Classroom Interventions

What for Children Looked After Works?

This part addresses Virtual School Heads' concerns that there is very little knowledge on 'what works' to improve educational results for looked-after children. Children who have been cared for have typically had disrupted school experiences for several reasons, and their development must be hastened so that learning gaps may be filled and they can achieve academic success comparable to their peers.

The recommendations presented here are based on substantial research undertaken by the Sutton Trust and Educational Endowment Fund into the influence of various teaching and learning practices on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. The effectiveness of these interventions, particularly for looked-after children, has not been extensively explored, but the tactics listed below were shown to have the highest impact in terms of quicker development and better attainment for vulnerable and disadvantaged learners.

The six tactics are as follows:

• Self-regulation and metacognition
• Collaborative learning
• Effective feedback
• Homework
• One-to-one tuition
• Peer tutoring

The school's situation will determine the ways to develop. While extremely beneficial for looked-after children, all of these tactics are likely to need whole-school implementation and leadership rather than being utilized solely with those children. When these measures are successfully applied, children in care are more likely to make progress, leading to increased achievement and, eventually, better educational outcomes.

The final piece discusses how schools might collaborate with foster carers to enhance outcomes for children in care. Foster Carer involvement should not be seen as a "add-on" or "optional bonus." Schools should prioritize the involvement of Foster Carers in all efforts to help children in care. Any initiatives that schools establish for looked-after children should specify how Foster Carers will be actively engaged to guarantee the strategy's success.

Self-regulation And Metacognition

Metacognition and self-regulation are sometimes referred to as 'learning to learn' tactics. Pupils are given particular tools for establishing objectives, tracking progress, and assessing their learning.

Taylor (1999) described metacognition as:

• Recognizing what is already known.
• Understanding what the work at hand necessitates.
• Understanding what knowledge and abilities will be required to execute the assignment.
• The ability to select whether current information or abilities are required in a given scenario.
• Effectively using these ideas

Zimmerman (2000) recognized three cyclical periods of self-regulation:

Forethought And Planning

• Examine the learning challenge.
• Establish goals for finishing the assignment.

Performance And Monitoring

• Apply tactics to make progress on the learning assignment.
• Assess the success of the strategies.
• Monitor motivation for finishing the assignment.

Performance Evaluation

• Assess performance on the learning challenge.
• Manage your emotional reaction to the learning process.

There are several approaches for implementing metacognition and self-regulation in the classroom. Alite and Alistair Smith propose one cycle for developing these metacognitive and self-regulation skills (2007).

Phase of Connection

Phase of connection refers to linking what has previously been learned and what is already known.

Strategies

• Actively include individuals, pairs, and groups.
• Manage the emotional atmosphere so that no one or no group feels excluded. - Agree on the overall picture of content and process: "This is what we will do; this is how we will accomplish it."
• Use strategies that stimulate active involvement, such as issues, case studies, role-playing, props, stories, and visual or technological assistance.
• Promote the advantages of learning outcomes. "By the conclusion of this lesson/topic, we will know more about..., have learned to...
• Relate to pupils' personal goals and objectives "When you concentrate/learn this....it will help you reach....get more of..."
• Establish success criteria. What will we see, hear, and feel once we've finished this course?

Examples

• What do we already know? Use hot-seating, make a list of five items, and create a post-it blizzard.
• Questions: what are some excellent questions to ask to learn more? How will we know we've learned about it? How will we know whether we were successful?
• Visual clues... Images are placed around the room, and pupils visit the photo gallery to establish connections.
• Watch a video clip and write down five remarks regarding...
• Sealed Impression - A4 paper folded into 4 squares - note vital information in three of the boxes, share with a small group at the start of the session - complete the box after listening to others

Demonstration Phase

The demonstration phase allows learners to 'show what they know.' This step generates a loop with the activation phase.

Strategies

• Plan for numerous intelligences.
• Allow for many rehearsals in various modes.
• Make use of various groups.
• Provide educative feedback in or near the actual experience from the teacher and/or others in the class - Focus your feedback on improving rather than proving - Give specific advice about the process and content improvements that can be implemented immediately.
• Plan for pupils to apply their knowledge in a novel situation.
• Allow pupils to "teach each other" to display their learning.

Examples

• Peer review and evaluation.
• Group or pair presentations to each other, another group, or the entire class.
• Groups create a quiz with questions and answers, exchange groups, and return test paper to 'examiners.'
• Learning bazaar: individuals visit various groups at stations, where they may ask questions and get knowledge.
• Press conferences.

