The Evidence People
I always enjoy ResearchEd but the London conference on Saturday really broke previous records for sessions I was keen to get to - tricky decisions at every point!
Personal highlights
Keynote presentation by Philippa Cordingley outlining the research evidence around effective use of evidence in school quality and improvement, the connection between professional learning and student learning and the role of leaders. To access the slides of the presentation, contact joe.askew@curee.co.uk
CUREE was commissioned by the Education & Training Foundation to research the key issues in the teaching of maths and English in the sector. Conducted very rapidly and in partnership with EmCETT we interviewed policy makers and experts, reviewed the international research evidence and consulted leaders and practitioners across the sector. We think the report provides a fascinating window into how maths and English teachers and their leaders are thinking about the new level 2 challenges. The full report is published here now and will also be available on the Foundation website shortly.
Quite a lot of research has a long shelf life. At a time when new Standards are published or about to be, it's worth revisiting some earlier ones. The National Framework for Mentoring and Coaching remains very relevant today. Originally published in 2005, and later taken forward in an updated form by the Welsh Assembly Government (available in English and Welsh) the National Framework sets out ten principles, based on evidence from research and consultation, to underpin effective mentoring and coaching programmes in schools. These Principles are suppported by:
The Excellence Gateway holds scores (around 500 so far) of FE and Training practitioners' research resources. These include reports of classroom teaching techniques, results of applying digital technologies to existing practices, and a wide range of resources generated by colleges and other providers in, for instance, the Outstanding Teaching Learning and Assessment (OTLA) programmes.
Whilst making explicit the challenges faced by schools through the questions, this paper also recognises the challenges faced by researchers. In this context the paper’s first goal is to increase the likelihood of schools participating in research on a sustained basis by helping them raise their expectations of what is possible. We also seek to help them understand what is involved so that they can plan for effective participation.
The National Teacher Research Panel was set up over 15 years ago by CUREE supported by a group of national education agencies (most of which no longer exist). It had three main goals:
