: T Levels: Bridging the Gap in Learning Using Metacognition and Self-Regulation to Support Student Success in a 9‑Week Work Placement

What do you do when your students leave for the summer break, they return and go straight onto a 9‑week work placement? 

Teaching on a T Level course comes with unique challenges. You can imagine the knowledge gaps! As a teacher on the Digital T Level course at Oldham Sixth Form College, I quickly realised we needed to be strategic — not only about what we teach, but how we teach it.

So, what would you do in this situation? Our solution: develop our students into self-sufficient learners through metacognition, with a particular focus on developing self-regulation skills. The three pillars we focused on are:

• Cognition: understanding how to learn
• Metacognition: Learning to learn
• Motivation: Building the willingness to engage cognitively and metacognitively

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) identifies Metacognition and Self-regulation as high-impact, low-cost strategies, with a potential impact of 7+ months. We decided to invest in these skills early, helping students focus on the how of learning rather than just the what, so they could manage their own learning effectively.

It’s not that our students take it easy during their placements — far from it. They have a comprehensive set of targets and projects to complete in addition to a minimum requirement of 315 placement hours. Each student participates in weekly professional reviews with a mentor, takes on collaborative roles, and often leads small projects by the end of the placement, preparing them for real-world responsibilities. It isn’t all straight forward and we invest a lot of time and energy to prepare students for placements. They are 16 years old and will definitely go through some ups and downs and their resilience plays a large part in what they do.

EEF Recommendation 1:Developing Teachers’ Metacognitive Knowledge
Using my learning from the NPQ Leading Teacher Development, I created an implementation plan in collaboration with our advanced skills teachers, to foster metacognitive skills in our team. Our teachers help students plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning — a critical step to ensuring they can navigate their academic journey independently so developing our own metacognitive practices as adults is also important.

EEF Recommendation 2: Explicitly Teaching Metacognitive Strategies
To support students’ transition from GCSE to advanced-level study, we had to consistently and explicitly teach planning, monitoring and evaluating strategies. Some students are able to develop these strategies easily, while others need time to adjust and reflect on which strategies might work best for them. Consistency was key both in terms of delivery from teachers and practice from students. We celebrated early successes publicly, encouraging others by showing that it was possible to support the principle of ​‘motivation’.

EEF Recommendation 6: Teaching Independent Learning Strategies
During their placements, students apply and develop the skills we’ve taught them in real-world settings. Mentors on placement structure challenges and scaffold students allowing them to grow with appropriate challenge during their 9 weeks. The balance was tricky at first; tasks needed to be challenging enough to foster progress but not so daunting that students would feel defeated. We achieved this through removing scaffolds at different rates for students.

On reflection the pivotal piece was teaching students to manage their learning independently. In class prior to placement, we practise structuring independent study and guided practice, empowering students to manage their time and tasks. It’s like learning to ride a bike: initially, we support and guide them, keeping our hand on the seat propping them up, but as their confidence grows, they pedal on their own and you let go for a short time. If they begin to wobble too much we steady them and let them go again. From time to time they fall off. Dust them off and get them back on the bike.


Our employer mentors reinforce this by adopting a similar structure of reflective practice which mainly looks like verbal feedback in meetings. We have really pushed our mentors to focus on how the students are learning, rather than just what they’re learning. This continuity helps students return to college with skills intact, ready to dive back into their coursework with little interruption. It’s like they never left!

1. Be Consistent: I know terms are long and motivation can fade but regularly teach and reinforce metacognitive strategies, celebrating successes to motivate students will see you having big wins.
   
   
2. Use Modelling in Lessons: Wherever you can use it, do it even on the smallest of things. Share your thought processes openly and seek feedback on your modelling techniques to ensure they are effective.
   
   
3. Maintain Real-World Relevance: Ensure any tasks are progressive and meaningful, with ongoing feedback to support development. Ensure students are stimulated and challenged by what you give them.
   
   
4. Encourage Reflective Practice: Push mentors and students to reflect on ​“how” learning happens, ensuring skills are retained.
   
   
5. Build Resilience: Recognise that students will face setbacks, and teach them to recover and persist.