STCM Action Research Poster Presentations

1. STCM Action Research
Presentations
Teach Meet
28th June 2018

2. Growth Mindset
Changing mindsets, changing aspirations!
CDH/JEM/KAM/JAL/JFW/NAF/JSI/RDD/ARM/HEG/AJC//NC/MJW
1.Can we change the mindset of
our Year 11 students?
2. Background research and
reading
Year 11 were chosen as they were at a
pivotal point in their learning journeys.
With many students disengaging and
making up their minds about how they
have ‘already failed’, ‘can’t do it’ and
asking questions such as ‘what’s the
point?’, this seemed like the right time to
inject the power of YET!
Dweck, Carol., (2012) Mindset: Changing
The Way You think To Fulfil Your
Potential Hachette UK.
Ted Talks: Developing a Growth Mindset
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEe
MN7vbQ
Grit Scale: How gritty are you?
https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/
3. Methods / Strategies /
Techniques
4. Reflections from teachers...
5. Next steps...
The power of
YET!
Strategies used:
● Shift in classroom language with targeted Year 11
students
● Positive reinforcement after failure
● Pupils were given TIME (allowed to ‘go into the
pit’).
● Seating arrangements - sometimes a quiet/ placid
classroom can be unsupportive towards
individuals growth
● PRAISE
"I'm rubbish at
composing, I can't do it"
- lack of self belief
Things we have actually heard from our students
"I'm not going to pass
so why bother"
- no self belief
"I've given up, I know I am
not going to pass that
subject so what's the
point!"
“I'mthick, I can't do this”
Strategies to develop RESILIENCE...
1.Share ‘the pit’ with students and
recognise mistakes as part of learning.
2.Encourage students to challenge
themselves and understand that
‘struggle’ is a good word.
3.Make difficult learning conscious
highlighting thought processes at key
times.
4.Have role models.
5.Feed Forward.
"I'm never going to
pass this anyway"
- Computing GCSE
Struggles
“I struggle with this - I'll
never pass.”
I struggle to remember
information to use in exams
- lack of self belief.
“I can't do it!”
- lack of self belief
"I'm failing RE, I'm going
to fail"
"I can't do it, I'm not good
enough"
Liaise/ negotiate
with other staff to
generate
background
Engage
strategies with
pupils
Identify key
pupil
● Roll out growth language and the power
of YET to the whole school community
ensuring buy in from all
● STCM specific visuals (whole school and
department)
● Departments - Wall of Inspiration
● A future of larger number of pupils
embracing challenge and failure with
enough resilience to cope is an exciting
prospect.
● Through growth mindset, I have been able
to encourage, support and motivate my
students. I fully back the idea of growth
mindset being reinforced throughout the
school.
● Growth Mindset can help students with low
esteem and build confidence for
experiences after school life.
● I have used the word ‘Yet’ when pupils
have shown fear of failure. I have
encouraged and praised pupils when they
have tried another way of doing a piece of
work.

3. Implementing SEND passports with year 8
studentsCollaborators: IBegley, SKuhl, JBrown, CRoelich, DHaynes and SGessey
What are we investigating?
Our background research and
reading
We have identified a sample group of year
8 students that have a learning passport
and developed strategies to enable them
to access lesson based learning through
explicit and non explicit scaffolding. We
have also identified the importance of
supporting the student to plan, monitor and
evaluate their learning to take
responsibility for their learning and improve
their progress.
Learning passport research
- Research was completed by SEND team
- Learning passports were piloted to test effectiveness before being implemented across the
school including KS3 and KS4
- Staff understanding learning passports and considering method of implementation which
leads us back to the question.
- Many students asked for the task to be explained more then once.
T&L research
- Vygotsky
- pairing LAP with HAP
- Pupil who have completed the task - becoming the expert to support students who
require support → empowering the students
Evidence based research
- EEF: metacognition and self-regulation
- The approach helps pupils think about their own learning more explicitly.
- Pupils take responsibility of own work
- Students make an average of 7 months additional progress
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-
toolkit/meta-cognition-and-self-regulation/
T&L strategies we have decided to use
Blank template to structure lesson.
Small step teaching- chunking tasks and variety of tasks within the lesson.
Before book of three students
WAGOLL book
What did we do?
Diccon:
I offer a highly structured approach of examples and scaffolded independent study and
questioning. The lesson whilst sometimes changing in activity always follow a set structure,
which the students know and expect. This small step by step model was recognized by
observation to provide good support and consistency to those pupils that struggle to create their
own structure and learning methods.
