Time to Reimagine Assessment

Editorial for CTL 8.2/3. Creativity should be at the heart of assessment as well as education.

It seems that Ofsted, the government’s official educational inspection and regulatory body, is starting to pay attention to the fact that the government’s obsession with exam results has created the disastrous outcomes predicted by teachers, researchers and educational experts, and they are creating a new inspection framework that will include a new ‘quality of education’ score that can then be monitored.¹ According to a source for the Sunday Times, ‘Schools where teachers just think about how you get exam results and not what is best for the children to learn will be marked down. The chief inspector wants to shift a culture that is betraying a generation.’ This is a positive move, but the inherent subjectivity of qualitative assessments was what they were rallying against in the first place, so it is unlikely for real change to occur any time soon.

Create an account to read this article

£7.00+ VAT

One-off purchase

Purchase and Download today

Register for free

No Credit Card required

Register for free
Access to 3 free articles
Free TeachingTimes Report every month

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#43644"
  ["title"]=>
  string(42) "Making the case for Project Based Learning"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(32) "Creative Teaching & Learning"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(59) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/ctl72-project-based-learning/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1497956785)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-43644-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(233) "One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in enquiry and project based learning within schools is convincing people of its merits in the first place. David Leat, Rachel Lofthouse and Ulrike Thomas provide some helpful guidance."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(415) "... Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems together with some leading global universities advocating and researching a different set beyond core subjects:Learning and Innovation Skills (including creativity, critical thinking and problem solving)Information, Media and Technology SkillsLife and Career Skills (including flexibility, social and cross cultural skills and self-direction)All ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(6) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(51) "Making the case for Project Based Learning"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["author"]=>
    array(3) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "David Leat"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(16) "Rachel Lofthouse"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [2]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(13) "Ulrike Thomas"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(233) "One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in enquiry and project based learning within schools is convincing people of its merits in the first place. David Leat, Rachel Lofthouse and Ulrike Thomas provide some helpful guidance."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5651) "IntroductionThis article piece focuses on persuading others, such as fellow teachers, senior leaders, governors, parents, students and maybe even yourself, that EPBL might be a good idea. A good place to start is to check understanding of the term as we are conflating enquiry and projects and indeed there is much confusion and overlap in these terms and others such as problem based learning. So our understanding of EPBL is that it is sustained work driven by curiosity and/or a question and wherever possible this driving force question should come from students. We would add that EPBL should normally be deeply collaborative, with all the issues that involves, although there will be occasions when individual projects and enquiries are appropriate.In addition, wherever possible EPBL should:1. Result in a learning product – a report, a presentation, a poster, a guide, an exhibition, a performance, a book, a podcast, a film, a cartoon, a party, a game, a meal, an experiment, a poem, an artefact which is as good as can it possibly can be;2. Have an audience or a client (anyone beyond the class teacher) for the product – other classes, parents, a local organization, a business, the local community, students in another country, university staff or students;3. Go across subject boundaries;4. Use the locality and community as much as is reasonably possible (there is a lot of help and goodwill out there);5. Put maximum responsibility on the students so that they exercise autonomy and agency;6. Be subject to review or ‘critique’ so that the product is the best it can reasonably be.Professional Learning Task: Characteristics of EPBLa. Through discussion put these 8 characteristics (so include driven by student questions and collaborative) in some sort of rank order of educational importance in your