Consolidation Phase

The Consolidation Phase reflecting on what was learned and how it was learned.

Strategies

• Consider what has been learned and how it relates to the outcomes agreed upon in the Connection Phase, both in terms of content and method.
• Compare to the Success Criteria defined during the Connection Phase.
• What do we now know and comprehend that we did not previously?
• What have we learned, and how can we apply what we've learned elsewhere?
• What and why worked?
• What failed and why?
• Combine partnered, small group, and whole-class activities.
• Recognize and value the abilities employed in learning/classroom - Apply information, skills, and understanding to similar situations in the same or related disciplines or situations far apart from the current classroom or school

Examples

• Maintain a record of new concepts and tactics as they learn and improve them.
• Form teams and, using a timed challenge, have each team list or map everything they have learned, one person at a time, on a flip chart!
• Form blocks and walls of knowledge. To record the most crucial information, use three, two, one bricks.
• Summarize the main ideas from various historical views or historical personalities.
  Testing might be informal or formal.

Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning activities are tasks that are structured to be completed by groups of pupils. They are frequently posed as issues of sorting and organizing data. These exercises aim for pupils to think and discuss together to investigate and comprehend the nature of the topic matter. Pupils are therefore assisted in activating their prior knowledge and experience and forming connections with the new knowledge they are receiving.

Collaborative learning activities motivate pupils to do the following:

• Be engaged, curious learners.
• Have access to books and concepts that are intellectually demanding.
• Improve your thinking and communication abilities.
• Engage in productive peer interaction.
• Apply their own (cultural and linguistic) experiences and knowledge of the world to the curriculum.

Teachers must:

• Thoroughly assess and plan learning tasks.
• Create dynamic group exercises that include visual and contextual help.
• Make connections between curricular material and language and literacy development.
• Monitor and assess pupils' learning.
• Make use of and expand on the children's past knowledge and experience.

One of the primary goals of collaborative learning activities is to encourage pupils to communicate vocally with one another. The items act as catalysts, encouraging pupils to converse on the specific topic matter. The activity and materials must be sufficiently hard to do this. If the work is too simple, no thinking is required to execute it, hence no need to 'speak' about the subject.

Cooke (2005) distinguishes three major forms of activity that are particularly conducive to collaborative learning. Some of them are discussed more below.

Activities That Fill Information Gaps

Information gap activities occur when a pupil possesses some information that other pupils require and requires input from other pupils.

These are some examples:

• Pupil A has a colored-in picture, but Pupil B has merely an outline sketch of the identical artwork. Pupil A is responsible for describing the colors, while Pupil B is responsible for listening and coloring in the picture.
• Pupils A and B have maps of the same area, but they both lacking information. Pupil A lacks certain information that Pupil B can offer, and Pupil A can provide missing information to Pupil B. They must collaborate in order to produce an information chart.
• Give one set of photographs to pupil A and another set of pictures to pupil B. To finish, the pupils are given a common table. To complete the table, the pupils must ask and answer questions regarding each other's photographs.
• Pupil A has a text that contains half of the information, whereas PupilB has the remaining information. Therefore, they have a shared set of questions to answer and can finish their assignment by asking and responding questions from each other.

Activities to Organize Information

These exercises often include pupils organizing information in various ways. Matching, Sequencing, Sorting, Rank ordering, or a mix of these methods can be used to organize information.

Recommended Activities

Sequencing is the practice of exploring issues using a timeline, action strip, life cycle, or flow chart, such as events leading up to WWI, how milk is made, or the carbon cycle.

The principal areas and cities of the Weimar Republic, as well as the rts of the eye and their functions.

Sorting - using spider diagrams, branching, and tables to investigate issues such as quadrilateral qualities, settlement kinds, and vertebrae groupings.

Ranking - using target diagrams, rating charts, and diamond 9 activities, such as metal element reactivity, megacities' advantages, WW II's reasons, and what type of exercise boosts your pulse rate the most?

Effective Feedback

Feedback is information provided to the learner on their performance with respect to learning objectives. Pupil learning should improve as a result of effective feedback. However, some research has found that low-quality comments might have a detrimental impact. As a result, feedback must be properly designed in order to maximize learning gains.

Shute (2007) provides several suggestions for making feedback more effective. Some of these are listed below:

**Let the learner go first **- instruct the learner to evaluate their performance with respect to the specified goals and objectives.

Pay attention to the task, not the learner - Provide comments on particular areas of the learners' work regarding the assignment, along with ideas for improvement.

