Durham University School of Education PLATINUM (Partnerships in Learning and Teaching in the North)

School of Education

PLATINUM PARTNERSHIPS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING IN THE NORTH Newsletter - June 2017 (Edition three)

Wishing you a Happy Summer from The School of Education

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INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME Amazingly we are approaching the end of another academic year in schools and in the University. Once again it has been busy, but rewarding with a number of successes. As a School of Education, we are delighted to report that we have been ranked the top University School of Education in the UK by the Complete University Guide (2018). The Guide rankings take into account several criteria, including student satisfaction, research quality and intensity, spending on academic services and faculties, and the ratio of students to staff. The guide also compares universities in relation to graduate prospects, degree completion, good honours awarded, and student satisfaction. The assessment across these areas gave Durham University a strong score of 920 which is higher than last year’s score. We are very proud of this achievement. We regularly feature in the top five in national university league tables such as rated 2nd in the Sunday Times Good University Guide (2017) and 3rd in the Guardian University Guide (2017). We also continue to lead the way in high quality research, 5th in the field of education nationally and joint 1st in the UK for world-leading research impact. Together with our OFSTED outstanding rated Initial Teacher Education provision, we are a major contributor in the field of education.

Such achievements reflect the skills, knowledge and understandings of colleagues who work here in the School of Education. Our ITE staff, who include colleagues from our partnership schools, have been involved in a number of activities and initiatives this year. For ITE, we have also been busy attending meetings around the country to gather information to quality enhance our ITE programmes. For example, colleagues have attended a SEND event in London, a Safeguarding information day in Manchester and various Ofsted and other ITT-related meetings, often with colleagues from our partnership schools. The information gathered is fed back to our ITE teams to improve what we do to ensure that our trainees continue to be good and outstanding in the classroom. A number of colleagues have also been busy completing projects and writing books that will enhance practice, some of which are described in this copy of Platinum.

As we approach the end of the year, with examination boards looming, we are pleased with predicted outcomes in terms of our trainees – thank you to all of our partnership school colleagues who have worked so hard with them to make this possible. We also have Summer congregation, at which we will see a number of colleagues from our partnership schools receiving their higher degrees. Congratulations to everyone.

We are already planning the next academic year. We look forward to working with you all once again. Meanwhile, have a good Summer break.

Lynn Newton on behalf of School of Education colleagues (June 2017)

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Inviting Writing across the curriculum

Nine members of staff, at the School of Education have contributed chapters to Adam Bushnell and David Waugh’s latest book for Sage - Inviting Writing. The book provides theoretical underpinnings, and practical guidance on ways in which children can be encouraged to write in every curriculum area. There are chapters on Science by Lynn Newton; and Biological Science by Rachel Simpson; Geography by Angela Gill, History by Andrew Joyce-Gibbons; Design Technology by Doug Newton; Mathematics by Lynn Thompson and David Bolden; Information Technology by Rosie Ridgway, and English by David Waugh. Other chapters have been written by colleagues from other universities, and by local teachers such as Claire Patterson, as well as by Adam Bushnell in conjunction with staff at Bowes Museum, and Durham Cathedral.

Throughout the book, contributors show how writing can be an integral part of their subjects, which offer opportunities for consolidation of ideas, and creative responses to learning. All subjects in the primary curriculum is covered, including religious education, social, moral and cultural education and modern foreign languages, as well as a further chapter devoted to writing non-fiction.

Each chapter provides research focuses, critical questions, activities, and reflections to encourage consideration of teachers’ practice. There are also case studies which demonstrate how teachers, and trainee teachers have developed writing in the classroom. The chapters include recommended further reading, to enable readers to develop stronger insights into how teachers can help children move beyond early writing.

For further information please contact David Waugh: d.g.waugh@durham.ac.uk.

Learning through making Evaluative decisions

Cath Reading (BA Primary Education Programme Director), Rachel Simpson (BA Primary Professional link tutor), and Ros Roberts (Undergraduate Divisional Director) Our BA Primary Education students have been involved in a Peer Review project, funded by the University’s Enhancing Student Learning Experience fund. Working with Prof. David Nicol of Strathclyde University, we have successfully introduced peer review to help our students to learn how to make evaluative decisions.

Being able to make evaluative decisions is an important academic and professional attribute. Students’ learning, both academically and professionally, is enhanced when they can make evaluative decisions about their own work and that of others. By understanding the criteria for success, being able to explain these both in writing and in speech and to be able to discuss these with others and to respond positively is important in the development of our reflective and reflexive teachers.

We have built peer review into some of our academic modules in both years 1 and 2, and have extended this into peer review between our students as they learn to teach children.

