WHY INQUIRY-BASED APPROACHES HARM STUDENTS’ LEARNING

🧵A thread translating John Sweller’s key insights from his 2021 paper into practical takeaways.

⚠️ SPOILER: Explicit instruction isn’t just more efficient—it’s essential.

cis.org.au/wp-content/upl… FALLING RESULTS, RISING INQUIRY

Sweller says Australia’s rankings on international tests have been falling concurrent with an increased emphasis on inquiry learning.

Translation: Over-relying on student-led discovery may be doing more harm than good.

🧵 THREAD! Since introducing these one-pagers in my school in 2022, I’ve seen teachers’ engagement with evidence informed ideas sky-rocket. Teachers are time-poor, so distilling important ideas into an easily digestible format offers a practical solution. Here are 7 ways one-pagers support educators… 1/ WIDER READING: One-pagers spotlight the most important evidence-informed ideas and inspire wider reading. Our teachers have been able to focus on deeper exploration at a later date and learn at their own pace.

🧠 ‘Why Don’t Students Like School?’ by Daniel Willingham is one of the most influential books for teachers on cognitive science. It explores how students’ minds work and how to use this knowledge to be a better teacher.

🧵THREAD! Here are some of my main takeaways…

Thanks again to @olicav for the excellent learning and memory diagram! 🙌 🧠 WM has limited space and thinking becomes increasingly difficult as it gets crowded. ‘Unless the cognitive conditions are right, we avoid thinking.’ Teachers should promote challenging cognitive work by reviewing each lesson in terms of what students will THINK about.

🧵 FEEDBACK! Feedback should guide students toward improvement, be clear and specific, and encourage action. Here's a breakdown of key strategies to make the feedback process more impactful and move students forward!

Get the FREE one-pager: jamieleeclark.com/graphics
🎯 **Make Feedback Specific**: Avoid generic comments like "good work" or "needs improvement." Be precise and clear. For example, “Your analysis is strong because you used…” This approach helps students understand exactly what they did well or need to improve.

**🧵** Being evidence-informed involves blending insights from various educational research. Here’s a list of my favourite papers and reports that can help to refine and improve classroom instruction. 🪜 Principles of Instruction: Research Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know by Barak Rosenshine

In 2012, Rosenshine formulated ten key principles, which he argued underpin any effective approach to instructional teaching.

aft.org/sites/default/…

‘Why Don’t Students Like School?’ by Daniel Willingham is one of the most influential books for teachers on cognitive science. It explores how students’ minds work & how to use this knowledge to be a better teacher.

🪡 THREAD. Here are some ‘brain bites’ I took away from it… 🧠 WM has limited space & thinking becomes increasingly difficult as it gets crowded. ‘Unless the cognitive conditions are right, we avoid thinking.’ Teachers should promote challenging cognitive work by reviewing each lesson in terms of what students will THINK about.

🪡 In this thread, I have compiled a list of my top research articles, videos and resources that have helped shape my teaching.

You’ll find the full list (and more) on these one-pagers which contain embedded hyperlinks.

Download the PDF here: jamieleeclark.com/graphics Principles of Instruction: Research Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know by Barak Rosenshine

In 2010, Rosenshine formulated ten key principles, which he argued underpin any effective approach to instructional teaching.

aft.org/sites/default/…

***BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT ***

🧵 In this thread, I have summarised some of Dr Bill Rogers’ top behaviour management strategies. Each one is supported with an old-school video.

“You establish what you establish” POSITIVE LANGUAGE

Communicate calmness & focus. Instead of making demands or requests, describe what you see: “A number of students are talking.” Give confident & respectful directions to cue in expected behaviour: “settling down everyone. Thanks.”

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MAKING INSTRUCTION EXPLICIT

🧵 In this thread, I have summarised some of Barak Rosenshine’s most influential ideas from his 2002 presentation on making instruction explicit. You can watch the full presentation here:

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Hope you find this useful! ⬇️ 1. BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

We use our background knowledge to construct meaning. The less background knowledge (schema) you have the less able you are to construct meaning. Since background knowledge is so important, we should directly teach it.

BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

🧵 In this thread, I have summarised some of Dr Bill Rogers’ top behaviour management techniques. Each tip is supported with an old-school video… 📼

“You establish what you establish” POSITIVE LANGUAGE

Communicate calmness & focus. Instead, of making demands or requests, describe what you see: “A number of students are talking.” Give confident & respectful directions to cue in expected behaviour: “settling down everyone. Thanks.”

📼

🧵 In this thread, I have compiled a list of my top research summaries, articles and resources that have helped shape my teaching.

Hope you find this collection as useful as I have! ⤵️ Principles of Instruction: Research Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know by Barak Rosenshine

In 2010, Rosenshine formulated ten key principles, which he argued underpin any effective approach to instructional teaching:

👉 aft.org/sites/default/…