Beyond Guesswork:

Researching wisdom in schools

I am a feather for
each wind that blows
VIDEO
Now we recognise that being a good doctor, or
teacher, or manager, isnt about robotically
following the numerical output of randomised trials;
nor is it about ignoring the evidence, and following
your hunches and personal experiences instead. We
do best, by using the right combination of skills to
get the best job done.
- Ben Goldacre, 2013
Observation and theory get on best
when they are mixed together, both
helping one another in the pursuit of
truth.
- Arthur Eddington, 1935
Tom Bentley
Change your structures to
accommodate your core purpose,
rather than contort your core
purpose to fit within your
existing structures.
Our strategy should therefore be to
make the best choices we can from
the best evidence available, to try it
out, with an open mind, and see if it
works. If it does, we can keep doing
it; if not, we will learn from that
experience and try something else.
Rob Coe
After 30 years of doing such work, I have concluded
that classroom teachingis perhaps the most complex,
most challenging, and most demanding, subtle,
nuanced, and frightening activity that our species has
ever inventedThe only time a physician could possibly
encounter a situation of comparable complexity would
be in the emergency room of a hospital during or after
a natural disaster.
Lee Shulman, The Wisdom of Practice
RISE Project: The Basics
We need to recruit 40 schools to the RCT (20
control: 20 treatment schools)
Research-lead training programme: Jan to Sept 2015
Establish a support network and HEI links
Identify issues/interventions in treatment schools,
with a focus on English and Maths - Sep 2015
Year one of core intervention: Nov 2015 July 2016
Year two of core intervention: July 2016 Nov 2017

Aims of the RISE Project
To establish whether appointing a Research-lead is
the most effective way of getting research evidence
into the hands of teachers;
To establish whether using research evidence can
lead to improved student outcomes;
To establish the impact of integrating research
evidence into school improvement models and into
school CPD programmes.
A research-engaged school
Draws on knowledge and understanding of
research to inform
Pedagogical practice
Decisions about strategy and policies
Attempts to implement and embed more effective
practices
Robustly evaluates
Its ongoing performance on a range of outcomes
The impact of any changes made
Challenges
How to turn general school issues into tractable
research questions
How to distinguish between good research and bad
Criteria, checklists
Trusted experts, sources
Access to research: paywalls and impenetrability
Understanding data, assessment, evaluation
Overcoming resistance, apathy, urgent stuff,
competing priorities, overload
Can six days training make a difference?
Impact vs cost
Cost per pupil
E
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f
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t

S
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e

(
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t
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s

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)

0
0
8
1000
Meta-cognitive
Peer tutoring
Early Years
1-1 tuition
Homework
(Secondary)
Teaching
assistants
Mentoring
Summer
schools
After
school
Aspirations
Performance
pay
Smaller
classes
Setting
Most promising for
raising attainment
May be
worth it
Small
effects /
high cost
Feedback
Phonics
Homework
(Primary)
Collaborative
Small gp
tuition
Parental
involvement
Individualised
learning
ICT
Behaviour
Social
www.educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit
Knowledge of research
A. A one-to-one numeracy intervention (two 15-minute sessions per
week, delivered by teaching assistants) for Year 2-6 pupils who
are struggling with numeracy (outcome: maths)
B. Nine weekly one-hour sessions where Y7 pupils below L4 read
and discuss an age-appropriate book, with tools and resources to
encourage reading for pleasure (outcome: reading)
C. A four-week summer school programme (between Y6 & 7) for
pupils who had been predicted to achieve KS2 below Level 4b in
English, focussed on poetry and writing (outcome: writing).
D. Y6 & 7 teachers trained to deliver a programme to help low
attaining pupils plan, monitor and evaluate their writing using
memorable experiences, eg trips and visitors (outcome: writing).
Put these in order of effectiveness:
Key elements of good evaluation
Clear, well defined,
replicable
intervention
Good assessment of
appropriate
outcomes
Well-matched
comparison group
Beyond Guesswork?
Teaching will only become an evidence-based profession
when a leadership-wisdom prevails which creates
structures in schools where classroom teachers:
can access good evidence easily;
feel encouraged and safe to change their practice in the
light of the evidence;
are supported by a school-based research-lead with a
Higher Education connection;
can evaluate the impact on student outcomes of the
changes to their pedagogy.
VIDEO
Email: aj.quigley@huntington-ed.org.uk
T: 01904 752100
Twitter: @HuntingEnglish