Case studies

Partners in Positive Learning

You've been on a course about Accelerated Learning. Your head is bursting with information and ideas. You're excited about what you've learnt, you want to use it in your school, but feel daunted. What do you do? Do you read around the subject ad infinitum, gathering more knowledge and ideas, become the staffroom sage, but never manage to move out of your theoretical comfort zone and implement anything in the classroom? Do you have meeting after meeting discussing what might happen if you did finally get this off the ground and tentatively suggest it for next year's school improvement plan? Do you visit other schools who have successfully implemented these ideas and then report back to your school bemoaning your lack of resources / motivated children / support from management / all of the above? Or do you huddle together with like-minded people, gather strength and resolve from your discussions and then trial an area in each of your classrooms? Five East Riding teachers from five very different schools chose the latter route. And now there's no stopping them.

Jacqui, Jayne, Carol, Sara and Trudi felt overwhelmed but excited after a series of training days on Accelerated Learning. As the Lead Learner for each of their schools they would trial an aspect in their own classrooms before sharing the results and rolling the approach out across the school. With their experience and enthusiasm they would lead the focus on learning. But wouldn't it be more beneficial to link up with others in a similar situation? Not being part of a cluster, there was no framework in place for them, but when they met and connected with each other they knew that they could work together to share ideas, concerns, approaches and experiences. They could cover much more ground working collaboratively.

Their school managers allowed them two half days to meet initially and discuss the way forward. In this time they have shared their school backgrounds, what has been happening there and the staff training they have delivered. There was a common theme of positivity in the classroom research they were interested in carrying out: empowering and supporting pupils with knowledge of themselves as learners to raise self-esteem seemed to be the way forward. They would all do it in slightly different ways. The results would inform all of their next steps.

Pockets of Learning

In one form, providing the Big Picture can help children understand what they are going to learn about in a lesson so that each individual activity fits neatly for them into the overall jigsaw. In a scheme of work, the Big Picture shows how each lesson adds to the whole. Jacqui Enright of Swinemoor Infants thought that a more literal translation might help her Year 1 / 2 class look forward to lessons, improve their attitude to school and help them anticipate what would be expected of them in the coming day.

Jacqui used a visual timetable as her Big Picture. Made with clear pockets into which she could slip the different lessons that made up the days and week, the children can see what is coming up. It was introduced to them in the context of learning and the different subjects and processes that make up that experience. Once up and running, the children were given a star with their name on at the end of each week. They slipped this into the pocket containing the subject they enjoyed most. But they wanted more; their interest had been captured.

They wanted more detail of what was going to happen in each lesson. Jacqui started to fill the pockets with the ways in which they would learn the subject. Cutting and sticking appeared, as did games, writing, pair work, group work and so on. Now the children use their stars to indicate the activities they enjoy most, the processes they like to learn with. Jacqui is currently in the process of collecting this data to provide a profile of how each learner likes to learn best. An analogue clock has even been added to the timetable so children can manage their time.

Planning now includes consideration of the different learning preferences and Jacqui is more confident of utilising ïless academic' activity because she knows that these methods help the children access the curriculum. Days are varied and there is ñsomething for everyone.î Their attitude to her innovation has helped them become engaged and active partners in their learning and their view of school is beginning to change; they enjoy coming, they talk more about how they learn and there's even less complaints about writing these daysƒ

Displaying Initiative

VAK was part of the study carried out by Jayne Wilson from St John of Beverley RC Primary with her Year 1 / 2 class. She saw it as a useful way to help raise esteem, reasoning that making the curriculum more accessible to all learners would halt the decline in morale some felt at viewing certain others as the successful children in the class. Through this she hoped to engender a sense of group belonging where everyone feels valued. The main focus of her work was on the innovative use of display space.

