Metacognition and Learning to Learn Linking research to

Metacognition and ‘Learning to Learn’ – Linking research to the classroom Prof. Jonathan Sharples Education Endowment Foundation and University College London 1

Who we are The EEF is an independent grantmaking charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement. The EEF was set up in 2011 by The Sutton Trust, as lead charity in partnership with Impetus Trust… … with a £ 125 m founding grant from the Df. E The EEF and Sutton Trust are, together, the government-designated ‘What Works’ centre for improving education outcomes for school-aged children.

“We must give educators and politicians the information they need to make wise decisions for children” Baroness Estelle Morris Stand on the shoulders of previous progress i. e. healthcare, engineering Culture change - Research is seen as something done to the profession, not with, or for, or by teachers

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable guidance for schools Summarise existing evidence Share and promote ‘what has worked’ Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable guidance for schools Summarise existing evidence Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

What are the challenges in accessing and using reliable research evidence? Knowing where to look for useful information Sifting reliable research conclusions from the rest Time, time! Policy makers Teams Senior Leadership Too much information is available Can be a conflict with existing school practices Not skilled to judge the validity of claims

Teaching and Learning Toolkit • The Toolkit is an accessible, teacher-friendly summary of educational research. ‘Which? ’ for education. • Based on meta-analyses conducted by Durham University. • Practice focused: tries to give schools the information they need to make informed decisions and narrow the gap. • >60% Headteachers use the resource

Associations between foods and cancer

The Toolkit - a starting point for making decisions

True or false? The current state of evidence base suggests that… a) Drinking six to eight glasses of water per day improves pupil outcomes - 11% b) Feedback on how pupils complete a task is more effective than general praise - 67% c) Reducing class size is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase learning - 49% d) Grouping pupils by ability improves outcomes for all pupils - 55% e) Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style (eg auditory, visual, kinaesthetic) - 25%

Overview of value for money 10 Effect Size (months gain) Feedback Meta-cognitive Peer tutoring Homework Phonics 0 £ 0 Learning Individualised learning styles Arts Ability grouping Independent learning Pre-school 1 -1 tutoring Outdoor ICT learning After Parental school involvement Summer schools Sports Performance pay Cost per pupil Smaller classes Teaching assistants £ 1000

What is it? • Planning and hypothesising • Self-monitoring/ evaluation • Self-regulation • Scaffolding • Questioning assumptions • Exploring problems • Awareness of learning strategies Some of the most powerful ways of raising attainment…. when done right! ‘Learning happens when you think hard’ Prof. Rob Coe

Executive Functions Aspects of our thinking that relates to how we control and organise our thoughts and actions – planning, attention, inhibition, working memory Highly connected frontal lobes (prefrontal cortex) play a key role

Executive Functions and learning Children’s ability to control attention and action are stronger predictors of academic performance than is IQ or entry-level maths or reading skills. Blair, C. (2003) Primary school teachers rank Executive Functions as the most important characteristic necessary for school readiness and indicate that over half their children lack effective EF. Rimm-Kaufman et al. (2000)

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable guidance for schools Summarise existing evidence Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

The EEF by numbers 8, 300 schools participating in EEF projects £ 220 34 topics in the Toolkit 16 6, 000 members of EEF team 860, 000 pupils involved in EEF trials heads presented to since launch 24 m estimated spend over lifetime of the EEF 66 reports published independent evaluation teams 133 project evaluations funded to date

Programmes: vehicles to support implementation In the US, healthcare workers failure to wash hands effectively is major cause of death – $billions Researcher created a checklist for surgical teams. Trial showed 66% reduction in infection rates, ~1500 lives in 18 months. Packaged the principles of handwashing into a practical intervention.

‘Philosophy for Children’ in the news

Philosophy for Children (P 4 C) • Teaches young children the basics of philosophical thinking • Aim is to help children become more willing and able to ask questions, construct arguments, and engage in reasoned discussion. • Developed in 1970 in the US. Delivered by the Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education (SAPERE). Currently used in ~3000 UK primary and secondary schools. • Dialogues are prompted by a stimulus (for example, a story or a video). • Individual reflection and small group discussions, following by a facilitated whole-class discussion. • Teachers trained on how to structure these discussions - thinking, questioning, discussing and debating in a group.

