Viewing archives for Teaching methods and pedagogy

Research Summary

A trial was designed to identify whether use by schools of ‘Embedding Formative Assessment’ will improve children’s performance at age 16. Embedding Formative Assessment (EFA) is a two-year assessment for learning intervention. The main element is a monthly Teacher Learning Community (TLC) workshop. Each workshop involves a group of teachers feeding back on their use of formative assessment techniques. The primary research question was ‘How effective is the Embedding Formative Assessment programme compared to usual practice in terms of improving overall GCSE examination performance?’. Though practice varied across the schools, the impact was roughly equivalent to an improvement of one GCSE grade in one subject.

Researchers

Dr Stefan Speckesser (lead independent evaluator), Johnny Runge, Francesca Foliano, Dr Matthew Bursnall, Nathan Hudson-Sharp, Dr Heather Rolfe, Dr Jake Anders (National Institute of Economic and Social Research)

Research Institution

Education Endowment Foundation

What is this about?

The research set out to measure whether the Embedding Formative Assessment intervention worked under everyday conditions in a large number of schools. One hundred and forty secondary schools participated during the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 academic years. The primary outcome was Attainment 8 GCSE scores for the 25,393 pupils who were in Year 10 (aged 14–15) at the start.

What was done?

The project was a randomised controlled trial. The resources supplied to participating schools focused on five key formative assessment strategies: ‘clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions’; ‘engineering effective classroom discussions and activities’; ‘providing feedback that moves learning forward’; ‘activating learners as instructional resources for one another’; and ‘activating learners as owners of their own learning’. Final GCSE scores were compared across intervention and control schools.

Main findings and outputs

1. Students in the Embedding Formative Assessment schools made the equivalent of two additional months’ progress in their Attainment 8 GCSE score, using the standard conversion from pupil scores to months progress. This result has a very high security rating.
2. The project found no evidence that Embedding Formative Assessment improved English or Maths GCSE attainment specifically.
3. The additional progress made by children in the lowest third for prior attainment was greater than that made by children in the highest third. These results are less robust and have a lower security rating than the overall findings because of the smaller number of pupils.
4. Teachers were positive about the Teacher Learning Communities. They felt that these improved their practice by allowing valuable dialogue between teachers, and encouraged experimentation with formative assessment strategies.
5. The process evaluation indicated it may take more time for improvements in teaching practices and pupil learning strategies to feed fully into pupil attainment. Many teachers thought that younger students were more receptive to the intervention than their older and more exam-minded peers.

Relevance to RE

The research suggests that RE teachers, like teachers in general, can boost pupils’ learning and attainment by sharing experiences of assessment for learning techniques and building up good practice together, for example, through peer observation and review. The Education Endowment Foundation’s press release gives the following example:

One example of a formative assessment technique is checking on pupils’ understanding by asking all students to show their response to a question at the same time, perhaps by holding up their answers on a mini-whiteboard or slate. The teacher can decide whether they need to review the material with the whole class, to identify a small number of pupils needing individual help, or ask the pupils to discuss their answers with their peers.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The researchers noted one limitation in particular, that some of the participating schools already had some established assessment for learning practice – they suggest that in future studies, some ‘baseline’ evaluation might be done at the outset.

Find out more

The full report is freely downloadable from https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/EFA_evaluation_report.pdf

For an introduction see https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/real-time-knowledge-can-boost-pupils-grades-by-two-months/

Research Summary

This report reviews over 200 pieces of research to identify the elements of teaching with the strongest evidence of improving attainment. It finds some common practices can be harmful to learning and have no grounding in research. Specific practices which are supported by good evidence of their effectiveness are also examined and six key factors that contribute to great teaching are identified. The report also analyses different methods of evaluating teaching including: using ‘value-added’ results from student test scores; observing classroom teaching; and getting students to rate the quality of their teaching.

Researchers

Robert Coe, Cesare Aloisi, Steve Higgins & Lee Elliot Major

Research Institution

Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, Durham University, Sutton Trust

What is this about?

This review set out to address three apparently simple questions:

1. What makes ’great teaching’?
2. What kinds of frameworks or tools could help us to capture it?
3. How could this promote better learning?

What was done?

The researchers carried out a review of a large number of international research sources on what makes great teaching and different ways to evaluate teaching quality. Those found to be most relevant are included in the review. The review concludes with recommendations about how the findings might be taken forward, i.e. keeping a focus on student learning, using multiple measures of evaluation, asking school leaders to develop high quality assessment and data skills and balancing challenge and acceptance so that there is not too big a gap between the research evidence and what teachers are already doing.