Linda: In our group we have discussed the need to ensure that the weaker students are able to
follow what is happening in the lesson - step by step. When teaching 8e3 I have made it clear at
the start what will be involved in the lesson so that they are ready to learn in bite-sized steps.
Writing these steps on the board so that it can be referred back to at any point within the lesson
helps weaker pupils to follow the learning steps within the lesson.
Caroline: I now write the lesson structure on the board showing the step by step approach for
each lesson for all my classes. In particular with 8P3, I have made it clear at the start how the
structure relates to the lesson, and refer to it at each stage. This has worked especially well with
Elliot, who is now producing more work at each stage.
Sarah: I began creating a scaffolded worksheet which mirrored the lesson. Each sheet removed
the need to write anything other than learning points and offered them to students with Learning
Passports in my Year 8 class. Two students began using them. Examples of scaffolding below
While this was well received by one student, most students found it unnecessary or it made no
difference to the level of engagement with learning. Implementing the schedule was more
successful.
Shelby: I created a structured worksheet for students to use throughout the lesson. This was
produced to guide students through each step of the lesson. I have produced a lesson schedule
for each lesson. Based on research analysed by the EEF, students who can plan, monitor and
evaluate their learning make better progress. There is also time at the end of the lesson to reflect
on learning. See powerpoint slides below. Discuss with learning support mentors to develop
effective strategies to implement learning passports across the curriculum.
What did we find?
Conclusion:
The implementation of scaffolded worksheets to those with a learning
passport was met with a mixed response by pupils. For some
students, it was simply unnecessary. We also found that the approach
was hard to offer consistently across subjects due to the nature
different subjects. The main issue being a lack of flexibility with its
structure.
When we implemented the use of lesson schedules we observed an
improvement in the students attitude to learning.
Evaluation:
In Science, the level of scaffolding has fluctuated according to the
needs of students. The students’ interest and prior knowledge of a
topic determined the level of scaffolding they required. A lesson
schedule has engaged students who have in recognising the
In English, the most effective tool has been the implementation of
lesson schedules. Students’ have found knowing the direction and
purpose of the lesson to be useful and allows them to link their
learning to the overall learning focus.
Maths DRH: The highly structured model lesson and consistency in
approach was found to support the learning and progress of students
that do not find it easy to put learning structures in place for
themselves.
Learning
passport
template
Our results
Students have responded well to lessons that are more explicitly
structured. Students have started to take responsibility of their
own learning, and this is evidenced in the questions they ask and
an improved attitude to learning. Collaborative practice has
developed teachers approach with certain students and provided
us with the opportunities to share strategies. Practice has been
refined with cross curriculum discussions and interactions.
What are our nexts steps?
1. Continue to present lesson schedule at the beginning of each
lesson to support students to plan their learning
2. Use assessment data to inform use of detailed differentiated
scaffolded tasks with support documentation for individuals
3. Talk to individuals within the class about their learning passport
and how best to implement them
4. Continue to observe teachers in other subject areas and share
best practice to engage those students with learning passports
5. Learning passports can be added to by teachers to provide
feedback on the implementation of successful strategies
6. To collaborate across departments to share good and different
practices on classes and individuals that have similar learning
habits and to support them to gain good repeatable learning
habits.
We were investigation how to effectively
implement learning passports in our
learning environments
Pre interventions
Post interventions

4. Questioning in the classroom
Extending learning through talk and questioning - ZHK, JCR, AL, ABM, LJS
1.Question: What is effective
classroom questioning and how we
can utilise this more with students?
2. Background research and
reading
ZHK: focus on students as teachers
AL: developing questioning with students to encourage evaluation and avoid
descriptive retelling.
ABM: To increase and encourage focused classroom talk to support learning.
JCR: To increase planned classroom talk activities and to decrease the percentages
of teacher talk compared to student talk.
LJS: To increase the student talk and questioning in the classroom to understand a
key text.
As a group we initially read the articles by M. Bromley and M.Matthews on dialogic
questioning and pedagogy: questioning how you question… from here…..
A. Murphy Paul suggests that teaching is the best way to learn. She calls this ‘The
Protege Effect’ and quotes Roman philospher Seneca - “While we teach, we
learn.” Link tothe article here.
If you ask better questions you get better answers!
An unexamined life is not worth living!
3. Methods /
Strategies/TechniquesZHK: Began with bank of questions which students chose and asked each other. Then the
following week we revisited the answers they discussed and they had to remember the
questions.
AL: Produced starter sentences when they were evaluating coursework so they could give
judgments and inferences by finishing the sentences.
