By Neetu Sadhwani

The role of the language teacher in today鈥檚 classroom has shifted from being the expert to that of facilitator or guide with the mission of supporting students to become confident linguists by developing listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in that language, as well as enhancing their curiosity for the language and its culture.

In 2012, Barack Rosenshine published the Principles of Instruction: a set of 10 research-based principles of instruction, along with suggestions for effective classroom practice. These principles can help Modern Foreign Language teachers direct their planning and methodologies in order to achieve best levels of progress and outcomes from students. Below an example on how I have applied them to teach students how to describe a photo card, a task all language GCSE students complete during their speaking exam.

Principle 1) Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning:

Before introducing the first question in a photo card- 鈥榃hat can you see in the photo?鈥� students would need reminding and revisiting of simple KS3 sentences such as 鈥榯here is/there are鈥� or the present tense to describe people physically. 听Easy and effective ways to do this are via simple activities such as filling in the blanks or matching up English words and sentences with the equivalent French or Spanish.

Principle 2) Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step:

Once students have revisited previous knowledge that can be used for the photo card task, I present the class with their first exam photo card like the one below, by breaking down the requirements of the questions, in order to help them reduce the cognitive load. For example, to answer the first question 鈥樎縌ue hay en la foto?- (what is there in the picture?), it is common language practice to use the acronym PALM W (People, action, location, mood, weather). Instead of presenting the acronym at once, I would teach them simple grammatical sentences for each of the elements in the acronym individually first, which will help students get to the whole description in smaller steps.

Principle 3) Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students:

When students are confident answering the first question, I present them with a number of questions to forecast what the other four questions on this card could be and which verb tenses would they require?

Principle 4) Provide models:

In order to support students answering the rest of the questions, which involve responses in different tenses (present, past or future) as well as a higher level of development in their language structures, I apply Rosenshine鈥檚 principle by modelling A* answers. This can be done by pairing a set of questions and answers on a power point, and then highlighting the elements that make the model answers so highly rated by examiners.

Principle 5) Guide student practice:

Students have the full photo card with all five questions in the target language and can now carefully plan written answers with feedback from me or from their peers. This helps them gain the opportunity to focus on the area that needs practice, for example a particular verb tense.

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Principle 6. Check for student understanding:

Once students have produced well-guided and developed answers for all questions, I would collect them in to check that accuracy, grammar and content is correct and that no misconceptions have occurred.

Principle 7) Obtain a high success rate:

One way to do this is by adding a fun element of competition and rewarding the most developed or most original answers for this photo card.

Principle 8) Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks: The teacher provides students with temporary supports and scaffolds to assist them when they learn difficult tasks.

On the following lesson, students are presented with a new exam photo card. Before asking students to start drafting their own answers, I play a recording of an A* candidate performing the exam task and present them with a partial copy of the transcript, where they listen and fill in the gaps before creating their own responses.

Principle 9) Require and monitor independent practice:

After all the above, regularly presenting students with photo cards during classwork or homework will allow them to produce more independent, differentiated and creative responses.

Principle 10). Engage students in weekly and monthly review:

The photo card, once introduced and practised, should then become part of students鈥� regular class and assessment practise.

The essence of Rosenshine鈥檚 principles allows language teachers to ensure their lesson planning supports students achieve their desired goals in a language classroom by regularly reviewing, modelling and practising language skills.

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Sources:

Rosenshine B (2012) Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know.听American Educator听36(1): 12鈥�19/39. Available at:听听(accessed 12 April 2019).

Rosenshine B and Meister C (1992)听The Use of Scaffolds for Teaching Higher-Level Cognitive Strategies. Available at:听听(accessed 30 June 2019).

By Shaveta Julka

Moving to a remote setting proved to be challenging for many in education, whether you were a parent, pupil or staff member. One of the largest barriers to overcome was Assessment for Learning (AfL).

