EFFECTIVE TEACHING:What can we learn from research?

Keynote presentation

University of Cyprus 13 April 2013

Professor Pam Sammons University of Oxford Department of Education

CONTENT OF PRESENTATION Definitions of an effective teacher and effective

teaching

The need for Triangulation of evidence

Value added measures – student progress and outcomes

Inspection perspective & external evaluation

Students’ views and experiences

Research reviews of effectiveness

Observation of teaching – different measures

THE DEFINITION CHALLENGE How should effectiveness be defined?

Should it be restricted to classroom work only?

Is it best measured in relation to teachers’ effects on students’ academic outcomes?

What other educational outcomes should we look at?

A teacher is effective if she/he can accomplish the planned goals and assigned tasks in accordance with school goals and those of the broader education system

. Campbell Kyriakides, Muijs, & Robinson (2004), p.61

EFFECTIVE TEACHING REQUIRES A CRITERION FOR EFFECTIVENESS

– KEY IDEA Refers to the objectives of education in

general and of teaching in particular‘Visions about the criteria are the result of a political and societal debate, but educational professionals, teachers and schools can also take part in it. Although objectives of education show changes over time, language, reading and mathematics remain the core studies’

Creemers (1999) p. 51

UNPACKING EFFECTIVENESS:

Effective in promoting which outcomes? Effective over what time period? Effective for whom – which student groups?

A more effective teacher ‘adds value’ to student outcomes by promoting greater progress than predicted, given the influence of student prior attainment and background

BUT on their own Value Added measures should not be used to make high stakes judgments e.g. about pay or performance due to statistical uncertainty

THE PERSPECTIVE CHALLENGE – KEY IDEA Different sources of information and

evidence about teacher effectiveness and effective teaching practices – the need for triangulation of perspectives

Students’ educational outcomes. e.g. progress in Language, Maths, Science & other academic measures PLUS social -behaviour & affective outcomes

Teachers’ subject and pedagogical knowledge

Professional judgments e.g. by inspectors Observation of teachers’ classroom practices Students’ and teachers’ views

INSPECTION EVIDENCE The publication of inspection evidence can provide

a major source of evidence on effective teaching

Informing the practitioners what practices are considered as most ‘effective’, high ‘quality’ or ‘good’ and the features of ‘unsatisfactory’.

Practices are defined according to professional judgments of inspectors.

Often provides examples and vignettes to illustrate effective practice observed by inspectors.

FEATURES OF GOOD TEACHING IN OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS IN CHALLENGING CONTEXTS ENGLAND Good subject knowledge

Well- structured lessons share a number of key characteristics (planning & delivery)

The skilful use of well-chosen questions to engage and challenge learns and to consolidate understanding (interactions)

Effective assessment for learning and feedback

(Ofsted, 2009)

EXAMPLE OF INSPECTOR’S COMMENTARY ON TEACHING AND LEARNING

Lessons at Bartley Green School demonstrate consistent good practice, evidence of continuing professional development and rigorous performance management.

The rapport between teachers and students is very positive, the pace is brisk and activities varied; and students respond promptly to and confidently to opportunities to collaborate, solve problems and present ideas to their peers.

There are clear and non-negotiable expectations about appropriate behaviour which are calmly and firmly insisted upon. (Ofsted, 2009)

AS A SUBJECT TEACHER DO I: Have detailed up-to date knowledge of the

subjects I teach?

Maintain my enthusiasm for the subject by being a learner as well as a teacher?

Clarify my expectations and raise students’ aspirations?

Plan lessons and units of work to ensure continuity in learning?

Engage pupils’ interest, intellect, creativity?

Encourage pupils to be exploratory and critical?

Use questioning skilfully to probe and extend pupils’ thinking?

Give pupils sufficient time for reflection?

Recognise ‘practical’ work as integral to learning for pupils of all abilities?

Mark and assess pupils’ work as helpfully as is practicable, offering informative feedback?

Self Evaluation questions suggested by Ofsted ( 2009)

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS & REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS INTENDED TO PROMOTE BETTER QUALITY OF TEACHING IN HONG KONGPerformance indicators Reflective Questions for

TeachersTeaching Organisation How do teachers design their

teaching content and adopt teaching strategies according to their teaching objectives and student abilities?

Teaching Process Are teachers’ communication skills effective in promoting student learning?

