What makes effective pedagogy? draft

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-makes-great-pedagogy-nine-claims-from-research

In this paper, research literature is used to advance 9 strong claims about the characteristics of highly successful pedagogies:

1. Effective pedagogies give serious consideration to pupil voice.

2. Effective pedagogies depend on behaviour (what teachers do), knowledge and understanding (what teachers know) and beliefs (why teachers act as they do).

3. Effective pedagogies involve clear thinking about longer-term learning outcomes as well as short-term goals.

4. Effective pedagogies build on pupils’ prior learning and experience.

5. Effective pedagogies involve scaffolding pupil learning.

6. Effective pedagogies involve a range of techniques, including whole-class and structured group work, guided learning and individual activity.

7. Effective pedagogies focus on developing higher order thinking and meta-cognition, and make good use of dialogue and questioning in order to do so.

8. Effective pedagogies embed assessment for learning.

9. Effective pedagogies are inclusive and take the diverse needs of a range of learners, as well as matters of student equity, into account.

Effective pedagogies give serious consideration to pupil voice

Consulting pupils about this process

• involving students

• decision-making

• listening seriously to their stories of experiences as learners

Consultation is about talking with pupils about things that matter in school. It may involve: conversations about teaching and learning; seeking advice from pupils about new initiatives; inviting comment on ways of solving problems that are affecting the teacher’s right to teach and the pupil’s right to learn; inviting evaluative comment on recent developments in school or classroom policy and practice.

Rudduck, 2005:online

Tips 

• Get feedback on decisions and teaching 

• Ensure it is serious and meaningful 

• Avoid tokenistic approaches 

• Ensure minority views are listened to. Use a range of methods including creative enquiry. 

Effective pedagogies depend on behaviour (what teachers do), knowledge and understanding (what teachers know) and beliefs (why teachers act as they do)

Prioritise pedagogy 

Act of teaching and the wider conceptual meaning, values and evidence 

Effective pedagogies involve clear thinking about longer-term learning outcomes as well as short-term goals

Consider long-term outcomes 

Revisit 

Reinforce 

Introduce new content 

Effective pedagogies build on pupils’ prior learning and experience

Piaget: exploring environment, stages of development and role of the adult. 

Vygotsky: Constructivist view. Dialogue is central. Social interaction is essential.  Scaffolding. 

Zone of proximal development (ZPD): distance between actual stage and higher potential learning 

Recognise informal learning (real world) and use this 

Identify prior misconceptions. 

Understand current learning stage 

Effective pedagogies involve scaffolding pupil learning

Scaffolds are transient: they change with time. 

Repeated scaffolding 

Support process eg scientific thinking 

Support real-world problems 

Enable peer support 

Enable technology to scaffold 

Puntambekar and Kolodner (2005) found that five features are central to effective scaffolding for learning: 

common goal, 

• ongoing diagnosis, 

• dynamic and adaptive support, 

• dialogues and interactions, and 

• fading and transfer of responsibility.