Dubai College Learning Reflections Issue One

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Learning Reflections

Published by the Dubai College Centre of Learning, Teaching and Innovation

Learning Reflections

An exploration into collaborative creativity and informal learning in GCSE Music Composition Alan Crawford

An exploration of students’ experiences of learning Mathematics through a flipped classroom.

Stewart Gale

An empirical study exploring: Why are Key Stage 4 English students passive in their approach to Literature lessons Sarah Lambert

An investigation into the viability of using QR codes linked to verbal feedback as a potential alternative to written marking Chris Temple

A preliminary study into fostering an ethos of increased responsibility and independence of learners in GCSE Biology Rebecca Dibble

A preliminary study: Is using the target language right at all times? The 90-10% theory Samer Zaghlowl

Stay playful, be exceptional: A provocation Dawn Blessing

The ‘Place’ of Geography in the Dubai College Curriculum. What motivates students to make their subject choices at GCSE and A level?

Becki Quigley

Pedagogical possibilities in teaching with technology: An exploration into how technology can enhance teaching and learning Dee Saran

An exploration into how different approaches to tutor time affects pupil engagement and experience.

Rachael Maguire

An exploration of the information seeking habits of DC students using online resources, websites, books or other print material Gaelene Clarke

How far is digital learning useful in learning Arabic vocabulary?

Sawsan Abdulhadi

An exploration of the effectiveness of the Harkness method in delivering Advanced Level Mathematics Joe Almond

Can supervised revision sessions improve examination attainment?

Sharon Chandler

An appreciative inquiry into which factors contribute towards trust and subsequently engagement within an international secondary school Michael Lambert

Exploring the effectiveness of peer assessment Stuart Forsyth

Learning Reflections

This first edition of Dubai College’s own research compendium is a red letter date in the history of education in our school. It marks our commitment to pursuing practices (pastoral, pedagogical and professional) which we know work. Too many young lives are at stake in the grand civic enterprise of mass education for us to blindly accept assertions which “feel right” but have no basis in fact. As Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD remarks, “These days, virality seems privileged over quality in the distribution of news, with truth and fact losing currency in decision making”.

Fortunately, we live in an age of enlightenment when we know more about how students learn and the unprecedented challenges facing us in the future than perhaps at any other time in the history of mankind. For this reason we can feel confident that education as ideology can now be replaced by education as science. To do this will require a greater voice and activism from school leaders and classroom practitioners in order to assert the primacy of the school as the locus of understanding for what makes a great education. The Third Space aims to extract real leadership of learning from the stranglehold of strategic compliance exerted by league tables and inspection regimes and present an evidenceinformed way forward. Viva la revolución!

Mike Lambert, Headmaster

The first edition of Dubai College’s research reflections illustrates how our community is pioneering the way to enable teachers in our region to take an evidenced informed approach. When formulating this vision it never crossed our minds that we would have nearly a quarter of our staff involved in such an empowering and evaluative process. A testament to the staff involved in the process, their sheer determination and commitment ensured that the outcomes were shared amongst our professional learning community.

Engaging in educational research not only contributes to the professional development of teachers, but to the body of knowledge of the profession and to teaching and learning across the school.

But what exactly do we mean by ‘research’ and how best can we develop researcherly dispositions? When the term ‘researchengaged school’ was first coined it was identified as having four interrelated dimensions: a research-rich pedagogy that manifested in the school’s teaching and learning and classroom practice; research orientation that exemplified in the school’s values and culture; it would promote research communities both within and beyond the school; and lastly research would be at the heart of school policy and practice (Handscomb and MacBeath, 2003).

As we consider the role that research can play in the professional learning and development of teachers, it is worth noting that without the requisite skills, knowledge and attributes teachers face questions surrounding the rigour and scholarship of their research. Acknowledging the challenges teachers face in becoming researchers, we have partnered with Oxford University’s Educational Deanery.

Next year, the Deanery will provide the support of a critical friend to ensure our methodological approaches continue to develop in their rigour. By constantly engaging with the outside world in such an extensive, open-minded and meaningful way, we hope to play an active and important role so that our own students will be the ultimate beneficiaries with a fresh and challenging education which prepares them for the world of tomorrow.

Dee Saran, Deputy Head Learning and Teaching

In 2017-2018, I took on the role of SLE in charge of Action Research.

This involved recruiting, training, mentoring and supporting staff in systematic reflection and inquiry to improve upon their own practices. Over the course of the year, almost 20 staff at Dubai College experimented with many innovative pedagogies in the classroom ranging from flipped learning, to Harkness, to collaborative creativity. There were also a number of staff who considered how technology might enhance learning, including trialling online apps and using audio feedback for assessment purposes. Other staff explored pastoral issues including effective use of tutor time and student resilience. There were also valuable insight studies into student library behaviours, revision habits and even into teacher trust within school. Not all projects were action research but all were meaningful to the teacher and often within their departments.

It was encouraging to see so many staff across the school taking the time to critically examine things as they are, as well as planning and implementing interventions to enrich the experiences and learning outcomes of our students. Many conversations, interviews, surveys, notes and observations took place over the year, which teachers analysed in order to understand more deeply their practice and make adjustments. At the end of the year, it was wonderful to celebrate the outcomes of such teacher research projects through an INSET day for which staff produced posters, and shared their findings with other teachers across the school. What is most exciting about this is that through practical research, we have effectively created new understandings and knowledge which is specific to our institution, unique to our classes and particular to our students.

Educational research should not be just owned by academics, and this year proved that we teachers can be agents of change using action-inquiry as a tool. I would like to thank all staff who were involved in this venture and hope that it has been a valuable means of professional development as well as a means of improving outcomes for our students.

Alan Crawford, Head of Creative Arts

An exploration into collaborative creativity and informal learning in GCSE Music Composition

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

Alan Crawford _____________________ KEY ISSUE

___________________

At the Key Stage 3 level, much of the practical work in Music classes involves working in small groups of 4-5 students in order to prepare for performances and create compositions according to a teacher-given brief. In contrast, at GCSE level, however, examination boards require that students compose individually. Therefore, there is a disconnect between the habits encouraged at KS3 and those expected beyond. While for many years I have taught students composition and expected individual outputs from the beginning of Year 10, recently I have recognised that this is neither engaging for students nor equips them with the skills to compose creatively

-

often what is produced is clearly

a pastiche, arising from a process of mimesis. ____________________ WHAT THE LITERATURE SAYS

While policy and public examination boards tend to dictate curriculum planning, their foci do not always tally with proven educational research in learning. In my case, much literature advocates the value of alternative approaches to creative musical composition other than those driven by the linear and individualised assessment objectives set by Pearson. My research is based on the foundation of such leanings, as described below: Sawyer (2017) indicates the notion that creativity is always collaborative, thereby highlighting the unique potential of shaped groups in being innovative. Burnard (2012) writes about the variety of contexts in which creativity occurs in relation to musical practices and how they relate to each other. Odena (2016) discusses the nature of the interactions between teacher and student in the musical creative process and suggests pedagogies that facilitate imaginative thinking within groups. Schippers (2010) and Campbell (2004) focus on cultural diversity and the development of intercultural musical skills and contest the supposed ‘static’ nature of world music traditions, thereby encouraging creativity through recontextualisation and fusion. In her seminal study of how popular musicians learn, Green (2002, 2008) provides an approach to classroom pedagogies that places the learner at the centre of the music-making. This involves student choice in groupings, students' musical choices, acceptance of a haphazard approach in creative learning as well as improvising and experimenting with music by playing together first, before using notation - that is, sound before symbol. ____________________ PLANNED INTERVENTION

In parallel to the content teaching of Edexcel AoS 4, we decided to devote 1-2 lessons per week over one term to collaborative composition based upon its key theme ‘Musical Fusions’. Students were asked to form their own groups of 4-6 people and create a substantial composition which successfully fused together at least two contrasting musical styles from around the world. They were required to direct the process from start to completion, including effectively managing their group. Students were given some initial instruction (DTFE, 2018) on how to use design thinking as a possible model for planning their process, but conversely, given the freedom to choose how to work.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. How does the collaborative approach influence student engagement in the creative process at the GCSE Level?

2. What types of learning occur when students interact with each other?

3. To what extent is the ‘design-thinking’ model useful in providing a framework for group composition?

4. What is the quality of the musical composition that is produced?

5. What are the most effective ways teachers can support student-led learning? ________ LIMITATIONS

• This is not a generalisable study. Rather, it is specific to individual students, classes, and year group.

• There was limited time available for both teacher-observers to discuss and compare observational data. Further, due to timetabling restrictions, we were not able to simultaneously observe the same class.

• There were limitations on the availability of suitably equipped spaces in the department to enable each group to have parity in their collaborations. _____________ RESEARCH DESIGN

Framework This small-scale research follows an interpretivist paradigm, employing qualitative methodologies in order to collect data and then inductively analyse it to build theory. The results of this study are idiographic and not generalisable. Therefore, the value of the research lies in how it makes sense of the individual case to inform my own practice, the teacherresearcher, including pedagogical strategies and curriculum planning for future years.

Data Collection Methods I followed a purposive sampling strategy, choosing specifically to trial this approach with two Year 10 classes n = 14 (12 boys + 2 girls) and n = 9 (9 girls). Classes were observed in action (Schön, 1983) by JLF and ACR and this was often recorded using Surface Pro so that observations could be reflected upon. Field notes were taken at the time, making use of ‘thick description’ (Geertz, 1973) in order to convey the essence of the action, including contextual factors. There was further participant observation by both teachers as well as a number of unstructured (often spontaneous) and semi-structured interviews throughout the process of individuals and of selected groups and these were also occasionally recorded. Final performances were video recorded. Finally, all students completed an open-ended ‘essay-style’ evaluation of the project, including their learning, the musical success of their composition, and the effectiveness of the collaboration approach.

Ethical Considerations Following the British Educational Research Association’s (BERA) Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (BERA, 2011) students were made aware of the nature of the research, asked to complete a consent form to signal their agreement to participate and their desire for anonymity, if chosen, as well as issues relating to the usage of recordings, etc.

Validity and Reliability While it would be easy as an ‘emic’ researching my own practice to be guided by my own bias, I put a number of strategies in place to ensure a critical stance (Finney, 2013). Firstly, long-term ethnographic involvement with the students and the school helped me to gain a more nuanced understanding of the students and school as well as to triangulate my findings over time.

Further triangulation included investigator and methodological aspects. Finally, my initial findings were shown to students for further calibration and participant verification.

Data Analysis Video recordings were transcribed. These, alongside field-notes and student evaluations, were analysed inductively by using firstly open and then axial coding to create and thematise categories. Within the time limitations of the study, I utilized a constant comparative method to lead towards key findings, which were tested through further observation.

________ SOME PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

1.

2.

3.

4.

Students' time management improved significantly over the course of the project.

Task engagement was high amongst all students.

Different groups needed different support and different pathways to ‘get into’ their composition.

Listening and intra-group dialogue increased over time.

The design-thinking approach was not popular amongst groups—they preferred to work in their own organic ways.

6. The musical outcomes of the project were high for all but one of the groups.

7. Clear leaders emerged from the groups.

8. Creative dissonance was evidenced on numerous occasions.

9. All groups seemed to welcome teacher input, although both of us felt it better for student learning to limit our interventions.

10. Some students felt that more instruction on composing techniques at the outset would have been helpful.

11. Students took initiative in listening to and researching diverse musical styles.

5.

"The benefits of working in a group are that you get to learn about how other people think.”

“It felt quite organic…we messed around with a lot of ideas before we found what worked.”

“I felt that the advice was more relatable coming from a friend as opposed to a teacher.” ________ FOR FURTHER STUDY

What would be of interest in the future is to consider what modes of instruction are most appropriate at what point in the course, with which students, and for which topics. This would most probably necessitate mapping the course, trialling various approaches across the two-year cycle.

___________ REFERENCES Burnard, P. (2012). Musical creativities in practice. Oxford: OUP. British Educational Research Association (BERA). (2011). Ethical guidelines for educational research. http://www.bera.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BERA-Ethical-Guidelines-2011.pdf (accessed 01.02.18) Campbell, P. S. (2004). Teaching music globally. Oxford: OUP. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education. 7th edn. London: Routledge.

DTFE (2018). Design thinking for educators website. https://designthinkingforeducators.com/ (accessed 06.01.18) Finney, J. (2013). ‘Music teachers as researchers’, in Finney J. and Laurence F. (eds.), Masterclass in music education. London: Bloomsbury.

Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books.

Green, L. (2002). How popular musicians learn: A way ahead for music education. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Green, L. (2008). Music, informal learning and the school: A new classroom pedagogy. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Odena, O. (2016). ‘Towards pedagogies of creative collaboration: Guiding secondary school students’ musical compositions’, in Barrett, M. (ed.), Collaborative creative thought and practice in music. London: Routledge.

Sawyer, K. (2017). Group genius: The creative power of collaboration. 2nd edn. New York: Basic Books.

Schippers, H. (2010). Facing the music: Shaping music education from a global perspective. Oxford: OUP. Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

An investigation into the viability of using QR codes linked to verbal feedback as a potential alternative to written marking Chris Temple

AIM AND MOTIVATION

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

THE SELECTED SAMPLE

The aim of this project is to investigate whether the use of QR cards as a potential marking system would be effective in the classroom and an improvement upon standard written marking.

Beyond the obvious need for basic stationery, stickers need to be preordered through reprographics in advance. This is normally taken care of by the laboratory staff and tend to be readily available on request.

I selected the books of a Year 9 class that I teach on a threeto-four-week rotational basis as the testing group. I applied both marking styles simultaneously to their exercise books and instructed the students on how to use the software app once downloaded. They were then able to experience both marking methods in order to form a basis for comparison.

The students are a motivated group who want to do well in the subject. They are considered a ‘banded, mixed ability’ set and the standard of their written work is variable.

Generally, I have found written marking to be a very laborious and potentially low-content form of feedback due to the amount of time needed to write such long comments. I prefer the idea of communicating verbally with the students in the classroom, discussing how they are progressing with their courses in terms of their written and practical work. I feel that very intensive marking can be an unwieldy task and, therefore, a more effective and time-saving alternative is welcome. It is the aim of this action research project to determine if verbal feedback using QR codes is a potential viable alternative.

Students and teachers need to install an app called ‘Digital Eyes’, which is available on relevant app stores. The students need to install the free version of the app and the teachers need to pay a nominal amount of money to purchase the ability to use the app to create and record QR cards. Once the teacher has set up an account and logged in, the making and printing of QR cards is a simple matter of clicking a number of links. In order to create an audio feedback that is attached to a QR card, it is just a matter of aiming the phone camera at the QR grid when in the app and pressing record and save. There is no limit to the duration of time an audio message can be recorded for.

MARKING STYLES I mark according to the Science department marking policy which states that all exercise books must be fully marked by a subject teacher within a minimum period of every four weeks.

The feedback that I give is a combination of a) written observation; b) suggesting improvements in order to aid progression on the course; c) extended questions to stretch the critical thinking of the student; d) an indication of whether they are on target for their achievement level based on the quality of learning and work done thus far. This feedback is given through standard written comments and also using pre-printed stickers.

The QR approach does not involve written feedback as such (although it does not exclude written comments if necessary), but is entirely contained within a verbal feedback format, using a scannable QR square which gives the student the ability to listen to my opinion on all aspects of their progress on their device (mobile phone or tablet).

Student approval rating of QR marking = 83%

Student Feedback • Very high level of content on the audio • Feels very individual and personal • Easy to access with device (particularly phone) • Avoids issues with poor handwriting • The marking is no longer invasive to the work • Cannot be accessed without a device • Could be difficult to listen in privacy

Teacher Feedback • HUGE saving in time spent marking • Far superior in content and depth • Easier to mark when on the move • Simple to implement the software • Difficult to police quality of marking • What if the current app is discontinued?

• Difficult to assess if student has listened

A three-minute audio recording takes

approximately 25 minutes of writing.

THE FEEDBACK PROCESS The feedback was taken through a group interview, as I am of the opinion that the survey method can be corrupted by the nature of the questions asked. It is easier to inadvertently frame a survey question that biases the response from the students towards your personal opinion. I feel that it is preferable to chat openly with a sample in order to achieve a clear indication of their opinions, like a focus group. At the end of the feedback session, the students were individually asked to answer a direct question privately: ‘Would you be happy if your work was marked with QR codes or would you prefer to continue with written marking?’ Their response was a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and was calculated as a percentage.

FINAL CONCLUSION Based on the feedback from the students and my own personal observations, it is agreed that QR code marking is a viable alternative to written marking. However, it must only be considered as an alternative and not a replacement. There are difficulties that render QR code marking difficult to implement, such as the difficulty in quality control at the departmental level. If the challenges brought up by the introduction of QR code marking can be addressed, then the advantages gained are very significant indeed. It Further, it must be further indicated that the research must be extended into other subject areas and to a wider range of age groups so that a more comprehensive conclusion can be reached.

DUBAI COLLEGE

Stay playful, be exceptional: A provocation

A tradition of quality in education

Dawn Blessing

The Background

‘Secretly we all want to dance over the proverbial sidewalk cracks. We have convinced ourselves we can’t or we shouldn’t.’ ~ Ian Bogost

Whilst researching for my Masters in Design, I constantly sprang back to the notion of play and finding ways of recapturing that childlike naivety within one’s approach to learning. So much of this childlike inquisitiveness appears to have been stripped from us as adults—as author and games designer Dr Ian Bogost explains, ‘secretly we all want to dance over the proverbial sidewalk cracks. We have convinced ourselves we can’t or we shouldn’t’ (2017).

Preconceived ideas of how we should react or behave as adults makes us forget to just stop and look. As educators we need to be reminded to be consciously aware of the stability of our senses and to embrace the curiosity of our human nature, as this is where the magic can happen. There are parameters within every aspect of our lives, but occasionally it is okay to stop, break the rules, play, become engaged—sometimes, a double glance is all it takes.

The consume and share approach is what's happening right now!

Through play we #Discover #Explore #Research and #Develop

The Purpose

There are always rules and order and the need for an outcome, that is life, but how do we get the best outcome we possibly can? In The Art of Creativity, author Rod Judkins gives examples of creative thinkers from all over the world with some staggering results. Many of his ideas link to the childlike curiosity and fundamental ideas of play. Ideas such as planning to have more accidents and being as incompetent as possible all suggest that sometimes the logical constraints of needing an outcome often hinder the creative process and often mean that many outcomes are forced and often predictable. Play is a serious thing and is something that requires further investigation.

‘Play is a catalyst. It boosts productivity and is vital for problem-

solving. Play is not taken seriously enough; it is as important for adults as for children. We don’t lose the need for novelty just because we become older. We all need to remember that play creates useful and practical solutions. You’re a success in your field

if you aren’t sure if what you are doing is work or play.’~

Rod

Judkins

‘Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.’ Heraclitus Bogost, I. (2017). ’Play anything’ talks a google. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83FbAKf7wUQ (Accessed at: 1 May 2017).

Judkins, R. (2015). The Art of Creative Thinking. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Some Thoughts

When we play games, we touch, shuffle, move, and tinker with that game. All our senses become engaged as we experience a sensuous connection. With the sound, feel, and movement of a set of marbles or counters being moved ever so carefully, the game makes you stop and connect. It is also the excitement—your legs wiggle and you bubble inside with anticipation. It is one of the few childlike feelings that you can still encounter. Being in that moment, distracted only by the game, the objects, and the human interaction. In today’s fastpaced society, these feelings are not only rare but are also precious. It is this feeling, the feeling of joy, of being unaware and being completely absorbed. This is the very essence I want to capture within the learning process and in my lessons. How can we keep learning to be playful and push ideas so far that outcomes are truly remarkable? There are numerous debates regarding how to encourage meaningful experimentation but I am going to examine meaningful play within lessons. Can serious play lead us all to be exceptional?

DUBAI COLLEGE

Pedagogical possibilities in teaching with technology:

An exploration into how technology can enhance teaching and learning

A tradition of quality in education

Dee Saran _____________________ CONTEXT FOR THE STUDY

We may perceive ourselves as enthusiastic natives or reluctant luddites either way we all inhabit a digital world. Technology, and how teachers and students interact with it, is subject to much variability. Different school leaders have made different decisions, but the UAE Educational Vision outlines the expectation of integrating technology into all classrooms. There are online solutions for everything from recording classroom observations to awarding student incentives, from teachers’ annual appraisal to staff recruitment. There is plenty available. What is in shorter supply is evidence that any of it makes much difference. In my career, I have always adopted an evidence-informed approach and I was drawn to adopt the same approach in the evaluation of technological pedagogies that could have the potential to enhance learning and teaching. ____________________ PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Nesta, the innovation charity, reported that UK schools spent over £1 billion in the period 2008-2012 on digital technology. ‘The education sector has invested heavily in digital technology; but this investment has not yet resulted in the radical improvements to learning experiences or educational attainment.’ (Luckin et al., 2012, p.8). Higgins et al. (2012, p.3) conducted their meta-analysis of 40 years of research evidence for the impact of technology in the UK and internationally, stating that it ‘consistently identifies positive benefits’. However, studies linking ‘the provision and use of technology with attainment tend to find consistent but small positive associations with educational outcomes’ (Higgins et al. 2012, p.3) do not find a causal link. Leading learning and teaching across the school involves understanding and learning about which digital pedagogies are best suited to our highly able academic learners. Alongside my own vested interest in enhancing my technological pedagogical knowledge, I wanted to attempt to use two models that have been cited to support teachers in understanding how to apply technologies to their own context.

The first was The TPACK framework, which attempts to raise educators’ awareness that there are multiple factors that contribute to effective technology integration (Koehler & Mishra, 2009; Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Because the influence of the interconnection among these factors is often immeasurable, instructors must be mindful of the different phases of knowledge embedded in technology integration.

The second was Nesta’s Decoding Learning areas of opportunity. Both proved vital in supporting my analysis. ________________________________ CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

No technology has an impact on learning on its own: success depends on how it is

used. Focus on the learning activity not technology—no single technology is a 'silver bullet' for education, and we need to get to grips with how technology is sold to us as a solution. Focusing on the learning activities that a particular technology can support is a good way to make better use of what we've got. The learner profile components and the 4Cs should help to clarify our choices. Be more upfront about your failures, share them, and collaborate with others to revaluate and move forward. Technology can have an impact on learning outcomes, if it is used to support powerful learning acts, such as learning through making, learning through inquiry, and learning from assessment.

The most effective results identify the learning activity that requires support and then apply technology to support that learning and thinking, for example, learning through practising or learning through inquiry and research.

‘We need technologies that work for teachers, not teachers that work for technology. Until then we need to take Ed-Tech less seriously’ (Selwyn, 2016, p43).

________

________ ________ LIMITATIONS

• • •

All the students did not answer the questionnaire due to their commitment to sports fixtures.

The sample size is too small to measure significant impact across the year group.

I could have asked another teacher to undertake participant observation on my behalf in order to provide an impartial opinion.

FINDINGS AND RESEARCH DESIGN

REFERENCES Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education, edn. London: Routledge.

Higgins, S., Xiao, Z. & Katsipataki, M. (2012). The impact of digital technology on learning: A summary for the educational endowment foundation. Durham University. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/The_Impact_of_Di gital_Technologies_on_Learning_(2012).pdf (Accessed: 14 November 2015).