Feedback and Follow Up Are teachers able to provide appropriate feedback to students to help them improve?

Quality Assurance Division, Education Bureau (2008)

WHAT AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER SHOULD DO IN HONG KONG Adopt a student-centred approach and lucid

teaching objectives, appropriate teaching strategies and resources to promote class interaction to enable students construct knowledge.

Teaching should stimulate thinking, develop students’ potential and foster their learning ability. Appropriate values and attitudes are fostered in the process.

Teachers should extend student learning through providing life-wide learning opportunities.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

My teacher makes lessons interesting My teacher is pleased when we work hard We do a lot of different things in our lessons My teacher tells us when we’ve done good work My teacher helps me with my work when I ask for help I often work too easy in class My teacher gets the class to behave well My teacher is always there at the start of lessons My teacher is not pleased if pupils are late for lessons or school My teacher tells us when we make mistakes in our work

Example Items from a Questionnaire for Primary Students

KEY QUESTION: How can the students’ perspectives on effective teaching be incorporated into the work of schools and teachers in your educational context?

DISPOSITION FACTORS IN LOWER SECONDARY

English academic self concept (α=0.90)• I learn things quickly in my English classes• I have always done well in my English classes• Compared to others my age I am good at English• Work in my English classes is easy for me• I get good marks in English

Maths academic self concept (α=0.91)• I learn things quickly in my Maths classes• I have always done well in my Maths classes• Compared to others my age I am good at Maths• Work in my Maths classes is easy for me• I get good marks in Maths

α= Cronbach’s Alpha

Academic self concept in English and Maths

Two factors based on items taken from existing Academic self concept scales (Marsh 1990, Marsh & Hau 2003, Marsh & Craven 2006)

Citizenship values (α=0.75)

• Making sure strong people don’t pick on weak people• Respecting rules and laws• Controlling your temper even when you feel angry• Respecting other peoples points of view• Sorting out disagreements without fighting

Anxiety (α=0.78)

• In class I worry about what the others think of me• I get a lot of headaches, stomach aches or sickness• I worry a lot• I am often unhappy, downhearted or tearful• I am nervous in new situations• I have many fears, I am easily scared

α= Cronbach’s Alpha

Disposition factors (Cont.)

Popularity (α=0.83)

• I make friends easily • Other teenagers want me to be their friend• I have more friends than most other teenagers my age• Most other teenagers like me• I am popular with other students in my students in my age group

Enjoyment of school (α=0.74)• My school is a friendly place• On the whole I like being at school• I like to answer questions in class• School is a waste of time for me• I like most of the lessons• I am bored in lessons

STUDENTS’ REPORTS:CLASSROOM FACTORS

Teacher discipline (α=0.62)• Teachers make sure that it is quiet during lessons• Teachers make clear how I should behave• Teachers take action when rules are broken• Teachers are not bothered if students turn up late

α= Cronbach’s Alpha

Teacher support (α=0.86)• Most teachers mark & return my homework promptly• Most teachers make helpful comments on my work• Teachers praise me when I work hard• Teachers tell me how to make my work better• Teachers make me feel confident about my work• Teachers are available to talk to me privately• Teachers will help me if I ask for help• I get rewarded for good behaviour

.53

.58

.44

Emphasis on learning (α=0.68)

• Most students want to do well in exams• Teachers expect me to do my best• The lessons are usually ‘challenging’ but ‘do-able’• Most teachers want me to understand something, not just memorise it• Most teachers believe that mistakes are OK so long as we learnr >0.50 shown in red

GENERAL PROFILE OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS RESEARCH REVIEWS Clear about instructional goals

Knowledgeable about curriculum content and the strategies for teaching it

Communicate to their students what is expected of them – and why

Make expert use of existing instructional materials in order to devote more time to practices that enrich and clarify the content

INEFFECTIVE CLASSROOM PRACTICES

THE TEACHING CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS The fine-grained behaviours of effective teachers

in most reviews of teacher profiles are likely to be universal, as they appear to be evident in many different countries Creemers et al. (2002)

Structuring Delivery Management Interaction Focus Questioning Student involvement Emotive and cognitive feedback

DIRECT APPROACHES & CONSTRUCTIVIST – NEED FOR BALANCE The relative utility of direct instruction and

constructivist approaches to teaching and learning are neither mutually exclusive nor independent. Both approaches have merit in their own right, provided that students have the basic knowledge and skills (best provided initially by direct instruction) before engagement in ‘rich’ constructivist learning activities.

