Bitesize Research: Impact of COVID on attainment

This week, I wanted to share with you something I found to be a very helpful summary of available research on the impact of COVID on student attainment from the EEF.

Objectives: To understand the impact of COVID-19 on student attainment broadly, but also on disadvantaged students from a range of existing studies.

Summary:  

The key overall themes are:

• Students have made less progress compared to previous year groups
• The attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their non-disadvantaged peers has grown

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

 

• How can I use this information to support identifying gaps in knowledge and looking to redress them?

• What classroom or school strategies might best enable rapid progress to be made to ‘catch up’?

• Do I know who my disadvantaged students are? What are their current barriers to learning? How can I use available resources to support them as much as possible?

If anyone would like to discuss this further with me - please let me know! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.

Bitesize Research: Creating a supportive classroom

This week, I wanted to share with you an interesting concept from Evidence Based Education, which characterises the key elements of good teaching into four different areas or ‘dimensions’. The area I want to focus in light of coming back into school is ‘creating a supportive environment’ which is the 2nd of the four dimensions.  

Objectives: To understand the key elements of creating a classroom supportive environment for great teaching.

Summary:  

The key elements contained within the evidence-based approach proposed here are for dimension two are:

• Promoting interactions and relationships with all students that are based on mutual respect, care, empathy and warmth; avoiding negative emotions in interactions with students; being sensitive to the individual needs, emotions, culture and beliefs of students

• Promoting a positive climate of student-teacher relationships, characterised by respect, trust, cooperation and care

• Promoting learner motivation through feelings of competence, autonomy and relatedness

• Creating a climate of high expectations, with high challenge and high trust, so learners feel it is okay to have a go; encouraging learners to attribute their success or failure to things they can change

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

 

• How important will these be when we return to face-to-face teaching?

• What strategies can I use to demonstrate and build these particular elements of teaching in the classroom?

If anyone would like to discuss this further with Jaya - please comment below! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.

Bitesize Research: Takeaways From Distance Learning

This week, I wanted to share with you an interesting article from Edutopia which is reflecting on distanced and remote learning. 

Objectives: To provide the key ‘takeaways’ from the distance and remote learning that has taken place in the pandemic as schools being to reopen

Summary:  

• The overall impact of digital technology on learning is less than we might think - actually, the quality of teaching is still the most important element within successful education

• More effective differentiation (including more blended learning models) and an emphasis on mastery may be some of the biggest gains from online learning to takeaway

• Much of the narrative is focused on ‘learning losses’ from lockdown, but learning gains from lockdown may be more broad than we anticipate. They might not be from the official curricula, but they can be transformative nonetheless.

How does this impact me and my practice?: Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are: 

 

• What things from online learning can I bring with me into the classroom?

• How can I continue to harness the differentiating and mastery elements of online learning?

• What ‘learning gains’ might our students have made? And how will we know?

If anyone would like to discuss this further with Jaya - please comment below! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations.