Berkhamsted Research - Issue 1

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ISSUE 1

@ berkhamsted

Welcome to this first issue of Research@Berkhamsted, a joint venture by staff and students that aims to showcase the highquality research and enquiry being undertaken by members of the Berkhamsted community.

The idea for publishing some of this work began about 18 months ago when student research dissertations and staff action research projects were brought into alignment under the umbrella of Research@Berkhamsted and a wealth of inspiring and entertaining projects presented themselves to me. From students exploring the unsatisfactory endings of Jane Austen novels to staff investigating the impact that computer games and mobile phones are having on students in the classroom, there was so much going on which deserved a wider audience.

Action Research projects offer teachers the opportunity – and challenge – to develop new thinking within schools. Research in education has often been the preserve of university academics, and something that teachers read about (time permitting!) in journal articles. Rarely is this research enacted in their own classroom and even less frequently is it shared with colleagues and senior leaders to help guide and shape the development of schools. The research revolution has well and truly begun here at Berkhamsted and we are proud to be in our fifth year of Action Research projects. In this issue we are delighted to

I am delighted to be introducing Berkhamsted’s first research publication, which offers a taste of the opportunities available to both students and staff to choose an area of enquiry and investigate it critically. This reflects our approach that teachers model learning as well as teaching it, as do we all: this is a learning community.

For students, the Extended Project Qualification provides the opportunity to produce a piece of work that is truly individual, that they can be proud of, and that says something about them as a person. For staff, we promote CPD as an integral part of staff development, and Action Research projects as a vital part of this; research-informed teaching is key to ensuring that what we do here at Berkhamsted is relevant not only to the best practices in education but also to the everyday experiences of our students. I am proud of all the work our students and staff have put into their projects and am thrilled to share a selection of them with a wider readership.

Richard Backhouse - Principal

present the following four exciting projects: challenging the assumptions behind class sizes and attainment; examining how a fusion of English and Physics could help to narrow the STEM gap; how using feedback in the English classroom can help students independently move forward with their studies; and how school-based counselling services could work online.

It is, of course, not just staff but also students who are conducting research here at Berkhamsted. This publication brings together both teacher and student research with students showcasing their findings from the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Taken alongside their A levels, the EPQ offers students an invaluable stepping stone between school and university study. Students create, define and explore a project of their own choosing while being guided by an in-house supervisor. The two projects in this issue focus on: dissociative identity disorder; and creativity in the nature vs. nurture debate.

It has been a great pleasure to be part of this publication in both writing and editing the works of many talented teachers and students that we have here at Berkhamsted School.

I hope that you enjoy the articles as much as I have.

Mr Nick Cale (editor), May 2019 Director of Data and Research

Contents Science Fiction STEM gap /

1-4

Class Sizes /

5-8

Nature or Nurture /

9 - 12

Online Counselling /

13 - 17

Feedback to move forward /

18 - 21

Dissociative Identity Disorder /

22 - 24

by Rosie McColl

by Nick Cale

by Ashlea Philips

by Jeanette Hennigan

by Kath Tomlin

by Amber Meech

Could a fusion of English and Physics help to narrow the STEM gap?

Two subjects, both alike in dignity, but polarised within the school curriculum. One celebrates fiction; the other celebrates fact. One delights in stories; the other delights in systems.

Statistically, one is more likely to appeal to girls; the other more likely to appeal to boys. In schools, the worlds of English and Physics rarely collide.

But what if they could?

What if the clock could strike 13 in the Physics classroom? What if Ada Lovelace could be brought to life in an English lesson? Could a change in approach help to challenge girls’ attitudes towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)?

This is the story of how I sought to do just that by crossing the English/Physics divide. And like all good stories, it has a beginning, a middle‌ and an end?

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The Beginning

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good education is less likely to choose a career in engineering than her male counterpart. A gender gap exists. Numerous initiatives have been launched but, in 30 years of focus on ‘enthusing, fascinating or encouraging’ girls into STEM, ‘nothing has worked.’ (Wisecampaign.org 2016) Numbers of girls studying Physics post-16 are consistently low. While numbers for Biology and Chemistry are healthy, only 21% of Physics A-Level students are female and the numbers at Berkhamsted mirror this national picture.

A survey conducted at Berkhamsted in 2016 revealed that, by Year 8, girls have already fallen out with Physics. Of the Year 8s surveyed, only 10% of them ranked Physics as their favourite of the three sciences. In the same year, only 6% of Year 11 girls opted to study Physics at A-Level.

Why don’t girls like Physics? According to the Year 8 responses, girls struggle to engage with the abstract nature of the subject. Biology was favourable ‘because it is more about normal life’, whereas Physics ‘does not affect us’ – or, as one girl at my old school in Yorkshire put it: ‘Physics is full of shadows and stuff.’

In 2016, the WISE Campaign launched its People Like Me initiative, the basis of which is the acknowledgement that girls and boys articulate their self-identities in different ways.

Using evidence drawn from social science research, the WISE Campaign suggests that ‘girls are more likely to articulate their self-identity using adjectives, while boys are more likely to talk about themselves in terms of what they do, using verbs.’ This campaign,

Our minds are ‘exquisitely tuned to understand and remember stories’ 2

Girls are more likely to articulate their self-identity using adjectives

therefore, identified a potential reason why so many initiatives in the past have failed to make a difference: traditionally, science careers outreach has focused on what scientists and engineers ‘DO’, using verbs, rather than focusing on who they are.

‘This means that girls are less likely to recognise themselves’ and ‘conclude that STEM is ‘not for people like me.’ ’ (Wisecampaign.org 2016) As an English teacher, the notion that parts of speech could be pressed into service in the campaign to close this gender gap appealed to me. I was already hatching a plan to explore the potential of story-telling in Science and this gave me an idea: by giving girls the personal stories behind the science, and by encouraging them to identify personality traits, they might be less inclined to dismiss STEM as something that is not for them.

You can split an Atom; You can split an infinitive.

It was time to cross the English/Physics divide. It was time to find common ground. You can split an atom; you can split an infinitive; but can you inspire future female scientists in an English classroom? It was time to boldly go where no self-respecting English teacher had gone before...

The Middle My initial idea had been to create extension resources for Year 8 girls to supplement their ‘Physics is Cool’ module, where they were learning about Celsius and Fahrenheit. However, I met obstacles early on. Physics is a foreign country; they do things differently there.

The Key Stage 3 Science curriculum is content-heavy; there is little room for stories. So I found myself heading into an English classroom, accompanied by Anders Celsius and an army of adjectives.

The power of story-telling is well-documented.

Our minds are ‘exquisitely tuned to understand and remember stories’ (Willingham 2009). To put stories to the test and to explore the merits of adjectives over verbs, two Year 8 classes were given five potted biographies of scientists. Any references to gender were removed. Three of the biographies (Mary Anderson, Niels Bohr and Richard Fenyman) were written using adjectival phrases; interesting, idiosyncratic or unusual details about the person’s life were included. Story-telling techniques were used; for example, the biography of Mary Anderson began by setting the scene: ‘On a freezing, wet winter’s day in 1902, Person Number 1 was travelling in a trolley car, heading to New York City…’ Two of the biographies (Ada Lovelace and Marie Curie) were expressed predominantly in verbs, focusing on what the person achieved, rather than who they were.

The girls were asked to rank the biographies in order of who they would most like to meet. Their unconscious biases emerged immediately.

The negative stereotyping surrounding STEM was marked. Despite writing the biography of Niels Bohr in a way that focused on his personality and character (there were references to him being a ‘loving’ and ‘nurturing’ parent, to him being ‘inspirational’ and ‘creative’, known for his ‘wit and warmth’) two girls seemed to overlook all of this, having apparently read no further than the word ‘atom.’ The fact that he was a scientist seemed to overshadow everything else: ‘I find Person Number 3, who invented atoms… he invented them all on his own so… I like a people person ... It’s just like someone who seemed like he found atoms and is not like… very exciting…lonely, quite lonely, unsociable….’ Just for the record: there was no mention of Bohr having ‘invented’ the atom in the text.

When discussing the five biographies, the vast majority of the girls referred to these characters as men in the first instance, revealing their unconscious bias. A number of girls noted the obvious academic ability and intelligence of the people being described and this led them to conclude that they were male. One student commented that ‘all the smart ones are men… that sounds an awful thing to say’ while another declared that ‘most boring people who invent things are men.’

Overall, the results went in favour of the adjectives: Fenyman, Anderson and Bohr were the three most likely to be invited to dinner. There were some particularly interesting comments relating to Mary Anderson, who is credited with inventing the windscreen wiper. One group chose Anderson ‘because we understand what windscreen wipers are – the others are just a bit confusing.’ One comment was particularly noteworthy: ‘We chose Person Number 1 because we just thought that everyone else has academic reasons why they are there but this person was really imaginative and that’s where they got their ideas from.’ Do such comments suggest that the academic rigor that girls associate with STEM distances them from this world? This is particularly concerning when we remember that girls perform as well as boys in STEM subjects at GCSE level; it is not a matter of ability, but one of confidence.

The way in which the Anderson, Fenyman and Bohr biographies were phrased clearly appealed to the girls; they ‘liked the story’. Some spoke about Anderson in a way that suggested the biography had brought her to life: ‘it would be good to meet them to tell them how successful their invention had been and to congratulate them.’

There is evidence here to suggest that exploring the stories of scientists could at least help to engage girls in STEM. Using biographies which foreground personalities and attributes, girls could be encouraged to find ‘people like them.’

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It is not a matter of ability, but one of confidence.

By bringing Physics into the English classroom, I demonstrated that a cross-curricular approach could work. Alongside the work on biographies, I ran a series of lessons aimed to bring Anders Celsius to life, supporting the work of my colleagues in the Physics department. And here is the thing: I was able to do this with no detriment to the English curriculum. While challenging girls to reshape their views of physicists, I was also honing key English skills: the girls were learning to value the power of adjectives in story-telling, they were extracting relevant information, and they were using quotations to support their judgement.

Science fiction redefined

“What are these fundamental principles, if they are not atoms?”

“Stories. And they give me hope.”

Neil Gaiman, Marvel 1602 The End?

So could Physics and English bury their strife and strike up a meaningful partnership? Some schools have already explored such things. Inspired by the Institute of Physics’ Closing Doors report, schools have created ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ faculties (Maths and English; Psychology and Economics).

Meanwhile, in an education system far, far away (Finland, to be precise) they have gone one further. Some schools are ‘practically scrapping traditional subjects’ in favour of ‘phenomenabased learning’. Finland is exploring a ‘new narrative’ for its education system with the view that ‘life does not consist of subjects, so why should learning?’

So perhaps we too need a new narrative in our efforts to close the gender gap in STEM. By adopting a different approach, girls could start to identify with physicists and engineers, altering their aspirations. They might start to sit upright in lessons, with confidence, ready to find people like them.

And when they are sitting comfortably, then we can really begin…

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BIO Rosie McColl Rosie joined Berkhamsted in 2003 as an English teacher and was a Head of House and Deputy Head of Berkhamsted Girls School.

She is currently Deputy Head (Communications) at Wellington College.

Have we got it wrong about class size?

