Research School Network: Reflections on Rapid Research

It has difficult to seek solutions for the multitude of challenges faced by school leaders and teachers during the global pandemic. From curriculum adaptations to meet the needs of remote learning, to a whole-school implementation of technology, nobody has experienced a situation like this before. Many decisions required a rapid response, and with limited guidance, evidence, and resources, there has been an urgent need for research to inform those who are making important and accountable decisions.

From a teaching and learning perspective, the EEF’s publication of ​“Remote Learning Rapid Evidence” was a step in the right direction. Although some of the findings are from Further Education (FE) contexts, the rapid evidence assessment systematically reviewed existing meta-analyses to collate the best evidence from a range of approaches.

The following conclusive points from the EEF report are not applicable to every school, with context and implementation proving to be crucial factors in the extent of success at any given school. However, the points are considered to be ​“best bets” for schools who want to improve a specific part of their remote-practice.

1. Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered
​“Pupils can learn through remote teaching. Ensuring the elements of effective teaching are present – for example clear explanations, scaffolding and feedback – is more important than how or when they are provided. There was no clear difference between teaching in real time (“synchronous teaching”) and alternatives (“asynchronous teaching”). For example, teachers might explain a new idea live or in a pre-recorded video. But what matters most is whether the explanation builds clearly on pupils’ prior learning or how pupils’ understanding is subsequently assessed.”

First of all, it is little surprise that elements of effective teaching are crucial for student progress and understanding. ​“Set, Track, Support” (https://researchschool.org.uk/meolscop/news/remote-learning-set-track-support/) could guide teachers to critically consider the content they are setting for students. At the heart of any curriculum lies its constructs: the key concepts that students are taught within a scheme of learning. For a lesson to be effective, it needs to be an appropriate challenge for the students’ current level of knowledge and skill. Precursors can be used to develop background knowledge and familiarity before students tackle the more challenging ideas within a topic. This highlights the importance of sequencing: what do students need to know in order to be successful in this lesson?

After the sequence of a scheme (or even a single lesson) has been finalised, teachers should reflect on, and evaluate the quality of the content set. By using a range of assessment tools, such as quizzes, deliberate practise tasks, and even exam questions, teachers can track their students’ level of proficiency in the core constructs. This data is crucial to inform decisions about pedagogical practice, or to analyse and synthesise class performance, allowing for predictions to be made about future performance. Finally, a teacher can support students further by using their tracking data to provide whole-class feedback or personalised feedback for individual students. The ability to ​‘self-mark’ will give students instant feedback on their learning, by providing an answer sheet or instructing students to compare their answer to the teacher’s answer, perhaps with some reflection/​comparison questions to guide their reflective thinking.

2. Ensuring access to technology is key, particularly for disadvantaged pupils
​“Almost all remote learning uses digital technology, typically requiring access to both computers and the internet. Many reviews identify lack of technology as a barrier to successful remote instruction. It is important that support is provided to ensure that disadvantaged pupils – who are more likely to face these barriers – have access to technology. In addition to providing access to technology, ensuring that teachers and pupils are provided with support and guidance to use specific platforms is essential, particularly if new forms of technology are being implemented.”

Without monitoring participation ratio (level of engagement from students), it is difficult to establish how effective the lessons have been for student attainment. On one hand, some students have limited or no access to technology, and the school must consider alternative provisions such as providing a laptop or sending printed work to be completed. On the other hand are the students choosing not to access because of a lack of motivation; a much more difficult situation to resolve. This is frustrating for teachers who may have spent hours creating interactive and engaging lessons, only for them to be accessed by just a handful of students.

Careful implementation is paramount, as students, staff and even parents may need some support to engage with the chosen platform effectively. It may be worth, even at this point, sending out a student and parent voice to not only acquire some feedback on the home-learning experience, but also to show parents that the school is listening to their concerns and queries. ​“You Said, We Did” might be a great way to improve relations with parents, and to gain further engagement that will have a beneficial impact for their children. Video ​“how-to” guides may also be a useful tool for those parents and students who are struggling with the accessibility and the navigation of a platform.

3. Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes
​“Multiple reviews highlight the importance of peer interaction during remote learning, as a way to motivate pupils and improve outcomes. Across the studies reviewed, a range of strategies to support peer interaction were explored, including peer marking and feedback, sharing models of good work, and opportunities for live discussions of content. The value of collaborative approaches was emphasised in many reviews, although notably many studies involved older learners. Different approaches to peer interaction are likely to be better suited to different age groups.”

