Transforming Learning and Teaching: We can if...

`Transforming Learning and Teaching is well worth reading. The story of five schools acting together to improve what they do is a heroic and admirable one, especially in the present climate. The pressure to comply with prevailing orthodoxy, rather than devise orginal treatments, has been too strong for many to act with the same courage and insight as the five Redbridge schools, but it can be done with enthusiasm and integrity, as these teachers, heads and pupils show′ - Ted Wragg, The Times Educational Supplement, Friday Magazine `Rigorous, realistic, accessible and eye-opening - this book ought to be at the well-thumbed heart of any primary school where building children′s "learning power" is a genuine priority′ - Guy Claxton, Professor of the Learning Sciences, University of Bristol This book shows how a group of primary schools transformed their learning and teaching. The authors share the practical strategies the schools used for supporting and enhancing - children′s learning - teachers′ learning - the schools′ capacity for learning. They show how the focus on learning led to significant improvements in children′s motivation, behaviour, engagement in learning and learning outcomes. This book reminds us that there is more to education than a narrow concentration on target setting and league tables. Based on an action research project in which five schools focused on developing children′s learning and thinking skills, it tells how the schools committed themselves to inclusive education and the provision of a broad curriculum. Through this commitment, the schools enabled young people to develop their confidence, their self esteem and the attitudes needed to become lifelong learners. The authors describe what worked and draw out the main lessons for: children teachers; support staff; headteachers; parents; external consultants. This book is for school leaders at all levels and for practising teachers. It will also be useful to student teachers, those who work with schools in an advisory capacity and those involved with school improvement, educational leadership and developing learning and teaching in the classroom.

Table of Contents:
Introduction - `We Can If… ′ The Story How the Story Is Told How the Book Can Be Used Setting the Scene The `Learning to Learn′ Project The LEA Context at the Beginning of the Project A Brief Description of the Schools Our Guiding Mantra - ′We Can If…′ Getting Started and Keeping Going Taking Time to Get To Know One Another and Share Concerns Taking Time to Clarify the Purposes of the Journey (Our Learning Intentions!) Beginning to Learn How to Learn From Each Other Bringing the Rest of Our Travelling Companions On Board Collecting Baseline Data Sharing ′Highs′ and ′Lows′ Along the Route and Supporting One Another Developing Our Teaching Practice to Enhance Pupils′ Learning Encouraging Thinking Skills and Learning Skills Developing the ′Language of Learning′ In Our Classrooms Stimulating the Learning Brain Developing Children′s Emotional Intelligence Supporting Teachers as Learners and Researchers Developing Teachers as Learners Coaching Managers in the Skills of Leadership for Learning Providing Induction Programmes For Newly Recruited Staff and Nqts Investing In High-Quality Training Opportunities for All Embedding Support and Development within Our School Improvement Plans Providing Leadership for Learning Headteachers Model Total Commitment Leadership Is Distributed Across the School Deputy Heads Become the ′Levers′ Of School Improvement Middle Managers and Teams Become Leaders of Learning And Learning Leaders Leadership Roles Are Developed Amongst Other Members of Staff Children Become Leaders of Learning Accelerating Children′s Learning Heeding the Health Warnings Reflecting On and Reviewing Progress Working In Partnership with Parents Maintaining and Enhancing Inclusive Provision for A Broad And Balanced Curriculum Creative Differentiation to Support Inclusion Keeping Track of Children′s Learning Identifying Issues That Can Inform and Have an Impact On The Tracking Of Pupils′ Learning Ensuring the Micro and Macro Management of Quantitative Data Using a Range of Qualitative Tracking Measures Tracking the Focus Cohort Evaluating the Impact of the ′Learning to Learn′ Project Analysing Test Data to Assess the Value Added By the Schools Taking Account of the Outcomes of Objective External Validations Obtaining People′s Perceptions of ′Learning to Learn′ Growing Learners - Children′s Views about Learning What Does Learning Mean To You? What Does It Mean If You Learn Something? How Do You Learn Best? How Do You Feel Learning Has Improved For You? Are There Particular Things Teachers, Support Staff or Other Pupils Do Which Help You To Learn? How Do You Feel About The ′No Put-Down′ Zones? What Gets In The Way Of Your Learning? How Do You Try To Sort This Out Are There Things You Wish Your Teacher Would Do That He/She Does Not Do? What Is It Like To Be A Learner In Your Class? Transforming Learning and Teaching - Lessons and Key Principles Lessons Learned Transforming Learning and Teaching - Key Principles

Review :
`Transforming Learning and Teaching is well worth reading. The story of five schools acting together to improve what they do is a heroic and admirable one, especially in the present climate. The pressure to comply with prevailing orthodoxy, rather than devise orginal treatments, has been too strong for many to act with the same courage and insight as the five Redbridge schools, but it can be done with enthusiasm and integrity, as these teachers, heads and pupils show′ - Ted Wragg, The Times Educational Supplement `This is a fascinating study that deserves a wide readership′ - Headteacher Update `Rigorous, realistic, accessible and eye-opening - this book ought to be at the well-thumbed heart of any primary school where building children′s "learning power" is a genuine priority′ - Guy Claxton, Professor of the Learning Sciences, University of Bristol ′For school practitioners, this book has much to commend it. It presents a convincing picture of the challenges which face any new initiative, and of the improvement which resulted in pupils′ learning.′ - Janet A. Harvey, University of Gloucetrshire, UK