Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Index

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1 Literacy Assessment Information

2 Literacy Assessment Examples

3 Literacy Interventions

4 Metacomprehension Strategies

5 Maths Assessment Information

6 Maths Assessment Examples

7 Maths Interventions

8 Memory Strategies/Interventions

9 Research Review – Sutton Toolkit

10 Research Review – John Hattie Visible Learning

11 Haring’s Hierarchy of Learning

The Following Sections are within the SEMH section of the Toolkit but have links here due to their impact on learning. Clicking below will take

you to the SEMH informationnavigation index.

12 Emotional Well-Being for Learning

13 Feedback, Recognition and Praise

14 Growth Mindset – the research around the importance of Growth Mindset

15 Self-Efficacy

16 Self-Esteem

1 Literacy Assessment Information

Formative assessments

Assessment for Learning: regular skills-based assessments are most useful to inform teaching (gap analysis) Detailed analysis should be carried out to identify which skills a pupil has, and has not yet learnt to the level of automaticity. In order to avoid assumptions about what the pupil knows, it is often best to ‘start at the very beginning’.

Assessment should include the following:

Discussion with pupil about their views on attainment/progress – then ‘so what?’ – how to use the information? Emotional factors that may be impacting on pupil and their progress Eyesight and hearing checks

Oral language skills: e.g. vocabulary development, listening comprehension, expressive language (grammar and narrative production),inferencing, question generation (see Speech and Language section of the Provision Guidance click here)

Concepts about print

Phonological awareness, e.g. oral segmentation and synthesis of VC, CVC, CVCC and CCVC words (C = Consonant, V = Vowel)

Reading and writing letter sounds of the alphabet

Reading and writing phonic and sight words using structured lists of key letter patterns and words

Reading and writing of morphemes

Reading book accuracy rate of at least 90%

Reading behaviour/miscue analysis

Analysis of spelling error type/frequency

Handwriting – formation of individual letters, joins

Ongoing analysis of discrete skills known throughout the English curriculum

Skills in generalising and applying discrete skills to different contexts (e.g. reading words in different contexts, using ‘spellings’independently in writing composition tasks)

Comprehension of what is read, through discussion using a range of question types about the text.

Summative assessments

Pros and cons

Advantage: can be one source of information to monitor progress over time.

Disadvantage: Are only a snapshot of performance on one day, which can be affected by many factors.

Standardised tests – the following must be considered Date standardised (must be recent, within last 5-10 years) Standardisation sample age range Standardisation sample number Standardisation sample representatives (age, gender, ethnicity, EAL, SEN) Statistical Validity and Reliability Anglicisation of American tests – concepts/curriculum Large ‘jumps’ in scores raw scores, age equivalent etc (e.g. 1 more question correct raises age equivalent score by many months?) All tests measure slightly different skills and therefore scores cannot be directly compared

Standardised tests vary in terms of quality and accuracy

Scores

Standardised (or Standard) scores indicate the degree to which an individual’s score varies from the average for people of the same age.Usually, the overall average (mean) standardised score is 100 and the general average range is 85-115. The intervals are evenlyspaced, making comparison between pupils both valid and reliable and also allowing judgements to be made on rates of progress

Centile (or Percentile) scores indicate the percentage of individuals of the same age who would be expected to score at the same or alower level. Centile scores have an average of 50 and the general average range is 16-84. However, intervals between rankings are noteven, meaning they cannot be used to compare rates of progress

Age Equivalent scores indicate the average age of children/young people who typically would score at the same level as the individual

Standardised scores and centile scores are more accurate and specific than age equivalent scores.

Assessment where there are concerns about dyslexia

The nature and usefulness of the term ‘dyslexia’ continues to be debated. If there are concerns about dyslexia, the most valid assessment approach is to use ongoing detailed skills-based formative assessment (see above) which then informs appropriate classroom intervention. There should be an ongoing process of assessment and monitoring, through teaching, to improve progress and outcomes.

