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A move towards evidence-based classroom practice is to be welcomed, says Gareth Sturdy – but it has its limits...

“Teaching is an art, not a science”

D o you think teaching is an art or a science? The model

of best practice in the classroom is moving away from the so-called child-centred philosophy of discovery learning, towards more ‘evidence-informed’ empirical methods such as retrieval practice, spaced learning and cognitive load theory. The endorsement of this shift by Ofsted’s new inspection framework cements the change.

Not everybody’s up for the new turn to cognitive science, though. Some feel it is too much like teaching-by-numbers: a battery-farm model of learning aimed principally at achieving hard, measurable results. There’s a whirr of the machine about that, goes the critique.

Romantic ideals of learning as discovery, creativity, self-expression and engaging fun are allegedly being squeezed out in favour of lab-proofed lessons invented by boffins in white coats delivered by robotic teachers. Like washing powder and shampoo, this kind of education is said to be scientifically proven to deliver dramatic results.

A grave delusionI have found reflecting on concepts like dual coding and long-term memory to be very liberating for my classroom

practice. After years of being required to routinely deliver lessons featuring poster-making, groupwork and pupil Powerpoints, despite their obvious inefficacy, I welcome the dethronement of the pupil as the one in charge of the learning.

I celebrate the perspectives that cognitive scientists like Willingham, Coe and Rosenshine have brought to the education debate, because they have enabled a lot of complacent orthodoxies to be rolled back.

Nevertheless, I believe it’s a grave delusion to believe that what happens in the

Artistic enquiryTeaching isn’t a science, it’s an art. I hear this said a lot now, and more often than not it’s just meant as a reactionary pushback to the scientific ethos currently in vogue. It can represent an attitude that often wants to negate science. Indeed, it sometimes seems ‘teaching is an art’ is the warcry of those who are determined to reject any kind of systematic approach altogether.

We are certainly in need of an alternative to the idea of a science of teaching, but one that takes aesthetic principles seriously and

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classroom can be truly understood with the precision and accuracy of science. I’m even more concerned by the growing assumption that there is a science of teaching and learning. Too many colleagues now seem to rely on research papers to tell them what to do. Research schools running randomised control trials are popping up all over. The definition of quality in education is being reduced to ‘effect size’.

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A DEEP DIVE INTO D&T

Under the revised framework, inspectors will be focusing in on specific subjects - so Joanna Marshall has been investigating what that might look like for hers...

D Deep Dives’ are clearly going to be a feature of inspections under

the revised framework. Intrigued to know what this might mean for D&T, I asked middle leaders to share some of their experiences of a recent Ofsted inspection – and here are some key points that I picked up.

Reading for learningOne middle leader was asked about how reading is incorporated into D&T lessons. It is vital that any material read in lessons is appropriate and relevant to the exercise or practical activity that students are completing. During one of my year 7 lessons, for example, students were learning how to tie dye, so we read about the differences between natural and chemical dyes and the processes of dying fabric in industry such as batch and commercial dying. This information could then determine particular homework tasks, such as a series of GCSE exam style questions about the various dying techniques.

Curriculum flexibilityCreative subjects have definitely felt the squeeze since the EBacc was introduced, with some schools or academies offering D&T lessons once a week in KS3, or using a rotation system where students will have just a few months or weeks of learning a creative subject before moving onto another. According to my research, positive feedback

has been given to D&T middle leaders who deliver a wide variety of skills and rich knowledge within their curriculum, so that by the end of KS3 students have developed skills in electronics, textiles and computer aided design, and can demonstrate an in depth knowledge of plastics, timbers and ecological and social issues. Many middle leaders were asked to explain the ‘journey’ of topics, identifying a starting point and end point and whether the inbetween is carefully sequenced to ensure that all learners are able to achieve the latter.

Sequenced contentSequencing was another common theme on which many middle leaders were questioned by inspectors. This can be shown in many different ways within D&T; essentially, when writing schemes of work each lesson should be planned to build on knowledge and skills learned in previous lessons or topics. For example, a year 10 class of mine have completed a topic on ‘timbers’. We start by reading and learning about hardwoods, softwoods, boards

and environmental impact, whereas practical work includes wood joints, shaping techniques and wood finishes. By the end, students are able to make a range of different wood joints but can also apply knowledge of what types of wood joints and finishes are used for different types of products and purposes.

Purposeful homeworkBe prepared to talk through homework, too: are you setting purposeful tasks that consolidate learning? For the ‘timbers’ topic, I asked my year 10s to write a couple of paragraphs on ‘Oak Furniture Land products do not display the FSC symbol. What might this suggest?’; not only did this enable the students to think independently and use key vocabulary, it also opened a discussion for the following lesson about deforestation, biodiversity and environmental impact.

Ultimately, successful feedback from inspectors was given to middle leaders where

ABOUT THE AUTHORJoanna Marshall is subject leader for Design and Technology at The Lancaster Academy,

Leicester.

schemes of work demonstrated a clear journey, where students could retain and articulate knowledge and demonstrate skills learnt in the first lesson of the topic until right at the end of it, and where students could articulate the key concepts of the topic they were learning and why they were important. Low stakes testing and recall activities can be used to embed key concepts into students’ long term memory.

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