Research School Network: Putting the Evidence to Work to Prepare our Learners for Success (Episode 1 of 2 blogs) Juliet discusses how pupils are prepared for exams at Etone Colloege using effective metacognition strategies.

I first started teaching in 1991 – just at the same time as the National Curriculum was launched in the UK! During this 34 years of teaching, I have prepared many learners for KS4 and KS5 examinations. Every year, I reflect on the results of their internal assessments and final grades, making use of the latest research and examination board advice to refine my toolkit of preparation strategies. As we can all be reflective learners as professionals, so too can our pupils reflect on their learning with research telling us that metacognition is a low cost, high impact strategy that can add the equivalent of seven months progress when used well. In this blog, I will share some strategies that we use with our pupils at Etone College to prepare them for examinations which draw on the EEF Guidance Reports and how this research can be applied to try to secure the best possible outcomes for pupils.

Two of the most common challenges that I experience as a teacher of Geography are (i) how to ensure that pupils can remember the breadth and depth of content required and (ii) how they can take this knowledge and successfully apply it under the pressure of timed exam conditions to complex questions. However, I appreciate that I am not alone as a Geographer in experiencing these challenges and they are something that many subjects face. In addition, there is the added challenge of pupils needing to learn complex vocabulary, some of which has alternative meanings in different subjects whilst also understanding a range of command words that may require different approaches in different contexts. Whilst, these challenges manifest themselves in slightly different ways, there are some common approaches that we believe can help our learners to better navigate these challenges across our curriculum.

Linking to prior knowledge is critical if learners are going to successfully connect new learning to what they already know and construct schema to embed knowledge into their long term memory. Every lesson at Etone College starts with a big picture slide and the proactive use a of a topic checklist so that pupils are able to place the lesson in the context of prior and future learning. This ensures that they consciously know which topics already studied support their new learning and where they will also need to make connections moving forward. This also includes active signposting – highlighting which paper and question the knowledge will be needed for in order to reduce rubric errors and build pupil confidence as they head into examinations. Recapping of prior learning at the start of the lesson and regular retrieval practice are also key and the aforementioned topic checklists also help to guide pupils through their revision journey, with pupils able to use them as a self-reflective tool to identify those topics where they still need to develop confidence.

Whilst retrieval practice is key, we recognise at Etone College that we must guard against retrieval practice as simply a box ticking exercise and we too should be mindful about how we are asking pupils to retrieve information as well as what we are asking them to retrieve. It is helpful for staff to reflect on their practice and ask themselves which retrieval activities pupils find the most useful. Staff can also ask this of the pupils who can then take their most effective strategies and apply them to their own revision techniques. Teachers can also reflect on which strategies have been the most successful when considering the impact on pupils’ work. Is it a grid where they answer questions from the previous lesson, month and topic, is it a quick low stakes quiz, the ongoing completion of a knowledge organiser or, in fact, several strategies used in combination that work best? Being reflective in this way allows teachers to ensure that they are using the most effective strategies for the groups of pupils in front of them.

It is also important to consider what knowledge our pupils need to retrieve. As teachers we should regularly ask ourselves which topics and concepts that pupils find the most challenging and the hardest to learn. We should address the topics that question level analysis and formative assessment tell us our pupils need to revisit or we need to reteach. We should also ask ourselves what the last lesson indicated about the pupil’s understanding and how that should be used to inform the recap section of the next. At Etone College, we have also spent time, through focused CPD, to debunk the myth that retrieval only happens at the start of the lesson. Agreed, retrieval practice is an important part of lesson introductions but we need to remember that retrieval practice is everywhere – through our question and answer sessions, on line learning homework tasks, practice exam questions, exit tickets, cold calling and plenary consolidation tasks, to name just a few examples.

Homework has always been a subject of hot debate for teachers but is shown to add value in the secondary setting. In addition, changes in technology and developments of on line learning platforms have, to some degree, become the teacher’s friend with regards to homework. I have always firmly believed that homework should be a planned expectation for pupils used by teachers to add as much value as possible and barriers for disadvantaged pupils removed through the provision of resources and supportive homework clubs.

At Etone, successful strategies for homework include the use of diagnostic on line platforms that the learners can use to consolidate knowledge on a regular basis but also a range of other strategies which help to prepare learners for examinations. For example, in Psychology, pupils are provided with a revision map to guide their weekly consolidation in the countdown to the final exam whereas in Geography, pupils revise case studies from a revision booklet that are then assessed through retrieval practice the next lesson. Embedding revision in this way chunks it for pupils and supports those who find the organisation of revision and how to approach it more difficult. In Maths, assessed homework, based on practice exam questions, is used weekly as an A4L strategy to inform the retrieval practice and reteach for the following lesson whilst in History knowledge recapping through 5 a Day means that pupils constantly revisit the key knowledge and concepts required throughout the course. In Business Studies, revision maps provide an opportunity to recap focused areas of the specification and ​“practice makes perfect” in Computer Science encourages pupils to use online coding projects to prepare them for the more technical examination questions. By regularly revisiting core content, pupils not only strengthen their long-term memory but also free up work memory to allow them to tackle the demands of examination questions. In subjects such as Art, PE and Technology, the blend between practical and theory can add further to expectations placed upon pupils but interleaving homework and regular examination practice can be used well here to keep theoretical knowledge fresh during the practical units alongside dual coding and regular retrieval activities.

Pupils are also supported through a wide range of intervention programmes at Etone College – be this after school or form time study seminars, master classes or holiday revision sessions delivered either face to face or via TEAMS, with revision materials and reading lists shared with pupils in lessons but also made available through the use of technology such as a Shared One Drive or TEAMS. Recording revision sessions on TEAMS can create an invaluable revision resource for other pupils to use at a later date and schools can then build up a bank of more interactive revision materials to increase engagement. Maximising the use of technology is something that can really support revision and strategies do not need to be overcomplicated – the simple use of TV screens around school for top tips or a bank of websites, video links or podcasts that pupils can access easily via their mobile phones. Whatever the medium, revising with their teachers in this way, rather than just independently at home, supports all students, providing them with additional expert tutoring that they are able to access regardless of background.

You can read more about how metacognition strategies can support pupils by reading the full guidance report here.