looks set to be the choice of many school (see  www.mathsnoproblem.com) adopting the Singapore Maths approach. Despite the evidence, Inspire Maths was not selected.   Teaching maths with a mastery approach is not dependent on using a textbook although they are preferable to dishing ..."
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      string(5690) "approach.’Interestingly, the academy chain ARK took the lead when ‘mastery’ arrived and developed it making it easy for other schools to adopt their model. They were quick to innovate and schools who went with the Maths Mastery programme did so because they didn’t have the time, expertise or inclination to develop their own programmes. This is significant – the success of ‘mastery’ can largely depend on the programme you subscribe to.  Given the results of the EEF evaluation, then adopting the ARK programme does lead to progress although only a small amount. To be fair, this evaluation was conducted in the early days of mastery and further long-run evidence is needed and the scene has likely changed since it was introduced. The study by Jerrim and Vignoles took place before the full implementation of a new National Curriculum across all years in maintained schools in England in September 2015. As Dr Jerrim notes, “But programmes like Maths Mastery are meant to develop children’s skills over several years, which may result in bigger gains. However, there is currently no empirical evidence available for us to judge whether this is indeed the case or not.”       The Education Endowment Foundation report can be found here www.educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/mathematics-mastery/)Since this study there has only been one other independent evaluation and that relates to the impact of Inspire Maths, a textbook from Singapore adapted for the UK market and known in Singapore as My Pals Are Here! which the majority of state primary schools there use.   The evaluation of Inspire Maths, during the 2015/16 school year, was conducted by James Hall, Ariel Lindorff, Pam Sammons from Department of Education, University of Oxford. This represents the first evidence as to whether a Singapore-inspired teaching approach to mathematics can boost pupil progress in mathematics within the context of the fully implemented new National Curriculum.The study found that the impact of Inspire Maths shows that a mastery in maths textbook programme can significantly benefit UK schools:By using Inspire Maths, children made significantly more progressThe programme boosted children’s confidence and engagementTeachers’ subject knowledge improvedSue Lowndes, professional development leader for Inspire Maths School Improvement, says the study:“now provides clear, compelling independent evidence that mastery can engage children in UK classrooms, improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, and so raise standards.”To find out more about the Inspire Maths report then go to www.global.oup.com/education/mastery/summary/?region=ukThe two studies suggests mastery learning has some promise but is the evidence ‘compelling’ and strong enough for a mass move to mastery teaching and textbook-orientated teaching? They throw light on how mastery can help but these are small-scale studies.More helpful perhaps is John Hattie’s synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses, Visible Learning. Out of 130 possible interventions,’ mastery learning’ (learning in depth)  was listed as ‘one of the winners,’ ranked 29th, with an average effect size of 0.58 and this equates to approximately to seven months’ additional progress over pupils not following a mastery curriculum.Testing, testing, 1-2-3Other mastery programmes are now available and there are lots of organisations that offer extensive training and advice such as NCETM and MathsHubs (www.ncetm.org.uk/) or the Mathematics Association (http://www.m-a.org.uk/). Commercially you can buy into other mastery programmes too and although they wax lyrical about the impact mastery has in their hometowns (e.g. Shanghai and Singapore), their efficacy from a UK perspective is untested. In fact, the majority of UK maths books fail the DfE test for Asian-style lessons with only one book, Maths – No Problem, having made the grade. When the DfE announced it wanted to introduce the mastery approach to 8,000 schools over a 4 year period, the heavyweight publishers like OUP, Pearson, Scholastic and Collins all raced to produce textbooks but it was an independent publisher who got the approval and Maths – No Problem looks set to be the choice of many school (see  www.mathsnoproblem.com) adopting the Singapore Maths approach. Despite the evidence, Inspire Maths was not selected.   Teaching maths with a mastery approach is not dependent on using a textbook although they are preferable to dishing out countless worksheets. They are certainly useful for clarifying new concepts and skills and for practice, particularly if there is good variation contained within.The mastery approach seems to prize the pupil textbook and many teachers use them as crutches and silver bullets but they are definitely not the be all and end all. They are one part of a ‘package’ schools need. What’s important is the ‘whole approach’ and teachers ensure that they build on what children already know in an engaging, purposeful and enjoyable way. Textbooks are useful but they are not the most important ingredient and an over-reliance on them won’t deliver the goods no matter how well written they might be.  The main criticism of the textbook approach is that they limit creativity and decision-making and result in maths lessons being staid, routine and overly-prescriptive. The DfE may have limited teachers to one textbook according to its test but this could push teachers towards one programme and one way of"
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Leadership

Maths Mastery – Is It Just Another Fad?

