Consulting secondary school pupils about their learning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who were the children in the study?

Secondary school pupils taught by 20 teachers

Classes from 4 schools

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

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?

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?

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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