Research School Network: Implementing Oral Communication – Context and Behaviours The second in the series of three blogs focusing on oral communication from our Evidence Advocate, John Marsh.

As outlined in the first blog of this series (​‘Implementing Oracy – Exploring the Why’), great consideration was given to contextual factors relevant to implementing oral communication in our setting. This preparation gave a clear and cohesive purpose for oracy to be introduced at Southfields Community Primary School. Once the ​‘why’ was established, the next phase was to consider the ​‘how’.

This blog post will make reference to the recently updated Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) guidance on implementation to explain how new oral communication practices have been implemented at Southfields. The new EEF guidance places an increased emphasis on contextual factors, as discussed in the first blog of this series, as well as a focus on key behaviours as an integral part of implementation. These behaviours are broken down into: ​‘Engage’, ​‘Unite’ and ​‘Reflect’. Each of these behaviours are outlined below, along with our actions and intentions throughout the implementation of oral communication at Southfields.

First and foremost, we wanted to communicate a vision for oral communication at Southfields. In doing this we outlined the purpose and aimed for maximum ​‘buy in’ from staff. To quote Simon Senek (again!), ​“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”

Providing a rich language experience for children of a disadvantaged area in Coventry has the potential to improve learning, life skills and overall prospects. This vision was immediately agreed upon.

In the same manner that a good ​‘hook’ is used in a lesson, we shared videos and success stories of children, from schools with a similar demographic, articulating themselves with confidence and precision. This encouraged further engagement.

An overview and timeline were shared with staff to help them prepare for the upcoming changes. More importantly, it allowed the ​‘why’ to be communicated.

To pre-empt the biggest cause of resistance to change in schools (workload and sufficient time), it was made clear that it would result in very little (if any) increased workload. A great attribute of oral communication strategies is that they do not require detailed planning, resources or marking.

Signing up to Voice 21’s ​‘Discover Oracy’ programme, CPD was provided for two ​‘Oracy Champions’. These positions were taken by the English lead and an Assistant Headteacher.

There were two reasons for this:

1) To ensure that the message of oral communication was not solely tied to English but rather to teaching and learning throughout the entire curriculum. 

2) One ​‘Champion’ being on the SLT and another not so, straddled the management line and avoided the changes being ​‘top down’. As Peter Senge says, ​“People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.”

To unite staff around our vision to provide a rich language experience to our children, we began by recording videos of lessons and oral communication-based activities. In the first instance, this involved the ​‘Oracy Champions’ sharing videos of classroom practice. These videos were not presented as perfect examples, but an opportunity to unite around the progress being made by the children who were piloting the techniques. Following this, teachers were given the task of creating their own video snapshot to share with colleagues at a later staff meeting, encouraging further collaboration and dialogue.

The next step to unite our team around our oral communication goal was to use ​‘Oracy Triads’, groups of three teachers, who would adopt a coaching approach by observing each other’s practice before providing feedback within their group as well as at a staff meeting. Triads can engage staff by offering a low-stakes environment to observe and be observed. This is supported in literature, making a case for triad teams to improve teacher discourse and learning (Hopkins, Munro, & Craig, 2011).

The top right-hand quadrant represents what we have tried to achieve by using triads, video sharing and specific adaptations for phases. By giving people high levels of control and support, we have worked with staff towards our oral communication goal.

Our approach towards implementing oracy provided structured processes for us to reflect on at individual and whole-school levels.

Taking feedback from teachers, we adjusted and clarified our expectations of which oral communication strategies should be used within each year group/​phase, allowing progress to be made throughout the school.

We are now looking at our review and reflection tools to support the next phases of implementation.

References:

Hopkins, D., Munro, J., & Craig, W. (2011). Powerful learning: a strategy for systemic educational improvement. Camberwell, Victoria, Australia: ACER Press.

Watchel, T., & McCold, P., (2001). Restorative Justice in Everyday Life. Restorative Justice and Civil Society, Strang, H. & Braithwaite, J. (Eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2001. Accessed via: 

This blog is the second in the series of blogs by Evidence Advocate, John Marsh. You can find the first blog here.