More able learners are those who achieve, or have the ability to achieve, above average in any specific subject or domain compared with learners in the same year at their school. Such learners may be more able in National Curriculum subjects, as well as a whole range of domains which are termed ‘non-traditional areas’ (e.g. chess, public speaking, wood turning, working with animals etc.).

The government’s gifted & talented strand of the Excellence in Cities (EiC) initiative has introduced two additional terms that define more able learners:

Gifted – refers to learners who achieve significantly above average (or have the ability to be so) in one or more of the National Curriculum subjects other than art, performing arts or physical education.

Talented – is reserved for those learners who achieve significantly above average (or have the ability to be so) in art, performing arts or physical education.

Note that this means, using the government’s definition, that an individual learner can be both ‘gifted’ and ‘talented’.

Knowledge bank

There has been a lot of emphasis placed on the needs of more able learners in recent years, fuelled mainly by the high-profile and well-funded EiC programme.

It’s important to recognize, however, that teachers have, of course, always worked with more able, very able and exceptionally able children. The recent initiatives have simply served to focus the attention of schools on the needs of such learners.

Within EiC areas schools were given funds to work with their more able learners, and have been required to identify a group of 5-10% of learners in each year group as the gifted & talented ‘cohort’.

As the identification exercise within EiC schools takes place at the school level, such learners can only be termed ‘gifted’ in the context of their school – they may not qualify as such in a neighbouring school. There is no currently accepted absolute measure of high ability that is used consistently across schools, or to create a standardized national register of more able learners.

Schools outside EiC areas have had more flexibility in their work with more able learners, but every school must now ensure that learners, including those who are more able, are challenged and reach their potential. As such all schools are encouraged to keep a register of their most able learners and their provision for this group will come under the spotlight in Ofsted inspections.

The various definitions often hide the fact that learners usually display different abilities in particular subjects or domains -they’re not simply ‘more able’ at everything. It’s therefore advisable to always specify a learner’s ability, and avoid saying they’re just ‘gifted & talented’.

It’s important to recognize that children are individuals first and more able second. As with any other learners, they have individual strengths, weaknesses and preferences which need to be catered for.

Schools’ provision for more able learners is most effective where it is provided within the context of an inclusive education for all children, as every child has particular needs. Provision for more able learners shouldn’t be seen as elitist, as there should be parallel programmes in place for other groups of children (e.g. less able, those with special education needs, traveller children etc.).

Working effectively with more able learners in the classroom is about using differentiation and other strategies to ensure that learners are inspired, challenged and motivated in their learning. Such strategies include:

• choosing an appropriate learning activity
• increasing the complexity of the stimulus materials
• increasing the challenge of the tasks undertaken
• increasing the pace of study
• increasing the depth of study
• increasing the breadth of study
• increasing the amount of independent learning.

Teachers working with more able learners need to consider the above strategies, but recognize that a particular blend of these is appropriate for individual learners or groups, and this blend might vary according to the task in hand or how familiar learners are with the subject matter.

Learners who are more able can also be underachieves and can have dual exceptionality (they’re more able but also have a learning, behavioural or physical disability or difference).

Ask yourself

• Are you clear about what constitutes high ability in the subjects you teach?
• Have you identified the different ability levels of the learners you teach?
• How do you cater for more able learners in your classroom?
• Which aspects of your work with more able learners need to be developed? How?

To do list

If you have not already done so, write out the qualities of a more able (top 50%) and a very able (top 10%) learner in the subject(s) you teach.

• Create a register of the more able learners you teach, making it clear which category they fall into (e.g. more able, very able).
• Prepare a portfolio of learners’ work at different levels to provide concrete examples of high ability.
• Work with your school’s gifted & talented coordinator to further enhance provision for more able learners, for example by carrying out curricular innovations or enrichment projects.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Oracy can be defined as ‘listening, speaking and spoken interaction’. The term ‘oracy’ was first coined in the 1960s as part of a research study into classroom talk by Andrew Wilkinson at Birmingham University which examined how individuals learn by talk, and particularly by working in small groups.

Knowledge bank

There is growing evidence that children’s learning might be enhanced by collaborative working and by allowing them to bring their own language into the classroom, using it to formulate questions, speculate and hypothesize about the curriculum.

