Fit for purpose: making research and evidence work for all your learners

1. Fit for purpose: making research and evidence work for all your learners Philippa Cordingley Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education

2. Tackling wicked issues - Palfrey school • A primary serving a vulnerable community in the Black Country • Had tried many interventions for vulnerable pupils • Opted for Response to Intervention (RTI) to help (25%) year 6 pupils to level 4 after summer half term as part of EEF funded RCT • Had really impressive results, especially for pupils for whom other interventions hadn’t worked. Some made 9 months progress in 5 weeks • School now uses RTI across years 4, 5 and 6 and in all classes with sustained success • http://www.curee.co.uk/our-projects/randomised-control-trial-response-intervention-rti-achievement-all

3. Keeping Excellent schools learning • St Thomas More secondary school, outstanding for 17 years doubted it would be under the new framework • Commissioned research into effectiveness of learning environment for both staff and pupils. Findings included need to: • Build diagnostics and differentiation into CPD activities • Connect staff and pupil learning through evidence about progress towards aspirations for learners as an explicit part of CPDL • Increase use of enquiry based learning/ micro enquiries eg via research tasters, research lesson study, peer observation and coaching to secure depth of analysis • Report , follow up action and evidence important in convincing OFSTED that this is NOT a complacent school and retaining Outstanding grades across the piece

4. R&D as glue and insurance – Wroxham TSA • Alison Peacock, keen researcher, “creating learning beyond limits”, and research user ( CPU network) • Alliance is helping primary schools to use new National Curriculum – to move beyond crude levelling • Used others’ research re CPDL, assessment and curriculum design to clarify starting points, aims and an action plan via sessions with school leaders and researchers • Using R&D to evidence close attention to pupil progress, building tools to pilot across the schools

5. From little acorns –Romey Tacon and Numicon Mathematics • National teacher research award • 2 teacher researchers with deep concerns about mathematics for vulnerable learners • Started from Catherine Stern on Number relations • Developed, trialled and tested resources for “dialling in” number relations visually • Dramatic improvements proved infectious • Developed into a mainstream approach for mathematics and boosting vulnerable learners

6. Romey Tacon and Numicon • Waves of supported research • Grew to be a regional movement – great results for struggling learners- became • Numicon Mathematics taken up by schools and local authorities, eventually published by OUP • Changing expectations for pupils re: mathematics • Now being trialled via Closing the gap test and learn programme

7. Patterns? • What was the driver forEngaging with and/or in R&D in these different cases? • What is similar and different about: • What drove the work? • The approach to evidence? • Whose evidence is being used? • The outcomes?

8. Conditions that enabled progress? • A “wicked” issue - linked to aspirations for pupils • A strong evidence base on which to build • Using evidence from existing research and current practice • Clarity & rigour re: role of evidence & quality • An emphasis on needs of users from the start • Sustained, collaborative support • Meeting needs of vulnerable pupils, especially important as work spreads beyond one school • Specialist support • e.g. research based tools and resources, in-school champions, externally collected/ validated evidence to challenge orthodoxies, coaching e.g. in designing evidence collection, analysis or writing up research

9. Use of research and CPDL research reviews • Comprehensive electronic literature searches • Screened titles & abstracts against published criteria • Retrieved full studies applied 3 levels of filtering • Completed maps of the literature • Double blind data extraction • Assessment for weight of evidence for synthesis • Synthesised evidence for review questions • Commissioned anonymous peer review • Implications explored in-depth with users • Synthesised in BERA commissioned paper http://www.curee.co.uk/news/2013/09/bera-2013

11. This evidence highlights importance for schools of: • Linking pupil and teacher learning about real concerns • Specialists providing sustained, structured support, modelling high leverage approaches • Sustained peer support/reciprocal vulnerability to embed learning • Learning to learn from looking • Structured dialogue about evidence from experiments • Ambitious goals – can be prescribed with peer support • Developing theory and practice side by side • Leaders modelling support by e.g. • Providing time for teachers to plan & reflect, and • encouraging experimentation and learning

12. Benefits of engaging in and with research and evidence to support development • Sustained benefits for pupils re: • motivation, responses to subjects & curricula • performance e.g. test results and specific skills • questioning skills, thinking & responses to stimuli • organisation e.g. collaboration, choosing strategies • Improvements in teachers’: • self-confidence e.g. in taking risks and efficacy • willingness & ability to make changes to practice • knowledge & understanding of subject & pedagogy • repertoire and skills in matching to pupils’ needs • willingness to continue professional learning

13. The nature of the support Range of Support was crucial & provided through: • Training – including instruction in key components and rationale for new approaches • Modelling – demonstrating strategies & enquiry • Sustained, critical friendship, mentoring or coaching for research and enquiry based learning • Provision of tools and resources such as observation frameworks, questionnaires, analysis grids

14. Barriers to success included • Time e.g. for induction in new strategies & elapsed time for interpreting/adapting for context • Diverse foci – teachers struggled to engage in or with others’ research if exploring too many different things • Inadequate facilitation and/or external support – e.g. • too little support or lack of expertise in content; • process (e.g. poor research instruments, weak organisation e.g. re: time management) • Practicalities of enquiry, testing new approaches out in classrooms – NB power of Video

15. What does all this mean for school leaders? A best Evidence Synthesis from Viviane Robinson highlights 5 key areas of leaders’ work that co relate with benefits for pupils

16. Key contributions leaders make to pupil learning a best evidence synthesis • Ensuring an orderly and supportive learning environment • Establishing goals and expectations • Planning, co-ordinating and evaluating teaching and the curriculum • Promoting and participating in teacher learning • Strategic resourcing – aligning efforts of all kinds • All are essential. Some are particularly important at specific points. Which has the biggest effect over time?