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There is, without doubt, a common assumption among teachers, parents and governors of schools that smaller classes provide a more productive environment than larger classes (Bennett 1996). The debate itself about class size in education has been a prominent discussion amongst scholars since 1985 when the State of Tennessee began a three-phase project (STAR – Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) to determine the effects of reduced class sizes on short- and long-term pupil performance in the primary school years. After four years of data gathering, it was clear that smaller classes did produce substantial improvement in early learning and cognitive studies. Moreover, the effect of small class size on the achievement of ‘minority’ children was initially about double that observed for ‘majority’ children (Mosteller 1995; Mathis 2017). This viewpoint is overwhelmingly echoed in the literature: the Education Endowment Foundation’s findings note that pupils in disadvantaged, low-income areas of the UK benefit from classes of fewer than 20 pupils in primary schools, before concluding that reducing class size appears to result in around three months additional progress for pupils, on average (Education Endowment Foundation 2017). To achieve such marked results, however, comes at a very high cost and when real term cuts to education continue to be seen in the UK, is such a path a viable option?

whereas lower ability sets ‘drift off task quite quickly unless they are being encouraged to stick with it’.

When the research on class size is viewed as a whole, it becomes clear that the ‘common sense’ view that class size reductions improve student academic performance needs to be seen from the perspective that small class sizes may be an enabler and that the actual reasons for the perceived influence of small classes is that they provide an opportunity for a more student-centred approach to teaching. It is this change in pedagogy that is really the ‘common sense’ component. This then raises the provocative question, can pedagogical change facilitate improved student achievement without the huge expense of employing more teachers, providing more classrooms and finding the increased infrastructure to support the increased system management? Is it not better to spend far less money to achieve improved student performance by providing professional learning opportunities for teachers to learn how to teach in a more student-focused way? Only then can the actual effect of reducing class numbers be evaluated (Watson et al. 2013).

This Action Research project examined an area that is seemingly limited in research at this time: a longitudinal study (Blatchford et al., 1998), within which account is taken of pupil differences at the outset using baseline data from MidYIS, and, therefore, the effect of class size on progress can be assessed.

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What the teachers say

Not one teacher proposed that a class size of 19 students or more represented an ideal environment in which to teach. 34% of teachers, however, felt that a class of between 14 and 18 students was an ideal environment because a class of this size enables ‘enough individual feedback to be given’. One teacher noted that ‘15 or 16 is probably the optimal size of a class […] because it provides a sufficiently broad range of views, opinions, attitudes and abilities; while also providing a dynamic in which every pupil has to be involved.’ A ‘reduction in the amount of marking’ but ‘more time planning and providing constructive feedback’ was expressed by a number of teachers, perhaps comparing to Key Stage 3 classes that are, on average, slightly bigger than this. The most interesting comment summarised that top sets function well as a ‘large class because they best learn from each other’ whereas lower ability sets ‘drift off task quite quickly unless they are being encouraged to stick with it’.

52 of the 87 teachers that responded to this questionnaire hold the belief that a class size of between 9 and 13 students is an ideal teaching environment. Comments centred on the notion that a class of this size ‘gives the right balance between sharing ideas and being able to learn from one another’, while at the same time ‘being able to give enough individual attention to each student’. In common with students, one teacher noted that a class of this size would provide ‘fewer behavioural management issues’ which in turn would ensure that they would ‘get to know the students better’ and ‘have more fun with them while learning’.

Only five of the 87 respondents chose the ‘8 or fewer students’ category when hypothesising about their ideal teaching environment. Interestingly only one of these teachers, however, currently teaches in a class of 8 or fewer students. The overriding feeling amongst the five teachers that choose this category was that a class of this size would allow for ‘tailored teaching’ and more ‘individual attention’ to be given to the students.

What the students say

There is a clear divide on what students perceive to be an ideal class size – only seven students responded with the belief that a class size of 19 or more would be an ideal environment in which to learn. That said, these students shared similar reasoning in choosing this number, stating that a class of this size would be ‘more fun’ and there would be a better chance of hearing ‘more ideas and opinions’.

Among those that felt a class size of 14-18 would be an ideal learning environment (104 students), there were a number of common themes. A class of this size would provide fewer ‘distractions’ while allowing the teacher to give ‘personal attention and enough support’ to students that needed it. There was a feeling that classes bigger than this could lead to teachers potentially finding it ‘difficult to control the whole class’, however, it was noted that classes of this size provide a good ‘atmosphere’ with a perception that smaller classes could be both ‘ineffective’ and ‘dull’.

Class Size

teachers ideal 60% 6%

33%

1%

8 or 9 -13 14 -18 19+ fewer

students ideal 22%

51%

25%

2%

8 or 9 -13 14 -18 19+ fewer

top sets function well as a ‘large class because they best learn from each other’ 7

The vast majority of those who responded to the questionnaire (51%) felt that class sizes of between nine and 13 provided the optimal environment in which to learn.

Fewer ‘distractions’ was again a common theme amongst responses, yet it was also clear that in such an environment, teachers would be able to spend ‘more time reviewing work’ on an individual basis and give the ‘right amount of attention’ that was needed on a one-to-one basis.

While 29% of respondents were in a class of eight or fewer students, only 21% of the students (91 in total) felt that this was an ideal class size in which to learn.

The ‘personal’ nature of such a class was a recurring argument put forward by those who responded to the questionnaire. It was also suggested that with fewer students per class ‘the quality of teaching improves… as the teacher can spend more time with each student helping them to improve.’

Conclusion

If one were to ask a parent if they want their child in a class of 13 or a class of 23 the answer would be predictable - common sense tells us that a smaller class will provide more personalised learning and as a result more progression from a student viewpoint. Posing the same question to a teacher will yield similar results, but forefront in a teacher’s mind would be the notion that smaller classes produce less work in terms of marking, in itself a saving on time.

When examining three years of data at Berkhamsted School (2013-2015) for standardised value-added scores at (I)GCSE using MidYIS as baseline data, it is clear that larger classes, in fact, provide significant advantages for mean valueadded scores. Conversely, the smaller class sizes at Berkhamsted School in the three years of the data set suggest that a reduction in class size provides insignificant benefits in terms of value added.