Feedback must be extremely explicit and specific - Connect feedback directly to goals, for example, you have identified four events that occur in a Gurdwara. Next, you must be able to explain why Sikhs value meal sharing.

Provide detailed comments in small chunks

• Feedback should include the "what, how, and why" of what worked and did not work in the assignment. However, providing too much input at once might have detrimental consequences. Provide feedback in steps, allowing pupils to revise and fix their work after each stage.

Pay attention to learning rather than performance - Stress that effort enhances learning and that mistakes are an important part of the learning process.

After the pupil has attempted a solution, provide feedback - Allowing pupils to view solutions before they tackle the activity is counterproductive to learning, according to study.

Do not compare the pupil to other pupils - Feedback should be completely tailored to the requirements of the particular pupil, with no comparison to other pupils.

Avoid giving overall grades- Without offering an overall mark, feedback is most useful when it highlights areas of strength and provides information on how to improve.

Be cautious of excessive praise, but avoid being negative or critical - Remember that feedback should be directed on the task, not the learner. The term 'praise' refers to the pupil, not the work. Similarly, criticism or harsh feedback diverts focus away from the activity at hand.

Written feedback is more effective than spoken feedback because learners perceive it to be less biased and hence more accurate.

Feedback Timing

Quick feedbackallows for the correction of errors in real-time, resulting in more immediate benefits and more efficient learning. Use it for:

• tough assignments
• remembering procedural or conceptual information
• verbal assignments
• motor activities
• pupils with low academic achievement

Delayed feedback is more effective when learning needs to be transferred (applied to a new setting). Use it for:

• easy tasks
• delegate tasks
• high-achieving pupil

Homework

Homework is defined as assignments assigned to pupils by teachers to be accomplished outside of class time. The usefulness of homework has been extensively investigated, although mostly in regard to whether homework enhances school achievement. There is some evidence that homework is beneficial. Some studies have found that progress in classrooms where homework is assigned is greater than in equivalent classes where homework is not assigned. The advantages are bigger in secondary school than in elementary school.

Homework is most successful when it addresses content that has previously been taught. However, offering an assignment on the information presented the same day is not as successful as giving the assignment to review and reinforce abilities mastered in prior weeks and months. When used to teach complicated abilities, homework is less effective.

Good homework contains the following characteristics:

First, it includes detailed directions for pupils.

• Can be finished successfully.
• Isn't too lengthy.
• Can be accomplished in a flexible time period.
• Use easily available information and materials.
• Reinforce and allow the practice of previously taught abilities.
• Is not simply incomplete schoolwork.
• Is engaging to pupils and leads to additional investigation or study.
• Encourages creativity and inventiveness in the application of skills.
• Encourages pupils to work together.
• Encourages conversation at home and at school.

Ideas for Productive Homework

The American Federation of Teachers (2011) offers ideas for productive homework, which are summarized below:

1. Homework Schedule

Create a homework schedule that includes subjects and abilities such as:

• Are well-known among pupils.
• Have been introduced in class.
• Are both engaging and demanding.
• Can be done in a fair length of time depending on age and degree of attainment.
• Give pupils the impression that they are progressing.
• Go through and reinforce previously taught skills.

2. Do Not Assign Homework

Assigning homework makes it:

• Uninteresting.
• Impossible to accomplish.
• Complex talents are required.
• Must be accomplished within ridiculous time limitations.
• I'm just completing up classwork.
• A penalty for failing to complete classwork.

3. Establish a Work Ethic for Homework

Create a common understanding that learning occurs inside and outside school and classrooms.

4. Plan Ahead of Time

So there is ample class time to offer precise guidance for the homework assignment and answer queries.

5. Resources at Home

Don't assume that all pupils have resources at home or in the community, as well as Parents and Caregivers who can help them with their homework. Ensure that all pupils have access to all materials needed to complete the homework assignment and that a clear explanation is given during the session and written directions.

6. Place for Homework Submission

Designate a specific area in the classroom for homework submission and collection.

7. Feedback

Discuss and provide feedback on any homework assignments pupils have turned in.

8. Caregivers Support

Encourage caregivers to support their children's homework efforts, but avoid assigning activities that are so difficult that they do the work for them or that cause friction at home as caregivers get concerned that the kid is failing or not concentrating in school.

9. Time Limitations

Consider suitable time limitations for homework assignments based on the lesson's goal. Some homework assignments may take more than one day to complete. If this is the case, provide specific instructions. Consider that other professors may be assigning homework with the same time constraints. A homework schedule for each child should minimize overburden.