17. Leadership that improves outcomes Strongest contribution is focussing on professional learning (ES.84) via • Attending to content and process of Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) • Uncovering systematically staff learning needs • Modelling & investing in professional learning

18. Effect sizes for leadership interventions • Promoting & participating in teacher learning (0.84) • Planning, coordinating and evaluating teaching and the curriculum (0.42) • Establishing goals and expectations (0.35) • Strategic resourcing and the use of tools ( 0.34) • Ensuring an orderly and supportive environment (0.27)

19. Robinson criteria for “smart” tools to support change • Clearly explain the rationale for the change being supported • Acknowledge the existing understandings of those at whom the tools are targeted • Signals likely misconceptions • Connects abstract principles with detailed illustration and practical examples • Embedded in documents that are logically structured around a clear and unambiguous purpose.

20. Stepping stones and related skills

21. An in-school example • Think of a recent or impending significant development with a neighbour • Which of these features of leadership are already priorities - share an example you are excited about • Which might benefit from further strengthening? Identify with a partner an area you might most usefully review/strengthen... • How might modelling and investing in CPDL help? • What role might research and evidence play?

22. Important leadership findings No. 2 • Comparison of exceptional (75% + A*-C GCSE inc. English and Maths) and strong schools succeeding in closing gaps in very vulnerable communities • Funded by Teach First to help them identify how to differentiate support for TF participants

23. The evidence base • 6 TF schools that were classed as ‘exceptional’ • 6 TF schools that were classed as ‘strong’ • 2 non-TF (but TF eligible) ‘exceptional’ schools The data came from: • interviews with both TF and non-TF teachers; • group interviews with members of the SLT; • focus groups consisting of three activities, with both TF and non-TF teachers; • analysis of school documentation inc progress; and • the analysis of an online student survey

24. Professional learning (PL) environment • Exceptional schools invested more systematically in PL • PL in strong schools was more centrally led; less consistent teacher ownership of responsibility for PL • Exceptional schools invested more heavily in mentoring and coaching training cross-school • Strong schools focused less on formal coaching and structured mentoring

25. Teaching and learning • Collaborative learning was more of a focus in exceptional schools, but inconsistent in strong schools • Subject knowledge was a higher priority within exceptional schools. Strong schools felt pedagogic expertise was more important EG more use of ASTs and (evaluated) internal and external expertise • Exceptional schools had a clearer focus on cross-school, explicit model of pedagogy • More teachers in the strong schools wanted more support in behaviour management

26. Leadership • Leaders more aware of the importance of modeling learning in exceptional schools • Exceptional schools more extensively engaged in networked learning than strong schools. • Policies for supporting new teachersless clear in strong schools – in ES new recruits expected explicitly to own schools’ values and pedagogical priorities • Most ES involved in initial teacher education • PM used rigorously but persistent under performers left

27. Relationships with students, parents and the community • Exceptional schools’ leaders were more likely to work with outside organisations as a way to enrich the curriculum than strong schools and to take a leading role in networks • They were also more likely to work extremely hard at involving parents

28. Sauce for the Goose • Too much focus on teaching teachers instead of focussing on their learning about their pupils’ learning • Learning for leaders, staff and pupils means recognising, reviewing, and building on what people believe, understand, and do • It means “learning how to learn” skills for ALL learners • And integrating such skills and experiences systematically into the the day job “I’ll have what he’s having!” http://www.curee.org.uk/content/sauce-goose-learning-entitlements-work-teachers-well-their-pupils

29. Evidence behind this? PURR http://www.curee.co.uk/resources/publications/purr-summaries EPPI 4 and EPPI 2 http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk Timperley http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/48727127.pdf Robinson : http://www.curee.co.uk/resources/publications/robinson-summary RTI and AERA paper http://www.curee-paccts.com/files/shared/Response%20to%20Intervention%202014.pdf http://www.curee.co.uk/events/2010/04/2010-aera-conferenceTF report http://www.curee.co.uk/publication/characteristics-high-performing-schools-teach-first-research-report Romey Tacon NTRP summary http://www.ntrp.org.uk/node/62 Formative assessment for all - Pearson/NESTA report http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/good-intentions-real-impact-rethinking-role-evidence-education-businesses This Presentation

30. Contact Details philippa.cordingley@curee.co.uk www.curee.co.uk Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education 8th Floor Eaton House Eaton Road Coventry CV1 2FJ 024 7652 4036 @PhilippaCcuree @curee_official