Research School Network: Remote working and metacognition: lessons that can be taken beyond lockdown ELE Helen Thorneycroft considers how to develop metacognition remotely

With the closure of the school on March 19^th, I had a clear understanding of how I desired to teach remotely: live lessons that would allow students to discuss with their peers and fully engage with their learning. Following these personalised tutorials, I imagined, I would set tasks they would enthusiastically tackle so that they’d feel home schooling was not that different from learning in the classroom.

However, before the school doors had even closed, I also knew my overwhelming reality was having a young family at home to look after, working hours that began at 8pm and an obliteration of all that I actually wanted to achieve for my students in lockdown.

Or so I thought.

The EEF has rapidly published evidence and resources to inform and assist teachers through the Covid-19 crisis. They put forward important findings which made me realise I could still achieve the types of lesson I thought my circumstances would make impossible – lessons that were effective for the students, but worked around my new hours.

Perhaps more importantly, the advice stripped teaching back to its utter necessities, the key building blocks of teaching that would remain important for lockdown and beyond, when schools return to a more ​‘normal’ state.

EEF recommendations that I found useful

1. Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered.

A live lesson is fantastic, of course, if it can be done, but according to the EEF, so is a pre-recorded video: ​“what matters most is whether the explanation builds clearly on pupils’ prior learning or how pupils’ understanding is subsequently assessed.”

Pre-recorded videos offer an educational experience for pupils that is valuable, but also manageable for teachers. The key appears to be that if the active ingredients that make great classroom teaching are in your remote lessons, the vehicle by which they are provided can vary.

Providing a clear learning objective that follows on logically from the previous lesson, clearly signposting learning activities and their purpose, as well as providing students with the opportunity to reflect on their learning – these are some of these key ingredients. 

2. Supporting pupils to work independently can improve learning outcomes

Pupils working at home, at secondary school level in particular, are working independently. It is therefore hugely valuable to teach students strategies to assist with this independence. 

Some examples:

• Prepare students before the lesson even begins by making clear what resources will be required when the lesson starts – pen, paper, etc. 
• Provide a short walk-through of the lesson at the beginning of a pre-recorded video, which tells them the length of the recording, a summary of what you will discuss, and an insight into what the task will be at the end. 
• During a lesson or pre-recorded video, provide prompts and questions to allow pupils to reflect on their work or to consider the strategies they will use if they get stuck. 

This type of assistance helps to build valuable metacognitive habits and allows students to continue to grow in terms of their ability to monitor and evaluate their progress, a critical skill within school and beyond.

3. Include a variety of tasks and methods to enable access for all.

The EEF recommends that teachers consider which approaches are best suited to the content they are teaching and the age of their pupils. Variety is needed both in the methods of teaching content and in the methods of assessment.

The level of challenge is also of great importance at this time; every student in the class needs to feel the work is accessible. Therefore the ​“Goldilocks degree of challenge” (as referenced in the EEF’s Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning guidance report) becomes even more important when students are working at home without the teacher beside them.

Lessons must be ​“not too hard, not too easy, but just right”. Tasks and resources should bear in mind all students in the class and their ability to succeed.

Unsurprisingly, the EEF’s Remote Learning Rapid Evidence Assessment for teachers demonstrates that supporting students in their remote learning depends on the same strengths that a teacher displays in the classroom. Remote learning has in many ways made me take my teaching style back to its roots and appreciate the key aspects that ensure learning can continue as effectively as it can in this current ​‘new normal.’

Helen Thorneycroft is an ELE in Metacognition and Learning Behaviours at Kingsbridge Research School where she also teaches history.