Main findings and outputs

The two factors with the strongest evidence of improving pupil attainment are:

• teachers’ content knowledge, including their ability to understand how students think about a subject and identify common misconceptions
• quality of instruction, which includes using strategies like effective questioning and the use of assessment

Specific practices which have good evidence of improving attainment include:

• challenging students to identify the reason why an activity is taking place in the lesson
• asking a large number of questions and checking the responses of all students
• spacing-out study or practice on a given topic, with gaps in between for forgetting
• making students take tests or generate answers, even before they have been taught the material

Common practices which are not supported by evidence include:

• using praise lavishly
• allowing learners to discover key ideas by themselves
• grouping students by ability
• presenting information to students based on their “preferred learning style”

Relevance to RE

The emphasis on teacher content knowledge underlines the need for RE to be taught by qualified specialists. It also encourages RE teachers to think hard when planning topics and lessons about how their specialist subject knowledge might be used to promote student learning. The other main findings are also relevant to RE classroom practice, e.g. the emphasis on quality of instruction suggests that teachers and departments might build up banks of questions and assessment tasks found to be effective in promoting student learning.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The authors do recognise limitations. For example, their review is focused on teacher effectiveness, “that which leads to high achievement by students in valued outcomes, other things being equal.” (p.9). However, they acknowledge that this might not fully capture desirable aims for education. They also acknowledge that attributing effects on student outcomes to individual teachers is not straightforward and that a range of factors should really be taken into account. The report merits careful consideration and cannot be understood as a check-list.

Find out more

The report is freely downloadable from https://www.suttontrust.com/research-paper/great-teaching/

Research Summary

Marking and feedback are essential parts of the teaching process, which allow teachers to know whether what they have taught has been learnt and therefore allow teachers to address the needs of pupils. They are also requirements for all teachers. However, they are time consuming and burdensome upon teachers. Technology has the potential to transform education, for teachers and for pupils. This study aims to investigate the role that technology has in the assessment of RE with the expectation that any benefits would also be felt in other curriculum subjects.

Researchers

Sam McKavanagh & Dr James Robson

Research Institution

University of Oxford

What is this about?

The planning was guided by these questions.

• In assessment, what can technology do that traditional methods cannot?
• How can the use of technology for assessment be beneficial to pupils?
• How can the use of technology for assessment be beneficial to teachers?
• How can technology allow us to meet the assessment objectives of RE?

What was done?

The three action cycles used different tools to assess pupils; multiple choice questions were used for each assessment.

• Cycle One (Traditional): pupils completed assessments using pen and paper.
• Cycle Two (Plickers): pupils held up unique pieces of card in different orientations to indicate their answer. The teacher’s smartphone could read and record the pupils’ response.
• Cycle Three (EDpuzzle) – through this website pupils watched videos that the teacher had embedded with questions. Scores were recorded so the teacher could track progress over time.

At the end of each cycle the following were conducted:

• whole-cohort questionnaires;
• small-group interviews; and
• teacher interviews.

Main findings and outputs

The findings show that technology:

• saved time;
• helped give quick and useful feedback;
• collated results;
• improved record keeping;
• reduced teacher workload; and
• increased pupil engagement.

In contrast, traditional methods of assessment failed to offer these benefits. Marking and feedback remained burdensome tasks for teachers and pupils did not respond favourably to them.

Technology has an important role in the assessment of RE. Pupils assessed using traditional methods and those assessed with technology showed no discernable differences in their results. The benefits to the teacher were clear: they saw a reduction in workload and were able to give immediate feedback and discuss issues with pupils which would not have had been possible with traditional methods. As Plickers and EDpuzzle can collate pupils’ results teachers can easily keep track of pupils’ performance across time, with minimal effort on their part. It is expected that these advantages would not only apply to RE and that teachers of other subjects, and in other school settings, would also benefit.

Relevance to RE

This was a piece of practitioner research and other teachers were involved in the collection of data. Therefore it will have real applicability to other teachers of RE.

The technology used is free to obtain and use and does not require pupil ownership of devices – this increases the accessibility to the technology.

One of the key findings was the savings in time for teachers whilst assessing and the production of useful real-time data, which they could use immediately to provide effective feedback to pupils.

Generalisability and potential limitations

Given the method of answer collection which the technology used, the research focussed on AT1/A01 (‘factual’ knowledge) the research did not attempt to assess AT2/A02 (‘learning from religion’) – whilst this should be possible, it was deemed that it would be stretching the research too thinly and that less clear results would be drawn. It would therefore be beneficial to retrial these technologies to attempt to assess AT2/A02 as well.

Given the length of the research project it was not possible to tell if pupils would become ‘bored’ or less enthused with the technologies the more normalised they became. A longer research process would uncover whether this is the case.

