Flagship Volume 2 - 2020

Flagship Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

2019

Issue 2

w: ags.bucks.sch.uk w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

Flagship Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice Issue 2

Published by Aylesbury Grammar School 2020 Aylesbury Grammar School Walton Road Aylesbury Bucks HP21 7RP Associate Assistant Headteacher Vanessa Beckley vbeckley@ags.bucks.sch.uk

AGS Research Team @AGSResearchEd AGS Headmaster @AGSHeadmaster www.ags.bucks.sch.uk

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Foreword by the Headmaster “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Sir Isaac Newton With the commitment of the research team and the diligence of their work, we are pleased to acknowledge the quotation by Sir Isaac Newton in 1675.

Through a genuine appreciation of research in the education field, applied with context, care and analysis, our staff are furnished with the opportunity to grow as professionals, to engage with education in a wider sphere and to further develop their passion and love of their subject. This connection between research and pedagogy has been forged through reflection, sharing and application. It provides us with the unique opportunity to develop our practice across the School, supported by our uncompromised curriculum and the promise to nurture the character of our students.

Aligning with the research of Dr Phil Cummins, keynote speaker in our recent IBSC Conference ‘The Pathway to Excellence: Becoming a Good Man’, character is why we do school; character is the whole work of a school; character education is best when it is deliberate, targeted and intentional. Through utilising that research in the classroom and using it to develop our students, the AGS community has shown itself able to apply resilience and ownership during this period of global change and uncertainty.

A committed staff within a culture of enquiry is essential to improve and strengthen our pioneering expertise.

Belonging to a research group of mutual support and of refined interest has synthesised each member’s pedagogy and professional experience. Leading with humility, but determined to ensure we all flourish.

I would like to applaud and thank the team for such an outstanding year, for showing such enthusiasm and setting the climate for future developments. With growing expertise, impact on practice and collaboration with local, national and international partners, our research journey is an exciting and valuable path of professional growth.

“Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.” Confucius Mark Sturgeon Headmaster AYLESBURY GRAMMAR SCHOOL

“This capacity to adapt and respond has helped the world navigate considerable uncertainty. The best decisions have been made on evidence not assumption.”

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Editor’s Note It is early July and along four sides of the neat patch of lawn the lavender heads nod. Bees drift across the blue and mauve flowers, finding their way down each side of the quadrangle, furry bodies dusted with pollen. The old quince tree has yet to fruit, and behind it, through the library glass, you can glimpse shelves of brightly coloured books patiently waiting for their pages to be turned again.

The playground is empty - no rogue football soaring over the library roof – and a summer stillness seems suspended over the site.

But make no mistake, our school is very much open. Across the county, teenage fingers are striking keyboards, responding to lessons in physics, chemistry, geography, maths created from scratch and sent over the frequencies. An English teacher is drumming up enthusiasm for the Bard; a modern languages teacher is chatting in French to her students; in a kitchen in Bierton a Year 8 is knocking up a family meal as a food tech challenge. Screencastify, Jamboard, Google Meet – just some of the ways students and teachers have adapted to an entirely new way of learning and teaching.

This capacity to adapt and respond has helped the world to navigate considerable uncertainty. The best decisions have been made on evidence not assumption. We have seen scientists working not in competition, but in collaboration, driven by a single purpose. The most useful data has been timely and accurate, offered in ways we can all understand. Charts, dashboards, visualisations, clear explanations of the R number, graphs of seven day rolling averages have enabled individuals to estimate risk to themselves and their loved ones and mitigate accordingly. Vulnerable populations have been identified and, where possible, resources allocated appropriately.

In fact, society has sharpened its relationship with public health data, using it to identify what might work best and why and to evaluate the impacts across wider society.

Back in September when the school research group met for the first time this academic year, we could not imagine the circumstances in which we were going to be publishing. Interestingly, two of the studies in this second Flagship publication centre on technology – the habits and characteristics of the most successful users of the languages app Quizlet, and the extent to which computer based adaptive technology can improve attainment in physics. You can also read about a possible correlation between participation in extra-curricular activities and academic attainment, or find out whether developing a student’s language might impact engagement, participation and depth of learning. We revisit projects initiated last year and consider their impact a year on, and one of our researchers has continued their journey with an MA in Education at UCL’s IoE. We remain united in our belief that the mobilisation of research, ongoing assessment of how interventions are working and making changes to our delivery where gaps are identified will enable every student to achieve the best in their learning, relationships and wider life.

Through research we will adapt. In autumn the quince will bear fruit. The bee will lay her eggs. And our boys will run across the playground again.

Vanessa Beckley Research Lead AYLESBURY GRAMMAR SCHOOL w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

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VANESSA BECKLEY Vanessa Beckley is Associate Assistant Headteacher, Research Lead, Initial Teacher Training Co-ordinator and English teacher at AGS. During the completion of this second journal, she has come to realise that a thorough enquiry by a network of dedicated, supportive and sociable teachers with an insatiable appetite for snacks will deliver the best outcomes for students in and out of the classroom. This year, Vanessa’s recommended read is “Rosenshine’s Principles in Action” written by Tom Sherrington with Oliver Caviglioli’s sensational and striking illustrations – sensible, practical and grounded in science.

NEIL GIBBS Neil Gibbs is a P.E. teacher at Aylesbury Grammar School and is currently head of Key Stage 3 P.E. This role includes the development of the curriculum and overseeing of the assessment process. By his own admission he is a self-confessed technology nerd looking to include tech into his lessons at every possible opportunity, and has recently taken on a digital learning leader role. Neil’s passion is in the development of and refinement of the curriculum, and he constantly seeks ways to enrich and enthuse the students in P.E. Having been inspired by Deci & Ryan’s work ‘Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness’, he has spent the last year completing his own action research in this area of study.

MARCUS TRAVERS Marcus Travers is a teacher of Geography at AGS, having joined in 2017 after completing a BSc in Geography at Exeter University. This year he has conducted an evidence-based research project on the link between participation in extracurricular activities and academic performance. The study ‘Does participation in extracurricular activities improve academic performance?’ explores this relationship in the context of Year 12s at AGS as well as looking at the wider benefits and barriers to extracurricular activities. Marcus’ research has been influenced by Juan Antonio Moriana’s work ‘Extra-curricular activities and academic performance in secondary students’.

JODIE DRAPER Jodie Draper is a Teacher of English at AGS, and as of January 2020, she was appointed to the newly created role of Literacy Lead. This year she has been focused on lifting an evidence-based literacy approach out of research and into real life. Jodie’s 2019 Flagship article co-authored with Andrew Skinner, ‘How can a whole-school approach to literacy benefit our students?’, has become ‘How to successfully implement a whole-school literacy policy’. The EEF Guidance Report ‘Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools’ has been a practical read alongside AGS’ own developing literacy strategy.

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Meet the research team

ANDREW SKINNER Andrew Skinner is just coming to the end of his 10th Year at AGS and is the current Head of English. He is keen to explore and understand the attainment gap seen nationally in English between boys and girls. Having been inspired by Geoff Barton’s ‘Don’t Call it Literacy’, he has spent the last year exploring the possible benefits of a whole-school approach to literacy alongside Jodie Draper.

AMBER FINN Amber Finn is a teacher of physics and Year 7 computer science. From a background in research encompassing biophysics, neuroscience and computational modelling she has a keen interest in using technology and research in her teaching. This has led to interest in investigating how technology can be best used to improve learning. She has been selected by the International Boys’ Schools Coalition to conduct an action research project on ‘Boys and Technology: New Horizons, New Challenges, New Learning’.

KATRINA BLUNT Katrina Blunt is a teacher of mathematics at AGS and joined the profession having spent over a decade in industry. Katrina enjoyed being part of the Research Working Party so much last year that she decided to study for a master’s degree in education. She’s been studying at the Institute of Education, UCL and is on track to complete it next academic year. She has enjoyed the challenge of the long and varied reading list and has found it difficult to pick a favourite, however a thought provoking read has been ‘Rethinking Education’ by Unwin and Yandell.

RICHARD O’DRISCOLL Richard O’Driscoll has been teaching at AGS since 2003 and is Head of Year and Joint Subject Leader for Spanish. This year he has been looking at effective methods of vocabulary acquisition and the use of technology to support learning. He has recently been reading “Dual coding with teachers” by Oliver Caviglioli.

DR ADRIAN TWISSELL Dr Adrian Twissell is Head of Engineering, Design and Technology. His research interests have embraced approaches to teaching and learning which draw from visualisation strategy, mental representation and concept development. Adrian’s doctoral research explored the use of, and interplay between, multiple representations as strategies for learning about electronics concepts. Recently, Adrian’s research has focused on classroom dialogue as a means to embrace talk-intensive approaches to students’ learning and develop student-centred questioning and elaborating skills relevant to learning about engineering concepts. Adrian’s research has been greatly influenced by constructivist theories of learning and more recent iterations in the form of conceptual change theory. w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Contents 10 NEIL GIBBS Using project-based learning to increase intrinsic motivation in Year 8 boys

22 MARCUS TRAVERS Does participation in extracurricular activities improve academic performance?

32 JODIE DRAPER & ANDREW SKINNER How to successfully implement a whole school literacy policy

36 AMBER FINN Computer based adaptive questioning: does it improve Year 10 students’ scores in physics?

44 KATRINA BLUNT Reflections on studying for an MA in education

46 RICHARD O’DRISCOLL Appy learners: how do language students use Quizlet, and what are the characteristics and habits of successful learning using this platform?

54 ADRIAN TWISSELL Analysing classroom dialogue: exploring talk-intensive strategies in an engineering context

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Using

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the use

project-based learning to

of Action Research as a framework to investigate project-based learning (PBL) as a way of increasing student motivation through increasing student choice in Physical Education (P.E.). To do so, I taught a badminton unit using a project-based

increase intrinsic

framework with two classes of boys aged 12 to

motivation in

reflections on the lessons and interviews, and

Year 8 boys

13 years old. Data collection methods included: Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), participant research field notes. Data analysis was conducted using a mixed-methods approach to provide a better understanding of the research problem and complex phenomena. The results of this research reinforce the notion that learners in Physical Education are more self-determined when choices are offered. It was also found that boys have a desire to choose activities that they enjoy and increase self-competence.

Based on my findings, recommendations were provided for implementing choice

Neil Gibbs

Head of Key Stage 3 P.E.

into a Physical Education curriculum.

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Using project-based learning to increase intrinsic motivation in Year 8 boys

INTRODUCTION Background In my 12 years of teaching at Aylesbury Grammar School (AGS), I have always taught Physical Education in the same instructional way, rarely deviating from traditional pedagogies. I saw the 2019/2020 Action Research topic, Developing Agency: Boy Voice and Choice, as an opportunity to expand my teaching repertoire, whilst at the same time, investigating the effect of student choice on the motivation of Year 8 boys. To unpack this further, I wanted to focus on intrinsic motivation. Lirgg (2006) suggests that the largest and probably most significant contribution social psychology research has made to P.E. over the past 30 years has been in relation to motivation.

The research question developed to encompass both student choice and motivation was: What is the effect of project-based learning in Physical Education on intrinsic motivation in Year Eight boys? Intrinsic motivation is a behaviour that comes from within an individual, out of will and interest for the activity at hand.

As P.E. teachers, we should look to enhance and develop this motivation in all our boys.

A Physical Education curriculum needs to be designed in a thoughtful manner to ensure that students are engaged in their learning as much as possible. To this end, Physical Education teachers choose from a variety of curriculum models that they feel best suits their students. As a Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) P.E. leader, I wanted to refine and develop the teaching of Physical Education to increase the motivation of boys at AGS. Research suggests the importance of student voice and choice in the learning environment (Lonsdale, Sabiston, Taylor, Ntoumanis, 2011). In P.E., teachers are generally good team players and work well with each other, especially on projects and collaborative tasks, but traditionally the sports field hosts predominantly teacher-led demonstrations and student practice, without the boys having too much input in their learning. In this landscape of physical inactivity amongst some

physical education could increase student uptake of physical activity in, and out of, the school environment.

Project-based learning (PBL) is action-oriented and focuses on doing something rather than learning about something. In projects, students engage in a complex process of learning, enquiry, and knowledge construction. Intrinsic motivation is defined commonly as driving forces of behaviour that individuals deem inherent to the activities undertaken – namely, the activities themselves being interesting, enjoyable, and meaningful – in contrast to non-intrinsic forces in terms of incentives or pressures (e.g. rewards or deadlines) that are external to the activities (Deci & Ryan, 2000).

I believed that an action research project rooted in the potential of project-based learning to engage boys in Year 8 Physical Education would be exciting and valuable. I wanted to investigate the role of PBL in increasing student voice and choice in P.E. and the impact this would have on student intrinsic motivation. The practice of PBL could help to drive independent learning and provide students with a way of engaging in a practical subject in a fully supportive environment. Some boys at AGS are disengaged in P.E. as they struggle to fully access the curriculum and it was hoped that PBL might enable them to interact with the subject material and shape their own learning, which might, in turn, lead to an increase in the uptake of extracurricular or out of school activities.

I used action research as my methodology as it would enable me to develop a systematic, enquiring approach toward my own practices and it was oriented towards effecting positive change in my practice, or within a school community (Holter & Frabutt, 2012). I felt that this was an opportunity to move my teaching away from the expected technical standards to find new ways of teaching and new interpretations of teaching.

The use of PBL allowed the boys the freedom to find their own voice and make their own choices within Physical Education, a situation which is often outside the normal teaching methods in P.E.

young people, a more motivating environment in w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

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LITERATURE REVIEW Motivating boys in Physical Education (P.E.) is one of the crucial tasks that teachers have to confront in P.E. lessons. The challenge for teachers is to apply motivational strategies to engage unmotivated boys and to maintain motivation in boys who are already engaged. Jacobs, Lanza, Osgood, Eccles, and Wigfield, (2002) outline a negative trend in students’ motivation towards P.E. and a decrease in motivation for P.E. has been linked with lower physical activity levels.

These relationships are important as the UK Department of Health (2004) describes the role that physical activity has for preventing non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.

I wished to respond to this challenge and develop and employ research-based practice in the form of project-based learning; a pedagogy that is indirect, appropriate, and child-centered in nature (Casey, Dyson, & Campbell, 2009). Moreover, I wanted this new style of teaching to be established and formalised through the links that I made between research, practice, and my position as a P.E. teacher. I needed to be able to marry my ideas and attempts to actualise them in practice.

For this reason, I felt it appropriate to use action research as a methodology, for it allowed me to reflect upon the changes that I was aspiring to make and allowed me to visualise the process from start to finish. Sheridan-Thomas (2006) suggests that action research has established a tradition of helping to validate teachers as thinking

Bray (2013) suggests that it is vitally important for

professionals and, importantly, it provided me

Physical Education teachers to create a learning

with the opportunity to reflect upon my teaching.

environment which increases motivation and,

Action research is a process that allows practising

as a consequence, increases physical activity. In

educators to study their own classrooms,

2015 on 25th March, the Health Select Committee

schools, or other educational settings, in order to

(UK) highlighted that P.E. and physical activity

understand them better and to be able to improve

at school is critical in shaping attitudes towards

their quality or effectiveness (Mertler, 2017).

physical activity in later life, as these classes contain nearly all members of an age cohort.

Understanding the motives of boys in our classes is of particular interest to researchers as there is often a wide range of physical ability,

Teaching styles in P.E. that foster agency in boys and offer an authentic voice are currently an under-researched area of study, which provided a driving force for this action research.

interests, and effort in a P.E. classroom.

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Using project-based learning to increase intrinsic motivation in Year 8 boys

Project-Based Learning is one such teaching

active participation and boys’ expectancies

method, where the teaching manner is shifted

about physical education and attitudes

from teacher-driven to student-driven by

towards class influence intrinsic motivation.

emphasising problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills (Hasna, 2009). A recent definition of PBL is provided by Tan (2005) as “a progressive active learning and learner-centred approach where unstructured problems are used as the starting point and anchor for enquiry” (p. 17).

Self-determination Theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 2000) is a theory of intrinsic motivation and personality that focuses on three distinct psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and psychological relatedness. SDT states that if these universal needs are met, then people will function and grow optimally. An effective

“It is clear that, when provided with an environment which enabled boys to choose how they engage in their learning, there was an increase in their intrinsic motivation.”

P.E. classroom must ensure it has a social

In line with SDT, past research has shown that

environment which nurtures these needs.

each universal need (competence, relatedness,

These constructs put forward are extremely relevant in P.E. and it is for this reason that SDT provides an excellent fit for physical activity and P.E. settings, and has been the most widely used theoretical framework applied when investigating motivation in P.E. (Ntoumanis & Standage, 2009).

Research carried out by Kretschmann (2014) set out to summarise recent findings, which focused on internal motivational factors. He found four dispositional variables related to individual differences which influence intrinsic motivation in P.E.. These factors are: achievement goal orientation, perceived autonomy, competence, and usefulness of the P.E. class. Standage, Duda & Ntoumanis (2003) have shown that task orientation is an effective indicator of self-determination styles of motivation in P.E. and this would have an impact on my classroom as happier students may foster an enhanced love of learning. It has also been noted that intrinsic motivation increases when

autonomy) contributes to an increase in autonomous motivation, where boys feel self-directed and autonomous towards P.E. (Standage et al., 2012). Other research in this area suggests that controlled motivation has been associated with P.E. students’ boredom and unhappiness (Ntoumanis & Standage, 2009). Further to this, Hagger and Luszczynska (2014) found that controlled motivation reflects engaging in behaviours for externally referenced reasons, such as to gain rewards or perceived approval from others, or to avoid punishment or feelings of guilt. Controlled motivation has been associated with the traditionally structured framework of a P.E. lesson and, as Bronikowski (2010) describes, a “sense of security and guidance” (p. 41). He continues that when this teaching style is married with unappealing lesson content, it may result in boys dropping out of extracurricular activities and thus going against a core outcome of a Physical Education programme.

students feel autonomous for their actions

So far, research shows us that the most important

in P.E. classes (Goudas, Biddle, & Fox, 1994).

reason why P.E. has not been as efficient as

This is an important factor as PBL requires the

expected in students’ development, is the

ability to work independently. (Cairney, Kwan,

predominance of teacher-centred techniques

Velduizen, Hay, Bray, & Faught, 2012; Hassandra,

(Goudas & Magotsiou, 2009). Furthermore,

Goudas, & Chroni, 2003) outlined the final factor

students spend most of their time waiting for

and said that perceived competency leads to

feedback from instructors and, for this reason,

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students feel bored, lose attention, and rarely experience the feeling of belonging and pride (Bayraktar, 2011). Alternatively, teaching styles that provide boys with a voice and authentic choice have a positive effect on P.E. students’ intrinsic motivation (Lonsdale et al., 2011). In comparison to a command teaching style, Morgan and Kingston (2005) suggest that a reciprocal and guided discovery teaching style leads to a mastery-oriented motivational climate and results in a positive attitude change in P.E. students. Physical Education classes that are appealing to boys emphasise a focus on learning and improvement and foster positive attitudes and intrinsic motivation (Bryan & Solmon, 2012). Increasing agency and choice in a P.E. classroom, therefore, has the potential to promote a sense of autonomy and increase levels of self-determination.

THE ACTION The boys in each class were placed into eight groups of four, selected by the teacher. The pupils attended two lessons per fortnight, each lasting 60 minutes, for a total of seven weeks. The pupils were divided into project teams. Project teams provided pupils with the opportunity to share responsibility and leadership roles and use collaborative skills to achieve group goals. The pupils adopted different roles within the task, such as demonstrator, officiator, video coordinator, and resource designer.

Stage one: intrinsic motivation pre-testing In mid-October, I measured the boys’ intrinsic motivation by using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) (Deci & Ryan, 2000) in order to ascertain a pre-intervention intrinsic motivation score. At the end of October, students were introduced to the project. The outline of the project was: a local primary school wanted to

RESEARCH QUESTION Aylesbury Grammar School is a selective state grammar school that draws boys from a wide geographical area, with approximately 60 feeder

introduce badminton into their curriculum and asked us to produce a range of material, which would help primary-aged pupils learn and understand how to play the sport of Badminton.

schools. It is situated in Buckinghamshire, United

The boys chose entirely how to go about

Kingdom. The research participants were 32 Year

producing their group work. Ideas they came

8 boys (aged 12-13 years-old) in a mixed ability

up with included: producing a leaflet explaining

core Physical Education class. Year 8 sits in the

the rules and basic techniques; making a

middle of Key Stage Three in the UK National

short video, which would include technical

Curriculum and is the boys’ second year at AGS.

guidance of how to play a range of shots;

Focusing my research on this year group allowed

and creating competition formats, which the

me to follow the impact of choice on intrinsic

primary pupils could use in their school.

motivation through their school journey.

The boys’ anonymity was maintained throughout the research project as they are not named but coded, i.e. Student A. Not all boys in the classes consented to be part of the research project; however, the PBL task and unit was still run as per the curriculum, but no data were collected from the non-participants. This ensured that no student was disadvantaged and maintained the overall class progression.

Stage two: the action The boys provided reflections via Flipgrid (a video sharing application) in weeks three and five.

Questions were posed that specifically linked to the motivation and enjoyment of the project.

This was an opportunity for the boys to have two minutes of free-expression time to share their feelings in their own way via individual videos. Qualitative data like these enabled me to gather rich evidence of key moments or experiences in the boys’ own words without their biases guiding them towards answers.

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Using project-based learning to increase intrinsic motivation in Year 8 boys

At the end of the intervention

Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) Questionnaire

In December 2019, I issued the boys with a

Task Evaluation Questionnaire (see Appendix

post-intervention intrinsic motivation

A) is a 22-item version of the IMI scale that

questionnaire and considered the differences

has been used in some laboratory studies

between pre and post-action responses. This

on intrinsic motivation. It has four subscales:

enabled me to compare the results that may have

interest/enjoyment, perceived choice, perceived

been due to experiences the boys had throughout

competence, and pressure/tension. The

the learning task. I also conducted a group

interest/enjoyment subscale is considered the

reflective interview, where the pupils shared more

self-report measure of intrinsic motivation;

of their own feelings about their experiences.

perceived choice and perceived competence are theorised to be positive predictors of both

DATA COLLECTION

self-report and behavioural measures of intrinsic motivation. Pressure tension is theorised to be a

I employed a mixed methods design to collect

negative predictor of intrinsic motivation. Each

data. The advantage of mixed methods is that

questionnaire was transcribed verbatim into a

the use of quantitative and qualitative methods

master table.

in combination provides a better understanding of research problems and complex phenomena

Participant interviews

than either approach alone (Arorin & Cameron,

The semi-structured interviews in the form of focus

2010). Mertler (2017) goes on to say that research

groups were conducted and were 15-25 minutes in

grounded in both qualitative and quantitative

duration and all interviews were fully transcribed.

approaches to data collection and which draws

Flipgrid videos provided students with space and

on a variety of sources enables the researcher

privacy to give honest and open responses and

to better understand the research problem.

these videos were transcribed and recorded.

Mertler (2017, p10) describes this approach as “polyangulation”. This process of relating various qualitative and quantitative data enables the researcher to get a better handle on what is happening in reality and to have greater confidence in the research findings (Glense, 2006).

Data collection methods My data collection methods were: • Post-teaching reflective analysis (PTRA) • Participant questionnaires - Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) • Participant interviews and Flipgrid video reflections • Researcher field notes and photos

“Intrinsic motivation is a behaviour that comes from within an individual, out of will and interest for the activity at hand. As P.E. teachers, we should look to enhance and develop this motivation in all our boys.”

Post-teaching reflective analysis A Post-Teaching Reflective Analysis (PTRA) (Dyson, 1994) was used after every lesson to record my thoughts. Each PTRA formed part of an ongoing evaluation of the intervention throughout the action research process. w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

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Field notes Mertler (2017) describes the importance of including observers’ comments in field notes as it is one way to integrate reflection into the process of action research. The separation of these two types of commentaries is critical so that actual observations are not confused with what you think the observed event means. How action researchers position themselves in relation to the setting and participants can create the power relations in the

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Having analysed the data, three key themes regarding the fostering of a sense of intrinsic motivation emerged: collaboration in PBL enhanced learning, PBL fostered competence and interest/engagement. These themes were the main outcomes of the task motivation inventory and directly relate to self-determination theory put forward by Ryan & Deci (2000).

situation and the trustworthiness of the data

Collaboration in PBL enhanced learning

(Herr & Anderson, 2014). In order to guarantee

Collaborative learning gave boys the support

that my research and subsequent findings

they needed in a classroom environment,

were credible, authentic, and trustworthy (Elo,

had a positive effect on their ability to learn,

Kääriäinen, Kanste, Pölkki, Utriainen & Kyngäs,

provided a wide variety of ways of acquiring

2014), a variety of sources were used to collect

information, and opened new choices. During

relevant data throughout each stage of the action

the action, I commented in my observations

research cycle.

that, “I was spending less time talking to the class and more time facilitating their

DATA ANALYSIS Quantitative data was collected in the form of questionnaires and statistically analysed to determine the effect the action had on intrinsic motivation. Students helped to define key terms related to motivation and this was measured with exit tickets. Semi-structured interviews and reflections were analysed and interpreted to gain insight into the data. Transcribed data were coded for patterns and themes and I categorised information according to the themes that became apparent. I had “free dialogues” with my pupils,

learning through smaller group interactions.”

I was able to speak to each group and help the boys at each stage of their learning.

The results from the pre and post-task evaluation questionnaire, which used a Likert scale from one to seven, suggested that in every measure students’ perceived choice increased, although not significantly. I noted from my lesson observations that during the project time, “boys worked in small groups and made decisions on what to include in their projects.” Student A commented on this point in one of the interviews:

asking questions that encouraged them to tell me

“It’s been better to do the Badminton Project

what they saw as opposed to what they thought

with my group, I enjoy it more doing group

I might want to hear. To ensure confidentiality, a

work, because there is always that element of

representative letter was assigned to each student

teamwork, where you can combine all your ideas

prior to organisation and analysis. Findings from

together and it’s not just you working by yourself.”

the analysis were grounded in the tenets of the action research process; that is, if something in the research process needed changing or altering I, as the teacher-researcher, was in a position to make changes.

Chromebooks were used and boys were able to create digital videos and resource cards as their final product. Boy B noted that, “the activity is freer than other subjects because we can choose how we present our projects and it is more enjoyable because we can be more creative.” It is clear that students had more freedom to accomplish the task in their own way and this finding supports the recommendation of Prusak, Treasure,

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Using project-based learning to increase intrinsic motivation in Year 8 boys

Darst & Pangrazi (2004) that physical education

This type of feedback was common. In my

teachers should provide a range of choices within

field notes I remarked that boys were more

their classes to promote autonomy and increase

focused on the learning task. This could have

levels of self-determination of their boys.

been due to the fact that the boys had to

Lee and Tan (2004) highlight the advantages of collaborative and communicative enquiry in PBL. Explaining one’s ideas is important for productive collaboration and also serves to enhance learning.

Through group dynamics, boys learn to deal with the dysfunctional aspects of a group and address

replicate those skills in the form of videos or pictures for their resource material. Casey & Jones (2011) suggest that the use of video technology enhances engagement due to the extra commitment and helps students develop understanding beyond technical replication.

them in a constructive manner (Sharp & Primrose,

Some boys explained that they enjoyed the

2003). To become effective collaborators, boys

addition of technology into the P.E. lessons

as team members learn to establish a common

and felt it enhanced how they worked. This

ground, resolve discrepancies, negotiate group

also could have contributed to the increase in

action and develop consensus. This was evident

perceived competence as boys felt comfortable

in my research from a peer observation; they

integrating ICT and P.E. to produce their

noted that, “the group dynamics were excellent.

resources. Effective use of ICT improves the

The boys were very good at getting on with

amount of information students retain through

each other - they listened to each other’s ideas

visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning

and were able to sort out disagreements with

channels in physical education (Collins 2011).

minimal disruption.” This finding is important as successful PBL units rely on cohesive groups.

PBL fostered competence When an activity is autonomously motivated, its functional significance is related to perceived challenge and interest. However, feeling autonomous in doing an activity or task may not be enough to be effective at increasing student levels of self-determination (Halvari, Ulstad, Bagoien & Skjesol, 2009). According to Self-Determination Theory, boys also need to perceive themselves as being competent. The results from the pre and post-action questionnaire indicated that there was an increase in perceived competence. This suggested that the boys felt more competent at the end of the task than at the beginning. The lesson structure was designed to enable time for boys to learn the skills necessary to play badminton. This aspect of the PBL was crucial as it fostered learning and developed the competencies needed to complete the task.

Student C, in the group feedback, commented: “I like how we went through each individual skill, and use the techniques to improve our play.”

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Interest and engagement

These results are in line with past research into

The final theme to emerge from this action

self-determination theory in which Ntoumanis

research was PBL increased motivation and

(2005) found that boys who reported high

engagement. This is another key factor that

satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and

impacts self-determination and motivation

relatedness in P.E. were more likely to participate

within P.E. In a study by Baena-Extremera,

in optional P.E. classes during the subsequent

Granero-Gallegos, Perez-Quero, Bracho-Amador,

school year.

Sanchez-Fuentes (2012), boys’ intrinsic motivation emerged as a predictor of the importance and usefulness of P.E. Whether a student finds the subject material interesting and enjoyable seems to play an important role in a boy’s motivation in P.E. lessons. This PBL activity was rooted in a real-life setting that boys were able to relate to.

My results suggest that this was an important factor in why boys enjoyed participating in this task. The majority of boys commented that they enjoyed the fact that they were producing resources for other children to learn from:

“I didn’t think learning could be like this in P.E. - I like the fact that I could be helping other boys and that P.E. isn’t always about who is the best.”

“I’m enjoying the task because you get to demonstrate positions and techniques and then put what we have learnt into our Google Slides document. This makes me feel like this task has two sides to the learning, it will be interesting to see how our Google Slides will help other boys.” (Boy E)

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE There are a number of conclusions that can be drawn from this qualitative action research. When we look again at the research question: Does project-based learning increase student intrinsic

Student responses from the task motivation

motivation in Year 8 boys’ physical education?, it

questionnaire indicated that interest and

is clear that, when provided with an environment

enjoyment increased whilst undertaking the task;

which enabled boys to choose how they engage

the average IMI pre-test score was 5.5 compared

in their learning, there was an increase in their

with a post-test score of 5.9. This indicates a slight

intrinsic motivation. The findings show that

increase in enjoyment. Boy F reported that,

providing choice within a Physical Education

“I didn’t think learning could be like this in P.E. - I like the fact that I could be helping other boys and that P.E. isn’t always about who is the best.”

This comment was not unique and occurred in five other responses. Boy G agreed in his Flipgrid reflective video:

curriculum had a positive effect on students’ self-determination. Project-based learning provided the space for boys to be creative and take ownership of their work. It allowed the boys to engage with the subject in a variety of ways, work collaboratively to achieve a goal, and take on roles which would not normally be available in a traditional P.E. setting. This study has provided

“I’ve enjoyed this task because it’s fun doing

evidence of the need for choice in the P.E.

something we don’t normally do and [creating

classroom. In order to increase boys’

resources] has allowed me to be creative

self-determination, teachers can provide students

which I didn’t think I could be in P.E.”

with an autonomy-supportive environment, and perhaps positively affect activity levels in the class.

