Action Research Project Measuring the impact of student led teaching techniques in academic subjects

Context Academic based subjects lend themselves to teacher led learning techniques in order for students to comprehend the high level of subject knowledge required However, research (N. Carr) on the brain structures of young people, who interact heavily with new technologies suggests that teaching styles must change to accommodate this 'new' brain structure. Furthermore, Ofsted's shifting focus towards student centric lessons has highlighted a need for change in terms of methodology for teaching these academic subjects

Core Focus To address the changing structure of the learners’ brains it is important to trial new methodologies that not only allow the student to take ownership of their learning but also ensures that the new teaching methodologies do not distract from the academic content and allow for the depth of knowledge to be secured

Aim To trial a variety of teaching and learning techniques and measure the impact upon the depth of learning

Key Areas Aiming to create: Ownership of learning Depth of understanding HOT skills Aiming to facilitate: The ‘new’ brain Student led teaching methodologies Assessment focused sessions

Intended Impact To enable students to learn on a academic level that is more suitable to their changing brain structures To allow for the support and development of students with lower MTG's allowing for an increase in student success rates

Research Michael Rich, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, identified the changing shape of modern brains due to the impact of technology. Research indicates that the brain is "rewarded not for staying on task but for jumping to the next thing". Nicholas Carr argued that this instant gratification is changing the structure of the brain allowing far more connections to be made but only on a superficial level. This research impacts upon high end academic subjects as it indicates that a student's modi operandi means that they will not be able to process the level of in-depth knowledge required for the subject. Joseph Novak’s research illustrates that teaching from a philosophical standpoint allows for the development of written and verbal skills therefore argument mapping could be useful in place of theory lecturing.

Initial Ideas Think Breaks Interactive Starters Theory exploration Active listening Assessment via immediate feedback Punctuated Lectures Concept Mapping Total Physical Response (TPR) Lecture Reaction Jigsaw (Group Experts) Speed dating Fishbowl Anonymous Peer Feedback

Initial Results The interactive techniques occur after the content has been taught

Results 94% of students achieved their predicted grade or higher 87% of students exceeded their predicted grades 67% of students achieved high grades Of students who re-did mock questions 100% achieved high grades and 71% improved on their predicted grades by 3 grades Value added +24 Based on 15 students

Student progression 50 = A 40 = B 30 = C 20 = D 10 = E E C B A

First and Final Comparative A = 50 B = 40 C = 30 D = 20 E = 10

Results – my perspective Student led teaching methodologies and assessment focused sessions enable ownership of learning and student independence Depth of understanding and Higher Order Thinking skills are developed via the type of technique used Use of a variety of tasks, focus on the timing of tasks, allowing students to think and reflect allows for the adaption of the ‘new’ brain

How I used the techniques to develop HOT skills Think Breaks – Gives the students the ability to determine their own perspective before being told that of a philosopher or theorist and contextualises the theory helping to remove some of the abstract context Interactive Starters – Increases student engagement and creates a productive atmosphere Punctuated Lectures – Students become self-monitoring listeners and develops critical reasoning skills Concept Mapping – Helps to develop essay planning, helps to show strands of reasoning/ argumentation and develops critical reasoning skills Total Physical Response (TPR) – Increases recall, creates a more productive atmosphere and sustains concentration levels Jigsaw (Group Experts) – Develops critical reasoning skills, develops knowledge recall and develops active listening skills Speed dating – Develops recall and develops active listening skills

What next? Independent learning is key to student motivation – Flipped learning Engagement – Effective starts Review – Endings

Additional Findings

Learning Styles Auditory learners - value added +3 Visual learners – value added +8 Auditory/visual learners – value added +5 Kinaesthetic learners – value added +4 Based on 15 students

Theory Explanation – Research and Trial Trialling Joseph Novak’s theory explanation technique with the A2 Philosophy students as their work is solely theory based. This technique was trialled in the teaching of the most complex non-reductive theory, Anomalous Monism. The response has been very positive as students have shown a good level of comprehension of the complex theory. An essay was set to identify the depth of their understanding. The essay results were set against an essay on another theory where the technique was not employed to enable a comparative assessment.

Theory Explanation – How it Works Joseph Novak’s research illustrates that teaching from a philosophical standpoint allows for the development of written and verbal skills therefore argument mapping could be useful in place of theory lecturing. Start with the conclusion – What is the theorist trying to argue? Identify the reasoning given – Identify the different reasons (write on post it notes) – Create a chain of reasoning by mapping the notes Evaluate the argument – Are the reasons true within themselves? – Do the reasons increase the likelihood of the conclusion?

Theory Explanation Findings Student 2 exceeded his predicted grade by 4 grades

Theory Explanation Results This technique had the biggest impact on the auditory learners – students 2 and 3 Although the kinaesthetic learner’s grades increased it was minimal in comparison with the auditory learners The results indicate that although this technique works very well for auditory and multisensory learning styles it does not have as much impact on the kinaesthetic learning style It is the kinaesthetic learning style that remains a barrier for the teaching of theories

Appendix

Assessment Methods 1.Tests using Bloom’s taxonomy to assess the different levels of learning 2.Mock examinations to identify skills in an assessment situation 3.Mini tests (on past topics) to identify the level/amount of recall 4.Immediate feedback

Comparing Bloom’s Taxonomy and HOT skills The different levels of Socratic questions enable focus on the different types of skills from low level comprehension to higher order thinking skills. The level of questioning matches the skills as identified by Bloom. Using these different types of Socratic questions in class and via review tests enables an understanding of the depth of learning taking place.

Socratic Questioning

Bibliography Michael Rich _r=0 _r=0 Nicholas Carr stupid/306868/ stupid/306868/ ‘The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains’ N. Carr, W.W Norton & Company, London, 2010 Techniques learning/effective-classroom-practices/interactive-classroom-activities learning/effective-classroom-practices/interactive-classroom-activities content/101_tips.pdf content/101_tips.pdf Novak ‘Learning, Creating and Using Knowledge: concept maps as facilitative tools in schools and corporations’ Joseph D. Novak, Routledge,1998