For a number of years, the international research consensus has been that a ‘one-off’ assessment and ‘diagnosis’ approach is no longer considered appropriate (e.g. British Psychological Society Working Party Report, 1999/2005). The usefulness of screening tests has been questioned (e.g. Rose, 2009, p43): “In general, evaluations of screening tests for dyslexia indicate that they do not predict later reading difficulties very well; other measures such as letter-knowledge and measures of phonological processing skill are, arguably, much better predictors. Most screening tests also produce high numbers of false positives and false negatives. Evaluations include: Simpson and Everatt (2005) and Guerin, Griffin, Gottfried and Christenson (1993).”

Assessment approaches should follow the Essex Dyslexia Policy (2011). http://secure.essexcc.gov.uk/vip8/si/esi/content/binaries/documents/Service_Areas/SENaPS/SEN_Protocols/FINAL_Dyslexia_policy_pdf_FINAL.

pdf

2 Literacy Assessment Examples

Name Date Publ Ished Or last Up- dated

Age range

Type/skills Individual/ Group How admin- istered

Parallel forms Available? i.e. A/B/C so can re-do over the year

Time Cost Standardisation sample N = ?

Publisher

Sound Linkage Phonological awareness

Phonological Assessment Battery

1997 6 -14 Phonological awareness

Individual N 30-40 minutes

Complete set £135 + VAT

Record Forms (Pack 10) £20 +VAT

600+ children GL assessment

Single Word Reading Test

2007 6-16 Single word Reading

Individual Y Untimed Complete Set £95 + VAT

1300+ children aged 5-16 yrs

GL assessment

Salford Sentence Reading 3rd Ed

2002 5-12 Sentence reading

Individual Y 4-5 minutes

£45.00 Specimen set

Manual £20

Record Sheet Pk10 £10.50

Comp cards A,B,C (pack 3) £15.00

Test cards A,B,C (set of

Apr/May 1999

6900 pupils

Hodder Tests

3) £15

York Assessment. of Reading Comprehension (YARC) Early Reading

2009, 2011

4-11 Word reading, letter sound knowledge and phoneme awareness.

Individual Y 20 minutes

Early Years Set £115.00 VAT

Record Forms (pack 10) £12 + VAT

662 children GL assessment

YARC Primary 2009, 2011

4-11 Passage reading accuracy, rate and comprehension

Individual Y 20 minutes

Complete set £220 + VAT

Passage Reading Set £125 + VAT

Passage Reading Record Forms (pack 10) £22.50 + VAT

1376 GL assessment

YARC Secondary*

2010 11-16 Passage reading accuracy, rate and comprehension

Individual Y 20-30 minutes

Complete set £200 + VAT

Passage Reading Record Forms (pack 10) £22.50 + VAT

1230 GL assessment

Hodder Group Reading Test (1-3)

First pub 2000

5-16 (5-9, 7-12, 9.5-

Comprehension at word, sentence and text levels

Either / whole class

Y 30-35 minutes

Tests 1-3 Manual £35

Tests 1-3

2005/6

5982 pupils

Hodder Tests

Last updated 2007

16+) Spec Set £40 Tests 1-3 Scorer / Profiler CD-ROM £150 + VAT

Test 1-3 Form A & B £13.50 per set / per test level (10 copies)

Single Word Spelling Test

June 2000

5 -14 Spelling attainment

Either N 30 minutes

Complete Set £95 + VAT

800+ children for each test / age

GL Assessment

Graded Word Spelling Test 3rd Edition

First 1975 Updated 2006

5-18+ Spelling attainment & progress

Both / whole class

20-30 minutes

Test booklet £26.50

2005/6 Engl. & Wales, 3716 pupils aged 6-25 March 2006 an extra 384 5/6 year olds

Hodder Tests

*Caution: starting passage is often very difficult for students with reading difficulties – usually above their skill level, and therefore of questionable

validity for these students.

3 Literacy Interventions

Brooks (2013) What works for children and young people with literacy difficulties? The effectiveness of intervention schemes

Professor Greg Brooks compared the effectiveness of common intervention schemes for pupils with literacy difficulties. Some available interventions and research were excluded by his literature search criteria, which included the need for the scheme to be a catch-up intervention not an initial and/or preventative scheme, and the need for suitable statistical data to be available for comparison.

For a summary There is a summary grid at the end of this section. It may need zooming in to explore individual sections.

For the related website www.interventionsforliteracy.org.uk

For the full document http://www.interventionsforliteracy.org.uk/widgets_GregBrooks/What_works_for_children_fourth_ed.pdf

For supporting oral language skills as the basis for literacy learning Reading comprehension difficulties are often caused by oral language comprehension difficulties (e.g. Muter et al, 2004). Effective interventions to support reading comprehension include those which develop the following skills (see also the Speech and Language section in the Provision Guidance):

Vocabulary development

Listening comprehension

Figurative language

Spoken narrative (telling stories from pictures)

Metacognitive strategies (click here for example questions)

For phonological awareness The Ultimate Guide to Phonological Awareness (click here)

Sound Linkage

For letter/sound knowledge Precision Teaching

For word reading Precision Teaching

AcceleRead AcceleWrite

For reading accuracy and fluency Paired Reading

For reading comprehension Reciprocal Teaching

Accelerated Reader Programme

Metacomprehension questioning (click here)

For spelling Precision Teaching

Cued Spelling

AcceleRead AcceleWrite

For writing composition Paired Writing

Self-Regulated Strategy Development

For handwriting The Teodorescu Perceptuo-motor Programme: Write from the Start (Teodorescu and Addy, 1998)

For training The Essex Educational Psychology Service regularly provides training for schools on some of the most effective evidence-based literacy interventions, which do not require specialist materials.

For more information, contact eps@essex.gov.uk These include:

Intervention Main skills focus Cued Spelling Spelling

Paired Reading Reading accuracy and fluency

Paired Writing Writing composition

Precision Monitoring Reading/spelling of letter sounds and words

Reciprocal Teaching/Reading Reading comprehension

Self Regulated Strategy Development Writing composition and metacognitive strategies

Where there are concerns about dyslexia The nature and usefulness of the term ‘dyslexia’ continues to be debated. If there are concerns about dyslexia, the most valid intervention approach is to use ongoing detailed skills-based formative assessment which then informs appropriate classroom intervention. There should be an ongoing process of assessment and monitoring, through teaching, to improve progress and outcomes.

Schools should follow the Essex Dyslexia Policy (2011) which gives details about the Role of the School, and what intervention should involve. https://schools-

secure.essex.gov.uk/Service%20Areas/Special%20Educational%20Needs%20and%20Additional%20Educational%20Needs/Documents/FINAL

_Dyslexia_policy_pdf_FINAL.pdf

For training For training courses about dyslexia, and the Dyslexia Audit offered by the Essex Specialist Teacher Team, click here.

6 Metacomprehension Strategies

5 Maths Assessment Information

Formative assessments

Assessment for Learning: regular skills-based assessments are most useful to inform teaching. Detailed analysis should be carried out to identify which skills a pupil has, and has not yet learnt to the level of automaticity. In order to avoid assumptions about what the pupil knows, it is often best to ‘start at the very beginning’ in assessing early skills.

Assessment should include the following:

Discussion with pupil about their views on attainment/progress – then ‘so what?’ – how to use the information?

Skills progression throughout early number work, e.g. within 1-5, 1-9, 1-10, 1-20, 1-100

Counting: rote counting, rational counting, backward counting

Number identification: recognition of numerals, reading numerals, matching numerals and sets, writing numerals, comparing numbers

Addition and subtraction: counting/using objects, reading and writing +/- signs

Multiplication and division: counting/using objects, reading and writing ×/÷ signs

Ongoing analysis of discrete skills known throughout the whole of the maths curriculum

Skills in generalising and applying discrete skills to different contexts/problems Emotional factors that may be impacting on pupil and their progress.

The Primary National Strategy Wave 3 materials for mathematics emphasise individualised diagnosis of the errors and misconceptions shown by children with significant difficulties, specific or non-specific, with mathematical learning. The Sandwell assessment (see below) also provides formative assessment of maths skills.

Summative assessments

Pros and cons

Advantage: can be one source of information to monitor progress over time

Disadvantage: Are only a snapshot of performance on one day, which can be affected by many factors.