In September 2020 there was a movement to change the way in which homework was set in Science, which was to include the use of feedforward assessments. This stands as one of the ways that many subject areas have chosen to adapt their practice by turning short term Covid-19 solutions into long-term evolutions. Shaveta not only shared in the pioneering of this approach, but she also decided to work on measuring the success of this new AfL strategy which included Google Forms, as shown in Figure 1.[1]

Figure 1- Google Forms can be accessed via multiple platforms

Feedforward assessments are multiple-choice tests that, upon completion, are automatically assessed. The questions were not stereotypically easy. Using different exam boards, challenging questions that sometimes ask the pupil to identify which is the least correct response. Often, they involve multiple step calculations that would normally otherwise be broken down in a standard GCSE paper. This way the effective nature of the test is not ruined by the multiple-choice format, as discussed by Christodoulou in her research on multiple choice questions.[1]

The intent of the Science team was that reflection and progress would be made during the preparation before as well as after they completed the test. Once a pupil submits their test they not only receive a score, but they also have the opportunity to work on specific areas in which they did not perform. To create this opportunity, the teachers added weblinks for all questions such that when a pupil submits an incorrect answer, the link is shared for them to take control of their own learning pathways and work towards mastery independently. This increases the chance of pupils reaching a level of self-regulation[2] as shown in Figure 2 (Hattie and Timperley, 2007).[3]

Shaveta鈥檚 investigatory approach was to measure the engagement and impact of these feedforward assessments from a pupil鈥檚 perspective. As mentioned previously, the lockdown had both personal and professional impacts on the way in which we work due to the different demands we were put under. It has shown that pupils can learn independently in many different ways outside, as Figure 3 suggests[4].

Figure 2 – Based on Hattie, J. and Timperley, H. 鈥� The power of feedback: Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81 鈥� 112 (2007)

Figure 3 – The lockdown has impacted the way in which pupils learn.

The implementation strategy was achieved through effective monitoring, support, scaffolding and shared ownership. Once feedforward became an integral part of the Science Assessment for Learning Policy, Shaveta asked pupils from the targeted year groups to complete a survey.

Figure 4 鈥� Pie chart to show how well implemented the strategy was from leaders at all levels within the department.

Shaveta analysed the information, and she evaluated her initial intent as well as the way in which she implemented her RIS. From Figure 4, she explained, 鈥淚 will ask all teachers to use Google Classroom as well as Arbor to set the assessment and complete the feedforward. We could download the excel sheet with feedforward opportunities for each pupil and discuss them at parents evening. Some teachers might not have set assessments this year in the usual timeline due to our Covid Curriculum.鈥�

Figure 5 鈥� Pie chart to indicate if pupils felt that feedforward has a positive impact on their learning.

Figure 6 鈥� Bar chart to show how pupils evaluated the overall effectiveness of feedforward.

The Science department have truly created something that can truly be used again and again, though the weblinks may need to be updated for the feedforward opportunities. When reflecting on this, Shaveta also said, 鈥淒uring department time I would like the staff to work in pairs to update feedforward links based on suggestions from the pupils.鈥�

Figure 7 鈥� Pie chart to show the most effective formats used for feedforward.

Figure 8 鈥� Pie chart to show the least effective formats used for feedforward.

The feedback from the final question in the survey which asked pupils to suggest improvements such as:

鈥淭o practise more exam style questions specific to a question in order for them to understand and improve their grades.鈥�

鈥淒ifferent ways to tackle specific questions and giving step by step instructions on more difficult questions.鈥�

鈥淢ore teacher input/ going through some questions in detail during the lesson after they have completed the assessment.鈥�

鈥淕iving more revision time.鈥�

The positive aspects of the survey show two main themes. Firstly, pupils found that more opportunities to practice their skills in specific areas was the most beneficial aspect of the feedforward. Secondly, the data suggests that YouTube is helpful to revisit content. Both are dependent on quality and relevance and could be unpicked further. This is yet another direction in which Shaveta鈥檚 Research Informed Strategy could take her.

When looking at multiple options, Shaveta has decided that a way to look at the impact this has on pupil outcomes may be the next step. At the moment, pupil perception suggests that Feedforward AfL is a positive experience. Could this format use the engaging advantages of gamification whilst still allowing progress to be rapid, sustained, and precise?

