Title: Pupil voice: comfortable and uncomfortable for teachers
1Pupil voice comfortable and uncomfortable for
teachers
2Key issue addressed by the study
- This study explored
- pupils views about lessons
- teachers reactions to pupils comments
- how the teachers used the pupils ideas with
their classes
3Ideas pupils gave for improving lessons
- Pupils suggested
- interactive teaching If he asked more questions
then wed become more alert - linking new learning to something familiar
- being given greater independence - We enjoyed
writing stuff that we found out ourselves - collaborative learning to help them express
themselves and develop understandings
4Criteria teachers applied to the pupils ideas
before using them
- Teachers needed the pupils suggestions to be
- practical
- popular with the class
- likely to be effective
- educationally desirable
5The suggestions teachers found acceptable
- Helpful suggestions were those that
- asked their teachers to extend existing or
previous practices (e.g. investigative work) - encouraged teachers to persist with innovative
ideas - were sensible, practical and purposeful (e.g.
discussing wrong results more)
6What happened when the teachers tried out their
pupils ideas
- Three different experiences
- two teachers grew increasingly enthusiastic
- two experienced success in the short-term
- two teachers experiences were unsuccessful
7Experiencing short-term success
- Two teachers
- decided to include e.g. more collaborative and
practical work - successfully incorporated the ideas into their
teaching - six months later their teaching was no different
to before - felt constraints of normal school routines had
made some ideas unrealistic
8Growing enthusiasm for pupil voice
- Two teachers
- initially had difficulty incorporating pupils
suggestions - persisted
- felt the changes they had made had improved pupil
motivation and independence - continued to consult pupils
9Encountering problems with using pupil voice
- Sometimes the teachers
- overestimated their pupils capabilities e.g.
their group working skills - were disappointed with the results e.g. having
more discussion created more noise
10Comfortable learnings
- There was no need for the teachers to feel
concerned about pupils commenting on their
teaching because pupils - made constructive suggestions
- knew what helped them to learn
- often asked teachers to extend existing or past
practices
11Challenges of pupil voice
- The researchers noted how
- those pupils teachers most need to hear from are
the most difficult to consult - genuinely responding to pupil voice involves a
change in the balance of classroom power - concerns about complying with statutory
requirements led some to view pupil voice less
seriously e.g. relegating pupils ideas to the
end of term rather than building them into lessons
12Who were the children in the study?
- Year 8 pupils from three secondary schools
- Two English, two mathematics and two science
classes
13How was the information gathered?
- Six pupils broadly representative of each class
interviewed individually about three lessons - Transcripts of the interviews fed back to
teachers who were interviewed a few days later
about their reactions to the pupils ideas - Researchers investigated teachers use of their
pupils ideas - Each teacher was visited again the following
academic year to see whether they were still
using pupil voice, and if so, how
14How can teachers use the evidence in this study?
- The teachers tended to act on practical
suggestions which the pupils agreed with - Would having a whole class discussion help your
pupils to make practical and popular suggestions? - Pupils wanted to be trusted to learn and to
collaborate with their peers more - Would your pupils welcome more opportunities for
collaboration and greater autonomy in their
learning?
15How can school leaders use the evidence in this
study?
- Some teachers in the study had more success
articulately when they persisted than others when
responding to pupil voice - Would collaborating with colleagues help
teachers to evaluate and explore together their
pupils suggestions and how they might respond to
them? - Would taking an interest in how pupils
suggestions work out help colleagues to persist?
16Follow-up reading
- Study reference Pupil voice comfortable and
uncomfortable learnings for teachers McIntyre,
D., Pedder, D., Rudduck, J. (2005) Research
Papers in Education, 20 (2) pp. 149-168 - Summary available at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/re
search/themes/pupil_voice/comfortable/
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