Governance - of schools and education systems
CUREE, Evidence for Select Committee.pdf The Evidence People
Keep
SSAT Lead Practitioner Conference 2016 - An Evidence Informed Teaching Profession
On the 3rd February, 2016, CUREE were delighted to partner with SSAT in delivering their annual Lead Practitioner Conference. The event included opportunities for practioners to share their own exciting practice, as well as a number of workshops and a keynote from Philippa Cordingley and the CUREE team. The slides from our presentation can be requested by emailing joe.askew@curee.co.uk
Keynote: Pedagogy Vs Content
Purpose and Quality of Evidence of Education in England - evidence for select committee
On the 30th November, 2015, The Education Commitee launched and inquiry into the purpose of and quality of education in England. As a part of the inquiry a call for written evidence was made that addressed the following points:
- What the purpose of education for children of all ages in England should be
- What measure should be used to evaluate the quality of education against this purpose
- How well the current education system performs against these measures
Further information about the inquiry can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-sele...
CUREE Enews - Christmas 2015
Prefer to read it on the train/over breakfast/in the bath? Download the 'proper' print-friendly PDF version here (also viewable on your Ipad)
CUREE ENEWS - Christmas 2015 Edition
Contents
- The Philippa Blog
SSAT Content knowledge and pedagogy - what comes first?
Philippa's presentation 'Content knowledge and pedagogy - what comes first?' delivered at the schools, students and teachers network national conference: Quality & Equality can be downloaded here
(Stuart) Use Of Apostrophes By Six To Nine Year Old Children
Some young children seem able to infer rules about using apostrophes without being taught directly about them, but most need to be taught how to use them. The authors of this study tested a total of 312 pupils in four state primary schools in the South East of England. They found that teaching children about the use of apostrophes produced clear and positive benefits, yet the overall levels of correct use of apostrophes, even after explicit instruction, were low. The authors suggested that children may need more opportunities to consolidate their understanding and to practise the correct use of apostrophes.
(Stone) Building Mathematics Skills In A Vocational Context
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Various occupations require the practical application of mathematics and most employers want workers with good maths skills. Yet many students who take vocational subjects struggle with maths and problem-solving skills. Vocational subjects potentially offer rich opportunities for students to use maths to solve work-place problems. Teachers of vocational subjects sometimes give anecdotal evidence of students who finally begin to understand abstract mathematical concepts when they see them applied to real situations. This American study investigated whether teaching mathematics during vocational lessons could improve students’ performance in maths and found quantifiable evidence to suggest that it could.
(Smith) Engaging Learners Through Use Of Questioning And Feedback
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This UK-based study investigated the role teachers can play in facilitating interactive classrooms through the use of feedback in lessons. The researchers found that feedback designed to open up thinking and discussion involves engaging with responses to questions and offering students opportunities to express themselves.
(Slavin) Co-Operative Learning: What Makes Group Work Work?
Having students work in groups can be enormously beneficial or it can be of little value. So how can teachers ensure they make best use of this classroom tool? One researcher set out to analyse different kinds of co-operative learning approaches reported in research (all experimental studies involving control groups taught using traditional approaches) to find the key to effective learning through group work.
He found two kinds of co-operative learning methods:
structured team learning (characterised by individual accountability, which means that team success depends on individual learning, and rewards to teams based on the learning progress of their members); and
informal group learning methods (which are more focused on social dynamics and discussion).
The evidence showed that team rewards and individual accountability were essential elements for enhancing achievement. It isn’t enough to simply tell students to work together; they must have a reason to take one another’s achievement seriously.
(Ross) Disengagement From Education Among 14-16 Year Olds
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It is estimated that between one fifth and one third of all young people aged 14-16 are disengaged from education. This has well documented implications for the young person and the wider society, including poor labour market opportunities and the risk of being not in education, employment or training (NEET). Other associated negative outcomes are teenage pregnancy and drug use. Engagement is crucial because of recent legislation raising the participation age for education, first to 17 by the year 2013, and then 18 by 2015.
Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE), the researcher carried out a quantitative analysis of disengagement from education among 14-16 year olds. They identified four different kinds of engagement and explored when as well as why some young people disengaged.
The study will be of interest to teachers, leaders, parents and policy makers wishing to explore the issue of disengagement amongst 14-16 year olds. In particular it will help them consider the factors contributing to disengagement and the strategies which might help to encourage continued engagement in school.