ABM: Use of activities to encourage students to discuss ideas in a group and then present
conclusions to whole class.
JCR: Use of diverse range of classroom talk activities such as consensus circles, snowball
discussion, starting small and building the group up, talk detectives and odd one out.
LJS:Used group talk to facilitate discussion on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Gave questions
based on Bloom’s for students to ask each other.
4. Results - document your
findingsZHK: Students were initially keen to get involved in group work, asking and answering
questions without my input (other than the initial bank of questions). Once they had
completed the initial task of answering the questions as a group and deciding on an
individual area of knowledge which they felt confident that they could teach to others,
they appeared to switch off from the task. The idea of teaching someone else was met
with reluctance - they seemed to believe that they were not in a position to teach as that
was what I was there for.
AL: Overall, most students improved their evaluation work. Their comments were more
judgemental and were supported with evidence and examples. The evaluations were less
descriptive. The starter sentences guided their evaluative comments and reduced the
amount of irrelevant information. The sentences gave them the confidence to express
their opinions.
ABM: Students felt more comfortable sharing their ideas with the rest of the group and
were able to give reasons for their opinions. There was also good interaction between
students, which led to better group dynamics.
JCR: Productive talk increased generally with Year 7s. However, talk conventions and
etiquette are missing. Often students would interrupt and overlap. Students are better
with answering in more detail but still not comfortable in taking a lead with discussions.
LJS: Students were able to challenge each other on their thinking about the text, which
then gave them an opportunity to translate this into their writing.
5. Evaluate
Review and evaluate the outcomes - what impact did your action research have on
your target group? What worked well? What could be developed?
Review and evaluate the outcomes - what impact did your action research have on
your target group? What worked well? What could be developed? What changes
would you make? What are your next steps?
ZHK: My initial attempts to undertake this research has forced me to question how I
go about promoting learning independent of myself. I think the students needed to
understand that I was not doing this because I didn’t want to be the one delivering
the information, but because I wanted them to engage in the act of learning by
teaching as it has been suggested in the research that teaching is a great way to
learn.
AL: The starter sentences helped students to evaluate and analyse rather than
describe. They helped structure their comments, and ensure that evidence and
examples were given to support their opinions. The sentences helped to focus the
students on analysing and evaluating - higher level skills.
ABM:
JRC: Productive talk was definitely increased in the classroom and students were
more confident in answering directed questions to them. Students also enjoyed the
ownership of holding a work related discussion by themselves and not having it led
or dominated by a teacher.
An area for development is to look at student questioning ability of each other and
how they can do this themselves to develop these discussions further.
LJS: The students’ writing was better as a consequence of the talk - they were able
to use analytical and evaluative statements in their writing when discussing the text,
which did not happen before.
Next Steps
What changes would you make? What are your next steps?
ZHK: Rework the activity to be more presentational than dialogic within small
groups. I wonder that, because students are more use to presenting work, the idea
of ‘being the teacher’ might need more gentle introduction that I gave it the first time
around.
AL: To use Blooms Taxonomy and starter sentences to continue developing and
supporting the coursework evaluations, but also use this activity to expand and
improve KS5 and KS3 analysis and evaluation work.
ABM: To incorporate more interactive activities during teaching which would lead
students to interact with each other and promote more open and productive class
discussions.
JCR: Introduce question stems using Bloom's Taxonomy and question dice to build
student confidence at questioning and allow them to see how to formulate
questions so they can begin to ask their own.
LJS: Use group talk again to understand key
themes within a text. Also, use around
language, form and structure.

5. CAN A GREATER LEVEL OF INDEPENDENT LEARNING
IMPROVE OUTCOMES?INDEPENDENT LEARNING
Aaron Hammond, Matthew Burrows, Paul Scarbrough
What techniques can we use to
embed independent learning in
students?
2. Background research and
reading
Foci for our research:
● Can our students work independently?
● Does independent learning promote success?
● What does effective independent learning look like in the classroom?
● Are we brave enough to allow ‘independent learning?
3. Methods /
Strategies/TechniquesAs a group we experimented with several different ideas /strategies for
promoting independent learning:
A: Google Classroom Assignment was set in Biology. Students were given ‘Success Criteria’ from the scheme of work (linked
into lesson’s Learning Focus).
Learners were also given a timeline of when work needed to be finished and assessment points where minimum targets had
to be met before moving on.
All assessment was automatic using online packages (test / retest).
Very limitedteacher input.
Learners were also asked to complete a video feedback (1 minute 30 second weekly report).
Given an attitude test at the beginning and end of the project.