Find out more

McKavanagh, S. (2017). The role of technology in the assessment of RE (Master’s thesis). University of Oxford.

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:27d8b9ef-0cab-4116-827a-d9b615627860

Research Summary

The ‘RE-searchers approach’ provides an innovative pedagogy for delivering RE in primary schools. It is inquiry-led and reflective, where the pupils are joint researchers (alongside their teacher) in the RE classroom and use a variety of methodologies and methods to investigate the subject matter understudy. This draws away from the teacher as the deliverer of factual information and instead introduces pupils to a variety of the approaches to the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) used throughout schools, university, and beyond. The RE-searchers approach offers multiple cartoon characters, each of whom use a different methodology and method (for example, the participator/experiencer: ‘Have-a-go Hugo’, and the interviewer/communicator: ‘Ask-it-all Ava’). Pupils engage with the characters and can adopt each character’s approach to research, thereby learning about not only ‘religion(s)’ but also ‘how to learn about religion(s)’. This is an interactive and inquiry-led approach to RE that highlights the role of interpretation, methodology and method in the study of religion(s) and worldview(s).

Researchers

Professor Rob Freathy, Giles Freathy, Dr Jonathan Doney, Dr Karen Walshe & Dr Geoff Teece

Research Institution

University of Exeter

What is this about?

• How might primary RE teachers introduce an inquiry-led approach into the classroom?
• How might pupils be introduced to the variety of interpretations, methodologies and methods that are used within the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) as a field of academic inquiry?
• How does stepping in and out of RE-searcher character assist pupils to become aware of the multi-perspectival nature of research?
• How has the RE-searchers approach been introduced, implemented and received in schools and by teachers?

What was done?

The RE-searchers approach has been co-created by Giles Freathy (ex-RE teacher, now primary teacher trainer) and Professor Rob Freathy (Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter). A manual and classroom resources have been developed for use in primary schools and trialled in various schools in the south west of England as well as further afield. Extensive theoretical research underpinned the development of the approach: this has been published alongside more practical classroom guides:

http://www.reonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/The-RE-searchers-A-New-Approach-to-RE-in-Primary-Schools.pdf
http://www.reonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Quick-Start-Guide-The-RE-searchers-Approach.pdf

Main findings and outputs

The trials and feedback from those who have used the approach report that pupil engagement and enjoyment of RE is raised as a result. Some of the benefits for pupils and for teaching and learning in RE are as follows:

• Successful movement away from a focus on learning factual ‘content’ in RE towards a wider conception of ‘knowledge’ (know that, and know how);
• Heightened engagement with multi-methodological and multi-perspectival approaches, stimulating reflective and reflexive learning;
• Greater stimulation and enjoyment for the pupils, through engagement with the RE-searcher characters;
• Appreciation by the pupils of their own learning preferences (which character’s approach they prefer) and the benefits/limitations of each approach.

The approach has been recognised as innovative and successful by teachers, teacher-trainers and inspectors. Giles Freathy received a TES award in 2014 for the full implementation of the approach at Sir Robert Geffery’s School in Cornwall. The approach has since been the subject of multiple workshops and presentations at CPD/ITT training events and RE conferences. The full manual and resource pack, as well as further details, can be found on the RE:Online website.

Relevance to RE

RE teachers can explore the approach in the manual and find sample resources in the publications on RE:Online. It is directly applicable to their teaching environments and has the potential to markedly improve their classroom practice and the critical engagement of the pupils:

https://www.reonline.org.uk/teaching-resources/re-searchers-approach/

Generalisability and potential limitations

The project is ongoing and thus remains under development. By no means do the RE-searchers characters cover every interpretation/methodology/method found in the study of religion(s) and worldview(s). They are indicative only. Teachers are encouraged to engage with and experiment with the approach in order to further its development. For brief, teacher-friendly introductions, see:

Freathy G, Freathy R (2014). The RE-searchers: promoting methodologically orientated RE in primary schools. REtoday, 31(3), 50-51.
Freathy R, Freathy G (2013). RE-searchers: a dialogic approach to RE in primary schools. REsource, 36(1), 4-7.

The approach is aimed at primary settings; however, it is recognised that a critical, dialogical, multi-perspectival, and multi-methodological approach is required in secondary schools too. The approach can be developed for that setting as well. Some of the underpinning theory can be found here:

Freathy R, Freathy G (2014). Initiating children into hermeneutical discourses in Religious Education: a response to Rachel Cope and Julian Stern. Journal for the Study of Spirituality, 3(2), 156-167.