Our first years have gained confidence, and greater evaluative abilities through a series of tasks. This focused on their understanding of chemistry, and physics in the first year science module. Following self-review and peer review, they made improvements to their work. The development of these evaluative skills into the professional context was the next step. We decided that, as trainee teachers, a clear focus should be on their use of questioning with pupils. This was introduced, in cross-curricular links between English and Science, to allow different types of teacher questioning. Students carried out micro-teaching sessions, with visiting Partnership schools’ pupils at the Science Fair. They later self- and peer reviewed audio recordings of the micro-teaching, and discussed how to improve their questioning. They will continue this process when they go out onto their first block practice, later in the summer using tasks developed with our Partnership schools.

The second years have developed their ability to make evaluative decisions, about the ‘quality of evidence’ in the context of open-ended practical science investigations, essential for Working Scientifically. They watched ‘practical’ videos of schools, and have practiced their Assessment for Learning techniques, by using the same evaluative criteria about the quality of evidence, to provide formative written feedback to pupils.

In our programme it has become clear to everyone involved that, making evaluative decisions is important for learning in the academic modules, in reflective practice and can be applied directly into Assessment for Learning within the classroom.

We will be reporting further on our initiative at the end of the year, and hope to learn lessons that can be used across all our ITE programmes. We welcome the involvement of any of our Partnership colleagues in this. Please contact Rosalyn.Roberts@durham.ac.uk if you would like more information.

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Maximising the Potential of an Educational Visit

A visit to Durham University’s Botanic Garden inspired a group of future science subject leaders on the BA Primary Education course to develop the use of educational visits when planning science topics. It raised an important question: When is the best time for a field trip in a sequence of science lessons?

‘Bubblewrap!’ ‘Polystyrene!’ ‘Honeycomb!’ These metaphors were spontaneously generated to describe the appearance of a water hyacinth’s buoyancy structure, found in the hothouses at the Garden.

However, the metaphors were not uttered by eager school pupils, but by my group of enthusiastic undergraduate Primary Education students, who were undertaking a module to develop their science leadership skills. We had ventured out of our university lecture room to consider how educational visits could help children to develop their understanding of plant life. Whilst studies of animals seem to spark an immediate interest in primary-aged pupils, we need to work harder to help children to engage with the amazing adaptations of plant species. With benefits of learning outside the classroom being well-documented, and the raised profile of biology in the primary National Curriculum, our field trip was timely.

Carefully planning a sequence of lessons to ensure that children will gradually build up their scientific understanding is important in any science topic, and the question: “Where would you position an educational visit in a sequence of lessons about plants?” led to an interesting debate between the students.

Some students thought that the visit at the beginning of the topic would immediately engage children in the learning experience, by stimulating their interest and encouraging them to generate questions about intriguing, unfamiliar plants. Other students thought the middle of the lesson sequence would be the ideal place for the visit. At this point, the children would have developed some understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of plant parts, possibly by examining plants found in their local environment. They could then link this knowledge to their new observations of adaptations of unfamiliar plants found in the desert and rainforest environments at the Botanic Garden.

This would give them the opportunity to apply and make progress in their knowledge and understanding.

However, a third group decided that the visit would be most appropriate at the end of the topic. At this point, children could demonstrate and consolidate their knowledge and understanding by applying it to environments such as the desert and rainforest – the features of which would have already been studied in the classroom, using secondary sources. Whenever it takes place in a series of lessons exploring plant life, all students agreed that a visit to the Botanic Garden would be a highly stimulating, sensory experience for children, as it had been for them. It would enable children to develop their understanding of plant adaptations through first-hand observations and raise their curiosity by observing unfamiliar species.

Please contact Rachel Simpson: rachel.simpson2@durham.ac.uk for further information.

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Latest Publication

This is the latest publication by Lynn Newton, the Divisional Director for ITE here in the School of Education. It brings together two of her interests - questioning and thinking.

Teachers’ questioning for understanding was the focus of her own PhD, in which she explored how focused questioning promoted deeper understanding in the context of science. Later, she explored understanding in other subject disciplines as well. More recently, she has been researching aspects of creativity, resulting in her book Creativity for a New Curriculum: 5-11. In the module she leads on the Masters’ programme here in Durham, Enhancing Learning and Teaching Through Purposeful Thought, she and a colleague develop a model for encouraging higher level thinking processes in the classroom. At a conference in Krakow in 2015 she brought all of these elements together in her keynote presentation on Thinking Through Questioning. This little book sums up these ideas. © 2017 The International Centre for Innovation in Education (ICIE), The International Centre for Innovation in Education (ICIE), Postfach 12 40, D-89002, Ulm, Germany.

