Education Leeds Annual Lecture 2007 Creating a positive learning climate – What works? Professor Tim Brighouse

Education without failure Is it an impossible dream? Can Leeds succeed where others have failed?

The Task “ I was supposed to be a welfare statistic……. It is because of a teacher that I sit at this table. I remember her telling us one cold, miserable day that she could not make our clothing better; she could not provide us with food; she could not change the terrible segregated conditions under which we lived. She could introduce us to the world of reading, the world of books and that is what she did. What a world! I visited Asia and Africa. I saw magnificent sunsets; I tasted exotic foods; I fell in love and danced in wonderful halls. I ran away with escaped slaves and stood beside a teenage martyr. I visited lakes and streams and composed lines of verse. I new then that I wanted to help children do the same things, I wanted to weave magic.” (From evidence submitted to ‘The National Commission on Teaching and America’s future’, 1999.)

The Contexts The Big Cities Multi-faith and no faith Multilingual Multi-race Multiple identities

The Contexts The Schools Strong Achievement Culture Tenuous hold on Achievement Culture Fingertip hold on Achievement Culture Estate Schools Crossroads Schools Schools in Affluent Areas

The Values SUCCESS not FAILURE MULTIFACETED not GENERAL INCLUSIVE not EXCLUSIVE IPSATIVE & FORMATIVE not NORMATIVE LIFELONG not ONCE AND FOR ALL

The Everyday Currency of Successful Teaching FAILURE SUCCESS HIGHLOW HIGH EXPECTATION LOWLOW LOWLOW HIGHHIGHHIGHHIGH SELF/ESTEEMSELF/ESTEEM SELF/ESTEEMSELF/ESTEEM

Expectation 7 ways to pitch for success Asking Questions Explanations Story Deploying VAK etc. Learning Example Formative Assessment Alter ego & Virtual tutoring

Self-esteem 20 things teachers do THE MORNING NOTICE – name and identify LISTEN – so ask questions about thoughts CREATE A PAST – to reminisce about LAUGH – share a joke REMEMBER – birthday – event ADMIRE – out loud to others PRAISE – in writing RESPECT – family/history/culture SHARE – football team/pop star/sweets

STEAL – crisps PROMOTE – tell good stories to other staff/kids/family ACKNOWLEDGE – something they are better than you at RECOGNISE – around the school, not just in the lesson “I SAW THIS AND THOUGHT OF YOUR” – give them a cutting from a newspaper or magazine about their team, etc. COLLECT – grot CONTRIBUTE – to the ‘X’ factor MARK – privately FIND – the invisible child CONFESS – to private interest

Outstanding Teaching 1.Beliefs Transformability rather than ability of children Success for all not some Intelligence in multifaceted Every child needs a worthwhile relationship with at least one adult in may not be them A child’s failure to learn is a challenge to their teaching strategies not a sign of inability on the part of the child A child showing great effort in learning is a sign of their character not their lack of ability

Outstanding Teaching 2.Habits and behaviours Always improve their story telling technique Always polish their skill in questioning Always extend their “best explanations” Observe other colleagues’ techniques Sing from the same song sheet… up to a point Treat teaching as a co-operative activity… use “we” a lot Store and share videos and/or dvds of “best” explanations for student use Use formative and ipsative assessment in their marking Teach alongside, behind and in front of youngsters Share leadership and management Teach in the corridors Share their “hyacinths” in learning

The Passionate Teacher ‘ Of some of our teachers, we remember their foibles and mannerisms, of others, their kindness and encouragement, or their fierce devotion to standards of work that we probably did not share at the time. And of those who inspired us most, we remember what they cared about, and that they cared about us, and the person we might become. It is the quality of caring about ideas and values, this fascination with the potential for growth within people, this depth and fervour about doing things well and striving for excellence, that comes closest to what I mean in describing a ‘passionate teacher’. Robert Fried

The teachers talk about teaching The teachers observe each other’s practices The teachers plan, organise, monitor and evaluate together The teachers teach each other

School Improvement ‘The essential pieces in the jigsaw of a successful school’ ‘How Head Teachers survive and thrive’

School Improvement Butterflies Data Learning Technologies

X Average of all schools QUADRANT A QUADRANT B QUADRANT CQUADRANT D Rate of improvement over 3 years Family of schools of similar socio-economic background 14 X 15 X 17 X 18 X 16 X 7X7X 8X8X 6X6X 9X9X 5X5X 4X4X 3X3X 2X2X 1X1X 12 X 11 X 13 X 10 X Key Stage 2, 3 or GCSE Key = X: These are 18 schools, numbered

Cracking the cycle of disadvantage is the key to higher standards FSM Band %gaining 5+A*-Cs Non London London Key to FSM bands 15% or less FSM 25+ to 9% 39+ to 13% 413+ to 21% 521+ to 35% 635+ to 50% 7Above 50% 8Grammar Schools

Future Challenges New Skills & Understanding Understanding of the global system Movement of capital, people, culture Capacity to think creatively and analytically within disciplines Beyond the textbook Ability to tackle problems and issues that do not respect disciplinary boundaries e.g. Aids, large scale migration, global warming Knowledge of and ability to interact civilly and productively with individuals from quite different cultural backgrounds – born within one’s own society and across the planet Fostering of hybrid or blended identities Fostering of tolerance/respect

‘The teacher who treats their groups as stars will have as many stars as they wish, and the teacher who believes that they are working on the front line because they are working in a multi-racial inner-city school will have as many battles as they could wish for’. Pauline Lyseight Jones

The Teacher ‘ I have come to the frightening conclusion: I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated; a child humanised or dehumanised’. Ginott 1972