Find out more

Freathy R, Doney J, Freathy G, Walshe K, Teece G (2017). Pedagogical bricoleurs and bricolage researchers: the case of Religious Education. British Journal of Educational Studies, 65(4), 425-443.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00071005.2017.1343454?journalCode=rbje20

Research Summary

This project, funded by the Bible Society and Westhill Endowment Trust, developed curriculum resources for use with Key Stage 3 pupils using the contemporary biblical paintings of Brian J. Turner (www.bibleproject.co.uk) which show biblical scenes in a quirky, contemporary style that is both engaging and thought-provoking. This use of art serves to bring the idea of interpretation to life for pupils, giving license to their own, personal interpretations of the narratives, and introducing the concept of participation in respectful dialogue with the beliefs and interpretations of others. Over the course of 12 lessons, pupils are introduced to the Bible and explore a selection of eight significant biblical narratives. They also consider the single, over-arching narrative of the Christian faith – the story of creation, fall and redemption – that runs through the Bible as a whole, and to which each of the individual narratives contributes.

Researchers

Professor Rob Freathy, Professor Esther D Reed, Dr Anna Davis & Dr Susannah Cornwall

Research Institution

University of Exeter

What is this about?

The project seeks to develop a pedagogy of Religious Education (RE) based upon a narratival framework informed by both narrative theology and narrative philosophy. Working from the narrative assumption that individuals and communities are formed by reading, sharing and living within stories, the project team suggest that such a narratival pedagogy of RE might encourage pupils to think about how the lives of Christians are shaped by their interpretations of biblical narratives, to offer their own interpretations of biblical and other texts, and to consider the stories – religious, non-religious or both – which shape their own lives. In so doing, the project seeks to move away from a ‘proof-texting’ approach to the Bible towards one in which pupils are enabled to think about the significance of biblical narratives for both Christians and themselves. The resultant pedagogy comprises four phases of learning: (1) encountering narrative; (2) interpreting narrative; (3) understanding narrative in community contexts; and (4) reflecting on narratives of self and others. This pedagogy has been implemented in practice to form a set of commercially-published curriculum materials for use with KS3 students (Freathy, R., E. D. Reed, A. Davis, and S. Cornwall [2014]. The Art of Bible Reading. Buxhall: Kevin Mayhew Ltd).

What was done?

Curriculum materials for an initial 3-lesson block were designed and trialled. A workshop for local schools was held in Exeter Cathedral based on the materials. A further 7-lesson block was designed and trialled. An academic article was published on the approach, outlining the underlying theories.

Main findings and outputs

• Narrative theories are widely accepted as proposing that human beings – both as individuals and within societies – experience, understand and explain life not as a succession of disconnected momentary occurrences but primarily in ‘story’ form, as a series of on-going, interconnected narratives that are subject to time and bound up with history, culture and context. These narratives comprise multiple interweaving layers that include, but are not limited to, shared texts, histories and traditions, and the realities of daily life experiences.
• Narrative theories have been adopted by many Christian theologians as a way of talking about the doctrines and practices of their faith. These theologians understand the Bible first and foremost not as a set of abstract moral commands or doctrinal edicts but as a collection of stories that tell about the revelation of God through history, and perceive communities of faith as ‘living stories’ comprising individual members whose community life is an on-going interpretation of biblical narratives. Less widely known or developed is a similar embracing of narrative theories by scholars of Judaism and Islam among other faiths.
• We understand narrative as a descriptive (rather than prescriptive), flexible and inclusive term that can hold shared meanings for both faith traditions and a range of pragmatic thinkers, including those of non-foundationalist and other perspectives. The term does not presuppose the acceptance of particular worldviews or beliefs but can be accepted by theists, atheists, agnostics and others. It is equally important, however, to ensure that each of the faith traditions can recognise and share the narrative approach that is developed.
• A narrative approach – drawing upon narrative theology and narrative philosophy – makes possible the study of how people understand the narratives – faith-based or otherwise – that make up their own lives, and how they understand the narratives of the lives of others, challenging the commonly-held view that we exist as neutral individuals with uniformed and objective identities and outlooks.

Relevance to RE

Teachers may wish to explore and experiment with a narrative approach in the classroom. Explanations and lesson resources are available in the YouTube video (URL above), the academic article (Esther D. Reed, Rob Freathy, Susannah Cornwall & Anna Davis [2013] ‘Narrative theology in Religious Education’, British Journal of Religious Education 35[3]: 297-312), and the textbook (student and teacher editions).

Generalisability and potential limitations

The main limitation is that people often assume a narrative approach must be based solely on narrative theology, and that narrative theology must be inherently Christian. It will take further work to convince people that a narrative methodology can be used effectively to conceptualise any faith tradition, and that a narrative pedagogy can be inclusive of all students, regardless of their own faith/non-faith position. Understanding that a narrative approach should also be considered as merely one of many possible and legitimate approaches is also required.

