June 2019

TEACHING, LEARNING & ASSESSMENT NEWSLETTER

Action Research
In response to the desire for more teacher-led CPD, 2018-19 was the year Connell College introduced Action Research. At the start of the year staff were
asked to sign up to a research focus linked the college’s quality improvement plan and each group were provided with a range of evidence based research
as a starting point. They were then required to plan and action a research project to address their research focus, culminating in a presentation at the end
of the academic year so that all staff could benefit from their findings.

How can students’ memories be improved to support success in linear exams, including
the use of meta-cognition?

REASONING BEHIND AREA OF INQUIRY: We wanted

to have a more objective overview of what strategies
are best to maximise memory of previous content, whilst
not compromising the learning of the content in current
lessons. We wanted to take the opportunity to use a
variety of different approaches in various subjects to try
to have better rational and justification for SoL decisions
and to try to work out what the best use of limited
teaching time is, in order to maximise success and also
finish all content.

SUMMARY OF IMPLEMENTATION PHASE: A range of strategies were implemented: regular low stakes quiz-
zes and activities, scheduling/focusing student revision hours, comparing 2 cohorts with a different strategy
(revision throughout or at the end of the course), simultaneous split delivery of modules and adding synoptic
questions to all tests.
Various amendments were made throughout and some lasted for the academic year and others focused on a
small area and then awaited the exam impact.

FINDINGS AND IMPACT: Student voice has been positive when staff intentionally identify linear links and top-
ics across the year. However, this is contradicted when it is forced on students through college policy, with the
exception of lower ability students who want it. Structuring assessment to include linear topics has not always
shown an improvement in results, but students overall have stated they find it useful, even when the data sug-
gests it adds no impact. Students have shown improvement in specific synoptic elements when they have been
explicitly identified and a monitored period of meta-cognition implemented, and student voice suggests this
benefit carried forward into the examination question.
Overall, there appears to a be vast variation in impact, illustrating that as with any type of qualification, dif-
ferentiated teaching, learning and assessment is the key to ensuring success in linear exams. Carefully monitor-
ing the balance of impact vs time spent is also essential to ensure any strategies are worth it rather than ‘token’
strategies.
 How best to support student motivation and well-being?
REASONING BEHIND AREA OF INQUIRY: This area was of particular interest to us all. We all work in differ-
ent fields and areas of the college but still, we all believed that this was an acute issue. One that if looked at,
and worked towards, could radically change student attitude and hopefully outcomes.

SUMMARY OF IMPLEMENTATION PHASE: This question was interpreted by staff in a range of different
ways. As such, there were lots of interesting approaches and a variety of findings. The most popular method-
ologies were questionnaires and observations which allowed for both a quantitative and qualitative examina-
tion of the issue, providing a more thorough insight.

FINDINGS AND IMPACT: Students’ motivation in Business could be understood in terms of different theoreti-
cal standpoints. For example, those students who were not the best at completing homework tended to iden-
tify their motivation in terms of money (Taylor), and
progress grids indicate that completion rates im-
proved when they were treated like that! Whereas
those students who were habitually complaining were
motivated by recognition, a sense of achievement, the
nature of actual work and being given extra respon-
sibilities (Herzberg). Those students constantly striving
for the best grades tended to identify their motiva-
tion as being able to work up the hierarchy of needs
(Maslow). However, findings showed that students
were in fact motivated by better and greater commu-
nication, greater management involvement and work-
ing in teams and groups (Mayo), even though they did
not identify this in their feedback.
Motivation does impact achievement in BTEC but only to a certain extent - and is often dependent upon abil-
ity. Students who are more able are always highly motivated and have always achieved the highest possible
grade. Those who are less able but still motivated still achieve the highest possible grade. However, those who
are less able and less motivated can experience a dip in achievement.
There is a clear benefit to having guest presenters but this was dependent on the content being delivered. We
found the more sensitive topics should continue to be delivered by professionals in their field but other presen-
tations should be reviewed to determine whether they can be presented by progress tutors. This will enable us
to ensure the content is more relevant to their circumstance and age range. Students do not always recognise
the necessary timings of certain presentations (UCAS) however these are best placed within the scheme of
learning.
Immediate access to the internet in the classroom is really important when motivating students. They benefit
from images and up to date information about customs, culture, celebrities, etc which will make them more curi-
ous about the language/vocabulary being used in lessons. It was found that individual research projects com-
pleted at home in order to make a presentation in front of the class make students more motivated by learning
certain topics in depth and attempting to improve the oral skills.
It was also found that students clearly benefit from the accessibility and availability of SEMH drop ins.
Finally, that the perceived motivation of the teacher had an effect on the motivation of students. Students com-
mented that untidy classrooms had a negative impact on student motivation as did when teachers did not stick
with an initiative they had attempted to introduce.
In summary all work pointed to the fact that extrinsic motivation can build intrinsic motivation and could encour-
age learners to follow the example provided for them.
 How best to stretch high ability learners?
REASONING BEHIND AREA OF INQUIRY: Stretch and challenge occurs constantly in the classroom, from open
questioning, discussions, exam questions and analysing data to higher skills of compare, evaluate and justify.
Other methods of stretch and challenge were tested to incorporate a challenging environment throughout the
student’s learning career not just in the subject.

