RfT

Teachers' professional learning

CPD is high on the school improvement agenda. It's also a vital ingredient in the development of teachers' careers and an important aspect of school leadership. Our TLA research summary in February 2004 explored the evidence from a systematic review about effective professional development for teachers - at the time national interest in CPD was growing fast.

Deprivation and education

Numerous studies have shown that the relationship between deprivation* and education is crucial for understanding the significant impact deprivation has on later outcomes in adulthood. Deprivation can leave young people with fewer qualifications and skills, which in turn can affect their future employment and earnings, health and social well-being.

Positive alternatives to exclusion

growing number of pupils, including primary school pupils, who are permanently excluded from school. The authors recognised the position of many teachers whose unions were demanding protection for their members and for pupils by excluding unruly pupils from mainstream schools. The authors believed that many teachers did not see exclusion as an acceptable solution to the problems posed by the most challenging students.

Teaching methods in England and France: A comparison

When it comes to judging the progress of the nation's education system the media tends to focus on rankings provided by international educational surveys such as the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). More detailed comparative studies, on the other hand, go further in contrasting the processes and contexts in which learning takes place. These studies can be informative for teachers wanting to explore effective teaching and learning strategies.

Effective classroom talk in science

Talk is a teacher's prime teaching tool, but how many of us stop to plan or analyse what we say, or think about how it affects pupil learning? This research summary features a project* that examined in detail how teachers use talk to promote meaningful learning in science.  The researchers analysed the interactions between 12 teachers (six primary and six secondary) and their pupils in science lessons to find out what strategic use of talk in teaching (often called 'dialogic teaching') looked like in science.

Promoting students' persistence in meeting challenges

The study summarised in this TLA research summary focuses on student motivation and achievement and explores how they relate to beliefs that students hold about themselves and about the nature of ability. The book, summarised in Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality and development (Dweck 2000), aimed to explore why some young people exceed expectations and others fail to fulfil their potential.Carol Dweck has spent over thirty years researching how learners responded to experiences of difficulty and challenge.

Teaching phonics effectively

Should they be taught using the letter sounds (phonics), by learning whole words, or by both? If they are taught using phonics what is the most effective way to do so?   To help teachers find their way around the issue of phonics teaching this TLA research summary aims to highlight key features of phonics approaches in the context of literacy learning in England. We use the Rose report as the basis for the summary. This report was undertaken in the context of existing early literacy practices, including phonics, within the National Literacy Strategy in schools in England.

Alternative curriculum provision

What difference can alternative curriculum programmes make to students at KS4? A minority of 14-16 year old students feel that GCSE courses are inappropriate to them. The reactions of such students to the KS4 experience range from lack of interest to disaffection, which in turn can lead to underachievement and truancy. Consequently, many schools offer some kind of an alternative to the KS4 curriculum to at least some of their students.

Pupils in low attaining groups

All schools work hard to identify and support pupils who are attaining well below the average. This TLA research summarises a study that explored the ways in which teachers and schools support such pupils by placing them in groupings and providing specific and tailored support. The study identified some successful classroom, department and school strategies for assisting low attaining students to learn.The study is:Dunne, M., S. Humphreys, J. Sebba, A. Dyson, F. Gallannaugh and D. Muijs. Effective teaching and learning for pupils in low attaining groups.

The enduring impact of quality early years education

This TLA research summarises the final report from the primary phase of the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education project (EPPE 3-11)*, Europe's largest longitudinal investigation into the effects of pre-school and primary education on pupils' development. The researchers followed more than 2,800 children from the start of pre-school (around the age of 3) along with a further 300+ children with no pre-school experience, until the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11 years) by which time 2,600 children were still in the study.