school context.b. Secondly put them in order of difficulty for your school to achieve fairly consistently – put the least difficult at the top and the most difficult at the bottom of the listc. Reflect on why the difficult ones are so challenging.Why do EPBL?The main demand on most schools is to hit exam targets and you might see EPBL as a distraction, drawing time and attention away from good interventions and a focus on student progress. So don’t ignore your interventions or very good whole class teaching – maintain a mix. However an equal or greater danger for your students is that they have no intrinsic motivation and they become disengaged, some opting for skipping school and/or poor behaviour and some for compliance and dependency. A lack of intrinsic motivation and autonomy can be serious handicap in later life, whether in higher education or work (see Anderson 2014). So engagement is a primary reason for pursuing EPBL. If you offer students some choice and autonomy, and the chance to work collaboratively the great majority will respond. They like being treated as being capable and competent and they will learn to benefit from mistakes and critical feedback. EPBL encourages you to use the resources for education in your community and locality. Most of you will be familiar with the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child, capturing the sense that we have a collective responsibility for the education and care of the next generation. We can adapt this proverb for modern times and appreciate that it takes a community, a village, town or city to raise a child.Closing the gapAnother vital reason is that EPBL brings a fresh light to ‘closing the gap’ and school improvement. The general picture across the country is that the gap between high and low attainers is stubbornly resistant to gap closing measures. Some schools are more successful than others but it is a tough nut to crack. EPBL brings a fresh angle because it takes students to more places, allows them to meet more people and do more things that being confined to a classroom. This gives them raw material from which to construct more positive identities, overcome stereotypes and prejudices and inform their aspirations. It also helps  them connect their learning to real world contexts, which is a part of creating authentic learning.Lifelong learningFurthermore, there is broad agreement that the new century makes new demands on workers and citizens. There are many lists of skills and competences. The Royal Society of Arts through its Opening Minds programme focuses on:competences for Learning;competences for Citizenship;competences for Relating to People;competences for Managing Situations;competences for Managing InformationThe European Union itemizes 5 transversal competences (OJEU, 2006), which have broad application:digital competence;learning to learn (L2L);social and civic competence;sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; andcultural awareness and expression.The Partnership for C21st Skills brings together some multinational high tech companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems together with some leading global universities advocating and researching a different set beyond core subjects:Learning and Innovation Skills (including creativity, critical thinking and problem solving)Information, Media and Technology SkillsLife and Career Skills (including flexibility, social and cross cultural skills and self-direction)All these lists stress the need for a greater capacity to learn throughout life, technological skills, critical and/or creative thinking, working with others and self-regulation. Such skills resurface as employability skills in the transition from university to work. It can argued that there are"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(3) {
        [0]=>
        string(10) "creativity"
        [1]=>
        string(8) "critical"
        [2]=>
        string(8) "thinking"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(32) "Creative Teaching & Learning"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["tags"]=>
    array(6) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(22) "Collaborative Learning"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(20) "Communication Skills"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [2]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(11) "communities"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [3]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(13) "enquiry-based"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [4]=>
      array(4) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(31) "Project based learning"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(7) "partial"
        ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
        bool(false)
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(1) {
          [0]=>
          string(7) "project"
        }
      }
      [5]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(13) "social skills"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Creative Teaching & Learning