SUMMARY OF IMPLEMENTATION PHASE:

Each practitioner chose to test a different
stretch and challenge strategy for their sub-
ject. Feedback was acquired from the stu-
dents via questionnaires and discussions.
These included:
 Visiting speakers
 Challenge walls
 Challenge guide
 Trips

FINDINGS AND IMPACT: The main pitfall in gauging rigorous student feedback is asking the right questions
and using the appropriate language.
The introduction of speakers did encourage students to challenge their views on future progression, however
the impact on the student was dependent on the type of talk e.g. subject specific careers were more beneficial
in encouraging students to aim higher.
Decorating the classroom with challenge walls can easily be implemented and changed for each topic taught.
Students enjoy variety and it can create competition. This method needs to be advertised to encourage learn-
ers to take part, maybe by using a visible tracker of achievement could be an inspiration to all and not just the
highly motivated students.
Providing a challenge guide for students to complete is another simple addition and can also be subject specif-
ic. However requesting mandatory completion with regular updates of progress and consequences of inactivi-
ty would make this method more valuable.
External trips were enjoyed by all students, but to be successful there must be subject specific resources and
activities to give the students a sense of achievement and be able to understand the importance of challenging
themselves throughout their learning experience.
 How can group work be effective in the learning process?
REASONING BEHIND AREA OF INQUIRY: Group work is the most relevant topic for each of the teachers in
the group and each team member agreed that this was of most interest. Based on the evidence based research
it is understood that group work is a successful platform for learning and it should lead to good outcomes both
for learning and social development. Research found that students work ‘in’ groups but not ‘as’ groups. Group
work maximising student’s experience (Nokes-Malach et al., 2015).
Teams Vs groups- which is more effective for different outcomes
How does group work affect behaviour?

SUMMARY OF IMPLEMENTATION PHASE: Each team member implemented a new group based assessment
or task to check for level of learning taking place and new knowledge being learnt. The effectiveness of each
task was discussed throughout the action research process with team members and via student feedback.
The first aspect of the research was to change the question to a more suitable one in line with our preferred
intentions – changing to ‘Which group work strategies are most effective in the learning process at Connell
College?’

