Evidence-based teaching: advancing capability and capacity for enquiry in schoolsCase study

April 2017

Dr Matthew Shepherd, Mr Warren Symes South Essex Teaching School Alliance

ContentsIntroduction 3

Project Overview 4

Developing a Network 5

Literature Review 6

Research Methodology and Data Analysis 9

Initial Findings: Barriers to Success 13

Conclusions 15

References 17

Appendix 1 – List of schools 18

Appendix 2 – What is Evidence Based Teaching? 19

Appendix 3 –EBT Survey 20

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IntroductionThe South Essex Teaching School Alliance (SETSA) is a partnership of over 50 primary and secondary schools (see Appendix 1.1). Within the Alliance there are many schools which have a well-established and thriving culture of research-engagement. For example, one of the SETSA schools was designated a ‘NFER research-engaged school’ in 2011. Almost one third of teaching staff have Masters level study in education and there is an historic partnership with FLARE (Forum for Learning and Research in Essex) as well as the Cambridge School Teachers & Research group. As a Leading Edge school (SSAT designation, 2006-2011) a robust programme of action research was conducted by teachers and the findings disseminated to all staff via an in-school journal. Unfortunately, as a result of funding restrictions, this programme is no longer in place. However, classroom practitioners continue to regularly engage in joint practice development (JPD) or individual research study, which is shared at staff and departmental meetings within the school.

At an Alliance level, however, SETSA schools have largely fostered and developed their research-engaged identities discretely. Whilst small numbers of teachers from within these schools have met regularly to consider issues surrounding research-engagement and, separately, in a post-graduate study support group, there have been only limited opportunities to share good practice beyond the confines of their own institution. Therefore, in the first instance, the challenge for SETSA’s initiative was to amalgamate these disparate schools into a local network: to learn from each other, to harness the best developmental practice, to celebrate the existing learning and to promote interchange of approaches and outcomes.

During 2014-15 the project was led by Dr Matthew Shepherd, a Middle Leader within a secondary school and formerly the school coordinator of the national Leading Edge programme, which focused upon extending teacher involvement in action research. Strategic oversight was undertaken by the school Headteacher (Dr Robin Bevan), who has extensive experience in teacher-research as a member of the National Teacher Research Panel, and with David Struthers, Teaching School Manager based at Westcliff High School for Girls. From September 2015, the project was led by Warren Symes, another Middle Leader at a school within the SETSA Alliance, who is currently undertaking a part-time Doctorate in Education at the University of Canterbury.

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Project Overview

The initiatives devised for SETSA had a two year focus.

Year 1: 2014/15

The first year focus was upon drawing together the best practice in evidence-based teaching (EBT) across SETSA through staff audits/questionnaires, presentations to schools, word-of-mouth, network meetings, electronic media, visiting schools, CPD (including a ‘festival of best practice’) etc. The overarching aim was to investigate and evaluate different strategies and their effectiveness in promoting engagement through a network of schools where EBT was already established.

Year 2: 2015/16

For the second phase of the initiative, the intention was to use the most effective strategies trialled in the first year to engage educators from the first phase, in order to build capacity across the network. This would be achieved through the lead research teacher working closely with individual teachers in each identified school, with their CPD co-ordinator and with members of Senior Leadership Teams. The lead research

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teacher’s role would be to adopt a ‘coaching’ capacity: drawing on the varying experiences of schools within the research-engaged network - and expertise regarding the most effective practices - to support colleagues new to evidence-informed practice.

Developing a NetworkAuditing existing levels of engagement in research in the classroomIt was deemed appropriate to commence by conducting an audit of classroom teachers across the alliance, in order to ascertain current levels of engagement. To this end, an online questionnaire was randomly sent out to over 20 secondary schools. There was a response from a total of 95 teachers. In addition, a short survey was also conducted at a shared CPD event, garnering 35 more responses from different teachers.

Shared Inset DayA cross-alliance, Shared Inset Day was held on Friday 13th February 2015 at Belfairs Academy. The overall remit of the CPD event is to provide a large variety of sessions on various aspects of pedagogue, such as collaborative learning to effective revision strategies. In the spirit of this project, it was decided to include a session on EBT, with a focus on developing a stronger network.