7 Nov 2017

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      string(5619) "Core contributionWe rather take for granted nowadays the link that is regularly made between professional development and its contribution to school improvement. Long gone are the days when professional development was experienced as isolated external courses teachers happened to alight upon, which had little lasting effect on them … and next to no impact on the school. Perhaps something of a turning point came at the turn of the century with the then government’s Strategy for Professional Development1. Soon afterwards, with this strategy in mind, Ofsted conducted a review into effective continuing professional development (CPD) and made what was to become a persisting fundamental link with school improvement:“The best results occurred where CPD was central to the schools’ improvement planning. Schools which integrated performance management, school self-review and development, and CPD into a coherent cycle of planning improved the quality of teaching and raised standards” (Ofsted, 2006).2Many studies followed. For instance Bubb and Earley investigated the practical steps school leaders can take to ensure that self-evaluation of school performance led, through the effective staff development, to genuine school improvement. They concluded:“The role of continuing development of staff was crucial in helping to address most of the priorities identified through self-evaluation to bring about improvement, enhance the quality of the learning experience, and generally make things better for pupils.” 3Development at the heart of improvementIn more recent times the Education Development Trust has explored amongst headteachers the key factors which contribute to school improvement. Prominent in the resulting Headteachers’ framework for rapid school improvement was: “support the teachers to develop their professional practice with the best possible professional development opportunities”4. Similarly, in a study examining the relationships among coordination, coherence, and improved achievement in New Zealand case study schools, all “mentioned the quality and focus of the schoolwide professional development”5.This contribution of professional development to school improvement is portrayed as having breadth and depth, being key to effective leadership and selfevaluation, and to contribute to both teaching and learning. Perhaps most important is the direct link with impact on pupil achievement as claimed in a meta-analysis of high quality professional development conducted this year by Fletcher-Wood and Zuccollo:■■ High-quality CPD for teachers has a significant effect on pupils’ learning outcomes.■■ Evidence suggests that quality CPD has a greater effect on pupil attainment than other interventions schools may consider, such as implementing performance related pay for teachers or lengthening the school day.6So professional development and school improvement have become increasingly yoked together, and this dynamic is the shared focus of this issue of Professional Development Today.Collaborative improvementGains in pupil learning was one of the powerful outcomes of the facilitated learning community initiative described in the opening article by Roisin Killick and Peter Matthews. They evaluated how the Growing the Top programme grouped trios of outstanding London schools, supported by a facilitator, to work together via reciprocal visits. The shared purpose was both to showcase systematic excellence in their own school and to pose challenges for their partners’ schools. In this vibrant form of lived professional learning the trios are “conceived of as pop-up think tanks that enable senior leaders to explore key issues together.”  Collaboration is clearly centre stage with inter-school development gains not just for the senior leaders involved but also for middle leaders through spontaneous learning groups generated by the initiative.Collaboration is also the subject of the article by Chris Brown and Jane Flood. Much store has been invested in Professional Learning Communities (PLNs) but the authors argue that there is no guarantee they will lead to positive impacts either for teachers or for students. The article explores in depth what is required to “help maximise the likelihood that investing in networked approaches to school improvement will be successful,” and in particular to examine the vital role of school leaders in creating a two way link between PLNs and schools.Intriguingly, they use the story of the Minotaur as a parable to understand how best to tackle the PLN labyrinth with all the complex challenge it poses for the individual and organisation. Three key features of the school leader’s role are seen as pivotal: having a main focus on promoting better outcomes for students; leading ethically and doing the best for each child; and wanting to reach out beyond the boundaries of their schools – wishing for their teachers to engage in collaborative endeavours with others.The authors provide a clear orienteering guide on how to navigate the path to effective networking practice. This encompasses formalisation – school leaders cementing their school’s and teachers’ participation through ensuring PLN activity corresponds to the improvement priorities and vision for the school; prioritization – ensuring adequate resources exist to allow the work of the PLN to get done; and mobilization – the ability of PLN participants to influence whether new practices are successfully mobilised within their school. Above all, the article indicates"
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Professional Development

Professional Development Is School Improvement

10 Jun 2020

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