10. Homework Standards

Develop, educate, and publicize homework standards and procedures to ensure pupils and caregivers understand them. When assignments are due, where they should be turned in, how to make up missing assignments, and any links between homework and class grades should be included.

1:1 Tuition

1:1 tuition is when a single youngster receives focused instruction. 1:1 tuition is frequently used to close literacy and numeracy deficits. This might happen during the school day or after school. According to research, one-on-one instruction is most successful when:

• It is in addition to, rather than instead of, regular classes.
• Short sessions of around 30 minutes.
• 3-5 times per week regular sessions
• Time frame: 6-12 weeks

The Department for Education (DfE) has identified features of schools where one-to-one tuition has a strong impact. These are outlined below.

The Whole School Structure

• Senior leadership teams recognize the importance of tuition in overall school development, including attendance and behavior, and 'closing the gaps.'
• 1:1 tuition is key to whole-school provision mapping, ensuring that it is effectively targeted to suit the requirements of pupils and maximize effectiveness.
• There are well-established, stringent assessment methods.
• Senior executives are strategically involved in innovative tutor recruiting tactics.
• Professional development systems in schools help tutors feel supported and respected, ensuring that the school benefits from tuition.
• Schools have transparent processes in place for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of interventions.
• Senior leadership teams are active in tuition quality assurance.
• Tuition monitoring and assessment inform and encourage excellent initial instruction.
• 1:1 tuition is a frequent issue on the agendas and communications of all stakeholders, including parents, carers, and governors.
• Opportunities for Continuing Professional Development are available for all staff to update and develop their tutoring practice.

Organization of 1:1 Tuition

• Tuition targets are agreed upon and based on daily and continuous instructor evaluation.
• Where applicable, the tutor is chosen based on the pupil's specific needs.
• Tutors do not follow a predetermined curriculum and instead customize tuition to match the requirements of individual pupils, overcome misunderstandings, and close important learning gaps.
• Tutors and pupils have regular opportunities for evaluation and feedback.
• They reflect on their learning, negotiate future actions, and, if required, modify objectives.
• Tuition focuses on confidence building, allowing pupils to take ownership of their learning and growth.
• There is continual communication with the class instructor about reviewing objectives and improving learning in the classroom.
• Tutors provide Parents and Caregivers with regular updates on their child's progress in instruction.
• The completion of 10 hours of instruction is formally recognized, for example, with a certificate or presentation.

Tuitional Characteristics

• Tutors' topic knowledge helps them to detect and correct learning gaps. - Tutors employ a wide range of teaching and learning tactics, which are often modified to reflect pupils' reactions to learning problems.
• Tuition consolidates and develops skills, providing opportunities for revisiting, reinforcing, and embedding prior learning. - There is significant pupil-led activity and questioning. - Pupils are encouraged to think aloud and reflect on their learning processes.
• Effective strategies include:
• scaffolding
• supporting the gradual withdrawal of tutor control as the pupil becomes confident and independent.

The Department of Education's one-to-one tuition guideline materials provides thorough instructions on executing one-to-one tuition.

Peer Tutoring

Peer tutoring entails pupils acting as academic tutors to other pupils. Typically, a high-achieving pupil teaches a low-achieving pupil.

There are several peer tutoring models available, including:

Class Wide Peer Tutoring (CWPT): divides the entire class into groups of two to five pupils of varying skill levels. Pupils can then serve as tutors, tutees, or both. CWPT methods are often highly organized. As a result, pupil groupings may alter throughout the program. Pupil pairs are determined by academic achievement or pupil compatibility.

Cross-age Peer Tutoring: Older pupils work with younger pupils to teach or review a skill. The roles of tutor and tutee remain unchanged.

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS): In PALS, a variant of the CWPT paradigm, a teacher pairs pupils who need more instruction or assistance with a peer who can aid. Groups are adaptable and frequently switch between topic areas or skills. At certain periods, all pupils have the chance to be a tutor or tutee. In addition, pupils are often placed with other pupils who are at the same skill level as them, with no significant differences in ability.

Reciprocal Peer Tutoring (RPT): During each session, two or more pupils alternate between acting as tutor and tutee, spending equal time in each position. Higher-performing pupils are frequently matched with lower-performing pupils. RPT pupils may produce learning materials and are responsible for monitoring and assessing their classmates on the teacher-identified goals.

