TransformED - NI Thinking Schools' Conference
As part of Northern Ireland’s Department of Education ‘Making Best Practice, Common Practice’ TransformEd conference series, the Thinking School Network in NI was selected to share how they have been bridging the gap between academic research and classroom practice.
The event took place on November 7th and was seamlessly hosted by Ashgrove Primary, Newtownabbey whose senior choir kicked off the event in the most compelling way possible – singing the school’s self composed “My Brain is Amazing”.
Professor Daniel Muijs, Head of the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University and member of the NI Curriculum Task Force, then had the enviable task of following those high notes with his key note “Metacognition and the Knowledge Rich Curriculum”.
For context, following the recent publication of a strategic review of the curriculum in NI, there has been some concern from school leaders about the risk that “Knowledge Rich” could translate at school level into the monotonous rote learning of ‘facts’.
Daniel’s session gave great comfort that, theoretically at least, this absolutely isn’t what knowledge rich means or what the intentions of the new curriculum are. After a quick overview of the workings of memory, Daniel shared what a curriculum is, its role as a progression model, the importance of knowledge as a basis for skills, and that self regulation and metacognition are key skills for lifelong learning. He went on to provide examples of how individual lessons and schemes of work might look when positioned to develop both knowledge and metacognition and how cognitive and metacognitive strategies are important in developing knowledge. He concluded that “Knowledge Matters, Thinking Matters”…. quite!
Daniel’s slides and lesson plan examples, as well as those from the schools who presented, can be accessed via your Thinking School Network Members dashboard.
Hosts, Ashgrove Primary kicked off the Thinking School Network school inputs as Principal, Robert Smith and VP, Dave McComb, demonstrated the Ashgrove Thinking School Toolkit and the powerful impact the use of these tools were having. We were treated to some fantastic examples and hugely engaging pupil led videos of the use of Kagan structures, P4C, Thinking Hats, Thinking Frames and the foundation stage use of ‘Mindset Mascots’ to introduce a common language for developing Habits of Mind.
The team at Moira Primary, led by Principal, Colin Ford, then shared how they had used whole school assemblies to introduce metacognitive approaches and how they had woven the science of learning into their curriculum and linked it to support their existing practice. We were treated to some wonderful pupil videos on how the Adventures in Metacognition resources were developing an age appropriate understanding of the science of learning.
Overwhelmed by all those updates on the latest research around the ‘science of learning’?
Wanting to weave them into your teaching in a coherent approach that will harness their positive impact on your learners without adding to workload? Whether you are an individual teacher looking to enhance your own practice or a school leader wanting a whole school approach – contact us to find out how.
We also got to see how Moira had introduced the Habits of Mind into their setting and some of their rubrics. There were so many gems in this – of particular note was getting former pupils back in to speak about key habits. In this case, Ulster rugby player, Reuben Crothers, on how persistence had helped in his journey.
To round off the morning, Year 2 teacher and Drive Team Leader, Lynn Murphy of Seaview Primary, Belfast showed how they had started their journey by identifying, through a staff survey, their pupil’s greatest area of need when it came to learning behaviours. Having identified these they utilised a Focus-Frame-Feedback methodology to teach each habit. Lynn also offered some fascinating insights into how they guide both staff and pupils in knowing which thinking tool to use and when.
Post a delicious lunch, Killicomaine Junior High School, Portadown’’s Drive Team members Alison Stewart and Paul Ryan provided an incredibly rich input with some fantastic examples of how thinking tools are being utilised across the wide range of subjects taught at their school.
A key takeaway, captured through some powerful pupil voice videos, was how valuable tools such as sequencing frames were for breaking down mathematical problem solving steps, as well as for revision. It was also very clear that creating opportunities for staff to share good practice via gallery sessions and through participation in learning walks has also been incredibly helpful. The inspirational Alison left us with some outstanding examples of thinking tool use in English, including some questions for a Q matrix when looking at poetry.
Fresh off the back of an incredibly positive ETI report, new Thinking School Hub, Priory Integrated College, Holywood shared the impact of the ‘Priory Way’ – their journey of building a Thinking Toolbox, starting with Thinking Frames to support literacy, through to their future plan for using Thinking Moves to support their SEN learners. Where 18% of their original cohort had been predicted 5+ GCSEs A*-C including English & Maths on entry, 44% ended up actually achieving those grades. A truly transformative approach.
Megan, Declan and Rebekah demonstrated how students use metacognition around assessment:
- Bespoke targets for each student are identified (MAG – Minimum Attainment Grade and MAGIC – Minimum Attainment Grade If Challenged).
- Then pupils are given time to reflect on their work (DIRT – Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time). They often use rubrics that are specific to topics as they relate to the college’s four key Habits of Mind.
- They recognise their successes (WWW – What Worked Well?) and make a plan to improve (EBI – Even Better If?).
Regular opportunities for this self assessment and reflection enables pupils to accurately judge how effectively they are learning and ultimately to hit and exceed their targets.
The second keynote of the day came from Lorna Gardiner, Thinking Matters’ lead consultant in Northern Ireland. Lorna’s session, ‘Implementation with Impact’ looked at the recent positive impact that adopting the Thinking Matters approach has had both in NI, following publication of a string of recent positive inspection outcomes and accreditation reports from the University of Exeter, and also including schools in England – as captured in a recent Chartered College of Teaching article.
The final session of the day brought together a panel of Thinking School leaders: Joe McAuley of St MacNissi’s Primary, Anne McAlinden of Edendork Primary, Nicola Wilson of Priory Integrated College and Robert Smith and Dave McComb of Ashgrove Primary who fielded a range of questions from delegates. We learned that culture is set from the top and sustained through choosing good people onto your ‘Drive Team’. Short term, tangible wins are clearly important, but so too is a desire to keep embedding (with regular new staff joining) and installing a belief that the job is never done and so constant innovation and ambition to deliver for all learners is vital.
We would like to thank everyone who attended and all who contributed to make the day so insightful and such an overwhelming success, particularly pupils and staff at hosts, Ashgrove Primary School.
What next?
For schools wishing to ‘dip their toe’ into developing metacognition – our ‘Adventures in Metacognition’ resources can be a perfect starting point. To gain access, or to discuss becoming a member of the Thinking School Network or our find out more about our wider range of training and consultancy services…