There’s been a shift in teaching which has allowed learners to play a more active role in the classroom. This was highlighted by the National Oracy Project of 1987-1992, set up by the School Curriculum Development Council and administered by the National Curriculum Council.

The aims of the National Oracy Project were to:

• enhance the role of speech in the learning process at ages 5-16 by encouraging active learning
• develop the teaching of oral communication skills
• develop methods of assessment of and through speech, including assessment for public examinations at 16+
• improve learners’ performance across the curriculum
• enhance teachers’ skills and practice
• promote recognition of the value of oral work in schools and increase its use as a means of improving learning.

This project was based on action research by teachers in their classrooms and focused attention on the previously somewhat neglected area of education concerned with opportunities for developing spoken language. It looked at the spoken interactions between learners and between staff and learners, how these were recorded and monitored and how they could be better managed to encourage the development of speaking and listening skills.

Within the Scottish age 5-14 curriculum guidelines oracy features in the English curriculum as two of the key strands, ‘Talking’ and ‘Listening’. They’re also referred to as key skills in other subjects, emphasizing that they’re integral to the rounded educational development of the learner.

Oracy shouldn’t be something which ‘just happens’ in lessons. It must be an integral and explicit part of lesson planning, with opportunities created for a variety of oral activities within the subject.

Talking should be regarded as a way of helping learners to sort out their thoughts and as the main means of social communication and interaction. Learners should be encouraged to talk with peers, teachers and other adults. Contexts for talking should be varied and there should be a range of talking opportunities across the curriculum so that ideas may be linked across artificial subject divides.

Learners should be actively encouraged to develop a growing awareness of the language appropriate to different audiences, purposes and situations. This includes learning the importance of effective talking through taking turns and listening to others; being aware of the need to be able to appraise the effectiveness of different forms of speech; and being given the opportunity to develop their own skills in speaking effectively.

Active listening needs to be encouraged across the curriculum. It is not sufficient to assume that because a person is there and someone is speaking that the first person is actually listening! Learners need to be guided to listen for information and given opportunities to learn to respond on an individual, pair or group basis. The teacher needs to model such skills continually and emphasize the basics of good listening – eye contact, body language, use of questions etc.
To ensure a wide range of opportunities the Scottish guidelines suggest the following areas to focus on when creating activities to develop ‘listening’:

• listening for information, instruction and directions
• listening in groups
• listening in order to respond to texts
• awareness of genre (type of text)
• knowledge about language.

The teaching of oracy skills shouldn’t be regarded as something which occurs only in ‘the literacy hour’ or as part of a subject-specific strand. Communication is a key part of education and the development of oracy should be cross-curricular and inter-active.

Ask yourself

• To what extent do you use the subject(s) you teach to develop oral skills? Do you feel oral work could play a greater role?
• Do you offer opportunities for individual oral work, small group oral work, class oral work?
• Who talks most in your classroom, you or your learners? Who listens most in your classroom, you or your learners?
• What barriers exist to your development of oral work in your classroom? What barriers exist to your learners’ use of oral skills in your classroom? How might they be overcome?

To do list

• Plan to devote more time to oracy in a specific unit of work in the future.
• Reflect in detail about the opportunities for oracy across your school and work with like-minded colleagues to develop a collaborative approach.
• Carry out some further CPD linked to oracy so that a specific aspect of your current teaching can be enhanced.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Oracy can be defined as ‘listening, speaking and spoken interaction’. The term ‘oracy’ was first coined in the 1960s as part of a research study into classroom talk by Andrew Wilkinson at Birmingham University which examined how individuals learn by talk, and particularly by working in small groups.

Knowledge bank

There is growing evidence that children’s learning might be enhanced by collaborative working and by allowing them to bring their own language into the classroom, using it to formulate questions, speculate and hypothesize about the curriculum.

There’s been a shift in teaching which has allowed learners to play a more active role in the classroom. This was highlighted by the National Oracy Project of 1987-1992, set up by the School Curriculum Development Council and administered by the National Curriculum Council.

The aims of the National Oracy Project were to:

• enhance the role of speech in the learning process at ages 5-16 by encouraging active learning
• develop the teaching of oral communication skills
• develop methods of assessment of and through speech, including assessment for public examinations at 16+
• improve learners’ performance across the curriculum
• enhance teachers’ skills and practice
• promote recognition of the value of oral work in schools and increase its use as a means of improving learning.