The question that ultimately, therefore, remains is: can educational change facilitate improved student attainment without the vast expense of employing more teachers, providing more classrooms and finding the increased infrastructure to support such changes? In a time in which independent school fees are increasing at a rate significantly above inflation, is it not better to spend far less to achieve improved student performance by providing professional learning opportunities for teachers to learn how to teach in a more student-focused way?

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BIO Nick Cale Nick joined Berkhamsted in September 2009 as a Modern Languages teacher and was both Head of French and Head of Modern Languages before moving to his current position of Director of Data and Research.

Is creativity largely the result of nature or nurture?

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The study of creativity has fascinated mankind throughout history. Its value was formally recognised as early as Plato’s writings on the Muse and it has been present at many of the greatest advancements in human technology. In the modern era, where manual tasks are increasingly a commodity, usurped by technology, creativity has become invaluable, separating man from machine. In the UK the work force of the creative industries is growing four times faster than the average UK market and now accounts for 6% of all UK jobs and earning roughly £87.4 billion per year. Creativity is now more than ever critical to personal and communal success. This EPQ investigated whether creative thought is generated by external factors or if it is an innate, predisposed gift. This is, as termed by the psychological community, the nature versus nurture debate.

Creativity is largely misunderstood both by the public and scientists, with 60 definitions for creativity in psychological literature alone. However, at its most reductionist, the most widely agreed definition states creativity is ‘the production of an idea or product that is both novel and useful’. Critically, it is the result of an action. To be creative, the creator must create.

The creative process outlines how this novel and useful product is achieved.

To do this, the creator must connect two previously unaffiliated ideas reached through a four-phase process.

gathering sufficient knowledge and materials

Pr

epa

ra ti o n

testing the result

the unconscious mind allows the idea to develop

Inc 10

u b ati o n

Ve r

the ‘eureka’ moment

I ll u

m i n ati o

n

i fi c a t i o

n

The brain mechanisms involved in making this process happen are very much understudied.

Adrian Furnham is among the leading psychologists in this field. His research has concluded that different brain functions are required for each of the different phases.

For the preparation phase, grey matter, which controls the senses, emotions, decision-making and self-control, will manage the gathering of knowledge. Grey matter acts much like a muscle, getting stronger and bigger with use. For this reason, we can improve with repetition and practice. The incubation phase is dictated by brain localities. In this phase the mind is simply allowed to wander, guiding the brain towards connecting two previously unaffiliated ideas. There is a popular theory that the brain can be divided into halves, called hemispheres – left and right. The left handles maths and linguistics (detail) while the right handles spatial organisation (big picture). Creativity needs both. When both sides work together it’s called ‘interhemispheric communication’.

This interhemispheric communication is guiding the brain towards the illumination or Eureka phase when suddenly the idea is revealed, linking information from both halves. For this thought to be novel, the brain must divert from typical thought patterns. Much like grey matter, neurons pathways, also develop with practice. If we think one way over and over again, we’ll continue to think that way. Divergent thinking requires choosing the less obvious neuron pathway.

The cerebral cortex manages movement, speech, memory and intelligence, including the pathways the neurons take. When the brain is stressed out, the cerebral cortex will secret norepinephrine, a stress hormone. This norepinephrine will encourage the brain to become more alert. This is called cortical arousal. A stressed brain is more likely to follow typical patterns. It will identify external stimulation like a road sign and pay attention to going the ‘right way’.

However, when the brain is relaxed, and not paying attention, the neuron is much more likely to get ‘lost’. By diverting from typical patterns, the neuron will begin to make unusual connections. As soon as a new connection is made the person has

had a creative idea. For this to become creativity, they must act on the idea to produce something both novel and useful. The verification phase is the process by which the idea is tested and transformed into a novel and useful product.

Interestingly, many of the world’s greatest paradigmatic shifts, occurred when the discoverers were extremely relaxed. Isaac Newton was working at Cambridge University but had to leave because of an epidemic of the bubonic plague. Newton went to his mother’s farm and while relaxing at the farm developed the law of gravitation and calculus. Newton prepared for his eureka moment by spending years working at Cambridge University, expanding his knowledge base. Only once he left briefly and relaxed did his brain have the space to make the unusual connections and thus the law of gravity.

Creativity is often linked to other qualities, such as personality types, intelligence and mental conditions.

Many people either consider themselves creative or not, identifying the skill as an innate character trait.

The popular myth linking creativity and intelligence has been disproved. Marilyn vos Savant with an IQ of 228 has the highest IQ ever recorded. Genius 11

range intelligence begins at an IQ of 140. Savant works as a Q and A columnist for Parade Magazine. Although her intellect is unparalleled, it has not aided creative thought. By contrast Thomas Edison dropped out of primary school and later went on to develop the phonogram and the light bulb. However, this is not to suggest that the two attributes are mutually exclusive.

Intelligence aids the preparation phase, but it is not required. Consequentially, creative people are often quite intelligent, but intelligent people are not necessarily creative.

As for creativity and personality these are also unlinked. Personality types are a relatively inexact measurement and so instead it would be easier to suggest a series of traits that aid creative thought. It has been linked to high openness, low agreeableness, low conscientiousness and high neuroticism. Essentially, open, unpleasant, obsessively driven, emotionally unstable individuals make the most creative people. However, personality is difficult to quantify and while these traits may facilitate creative thought, they do not drive it.

