Section outline

  • Self Study - Launchpads

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  • HPL in practice

  • Train your teachers

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      These are short pieces of CPD aimed at teachers in HPL schools. They focus on a specific aspect of HPL, for example, deliberate practice, metathinking etc.

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      What are Nutshells?

      Nutshells are short 30-minute CPD sessions designed to facilitate the whole school adoption of HPL pedagogical practice in Award and Fellowship schools. The ‘Nutshells’ cover a range of topics directly relating to the ACPs and VAAs, as well as covering subject-specific areas of the curriculum. Nutshells are not compulsory but are for HPL Leads and Senior Leaders to use with their teaching staff. 

      Nutshells are designed to:

      • Help teachers understand how to make cognitive success a routine student outcome
      • Increase teacher confidence and practice in building the key competencies
      • Increase the attractiveness and enjoyment of teaching
      • Increase the range and effectiveness of learning opportunities for students

      You can find everything you need for a short, easily deliverable CPD session for ‘in house’ training in the folder below. You will be able to download a presentation and the accompanying presentation notes. 


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      Nutshells: High Performance in the Classroom 


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      Nutshell 1: Introducing the High Performance Classroom


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      This folder contains a Powerpoint presentation, presenter notes and an activity.

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      7 Pillars of High Performance

      7 Pillars of High Performance which are essential for creating the best possible climate for success. Whilst the ACPs and VAAs form the language and basis for High Performance Learning each Pillar needs to be in place and understood. 


      Mindset Shift – Everyone must believe that ability is flexible and can be developed. 

      Enquiry based learning -  Academic performance is not just a question of what is taught but how it is taught. Not just ‘knowledge’ but also ‘pedagogy’. Enquiry based learning encourages independent thought and builds intellectual confidence. 

      Expertise development – advanced cognitive performance is not just about passing tests and exams.  Expertise is about developing the habits and behaviours associated with expertise i.e. thinking and approaching tasks like a mathematician or a historian. 

      Practice and Training – Extended deliberate practice i.e. high concentration practice beyond one’s comfort zone, has been found to play a significant role in helping students to persevere. Deliberate practice is not the same as mere practice – think about how a musician learns a new piece of music. 

      Feedback – Nothing new here but in High Performance Learning feedback must be combined with high expectations of what students can achieve. It should seek to not only comment on cognitive ability but also confidence and well-being.  Feedback comments on current performance and optimal performance – what does the student need to do to close that gap. 

      Engagement with parents – schools need to be proactive in promoting how parents can help and support their child. 

      With learners, not to them – It is critical that schools position High Performance Learning as an activity in which students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, are actively involved and make decisions. 

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      Pygmalion Effect

      The Pygmalion effect is the phenomenon whereby others' expectations of a target person affect the target person's performance.

         

      ‘The Pygmalion Effect’ video should set the scene and recalibrate thinking around expectations and performance in advance of the following discussions and activities. As the workshop proceeds teachers will notice the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ echoing in their consciousness. 


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      Summary

      A High Performance Classroom requires: 

      • That changes take place in the classroom culture 
      • That students are introduced to the High Performance learning language and become familiar and able to articulate that language  
      • Teachers rethink some tasks/activities in order to provide more opportunities to practice regularly the HPL advanced cognitive skills 
      • Teachers plan for and encourage more classroom dialogue – this is linked to the previous point as activities and tasks become more imaginative, requiring greater use of  paired/group conversations 
      • Teachers build in additional time for students to reflect on their learning during lessons and at the conclusion of units of work 

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      Nutshell 2: Developing the High Performance Classroom 



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      This folder contains a Powerpoint presentation and presenter notes


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      Fixed and Growth Mindsets 

      Most of the teachers will have some working knowledge of Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindsets. It is worth spending a little time discussing the differences 


      Growth versus Performance Mindsets  

      The subtle differences in language are worth exploring.  HPL provides the framework of ACPs and VAAs which teachers use to move the philosophy into actual practice. This is not just about recognising a need to think differently, but that we need to actively change classroom practices and provide regular opportunities for advanced cognitive development. 


