THE HONG KONG SMALL CLASS TEACHING (SCT) STUDY

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THE HONG KONG SMALL CLASS TEACHING (SCT) STUDY

• Maurice Galton
• Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge (mg
  266_at_cam.ac.uk)

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BACKGROUND TO THE SCT STUDY
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Study on Small Class Teaching
Year of Study Small classes 20-25 pupils Normal classes 35-37 pupils Normal classes 35-37 pupils
2004/05 P1(small) P2 (normal)
2005/06 P1(small) P2(small) P3(normal)
2006/07 P1 (normal) P2(small) P3(small)
2007/08 P2 (normal) P3 (normal)
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1. The main research questions
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• What are the benefits of SCT in the local
  context?
• What teaching strategies, professional support
  and resources are necessary in order to maximise
  the benefits of SCT in Hong Kong primary schools?

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• Do pupils in small classes make more progress
  than those in regular ones?
• Are attitudes to languages and mathematics
  stronger in small classes? Does
  self-esteem/motivation improve?
• Do attitudes and attainment improve the longer
  pupils remain in small classes?
• Is attainment or attitude associated with
  certain teacher and pupil behaviour?
• Do pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit
  the most?
• What other factors (school leadership, parent
  support) influence performance in small classes ?

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Research Methods Used in the Study
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At school level Chinese English Mathematics Parents survey Principals survey P1-P4 year groups At class level Teacher characteristics Gender Experience Qualifications Training Subject specialism Survey of opinions Class size Observation Questions asked Statements made Feedback given etc. Class/group/ individual Sustained At pupil level Pupil characteristics Gender Age Place of birth S.E.S Outcome measures Attainment Attitudes Self-esteem Motivation Observations Time on task Pupil talk Targets setting
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SAMPLES
In most years of the study some 700 classes were
tested in Chinese, mathematics and English Approx
20,000 pupils took part in P1 , 23,500 in P2,
20,500 in P3 and 11, 000 in P4. 53.9 of the
initial P1 sample were in small classes, 27.2
from the regular classes in the same schools and
18.9 from the reference schools.
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2. The Main Results
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Conflicting views on the benefit of small classes
What teachers say What the research shows
More individual attention for pupils Little change but conversations last longer
Better pupil attainment Moderate increases in a few cases
Better attitudes/motivation Attitudes decline year by year but more slowly than in normal classes
Improved relationships with pupils Yes according to pupil interviews
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School Learning Orientation (combined attitude
motivation as of maximum score)
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Relative academic Performance of SCT classes and
control classes
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End of P1 scores
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End of P2 scores
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End of P3 scores
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End of P4 scores
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Main Conclusions

• These results are difficult to interpret but in
  all cases differences between the various samples
  are not large with small to very small effect
  sizes.
• Cohort 2 do best in P1 drop back in P2 but do
  better again when they return to normal classes
  in P3
• Cohort 1 do least well in P1 and P2 (except in
  English) hold their own in P3 (compared to
  controls) but fall back again when they return to
  normal classes in P4
• There is therefore no overwhelming evidence that
  being in a small class boosts pupils attainment.
  Consequently being in a small class for 3 rather
  than 2 years has a marginal effect. Returning to
  a large class has a positive effect in Cohort 2
  but a negative one in Cohort 1. The fact that
  these trends are not consistent suggest that
• Initial attainment at the start of the year is
  the major determinant of progress
• The expertise of the teacher of a particular
  class is also a crucial factor
• Teachers in small classes were still
  experimenting with different teaching approaches
  hence the variable results
• .

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Teacher Talk in Hong Kong Primary Classrooms
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(No Transcript)
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Some implications of this finding

• The figure for the average observation when no
  pupil was in focus had dropped from 73 to 66 by
  the end of the study. During this time pupils
  were
• Listening to the teacher talk or watching him/her
  demonstrate
• Singing a song or reciting a poem/story/ writing
  on the board in unison
• In a 35 minute period there is a maximum of 12.3
  minutes to give individual attention ( either
  alone in a group or as part of the class). With
  20 pupils this gives a maximum of 37 seconds.
  With 40 the figure is 19 seconds.
• .

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Four types of teacher of teacher behaviour

• Cluster analysis used to identify 4 teacher
  types
• Type 1 (30.1) Individual/pair sustained
  enquirers
• Type 2 (18.5) group task monitors
• Type 3 (30.1) Whole class instructors
• Type 4 (21.3) Whole class questioners

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Questions by type (as of all observations)
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Statements by type (as of all observations)
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Feedback by type (as of all observations)
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Audience by type (as of all observations)
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Effectiveness of teacher types

• At P1 there were no significant differences in
  attainment between the teacher types in any
  subject but pupils taught by individual/pair
  sustained enquirers had higher learning
  dispositions (combined subject attitude
  motivation score) in Chinese. In mathematics
  pupils in the top third of the ability range
  taught by whole class questioners had the
  strongest learning disposition.
• At P2 only English registered significant
  results. Pupils in the top third of the ability
  range made significant progress in attainment
  and had better learning disposition when taught
  by whole class questioners.
• When aggregated scores were used P2 pupils taught
  by whole class instructors had the worst learning
  disposition while those taught by whole class
  questioners had the best. There were no
  attainment differences.

