Staff Reflections: Developing Nuanced Arguments In KS3 History

By Corinna Matlis

In asking the question of how to help students develop complex, nuanced arguments in their key stage three writing, I have been considering two options:  that students need more support with structuring their writing or that students need more support with deepening their knowledge.  

In the past term, in two of my key stage three history classes, I did assessments that included robust scaffolding for writing.  In both of the assessments, the answers I received were clearly written, well-organised and showed knowledge of the topic. But they were not in general nuanced or complex arguments. Thus, it began to seem that writing scaffolds were very helpful to students (the student-voice Google quizzes that I did after the assessments confirmed this), but that they do not sort out the problem of needing to help students come up with and articulate complex arguments.  

In trying to plan for my next steps, I turned to the history teaching journal, Teaching HIstory, where I read an article by a teacher who had given her year 9 class a nearly identical assessment to the one I had given my class and had come up with nearly identical answers.  Her solution to the question of how to nuance her class' arguments was to deepen their knowledge with more time spent on knowledge acquisition and less time spent artificially moving through Bloom’s taxonomy in each lesson.  The more I read in Teaching History, the more it seemed clear that most history teachers find that depth of knowledge is the first step toward complex, nuanced arguments, and so I’ve set out to try to make this a reality.  

In the coming weeks and terms, I am aiming to focus on the story of what my students need to know, letting them develop greater depth of knowledge before asking them to make connections between different parts of that knowledge. In our Humanities department meeting, I mined my colleagues’ ideas about developing nuance.  Although for many of us developing the ability to write nuanced arguments is nearly ineffable – it’s something that you are just able to do at a certain point – we kept coming back to the idea that the more you know, the easier it becomes. 

With this in mind, I’m planning to softly rethink how I structure my lessons.  For instance, rather than moving quickly through information gathering onto questions of explaining links between different bits of information and then assessment of how those different parts compare, I might spend more of the lessons developing deep knowledge and save the assessment for the next lesson.  As an example, in a lesson about England’s defeat of the Spanish Armada, I’m inclined to focus first on how it affected England and Elizabeth, then on how it affected Spain and Philip II, and then I will ask the students to explain how Elizabeth’s power at home and in the world  changed as a result of the defeat. In other words, the first two learning objectives would be descriptive, but they would prepare students for a much more complex attack on the third learning objective, when they need to explain, and perhaps even assess how far Elizabeth’s reign had changed over time.  

I’ll have to report back on how this goes, and in the meantime, if anyone reading has thoughts on how to deepen students’ knowledge and ability to make complex connections, please come talk to me!

Bitesize Research: Impact Of Pollution On Learning

By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good week so far - we’re so nearly at the end of term! Sustainability and climate change is an urgent priority for our world, and we know that this is being reflected in UK education policy - see here for the DfE document published in 2022. At WA, we’re looking to make sure we’re on the front foot with this, and we’ve collaborated with the IoE Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability since its inception, and we’re now part of their network of schools. Divisha has also published some great work on our blog around this theme - see here. 

As such, following a long standing and established correlation between pollution and poor health, I was interested to see the following article about how pollution may also impact learning as reported by TES. 

Objectives: To understand the possible impact of pollution on learning.

Summary: 

• There have been clear and established links between air pollution and physical health for a long time.

• One particular academic at the University of Warwick has been looking at the correlation between air pollution and student attendance. She notes that there is increasing evidence to point to a correlation between student absences and rising pollution levels.

• Another study from the US in 2020, found that after a ‘red air day’ (where ambient or outdoor air quality levels were deemed to be unhealthy) that school absences tended to double the next day.

• Other early indications from studies around the world tentatively suggest that air pollution impacts the working memory, behaviour, attention and academic outcomes of pupils of all ages.

• Further studies on exactly how air pollution particulates impact brain function are being proposed to see exactly what mechanisms are interrupted and therefore how we may best combat this. 

  
  

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

• How am I incorporating ideas about climate change, pollution and sustainability into my lessons and conversations with students?

• How could you spend time in finding out about students' living conditions and suggest actions they could to help their exposure, such as nurturing house plants? 

• What do I need to know to move forward with understanding this and incorporating this into my practice?

 

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!

Bitesize Research: Impact Of Sexual Violence On Mental Health

 By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good week so far. Following on from our keynote training on T2 INSET day, I was really interested to see some research as reported by the the Institute of Education about the links between sexual violence and mental health. 