There were over 250 participants from three SETSA schools: Belfairs Academy, Westcliff High School for Girls (WHSG) and Southend High School for Boys (SHSB). More schools were invited to take part at the event, however for various reasons, primarily financial constraints, many schools refused to attend.

As stated above, there was a session dedicated to EBT, comprised of an introductory plenary led by Dr Robin Bevan and a marketplace event, where teacher-researchers presented findings from their own research, evidence from published studies and research methods. In this way it served as a ‘festival of best practice’ and provided a prime opportunity to engage in networking. In addition, other sessions were led by teacher-researchers, including workshops using doctoral research on mindsets and research experience on formative assessment and teacher-pupil dialogue.

WebpageA webpage was created within the SETSA website (SETSA website) dedicated to introducing the concept of EBT and making resources available to interested practitioners.

Twitter Feed A Twitter feed @SETSA_EBT (believed to be the first EBT-dedicated page in the UK) was created to share latest research findings and to help develop a network of evidence informed teachers.

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Information LeafletAn introduction to EBT information leaflet (appendix 2) was produced that was made available to SETSA colleagues via the webpage, a virtual learning environment, notice boards, at the CPD shared event, at a TSA dissemination event and to teachers across the Alliance through direct email to CPD coordinators.

School Level SupportAll schools in the Alliance were offered talks, workshops or face-to-face meetings that would be conducted by the research project lead teacher. These were publicised through the leaflets, website, a presentation given at a Strategic Partners meeting and a display presentation at another TSA’s research event. The underlying aim of this strategy was to engage individual schools in EBT, as a precursor to joining the network.

‘Selling’ the benefits of EBT This was done in a variety of ways, largely as outlined above. The flyer was designed to show the benefit to students and teachers of certain teaching methods shown by research to have positive impacts on learning.

Evaluating the success of these strategiesA crucial aspect of the initiative was to evaluate each of the strategies adopted and then adapt them as and where required. This facet was essential to the development and enhancement of the network in the second year of the project, as the main prerogative was to identify and overcome barriers to ensuring that practitioners become evidence-informed. However, before conducting any data collection or analysis, it was deemed appropriate to undertake a review of the literature, in order to better understand the field of reference and to evaluate the effectiveness of the aforementioned strategies.

Literature ReviewThe literature is replete with the benefits of practitioners engaging with and generating evidence based research. This is aptly described in the following quote by Ben Goldacre:

I think there is a huge prize waiting to be claimed by teachers. By collecting better evidence about what works best, and establishing a culture where this evidence is used as a matter of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and increase professional

independence (Goldacre 2013, p.4).

The evidence base in education that Ben Goldacre wants to see utilised is vast. The work of Hattie (2008) has proven to be hugely important in bringing into question many of the teaching methods used routinely in schools. His review of thousands of research projects has shown how the impact of any teaching method, intervention or approach can be measured, called its “effect size”. Similarly influential has been the work of Marzano and Pickering (2003) in identifying classroom instructional strategies that improve student achievement. Such meta-analytical reviews have encouraged teachers to look for

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techniques and sources of information that they can use to improve the quality of their teaching and, more importantly, of their students’ learning. For example, a significant range of ideas can be found in Petty (2009, 2014), an online community of interested practitioners (the Evidence Based Teachers Network) boasts over 60,000 members and higher education establishments increasingly influence the teaching taking place in schools (the University of York’s Institute for Effective Education circulates its fortnightly briefing summary of new educational research ‘Best Evidence in Brief’ increasingly widely).

It is clear that there is a large pool of educational research available for practitioners, however for many reasons teachers are not always convinced of the benefits of engaging with evidence. Whilst research can tell us the big picture of what is happening, it often fails to suggest why, or in what conditions and contexts valuable results are obtained. For example, Hattie (2008) found that homework does not help raise student attainment in primary schools, but that it can be an effective part of learning in secondary settings. Hence, teachers are not supplied with ‘easy solutions’. Unlike medicine there are not simple, context-free palliatives that can be shown to work in all settings. Teachers need to be critical consumers of educational research, to interact with what the best evidence is saying and translate it through the lens of their experience. In other words, practitioners need to use their professional expertise to interpret and adapt useful research for their own classroom. This has led Bennett (2015) in response to Wiliam (2015) to proclaim that evidence based teaching is dead and that it is more important to be evidence informed.

Similarly, Husbands (2015) argues strongly that providing information about ‘what research says’ does not and cannot change the behaviour of teachers and the practice they employ in the classroom. He goes on to point out that research use and evidence based teaching will not happen by accident or individually and, therefore, roles need to be created in school and subject departments that develop ‘research use leadership’.

Very rarely do teachers talk about their teaching; it’s all about curriculum, assessment and students. Too many teachers believe the essence of their profession is autonomy.

We hardly ever get together and look at each other’s teaching. That is a major hindrance in working collectively. I can’t imagine many other professions where that happens

(Evans, 2012).

Concluding RemarksThe acclaimed book on school reform, Tinkering toward Utopia (1995), presents a comprehensive analysis of the history and impact of educational policy on American public schooling (Tyack and Cuban, 1995). One of the most fascinating conclusions proposed by the authors is that, in spite of millions of dollars spent on educational

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initiatives and the substantial investment in academic research, the impact on the nature of educational practice has been minimal (Tyack and Cuban, 1995).

Theory is generated within the context of practice and therefore its unity starts with practice (Elliott, 2005). It has been proposed that education needs to learn from the field of medicine, where journal clubs, academic discussion groups and on online forums have increased the accessibility of theory to practitioners (Henderson, 2012). Unfortunately, many argue that the barrier to this change is the self-motivation of the teacher and that the pressures and work-load of teaching do not permit time for professional development (Davies, 2007). Indeed, rationalist theory suggests that those who theorise are in a position of superiority and hence better informed that those who engage in practice (Carr, 1995). Undoubtedly, practitioners need to embrace theory and that the bridge needs to be built from both sides. Consequently, an increased awareness and a critical perspective on the part of practitioners, researchers and policy-makers can undoubtedly provide the impetus to change.

In the context of this project, the wide body of literature in the field of evidence based teaching leads to important avenues of discussion and investigation, which SETSA’s initiative has, in some small part, sought to address:

Why are teachers not using evidence showing what works best in schools?

What are the most effective strategies for embedding evidence into schools?

What are the challenges and obstacles to establishing the profession as evidence based?

What are the best methods for creating networks of evidence based teachers who can share their knowledge and expertise?

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Research Methodology and Data AnalysisThe methodologies used for gathering data were closely linked to the evaluation questions that had been defined for SETSA’s initiative:

Evaluation Questions Data Collection MethodologiesHave SETSA’s strategies for sharing knowledge and good practice been successful?

Observations by the lead research teacher in a reflective journal; monitoring the number of Twitter followers attained; questionnaire surveys of staff from Alliance schools.

Has SETSA’s initiative increased teachers’ knowledge base of EBT?

A questionnaire devised by MMU to be completed before and after the initiative.

Did the INSET day impact upon teachers’ perception of EBT?

Analysing feedback given via the event’s evaluation forms.Conducting interviews with participants.

What are the barriers to forming a network of EBT practitioners?

Observations and personal experience by the lead research teacher in a reflective journal. Interviews and discussions with other key players.

Reflective Journal Throughout the first and second year of SETSA’s initiative, a reflective journal was kept. This was a useful tool for evaluating the project so far and devising plans for next steps. From this perspective, the development of the initiative was iterative i.e. by evaluating (often through informal observations) during the year, identifying and responding to critical incidents.

Results and Insights from a Questionnaire It was difficult to get this survey to members of staff across SETSA as there were no established ways of contacting CPD coordinators directly. The project lead had to piece together contacts from a variety of sources, including school website general inquiries addresses. There was little response from contacts, until a reminder email was sent the following week (after which five schools then confirmed that the survey link had been passed on to teaching staff at their schools). One response indicated that the priority to take part may be low: “I will try to encourage colleagues, but as we are expecting Ofsted any day now, it may be that people will not have time. I will do my best!”

