The Ingredients for Great Teaching
The Ingredients For Great Teaching is an evidence informed book by Pedro De Bruyckere on some broad themes that help make teaching great. In the foreword, Daniel Willingham makes the important point that science is probabilistic in nature, and that a result can be "reliable without being universal". De Bruyckere regularly makes this connection, not only discussing the benefits of the ideas but also the times when they may not be appropriate. There is no one-size fits all philosophy, and great teachers will do what they need to do to help their students succeed, rather than doggedly sticking to a certain type of teaching.
I have summarised the 12 chapters very briefly in this one-page summary, and further notes follow below.
In Chapter 1, we get the wonderful analogy of the master chef, who is able to create amazing food from great ingredients. But the ingredients are not what makes the chef, as in the hands of another, they can be reduced to inedible gruel. The analogy falls apart, as De Bruyckere points out, when we look at the complexities of cooking vs teaching. There is a fixed recipe for cooking; this is not true for teaching. But this is what makes it exciting: it is not something you can just do, but rather something you will always be improving in. Whilst there is a lot(!) of evidence in education, very little of it is universally applicable, but rather is context dependent. And this is why education can not be evidence-based. Rather, De Bruyckere argues we should celebrate the "informed amateur", who uses research evidence to inform their decisions, but also takes into account the children sitting in front of them. The book then stems into 10 ideas that have significant evidence in a wide range of contexts, that form a good basis for informing such teachers.
Prior Knowledge
"the single most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly." David Ausbel (1968)
The working memory is a the area of the brain where conscious thought happens, but it also acts as a 'spam-filter in our head' as it stops the unwanted information proceeding to our long-tem memory. Just like a spam-filter, it uses what we already know to decide if something is spam or not: if we know nothing about it, it is likely to be less important; whereas if we know a lot about it, then this new information is likely to be valuable. In this way, prior knowledge affects what we can learn by filtering what reaches our long tem memory.
Prior knowledge also has an impact on what teaching methods are most appropriate: those with little prior knowledge benefit from more teacher-led explicit instruction, whilst those who know more will be better served by a more discovery approach to learning. Many students like the more open discovery model of teaching, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest it is not beneficial for their learning (Hattie, 2013). That is to say that "well-being and learning are not synonymous", although there is an interesting interlink between them.
Prior knowledge is so important to learning that we must correct students if they have incorrect beliefs, and we must help them to understand why it was wrong.
Another form of Prior Knowledge is the personal environment of students: family can afford to go on holidays; they have dealt with grief; parents read books at home etc. Whilst making links to personal experiences can help to bypass the spam-filter, staying there too long can reduce the students' 'mental bandwidth' as they think about things from outside of the current learning focus.
Subject Knowledge
"The majority of the pupils questioned in our research said that the truest sign of a 'real' teacher was subject matter knowledge."
Whilst there is no linear connection between subject knowledge of the teacher and how well students learn in their class, there is a minimum requirement: if your subject knowledge is a bit shaky, then your 'mental bandwidth' is likely to be taken up thinking about the subject, rather than the teaching. But being an expert does not make you an excellent teacher, as many experts are unable to explain ideas clearly to others.
The important realisation here is that a novice needs to be taught differently to an expert in a particular field, in large part because their spam-filters work in different ways. A great teacher needs to know their subject, but also how to communicate it effectively. This often involves pushing the students into their Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky) which requires a good subject knowledge and how to scaffold the thinking of students.
As the quote above shows, having good subject knowledge is also an important part of forming effective relationships with your students, as they are more likely to trust somebody they are confident can direct their learning.
The final point is to think about the limitations of having a lot of subject knowledge. Often referred to as the curse of knowledge, we find it hard to imagine not knowing something we know. Each year we teach, we become more knowledgeable, but the level of the students remains the same. This means they appear to be getting relatively stupider each year (which is obviously not true). This can make it very difficult to teach novices as we just cannot imagine the situation they are in.
Make Them Think!