Luckin, R., Bligh, B., Manches, A., Ainsworth, S., Crook, C. & Noss, R. (2012).

Decoding learning: The proof, promise and potential of digital education. Nesta.

Available at: http://nesta.org.uk/publications/decoding-learning (Accessed: 14 November 2015).

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2014). Teachers as designers of technology, pedagogy, and content (TPACK). Retrieved from http://home.edweb.net/teachers-designers-technology-pedagogycontent-tpack/ Selwyn, N. (2016). Is technology good for education? Cambridge: Polity Press.

7th

_____________ METHODOLOGY

This study utilised a mixed research method to analyse qualitative data (Cohen et al., 2011) primarily focusing on participant observations, a whole-class questionnaire and a small focus group for the interviews. The sample that I selected focused on a Year 7 class that consisted of 12 girls and 7 boys. Although the sample was small, it enabled me to review, reflect, and adapt my approach after each cycle of research.

For the initial and final thoughts that came out in the answers from the semi-structured interview, the participants’ responses were turned from words into graphs.

Ethics: Following the British Educational Research Association’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (2011), I briefed students about the focus of my research and asked them to complete an online consent form to agree to participate as well as gave them an option to remain anonymous.

How did my Year 7s react to the integration of technology into lessons?

The inconsistency in the number of students bringing in their devices or owning devices in my Year 7 class implied that there were periods of disrupted learning.

A few students were well versed in using devices but others were not, and it was notable that there was some distraction caused when the latter students engaged with technology. This inconsistency also impacted the way that students engaged with audio feedback through OneNote; the lack of digital skills for at least 10 students meant that progress was significantly slower. This of course will be counteracted by having BYOD and digital skills sessions in Year 7.

Do students view certain technologies as being better at enhancing their learning?

Interestingly, the modes of technology that I rated as being lower on the list in relation to impact scored highly on the students’ survey. The survey revealed that students valued the virtual spaces where they could ask questions or seek clarity beyond the classroom (Selwyn, 2016). This may have created a safe sanctuary or third space, but I personally found that it blurred the already washed out boundary between home and work, as I became instantly accessible. Spaces such as teams and groups did lend themselves well to the group peer support, particularly in enquiry based lessons.

Which of the technologies did I perceive as enhancing critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication?

I found that the use of collaborative spaces on both the I3 boards and OneNote enhanced collaboration in a manner that students could see ‘live’ what the other was thinking and could provide feedback and adapt their responses to develop critical thinking. Collaborative learning is effective because it

encourages participants to articulate and justify their thinking, reflect on other explanations, resolve differences through constructive dialogue, and to build shared knowledge and meaning. Moreover, the collaborative learning tasks also enhanced motivation (Luckin et al., 2012).

The ability to go wireless liberated my positioning from the shackles of the teacher desk, thereby enabling me to move freely and engage more frequently with students. This also changed the dynamics of the classroom as I was no longer the focus and led to more student interactions and, in turn, better quality responses as I was able to drive the questioning towards students that I may have otherwise neglected in my usual positioning.

What steps can you take to ensure that technology enhances learning?

As always, one must be confident in one’s pedagogical and subject knowledge, design tasks which focus on critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication and then select a technology that compliments the task and your teaching style. Do not begin with the technology and attempt to fit the task around it; in my experience, this will compromise the depth of learning.

Use your pedagogical toolkit alongside the digital learning areas from Nesta to focus on how you will use technology to enhance learning and teaching.

Technology must never be a blot on or compromise thinking. If you feel you are using it in a tokenistic fashion, you are probably best off re-evaluating your approach or seeking advice.

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

An exploration of the information seeking habits of DC students using online resources, websites, books or other print materials Gaelene Clarke RESULTS

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH As a school librarian, this research project resulted from my awareness that the usage of certain databases that we subscribe to as a school were not being utilised to their full extent and that loans across all collections were declining, particularly non-fiction, over the last few years. Then, there is a need to establish if this new generation - who were born in the ‘internet age’ - were of a different mindset as well as having different expectations and, therefore, require a different ‘information’ delivery method, given the explosion of social media use and the smartphones that they all possess. Wider reading and research revealed to me that this could be a possibility.

RESEARCH DESIGN Experience with previous surveys revealed that an online survey would enable me to seek more specific answers to questions, whereas a type of focus group interview would allow more openended questions to be asked with perhaps more interaction with the respondents. I decided to focus on the Lower School (Years 7, 8, and 9) for an online survey and approached Sixth Form for the focus group interview. I prepared an explanation sheet which I handed to the Sixth Form and explained verbally to the Years 7, 8, and 9 students, emphasising that this survey was anonymous.

DEFINITION Here, ‘information’ must be taken in the context of recreation (leisure reading), academic (coursework, essays) and information (how to, tips, shopping, etc.) purposes.

METHOD AND LIMITATIONS

I set up two online surveys using SurveyMonkey® for Years 7 and Years 8 and 9. As I had previously conducted surveys for these same year groups in 2014 and 2016, I more or less kept the same questions in order to evaluate whether there were any noticeable differences in their responses. For the Sixth Form, I managed to interview one group of seven students, mostly in Year 12, with various subject choices, and then I interviewed a small group of three girls who were all going to be doing an EPQ. The limitations that I found I had to deal with included not knowing if all the year groups I had in the library actually completed the online survey correctly, as they were all anonymous. With the focus group, I found that there were a few students who tended to be much more vocal than the others. Moreover, it is possible that students occasionally felt that they were being over-surveyed.

• • • ‘Information has become like the air we breathe, so pervasive that we scarcely notice its existence and yet so essential that we cannot live without it.’

Jean Tague-Sutcliffe

• • • •

CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH The conclusion that I drew from this research project highlighted some parallels for me that I came across through wider reading and research on this topic from a few sources— specifically the books by Jean Twenge (2017), who has for a number of years, been studying and publishing her findings on teenagers and, therefore, is able to provide a wealth of data to refer back to. What stands out to me is that I feel that there is certainly reason to conclude that the generation born 1995 onwards does require a different approach both in the delivery of information and their consumption thereof; the opportune way of doing this is still requires much more education research. With regard to information evaluation linking to research skills, it appears that there could be some need for this to be further developed; hence, a subscription to Credo Skills may show some results hopefully, as for this generation there is a sense that there is no ‘internet’ or ‘online’ to them as their connection to the digital world is so omnipresent that this is what it can mean to be human for them.

• • • • • • • • •

Years 7, 8, and 9 For Years 7, 8, and 9, the internet was their first choice to search for information independently, and this was followed by tutor/teacher recommendations.

Students like to work collaboratively.

80% of students indicated that they first ask their friends for book recommendations.

In addition to their curricular studies, students are engrossed in between 3 and over 5 activities.

56% of Years 8 and 9 indicated that they need some help with developing their research skills.

In Year 7, 54% of students indicated that they ‘know it all’ in terms of research skills.

Year 8s and 9s indicated YouTube as the favoured Social Media Platform (SMP), followed by Instagram, and then Snapchat and WhatsApp. Year 7s indicated YouTube as the most popular SMP, followed

by Instagram and WhatsApp. Snapchat was not popular at all.

Facebook and Twitter barely featured in their preferences.

Sixth Form Students’ seek information from the internet first. It is only after that that students also consult textbooks to establish direction and also follow teacher recommendations.

Students do not have time to waste as they are very busy and, thus, need to find information quickly.

They further indicated that they could do with some help with regard to developing research skills.

They are rather happy reading factual information online but prefer a printed format for more in-depth analysis.

If information makes sense to them, they will consider it useable depending on the requirement—for example, essays etc.— mindful that it could also discredit work.

There was a realisation that information could also change their research focus—one student .admitted this.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and Snapchat were the main SMPs used, with Snapchat being where they were inclined to spend most time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., Chen, C. & Zickuhr, K. (2012). How do teens do research in the digital world. Washington: Pew Research.

Twenge, J. (2017). iGen: Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy, and completely unprepared for adulthood. New York: Atria.

DUBAI COLLEGE

An exploration of the effectiveness of the Harkness method in delivering Advanced Level Mathematics

A tradition of quality in education

Joe Almond ________ RESULTS ______________________

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

THE MAIN AIM OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO COLLECT EVIDENCE IN DIFFERENT FORMATS, WITH A VIEW TO ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: Does using the Harkness method of teaching and learning enhance students’ conceptual understanding of Advanced Level Mathematics?

From a broader perspective, I focus on the impact on both the learning process (students) and the teaching skills and techniques used (teacher) during Harkness lessons. I also examine the similarities and differences between Harkness lessons and traditional classroom lessons. Consequently, I am in a position to share and discuss the research findings with colleagues and students at Dubai College, with the objective of extending the research further.

CONDUCTING THIS RESEARCH HAS ENABLED ME TO REFLECT UPON, ADAPT, AND IMPROVE MY CURRENT TEACHING PRACTICE. MOREOVER, I AIM TO SHARE THE RESEARCH WITH COLLEAGUES, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS TO BENEFIT THE WIDER DUBAI COLLEGE COMMUNITY. ___________________ THE RESEARCH DESIGN

CAT4 FM1 (Further Mathematics 1) (8) Verbal Quant Non-V Spatial

CAT4 FM2 (Further Mathematics 2) (9) Verbal Quant Non-V Spatial

127.1

120.2

CAT4 data in the table opposite). Over the course of one half term, one group

135.2

118.7

teacher would have taught this topic in the two different settings, however, for this study, the classes were taught by two different teachers.

In Harkness lessons, students were given tasks and questions to look at prior to

any given lesson, the solutions of which were then written up at the start of a lesson, meaning that the vast majority of Harkness lessons were discussion based from start to finish. Quite often, the discussion had not been concluded and had to be revisited in the following lesson.

_________ FUN FACTS EDWARD STEPHEN HARKNESS (PICTURED) WAS AN AMERICAN PHILANTHROPIST FROM CLEVELAND, OHIO. HE DONATED MILLIONS TO ART MUSEUMS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND TO THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. THE HARKNESS METHOD WAS INTRODUCED IN 1930, AT THE PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY (NEW HAMPSHIRE, USA) AFTER A LARGE DONATION FROM EDWARD S. HARKNESS. TODAY, ALL LESSONS AT PHILLIPS EXETER ARE DELIVERED USING THIS APPROACH.

Test scores 1. The test scores for Topic 1 show that students in FM1 performed better on this topic than students in FM2 by a mere 4.3%, thereby suggesting—combined with CAT4 scores and FSMQ scores—that

120.7

FM1 should perform slightly better on average on any given topic test (see

Average = 123.8

_______ METHOD

table below).

2.

Test scores 2. The test scores for Topic 2 show that students in FM1

DATA COLLECTION:

performed better than students in FM2 by 7.9%. This shows a greater

1) Test scores 1 (FM1 and FM2): As scores for the sample topic (Topic 2) need a

difference in their average test scores than in the Topic 1 test, which may

comparison, test scores for a different topic (Proof by Induction, referred to as Topic

suggest that their conceptual understanding of Roots of Polynomials is

1 in this research), where Harkness lessons did not feature in the teaching

greater than their conceptual understanding of FM2s, owing to Harkness

component for either group, have been recorded. I also considered CAT4 data (table

lessons.

above) and FSMQ results from Year 11 results.

3.

Student survey. The pie chart in the centre of this write up shows that 75%

2) Test scores 2 (FM1 and FM2): After a six-week block of lessons, students in both

of learners believed that they participated more in Harkness lessons than in

groups were tested on the sample topic (Roots of Polynomials, referred to as Topic 2

traditional classroom lessons. The following quotation is one of many that

in the results section opposite).

featured

well as opinions and perspectives of students regarding Harkness lessons.

4) Student interviews (FM1 only): Six questions designed to focus on the key features of Harkness lessons, such as skills developed, pace of the lessons, levels of an attempt to avoid teacher influence on answers.