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Using project-based learning to increase intrinsic motivation in Year 8 boys

The Physical Education teacher’s primary goal

have dramatically improved my role as a teacher

should be to provide a supportive and safe

by having the courage to take a step back and let

environment that promotes autonomy (Bray, 2013).

the students take centre stage and be in control

In doing so, students will learn what activities they

of their learning. Conducting this action research

enjoy the most and might continue to pursue

has opened my eyes to the value of educational

into adulthood. Further conclusions can be drawn

research being at the forefront of curriculum

from this research: student achievement was

planning and design, and the importance of using

improved enough to prompt me to continue

research to drive forward changes in pedagogies.

with and expand my use of PBL as a pedagogical approach. The boys, through the resources that they produced, displayed a higher level of knowledge

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

and understanding about badminton than they

I would like to thank the Head Teacher of

would normally show, and this allowed me to

Aylesbury Grammar School, Mr Mark Sturgeon,

subsequently adapt and refine their future learning.

for supporting my application to the IBSC and

This research incorporated the use of technology in the production of the boys’ resources and was integral to the final output of the task. It was clear from the results that, for some students, this use of technology enhanced their learning experience and was a contributing factor which may have increased the enjoyment of the task. But for some, using the Chromebooks detracted from their overall enjoyment, as being physically active in lessons was an important part of how they approached P.E. I acknowledge that the use of ICT in this setting played a part in the enjoyment and engagement of some boys and disengaged others,

setting me off on my action research journey. A special mention needs to go to Vanessa Beckley, who is the lead on educational research at AGS and my mentor throughout this process. She has been a guiding light and her expert opinion and guidance has been invaluable. To my IBSC action research colleagues, and in particular Trish Cislak, our leader, friendships have been forged and I am thankful that I have shared this time with you. I feel it would be remiss of me not to mention the boys in this project: thank you for your insight and thoughts; your maturity and approach to this task have been exemplary.

and this opens the door to future research in how using ICT in P.E. might affect the motivation of boys. Additional research is required into the effectiveness of PBL to deliver effective learning in other content areas such as gymnastics, games, and health-related fitness, and how it can be adapted to different school settings.

REFLECTION STATEMENT Reflecting on what I have learned, my action research project has both personal and professional applications that exceed any expectations I had last June. The amount of growth I have seen in myself in the way I interact with my peers, the wider school community, those overseeing my work, and my own family and friends, has radically transformed me for the better. In learning to listen to the participants, I

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19

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Azorin, J. and Cameron, R. (2010). The application of mixed

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Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (3rd ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

Baena-Extremera, A., Granero-Gallegos, A., Perez-Quero, F.J., Bracho-Amador, C., & Sanchez-Fuentes, J.A. (2013). Motivation and motivational climate as predictors of perceived importance of physical education in Spain. South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 35(2), 1-13.

Bayraktar, G (2011). The effect of cooperative learning on students’ approach to general gymnastics course and academic achievements. Educational Research and Reviews, 6(1), pp.62-71.

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Goudas, M., Dermitzaki, I., & Bagiatis, K. (2000). Predictors of students’ intrinsic motivation in school physical education.

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Halvari, H., Ulstad, S.O., Bagoien T.E., & Skjesol, K. (2009). Autonomy support and its links to physical activity and competitive

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B.E. (2012). Gender, perceived competence and the enjoyment

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of physical education in children: A longitudinal examination.

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Casey, A., Dyson, B., & Campbell, A. (2009). Action research in

Hasna, A. M. (July, 2008). Problem based learning in engineering

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Lee, M.G.C. & Tan, O.S. (2004). Collaboration, dialogue and critical openness through PBL processes. In Tan, O.S. (Ed.), Enhancing

18. I felt pressured while doing the task.

19. I felt like I had to do the task.

thinking through problem-based learning approaches: International perspectives, pp.133-144. Thomson Learning.

20. I would describe the task as very enjoyable.

21. I did the task because I had no choice.

22. After working at this task for a while, I felt pretty competent.

APPENDIX

Scoring information. Begin by reverse scoring items # 2, 9, 11, 14,

Intrinsic Motivation Inventory

19, 21. In other words, subtract the item response from 8, and

TASK EVALUATION QUESTIONNAIRE

use the result as the item score for that item. This way, a higher

The following is a 22-item version of the scale that has been used in some laboratory studies on intrinsic motivation. It has four subscales: interest/enjoyment, perceived choice, perceived competence, and pressure/tension. The interest/enjoyment subscale is considered the self-report measure of intrinsic motivation; perceived choice and perceived competence are theorised to be positive predictors of both self-report and behavioural measures of intrinsic motivation. Pressure tension is theorised to be a negative predictor of intrinsic motivation. Scoring information is presented after the questionnaire itself.

score will indicate more of the concept described in the subscale name. Thus, a higher score on pressure/tension means the person felt more pressured and tense; a higher score on perceived competence means the person felt more competent; and so on.

Then calculate subscale scores by averaging the items scores for the items on each subscale. They are as follows. The (R) after an item number is just a reminder that the item score is the reverse of the participant’s response on that item. Interest/enjoyment: 1, 5, 8, 10, 14(R), 17, 20 Perceived competence: 4, 7, 12, 16, 22 Perceived choice: 3, 11(R), 15, 19(R), 21(R) Pressure/tension: 2(R), 6, 9(R), 13, 18

For each of the following statements, please indicate how true it is for you, using the following scale: 1.

2

3

Not at all true

4

5

6

Somewhat true

7 Very true

1. While I was working on the task I was thinking about how much I enjoyed it.

2. I did not feel at all nervous about doing the task.

3. I felt that it was my choice to do the task.

4. I think I am pretty good at this task.

5. I found the task very interesting.

6. I felt tense while doing the task.

7. I think I did pretty well at this activity, compared to other students.

8. Doing the task was fun.

9. I felt relaxed while doing the task.

10. I enjoyed doing the task very much.

11. I didn’t really have a choice about doing the task.

12. I am satisfied with my performance at this task.

13. I was anxious while doing the task.

14. I thought the task was very boring.

15. I felt like I was doing what I wanted to do while I was working on the task.

16. I felt pretty skilled at this task.

17. I thought the task was very interesting.

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21

Does

ABSTRACT Academic performance is something that is part

participation in extracurricular

of every teacher’s role and an area we continuously try to improve. At AGS, the majority of students perform very well academically but there are small groups that do underperform. Some believe that one of these groups are those that do not

activities improve

take advantage of AGS both academically and

academic

there is a statistically significant benefit gained

performance?

in terms of extracurricular activities. I wanted to do further research into the topic to see if from participation in extracurricular activities that translates to academics. In this study I used the current Year 12 as the sample and looked at the relationship between the number of extracurricular activities (ECAs) they participated in and their GCSE results focusing specifically on their average GCSE grade, total GCSE grade and standardised value added. Using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient I was able to determine whether the correlation between these variables and the number of extracurricular activities undertaken was statistically significant. The results were mixed, showing either small but significant positive correlations or positive correlations that were not statistically significant. However feedback on what students felt they gained from these activities highlighted the importance they have on welfare and wider personal development. This was something almost unanimously found within similar studies and wider literature. Results from the students’ perceived barriers to enrolling in these activities also suggested that significant but feasible improvements can still be made to

Teacher of Geography

Marcus Travers

increase participation in extracurricular activities.

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Does participation in extracurricular activities improve academic performance?

CONTEXT Academic attainment is often the most significant indicator of success for both students, teachers and schools. It is the responsibility of all teachers and schools to ensure that students perform as well as reasonably possible in order to keep their options open and set them up well for success in later life. With the average GCSE grade having risen by 3.6% between 2016-2018 across the country (Hutchinson et al.,2018) it is important that we are able to match and better this within AGS in order not to disadvantage our students. However, with mental health problems and stress becoming more prevalent within secondary school students (Department of Education, 2018), it is important that research should be conducted into methods of improving academic performance that do not exacerbate these problems. For decades the impact extracurricular activities have on academic attainment has been debated, with some studies finding that participants benefit academically

Nor does it have specific policies or measures that look to increase participation both within underperforming students or across the whole student population. This research will be able to inform future policies as to whether this is required and if so, how it could be implemented.

“Once again many of the studies confirmed what I had already read, that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between those partaking in ECAs and academic performance.”

from them, while others found no significant relationship. Some studies have even found that participation in ECAs can have a negative effect on academics be it through injury or detracting time from studying. However over the last 35 years, the general consensus has been that there is a positive relationship between the two. This is a belief shared by many at AGS; many have noticed that often students who underperform academically do not participate in the school’s extracurricular activities to the same extent as others. I wanted to find out whether this relationship existed within AGS and whether it was statistically significant or merely anecdotal. Furthermore, I wanted to investigate the wider benefits of these activities and the barriers that prevent students from taking part and potentially benefiting from them. If the results did show that ECAs had a positive effect on students, then how could more students be encouraged to participate? If they had a negative effect on academics, then what could be done to alleviate this? At the moment AGS has a very wide range of extracurricular activities available to students, but has not investigated the link between them and academic performance. w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

LITERATURE REVIEW There is an incredibly diverse range of research into this topic, ranging from primary school ages all the way to undergraduates. The relationship between ECAs and academic achievement has also been looked at from a broader perspective all the way to specific subjects right across the globe.

Moriana et al. (2006) This paper was similar to my research in that it looked at similar age groups and had a comparable method in that it compared the number of ECAs and grade point averages.

This study had a sample of 222 students, across nine randomly selected schools within a city in Mexico. The study started by splitting the students into two groups, those that did participate in extracurricular activities and those that did not. This was something I couldn’t replicate as all of my sample participated in at least one ECA. They then ensured that there were no statistically significant socio-economic differences between the two groups in order to eliminate this variable from the results. This 23

was a really interesting idea and something

statistically significant. However the research did

I would have liked to have done myself, time

find huge benefits to wider personal development

permitting. The results showed that those who

including lower stress, better social standing, lower

were involved with ECAs achieved a higher Grade

dropout rates and higher employability. In fact

Point Average (GPA) and the differences were

an earlier paper had found that participation in

statistically significant. Furthermore the results

ECAs was the most significant predictor of later life

showed that those participating in academic

success (Joekel, 1985). The results were in line with

and mixed ECAs outperformed those who just

previous research that found a positive correlation

participated in athletic activities. However,

between the two variables but was not statistically

as was usually the case, due to the complex

significant, but that the wider benefits to students

relationship between academic performance

were much more significant, particularly within

and many other factors, it was not possible to

athletic activities. What could be concluded

ascertain how significant the participation in these

from much of the research is that participation

activities was in raising the students’ grades.

in ECAs certainly does not hurt academic performance and often does have a positive

Saqib et al. (2018)

impact, but ascertaining exactly how much

This literature review gave a summary of previous

has currently not been reliably measured yet.

research, which was useful in giving me a broader understanding of what the literature had found. Once again many of the studies

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

confirmed what I had already read, that there

How does participation in extracurricular

was a statistically significant positive relationship

activities affect attainment at GCSE

between those partaking in ECAs and academic

(total grades and average grades)?

performance. The paper also found that the benefits reaped by students also lay outside of academics. These benefits included better

How does participation in extracurricular activities affect GCSE value added?

attendance, less substance abuse and lower

What do students perceive as the most

rates of suicide (Brown, 1999). Furthermore,

significant benefits of extracurricular activities?

athletic activities in particular were found to

What barriers prevent students from

reduce stress, improve self worth and build

partaking in extracurricular activities?

leadership characteristics (Daley & Leahy, 2003).

Silliker and Quirk

METHODOLOGY

This study focused on a sample of 123 high school

The topic of academic performance is very wide

students in the USA who all participated in at

ranging and could have incorporated dozens

least five hours of football (or soccer as they call it)

of different aspects. However, I wanted to keep

and compared the GPAs and attendance during

the focus of the research very specific in order

the season with the offseason, when students

to make the project manageable. In order to do

were not playing football. The results showed that

this I ensured that there were just four research

academic performance and attendance were

questions which can be seen above. I decided

both higher during the season. Males in particular

to use the current Year 12s as the sample as they

saw a more significant improvement during

had recently completed their GCSEs which gave

the season, achieving an average GPA of 84.7

me the necessary data to analyse. The first task

during the season and 83.8 during the offseason.

involved selecting which Year 12s. I wanted a

However these differences were very small: male

representative sample of all the students in Year

attendance only differed by 0.2% and the effect

12 and so used a stratified sampling strategy.

on academic performance was found not to be

I selected two forms, Hampden and Phillips,

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Does participation in extracurricular activities improve academic performance?

as this would give me enough samples to

The next stage of the method was to collect

analyse later using Spearman’s rank correlation

the academic performance data, in the form of

coefficient, while also making the analysis

total GCSE grades, average GCSE grades and the

feasible from a time management perspective.

standardised value added. The average and total

Once the samples were selected, I had to collect the data relating to the students’ participation in extracurricular activities. I carried this out via a Google form which contained questions which can be seen in the table below.

How many extracurricular activities did you take part in during KS3 (Year 7-9)? This

GCSE grades would allow comparison between ECA participation and the academic attainment, whereas the standardised value added isolated academic ability from this study and would thus provide an interesting insight into the role of ECA participation. While I had 63 questionnaires completed by the Year 12s, many of these were from students who had joined in sixth form and

means regularly for at least 2 terms

so I did not have access to their GCSE result

How many extracurricular activities did you

data and so were excluded from the study. A

take part in during KS4 (Year 10-11)?

couple of students had managed to complete

How many extracurricular activities did you

and submit the form several times and so they

take part in during the whole of school?

were also left out, leaving 42 pairs of data.

Please select 3 of the following terms which

Once the data was collected, I analysed it to assess

best match what you feel you got/would get out of those clubs?

Which of these options may have put you off partaking in an extracurricular activity?

the strength and statistical significance of the relationship. As I had 42 pairs of data, I decided to use the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

This involves ranking the ECA and GCSE data from first to last, then comparing how these ranks line

For questions four and five students were asked

up and then putting them through a coefficient.

to select three of the eight to ten options given

This gives a number between -1 and 1. A figure of

to them. The options were carefully discussed

1 would indicate a perfect positive relationship

and selected beforehand in order to include all

between the two variables, -1 would indicate a

potential reasons students might consider. The

perfect negative correlation and 0 would indicate

Year 12s completed these forms during a personal

absolutely no relationship. All of the results yielded

development session in school. This was key to the

a relatively weak positive correlation. However

success of the study: if students were given the

this number does not take into account whether

choice to complete the form in their own time,

the correlation is statistically significant or just

the sample would be skewed towards the more

down to chance. To do this I used a Spearman’s

diligent students who were organised and keen

rank correlation coefficient significance table.

enough to complete the form. Along with this, the

This tells you how significant the data is and what

sample size would be smaller and the credibility

the likelihood of the correlation being chance is.

of the findings would be diminished. The final two

This allowed me to deliver results representative

questions focused on what students perceived

of AGS that could credibly show the relationship

as the benefits and barriers to extracurricular

between participation in extracurricular activities.

activities. This would allow me to see where the biggest improvements could be made and make suggestions on what policies the school could implement in order to maximise the benefits gained from extracurricular activities.

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25

RESULTS Total GCSE grade The total number of grades refers to the sum of all the GCSEs each student received. The relationship between the amount of extracurricular activities

the fact that this is not the isolated effect of ECA participation. Other factors such as socio-economic background, distance from school, ability etc. will almost certainly have played a role as well, highlighting the insignificance of ECA participation in this relationship.

participated in and total GCSE grades is a positive one as can be seen on the scatter graph. The

Standardised value added

correlation is a relatively weak one but the data

Standardised value added is perhaps more useful

is well clustered around the trend line. This is in

to investigating this relationship as it isolates

line with much of the wider literature and so is

other factors on academic performance such

not unexpected. Furthermore, the Spearman’s

as ability and gender etc. Once again, figure

rank correlation coefficient shows that this is

4 shows a weak positive correlation between

statistically significant, and can be confirmed

the two, with the data points more scattered

with over a 95% certainty that the relationship is

than with the previous two. This would suggest

not down to chance as can be seen in figure 2.

that ECA participation does have a positive

However, not all students have the same number

effect on academic performance. However the

of GCSEs, the majority have nine, but others who

Spearman’s rank score is only 0.27, the score

struggled often dropped a language and the

needed for there to be a 95% chance that the

more capable students may have ten or more. This

relationship is statistically significant and not

means that this relationship is highly dependent

down to chance is 0.35. So again the idea that

on the time management of the students in the

in the case of AGS, participating in more ECAs

sample. As you would imagine, those who are

leads to better academic performance has to

able to participate in more GCSEs are very likely

be rejected. On the other hand, all of the results

to have the time management skills which allow

show that participation in ECAs certainly does

them to participate in more ECAs. This brings into

not harm academic performance, which goes

question whether it is simply that students who

against much of the literature. This means that

participate in more ECAs do better, or whether

if there are significant benefits to wider student

the organisation and diligence of these students

wellbeing and development, then participation

allows them to perform better academically

in these activities must be further encouraged.

and partake in more ECAs. This means that it is not possible to confirm that participation in ECAs has a significant role in this relationship.