While ​‘distanced learning’ makes peer assessment even more challenging than usual, there are a range of metacognitive benefits, and the power of social groups could also support student mental health, encourage collaboration, and even incentivise deadlines. When faced by a challenge that requires discipline and consistency, it can be easy to make excuses and give up if you are alone, but if others are expecting you to participate and attend, the social pressure can spur you on by providing some extrinsic motivation. Students could set up their own ​‘peer hub’ to organise their workload, to collaborate on tasks, and to provide support and feedback.

There are still many opportunities for peer assessment, even without using other students from the school.
​“Family assessment”, in which an adult or sibling asks the student some plenary questions, could be useful for consolidating knowledge and reflecting on the lesson. The ​‘assessor’ does not need to be an expert, providing specific feedback and guidance. It is simply an opportunity for students to speak to others about their learning.

Finally, teachers can make use of exceptional examples submitted by students. A student’s work might be used to model a successful strategy or to highlight expectations of how a particular task should be completed. This is applicable to blended-learning, because the work can be showcased either in lessons or remotely.

4. Supporting pupils to work independently can improve learning outcomes
​“Pupils learning at home will often need to work independently. Multiple reviews identify the value of strategies that help pupils work independently with success. For example, prompting pupils to reflect on their work or to consider the strategies they will use if they get stuck have been highlighted as valuable. Wider evidence related to metacognition and self-regulation suggests that disadvantaged pupils are likely to particularly benefit from explicit support to help them work independently, for example, by providing checklists or daily plans.”

A ​‘self-regulated learner’ is an almost utopian scenario, where students skilfully use their prior knowledge of the task, effective strategies, and their own strengths and weaknesses to navigate a task with motivation and efficiency. It would be idealistic, even naïve, to suggest that every student can become a wholly independent, self-regulated learner. However, if students are able to use their knowledge and strategies more autonomously, then the working memory is able to focus its attention on the intrinsic content – essentially, the deeper concepts and ideas.

From a teacher’s perspective, developing student independence can seem counter-intuitive. Does it not undermine the very definition of independence by showing students how to do something? This is exactly why teacher-input may be high to begin with, but also why teacher-input must be gradually reduced as the learning progresses. Teachers should always have clear instructions, broken down into simplistic steps, but the amount of explanation, modelling, and scaffold should be faded out as the students become more knowledgeable and adept.

The responsibility then lies with the students to prove their independence. ​“Independence with D.E.A.N” is one provisional idea for students to develop their self-regulation when the task becomes difficult and overwhelming.

Double-check – students are prompted to pause, and try again before seeking support.
Educate yourself – students are prompted to research their problem online before seeking support.
Ask another – students can now ask for help, and should explain what they have already tried and researched.
Never give up – students need to be aware that quitting will never equal success, what else can be done?

5. Different approaches to remote learning suit different tasks and types of content
​“Approaches to remote learning vary widely and have different strengths and weaknesses. Teachers should be supported to consider which approaches are best suited to the content they are teaching and the age of their pupils.For example, games for learning were found to have a high impact on vocabulary learning in foreign languages, but there is less evidence related to their use in other subjects. Likewise, using technology to support retrieval practice and self-quizzing can help pupils retain key ideas and knowledge, but is not a replacement for other forms of assessment.”

The methods of teaching subject-specific content can vary greatly across a school’s curriculum, but every teacher should plan for how the key construct of each lesson is being delivered. If each lesson is a jigsaw piece, carefully created with a specific purpose, then teachers also need to consider how that one piece fits into the bigger picture that is the curriculum. How teachers present a construct depends on how students are expected to understand it, and then apply it themselves. For example, diagrams are useful for abstract concepts, providing a concrete example for students to use in their early thinking and subsequent application of a subject-skill. From a pedagogical perspective, the presentation of information should consider what students already know, and how they can efficiently add the new construct to an existing schema of knowledge.

From a motivational perspective, elements of competition and games may prove to be an engaging tool for teachers to use, but it is important that the construct remains the primary focus, not the memorable yet irrelevant gimmick designed to make a task ​‘fun’. Online recall and retrieval quizzes can be used to strengthen important concepts that have previously been taught, whilst simultaneously engaging learners and increasing the all-important participant ratio. Although students will need to transfer this knowledge to different, more challenging, applications, it is a useful method to assess a student’s or class’ strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, even for experienced teachers, implementing technology effectively can be challenging. Teachers should not to try and include everything at once, and should instead focus on what problems they are encountering in terms of content quality and accessibility. With this information, an appropriate initiative or solution can be identified and planned for. Many well-intended and potentially successful ideas have failed because the implementation was rushed; ensure that any implementation, technology or otherwise, is meticulously planned for. Technology may prove to be an engaging and efficient feature of teaching, but only if it is thoughtfully introduced with clear purpose and sustainability.

Lewis Meadows
Meols Cop High School

Read the EEF report: Remote Learning Rapid Evidence Assessment Remote Learning Rapid Evidence Assessment