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable guidance for schools Summarise existing evidence Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

Independence develops authority 66 EEF evaluation reports published so far… Positive, negative, neutral: all reports are available on the EEF website

Guess the impact Chatterbooks • • • An extracurricular reading initiative that aimed to increase a child’s motivation to read. Weekly 1 -hour sessions where pupils read and discussed an age-appropriate book. Delivered by trained graduates to pupils who had not achieved expected level at the end of primary school. Accelerated Reader • • • A whole-group programme that aims to foster the habit of independent reading. Online system screens pupils according to their reading levels, and suggests books that match their reading age and interests. Pupils take computerised quizzes on the books they have read and earn ‘points’ related to difficulty. Group Months’ progress All pupils -2 months All pupils +3 months FSM-eligible -4 months FSM-eligible +5 months

Philosophy for Children project • Evaluated by Durham University • School level randomised controlled trial. Wait list design • Effectiveness trial – 3159 pupils in 48 schools, broadly distributed across England. • Typically one P 4 C lesson per week, usually replacing literacy • Attainment measures – KS 2 results in maths, reading and writing, adjusted for KS 1 scores. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) as a test of reasoning skills. • Initial training for teachers (2 days) plus in-school support • Process evaluation looked at fidelity, implementation issues, and perceptions of participants

Evaluation findings • CAT results also showed positive effects, but smaller. Greater for non-FSM

Calderdale Excellence Partnership – Metacognition in practice • A programme designed to help struggling writers at the primary/secondary transition: – Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) provides a clear structure and process to help pupils plan, monitor and evaluate their writing – Memorable experiences, such as trips to local landmarks or visits from World War II veterans, were used as a focus for writing lessons. • Previous US research shows positive effect of SRSD. • RCT with 23 primary schools • Independent evaluation by Durham University and University of York

In the press…

Calderdale Excellence Partnership GROUP NUMBER EFFECT OF PUPILS SIZE ESTIMATED MONTHS' PROGRESS 23 primary schools 3 Intervention secondary vs. control schools 261 pupils +0. 74 +9 Pupils eligible for free school meals +1. 60 +18 86 pupils PADLOCK RATING -

Entity view Incremental view Fixed mindset Growth mindset

Fixed vs Growth mindsets Fixed mindset - less motivated to learn, less resilient Growth mindset - more motivated and resilient intelligence Blackwell et al (2007) Child Development, 78(1) p 246

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. ”

Intervention - ‘Changing Mindsets’ • Series of 6 two-hour workshops. Illustrate the flexible nature of intelligence through an awareness of brain plasticity. 1. learning changes brain connectivity (grows stronger like a muscle) 2. this process continues through life 3. you are in charge of that process (good things often take effort)

Changing Mindset - Results GROUP NUMBER OF PUPILS EFFECT SIZE ESTIMATED MONTHS' PROGRESS Pupil-level Intervention vs. control (study skills) 286 +0. 18 +2 Eng, Maths Pupils eligible for free school meals 109 +0. 11 +2 Eng, Maths Teachertraining vs. control 1505 +0. 01 0 Eng, Maths PADLOCK RATING N/A

Metacognition: promising results Project Summary Age Months progress /Effect size Changing Mindsets Developing pupils “growth mindset”, through structured workshops for pupils Year 5 +2 months (+ 0. 18) (English) Philosophy for Children Weekly teacher-led pupil dialogues, focused on philosophical issues Years 4 and 5 +2 months (+0. 12) (Reading/Maths) Thinking, Doing, Talking Science Training teachers to make science lessons more practical, creative and challenging Year 5 +3 months (+0. 22) (Science) Using Self-regulation to improve writing Whole-class structured writing programme using memorable experiences as inspiration Year 6 & 7 +9 months (+0. 74) (Writing) Reflect. Ed Developing pupils metacognitive skills setting and monitoring goals, assessing progress, and identifying strengths etc Year 5 +4 months (+0. 30) (Maths) -2 months (-0. 15) (English) Let’s Think Secondary Science Developing students’ scientific reasoning by teaching them scientific principles such as categorisation, probability, and experimentation Year 7 0 months (-0. 02) Padlocks and stage Disproportionally beneficial for low-SES pupils. Bringing a language of learning?