This project was based on action research by teachers in their classrooms and focused attention on the previously somewhat neglected area of education concerned with opportunities for developing spoken language. It looked at the spoken interactions between learners and between staff and learners, how these were recorded and monitored and how they could be better managed to encourage the development of speaking and listening skills.

Within the Scottish age 5-14 curriculum guidelines oracy features in the English curriculum as two of the key strands, ‘Talking’ and ‘Listening’. They’re also referred to as key skills in other subjects, emphasizing that they’re integral to the rounded educational development of the learner.

Oracy shouldn’t be something which ‘just happens’ in lessons. It must be an integral and explicit part of lesson planning, with opportunities created for a variety of oral activities within the subject.

Talking should be regarded as a way of helping learners to sort out their thoughts and as the main means of social communication and interaction. Learners should be encouraged to talk with peers, teachers and other adults. Contexts for talking should be varied and there should be a range of talking opportunities across the curriculum so that ideas may be linked across artificial subject divides.

Learners should be actively encouraged to develop a growing awareness of the language appropriate to different audiences, purposes and situations. This includes learning the importance of effective talking through taking turns and listening to others; being aware of the need to be able to appraise the effectiveness of different forms of speech; and being given the opportunity to develop their own skills in speaking effectively.

Active listening needs to be encouraged across the curriculum. It is not sufficient to assume that because a person is there and someone is speaking that the first person is actually listening! Learners need to be guided to listen for information and given opportunities to learn to respond on an individual, pair or group basis. The teacher needs to model such skills continually and emphasize the basics of good listening – eye contact, body language, use of questions etc.
To ensure a wide range of opportunities the Scottish guidelines suggest the following areas to focus on when creating activities to develop ‘listening’:

• listening for information, instruction and directions
• listening in groups
• listening in order to respond to texts
• awareness of genre (type of text)
• knowledge about language.

The teaching of oracy skills shouldn’t be regarded as something which occurs only in ‘the literacy hour’ or as part of a subject-specific strand. Communication is a key part of education and the development of oracy should be cross-curricular and inter-active.

Ask yourself

• To what extent do you use the subject(s) you teach to develop oral skills? Do you feel oral work could play a greater role?
• Do you offer opportunities for individual oral work, small group oral work, class oral work?
• Who talks most in your classroom, you or your learners? Who listens most in your classroom, you or your learners?
• What barriers exist to your development of oral work in your classroom? What barriers exist to your learners’ use of oral skills in your classroom? How might they be overcome?

To do list

• Plan to devote more time to oracy in a specific unit of work in the future.
• Reflect in detail about the opportunities for oracy across your school and work with like-minded colleagues to develop a collaborative approach.
• Carry out some further CPD linked to oracy so that a specific aspect of your current teaching can be enhanced.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Drama involves the use of the voice and/or body to act out a character or to simulate an object, in order to express a viewpoint, emotion or to put across information. It has always had a place in teaching and for some teachers forms a key component of the classroom climate they create.

