VIEWS From the pen of…HARRY FLETCHER-WOOD


When you’re struggling with a class – what do you do?


In our regular series highlighting authors in education, we hear this month from HARRY FLETCHER-WOOD, author of Habits of Success: Getting Every Student Learning, published by Routledge.


There often comes a point in the school year when we wonder what to do next with a class. For whatever reason – group dynamics, syllabus changes, our own energy levels – things haven’t gelled. We’re no longer looking forward to our lessons with them, and we’re pretty sure they’re not either. So what next?


Conventionally, there are a few things we might reach for. We might remind students why the subject and topic matter, highlighting why we find it interesting, and its value in later life. Additionally, we might consider whether our reward system and approach to sanctions needs a bit of a reboot. It could be time for reinforcements too: perhaps it’s time to draw in tutors, heads of year and parents.


All of these approaches could help. But I think there’s something else we could draw on.


I’ve spent the last three years reading around the science of behaviour, and in particular, the science of habit. There are researchers whose job is finding out what makes people act in certain ways – and what influences them to change their behaviour. Yet this research tends not to reach schools and teachers.


If we can identify the principles they’re following, we can apply them to our work. For example, researchers have put a lot of work into understanding social norms: the subtle messages people take in about what they can/could/should/shouldn’t do, based on what they see others saying and doing.


With this frame in mind, we might review our class’s current performance with social norms in mind. First, we might ask ourselves whether we’ve made it unambiguously clear what students should, and should not doing? Is it worth revisiting our rules for them?


Next, we might consider the messages students are receiving from us, and their peers, about what’s expected. When we’re frustrated, do we imply things are going badly? If so, could students be concluding that no one is working or interested? If so, few students are likely to buck the trend?


Finally, we could ask how we can change these messages and trends. If we can point to evidence of progress – no matter how small – we convey the message that things are improving. More homework handed in than last week, more sustained effort this lesson, are more positive atmosphere. If students believe that this is the new trend, most are likely to want to be part of it.


That’s just one example – behavioural science is full of valuable and insightful research. So while we might continue to take the actions I mentioned at the beginning, I suspect there are a few more tools we could reach for.


I’ve tried to make this evidence useable and useful for teachers, because I believe these tools can make our work substantially easier – and, in the process, help us to serve our students better.


BRITISH EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION (BESA)


Never underestimate the power of the student voice


In her regular column for Education Today this month, JULIA GARVEY, Deputy Director General at school suppliers’ association BESA, reflects on a recent meeting with a group of Year 11 and Year 13 students.


TI don’t know how many pieces of research I’ve read now on the impact of COVID-19 and school closures on pupil outcomes, but it must be at least a dozen. And all of them say pretty much the same things: • Schools serving the highest proportions of disadvantaged pupils had the lowest levels of pupil engagement. • Primary teachers were more likely to be in contact with more of their pupils on a regular basis. • Secondary schools were more likely than primary schools to be covering the full curriculum. • Schools in some of the northern regions of England had lower levels of parental engagement, pupil access to IT, and the proportion of teachers receiving guidance on the amount of work to be set and submitted, relative to some southern regions. • Schools with low prior attainment tended to report lower levels of pupil engagement. • Schools using a virtual learning environment (VLE) to inform pupils about learning activities had higher pupil engagement levels and an increased probability of having highly engaged disadvantaged pupils. I know this, I understand it and I have a rational response to it. However, I


was not prepared for the emotion of hearing the lived experiences behind these findings spelled out in graphic detail by a group of Year 11 and Year 13 students who came to talk at our Annual General Meeting last week. These pupils are the faces behind the statistics and quite frankly it was humbling. They talked of their fear, their grief and their anger at being sent home in


the first lockdown with little notice and even less support. They shared their experiences of having nothing to focus on, of losing access to their friends and support network and their frustrations of being stuck at home. Whilst some talked of feeling initially delighted at the prospect of no school, even the more reluctant pupils soon came to miss the structure and focus that attending lessons brings. The Year 13s were particularly vocal when reflecting on the way their


exam results were seemingly taken out of their control and ‘arbitrarily’ decided upon without their input. And yet facing A Levels now has filled them with fear and anxiety – these are the pupils that haven’t taken an external exam since their Year 6 SATs, and they are painfully aware of this. All mentioned lost learning, a sense of having ‘forgotten’ how to study and one boy even felt he no longer has the skills to physically write an essay by hand. Their testimonies were honest, impactful and packed a huge emotional


punch. Their teacher was in tears when recounting times when pupils were contacting her in the small hours with pleas for help, over their struggles with mental health. All the students spoke of the negative effects the lockdown had on their wellbeing. The audience was made up of BESA members – supplier companies, many


of whom have worked closely with their local schools and customers to offer support and access to home learning and blended learning resources. To a person, we were all shaken and moved by what we heard. Reading about the impact of COVID on schools is not the same as hearing


about the impact of COVID on those students and teachers who have lived through it. The debate rages on about the best ways to help pupils and teachers


going forward. We as an organisation are committed to working together with teachers, educators, government and the wider education sector to address the issues of reduced attainment and student wellbeing. Only now we will reflect more thoughtfully on the student voices we heard, and the commitment shown by their teachers, as we all collaborate to find solutions that can help tackle these challenges going forward.


Julia Garvey Deputy Director General, BESA BESA.org.uk


November 2021 www.education-today.co.uk 13


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