Find out more

Esther D. Reed, Rob Freathy, Susannah Cornwall & Anna Davis [2013] ‘Narrative theology in Religious Education’, British Journal of Religious Education 35[3]: 297-312

Research Summary

In this thesis, I explore the introduction of creativity into Religious Education lessons. I will present a mixed methods case study research project focusing on a Year 8 all boys’ class within a large high achieving independent school. This study takes place in a largely secular classroom, in an environment where students are very highly motivated to do well. During this study, the questions I will explore are: What effect does creatively interpreting biblical text have on the students’ intrinsic motivation to work? What effect does the use of iPads with biblical text have on the students’ ability to unlock creativity? What effect does the creative interpretation have on helping students to interpret the meaning of passages?

Researcher

Mr Tom Jenkins

Research Institution

University of Cambridge

What is this about?

The use of creativity and IT to engage students in religious studies. What effect does creativity have on the students’ ability to make meaning?

What was done?

Mixed methods case study. Methods: lesson observation, pupil questionnaires, pupil interviews, and student work analysis.

Main findings and outputs

Research Question 1: What effect does creatively interpreting biblical text have on the students’ intrinsic motivation to work?
I can conclude that in my study creatively interpreting biblical text did have a positive effect on my students’ intrinsic motivation. I did anticipate that this might be so, however I did not anticipate the reasons why creativity would increase their motivation, and for me this was the interesting aspect. Students were motivated by the opportunity to be creative because it gave them a chance to express themselves, and also their viewpoints. It also gave them the freedom of choice to choose their learning, and this proved to be a valuable opportunity to the students.

Research Question 2: What effect does the use of iPads with biblical text have on the students’ ability to unlock creativity?
In response to this RQ I find that I share the view of London Knowledge Lab (Team, 2013), that the effectiveness of the iPad depends on the manner in which it is used, not in anything intrinsic to itself. For some students it was helpful to use an iPad, in particular if they struggled with more traditional ways of being creative (drawing). However, it is also clear that there were times when students would have preferred not to use an iPad, and to return to previous methods of creativity. The iPad can also be restrictive to some students, and using an iPad is as much a skill as drawing is.

Research Question 3: What effect does the creative interpretation have on helping students to interpret the meaning of passages?
This was the most interesting RQ, and I found that creatively interpreting the meaning of passages does have a positive effect on the students’ ability to interpret the meaning. Some of the pieces of work I examined on the Good Samaritan were quite powerful, and they captured the heart of the passage very strongly. It appears that applying the parable to a modern day example helped the students understand the concept of social responsibility, and how to be ‘active’ rather than ‘passive’ members of society. I can also conclude that because the students had to create their own versions of the bible passages, they had to understand them in great detail. This was very clear in even the most basic responses to the task, and it became a clear indicator of ability and progress. The use of creativity also had a final unexpected effect on the students, which was that it made them reflect upon themselves and each other. During the course of creating their own Good Samaritan and Sower parables, the students reflected upon chances they have had to be helpful to one another. Applying the bible passages to the modern world also accomplished a further thing, which was to make religious education relevant to the students of today.

Relevance to RE

This research will help inform RE teachers about the benefits of using creativity in RE lessons, it will also provide some ideas as to how this can be done. This project will also stimulate conversation over how to make RE relevant in today’s society, and it will reference good pieces of literature on this viewpoint.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This was a small scale study, carried out with a small sample number, in a school with a 1:1 iPad scheme.

Find out more

Title: Making Meaning. A Critical Examination of the Effects of Creativity on the Meaning Making and Motivation of High Attaining Year 8 Students Studying the Gospels

Research Summary

This article considers pitfalls associated with teaching about religions. The main pitfall considered is the risk of presenting religions as stereotypical monolithic systems: that all who belong to a particular religious tradition think and act in the same way. The writer calls this sort of stereotyping the ‘robotic tendency’ because it has a habit of reducing practitioners to robot-like beings that always perform identical actions. She argues that the ‘ethnographic eye’ can help educators to avoid stereotypes and the robotic tendency when teaching about religions. The ‘ethnographic eye’ means close attention to human thoughts, feelings and actions in everyday life.

Researchers

Jenny Berglund

Research Institution

Södertörn University, Sweden

What is this about?

