Unity Research School Newsletter

Issue #2

Spring Term 2019

@HFletcherWood - History teacher, education researcher, Associate Dean at the Institute for Teaching

@DrRLofthouse - Professor of Teacher Education. Founder of @CollectivED1 the mentoring and coaching hub

@marcrowland73 - Unity Schools Partnership, author and expert speaker on Pupil Premium and Vulnerable Learners

@Inner_Drive - sharing studies every teacher needs to know with free graphic to aid interpretation

@hannahtyreman - online learning specialist @CharteredColl

PODCAST: What teachers need to know about the teenage brain
Renowned neuroscientist professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains the inner workings of the adolescent brain.

Blakemore is professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, and author of books including the multi-award-winning Inventing Ourselves: the secret life of the teenage brain. Speaking on the Tes Podagogy podcast, she explains that we often overestimate what a teenager is capable of doing.

Listen to her fascinating insights

Why oral vocabulary is key at primary
Dr Jessie Rickets on the impact of vocabulary on early reading – and how to tackle literacy problems in secondary.

In this podcast, Dr Jessie Rickets talks at length about how literacy at secondary school might be tackled and also covers the role of oral vocabulary in early reading, the impact of reading on spoken language and the need to help students independently broaden their vocabulary.

Click here to access the podcast

PODCAST: The Science of Learning

Is the science of learning really a science? What can teachers and students learn from the research evidence on effective studying and learning? What aspects of cognitive psychology could affect teachers and students in the next ten years?

These are some of the questions Evidence Based Education's Stuart Kime posed to Professors Anne Cleary and Matt Rhodes from Colorado State University earlier this year. Their new book – A Guide to Effective Studying and Learning: Practical Strategies from the Science of Learning – is published by OUP and is available now.

Click here to access the podcast

BLOG: Parental Engagement - Putting Evidence to Work

Unity RS Maths Evidence Leads Anna Tapper & Matt Martin reflect on their recent evidence day at the EEF. "The day started with an interesting question: When a flyer was sent home to 3740 families for a parent event in school, how many responded?"  Find out the answer to this question and their thoughts on this subject, plus useful tips to put into practice straight away. Read the associated EEF Guidance Report on parental engagement.

Read these blogs

BLOG: Bringing implementation alongside wellbeing, emotional resilience and learning

Find out how our links with UCL Centre for Inclusicve Education have brought about an exciting knowledge exchange programme providing another valuable opportunity to bring the EEF recommendations on implementation alongside another cross school project. 

Read Andy Samways' blog

BLOG: EVALUATING WHAT WORKS

Damian Haigh, ELE (Evidence Lead in Education) for the Aspirer Research School, explores how we, as educators, can begin to critically evaluate evidence to inform our decisions about what is likely to work in our context.

Read More

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: STATE CHANGES IN THE CLASSROOM
“We can avoid disengagement by changing the way students interact with the lesson content”. In this article for SecEd, Kingsbridge Research School’s Jon Eaton looks at ideas for ‘changing gears’ in your lessons to keep students attentive.

Read More

HOW RESEARCH CAN HELP ADDRESS STUDENTS’ RECURRING MISTAKES

“Research suggests mistakes and misunderstandings should be marked differently. But how?” Sandringham Research School’s Caroline Creaby shares her tips in SchoolsWeek.

Read More

LEADING LEARNING - 3 DAY COURSE

Begins: 19th March 2019 - Haverhill

This innovative programme provides a comprehensive overview of the most important research evidence in education, including the EEF toolkit, so that school leaders can devise high impact CPD programmes (topics include metacognition, memory and mindset). The programme will support you with a range of evidence-based tools to help you lead learning with success and improve your CPD programme.

Further details and book here

EVIDENCE INFORMED APPROACHES TO CLOSING THE WORD GAP

Begins: 14th March 2019 - Sudbury

This brand new training programme will explore approaches to reading, writing and vocabulary development which Ruth Everett, the course leader, has been involved in creating with Alex Quigley, EEF Senior Associate (formerly Director at Huntington Research School, York). The three sessions are built around research-based evidence and draw upon the 2018 Oxford Language Report ('Why Closing the Gap Matters') and current EEF Guidance reports ('Preparing for Literacy' and 'Improving Literacy at Key Stage 2')

BOOK YOUR PLACE ON THIS NEW PROGRAMME

SINGAPORE MATHS COMES TO UNITY SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP!

May 2nd (Early bird tickets until 22nd March)

World-renowned Singapore Maths expert Dr. Yeap Ban Har's 1-day course focuses on developing an understanding of both problem solving and fractions rooted in the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract model.

BOOK HERE - DON'T MISS OUT

researchED Ipswich RETURNS

Tickets are now available including early bird and 'school bus' group offers so don't delay! It was an amazing event last year which sold out ... we anticipate tickets going even quicker this year!

Purchase your ticket here

NEW EEF GRANT-FUNDING ROUND ANNOUNCED

The latest EEF grant-funding round to boost attainment of disadvantaged young children is seeking high-potential projects that aim to raise the attainment and wider outcomes of young people aged 3-18, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Find out more

EEF PUBLISHES FOUR NEW EVALUATION REPORTS

The EEF has published four new independent evaluations of trials:

• Teensleep: a sleep education programme that aims to highlight the importance of sleep for effective learning. The evaluation found no evidence that the programme led to improvements in students’ sleep as measured by wrist-worn activity monitors. However, they did find some evidence of improvements to students’ self-reported behaviours – for example, reductions in daytime napping.
• Grammar for Writing: an intervention that aims to improve writing by helping pupils to understand how 'linguistic structures' convey meaning. The evaluation found no evidence that pupils receiving the approach made any additional progress on their writing outcomes.
• Catch Up® Numeracy: a one-to-one intervention for Key Stage 2 pupils struggling with numeracy. The evaluation found no difference in progress between pupils who received Catch Up® Numeracy and those who received the alternative.
• Catch Up® Literacy: a structured one-to-one literacy intervention for pupils between the ages of 6 and 14 who are struggling to learn to read. The evaluation, found no evidence that the Year 4 and 5 pupils receiving the intervention made more progress than those who received normal TA support.

Read more

IEE INNOVATION EVALUATION REPORTS PUBLISHED

The IEE have published a further four reports from projects funded by their Innovation Evaluation Grants:

• Audio Feedback evaluated the effectiveness of teachers recording verbal feedback for pupils, both in terms of improving A-level test outcomes in sociology and maths and having a positive impact on teacher workload.
• No More Marking evaluated the impact of lessons in which pupils used an online comparative judgement platform. The project looked at the impact on teacher workload and pupils’ English outcomes in Years 7, 8 and 9.
• The desk cycle study evaluated whether having access to a desk cycle reduces levels of hyperactivity for Year 5 and 6 pupils with high prior levels of hyperactivity (as rated by teachers), and therefore leads to an improvement in maths attainment. Of additional interest was whether there were any changes in the fitness levels of the pupils.
• Improving reading fluency evaluated the impact of a small-group reading fluency intervention on the reading progress of children in Years 4, 5 and 6 who are working below age-related expectations.

Read More