Principles into practice: A teacher's guide to research evidence on ...

15recognises the importance ofprior experience and learning3Few people these daysthink that children arriveat school as “empty vessels”<strong>to</strong> be filled withknowledge. The principleof starting where children“are” and helping them <strong>to</strong> moveon is widely recognised.Never-the-less, with a class of 25 or30, it can be difficult <strong>to</strong> determineeach one’s starting point. The EPSEproject has found that carefullydesigned <strong>to</strong>ols, underpinned bysolid <strong>research</strong>, can quickly“diagnose” children’sunderstanding of key scienceideas and inform what the teacherdoes next.Pressure <strong>to</strong> cover an overloadedcurriculum makes it harder forteachers <strong>to</strong> find the time <strong>to</strong>diagnose individual chidren’sneeds, and a number of TLRPprojects challenged teachers’assumptions about some groups ofchildren. Teachers involved in theDeveloping Inclusive Practices inSchools project in England andWales began <strong>to</strong> see that they couldhelp change pupils’ attitudes, selfesteemand engagement withlearning; these were not fixed.National policy is beginning <strong>to</strong>recognise that local culture andenthusiasms can be built <strong>in<strong>to</strong></strong> thecurriculum. Excellence and Enjoyment,the 2003 Primary Strategydocument, encouraged this, as doesthe revised KS3 programme.TLRP’s Home-School KnowledgeExchange aimed <strong>to</strong> tap andrecognise the fund of knowledgethat children can draw on in theirhomes, communities and ethniccultures. Meanwhile the Scottishstudy, learning with ICT in Pre-School Settings found that the socalled“digital divide” between welloffand poorer families is not assignificant as is sometimes assumed.requires the teacher <strong>to</strong>scaffold learning4Scaffolding in teachingis like scaffolding inbuilding work; itsupports theconstruction until thehouse (or the child’slearning) is secure enough <strong>to</strong> standon its own. This scaffold is built ofteachers’ knowledge of howchildren learn.Scaffolding is about teachersrecognising when they shouldintervene <strong>to</strong> help the child move on<strong>to</strong> a higher level of understanding.The TLRP ‘s Learning with ICT inPre-school Settings study found thatyoung children’s encounters withcomputers and other technologywere enhanced when practitionersstepped in <strong>to</strong> <strong>guide</strong> them. Teachersin turn learned more effectiveways <strong>to</strong> scaffold children’s learningthrough CPD.The InterActive Education studyalso concluded that ICT in theclassroom will not help learning onits own. “Without the support of ateacher, students are unlikely <strong>to</strong>develop their knowledge ofmathematical proof from theireveryday reasoning, knowledge ofthe Italian Renaissance fromknowledge of popular culture… orknowledge of science from gamelikesimulation software,” the<strong>research</strong>ers say.They found that students workingon computers on their own for anextended period of time may comeup with odd information, ormisapply rules. For instance somesecondary pupils using the internet<strong>to</strong> <strong>research</strong> the Renaissance werereading about somewhere calledFlorence in the USA.needs assessment <strong>to</strong> becongruent with learning5Assessment should helpadvance learning as well asdetermine whetherlearning has taken place.This may sound obvious,but many teachersinvolved in TLRP projects havecomplained that the assessmentsystem in England militates againstgood learning. When staff end up“teaching <strong>to</strong> the test” rather thanteaching <strong>to</strong> the principles theybelieve in (and the government saysit endorses), something is not right.However, TLRP findings havebegun <strong>to</strong> influence policy. The new21 st Century Science GCSE courselaunched in September 2006, isbased on EPSE <strong>research</strong>, and meldscontent and assessment in acoherent way.The project on pupil consultation,in England, has shown that beingable <strong>to</strong> talk about their own learninghelps students become better able <strong>to</strong>manage it, more confident andpositive about education and able <strong>to</strong>contribute <strong>to</strong> the development of theschool. This pupil engagement givesteachers a deeper insight <strong>in<strong>to</strong></strong> theirpupils’ capabilities. A relatedproject, on assessment in NorthernIreland, makes the point that suchconsultation is an obligation underthe UN Convention on the Rights ofthe Child.The Learning How <strong>to</strong> Learnstudy concluded that the ultimategoal of assessment for learning is <strong>to</strong>promote learning au<strong>to</strong>nomy so thatpupils can reflect on where they areand where they need <strong>to</strong> go, and thenact in such a way as <strong>to</strong> get there.ene <strong>to</strong> help the child move on <strong>to</strong> a higher level of understanding”s