Bedlingtonshire Knowledge Transfer Partnership: Changing

Gear in Teaching and Curriculum

David Leat, Newcastle UniversityD.J.K.Leat@ncl.ac.uk

Kieran McGrane, Headteacher Bedlingtonshire Community High School

Context • Two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between Newcastle University and Bedlingtonshire Community HS

• KTP is Europe's leading programme helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills … .

• New head teacher (Kieran McGrane) in 2006;• KTP Associate, academic supervisor, industrial (!) supervisor;• January 2008: 7 teachers, January 2009: further 6 teachers;• Two cohorts of student researchers• Aim (i): To develop an assessment framework for enquiry skills• Aim (ii): To develop more enquiry teaching

Key messages

• If we want real change in learning outcomes – we have to change the learning conditions for teachers to allow them to think and act differently – the concept of working space;

• To do that one needs significant human capacity (KTP associate) to support change (time, nagging, mistakes, emotions and all);

• University partnerships are one way to do that

• Enquiry is any process to resolve doubt, answer a question or solve a problem;

• Well represented in primaries by Philosophy for Children & Mantle of the Expert;

• Well represented in secondaries (in theory) by scientific and geographical enquiry;

• So parts of the curriculum are driven by students’ questions, not pre-determined outcomes.

What is enquiry?

Self-Assessment Framework

• It is based on a framework of metacognitive knowledge and skills;

• Knowledge of (i) self • (ii) task/problem types • (iii) useful tools and strategies;• Skills of (i) managing disposition (Habits of Mind) • (ii) planning and checking • (iii) refining;

Pupil views on enquiry lessons

Changing self-theories of students

Yeah – it has made me think about what I can do and want to do when I leave, it has given me more confidence

I didn’t know learning was like this – it’s really good because I

know what I can do more – to get better at things

I have explained to my little cousin who is in primary and my mum about the meetings and the cards and what we do

with them and my mum says it will be good in the long run

Changing language for learningWe spent about half a lesson having a conversation

about them (HoM) and asking people who were in the KTP project to help explain what they meant to others

in the class. I think he asked me to explain what ‘thinking interdependently’ was.

We do training and we take pictures (with mobile phones or digital cameras) when we see something

with the Habits of Mind …. You upload your photos off the phone and say where you have had enquiry.

Changing relationships with teachersStudents are aware of teachers’ tensions and struggle

They are used to their old teaching methods so they don’t enjoy enquiry as much as they enjoy doing

lessons they used to do …

They have been teaching one way for so many years so they’ve got used to it and it could take a while for

them …

Teachers’ views

As a result of the project the students now see me as a bit more approachable, and I can still have awful times with them, but I have far more good times and I do feel that the students

in there who have always wanted to learn are feeling now they are learning .

I am not as rigid a teacher as I was – it has pushed me into

doing things in new ways. I am more of a risk taker.

Teacher interviews: What helped the teachers with innovating?

• 11 of the 13 teachers referred to the ‘toolkit’ as important in their engagement with change and enquiry teaching:

• I regularly use the toolkit and I use it with every group that I have got – right to sixth form;

• I use a lot of the toolkit all of the time. I use Odd one out, 8Qs all the time – it is good for exam questions, diamond ranking – all the time, target board;

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Socio-cultural context• There were four elements that were very visible in a very

supportive context. Eleven teachers mentioned ‘Anna’ the KTP associate, many seeing her as vital :

• I don’t think the project would have worked if Anna hadn’t been in school;

• Anna – I can’t praise her enough. She has also given us reading;• Anna has been fantastic – she is truly a driving force – she pushes

you on and this has been necessary. She has been very supportive.• She has supported their planning, videoed them so that they could

reflect upon the lesson, consoled, provided reading, placated ... this support .. has given some individuals a ‘leg up’ in surmounting personal barriers or negative experiences.

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Plus: SLT, Peers & Students

• SLT: Our head is very much behind the project and says give things a go – if they work – fantastic – if they don’t, don’t worry. I feel there is a culture in the school of giving new things a go. The fact there is a group of trying these things out has helped and so you know there are other people giving it a go.

• Peers: Other members of the group have been good to talk to … Over the year some individual teachers have demonstrated how to use some of the toolkit, and that has helped. I had felt a barrier – I can’t use these, but it made me aware of how I could use them, which made me go and use them and then love using them;

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Student support

Students: Bill, for example, after a ‘horrible’ lesson explained how he consulted the students:

• At the beginning of the next lesson we talked about it and I said how could we make sure it didn’t happen next time? They came up with ideas, how to improve – “give us some instructions, but not all, give the demo closer to the lesson – not a gap of a week”. I have tried that since and it works really well. And:

• With the student researchers you almost have these secret smiles – ‘I know why you are doing this and that’s really good’ because it does build up this mutual support within the lesson.

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Degrees of change

We see four levels in teachers related to:• Surface practice – use the tools;• Pedagogical approach – enquiry style;• Curriculum – enquiries planned in all core and

some foundation subjects – many teachers also shifting beliefs;

• Education, school and society (power, school design, curriculum, autonomy).

RCfLaT, BERA Conference, Manchester, 2009 15

Connect – Sugata Mitra

• My colleague Sugata Mitra has developed the concept of Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLES);

• 4 students, 1 computer, collaborative working, hard (enquiry) questions and all students have to know the answer;

• This has been trialled locally and in Bedlington and is a next step in developing enquiry based learning.

Do you want to see enquiry based learning in action? Are you interested in developing a formative assessment framework for enquiry skills?

Would you benefit from advice and support from practitioners and students?

The Federation of Bedlingtonshire Community High School and West Sleekburn Middle School

is hosting a series of visitor days on Transforming Learning at Key Stage 3: enquiry based learning and a formative self-assessment framework for enquiry skills.

16 October 20 October 6 November20 November 24 November 4 December

Full details are available on the school website: www.bchs.uk.net. Alternatively, ring 01670 822625 extension 223 and Sara Atkinson will answer your queries.