Knowledge bank

• Drama has the potential to invigorate the teaching of any subject area, allowing learners to gain new insights into the subject matter or concepts they’re investigating in a highly engaging way.
• In purely curricular terms, at present drama doesn’t appear as a subject in its own right within the English/Welsh National Curriculum and curriculum guidance has generally ignored the contribution that drama makes.
• Drama appears simply as a statutory requirement as part of the ‘speaking and listening’ strand of the National Curriculum for English. This requires that learners participate in a variety of drama activities to ensure that they:- use language and actions to explore and convey situations, characters and emotions
  • create and sustain roles when working individually and with others
  • comment constructively on drama they have watched or in which they have taken part.
• The Scottish 5-14 guidelines, however, do recognize the value of drama and make specific reference to it, stating that it should provide all learners with opportunities to:
  • reach new understandings and appreciation of self, others and the environment through imaginative dramatic experience
  • communicate ideas and feelings through language, expression and movement, in real and imaginary contexts
  • develop confidence and self-esteem in their day-to-day interaction with others
  • develop sensitivity towards the feelings, opinions and values of others through purposeful interaction
  • develop a range of dramatic skills and techniques.
• Drama offers a number of key benefits to learners and can be applied across the wider curriculum, regardless of the age of the learners:
  • Accessibility: For the majority of learners drama is the most easily accessible form of art. It does not require mastery of a musical instrument or a specific level of competency in painting or reading in order for learners to be able to express themselves. It is a natural development of the communication skills which they’re acquiring elsewhere through play. Their familiarity with the media of film and television means that learners are used to relating to expressing ideas in this manner. It is essentially an extension and refinement of these areas rooted in life and human interaction. Use of movement, language, gesture and facial expression in order to convey meaning are concepts with which learners are already familiar, even if they have not yet reached the point of verbalizing them as such.
  • Drama as group activity: Learning via drama is a sharing experience, similar to play, in which imagined worlds can be explored. It is an active experience which requires collaboration between parties.
  • Drama as process: In this genre there is no external audience for the work, but there is an essential internal audience which leads to evaluation and discussion.
• Process is more important than the ‘product’ in drama and this is seen as a creative exercise, where the creativity is the application of the imagination to problem-solving activities. The activity is generated in response to a stimulus (e.g. textual stimulus such as a newspaper article, visual stimulus such as a cartoon, aural stimulus such as music or a specific sound such as an air-raid warning siren or an artefact/prop).

Ask yourself

• To what extent do you already use drama in your classroom?
• How do you use it? How do your learners use it?
• To what extent can you envisage drama being a useful tool within your subject area?
• What barriers exist to your own use at present? What barriers exist to your learners’ use? How might they be overcome?

To do list

• Try to incorporate a new drama activity into one of your lessons over the next month.
• Ask your learners what their opinions are of using drama in lessons.
• Observe a colleague who is passionate about the use of drama in his or her subject.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Self-evaluation is the process of auditing and making judgements about your professional performance for the purposes of improvement.

Knowledge bank

• Self-evaluation is just one of a range of ways in order to judge success and plan for improvement in schools. It is usually carried out by judging your performance against a series of criteria or standards.
• Self-evaluation can operate at a range of levels, from the whole school through individual subject areas to the work of a specific teacher.
• In recent years the government has formalized the process of self-evaluation in schools, through its new reporting procedures for Ofsted inspections. However, it’s important to note that the process is not simply another government initiative – self-evaluation in some shape or form has been embedded in many schools’ (and other organizations’) work for some time, and is widely recognized as a powerful tool for improvement.
• The spirit of self-evaluation in education is to encourage those working in the school to identify what is working well, while at the same time recognizing things that need attention in order for improvements to be made.
• One of the valuable features of self-evaluation is its ability to provide a baseline against which to judge future progress. The process can be carried out on several different dates, spaced out over a period of months or years, to obtain high-quality quantitative data. This can be analysed in order to pick out trends and patterns. Moving forward, things can then be reviewed at regular intervals, using the same self-evaluation framework.
• The principal value of self-evaluation to the day-to-day work of the classroom teacher is its ability to provide, in a focused way, a means of analysing in detail what is happening in classrooms and elsewhere, and the impact this is having on learners. The highest-quality self-evaluation at the classroom level occurs when teachers tailor the self-evaluation materials to their own specific circumstances.
• Self-evaluation requires openness and honesty on behalf of those taking part. An unfortunate feature of Ofsted’s self-evaluation process is that the findings can be used as a stick with which to beat schools, rather than merely a genuine tool for school improvement. This has had an impact on the ability of schools to engage honestly with the process.
• The most effective teachers are involved in regular self-evaluation of their work and recognize the importance of this tool to hone their practice. This goes far beyond mere reflection by the teacher on lessons, though it grows out of such reflection.
• Teachers are likely to see the influence of their school’s self-evaluation work through a range of new measures and changing emphases, including some which may become requirements in their classroom against their wishes.

Ask yourself

• To what extent do you use self-evaluation in your work as a teacher?
• How does your self-evaluation work relate to other aspects of your continuing professional development?
• How does your school’s self-evaluation work impact on you on a day-to-day basis?
• Who else can support you as you engage in self-evaluation work of your own?

