Effective Papers For learning

The below is a transcript of a talk given at NedTalks 'Creativity in Education' event, Winchester House School, June 2019. About 30 years ago, someone had a very good idea. It was designed to provide reliable access to clean water in rural South African villages. The invention was called a playpump; a roundabout which, when turned, drew water to the surface and stored it in a tank. Children played and had fun; precious water arrived - a quintessential win-win. Word spread, benefactors were attracted, it achieved an award from the World Bank, and after years of investment, by 2007, over 1000 had been installed. There was a hitch. More than a hitch actually. The problem was that in practice, they didn’t work very well. There were various reasons for this: children didn’t reliably play for the amount of time necessary to pump sufficient water - sometimes they’d come and just sit and chat, but not spin. Interestingly though, when evaluators arrived with cameras and clipboards to se...

There is a current trend in schools towards greater standardisation, particularly in relation to curriculum content. This might involve: Teachers delivering the same curriculum content in the same order Standardised formative and summative assessments Standardised resources, such as knowledge organisers and models Standardised homeworks Standardised classroom approaches and pedagogy There are a range of reasons why schools are choosing to develop in this way. These include: Reduction of teacher workload, and the reduplication of work across many teachers, in planning and creating resources Added coherence for CPD Increased ability for teachers to collaborate meaningfully together and share practice Overall higher quality and consistency of student experience over time Ability for subjects to cope with unexpected change, eg teachers leaving mid-year Improved potential for intervention and catch-up resources, meaning that schools are better able to help absent students to catch up Abili...