82. Validity of assessment

Validity in primary school assessment refers to whether an assessment actually measures what it’s intended to, and whether the results are accurate and meaningful for the intended purpose. A vast amount of time is spent assessing pupils’ understanding, but can we be sure that the use of assessment is always valid?

This staff meeting starter encourages staff to think about and discuss whether there is an alignment between assessment tasks and learning objectives, using a range of assessment methods including regular review and updating of assessments.

Linked resources

Premium subscribers can access a training module about embedding formative assessment. In this video we explore Dylan Wiliam’s five key aspects of formative assessment, sharing practical strategies you could use immediately in the classroom.

81. How can AI help teachers?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay. It’s already having a significant impact across the public sector and it offers teachers numerous benefits and has the potential to transform education. Many teachers are using AI to design quizzes to check pupils’ knowledge, create homework activities, and draft emails or letters to parents. What else could AI do to reduce teacher workload?

This staff meeting starter encourages staff to consider the benefits of the use of AI to reduce the time spent on planning, marking, feedback and administrative tasks and discuss the risks, challenges and barriers.

80. Reflexive practice vs reflective practice

In education, reflexive thinking involves critically examining one’s own beliefs, assumptions, and actions, and how they influence teaching and learning, ultimately promoting continuous improvement and deeper understanding. 

This staff meeting starter helps staff consider how reflexive thinking focuses on the impact we have on others in our teaching and learning environment; noticing patterns and influences that affect our actions and how we can use this to change and grow.

Linked resources

We have a range of training videos which focus on self-optimisation. These range from managing other people effectively, building your influence in school, managing your workload, and overcoming imposter syndrome. Click on the button below to find out more about each video.

79. The double-edged sword of labels

Labels in education can be a double-edged sword, offering potential benefits like targeted support and intervention, but also carrying risks like negative self-concepts, lowered expectations, and increased stigma. Another risk relating to labels occurs for pupils who sit just below diagnostic thresholds. They can often miss out on having their needs met, due to the lack of a label. What appears to be vital is ensuring teachers focus on mitigating any barrier to learning.

This staff meeting starter encourages staff to discuss how understanding both the benefits and risks of labelling to adopt a holistic approach to pupil development.

78. Cognitive similarity

Pupils differ in their working memory capacity, sensory precision, and prior knowledge… it’s also true that they all learn through the same core cognitive processes, such as paying attention, perceiving similarities and/or differences, and retrieving ideas. By emphasising shared learning characteristics, teachers can implement practices that benefit the entire class.

This staff meeting starter provides an opportunity for staff to consider pupils shared mental architecture and how we can use this in our teaching for all learners.

77. Direct, systematic, and explicit instruction

Direct, systematic, and explicit teaching means that what you are teaching is clearly explained and defined. Expectations are clear and stated at the beginning of the lesson. Information is broken into manageable chunks. It avoids having the child process numerous directions. This supports pupils who may struggle with working memory or attention by helping to manage the cognitive load.

This staff meeting starter encourages staff to reflect and discuss how they use direct, systematic, and explicit instruction in class to support pupils by promoting clarity, understanding, retention and confidence.

Linked resources

Premium subscribers can access a training module about explicit teacher-led instruction. The research indicates that this is the best method to use when teaching pupils brand new material, strategies or concepts. Click the link below to access this video.

76. The ‘I do, We do, You do’ model

The ‘I do, We do, You do’ model is an effective teaching strategy designed to deliver new content to pupils in a structured and supportive manner. Also known as the gradual release of responsibility model, this learning strategy transitions pupils from having no prior knowledge of a topic to completing independent work and problem-solving activities using their new learning. 

This staff meeting starter provides an opportunity for staff to discuss the use of this method in their classroom including the techniques and benefits of the method.

Linked resources

Premium subscribers can access information about how to use the ‘I do, We do, You do’ model in our training module ‘Effective Vocabulary Instruction’. Use the bar at the bottom of the video to scroll to 20 minutes 14 seconds to access the relevant section. Click the link below to access this video.

75. Attention contagion

The attention contagion effect refers to the phenomenon where one person’s focus or attention influences others around them to direct their attention to the same thing. In other words, attention is socially contagious — people tend to look at or concentrate on what others are paying attention to. This is because humans are wired to follow social cues. Therefore, attention (or the lack of it) can easily spread around a classroom!

This staff meeting starter provides an opportunity for staff to consider and discuss attention and inattention in their classrooms and to share and develop strategies to encourage active learning, address inattentiveness and create a supportive classroom culture.

Linked resources

Premium subscribers can access two training modules about ways to manage behaviour and set routines which establish a strong learning culture.

74. Overcoming ‘expert’ blind spots

As teachers, it’s easy to forget what it’s like not to know. This is called expert-induced blindness (or the ‘curse of knowledge‘). This is a cognitive bias which makes it hard for us to step into our pupils’ shoes, set aside what we know, and empathise with those who don’t. It is common in schools because the knowledge gap between teachers and pupils is substantial. When the gap between what we know and what they know is wide, we may unintentionally pitch lessons or explanations at the wrong level.

This staff meeting starter encourages staff to consider effective ways to reduce the negative impact of our expert-induced blindness.

73. Split attention effect

The ‘Split Attention Effect’ is when pupils are exposed to too much information and their attention is spread too thin. This can lead to a reduced intake of important information and slowed learning, as pupils are unable to process so much at once.

This staff meeting stater provides staff with an opportunity to discuss extraneous cognitive load and pupils working memory when teaching or creating materials and resources and consider how they can ensure information that must be combined is placed together in space and time.

Linked resources

One of the strategies to combat the split attention effect is the use of dual coding. This is because the split attention effect and dual coding theory, but they represent opposite ends of the spectrum in how information is presented and processed. Dual coding supports the use complementary sources which are processed in separate channels (visual and verbal) to aid learning. Visit the ‘memory and learning’ section of our training module page to view the dual coding video. You might also want to look at the training module about cognitive load theory in the classroom as we focus on reducing the extraneous cognitive load through our teaching materials.