Classroom Practice

Launch of the CUREE/Teach First Gaining and Sustaining Momentum Report

Gaining and Sustaining MomentumOn 6 June we launched the report of the latest project CUREE, in collaboration with Teach First, has undertaken on schools accelerating progress for vulnerable pupils. The full report is available for download now, and you can read the first of Philippa Cordingley's blogs about the report's findings here.

CUREE has spent a year exploring characteristics shared by schools which are struggling to establish/sustain momentum in their progress towards reaching high-performing status, and investigating how these schools' individual contexts and circumstances relate to the broader evidence base around what exactly makes schools successful in making progress. The project builds on previous work on characteristics of high-performing schools (the report of which can be read here).

Closing the Gap: Test and Learn UPDATE

Note: the lead responsibility for taking the project forward rests with CfBT. The information below is provided for general interest and may not be accurate or up-to-date. For authoritative information on the project in detail contract the National College or CfBT

First Year Results

Five of the seven interventions had a distinct and 'complete' cycle in the first year. The post tests (literacy or numeracy) were carried out in June/July and the National College (assisted by DfE Analytical Services) are analysing the results. A preliminary view of these is expected to be available in September.

Evidence based learning about learning -with, from and about our students

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Presentation by Philippa Cordingley for the Nuneaton Army Education 

This session: 

  • Focussing on aspirations for learners 
  • Unpicking a couple of real world examples of teachers using evidence to enhance their own and learning
  • Another example
  • Our ideas about what make great teaching based on experience and case studies
  • What evidence tells us about what makes great teaching
  • What evidence tells us about how we develop as teachers
  • A metaphor

 

Embedding Learning Through the Arts in the Curriculum: Lessons from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Teacher Development Fund Pilot Evaluation

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The session evaluated CUREE's work with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The foundation wanted to investigate how the arts can be used to improve people's education. We evaluated the six projects that were implemented by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and looked into what lessons can be learnt from the teacher development fund pilot evaluation.  

Research and Evidence Based Capacity Building in Disadvantaged Communities

Research and Evidence Based Capacity Building in Disadvantaged Communities:

Lessons from research and from R&D in Blackpool and North Wales

Presentation by Philippa Cordingley to the 2017 National ResearchEd event at Chobham Academy Stratford

The session explored the key building blocks for building momentum in school improvement through the lens of a year of research and evidence based development work in Blackpool secondary schools and across schools in North Wales drawing on interim impact reports. It focussed on issues such as understanding both capacity and barriers in depth, phasing, co-construction, scaffolding and harnessing the contributions of various stakeholders

 

If you want access to the presentation please email paige.johns@curee.co.uk

RfT - Carl Rogers and Classroom Climate

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There's an old saying in teaching, 'Don't smile before Christmas' (meaning 'don't show your nice side before you've shown them who's boss'). But Carl Rogers' work led him to believe passionately that teachers should do precisely the opposite. He believed that teachers should seek to create emotionally warm, supportive environments in which they worked collaboratively with their students to achieve mutual goals.