Objectives: To consider the impact of sexual violence on serious mental health issues in young people

Summary: 

• Serious mental health problems amongst 17 year olds could fall by as much as 16.8% for girls and 8.4% for boys if they had not experienced sexual violence

• Out of near 10,000 students involved in this study nearly 1,000 girls and 260 boys had experienced a sexual assault or an unwanted sexual approach

• The report noted that several serious mental health problems were considerably higher in those reporting sexual assaults or an unwanted sexual approach

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

• What is the role of education in this equation?

• How confident do I feel in being able to support students disclosing their experiences of sexual violence?

• What support would I like further on this?

Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!

CPD Reflections: MA In Educational Leadership

By Divisha Patel

In 2020, I decided to embark on a Master’s in Educational Leadership at UCL-IOE. Initially, I was worried about how I might manage the workload of both my role here in WA as a Director of Learning, and the various readings and assignments I would be required to engage with in order to be successful in my MA. However, along the two years, I have found this learning to have had a hugely positive impact on my work here at WA and how I lead the Humanities team. 

Module 1: Leading Change and Improvement

This module involved learning about policy change through education in line with the changes in political leadership; different styles of leadership that exist in education and their various interpretations, strengths and weaknesses; and approaches of change management. The learning around leadership styles were particularly pertinent for me as I embarked on the new role of DOL for both Humanities and Enterprise. I really wanted to create a new identity and vision for this new amalgamated team, so that each subject and teacher felt a sense of belonging to the new ‘Humanities’ whilst also remaining true to their passion and pedagogy for their subject areas. I’ve always felt that a team operates best when it is truly collaborative and a sum of its well-functioning parts. Therefore, it was important for me to create and maintain the most effective form of dialogue between myself and the subject coordinators, rooted in professional trust and critical reflection. This approach is often referred to as ‘participative leadership’/’democratic leadership’/’distributed leadership’, where inclusive discussions are at the core. Completing the coaching course provided by the school for middle leaders was a great way to put this into practice and is still an ongoing area for development. Whilst not every decision can be approached in this way, it is what I fundamentally value and where possible, I’ve tried to put it into action. This, then, feeds into effective change management. This was imperative when we were tasked with writing a new KS3 curriculum for Y9 and/or adapting the KS4 curriculum for a 2-year delivery. 

Module 2: Leading for the Learning Community

This module covered the issues and concepts related to effective learning for individuals and organisations. Sub-topics included learning about HR management issues; the role of coaching and mentoring and workload/wellbeing management. The biggest takeaway from this module was the importance of approaching professional learning with a ‘little and often’ approach, which is in line with Jaya and the Academic SLT's vision for WA’s CPD provision too. It was this learning that informed my leadership approach for how best to plant seeds of professional learning within the Humanities department. Something that I’ve implemented at WA that I’m most proud of is the peer-led T&L showcase segment of our Humanities department meetings. 

At the beginning of the term, I allocate slots to each staff member, ensuring that everyone delivers an equal number of sessions for the academic year. Each Humanities member is given the autonomy to do the showcase on anything they would like, such as: 

• A form of AfL/questioning

• A piece of work

• An online resource

• A teaching strategy

• Academic reading/research

  
  

During the T&L showcase, the teacher tells us a little bit about why they have chosen the topic; the reasoning behind the focus and how they implemented/plan to implement the focus in the classroom. As a team, we then discuss how we could be flexible with the focus and its use for specific key groups such as SEND, EAL or different attainer groups. I love watching all staff deliver their showcase, but particularly ECTs, because they always present with passion, genuine interest and an eagerness to be better practitioners. The discussions that follow act as windows into peoples’ teacher personas and whilst not the intention, learn more about who they are as people and their values, and in a profession as emotive as teaching, this is important for building a strong, successful team. Further information about how Humanities is trying to be a research-informed department can be found here.

Module 3: Research Methods in Educational Research

Admittedly my least enjoyable module, this was about learning how to use principles of research design to create and test research questions and select appropriate methods to conduct a robust project. Discussions of epistemology and ontology have never been my strength, but ultimately, I found this module incredibly useful in considering how best to understand a concept/problem, which could then be used as an enquiry for both my own teacher/leader development, and organisational development if scaled up. My assignment was to write a research proposal, which allowed me to prepare for my final report. As someone who is interested in the academic ‘side’ of teaching, I wanted to explore the concept of teacher agency (causing/generating action) within curriculum development and investigating to what extent curriculum leaders have/enact/exercise agency when writing unit plans, lessons and assessments. 