Making the case for Project Based Learning

20 Jun 2017

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#59745"
  ["title"]=>
  string(63) "How to … make the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(21) "'How to do it' Guides"
    [1]=>
    string(24) "Professional Development"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(90) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/how-to-make-the-case-for-enquiry-and-project-based-learning/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1558370703)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-59745-0"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(234) "One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in enquiry and project based learning within schools is convincing people of its merits in the first place.  David Leat, Rachel Lofthouse and Ulrike Thomas provide some helpful guidance."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(427) "... Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems together with some leading global universities advocating and researching a different set beyond core subjects:Learning and Innovation Skills (including creativity, critical thinking and problem solving) Information, Media and Technology SkillsLife and Career Skills (including flexibility, social and cross cultural skills and self-direction) All ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(5) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(72) "How to … make the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["author"]=>
    array(3) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "David Leat"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(16) "Rachel Lofthouse"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [2]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(13) "Ulrike Thomas"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(234) "One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in enquiry and project based learning within schools is convincing people of its merits in the first place.  David Leat, Rachel Lofthouse and Ulrike Thomas provide some helpful guidance."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(5632) "IntroductionThis HOW TO piece focuses on persuading others, such as fellow teachers, senior leaders, governors, parents, students and maybe even yourself, that EPBL might be a good idea.  A good place to start is to check understanding of the term as we are conflating enquiry and projects and indeed there is much confusion and overlap in these terms and others such as problem based learning.   So our understanding of EPBL is that it is sustained work driven by curiosity and/or a question and wherever possible this driving force question should come from students.  We would add that EPBL should normally be deeply collaborative, with all the issues that involves, although there will be occasions when individual projects and enquiries are appropriate.In addition wherever possible EPBL should:Result in a learning product – a report, a presentation, a poster, a guide, an exhibition, a performance, a book, a podcast, a film, a cartoon, a party, a game, a meal, an experiment, a poem, an artefact which is as good as can it possibly can be;Have an audience or a client (anyone beyond the class teacher) for the product – other classes, parents, a local organization, a business, the local community, students in another country, university staff or students;Go across subject boundaries;Use the locality and community as much as is reasonably possible (there is a lot of help and goodwill out there);Put maximum responsibility on the students so that they exercise autonomy and agency;Be subject to review or ‘critique’ so that the product is the best it can reasonably be.Professional Learning Task: Characteristics of EPBLThrough discussion put these 8 characteristics (so include driven by student questions and collaborative) in some sort of rank order of educational importance in your school context.Secondly put them in order of difficulty for your school to achieve fairly consistently – put the least difficult at the top and the most difficult at the bottom of the listReflect on why the difficult ones are so challenging.Why do EPBL?Maintaining a mixThe main demand on most schools is to hit exam targets and you might see EPBL as a distraction, drawing time and attention away from good interventions and a focus on student progress.  So don’t ignore your interventions or very good whole class teaching – maintain a mix.  However an equal or greater danger for your students is that they have no intrinsic motivation and they become disengaged, some opting for skipping school and/or poor behavior and some for compliance and dependency.  A lack of intrinsic motivation and autonomy can be serious handicap in later life, whether in higher education or work (see Anderson 2014).So engagement is a primary reason for pursuing EPBL.  If you offer students some choice and autonomy, and the chance to work collaboratively the great majority will respond.  They like being treated as being capable and competent and they will learn to benefit from mistakes and critical feedback.EPBL encourages you to use the resources for education in your community and locality.  Most of you will be familiar with the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child, capturing the sense that we have a collective responsibility for the education and care of the next generation.  We can adapt this proverb for modern times and appreciate that it takes a community, a village, town or city to raise a child.Closing the gapAnother vital reason is that EPBL brings a fresh light to ‘closing the gap’ and school improvement.  The general picture across the country is that the gap between high and low attainers is stubbornly resistant to gap closing measures.  Some schools are more successful than others but it is a tough nut to crack.  EPBL brings a fresh angle because it takes students to more places, allows them to meet more people and do more things that being confined to a classroom.  This gives them raw material from which to construct more positive identities, overcome stereotypes and prejudices and inform their aspirations. It also helps them connect their learning to real world contexts, which is a part of creating authentic learning.  Lifelong learningFurthermore there is broad agreement that the new century makes new demands on workers and citizens.  There are many lists of skills and competences.  The Royal Society of Arts through its Opening Minds programme https://www.thersa.org/action-and-research/rsa-projects/creative-learning-and-development-folder/opening-minds/ focuses on:competences for Learning;competences for Citizenship;competences for Relating to People;competences for Managing Situations;competences for Managing InformationThe European Union itemizes 5 transversal competences (OJEU, 2006), which have broad application:digital competence;learning to learn (L2L);social and civic competence;sense of initiative and entrepreneurship; and cultural awareness and expression.The Partnership for C21st Skills http://www.p21.org/  brings together some multinational high tech companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Cisco Systems together with some leading global universities advocating and researching a different set beyond core subjects:Learning and Innovation Skills (including creativity, critical thinking and problem solving) Information, Media and Technology SkillsLife and Career Skills (including flexibility, social and cross cultural skills and self-direction) All these lists stress the need for a greater capacity to"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(3) {
        [0]=>
        string(10) "creativity"
        [1]=>
        string(8) "critical"
        [2]=>
        string(8) "thinking"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(2) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(21) "'How to do it' Guides"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
      [1]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(24) "Professional Development"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