____________ PARTICIPATION

4.

___________ LIMITATIONS

1.

Different groups. To minimise this, I considered the mathematical abilities of the groups using CAT4 scores, FSMQ scores, as well as topic test scores.

2. Learned behaviours. Are students within the groups already conditioned to learn in certain ways? Do the students support each other outside of the classroom?

3. Different teachers. The effectiveness of these teachers, irrespective of Harkness.

4. Sample size: 10 students.

the

student

responses

and

focuses

on

DEPTH

OF

Student interviews. In all student video interviews, students spoke about Harkness positively. They conveyed excitement and pride at having been

part of

these

lessons.

Most

students

talked

about

DEPTH

OF

UNDERSTANDING in their videos. Interestingly, when discussing ‘skills’, numerous students referred to the development of their

STUDENTS WERE ASKED TO JUDGE THEIR INDIVIDUAL LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION IN A TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM COMPARED TO THE HARKNESS ROOM. BELOW IS A SUMMARY OF THEIR THOUGHTS: 75% OF STUDENTS SAID THAT THEY PARTICIPATED MORE IN HARKNESS LESSONS THAN IN TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM LESSONS.

in

UNDERSTANDING: ‘Harkness allows us to think in more depth about mathematical concepts and analyse what is going on in each case and look for further potential ways to solve a problem through group discussion’.

engagement, etc. Here, students interviewed and recorded each other’s responses in

and one group studied the same topic in a traditional classroom. Ideally, the same

•

130.0

Average = 129.6

studied a chosen topic (Roots of Polynomials or Topic 2) in the Harkness room

•

128.6

3) Student survey (FM1 only): 10 questions designed to collect qualitative data as

THE GROUPS: Two relatively similar A Level Further Mathematics classes (see

•

133.0

1.

presentation skills, their growth in confidence in front of their peers as well as the need to think ahead and prepare more.

FM1 (%)

FM2 (%)

Difference

Topic 1

76.7

72.3

4.3

Topic 2

91.6

83.7

7.9

________________________________ CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

Drawing on the results from the four data collection fields within this research, it is evident that although FM1s are slightly more mathematically able than FM2s, after a series of Harkness lessons, the divide between the groups in terms of test scores widened from 4% to almost 8%. This suggests that Harkness lessons have had a marginal impact in terms of conceptual understanding of the topic covered. The vast majority of student surveys and interviews repeatedly mentioned the word ‘depth’ in reference to students’ learning, which further supports the claim that ‘conceptual understanding’ of Advanced Level Mathematics improves through Harkness lessons.

FURTHER RESEARCH will be conducted with a different year group, a larger sample, mapped conversations, and student feedback over time.

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

An appreciative inquiry into which factors contribute towards trust and subsequently engagement within an international secondary school Michael Lambert

____________________ PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

________ METHODS

My objective was to conduct a full staff engagement survey at the end of my second year as Headmaster to help me shape the strategic direction for the school. I chose a staff engagement survey rather than a staff satisfaction survey because an engaged employee is most likely satisfied, but not all satisfied employees are engaged (SurveyMonkey, 2018).

After the analysis of the initial staff survey, it was evident that perceptions of trust, communication, and recognition of strong job performance were relative to individuals within the organisation.

Within the same school there were staff members who felt these elements were very strong and yet close colleagues felt the opposite. Therefore, my research methodology shifted to in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis of staff responses to structured questions with all leaders within the school.

Our results in 46 out of 49 areas of the Marcus Buckingham survey were in line with or above the responses of 2,500+ benchmark organisations. However, the number of people who responded Strongly Agree or Agree to the following statements was below that of the benchmark organisations:

• • •

Communication between SLT and employees is good at Dubai College Managers at all levels of Dubai College recognise strong job performance The SLT and employees trust each other

Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) suggests that ‘it is line managers who are most significant in securing employee engagement. They do this through establishing a trusting relationship between the individual employee and the organisation as a whole and in demonstrating the relevance of organisational norms and policies on a day-to-day basis’ (2013). As such, the purpose of my investigation was to understand which factors staff believe to positively contribute to good communication, greater levels of trust, and recognition of strong job performance.

‘Companies all too often call for low-morale surveys instead of designing rigorous inquiries into extraordinary moments of high engagement, commitment, and passionate achievement’ (Stavros et al, 2015, p.1), whereas the AI methodology offered an opportunity to discover factors which already contribute towards trust, and subsequently engagement, while affording participants an opportunity to reflect on an even better future.

________ RESULTS The participants identified seven key features of this appreciative inquiry, which they felt build trust and staff engagement. Above all else, it is evident that integrity is central. Participant responses suggest that integrity may manifest itself in a multitude of ways. Transparency and the interconnectedness of communication is a key feature which participants not only

recognised as key to building trust but to which they also committed themselves in seeking to fulfil their vision for an even more positive future. Another key feature to building trust and engagement is consultation with staff and evaluation of what is working well and in the best interests of all stakeholders. In order to evaluate this, it is necessary to have a shared understanding of what we value and to act in line with this shared understanding, another feature which participants identified. The need for mutual support, which includes recognising

_______________________________________ CIPD REPORT: HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO TRUST?

staff job performance and giving credit where credit is due, was the final key feature identified by the participants of this particular appreciative inquiry as a key feature for securing staff engagement. _______________________________________________________ CIPD REPORT: EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS OF HOW TO IMPROVE TRUST

___________________ THE RESEARCH DESIGN I chose to conduct an appreciative inquiry (AI) among all staff who held leadership positions within the school, that is, the line managers.

Appreciative inquiry (AI) is a theory and practice of inquiry-and-change that shifts the perspective of organisation development (OD) methods by suggesting that the very act of asking generative questions has profound impact on organizational systems. Inquiry and change do not occur in separate moments (Stavros, Godwin, and Cooperrider, 2015).

My research question—or what Cooperrider, Witney and Stavros (2008, p.33) call ‘the affirmative topic’—was ‘What do you think are the qualities of line managers who secure employee engagement?

Unlike a traditional research question, ‘the first step in the AI process involves choosing lifeaffirming factors as the focus of inquiry. What is it you want more of?’ (ibid.)

I chose this topic not simply out of academic interest but to enshrine and employ those strategies identified by the staff across the entire organisation in order to improve our outcomes in these areas. _____________________________ ___________ FURTHER RESEARCH LIMITATIONS I would be interested in conducting research The key features identified here corroborate into the propensity to trust among staff in the much of what has already been written school, not only to corroborate the findings of about in the literature, but fail to identify in the CIPD report but also as a means to any real way the dyadic nature of trust or understand the ways in which staff feel that what specific actions we should take as a they could enhance their own propensity to school in order to enshrine the key features. trust. The research would be interesting For example, participants were not asked to evidence to support, challenge, or enhance identify their own propensity to trust or Hurley’s recommendations (2006). what could be done to secure the trust and _____________________________ engagement of staff at various stages REFERENCES of their career life cycle. In addition, CIPD (2013). Are organisations losing the were I to take this research further, I would trust of their workers? Megatrends. seek to utilise more purposive sampling Cooperrider, D., Whitney, D. & Stavros, J. techniques having undertaken further (2008). The appreciative inquiry handbook, research into optimal methods for collecting 2nd edn. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler and analysing qualitative data.

Publishers

_______________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATIONS As a result of this research, I would recommend that all staff and, in particular, leadership teams commit to learning more about the nature of trust and how it is built through a multitude of activities. This includes knowing about the effect of their own behaviour as well as the types of employees they hire and sustain. From my perspective, everything that has been discussed here is relevant to schools, including my own. Using a stimulus such as Hurley’s article entitled ‘The Decision to Trust’ (2006), staff would be advised to take the time to understand and appreciate how simple but critical actions can have a profoundly positive and negative impact on trust and thereby staff engagement. I would also recommend that all staff are encouraged to consider their own propensity to trust and consider what they can do to enhance this themselves. _____________________________ FURTHER REFERENCES Stavros, J., Godwin, L. and Cooperrider, D. (2015). ‘Appreciative inquiry: Organization development and the strengths revolution’, in Rothwell, W., Stavros, J., & Sullivan, R. (eds.), Practicing organization development: Leading transformation and change, 4th edn., (pp.96116). New Jersey: JohnWiley & Sons.

Hurley, J. F. (2006). The decision to trust, Harvard Business Review, 84(9), 55-62.

DUBAI COLLEGE

An exploration of students’ experiences of learning Mathematics through a flipped classroom

A tradition of quality in education

Stewart Gale RESEARCH PURPOSE

METHOD: FLIPPED LECTURE

RESULTS: PERFORMANCE

A major difficulty in presenting new mathematical concepts to a group is

I set up a class notebook (via OneNote) on the unit of work. For each topic

The common assessment homework given to all Year 8 classes showed

to do so in such a manner that each student fully understands what is

within the unit, I set up a link to a video and shared the PowerPoint

that the class (set 8 of 8) out-performed sets 7, 6, and 4. However, since

being conveyed. When delivering new material in a class situation, there

presentation that I would have normally used to presented to the class. As

this was a homework assignment, it was unknown what help they may

are a number of factors to consider: the pace at which you go through

homework, I gave the students the task of watching the video and making

have received in completing the assessment. Just as important as

the concepts, what previous knowledge the students have, whether they

notes about the video using a given template (see below). The idea is to

performance, I was interested in how the students enjoyed the

are learning by rote or fully understanding the concepts, and whether

enable the students to play through the video at the pace that suits them.

experience of learning by flipping the classroom.

they are ready for extension material. Of course, when you have a class

If they need to pause or rewind the video to get a better understanding of

of students, the answers to these questions can never be the same for

a concept, then they can do this in a pressure-free situation.

every student, even in a class set by ability. Therefore, I am always looking for ways to give every individual student in a class the most

METHODS: CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

tailored experience that will enable them to reach their full potential.

Students began a new lesson by being asked if there were any concepts

This led to considering flipping the classroom to see if this enables

that they did not understand. If a student did not understand, then this

students to tailor their own learning to their individual needs.

gave the other students an opportunity to explain the work to them. The

RESULTS: STUDENT FEEDBACK Students were asked to answer 10 questions on their experience of flipping learning. Below are responses to two of these questions.

lesson then continued into questions and exercises that tested the RESEARCH: DESIGN

students’ knowledge.

The research design involved identifying a unit of mathematics from the KS3 syllabus and deliver the content by asking the students to watch pre-recorded lessons for homework. The students are assessed at the end of the unit, and their performance is compared to classes of other abilities. Students are also given a survey to complete at the end of the unit so that they can share their experiences. As much as I am interested in seeing if a flipped classroom can enhance performance, I am also

CONCLUSION

interested in seeing whether students enjoy the process of learning

Overall, students enjoyed flipping the classroom as it gave them the

through this method..

opportunity to understand how to work in a pressure-free situation.

RESEARCH: LIMITATIONS

They did not have the fear of embarrassing themselves in front of their

The research is conducted with a Year 8 class (which comprises 7 students) and encompasses one unit of work (10 units per academic year).

The assessment for Year 8 on this

unit is a homework assessment and not a class test.

peers or the pressure of the class waiting for them to understand the

work. On the flip side, the students who understood the concepts quickly were not waiting around for the teacher to ensure that the majority of the class understood the work being taught. As this was only one unit of work, further research is needed to see how students would cope with multiple units or even entire schemes of work being delivered by flipping the classroom.

