Real Lessons from World Rankings and International Best Practice - Ken Walsh OBE, and Jules Gordon

Ken Walsh – OBE, Associate Consultant, Cambridge Education
Jules Gordon – CSciTeach, CPSLE, Curriculum Leader for Science, George Spencer Academy
Real lessons from world rankings and
international best practice
Aim of the session:
A discussion of how international tests are
affecting our teaching and the crucial
decisions about the curriculum and how
students learn.
A specific example of how George Spencer
Academy is using international best practice
visits to develop pedagogy and practice to
compete on the international stage.

Real lessons from world rankings
and international best practice
Outcomes
• To know what to look for when interpreting international
test results and understand that these are only one aspect
of learning from schools in other countries.
• To understand that there are many lessons that we can
learn from international links.
•To learn how one school is using international networking
to improve teaching and learning.

Structure of the session
a) A presentation about international
benchmarking and how countries are
responding to world rankings.
b) A case study of how the George Spencer
Academy is changing teaching and learning
following visit to Shanghai schools.
c) A question and answer discussion about
networking and learning from schools and
education systems across the world.

Clearly, business as usual is not a survival option. More
particularly, schools cannot afford to be complacent as they
are responsible for educating the next generation of the
world’s citizens. For them to live happily in the 21st
century, they must face issues like the fact that by 2050
developing countries could contain 86.5 per cent of the
globe’s galloping population explosion; that by then there
could be more people living in Asia and Africa than the
combined population of the whole world this year. These
students will be globally oriented in a way we never conceived
of in the 20th century, and what they must learn at school has
changed dramatically.
(Professor Hedley Beare preface for Teaching Australia, 2008)
Teaching for Uncertain Futures

Culture Intelligence(CQ)
– Skills
– Attitudes
– Perspectives
– Values/identity
Knowledge of the Globe
– Global economics
– Global problems
– Interdependence
Languages and cultures
Global
Competences

“The only way we can catch up, and have the world-class
schools our children deserve, is by learning the lessons of
other countries’ success.” (Foreword to “The Importance of
Teaching” DfE, Nov. 2010)
“The highest performing education systems...are
those that combine equity with quality.”
(OECD)
6

Finland
The context:
Stable, good results
• A paradoxical mix of progressive policies implemented
through a rather conservative pedagogic setting.
• High levels of teachers` academic preparation, social
status, professionalism and motivation for the job.
Child poverty in Finland is 4%.
Child poverty in the UK is 30%.
7

Finland – more time for creativity
“ We want to boost critical
thinking, citizenship, and we also have cross-
curricular themes of
sustainability, humanity, safety, taking
responsibility for your community and
entrepreneurship...
We’re trying to reduce content and give more
time to learning.”
Kristina Volmari, Finnish National Board of
Education, (TES 28.6.13)

Pisa Maths Scores

Entrepreneurial Capabilities

Putting the two lists together reveals
that countries with higher PISA scores have
fewer people who are confident in their
entrepreneurial capabilities. Out of the
innovation-driven
economies, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
are among the best PISA performers but their
scores on the measure of perceived capabilities
or confidence in their ability to start a new
business are the lowest.

World Class Learners
Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students
by Yong Zhao (2012)
Entrepreneurship
“A process that results in creativity, innovation
and growth. Entrepreneurship refers to an
individual’s ability to turn ideas into action
and is therefore a key competence for all...”
(World Economic Forum, 2009)

Pisa 2015 - Creativity
The new assessment will be on collaborative
problem solving (CPS):
• It identifies two main sub-skills: social skills and
cognitive skills.
• Social skills include participation, perspective
taking, and social regulation.
• Cognitive skills include task regulation and
knowledge building.
• The test will be administered via computer, with
the child collaborating not with another actual
person, but with a computational agent.

“Values and Variables: Mathematics Education in
High-performing Countries” (Kings College
London,2010)
Conclusion:
“One of the most striking things this review has
shown is that high attainment may be much
more closely linked to cultural values than to
specific mathematics teaching practices”
15

Shanghai
• In 2010, the 2009 PISA results revealed that Shanghai
students scored the highest in the world in every category.
The OECD described Shanghai as a pioneer of educational
reform, noting that "there has been a sea change in
pedagogy". OECD point out that they "abandoned their focus
on educating a small elite, and instead worked to construct a
more inclusive system. They also significantly increased
teacher pay and training, reducing the emphasis on rote
learning and focusing classroom activities on problem
solving."[1
Shanghai’s senior secondary school enrolment attained 98%
and admissions into higher education have achieved 80% of
the relevant age group. The OECD ranks Shanghai’s secondary
education as world number one.[21]8]
16

George Spencer Academy
Effective use of best practice visits involve an
understanding of a country’s culture before we change
our curriculum and adapt our teaching and learning.