Creativity and mental disorders, another popular trope, has far more validity. Some of the disorders linked with creativity include mild hypomania, often characterised as mild bi-polar disorder (believed to be connected to Newton), schizophrenia (Van Gogh) and depression (Beethoven). However, mental illness and great productivity do not typically correlate. Rather, a period of mental illness greatly facilitates the incubation phase to guide the brain towards illumination. While mentally ill the brain experiences severely low cortical arousal, allowing the brain to make unusual connections. The severity of mental illness will fluctuate throughout a person’s life, triggered by external factors. Provided the sufferer has a period of better mental health, enough to reach more normalised levels of productivity, they have the opportunity to act on the creative insights gleaned while mentally ill. These periods of low cortical arousal allow for insights that neurotypicals may simply never access. However, importantly, the decision to act, once mental health improves, remains a conscious choice.

As for creativity as substance abuse, this is again linked. The illumination phase exposes the brain to something new. Novelty causes the brain to release a surge of dopamine, that stimulates a feeling of bliss. This sensation is not unlike a recreational high. Dopamine is addictive and so a creative person is much more susceptible to developing an addiction to dopamine. Even an increased attraction to dopamine stimulating behaviour increased their likelihood to seek alternative fixes. Furthermore, personality traits such as high neuroticism and even high openness increase an individual’s susceptibility to experimenting with recreational drugs and substance abuse. However, substance abuse does not foster creative thought.

Conclusion

As with all psychological functions, creativity is a blend of nature and nurture.

However, predominantly, the influence of external factors, the nurture, is far greater than the predisposed nature. Individuals can influence and control the information and knowledge gathered in the preparation phase, even IQ typically increases with age. The incubation phase is entirely subconscious, it is possible that some may be predisposed to making connections, but it can be aided by taking the opportunity to relax and by practicing creative thinking. The verification phase perhaps is most critically reliant on nurture. The person must choose to identify the thought and then use it, transforming it from just and idea into a product that is both novel and useful.

The most important insight learned from this investigation asks if anyone be creative, the answer to this i. s an affirmative yes.

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BIO Ashlea Phillips Ashlea Phillips is a former student at Berkhamsted School having left in the summer of 2018 after completing her A levels in Art, History and Media.

She is currently studying Film at The University of Bristol.

The article in this magazine is a precis of her EPQ project for which she achieved an A*.

Video didn’t kill the radio star, but will it kill face-to-face school counselling?

Since first training as a counsellor over a decade ago, I’ve always thought that in terms of support, it is important to try to meet people where they are at and where possible, in a way that works for them. Much of my work has been trying to make that a reality and I’ve counselled people in a variety of locations, such as in their own homes with Cruse Bereavement Care, at the end of a telephone with the Samaritans and since September 2015 with pupils in a group of schools, face to face [f2f], but also via email, Instant Messenger and video.

In an endeavour to improve the existing schoolbased counselling service, we carried out a pupil survey in 2012 asking questions about access, stigma and any ideas for improvement. The results

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suggested a demand for an option of online counselling support, alongside the f2f provision. I must admit that at the time I was really unsure about working in this way, believing that working therapeutically online could not possibly begin to compete with f2f therapy. I had a smartphone, regularly used email, Facebook and all the most common Apps and didn’t consider myself a ‘techno-dinosaur’, but I also really couldn’t see how therapy could possibly work online, without all the face-to-face cues and relationship in ‘real’ time that traditional therapy prioritized?

I asked around amongst my professional networks and this seemed to produce similar responses to my own – there was definite interest, yet much scepticism and even fear of what seemed to be unknown territory. At that point I became acutely aware that leading national mental and emotional health organisations (Childline, Relate, YoungMinds etc.) were offering help in this way and I wondered how this development seemed to have passed me by professionally. I had been so busy delivering counselling in the way that I had been trained to, that I had not been aware of changes that seemed to be very fast developing in my profession and of those that had already occurred. More worryingly, I had no idea how I could begin to even think of how I might bring this into a school-based service!

So I took a little more time to dig a bit deeper into what was going on in terms of online therapy practice development in the UK, the ethics of online practice, online trainings such as those at the Online Therapy Institute (www.OnlinetherapyInstitute. com) and at some academic research - and this all really challenged and changed my initial expectations and scepticism and I began to get excited about the potential to increase access for pupils in a way that could offer them more flexibility and control and more importantly, on their terms.

I was acutely aware that some young people find the idea of stepping across the threshold and coming into a counselling room in their school environment too embarrassing or stigmatising and could, thus, clearly see the potential for this way. Clients could be counselled online if they lacked confidence to work f2f and potentially then progress to f2f if they wished to – this was a clear advantage over the national organisations offering online support from therapists, who young people would likely never be able to meet with f2f if they wanted to do so.

One of the doubts that held me back most was also about the effectiveness of working in this medium. However, I found a rapidly growing evidence base of this (Barak et al., 20081; Dowling & Rickwood, 20132; Goss & Hooley, 20153) and the other aspects of working online that I believe are central to successful therapy, such as the working alliance (King, Bambling, Reid & Thomas, 20064; Lewis, Coursol & Herting, 20045) and client attitudes (Robinson & Serfaty, 20086).

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I think it just made it so much easier for me to be able to speak online first and then step up to face-to-face...

A final obstacle was in trying to find a way to give clients the same high level of confidentiality in the online therapy room, that they would get if they came into the school offline therapy room. From my research, the answer lay in finding a platform that was encrypted to a high standard, that operated software in line with best practice guidelines in this area (Anthony & Goss, 20097), that offered a variety of online options (email, Instant Messenger, video & audio) and was both simple to access on a number of devices and easy to navigate for both young people as well as those of us not so digitally native.

I wondered if other practitioners might be interested in developing their practice this way too and what they might need specifically in terms of training, information and research and I took this ‘exploration’ into some research of my own. The results turned into a study that won the BACP New Researcher 2015 Award (Hennigan & Goss, 20168) and gave me a clearer idea of what my professional schoolbased peers might want to know about this potential development. Basically, they wanted to see what a working model of online counselling in a school looked like, understand which pupils might use it and why, and to see evidence of its effectiveness. Alongside this, since the initial suggestion had come from pupils themselves, I also wanted to investigate experiences of using online counselling from their perspective.

