Consulting secondary school pupils about their learning

1. Consulting secondary school pupils about their learning

2. Key issues addressed by the study This study explored teachers’ approaches to pupil consultation the most effective approach to pupil consultation effective ways of gathering written pupil feedback

3. The most effective approach to pupil consultation The most effective approach was ‘proactive consultation’ Teachers used pupil feedback as a basis for changing their practice such as using ICT more often more learning outside the classroom allowing pupils to decide the order in which to complete tasks

4. The benefits of proactive consultation Pupils felt more able to talk about their opinions became more involved in shaping their work felt empowered and engaged showed improved behaviour and attitudes because they felt respected

5. Characteristics of practitioners using proactive consultation • Practitioners using this approach • responded authentically and honestly to feedback • showed that they were willing to change classroom practice as a result of the feedback • often used pupil ‘learning diaries’ to collect feedback

6. How the learning diaries were used The pupils completed the learning dairies during course units of work Extracts from the diaries were sometimes used in whole class discussions The teachers used the extracts to identify and tackle any misunderstandings

7. Other approaches to pupil consultation • ‘Constrained consultation’ • whereby teachers asked for feedback, but did not change their practice as a result • ‘Managerial consultation’ • whereby teachers asked for feedback to help children feel included, but did not really use it to influence their practice

8. Characteristics of teachers using constrained approach • The constrained approach was common among inexperienced teachers who • found it difficult to respond to pupil feedback because they felt constrained by lack of time and syllabus requirements • may lack confidence in changing practice

9. Characteristics of teachers using the managerial approach Teachers using the managerial approach saw the process of soliciting pupil opinion as an aspect of institutional control felt the outcome was less important than the process tended to generate predictable feedback through ‘tick-box’ questionnaires etc

10. Who were the children in the study? • Secondary school pupils taught by 20 teachers • Classes from 4 schools

11. How was the information gathered? Twenty volunteer teachers from four schools were asked to experiment with written pupil feedback systems for a year At the end of the year the teachers and a sample of pupils were interviewed Reports were prepared to summarise the findings and then passed back to the schools for validation Six months after the project a follow-up postal questionnaire was sent to the teachers

12. How can teachers use the evidence in this study? • If used in a proactive way student feedback can encourage pupils to engage with their learning • How could you adapt your use of student feedback to encourage this? Could you discuss the feedback you have collected with your pupils? • Tools such as learning logs were useful for revealing misunderstandings • Could you involve your pupils in designing a learning log that generates insights both you and they really care about?

13. How can school leaders use the evidence in this study? • Inexperienced teachers were most likely to engage in constrained pupil consultation which was ineffective • How might you continue and extend support for the NQTs and early career teachers in your school? • Proactive methods of pupil consultation were the most valuable • How can you build proactive consultation into school routines?

14. Follow-up reading • Study reference: Thompson, P. (2009) Consulting secondary school pupils about their learning, Oxford Review of Education, vol. 35, (6), available at: www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/Interesting%20_choice_Final.pdf

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