Final Report: The work that I had engaged with for two years culminated in writing up my final research project which was about the role of teacher agency in curriculum development. Teacher agency is about teachers having the ability to act and be change agents, and given that teachers are an increasingly important part of curriculum  design, if not the most important part, then understanding their perceptions of exercising teacher agency and the different influences that can possibly have an effect is imperative for school leaders. The findings showed that curriculum leaders felt like they did have agency in planning their curricula, however accountability measures and performativity stifled this, especially during pinch-points of the school year. For example, many participants said that they felt constrained by external pressures such as government policy, Ofsted, and school performance tables. Whilst these pressures cannot be controlled by a school, the study allowed for some insights into what schools can do to further enable agency, such as providing greater opportunities for collaboration and an increased sense of dialogue amongst staff, which WA has, and is taking steps to address. Opportunities like the PLC meetings, CPD Twilights and departmental QA process, allows curriculum leaders to develop their curricular in line with the school’s vision; latest subject pedagogy; and in an empowered way, by promoting collaborative conversations between teachers, middle and senior leaders. 

Whilst completing a MA has been great in allowing me to learn more about leadership in education, there are plenty of other opportunities to support peoples’ development as effective leaders, and the following websites/organisations/methods have been effective for me so far and I will continue to learn from:

1. TeacherTapp app: this is a free app which asks 3 questions about school life to build a picture of what’s happening in schools, followed by a recommended daily read which acts as a form of quick, ongoing, on-the-move CPD. 

2. ‘Edutwitter’

3. Membership to subject associations 

4. Local networking meetings, which are often passed on by the Academic SLT team for curriculum leaders and subject teachers to attend

   
   

There were various people who helped me along this journey that I am eternally grateful for, namely the participants who took part in my final study; Jaya, for her nurturing line management during this stressful time; Holly, for her sound advice about how best to approach agency within curriculum development; and Ruhina, Bec and Ellie, for their constant encouragement-the best hype women anyone could ask for! 

Further reading: 

National College for Teaching and Leadership (2010) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-strong-claims-about-successful-school-leadership 

Mujis et al (2014), State of the art – teacher effectiveness and professional learning

Briggs et al (2015), Research Methods in Educational Leadership and Management

Fullan (2015), A New Meaning for Educational Change

ADHD- Supporting Learners In Inclusive Classrooms

By Lucy Taylor

In recent weeks, I have been thinking about how I can better support my pupils with ADHD and ensure my classroom is an inclusive space where all learners can make progress. This led me to undertake a bit of research and I have summarised my findings and hope they will be useful for other WA colleagues who are teaching pupils with ADHD!

What is ADHD?

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is a cognitive condition that affects people’s behaviour. One of the most important things I learnt when researching more about the condition itself is that it is common for people with ADHD to also have sleep and anxiety disorders which, as you can imagine, provides additional barriers to learning and exacerbates the effects of their condition. If you are interested in learning more about the medical condition itself, the NHS website is very informative and I will attach the relevant links below! 

Once I had learnt a little bit more about the condition I started to think about how this may present itself in the classroom and what I can do as a classroom practitioner to help students continue to make progress and ensure my classroom is inclusive.

Here, you can see the three common presentations of ADHD. There are some pointers which lead medical and educational professionals to suspect a student has ADHD:

Inattention

Difficulty following instructions or completing tasks.

Short attention span and difficulty ‘sticking to’ an activity.

Difficulty organising tasks and activities.

Easily distracted and forgetful.

Often struggles to listen when spoken to.

Hyperactivity 

Fidgets, is restless and can’t sit still in class.

Can’t stop talking.

Runs about when it is inappropriate.

Impulsiveness

Interrupts others.

Blurts out answers without waiting for the question to be finished.

Difficulty in waiting or taking turns.

However, it is incredibly important to note that not all students who have ADHD show all or any of the symptoms and therefore, we may have trouble recognising it in the classroom. The most powerful takeaway I took was that ADHD isn’t simply just the hyperactive behaviours I had heard of prior to this research. Students with ADHD may be inattentive or impulsive instead of, or, in addition to being hyperactive. 