To do list

• Find out more about the self-evaluation work taking place in your school, including the people responsible and the key documents relating to your institution.
• Decide what specific aspects of your teaching should come under most scrutiny in your own self-evaluation work.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Target setting is the process of generating a specific outcome for oneself. It is characterized by a series of elements which make it both specific and trackable, but also emotionally motivating.

Knowledge bank

Traditional target-setting approaches have centred around a process of deciding future grades or other quantitative measures. However, research tells us that the setting of compelling, effective targets is a complex process involving the following factors.

Targets need to be SMART:

• Specific – highly detailed
• Measurable – ways built into it of quantifying the output
• Achievable – the owner of the target has a sense of the end point being manageable
• Relevant – the owner of the target sees that the target is worth striving for, themselves
• Trackable – the target can be monitored at various checking points along the journey to the final output.

Ownership is paramount. Formulation of targets needs to involve the individual, so that they have motivationally ‘bought in’ to the target.

Targets appear more compelling for many people when there is an element of imagining a future, having already achieved the target. Inviting people to imagine a time in the future when they have already achieved the outcome can bring them in touch with the possible process for achieving the goal.

Targets for many people are more compelling if they can include a sensory element in the outcome such as: seeing the finished outcome; hearing sounds linked to it; seeing statements about the completed objectives; and the feeling of emotions having successfully completed it.

Once a goal has been formulated, it is also important to formulate behavioural targets too. In other words identifying the specific behaviours which will support achieving the target set. For example, asking good questions when we don’t understand.

Any more than five targets and it becomes more difficult to remember and articulate what your targets are. Creating themes of targets across a series of areas of the individual’s work is a way of reducing the overall number of targets. This can maximize the chances of success, with fewer targets to focus on overall.

Ask yourself

• To what extent are the targets set with your learners truly SMART?
• How much ownership do your learners/colleagues have of their targets?
• To what extent are targets reviewed and learning drawn from the experience?
• To what extent are target-specific behaviours explored when goal setting with learners/colleagues?

To do list

• Review your existing target-setting processes in the light of your reading.
• Introduce your learners to Olympic goal setting and encourage them to utilize it.
• Have your learners record targets somewhere centrally.
• Teach your learners to use the timeline process and get them to use it for complex or multiple targets.
• Use the processes described here for your own targets.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Streaming is a radical model of school organization where children are placed into groups according to their ability and stay in these for most of their lessons. Setting occurs when children are placed in different groups for a particular subject, according to their ability in that subject, e.g. top, middle and lower set. Banding is similar to setting but children tend not to be so narrowly grouped. If children are not placed in streams, sets or bands, then they’re taught in mixed-ability classes.

Knowledge bank

• As a classroom teacher you’ll probably have little choice over whether your learners arrive at your lessons in streams, sets, bands or as mixed-ability groups – this is a decision that school or subject leaders tend to take.
• Despite usually having little choice over the ability groupings of your learners, it has major implications for your teaching.
• There are many myths that surround the issue of ability groupings in schools, and it’s vital to adopt an open but critical stance to anything that you hear or read about the subject.
• The essential truth is that there is as yet no convincing research evidence to back up the claim that in general learners learn more effectively in one type of ability grouping over another – be wary of anybody who speaks in terms of absolutes in this highly complex area of teaching and learning.
• The research studies that have been carried out tend to point out the positive and negative aspects of the different approaches, but provide conflicting data on just which grouping method is most appropriate for the majority of learners.
• Whether learners are streamed, placed in sets or banded the result is that learners will learn within a class with a much narrower ability profile than if they were in a mixed-ability class.
• It’s likely that individual learners do benefit from being placed in a particular kind of ability grouping. There’s evidence to suggest that bright girls may benefit from working in a top set alongside similar learners, but that weaker boys gain advantage from mixing with higher-ability learners as part of mixed-ability classes.
• Effective mixed-ability teaching is, however, extremely demanding of a teacher and is sure to really keep you on your toes!

Ask yourself

• Reflect on how the learners you teach are currently grouped -what challenges does this bring?
• How can you build on the advantages that this type of grouping brings and address the disadvantages?
• What are your learners’ views on the value of particular grouping arrangements?

