WHY PEDAGOGY AND SUCCESS?

 It is not a flash of the moment that I adhere to the belief in 'pedagogy and success'. I have studied and spoken and written about pedagogy throughout my teaching life and as an author, consultant and tutor. I have been influenced by credible educators.

Robin Alexander's article, 'Still no pedagogy? Principal pragmatism and compliance in primary education'. (University of Cambridge)

To cement the importance of pedagogy, this is one of the important authors I have read. Robin Alexander’s article, ‘Still no pedagogy? Principal, pragmatism and compliance in primary education’ explains 'pedagogy as the discourse which informs and justifies the act of teaching and the learning to which that teaching is directed … and the body of knowledge that one needs to know to argue and provide evidence to justify the many different kinds of decisions which teaching is constituted.’

Robin Alexander’s article, 'Still no Pedagogy’ is a political discussion about Literacy Strategies in UK,it being a culture of compliance - directions for teachers to adhere to with individuality and knowledgeable pedagogy being largely dismissed.

One disconcerting idea in Robin Alexander’s paper is his disclosure how teachers are inclined to ‘closed questions’, ‘brief answers’. This certainly made me think!

‘Pupil-teacher still dominated by closed questions, brief answers which teachers do not build upon, phatic praise rather than diagnostic feedback, emphasis on recalling information rather than speculating and problem-solving’.

Robin Alexander follows on in his paper:

‘Pedagogical research has progressed considerably. [There is a] cumulative body of scholarship and evidence about children, learning, teaching and culture’. Included was the statement there is the ‘collective experience of teachers.’

It was not Robin Alexander’s paper’s intention to expand on these statements but for my purpose ‘body of knowledge’ and ‘pedagogical research’ needs to be qualified.

This is the body of knowledge that comes from pedagogical research that I believe in and utilize for successful learning outcomes.

Explicit Teaching Pedagogy / teaching strategies

                                                          Liz Simon, Literacy/pedagogy consultant,2007. Revised 2012)

Explicit teaching requires the teacher to make clear the expectations, processes and specific outcomes (purpose) of learning. Students and teacher have definite outcomes to achieve, thus a purpose for the learning experience is provided. Students need to know that they access prior knowledge as a foundation, the relevance of new learning and how to apply their knowledge to make active connections to their world with greater precision. Explicit teaching involves directing student attention towards specific learning. Explicit teaching is genuinely student-centred pedagogy that moves towards catering more equitably for the diversity of learners present in the everyday classroom. Rigorous teacher decision-making is needed to promote students’ learning. Explicit teaching involves a variety of teaching strategies.                                 

Scaffolding new learning by modelling- deconstructing, joint construction and demonstrating; making relationships: conducting ‘group talk’: focused ‘think alouds’ (e.g. rephrasing, voicing strategy steps, “this is what I am thinking when I solve this problem”):‘Why’ learning specific topics, concepts: ‘How” significant to school / real life: Connecting to prior learning / experiences (Constructivist approach). 

Modelling questions students ask themselves when problem-solving / thinking critically; invoke literature as models of text and language. Guiding /instructing as children work more independently; conferencing (formative assessment) to improve learning. Teaching a skill or understanding at the point of need. Focussed macro/micro planning, balanced programme (e.g. older students, generic literacies, subject-specific literacies) and expected outcomes. Consult the  curriculum and work with teachers when macro-planning for the term/year. Discretely, plan daily / weekly learning (micro). Have varied in-class teaching scenarios class, small group and individuals.

Interactive, child centred – appropriate questioning and time allowing children to adequately express their thoughts. They experiment (trial and error), investigate, explore, research, analyse, discuss in peer groups or 1- on 1, teacher pupil.  Activities / tasks where students practise / reinforce new learning. Involvement in different modes to consolidate new concepts and skills. Teacher’s classroom talk is knowledgeable and balanced, clearly focused on learning about aspects of language and literacy. It directly responds to the learning needs of the students; talk is oriented to learning about specific concepts and skills and their use. When researching, present precise research topics (choice of three?) and support development of ICT knowledge /skills for research – what to do, what to look for (e.g. use and explain research guides such as Readability, Trustworthiness, Usefulness). Multi modal Digital tools can enhance new ways of producing (and consuming texts) and creating out-of-the-ordinary texts.