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Pupil behaviour in the classroom
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Four types of pupil behaviour

• Cluster analysis used to identify 4 pupil types
  These are similar to those identified in UK
• Type 1 (43.8) Solitary workers
• Type 2 (22.4) intermittent workers
• Type 3 (23.3) Active collaborators
• Type 4 (10.5) Attention grabbers

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Pupils behaviour (as of all observations)
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Pupil-teacher behaviour (as of all
observations)
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Pupil-pupil behaviour (as of all observations)
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Pupil types as a function of teacher types
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Some implications findings

• No attainment, attitude or subject differences
  between pupil types
• More active collaborators in small classes (25.2
  compared to 18 in normal classes)
• Girls constituted 54.8 of solitary workers while
  59 of attention grabbers were boys
• In P1, P2 and P3 solitary workers are in the
  majority. In P3 there were more active
  collaborators (30) and fewer attention grabbers
  (7.1)
• In general patterns are stable suggesting types
  may be, in part, a function of personality
  rather than a consequence of teaching approach.

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SCHOOL FACTORS AIDING SUCCESS
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School aggregated scores were ranked to give 6
high attaining schools and 4 low attaining ones.
Comparisons were then made on a number of measures

• Successful schools had
• Principals who took an active part in curriculum
  development and teachers professional learning
• Teachers who tended to favour the individual/pair
  sustained enquiry approach
• More mathematics teachers teaching mathematics
  and less mathematics teachers teaching other
  subjects
• Higher levels of parental support

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3. RECENT IDEAS ABOUT LEARNING THEIR RELEVANCE
TO SCT
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Watkins (2003) Three Ways of Learning
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Ways of Knowing I
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Teaching as Instruction

• Provide an Advanced Organizer
• Check what pupils know with quick, snappy
  question answer session
• Present new knowledge
• Provide for practice which emphasises
  application
• Extend practice by homework
• Give feedback which is informative
• Review new learning

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Uses of Direct Instruction

• YES
• Mathematical procedures
• English grammar
• Scientific information
• Historical facts
• Using maps
• Practical skills

• NO
• Mathematical problem solving
• Extended writing
• Scientific investigations
• Discussing controversial social science topics

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Ways of Knowing II
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Teaching as Enquiry

• Engaging in complex cognitive processes requires
  thoughtful discourse. Pupils are invited to make
  predictions, debate alternatives, etc. This can
  take place during interactive whole class
  teaching or during peer interaction in pairs or
  groups and should involve
• Placing the topic in the wider, meaningful
  context (big picture)
• Using open ended questions
• Allowing suitable wait times
• Encouraging explanations or elaboration of
  answers.

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Ways of Knowing III
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Teaching as Scaffolding

• Helping pupils to learn how to think for
  themselves requires temporary frameworks. They
  reduce the degrees of freedom a child must
  manage in the task to prevent error rather than
  induce it. (Bruner)
• Providing models of appropriate response (e.g.
  model answers, demonstrations etc.)
• feedback as in guided discovery
• Identifying potential problems from the outset
• Rehearsing an argument (pupils explain to
  class/group in words their reasoning e.g.their
  answer to a maths problem)
•  Cue Cards ( as in writing frames )
• Self-evaluation checklists (requires pupils to
  check through the process by which they reached a
  conclusion and to indicate how it might be
  improved

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What research says about effective teaching

• John Hattie (2005) surveyed a large number of
  studies and
• concluded that the following were important
  (effect size in
• brackets)
• Motivation improving disposition to learn
  (0.61)
• More questions, particularly challenging ones
  (0.42)
• Informing feedback (self regulation) (0.95)
• Feedback that reinforces effort (0.94) rather
  than general praise (0.14)
• Corrective feedback (0.37)
• Peer tutoring (0.56)
• The more we increase the use of these variables
  the
• better our results.

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Six key principles to keep SCT on track
Communicate learning goals to class in terms of
process not outcomes
Use assessment to inform future instruction
Give feedback which helps pupils to sort out
their own mistakes
Provide more thinking time during questioning
Boost participation during class discussions
Develop cooperation between pupils by pair/group
work
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Small Class Teaching The next steps
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Professional Development

• Learning Circles have been well received with the
  number increasing during the past year.
  Attendance appears to improve the quality of
  classroom discourse
• More needs to be done for coordinators who in
  many schools exercise sole responsibility for
  running the SCT programme.
• Some Principals need to rethink their leadership
  strategies (less delegation and more active
  participation) particularly in relation to
  pedagogy.