Average GCSE mark Once again there is a weak positive correlation between the two variables, which can be seen in figure 3. However, the correlation is weaker between these two compared to total GCSE grades. This suggests that the organisation levels of students may be more of a determining factor of academic success and ECA participation. Further, the Spearman’s rank score yielded a score below

“Feedback on what students felt they gained from these activities highlighted the importance they have on welfare and wider personal development.”

the 95% certainty threshold (fig 2), meaning that the idea of this correlation being statistically significant must be rejected. The insignificance of this relationship is further compounded by 26

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Does participation in extracurricular activities improve academic performance?

What are the wider benefits of participation

school students, ECAs can clearly have a significant

in extracurricular activities?

effect in reducing them, particularly when

The wider literature really emphasised the

involving physical activity (Street et al, 2007).

significance of the wider benefits that result from

Students also clearly attribute ECA

participation in ECAs and so this was clearly

participation in helping them build learning

something that had to be included in the study. It

characteristics - resilience and in particular

also would be imperative in making suggestions

commitment were selected by large swathes of

for future policies, regardless of the results shown

the sample, 21% and 46% respectively. Both have

by the academic data. The possible answers

significant carry over in academics and wider

were designed to cover almost every type of

personal development; it would be interesting

benefit students feel they get from the activities

to further look at how effectively commitment

although there is some crossover between them.

learnt from activities carried on to academics.

Enjoyment, wellbeing and friendship can be grouped together as mainly improving students’ welfare. This, as you can see in figure 5, is clearly the most popular grouping with enjoyment, friendship and wellbeing being selected by 87%, 44% and 28% of the sample. It is interesting that students do not all see the link between enjoying an activity and the benefit this has to their welfare. Clearly, enjoyable activities have a strong positive impact on wellbeing (DeMarco & Sidney, 1989). What this further highlights is

Finally, the third major grouping is the learning and practice of skills. This is the most popular group although in part because it has the most options (five). Time management skills were the least selected with just 16.4%. This low popularity may be due to students perceiving ECAs as taking time away from academics and thus making fitting in academic work more challenging.

However the previous results show that this does not have an adverse impact on their performance.

that with the rise in mental health issues among

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27

As well as this, having to balance activities and

too much homework and preferring to do other

school work will make time management more

things were selected by 64%, 41% and 68% of

challenging; when students are challenged, they

students respectively. Clearly it would be unwise

learn. So I think while most students may not

to significantly reduce the amount of homework

perceive this as a significant benefit, it still very

set without extensive research; doing so could

much is. Transferable skills also scored low. This

potentially have a significant negative impact

is to be expected as many of the activities they

on attainment and whether it would result in

take part in such as sport and music are unlikely

higher ECA participation is far from certain.

to have significant carry over to academics or

Equally, tackling students not having enough time

future careers. If I had been able to interview

would be problematic. While previous studies

students, I suspect many who selected this

show comprehensive benefits to wider personal

option would have been taking part in academic

development and academic performance, the

ECAs such as Puzzle Club or Geology Club etc.

opposite is the effect when students are over

Interestingly teamwork scored very highly with

timetabled (Reeves, 2008). While the matter of

43%; this is further supported by the wider

students preferring to do something else could

literature which highlighted that this was a key

be addressed by making ECAs more enjoyable,

benefit (Joekel, 1985). Further, the importance

this could be detrimental to the overall aim of

of this skill set hardly needs to be explained: all

the activity or club and reduce the skills and

employers look to build this with employees

commitment developed by participants. There are

and many are prepared to pay for it (the team

some less significant challenges that could prove

building industry is worth over £200 million in

equally difficult to negate. Parental influence

the UK alone). Clearly building this characteristic

and facilities only account for a combined 8.5%

is of huge importance. It is interesting that

of selection but could be difficult to alleviate, in

students selected this option far more than

the latter case particularly as the facilities at AGS

transferable skills, despite this being a transferable

have already had significant investment and are,

skill. This indicates that the methodology of

in many cases, better than many other schools.

giving some options specific terms and others broader terms that are more associated with employment jargon may have skewed the results.

However the most popular options are also highlighted as the most significant impacts of ECA participation in the wider literature which does help affirm the credibility of these results.

What are the barriers to extracurricular participation?

With both academic literature confirming the wider benefits of ECAs and this study showing that, at the very least, they don’t harm academic performance, it’s imperative that barriers to ECAs are identified and removed. Some of these barriers are avoidable and can be tackled with policies, while some either cannot be prevented or cannot be prevented without significant negative repercussions. The three most popular options picked by the sample belong to the latter of these two groups. Not having enough time, 28

On the other hand, there is a significant group of barriers that can be feasibly tackled in order to increase ECA participation. Peer pressure is the largest of these groups at 21%, continuing to create an environment where negative peer pressure is clearly important. This could be done through assemblies, tutors and a buddy system.

This would equally benefit those who don’t try out or attend an activity through fear of not getting on with anyone. A buddy system or a ‘try a new club week’ could really help encourage those who want to try an activity but are not confident enough to go for the first time. Finally there is cost. Although many clubs are free to join, this doesn’t factor in the cost of getting back from school following after school activities. This can be particularly challenging for those living further away. It is also most concerning for those who are entitled to pupil premium, roughly 5% of students. Pupil Premium coordinators will

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

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29

continue to ensure that they ask students if there

As well as this, further research should be done

are activities they would like to join and allocate

on whether students in receipt of pupil premium

funding appropriately. Fortunately, a wide range of

attend as many activities as those not in receipt.

clubs take place during the school day, supporting

This would help ascertain whether the cost

those for whom travel is an issue. Nevertheless,

of travelling to activities was disadvantaging

with 40% of students entitled to pupil premium

those students. Finally, a buddy system

living more than 10 miles away from school, we

which focuses on getting new students to try

must continue to explore ways for these students

extracurricular activities would be beneficial,

with a distance barrier to have meaningful

as a large proportion of those who said that

engagement in school life and activities.

they ‘feared not getting on with anyone’ were new to AGS. This should be a particular focus in

CONCLUSION

Year 12 where there is the greatest proportion of new students, as well as the wider benefits

The results show that within the context of

of these activities being most needed, such

AGS, ECAs do not have a statistically significant

as the advantages to health and wellbeing.

impact on academic achievement. Furthermore, it is apparent from further research and my own experience that isolating this from other contributing factors such as socioeconomic background would be very difficult as so many factors play a role. However, while the relationship between the two was not statistically significant, they did all show a positive correlation, so at the very least, the extra time spent on ECAs certainly doesn’t negatively affect academic achievement.

What is more significant are the wider benefits to personal development and wellbeing that these activities provide to our students. With the wellbeing of students being the main concern of a school, it is important that more is done in

“Students also clearly attribute ECA participation in helping them build learning characteristics - resilience and in particular commitment were selected by large swathes of the sample.”

order to ensure that individuals and groups of students are not disadvantaged by not accessing clubs. This could be down to location, a travel cost implication, or most commonly, just giving less confident students the little push they need to try something new for the first time. A ‘try a new club week/fortnight’ should be trialled in order to help these students. This could be monitored by prefects, junior prefects and form tutors for the youngest years. This would also allow prefects to practise leadership skills and would be beneficial for their own personal development. Participant numbers for clubs could be taken before and after to assess whether this had a long term impact on ECA participation.

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Does participation in extracurricular activities improve academic performance?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Figure 3

Brown, R., 1999. Extracurricular activity: How does participation encourage positive youth development. University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet, pp.99-32.

Daley, A.J. and Leahy, J., 2003. Self-perceptions and participation in extra-curricular physical activities. The Physical Educator, 60(2).

DeMarco, T. and Sidney, K., 1989. Enhancing children’s participation in physical activity. Journal of School Health, 59(8), pp.337-340.

Department of Education., 2018. Mental health and behaviour in schools.

Figure 4

Hutchinson, J., Bonetti, S., Crenna-Jennings, W., Akhal, A., 2019.

Education in England: Annual report 2019.

Joekel, R.G., 1985. Student activities and academic eligibility requirements. Nassp Bulletin, 69(483), pp.3-9.

Moriana, J.A., Alós, F., Alcalá, R., Pino, M.J., Herruzo, J. and Ruiz, R., 2006. Extra-curricular activities and academic performance in secondary students. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 4(1), pp.35-46.

Reeves, D.B., 2008. The learning leader/the extracurricular advantage. Learning, 66(1), pp.86-87.

Figure 5

Saqib, N.U., Raheem, M.A., Iqbal, M., Salman, M. and Shahzad, T., 2018. Effects of Extracurricular Activities on Students.

Silliker, S.A. and Quirk, J.T., 1997. The effect of extracurricular activity participation on the academic performance of male and female high school students. The School Counselor, 44(4), pp.288-293.

Street, G., James, R. and Cutt, H., 2007. The relationship between organised physical recreation and mental health. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 18(3), pp.236-239.

Figure 6 Figure 1

Figure 7 Figure 2

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How to

Jodie Draper is the first Literacy Lead at AGS, appointed in January 2020. The role was created following a research project undertaken with

successfully

Andrew Skinner, current Head of English, that highlighted the role that an effective literacy strategy can play in improving student outcomes.

implement a

Both had intended to continue their research into more specific strategies, but the school were

whole school

already fully supportive and keen to develop a fresh approach to literacy and created the role to which Jodie was appointed. Here, we reflect on

32

the research project and find out how she sees the school’s approach to literacy developing.

Head of English

Andrew Skinner

Teacher of English

Jodie Draper

literacy policy

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

How to successfully implement a whole school literacy policy.

Although the article is still available from last

support, teachers invested in a whole school

year’s project, can you give a quick overview

approach to literacy are crucial in providing

of the project and how it led to the new role

breadth and opportunity – whether that’s

for you?

through wider reading or supporting vocabulary

That’s a difficult one to do as a ‘quick overview’, but

development. If we are going to prepare students

essentially we explored the evidence that shows

for success in the ‘modern world’ and for the

that a coherent and consistent focus on literacy

next step in life, a clear ethos and message

skills allows students (particularly those who have

that reading, writing and discussion underpin

traditionally struggled) to make greater progress

all aspects of learning at a higher level would

in all subjects. The research time allowed us to

clearly benefit students with the transition to

survey students and Heads of Department to gain

university and beyond (especially given 79%

a greater understanding of where literacy skills

of AGS students went on to higher education

are taught across the school. Having presented

in 2019 and more following a gap year).

our findings to the Senior Leadership Team, the

We need to be clear on the message: literacy

governors and the wider staff body, we were

matters in every subject and needs to be

able to convince them of the potential benefits

taught by every teacher. Across the curriculum,

to the students and the position was created.

reading is the primary medium for gaining

SLT have been fully supportive throughout.

knowledge and writing is the primary

So what exactly does a Literacy Lead do?

A Literacy Lead acts as the lead teacher for

medium for assessment. That doesn’t mean that literacy looks the same in every subject, but it always has a role to play in success.

literacy development across the school. They liaise with all subject areas to plan, promote and develop literacy across the curriculum in both the short and long term, and support literacy through teaching and learning.

Can you give a practical example of something you might do?

A very simple example would be the coordination and creation of key vocabulary lists for all subjects. Something a lot of subjects do anyway, but giving it an increased exposure through the use of displays, word walls, and as part of key documents for subjects and ensuring that it forms part of every department’s teaching and thus the school as a whole. Consistency is the key. This would be one small example of a more coordinated and consistent approach.

Why do we need a Lead in literacy?

In our School vision, we aim to give ‘every student irrespective of background and circumstance

“If we are going to prepare students for success in the ‘modern world’ and for the next step in life, a clear ethos and message that reading, writing and discussion underpin all aspects of learning at a higher level would clearly benefit students with the transition to university and beyond.”

an opportunity to flourish’. It’s widely supported through educational research that a central literacy approach will benefit students with the least opportunities the most. When given proper w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

33

Don’t we all do this anyway naturally

What’s been the response from

through our day to day teaching?

different departments?

There’s already some excellent literacy teaching

There are lots of competing demands on teachers

happening across AGS – some of which Andrew

and Heads of Department, but ultimately, we all

and I highlighted in our Staff Forum in June 2019.

want to do the best by our students. Thankfully

However, if literacy isn’t centrally coordinated,

the research is right in front of us – we know this

it can be inconsistent and easily forgotten

helps – and as a result, staff understand that this

about when in the mix with everything else.

is a missing piece of the puzzle at AGS. Although

We can’t forget about something that’s proven

admittedly some are more confident or more

so important to our students’ academic lives

enthusiastic than others (with the odd one or two

and their futures. A Literacy Lead brings the

having warned me of what a boulder literacy is

focus to reading, writing, speaking and listening

to heave up the mountain, either with a grin or

and drives important whole school changes.

with a look of sympathy), each department has been supportive, and with time, even some of our

“Across the curriculum, reading is the primary medium for gaining knowledge and writing is the primary medium for assessment. That doesn’t mean that literacy looks the same in every subject, but it always has a role to play in success.”

more change-averse colleagues will get on board.

What have you needed to learn in order to ensure the school’s approach to literacy is purposeful and productive?

At one of the courses I attended earlier this year, the convener described it this way: he said literacy policies, when up and running, can often be a series of fun (the pessimist in me heard ‘gimmicky’) tasks shoe-horned in. He called these activities the ‘icing’. Then he went on to ask how we were intending to build the ‘cake’?

Dessert metaphors aside, he was getting at something that’s been important throughout our research. How do we keep students at the centre and avoid becoming a box-ticking exercise or something merely paid lip-service to?

In short, we start with showing our community why this matters and then build a strategy for

What does success look like?

An effective whole school approach to literacy can create and nurture an environment where it is accepted and expected that students will read around all subjects, where they write accurately and articulately in all subjects, where they will discuss and debate ideas sensibly, maturely and analytically in all subjects, at all stages of their school life and beyond.

improvement that’s backed by evidence such as the EEF Guidance Report and schools that are getting it right. I’ve aimed for longevity rather than quick-fixes, but it needs everyone on board and it needs equal support from the top and the bottom to make it effective.

What obstacles have you encountered?

Undoubtedly, Covid-19 has delayed the implementation of some of the steps in the

It also empowers staff to teach literacy as part of

strategy, and required us to adapt others. For

their subject with confidence, taking literacy out

example, the installation of vocabulary boards

of the sole domain of the English Department.

in every classroom has been put on hold as the

34

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

How to successfully implement a whole school literacy policy.

classrooms are neither accessible nor in use; GCSE

summer novel to read before September. This

word lists have been halted to allow departments

shows students and parents how important

time to process Centre Assessed Grades; and

literacy is to success at AGS and provides new

we’ve had to work out alternative ways to get

students with a common topic of conversation.

the induction novel to incoming Year 7 students

We spent a lot of time choosing a novel that will

who will no longer attend induction on site.

work across the curriculum (our 2020 pick is ‘Wolf Hollow’ by Lauren Wolk, if you’d like to read it).

What’s next? How do you plan to ensure that it is

This text will form part of tutor group discussions,

an ongoing project with continued relevance?

year group assemblies, English transition, and

Since January, I’ve been developing a Literacy

hopefully history lessons and more. Our excellent

Strategy for AGS to build the foundations. It draws

librarian – from whom the idea grew – has a set

focus to disciplinary literacy, vocabulary, reading,

of fantastic online resources and quizzes for

writing, combining writing with reading, oracy

students to access before September, and the

and interventions. There are realistic, manageable

Head of Section is enthusiastically behind the

actions and a timeline. I’ve also clarified literacy

idea and will be referencing the text in assemblies

responsibilities to set out the roles of the whole

and through tutor time. We hope the idea

school, the department, and the teacher.

develops and extends to incorporate as wide a

These are both only worthwhile with adequate

range of subjects as possible in future years.

support and whole school implementation. I know that literacy matters, so I’m committed to ensuring the important conversations continue and keeping everyone accountable. There will be suggested changes to department self-evaluation forms, lesson observation forms and the introduction of an SLT book scrutiny, so in time, I won’t be the only person looking to encourage and drive literacy.

