Can research make you a better teacher?

Robert Coe

ResearchEd, London, 6 Sept 2014

twitter.com/ProfCoe

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Before we start … I’m not saying

– What has worked will always work– All research should be RCTs– Teaching is like following a recipe– Teachers must become researchers

I am saying– Good teachers need high-level skills and the

practical wisdom to make good decisions– Professional development that promotes research

knowledge and mindset may help develop such skills and wisdom

– We should evaluate this robustly

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I am assuming

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If you are not trained and accredited in a validated lesson observation protocol– Don’t grade lessons– Be very cautious about

giving feedback

What you think is ‘good teaching’ may not be

What does ‘better’ look like?

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Teacher Professional Standardsshould

Be based on best evidence about pedagogy, teacher effectiveness, learning theory

Reflect diversity of teacher needs/contexts/stages (one size doesn’t fit all)

Include protocols for demonstrating when they are met that are– Clear and operationalisable– Consistent across different raters, schools, etc– Demonstrably predictive of valued pupil outcomes

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Evidence-based standards for effective teaching? Evidence about relationships between teacher

skills, knowledge & behaviours and ‘effectiveness’ Evidence about what can be changed (and how) Based on ‘best’ theories of

– Pupil learning– Pedagogy & teaching effectiveness– Behaviour change (individual, institutional, systemic)

Most important: does focusing on these things lead to improvement?

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What kinds of skills, knowledge, behaviours, qualities and competences are required to be an excellent teacher?

Sources of evidence– Evidence and theory from cognitive science about learning: how

our brains acquire, make sense of and use information (eg Willingham: Why don’t students like school; Bransford et al., 2000 )

– Evidence from educational effectiveness research about teacher behaviours associated with learning gains (eg Muijs et al 2014: State of the art – teacher effectiveness and professional learning )

– Evidence from intervention studies about what can be changed, and its effect on outcomes (eg Sutton Trust-EEF Toolkit)

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How might we move forward?

Review the best existing evidence about what excellent teaching looks like

Review existing frameworks / protocols / evaluation instruments for identifying excellent teaching

Develop/collect some self-assessment + feedback + discussion tools to allow teachers to assess and develop their skills/knowledge/practice in a range of dimensions

Evaluate the impact (on a range of valued outcomes) of using them

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Dimensions of great teaching

1. (Pedagogical) content knowledge

2. Behaviour / control / classroom management

3. Classroom climate / relationships / expectations

4. Quality of instruction

5. Wider professional elements: collegiality, development, relationships

6. Research knowledge

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1. (Pedagogical) content knowledge

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California, 1875 Divide 88 into two such parts that shall be to each other as 2/3 is to 4/5

(from Shulman, 1986)

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England, 2012 What is 643 divided by 0.1?

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A pupil writes

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307- 168 261

How would you respond?

307- 168

299- 160

Another says, ‘Take 8 away from both’

How would you respond?

(from Ball et al, 2008)

2. Behaviour / control / classroom management

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Pupil survey (from Tripod) Student behavior in this class is under control. I hate the way that students behave in this

class. Student behavior in this class makes the

teacher angry. Student behavior in this class is a problem. My classmates behave the way my teacher

wants them to. Students in this class treat the teacher with

respect. Our class stays busy and doesn't waste time.

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Time on task observation tool

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Next observation

1.2sJimmy Bone-Idle

On task

Off task

Not clear

‘On task’ = thinking hard about what they are supposed to be learning

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Dealing with disruptionA. the teacher is not using any strategy at all to deal with a

classroom disorder problem,

B. the teacher is using a strategy but the problem is only temporarily solved (the disorder reoccurs),

C. the teacher is using a strategy that has a long-lasting effect

(From Kyriakides et al 2009)

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Use video excerpts in an online training programme, with a test to identify accredited observers

3. Classroom climate / relationships / expectations

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Test your mindsethttp://mindsetonline.com/testyourmindset/step1.php

You have a certain amount of intelligence, and you can’t really do much to change it.

No matter who you are, you can significantly change your intelligence level.

You can learn new things, but you can’t really change your basic intelligence

You can change even your basic intelligence level considerably

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Other aspects of climate

Attributions to effort or ability Students’ motivational goals (mastery vs

performance) Teacher expectations Quality of relationships (teacher-students) Response to failure (grit)

4. Quality of instruction

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The Dynamic Model (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2006)

1. Orientationa) Providing the objectives for which a specific task/lesson/series of lessons

take(s) place

b) Challenging students to identify the reason why an activity is taking place in the lesson.

2. Structuring a) Beginning with overviews and/or review of objectives

b) Outlining the content to be covered and signalling transitions between lesson parts

c) Drawing attention to and reviewing main ideas

3. Questioning a) Raising different types of questions (i.e., process and product) at appropriate

difficulty level

b) Giving time for students to respond

c) Dealing with student responses

4. Teaching modellinga) Encouraging students to use problem-solving strategies presented by the

teacher or other classmates

b) Inviting students to develop strategies

c) Promoting the idea of modelling 22

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The Dynamic Model (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2006)

5. Application a) Using seatwork or small-group tasks in order to provide needed practice

and application opportunities

b) Using application tasks as starting points for the next step of teaching and learning

6. The classroom as a learning environmenta) Establishing on-task behaviour through the interactions they promote (i.e.,

teacher–student and student–student interactions)

b) Dealing with classroom disorder and student competition through establishing rules, persuading students to respect them and using the rules

7. Management of timea) Organizing the classroom environment

b) Maximizing engagement rates

8. Assessment a) Using appropriate techniques to collect data on student knowledge and

skills

b) Analysing data in order to identify student needs and report the results to students and parents.

c) Teachers evaluating their own practices

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Principles of Instruction (Rosenshine, 2010)

1. Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning

2. Present new material in small steps, with student practice after each step

3. Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students

4. Provide models for problem solving and worked examples

5. Guide student practice and rehearsal

6. Check for student understanding

7. Obtain a high success rate (80%)

8. Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks

9. Require and monitor independent practice

10. Engage students in weekly and monthly review

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Measuring quality of instruction

Requires ‘high inference’ judgements May be no alternative to extensive training

(eg CLASS, Danielson FFT) Worth trying:

– Specify skills and context (eg Y9 algebra, questioning to check understanding)

– Peer review of video excerpts– Rating using ACJ (Adaptive Comparative Judgement)

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6. Research knowledge

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How research might help Research knowledge

– Informs pedagogical practice– Informs decisions about strategy and policies– Informs attempts to implement and embed more

effective practices

Research mindset– Robustly evaluates ongoing performance on a range

of outcomes– Evaluates the impact of any changes made– Adopts a critical perspective: ‘show me the evidence’

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Impact vs cost

Cost per pupil

Eff

ect

Siz

e (

mon

ths

gain

)

£00

8

£1000

Meta-cognitive

Peer tutoringEarly Years

1-1 tuitionHomework (Secondary)

Teaching assistants

Mentoring

Summer schools After

school

AspirationsPerformance pay

Smaller classes

Setting

Most promising for raising attainment

May be worth it

Small effects /

high cost

Feedback

Phonics

Homework (Primary)

CollaborativeSmall gp

tuition Parental involvement

Individualised learning

ICT

Behaviour

Social

www.educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit

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True or false?1. Reducing class size is one of the most

effective ways to increase learning [evidence]

2. Differentiation and ‘personalised learning’ resources maximise learning [evidence]

3. Praise encourages learners and helps them persist with hard tasks [evidence]

4. Technology supports learning by engaging and motivating learners [evidence]

5. The best way to raise attainment is to enhance motivation and interest [evidence]

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Clear, well defined, replicable intervention

Good assessment of appropriate outcomes

Well-matched comparison group

EEF DIY

Evaluatio

n Guide

Key elements of good evaluation

What could

you evaluate?

Summary

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We need a wider understanding of ‘great teaching’ that is based on research evidence

Tools to help evaluate teaching quality could be made widely available– Clarify and make explicit what teachers need to learn– Monitor progress against these learning aims– Focus attention and effort on approaches that are

likely to make a difference

We still need to evaluate whether using these tools leads to any improvement

Ultimately, ‘great teaching’ is evidenced by better learning, so high-quality assessment is key

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