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So, from September 2015, pupils in Years 10-13 in this group of schools in Hertfordshire have been offered the option of accessing counselling online only, f2f only or a blend of both. The great news is that clients are now accessing the same high, quality school-based counsellors in a number of different mediums and the majority who use the online service, opt to blend it with f2f work - mostly due to the convenience and flexibility that it offers.

However, perhaps some additional good news for my peers who may have worried that online counselling would somehow replace f2f counselling, here is a summary of the current results of two years of data and research (which have yet to be published): 76% of pupils that access school counselling still prefer f2f contact only.

Many of them reported f2f counselling as a better enabler of emotions that would ‘work’ quicker than typed text used for counselling via Instant Messenger (the preferred option for those that worked online).

At least 50% pupils were concerned about security online (we have taught them well to be wary of who they are talking to online!), even though it was regularly explained that the platform was encrypted to the highest levels and counselling was with the school-based counsellors who they already saw regularly around school and not some unknown, untrustworthy quantity.

Online counselling was often seen as a ‘step’ up, or a build up to, f2f counselling for those that initially had barriers to walking into the school counselling room: “Face to face was just a step too far and being able to go online was the bridge that I needed to step across to get the support that I needed”.

(Female,Y13) Pupils stated wanting more choice and flexibility to fit into around their ever increasingly busy school lives – as said previously, for those that sought the online option, most blended f2f with online working.

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The flexibility of online counselling can work for counsellors and schools too – saving on valuable room space, increasing access hours during term time and the ability to offer some provision during school holidays or absences that are unexpected, as this example from one school counsellor suggests: “I’ve come to realise that as a psychodynamic trained counsellor, the medium of technology actually could provide the same strength of boundary as f2f counselling and I experienced this sooner than I expected. I sustained a back injury and was unable to meet a client f2f, however we were able to meet online at the same time and place as usual, thus keeping important boundaries strong in difficult circumstances”.

One concern that my peers had expressed in the first part of this research was about the additional workload that online counselling might bring. However, the school-based online counselling service can be as controlled as any f2f provision is i.e. only operate within specified hours, have confidentiality limits clearly specified and contracted, and have an agreed protocol for any safeguarding concerns. Waiting lists could operate in both online or f2f services, with the practitioner

prioritising and managing their workloads as required.

The online service continues to be utilised by pupils in 2018 and from this September it will also be extended to staff, as they too may sometimes find it difficult to access in house f2f services; having their own experience of working therapeutically online may help them have more informed conversations with pupils about the variety of ways in which to access school counselling help in a timely manner.

I am glad that I challenged my own resistance to working in this way, in order to meet more young people in schools in a way that worked for them.

From the current results, it seems that online counselling did not ‘kill’ f2f school-based counselling, just as video didn’t kill radio. Though I believe radio not only survives, but also thrives, because it listened to its listeners and adapted well to the changing environment. The time may have come where we counsellors may need to do so too, as this closing thought from a pupil involved in this research suggests: “ It’s a really good thing to offer and to give that flexibility to students. If schools can offer it, why wouldn’t they? (Male, Y12)

BIO Jeanette Hennigan Jeanette Hennigan, MSc, BSc (Hons), is the former Director of Pupil Wellbeing at Berkhamsted Schools Group in Hertfordshire and Doctoral Candidate of Psychotherapy at Metanoia Institute & Middlesex University. She is an accredited BACP therapist, and an accredited BABCP CBT Therapist, Coaching Psychologist and Co-Tutor of the Certified Cyber Therapist with Young People course at The Online Therapy Institute www.

OnlinetherapyInstitute.com 17

Many teachers have that same seed of frustration that grows perennially: pupils ignore or fail to act upon written feedback; teachers write the same or similar comments repeatedly at the end of pupils’ work and pupils make the same errors time and time again. Is written feedback a waste of time? Norbert Winer’s metaphor (Wiliam, D. 2011) is particularly useful when thinking about the nature of feedback.

Consider a thermostat: it reads the current temperature and knows what the ideal temperature should be but its most important function is bringing the two together so that the room is the optimum temperature. Feedback should be like this – a clear guide that indicates how to bring the work in line with the expected grade, rather than stating what the grade is (and by implication, what it should be).

As an English teacher, technical accuracy is of high importance. I often look through the same pupil’s work and see that I have written comments such as “check use of apostrophes” more frequently than anything else. Either the comments are not being read or are being ignored. This would suggest that the comment – or rather method of feedback – is not helpful in getting the pupils to reach the required grade/temperature. I have become a proof-reader and feedback is not being used to make progress. As many pedagogical studies have shown (Hattie 2007, Muijs and Reynolds 2005, Black and Wiliam 2014), feedback should be something that is acted upon and I wanted to explore ways to help pupils a) identify their own errors and b) be independent in thinking about how to develop and improve their work.

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My Action Research project gave me the opportunity to investigate and record different ways of marking - which I had been trialling for a number of years - to incentivise boys to act upon any written feedback in both formative and summative assessments, and make them better proof-readers. Initially, I used marking codes:

This meant that pupils had to look at the codes they had received carefully and match them to a comment. Deciphering the specific targets for their own essay became integral to the pupil action in light of feedback that I was aspiring to. It enabled them to quantify their errors and have a clearer focus on how to improve/what to check for in following assessments on the same text.

This measurable and mathematic approach engendered productive attitudes in the pupils, for example: some began to add up which codes they were receiving more frequently and compare with their peers. This was a welcome shift from previous response to feedback – look at the grade, read comments, forget.