“We need to be clear on the message: literacy matters in every subject and needs to be taught by every teacher.”

Can you give me an example of something practical that you have introduced?

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35

Computer based adaptive questioning:

ABSTRACT In this research, I consider how technology can be used to adapt practice questions to a student’s current ability as a form of differentiation. A class of 26 Year 10 students took part in three lessons of computer based adaptive learning, as part of a module on electricity. End of module test results

does it improve

showed that on average they achieved results that

Year 10 students’

intervention to say with certainty that adaptive

previous test results. It is not possible based on this questioning raised scores, but it at least offered as much benefit as conventional use of practice questions, but with less onus on the teacher to differentiate by material given or by support.

Teacher of Physics

Amber Finn

scores in physics?

were higher than their predictions, but in line with

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Computer based adaptive questioning: does it improve Year 10 students’ scores in physics?

CONTEXT Differentiation of work for students is hard to achieve. This has been something that has concerned me and I expect other teachers for some time. Students often find the work they are doing too difficult or easy. One possible solution that is suggested for dealing with this is preparing

are ready, or have finished before it is time to do the next task. Both of these problems can sometimes hinder engagement for students, as work can be either inaccessible due to its level of difficulty or not challenging enough. They may feel rushed if they struggle to work at the same pace as others or bored if they work faster.

multiple activities of varying difficulties. This can

I would like to see my students working at their

be very time consuming to plan and it can also

own pace and be focused, working to answer

be hard to make sure students are completing

questions at a level that is just challenging

the most appropriate task for them. What is

enough. I also would like students engaged with

frequently used in the classroom is support from

the learning.

a teacher to help struggling students to make

I considered how technology may help me

smaller steps to reach the same outcome. This

address these problems. I hoped that technology

level of personalisation can be very effective,

could be used to allow students to work at their

but hard to catch everyone in a large class.

own pace. Many of the practice questions used

Students are also compelled to move through

in physics have numerical answers so there is the

tasks at the same rate as each other and may

scope for answers to be checked automatically.

have to move on to another task before they

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This can also be extended to fact based

the impact of technology on motivation is

questioning using multiple choice questions.

by using gamification. This is the addition of

However, the most potentially transformative

game-like features into technology based practice

aspect is the possibility of adaptation, that is

of educational material, or the embedding of

altering the difficulty of questions presented

educational material into a game environment

to be based on previous work. This has the

(Monterrat, Lavoué and George, 2014).

potential to enable the difficulty of questions to much more closely match the level of the students to provide the right level of challenge.

However, there is mixed evidence of the effect on motivation of game-based learning, with some studies showing improvement and others not, so there is not conclusive benefit in terms

LITERATURE REVIEW There is a large base of evidence to suggest that use of digital technology has a moderate impact on educational attainment (Education Endowment Foundation, 2018). Specifically the use of one to one technology has a significantly positive impact on learning across a range of subjects, including English, maths and science (Zheng et al., 2016). However, the Education Endowment Foundation (2019) makes clear, in their “Using Digital Technology to Improve Learning” guidance report, that it is important to “consider how technology will improve teaching and learning before introducing it” in order for it to have maximum impact. They also note that one area where there are possible

of student motivation (Wouters et al., 2013).

“However, the most potentially transformative aspect is the possibility of adaptation, that is altering the difficulty of questions presented to be based on previous work.”

benefits is in “improving the impact of pupil practice”. To this end, I further considered the evidence for the use of technology in individualised learning and pupil engagement.

Intelligent computer based tutoring systems increase test score (Kulik and Fletcher, 2016).

In maths education, which has similar practice question types to physics, there is a modest benefit from the use of computer based intelligent tutoring systems (Steenbergen-Hu and Cooper, 2013). However, the same meta-analysis showed that low achieving students benefited less from such systems, casting doubt on their usefulness for differentiation and raising the possibility that they may exacerbate attainment gaps.

Students may initially be more motivated to do questions based on the opportunity to do them via technology (Lin, Chen and Liu, 2017). One way designers and educators have sought to maximise 38

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Computer based adaptive questioning: does it improve Year 10 students’ scores in physics?

METHOD Research Question I chose to use adaptive questioning to see if this could improve differentiation of questions the students used for practice. As differentiation itself is not a measurable quantity, the student test scores were used as a measure of their learning. I considered measuring student engagement and motivation as an outcome, but as the literature showed mixed results

Design of the tasks Google Forms was used to create a quiz for the students to answer questions. This allowed questions to be self marking and also to direct the user to sections based on their answer. This was used so that the form would branch, allowing those who answer a question correctly to move on to harder questions and those answering incorrectly to be led to further information, such as a video, and then slightly easier questions.

this would not be the best measure although

The form structure would typically comprise

I would comment on my observations of the

of three branches after the initial questions

students as they carried out the work.

were used to gauge the level of the student:

The research was conducted within a single

Figure 2

topic over the course of five weeks beginning at the start of January 2020. The topic used was electricity, which would usually consist of a mix of introduction of concepts, practical investigation and practice questions. For the research I largely replaced the practice questions that would be done in class with the interactive questioning I had designed. In total this consisted of three lessons out of the ten lessons of the topic.

Some consolidation of the initial teaching of concepts and practical work was required in order to allow full lessons for the research tasks.

More branching of questions would allow further levels. However, due to the limitations of using forms, only the answer to the last question can be used to decide the next set of questions, and

Figure 1

1 2

Review of work covered in Year 9 including

so there would be limited value in many levels of

demonstrations relating to charge and current

questioning and yet a large amount of set up.

Research lesson 1: Questions on Year 9 topics Graphs of p.d. & current (fixed resistor

3

& filament lamp). Students carry out practical to generate data for plotting.

4 5

Plugs, fuses and earthing. Students view demonstration of fuses and open a plug.

Parallel circuits. Practical work investigating parallel circuits.

6

Circuit analysis theory, energy & power.

7

Research lesson 2 - Questions on circuit analysis

8

Wires in parallel (R vs. A).

9 10 11

R vs. L Students investigate the relationship between wire length and resistance practically.

Research lesson 3 - Questions on resistance and dimensions.

TEST (Review to be done during next topic)

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39

FINDINGS

Figure 3

Observations Once the tasks they would be carrying out were explained to the students, they appeared excited and enthusiastic. Whilst doing the tasks the students were to a large extent on task and came across as focused and engaged with what they were doing. Many appeared to be working well at their own pace, some completing work much more quickly than others.

There were also some negative aspects. A small

As it is possible that the class usually

number of students took a lot of interest initially

outperformed their own predicted grades I

in what others were doing and comparing

considered another useful measure would be

themselves to others. They also wanted to know

comparing how they perform with their previous

whether they were getting easier or more difficult

grades. Figure 4 shows the difference between

questions and this was distracting them from

the UMS on the topic test for the electricity topic

getting on with their work to some extent.

during which the research was carried out and the average results for the students’ topic tests

Overall class results

up until that point in Year 10. Here the class

Students’ test results are normalised across the

in question actually achieved lower average

year group to give the same range of grades as

UMS than on previous tests, as is shown by the

has been seen in previous years’ GCSE grades.

negative difference. Also shown on the graph is

This gives a UMS to each student, from which

the average for the other classes, both with and

their grade can be found. These were compared

without support sets included, but excluding

with GCSE predicted grades for each student. The

the research class. The total average was below

predictions are based on YELLIS tests that the

zero as due to low numbers of marks in some

students take early in Year 10. Each student has

previous tests the normalisation led to some

a predicted 1-9 grade and also an accompanying

uplift in grading. This does show that on average

UMS score (1-100) for their prediction. Figure 3

other classes also achieved lower UMS points

shows the difference between the test UMS and

in this test than they had on other tests in the

the predicted UMS averaged for the whole class.

year prior to this one. So although the average

Also shown is the same average difference for the

was lower for the research class, this was by

year group as a whole (excluding the test class)

less than the average for the rest of the year.

and for all classes that are not support sets (again excluding the test class). On average students

Figure 4

in the research class did better than their own predicted GCSE grade in the end of topic test.

On average students in other classes did less well than their own predicted grades, although there was one other class (not shown separately in figure) who did better than their predictions.

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Computer based adaptive questioning: does it improve Year 10 students’ scores in physics?

Comparison of students within the class

Figure 6

The results for the average of the class showed no negative effect of the intervention, but I was interested to see if there was a difference between the results for students within the class.

First the difference between the test UMS and the predicted UMS was compared with the students’ average UMS in prior tests in Year 10 (Figure 5). This showed that students with a high average UMS were more likely to have a UMS above their prediction. This pattern can also be seen in other tests throughout the year (data not shown) and is a likely reason that including support sets in averages makes that difference more negative, as they generally contain students with lower predicted UMS. Figure 5

A better comparison is with students’ own average previous scores, so figure 6 shows how this varied from students with low average scores to high

“These problems can sometimes hinder engagement for students, as work can be either inaccessible due to its level of difficulty or not challenging enough.

They may feel rushed if they struggle to work at the same pace as others or bored if they work faster.”

average scores. As would be expected, there is no clear link between average UMS score and a gain or loss in the trial module. More students with near average previous scores gained than students at either end of the spectrum. Also, whilst many students gained a small amount of around 10 UMS points, as few were well below their average, this shows there may be some students who found it hard to engage with the work. It would be crucial in any future research to try to identify these students as soon as possible.

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CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

These are the actions I plan to take:

Student test scores were better compared

that can individualise learning and adapt

to their predictions and average prior score

for students, or it is possible to easily

when the use of conventional paper based

create such resources, I will use this regularly

questioning was replaced with adaptive

for students to practise what is learnt

computer based questioning. The difference

in lessons.

was small, so it cannot be concluded definitively

• Where there is technology available

• Use technology where it allows students to

that it was purely due to the intervention

work in a beneficial way that would not

described. However, it is clear that it did not

be possible with only conventional

harm and students did well in the module.

methods. For example not just replace

There seemed to be no clear overall pattern

written note taking with electronic, but

between prior attainment of students and

perhaps use online documents

whether they did better on the topic test

for collaboration.

compared to their prior tests. There appeared

• Make sure use of technology for

to be more increase for students who had

learning still incorporates at least the

near average prior attainment. It is possible

same degree of feedback to the student

that students who had near average UMS

as they would get by conventional methods.

gained more from the intervention, as they had more questions at the right level.

The research I have carried out has definitely informed my own teaching practice as well as making me aware of potential pitfalls.

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Computer based adaptive questioning: does it improve Year 10 students’ scores in physics?

NEXT STEPS

REFERENCES

I plan to continue to extend this project into

Education Endowment Foundation, (2019). Using Digital

next year and continue to work as part of the

Technology to Improve Learning, p.4-5.

research group. Although the functionality of

Educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk, (2018). Teaching and

Google Forms is limited, it can be extended by

Learning Toolkit - Digital Technology. [online]

the use of Google Apps Script. This will allow the

Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.

automatic generation of form quizzes based on data held in a spreadsheet. I plan to use this to create sets of questions that are more adapted to individual students and can also generate further questions based on answers to many questions rather than just the previous one.

uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/digitaltechnology/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2020].

Kulik, J. A. & Fletcher, J. D., (2016). Effectiveness of Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Review of Educational Research, 1 3, 86(1), pp. 42-78.

Lin, M. H., Chen, H. C. & Liu, K. S., (2017). A study of the effects of digital learning on learning motivation and learning outcome.

I would also look to modify the set of questions

Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology

and how they are structured further. I will try to

Education, 15 6, 13(7), pp. 3553-3564.

interleave questions based on prior knowledge

Monterrat, B., Lavoué, É. & George, S., (2014). A framework to adapt

with ones on recently covered material to see if

gamification in learning environments. s.l., Springer Verlag,

this improves retention. Students also wanted

pp. 578-579.

more feedback on how they were progressing

Steenbergen-Hu, S. & Cooper, H.,(2013). A meta-analysis of the

whilst doing questions, so I will explore ways to

effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems on K-12 students’

include this within the sets of questions they

mathematical learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 11,

are answering.

105(4), pp. 970-987.

I was due to be carrying out an action research

Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H. & van

project, as part of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) Action Research Cohort of 2020-2021, during the coming academic year, presenting at St Mark’s School of Texas in the United States in 2021. Unfortunately, due to the current pandemic the projects and training

Der Spek, E. D., (2013). A meta-analysis of the cognitive and motivational effects of serious games. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), pp. 249-265.

Zheng, B., Warschauer, M., Lin, C.-H. & Chang, C., (2016). Learning in One-to-One Laptop Environments. Review of Educational Research, 10 12, 86(4), pp. 1052-1084.

cycle will begin a year later than originally planned, however the final presentation will take place at the 2022 IBSC Annual Conference on the topic ‘Boys and Technology: New Horizons, New Challenges, New Learning’.

w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

43

Reflections on studying for an MA in education

Last year I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the AGS Research Working Party - regularly meeting up with and working alongside like-minded teachers who were all keen to explore an area of education within their classrooms and beyond.

I undertook a year-long project looking at the teaching of skills and problem solving by direct instruction in the maths classroom. My paper can be found in the first AGS Flagship Journal published in 2019.

I came to the Working Party with a background in conducting and using research in various ways. Prior to teaching, I spent over a decade in industry (Financial Services, Telecommunications, Retail and the Charity Sector). In these roles, I used research and data to design products and propositions, understand consumer behaviour and build business cases. Over the course of my teacher training, I conducted research in two areas: SATs resits in secondary schools, which was later abolished by the Government (nothing to do with my research!); and the expansion of grammar schools, which keeps

Teacher of Mathematics

Katrina Blunt

entering and leaving the government agenda.

44

“I have gained so much more insight into the many elements that need consideration to ensure research is ethical, valid and reliable, and that a place for the research exists in the research field.”

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Reflections on studying for an MA in education

This past year, I stepped away from the

secondary school mathematics compatible

Working Party as I started an MA in Education

with the educational aim of enabling all

at the Institute of Education, UCL. During

students to flourish?’ and ‘Determining the

my teacher training, I completed a PGCE

impact of students’ test anxiety on GCSE

and having enjoyed it and the grounding in

exam performance: employing qualitative

academia it gave me, I had always thought I

versus quantitative research methods.’

would like to undertake a Master’s degree.

Next year I will be re-joining the Research Working

The Research Working Party acted as a catalyst

Party as I enter my final year of study. I will be

for my desire to complete my Master’s degree.

spending the year working on my dissertation

Carrying out a full research project into a

which I aim to be relevant and useful for the AGS

particular area of education made me realise

community and beyond. I am in the early stages

that I wanted to continue studying sooner

of deciding my area of research, but my current

rather than later. I looked into a number of

thinking is to research test anxiety, potentially

Universities and, with a busy teaching job and

with students sitting public exams in 2021.

three children, I decided the best way for me to study would be via distance learning.

By coming together again with like-minded colleagues, I anticipate another enjoyable year

Distance learning is something we’ve all had to

as part of the team. I will be able to continue to

get used to lately, with our students receiving

learn from others whilst using the knowledge

their learning online and teachers getting to grips

gained from my Master’s to benefit my research.

with the best way to teach virtually. Distance

Furthermore, it will enable me to contribute to

learning certainly takes commitment and

the team, wider school development, and help to

discipline. You have to develop an independence

advance the research field in my area of interest.

in your learning otherwise it’s too easy to fall behind. Thankfully I have kept up with my studies over the academic year, which have been a mix of live lectures and tutorials, recorded sessions and a very long reading list, and have now completed my first year of the course.

I completed modules this year including ‘What is Education?’ and ‘Understanding Research’. ‘Understanding Research’ has been of particular interest to me, as having completed my research project at AGS last year, I have gained so much more insight into the many elements that need consideration to ensure research is ethical, valid and reliable, and that a place for the research exists in the research field. During the module we have critiqued many research papers which has also helped me to further develop my academic writing.