DUBAI COLLEGE

An exploration into how different approaches to tutor time affects pupil engagement and experience

A tradition of quality in education

Rachael Maguire

CONTEXT I shaped this research project around my current role as the Deputy Head of Sixth Form. The Sixth Form at Dubai College has a varied and enriching programme of activities, which includes regular university visits, TopUP, Home Alone, the Wednesday Project, and voluntary work. Sixth Form students are very ambitious, and much of their motivations over the two year programme is based upon preparing themselves for the ‘next-step’ of their academic journey - that is, securing a prestigious university offer. As such, their curricular studies are prioritised in addition to managing an often extensive portfolio of extra-mural pursuits which they believe adds value to their tertiary applications. Coupling this with the programme above, their weekly schedule is hectic to say the least. Pastoral tutor time, whilst inherently valuable, can often be low on their agenda and this has been suggested through informal feedback from the students.

In terms of our aims in shaping the pastoral programme in the Sixth Form, we attempt to embed the ethos and practice of Positive Psychology (Carr, 2004) as well as Character Education (Lockwood, 2015). Our planning seeks to integrally embrace this philosophy.

Therefore it is important that, as a Sixth Form team, we explore pupil engagement with activities designed to help them develop character.

We also want to raise the status of tutor periods, so that pupils value this time as an opportunity to develop as a person and to, essentially, promote happiness and well-being (Morris, 2015; Noddings, 2003).

Another significant contextual factor is the fact that Moral Education becomes a compulsory part of the Sixth Form programme next academic year and, therefore, all efforts to explore and enhance the tutor period can only enhance the introduction of this course.

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH • •

To collect information on pupil experiences of tutor time.

To conduct action research to find the optimum balance between directed and non-directed tutor activities in order to inform tutor time planning.

RESEARCH DESIGN 1.

2.

3.

4.

I designed an initial questionnaire to determine students’ experiences of tutor time.

In response to this survey, I created a specific tutor group activity to be undertaken during tutor time. During the administering of this activity, I acted as a participant observer in one tutor group.

After this, I conducted focus group discussion based on semistructured questions.

Finally, I reviewed relevant feedback from the Year 13 exit survey.

INITIAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Key findings:

It was important to ask the pupils how they felt about tutor time in its current form, having had the experience of structured, tutor-led activities (provided by the Sixth Form team) and also informal sessions spent with their tutor. In February, 109 pupils completed a survey which produced interesting quantitative and qualitative findings.

1.

2.

Only 35% of pupils agree (either strongly or simply agree) that tutor-led activities/discussions are valuable, with almost 40% having ‘no strong feelings’ on the statement.

A quarter of pupils disagree (either strongly or simply disagree) that these activities are valuable.

Limitations of the Questionnaire We, as teachers, understand our responsibility to help support the personal and social development of those in our charge, even as they progress through the school and this pastoral element. Along with upcoming KHDA requirements, this implies that we should address both the passive and negative feedback on the value of tutor time discussions. Yet, only 14% of pupils feel that their form group does not embrace tutor period. Of course, each person who constitutes that 14% may come from a different form; thus, it is important to remember this is how an individual perceives their form’s enthusiasm and it is subjective.

Despite this being clarified, many pupils still thought that study time could be given in place of Tuesday tutor time. This reveals that the very concept of tutor time carries low status for many pupils.

It is evident from the comments that when at its best, pupils really value tutor time with their tutor.

What do you feel you gain from tutor-directed tutor periods?

Tutor time is one of the only times that we all come together as a form.

The discussions we have help to improve the form relationship.

It’s a good time for the whole form to bond and you to get to know your form tutor.

Time to bond with the rest of my form since we are quite segregated.

Tutor-provided periods tend to easily establish a structure for us students to communicate. Even though this could still be possible without a tutor, I believe that the presence of one urges all students to participate and engage more.

New skills and deeper thinking into non-curriculum topics and subjects.

REFERENCES Carr, A. (2004). Positive psychology: The science of happiness and human strengths. Hove: Routledge.

Morris, I. (2015). Teaching happiness and well-being in schools, learning to ride elephants, 2nd edn. London: Bloomsbury Education.

Noddings, N. (2003). Happiness and education. New York: Cambridge University Press.

It creates a stronger connection between form members and shows us to better understand each other.

Allows a time and reason for our form to speak with each other.

Limited possibilities otherwise.

We get to spend more time together as a form and learn a lot more about each other and our tutor.

They are generally very fun.

ACTION To develop a current, engaging, structured tutor time activity that will require discussion and collaboration towards achieving a higher status outcome.

1. I developed a three-part tutor time to coincide with International Women’s Day. 2. In the first session, pupils discussed the term ‘feminism’ and reviewed some new research that suggested, at the current rate of progress, global gender parity is 217 years away. Pupils committed, as a tutor group, to one ‘action’ to #pressforprogress towards gender equality.

3. In preparation for an inter-form debate, forms were assigned as the ‘House’ or ‘Opposition’ for the following motion: ‘This House believes that, with concerted effort, it is possible to achieve gender parity in our lifetime.’

4. In the third session, pupils planned the debate, and in the final session, we relocated to the E block and tutors judged ________ 10 parallel debates. There was a real buzz during and after the debates.

5. Follow up focus group to review tutor-time sessions.

RESULTS

Almost all tutors reported that their form engaged well in the debates. Ahead of the afternoon itself, pupil enthusiasm was rather mixed, but after the session, pupils were enthusiastic on the whole. They reported enjoying the structure and focus of the debating activity but some felt it too high pressured with the competitive element. Suggestions for debates within the form and as a less formal activity were made, but others wanted to take the competitive element further. The timing (towards the end of term 2) was cited as colliding with a busy time, particularly for Year 13.

I conducted a follow-up focus group session with form volunteers from Year 12, as their input is important in shaping the delivery of the Sixth Form programme. These pupils emphasized the timing of more complex sessions as being important. They spoke at length and positively about what they gain from both structured and non-structured time with their tutor. Some pupils said that in the absence of structured activities, they do not have discussions with their tutor and, therefore, they placed significant value on these opportunities. Others said that they always have interesting conversations with their tutor and it was evident how much they enjoy this interaction. All pupils agreed that the dynamic of their form had an impact on how much they embrace the prescribed activity.

The Year 13 exit survey also had a dedicated Tuesday tutor time question, with 53% rating the sessions (in general) as ‘Great’ or ‘Good’. Further, 21% of the pupils rated tutor time as ‘Unsatisfactory’; however, the follow-up comments again suggest that numerous pupils perceive it as being a session that could be used for private study. At the time of writing, all the tutor survey respondents had identified the sessions as ‘Great’ or ‘Good’, explaining that the activities were helpful for bonding but raised the importance of timely communication of content.

OUTCOME The reception of structured activities varies greatly and pupils report the dynamic of the tutor group as being a key factor. Therefore, next year, we will give a pupil within the form a leadership opportunity to help modify and develop the structured prompt into something that they believe their group will engage with. With the introduction of formal Moral Education lessons, it is believed that the format of this year should have helped prepare pupils for the structured sessions to follow. The focus group concluded that they would prefer a ratio of one structured session to every two unstructured sessions.

A preliminary study on fostering an ethos of increased responsibility and independence of learners in GCSE Biology

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

Rebecca Dibble

______________________

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

____________ CONCLUSIONS

The GCSE Biology specification is very content-driven; thus,

Student Evaluations

there is a perception that there is an overall lack of time, thereby

After each Harkness session, students were asked to evaluate

requiring teachers to adopt a lecture style of delivery in order to

both the method as a way of learning and their individual

cover all aspects of the course. This research aims to use the

performances. The maps from each session have become a

Harkness method as a means of cultivating independence and

sense

responsibility for their learning. It is hoped that through

independently evaluate their own performances. Consequently,

increased responsibility the students will enjoy the course more

their unguided analysis encouraged the growth of skills for the

and, therefore, lessons can be centred more around enquiry and open-ended tasks.

achieve success at a Harkness table, students must be prepared before

the

lesson.

Biology specification could be a strong springboard to adopting the method.

to

maturely

and

Therefore,

to

increase

the

sense

of

engage more in the conversation’ or ‘When it’s my own viewpoint, it means I can research what I like about the topic and I’m not restricted.’ _______ RESULTS

responsibility each student felt towards their preparation, they

Observations

were each allocated a certain role with prompting questions to put

The members of staff who were observing this class

forward at the table.

participating in Harkness noted the high levels of engagement

“Able to hear a lot of different ideas on the topic. You get a better understanding of both sides [of the discussion].” ~DC Student

exams to distract from the study. After observing Harkness in English, it was decided that the ethical issues surrounding the

able

statements from students include, ‘Next time I would like to

any person seeking a career in a science-based subject. In order to

were selected as they do not have the pressure of giving final

students

students who contribute less around the table. For example,

enquiry and dialogue, both of which are fundamental skills for

One class was selected as a focus for the study. Year 10 students

with

their overall engagement with the topic discussed, even

METHODS

Harkness is a teaching pedagogy which is designed to promote

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

pride

next session. All students agreed that the technique increased ________

Harkness

___________________

of

of the students in the lesson. In one particular lesson, a fire alarm interrupted the Harkness discussion and upon our

return the students had already resumed their discussions despite the fact that no teacher was present.

___________________

LIMITATIONS

Since the study was conducted only on one class, the conclusions are limited. While one-off Harkness has been conducted with Year 9 students of various abilities, which initially seems to back up the study, this requires further exploration.

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

The ‘Place’ of Geography in the Dubai College Curriculum.

What motivates students to make their subject choices in GCSE and at A Level?

Becki Quigley

THE CALL TO INQUIRY The Geography Department at Dubai College has experienced fluctuating numbers in terms of the subjects in GCSE and A Level is concerned. The most notable is the decline in A Level numbers. Upon analysing eight-year trends from 2010 to the current Year 12 cohort (2017-2018), the department has experienced a decline from a cohort high of 24 students down to a mere 7 this academic year. Further, GCSE numbers are fluctuating and inconsistent at best. The influence and reputation of Mathematics and the Sciences, along with increased competition from other Arts-rooted subjects, often works against Geography’s favorability with our students. However, the decline sits strangely with the underpinning principles of Geography; a pillar of the Social Sciences with specifications which offer engaging and contemporary content but also transferrable skills nurturing both creative flair and readiness for the digital world. It is for this reason that my practitioner research adopts a multi-faceted approach to exploring the reasons for decline at Dubai College. I will first seek to explore the reasons for decline, gain an insight into the academic reputation and perception of Geography amongst our students, and assess the extent to which ‘passion’ for a subject trades off against other motivations when students select their GCSE and A Level options. Then, based on my findings, I will endeavour to implement changes through the Geography Department’s Development Plan to reverse this decline at both the GCSE and A Level in my capacity as second-in-charge of the Geography Department from September 2018 onward. __________________________

RESEARCH RATIONALE

In the UK, for the fifth year running, GCSE Geography entries have risen. At the A Level, Geography had the largest percentage increase of all the major subjects in 2015, with candidate numbers rising sharply by 13%, following on from the 19% increase in GCSE in 2013. Enrolment on undergraduate courses is running higher than national averages, and graduating geographers experience some of the lowest unemployment levels of any degree subject.

However, this is not something which is reflected in the Geography classrooms at Dubai College.

Students’ motivations for subject choices beyond Key Stage 3 have been widely reported within the setting of the UK state sector (Biddulph & Adey, 2003, 2010; Hopwood, 2004, 2008, 2009; Lambert, 2010; Bell, 2005.). However, there is a considerable gap in the literature investigating the motivations of students at private world-class international institutions, particularly institutions with a significant proportion of the cohort originating from the Asian continent where Mathematics and the Sciences are placed at the core of the curriculum.

Michael Palin speaks passionately about the intrinsic value Geography has as a truly global subject. The problems facing our planet today will be solved by the geographers of tomorrow, which is one of the core values of this research: to provide a greater understanding of Geography’s purpose for our students.

