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Transforming Learning and Teaching
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Transforming Learning and Teaching
We can if...

First Edition


November 2004 | 208 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
`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.

 
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

 

`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

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1


For instructors

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