‘Learning counterintuitive concepts’ project - interference control • £ 1. 1 m grant, Prof Denis Mareschal, Birkbeck, Uni of London • Learning new concepts in science/maths requires inhibiting existing contradictory beliefs and misconceptions = • Inhibition control associated with science/maths ability…. and SES • A computer game trains pupils to inhibit their initial responses and give more reflective answers (practice effect - recruits prefrontal cortex) • Exercises relate to maths and science content (domain specific)

‘Learning counterintuitive concepts’ project - inhibition control • 100 primary schools – 9000 pupils • 18 month development phase with eight schools (co-construction) • Four armed, clustered Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) • Outcome measures – science/maths attainment, EF skills • 80 pupils involved in extensive behavioural, cognitive and neuroimagining studies

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable guidance for schools Summarise existing evidence Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

Primary Literacy guidance reports • Clear actionable guidance on practical school issues • Unpacks EEF evidence in the context of the wider evidence-base • 4 As - accurate, accessible, actionable, appropriate • A foundation for scale up actions

Seven recommendations on literacy practices, Years 2 - 4

Teaching metacognitive skills in writing • Metacognition/‘Learning to learn’ in the context of primary literacy

Social nature of research use Uptake of research is based on trust and personality as much as practical usefulness networks, direct contacts and brokerage are important (Nutley et al, 2007) Nevertheless, default mechanism is ‘push’ (Davis et al, 2015)

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable guidance for schools Summarise existing evidence Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

EEF practice partners North East Primary Literacy Campaign – focused in NE England • Support for engagement and implementation led by the profession • Work with eight appointed ‘practice partners’ (schools, local authorities, multi academy trusts, charities) to reach >600 schools • Running conferences, workshops, training, coaching • Creating a range of implementation resources • Backed up by training to deliver evidence-based literacy interventions.

Using evidence Generating evidence Clear and actionable evidence for schools Summarise existing evidence Publish independent, rigorous evaluations 60 reports 106 RCTs Fund innovative projects Scale-up evidence-based programmes Practical support to bring evidence to life 10 Researc h Schools 12 Advocat epartners

Teaching metacognitive skills in writing = Reciprocal Reading (currently being evaluated) = ‘Self regulated strategy development’ (i. e. IPEEL)

Families of Schools database EEF Families of Schools database • • Launched 2015 Includes 14, 661 primary, 3, 014 secondary schools Free, online tool so you can dig deep into your data Puts schools into groups of 50, based on factors including prior attainment, FSM % and EAL % • Encourages schools to collaborate with and learn from other schools similar to yours

Families of Schools database

Families of Schools database

Families of Schools database

Tools for Schools – Assessing and Monitoring Pupil Progress Interactive online Assessing and Monitoring Pupil Progress (AMPP) guide: • Outlines principles of good in-school data collection and assessment • Capture impact using existing data • Identify measures that are ‘fit for purpose’

Tools for Schools - DIY evaluation Our online DIY Evaluation Guide explains do-it-yourself impact measurement in schools: • outlines a range of options open to teachers who want to improve the way they evaluate new interventions or strategies; • provides practical advice on designing and carrying out evaluations.

Final thought… “Teachers might now be categorised in three groups: evidence-seekers, compliance chasers and the disengaged. The challenge is to cater to all of them while recognising that, like any tool, the Toolkit will be most useful when in the hands of professionals. ” ‘Pupil Premium: Next Steps’ (EEF / Sutton Trust, 2015) Prof. Steve Higgins, Durham University

Thank you! jonathan. sharples@eefoundation. org. uk