Standardised tests – the following must be considered Date standardised (must be recent, within last 5-10 years) Standardisation sample age range Standardisation sample number Standardisation sample representatives (age, gender, ethnicity, EAL, SEN) Statistical Validity and Reliability Anglicisation of American tests – concepts/curriculum Large ‘jumps’ in scores raw scores, age equivalent etc (e.g. 1 more question correct raises age equivalent score by many months?) All tests measure slightly different skills and therefore scores cannot be directly compared

Standardised tests vary in terms of quality and accuracy

Some maths assessments rely more on language skills than others.

Scores

Standardised (or Standard) scores indicate the degree to which an individual’s score varies from the average for people of the same age.Usually, the overall average (mean) standardised score is 100 and the general average range is 85-115. The intervals are evenlyspaced, making comparison between pupils both valid and reliable and also allowing judgements to be made on rates of progress

Centile (or Percentile) scores indicate the percentage of individuals of the same age who would be expected to score at the same or alower level. Centile scores have an average of 50 and the general average range is 16-84. However, intervals between rankings are noteven, meaning they can not be used to compare rates of progress

Age Equivalent scores indicate the average age of children/young people who typically would score at the same level as the individual

Standardised scores and centile scores are more accurate and specific than age equivalent scores.

Assessment and concerns about dyscalculia

Dowker (2009) and Gillum (2012) note in their research reviews that:

• there is still much debate as to what dyscalculia is; whether and when the term should be used; and whether it should be seen as aseparate disorder or the lower end of a continuum of ability or achievement in mathematics;

• the most valid assessment approach regarding concerns about maths difficulties is to use ongoing detailed skills-based formativeassessment (see above) across the whole maths curriculum which then informs appropriate intervention. There should be an ongoingprocess of assessment and monitoring, through teaching;

• maths difficulties are highly susceptible to intervention, which should be put in place as early as possible.

Appropriate assessment therefore currently focuses not on ‘dyscalculia’ as such, but on each child’s specific maths difficulties.

6 Maths Assessments Examples

Name Date Age range

Type/ skills

Individual/ Group

Parallel forms available

Time Cost Standard-isation sample

Publisher

Sandwell Early Numeracy Test – revisedSENT-R

SENT KS2-3

2011

2012

4-8

8-14

Formative and summative info - Early numeracy skills: identification, oral counting, value, object counting and language

Individual Y

N

10-30 minutes

SENT-R online Marking Tool (1 year licence) & Complete Set £150 + VAT

SENT-R online Marking Tool (1 year licence) £35 + VAT

SENT-R Pupil Booklets Form A & B (pk10) £20 + VAT

SENT KS2-3 Complete Set & 1 year OMT Licence £150 + VAT

SENT KS2-3 1 year OMT Licence £35 + VAT

SENT KS2-3 Student Response Booklet & Scoring (pack of 10)

1568 students in 17 schools

1500

GL Assessment

£20 + VAT

Numeracy Progress Tests

2000 1:5-8

2:7-11

Summative -

Standardised scores

Group 40-45 1: 5-8 Manual £20

Sp* Set £22.50

Numeracy Baseline (10pk) £12

Test 1 & 2 (10pk) £12

2: 7-11 Manual £22.50

Sp* Set £25

Test 3,5,6 (10pk) £12

Numeracy Baseline: July 1998 170 pupils 22 school. Oct 1998 1719 yr1 pupils 52 schools. June 1999 retest 1549 NPT1 1549 pupils who had taken the baseline NPT2 separate 1132 pupils in 29 schools.