"Do you know what the most important 'trick' is for learning? It is called 'thinking' and, sadly, it works according to a very simple and inconvenient rule: the more you think, the more you learn."
Through an exercise in memory, De Bruyckere argues that we remember what we think about because we process the information at a deeper level. If we want students to learn things, we need to make them think about them. But there are clearly things we remember without having to think hard about them (such as the words to that annoyingly catchy pop song). This is related to the distinction made between primary and secondary learning, as described by Geary (2007). The former of these are things that we learn through exposure and exploration. Things like our mother tongue, collaborating with others and problem solving strategies. Even young children can develop these skills. On the other hand, secondary learning is that which takes effort to learn, and schools are created to meet these needs. For these things, we need to think about them and what they mean.
This is why highlighting does not work as a study method: there is no thinking involved. It gives us a feeling of familiarity as we think about the location of the highlighting, but not about the content. Leads to being able to picture it on the page, but not recall what it says.
There are several limitations to this idea
If it is too difficult, or students don’t have enough prior knowledge, it will fail
Stress can impact ability to think effectively
If instruction is poor, then students will not be able to think about the next bit
If there are too many distractions, thinking hard is near impossible
If it is being evaluated, students can opt to complete instead of learn.
Repeat, Pause, Repeat, Linger, Pause, Repeat
"If you read a piece of text through 20 times, you will not learn it so easily by heart as if you read it 10 times while attempting to recite it from time to time and consulting the text when your memory fails" Francis Bacon, 1620
Forgetting is not just a natural part of learning, it is an essential part. We all forget, and this is to be expected, according to the forgetting curve first published by Ebbinghauss in 1885. Indeed Bjork and Bjork (1992) split memory strength into two factors: Retrieval Strength (how easy it is for you to recall it at a given moment) and Storage Strength (how well embedded it is in long term memory). This explains how a student can answer a question immediately in class, but the following day act as if you have never mentioned this before: they have a high retrieval strength but low storage strength. A higher storage strength makes it easier to 'relearn' something you have forgotten. Spacing material over time, and allowing forgetting to happen helps to improve storage strength, and in fact, the weaker the retrieval strength at the point of recalling, the bigger the boost in storage strength.
To plan for spacing material over time (and hence help increase storage strength) teachers should plan for forgetting. Rather than teach a topic once in a single lesson, break lessons into different ideas, and cover them slowly over a period of time.
A great way to improve storage strength is to make the most of the testing effect, which not only helps students remember information better, it also helps that information become more transferable to different contexts, which is one of the holy grails of education.
But repetition must involve thinking. If you are just reciting something you are likely to develop a high retrieval strength that will quickly dissipate, with little boost in storage strength. Making yourself think whilst practicing (such as through testing) will increase storage strength.
The Importance of Practice
"…automation is crucial if we want to create the room to be creative and complete the next steps in the learning process with less hard work."
There are some things that we need to become so fluent at doing we do not need to (actively) think about them. Such as opening a door, reading or walking. Some other things will depend on what you do: a footballer will automate kicking a ball; a musician will automate the different chords; and a mathematician must know their timestables! By automating these basic skills, we open up some of our 'mental bandwidth' allowing us to think more deeply about more complex things (rather than thinking about the chords, now the musician can think about the rhythm, etc). Automating these key skills early in the learning journey will make life much easier later on, and if they are not in place, we need to help students develop this automaticity. Often this comes from repetitive practice.
But for more complex ideas and skills, the practice needs to be more effortful. Anders Ericsson developed the idea of Deliberate Practice, which he suggests is what makes the difference between good and excellent in any given field. For him, anybody can be good at anything with enough Deliberate Practice. So what is this special form of practice? It has the following characteristics:
Deliberate Practice develops skills that others already possess and for which effective training techniques exist;
Deliberate Practice takes place outside the trainee's comfort zone and demands constant effort to try to perform marginally above their current level of performance;
Deliberate Practice is based on clearly defined objectives and is concerned with improving a certain aspect of the desired performance and not just with a vague general improvement;
Deliberate Practice is precisely what the name implies: it is deliberately focused on specific goals and targets; this means that every practice session demands the learner's full attention and conscious effort;
Comments on, or adjustments to, the practice as a result of those comments are a fundamental characteristic of Deliberate Practice;
Deliberate Practice leads to the development of effective mental representations and subsequently becomes dependent on those representations;
Deliberate Practice nearly always involves the acquisition of new skills or the correction of previously acquired skills through the improvement of a number of its specific aspects.