Same-age Peer Tutoring: Peers within one or two years of age are partnered to study crucial ideas. Pupils with equal aptitude levels may be matched, or a more advanced learner may be paired with a less advanced pupil. Pupils with similar abilities should have similar knowledge of the content and ideas. When pupils of different levels are paired, the roles of tutor and tutee can be switched, allowing the lower-performing pupil to quiz the higher-performing learner.

Putting Together a Successful Peer Tutoring Program

Jenkins and Jenkins (1987) highlight numerous factors contributing to good peer tutoring programs.

1. Systematic Tutor Training

Tutors must be trained in a variety of skills, including confirming accurate responses regularly, giving praise, giving constructive corrective feedback, positive verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and active listening skills, in addition to any specialized techniques, such as synthetic phonics.

2. a Highly Controlled And Meticulously Planned Lecture Format

Jenkins & Jenkins discovered that 90% of sessions might use the same structure while being extremely successful. This allows instructors to focus on becoming 'managers' of the peer tutoring program rather than devising new activities.

3. Tutoring Is Directly Related to Classroom Activities

Class teachers should define the program's content in accordance with the school curriculum. Classroom performance should be used to assess pupils' achievement.

4. Employ a Mastery-based Methodology

Teachers should choose the program's material with caution. A skill is selected and taught daily in a mastery-based paradigm until the learner has mastered it.

5. Session Frequency And Length

According to research, daily sessions of roughly 30 minutes in duration are the most helpful.

6. Daily Assessment of Pupils' Progress

Tutors must be trained to assess performance both within and outside sessions. After each session, the tutor and tutee should review performance and set a goal for the following session. The manager of the peer tutoring program should then monitor these goals and provide comments on their quality. The program manager should also keep track of how well the objectives are met. Tutors should also collaborate with class instructors to examine evidence of success in class and work with teachers to alter peer tutoring aims.

Jenkins and Jenkins also provide additional helpful information, such as how to launch a peer tutoring program and how to recruit tutors. Starting small and identifying pupils who require more practice with important abilities appears to be the most successful strategy for long-term sustainability. In this regard, CLA is likely to be the perfect cohort to begin a program with. In terms of recruiting, teaching staff identification of potential tutors appears to be the most reliable.

References

Education Endowment Foundation (2014). Sutton Trust – EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit. London: Author. Available from http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit

Peirce, W (2003). METACOGNITION: Study Strategies, Monitoring, and Motivation

Smith, A (2007) The learning classroom. Handbook from Alite Accelerated Learning course. Available from http://www.alistairsmithlearning.com

Best, B (2003). Accelerated learning pocketbook. Hampshire: Teacher’s Pocketbooks

Barood, T (2012) Learning to learn pocketbook. Hampshire: Teacher’s Pocketbooks

A’Echevarria, A and Patience, I (2014) Teaching thinking pocketbook. Hampshire: Teacher’s Pocketbooks

Cooke, S (2005) Collaborative learning in the classroom. Leaflet, Nottingham EMAG service. Available from http://www.collaborativelearning.org

O’Neill, G (2010) Teaching tool kit. Formative assessment: Practical ideas for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of feedback to students. Dublin: University College Dublin

Self, N (2014) Designing effective homework

Linsin, M (2010) A simple, effective homework plan for teachers. Available from: http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2010/07/31/effective-homework-plan-for-teachers-part-1

Spencer, T (2014). Practice and homework: effective teaching strategies. Available from: http://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/documents/packets/practiceandhomework.pdf

Cambridgeshire County Council (2014) A pupil premium handbook. Available from: https://www.learntogether.org.uk/Resources/Documents/Pupil_Premium_HandbookFINAL.doc.pdf

Jenkins, J, and Jenkins L (1987) Making peer tutoring work. Available from: http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198703_jenkins.pdf

Harris, A and Goodall, J (2007). Engaging parents in raising achievement: Do parents know they matter? Nottingham: Author. Available from: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/6639/1/DCSF-RW004.pdf

DCSF (2010) One to one tuition: parent and carer leaflet. Nottingham: Author. Available from: https://www.essex.gov.uk/Business-Partners/Partners/Schools/One-to-one-tuition/Documents/one-to-one%20tuition%20parent%20and%20carer%20guide.pdf

Lucas, B and Smith, A (2009). Help your child to succeed: The essential guide for parents. 2nd Edition. London: Continuum International Publishing Group

The research of Harris and Goodall (2007) did not single out Foster Carers, and so the research summary presented here is more generic: hence use of the phrase “carer” rather than “Foster Carer”