________________

________________

_________________

THE FINDINGS: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

THE FINDINGS: COHORT TRENDS 2010-2017

Figure 1: A Level choices 2010-2017

Figure 2: Popularity of Humanities subjects at GCSE 2010-2017

Figure 1 displays trends of A levels across the Arts, Humanities, Mathematics, and Sciences and displays a clear disparity between Mathematics, Further Mathematics, the Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), and the most popular Arts and Humanities choices—Geography, History, Economics, Languages, Drama, and Music. 2016 was a particularly poignant year, with 60% of the DC cohort choosing Mathematics, Further, Mathematics or a Science compared with only 23% of the cohort, which opted for an Arts- or Humanities-rooted subject.

The Humanities Demand at GCSE has contrasting results (Figure 2). The core Humanities Triad of Geography, History, and Economics have accounted for a rising share in all GCSE choices since 2010 - students opting for one or more of the Humanities has risen from a raw uptake of 132 (13.8% of all GCSE entries) in 2010 to 175 students in 2017 (14.3% of all GCSE entries), thereby proving a demand for and a value placed upon these subjects in GCSE.

________________________ THE FINDINGS: STUDENT MOTIVATIONS FOR SUBJECT CHOICES

Figure 6: How students value subjects based on future job prospects and university applications

Students’ learning can be influenced and indeed supported by their subject perceptions because they mediate the manner in which learners interpret and engage in their classroom experiences. The results from the questionnaire, individual interviews with A-level Geographers, and a focus group identified four key factors that influence students’ decisions: love and enjoyment of the subject, confidence in their ability in the subject, the link the subject has to a future job, and the subject content. Of most significance was ‘the link the subject has to a future job’ for two reasons.

Firstly, approximately 40% of the students questioned have not decided their future careers. Secondly, and more importantly, when asked what would make pupils more likely to choose GCSE Geography ‘knowing which careers geography could lead to’ was the factor which would make pupils more likely to select the subject (students would be 56% more likely to choose Geography if in receipt of this information). In relation to studying Geography, ‘usefulness’ (according to the A-level focus group) was often attributed to careers in teaching, jobs within the travel industry or mapping. The naïve linkage of Geography to careers not only betrays a sadly narrow view of education but is also problematic as the connections that students make between subject choice and careers are at risk of being unrealistic.

This superficial indication of interest is something which will subsequently be challenged within the department through the provision of careers advice. ______________________________________________________ NEXT STEPS: IMPACTS ON THE GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT The purpose of this practitioner research is to implement change within the department and challenge the perceptions of Geography as an academic subject at Dubai College.

‘Geography is a living, breathing subject, constantly adapting itself to change. It’s dynamic and relevant. So many of the world's current issues—at a global scale and locally— boil down to Geography, and need the geographers of the future to help us understand them. Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future’.

-Michael Palin

_______________________________ THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

Having a clear, open-ended, but focused research question was critical in ensuring that the aims of my practitioner research were met. For this reason, I opted for a single key research question with three subquestions which very much rooted my research within the exploratory realm:

What motivates DC students to make their subject choices at GCSE/A Level?

• What are the main reasons for the decline in the choice of Geography at GCSE and A Level?

• To what extent does ‘passion’ for the subject trade off against other motivations when selecting GCSE and A Level subjects?

• What is the influence of students’ perceptions of Geography on subject uptake at GCSE and A Level?

The main form of research presented itself in the form of a questionnaire which generated 288 responses, and in-depth interviews with our current Year 12 Geographers, of which there are seven. Informed consent was, of course, established prior to administering the questionnaire and conducting the interviews. ____________ REFERENCES

Bell, D. (2005). The value and importance of Geography. Teaching Geography, 32(2), 12-13.

Biddulph, M & Adey, K. (2001). The influence of pupil perceptions on subject choice at 14+ in geography and history. Educational Studies, 27(4), 439-450.

Biddulph, M & Adey, K. (2003). Perceptions v. reality: pupils’ experiences of Learning in history and geography at Key Stage 4. The Curriculum Journal . 14 (4), 291303.

Hopwood, A. (2004). Pupils’ Conceptions of Geography: Towards an Improved Understanding. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education . 13 (4), 348-361.

Hopwood, A. (2008). Values in geographic education: the challenge of attending to learners’ perspectives. Oxford Review of Education . 34 (5), 589-608.

Hopwood, A. (2009). UK high school pupils' conceptions of geography: research findings and methodological implications. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education . 18 (3), 185-197.

Lambert, D. (2011). Reviewing the case for geography, and the ‘knowledge turn’ in the English National Curriculum. The Curriculum Journal . 22 (2), 243-264.

Figure 7: Influential factors when selecting GCSE subjects

Figure 3: The ‘Favourite’ Subjects of DC Lower and Middle School Students

Overall, students confirmed that they have a positive experience of Geography at Dubai College (7.72/10 satisfaction rating), which is a solid foundation on which to build momentum. Students indicated that they enjoyed Geography when they undertook fieldwork:

Figure 4: Student’s reasons for selecting a ‘favourite subject’

The initial cohort analysis from 2010-2017 revealed a stark domination of Mathematics and the Sciences when compared to the uptake of subjects falling under the Arts and Humanities umbrella in both GCSE and at A Level.

This very much shaped the next realm of research and lead to the construction of the key sub-question: to what extent does ‘passion’ for a subject be traded off against other motivations when students were making their GCSE and A Level choices.

Questionnaire results suggested that pupils had a very positive experience of Geography at Dubai College, with an average satisfaction rating of 7.72 (out of 10).

Although pupils enjoyed their learning of Geography lower down the school and the intrinsic value Geography holds in its own right, it would appear that many pupils Figure 5: Determining factors in student enjoyment of a particular believe that there is relatively little purpose in pursuing subject the subject beyond compulsory lower school level.

Of the subjects which were identified as being students’ ‘favourites’ (Figure 3 - PE, Drama, Mathematics, Science and Geography), Mathematics and Science experienced the largest uptake at A Level (it would be unfair to comment on GCSE uptake as they are compulsory subjects) and PE, Drama, and Geography the lowest at both GCSE and A Level. This confirms that while ‘love and enjoyment of a subject’ plays a definitive role in subject selection—as confirmed by the questionnaire whereby 87% of students identified this as the main factor when considering subject choices at GCSE —it is certainly not the only one. Students also identified ‘confidence in their own ability in the subject’ and the ‘link the subject has to future career prospects’ as the second and third biggest influences when making subject choices.

Subsequently, the third and final realm of research was underpinned by students’ perceptions of Geography, as research confirmed a positive experience of the subject through the subject satisfaction survey and the subject’s inclusion in the top 5 ‘favourite subjects’. However, students’ understanding of the relative 'usefulness' of Geography in their future lives is limited to direct and naive reference to forms of employment. Their understanding of the wider contribution Geography can make to their future lives is disappointingly uninformed.

This limited understanding has an impact upon option decisions: if pupils cannot perceive any short-term and longer-term appreciation of the value of Geography, then they are unlikely to want to pursue it in further study.

‘I like getting out; it made it more interesting and helped understanding’.

‘I like Geography because you can see it for real’.

Figure 8: Factors that are likely to influence student’s uptake of GCSE Geography

‘After we go on fieldtrips, we normally create a report or project. I enjoy this because you get a better understanding and can produce work to a much higher standard’.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the inclusion of an international fieldtrip would make students 40% more likely to select Geography as a GCSE option. For this reason, plans are already in motion to launch a GCSE international fieldtrip in the forthcoming academic year (2018-2019), which is an exciting development for the department.

Significant focus needs to be given to career advice for our students, particularly at open evenings and career fairs.

Students must be better informed regarding the usefulness of the subject, the potential career paths, and the truly global value geography possesses. This will hopefully be a catalyst for change, particularly where perceptions of the subject are concerned. There is a clear need for the department to place a greater emphasis on developing student’s understanding of the distinctive contribution of geography to their learning: the aim is for students to be able to answer the question ‘why are we doing this?’. This links directly to curriculum mapping and design—greater attention to topicality is a must. Michael Palin rightly describes Geography as a living, breathing, dynamic, and relevant subject, constantly adapting itself to change. As a department, we need to embrace this and ensure that the Key Stage 3 curriculum includes topics which are contemporary, relevant, engaging, and applicable to young people in an everchanging world. Therefore, a redesigning of the Key Stage 3 curriculum will be high on the agenda of priorities for the department moving forward.

Interestingly, students would only be 20% more likely to choose GCSE Geography if more opportunities to use technology in lessons were present, the second lowest scoring factor only to ‘a robust homework schedule’. What this reveals is a requirement to conduct additional research within the department which focuses on enjoyment. The reasons for student enjoyment must be better explored to determine the types of lesson activities and learning styles that students enjoy most. This would filter back into curriculum design and the construction of schemes of work. If schemes contain learning activities which students themselves have identified as being ‘enjoyable’, it will improve their overall experience of the subject. This, combined with the improved careers provision and extra-curricular opportunities, would lead to an increase in the uptake of students studying GCSE Geography and beyond, which was the ultimate aim of this practitioner research.

DUBAI COLLEGE

How far is digital learning useful in learning Arabic vocabulary?

A tradition of quality in education

Sawsan Abdulhadi

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

LIMITATIONS

The use of digital technologies is very much the fashion for

The research was with one Year 8 class and two Year 9 sets,

teaching and learning purposes these days. Students prefer to use

varying in abilities and encompassing various units of work.

their own devices over books and worksheets in the same manner that they use their devices to access social media. My objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of digital technologies and the use of games and apps in the learning of Arabic, specifically the use of Quizlet in relation to vocabulary learning and improving language skills. I also wanted to know which group of students digital learning is most effective with: the advanced or the weak.

I applied my observations to three of my teaching sets varying in age and ability.

RESULTS PERFORMANCE METHODS 1. I began with students preparing the vocabulary sets themselves according to various topics.

2. Occasionally students prepare the vocab list of the new lesson as homework, very often as group work.

3. The lesson on the topic is usually divided into two or three parts, beginning with the basic vocabulary and increasing in difficulty.

4. Students begin Quizlet with listening to pronunciation and then playing a number of games, including flashcards, gravity, Quizlet live or matching.

5. Very often Quizlet testing is given to them as homework.

6. The idea is that students are then able to learn the new vocabulary at their own pace, repeating the vocabulary as many times as they need to get a good score in the provided test.

7. Students then begin the next lesson using the vocabulary that they have learned through various language skills.

In Year 9, both the lower and higher sets, learning vocabulary online, showed better progress and were able to score higher marks than usual in their reading and listening tests. On the other hand, Year 8 set 1 struggled with some of the meanings when they were tested without prior access to online digital learning.

CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH THE RESEARCH DESIGN

Digital learning has greatly helped both strong and weak sets to enrich their

I selected a number of topics over the span of two terms and chose

vocabulary and improve their creative writing. It creates competition among the

three of my teaching sets; I then had them practise the new sets of

students, which motivates them to do better. It is quicker and easier for the teacher

vocabulary through online learning tools. I am interested in

because it is instant self-marking and a very good way to memorize vocabulary.

finding out how useful online learning can be to various sets of

However, students might abuse the use of their devices, and students who do not

students with different abilities.

have a device might feel left out.

DUBAI COLLEGE

Can supervised revision sessions improve examination attainment?