A disproportionate number of respondents were Middle or Senior Leaders (55%). From conducting inform interviews at my own school, one of the underlying reasons for this trend could be attributed to the lack of awareness of classroom teachers and teaching

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assistants of the “value” of EBT. Moreover, many Middle or Senior leaders had undertaken or are currently undertaking postgraduate studies and therefore were aware of the benefits of engaging with EBT.

Two of the most popular responses were in reference to applying academic or personal research to the classroom setting. The second most common was using pupil performance data, which does not relate directly to SETSA’s use of the term EBT.

Interestingly, 80% disagreed with the statement “I do not believe that using information from research will help to improve pupil outcomes”.

Nearly 70% agreed that “information from research plays an important role in informing my teaching practice”. 71% agreed that they use research information to help decide new approaches in the classroom. 64% agreed that they knew where to find relevant research that may help to inform their teaching methods / practice. 83% agreed: “I am able to relate information from research to my context”. In the last year, the vast majority of respondents had accessed and applied research information.

100% of participants reported having used research information to inform their thinking in the last year and to reflect on their own practice. This suggests that teachers are evidence aware and are reflecting on its value to their teaching.

These results indicate that teachers use research in many ways, especially for influencing their own classroom practice and to share with other colleagues. 81% of respondents had shared in a verbal or written format. Few had taken part in externally funded research (11%) or been part of randomised controlled trials (6%). 72% of respondents have continued to use the findings of research that they have done. However, less than 50% report positive outcomes in terms of attainment or pupil response.

CPD Event (February 2015)The CPD event included one session titled “Evidence Based Teaching”. There were thirty people who signed up to the event (maximum capacity was 40). In the post-event feedback seven people identified the session as being “successful and enjoyable” (27% of those who took part).

The session was also successful in that presenters came from two schools plus an independent education consultancy, thereby constituting some cross-school collaboration and the presenters themselves offered very positive feedback. One colleague from WHSG indicated that he would be interested in being involved in the network as he planned to do some action research across SETSA schools. In June/July this planned collaboration started to develop further. The wider CPD day involved many examples of cross-school collaboration and planning. As outlined elsewhere, there were 34 respondents to a quick-fire questionnaire survey.

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Overall, the CPD event was successful in enabling colleagues across a few schools to collaborate and share expertise and to raise the profile of SETSA’s initiative. A similar event was planned for February 2016, with another session focusing on “Evidence Based Teaching”. Unlike the event that took place in 2015, there was an address from a keynote speaker. The overall feedback from staff who attended the event was positive, however with different schools taking part (a grammar school, two comprehensives school and a primary school), it was apparent that the different school improvement priorities and objectives could hinder the effectiveness of the collaboration between schools.

The Use of Electronic Media and Social Networking SitesOn 20 November 2014, SETSA’s EBT- dedicated Twitter feed went live (believed to be the first of its kind in the UK). By July 2015, it had only 24 followers, only two of whom were teachers within the Alliance (both of whom had a personal link to the project lead). The Twitter feed was promoted at networking events and through the webpage. Moreover, in the second year, significant efforts were undertaken to publicise the Twitter feed throughout the Alliance (contacting CPD co-ordinators across the alliance), however, there was no evidence that Twitter had played any role in developing the aim of creating a network of evidence based teachers.

Also in November 2014, a webpage dedicated to EBT on the SETSA website was created and was updated frequently during the next six months. It contained clickable links and downloadable resources and was publicised in many forms, printed and electronic. However, in a typical month the page was only visited 12 times and no enquiries to the project lead were ever generated through the site. Again, there was no evidence that the website had any positive role in the promotion of EBT.

On 1st June 2014, as an experiment, a “room” dedicated to EBT was placed on one school’s virtual learning environment (VLE) - Fronter. Every member of teaching staff was emailed to inform them how to find the resources and verbal guidance was given at a whole-staff briefing. After six weeks, the page had been viewed by ten members of staff (<15% of teachers in the school). The response from those who had accessed it was positive “Easy to read, great links and hopefully an intelligent stimulus for many colleagues ….” and “This looks fab”. The introduction to EBT flyer was also placed on Fronter. Six weeks after this, statistics showed that it had been downloaded by three of the seventy teaching staff (2 SLT, 1 classroom teacher). Therefore, there was limited evidence that teachers chose to access online resources.