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Teachers who attended Learning Circles

• Offer more ideas
• Provide more informing feedback
• Have pupils of different abilities working on
  different tasks
• Often sit pupils of different ability by
  themselves when working on these tasks
• More often praise for effort

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Factors promoting successful professional
learning communities
Offers intra- school as well as inter-school
sharing support
Takes place over a lengthy period
Involves collaboration with peers, mentors
outside experts
Takes account of contexts (school environment,
pupils etc)
Provides resources opportunities to practice
new ideas
Addresses key issues in curriculum instruction
Must be linked to specific content areas
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LEADERSHIP LEARNING
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Experienced and less experienced Principals

• Experienced school leaders
• Gave teachers less freedom to try out different
  pedagogic strategies.
• More likely to delegate total responsibility for
  small class teaching to middle managers
• Saw their main role as acquiring as many
  resources as possible, setting clear goals, and
  formulating practicable action plans.
• Less likely to supply time for collaborative
  lesson planning or peer observation.

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LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY

• According to MacBeath (2008) todays school
  leaders are often more concerned with accounting
  than learning, with compliance than with
  risk-taking and with public relations than with
  the quality of student experience,

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Leadership for Learning

• MacBeath suggests that Leadership for Learning
  requires a kind of collegiality which challenges
  rather than reinforces existing practice.
  Learning is viewed as a collaborative,
  communicative and cooperative experience and, as
  such, it involves everyone senior managers,
  teachers, support staff, pupils and parents.

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5 CONDITIONS FOR WHOLE SCHOOL LEARNING

1. A focus on learning learning at the heart of all
   we do
2. Conditions for learning attending to conditions
   which optimise learning
3. Creating a dialogue about learning and leadership
4. Sharing leadership
5. Sharing a sense of accountability

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Where learning and leadership meet
Leadership

• Learning

Is an activity Is about change Is both individual
and distributed
Is an activity Is about change Is both individual
and distributed
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Leaders as learners

• The most notable trait of great leaders,
  certainly of great change leaders, is their quest
  for learning. They show an exceptional
  willingness to push themselves out of their own
  comfort zones, even after they have achieved a
  great deal. They continue to take risks, even
  when there is no obvious reason for them to do
  so. And they are open to people and ideas even
  at a time in life when they might reasonably
  thinkbecause of their successthat they know
  everything.
• (Hesselbein, et al., 1996, p. 78)

QAD, EDB (2008)
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Leadership studies

• School leaders improve teaching and learning
  indirectly and most powerfully through their
  influence on staff motivation, commitment and
  working conditions
• School leadership has a greater influence on
  schools and students when it is widely
  distributed
• Collaborative patterns beyond the school
  strengthen the quality of learning and teaching
• (Leithwood, 2006)
• Leithwood et al.

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Leadership for Learning
Shared leadership
A focus on learning
Dialogue
Conditions for learning
Mutual accountability
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Leadership is exercised not at the apex of the
organisational pyramid but at the centre of the
web of human relationships. (Joe Murphy, 1994)
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leadership
Organisational learning
Professional learning
Student learning
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leadership
Organisational learning
Professional learning
Student learning
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MAKING LEARNING VISIBLE
The task of leadership is to make visible the
how, why and where of learning. It achieves this
by conversations and demonstrations around pupil
learning, professional learning and learnings
which transcend the boundaries of the school. The
challenge for leadership is to nurture the
dialogue, to make transparent ways in learning
interconnects and infuses behaviour. It promotes
a continuing restless inquiry into what works
best, when, where, for whom and with what
outcome. Its vision is of the intelligent school
and its practice intersects with the wider world
of learning. (MacBeath et al, 2007)
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Flying below the radar

• An extra-ordinary generation of school leaders
  who have bucked the trend, who are not
  intimidated and oppressed by the centre
  because with imaginative leaders and committed
  creative teachers they follow their best
  professional instincts, who dont say Id love to
  do innovation but I cant afford to because of
  ..
• Theyve just got on innovating and doing
  exciting things and running very good schools -
  exciting places for teachers and kids to be in.
• (David Hargreaves)

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Go to the people Live among them Start with what
they know And when the deed is done The mission
accomplished Of the best leaders The people will
say We did it Ourselves.
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Some References

• MacBeath, J. (2008) Leadership for Learning
  exploring Similarity and Living with Difference,
  in J. MacBeath and Y.C. Cheng Eds Leadership
  for Learning International Perspectives, London
  Sense Publishers
• Watkins, C (2003) Learning A sense-makers guide,
  London Association of Teachers and Lecturers
  (ATL).
• Watkins, C. (2005) Classrooms as Learning
  Communities Whats in it for schools? London
  Routledge.
• Wood, D. (1998) How Children Think and
  Learn,Oxford Blackwells