How to use evidence to support disadvantaged students: Metacognition and Self-reflection – Webinar

The EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit identifies meta-cognition as one of the key strategies for closing the achievement gap. But what is meta-cognition? And how can it be introduced to the classroom in a meaningful and beneficial way?

In this webinar, Professor Steve Higgins offers some practical advice on encouraging pupils to reflect more deeply on their own thinking. More broadly, he also examines how teachers can make good use of research findings to improve their practice.

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      string(441) "... K. (2012) The impact of the pursuit of ASDAN’s Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) on GCSE attainment. Project Report. UWE/ASDAN.Y9Thinking & reasoning skills  (critical thinking, debating)Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53, 4 ..."
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      string(5654) "Using research to inspire practice. (pp. 161-178). Paris, France: OECD.Y7, 8, 9Oracy (paired talk, P4C, formal debates, public speaking…)Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of children’s thinking. London, UK: Routledge.Topping, K. J. & Trickey, S. (2007a). Collaborative philosophical enquiry for school children: Cognitive effects at 10-12 years. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 271–288.Topping, KJ & Trickey, S (2007b), ‘Collaborative philosophical inquiry for schoolchildren: Cognitive gains at 2-year follow-up’ British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 4, pp. 787-796.Y7, 8, 9Formative assessment (comment-based feedback)Black P, Wiliam D (1998) Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom. Assessment Phi Delta Kappan 80(2) 139-148. 2. Hattie, J. (2009) Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement, Routledge, London. Higgins, S., Kokotsaki, D. & Coe, R.J. (2011). Toolkit of Strategies to Improve Learning: Summary for Schools Spending the Pupil Premium. Sutton Trust-Educational Endowment Foundation.Y7, 8, 9Metacognition (language of learning, plenaries, journals) Whitebread, D. & Pino Pasternak, D. (2010) Metacognition, Self-Regulation & Meta-Knowing. In Littleton, K., Wood, C. & Kleine Staarman, J. (eds) International Handbook of Psychology in Education. Bingley, UK: Emerald.Y8Personal effectiveness (organisational skills)Harrison, N., James, D. and Last, K. (2012) The impact of the pursuit of ASDAN’s Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (CoPE) on GCSE attainment. Project Report. UWE/ASDAN.Y9Thinking & reasoning skills  (critical thinking, debating)Halpern, D. F. (1998). Teaching critical thinking for transfer across domains: Dispositions, skills, structure training, and metacognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 53, 4, 449-455.Whole-schoolGrowth mindset (shared language of learning)Claxton, G, Chambers, M, Powell, G & Lucas, B. (2011) The Learning Powered School: Pioneering 21st Century Education. TLO, Bristol.;  Perkins, D. (1995). Outsmarting IQ: The Emerging Science of Learnable Intelligence. New York: Free Press.Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House: New York.Engle, R. A., Lam, D. P., Meyer, X. S., & Nix, S.. “How does expansive framingpromote transfer? Several proposed explanations.,” Educational Psychologist, v.47, 2012, p. 215-231.Whole-schoolTransfer (managed approach)Engle, R. A., Lam, D. P., Meyer, X. S., & Nix, S.. “How does expansive framingpromote transfer? Several proposed explanations.,” Educational Psychologist, v.47, 2012, p. 215-231.Hipkins, R., & Cowie, B. (2014). Learning to learn, lifewide and lifelong learning: Reflections on the New Zealand experience. In R. Deakin-Crick, C. Stringher, & K. Ren (Eds.), Learning to learn: International perspectives from theory and practice (pp. 303–320). London, UK: Routledge.Whole-schoolAction Research as CPD (collaborative inquiry) Bell, M., Cordingley, P., Isham, C. & Davis, R. (2010) Report of Professional Practitioner Use of Research Review: Practitioner engagement in and/or with research. Coventry: CUREE, GTCE, LSIS & NTRP. Available at: http://www.curee-paccts.com/node/2303Crippen, K. J., Biesinger, K. D. & Ebert, E. K. (2010) Using Professional Development to Achieve Classroom Reform and Science Proficiency: An Urban Success Story from Southern Nevada, USA. Professional Development in Education, 36 (4) pp.637-661. Joyce, B. & Showers, B. (2002) Student achievement through staff development. In: Joyce, B. & Showers, B. Designing training and peer coaching: our needs for learning. VA, USA: ASCD. Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2007). Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration [BES]. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Available at www.educationcounts.govt.nz/goto/BES.  The importance of transferThere is not space here to explore each of these components in detail. However, as can be seen in Table 2 the L2L curriculum at Sea View formed part of a whole-school approach to teaching and learning, which aimed to ensure that the skills and dispositions developed through the L2L curriculum were able to transfer meaningfully to other subject areas throughout the school. The issue of transfer has often been the Achilles heel of L2L initiatives, since it is well understood that skills tend to remain rooted in the contexts in which they were developed (e.g. see Willingham, 2007). While it is self-evident that transfer can and does happen, to varying degrees – school would be rather a waste of time if it did not – it certainly does not always happen automatically, and thus requires careful planning and monitoring. One key way in which transfer was facilitated at Sea View was through a shared language of learning, used by teachers throughout the school to focus on the how, as well as the what, of learning (see Figure 2). For a more detailed discussion of transfer at Sea View, see Mannion & Mercer (2016).Figure 2. The shared language of learning at Sea View, comprising the school’s six core values with examples of supporting ‘processes of learning’. What was the impact of L2L at Sea View?By the end of year 9, there was a significant increase in the proportion of students either hitting or exceeding their target grades in the"
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Leadership

