Secrets of homework success

The Department of Education released a report last week which concluded that spending more than two hours a night on homework is linked to achieving better results in English, Mathematics and Science. These findings over simplify the true impact of homework. Any experienced teacher knows that it is not the amount of time spent on homework that will help children achieve academic results, it is how that study time is spent. Quality, not quantity, is what’s important.

The key to successful homework lies both with teachers and with their students. A child who is motivated, engaged and interested in pursuing their studies at home may spend less or more than the allotted time , yet the process and outcomes will reflect the commitment to study and the genuine pleasure in extending learning beyond the classroom.

From the teachers’ perspective, homework should be set as an extension of classwork. The type of homework should be varied reflecting the age, progress and term weariness of the pupil. Thus it should include guided research and investigation, writing and problem solving and reading. Through the key stages, the quantity of homework set should be progressive and above all, homework should always be something that students can undertake on their own, giving them a rewarding sense of achievement once completed.

A passion for learning, instilled in the classroom by inspiring teachers and challenging material, will naturally lead to more time being voluntarily spent by students on homework and here there is an important balance to be struck. At the Foundation we monitor carefully the quality and quantity of homework our students are undertaking. In our experience bright, enquiring girls have a greater tendency to become absorbed in their individual studies and to lose track of time. This, of course, can be extremely rewarding if the pupil’s curiosity is piqued and they want to learn more, however, it is important to keep this enthusiasm in check as teenage girls, in particular, can put an enormous amount of pressure on themselves and can become unnecessarily tired and stressed.

A conversation with members of Year 11 last week about homework and workload in general was very encouraging. It was good to listen to students who felt empowered by their studies and not overwhelmed by them, who felt very well prepared for the first major public examination hurdle facing them after Easter. I wish all our students preparing for examinations all good fortune and a well deserved break over the holidays!

Whither the bookshelf?

With the continued growth of the internet, the advent of the Kindle and now iBooks, one can be forgiven for wondering what the future holds for the humble bookshelf and its inhabitants.

Here in Cambridge I see a healthy convergence of old and new at the central library. The ever-so appealing hushed, almost reverential atmosphere of our library is combined with the latest technology to deliver reading matter in a heady mix of both traditional and digital. After all, a hardback book, like a Kindle, is merely a method of delivery and by facilitating literary consumption through all media – audio and visual, paper and digital – the library is providing choice, making materials more easily accessible, appealing to all consumer tastes and allowing readers to decide which is the most appropriate and convenient method for their particular circumstance.

Are we reaching a turning point in this most essential medium of communication? History has witnessed many milestones which have been transformational. History books and indeed Wikipedia (!) report on three major examples: the invention of gunpowder, the compass and the printing press. The internet will surely go down in history as the fourth great invention. So, will the shine of digital media make books passé and consign the beloved bookshelf to a life supporting only carriage clocks and ornamental figurines?

Speaking for myself, I hope not. Within my own home I am proud to display books which are associated with a memory in my life. When visiting other people’s homes I am equally drawn to their bookshelves and animated discussion often ensues about books we have read in common. It seems to me that people develop an emotional attachment to the books they have read – they may only read them once but they still keep them fondly displayed on dusty shelves. So, like the digital photo-frame which flicks from one favourite memory captured in a photograph to another, maybe we’ll see a digital book-frame on Christmas lists this year, to be displayed proudly alongside our novels, verses, reference books, and figurines, as a convergence of old and new in the home.

I’m delighted to note that at the Foundation reading is still an extremely popular hobby among our students. I like to think that these young people will one day have homes and shelves crammed with well-thumbed tomes, as well as shiny iPads and digital books, allowing them to consume and enjoy reading whenever and wherever it suits them best.

Whatever happened to the Big Idea?

In a world where infinite information is so readily available with the click of a mouse, it is too easy to get lost in the morass of detail and lose sight of what really matters. Whatever happened to the big idea? The moment when a notion makes you stop and think?

In my own subject, History, there are ample opportunities to ponder. Teenage students relish the challenge presented by the actions of people and events in the past to pose difficult questions in their lessons. Year 7 students have faced a real moral dilemma in assessing the legacy of Saladin the Great. Despite committing acts that today are regarded as barbaric, was he a hero in the context of his time? The momentous events of the French Revolution in the eighteenth century have generated heated discussion about parallels with twentieth century history – Stalin and the Purges, Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution. Do the ends ever justify the means? Robespierre thought so. So did Stalin and Mao. Students in Year 9 would beg to differ.

This week the Stephen Perse Foundation in collaboration with the Cambridge Evening News is launching the Get Cambridge Thinking campaign. Over the next ten weeks we shall be posing questions framed with such debate in mind. This week’s question is:

“As long as you get there, does it matter how?”

If you want to engage in lively discussion, go online with the Cambridge News, www.cambridge-news.co.uk, and post your opinion. The Internet gives us information, discussion gives us insight.

School in a bag

Watching children struggling to and from school with one, two, sometimes three bags crammed with text books, stationery, humongous pencil cases, sports clothes and equipment has been a cause for concern for me over the years.

It is impossible to find a bag big enough to squeeze all the essentials in without zips popping and seams ripping, not to mention the incredible strain all this puts on the children physically – arms, shoulders, necks and importantly, backs. Apparently school bags are now double the size of those carried ten years ago. So I wasn’t surprised to read last week that half of all children are reported to suffer from back pain by the age of 14.

It is, of course, essential that pupils have all of their reference materials and equipment to hand but thanks to advances in technology there is real hope that in the future there will be almost no need for them to carry text books to and from school every day. From the autumn term all of our senior school students will be issued with their own iPads and their shoulders, arms and backs will breathe a sigh of relief. With this extraordinarily flexible technology they face a bright future where they will have instant access to almost everything they need to be able to continue their learning and revision outside of school in the evenings, weekends, holidays, without lugging hefty bags around. It’ll make cycling around Cambridge a lot easier and safer too!