The article is about learning to teach about religions (in this case, Islam) without neglecting the fact that within any religion, there are varieties of belief and practice that have to be taken into account. The writer tells and reflects on the stories of two teachers who were asked to investigate Islam in their own schools and local environments, then think about the ramifications of what they had learned for their future teaching. Both teachers were offered surprises and both were forced to consider that the lived reality of Islam in their immediate environments was more complex and differentiated than their previous picture, built up through text-books and media presentations. The writer argues that this more differentiated account, as well as being more accurate, avoids a rigid ‘us and them’ view and so lessens prejudice. Moreover, it helps teachers to examine their own understanding and its bases.

What was done?

As part of a continuing teacher education course on Islam, two teachers were asked to pay close ethnographic attention to the practice of Islam within their own schools and local environments, then writing an assignment about what they had discovered and how it would affect their future teaching. The article presents summaries of the process gone through by the teachers and their subsequent reflections on how their teaching needed to change in the light of what they had learned.

Main findings and outputs

Agnes
Agnes is a primary school teacher who initially believes that Islam is absent from her school. There are no Muslim pupils, but there is a book in the library stating that Muslims do not eat pork. She approaches the kitchen staff, finding to her surprise that two of them are Muslims. Their attitudes are complex, e.g. one of them has not informed their school that her children are Muslims, they eat all kinds of food at school but avoid pork at home. They mention an Ethiopian Christian colleague of theirs who avoids pork.
Stellan
Stellan is a secondary RE teacher. There are many Muslim pupils in his school. He causes an argument in a lesson by stating that Muslims do not celebrate the Prophet’s birthday. He decides to ask students about this, is informed by one student that he does indeed celebrate the Prophet’s birthday, telephones his parents to discuss it and is invited to the next such celebration. Other Muslim students tell him that they do not celebrate it. As well as building up notes on the celebration, Stellan consults background literature, finding that the celebration, especially associated with Sufism, is considered unlawful by some scholars.
Discussion
An ethnographic approach informs teachers on variations in religions. People manage different beliefs (e.g. dietary restrictions) differently. Cultural context and other factors influence this. In future these teachers will continue to ask questions about text-book presentations and examine local practices. Other research suggests that European Muslims’ religion is becoming increasingly individual.

Relevance to RE

The article has strong relevance to RE. Policy should reflect the presence of a local dimension in religious belief and practice and require the challenging of stereotypes. Curriculum planning should include the same points. There are implications for pedagogy, regarding the need to include the knowledge, views and experiences of students and their families, to accept that these may be different and to examine internal differences within religions (the article mentions the need for sensitivity in these respects). The article is itself a story of teacher development. RE teachers might usefully repeat the investigations of Agnes and Stellan in their own environments, perhaps in groups, in conjunction with academic researchers or as an element in initial teacher education or higher degree study.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The research has high credibility. The writer is a highly regarded, influential expert. The writing is characterised by clarity, balance and originality. A strength is its appeal to local, specific, individual experience, yet this is well integrated with wider scholarly references. Good ethnography resists simplification, accepting difference and individuality, and the article ‘rings true’ in these ways. In this sense, the findings appear to be secure. As individual findings, they cannot be generalised, but this is in the nature of ethnography. However, the principle of careful attention to lived reality (the ‘ethnographic eye’) ought to be generalised: that is, it ought to be and often is emphasised as an ingredient of professionalism in RE. The limitations of the research lie in its Swedish context, but again, the writer reaches out to wider literature and the article gives a basis to those wishing to repeat its methods in their own settings.

Find out more

British Journal of Religious Education 36.1 pages 39-52

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2013.820167

Research Summary

Jackson asks: how can teachers help students to analyse critically media portraits of religions in newspaper reports and television programmes which are sometimes inaccurate or emotive or both? He then draws on various Council of Europe discussions and various research projects to illustrate the importance of high quality teaching resources, also arguing that teachers must help students to use their own experiences when analysing media coverage and that attention must also be paid to visual images.

Researcher

Robert Jackson

Research Institution

University of Warwick, UK

What is this about?

The Council of Europe’s 2008 recommendation on the dimension of religions and non-religious convictions within intercultural education insists on combating prejudice and stereotypes. In subsequent Council of Europe discussions, concern was expressed about media inaccuracy and how to help teachers deal with it. This chapter addresses that concern, presenting research findings on the discussion of media representation of religions in the classroom and how to help young people to interpret media representation of religions. Jackson acknowledges that further work is needed on these areas, but hopes that the examples given will provide useful information for policy makers, schools and teacher trainers.

What was done?

The methodology of the chapter is to bring together findings from various Council of Europe discussions and various research projects, rather than offering a primary report of original research. Summaries are given of what respondents said at two Council of Europe Exchanges that brought together representatives of religion and belief organisations, representatives of the media industry, Council of Europe institutions and civil society organisations. Findings are presented from REDCo research on media discourse, UK government-sponsored research on resources used to teach about religions and Council of Europe research on intercultural encounters through visual media.