Rediscover Learning to Learn

20 Jun 2017

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      string(395) "... ever-changing world that lurks beyond the school gates.Hanna Miller leads Metacognition and Thinking across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust  and is responsible for training staff and driving improvement of teaching and learning.References and further readingBurgess, J. (2012). The impact of teaching thinking skills as habits of mind ..."
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      string(3843) "guidance, as an intervention, had positive effects on young children with challenging behaviours. We have found across the Trust that training sessions for staff on the underpinning of the Habits initiative followed by whole staff ownership of developing bespoke interpretations and resources to integrate the language and ideals of the Habits has been visibly positive. There have been noticeable decreases in students receiving negative behaviour points and observable improvements in attitudes to learning.In some of the schools in which ‘Habit points’ are being administered, there are now many students who have moved from previously recording poor behaviour points to now receiving positive Habit points. In line with work by Burgess (2012), we also found that certain Habits have developed at a quicker rate than others. Staff are being critical and analytical when reporting data findings and are keen to further explore current pitfalls, e.g. the subjectivity of what constitutes a ‘Habit point’. This has led to important staff dialogue and insightful smaller scale studies taking place in department areas and year groups to measure the possible impacts of the Habit interventions on learning in more specific domains.On a broader scale we are now working towards a consistent cross-Trust approach towards the development of Habits and are trialling a research-informed model that staff and students at all levels can use to monitor their own progress towards becoming a better thinker in terms of dispositional development. The staged model focuses on the acquisition of key knowledge and gradual understanding of the thinking structures and strategies that can support ‘better’ thinking, which all of us can deliberately and consciously use to enable staff and students to take control and ownership of their own thinking and effectively reflect on their progress towards being more ‘thought-ful’.The Habits of Mind are infused throughout all areas of school life and our goal is to include parents and carers more and more in understanding, tracking and striving to develop the Habits that mean we are more confident in our capabilities. We are mindful of our role in modelling successful Habits and equipping our students with the strategies to develop successful Habits and become the best version of themselves in preparation for the ever-changing world that lurks beyond the school gates.Hanna Miller leads Metacognition and Thinking across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust  and is responsible for training staff and driving improvement of teaching and learning.References and further readingBurgess, J. (2012). The impact of teaching thinking skills as habits of mind to young children with challenging behaviours. Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties, 17(1): 47-63.Costa, A., & Kallick, B. (2006). Discovering and Exploring Habits of Mind. Alexandria: ASCD.Jones, M.V., Meijen, C., McCarthy, P. J., & Sheffield, D. (2009). A theory of challenge and threat states in athletes. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2: 161-180.Marzano, R. (2005). A Different Kind of Classroom: Teaching with Dimensions of Learning. Heatherton: Hawker Brownlow Education.Murray, J. (2016). Skills development, habits of mind, and the spiral curriculum: A dialectical approach to undergraduate general education curriculum mapping. Cogent Education, 3(1).Quigley, A. (2016) The Confident Teacher: Developing Successful Habits of Mind, Body and Pedagogy. Oxon: Routledge. Yeager, D. et al. (2016). Using design thinking to improve psychological interventions: The case of the growth mindset during the transition to high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3):374-391."
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Leadership

