Vision 2040 members are going to be collaborating on action research projects in academic year 2013-14 … in areas that are pivotal to the Redesigning Schooling campaign and around the development of strategies that will form the basis of their schools’ vision for the future of education.  Synopses will be posted as blogs on this site, throughout September.

Here are the initial ideas around the themes that the Group will explore and the evidence they will be collecting:

Curriculum Design

• Balancing the compulsory curriculum within a wider, coherent school curriculum.
• Defining success for individual schools and students
• Curriculum for innovation and creativity.
• The  links between the curriculum and assessment
• Research good examples of what schools are doing
• Collect and evaluate innovative and interesting examples against each area in schools and colleges
• Interview NC authors and other curriculum experts and designers to gather their views on these issues
• Evaluate range of alternative qualifications frameworks.

RESEARCH 1

Stage 1 – a useful exemplification of school practices with principled curriculum development

1. What is happening in our schools to develop the wider curriculum (2 case studies)
2. Collect additional examples from a range of other schools
3. Comments / assertion about the nature of these changes being ‘principled curriculum design’ and /or principled Cd in response to principles or policy and clarity about validation of wider skills and experiences with/for students in our own schools

Stage 2  - principled curriculum design in practice – exemplifying how some schools are responding to the validation of wider skill and experience with alternatives:

1. to explore a range of alternative models inc ‘construction bacc’ (possible international comparison )
2. Interview NC authors and other curriculum experts and designers to gather their views on these issues.
3. to critique models/views against our assertion on principled CD

RESEARCH 2

Stage 1 – sharing evidence from both our schools for a stage 1 written piece:

• How we balance the compulsory curriculum within a wider, coherent school curriculum.
• How we defining success for individual schools and students
• How our Catholic ethos is the foundation to go beyond a narrow definition of success, happiness and fulfilment & emphasising the development of the whole person.

Stage 2  - identifying different models/collecting evidence across a range of different school.

Teaching and learning

• The characteristics of effective learners and the contexts in which they develop.
• The characteristics of effective teachers and the link to effective learning.
• Aspects of exemplary effective pedagogy with proven impact.
• Cross-phase connections
• Models of learning to re-educate and involve parents
• Individuals from a wide range of schools ready to share their ideas and expertise, identify schools with exceptional practice to contribute their voice, explore effectiveness research with supporting case studies.

RESEARCH 1

Stage 1:

• What are the characteristics of effective learners and the contexts in which they develop in your own schools Claire, Pip and Mitch share work and reflection into bite sized case studies.
• From this define the characteristics of effective learners at the different stages of their school career from EY to 18 (scope to unpack the context beyond age / stage …)
• Combine the bite sized case studies and definition into a published piece.

Stage 2:

• ‘Test’ the characteristics of effective learners against a broad range of different schools and contexts
• Exemplify the definition using this broad range of schools Develop the published piece into a stage 2 publication and/ or work with SSAT in developing a film of ‘characteristics of effective learners’ by drawing these ‘voices’ together
• Possible additional conclusion ‘lessons learned’ for cross phase working and thinking?

RESEARCH 2 - Models of learning to re-educate and engage parents

Stage 1:

• Identify practice with impact in our schools.
• Identify practice across schools.
• Summarise research to date link school based evidence to the research.

Stage 2:

• Work with a range of schools in collecting ‘parent voice’ – what have parents found most effective in engaging with their child’s learning, breaking down barrier to being involved at school?
• Work with SSAT in developing a film to draw these ‘voices’ together.

Accountability

• Evaluating existing accountability mechanisms: do they secure improvement?
• Evaluation of the short inspection model: to what extent is it valid?
• Taking a broader view of accountability, beyond current outcomes model. What else matters?
• Developing more sophisticated Performance Measures
• Alternative models ; eg role of Governance, local partnerships.
• Case studies of self confident schools that take OFSTED in their stride
• Examples of success where local partnership and peer support secure strong accountability.
• Research into alternative accountability systems
• Collecting evidence of inspection leading to improvement.
• FOI requests re costs of inspection and extent to which they are data driven

RESEARCH

Stage 1: studies of self confident schools – our own schools, then find a range of good and outstanding schools who display confidence?

• How did you Ofsted prep / self evaluation (ie contractual accountability) lead to improvement
• The profession’s view: does accountability lead to improvement
• Profile positive accountability as a tool to build confidence across the system – conclude what the key ingredients of confident accountability are and how to get there.

Stage 2: build on the feedback from the question about accountability leading to improvement to shape the next stage.

• Likely to include: alternative models ie: peer accountability, local partnership, governance
• And a conclusion: can/how does accountability secure improvement? What else matters?
• This may allow us to draw conclusion about developing accountability models for impact.

Professional capital

• Relationships between all institutions in supporting training/ITT
• The role of leadership in developing professional capital.
• The connections between effective leadership and the core purpose of teaching & learning.
• Genuine CPD; developmental/ empowerment models, ensuring teachers are ‘never finished’
• Professional capital and confidence – the need to be evidence based.
• Ideas / models of the RCoT ‘by and for’ the profession
• Models of excellent CPD/ ITT partnerships/ leadership practices that fuel strong CPD.
• Research and practice around effective recruitment and retention of high calibre teachers.
• Learning from the movement behind evidence-based teaching, RCTs and other research modes

RESEARCH 1

Stage 1: what is happening in our schools - a two school case study:

• T&L: The characteristics of effective teachers & the link to effective learning Aspects of exemplary effective pedagogy with proven impact from Huntington and Wilmslow
• Prof cap: Genuine CPD; developmental models - ‘teacher never finished’
• The connection between effective leadership & the core purpose of teaching & learning in our schools

Stage 2: exemplification of practice across a range of schools (poss link with Kev, Mel and Tim to see if there are any areas of overlap / complimentary / schools to visit together etc on this) on:

• T&L: The characteristics of effective teachers & the link to effective learning Aspects of exemplary effective pedagogy with proven impact in a range of schools
• To use stage 2 to draw conclusion and evidence an assertion/critique:
• Professional capital can be achieved through connecting effective leadership & the core purpose of teaching & learning

RESEARCH 2

Stage 1

• Practice in and across our own schools on:
• The role of leadership in developing professional capital.
• The connections between effective leadership, leadership behaviours and the core purpose of teaching & learning, and how to change colleagues practice and behaviours
• Genuine CPD; developmental/ empowerment models, ensuring teachers are ‘never finished’
• Models of excellent CPD/ ITT partnerships/ leadership practices that fuel strong CPD.

Stage 2 - will explore practice across other schools to gather evidence:

• Professional capital and confidence – the need to be evidence based
• From stage 1 and 2 present Ideas / models of the RCoT ‘by and for’ the profession, including learning from the movement behind evidence-based teaching, RCTs and other research models:
• Concluding with a critical analysis and set of recommendations for moving forward.