FINDINGS AND IMPACT: The following information shows the groups activities used and their impact.
Speed dating: Students enjoyed the concept and likened the task to love island. Most 1st and 2nd year CITC
students bought into the task and less confident students started to interact more as a result of the nature of the
task.
Silent Debate: Easy to manage, non-verbal task allows for more creative thinking but lacks the group interac-
tion and relationship building between group members during verbal instruction. Non-roles during the task
could be an issue.
Noughts and crosses: Questions within the table, each group takes it in turns to win the square in order to form
three in a row. Promotes competition and group bonding, aiding differentiated questions and enabling higher
level questions to stretch and challenge.
Conclusions: The results showed that 72.2% of students agreed that they enjoyed group work, 55.6% stated
group work helps them learn and a further 83.3% listed communication skills as the number 1 skill being devel-
oped most during group work in class. As a research group it was found that structured worked better than
random groups. However, issues such as lack of contributions and general talking were reasons for dislike of
group work with only 5% of students not enjoying this type of task. It is thought that group work is a successful
platform for learning and can be a powerful pedagogical choice when coupled with appropriate planning and
reflection, allowing students to be able to find their student voice and develop successful traits that allow them
to express themselves further (Hodges, 2017).
How far does the use of virtual learning environments improve the learning experience
and outcomes of students?

REASONING BEHIND AREA OF INQUIRY: The idea behind our research was to evaluate if VLEs can improve
the learning experience for students. A lot of research has been carried out on the use of VLEs and there is a
wealth of educational literature which suggests they enhance the learning experience (www.itslearning.eu).
However, we wanted to see if this would be the case in this specific educational setting.

SUMMARY OF IMPLEMENTATION: We narrowed the focus of the question to consider only the learning expe-
rience, rather than outcomes. We collected data through diverse means such as a student voice and comments
on Youtube videos, or page counts from webpages.

FINDINGS AND IMPACT: Our key findings were that the learning experience was improved when stu-
dents had access to both course materials and teacher assessments digitally.
Our work group found that VLEs were more effective at improving the learning experience when students
had access to both teacher assessments and course materials on demand.
We found that some of the VLEs with built in assessment, often did not assess the range of skills required to
solve harder multi-step problems in Maths. However having access to lesson slides and resources enabled
learners to revise and be more independent with their study.
In Business Studies it was found that making content videos was measurably engaging through the use of
Youtube analytics and audience data, counting likes and views. Bespoke webpages such as a Wix page
were also used to organise course information in one place.

While CITC found that use of the platform Edubag enables access to all the information they required for
their course administration in addition to live data to inform practice.
Our group concluded that a VLE such as Moodle or Blackboard would provide a consistent approach across
the College to organising course materials, and would enable students to track their own progress in line with
teacher assessments and targets.
 Connell TLA In the News

Last week Maria attended a CPD event

which made it into the papers! The two
day conference was about the works of
a Spanish writer, Javier Marías, firm
candidate to be awarded with the No-
bel Prize in Literature. The conference
was organised by the Department of
Hispanic Studies at Oxford and Maria
was only charged for lunch both days
( £12/day ). The speakers were experts
on Spanish contemporary Literature from
all over the world: US, Poland, Holland,
Italy,... They discussed various aspects of
Javier Marías's works in detail and Maria says, “I learnt a lot.” The conference was at Keble College, and
dinner was held in its Hall. “I felt like Hermione Granger”.
At a time when the costs of CPD seem astronomical, it is good to know that there are some really valuable
events being held where development proper, rather than profits, are at the forefront. Hopefully Maria’s
experience has inspired you to seek out some less conventional, yet hugely rewarding, opportunities for
CPD.

Action Research 2019-20

As we join the Coop Academies Trust, we would like to take this opportunity to ensure our TLA CPD offering not only
meets the needs of both our teachers and students, but also takes into consideration our place within the wider
Cooperative framework. Therefore, Action Research 2019-20 will take on a more cooperative vibe. There will be
much more information to follow in August, however you may want to start thinking about the various research
focuses below and how they may give you the opportunity to enhance your teaching practice, student outcomes &
experiences, your subject and faculty.
Staff will be required to select from one of the following research topics:
 Cooperation between learners in the classroom
Suitable for all teachers.
 Cooperation with teachers within Connell Co-op College
Suitable for teachers where there is more than one teacher in the college teaching the same subject, year
group & lessons.
 Cooperation with teachers beyond Connell College
Suitable for teachers who are ‘lone-teachers’ in their specific subject.
 Cooperation with parents and the community
Suitable for all teachers.
 Cooperative lesson review
Suitable for teachers who are happy to be filmed, would like to share their practice
and review others.