ISBN: 978-1-988768-00-7

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Science Fair 2017

Cath Reading (BA Primary Education Programme Director)

In February, a Science Fair was held by the Year 1 B.A (Ed) students, at Queens Campus. The teams were given a challenge to present a teaching activity, as part of the Science for Primary Teaching module. Students presented a wonderful range of activities from Dinosaur Digs, and NASA rockets, to Harry Potter potions! This was a great opportunity to share some truly innovative ideas, and the children loved every minute of it.

"Well done Year 1!"

"Over 40 children from both mainstream classes, and a Hearing Impaired Base class of Year 3 Children came to Stockton Campus, to the Super Science Fair�.

They are a group of children of many different abilities but all with a curious mind and an inquisitive personality. Children were treated extremely well, and the facilities were accessible to all. It was a good morning enjoyed by Staff and Children alike.

We only had one 'collective' moan......"we wanted to stay longer and, of course, have the obligatory packed lunch there".

Jo Lewis Sunnyside Academy

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Writing a novel with children from Partnership Schools

Dr David Waugh, one of our Senior Teaching Fellows, has written a novel with 45 children from 15 primary schools in East Durham. With support from Sarah Myners, recently-retired Deputy Headteacher at Hesleden Primary, David and the children, worked together at 5 workshops during which children wrote and illustrated the story of 42 children who go on a residential trip to the mysterious Crampton Hall. Workshops were held at Hesleden, and Headteacher, Dawn Dunn, provided invaluable help with organisation and proof-reading.

The novel, The Wishroom, published in April, is available through Amazon and can be ordered from bookshops. The cover illustration is by Stuart Trotter, a local children’s author and illustrator who illustrates many other well-known books, including the Rupert the Bear annuals.

Since taking semi-retirement, David has worked voluntarily in over 20 schools in the North-East, Devon and Switzerland. He would be happy to visit others to share his children’s novels and work with children on related activities. He can be contacted at d.g.waugh@durham.ac.uk.

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News Roundup Research News Non-cognitive impacts of Philosophy for Children Schools are places where children can learn behaviour, skills and attitudes that have lifelong relevance, in addition to the formal curriculum of subjects. In England, despite a continuing emphasis on attainment, there are clear moves to consider also the wider and non-cognitive outcomes of schooling such as pupils’ development of self-confidence, trust, critical thinking and civic-mindedness. However, there is little existing evidence on whether and how such non-cognitive outcomes can be improved through school-based interventions. This is a report of the evaluation of one such intervention Philosophy for Children (P4C) - in terms of its possible non-cognitive outcome For further information see the research paper Siddiqui, N., Gorard,S. and See, BH. (2017) Non-cognitive impacts of Philosophy for Children (P4C).

School of Education, Durham University, Durham http://dro.dur.ac.uk/20880/1/20880.pdf?DDD34 +DDD29+czwc58+d700tmt

North East Primary Literacy Campaign In September 2016, Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) launched a new ÂŁ10 million North East Primary Literacy Campaign, co-funded with Northern Rock Foundation.

This five-year campaign to boost literacy levels for disadvantaged pupils in the North East will aim to reach all 880 primary schools in the region in order to narrow the gap in educational outcomes between children from low-income homes and their more advantaged classmates.

The challenge One-in-three (33%) pupils at primary school in the North East - more than 66,000 children are classified as disadvantaged. Read guidance reports that our Professor Steve Higgins has written in partnership with the EEF https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/north-east-literacycampaign/

Leazes Road Library Leazes Road Library is a specialist Education Library, located in the School of Education. Teachers in Durham University Partnership Schools can join at no cost. We are open in addition to office hours, on evenings and weekends during term-time.

We stock the latest journals, so teachers can keep up with the news in their subjects, and academic texts, on a variety of education-related topics to support teachers with their own professional development.

We also offer teaching resources to borrow for use in the classroom. Including materials to photocopy, big books, CD-ROMs and DVDs. We also stock a wide range of real objects from Anglo-Saxon coins, to Viking helmets.

It is easy to join. Simply call in between 9 am and 5 pm weekdays, and complete a Visitor Campus Card Form (N.B. Proof of ID required). For further information please email educ.library@durham.ac.uk or call 0191 3348137.

Contact us on: School of Education Durham University Leazes Road Durham County Durham DH1 1TA Tel: +44 (0)191 334 8310 Fax: +44 (0)191 334 8311

Email: partnership.coordinator@durham.ac.uk Web: www.durham.ac.uk/education

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