The problem arises when constructivist learning activities precede explicit teaching, or replace it, with the assumption that students have adequate knowledge and skills to efficiently and effectively engage with constructivist learning activities designed to generate new learning. Rowe (2006)

RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF TEACHER EFFECTS

Of all the contextual variables that have been studied to date (indicators of school socioeconomic status, class size, student variability within classrooms, etc.), the single largest factor affecting academic growth of populations of students is differences in the effectiveness of individual classroom teachers. When considered simultaneously, the magnitude of these differences dwarf the other factors... Also, the effects of teachers appear to be cumulative. At the extreme, a high-high-high sequence [of 3-year teacher effects of 5th grade pupils] resulted in more than a 50 percentile point higher score in 5th-grade math achievement than the low-low-low sequence.

(Rowe 2006)

FEATURES OF AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL CULTURE Three essential ‘core’ conditions

which together create a positive school culture:

professional high quality leadership & management

a concentration on teaching and student learning

a learning organisation - a school with staff willing to be learners & participate in staff developmentThe Intelligent School MacGilchrist, Myers & Reed, 1997

EXAMPLE OBSERVATION INSTRUMENTS

Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) 3 major domains Emotional support Classroom organisation Instructional supports

International Schedule for Teacher Observation & Feedback (ISTOF)

7 theoretical components, 21 indicators 45 items e.g Component 1 - Assessment & Evaluation

Lesson Observation form for Evaluating the Quality of Teaching (QoT)

26 indicators covering 9 Criterion e.g. Criterion - Safe & orderly climate

KEY FINDINGS EPPE RESEARCH – YEAR 5 USING THE COS 5 (CLASS)

Observed significant variation in both teachers’ classroom practice and pupils’ behaviour in class and distinguished between better and poorer quality in the educational experiences for Year 5 pupils.

Levels of student engagement were found to be relatively high and classroom climates were generally positive. Teacher detachment was generally low and there was little pupil ‘off task’ behaviour observed.

Teachers varied in many aspects of their pedagogical practice and classroom organisation (for example the teaching of analysis skills and the extent of emphasis on basic skills) and several important features of observed practices (e.g. related to classroom climate, smooth organisational routines etc).

The quality of teaching and pupil response was found to be consistently higher in classes where a plenary was used in both literacy and numeracy lessons and lowest in classes where no plenary was used in either subject.

Overall teaching quality (defined by factors in the analysis) could be identified and teachers identified as showing mainly high rather than low quality practices predicted better student progress in both mathematics and reading

UNDERLYING DIMENSIONS IDENTIFIED

Evaluative InstrumentQoT (van der Grift)

Behavioural Instrument

ISTOF (Teddlie et al)

Supportive lesson climate Clear and coherent lesson in a supportive learning climate

Proactive lesson management Engaging students with well chosen assignments and activities

Well organized lesson with clear objectives Positive classroom management

Environmental and teacher support Purposive learning

Quality of questioning & feedback for students

GOOD PRACTICE IN CLASSROM OBSERVATION -KEY IDEA To promote improved classroom practice, a relationship of trust

between the observed teacher and the observer is important. The observer should start by focussing on strong points in a lesson, then point out any areas for further development .

Criteria for observation should be clear and feedback constructive and positive. The observed teacher should contribute to the discussion and comment on the observations

Peer observation can be helpful where teachers take turns to observe each other teaching and give feedback in turn.

Feedback should be on observed behaviour that the teacher can change.

After Muijs & Reynolds, 2005

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM PRACTICE – DAY ET AL 2008

SOME GUIDELINES for Evaluation Systems...

Draw on the knowledge base from effectiveness research on schools, departments and classroom practice as a guide for key features to study

Use a range of sources e.g. including value added measures of student progress, observations of classroom practices, evidence from student surveys and professional judgments of inspectors informed by research

Include different education stakeholders in decisions about what is important to measure

Capture information about teachers’ contributions to student outcomes that include but also go beyond academic outcomes e.g. dispositions, engagement, behaviour, citizenship values etc to cover broader concepts of student well being and achievements

Foster a collaborative culture of teachers’ professional & organisational learning in schools

Encourage self-evaluation & review at all levels (teacher, department, school)