During the course, I have been able to tailor my assignments to my particular areas of interest. I have written assignments in the area of assessments including: ‘To what extent is the current emphasis on assessment in UK w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

45

Appy Learners: how do language

INTRODUCTION As of February 2019, the educational tool Quizlet (a website and application for mobile devices) had over 50 million active monthly users, 400 million sets and 14 billion study terms. In the UK, Quizlet itself says that one in seven secondary pupils use Quizlet every month. As a language

students use

teacher I have been directing students to use

Quizlet, and

view of language teaching. Some of the research

what are the

the app as they appear to enjoy doing so and because it is very user-friendly from the point of I have read has been studying the positive impact of Quizlet over more old-fashioned methods of vocabulary learning such as using vocabulary books. I felt it was important to look specifically

characteristics

at how Quizlet could best be used rather than if

and habits

of the most popular online revision tools. In

of successful learners using

it was worth using Quizlet at all as I feel students have “voted with their feet” to make this one this research project I wanted to examine the effectiveness of different elements of Quizlet, as well as identifying the characteristics and habits of the most successful learners using it, in order, hopefully, to provide insight for students and my colleagues regarding Quizlet.

Head of Spanish

Richard O’Driscoll

this platform?

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

How do language students use Quizlet, and what are the characteristics and habits of successful learners using this platform?

CONTEXT Quizlet is used by all of my colleagues within the Modern Languages department to a greater or lesser extent and it has become increasingly important as our school has moved to more online approaches to home learning – an example being the school’s use of Google Classroom. I regularly

Gravity: Gravity is a game where correct answers based on the set you are studying prevent asteroids from hitting your planet.

Each correct answer gets you one step closer to the next level. Missed answers must be revisited later and the pace increases as you do better.

set homework based on a Quizlet set in the first

There is also Quizlet Live, which is an

instance, rather than basing the learning on a list

activity set up by a teacher and requiring

and providing the Quizlet set as an optional extra,

students to participate at a specific time – of

and one of the challenges some of my students

some educational value but not useful for

say they are facing is that they are accessing

asynchronous learning or independent study.

the sets but are not achieving the sort of results in their learning that they had expected.

Quizlet has as its main learning tools for independent study the following:

LITERATURE REVIEW Spaced and interleaved learning and Quizlet as a learning tool

Flashcards: single terms that can be clicked

Vlach & Sandhofer (2012) state that ‘Long-term

or tapped to reveal the translation on the

learning is promoted when learning events are

other side – they can be shuffled,

spaced out in time, rather than presented in

term and definition swapped, and

immediate succession’. They describe this finding

it has an optional audio element.

as ‘arguably the most replicable and robust finding

Match: a timed game in which six terms and

from experimental psychology’. Their research

their definitions are jumbled up on screen

actually goes on to focus on concepts, which are

and pairs are to be found by tapping or

less likely to be relevant to an MFL teacher using

clicking on them. Learners are

Quizlet with their students. Firth (2018) looks at

placed on a leaderboard.

the different effectiveness of interleaving and

Write: an activity requiring learners to type in the correct term in the target language.

spacing, and suggests that in the short term they may stand in the way of learning based on a study of activities within one lesson rather than over a

Spell: an activity as above, but with the

period of time. Weinstein and Smith (2016) say that

addition of an audio recording of the term.

spaced study produces more long-lasting learning.

Test: an activity which produces a randomised test of a certain number of terms. A number of different options are available for different kinds of test and number of questions. Learners receive a score.

Learn: an activity which asks learners to match every term and definition at least two times to finish. It introduces the concepts of “familiar” and “mastered” to show progress.

As you answer more questions correctly, you’re advanced from easier, multiple choice questions to harder, written ones.

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47

When it comes to research on the effectiveness of Quizlet as a tool for vocabulary learning, much of the research is positive – Lander (2016) suggests that it can improve students’ scores by 6%, Sanosi

RESEARCH METHODS A. Comparison of test performance using different parts of Quizlet

(2018, p76) talks of a ‘significant difference’ and

Two Year 10 classes were chosen, with the same

recommends using Quizlet at a university level,

number of students in each. They were given a

and Wright (2016, p439) suggests that ‘Quizlet has

list of vocabulary and asked to revise it using only

the potential to be a powerful vocabulary-learning

specified tools within Quizlet.

tool if used properly’ – this final qualification is one

10S were asked to revise using flashcards, match,

of the reasons for conducting the research that

learn, and test

I have done. Another reason is that much of the research I have been able to find was conducted a number of years ago and the landscape of

10YR were asked to revise using flashcards, match, write and spell

online learning tools, and indeed the nature of

The boys all completed the same test that was

Quizlet itself, have changed greatly since then.

based on the tests that they do weekly – ten random items of vocabulary to be translated into

RESEARCH QUESTION How do language students use Quizlet, and what are the characteristics and habits of successful learners using this platform?

or out of Spanish. They were warned about this test at the same time and given the same time and the same items of vocabulary to learn.

The boys then completed a second test, two weeks later (after a week-long holiday) without any warning, to try and assess the impact, if any, on

MY HYPOTHESES 1. That students using Learn and Test on Quizlet will achieve better marks in vocabulary tests than those who use other tools within the site.

2. That students using Learn and Test on Quizlet will retain vocabulary more

long-term learning.

B. Analysis of students’ use of different tools within Quizlet C. Questionnaire on students’ use of Quizlet D. Analysis of students’ average test scores over seven vocabulary tests prior to this research

effectively (long term) than those who use

Obviously I had to consider the ethical

other tools within the site.

implications of this research and I felt that any

3. That students’ use of the range of tools in

negative impact by one revision method being

Quizlet will focus primarily on Learn, Test,

more effective than another was mitigated by

Flashcards and Match.

the fact that I would share my findings with my

4. That the most effective learners will be those who use Quizlet most.

students and this would mean they would go on to be more effective users of Quizlet in the future; in fact, the findings show that both groups did better in their test than they had done on average, so they were not disadvantaged even momentarily.

48

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

How do language students use Quizlet, and what are the characteristics and habits of successful learners using this platform?

FINDINGS

Figure 2: initial test, breakdown of results:

(1) Comparison of test performance using different parts of Quizlet Breakdown of classes: 10S [22 students] had an average score in vocabulary tests of 83.7% 10YR [22 students] had an average score in vocabulary tests of 79.7% Figure 1: breakdown of average scores (before most recent test) Figure 3: initial test, comparison of results with averages for both classes:

Students are told that 70% is a pass mark; four students are on a failing grade in each

Summary of results, second test

class. Both classes are of similar abilities

10S [20 students present for test] had

but 10YR’s average marks are more spread

an average score in this test of 83%

out, with a more pronounced tail.

Summary of results, first test 10S [21 students present for test] had an average score in this test of 91.9% This is an improvement of 9.8%.

This is a drop between tests of 10.0%, which means the average mark in this test was only 0.7 percentage points below the class’ average on all tests prior to this research, despite there being no preparation in the two weeks leading to it.

Four students failed this test – two students

One student failed the test – three students

who had previously been on a failing

who had previously been on a failing

mark on average passed the test.

mark on average passed the test.

10YR [20 students present for test] had an average score in this test of 82.7%

10YR [22 students present for test] had an average score in this test of 72.3% This is a drop between tests of 12.6% and puts

This is an improvement of 3.8%

this test 7.4 percentage points below the class

Three students failed the test – two students

average on all tests prior to this research.

who had previously been on a failing

Ten students failed this test – one student

mark on average passed the test.

who had previously been on a failing mark on average passed the test.

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49

Figure 4: breakdown of results for second test (two weeks after

Figure 5: comparison of results of second test with averages for

initial test, no warning given):

both classes:

Analysis of students’ use of

I had expected to see more completion of

different tools within Quizlet

Flashcards as I imagined that students would have

At the start of Year 10 I created a “Class” on

used this tool to familiarise themselves with the

Quizlet for all my Year 10 students. As we

vocabulary sets.

have access to the “Teacher membership” for

This data clearly shows that the Year 10 students

Quizlet, this meant I could see the details of

are using Learn most often and most thoroughly

how much each student had used Quizlet in

as a tool for their revision, followed by Test and

preparing for each test I set using the site.

Flashcards, the former being more thoroughly

The data showing what different tools students

used and the latter slightly more often, and

have used in Quizlet has been gathered and is

then Match. Write was a surprisingly popular

in the table below. This data represents the use

tool but, along with Spell and Gravity, not

by the two Year 10 classes mentioned above over

used by students as often or as thoroughly.

seven tests. These tests took place before the test

This data does not reflect the total use of

mentioned above for hypotheses (1) and (2).

Quizlet by my Year 10 students – a number of

Looking in more detail at some areas of this

them have used Quizlet but have forgotten

data I would say that the fairly steady number of

their login details and so have created new

“completions” of Learn and Test show that a good

accounts, which are not registered to the

number of students have developed effective

class I set up on Quizlet and therefore I do not

habits either at the start of Year 10 or more likely

have access to the data pertaining to them.

during Key Stage 3, or at the least habits that they believed to be effective.

LEARN

FLASHCARDS

WRITE

SPELL

TEST

MATCH

GRAVITY

some

comp-

some

comp-

some

comp-

some

comp-

some

comp-

some

comp-

some

comp-

activity

leted

activity

leted

activity

leted

activity

leted

activity

leted

activity

leted

activity

leted

TEST 1

14

18

8

15

3

2

2

0

2

19

0

13

2

0

TEST 2

10

18

2

14

4

4

1

1

0

14

0

14

0

1

TEST 3

7

20

5

10

2

4

1

0

0

15

0

7

1

2

TEST 4

8

21

8

12

5

3

2

2

0

15

0

9

0

0

TEST 5

12

19

5

9

4

4

0

1

0

13

0

9

0

1

TEST 6

6

19

4

12

4

3

0

1

1

15

0

7

0

0

TEST 7

8

19

5

6

6

2

1

1

2

14

0

11

1

0

Totals

65

134

37

78

28

22

7

6

5

105

0

70

4

4

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Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

How do language students use Quizlet, and what are the characteristics and habits of successful learners using this platform?

Questionnaire on students’ use of Quizlet

What are the worst things about Quizlet in

Students filled out a Questionnaire including the

your opinion?

following questions:

“nothing” mentioned/nothing

How often do you use Quizlet when revision has

written/ n/a written

11

been set as a homework?

Flashcards mentioned

4

Gravity mentioned

2

Spell mentioned

3

Write mentioned

1

boring mentioned

1

positioning of articles mentioned

4

once or twice

16

3-4 times

13

5 or more times

7

How long is a session on Quizlet generally for you?

precision of answers up to 15 minutes

4

mentioned/inflexibility of scoring

15 to 30 minutes

15

issues with the app – wanting a wider

30 to 45 minutes

9

range of features, not liking the ads,

45 minutes to an hour

5

wanting more features non-premium

An hour or longer

3

How do you use Quizlet? Tick any that apply.

7

3

This table shows that students who say they use Quizlet more frequently have a higher

on a phone

34

on a computer at home

26

on a computer at school

9

on a tablet

1

What are the best things about Quizlet in your opinion?

average test score than those who say they use it less frequently.

Number of sessions per learning task set

Average Number of

test results

students

of those students

1,2

16

78.60%

Learn mentioned

20

3,4

13

83.30%

Test mentioned

5

5+

7

91.10%

Match mentioned

4

Flashcards mentioned

4

easy mentioned

8

helpful/effective mentioned

8

speed mentioned

3

adaptive to needs mentioned

2

Figure 6: comparison of frequency of Quizlet sessions with average scores in tests (Average test results, as (3) above, calculated over seven tests prior to research taking place.)

“The findings show that both groups did better in their test than they had done on average.” w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

51

This table shows that students who say they have either very short or very long sessions on Quizlet have lower average test scores than those (the majority) who use it for between 15-60 minutes at a time.

Average length Number of

Average test

of session

results of those

students

using Quizlet

students

0-15

4

67.50%

15-30

15

84.70%

30-45

9

85.63%

45-60

5

88.10%

60+

3

75.20%

“As of February 2019, the educational tool Quizlet (a website and application for mobile devices) had over 50 million active monthly users, 400 million sets and 14 billion study terms.”

(Average test results, as (3) above, calculated over seven tests prior to research taking place.)

Figure 7: comparison of average session length on Quizlet with average scores in tests

52

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

How do language students use Quizlet, and what are the characteristics and habits of successful learners using this platform?

CONCLUSIONS A difference of over 5 percentage points between the improvement of the two classes in the first test compared to their average tests pre-research seems to me to be significant. I also think that the difference of 10.7 percentage points between

at the start of next year with advice about the most effective ways of using it, b) to stress the importance of students logging in in order to do their revision, to enable more effective tracking, and c) to ensure that I use a consistent style in new vocabulary lists when it comes to articles.

the two classes when comparing their average scores pre-research with their average scores

REFERENCES

in the second test is also significant. I believe

Firth, J. (2018) The application of spacing and interleaving

this shows, primarily, that Learn and Test are

approaches in the classroom. Impact, 2, 23-26

more effective than Spell and Write as tools for learning in the short and longer term.

Glotzbach, M (2019) Celebrating 2019 and Quizlet’s impact.

Available from: https://quizlet.com/blog/2019-impact-report

Frequency of access to Quizlet and length of

[accessed 20th March 2020]

sessions has an impact on the effectiveness

Lander, B. (2016) Quizlet: what the students think - a qualitative

of the site – more frequent access seems to

data analysis. In: S. Papadima-Sophocleous, L. Bradley & S.

mean a higher average test score, and not

Thouësny (Eds.) CALL communities and culture – short papers

having too short or excessively long session

from EUROCALL Dublin, Research-publishing.net, pp. 254-259

lengths seems to also help with average test

Sanosi, A.B. (2018) The Effect of Quizlet on Vocabulary Acquisition.

scores. I would add that I believe that students

Asian Journal of Education and e-Learning, 6 (4) 71-76

tend to overestimate how long they spend on

Vlach, H. A. and Sandhofer, C.M. (2012) Distributing Learning

any activity when reporting this to a teacher

Over Time: The Spacing Effect in Children’s Acquisition and

(the questionnaire was not anonymous), but

Generalization of Science Concepts. In Child Development, 83 (4)

even so I think there is clearly a trend and a

Weinstein, Y. & Smith, M. (2016) Learn How to Study Using...

more effective way to use Quizlet which I will

Spaced Practice, Available from: https://www.learningscientists.

be encouraging my students to emulate.

I believe that the results of my research tend to support hypotheses 1, 2 and 3; and for hypothesis

org/blog/2016/7/21-1 [accessed 20th March 2020] Wright, B.A. (2016) Transforming vocabulary learning with Quizlet.

In: P. Clements, A. Krause, & H. Brown (Eds.), Transformation in language education. Tokyo, JALT, pp. 436-440

4, (“That the most effective learners will be those who use Quizlet most”) is, I believe, incorrect.

I was surprised on reflection to see that I had thought this was the case, given what I had read about spacing learning, and it probably shows how ingrained the idea was in me that success in the classroom was simply down to time and hard work. I believe that the most effective learners are those that used Quizlet more frequently, with sessions that were not too long or too short (see figure 7), who used the most effective tools and especially Learn.

I would like to have tried the same experiment with a different Key Stage to see if similar results could be reproduced but unfortunately the school year was interrupted by the COVID-19 crisis and so this became impossible. My intentions moving forward will be a) to introduce Quizlet w: ags.bucks.sch.uk

53

Analysing classroom dialogue:

ABSTRACT This interpretivist, mixed methods case study explores the use of literacy strategies in the development of technological knowledge and understanding. The aim of the study was to exemplify talk-intensive classroom literacy strategies as a method to enhance engagement,

exploring

participation and depth of learning. A scoping

talk-intensive

The core research trialled a number of

literacy strategies

phase surveyed teachers’ and students’ perceptions of literacy practices in the classroom. talk-intensive strategies and literacy tools to support knowledge development such as questioning, elaborating and specific methods to document ideas. Observation of the trials involved

in an engineering

participant and non-participant observers and

context

to gather feedback on the strategies used in the

documents were collected and analysed following the lesson. A third phase surveyed participants focus lesson. Findings support the use of specific, talk-intensive literacy strategies coupled with literacy tools employed to scaffold ideas and encourage documentation. The strategies used were shown to encourage participation, depth of thinking, social learning and the shared development of ideas. The paper concludes with a number of considerations for lesson design using talk-intensive strategies and a recommendation for further research to explore the role of dialogic

Adrian Twissell

Head of Engineering, Design and Technology

practices in enhancing achievement.