      Summary

      In summary, it is important that teachers understand that High Performance Learning is the result of: 

      • 30 years research led by Prof. Deborah Eyre 
      • Is the result of her ‘in depth’ study of able students and how they think and behave when learning 
      • Is rooted in the latest neurological discoveries and psychological studies that demonstrate our brains are far more flexible/plastic then we thought 
      • Being trialled in schools across the world where significant improvements in all students performance has been noted 
      • Research which demonstrates that most students/people can be taught the necessary skills for high performance 

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      Nutshell 3: What really counts in the High Performance Learning Classroom?


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      This folder contains a Powerpoint presentation and presenter notes. 

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      High expectations (Video)

      From the temple-lined side streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand to the triple-deckers of Charlestown, Massachusetts, writer and teacher Jessica Lander finds that children who are written off as unlikely to succeed frequently defy our expectations.  

         

      The secret is setting high expectations for all students and giving them the support they need. When students surprise themselves by discovering their own potential, it can transform their lives. 

      Avid writer and teacher, Jessica Lander has lived and taught as far away as Thailand and Cambodia and as close as Boston — teaching students from sixth grade to university. She is a journalist and author of the recently published non-fiction book "Driving Backwards" 

      Mindset shift

      The two lists in the slide were drawn up by HPL teachers during a workshop at another school. They represent the general feelings of all teachers developing the HPL philosophy in their schools and the immediate steps that can be taken at the start of the HPL journey to gain those ‘quick wins’ and to help everyone adopt the necessary mindset shift. 


      Stop 

      • Using the word ability 
      • Using targets as ceilings 
      • I'm no good at... 
      • Labelling and categorising pupils 
      • Ranking pupils in the class 
      • Students comparing themselves with the rest of the class 
      • Focussing only on right and wrong 
      • Thinking you're on your own 
      • Relying on innate talent 
      • Accepting the simple first answer 
      • Stop having some children doing easy work 

      Start 

      • Talk about learners not pupils 
      • Think performance not ability 
      • Aim for your personal best 
      • Show pupils what good looks like 
      • Engage in more classroom dialogue 
      • Signal making mistakes is part of learning 
      • Question repeatedly 
      • Promote deliberate practice and hard work 
      • Ask where are you on your learning journey? 
      • Praise having a go  
      • Praise taking a risk, expressing your view 
      • Ask what strategies you are using 
      • Have everyone learning at high levels 

      What next?

      Whilst we will return to exploring impact later on in the year, it may be worth examining what we are looking to see emerge in our own High-Performance Classrooms. What will we all do next? 

      This may include: 

      • Adopting a HPL strap line for your school. Everyone adopts the same strap line so this becomes a whole school mantra reinforcing the mindset shift – teachers, students and other stakeholders.  
      • Over the coming months focusing on an ACP or VAA each week or for a set period of time.  
      • Considering how you will adapt your classrooms; the language spoken in class and the culture to embrace the HPL philosophy. How will you make HPL visible and explicit? 
      • As you start to introduce HPL into your classrooms and it becomes more explicit, build in time to reflect and track the changes you observe over each term. 

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      Nutshells: Meta-Thinking


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      Nutshell 1: Meta Thinking - Introduction  


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      This folder contains a PowerPoint presentation, presenter notes, a factsheet and an activity.

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      The ACP Meta-Thinking 

       There are 4 component parts to this ACP, and we are going to look at the first of them today:  

      • Meta-cognition – knowingly using a wide range of thinking approaches  
      • Self-Regulation – the ability to monitor, evaluate and self-correct 
      • Strategy Planning – thinking ahead about an appropriate way to tackle a task 
      • Intellectual confidence – the ability to express a personal view based on knowledge  

      This is a significant area of HPL and encompasses four discreet areas but very much interlinked with self-regulation and intellectual confidence dependent on well-developed meta-cognition and strategy planning skills.  