'How to do it' Guides

How to … make the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning

20 May 2019

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#42897"
  ["title"]=>
  string(70) "How to … make the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning (EPBL)"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(24) "Professional Development"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(50) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/pdt-182-how-to-epbl/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1454341152)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-42897-1"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(233) "One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in enquiry and project based learning within schools is convincing people of its merits in the first place. David Leat, Rachel Lofthouse and Ulrike Thomas provide some helpful guidance."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(419) "... such as Microsoft, Intel and CiscoSystems together with some leading global universitiesadvocating and researching a different set beyondcore subjects: ■ Learning and Innovation Skills (including creativity,critical thinking and problem solving) ■ Information, Media and Technology Skills ■ Life and Career Skills (including flexibility, social andcross cultural skills and self ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(79) "How to … make the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning (EPBL)"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(233) "One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in enquiry and project based learning within schools is convincing people of its merits in the first place. David Leat, Rachel Lofthouse and Ulrike Thomas provide some helpful guidance."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(1) {
        [0]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(4536) "gap between highand low attainers is stubbornly resistant to gap closingmeasures.  Some schools are more successful thanothers but it is a tough nut to crack.  EPBL brings afresh angle because it takes students to more places,allows them to meet more people and do more thingsthat being confined to a classroom.  This gives themraw material from which to construct more positiveidentities, overcome stereotypes and prejudices andinform their aspirations. It also helps them connecttheir learning to real world contexts, which is a part ofcreating authentic learning.  28make  the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning (EPBL)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………➜How to…Lifelong learningFurthermore there is broad agreement that the newcentury makes new demands on workers and citizens.There are many lists of skills and competences.The Royal Society of  Arts through its OpeningMinds programme https://www.thersa.org/action-and-research/rsa-projects/creative-learning-and-development-folder/opening-minds/ focuses on: ■ competences for Learning; ■ competences for Citizenship; ■ competences for Relating to People; ■ competences for Managing Situations; ■ competences for Managing InformationThe European Union itemizes 5 transversal competences(OJEU, 2006), which have broad application: ■ digital competence; ■ learning to learn (L2L); ■ social and civic competence; ■ sense of  initiative and entrepreneurship; and ■ cultural awareness and expression.The Partnership for C21st Skills http://www.p21.org/  brings together some multinational hightech companies such as Microsoft, Intel and CiscoSystems together with some leading global universitiesadvocating and researching a different set beyondcore subjects: ■ Learning and Innovation Skills (including creativity,critical thinking and problem solving) ■ Information, Media and Technology Skills ■ Life and Career Skills (including flexibility, social andcross cultural skills and self-direction)All these lists stress the need for a greater capacityto learn throughout life, technological skills, criticaland/or creative thinking, working with others andself-regulation.  Such skills resurface as employabilityskills in the transition from university to work.  It canargued that there are dangers in over-emphasising theneed for flexible, resourceful and compliant workers ina globalized world, but equally ignoring employabilitycan leave students short-changed.The evidence for the effects of  EPBL are promisingif  not overwhelming (Barron & Darling-Hammond,2012, Boaler, 1997, Trickey & Topping, 2004).  One ofthe conclusions is that EPBL is easily misunderstoodand badly implemented so the potential gains inattainment measures may evaporate if  key featuresare absent.■■ Community embedded curriculumEPBL naturally draws upon the resources and topics inthe local area and is is helpful to establish a consistentcommunity approach to the curriculum.  The RoyalSociety of Arts has championed an approach calledArea Based Curriculum https://www.thersa.org/action-and-research/rsa-projects/creative-learning-and-development-folder/area-based-curriculum/ , with pilotprojects in Manchester and Peterborough with emphasisin Peterborough on creating curriculum that was: ■ about a place: making use of  local context andresources to frame learning ■ by a place: designed by schools in partnership withother local stakeholders, and ■ for a place: meeting the specific needs of  childrenand local communitiesThe Peterborough Curriculum projects were developedwith the aims of: ■ Creating learning experiences that were engaging forchildren from all backgrounds ■ Increasing children’s understanding of  andattachment to the place where they live ■ Embedding schools more deeply within theircommunities and localitiesWith some of the reported benefits as follows: ■ Teachers report improvement in student performancein literacy when in Peterborough Curriculum lessons ■ Students enjoyed learning about where they live andlearning outside the classroom ■ Students reported learning more factual informationoutside the classroom than in"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "full"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(4) {
        [0]=>
        string(10) "creativity"
        [1]=>
        string(8) "critical"
        [2]=>
        string(8) "thinking"
        [3]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(24) "Professional Development"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Professional Development