Terminal test at the exit point.
1. In year 8 and 9 History (MJB) classes were given the challenge of completing an essay with no teacher led input in
order to test whether:
i. engagement would improve
ii. marks would rise (in relation to rises recorded in more traditionally framed assessments
given previously).
1. The questionswere framed in such a way as to allow a variety of answers, and thus a variety of directions for children
to take whilst independentlyresearching the material. For example: “What was life like for slaves on an American
plantation in the early 1800s?”The theory being that the ‘topic’ of study should be as independent as the physical
research.
2. Packs were provided to give the basic information, and to introduce childrenbriefly to the ‘variety’ of answers they could
give.
3. Further books / internet resources were then individually given depending on the child’sinterest. For example Student
PB was interested in the foods eaten by slaves in the USA in the 1800s - and thus focused on that area.
4. Research time was given both in class and at home.
5. Class time was then given to write their work up - in an essay format - using the notes their independent work had
resulted in.
6. The marks for these essays were then analysed in relation to their last assessed levels - and the difference matched
against how wellthey did in the previous assessment round.
Year 9 teaching group - mixed ability with several Most Able, however also behaviour issues affected by transient learners. As
a result - didactic methods had been previously used to ensure a focus for learning. Real issue - were learners being
stretched and challenged?
Strategy: Use of GCSE Explain style question ‘Why did Hitler rise to power by 1934?’
The method was as follows:
● All learner were given the same research materials.
● Scaffolded worksheets / structure strips to provide support for further progression (in the absence of teacher input /
guidance)
● Questions were given to provide a focus for the enquiry. These were structured using the Gold / Silver / Bronze
method, providing additional challenge for learners. Whilethey were free to select the band of questions nearly all used
their predicted target / previous attainment to guide their decision. The Most Able all choose ‘Gold’ questions without
being prompted.
● Once research was complete there was a class discussion. Usually key points would be written on the whiteboard and
copied into books. Alternatively there would be a detail ‘support sheet’ outlining key points. This time learners had to
decide how to use the information themselves. Interestingly all learners completed their sheets in much greater detail
than usual and without being prompted.
● The following lesson learners were to write their response. The only support they were allowed to use were their self
produced resources and previous assessment feed forward comments
4. Results - document your
findingsIn a year 10 triple science Biology class about
50% of the content required for their unit on
infection and response was presented in a
way that let them work independently on it. At
the end of the unit the students were tested as
they had been on the content of other units
during the year. The results showed that the
class average level for the units studied earlier
in the year was 3.65,
5. Conclusion, evaluation and next
stepsMJB: Analysis revealed that students appeared to increase their grade by ⅓ of a
level more than during the previous round - suggesting independent learning was of
benefit. Verbal and visual evidence also suggested students were more engaged
with the work. For example two students, who produced nothing tangible
previously, produced 1 and 3 pages of work.
PAS: The data was startling in the level of improvement shown when the class was
allowed to work independently. All the students who engaged with the project
showed great improvement in their levels of understanding and their ability to
answer exam questions. However, a lot more work needs to be done to see if this
result can be replicated with the same class in another unit and if the effect can be
seen in lower ability groups. The student survey showed that generally this method
of working was seen as useful and most students would like to do this kind of
project again.
The next steps would be to do the same activity with a range of different ability
groups and to try similar projects with differing lengths with the same class.
AH: The use of independent tasks has clearly had a positive impact on the
engagement and attainment of most learners. Not only did achievement improve, it
also seemed clear that both comprehension and recall advanced significantly (key
focus areas for the GCSE).
However there is still work to be done.
Would the same strategy work with different classes / year groups / key stages?
Did the topic lend itself to this type of activity? Would a more challenging focus
have resulted in a different outcome?
While engagement improved, there were still learners who ‘switched off’ without
teacher led activities. How can this be combatted effectively?
This worked well over two lessons. Would outcomes be as encouraging if it was a
applied over several weeks / lessons?
Should have done this earlier / is this a typical teacher response - the learners need
my knowledge?
A review of published documents on Independent Learning show a large volume of work of
varying qualities, lots of work has ideas very little of it is evidenced.
Two useful summaries of the published work are:
Independent learning: a literature review and a new project, W R Meyer, Paper presented
at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Warwick,
1-4 September 2010
Although now being 8 years old it manages to
bring together most of the evidenced based
work and suggest approaches to this topic.
What is independent learning and what are the benefits for students?, Bill Meyer, et al,
Department for Children, Schools and Families Research Report 051, 2008
This is another literature review and contains a
good summary of the features that make good
independent learning.