Display had been a real headache. One board was too high to effectively show off children's work; another went all the way to the floor, making it an unusual challenge; and the smart board seemed to encroach. So the first thing to do was to define the spaces. Her three display walls were unveiled as the visual, auditory and kinaesthetic areas, whilst ïtable labels' indicated the children's areas, and Jayne had a clearly defined space of her own. Welcome messages were put up to greet the children and visitors as they arrived in the bright and colourful Sunshine Classroom, and the positivity continued around the walls with uplifting messages on A4 posters. From the Visual Board, the one that was too high to display the children's work, posters announce what good sitting looks like, the ñLet's have positive self-talkî section uses inclusive language to remind the children of the power of positive reframes, ñI'm getting better atƒî rather than ñI'm no good atƒî, and prompts of how to improve their learning skills sits alongside a BASICS reminder that runs up the corner of the room. All of these contain clear and succinct advice that is easily visible from anywhere in the room. Jayne also refers to them during the teaching to reinforce the messages.

The other two display areas, auditory and kinaesthetic, continue the theme of good learning. Music and ICT feature prominently in the auditory area, whilst the Kinaesthetic Board contains interactive displays. There's open access to it at playtimes and lunchtimes, though there are also opportunities built in during lessons, for example to interact with spellings. This is the board that goes all the way to the floor, which now allows easy access for the children. A sock hanger has work clipped to it that can be taken down and read, whilst a book hangs from the wall, inviting participants to ñCome and read about the people in Class 2î. These contain drawings of each person and a brief resume of interesting information about them.

Most importantly, though, is that the children see, hear and feel their value in the classroom. Through interactions, display, praise and support they are no longer afraid to make mistakes, as everyone helps each other in their learning. Walk into Class 2 and you'll see a more confident team at work.

Past Presented     

Like any good teacher, Carole Shiels notices things and acts upon them. She had taken her mixed Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 class to the Hands on History museum in Hull and been struck by the children's enthusiasm for learning about the past, especially through artefacts. She wanted to utilise this, especially as she had been concerned about whether in such a mixed group all the children's needs and potential were being fulfilled. Drawing on her own observations and Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory she sought to enthuse her class with their own museum.

The school already had a museum, but it lacked structure and was looking tired and dusty. Carole wanted the class to take responsibility for it and to work at improving it by using their own individual strengths in group work. The children would lead every aspect of its recommissioning, from choosing the backing paper and labelling artefacts to ideas of what to include and how to group them. In her class there are a high proportion of immature and attention-seeking boys and a small group of shy girls. She was particularly interested in how this project would affect them.

The children began by emptying, cleaning and sorting the displays they had and then thought about what was needed. Carole and her TA facilitated by providing a range of resources and activities applicable to the different intelligences that would help the pupils discover what they requested to learn more about. Before delving into any secondary sources they were encouraged to think of questions that they wanted answering so as to guide their focus and their exploration. Towards the end of each of these sessions they would present their learning to the class ¿ what they found out and how. Further learning was demonstrated when they selected what they would finally display in the museum and how they would do it. For this they had to consider the needs of their audience and the different ways in which they might like to find out about the past. One innovation involved a group constructing a children's quiz for the younger visitors.  

The children were hooked by their learning. A work ethos prevailed that led to that large group of boys becoming increasingly focussed and leading aspects of the work, and the shy girls presenting their learning to the group. Across the class self-esteem improved, as everyone became involved and experienced success; interpersonal skills improved, as did individuals' resourcefulness and responsibility, two important learning skills; children reflected more on their choices and questioning skills developed. All the class were having fun in their learning. But that wasn't all. The learning and enthusiasm burst out of the school confines, as parents became increasingly interested, helping their sons and daughters research in the evenings and weekends using books and the internet. Unprompted, villagers began to send in clippings, old photos and artefacts to be considered for the museum by the children.

At the end of term the pupils will open the museum to the school and local residents. Naturally, they will be presenting and guiding their guests around their learning. They are rightfully proud of their museum. And Carole is pleased knowing that everyone in her mixed age class has engaged and excelled in a multifaceted learning experience.  

Mental About Maths

At Swinemoor Juniors, Sara Wood was concerned about her lower ability Year 3 maths set. The children, working between level 1B and 2A, needed esteeming. She wanted them to experience success in the subject and then build upon these positive experiences and adopt a ïcan-do' attitude.   