To do list

• Consider gaining some experience of working in a classroom which has a different grouping arrangement to your own (e.g. through observation, a placement or collaborative project) – this will be enriching, will help widen your teaching repertoire and will make you a more rounded teacher, also enhancing your promotion prospects.
• Experiment teaching small groups of learners arranged by ability within mixed-ability classes (e.g. blue table for more able learners, red table less able etc.).
• Read critically on the topic of ability groupings in order to come to your own view on what is appropriate for your school.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Constructivism is a set of assumptions governing the way people learn and make sense of the world. It’s founded on the premise that, by reflecting on personal experiences, people create their own understanding of the world they live in.

Knowledge bank

• Constructivism is a significant overarching theory that has an important bearing on the day-to-day work of teachers. However, it should be noted that the theory of constructivism was developed to account for all types of human learning (i.e. not specifically teacher-mediated learning).
• A principal scholar and point of reference for educationalists interested in constructivism is Swiss philosopher and psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980). He suggested that people construct new knowledge by assimilating it with their internal representations of the world. Accommodation may be required, by reframing one’s view of the world, in order to allow new experiences to fit.
• Constructivism maintains that learning builds on what learners already know. It also includes the concept that learners need to create personal meaning from any learning situation – this cannot be ‘spoon fed’ by a teacher.
• The theory of constructivism also contends that adults can intervene in order to facilitate and promote the learning of children and young people – even though meaning making takes place at the individual level.
• Constructivism also suggests that learning within schools needs to take place in as contextualized a way as possible – i.e. that learners need to learn within parameters as close to real life as possible.
• The type of learning taking place in schools can be characterized as social constructivism, since it takes place within a collaborative learning environment, orchestrated by a teacher and in the presence of a host of other learners.
• Within constructivism learners are respected as unique individuals, with unique backgrounds, culture and needs. Learners are also viewed as complex and multi-dimensional. Furthermore, the responsibility for learning must reside increasingly with the learner, who in turn must be motivated to want to learn. Crucially, learners develop their thinking abilities by interacting with adults – or more able peers.
• Constructivism has given rise to the so-called ‘constructivist’ approach to teaching, which emphasizes the key role of the learner in personal meaning making in the classroom. It also stresses the need for a ‘hands-on’ role of learners in the learning process.
• A constructivist learning environment is typified by learners being asked questions rather than the teacher trying to ‘transmit’ knowledge; learners being asked to explore their understanding rather than being given the right answer; and learners being encouraged to draw their own conclusions, rather than having one imposed. In this sense, teachers move from being instructors to facilitators.
• Constructionist approaches, the brain-child of Seymour Papert (1928-), go one step further by suggesting that constructivist approaches are especially effective when people are involved actually making something – such as a book, model or computer program. The rapid development of ICT in schools is enabling learners to ‘create’ in more ways than ever before.
• Some prominent cognitive scientists have cast doubt on the theory of constructivism, contending that the main ideas may be either misleading or that they contradict known findings. Nevertheless, the theory continues to exert a powerful force in schools, adding weight to much modern thinking on effective teaching and learning approaches. It helps to justify what many teachers have traditionally thought as the most effective ways to teach.

Ask yourself

• To what extent is your classroom underpinned by constructivist principles?
• What do you see as the benefits of constructivism from an educational point of view? And the drawbacks?
• What changes does the constructivist approach to teaching suggest might need to be made in your classroom?

To do list

• The ideas underpinning constructivism can be difficult to understand, especially for those without a psychology background, yet they have pivotal importance to teachers. Spend an hour doing some internet research on this fascinating topic in order to learn about it.
• Create an action plan for embracing more constructivist principles in your classroom.
• Work with a like-minded colleague to explore together your views on constructivism and its relevance to your teaching. Ensure you expose yourself to some of the competing theories too.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Active learning centres on the process of learning through active participation in the classroom, field, in the workplace, in the community and in laboratories. Through activities which are as real as possible to the actual application of the ideas, learners are encouraged to come up with their own theoretical models and interpretations. Another definition of active learning is ‘involving students in practising important skills and applying new knowledge’

Knowledge bank

Research suggests that active participation in learning as against passive listening is more enjoyable, more memorable and more effectively understood.

Active approaches to learning stimulate the brain to make neural connections (build synaptic links between brain cells) and it is this connection which constitutes learning. It seems that passive listening approaches to learning are less effective at assisting us to make connections.