M TH Cx Gr AL

Qu Sh F Au SW

meaning unclear due to poor expression/sentence structure link to tragedy/tragic hero

context needed (who says this/when/ to who/about whom?) grammar error

analyse language closely, especially individual words be more logical in your order/odd essay or paragraph structure quotation needed

where is Shakespeare? He should be at the heart of all your analysis write formally

how does this impact the audience?

SO WHAT? Why does Shakespeare do this? How does this add to the overall impact of the play? What is the reason that Shakespeare chooses to do this? Why is this necessary for Shakespeare to do?

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As well as codes to improve both essay technique and my own differentiated feedback (and to save precious time by not having to write the same comments over and over again), I began to use different ways of marking to improve written communication, spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPAG). My focus was for pupils to become better at identifying and correcting technical errors – rather than correcting them myself. Instead of the common practice in marking of circling or changing errors, I placed a green dot in the margin on the line where the error occurred. It was then up to the pupils to find the error and make the correction themselves.

Figure 2 green dot marking

Figure 2 shows a green dot for misspelling information and a second dot for incorrect use of a full stop. The pupil has corrected both errors (also in green). It was important that I gave pupils time to make corrections in the classroom – in a different colour so that both of us could see their improvements. Here was a task that was differentiated for each pupil and specific to his or her own development.

I therefore took the first 15 minutes of the lesson for pupils to work on their corrections. This meant I could monitor how the corrections were being made and I could help pupils find the error by giving them hints as I circulated the class – such as “this green dot is a punctuation mark”. It also enabled me to informally assess how pupils responded to the green dots. Some relished the opportunity and some did not…

Each student is different and the varying responses to the green dots needed addressing further. I had to ensure that all students had an equal number of productive corrections or improvements to work on during the time allocated.

Figure 3 green dot marking for punctuation and grammar only

Figure 3 shows a dyslexic student who is very anxious about his spelling. For him, I used green dots for all errors other than spelling. He has two errors on the same line – one for a missing comma and one for a missing apostrophe. His misspelling of specific I have corrected for him. This meant that his work was not returned to him with a large number of green dots (for spellings) that he would not have time to correct in the lesson and not necessarily remember at a later date. He could spend the time working on something more manageable and less overwhelming, for example, remembering (and noticing) when to use a capital letter for months of the year – the third green dot.

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There were, of course, pupils who had only a few technical errors, thus few green dots. I therefore set them a SMART extension task that usually focused on one aspect of grammar in a specific place within their writing, such as “vary sentence openings”, “change the beginning of five sentences that begin with ‘I’” or “find four places where you can use a semi colon rather than a comma”. Again, this more mathematical approach to improvements was received (mostly) with enthusiasm. It meant that everyone was working on something that was challenging – or that they had missed in their first attempt at writing – but was different from their neighbour.

Over the course of the project, I adjusted the green dot and marking codes methods in a variety of ways resulting in a range or responses and successes – the full report details them. I cannot unequivocally say if my pupils’ literacy skills improved because of green dots. Certainly, for some, they have a more solid idea of where to use an apostrophe or that when they proofread they must check particularly for capital letters for proper nouns. Both classes’ end of year examination scripts showed evidence of redrafting and proof reading and both classes gained higher marks than the classes of equivalent setting. Yet, this is not proof that my intervention was the cause of this. These skills may well have developed after a year of school and maturity anyway. I would like to think that the green dot marking did assist many students in improving their writing skills and this is certainly true for some pupils. Undeniably, the most valuable aspect of this project is the fact that it created a dialogue between teacher and pupil about my marking, whether pupils wanted – or found helpful – green dot marking and whether their literacy improved is secondary. They began reflecting on their own writing process and had to become more independent and reliant on their own skills to gain more marks in writing tasks.

BIO Kath Tomlin Kath joined Berkhamsted in 2006 and despite teaching English for 19 years, she is always seeking new ways to inspire pupils through reading and their writing. Kath has a Master’s degree in Children’s Literature and can usually be found reading YA novels. She is also the community service co-ordinator at Berkhamsted, a role that gives pupils the opportunity to volunteer locally.

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Dissociative identity disorder a real or an iatrogenic condition?

The project emerged from my passionate interest in Psychology and mental illnesses.

The progressive and evolving nature of this area can be seen in the continued expansion of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM] and International Classification of Diseases [ICD].

What is particularly fascinating is the fact that each illness is completely different from person to person, making it a very unique and complex concept, with a wide range of elements to research.

Amber Meech, June 2018

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The basis of this article stems from research by Thigpen and Cleckley on ‘The Three Faces of Eve’ (Thigpen and Cleckley 1954), a young lady who altered personalities in front of her psychiatrists. Whilst watching the changes, you could visibly see how different Eve was between each personality; the posture, voice and mannerisms of each personality were distinctly comparable. This inspired me to research further into the topic, since I was fascinated by her complete change in personality, with very little similarity between each alter.

Dissociative Identity Disorder [DID], formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, fascinated me due to its controversial nature. DID is when an individual has ‘two or more distinct identity or personality states [that] are present’ (Tracy 2017). However, it can be argued that these ‘distinct’ personalities are a creation by doctors and therapists: they are iatrogenic. The Oxford Dictionary defines iatrogenesis as an ‘illness caused by medical examination or treatment’ (Oxford Dictionaries 2017). This shows how they are arguments that debate whether or not DID is induced by doctors, therapists and psychiatrists.

KEY FINDINGS

Although DID has been questioned to be iatrogenic, it has always been included in the DSM, if one classes as a ‘dissociative disorder’, including the first published edition in 1952. In this edition, dissociative disorders were considered as psychoneurotic disorders, ‘in which anxiety is either “directly felt and expressed or… unconsciously and automatically controlled” by various defence mechanisms (Tracy 2017)’. At this point DID did not have a clear, individual definition, which reflects the evolution of the disorder and the academic notice it has since had. In the DSM-2 in 1968, DID was recognised as an alternation to identify and consciousness. This then progressed into the third edition, where the term ‘dissociative’ was first used as a class of disorders. It was stated that a fundamental feature of dissociative disorders was ‘a disturbance in the normally integrative functions of identity, memory, or consciousness’. This broad definition led to an influx in diagnosis of the disorder. This is perhaps why a more descriptive definition of the disorder was then used in future editions.