How to … make the case for Enquiry and Project Based Learning (EPBL)

1 Feb 2016

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#43693"
  ["title"]=>
  string(42) "Can Exposure To The News Improve Learning?"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(51) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/exposure-news_260617/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1498226032)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-43693-1"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(300) "This research report, launched by child development expert Dr Jacqueline Harding, has found that encouraging child curiosity in real world events can support the development of critical thinking skills, improve resilience and enhance cognitive growth.
Leadership Briefing 11.11(131)"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(391) "... that encourage critical thought? 6. How might thetransition from primary to the secondary school environment be better supported throughtargeted development at the intersection of resilience/creativity/critical thinking and reallife events?WEB LINKCan Exposure To The News Improve Learning?http://ads.dennisnet.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/subs/2017/WEK ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(42) "Can Exposure To The News Improve Learning?"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(300) "This research report, launched by child development expert Dr Jacqueline Harding, has found that encouraging child curiosity in real world events can support the development of critical thinking skills, improve resilience and enhance cognitive growth.
Leadership Briefing 11.11(131)"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(2) {
        [0]=>
        string(8) "critical"
        [1]=>
        string(8) "thinking"
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(1918) "alongside self-regulation, the studyraises a timely debate about the use of more valuable thinking strategies. Perhaps creativity andcritical thinking skills (in relation to real world events and undertaken through discussion withothers) can play a significant part in the prevention of potential academic decline.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. ■ This small-scale pilot research project indicates that children within Key stage 2 and 3 havemuch to gain through the consumption of ageappropriate real world activities/news items.Questions:1. Although recent research confirms there is widespread belief amongst educators thatcritical thinking is a desirable educational outcome, how might real world news be bestintegrated in to the curriculum at Key stage 2 and 3?2. In what way can children be co-constructors/creators of this real world learning from thestarting point of their own curiosity in the world?3. How might children be supported to be critical thinkers and problem solvers and enabledthrough group working?4. How can parents and teachers work closer together to support children understand thecomplexities of news items?5. In what ways can children be empowered to be creative and usefully make connectionsbetween domains of knowledge that encourage critical thought? 6. How might thetransition from primary to the secondary school environment be better supported throughtargeted development at the intersection of resilience/creativity/critical thinking and reallife events?WEB LINKCan Exposure To The News Improve Learning?http://ads.dennisnet.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/subs/2017/WEK/JUN/Research-report.pdf"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "full"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(4) {
        [0]=>
        string(10) "creativity"
        [1]=>
        string(8) "critical"
        [2]=>
        string(8) "thinking"
        [3]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

Can Exposure To The News Improve Learning?