Cultivating Habits of Mind

12 Sep 2018

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      string(392) "... signify the end of the journey,merely a significant moment alongthe way. This implies that there willbe a need to constantly review theeffectiveness of the thinking toolsemployed in developing pupils’metacognition and wider thinkingstrategies. A Thinking School willconstantly be on the look-out foradditional or useful approaches toenhance their children ..."
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      string(5707) "cognitiveapproaches.One of the first tasks of thecognitive education coordinatorafter their appointment shouldbe to establish a task force orsubgroup of colleagues – fromacross curriculum subjects inlarge schools – to ensure thatcommunication and co-operationtakes place across the school andthat discussions amongst staff andthe teaching of thinking skills andstrategies can occur by means ofa cascade model. This will help toovercome the dangers of the hero-innovator tendency and will provevital in leading to a committed‘critical mass’ of cognitivelyorientated staff. Evidence hereshould take the form of listednames and roles, together withrecorded details of discussion andplanning meetings.This should in time lead to thevast majority (at least 80%)of the school staff, includingLSAs, demonstrating a clearunderstanding of what is meant bya cognitive curriculum, why it hasbeen undertaken and how they canbest contribute to it. This should bedemonstrated in their pedagogy4.5.25www.teachingtimes.com n Vol 2.4Leadership SkillsCurriculum Innovationby taking on complementaryprogrammes like Adey and Shayer’s‘CASE’, ‘CAME’ and ‘Let’s Think’programmes, the Thinking throughHistory, Geography etc programmesconstructed mainly at NewcastleUniversity, or by developing theirown home-grown approaches. Theevidence of this process and thereasoning behind the adoption and/or rejection of different approachesshould be clearly documented.All this should be part of an actionplan that has been drawn up bythe cognitive education team,endorsed by the principal andgovernors and disseminated to allmembers of staff.It is obviously important that acognitive education coordinatorneeds to be highly trained andconfident in a range of potentiallyuseful programmes and techniquesand should see this as an essentialongoing aspect of their role. Itis not enough for someone inthis position to have attended apreliminary training course in aparticular technique and expect toremain ahead of the game. Detailsof an ongoing CPD programmemust therefore be made available.All staff should be encouragedto attend external courses orshould receive constant in-housetraining by the ‘home’ team and/orhighly rated external consultants.Documented reports of suchtraining and its outcomes shouldalso be available for public scrutiny.Taking a cognitive approach tothe curriculum carries with itassumptions about alternativeforms and outcomes of assessment:formative assessment for learningshould be the norm, runningalongside more conventionalassessment of learning outcomes.We would also expect to seean emphasis upon pupil self-assessment and peer assessmentas part of the regular assessmentprocess. A Thinking School willalso have considered possiblealternative ways of assessinglearning outcomes such asenhanced pupil self-esteem7.8.9.10.and increasing enjoyment inlearning, and even increased staffsatisfaction in teaching.Ultimately there is a requirementfor evidence of positivelearning outcomes, attitudesand behaviours of the pupils toindicate that they are operatingas thoughtful responsible learnerswho are able to articulate howand why thinking skills andstrategies are a vitally importantaspect of all that occurs in theirschools. This can be seen in thenature and quality of the pupils’work (including homework),interest they show in their work,positive attitudes towards school,enjoyment and confidence inlearning, good attendance andbehaviour records, a significantdecrease in bullying and improvedattainment and exam results,where this is reasonable to expect.Much of this can be revealedduring the evaluation visit to theschool, but will also require carefulrecord keeping of critical incidentsand other indications of change.Few innovations ever workcompletely smoothly from startto finish. In fact, becoming arecognised Thinking School doesnot signify the end of the journey,merely a significant moment alongthe way. This implies that there willbe a need to constantly review theeffectiveness of the thinking toolsemployed in developing pupils’metacognition and wider thinkingstrategies. A Thinking School willconstantly be on the look-out foradditional or useful approaches toenhance their children’s learning,and for ways of evaluating these.The whole school approach meansexactly that. Here we are lookingfor evidence that all membersof staff are being encouragedto discuss on a regular basis theprocess of cognitive educationand how it can be maintainedand improved. The evidententhusiasm of all staff membersfor the cognitive approach will bea significant feature in illustratinghow well this is working.11.12.13.All of the above should be manifestin the whole ethos of the school:in the way it conveys a positive,caring and creative atmosphere toall stakeholders and visitors, whilstat the same time demonstratingthat careful thought has been putinto its organisational structureand visual presentations. This islikely to be shown in examples ofthe pupils’ work and displays thatadorn the school, the way thatvisitors are received and treatedand the general ‘feel’ of the way inwhich everyone goes about theirbusiness.Outcome so farAt the time of writing nearly 30schools across England and Walesand one school in South Australiahave successfully navigated theaccreditation process. The ratio ofprimary to secondary schools currentlystands at about four to one, but everylevel of socio-economic and culturalbackground has been represented.Some are small, three teacher schools,others cater for more than a thousandstudents. Of the secondary schoolsfour are"
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Leadership

What is a thinking school?