The class average for the unit containing the independent work was 5.8 and the average level for the questions in
the assessment only on the work studied independently was 7.3. These results are compared to a class target
level of 6.4. This very limited data set shows a very marked improvement in the whole class performance.
However, it should be noted that a small number of students were unable to respond to the challenge of greater
independence and their levels did not improve.
In the Year 9 class of 25 students, 24 achieved either their target grade or exceeded it.
After analysing the data several trend became clear:
● 55% of learners exceeded their target grade.
● Male learners responded best to the challenge of independent ownership. The best example was an
improvement from Level 2 to 5+.
● Those learner who suffered persistent absence who were in the previous lesson were able to achieve target
grades if they had completed the independent task ( despite gaps in prior knowledge)
● The embedding of GCSE technique worked better using structure strips was more effective rather than
teacher exposition (avoided the ‘I don’t get it’ scenario)
● Most Able exceeded their target grades.

6. Most Able
Group focus: Higher Ability / Most Able
1.Question: ‘Expecting More’
2. Background research and
reading
- Student Leaders
- Student as Teachers
- Student Led Extensions
- Differentiated Tasks / Extensions
- Academic Language
- Research suggested HA perform better when teachers select groups of similar
ability
- HA respond well to responsibility and independence
- HA respond well to higher level of challenge
- Shelley Wright [2013]- students at the centre of learning; power of community
3. Methods / Strategies/
TechniquesVideo Tutorials, On line tracking with
additional support, Paired discussions
Use differentiated tasks, academic
language, groupings to encourage
progress into top bands.
Organise 3 groups, 2 leaders to initiate
a talking classroom and stimulate
conversation / discussion between
peers and finally feedback to the rest of
the class at the end.
Experiment with range of extension
activities to lead onto students
becoming 'teacher' and creating their
own extension activities based around
the Learning Focus.What do they think
will 'extend' their learning?
4. Results
- More able made more progress when working with mid- to higher-ability
students
- Able students were held back when working with weaker students.
- More able students as teachers work well when given that
responsibility: rise to the challenge
- Consistent use of academic language by teachers results in students
mirroring the language more effectively and intuitively by students.
- More students rise to the challenge when taking leadership roles, but
HA students used these opportunities more effectively.
- Better engagement with larger numbers of students - more smiles, and
fewer students feeling ‘punished’ for working better!
- A 20% increase in the number of students moving onto an extension
activity which helps to secure learning:
5. Conclusion, evaluation and next
stepsMore able work best and achieve most when challenged by other more able
students: competition and support.
More able students have responded well to being ‘student teachers’ and have
demonstrated deeper learning.
More able have enjoyed learning as they don’t find extensions a chore.
Academic language became embedded in student practice which in turn raised
attainment.
Shelley Wright’s theories have been upheld in places.
Next steps:
- Student voice: collect more feed forward to inform future activities.
- Increased use of rewards systems / positive reinforcement for student led
learning.
Encourage collaborative work with A-
level class at all opportunities. Pair A:
MJ and FC sit together. Pair B: MB sat
next to middle ability. Pair C: JC sat
next to WHG student weaker. Look at
the other top set and consider where
most able are sat, with whom and what
is their progress like.
Most able students to lead parts of the
lesson and undertake different roles
(warm-ups, demonstration of skills,
umpire, record, measure). Also include
the most able in different ability groups
depending on the activity.
Pairs in first instance, developing to solo
if poss later on; students prepare ahead
of time to lead an episode of a lesson,
e.g. introducing a new poem to the
group and leading the group through
researched background (e.g. context).
This will possibly mean brief 2:1
sessions with me at lunchtime preparing
them for their tasks ahead of schedule.
Limitations / Constraints:
- A challenge to embed the project into this term / timeframe.
- Setup ‘costs’ of classroom management ate into lesson time.
- Positive discrimination - moral issue as others are excluded from ‘exciting’ tasks.
- Students’ ‘toolkit’ needed to be improved by the teacher before they could select
their own extension activity / take part in the extension task.

7. What impact does Flipped Learning have on the
level of challenge and differentiation in lesson?
Leigh Rust Ashford, Tracey Dearling, Lacey Tombs, Joss Stewart, Sam Toohey, Pat Haggerty, Anthony Boughton
1.Question: What impact does Flip Learning have on
the level of challenge and differentiation in lesson?