23 Jun 2017

array(8) {
  ["distinct_key"]=>
  string(10) "post#43625"
  ["title"]=>
  string(35) "Leading a school research community"
  ["categories"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "Leadership"
  }
  ["url"]=>
  string(55) "https://www.teachingtimes.com/slt81-learning-community/"
  ["post_date_timestamp"]=>
  int(1497954313)
  ["objectID"]=>
  string(12) "post-43625-3"
  ["_snippetResult"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(184) "In today’s often claustrophobic, standards-driven climate, a research-based approach can empower teachers to take charge of their own learning and improve practice across the school."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(2) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(391) "... state of disequilibrium and curiosity grounded on strong values. We know that education for both teachers and children is becoming more about ways of new thinking; involving creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and decision making; about new ways of working, including communication and collaboration and about new tools for working ..."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(7) "partial"
    }
  }
  ["_highlightResult"]=>
  array(5) {
    ["title"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(35) "Leading a school research community"
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["author"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(16) "Johnathan Cooper"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
    ["excerpt"]=>
    array(3) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(184) "In today’s often claustrophobic, standards-driven climate, a research-based approach can empower teachers to take charge of their own learning and improve practice across the school."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "none"
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(0) {
      }
    }
    ["content"]=>
    array(4) {
      ["value"]=>
      string(3351) "Development through Coaching’ model. Within this model, teachers plan three professional development activities during each term. They chose the specific focus and time but these activities are always around the research or exploration of learning linked to school priorities. Each of these activities will be supported with a follow-up coaching session with a member of the leadership team. The activities may be a short observation, peer observation, review of video of own teaching, review of video of pupils learning, pupil conferencing or team teaching – quite simply whatever is the best method to give us the information we need to continue developing practice for better pupil outcomes. Through putting children’s learning at the centre of this model, it has also become obvious that the children themselves have a vital role to play in school improvement. Developing Pupil VoiceFollowing inspiration from Professor Graham Handscomb’s work around ‘Pupil Researchers and Pupil Power’, we have come to an understanding that pupil involvement and leadership in the design of the curriculum and the learning experience is vital in ensuring the effectiveness of any improvement. For too long children have been victims of a ‘done to’ model rather than being fully engaged with the process. Through discussions with children within Philosophy for Children, we can gain vital insights into their ideas around attitudes to learning, choice in learning, what we should be learning and how we should be learning. Training children as young researchers to lead enquiries offers a school very powerful contributions to its problem solving work. Their work at St. Luke’s around strategies for improving writing came up with the same and even additional possible solutions twice as fast as the teacher team!Where next?Through working within a spiral of enquiry, we are seeking to develop our school as an organisation rich with interpretation. We are becoming more adept at observing without initial judgement which allows us to see things more clearly and objectively. We can challenge entrenched habits and explore disruptive thinking. We understand that capacity for change is generated by relationships. The more we can foster open relationships between all the staff and the children and allow them to see their joint responsibility, value and voice in improving the school, the better we will be at identifying and making the right improvements. We are aiming to live in a state of disequilibrium and curiosity grounded on strong values. We know that education for both teachers and children is becoming more about ways of new thinking; involving creativity, critical thinking, problem solving and decision making; about new ways of working, including communication and collaboration and about new tools for working. It is only through being a school which is fit to engage confidently with this change that we can continue to provide an education relevant to our children and society.Jonathan Cooper is headteacher of an ‘Outstanding’ inner city primary school and a national leader of education. He leads Brighton and Hove Research and Development Forum and worked closely with the Institute of Education, London, in a project on developing pupils as researchers."
      ["matchLevel"]=>
      string(4) "full"
      ["fullyHighlighted"]=>
      bool(false)
      ["matchedWords"]=>
      array(4) {
        [0]=>
        string(10) "creativity"
        [1]=>
        string(8) "critical"
        [2]=>
        string(8) "thinking"
        [3]=>
        string(7) "project"
      }
    }
    ["categories"]=>
    array(1) {
      [0]=>
      array(3) {
        ["value"]=>
        string(10) "Leadership"
        ["matchLevel"]=>
        string(4) "none"
        ["matchedWords"]=>
        array(0) {
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Leadership

Leading a school research community

20 Jun 2017