Active learning lessons usually contain a number of similar features:

• reviewing prior knowledge and understanding
• demonstration by the teacher of how to do something or verbal introduction to important ideas
• monitored practice where learners try the new skill or work with the new knowledge, with reflection on process as well as content
• learners having opportunities to practise the skills or use the knowledge again on their own
• extension assignments, e.g. for homework
• further review to consolidate.

Studies using control groups and test groups carried out by John Hattie showed that learners involved in an active learning process performed, on average, one and a half grades better than those taught with didactic, passive, teacher talk methods. In these studies, both groups were taught for the same amount of time.

Active learning is based on a constructivist view of learning, that is, it sees learning as a building process where new meaning is made by reflecting on experience and relating this to existing meaning. Reflection is stimulated through meaningful practical experiences close to the application of the knowledge or skill. This means that concepts are not understood until it has been related to existing ideas, contexts, knowledge and skills.

Active learning supports the ‘making of meaning’ and in this sense it enables learners to ‘transform what is fragmentary or in separate compartments into a coherent whole’.

The activities involved in the active learning process must stimulate individuals to question their existing constructs, that is they need to encourage learners to question the concepts and connections they make between them. There is also a need for a period of reflection, where the ideas and experiences are explained to others, to themselves and to their teachers, so that new thinking can be affirmed and improved. Teaching others their new knowledge would seem to be the most effective method of ensuring recall over time.

Ask yourself

• To what extent are your lessons active learning experiences?
• How do you structure a learning period currently and what might you consider changing in the light of reading this briefing?
• How are learners given opportunities for active reflection and interpersonal communication in your lessons?
• Where does active learning happen and where does it not happen? What are the reasons for this?

To do list

• Set up an audit of active learning in your classroom. Invite learners to score their levels of satisfaction from 1-10 in your lessons, comparing active lessons versus more didactic lessons. Ask them also to rate their understanding on the same 1-10 scale. Compare the results over a half term.
• Set up your own control study between different groups of learners and explore the differences over a module. Note that if you see key differences in performance, ethically you should cease your studies and go with the findings!
• Collect ideas from colleagues for active learning activities at the start of staff meetings or in informal discussions.
• Make reflection on active learning approaches a focus of lesson observations for professional development.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The thought of a job interview often instills so much fear in a person that even if he wants to take things in his stride coolly he lands up becoming panicky. There are many people who dread them so much that they only focus on brushing up their social skills before the big day only to neglect one vital aspect of the job interview…the resume. The professional resume of a job interview carries a lot of weight. It is foolish to ignore the résumé’s significance and role in the job interview. For many it may be just a piece of paper with a short self description. In fact, it is more than that and if drafted poorly, can cost one his chances of getting the job!

For getting a bullet proof resume, one needs to invest time and prepare the resume that suits and describes him to the best professionally. Effective resume writing needs some research and cannot be drafted overnight. The first thing that one must pay attention to is the objective of his resume. He needs to match the job that he wants and cannot make a resume that is not specific. One must make sure that the skill headers and job titles are relevant to the job applied for. A wrong title is enough to reject one so caution must be exercised when drafting the resume.

Employers do not have the time to elaborately read each and every word on the resume. They interview many people and hence make snap decisions. As mentioned above, a wrong job title can make them reject a person on the grounds of not being qualified for the post. Thus, one should never make the mistake of inserting a wrong skill or job heading when resume writing. In order to make one’s resume invincible to the ever scrutinizing eyes of the employer, one should select a design that grabs attention. The resume design should do justice to the three key areas of the resume and they are one’s experience, education and skills.

Resuming writing is actually a presentation of a person’s skills and abilities. Keeping this in mind one should write resume content that sells positively. Short is powerful…one should take this into consideration when generating a professional resume. The content must be specific and concise. The language should be simple and one must avoid jargons and bombastic terms. The format should be reader- friendly so that the employer can get a snapshot of the candidate in the shortest possible time. One should make use of job related keywords to enhance the appeal of one’s resume and get the best results.

When resume writing skill headings, one must also sell the benefits of one’s skills effectively. There are some that omit this very important aspect in their resume leaving the employer ignorant. The benefits of one’s skills should be highlighted and projected in an accurate manner. Good resume writing in turn helps the interviewer to gauge one’s profile correctly and shortlist him for the applied post with success.

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