Another powerful takeaway from this research was how common ADHD is and how often it goes undetected due to stereotypes or assumptions we may have about the condition. ADHD is more common in boys than girls (by 6:1).In some cases the condition can seem to affect genders in different ways. Though both can have attentional problems, boys are often reported as exhibiting overactive behaviours and as a result can be perceived as more difficult to manage. Though girls with ADHD can exhibit hyperactive and impulsive symptoms, a number of girls with inattentive symptoms are harder to detect in busy classrooms. As a result, their needs are often overlooked. This solidified to me, how important it is we have inclusive classrooms that allow all students to progress. As such, this led me to think about strategies I could implement in the classroom.

Reframing ADHD

From my research, I believe the first step to providing effective support is to ‘reframe’ ADHD and challenge any of our own misconceptions around the condition. 

It is vital to remember that ADHD is a genuine medical condition that requires specific support. Understanding and acceptance of ADHD, together with the desire to adapt teaching and learning strategies, can enable many students with ADHD to learn more effectively.  Here are some suggestions below (this is similar to the reframing of language we did with Paul Mulvihill and our trauma-informed approach to teaching!): 

• Think of the student who is easily distracted as having high levels of awareness and observation

• Think of the restless student as being energetic and lively

• When the student with ADHD goes off on a tangent, see it as a sign of individualism and independence

• If the student starts interrupting, think of it it as enthusiasm to contribute

• When work is sloppy, look for signs of effort despite difficulties 

• Reward their positive behaviour and focus on this when addressing their behaviours that may be unexpected

Strategies to use in our classrooms:

My research led me to three ways to incorporate more support for students with ADHD in our classrooms. 

1. Accommodations - Refers to making learning easier for students with ADHD

Make adjustments in the classroom. In order to keep students with ADHD from distracting and disrupting the class, you can change the layout of your classroom and make adjustments for your students with ADHD.

Seating

• Students with ADHD should be positioned away from windows and doors

• Seat the student right in front of your desk unless it would distract them

• Seat them in rows as students with ADHD tend to work better this way compared to around tables or facing one another

Importantly - have discussion with the pupil in a private space away from other pupils. They can usually give powerful insight into what helps them focus and learn better.

2. Instructions - Methods and techniques used for teaching

Delivery of Information – Students with ADHD Learn Differently

• Give instructions one at a time. If possible, repeat.

• Work on the most difficult task early in the day. If it is a P5 lesson - think about how to deliver tasks!

• Use visual aids such as charts, pictures, and colour coding

• Create outlines to make note-taking easy for them. This can also work with tables, grids, sentence starters etc

Student work

• Create worksheets and tests with fewer items. Frequent short quizzes are better than long tests, if possible!

• Formatively test students with ADHD focusing on their strengths, such as orally or filling in blanks

• Divide long term projects such a coursework into clear segments, and set a deadline for completion for each segment, rather than an overall deadline

Organisation

• Vary your pace depending on the kinds of activities. Students with ADHD are known for excelling in competitive games or in rapid and intense activities

• Devise an unobtrusive set of cues for reminding the student with ADHD to remain focused on the task. Such as placing a sticky note on their desk or hand signal. Chat to them about what works well!

3. Intervention - How to handle any disruptive/distracting/unexpected behaviour

Prevent disruptive behaviour

• Allow students with ADHD to have frequent breaks and let them squeeze a stress ball, fidget toy or something that will not disturb the class as physical outlet.

Deal with disruptive behaviour

• Devise some kind of warning signals for students with ADHD. It could range from hand signals or a sticky note on the student’s desk.

• Refer to zones of regulation. Have one that they can see and identify with.

• If you need to discuss their behaviour, talk to them in private.

• Ignore unexpected behaviour if it is not disrupting the lesson. 

I hope this is helpful and informative! Please do get in touch if you would like to talk further about this - I’d love to hear from you!

References and Further Reading

https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Teaching-and-Managing-Students-with-ADHD.pdf

http://www.curee.co.uk/files/publication/%5bsite-timestamp%5d/engaging%20adhd%20students%20in%20tasks%20with%20hand%20gestures%20%20%20a%20pedagogical%20possibility%20for%20teachers.pdf 

https://www.ldrfa.org/tips-and-strategies-to-help-students-with-adhd-succeed/ 

George J. DuPaul , Lisa L. Weyandt & Grace M. Janusis (2011) ADHD in the Classroom: Effective Intervention Strategies, Theory Into Practice, 50:1, 35-42, 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/