[1] Christodoulou , D. (October 2013) – Research on multiple choice questions –听

[2] Newman, M. et al., EEF – The impact of Feedback Approaches on educational attainment in children and young people; Protocol for a Systematic Review: Post- Peer Review (December 2020) Pages 4 – 6

[3] Belle, A. –

[4]

[5]

By Natalija Skegro

Rosenshine has become familiar to many of us in the profession, especially when looking at research-informed strategies that can enhance our practice. His work on the 鈥楶rinciples of Instruction鈥�[1] is yet another example as to why our understanding of cognitive science and expert teaching is so important. Before Natalija joined Avanti, she had already immersed herself in Rosenshine鈥檚 findings and has looked forward to bringing them to the forefront of the minds of the teachers within our PRE Department.

Natalija recalled one of her first meetings with the team, which focused on outlining the intent and how this could tie into the Avanti Way. Influenced by Blooms Taxonomy and her pursuit to embed metacognitive strategies into the department鈥檚 implementation plan, she started with amplifying the importance of ‘effective teaching鈥�

Figure 1 鈥� Rosenhine鈥檚 Principles of Instruction

Natalija鈥檚 first steps were to outline the importance of spaced retrieval and how R1 (Rosenshine鈥檚 First Principle) was vital to the successful delivery to a sequence of lessons. By asking her teams to think about what, when and how short reviews of previous learning would take place; Natalija set the wheels in motion to improve the flow of lessons in the PRE curriculum. The next principles that she prioritised were R2 鈥� 5 and R8.

When I asked Natalija why she chose to go through with this order, she explained that there was some good practice already embedded in the department. Hence, after evaluating the current impact of the delivery of their schemes of work, she decided to act on the evidence such that:

• R1: Content is there but needs to be reviewed effectively and in a timely manner to take into account for Ebbing鈥檚 Forgetting Curve and Spaced Retrieval. This could be a quick win with a large positive impact
• R2: Once the pupils are reviewing the relevant content, they can build upon their prior knowledge when covering new material, which assists with schema building. This is a process that can support encoding information into long term memory and enhances the ability to recall information.
• R3 – 5: Asking open questions within the PRE curriculum is good, but like all subjects, we need to think about how all pupils can have the opportunity to become involved in how that information is processed.
• R8: Differentiation is seen as a key part of expert teaching, but activities that develop skills or introduce new content need to be scaffolded appropriately. Pupils should be recalling and building upon prior knowledge. Then the scaffolding can truly live up to its label by being removed when pupils undergo guided practice to work towards mastery. This will also give R7 (High Success Rate).

Natalija explained how R7 played a huge part of her intent for the department. For pupils to develop an emotional attachment to their studies, they must also have some sense of progress. It is also important to not allow pupils to work independently for larger periods of time on errors, or else misconceptions may occur and demotivation may work against their levels of engagement.

In a brief meeting with Natalija recently, she explained how she intends to take her next steps in developing teaching and learning in PRE. Before viewing the 鈥�17 Principles of Effective Instruction鈥�, or even before a more carful approach towards R6 or R9, Natalija wanted to model (R4) how one might teach a lesson, without explicitly linking the principles until the end.

By understanding the cognitive science behind Rosenshine鈥檚 Principles, Natalija truly modelled the potential impact that a department may have through research informed teaching and learning. She outlined her unique perspective on educators to provide more understanding behind her approach:

鈥淚 firmly believe that the most important duty of a teacher is to explicitly teach students how learning works. I demythologise learning processes by providing ideas, ways and schemes for moving information from working to short and ultimately long term memory.鈥�

Some of the next steps she has planned for her department are to develop two knowledge tests per each scheme of work and to assure that pupils鈥� starter activities include either meaningful recall activities or strategies that prime pupils鈥� brains for the topic. Finally, through continuous reflective practice based on Bloom鈥檚 Taxonomy and Rosenshine鈥檚 POI, to assure that the main body of lessons have engaging tasks that enhance students鈥� love of learning.

鈥淎 good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instil a love of learning.鈥�

Brad Henry

[1] Rosenshine, B. – Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know, American Educator Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring 2012, AFT