Hodder

Mathematics Assessment for Learning and Teaching

5-14 Formative and summative info

Group 45 KS 1 (5-7) Manual £35 Sp* Set £37.50

KS 2 (8-11) Manual £40 Sp* Set £45

Hodder

KS 3 (12-14) Manual £40 Sp* Set £45

Test Booklets (Reception to Year 9) (10pk) per year / per set £14

Progress in Maths

First published 2004

4-14 Formative and summative info

Group Part oral

N Untimed 1 for each level (4-14)

PiM Teacher Guide Pack £25

PiM Pupil Booklets (Pack 10) £15 + VAT

GL Assessment

7 Maths Interventions

Dowker (2009): What works for children with mathematical difficulties? The effectiveness of

intervention schemes

Summary Dr Anne Dowker investigated the effectiveness of common intervention schemes for pupils with maths difficulties. Some available interventions and research were excluded from her review, such as schemes designed to improve whole-class performance. She concluded that we are still at a much earlier stage for maths than for literacy, as regards our ability to compare levels of improvement with different mathematics intervention schemes, and that it is generally not possible to compare the effects of different interventions. This is mostly because available schemes lack appropriate evaluation and research (p15).

Conclusions and recommendations for intervention (p7)

Intervention schemes should involve assessments of children’s specific strengths and weaknesses within maths so that each individualchild’s weaknesses can be targeted effectively

Interventions should be individualised but in many cases they do not need to be very time-consuming or intensive to be effective

Interventions can take place at any time in a child’s school career, but ideally should take place relatively early (as maths difficulties canaffect performance in other areas of the curriculum, and to reduce the risk of children developing negative attitudes and anxiety aboutmaths)

Interventions that focus on the specific components with which a particular child has difficulty are likely to be more effective than ‘one sizefits all’ programmes.

For the full document

http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/2505/1/ma_difficulties_0008609.pdf

Other more recent evidence-based interventions

Intervention Evidence Essex Educational Psychology Service Maths Intervention (EPS MI)

For more information, contact eps@essex.gov.uk

Shown to double the rate of children’s progress in numerical skills, and improve maths reasoning skills. For lower achieving pupils up to National Curriculum Level 2, and can be used with older pupils.

A research-based intervention which was developed to address the identified gap in maths interventions noted by Dowker (2004/2009).

Develops understanding and skills in key domains of arithmetic: Counting; Place Value; Addition & Subtraction; and Multiplication & Division.

Essex results have been replicated in Devon, and the research paper is currently being submitted to a peer-reviewed research journal.

Numbers Count https://everychildcounts.edgehill.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/INTEVENTIONS_BOOKLET_WEB.pdf

https://everychildcounts.edgehill.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ECC-Annual-Report-2011-122.pdf

Where there are concerns about dyscalculia

“There is little evidence at present that children with specific mathematical difficulties are fundamentally different, or need to be taught in different ways, from children whose mathematical difficulties are linked more to other problems. In all cases of mathematical difficulties, children show considerable diversity of strengths and weaknesses within mathematics, and it is arguable that the nature of these specific strengths and weaknesses should be the main determining factor in the types of intervention that they receive.” (Dowker, 2009, page 6)

Dowker (2009) and Gillum (2012) note in their research reviews that

• There is still much debate as to what dyscalculia is; whether and when the term should be used; and whether it should be seen as aseparate disorder or the lower end of a continuum of ability or achievement in mathematics

• The most valid intervention approach regarding concerns about maths difficulties is to use ongoing detailed skills-based formativeassessment (see above) across the whole maths curriculum which then informs appropriate intervention. There should be an ongoingprocess of assessment and monitoring, through teaching

• Interventions should focus on the particular components of maths with which the child has difficulty rather than follow a set ‘programme’

• Maths difficulties are highly susceptible to intervention, which should be put in place as early as possible.

Appropriate intervention therefore currently focuses not on ‘dyscalculia’ as such, but on each child’s specific maths difficulties.

8 Memory Strategies and Interventions

Memory type Possible difficulties Example support strategies for everyone

Recognition recognise something as familiar (available).

Recall bringing a memory to consciousness at our own request – information has to be retrieved from a central store.

Assess level of learning of each skill using Haring’s Hierarchy of Learning.

Need ‘little and often practice’ to Fluency.

Cumulative learning – learn a small amount, then add tiny bit more information and practice ALL TOGETHER, then add a tiny bit more and practice ALL TOGETHER…..rpt, building up amount being learnt (eg. not 5 words one week, 5 different words the next week). Interleaved learning – frequent revisiting.

General strategies: Make a To Do list! Use a timer for ‘beat the clock’ fluency training.