Main findings and outputs

The Council of Europe Exchanges identified challenges regarding the representation of religions in the media, some for journalists – e.g. committing to fairness – but some for schools, e.g. offering media literacy programmes, teaching students about traditional and new media, supporting teachers to deal with inaccurate media reports and analysing the portrayal of religions in textbooks and internet sites.

The REDCo research carried out in Norway by Marie von der Lippe found that young people engage in two types of discourse regarding cultural and religious plurality: ‘dominant’ discourse is media-influenced whilst ‘personal’ discourse relates to family, friends and school; these two discourses tend to be opposed and ‘personal’ discourse more positive.

The UK government-sponsored research carried out at the University of Warwick pointed out many textbook errors in the coverage of religions. It was also found that electronic resources depending on teacher knowledge and commitment are increasingly popular. It was recommended that publishers and web designers should work with academics and faith members to ensure accuracy, schools develop community partnerships with religions. and books and websites feature examples of social involvement and action between different faith communities, promoting a culture of ‘living together’. First-hand experience is desirable for understanding religions.

The Council of Europe Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters through Visual Media research showed how media images can influence people’s thoughts, often without them being aware of this. However, if learners evaluate their responses to images (including reasons for these responses), they can learn about their own assumptions.

Relevance to RE

This chapter is highly relevant to RE and there are a number of ways in which teachers, teacher trainers and policy makers might make good use of it. On policy, it seems clear that the forms of media literacy advocated in the chapter should be aligned with aims for RE, that is, that the aims of RE should include equipping learners to deal with media representations of religions. The same point applies to curriculum, in that units of study dealing with the issue of media representation of religions should be included in RE courses. On pedagogy the chapter is particularly good, suggesting that teachers might motivate students and promote student insight by setting up contrasts and comparisons between ‘dominant’ and ‘personal’ discourses of diversity. It also reminds teachers to be critical of learning resources, to encourage learners to do so, to build community links and to help students to analyse visual imagery carefully, bearing in mind that their responses to images might reveal as much about themselves as they do about the images. The potential for teacher development seems clear, as these are skilled and sensitive pedagogical strategies that would need to be thoroughly planned and repeatedly practised.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This chapter has very high credibility. It was written by an established expert and leader in the field. Its findings and recommendations were developed through the range of policy exchanges and research projects it describes and they are clear and consistent. They are generalisable across various national settings and contexts, the chapter having been written on behalf of the Council of Europe. As for limitations, the writer acknowledges that further work is needed on the discussion of media representation of religions in the classroom and how to help young people to interpret media representation of religions. Teachers will have to explore these issues in their own classrooms, but there is no doubt that the chapter provides very useful and constructive points of departure.

Find out more

This is chapter 6 of Signposts – Policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious worldviews in intercultural education, Strasbourg (Council of Europe Publishing) 2014, pages 59-66. Free download at:

http://www.theewc.org/Content/What-we-do/Other-ongoing-projects/Signposts

Research Summary

In this article, Baumfield discusses how RE teachers’ professional practice can be transformed through engagement with theory, showing how educationalists from John Dewey to Lawrence Stenhouse have seen the classroom as a laboratory and the teacher as an investigator. She gives accounts of different UK RE projects that have aimed, in different ways, to develop teachers as enquirers or set up collaborations between teachers and academic researchers. She finds that despite problems, RE teachers are well placed to promote their own professional learning by forming communities of inquiry, offering a useful synopsis of what has already been done.

Researchers

Vivienne Baumfield

Research Institution

University of Exeter, UK

What is this about?

The article addresses several closely related issues. What does it mean to be professional? For teachers this question has always been complex, for one reason because we work in two sets of knowledge (subject knowledge, to develop learners’ knowledge of the world, and pedagogical knowledge, to work with other practitioners). Further, there are knowledge for practice, provided by research, knowledge in practice, gained through teaching experience, and knowledge of practice. Knowledge of practice integrates subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge and is what makes teaching a profession. How can it best be developed? Through professional learning, the most fruitful form of which is participation in practitioner enquiry stimulated by participation in curriculum development. RE teachers are already very good at developing teaching ideas and sharing these via networks, but we also need to be prepared to criticise the practices that we develop and share.

What was done?

This is not a primary report of original research, but a synopsis of previous, well-established theory on teacher professionalism and teacher enquiry, coupled with detailed commentary on how various UK projects have sought to develop teachers as researchers or enquirers along those lines. The article includes balanced critical discussion of these initiatives. The writer gives useful, provocative indications of how such work might be developed so as to lead to increased RE teacher professionalism in the future.