2. Background research and
reading
The group framed the question across different departments and different year
groups, including Year 8-13. The Social Science sub-group investigated impact on
quality and breadth of student talk, the Business sub-group was looking to build
greater decision making into lesson time as a result of prior knowledge, Geography
and Biology sub-group explored deeper level of challenge and creative task in
lesson resultanting from the extra time available in lesson. Geography developed
this further towards synopticity.
Flip Your Classroom, Sams and Bergman is a book that explains the principles
and how it could work in different subjects, the challenges and the prerequisites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHYm7U0ePWY
The Four Pillars of F.L.I.P.
F - Flexible Environment
L - Learning Culture
I - Intentional Content
P - Professional Education
https://flippedlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/FLIP_handout_FNL_Web.pdf
NFER report Straw, S., Quinlan, C., Harland, J. and Walker, M. (2015). Flipped
Learning - Research Report. London: Nesta.explains the benefits but also highlights
the need to establish a culture of home learning for Flip Learning to work.
3. Methods /
Strategies/TechniquesPost modernism
Buss (1989) Part 1
Science - The eye
Lessons were subsequently designed to extend learning and reframe the
lesson objectives. Blooms taxonomy formed the structure for lesson
questioning.
Impact was measured in the following ways:
● Student surveys
● Peer evaluation of lesson planning
● Qualitative teacher judgement of student discussions
Difficulties were discussed around measuring student outcomes from the
materials, owing to the number of variables and the short timeframe.
4. Results - document your
findings
In the social science survey students had the opportunity to comment also
and some quotes include:- ‘it was easier to discuss the topics after reading
about them first’ ‘ I was more confident in the discussion tasks’
Some findings from student voice in Year 10 Business
Docu
5. Conclusion, evaluation and next
stepsConclusions
The Social Science sub-group investigated impact on quality and breadth of student talk.
Flipped Learning has improved the quality of discussion and also increased the number of
contributions to discussion. Therefore the impact is enhanced confidence and deeper
learning through discussion.
Certain issues or barriers include not all students engaging with flipped tasks, however still
contributing at a high level to discussion therefore impact is somewhat difficult to measure
and is mostly qualitative judgements of teachers.
The Biology sub-group investigated how flipped learning could increase the level of
challenge in lessons. The outcome of this has been measured by directly correlating levels
of challenge to the use of Blooms Taxonomy. The results clearly show after a flipped
learning task has been completed, it allowed planning of questioning prefixes at the start of
the lesson to be far more advanced, eliciting evaluation and synthesis skills as detailed by
Blooms. This proves the level of challenge has been increased.
The Business sub-group sought to create opportunities for deeper learning, which in this
subject requires students to use their knowledge of the concepts to give business advice.
Flip learning certainly allowed content to be covered ahead of the lesson and therefore the
focus of the lesson was far more around presenting the class with new contexts within
which they could apply their knowledge.
Geography sub-group explored deeper level of challenge (Year 13) and creative tasks in
lessons (Year 8) resultant from the extra time available in lessons. In the Year 8 class we
were able to make models applying the knowledge and with the Year 13 students they
were able to develop their knowledge further and link to other aspects of the course - the
exam practice questions then completed achieved higher grades and demonstrated
elements of synopticity.
Evaluations
The Social Science sub-group - Using flipped resources allowed students the time in
lessons to develop dialogue particularly making comparisons between theories and
improved confidence for some students. The disadvantage is when students do not engage
in the flipped task and then depending on class activity end up more confused.
The Biology sub-group found this approach allowed us to spend more time developing
higher order thinking skills in lesson time thereby increasing challenge and giving extra time
for more creative class activities - another advantage -. A drawback to this approach would
be that in a mixed ability class it is more focused on stretching the higher ability and far
more scaffolding would be needed to fully support lower ability students.
The Business subgroup would agree with the way forward set out in the Nesta Report
that pupil attitudes to home learning have to be tackled before devoting significant
resources to flip learning. The topic that was used in the research also was chosen as it
lent itself to this sort of learning but not all topics would work with the same measure of
success.
The Geography subgroup found a mixed response to the approach initially as students
were arriving not fully prepared for the deeper application of their prior knowledge. After a
couple of weeks, with the Year 13 students there was a definite improvement which then
allowed the focus in class to be on applying and developing the levels of synopticity, rather
than on the acquisition of knowledge. With the Year 8 class it was necessary to have
further resources available to support the students who had not completed the flipped
learning. Again over time I would envisage improvements in engagement as pupils
become more used to this learning.
Videos for flip learning are available
from Biology, Social Science and
Business. Not all lessons used videos.
Pre-reading resources were also
developed as an approach.
Science lessons were
evaluated before and
after a Flipped
approach.

8. How can group work improve student learning?
James Sach, Nick Morgan, Lauren Gale, Charles Moore, Adam Shaikh & Suzane Kingdon
1.Question: How can group work
improve student learning?
2. Background research and
reading
CMM: What are the hazards of using grouped tables in classroom and what are the
best strategies for overcoming these?
LBG: What are the characteristics of effective group work which promotes good
progress?
JS: Assign roles and responsibilities during practical Science lessons to engage and
promote progress
NM: How effective is the peer and interactive group-work initiative at raising pupil
attainment, and enhancing pupil motivation and attitudes
SK: Working in collaboration with others- Group work based on memory and social
interaction and roles.
AS: Working as a group, not in a group: developing collaborate roles to increase
student interaction and engagement.
LBG: Burke, Alison (2011), Group Work: How to Use Group Work Effectively, The
Journal of Effective Teaching, Vol 11, No. 2, pg 87-95
Burke discussing the advantages and disadvantages of working in groups. She
concludes that ‘group work helps the students apply knowledge’ (2011, pg 89).
Burke then discusses what characteristics make up the most effective learning
environments.
Race, P. (2000). 500 Tips on Group Learning. London: Kogan Page
A short, and extended, overview and step by step guide is available
Groupwork walkthrough
Groupwork Extended
JS:M.Ford & B Wargo (2006), Routines, Roles, and Responsibilities for Aligning
Scientific and Classroom Practices, Department of Instruction and Learning,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh.
‘Whereas routines address what happens when in
an activity, roles bring attention to what individuals are supposed to do’ Ford &
Wargo recognise that routines are essential in teaching but assigning students
roles allows the student to focus on the task.
R.Marzano, B.Gaddy & M.Foseid (2005), A Handbook for Classroom
Management that Works
‘...many people fail to identify student responsibility as one of the key elements of
effective classroom management…. recommend that teachers take this on, given
the significant and likely long term payoffs.’ Marzano, Gaddy & Foseid realise that
giving student responsibilities is an effective classroom management tool and has
long term payoffs.
AS: “Cooperative learning is characterized by positive interdependence, where
students perceive that better performance by individuals produces better
performance by the entire group (Johnson, et al., 2014). It can be formal or
informal, but often involves specific instructor intervention to maximize student
interaction and learning.” - Brame, C.J. and Biel, R. (2015). Setting up and
facilitating group work: Using cooperative learning groups effectively.
3. Methods /
Strategies/Techniques
CMM: Tables in the class were rearranged from rows into 5 grouped tables, which could sit 6 students each.
Students were then allocated onto tables using data lead seating plans. Changes in behaviour and progress
where then monitored through teacher assessment, with summative assessment to follow.
LBG: Started with a baseline survey, asking students how they felt about group work. Throughout their
lessons, I focused on a different characteristic of group work, experimenting with different variations. These
include: group size, teacher assigning groups vs students assigning groups, time management, creating a plan
of action, lead learners and group dynamics (based on ability). I assessed each characteristic through surveys.
SK: Identified student perceptions of group work via student voice survey. Identified students found it difficult to
retain knowledge or attach understanding of how that knowledge could be applied. Trialed a “Stand and
Deliver” technique where students were challenged to learn material on a key topic individually and then peer
teach their group. Group leaders identified with timers used to increase pace and engagement. Learning was
then applied to exam style questions.
JS: identified that students where not progressing and engaging in practicals so created lanyards with roles
and responsibilities on to use during every practical. This ensures every students where fully engaged at all
times which ensures progress was made but also relationships where built between students.
NM - There are various grouping strategies that could have been used in this study, I originally was going to
use cluster groups, better with high ability groups, but looking at the class data I chose mixed ability as
students learn well when different skills and levels are mixed. With this I can make sure the strongest students
are intermingled with others. Using class data, and knowing the students strengths, they were allocated
groups. Each group member had a different coloured pen for the given task and students were given 5
minutes to discuss the task and, using transferable mathematical skills, solve the problem in front of them.
After the time they then fed back their findings correcting any misconceptions as a whole class group.
AS - I devised ‘buddy’ pairs or threes in a Y9 group. Each task was designed to increase their social interaction
in a shared goal and was more about generating talk, collaboration and decision-making rather than complete
work to a specific outcome. Approaches included think-pair-share, paired presentations, peer questioning
using cubes, Lego currency for paired grid work and paired problem-solving hooks. All tasks required all
members of the buddy group to participate.
4. Results
CMM: Initial observations. Behaviour management is more challenging. Main difficulties include:
● Low level disruption in the form of chatter and distracting other members of the team.
