2. Education and the Individual

3. An individualistic philosophy
“Not knowledge or information, but self-realization, is the goal. To possess all the world of knowledge and lose one’s own self is as awful a fate in education as religion. Moreover, subject-matter never can be got into a child from without.” (Dewey, 1902) “There is… no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process.” (Dewey, 1938)
Dewey is often said to have changed his views over his lifetime but his individualism seems to have remained intact
Individualism is a key component in the philosophy of educational progressivism. I would maintain this philosophy, in various derivative forms, is still dominant today in educational theory.
Whatever Dewey’s politics, this is not a particularly left-wing position.
Left wing politics tends to emphasise collectivism over individualism.
In this philosophy, the student is positioned much as a consumer in a market. It’s about choice.

4. The consumerism of modern society

5. Buzzwords
Differentiation
Personalised learning

6. “Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs
“Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.”
Carol Ann Tomlinson
Tomlinson – recognised world expert in Differentiated Instruction
Meet again later
Source

7. Personalised learning
“Personalized learning refers to instruction in which the pace of learning and the instructional approach are optimized for the needs of each learner. Learning objectives, instructional approaches, and instructional content (and its sequencing) may all vary based on learner needs. In addition, learning activities are meaningful and relevant to learners, driven by their interests, and often self-initiated.”
U.S. Department of Education Reimagining the role of technology in education

8. There is little direct evidence to support differentiation

9. Blunt analysis of data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012
TALIS data. This came from surveying teachers
source

10. PISA 2012: Student-oriented classroom climate
“In its Analytical Framework (OECD, 2013), PISA defines the three dimensions of good teaching as: clear, well- structured classroom management; supportive, student-oriented classroom climate; and cognitive activation with challenging content (Klieme et al, 2009; Baumert et al, 2010; Lipowsky et al, 2009; Kunter et al 2008).” My emphasis.
source

11. PISA 2012: Student-oriented classroom climate
Items considered in the index of student-oriented instruction (PISA)
The teacher gives different work to classmates who have difficulties learning and/or to those who can advance faster.
The teacher assigns projects that require at least one week to complete.
The teacher has us work in small groups to come up with joint solutions to a problem or task.
The teacher asks us to help plan classroom activities or topics
This was a survey of students
source

12. Blunt analysis source No, it did not benefit the high achievers either
Correlation is not causation – there could be another factor
source

13. More sophisticated analysis
“Student-oriented instruction was negatively related to mathematics
performance in every education system. Further, unreported
analysis showed that none of the constituent items of the
student oriented instruction scale was positively related to
mathematics performance in any education system. The consistency
of evidence across education systems is striking and at odds
with our expectations.”
Caro, D. H., Lenkeit, J., & Kyriakides, L. (2016). Teaching strategies and differential effectiveness across learning contexts: Evidence from PISA Studies in Educational Evaluation, 49,
This stripped-out between-country factors because the analysis was completed at each individual country level (I do not have the data to do this)

14. That was all PISA maths

15. Other evidence
Large scale trial in U.S. of differentiation involving Carol Ann Tomlinson – disappointing results
source
Review of research on Universal Design for Learning – effect on educational outcomes ‘has not been demonstrated’
Tomlinson cited implementation issues

16. Primary maths professional development on differentiation
Small positive effect in first cohort of teachers but no effect in second cohort Suggestive of an expectation effect e.g. placebo effect (Prast, de Weijer-Bergsma, Kroesbergen, & Van Luit, 2018)

17. Middle school science intervention
An effective differentiation intervention No student choice – all tasks assigned by teachers While students in the comparison condition completed worksheets, in the differentiation condition, “Students requiring assistance were paired with higher achieving partners” to work on scaffolded tasks (Scruggs, Norland, Berkeley, McDuffie, Tornquist, & Connors, 2006)
Is this the conventional approach to differentiation?
What do we think of the comparison condition?

18. Personalised learning
Less definitive evidence
Mixed results
Often involves just maths or a specific piece of software
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation report found positive evidence for schools adopting personalised learning compared with a control group but it was not randomised
source
Randomised trial of School of One, a maths intervention, found mixed evidence

19. Dystopian?
Research on tech in classrooms

20. Are differentiation and personalisation useful terms?

21. Accommodate or address?
Student who struggles with writing is given the option of presenting his or her findings in the form of a poster or role play
Student who is struggling with writing is given an intensive writing intervention
Both are examples of differentiation
Both may be appropriate at different times
However, they are fundamentally different
What is the use of a term that does not differentiate between these two very different strategies?

22. What works better?

23. PISA 2012 Evidence on more effective teaching
Teacher-directed instruction is positively correlated with higher maths scores up to a point after which it becomes negative – saturation?
Strategies describes as ‘cognitive activation’ tend to be correlated with higher maths scores
Caro, D. H., Lenkeit, J., & Kyriakides, L. (2016). Teaching strategies and differential effectiveness across learning contexts: Evidence from PISA Studies in Educational Evaluation, 49,
Presumably, students need an opportunity to practice and apply what has been learning

24. Cognitive activation? WHEN?
The teacher asks questions that make us reflect on the problem.
The teacher gives problems that require us to think for an extended time.
The teacher asks us to decide on our own procedures for solving complex problems.
The teacher presents problems for which there is no immediately obvious method of solution.
The teacher presents problems in different contexts so that students know whether they have understood the concepts.
The teacher helps us to learn from mistakes we have made.
The teacher asks us to explain how we have solved a problem.
The teacher presents problems that require students to apply what they have learned to new contexts.
The teacher gives problems that can be solved in several different ways
These all seem to relate to questioning
A key question is about when the teacher asks these questions – novice to expert continuum
WHEN?

