Children’s views on ability groups: breaks your heart

In 'Assessment for Learning without Limits' Alison Peacock found this

'When pupils going into Year 6 were asked what they thought about ability tables, their responses related to the level of work they were given:

/1 The ‘more able’ enjoyed being the bright ones and having special challenges set by the teacher.

The middle group were annoyed that they didn’t get the same work and challenges the top group had, but they had realised that there were only six seats on the top table.

/2

Why has there been a tendency to privilege writing over speaking, listening, and reading? 🤔

While oracy is gaining attention, high-quality talk in classrooms is often viewed as optional rather than an essential entitlement for all pupils.

Why do we believe that written outcomes are more valuable than verbal responses?

This belief partly stems from the transient nature of spoken words, making it challenging to capture the quality of responses compared to written ones. ✍️ Despite substantial focus on enhancing writing, oracy development has received less attention.

High-quality talk, coupled with listening skills, is foundational for reading and writing.

Yet, it’s often expected to flourish without explicit teaching.

Why aren’t we reading more across the curriculum?

There’s plenty of evidence that reading aloud to our pupils, raises outcomes for all, particularly those from a low starting point. I’ve done a short recording summarising the research so why aren’t we making the most of these insights, if we are serious about closing gaps?

I think there are three main reasons why we aren’t reading more across the subjects, beyond literacy in primary and English in secondary. Reason one:

It’s enjoyable – so it can’t be work! We are inclined to think that learning has to be full of struggle. If we are doing something that is intrinsically interesting and pleasurable, we can question whether it is proper learning.

I’m sure we have all experienced either reading aloud to a class, or being read to, when the atmosphere has shifted; when there’s a magical, invisible connection between everyone in the room.

It’s what @ClareSealy calls the ‘collective cuddle’! It doesn’t happen every time of course, but we do all recognise it. And because it’s deeply satisfying, there’s a sense it’s not proper work. But it is proper work!

Some thoughts on concepts as connections over time

The reason that the concepts and big ideas in the subjects are helpful is that they are like ‘holding baskets’ for a lot of information.

They are like the boulders across the curriculum that gather more moss over time. Each time a pupil encounters a big idea in a new topic, it is an opportunity to make connections with what they have learnt before and what they are likely to learn in the future. This is why it is worth spending time identifying them and teaching them explicitly.

A great deal of work has gone into the curriculum intent.

For the most part, intent statements are in place, plans written up, and resources prepared

Virtually every school talks about an ambitious curriculum for every young person. Yet there is sometimes a gap between the high aspirations and what lands on children’s desks.

We need to pay attention to whether the promise is being delivered. Does our curriculum do what it says on the tin?

The story of subjects

When I talk with colleagues about what they hope for their subjects in terms of the impact on pupil’s learning, there’s sometimes a pause. Then a file gets opened, usually on a laptop and some complicated blurb gets pulled up. There is a problem with this. If the intent needs to be read from a document, how real is it? What I mean by this is that there’s a gap between the words on the document and the reality of bringing it to life.

Five caveats for the curriculum

One: there’s no need to have everything in place for us to get cracking.

Sometimes, there’s a reluctance to make a start until all the plans are written up. As long as there’s an overview in place, there’s no need to have all our ducks in a row before we make a start.

The likelihood is that we are going to adjust the plans in the light of experience.

‘Beginning’, as Churchill said, ‘is half done.’

There’s a lot of talk about curriculum ‘sequencing’.

One of the most efficient ways to sequence the curriculum is to identify the concepts or big ideas in the content we are teaching.

/1 Concepts provide the threads of a journey through the content to be taught.

- They signpost the underlying structures

- They are laden with meaning

- They are also able to expand as new knowledge linked to the concept is encountered

/2

Curriculum conversations between subject and senior leaders: some thoughts

While there has been truckloads going on in schools on the curriculum, there is sometimes a gap in the professional discussions between subject and senior leaders.

/1 This is potentially problematic when the line manager does not have a background in the subject for which they are responsible.

@johntomsett gives the example of his line managing languages:

The head of languages has a double first from Cambridge, in German and Russian,

/2

Revisiting 'Memorable Teaching' by @PepsMccrea

Some takeaways

'Memory architechture: the most useful way to think about emory is a system of two interacting components:

Long term memory (LTM)

&

Working memory (WM)

/1 @PepsMccrea Our job as teachers is to help our students build deep and durable LTM to build enduring understanding

To do this, we need to consider WM

If LTM is our map of the world, WM is our pencil

/2

Some headlines from 'Why Knowledge Matters' ED Hirsch 2016

'There are no significant shortcuts to intellectual competence'

/1 'Communication skills require domain specific knowledge'

/2

Pupil Study Book: Reading by @GreenfieldsEdu & @baronbedford

An evidence informed guid to help quality assure the reading curriculum

/1 @GreenfieldsEdu @baronbedford 'When we use assessment of pupils' competency in reading in isolation, it can mask pupils' knowledge and understanding.

This can only be revealed through well-structured discussions that shine a light on the true impact of their reading'

/2

Characterising effective teaching: from @BristolUniEcon

'The research showed that how teachers used class time had a significant impact on their pupils’ results'

/1 @BristolUniEcon 'Typical variations in class activities between teachers accounted for around a third of the total influence of teachers on the GCSE marks of their pupils'

/2

Five caveats for the curriculum

Thread

One: there’s no need to have everything in place for us to get cracking.

Sometimes, there’s a reluctance to make a start until all the plans are written up. As long as there’s an overview in place, there’s no need to have all our ducks in a row before we make a start.

The likelihood is that we are going to adjust the plans in the light of experience.

Beginning, as Churchill said, is half done.

Some headlines from 'Why Knowledge Matters' ED Hirsch 2016

'There are no significant shortcuts to intellectual competence'

1/10 'Communication skills require domain specific knowledge'

2/10

@Ajcurr @jemmaths @researchEDBrum @5Naureen @Counsell_C @ben_erskine Telling the story
Conversation with an ancient cutlure
Sources to be interogated, informed by sufficient contextual understanding rather than a gobbet 'floating free'
All very teachable if we see it as a narrative
Difficulty is relative to familiarity - we can prepare for this /1 @Ajcurr @jemmaths @researchEDBrum @5Naureen @Counsell_C @ben_erskine Via the deliberate crafting of readiness
It should not be a chore, but a delight
Can start from a number of different places
The context changes what children can see
Culture is relations - we further it through creativity and renewal
Cannot do it at a superficial level /2