Individually/ In pairs

•Look at the picture

•Generate 3 questions about the picture

Leading TogetherKick Off Day

28th April

The Science of Learning

Presenter name

28 April 2018

Leading Together

Module Objectives

• To introduce the cognitive science research base underpinning how pupils learn

• To explore the implications of this research on teaching and learning within your school context

• To use this learning to drive the teaching and learning aspects of your School Improvement Plan

Module Objectives

• To introduce the cognitive science research base underpinning how pupils learn

• To explore the implications of this research on teaching and learning within your school context

• To use this learning to drive the teaching and learning aspects of your School Improvement Plan

What do we already know?

• Let’s Kahoot!

• On your phones, open kahoot.it

Reflection

Does your school have a consistent approach to teaching & learning?

SCIENCE OF LEARNING: THE WHY

Cognitive Science: Rationale

• Strong base of empirical evidence

• Current Scientific Consensus

• Practical Application

• Ease of Articulation & Modelling

Theory 1: Cognitive Load

Theory 2: Building Knowledge

Theory 3: Retrieval & Storage Strength

Session Structure

THEORY 1: COGNITIVE LOAD

@TeachFirst | #TFSI2018

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community.teachfirst.org.uk | @TeachFirst #TFSI2017

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community.teachfirst.org.uk | @TeachFirst #TFSI2017

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community.teachfirst.org.uk | @TeachFirst #TFSI2017

“Cognitive Overload”

community.teachfirst.org.uk | @TeachFirst #TFSI2017*Source: Willingham, D. (2009) Why don’t students like school?

Connect To Practice

Can you think of a time when you’ve experienced a cognitive overload?

How did it impact your learning?

What Do The Experts Say?

On your tables, discuss: How can this be applied to the classroom?

CONCRETE EXAMPLES DUAL CODING

• Using concrete examples to illustrate

abstract ideas

• Things to consider:

• Surface features Vs Underlying concepts

• Multiple examples

• Making the link (why and how the

examples illustrate the abstract

concepts)

• Combining words and pictures while learning

• Makes ideas more concrete & reduces load

on working memory

• Things to consider:

• Different from learning styles

• Don’t over-do

Theory 1: Recap

• Limited capacity of working memory and infinite capacity of long term memory

• Cognitive overload is when all slots of the working memory are filled up

• Concrete Examples & Dual Coding can help us reduce cognitive load

THEORY 2: BUILDING UNDERSTANDING

Individually/ In Pairs

•Look at the picture

•Generate 3 questions about the picture

Do Now: Continued

•Read through the article about the picture

•Now develop three further questions about the picture that you would like answered

Resource: Building Knowledge

Implications

Review the two sets of questions.

Which would support deeper thinking?

Some Types of Long-Term Memory

Episodic Semantic

Building Understanding

So how does building knowledge link to

understanding and complex cognitive skills?

Understanding

Understanding

Understanding

Understanding

Understanding •Level of knowledge and understanding

•Knowledge begets knowledge

•Knowledge & Curiosity

Connect to Practice

Can you think of a lesson you’ve taught or observed in the past few months

where greater focus on knowledge could have benefitted learning?

What Do The Experts Say?

On your tables, discuss: How can this be applied to the classroom?

ELABORATION INTERLEAVING

• Connecting or adding information

• Involves asking “how" and “why" questions

and finding those answers

• Things to consider:

• Pupils focusing on the right information

• Content knowledge to carry out task

effectively

• More useful when pupils familiar with the

topic

• Switching between topics and ideas

• Distinguish between concepts and learn

when to apply which strategy.

• Things to consider:

• Application to problem solving

• Not worth interleaving completely

unrelated material from different

subjects

• In order to build understanding, i.e., enable information to be stored in the long term memory, we need to:• Build Knowledge

• Connect Knowledge

• Episodic memories - useful when we want pupils to remember the experience but we also need to be explicit about what semantic memory we are trying to build

• Elaboration & Interleaving can help to build understanding

Theory 2: Recap

COGNITIVE OVERLOAD

BREAK!

THEORY 3: RETRIEVAL & STORAGE STRENGTH

.

0%

Week 0

100%

Week 1

0%

Week 2

RETRIEVAL STRENGTH

STORAGE STRENGTH

High

Storage

Low

Storage

Retrieval Strength

A measure of how easily recalled something is currently,

given what is relevant to the present situation (does it

come to mind now?)

Some factors that may impact:

• How recent it is

• Stimuli

• Frequency

Retr

ieval Str

ength

Storage Strength

Easily retrieved

Not easily retained

An address I’m

visiting for the first

time

Easily retrieved

Easily retained

My current address

Not easily retrieved

Not easily relearnt

Someone told me

their address earlier,

but I can’t remember

it

Not easily retrieved

Easily relearnt

Address I lived at as a

child

Low

Low

High

High

0%

Week 0

100%

Week 1

0%

Week 2

Connect to Practice

Can you think of a time when you’ve created an opportunity in a topic for

pupils to

-Improve their retrieval strength

-Improve their storage strength

What Do The Experts Say?

On your tables, discuss: How can this be applied to your school?

RETREIVAL PRACTICE SPACED PRACTICE

• Bringing information to mind

• Things to consider:

• Direct & indirect benefits of retrieval

• Pupils practising retrieval on their own

• Re-reading notes is not retrieval

• Some ways of practising retrieval

• Formal Quiz

• Tests

• Flashcards

• Pacing out studying the same information

over multiple sessions rather than cramming

it all into one

• Things to consider:

• Benefits demonstrated in other fields

(Example – learning a musical

instrument)

• Creating opportunities in the classroom

(Example – lagged homework)

Example - Curriculum Re-design (Retrieval & Spaced Practice)

BEFORE

AFTER

• Retrieval strength is how easily recalled something is currently, given what is relevant to the present situation (does it come to mind now?)

• Storage strength is how well a piece of knowledge is connected to other pieces of knowledge in your mind

• Retrieval Practice & Spaced Practice can help us improve the capacity of the long-term memory

Theory 3: Recap

CONTEXTUALISING LEARNING

THEORY PRACTICAL STRATEGIESCognitive Overload

Concrete Examples; Dual Coding

Building Understanding

Elaboration; Interleaving

Retrieval & Storage Strength

Retrieval Practice, Spaced Practice

Which of these strategies interests you the most? Pick 1-2.

How could you pilot this in your department/ classroom?

Resource: Reflection sheet

• Objectives of the session

• Opportunities in Foundation Post-Work

• Addressing outstanding questions

Session Wrap Up