Working memory the ability to hold and manipulate information in the mind over short periods of time.

Rarely volunteering answers and sometimes not answering direct questions.

Behaving as though you have not paid attention, for example forgetting part or all of instructions or messages.

Frequently losing your place in complicated tasks which you may eventually abandon.

Forgetting the content of messages and instructions.

Showing poor academic progress.

Ask directly about memory demands.

Reduce information to be understood and remembered, i.e. Shorter simpler sentences, shorter tasks.

Break tasks into steps, write steps down/draw.

Ways of marking your progress through a task (e.g. different coloured pens for different lines/words, ticks on a post-it/list)

Use memory strategies/aids.

Frequent rehearsal (eg. repeating quietly).

Click here for ‘Understanding Working Memory: A Classroom Guide’ (Gathercole and Alloway, 2007)

Episodic memory record of the episodes that have happened to you, i.e. personal experience, life events.

Forgetting having done something/ if you’ve done something.

Forgetting details of your experiences.

Telling someone something you’ve already told them.

‘I see, I hear, I do…..’; photos, objects, drama.

Experience using different senses.

Experience engaging different emotions (eg. surprise).

Experience using different locations.

Mnemonics – using a real/recalled situation in order to remember a detail.

Semantic memory main store of human memory concerned with meaning and facts.

Find it hard to see connections/categories.

Find it hard to make links with what already knows.

Can’t spell irregular letter strings.

Losing the thread of a storyline.

Organise material: use diagrams/lines/colours to link together key words/concepts.

Present information using diagrams rather than sentences (reduces need to access semantic memory through language/verbal memory and lifts working memory load).

Keywords: identify keywords of lesson, show relationships by diagram, give definition of each word, give icon for each definition (especially useful for Science, Geography).

First letter mnemonics: e.g. Never Eat Shredded Wheat; Does Olly Eat Sweets? (does); I Go Home Tonight ( - ight); Big Elephants.... Best if personalised, assumes secure letter-sound knowledge.

Mindmapping: record key words and show relationships between them with lines (semantic webs: key idea in middle and others around it)

Categorical clustering: organise objects/words into categories. E.g. equipment to collect, shopping lists.

Icons: e.g. visual timetables for pupils with ASD, Letterland image with each letter.

Procedural memory habitual practical activities/skills.

Forgetting jumper, coat, bookbag! Use frequent physical practice of routines rather than verbal instructions. Visual timetables.

Visual-spatial memory remembering where something is in relation to what’s around it.

Getting lost in a relatively unfamiliar building

Forgetting where you’ve put something – e.g. car keys, pencil

Having a ‘home’ for objects.

Mentally re-tracing a sequence of events to jog your memory.

Visual shorthand: making personal notes by drawing icons, to e.g. record sequence of instructions.

Face-name associations: matching name to something about them/their face.

Phonological/ verbal memory based on the perception and use of speech sounds (part of auditory memory).

Relate to hearing, understanding language e.g:Remembering what is said/ What to say/write

Understanding what is read

Difficulties with ’rote’ learning of lists, e.g. tables, number bonds, days of the week, months of the year

Writing essays (storing points and overall plan in memory)

Exams (poor memory for detail and organisation of essays)

Poor phonological awareness may lead to difficulties with phonological memory.

Organisational support: e.g. specific targets of what to bring to school when, bookmark checklists of what to remember – drawings on it.

Verbal support: short sentences, easily followed sequences.

Rehearsal and practice: overt/covert repetition, e.g. to a buddy of what have to do

Visual support: visual notetaking (icons) of key things to remember.

Rhymes: e.g. Henry 8th’s wives “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” – use of phrasing/cadences.

Alliteration: recognise and recall numbers e.g Sammy Snake for 6 (Barrett and Fleming, 1999) – similar to Letterland but not related to image.

Chunking: grouping information to effectively reduce load in working memory. E.g spelling – syllables, phone numbers.

Music/song: humming the tune can trigger recall, e.g. times tables, alphabet etc.

Visual memory for information that is visually presented, e.g. pictures, words, people.