54

“When children learn language, they are not simply engaging in one kind of learning among many; rather, they are learning the foundation of learning itself.”

(Halliday, 1993: 93)

Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Analysing classroom dialogue: exploring talk-intensive literacy strategies in an engineering context

Keywords

Thus, exploratory and collaborative talk is

Language & learning, literacy strategies,

recommended to allow a shift to dialogic

classroom dialogue, questioning, elaborating

interaction, development of meaning and modification of existing understanding

INTRODUCTION

(Edwards-Groves, Anstey and Bull, 2014).

Consequently, recent interest in dialogic aspects

Halliday (1993) describes language as the

of teaching and learning has generated an

foundation of learning itself; to learn is to learn

abundance of literature (Sedova, Sedlacek,

language. Indeed Halliday (1993) asserts that all

Svaricek, Majcik, Navratilova, Drexlerova, Kychler

learning relates to the construction of meaning

and Salamounova, 2019), where both the teaching

through language development. Language

and learning aspects of discourse have been

development is here said to involve the

emphasised (Alexander, 2017). There is a wide body

co-construction of meaning through ‘the dynamic

of research supporting learning through the use

mode of everyday commonsense (sic) grammar’

of classroom dialogue (Howe, Hennessy, Mercer,

and ‘the synoptic mode of the elaborated written

Vrikki and Wheatley, 2019). Vrikki et al. (2019: 86)

grammar’ (Halliday, 1993: 112). Meaning is thus

suggest the following shared features commonly

dependent upon both the link between these

found in whole class and group contexts:

modes and the reconstruction of, or transition to, understanding in the synoptic mode.

Similarly, verbal learning has been described as the key approach to developing learners’ knowledge stock and understanding (Ausubel, 2012). This type of learning may include reading purposely, engaging in productive dialogue and writing meaningfully, particularly in school-based subjects (Dew & Teague, 2015).

Learner-learner and teacher-learner dialogue feature prominently within this approach.

However, researchers have shown that a prevalence exists for a pattern of dialogic turns known as the IRF (initiation-response-feedback) sequence (Vrikki, Wheatley, Howe, Hennessy and Mercer, 2019). During this sequence teachers typically ask questions of the class, a response is initiated from the class and the teacher feeds back with confirmation, clarification or elaboration. IRF sequences are considered to offer undemanding

• invitations that provoke thoughtful responses (e.g. authentic questions, asking for clarifications and explanations); • extended contributions that may include justifications and explanations; • critical engagement with ideas, challenging and building on them; • links and connections; • attempts to reach consensus by resolving discrepancies.

The approach has been referred to as talk-intensive (Sedova, 2019), where learning is reflected in the key components: querying, elaboration and student participation (Howe et al., 2019). Focusing on the effective characteristics of classroom talk therefore appears to offer much to planning for successful management of dialogic interactions in the classroom setting.

closed questions that inflict strict control over participation and limit dialogue (Vrikki et al., 2019).

Conversely Jaeger (2019), whilst acknowledging the existence of these issues, concludes that when dialogically rich implementation of the pattern is facilitated this genre of classroom dialogue is much enhanced.

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55

STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE LITERACY AND DIALOGICAL INTERACTION To operationalise Vrikki et al.’s (2019) commonly shared features of successfully dialogic classrooms, high student participation is considered key to enabling learning through participation in discussion (Howe et al., 2019). Benefits include learning through small group and whole class discussions (Howe, 2014). Operationalising shared features tends to involve a range of literacy

A particularly useful feature of Dew and Teague’s (2015) analysis is an emphasis on the purposeful placement of strategies which match the aims of teaching and learning. For example, it is suggested that the ‘I think…, We think…’ strategy can be used to assess students’ knowledge stock prior to whole-class topic input using the process described above. At the end of the lesson ‘I used to think…, but now I know…’ may usefully summarise the new learning and stabilise any conception/misconception disparity.

strategies in addition to dialogue. These strategies

Complementing the strategies discussed so

often involve reading, writing and presenting. A

far, Jackson and Durham (2016) introduce the

key strategy involves querying (Howe et al., 2019),

elements of physical interaction and graphical

which may be used by the student and teacher

presentation to literacy-based learning. Using

to explore current understanding, teachers’

interactive word walls, Jackson and Durham

exposition and student interactions. Gholson et al.

(2016) assert that the combination of a vocabulary

(2008) show that deep-level questioning involving

focus and student-fabricated learning materials,

‘What …?’, ‘How …?’ and ‘Why …?’ style questions

organised within a structured visual presentation,

leads to an enhanced level of comprehension and

improve academic achievement. An example

problem solving where learners outperform other

word wall might consist of a data table connecting

similar learners not engaged in this strategy.

learning topics and learning goals guided by

To support the thinking of younger learners, Kelly (2016) describes two strategies designed to prepare for dialogue and scaffold records of thinking and academic content. In the first strategy of interest here, teachers use ‘thinkpair-share’ to initially think about and record responses to teacher-directed tasks. During

a focus question used to generate discussion and inquiry activity (e.g., Jackson and Durham, 2016: 82). This approach offers a complimentary strategy to those discussed above, providing the benefits of resource organisation, applied learning through practical production and both graphical and verbal presentation opportunities.

the ‘think’ phase students are encouraged to

In the foregoing a range of literacy strategies are

use ‘journal prompts’ consisting of directions to

presented that have been shown to effectively

assist with recording students’ own ideas and

enhance learning through dialogic practices

thinking prior to paired and class discussion

supported by written activities. Many of these

(Kelly, 2016: 54). In the second strategy, ‘language

align with the literacy skills needed by engineers

stems’ (fill-in-the-blank style prompts) are used

when solving engineering design problems.

to support the writing of academic content

Specifically, Wilson, Smith and Householder

and subsequent discussion around the topic.

(2014, 684) highlight ‘… sharing/summarizing

Dew and Teague (2015, 35) offer a useful strategy based on ‘I think…, We think…’ written responses.

Here students record initial thoughts about the topic under a heading ‘I think…’, then use these ideas to inform discussion using questions, explanations and arguments. The outcomes of discussions are then recorded under the heading ‘We think…’ to evidence the dialogic exchange.

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understandings of the problem statement’ and ‘identifying gaps in information and addressing those gaps through strategies such as asking questions, making inferences, and recursively consulting different source types’ as important competencies when engaging with the engineering design process. Wilson-Lopez and Gregory (2015) emphasise the importance of writing as a thinking tool, writing used to record Flagship: Journal for Evidence Engaged Practice

Analysing classroom dialogue: exploring talk-intensive literacy strategies in an engineering context

and writing as reflection and evaluation within the engineering profession. Wilson-Lopez, Garlick and Acosta-Feliz (2018) found that a combination of small-group discussion and reading of science/engineering-based texts developed students’ initial concepts, use of specialist vocabulary and knowledge and understanding about engineering-related problems.

METHODOLOGY This case study research sought to exemplify the co-construction of new knowledge; that between students and between teacher and student. Consequently, a constructivist perspective was adopted which aimed to explore two key principles. Firstly, that knowledge is formed and shaped by the learner, and secondly

Multi-literacy approaches may therefore offer

that the process of knowledge construction

considerable potential to support the process of

enables individuals to adapt to and organise

meaning making within engineering/technology

lived experience (von Glasersfeld, 1989).

and related contexts. The case study research described in subsequent sections therefore includes the following aims: • To explore teachers’ and students’

Given the problems associated with research design involving control groups and attempts to isolate variables in the classroom (Howe et al., 2019), the aim in this study was to exemplify the

perceptions of current literacy

phenomena of interest (Thomas, 2011); that is

practices within Key Stage 3

to provide examples of meaning making

Engineering/Design and Technology (DT);

through literacy-based strategies in an

• To pilot a specific blend of the strategies highlighted above and evaluate students’ engagement and lesson outcomes; • To assemble examples to exemplify

engineering/technology-focused classroom setting. The unit of analysis is characterised by a ‘concern to elucidate the unique features of the case’ (Bryman, 2008: 54), which in this study involves an analysis of meaning through transitions

Halliday’s (1993) semiotic process

in Halliday’s (1993) domains of understanding.

(i.e. learning to mean through

The potential for strong inference transferability

the dynamic and synoptic modes)

(Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2009) was expected.

The specific research questions to be answered are:

The study is interpretivist in nature, aiming to

1. What are teachers’ and students’ current perceptions and experiences of teaching and learning through literacy?

2. Which literacy strategies effectively

explore the development of meaning through largely qualitative techniques, supported by simple quantitative presentations of numerical data. The research was undertaken at a boys’ Grammar school in the South East of England

develop understanding in an

focusing on Year 8 DT students and DT

engineering/technology specific domain?

Department staff. Year 8 was chosen firstly

3. How are transitions between the dynamic and synoptic domains evidenced through the literacy strategies explored within Question 2?

because they are taught by one teacher across the year, and therefore access to the group for research purposes, follow-up and cross checking was convenient. Secondly, examples of early Key Stage 3 meaning making, what has been termed ‘approximation’ to sophistication (Doolittle, 2013), was desired to exemplify understanding at the point of topic introduction. Subsequently, Halliday’s (1993) synoptic transitions could be compared with these early approximations.

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METHOD

Online delivery was chosen to facilitate a

A sequential mixed methods approach was adopted, chosen to draw together the benefits of a number of data collection approaches and tools (Teddlie and Tashakkori, 2009). Data collection

potentially sizeable cohort of students (n=65).

Teachers’ perceptions were gained via a hard-copy questionnaire also drawn from Kershner et al. (2019).

was carried out ethically. Participants, whose

Hard copy was chosen to facilitate speed and a

data was used as a part of the discussed findings,

modest field (n=5). The findings from Phase One

were included in de-identified form to achieve

informed the direction and design of Phase Two.

confidentiality. The research was organised in two phases; first Phase One explored students’ and teachers’ perceptions about literacy-based pedagogies and practice. Then in Phase Two the application of literacy strategies was trialled and observed in the classroom setting.

Phase Two Phase Two focused on the application of literacy strategies within a naturalistic classroom setting.

One lesson involving one class of Year 8 students (n=21) was observed by a teacher-participant and a non-participant observer based on the topic of

Phase One

mechanisms entitled ‘Making Things Move’. The

During Phase One a scoping study was used

lesson was devised to allow maximum dialogic

to explore the perceptions of current literacy

interaction, whilst also facilitating the opportunity

practices amongst DT students in Year 8 and

to record discussion and thinking using specific

teachers of Design and Technology. Students’

strategies designed to elucidate transitions

perceptions were gained through an online

between general and synoptic language use. The

questionnaire drawn from Kershner, Hennessy,

following conceptual framework was adopted

Calcagni and Ahmed (2019) and accessed via

to inform lesson planning and data collection.

SurveyMonkey.com.

Table 1: Conceptual framework for trial lesson

Lesson Phase

Activity

Theoretical Strategy & Source

Approx. allocation -

What is a machine? - Image analysis

Google Images

What is a machine? – ‘I

Questioning styles (Gholson et al., 2008);

think, we think…?’

‘I think, we think…’ (Dew & Teague, 2015)

Elaboration cards

Elaboration - (Howe et al., 2019)

‘I think, because…’

Think-pair-share; Language stems (Kelly, 2016)

Query cards

Querying (Howe et al., 2019)

Discussion, question sharing

Think-Pair-Share; Language stems (Kelly, 2016)

25 min

& answer building Approx. allocation -

Plenary & transition

Consolidation of ‘What is a machine?’

Video – levers types & uses

MakerClub (2017)

Guiding question “How do

Application of querying & elaboration skills

5 min Approx. allocation -

different classes of lever relate to 20 min

different mechanical movements, their functions and uses?”

Dynamic word grid task

Drawn from interactive word wall concept (Jackson & Durham, 2016)

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‘I used to think …, but now I know …

‘I used to think, but now I know…’

‘Feedback from groups & plenary

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Analysing classroom dialogue: exploring talk-intensive literacy strategies in an engineering context

The lesson was designed to incorporate the

definition for the term ‘query’, prompts to

literacy strategies discussed in the foregoing

assist with query formulation and space to

literature review. Opportunities to exploit the

write questions. The cards included a range of

characteristics of classroom talk, querying and

deeper-level question nudges including ‘what…?’,

elaboration, as discussed by Vrikki et al. (2019),

‘how…?’ and ‘why…?’ prompt styles (Gholson et

informed lesson design. The key objective was to

al., 2008). A similar format was applied to the

encourage participation through student-centred

design of ‘elaboration cards’ to support the

questioning and discussion, whilst allowing

development of elaborations, justifications,

students’ technical understanding to develop in

clarifications and explanations of students’ ideas.

a way which might exemplify Halliday’s (1993) dynamic to synoptic shift in meaning making.

Thus, as outlined in Table 1, the lesson included a pattern of student-centred questioning, discussing, elaborating and recording.

Students’ elaborating, questioning and discussion followed a ‘think-pair-share’ format (Kelly, 2016) and a worksheet was provided which included spaces to record ideas at different phases and support for record making through language

Firstly, drawing from the Phase One questionnaire

stems (Kelly, 2016). To develop the depth of

findings, where students indicated the need

thinking and consensus of opinion, ‘I think…, we

for support with question formulation, ‘query

think…’ and ‘I used to think…, but know I know…’

cards’ were provided in the form of A6-sized

prompts were used (Dew and Teague, 2015).

coloured sheets of paper. These included a

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In the second part of the lesson, a video clip

Analysis drew from Kershner et al.’s (2019)

explained the principles of first, second, and

T-SEDA coding framework to enable constructive

third-class levers (MakerClub, 2017). This was

exploration of recorded dialogue (see Table 6).

used to introduce a problem-solving style group task based around what I have termed a ‘dynamic word grid’. The dynamic word grid

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

was developed from Jackson and Durham’s

The findings are presented in accordance with

(2016) concept of interactive word walls. The

the pattern of data collection as described

scale of the group-constructed artefact was

previously. First, the students’ views on interactions

reduced to A3 format to enable its completion

in the classroom and their observations about

in small groups of four students. However,

the patterns of questioning and dialogue use

the principles of dialogue enhancement,

during lessons are presented. Secondly, the

the co-construction of ideas and individual

staff self-audit is presented and discussed.

participation were crucial in using the strategy to support learning about mechanical systems.

Student self-audit - group work The student self-audit focused on the nature of

“The strategies used were shown to encourage participation, depth of thinking, social learning and the shared development of ideas.”

group interactions in the classroom (Table 2).

Q no Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9

Question Most of our classroom talk is about the task we're doing Everyone in the bench/table group participates We share our own ideas and build on each other's We listen carefully when others are speaking and take on board what they are saying We know which questions to ask to challenge others about their ideas We ask each other challenging questions about our ideas When we make suggestions, or agree/disagree we give reasons Our discussions and disagreements help us learn from each other Talking is helpful to learning about the topic

Not True Partly True Very True 20 0 8 15 12 1 0 12 16 0 6 22 4 17 7 1 22 5 2 14 12 1 7 20 0 5 23

Table 2: Student self-audit questions (n=28)

Responses generally reflect a range of very positive learning behaviours. Three key areas emerge which are considered by students to be only partly true of lesson activity and therefore less prevalent

OBSERVATION Observation was carried out by a Design and Technology specialist (teacher-observer) and an English Language specialist (non-participant observer). The observers used an observation pro forma to record student interactions

during their lessons, including: the frequency of dialogic participation in the lesson (Q2, Table 2), the knowledge about which questions to ask others in the lesson (Q5, Table 2) and the frequency of questioning in the lesson (Q6, Table 2). I elaborate on these in the discussion section to follow. Figure 1 provides a summary overview.

including discussions, questions, elaborations and misunderstandings. Capturing examples of rich dialogue in context was the key aim.

The pro forma provided a guide to the focus at different phases of the lesson. Prior to the lesson, the observers agreed an approach which distributed the groups evenly between them and ensured efficient coverage within the room. Students’ written application during the worksheet and dynamic word grid tasks was also observed during the lesson and these

Figure 1: Student self-audit summary (n=28)

artefacts were collected at the end for analysis.

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Staff self-audit - supporting the development of dialogue in the classroom The staff self-audit was divided into two parts; first it focused on the nature of teaching (Table 3) and secondly on the nature of interactions in the classroom (Table 4). The findings are presented using conditional formatting based on a colour-coded continuum. The green extreme reflects positive responses to questions therefore

Table 4: Teachers’ questionnaire ‘In our

indications of high prevalence during lessons.

classroom do we…?’ (n=5)

The red extreme indicates areas for development, on the basis of teachers’ self-evaluation. The findings show that although a wide range of learning strategies are considered to be used (including classroom dialogue which is valued and used moderately) there is a need to develop the use of dialogic teaching approaches (Q1, Table 3) and the use of challenging questioning amongst students (Q2, Table 3). These findings concur with students’ responses.

Document analysis: lesson activity worksheets The use of specialist terms increased during the course of the lesson (Table 5). Per 100 words the findings show a slight drop in specialist term use because in later tasks students were encouraged to write at length to explain their ideas. Consequently, students used many more words in comparison with the first phase of the lesson. However, across the group a 41% increase in specialist term use was observed representing a mean increase of 1.21 words per student (Table 5). The introduction of specialist terms reflected the use of prompts on the query and elaboration cards. Students developed their query questions, elaborations and justifications using the cards and through group discussion as noted in the following section.

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(8.27

(7.54

per 100

per 100

words)

words)

the findings are less polarised. However, there are indications that the use of dialogue can

Mean word use increase per student

33

focuses on classroom interactions more generally,

% increase across group

Specialist term word count: Developed understanding

need to develop a questioning approach to

In the second part of the questionnaire, which

use increase

be developed (Q14, Table 4), alongside the

Specialist term word count: Initial understanding

Table 3: Teachers’ questionnaire ‘In my teaching, do I…?’ (n=5)

Specialist term word

Specialist Term Use (n=19)

41

1.21

clarifying learning needs (Q15, Table 4).

23

Table 5: Use of specialist terms during first phase of lesson

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Classroom dialogue Comments from observers were recorded using an observation pro forma arranged to follow the phases of the planned lesson. In the following (Table 6), contributions to dialogue are recorded using the dialogue categories (see category key, table 6) drawn from Kerschner et al. (2019). The categories relate to the talk turns as recorded during the lesson. The frequency of response relative to the total number of recorded turns, the percentage of the total turns and an example of the dialogue are presented.

Lesson Phase

‘I think…’

Dialogue

Frequency/

%

category

Total from

Rank

evidenced

Recorded

E

12/12

100

statements ‘I think…, because…’ elaboration

Example dialogue or strategy from observers’ records

“[mechanisms are] made to do jobs”, “[mechanisms are] man made and can move on their own”

B

10/16

63

“I think this because…”, “… and all have … [multiple reasons]”

R

5/16

31

“… making work easier as the machine and people are working together”

IRE

1/16

6

“Why do machines use mostly metal?”

CH

1/16

6

“But you’re not going to be able to do it efficiently and that’s the purpose of the

activity

machine” ‘I think, but I want to know…’

B

8/18

44

“What’s the difference between a machine powered by force or electricity?” (sic)

R

5/18

28

“I guess it is more recyclable that plastic”

IRE

3/18

17

“Why is it always made of metal?”

CH

2/18

11

“It wouldn’t be as fast”

CA

1/18

6

“That’s a good idea”

querying activity

Dynamic word grid group activity

IB

1/18

6

“Do you agree with my question?”

IRE

7/11

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“What’s the difference between appliance and function?”

R

2/11

18

“Appliance is what you use it for; function is how you use it”

E

1/11

9

“[It] looks hard but once started it’s easy”

RD

1/11

9

-Ditto-

Dialogue Category Key: B (Build on Ideas) CA (Coordination of ideas & agreement) CH (Challenge) E (Express of invite ideas) IB (Invite to build on ideas) IRE (Invite reasoning) R (Make reasoning explicit) RD (Reflect on dialogue or activity)

Table 6: Summary of coded data from observers’ lesson records

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Comments from observers

is considered to provide an effective approach

The following comments (Table 7) were drawn

enabling group participation where individually

from discussion between the two observers

completed worksheets would have taken much

at the end of the trial lesson and include a

longer to complete, covered similar material and

thematic categorisation in each case.

omitted the opportunity to discuss the topic with others. The dynamic word grid activity was

Observer

Comment

Thematic

completed by groups in around 12 minutes.

Category Lesson feedback questionnaire

1

“The increased

Preparation

speed of

for group work

completion on the

given to each question and Figure 2 provides support for a teaching approach which adopts

considered to relate

student-initiated questioning rather than

to the introduction

questioning based around the IRF sequence.

of questioning/

Question 2 indicates that students felt they

elaborating tasks

could contribute well within the framework

earlier in the lesson” “Slower pace of

Cognitive

lesson overall led

depth

of the lesson as described (Table 1).

was also observed

Q No. Question Please rate how the questioning approach in the lesson Q1 'Making Things Move' compared with lessons where teachers ask questions of the whole class or individuals Thinking about the student-based questioning approach in the lesson, how well were you able to contribute when Q2 compared with lessons where teachers ask questions of the whole class or individuals Please rate the usefulness of the elaboration cards in Q3 helping to clarify your ideas in the lesson Please rate the usefulness of the query cards in helping to Q4 create questions in the lesson Please rate the extent to which the questioning/elaborating approach during the first half of Q5 the lesson supported the group task in the second half of the lesson Please rate the extent to which working with others on the table helped you to develop your understanding Q6 about mechanisms during the lesson

and should

Table 8: Post-Lesson Follow-Up Questionnaire (n=11)

be valued”

using Likert Scale (1=Not True; 5=Very True)

to greater depth of thinking”

2

SurveyMonkey.com. Table 8 shows the ratings a summary. Responses to Q1 and Q2 provide

group task was

1

A follow-up questionnaire was issued via

“Although many

Comfort

questioning,

in working

reasoning and

method

elaborating examples were recorded, the use of independent thinking/working

1 2 3 4 5 0 0 3 8 0

0 0 6 4 1

1 2 5 2 1 1 1 4 4 1

0 1 4 3 3

0 0 4 3 4

Table 7: Observers’ post-lesson discussion comments

Dynamic word grid The dynamic word grid was designed to cover key content and enable group participation. Appendix 1 provides a comprehensive example of Group D’s completed grid. The content uses specialist terms well in the first two tasks, which were completed by individuals within the group (i.e. scissors; wheelbarrow). The third task, also completed

Figure 2: Post-Lesson Follow-Up Questionnaire Summary

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DISCUSSION The aim of this research was to a) determine teachers’ and students’ perceptions of current literacy practices, b) pilot a range of strategies drawn from the literature and c) exemplify evidence for Halliday’s (1993) semiotic learning process. The objective was to characterise the nature of learning using dialogic practices and recording techniques as an alternative to the aforementioned IRF sequence. The ensuing discussion is arranged to follow the three research questions as discussed above.

Q2. Which literacy strategies effectively develop understanding in an engineering/technology specific domain?

I chose to trial a number of dialogic strategies that feature prominently in the literature (Table 1). A key influence in deciding on a dialogic approach was the work of Howe et al. (2019), who emphasise the benefits of querying, elaborating and frequent participation as indicators for increased learning and achievement. As a way to introduce an active component to support classroom dialogue, and provide a focus for recording thoughts and shared insights, I also

Q1. What are teachers’ and students’

chose to incorporate a number of literacy

current perceptions and experiences of

practices drawn from the literature (Table 1).

teaching and learning through literacy?

Initial phases of the lesson were designed to

Teachers’ feedback on the use of literacy

develop students’ previous understanding about

strategies and approaches in the classroom

mechanisms; i.e., develop approximations to

highlighted an opportunity for further

sophistication (Doolittle, 2013). The approach

development (Table 3, 4). Analysis of the responses

is supported by Kelly’s (2016) findings which

indicates that where answers are very positive,

promote the benefits of the commonly used

teachers may have taken a more general teaching

‘think-pair-share’ technique. Mechanisms are

and learning view of the questions and not

“made to do a job”, or “move on their own”

necessarily one that focuses on dialogue or

(Table 6) were typical of initial ‘think’ responses.

dialogic strategies. Inter-questionnaire question

The findings show that the use of dialogic

comparison supports the view that interaction

techniques to discuss and elaborate on initial

within lessons tends to follow monologic rather

understandings were beneficial to developing

than dialogic discourse patterns.

greater depth and learning. For example, “what’s

There was however more variation in how

the difference between a machine powered

teachers viewed the classroom environment as

by force or electricity?” (Table 6) reflects a

a whole, dialogically, than in the way teachers

greater depth of thinking beyond the initial

viewed their own dialogical practice. Responses

‘What is a mechanism?’ activity prompt and

to questions 1-5 show that opportunities

student responses. As the student feedback

exist to develop questioning skills, risk taking

questionnaire indicates (Q1, Table 2), the approach

through dialogue and to encourage students

was considered to improve on IRF sequence

to compare ideas through dialogue.

pedagogy and students commented that:

Students’ feedback (Table 2, Figure 1) concurs with

“[It’s beneficial] Because then everyone

this view, indicating the need to increase dialogic

is obliged to think about the question”

participation, develop understanding about

and “We were constantly asked questions,

which questions to ask and develop opportunities

which made us learn from each other”

to engage in dialogue. The perceptions questionnaires indicate, firstly that both teachers and learners have a good understanding of the phenomenon of interest attached to this research; and secondly that the rationale for the research is well supported by teachers and learners.

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There were also frequent instances of talk turns

The worksheet activity prompts comprised the

involving build on and reasoning categories (Table

language stem approach drawn from Kelly (2016)

6), particularly during the early lesson phases

and specific stimuli ‘I think…, We think…’ style

where the elaboration cards and query cards

sentence starters drawn from Dew and Teague

proved beneficial to encouraging dialogue and to

(2015). These provided a focus for recording

build on and reason about ideas (Q3 & 4, Table 8).

students’ dialogue and developing ideas and

In later phases of the lesson (i.e., dynamic word

enabled them to compare the development of

grid activity), invitations to reason were more

ideas as the lesson developed. This approach

frequent (64% of recorded turns as opposed to

included the additional benefit which allowed

6% and 17% during earlier phases, Table 6), partly

the teacher to monitor a number of groups

reflecting the nature of the group activity, but also

and easily connect with conversations.

reflecting the experience gained during the initial lesson phase. Students’ feedback reflects this view (Q5, Table 8). Overall the findings reflect frequent dialogic contributions which are considered to enhance individuals’ learning (Howe et al., 2019).

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The dynamic word grid activity, as a consequence

Q3. How are transitions between the dynamic

of its design as a group task, was also completed

and synoptic domains evidenced through the

in a very short time near the end of the lesson.

literacy strategies explored within Question 2?

Most groups completed the task in approximately

As Ausubel (2012) notes, verbal learning is

12 minutes and feedback from the follow-up

key to developing learners’ knowledge and

questionnaire (Q5, Table 8) and observers’ records

understanding. Doolittle (2013) refers to this as the

(Table 7, Observer 1) indicates that the early lesson

advancement of approximations to sophistication.

experiences involving questioning and elaborating

Halliday’s (1993) semiotic process describes this

contributed to the speed of completion.

advancement which commences with ‘dynamic’

The observers noted that a probable consequence

common understandings (approximations),

of slowing the pace of the lesson, through the use

moving towards elaborated grammar representing

of the strategies discussed, was an increase in the

‘synoptic’ meanings (sophistication). The findings

depth of thinking achieved (Table 7). In addition,

in the current study support this model of

it was noted (Table 7) that although frequent

learning. Students initially represented their ideas

instances of classroom dialogue were recorded,

about mechanisms using simple constructs based

many of the students were obviously comfortable

on common analogies. For example, “[mechanisms

with independent work which should also be

are] made to do jobs” and “[mechanisms are] man

valued within a mixed-strategy approach as it

made and can move on their own” (Table 6) reflect

provides a foundation with which to build

the dynamic mode of understanding. As learning

dialogic strategies.

progressed, understanding reflected an elaborated

Overall the talk-intensive (Sedova et al., 2019)

grammar, as evidenced in the following dialogue:

approach adopted in this study has shown that

“What’s the difference between appliance

participation can be increased, and depth of

and function?” - “Appliance is what you use

thinking enriched, through the co-construction of

it for; function is how you use it” (Table 6)

ideas, as opposed to more individual approaches

The findings show that these transitions occurred

reflected in IRF sequence pedagogies. Numerous

following opportunities to discuss the topic,

researchers (Howe et al., 2019; Sedova et al.,

elaborate on initial ideas and query own or

2019) have found that when participation is

others’ ideas. The worksheet records reflect

increased, academic achievement is enhanced.

a gradual elaboration of the specialist terms

Although the scope of this study has not allowed

used, co-constructed with other students, the

a comparison between talk-intensive learning

teacher and the resources. The use of specialist

and wider student achievement, it is hoped that

terms across the group (n=20) increased

the findings lead to the possibility of enhancing

by 41% following opportunities to discuss,

learning outcomes with the approach discussed.

elaborate and query. During the later phase of the lesson, in the dynamic word grid activity (Appendix 1), students provided well-articulated, reasoned and eloquently presented answers during the levers activity. These examples provide exemplification for Halliday’s (1993) concept of meaning making through language development and reflect one approach to enhancing the focus on learning with specific talk-intensive and literacy-based pedagogies.

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CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF LEARNING WITH TALK-INTENSIVE STRATEGIES

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that a specific talk-intensive

as an approach to teaching and learning about

approach combined with supplementary

mechanical systems. Specific literacy-based

literacy-based strategies possess the potential

methods included a focus on dialogue and

to enhance the development of reasoning and

classroom talk and the use of language stems

meaning. The following are strategies I will

to provide a focus for recording information in

consider incorporating into future lessons where

a structured way. The study adopted a mixed

transitions in meaning and understanding are key:

methods design incorporating both qualitative and

This case study research aimed to exemplify the use of specific literacy-based teaching methods

quantitative methods to explore the application of • Provide students with opportunities to develop meaning through dialogic participation • Encourage risk taking through reasoning-based questioning, discussing and elaborating • Use query and elaboration card prompts to support the development of questions • Provide support to record and monitor developments in reasoning using language stems • Use language stems to stimulate the focus for reasoning • Slow the pace of the lesson to increase the depth of reasoning and understanding • Use group activities to increase the frequency of dialogue

literacy-based methods drawn from the literature.

Data collection involved student and staff questionnaires, classroom observation, document analysis and a post-lesson questionnaire.

The findings concur with a body of literature which promotes classroom dialogue and associated written literacies in support of knowledge development generally and enhanced learning through talk-intensive pedagogies. The findings also support literature which finds that developing students’ literacy skills has a direct benefit to learning relevant to engineering, science and associated problem-solving activities.

Classroom observations revealed that classroom talk, the elaboration of ideas and querying about understanding, led to increased participation and a greater depth of understanding. Additionally, the dialogic approach discussed here provides a straightforward strategy that can be used

• Embrace co-construction approaches

as a development of the initiation-response-

to capitalise on common understandings

feedback (IRF) sequence, often criticised for

and maximise their transition to

its tight control of classroom talk and lack

sophisticated meanings

of wider participation in the classroom.

I conclude with a return to Halliday (1993), mentioned at the beginning of this discussion and the original inspiration for this research.

Halliday (1993) asserts that learning language is synonymous with learning, regardless of the disciplinary focus. I hope I have achieved the aim of providing a transferable case to exemplify the use of dialogic practices, in support of Halliday (1993); and in particular a case that supports Wilson et al. (2014, 684), who observe that ‘certain literacy practices hold the potential to enhance adolescents’ overall engineering design activity’.

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To develop further, this research might usefully focus on the relationship between dialogic practice and achievement. It was not possible to

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Analysing classroom dialogue: exploring talk-intensive literacy strategies in an engineering context

Kershner, R., Hennessy, S., Calcagni, E. and Ahmed, F. (2019)

Appendix 1 Dynamic word grid example (Group D)

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“Conducting this action research has opened my eyes to the value of educational research being at the forefront of curriculum planning and design, and the importance of using research to drive forward changes in pedagogies.”

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