Attending an Apple Leadership Summit in Cambridge last week, I was heartened to see so many peers in education also actively engaged with their iPads, clearly intent on using this extraordinary technology not just for their own benefit but to further their students’ learning. iPads are no longer relevant just to the future of education, they are a gateway to fluid, portable learning that is the reality of education today. Through this technology, students can carry school with them wherever they go.

Depth versus Speed

I welcome the government’s call for Ofsted to take a closer look at the impact of early examination taking on students. It is all too often assumed that acceleration of examinations is a positive thing. Many parents see it as a sign that their children are doing well at school and often it is assumed that getting one or two exams ‘out of the way’ early will help students to achieve well in their other subjects. There may be some surface appeal in this and pragmatically one may think that this will have a positive outcome but our experience shows differently and, far more importantly, this approach misses the depth and range perspective on education. The stated aim of our school is to educate, not to act as an examination factory with a focus on the accumulation of a string of qualifications over several years.

There is another fundamental issue with taking GCSEs early and that is, once the examination is taken, it is likely that the study of that subject will stop altogether. After all, surely the advantage of getting one ‘out of the way’ early, is to allow more time for studying for other examinations? If a student is advanced enough in a subject to take it a year early, it is possible that this is a subject they enjoy and have a talent for and that a year’s break from study before they potentially take it up again in the sixth form will be a year wasted, acting as a real barrier to learning. Indeed the student may even slip backwards. This is particularly pertinent with subjects such as mathematics and languages.

One final point to consider when deciding whether students should take GCSEs early is the emotional pressure inevitably placed on them by examinations. Under the current system, every year from Year 11 students will take public examinations. Adding early GCSEs merely extends this particular rite of passage and offers no relief before a student moves into Higher Education. Seemingly endless examination years can have a truly negative effect on the very real joy students can discover in learning.

Given such compelling reasons for not entering students early for GCSEs, why do so many maintained and independent schools do so? I believe one reason why some schools encourage the early taking of GCSEs is to allow students the opportunity to retake examinations the following year if they don’t achieve their desired grade first time around. If the school’s imperative is to do well in the national league tables, then this strategy makes sense but I don’t believe it is necessarily in the students’ best interests.

For all these reasons, I will always advocate depth and range over speed.

Making Numeracy Fun

‘Poor Numeracy Blights the Economy and Ruins Lives’ was the BBC headline from last week and, although sensationalist in its tone, I agree that this is the reality.

We may not always be conscious of using our mathematic knowledge and skills in adult life but we use them each and every day to some degree and without them would be severely hampered, both personally and professionally.

It was widely acknowledged in last week’s media coverage that text book teaching of maths is largely to blame for much of our inadequate numeracy skills and thank goodness this has finally been recognised. Text book maths can be dull and is often daunting and, while the basics can be taught in this way the majority of what is useful and relevant in mathematics is most effectively taught and enjoyably learned when it is applied to real life scenarios and across other subject areas. Mathematics taught in this way can be engaging and exciting.

At the Foundation we have found that by Year 9 (age 13-14 years) students can reach an ability level whereby they could function in a professional work setting. This then begs the question of why teach maths past this point? Teaching maths past GCSE with the same creative flair as it is taught in earlier years can be a challenge – students may find it difficult to see the application for matrices, differentiation, integration, quadratics, and the demands of abstract Maths in A2 can become a real burden. But, for students who persist with mathematics past GCSE there can be real advantages in later life. One possible route for non-mathematicians in our sixth form is the Maths Studies element of the IB course. Based on the principles of applied Maths, this course is a much more appropriate and satisfactory syllabus for the student not seeking to specialise in Mathematics.

Mathematics is about creativity, insight and precision. Working at this more advanced level, teachers should aim not to obscure the underlying mathematics, but to make it come alive. Only in this way will students be truly persuaded that the pursuit of this beautiful subject is of importance to them, understanding that maths can not only be useful but also creative and fun.

Inspired by TED

As educators we are constantly seeking inspiration from the world and people around us that we can pass on to our students, adding colour, depth and real-life relevance to their learning.  Students never cease to amaze us with their ability and willingness to question, experiment and reach for goals and this, in turn inspires us to continue in our quest for new thinking and ideas.

In my own on-going search for external inspiration, and as part of my commitment to continuing my professional development and remaining open to ideas and exploring the new concepts, I have been drawn time and again to TED.  If you haven’t come across TED, it is a forum for the sharing of ‘ideas worth spreading’; a catalogue of inspiring, amusing and, sometimes, truly brilliant presentations which, combined, represent a unique and first-rate lifelong learning resource.  The TED conferences are expensive to attend but the website delivers access to the presentations for free.

From an education perspective, Sir Ken Robinson is a must-watch and my favourite of his, ‘Changing Education Paradigms’, is an animated trip through controversial thinking about the reform of public education across the world.  It looks at the role of education in preparing children to enter an uncertain global economy and multicultural society and charts the need for fundamental change in an education system which was designed, conceived and structured for the needs of a different age – gripping and highly entertaining: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html

Another Ken Robinson presentation worth watching is ‘Schools Kill Creativity’, originally presented live back in 2006, which demonstrates Ken’s innovative thinking, much of which is mirrored by the Foundation’s beliefs.  You can see it here: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Other interesting speakers, this time from outside of education, include Simon Senik. Simon talks about leadership using Apple, the Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King to punctuate his points: http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

And, for a little light relief, everyone should watch Derek Sivers’ ‘How to Start a Movement’: http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html

Enjoy!