25. Whole class explicit instruction

26. default teacher-led instruction
direct instruction
my definition
explicit instruction
lecturing
Direct Instruction
default teacher-led instruction

27. Principles of Instruction, Barak Rosenshine
Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning.
Present new material in small steps with student practice after each step.
Ask a large number of questions and check the responses of all students.
Provide models.
Guide student practice.
Check for student understanding.
Obtain a high success rate.
Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks.
Require and monitor independent practice.
Engage students in weekly and monthly review.
Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know. American Educator, 36(1), 12

28. Process-Product research
Not without criticism
Evidence base biased towards early grades
Mostly correlational
Sources on this research:
- Thorough review: Brophy, J. E., & Good, T. L. (1984). Teacher behavior and student achievement (No. 73). Institute for Research on Teaching, Michigan State University.
- More approachable: Chall, J. S. (2000). The Academic Achievement Challenge: What Really Works in the Classroom?. Guilford Publications

29. Project Follow Through
Part of the process-product body of research
Largest educational experiment ever undertaken
Direct Instruction (DISTAR) was the most effective model
Controversy over the results
High/Scope analysis
Bereiter, C., & Kurland, M. (1981). A constructive look at Follow Through results. Interchange, 12(1), 1-22.
Schweinhart, L. L., Weikart, D. P., & Larner, M. B. (1986). Consequences of three preschool curriculum models through age 15. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1(1),
Gersten, R., & White, W. A. T. (1986). Castles in the sand: Response to Schweinhart and Weikart. Educational Leadership, 44(3),

30. Muijs and Reynolds British process-product studies ORACLE study
Teachers labelled ‘class enquirers’ showed greatest gains in maths and language
‘Class enquirers’ spent four times as much time using whole-class interactive teaching than the least effective group
Junior School Project – similar findings to Good, Rosenshine
Weakly supported by other European research
“A crucial part of the direct instruction lesson is interactive questioning.”
Muijs, Daniel, and David Reynolds. Effective teaching: Evidence and practice. Sage, 2010.

31. Strategy Instruction
Ill-structured tasks / hard to break down into discrete steps
Reading comprehension
Writing
Mathematical and scientific problem solving
Emphasis on providing guides and supports
Think-alouds by experts / questioning strategies – Who? How? What?
Researchers refer to providing ‘direct instruction’ in these techniques
Evidence of effectiveness
Rosenshine, B., (2009). The Empirical Support for Direct Instruction. In S. Tobias & T. Duffy (Eds.), Constructivist Instruction: Success or Failure (pp ). Routledge New York, NY

32. Other evidence Randomised controlled trials
Large scale maths teaching innovation in Costa Rica involving exploration and discovery
Study from Netherlands on explicit maths intervention versus an alternative intervention
Correlational studies (that are not process-product)
U.S. study linking TIMSS results to teaching style (lecture style)
Principals views in Denmark: Teacher-led vs student centred
Worked example effect

33. Does cognitive load theory explain why explicit approaches might be more effective?

34. So why are we trying to differentiate and personalise everything?
“…when it comes to applying research to the classroom, it seems inadvisable to categorize students into more and more specialized groups on the basis of peripheral differences when education and cognitive sciences have made significant progress in describing the core competencies all students share. Teachers can make great strides in improving student achievement by leveraging this body of research and teaching to commonalities, not differences.” Professor Daniel T Willingham

36. Q1: Which of the following does PISA see as a feature of student-oriented instruction?
The teacher asks a large number of questions and check the responses of all students.
The teacher has students work in small groups to come up with joint solutions to a problem or task.
The teacher presents problems in different contexts so that students know whether they have understood the concepts.
The teacher presents new material in small steps with student practice after each step. B
A is from Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction
C is from the PISA questions related to cognitive activation
D is from Rosenshine’s principles of instruction

37. Q2: Which of the following represents a key difference between personalised learning and differentiation?
Differentiation is more tightly defined than personalised learning
There is stronger evidence to support differentiation than personalised learning
Differentiation is a much more recent concept than personalised learning
Personalised learning usually applies to contexts where some of the instruction is delivered by interacting with computers B
A is from Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction
C is from the PISA questions related to cognitive activation
D is from Rosenshine’s principles of instruction

38. Q3: According to my definition, which of the following would not be seen in a classroom using explicit instruction?
Students working independently.
Students solving complex problems where the solution strategy is not obvious.
The teacher delivering a lecture.
The teacher reviewing previous learning
A and B would both happen but later in the instructional sequence. Full explanation would come first.
C would not take place because it is no interactive
D is a key feature of Rosenshine’s principles.