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      Meta-Thinking Video

      This short clip (2 mins) explains what Meta-Thinking is and helps illustrate the deeper meaning of the term.  

         

      It's important to check all teachers understand this deeper meaning and how this translates in any curriculum area.

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      Nutshell 2: Meta Thinking – Strategy Planning 


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      This folder contains a Powerpoint presentation, presenter notes and an activity.

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      The ACP Meta-Thinking 

       There are 4 component parts to this ACP:

      • Meta-cognition – knowingly using a wide range of thinking approaches  
      • Self-Regulation – the ability to monitor, evaluate and self-correct 
      • Strategy Planning – thinking ahead about an appropriate way to tackle a task 
      • Intellectual confidence – the ability to express a personal view based on knowledge  

      This is a significant area of HPL and encompasses four discreet areas but very much interlinked with self-regulation and intellectual confidence dependent on well-developed meta-cognition and strategy planning skills.  

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      Strategy Planning 

      Throughout our teaching, we need to construct activities that require students to think and come up with a range of strategies for tackling the task.  

      Making these strategies explicit (provide opportunities for students to explain their strategies) and building short reflection time into all lessons for students to evaluate which strategy they are employing helps develop and embed this important aspect of Meta-thinking.

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      Nutshell 3: Meta Thinking – Intellectual Confidence


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      This folder contains a Powerpoint presentation, presenter notes and an activity.

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      The ACP Meta Thinking 

       There are 4 component parts to this ACP and today we will explore: 

      • Meta-cognition – knowingly using a wide range of thinking approaches  
      • Self-Regulation – the ability to monitor, evaluate and self-correct 
      • Strategy Planning – thinking ahead about an appropriate way to tackle a task 
      • Intellectual confidence – the ability to express personal view based on knowledge  

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      Intellectual Confidence

      To build intellectual confidence students need to have multiple opportunities to give individual opinions and be asked to defend them.

      • Oracy in the classroom is the first step to intellectual confidence.
      • All students engage with activities not just those who present as more generally confident.
      • Students need to share ideas in small groups, whole class and with larger audiences.
      • Students need to be come accustomed to having their ideas challenged without becoming defensive.
      • Students need to be confident enough to abandon or adapt their ideas as a result of discussion or persuade and negotiate their opinions.
      • Intellect confidence is promoted through enrichment/co-curricular activities.

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      Nutshell 4: Meta Thinking - Self Regulation


    • Download: Nutshell Folder
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      This folder contains a Powerpoint presentation and presenter notes.

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      The ACP Meta-Thinking 

       There are 4 component parts to this ACP:

      • Meta-cognition – knowingly using a wide range of thinking approaches  
      • Self-Regulation – the ability to monitor, evaluate and self-correct 
      • Strategy Planning – thinking ahead about an appropriate way to tackle a task 
      • Intellectual confidence – the ability to express a personal view based on knowledge  

      This is a significant area of HPL and encompasses four discreet areas but very much interlinked with self-regulation and intellectual confidence dependent on well-developed meta-cognition and strategy planning skills.  


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      What is self-regulation and how do we teach it? 

       These Youtube videos summarise self-regulation and executive functioning.

          

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      Nutshells: Practice

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      Nutshell 1: Retrieval Practice

      Retrieval practice is an important skill and is promoted through the current Ofsted framework. However, we are trying to create enterprising learners so should expect to move beyond this to more sophisticated forms of practice aimed at improving performance – culminating in effective metathinking techniques.


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      This HPL Nutshell contains an activity, presenter notes and a presentation

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      Nutshell 2: Deliberate Practice


      Deliberate Practice

      Deliberate Practice is about going beyond practising what you can already do (or retrieving what you already know) to identify, and work on, areas which will take your performance forward.

      The Arnold Palmer quotation is relevant because, like most high performers, he recognised that his skill (or luck) was the result of hard work and the right sort of practice over time.

      Ander Ericsson

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      This HPL Nutshell contains a Powerpoint presentation and presenter notes. 
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