Metacognition
"…metacognition can compensate for 'cognitive limitations', or, to put it another way, being less naturally smart."
Metacognition is thinking about our thinking, but it comes in different types, and these are described differently by different sources. There is no single description of the different types of metacognition, but one way to think about it is as:
Knowledge about how to learn effectively (such as using testing)
Knowledge about your own areas of weakness
Knowledge of when you should use the different strategies.
This links to the idea of planning your learning, monitoring your learning as you go, and evaluating your learning at the end.
When discussing metacognition, self-regulation also tends to come up, as this is about who directs the learning of the student.
But metacognition is often different in different subjects, so it is important that it is taught within subjects of learning. Most importantly, it should not be a separate subject, devoid of context, as students need to practise using the skills they learn.
Evaluate and Feedback
"If you see that the majority of your pupils are not reaching their objectives, perhaps you should be less concerned about giving feedback and more concerned about a different and better way of giving your lessons."
There are different types of evaluation:
Formative process evaluation - the teacher checks how something is done, and gives feedback on the process;
Formative product evaluation - the teacher checks the final product and gives feedback on the end result;
Summative process evaluation - the teacher checks how something has been done, and decides whether the student/class can do it successfully;
Summative product evaluation - the teacher checks the final product, and decided whether the student/class can do it successfully.
There are some things that need to be in place before feedback can happen:
There are clear objectives for the students to be judged against
Learning needs to be observable so we can assess it
Objectives should be challenging, but achievable
You need to teach the students well first, so that feedback is not just because of poor teaching
The best feedback is frequent, detailed and specific, but it also needs to be acted on by the students to make any difference.
Use Multimedia, But Use it Wisely
"The multimedia principle: text and image is better than text alone."
"The coherence principle: avoid unnecessary words, images and noises that are unrelated to the lesson content."
"The redundancy principle: image and audio is better than image and audio plus text."
We are able to process images and audio (including text) simultaneously in order to bypass some of the limiting power of the working memory. Including relevant images with text or audio (though not both) can enhance learning. The ideal is to show an image and speak over it, explaining it clearly.
If you are going to include text, limit it as much as possible, including only headings, and then explain the meaning of these verbally.
Counter-intuitively this means that using subtitles is not beneficial if audio is playing too, with the exception of the instance when the subtitles are in a different language to the audio. The best version of this is audio in your own language, and subtitles in the foreign language.
Have a Vision
"…things can go wrong if the pupils and students have the feeling in the second lesson that they are sitting in a totally different world from the first lesson, with completely different rules and expectations."
Having a consistent approach across the whole school is really important. The most successful schools have a clear vision that all staff are behind. Though there are very successful schools from all sides of the debates (eg Michaela, School 21). This helps students to feel like they know what is going on (reducing excess strain on their 'mental bandwidth') but also correlates highly with professionalism in a school.
Some general tips on professionalizing teachers:
It needs time, but time is not sufficient;
Outside expertise is often useful;
Commitment is more important than choice;
The vision must be regularly challenged;
Participation is more important than the details of the community;
It must be linked to the broader ideals of education and educational research;
Leadership is active in the process.
Leadership has a huge impact on the learning in a school, as they influence the character and climate of the whole environment. It is best to set clear and specific objectives, and take action when necessary. But don't place pressure on teachers when things go wrong. Give them support in these instances. The characteristics of successful schools:
Committed and visible leaders
Effectively communicated expectations
Highly consistent practices
A clear understanding of the school culture
High levels of commitment to vision
High levels of support
Attention to detail
High expectations of all staff and students
Although a vision is incredibly important (and what that vision is does not matter too much) it is also vital that teachers have the freedom to diverge from it when they feel it is needed. A professional teacher can make the decisions they need to in order to get the best from their students, even if sometimes that goes against the vision.
