Can retrieval practice improve student performance within an A-level psychology classroom?
LYDIA MARSH, CHRIST THE KING CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE; MA STUDENT, LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY, UK Introduction As with other A-level subjects, psychology students require learning strategies that help them to both remember and effectively apply large volumes of complex course content to unseen questions, as their learning is ultimately evaluated by their […]
Using evidence-based practices that support metacognition
JUAN FERNANDEZ, TEACHER AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER, UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE MADRID, SPAIN Educational research has identified different strategies to promote students’ learning. Integrating this best available evidence from research with teachers’ knowledge and expertise, while considering students’ unique needs and personal preferences, is usually considered as evidence-based practice (Galindo-Domínguez et al., 2022). Metacognition and retrieval practice […]
Developing self-regulated Learners: Supporting a culture of lifelong learning through metacognition, cognition and motivation in the classroom
WILLIAM EDWARDS, ASHWOOD SPENCER ACADEMY, UK Introduction As a primary school classroom teacher, I have aimed to develop my teaching through training and literature to better support self-regulation for learning. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2021) define self-regulated learning as the culmination of a learner’s cognition, metacognition and motivation. Evaluating and reflecting on each of […]
Teaching revision explicitly
Dave Tushingham, Lead Practitioner Mathematics, The Greenshaw Learning Trust For revision to be impactful, students need to know how to revise well. In this reflection, I discuss how, by implementing structured models of explicit teaching for revision, we can equip our students with the metacognitive skills required to revise independently with success when making sense […]
Developing metacognition and higher-order thinking in A-level studies
DEBBIE BOGARD, CITY AND ISLINGTON SIXTH FORM COLLEGE, UK ALEX MELVILLE, LEYTON SIXTH FORM COLLEGE, UK NEELAM PATEL, ST MARY MAGDALENE ACADEMY, UK Why metacognition in A-level study? A-levels are simultaneously intellectually demanding, given the range of higher-order skills involved, and extremely challenging, given the vast amount of content that needs to be covered. Our […]
Before retrieval practice, do not overlook pretesting and metacognition
Kristian Still, Deputy Headteacher, Boundary Oak School, UK Over the last decade, an extensive body of literature on the benefits of testing (Roediger et al., 2011) has become connected with and articulated through the language and conceptual toolkit of cognitive science. The evidence is clear: testing or retrieval practice raises pupil achievement (Perry et al., […]
What do teachers understand about metacognition and why does it matter?
Sarah Dowey, PhD researcher, University of York and Principle Development Lead – English Mastery, Ark Curriculum Plus, UK Introduction Since John Flavell’s pioneering research into metacognition and its potential value in helping students learn and understand more efficiently (Flavell, 1979a), there has been an increasing number of studies researching the impact of metacognition and of […]
The evaluation of information by sixth-formers: A study in decision-making processes
Introduction The evaluation of information is a key skill associated with modern independent learning. Indeed, it is fundamental to Callison’s (2014, p. 23) principle, distilled from the literature, that ‘analysis skills must dominate student use of the internet’, in particular. Even in the age when most information materials took paper form, source appraisal was invariably […]
Creating a thinking school: Developing pupil agency and collective teacher efficacy
ALAN JOHNSON, ASSISTANT HEAD, TEACHING AND LEARNING, MOUNT KELLY SCHOOL, UK To paraphrase Ken Robinson, we are all looking for ways to raise standards in education; I’ve never heard of anyone saying that they’re trying to lower them… Incremental improvement and evolution rather than revolution are ideologies to which we have been drawn at Mount […]
Rosenshine’s Principles: Questioning, with Tom Sherrington
Tom Sherrington is an education consultant and author. He writes the popular blog teacherhead.com and his books include The Learning Rainforest and best-seller Rosenshine’s Principles in Action. Most recently he co-authored the Teaching WalkThrus series with Oliver Caviglioli. With 30 years’ experience as a physics and maths teacher and school leader, Tom is in demand […]
Rosenshine’s Principles: Sequencing concepts and Modelling, with Tom Sherrington
Tom Sherrington is an education consultant and author. He writes the popular blog teacherhead.com and his books include The Learning Rainforest and best-seller Rosenshine’s Principles in Action. Most recently he co-authored the Teaching WalkThrus series with Oliver Caviglioli. With 30 years’ experience as a physics and maths teacher and school leader, Tom is in demand […]
Rob Webster: Leading without Limits
School culture is pivotal to implementing evidence-based practices, though it is the under-discussed side of putting research into action. This session will look at the role of culture and values in making sure ‘what works’ works, and why creating the right environment is essential to allowing new ways of doing things to flourish and ultimately […]
Consolidating learning in Key Stage 5 chemistry
Helen Skelton, Head of Science, Beaumont School, UK Knowledge is required to think and therefore to learn. Learning has been defined as ‘relatively permanent changes in comprehension, understanding, and skills of the types that will support long-term retention and transfer’ (Soderstrom and Bjork, 2015, p. 176). The long-term retention of learning is a particular challenge […]
Using feedback-driven metacognition to develop metacognitive skills in Year 9 Chemistry students
Deepika Narula, Teacher of Chemistry, Beaumont School, UK Students often feel that they have studied a lot for a test, yet they are not able to do well. Classroom teachers have experienced this at some point, and Agarwal and Bain (2019, p. 126, p. 129) found that students have an ‘illusion of confidence’ and incorrect […]
Overcoming barriers to introducing metacognitive strategies to teaching professionals
Morgan Chatten, Cross-Trust Director of English – Teaching, Learning and Curriculum, Turner Trust, UK The purpose of this article is to clarify what is meant by metacognition and to dispel myths and misunderstanding regarding its origin and use in contemporary education. The article aims to support leaders of teaching and learning to consider how they […]
Using peer teaching to improve effective learning strategies in Year 7 students
Claire Badger, Edward Hackett and Caitlin Whitby, The Godolphin and Latymer School, UK Discussions with students around effective learning have traditionally been left until they are given dedicated ‘study skills’ sessions as they approach high-stakes examinations. In a recent article, Firth (2022) argued that the foundations for effective learning need to be in place much […]
Assessing and responding to student confidence in MCQ tests
Jon Tarrant, Creator of physbang.com and former Head of Sciences (retired), UK Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are carefully designed to identify key knowledge but they generally rely on either rewarding correct answers or penalising wrong answers (Lesage et al., 2013). There is normally no record of students who hesitated between the correct answer and a well-designed […]
A Teaching and Learning Charter: A metacognitive approach to learning
Bethan Coles, Teacher Education, University of Bedfordshire, UK Introduction ‘When students are aware of what they know and don’t know, learning is more successful in the classroom and studying is more successful outside of the classroom.’ (Agarwal and Bain, 2019 p. 125) Cognitive scientists call this metacognition. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) define metacognition as […]
A reflection of how trialling metacognitive practice in a Form 2 class led to self-reflection of my own metacognitive development
Hayley Murphy, Year 2 Teacher and History Leader, Eversfield Preparatory School, UK My triple roles as Year 2 class teacher, history leader across the primary phase and MA education student inspired me to communicate and encourage the importance of teaching historical skills, as well as knowledge, across my school. The focus was to trial the […]
Do as I do: Modelling self-regulation to promote learning
Mike Jerstice, Reading Blue Coat School, UK Background When you sort the Teaching and Learning Toolkit from the Education Endowment Foundation (2014) by ‘impact’, self-regulatory and metacognitive strategies are at the top. Self-regulation is one of the best ways in which to improve attainment and engagement in any student body, but just defining it is […]