● Students sitting with their backs to the teacher makes it harder to monitor behaviour.
● There is increased scope for students to copy work or answers from other students without truly
understanding the work.
Advantages:
● Logistically, there were tangible advantages - handing out resources, collecting in resources. Practical
work can be collected in/out more easily.
● Students can self support within groups - especialyl where more able have been sat with less able.
Next steps - these observations give a focus for strategies to employ.
LBG: At the start of the research, students felt that they could not always work well through the process to
ensure they produce a good outcome. Throughout the study, students felt more confident with managing their
time, particularly when roles were assigned. I observed that low level disruption was minimal when I assigned
their groups, and that the lead learner was essential to ensure progress. Students achieved well when the
higher ability students were grouped together and the mid to low were grouped together.
SK: First time of trialing students choose their own area and roles were not defined withnin the group. This led
to some confusion and frustration by some who moved naturally into a coordination/leadership position within
the group. The element of competition aided the motivation of others. The second time students were
allocated clear sections and roles within the activity and groups were smaller. This led to more knowledge
being retained as the groups were more focused. Students were also able to add knowledge from the first
session demonstrating that a peer teach approach led to knowledge sticking over time. Students memory
recall was significantly better after peer teaching
NM: After initial groaning and moaning about grouping students worked well with some students surprisingly
taking on the role as lead for certain tasks. Positive learning interaction was better, although as facilitator you
have to refocus some groups. Initial planning is more labour intensive but this will equal out as this strategy is
used more in class. I do feel the peer teaching that went on during these episodes was very effective and will
lead onto deeper learning.
AS: Student relationships improved in buddy groups. Completion of work was more engaging as a task in
pairs. High level responses came from students during questioning. Behavioural incidents significantly
decreased. Students talk more in lessons about work. Student confidence has increased. Most effective
strategy: buddy pairs and Lego currency.
5. Conclusion, evaluation and next
steps
CMM: Complete summative assessment at the end of the topic taught and compare
with previous results. This will assess progress over the term.
Next steps: Try the following strategies to promote improved behaviour:
● Assigning roles - especially team leader. Aiming for 3 persons per team, so two
teams per table.
● Instigating competition between tables/performance tables!
LBG: I have concluded that teaching students how to work well in groups is essential for
effective group work.
JS: I believe my action research has shown that by creating roles and responsibilities
during practical lessons students are engaged and make more sustained progress.
NM: The students really involved themselves in the groupwork task and seemed to have
gained a deeper understanding of the topic covered. They even asked at the end of the
lesson if they could be in groups all the time. I was particularly impressed with two
students who usually are more reticent to involve themselves in class, trhey were more
animated and led some events during the session. The initial sorting was added work
but the benefit has been definitely worth it.
To ensure that this idea develops and continues to allow students to make progress
during lessons I will create a success criteria which will be stuck into students books at
the beginning of the year outlining what the responsibilities are for every students in
every role.
AS: Encouraging structured groupwork for building social relationships in the classroom
has benefitted the teaching and learning for all. I took a risk with the class and was
shown that students can engage and learn together for a shared outcome and improved
behaviour. At this stage, I would support the reading that suggests 3 is optimum
maximum group size. My next step is to keep my students talking, reflecting and
listening to each other so it becomes habitual and part of their learning culture. Adapting
tasks to allow for a tactile or kinaesthetic approach is a key focus for me as this appears
to encourage student interaction and engagement.
SK: Peer teaching has led to more engagement, a sense of pace and responsibility
amongst the group. Students were able to retain information for longer and it led to an
increased level of confidence and pride in the information recalled. The written exam
answers were well constructed and students were eager to share them with the rest of
the class. Next steps: To develop the roles within the groups. Look at smaller groupings
and types of groups as part of my phase 2 of the Action Research.
S: Students have enjoyed having
roles and responsibilities and take it
in turns to rotate roles. Students feel
that the system in place works and
has a positive impact on lessons.
They also have identified roles which
are ‘boring’ or not as active as
others. Please see the video for
student feedback.
“Group work helps
the students apply
knowledge.”

9. How can group work improve student learning?
James Sach, Nick Morgan, Lauren Gale, Charles Moore, Adam Shaikh & Suzane Kingdon
“...many people fail to identify student
responsibility as one of the key elements
of effective classroom management….
recommend that teachers take this on,
given the significant and likely long term
payoffs.”
“Whereas routines address
what happens when in
an activity, roles bring
attention to what individuals
are supposed to do.”
“Group work helps the students apply
knowledge.”