The electronic resources generated on a school VLE were also emailed to CPD coordinators at other schools in the Alliance along with an offer for the project lead to run workshops or presentations at those schools. The emails were sent directly to ten named coordinators and eight to the school’s general enquiries email address. The 18 emails generated one response, again from a personal contact. This was another method that had failed to foster a closer relationship between schools. In conclusion, SETSA’s use of

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electronic media and social networking failed to meet the overall objective of creating an EBT network.

Visiting Schools, Face-to-Face Networking and Direct ContactThroughout the project, a number of presentations outlining the initiative were organised at various schools and institutions. The involvement of a Research and Development Strategic Group of Headteachers in the second year was an effective networking tool, which raised the profile of EBT. Also, attendance at a Strategic Partners meeting of all members of the Alliance generated one email enquiry that led to a face-to-face meeting. This was a successful meeting (the respondent subsequently agreed to present at the CPD event).

A further word-of-mouth contact was established as well, which led to another meeting and another contributor to the CPD day (an educational consultant). She made some interesting observations, noting that for schools that are graded as “Requires improvement” projects like this one are very low priority and that, because of the nature of the local area (with many selective schools and a “fractured” local authority), creating any kind of coherent network would mark a real achievement.

In the second year, a number of sessions focusing on developing the network were advertised through a SETSA Subject Network Programme. The attendance at the sessions was sporadic (on average 5-10 teachers) and most individuals that attended were either undertaking postgraduate study or were interested in postgraduate study. All individuals appreciated the benefits of engaging with EBT, but stressed that the lack of time was a key obstacle to engaging with research. Fundamentally, there is some evidence that the impetus for a network can be driven by word-of-mouth and face-to-face meetings with colleagues who already have an existing interest in evidence based practice.

Initiative update reports were published in the TSA’s newsletter. Again, there was no follow-up generated from these and suggest that this is not an effective means of developing a network.

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EBT QuestionnaireDuring the SETSA shared INSET day in February, a seven point questionnaire survey was carried out. Participants were presented with statements and asked to tick the box that best described their opinion, based on a 5-point scale: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree and strongly disagree.

The survey produced some interesting results (see appendix 3):

The two most frequently recorded responses in the survey were to ‘agree’ to being encouraged to use published research evidence to inform their teaching (76.5% agree/ strongly agree) and to wanting to know more about evidence based teaching (82.4% agree/ strongly agree). The lowest recorded responses in the survey were to disagree with wanting to know more about EBT (8.8%).

Less than half of respondents (44.1%) indicated that they had a good understanding of EBT.

44.1% of responses indicated that they used research evidence to inform how they teach.

50% agreed that they used their own action research to inform their teaching.

Only 32.4% of responses agreed that EBT was a whole-school priority at their school.

Drawing any conclusions based on such a limited response is difficult, however the clearest messages were that teachers would like to know more about evidence based teaching and they are being encouraged by their schools to use teaching methods that are research informed. Moreover, the number of respondents was low (34; more than 250+ were distributed). This can be partly explained by logistical difficulties (admin staff did not provide a response box at the event exit), but may also indicate a low level of interest in EBT.

Initial Findings: Barriers to SuccessFrom analysing the results generated by the various aspects of the initiative, the following initial findings can be deduced:

There were distinct challenges in raising awareness of the project and its objectives. Indeed, social networking media sites and online resources had very limited success: use of Twitter by local teachers appeared to be limited, whilst

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‘traffic’ to the website and electronic resources was low. Furthermore, the use of websites was ineffective.

There were challenges in creating connections/contacts within other schools: it seems that schools are still too used to working in isolation. The most fruitful contacts were established by word-of-mouth and face-to-face meetings. This led to a successful CPD event which was an effective way to develop collaboration between schools. However, competition between schools has created a culture in which sharing-best practice is not encouraged.