Not recognise the same word later in a passage/book

Not be able to copy words/diagrams very easily

Encourage pupils to look carefully at the visual shape of difficult words, and discuss ways to remember the word.

Consider what the educational value of copying information is in each context.

Teach memory strategies using other types of memory that can be applied.

9 Research Review - Sutton Toolkit

Sutton Trust Toolkit

The Sutton Trust-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit is an accessible summary of educational research which provides guidance for teachers and schools on how to use their resources to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

The Toolkit currently covers 34 topics, each summarised in terms of their average impact on attainment, the strength of the evidence supporting them and their cost.

http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit

(scroll down for an example)

10 Research Review - John Hattie’s Visible Learning

John Hattie’s ground-breaking book Visible Learning (2009) synthesized the results of more than 15 years’ research involving millions of students and represented the biggest ever collection of evidence-based research into what actually works in schools to improve learning.

Hattie synthesised more than 800 meta-analyses (over 50,000 studies) encompassing the experiences of more than 80 million school-aged pupils across the English-speaking world. The book identified 136 classroom interventions and listed them in order of effectiveness, coming to the simple yet startling conclusion that the single most effective way to improve education is to raise the quality of the feedback pupils get and their interaction with teachers. It is pupils’ ability to assess their own performance and to discuss how they can improve with the teacher that makes the most difference. This was developed into the list of 150 influences on achievement in Hattie’s 2012 book Visible Learning for

Teachers: Maximising Impact on Learning.

For training For information on training courses about how to practically implement Hattie’s research in your school, contact the Essex Educational Psychology Service: eps@essex.gov.uk

For more information Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement (Hattie, 2009) Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning (Hattie, 2012) Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn (Hattie, 2014)

The Top 15 interventions (Hattie, 2012, Visible Learning for Teachers)

1 Student self-assessment

2 Piagetian programs (teaching appropriate for student’s stage of development)

3 Response to intervention

4 Teacher credibility

5 Providing formative evaluation

6 Micro-teaching

7 Classroom discussion

8 Comprehensive interventions for students with additional/special educational needs

9 Teacher clarity

10 Feedback

11 Reciprocal teaching

12 Teacher-student relationships

13 Spaced vs mass practice

14 Metacognitive strategies

15 Acceleration (through curriculum)

11 Haring’s Hierarchy of Learning

Stage Description of Activity

Accuracy

Acquiring the skill

Fluency

Can perform the skill at speed

Maintenance

Can perform the skill without regularpractice

Generalisation

Can use the skill in a variety of contexts

Adaptation

Can adapt the skill to the context

Learning names of pedals and instruments and what they do. Movements are not always accurate, jerky in nature. Need high level of instruction and feedback; help to process information and develop accuracy in the skill.

Can perform manoeuvres fluently and accurately with regular practice on familiar roads. Some instruction/feedback still required.

Can drive fluently after a period of no practice or instruction in familiar car and area.

Can drive without being conscious of all the necessary sub-skills. Can drive in unfamiliar areas or different models of car in a variety of weather conditions.

Can drive left hand drive/automatic in foreign country. Can rally / race / go kart.

A new model of learning adapted from White and Haring (1980)

Level of learning General description General teaching Suggested assessment procedures

ACQUISITION Emphasising accuracy To teach pupils correct new responses and help pupils avoid / unlearn incorrect responses

Assessing levels of accuracy attained

FLUENCY Combining speed and accuracy

To help pupils reach the required (or appropriate) level of mastery of the

Assessing progress towards agreed levels of fluency

skill(s)

MAINTENANCE Maintaining fluency To help pupils to maintain a high level of fluency over a period of time

Assessing levels of skill retention and fluency over a period of time

GENERALISATION Changing materials or context for required skill

To help pupils performing skill(s) fluently to achieve mastery in different settings/contexts and with different materials

Assessing effect of: a) using different

teaching materials(differentiation)

b) using differentcontexts(discrimination)

APPLICATION (OR ADAPTATION)

Adapting skill / knowledge repertoire to new problem situations

To help pupils to discriminate key elements of new situations and provide appropriate responses

Assessing the level of adaptation e.g. using the problem solving or simulation exercises