High leverage pedagogical approaches in the Further

Education sector

Philippa Cordingley & Paul Crisp

Methodology

• Synthesis across 2 parallel strands of evidence:

a review of international evidence in relation to general and vocational pedagogy, staff development and leadership approaches underpinning effective teaching and learning; and

Contextualised via analysis of over 160 of FE practitioner research and enquiry outputs.

• Practitioner research and enquiry outputs were analysed and coded to identify emerging common themes and patterns emerging as concerns/ issues amongst practitioners

• We also mapped these themes onto key findings from the academic research reviews re high leverage approaches to teaching and learning in various contexts (e.g. Hattie, 2009; Bennett et al, 2004; Higgins et al, 2005)

Overview • Our analysis suggests that some of the teaching

and learning strategies known to be powerful in supporting positive learner outcomes: are widely recognised and effectively used in the FE

sector (e.g. contextualisation of learning, support of independent and peer learning)

whilst others remain less well known and implemented; and therefore

offer potential levers for strengthening practice in the sector (e.g. Challenging, AfL, meta-cognitive and thinking skills)

Key approaches • Making learning meaningful /relevant by creating and making

use of real and stimulated contexts

• Helping learners’ take responsibility for their learning remains a priority in FE ( and schools ) - linked with learner engagement

• Collaborative and peer-assisted learning.

• Making use of formative assessment, also known as assessment for learning (AfL).

• Analytical and critical thinking skills – ‘no less needed by vocational learners than academic counterparts’ (Faraday et al 2011;)

• Challenging learners - designing teaching and learning to elicit students’ best efforts - to enable them to think and act in transferable and progressively more complex, critical, creative and independent ways

Contextualisation Making learning meaningful /relevant by creating and making use of real and stimulated contexts – FE examples include:

• Health & social care learners’ work experience in engaging with young people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Benefits included overcoming apprehensions and improved knowledge of and confidence about working with people with disabilities and attitudes to them.

• Art and design learners’ experiences of working to a brief (and deadline) by simulated ‘clients’ to produce t-shirts, bags etc for a college event.

Focussed on a meaningful purpose/ art and design products,

learners used prior knowledge and skills,

produced items without tutors’ involvement and

learned about time management and remaining ‘professional at all times’.

Independent learning • Helping learners’ take responsibility for their learning

remains a priority in FE ( and schools ) – often linked with learner engagement

• The key feature is the shift of responsibility to the learner

• Does not merely involve learners working alone, requires active practitioner scaffolding and design

• Involves learners ( and practitioners) acquiring an understanding of learning process, being motivated to learn and collaborating with practitioners to structure their learning environment (Meyer et al. 2008)

Promoting independent learning in FE: some examples

•Modelling for learners how to keep their work organised:

Providing ring binders with resources and tools structured in line with the exam specifications. Plus explanation/ illustration of the way the folders relate to exam structures, revision techniques and links to useful websites and resources

• Offering more choice

(re about which materials and resources to use)plus explicit teaching of specific strategies (e.g. compiling) for problem solving.

• Involving learners in reflection about their learning.

Over 3 weeks, learners involved in working in pairs and small groups to discuss the key elements of independent learning.

Self-regulated learning strategies discussed and evaluated. Thoughts and suggestions synthesised into a class toolkit.

Peer support • Peer support is highly effective ( Sutton Trust toolkit)

• Peer feedback is commonly used by effective vocational and adult education practitioners involved in this research :

Some experimented with online, shared workspaces where learners can upload writing and comment on others’ work

Depth of understanding of assessment criteria was key to success

Approach worked particularly well for learners needing to develop essay writing skills, provide explanations or offer detailed responses is part of the assessment requirements

Practitioners identified some challenges to using peer-marking.

Although most learners were positive about the method, some not impressed because they viewed marking work to be a teacher’s responsibility.

Peer-teaching in FE: some examples

• Peer-teaching in mathematics: the learners worked together using a set of resources which included: fully annotated solutions questions for students to solve, and extension questions to encourage discussion

• A similar peer-teaching approach used in English. First the learners responded to a series of teacher

questions, using voting technology. The software collated this data and identified each learner’s strengths and weaknesses.

For each topic, the learners were divided into groups, with those who achieved the highest scores being given a teaching role for a 2.5 hour revision session.

Potential levers: AfL

• Formative assessment aka assessment for learning (AfL) widespread in FE. But often involves techniques rather than full potential ie sue of results to alter/ refine teaching/ learning experiences Sachdev et al. (2007)

• Examples of effective practices include:

Effective questioning that probes students’ understanding

Comment-only marking that structures students’ learning

Sharing criteria with students to develop understanding

Peer assessment that helps students learn how to give and take constructive criticism and advice that helps them progress (Torrance et al. 2005)

Potential levers: thinking skills development and meta-cognition

Analytical and thinking skills used to distinguish vocational from ‘academic’ education (Education International 2009). Increasing agreement that:

‘...analytical and critical thinking skills are no less needed by vocational learners than their academic counterparts and that vocational learning is no less intelligent’ (Faraday et al 2011; p 79)

Thinking and meta-cognitive awareness important vocational learning outcomes per se and is linked with additional benefits - Thinking skills programmes and approaches help improve learner performance. Overall effect size (for cognitive, curricular and affective measurements- 0.74 (Higgins et al. 2005; p3). But some evidence that the vocational learning environment is challenging for developing thinking skills. Problems relate to:

• readiness of teachers and students

• design and content of courses,

• the learning environment and

• institutional support (Van Grinsven & Tillema 2006).

Potential levers: Challenge Surprisingly academic research and evidence from voc-ed practice offer little re challenge even though it is key to learner progress

Irrespective of ability, challenging learners means designing teaching and learning to elicit from students their best efforts and to enable them to think and act in ways that are transferable which are progressively more complex, critical, creative and independent (CUREE 2009). This research review suggests that principles for constructing challenge similar for all learners, regardless of prior achievement and include:

• constructing challenge through differentiated tasks, • creating opportunities to learn from risk taking and failing as

well as succeeding and • developing materials and resources focussed on preparing for

challenge • processes that embed challenge such as collaborative enquiry

Potential levers: Challenge (2) • Individual ingredients for constructing challenge present in evidence

about teaching and learning in the sector e.g.: Personalisation Practitioners shifting to a more facilitative role Diagnostic activities, to establish’ starting points/ monitor progress

• But assessment and diagnostics in particular used as ends in themselves not as a foundation for challenging learning experiences.

• Emphasis on self direction often related to independent study or learning attitudes rather than rebalancing responsibility in classrooms

• Collaborative inquiry and problem solving – rarely present in the evidence of teaching and learning in the sector.

• Lack of the explicit focus on challenging all learners and focussing approaches on that was particularly striking

• To find out more about CUREE’s evidence to the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning please click on: http://www.curee.co.uk/files/CUREE%20CAVTL%20submission%20abridged1.pdf

Contact Details

philippa.cordingley@curee.co.uk

@PhilippaCcuree

www.curee.co.uk Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in

Education

4 Copthall House

Station Square

Coventry CV1 2FL

024 7652 4036