Undoubtedly, the increased workload faced by teachers as a response to financial austerity has had a detrimental impact on the success of the initiative. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to state that the introduction of the new curriculum is a greater priority for schools at present.

As a result, it was difficult to create ‘buy-in’ from many teachers: the benefits of EBT are not obvious to them. Even where resources were made available in an accessible form, use of such material was limited.

Adopting a “bottom up” initiative is challenging; it appears to be easier to develop networks where there is SLT support. Furthermore, from conversations with senior leaders, it became evident that in order to increase awareness of the benefits of using evidence in education, that it must be a school priority and consequently part of a school improvement plan.

It is a challenge to get all schools more involved: there are 50+ partners in SETSA, across phases and school types. Often there is no clear commonality.

The CPD survey indicated that staff are encouraged in school to use published research evidence to inform their teaching and they want to know more about evidence based teaching. However, at an Alliance level, there is no clear mechanism for bringing schools together; for example, there is no centrally held list of email contacts for all CPD coordinators.

There is a widespread misunderstanding of what is meant by EBT and there is a perception that EBT is something for universities and not for schools. In addition, some teachers are put- off by a perceived EBT dogma: that evidence based teaching is purely about large scale randomised controlled test and not action research as well.

EBT is not perceived as a government priority. Aspects such as curriculum change and international educational standards typically dominate national discourse.

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ConclusionsIn summation, the overall success of SETSA’s initiative was limited. Most successful was the CPD event as it promoted clear collaboration between schools and enabled the sharing and transfer of best practice between schools. Experience has shown that meeting people face-to-face was the most effective way of promoting network development.

Despite a preconception that social networking websites were the “21st Century” way of developing networks, SETSA’s initiative provided no evidence that this was the case. Whilst Twitter was shown to have merits and proved an effective method of sharing findings and links to more detailed research, the lack of followers nullified these positives. Other electronic ways of sharing information were also ineffective. This included cross-school emails, which drew very little response. When resources were accessed and commented upon, the response was favourable. However, the challenge proved to be getting anyone to look at them in the first place.

There were also difficulties associated with the project being led by a teacher in middle leadership. Such a position provides very little time and leverage with gaining access to staff in other schools. In addition, the post-holder does not have the authority to direct school priorities or those of other schools. SETSA’s initiative suggests that network development and changing existing classroom practice requires greater senior leadership involvement.

Despite the initiative’s modest success in achieving its overall aims, this does not mean that the project was not useful. It has highlighted the extent of the challenges that exist at a local and national level in popularising the adoption of evidence based practice. The project also highlights the limitations of electronic media, whilst highlighting the value of the ‘personal touch’. Face-to-face, personal contacts play an important role in developing networks. Moreover, it has also brought into focus the wider discussions taking place within education: there is no consensus on the value of EBT or the form that the application of evidence should take when school and learner context is deemed to be so crucial. The “evidence” is much less clear cut than in medicine, for example. With this very much in mind, it could be concluded that the formation of a national network of evidence based teachers is unlikely to be achieved until teachers and the wider establishment are convinced of the value of the evidence.

Some of the most significant challenges and possible solutions identified during the course of the initiative are as follows:

Challenges SolutionsCoordinating a project which Using existing alliance infrastructure e.g. contacts

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had 50+ partners involved. established by the Teaching School Manager and the SETSA website.

Gauging existing levels of expertise.

Send questionnaires to each of the SETSA member schools.

Establishing effective channels of communication.

Use one method of communication, such as a shared newsletter across the alliance, as opposed to various modes.

“Selling” the concept and ensuring mass participation in sharing events.

Gauging what people would find useful so that they can get direct benefit out of the sessions.Creating a digest of research findings to schools, with links to more detailed findings on the SETSA website.

Achieving equal “buy-in” from both primary and secondary schools.

Having an overall ‘celebration / sharing’ event that then divides into a primary and secondary section.

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ReferencesBennett, T. (2015) “Evidence-based education is dead- long live evidence-informed education: thoughts on Dylan Wiliam”, TES Blog,4th of April 2011, Available: TES Blog Carr, W. (1995) For Education: Towards Critical Educational Enquiry, Buckingham:Open University Press.