A tradition of quality in education

______________________ PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

Sharon Chandler

____________________________

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

________ RESULTS

This research arises from personal experience of working in an 11-18 Secondary

The research will take place in a private co-educational secondary school in Dubai

Students who made the most progress between January and May were those that

school and the pressure on teachers from school leadership and central government

and will focus on a Year 11 Computer Science class. The research will occur over a

achieved less than 50% in the January examination, thereby increasing their

to constantly improve student attainment (Perryman et al., 2011). When faced with a

four-month period, initially ascertaining students’ opinions on their study habits in

score by at least 20%. There was little change in the results of the highest

class, teachers will implement individual mechanisms to enable students to maximise

relation to preparation for the Computer Science mock examination. The results

attaining students. The results of the questionnaires indicate a significant

their success and achievement, therefore creating so-called ‘intervention strategies’

from this examination will be analysed, and during March and April, supervised

increase in the amount of time spent on revision and a preference for more

(Hettler 2015). Many teachers consider the variety of intervention strategy

homework sessions will be offered in the form of lunchtime revision sessions.

interactive revision techniques between January and May. The interviews

approaches available overwhelming (Hawkins, 2010) and, therefore, the focus of this

Student feedback on the perceived impact of these revision sessions will be obtained

corroborated these findings with students commenting on the usefulness of the

study is on whether a single intervention can have a positive impact on attainment.

through a second questionnaire with similar questions as those in the first, and a

revision sessions in creating a more focused atmosphere. Interviews also

The aim of this study is to investigate whether the use of a dedicated lunchtime

further mock examination will be conducted in an attempt to ascertain whether the

suggested that the different revision techniques demonstrated in the teacher-led

homework or ‘revision’ sessions can lead to improved examination success. The study

lunchtime sessions have impacted attainment. Throughout the study, further

sessions were perceived to be more engaging and were subsequently used at

aims to give recommendations based on the findings of one Year 11 Computer

feedback will be sought through informal interviews as a method of triangulation.

Science class through interviews, questionnaires completed by students, and

RESULTS

In January, reading through the text book

quantitative examination results. The findings will be disseminated to colleagues, with suggested areas for further research and development.

home during independent revision sessions.

________

and notes and making revision cards were ________ METHODS

This research project will combine quantitative data in the form of questionnaire results and qualitative data collected from observations and interviews; therefore, it could be considered to employ a mixed methods approach. Hanson et al. (2005) discuss the benefits of using the mixed methods approach, suggesting that the

preferred. In May, this had changed to more interactive types of revision, such as collaborating with friends and taking online quizzes. In both surveys, all students stated that completing past paper questions was a revision strategy.

________

used.

RESULTS

As the type of revision strategy changed

researcher can gain a richer contextual understanding of the research focus. Gray

between January and May, so did the

(2014) agrees that this type of research can have advantages because it enables

perceived effectiveness of the strategies.

triangulation to be used where data is collected from different sources at different

Increases were again found in collaboration

times.

with friends, online quizzes, and presenting

_________________________

to others, which can be considered more

CASE STUDY AND LIMITATIONS

hands-on and interactive methods.

Creswell (2003, p.12) defines case study as ‘a single instance of a bounded system,

___________ LIMITATIONS

such as a child, a clique, a class, a school or a community.’ This research will take

The study will take the form of an action research project focused on a single class in a

place in a Dubai secondary school, with specific focus on one Year 11 Computer

single case study school. Action research can be considered as cyclical, where stages

Science Class and their examination attainment.

are reflected on and subsequent interventions are modified with the goal of an end

Gray (2014) states that a case study cannot be generalised, in this case to other

point where the problem is resolved. The limitations of this include the natural

subject areas or other schools, because the influencing factors would be different in

timelines of the school year where projects often end with projections of interventions

different settings. Nisbett & Watt (1984) agree and go on to list other limitations such

that could be implemented in the next academic year with a different group of

as that the lack of opportunity for cross-checking may lead to the study being

students (Gustafsson 2013).

selective, biased, personal, and subjective.

_____________ REFERENCES Cooper, H. and Reach, K. (2004). ‘Homework hotlines: Recommendations for successful practice’, Theory into Practice 43(3), 234-241. Cresswell, J.W., Plano Clark, V., Gutmann M., and Hanson, W. (2003). Advances in mixed methods design. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage. Gray, D. (2014). Doing research in the real world. Sage. Gustafsson, J. (2013). ‘Casual inference in educational effectiveness research: A comparison of three methods to investigate effects of homework on student achievement’. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 24(3), 275-295. Hanson, W. Plano Clark, V. Cresswell, J. (2005). ‘Mixed methods research design in counselling psychology’, Journal of Counselling Psychology, 52(2), 224-235. Hawkins, R. O. (2010). ‘Identifying effective class- wide interventions to promote positive outcomes or all students’. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 869–870. Hettler, P. (2015). ‘Active learning: Increasing student engagement and success’. International Atlantic Economic Society, 21, 337-360. Nisbett, J. and Watt, J. (1984). Conducting small scale investigations in action research. London: Harper and Row. Perryman J., Ball S., Maguire, M., and Braun, A. (2011). ‘Life in the pressure cooker— school league tables and English and Mathematics teachers’ response to accountability in a results-driven era’. British Journal of Education Studies, 59, 179-195.

________________________________ CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

The study indicates an improvement in attainment after students attended the dedicated revision sessions, with particular impact on those achieving less than 50% in the January examination. However, it could be argued that this result would have been similar without the dedicated revision sessions, as students naturally tend to study more closer to the examination deadline (Cooper, 2004).

The key points to be taken forward from the study is the impact of the teacher-led sessions in suggesting different revision techniques that were perceived to be more interactive, which students consequently used in their independent revision time.

Demonstration of such techniques will be embedded in to the programme of study in the next academic year.

DUBAI COLLEGE

Exploring the effectiveness of peer assessment

A tradition of quality in education

Stuart Forsyth

OBJECTIVES/PURPOSE

METHOD: PEER ASSESSMENT SHEETS

Students frequently view peer assessment as a ‘cop out’ from the teacher

This sheet was the first sheet that I used to help the class conduct accurate

to avoid more regular marking; I want to change the perception so that

peer assessment. There was always the expectation that it would need to

students can see the value of it. In my opinion, the reality is that

be reviewed and enhanced for a second round. The beauty of this sheet

students gain value from peer assessment through familiarity with mark

was that it also helped to familiarise the students with a challenging

schemes and expectations as well as getting additional feedback on their

concept (pseudo code). The second sheet (on the right) was an

work. Therefore, the intention of this project is to explore how to make

improvement because it led to more accurate feedback.

peer marking effective and maximise student ‘buy-in’. Another problem with student feedback is that they can often describe work as ‘good’ or ‘needs more detail’ and not give specific feedback about what needs to be improved. The idea of this action research is to investigate a format

RESULTS: QUESTIONS

that avoids this.

The same questions were asked again after the second round of peer STRATEGY/DESIGN

assessment and after teacher feedback had been given in the books.

I have chosen Year 9 for this project as my pilot group, as I have two groups of students that I teach twice per week. This gives me the access and flexibility that I may need. The study is designed to show how a

OUTCOME: PEER ASSESSMENT IN BOOKS The assessment in the book below was done using the first sheet, and it is

their feedback improves and their attitude to peer assessment changes.

evident how the quality of the feedback improved in the second book.

what they currently think about peer assessment. Then, I created a marking guide for the students to use or refer to and to train them in both the value of peer assessment and the use of this guide. They used the guide for actual peer assessment. I adapted the guide based on my

9

14

8

12

7

10

group can be trained in peer assessment and see both how the quality of At the beginning of the study, I undertook a Q&A with the class to assess

Q2

Q1

However, the quality of the student response remained excellent in the first book.

6 5

8

4

6

3

4

2

2

1

0

0 Before Yes

After No

1

2

3 Before

4

5

After

CONCLUSION

observations and did another round of assessment. Finally, I questioned

The feedback from the students in answer to question 3, just as with the

the students on the outcomes.

other two questions, indicated an overwhelmingly positive change in their attitude to peer assessment, and the student responses in the

METHOD – INITIAL STUDENT QUESTIONS 1. Do you like doing peer assessment? (Yes/No) 2. What is the value of peer assessment to you? (1-low, 5-high)

3. Do you have any comments about peer assessment?

books showed that they placed value on the feedback and produced high-quality responses in order to gain credit when I formally assessed their books. Peer assessment is a useful tool to increase the regularity of marking and improve student responses before formal teacher marking/assessment.

An empirical study exploring: Why are Key Stage 4 English students passive in their approach to Literature lessons?

DUBAI COLLEGE

A tradition of quality in education

Sarah Lambert _____________________ CONTEXT FOR THE STUDY

________ LIMITATIONS

In an increasingly competitive world where students strive to attain as many high level qualifications as they can to differentiate themselves for future degrees (Sanghani, 2017) and careers that do not yet exist (Boehm, 2017; Carr, 2017), the pressure to score high in GCSE examinations seems to be increasing. Generation Z (Glotzbach, 2018) is so desperate to achieve an A* that they appear to have lost their innate curiosity, seemingly adopting a passive approach to learning, where they want to be directed to the answer rather than discovering it and, thus, knowing it themselves (Beichner, 2014). This was the attitude I perceived in my Year 11 IGCSE English Literature class. They are highachieving students (achieving 15 A* and 2 A grades in IGCSE English Language), yet I have became increasingly frustrated with what I viewed as a passive, teacher-dependent approach to their learning. I perceived that they are so examination focused and driven by desires for the highest grade that they wanted to be spoon-fed the answers which, not only as their teacher but also as an assessor of this examination paper, they think I have.

• The small sample size limited the wider implications of my findings: the views of my class might not be representative of all Key Stage 4 students at our school.

• Questionnaire questions could have been misinterpreted, and some participants skipped questions, thereby resulting in non-responses and a smaller data set.

• In the interview, there was the potential that I affect their responses due to my position as a teacher. The sample was by no means representative of the entire class, but it afforded me the opportunity for focused exploration of how some of my quieter students learn.

• The Harkness maps were subjective and reliant upon the accuracy of my attribution and categorisation of utterances.

____________________ PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

With academically able students who are capable of achieving the highest grades, as a school we are trying to develop pedagogical approaches to empower students in their learning and within Key Stage 4 I have delivered flipped learning (Flipped Learning Network (FLN), 2014) and Harkness lessons (Williams, 2014) in an attempt to increase active student-centred learning. However, whilst such whole-school initiatives and personal pedagogical approaches start to address passive learning, they do not focus upon the cause of it; this was the purpose of this empirical study .

So that I can successfully develop students into independent learners and support staff in adjusting their pedagogical approaches to facilitate this, I wanted to examine my own practice and classroom first, akin to the self-reflective core of practitioner research (Kelly, 1985). I wanted to understand why my Year 11 students seemed to have adopted a passive approach to their learning in Literature lessons and whether it was solely because of GCSE examinations, or whether there were other reasons.

(Philips Exeter Academy, 2015, p. 51)

_____________ METHODOLOGY

I chose qualitative analysis for my empirical study (Cohen et al., 2011) using a range of tools to generate data, comprising a whole-class questionnaire, a small group interview, and recordings.

My sample for this study was dictated by my focus being Key Stage 4, and comprised 17 students (10 girls, 7 boys) from my Year 11 class. By focusing on my own class, the study had a direct impact upon my teaching, thereby enabling me to address specific factors that I am able to control or affect and to be more mindful of those which I cannot.

Questionnaire: This was used to ascertain anonymous views of the entire class to establish existing conditions (Cohen et al., 2011). There were 22 questions and these comprised closed, five-point scale (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree) and open-ended comment boxes to gain a wide range of information that would help me to answer my five research questions. To aid anonymity, I used SurveyMonkey®, which the students completed on a school computer without me present to give them greater confidence to answer the questions openly.

Interview: I planned a semi-structured interview once the questionnaire was complete to explore some comments further. The student selection was targeted: I chose two boys and two girls whom I perceived to be silent and passive recipients in Literature lessons. We met during lunchtime for 35 minutes and the interview was audio recorded, partially to provide a transcript for analysis and partially also to maintain eye contact and to eliminate the potentially limiting visual impact of their answers being recorded in front of them.

Recordings: I made lesson recordings to triangulate my data, thereby providing me with a third standpoint from which I would attempt to identify concurrent validity (Cohen et al., 2011).