The first major case of DID, was Morton Prince research on Miss Beauchamp, which was published in 1906 as ‘The Dissociation of a Personality: A Biographical Study in Abnormal Psychology (Prince 1902).

Prince’s research potentially helped to shape the definitions in the DSM, due to his early work. The research depicts in detail the disorder and how it affects an individual. He describes that one would have ‘distinctly different character’ between the personalities’, ‘a difference manifested by different trains of thought, by different views, beliefs, ideals, and temperament, and my different acquisitions, tastes, habits, experiences and memories’.

This depicts the nature of DID and how distinct the difference is between personalities.

The main discussion of this dissertation is based on whether or not Dissociative Identity Disorder is iatrogenic. The discussion first looks at and analyse the different cases of DID, in order to conclude if the disorder is iatrogenic. It will question the potential causes, looking in-depth with the use of case studies, whilst also debating whether iatrogenesis can be applied to DID. There will be evaluation of these case studies, considering cross-cultural examples, giving a balanced argument in the exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder and its reality.

To get to the root of the argument, exploration into the possible causes of the disorder is necessary. This is because if DID is real, there must be evident causes for the development of it. According to the psychodynamic theory, we have an ‘unconscious’ mind which influences our behaviour.

The psychodynamic model explains that psychological disorders, DID, are caused by emotional problems in the unconscious mind. This supports the idea of trauma being repressed, or forced, into the unconscious mind, which explains why many with DID cannot remember their abuse-filled childhoods.

Why it might be real I believe that Dissociative Identity Disorder is a real disorder, despite the view that it is iatrogenic. I formed this understanding due to the evidence that supports the reality of it. In the case of Eve (Thigpen and Cleckley 1954), the research shows several differences between each personality. The handwriting, which was first discovered, shows a clear difference between each alter, since it is clearly different. This was also noted in the case of Sally Beauchamp by Morton Prince (Prince 1902). The IQ difference between each personality is also very significant because it shows how there is a difference in the brain between them. As a consequence of this difference, it shows that each personality has a different way of thinking and perceiving, resulting in a contrast in intelligence. Perhaps one of the most significant distinctions, is that of the EEG scans, which showed a difference in relaxation rhythms between personalities. This highlights how there is a biological dissimilarity, meaning that DID is real because an individual would not be able to change the way in which their brain functions; only internal factors can do this.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is also recognised by the court of law in some countries. In the United States DID is treated like any other disorder and is examined as usual.

The fact that the legal system considers the disorder displays the reality of it. In the case of criminal law, it is very serious that the defendant is judged correctly and if a disorder is used as a defence it needs to be analysed carefully.

Therefore, the consideration of DID in the court room demonstrates that it is a real disorder because it can be used as a defence, pleading someone guilty by reason of insanity.

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This, therefore, means, that the personality one dissociates into is used as a defence mechanism for that individual to be able to carry on living their actuality. The use of a defence mechanism is an automatic and unconscious reaction of the body to act against disturbing experiences. This is what happened to Sybil (Schreiber 1973). For Sybil, the abuse her mother, ‘Hattie Dorsett’, subjected her to was so severe she would have to dissociate into one of her other personalities in order to survive her reality. All the cases used in the discussion focus on whether or not DID is an iatrogenic condition and the extent to which it can be considered a real disorder.

The third and final part of this discussion will explore the question of iatrogenesis. It can be argued that the disorder is socially constructed and ‘induced by therapists into psyches of hypnotisable suggestible patients’ (Nathan 1994). The sociocognitive model, also known as the suggestibility model, supports this view as it explains that when a patient is hypnotised for therapy they are ‘solely reacting to a variety of cognitions, motivations, expectancies, and role enactments, resulting in behaviour as though he or she were being hypnotized’ (Loewenstein 2007). This implies that the patient who is supposedly suffering from DID is only reacting to what their doctor is telling them. This suggests that DID is an iatrogenic condition.

Furthermore, in comparison to a disorder like schizophrenia, there is a lack of scientific verification for the diagnosis of DID. It has been shown that when an individual has schizophrenia, there is an imbalance of brain chemicals, like dopamine, glutamine and serotonin. This in unlike DID, where this type of evidence is not as prominent.

Conclusion

Overall, it can be argued that there are both real and iatrogenic cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder. However, the iatrogenic cases should not undermine the disorder as a whole. This is because there is evidence supporting the reality of DID, which should definitely not be ignored.

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Why it might be iatrogenic There are reasons for why it could be argued to be iatrogenic. There have been iatrogenic cases in the past, namely Sybil (Schreiber 1973).

In this case it was revealed years after books had been written about it, only to find out that her psychiatrist was feeding ideas into her head and creating a disorder in Sybil that did not exist.

Examples like these can make it understandable why many believe the disorder to be iatrogenic. The cultural aspects of it can make it seem like DID is iatrogenic because it shares symptoms similar to those of ‘spirits’ in other societies. This can lead to many believing that it is ‘shaped by theory’, just like the spirits. It is also argued that there is not enough evidence in comparison to other disorders, like schizophrenia, which make people sceptical over the actuality.

BIO Amber Meech Amber Meech is a former student at Berkhamsted School having completed her A levels in the summer of 2018. Amber studied English Literature, History and Psychology and is due to start a degree in Psychology at Newcastle University in September 2019.

This article is an adaption of her EPQ for which she achieved an A*.

berkhamsted.com