Davis, S.H. (2007) Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice: What’s Good, What’s Bad and How Can One Be Sure?, Phi Delta Kappan, 88(8), 568-578.

Elliott, J. (2005) Becoming Critical: The Failure to Connect, Educational Action Research, 13(3), 359-373.

Evans, D. (2012) “He’s not the messiah….”, TES Magazine, 14 September 2012, Available: https://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6290240

Goldacre, B. (2013) Building Evidence Into Education: report for the Department of Education, London.

Hattie, J. (2005) Becoming Critical: The Failure to Connect, Educational Action Research, 13(3) 359-373.

Henderson, M. (2012) The Geek Manifesto: Why Science Matters, London, Bantam Press.

Husbands, C. (2015) Can (and should) research and practice shape schooling?, paper given at the Institute of Education Research and Development Network Conference, 24 June 2015, IoE: London.

Marzano, R.J. & Pickering, D.J. (2003) Classroom Instruction That Works, ASCD.

Petty, G. (2009) Evidence-Based Teaching. A Practical Approach (Second Edition), Nelson Thornes: Cheltenham.

Petty, G. (2014) A Practical Guide to Teaching Today (Fifth Edition), Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Sellgren, K. (2013) “Academics Attack Gove's 'Mountain Of Data' Curriculum”, BBC News Website, 20 March, Available: BBC News Website

Tyack, D.B. & Cuban, L. (1995) Tinkering Toward Utopia: Century of Public School Reform, USA: Ninth Printing.

Wiliam, D. (2015) The research delusion, TES Magazine, 10 April 2015.

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Appendix 1 – List of schools

SETSA SCHOOLSBarons Court Primary School & NurseryBelfairs AcademyBlenheim Primary SchoolBournemouth Park Primary SchoolBournes Green Infant SchoolBournes Green Junior SchoolCecil Jones CollegeChalkwell Hall Infant SchoolChalkwell Hall Junior SchoolChase High SchoolDarlinghurst Primary SchoolEarls Hall Junior SchoolEastwood Primary School & NurseryEdwards Hall Primary SchoolEstuary HighFairways Primary SchoolFriars Primary SchoolFutures Community CollegeGrove Wood Primary SchoolHamstel Infant School & NurseryHeycroft Primary SchoolHinguar Primary SchoolHolt Farm Junior SchoolKents Hill Junior SchoolKingsdown SchoolLancaster SchoolLeigh Infant SchoolLeigh North Street Junior SchoolOur Lady of Lourdes SchoolPrince Avenue Primary School & Nursery

Richmond Avenue Primary SchoolRochford Primary & Nursery SchoolSacred Heart Catholic Primary SchoolSeabrook CollegeShoeburyness High SchoolSouthend High School for BoysSouthend High School for GirlsSouthend YMCA Free SchoolSt Bernard's High SchoolSt George's Catholic Primary SchoolSt Helen's Catholic Primary SchoolSt Mary’s Prittlewell   C of E Primary SchoolSt Thomas More High SchoolTemple Sutton Primary School & Children’s CentreThe Deanes SchoolThe Federation of Greenways SchoolsThe St Christopher School Academy TrustThe Westborough SchoolThorpedene Primary SchoolWest Leigh Infant SchoolWest Leigh Junior School   Westcliff High School for BoysWestcliff High School for Girls

OTHER ALLIANCE MEMBERSSouthend Borough Council Department for Children & LearningSouthend Education TrustThames Primary Consortium

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Appendix 2 – What is Evidence Based Teaching?

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Appendix 3 –EBT Survey

SD D N A SA0

5

10

15

20

25

I am interested in knowing more about EBT …

20

SD D N A SA0

5

10

15

20

25

My school encourages teachers to use teaching methods that research shows improve learning …

SD D N A SA0

5

10

15

20

25

I have a good understanding of what EBT is …

SD D N A SA0

5

10

15

20

25

I use published research evidence to inform how I teach …

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SD D N A SA0

5

10

15

20

25

I have used my own action research to inform my teaching …

.

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Crown copyright 2017

The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education.

Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at: college.research@education.gov.uk or www.education.gov.uk/contactus

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