Shanghai Education Approach
1. High expectations – importance of education
2. Hard working & diligent
3. Mechanism – competition, exams for all jobs
4. “Open Door” policy
5. In-service training of teachers
6. Education levy – used to boost education in poor
areas
7. Managers empowered – help poor schools
8. Quota for poor schools

Shanghai System
1. 10 year strategy plan leads to - curriculum stability“ and a culture where the
government don’t use data to punish schools”
2. Investment in education (but not in heating!)
3. Teacher research culture - teachers produce 2 research papers per year.
4. Emphasis on Maths & Science – but…innovation and creativity focus after PISA results
5. Teachers teach 10 period out of 40 and only have 2 classes but class sizes are 40+
6. Best practitioners are recognised publicly and competitions are entered
7. Promotion is dependent on quality of teaching / colleagues voting in / student
response / research papers developed
8. Everyone has to teach including Principal
9. Principals do not appoint teachers – Education bureau places teachers in schools and
moves them around
10. Key priority for all schools was improving quality of teaching and student engagement /
interaction - Emphasis on CPD including many observations (Under-performing teachers “sent
to the library”)

PISA testing
• Shanghai started PISA in 2007
• Top in world (2009) for reading, maths and science
• Identified weaker areas:
– Reading – children need to improve at summarising
– Control strategies – how to plan, evaluate and check learning
– Creativity, personal skills
– Access & retrieval of information
– Non-continuous text especially on-line reading
– Application of knowledge to practical situations
– Girls do much better than boys!

Typical School Day
• Get up at 6.00am
• Arrive at school and do study before school
• School : 8.00am to 5.00pm 8/9 lessons
• Long lunch (people sleep)
• Extra curricular activities
• Self study (3 hours at night – homework every night)
• Saturdays: “family tutor”
• Holidays – 3 months a year, but all students continue to work on their studies

Jules Gordon – CSciTeach, CPSLE, Curriculum Leader for Science, George Spencer Academy24

Jules Gordon – CSciTeach, CPSLE, Curriculum Leader for Science, George Spencer Academy25

The science labs
26

Computing
27

China 2013 - Action plan
1. White boards to be installed in 2 Mathematics
classrooms
2. Mentoring of staff past NQT year
3. Practitioner Enquiry Accreditation
4. Larger class sizes and reduce teaching load
5. Non-judgemental lesson observations trialed?
Greater openness
6. Development of Master teacher in the school as
a route to sharing outstanding practice (lead
practitioner)
28

China 2013 – Action plan
Action Justification Who Timescale Proposed Impact
White boards to be
installed in 2
Mathematics
classrooms
AfL – each student
writes methodology as
well as answer
Maths ,Science April 2013 –
July 2014
AfL used more
effectively for
methodology teaching
at A level
Mentoring of staff
past NQT year
Mentoring does not
stop until Outstanding
has been reached
Science Sept 2013-
Sept 2014
More teachers making
sustained progress with
teaching
Practitioner Enquiry
as a model for
research
Research papers to be
published as in China
Science with
UoN
Jan 2013 -
July 2013
Publication leads to
more teachers wanting
to do the same
Larger class size and
team teaching –
Biology trial
More robust
assessment and CPD for
teachers
(dependent on
timetable)
July 2013 –
June 2014
Increased teacher
assessment
Results improved
Non-judgemental
lesson observations
conducted
CPD for teachers
moving from RI to
Good and Good to
Outstanding.
Curriculum
Leaders and TLR
holders
April 2013 –
July 2013
teaching
Development of
“Master teacher”
Pool of teachers to be
observed by others
Science April 2013 –
July 2013
observed at any point
for CPD
29

China 2013 – Action plan
Action Justification Who Timescale Proposed Impact
White boards to be
installed in 2
Mathematics
classrooms
AfL – each student
writes methodology as
well as answer
Maths ,Science April 2013 –
July 2014
AfL used more
effectively for
methodology teaching
at A level
Mentoring of staff
past NQT year
Mentoring does not
stop until Outstanding
has been reached
Science Sept 2013-
Sept 2014
teaching
Practitioner Enquiry
as a model for
research
Research papers to be
published as in China
Science with
UoN
Jan 2013 -
July 2013
Publication leads to
more teachers wanting
to do the same
Larger class size and
team teaching –
Biology trial
More robust
assessment and CPD for
teachers
(dependent on
timetable)
July 2013 –
June 2014
Increased teacher
assessment
Results improved
Non-judgemental
lesson observations
conducted
CPD for teachers
moving from RI to
Good and Good to
Outstanding.
Curriculum
Leaders and TLR
holders
April 2013 –
July 2013
teaching
Development of
“Master teacher”
observed by others
Science April 2013 –
July 2013
observed at any point
for CPD
30

White boards or WHITEBOARDS
• NSCL visit to China Jan 2013
• Whiteboards installed in 2 classrooms April
2013
• Maths and Science teachers trial use Summer
term 2013
• Training delivered based on initial use – June
2013
• Timetable Maths, 16+ Physics and Biology in
these rooms July 2013

The Verdict
• Excellent for revision!
• Starters / big picture / mini-plenaries and
plenaries
• Easy to retain / revisit / demonstrate progress
• Costly? £300 per room (mini-whiteboards £50
a set)

Globalisation at George Spencer
Academy
• Close to NCSL – Visitors from all around the world
• Toilet twinning
• Connecting classrooms

Real lessons from world rankings
and international best practice
Outcomes
• To know what to look for when interpreting international test results and
understand that these are only one aspect of learning from schools in other
countries.
• To understand that there are many lessons that we can learn from
international links.
•To learn how one school is using international networking to improve
teaching and learning.
Any questions?

Real Lessons from World Rankings and International Best Practice - Ken Walsh OBE, and Jules Gordon

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Real Lessons from World Rankings and International Best Practice - Ken Walsh OBE, and Jules Gordon