Research Led Sheffield

This series of three twilight sessions are based on the SEND Guidance Report and is supported by a review of the best available evidence on improving outcomes for pupils with SEND in mainstream schools. These sessions focusses on research related to pupils aged 5–16.

The evidence tells us that teachers should prioritise familiar but powerful strategies, like scaffolding and explicit instruction, to support their pupils with SEND. This means understanding the needs of individual pupils and weaving specific approaches into every day, high quality classroom teaching.

These twilights focus on unlocking these strategies and supporting teachers to develop high quality SEND practices in their own classroom.

Facilitator: Stephen Foreman

We ask pupils to put pen to paper to demonstrate their understanding nearly every lesson of every day, so what does the evidence tell us will help in supporting with this most frequent of acts? This session will look at the process of writing and consider the role of scaffolding and metacognition in helping pupils become successful writers. This twilight session is aimed at the Key Stage 2 and 3 classroom teacher.

Facilitator: Marcus Jones

There is a considerable attainment/knowledge/learning gap at the start of school between the most and least advantaged children in society. This gap continues to widen as children get older and is reflected in suppressed outcomes at the end of their school life.

This twilight will support you to reflect on your current provision and to better understand evidence informed practice for supporting disadvantaged learners across all phases.

Facilitator: Alastair Gittner

The science of learning is a fascinating subject but do we, as teachers, really ever explore how students learn and how to support memory development.

We know that working memory increases steadily with age between four and 14 years of age but there is considerable variation between individuals and this can have implications in our teaching.

This twilight aims to develop a teachers understanding of ‘working’ and ‘long term’ memory and the implications this has for how we plan and develop effective learning.

Facilitator: Julie Kettlewell

Consistent and clear behaviour policies in school promote positive behaviour in lessons and while most pupils in lessons are well-behaved, poor behaviour can have a detrimental effect on teaching and can have a lasting impact on the outcomes of the pupils in class.

This twilight session based on the EEF’s Guidance Report explores the evidence surrounding effective behaviour management in schools and in classrooms.

The session is relevant to both primary and secondary school settings and is beneficial for class teachers. We will also explore the implications of Covid on behaviour in the classroom.

Facilitator: Alistair Gittner

This twilight session is based on the Metacognition and self-regulation Guidance Report and will dig deeper into the ‘what’ ‘why and ‘how’ of metacognition and self-regulation at all phases from early years through to secondary age pupils.

Evidence suggests the use of ‘metacognitive strategies’ – which get pupils to think about their own learning - can be worth the equivalent of an additional +7 months’ progress when used well. This session is designed to support teachers in developing their classroom practice to improve their pupils’ metacognitive skills – in short, their ability to plan, monitor and evaluate their own academic progress so they become better at learning and studying.

Facilitator: Stephen Foreman

Research has shown that good social and emotional skills—including self-regulation, self-awareness, and social skills—developed by the age of ten, are predictors of a range of adult outcomes, such as life satisfaction and wellbeing, labour market success, and good overall health. However, many of our disadvantaged children have, on average, weaker social and emotional skills at all ages.

Few teachers receive support on how they can develop these skills in their everyday teaching practice and therefore this twilight is designed to support teachers to develop their skills and their understanding of social and emotional learning in the primary classroom.

Facilitator: Rob Newton

Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children’s learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better academic outcomes. Yet it can be difficult to involve all parents in ways that support children’s learning, especially if parents’ own experiences of school weren’t positive.

This twilight session aims to provide teachers with a greater awareness of the evidence around supporting parents with children’s learning. We will consider, through exploration of the EEF’s Parental Engagement Guidance Report, how the evidence can provide useful guidance to solve classroom and school wide issues.

Facilitator: Jane Elsworth

Developing a sound understanding of mathematics when we are young is essential. Children’s early mathematical understanding is strongly associated with their later school achievement.

This twilight explores the key principles for effective practice in improving mathematics teaching. It is based on the EEF’s Guidance Report and it offers five practical recommendations to support the learning of children aged 3 to 7 in the early years and Key Stage 1. Examples will be explored to help practitioners put the evidence to good use in their classroom.

Facilitator: Rob Newton

Reading is the master skill for school allowing students to access the curriculum. This session will look at the evidence base and consider practical classroom strategies that can support learners from key stage 2 onwards.

This twilight session is aimed at the Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 classroom teacher.

Facilitator: Marcus Jones

This twilight session is based on the evidence supporting the use of feedback in the primary and secondary classroom.

The impending Guidance Report from the EEF shows that strong potential learning gains can be achieved when we embed feedback effectively into our classrooms. However the evidence can sometimes be confusing and therefore it’s important to understand both the potential benefits and the possible limitations of feedback as a teaching and learning approach to support your students.

During this session we will explore the benefits of embedding feedback successfully in your teaching and we will support you with a range of classroom strategies to focus beyond the session.

Facilitator: Stephen Foreman