Main findings and outputs

Background Theory
In the American educationalist John Dewey’s ‘laboratory’ approach, the teacher works with the interest of the learners, connecting their experiences and the curriculum: ‘psychologising the subject’. The UK educationalist Lawrence Stenhouse saw the curriculum as a process rather than a set of pre-planned outcomes: it needs to be tested in the classroom and teachers must then articulate what they have learned about teaching it , practice thus helping to develop theory.

Examples of UK RE Projects
The North East School-Based Research Consortium promoted knowledge of practice with RE teachers. Research into thinking skills was tested in the RE classroom. Teachers in each of six secondary schools in the project selected a strategy, integrated it into a topic and evaluated its impact. Students’ thinking skills and teacher professional learning were found to improve.

The Warwick REDCo community of practice used action research to develop the interpretive approach to RE in various school and teacher education settings, finding that teachers’ ability to add to the theory of RE was improved, especially in the group setting, not working in isolation.

Recently, in ‘RE-searchers’, primary school children became members of a community of inquiry into different forms of RE pedagogy. It was found that asking learners to become investigators creates a virtuous circle: the skills of their teachers also grow.

Summary Finding
RE teachers are well placed to form communities of enquiry and add to professional knowledge of practice, but must be prepared to interrogate findings rigorously to contribute to RE’s theory.

Relevance to RE

The article has very high relevance to RE. In relation to policy, it places emphasis on teachers to make judgements and take responsibility for their classrooms, increases our autonomy and charges us to collaborate with students. It suggests that curricula ought not to be overly prescriptive, space being left for teachers and learners to jointly investigate areas of interest related to RE (e.g. learners’ own questions). There are challenging indications for pedagogy; we need to investigate the content of RE jointly with learners, depending less on pre-set outcomes. Many teachers would need to develop new and different skills and approaches to do this and one of the strengths of the article is to indicate what has been done already. The writer insists that teachers sustain a critical stance in relation to the pedagogy developed and its implications for RE theory. If successful, this would mean a considerable increase in RE teacher professionalism. Many complain of excessive management and rapidly changing outside policy pressures, yet probably fewer are familiar with the more responsible model of professionalism documented here. RE teachers might use the research as a basis for establishing their own communities of inquiry, ideally in conjunction with academic researchers.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This article has high credibility, written by a very well-established expert and leader. It draws on a good range of influential sources, integrating these into a useful, considered, challenging discussion. The findings are true to the original sources. It is in the nature of the form of research covered that the findings have to be generalised through classroom practice (it might be better to say investigated through classroom practice), but that is the offering of the article to RE teachers. The writer is very clear about the possible limitations of the form of research that is advocated, pointing out, for example, that non-specialist RE teachers might find it too demanding, that a geographically dispersed group of teacher-researchers might struggle to maintain momentum and that a community of practice might struggle to constantly reach out to a wider body of RE theory. However, these are useful provisos to bear in mind.

Find out more

British Journal of Religious Education 38.2 pages 141-151

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2016.1139889

Research Summary

We Need to Talk about RE (London: Jessica Kingsley, 2017) is a collection of essays by established and emerging RE leaders commenting on theory, practice and policy around RE. The book focuses mainly on the English system, with European and wider global contexts referred to. Each chapter is a grounded, research-informed provocation. The book is edited by Dr Mike Castelli (currently Executive Chair of the Association of University Lectuters in Religion and Education) and Dr Mark Chater (currently Director of a charitable trust supporting RE).

Researchers

Mike Castelli, Mark Chater & Linda Woodhead

Research Institution

Several

What is this about?

The book as a whole promotes public discussion on what is needed from a new model of RE. The book argues that we need to talk about RE for several reasons: because so much is changing in the culture of schools; because teachers of RE are ‘cultural and religious heroes caught up in a conflicted education system’; because the kind of RE practised UK is unique, but gravely in danger of dismemberment and neglect; because of the urgent need to find consensus about the purpose and place of RE; and because wider society needs better ways of dealing with religious and cultural ‘otherness’.

What was done?

Each of the fifteen authors uses a distinctive methodology based on their own professional experience as teachers, researchers, practitioners, policy makers or consultants.

Main findings and outputs

Each chapter, written by a different author, offers a manifesto for change. The postscript, written by a serving teacher of RE, argues passionately for change based on clarity of purpose.

Relevance to RE

Trainee and serving teachers will find the book a stimulating, provocative and hope-inspiring daily companion to their practice.

Generalisability and potential limitations

There is no programmatic set of findings or recommendations.

Find out more

Castelli, M. And Chater, M (2017) ed. We Need to Talk about Religious Education: Manifestos for the Future of RE.London: Jessica Kingsley Publishing.