Like Your Pupils
"…it is primarily the characteristics of nearness that score high in terms of forming a positive relationship between teachers and pupils. However, it needs to emphasized that this is not the same as becoming friends with your pupils."
A good relationship between student and teacher has an impressive effect size of 0.72 (only a little below the lauded effect size of 0.73 for effective feedback), but this area is less often addressed in training. Possibly because it is hard to address, and less easy to define what a 'good relationship' is.
The three 'nearness' characteristics most often associated with building good relationships with students are direction (you take control of the learning); understanding (you understand that pupils are humans with their own lives); and friendliness (you are not unnecessarily mean to them). It is important to start developing these relationships as soon as you can when you get a new class, as first impressions really matter.
Make time to get to know you pupils, but not during lesson time. Speak with them at break times, during trips, or even just hang around after class for them to talk to you. These small instances will help develop a healthy professional relationship. Students must also trust you to be fair in all scenarios. This includes trusting your subject knowledge (as discussed above), but also trusting that you will treat all individuals fairly. It also means that you need to explain decisions you make that affect the class, so that even if they disagree, they can understand why you do something.
Underlying Themes
De Bruyckere finishes with a set of underlying themes that connect to several of the 10 principles he sets out.
Students often don't know what is best for them
We are the experts in the room, and although we should listen to students, we also need to act out that professionalism to direct them when they are off track. We need to:
Recognise their prior knowledge (which they will probably be unaware of due to the curse of knowledge);
Make them think even though life is easier when they don't (and they won't want to think hard;
Implement spaced retrieval as this is not an intuitive idea and students tend to cram;
Guide student Deliberate Practice, again, this process is difficult and not something students will do naturally;
Help them work on metacognition;
Provide feedback to show them when they are wrong.
Work towards objective
Objectives keep us focused on the task at hand. Having clear objectives allows us to ascertain what prior knowledge is important. It makes sure we get them to think hard about the right things. Objectives are vital to the process of deliberate practice. We can only evaluate and feedback if we know what the objective we want students to meet are. A vision for the school is based on objectives.
Transfer is difficult
The holy grail of education is that student will be able to transfer their learning to any situation, but this is an incredibly difficult process. It requires a lot of deliberate practice, that incorporate spacing and retrieval. It requires secure prior knowledge foundations to build upon, and for students to be evaluating their own learning (metacognition).
Rhythm is important
We need to vary our approaches and change as students become more expert. Moving from more direct teaching to a more discovery approach based upon their prior knowledge. Changing the level of challenge as they develop expertise. Building in both practice to automate and practice to learn, both immediately and over time.
The Matthew Effect
Which states that, more or less, the rich get richer. There will always be gaps in achievement between students, either because of "intelligence" or personal circumstances. But what can we do to close these, whilst still pushing the top students. Being aware of prior knowledge, and addressing issue is vital. Evaluating reliably and giving feedback can help push all students. Practice, and spaced retrieval, have been shown to work for all learners, as has metacognition (though it needs to be adjusted). Having a good relationship with students is even more vital for those with difficult home lives and personal situations.
Cognitive Load Theory
The mental bandwidth analogy that appeared throughout was the idea of limited working memory from Cognitive Load Theory. Prior Knowledge helps reduce the problems of learning as it reduces the amount of bandwidth taken up. Thinking hard about something ensures it is pushed through the bottleneck of working memory and has a chance to stick in long term memory. Spaced retrieval and practice are ways to automate concepts and skills so we don't need to think about them, and thus free up more bandwidth. Use the dual channels of our working memory is a way to bypass some of the limitations or the working memory, whilst having a clear vision allows all staff and students to focus their attention on what really matters: learning.