I audio recorded an instructional poetry coursework lesson to create a transcript, and I diagrammatically recorded three Harkness prose/drama text examination lessons across six months. The recordings captured students’ learning in the moment and triangulated experienced behaviour with their conceived and perceived views via the questionnaire and interview (Cohen et al., 2011). The lessons recorded were contrasting in nature and style, which led to the generation of very different data, but I chose to record them so that I had data from the two types of lessons my students participated in this year.

Ethical considerations: Following the guidelines of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) (2011), I explained voluntary informed consent and anonymity, and I made the purpose of the research explicit to the students; they all agreed to participate in my research. While this may have been due to the teacher-student power dynamic, they did seem keen to exercise student voice.

___________________ THE RESEARCH DESIGN

________________________________ CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH

An extensive Literature Review shaped the following research questions for my study:

External factors will always affect how Key Stage 4 students approach their learning. Mindful of this, I need to focus more on teaching in a manner that reduces teacher-dependency and ‘teaching to the test’, thereby encouraging students to see grade outcomes as a by-product rather than their sole focus when learning. Consequently, my MSc collaborative project next year will likely focus on developing student-initiated questioning as well as embedding Harkness as a means to develop student-led active learning across more subjects and in more year groups.

1. How do my Year 11s approach English Literature lessons?

2. Do students view Literature lessons in a different light from other lessons?

3. What factors affect Key Stage 4 students’ participation in English Literature lessons?

4. Are my students actively engaged in their learning?

________ FINDINGS 1. How do my Year 11s approach English Literature lessons?

GCSEs have made my Year 11s more focused, echoing Denscombe (2000) and Putwain (2009), who identified examinations as sharpening students’ focus due to their perceived importance. My students prioritise homework according to examination relevance: set texts will be read but tasks seen as less exam-focused are overlooked. This is not surprising and confirms the findings of Rogers & Hallam (2010) that the heavy workload of Key Stage 4 students is filtered with assessment and examination work prioritised.

2. Do students view Literature lessons as different from other lessons?

In the interview, a student made comparisons with Mathematics and concrete answers. He preferred Mathematics because ‘you get it right or you don’t…[in] English it’s like you might get it right, you might not’. Personal interpretation and the fact there is ‘no unequivocally correct answer’ (Stock, 2017, p. 147) were an unnerving problem for him; he wants to know what’s right, akin to Snapper’s (2006) identification of A level students seeing poetry as a puzzle to solve, or Xerri (2016) lamenting the reduction of poetry to equations with a correct answer. For those students motivated by achieving A*s, wanting the right answer potentially causes passivity. Students were also unanimous in that teachers affect how actively they participate, comparing my teaching with other lessons where they are simply given questions to answer, stating that I ‘actively help [them] understand content’.

3. What factors affect KS4 students’ participation in Literature lessons?

The questionnaire confirmed that external factors affect learning, identifying GCSE examinations, parental expectations, peers, and teachers as affecting how they participate in lessons. Responses in favour of grades being more important than engaging in learning anchors students’ approaches to outcomes, a focus that Kidd (2015) suggested is the damaging effect of GCSEs. Peers were identified as both a negative factor (a culture exists where B grades lead to esteem-judgements dependent on attainment) and a benevolent influence. Participation in lessons is also affected by the text being studied; thus, silence in some lessons may be due to content rather than passivity. Further, triangulation confirmed that dominant students participate regardless of format or text; however, reticent and potentially passive students are more likely to voluntarily participate in Harkness than in regular lessons due to the participatory expectations of Harkness and the confidence-boosting pre-preparation of material.

4. Are my students actively engaged in their learning?

Students’ perceptions of active engagement varied as greatly as lesson content or style.

One student said engagement was ‘highlighting and taking notes…I don’t think that you need to participate to be engaged’. Townsend (1998) found that silent students and those making copious notes may not be speaking, but they are engaging and forming ideas based on others’ utterances, a view echoed by my quiet interviewees. Further, positive views of dialogic engagement confirmed external evidence (mock scripts, coursework, and homework) that they do understand the texts and, therefore, they have been engaged.

However, answers like ‘I just copied down what the teacher said…to memorise for the exam’ echo GCSE-critical literature (Marsh, 2017), where regurgitation of information was cited as the focus of learning rather than flexible thinking and true knowledge. The data also verified that they rely heavily upon me: ‘[you] are an examiner and have all the answers’. When I challenged such dependence, the accusation of spoon-feeding was rejected by interviewees saying that I offer ‘lots of support’ and guide them to learn actively through questioning.

___________ REFERENCES

Boehm, M. (2017). Preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet. Available at: from https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ martin-boehm-preparing-students-for-jobs-that-dontexist-yet (Accessed on 18 April 2018). Beichner, R. J. (2014). ‘History and evolution of active learning spaces’, in Baepler, P., Brooks, D. C. and Walker J.D. (eds.) Active learning space. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass, pp. 9-16. British Educational Research Association (BERA). (2011). Ethical guidelines for educational research. Retrieved from https://www.bera.ac.uk/ researchers-resources/publications/ethical-guidelines-for-educational-research-2011; Carr, F. (2017). The new GCSE grades: An employer’s perspective. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph. co.uk/education/0/new-gcse-grades-employers-perspective/; Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education, 7th edn. London: Routledge. Denscombe, M. (2000). Social Conditions for Stress: Young People’s Experience of Doing GCSEs. British Educational Research Journal, 26(3), 359–374; Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014). What is flipped learning? The four pillars of F-L-I-PTM. Available at: http://www.flippedlearning.org/definition. Glotzbach, M. (2018). How to prepare generation Z for jobs that don’t yet exist.

Retrieved from http://observer.com/2018/01/how-to-prepare-generation-z-students-for-jobs-that-dont-yet-exist/. Kelly, A. (1985). Chapter 7: Action research: What is it and what can it do? in Burgess, R.D. (ed.), Issues in educational research: Qualitative methods. London: The Falmer Press, pp. 129–151. Kidd, D. (2015). The case against GCSEs: What if they are making our children less educated? Available at: https://www.tes.com/news/case-against-gcses-what-if-they-are-making-our-children-less-educated. Marsh, C. (2017). ‘Poetry and assessment: An investigation into teachers’ perceptions of the impact of closed book examinations on teaching and learning at GCSE’. English in Education, 51(3), 275–293. Phillips Exeter Academy (2015).

A classroom revolution: Reflections on harkness learning and teaching, in Cadwell, J. S. and Quinn, J. (eds.). Boston. Putwain, D. W. (2009). ‘Assessment and examination stress in key stage 4’. British Educational Research Journal, 35(3), 391–411. Rogers, L., & Hallam, S. (2010). ‘Changes in perceptions of studying for the GCSE among Year 10 and Year 11 pupils’. Educational Studies, 36(2), 153–163. Sanghani, R. (2017). Are two degrees really better than one? Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/0/two-degrees-really-better-one/; Snapper, G. (2006). ‘Beyond Dead Poets Society: Developing literary awareness at A-Level’. English Drama Media, 6, 27–32. Townsend, J. S. (1998). ‘Silent voices: What happens to quiet students during classroom discussions?’ The English Journal, 87(2), 72–80. Williams, G. (2014). ‘Harkness learning: Principles of a radical American pedagogy’. Journal of Pedagogic Development, 4(3), 58–67; Xerri, D. (2016). ‘Poems look like a mathematical equation’: Assessment in poetry education’. International Journal of English Studies, 16(1), 1–17.

DUBAI COLLEGE

A preliminary study: Is using the target language appropriate at all times? The 90-10% theory

A tradition of quality in education

Samer Zaghlowl ______________________ PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH

________ METHODS

________ RESULTS

Students desire to communicate their thoughts and opinion in English all the time;

I used my GCSE class as a sample for this study, and I compared it with another sample of

The Pace of Learning

however, studies emphasise that target language must be used most of the time in any

my previous GCSE class where the levels of the students are pretty similar. In term 2 this

As per the curriculum designed in the mother tongue, each unit usually takes 8

MFL classroom to improve the proficiency of the target language. ACTFL recommends

year, 2017-2018, where my GCSE class had to get ready for their Arabic exam with the

hours with the average students where the target language is used for teaching with

that the target language should comprise at least 90% of instructional time. The

constraints of time, I had to use a different technique from what they are used to during

90% or more of the instruction time. With the use of English for translation and

purpose of this action research is to ascertain when and where should the MFL teacher

their journey of learning Arabic for 5 years in their college phase. While learning MFL

feedback, average students were able to finish each unit in four lessons only, thereby

use the remaining 10% to achieve the best results in an exam-oriented classroom

should always be accumulative and built up to acquire the proficiency that helps any

taking into consideration the pressure of the time limitation before exams and the

where the GCSE results are the most important factor.

student get the required exam result, students vary in their abilities, partiuclarly when the

practice at home to make sure that they are able to move to the next unit, which

teacher is the only input and their target language is not used by the parents or the

builds up on the previous knowledge.

community.

___________________ THE RESEARCH DESIGN This action research is using the exam results and the interviews as evidence to prove

requirements for our six GCSE themes. Students obviously have varied levels of target

that with the limitations of time using the native language (English) as a medium of

language; however, according to the baseline assessment, all of them had gaps in some of

instruction can be helpful to the students to achieve better results. The action research

the aspects of the target language. My scheme of work in term 2 was supposed to have

is spread over one term only and limited to the exam revision class where students use

them cover the exam themes of the GCSE; however, with the results of baseline I decided

translation as a revision method rather than the usual techniques of teaching through

that the best technique is to have an individual course for each of them to cover the

the target language. Students were interviewed at the end of the study period and their

individual gaps; moreover, since our course is a computer-based one (The Mother Tongue

unit tests are used to prove that translation can be used as a quick way to fill the gaps

Arabic Language Course) where every student can use their computers to access learning, I

they needed to revise the 6 themes for their GCSE Arabic exam.

began with each student from the point that their baseline indicated and asked them to translate all lessons into English; I gave them my feedback in English rather than my usual Arabic feedback, which is time-consuming since they are very limited in terms of time. I measured the results according to the pace of learning, interviews with the students, and

___________ LIMITATIONS

unit tests given at the end of each unit.

This study is limited to the sample of this action research, as most research studies suggest that TL must be used in 90%+ of the learning. The exam results must never be the drive of the learning.

However, it is required that teachers should

also

take

them

________ RESULTS

I started with a baseline assessment to know where they are in terms of GCSE

into

consideration at some point, where the learning can benefit from using the TL

in the class.

The Unit Tests results

2nd Qtr 20

Compared with their usual unit test results, 1st Qtr 80

1st Qtr

2nd Qtr

most students were able to achieve 80%+ in their unit tests and doubled the number of the keywords in every lesson (approximately 12 keywords).

________ RESULTS The Interviews Most students were asked about the efficiency of the translation methods and the use of English for learning the keywords and feedback. The less able students showed positive results; however, the stronger ones were more interested in using more Arabic as a language of instruction and felt that English translation was not needed all the time; however, they agreed that the pace was faster and made them more confident. ____________ CONCLUSIONS There is no doubt that target language must be used most of the time in teaching any foreign language particularly when the teacher is the only input; however, at some point, the teacher should compromise when they feel the need to make the best out of class time. Giving feedback using the target language can be frustrating when the students are under exam pressure and have revision sheets in the language

that students feel confident about will be of great help, particularly for the weaker students who lack the confidence to be independent. The action research results are limited to the sample used in this research and suggest that the native language

_________________ FURTHER RESEARCH

must not be used at all times in the class environment, as the lower exposure to the

Similar studies must be conducted using a different sample, where the students are in a

target language minimises the students’ outcomes if it is used as the norm of

different phase of their learning —that is, A level or beginner levels—to compare the

learning and teaching.

results.