11 Oct 2010

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      string(5677) "resources were not just being used with students identified with SpLDs, but with the whole class. This was not only to avoid ‘singling out’ certain students, but also because staff believed that these approaches and resources were useful for the whole range of learners. The same applied to helping the students develop metacognitive strategies to support their independence as learners. Staff reported increases in their own confidence in their lesson planning and teaching skills. Perhaps most importantly, the adoption of the term ‘neurodiversity’ allowed teachers to ‘look beyond labels’ and consider the individual strengths and needs of each child. Many reported improvements in students’ engagement, confidence and self-esteem, and some early signs of improved student performance were reported at some schools, though the general consensus among staff was that it was too early to measure the full impact upon student outcomes.Conclusions and RecommendationsIt is fair to conclude that, overall, this project has been a notable success, despite the tight time scale within which it was enacted. However, it could be argued that with more time, participation could have been greater, and opportunities to implement training and strategies in schools more extensive.It is clear from responses to both the surveys and the case studies that this initiative has correctly responded to an identified training need in the schools’ and colleges’ teaching workforce for developing core knowledge skills and understanding of learners’ neurodiversity and how to respond to this in the classroom. There remains a challenge in developing secondary schools’ uptake of such training and in response to this, having identified good practice in certain secondary schools, a series of case studies (Griffiths & Kelly 2018) and a set of videos have been developed to exemplify best practice, enabling secondary practitioners to analyse how and why this is effective. These could be accessed by secondary schools as part of their continuing professional development strategies, within a time framework perhaps more convenient to them.Further, with the ongoing development of research knowledge about inclusive teaching and learning, two literature reviews have been completed focussing on the evidence base for dyslexia-friendly classroom teaching (Kelly 2018), and whole school approaches and processes of change for inclusive practice (Griffiths 2018). These provide information about evidence-based practice for dissemination to schools, colleges and training providers.Finally, given the differing levels of expertise in respect of knowledge, skills and understanding in the teaching workforce in inclusive teaching and learning, a large scale survey of teachers’ and TAs’ training needs could be undertaken with a view to developing training packages at different levels. Dr Dominic Griffiths is Senior Lecturer with the Faculty of Education at Manchester Metropolitan University. Liz Horobin is Project Director at the British Dyslexia Association.References        Armstrong, T. (2012). Neurodiversity in the classroom: Strength-based strategies to help students with special needs succeed in school and life. Alexandria, VA, ASCD        Baker, D. (2011). The politics of neurodiversity: Why public policy matters. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.        Billington, T. (2017). Educational inclusion and critical neuroscience: friends or foes? International Journal of Inclusive Education 21(8) 866-880.        DANDA. (2006). The make-up of neurodiversity. In Colley, M. Living with dyspraxia: a guide for adults with developmental dyspraxia. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.         Department for Education. (2015). Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (6.27). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.         Gilger, J. & Kaplan, B. (2001). Atypical brain development: A conceptual framework for understanding developmental learning disabilities. Developmental Neuropsychology 20(2) 465-481.        Griffiths, D. (2018). Scoping review of the literature on processes of change for inclusive practice and the evidence for success in enabling achievement. http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/educator/additional-resources-for-educators.         Griffiths, D., Kelly, K. & McNicol, S. (2017). The Dyslexia/ Specific Learning Difficulties Support Project, Final Evaluation Report. Manchester: Manchester Metropolitan University.        Griffiths, D. & Kelly, K. (2018). What works in dyslexia / SpLD friendly practice in the secondary school and further education college sectors: Four case studies of effective practice. Available at http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/educator/additional-resources-for-educators.         Johnston, A. (2015). A confusion of a weak reductionist: Responses to some criticisms of my materialism. In De Vos, J. and Pluth, R. (Eds) Neuroscience and critique: Exploring the limits of the neurological turn. London: Routledge.        Jones, A. & Kindersley, K. (2013). Dyslexia: Assessing and reporting: The PATOSS guide. London: Hodder Education.        Kelly, K. (2018). Scoping review of the evidence base for dyslexia-friendly classroom teaching and whole school approaches. http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/educator/additional-resources-for-educators.         Kirmayer, L. & Gold, I. (2012). Re-socialising psychiatry: Critical neuroscience and the limits of reductionism. In Choudhury, S. & Slaby, J. (Eds.) Critical"
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Dyslexia

Teaching for Neurodiversity

10 Sep 2018