Ensuring that she included a variety of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic activities, Sara used the 10-15 minute mental sessions to improve the pupils' self-belief. Overnight, her classroom began to see more games and physical movement (including Brain Breaks) and, steadily, more focus in the mental sessions. A positive buzz developed and the learners began to have more fun. Motivation was instantaneous and with more success came higher self-esteem and a willingness to give tasks a go. The more they tried, the more they succeeded, the more they learned. They didn't think they were learning, but Sara was witnessing otherwise.

Her methods included:

• Visualisation
• Subracting games
• Singing
• Using dice, beads, sweets
• Body pegging
• Times tables cards
• Small whiteboards
• ... and so on

The verbal maths trail is a popular activity to warm up the brains. Pupils around the room clutch a laminated card each with a statement and a question on it, listening carefully and concentrating hard to jump in when it is their turn to participate. Sara begins by reading her own card and then a trail around the room continues:

ñI have 22, who has 5 less?î

ñI have 17, who has 1 more?î

ñI have 18, who has 2 less?î

And so on, until everyone had participated in their correct place. All thinking, all involved. It's even more impressive when considered that those who previously had shown little self-belief in the subject now demonstrate their learning in presentations to others, sometimes using computers, projectors or other resources. Confidence continues to grow. That includes Sara's too. Her teaching is becoming much more varied and she has found her energy levels going up as she experiences more and more success. This has led to her own ïcan-do' attitude improving; she is more willing to try other ideas to reach her learners as they become increasingly esteemed by success.

Home Help

Parents' evenings often involve the adults visiting school to find out how their children are doing, rather than how their children are doing learning. When Keldmarsh Primary invited parents to visit their school one evening, the 50 mums and dads who attended left the premises later knowing more about their children's learning, their own and what the school was doing to help every child they taught.

Trudi Fitzhenry had decided she wanted more parental involvement at the school. Having parents understanding what the school is doing and how helps gain their support, as well as expose the children to more advocates of learning and a consistency of message. Trudi set her plan in motion. All parents, from those of Reception children to those with sons and daughters in Year 6, were invited and a booklet produced called Use Your Brain . This contained information and activities for parents to keep, use and refer to, which included aspects of the learning brain and how to access it effectively. An appropriate learning environment was assembled for the visitors: water to rehydrate, books to browse and resources to examine, specifically items for the more visual (pictures, photos of the class using brain breaks), for the more auditory (music) and for the more kinaesthetic (squashy toys and other objects to handle). The presentation itself was prepared with these three preferred learning styles very much in mind.

Trudi had already found her Year 2 class becoming more alert and attentive in lessons, which she attributes to her use of regular brain breaks. She thought that having the parents attempting brain breaks might be a fun way to start the evening that would grab their attention and enthuse them with the learning approach that was being adopted across the school. It worked, and from there she took them on a tour of the brain and some relevant educational theories, such as Multiple Intelligences.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and subsequently the parents are now more involved. They are asking their children about how they are learning, and even motivating the more reluctant staff to come on board by asking about the strategies and brain breaks that are being used in their classrooms. On the evening one parent commented that he didn't realise ñit was about how you learnedî and for many others there were ïeureka' moments, such as understanding why their children acted in certain ways in particular circumstances, or the dad whose esteem was lifted when he re-assessed his ïsmartness' in the light of Howard Gardner's research.

These parents were all intrigued and keen to get involved. For less enthusiastic parents, Trudi thought it would be useful to run smaller sessions where parents could attend with their son or daughter and so make the environment seem less threatening to them. In this way she hopes that everyone can experience what Keldmarsh has: a high profile for Accelerated Learning, enthusiastic children and informed parents who understand and provide crucial support for the school's vision.

The Sum of the Whole

A group of teachers with a vision for learning met on an Accelerated Learning course. Realising their heightened potential as a group, they came together for support and to move learning forward in their different schools. Now having trialled an area in each of their various contexts, having visited each others' schools and having pooled their experiences, they next aim to enthuse their strategy managers to put learning at the centre of every school's SIP. They would like to see teacher visits to each school and relationships developing so that they can move forward positively together. They have big plans for positive learning for everyone in their school communities. No wonder their training day theme, Let's Stick Together , strikes a pertinent chord.