*Thread*
I recently delivered an introductory Science of Learning workshop to teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders and thought I'd share what I covered. There is a wealth of wonderful information available but here's what I decided to include in a 1hr CPD session.👇
I recently delivered an introductory Science of Learning workshop to teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders and thought I'd share what I covered. There is a wealth of wonderful information available but here's what I decided to include in a 1hr CPD session.👇
Opening slide: this was a chance to get teachers thinking and talking about common misconceptions within education. We discussed how some are so heavily ingrained that teachers may still struggle to disregard them. Info. is from: Deans for Impact, 'The Science of Learning'. 
I loved this visual when I saw it - thanks, @DavidDidau. Here, I emphasised that the session was about pupils' learning. Not the performance of learning that we see on a daily basis but the kind of learning that takes place over time, with practice - longer-lasting learning.
First, we looked at the important role of memory in learning. We discussed the limitations of working memory - with thanks to @olicav for his illustration. We also discussed cheating the constraints of WM by maximising the potential of long-term memory through retrieval practice.
Next, came two activities to exemplify the limitations of working memory and how we are unlikely to notice things that are not explicitly drawn to our attention. Both activities came from an excellent resource published recently and available online: The Learning Curriculum 2.0.
I spent a little bit of time discussing declarative memory and the need to limit unnecessary distractions, inspired by a blog written by @ClareSealy. As teachers, we need to ensure pupils remember the thing it is that we want them to learn and not simply the activity itself.
Cognitive Load Theory was next on the agenda. 'Simplifying CLT' by @adamboxer1 is one of the best on this topic that I have read, so I utilised a number of the visual representations from his blog. I really wanted to adopt a jargon-free approach to CLT, and these images helped.
We then spent some time discussing and reflecting on these 7 recommendations. Staff shared various insights and considered further possibilities. You can find this in another useful resource available online called Cognitive Load Theory in Practice: Examples for the Classroom.
Lastly, I wanted to spend some time discussing schema and decided to utilise @DavidDidau's effective visuals and blog. I highlighted the importance of helping pupils to commit information to long-term memory and the power that foundational knowledge has across disciplines.
My closing point: teachers can support pupils' development of an interconnected web of schema that they can call upon and apply - hopefully automatically and effortlessly. This will be invaluable to them across all of their subjects and, most importantly, beyond the school gates.
We finished with a trusty multiple choice quiz. Again, taken from The Learning Curriculum 2.0 - so huge thanks to @HFletcherWood et al. for producing such a useful resource for teachers.
I benefit immensely from those I follow on Twitter and wanted to share some of the insights gleaned that have made an impact recently. I'm happy to share the full presentation, too, as I've included direct links to all resources.
