The Cult of Outstanding

™

David DidauFestival of Education – 21st

June

We’re all wrong!

To err is human

The Illusion of Naïve Realism

What might we be wrong about?

• We don’t really know what learning is

• We can’t always trust ‘the experts’

• Just because we like it, doesn’t make it right.

No one wants to wrong

• Confirmation Bias & The Backfire Effect

• The Illusion of Asymmetric Insight

• Sunk Cost Fallacy

• The Anchoring Effect & Availability Bias

We’re all wrong!

From error springs insight

The importance of parallax

What is ‘Outstanding’?

• Sustained & rapid progress • Consistently high expectations• Excellent subject knowledge • Systematic, accurate assessment • Well judged, imaginative teaching strategies • Sharply focused & timely support • Enthusiasm, participation & commitment• Resilience, confidence & independence • Frequent & consistently high quality feedback • Engagement, courtesy, collaboration &

cooperation.

Sustained & rapid progress

• Learning vs performance

We believe “engaging in learning activities…transfers the content of the activity to the mind of the student…”

But “as learning occurs, so does forgetting…”

“learning takes time and is notencapsulated in the visible here-and-nowof classroom activities.”

Graham Nuthall (2005)

The input/output myth

Who said that?

Performance

Learning

Learning is invisible

• We can only infer learning from performance

• Performance is a very poor indicator of learning

• Reducing performance might actually increase learning

Robert A Bjork, UCLA

Sustained & rapid progress

• Learning vs. performance

• If nothing has changed in long-term memory, nothing has been learned

• Learning happens when you think hard

But…

• “Anything that occupies your working memory reduces your ability to think.”

• “Memory is the residue of thought.”

Consistently high expectations

• Of course, but of what?

• Everyone should struggle

Excellent subject knowledge

• You got me!

• But what about ‘pedagogical content knowledge’?

Systematic, accurate assessment

• The problem with mark schemes

Well judged, imaginative teaching strategies

• Is ‘what works’ what’s best?

• How do we know what works?

Enthusiasm, participation & commitment

• Are these ‘poor proxies’?

‘Poor proxies’ for learning

• Students are busy: lots of work is done (especially written work)

• Students are engaged, interested, motivated• Students are getting attention: feedback,

explanations• Classroom is ordered, calm, under control• Curriculum has been ‘covered’ (i.e. presented to

students in some form)• (At least some) students have supplied correct

answers (whether or not they really understood them or could reproduce them independently)

Rob Coe, CEM Durham University Improving Education: a triumph of hope over experience

Resilience, confidence & independence

• If ‘independent learning’ is the means, will independence be the end?

Explain Model

ScaffoldPractise

Teaching Sequence

for Independence

Frequent & consistently high quality feedback

What Hattie actually saysFeedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement, but this impact can be either positive or negative.

Simply providing more feedback is not the answer, because it is necessary to consider the nature of the feedback, the timing, and how the student ‘receives’ this feedback (or, better, actively seeks the feedback) The Power of Feedback (2007)

What Hattie actually saysWith inefficient learners, it is better for a teacher to provide elaborations through instruction than to provide feedback on poorly understood concepts… 

Feedback can only build on something; it is of little use when there is no initial learning or surface information. The Power of Feedback (2007)

Sharply focused & timely support

• But what is the right time?

Bjork on feedback

Empirical evidence suggests that delaying, reducing, and summarizing feedback can be better for long-term learning than providing immediate, trial-by-trial feedback. Numerous studies—some of them dating back decades—have shown that frequent and immediate feedback can, contrary to intuition, degrade learning.

Learning vs Performance (2013)

But, why?

• Providing feedback of success is a waste of effort (opportunity cost)

• Immediate feedback can prevent memorisation

• Students can become dependent• Slows down pace of learning• ‘Spaced’ feedback has the most

powerful impact.

Engagement, courtesy, collaboration & cooperation.

• More proxies?

• What % of feedback do pupils get from each other?

80%• And 80% of this is wrong!

The Cult of Outstanding™

• ‘Outstanding’ lessons focus on performance at the expense of learning

• There is no such thing as an outstanding lesson

• Don’t get me started on lesson grades!

What should we do?

• Abandon the Cult of Outstanding

• Use research to predict measurable and meaningful outcomes.

• Murder your darlings

For there’s nothing good or bad but thinking makes it

so.

@LearningSpylearningspy.co.uk

ddidau@gmail.com