Nicola York is a PhD student at Loughborough University studying psychology of talented British student-athletes. This article is based on work Nicola did in 2015/16 for the Education and Training Foundation Research Development Fellowship, while working in Learning Technology at Swindon College.


2 DOMINANCE This doesn’t mean bullying; here, dominance simply means the ability to be direct, authoritative and clear about the purpose of classroom activities. While it is easy to imagine a teacher


or trainer being too dominant, the opposite is also undesirable: namely, the teacher who pleads with and placates their students. Students of all ages need to see that the person in charge of the room is in charge of the room. Divesting oneself of that kind of responsibility simply means that others will dominate the culture of the classroom, which is unwelcome.


3 ROUTINES AND RULES Setting out the routines and rules of the classroom is an essential activity for any teacher. Indeed, some writers, like Doug Lemov, might argue that these are the fundamental building bricks of an effective classroom. The need for clear expectations embodied in rules or routines is best demonstrated in classrooms where no such routines exist, and students do as they please. This is fatal to effective learning. Students need to feel that the class has structure, goals, and that they are valued and valuable parts of that community. Clear, high expectations are one of the best ways to achieve this. Routines are the bedrock of preventing poor behaviour before it occurs.


4 HIGH NEEDS STUDENTS Every class has students who present high challenge, or who have exceptional needs. The wise teacher plans and develops strategies for these pupils, and addresses their needs as a priority as far in advance as possible. What is remarkable is how consistent these best-bet strategies are throughout the ages of learning. Learners have many differences; many qualities that make them distinct, unique and special. But the human mind, the learning mind, has many things in common with its counterparts. The good teacher and trainer


would do well to attend first to these near-universals, and then work out from that baseline into more and more subtlety.


Research into online learning By Nicola York


In response to the Further Education Technology Action Group (FELTAG) Report (2013), Swindon College introduced a programme which required learners to complete one hour per week of online study set by their course tutor. Tutors had the flexibility to deliver


the programme in whichever way they felt would benefit their learners the most. Examples of some of the tasks set are watching videos and answering quizzes, contributing to forums and creating videos with PowToon. An evaluation was carried out from both tutors’ and learners’ perspectives. This included: a self-assessment by tutors, seven learner focus groups and six tutor interviews.


Learners’ feedback highlighted


several themes: practicality; purpose; accountability and workload. They considered the online study activities to be separate from their main programmes of study. Many of the students stated that, due to workloads associated with their BTEC course assessments, they would prefer to complete the online tasks during the college day rather than at home. One group of learners reported that there were significant consequences for not completing online study as the activities often linked directly to their portfolios. Tutors had mixed views. Some stressed the importance of coursework, including online study, while others said that students ought to prioritise assessment work.


Many tutors found that creating an hour of online study took longer than planning an hour of lesson time. This was due to the time taken to learn new IT skills. However, feedback also highlighted that the extra tutor work involved was concentrated on the setting-up stage, and declined thereafter. Tutors reported an increase in learner independence and a reduction in the amount of incomplete work from learners. The findings of this study indicated that taking the opportunity to explore different


References and reading • FELTAG. (2013). Paths forward to a digital future for further education and skills: Recommendations for the minister of state for skills and Enterprise, Matthew Hancock MP. (Retrieved 1 February 2016 from goo.gl/9VQoQV


• Frymier, A.B., & Schulman, G.M. (1995). “What’s in it for me?” Increasing content relevance to enhance students’ motivation. Communication Education, 44, 40-50.


• Hattie. J. (2009). Visible learning. Abingdon, Routledge.


• Sharpe, R., Benfield, G., & Francis, R. (2006). Implementing a university e-learning strategy: levers for change within academic schools. Alt-J Research in Learning Technology, 14, 135-151.


methods of assessment could support the process of introducing an online learning programme. The results also suggest that learners’ adoption of blended learning can be optimised when content is directly relevant to their classroom activity and formal assessment.


INTUITION RESEARCH • SPRING 2017 9


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