Research School Network: researchED Blackpool 2019 On Saturday 23 March 2019, Blackpool Research School worked with the team at rED to put together a packed programme of sessions

On Saturday 23 March 2019, Blackpool Research School once again collaborated with the team at researchED to put together a packed programme of sessions aimed at teachers, leaders, researchers, and anyone with an interest in education. Last year we were overwhelmed by the response; this year we were utterly blown away as we first set a ticket limit at 250, then 350, then 450, before finally settling at 550! This brought new challenges and headaches, which all paled into insignificance once the day began.

The 550 delegates traveled to Blackpool from all over the country, although the significant majority were from Blackpool and the Fylde Coast, and there was a real buzz throughout the school all day.

After a rousing introduction from BEBCMAT CEO Stephen Tierney who likened the day to ​‘lightning’ and challenged us to continue the ​‘thunder’ back in our daily roles in schools, the day kicked off with an excellent and timely keynote speech from Prof Daniel Muijs, head of research at Ofsted, who gave an impassioned talk about evidence-use in education and discussed the way evidence has been used in the development of the new draft Ofsted framework

This introduction was followed by a range of fantastic workshops across the day; the details of each presentation are shared below. We were delighted this year to offer a series of ​‘strands’ running through the day, allowing delegates to spend the majority of their day with a focus on mathematics, literacy, science, or curriculum should they choose. We also had ten speakers who work on the ground in Blackpool schools; truly a reflection of the improving and exciting use of evidence-informed practice across the town.

The event was exceptionally well-received both in the school and online, where we trended in the top ten most discussed topics in the whole of the United Kingdom. You can listen to our Research School Director (Simon Cox) discussing the day on the world-famous Mr Barton Maths podcast which can be found here:

http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/blog/conference-takeaways-researched-blackpool-2019/

Thanks to all who took part in a day which is sure to live long in the memory – get Saturday 21 March 2020 in your diary for the next one!

Keynote

Prof Daniel Muijs: Can education be evidence-based?

Session 1

Stephen Tierney: Evidence-informed curriculum planning – cognitive load theory 2.0
Oliver Caviglioli: Memory and meaning
Matthew Hood: Making bets – how should we teach teachers?
Mark McCourt: Phasing learning
Philippa Cordingley:Powering teachers’ professional identities
Katy Theobald:How to future-proof your school
Tom Rees: Is culture really king?
Ruth Walker:Reach out and touch knowledge
Wendy Symes: Identifying and supporting students with exam anxiety

Session 2

David Weston:Better teaching – the recipe for improvement
Rebecca Foster: Leading the research-informed English department
Gary Jones: What’s so different about disciplined inquiry?
Craig Barton: Low-stakes quizzes and the quiz-homework-quiz combo
Mark Lehain: Everyone’s banging on about a ​‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum
Vivienne Porritt and Victoria O’Farrell: We are the leaders you have been waiting for!
Lauren Stephenson: Metacognition in the science classroom
Elizabeth Farley-Ripple: Unpacking the ​‘use’ in using research

Session 3

Alex Quigley: Tackling the challenge of academic reading
Amy Forrester and Rob Petrie: Changing the culture of teachers’ performance management
Pete Boyd: Lesson study for research-informed curriculum development
Prof Anne Watson: A reflection on the relationship between research and practice in mathematics education
Jon Hutchinson: Implementing a knowledge-rich curriculum – what, why, how?
John Tomsett:This much I know about… leading an evidence-informed school
John Collier: Developing a CPD excellence hub
Pritesh Raichura:Making the abstract concrete – examples and non-examples in science
Phil Naylor:Make CPD the main target for teachers pay

Session 4

Nick Rose:Remember, pupils will forget!
Tom Needham:Standing on the shoulders of giants
Oliver Caviglioli:Dual coding with teachers
Colin Foster: Using confidence assessment in low-stakes tests
Clare Sealy:Why your curriculum should be like a box set
Robbie Coleman: Maximising the impact of the pupil premium
Robin Macpherson: Ask a stupid question…
Jessica Walmsley:​‘Typical Blackpool kids’ and the challenge to change the stereotype
Aly Spencer: Creating curriculum journeys via memory milestones

Session 5

Prof Sam Twiselston:Recruiting, developing, and retaining expert teachers
Simon Cox: Mobilising metacognition
Cherryl Drabble: Isolation booths – useful or not?
Ben Gordon: Rise ​‘n’ shine to Rosenshine
Jonathan Haslam: Tips and tricks for evidence-informed practice…
Lisa Pettifer: Check your research privilege – professional well-being depends on it
Rebecca Jones and Simon Eccles: Developing a reading culture – St Mary’s literary canon
Deep Ghataura:Decision making and acting on those decision is at the heart of what we do in schools
Vivienne Porritt: Why do we ignore the research on professional learning and development that makes a difference?