Assessment 1. Explicitly unpack assessment tasks (‘what’, ‘why’, ‘how’). 2. Variety of assessment modes:          Implement teacher-child formative assessment – respond as children are ‘doing’ Baseline assessment - beginning Diagnostic Assessment, analysis of what a child can manage  Summative assessment, mid-point, end-point assessment/data collection, guide teaching practices, provide, evidence of learning otcomes and future learning direction  3. Descriptive feedback to move student to next step of learning. 4. Choice of Assessment tasks with set criteria to assess. What is identified, achieved and built upon.        From this information, plans are formed for future teaching.

An illustration:

After the children have learnt the importance of considering AUDIENCE when choosing to write a Narrative, the written direction will be to entertain. Text structure is the context for learning  language structures for example, the tone, vocabulary (e.g. figurative language), punctuation and more. Within the context of the text structure children learn how settings can set the tone. If the child wants to write about an adventure in a setting that is wild and windy, this will play a major role in shaping the adventure. The character’s moods may include fear and helplessness; will or will not the character cope with dangers that arise or will the character need some outside help? Children learn that the setting is the crux of the story, the characters’ involvement in the action - the events and outcomes.

What language will the writer use? Go to literature and children experience models of Narrative. For example, Charles Dickens in Great Expectations, has descriptive vocabulary about a wild area near a river, ‘raw’, ‘bleak,’ ‘dark,’ and ‘leaden’. How important are descriptions in providing pictorial images and how does it affect the character’s feelings and actions?

The context of the text, Narrative, determines the language structures to study, the beginning mainly adjectives, middle action verbs, ending reflective verbs.

Richard Allington (American scholar in reading instruction, professor of reading education, University of Tennessee).

When training as a Reading Recovery teacher it certainly took me out of my comfort zone and I was always questioning so I could understand, ‘why’, ‘what advantages’, ‘how’ is this form of teaching leading to student success. An example being the levelling of books. When I learnt that children must read something that they understand; reading accurately is essential for reading acceleration (Richard Allington) I thought, 'Of course'. 

'Choice' is reading for pleasure or reading for a purpose (e.g. choosing material for research for a chosen topic).

When implementing Reading Recovery children’s reading skills and understandings progressed in a short amount of time - the proof was there in the records and data kept by the teacher.

 Concluding thoughts  

Learner-centred teaching encourages students to reflect on what they are learning and how they are learning it. Students are motivated when they have control over the learning process. 

Aspects to remember when students are learning - learning is reinforced and extended in different ways: it is achievable, identifiable and assessable because the teacher makes it so, for example, s/he chooses a book suitable for instruction: it is essential that teachers and children become equal discussion partners, children feel at ease when interacting with the teacher, the teacher shows ways to progress: both teacher and child suggest alternative ways of thinking and acting: during 1-1 encounters, the teacher becomes knowledgeable about each child, their ‘characteristics, understandings, development and home culture’ (Robyn Alexander).

 The role of the teacher throughout the teaching and learning cycle is flexible; helping children’s understanding, clarifying their investigations. They cater for various abilities, for example, knowing when scaffolding by modelling and deconstructing should happen, knowing when students can independently and successfully investigate.

Pedagogy is about what a teacher knows and the knowledge and skills children need to know to be successful.

I concur with Robyn Alexander’s message, ‘pedagogy is complex’, teachers, need to move beyond mere ‘coping’ and into the reflective judgement’ where they make ‘rationally defensible professional judgements’ about pedagogy'. 

Liz