THE HONG KONG SMALL
CLASS TEACHING (SCT)
STUDY
Maurice Galton
Faculty of Education, University of
Cambridge (mg 266@cam.ac.uk)
1
BACKGROUND
TO THE SCT
STUDY
2
Study on Small Class Teaching
Year of
Study
Small classes Normal classes
20-25 pupils 35-37 pupils
2004/05
P1(small)
P2 (normal)
2005/06
P1(small)
P2(small)
2006/07
P1 (normal) P2(small)
2007/08
P3(normal)
P3(small)
P2 (normal) P3 (normal)
3
1. The main
research
questions
4
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?
5
 Do pupils in small classes make more progress than
those in regular ones?
 Are attitudes to languages and mathematics
stronger in small classes? Does selfesteem/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 ?
6
Research
Methods Used
in the Study
7
At school level
Chinese
English
Mathematics
Parents’ survey
Principals’ survey
P1-P4 year groups
At class level
At pupil level
Teacher characteristics
Pupil characteristics
Gender
Experience
Qualifications
Training
Subject specialism
Survey of opinions
Class size
Observation
Questions asked
Statements made
Feedback given etc.
Class/group/ individual
Sustained
Gender
Age
Place of birth
S.E.S
Outcome measures
Attainment
Attitudes
Self-esteem
Motivation
Observations
Time on task
Pupil talk
Target’s setting
8
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.
9
2. The Main
Results
10
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
11
School Learning Orientation
(combined attitude & motivation as % of
maximum score)
90
85
80
small
normal
75
70
65
start P1
end P1
end P2
end P3
end P4
12
Relative
academic
Performance
of SCT classes
and control
classes
13
End of P1 scores
55
50
cohort 1
cohort 2
control
45
40
35
Chinese
English
Maths
14
End of P2 scores
55
50
cohort 1
cohort 2
control
45
40
35
Chinese
English
Maths
15
End of P3 scores
65
60
55
50
cohort 1
cohort 2
control
45
40
35
30
Chinese
English
Maths
16
End of P4 scores
60
55
50
cohort 1
control
reference
45
40
35
30
Chinese
English
Maths
17
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
18
.
Teacher
Talk in
Hong Kong
Primary
Classrooms
19
Teacher talk during lessons
4%
3%
8%
12%
indiv
indiv-group
indiv-class
group-no focus
class-no focus
73%
20
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.
.
21
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
22
Questions by type (as % of all
observations)
14
12
10
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
8
6
4
2
0
fact
closed
open
other
23
Statements by type (as % of all
observations)
30
25
20
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
15
10
5
0
fact
ideas
direction
other
24
Feedback by type (as % of all
observations)
14
12
10
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
8
6
4
2
0
corr
inform
behaviour
routine
monitor
25
Audience by type (as % of all
observations)
70
60
50
40
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
30
20
10
0
iv
d
in
i
pa
r
g
up
o
r
s
a
l
c
s
us
ed
c
n
i
fo
a
t
s
no
su
26
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.
27
Pupil behaviour
in the
classroom
28
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
29
Pupils’ behaviour (as % of all
observations)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
on-task
in-base
Indiv work Group work
30
Pupil-teacher behaviour (as % of
all observations)
70
60
50
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
40
30
20
10
0
Indiv att
part class
part group
seeks att
31
Pupil-pupil behaviour (as % of
all observations)
70
60
50
type 1
type 2
type 3
type 4
40
30
20
10
0
initiates
responds
sustains
same task
32
Pupil types as a function of
teacher types
60
50
40
sol workers
int workers
active coll
att grabbers
30
20
10
0
Ind Enq
Gp Mon
Class Inst Class Quest
33
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.
34
SCHOOL
FACTORS
AIDING
SUCCESS
35
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
36
3. RECENT
IDEAS ABOUT
LEARNING &
THEIR
RELEVANCE
TO SCT
37
Watkins’ (2003) Three Ways of
Learning
LEARNING
as being
taught
(LBT):
process of
knowledge acquisition
as
Individual Sense
Making (LIS):
making
sense of experience
as
building knowledge
with others (LBKO)
38
Ways of Knowing I
Procedural knowledge
information processing
knowing this or
that about something
knowing rules
for use of
information
knowing how
to use
information
teaching as
instruction
39
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
40
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
41
Ways of Knowing II
conceptual knowledge
constructivism
knowledge of
ideas
understanding and
application of
principles
recognition of
classes
'belonging'
'not belonging'
teaching as
enquiry
42
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.
43
Ways of Knowing III
Metacognitive knowledge
Developing Expert performance
knowledge of
one's cognitive
processes
application of
appropriate
thinking
strategies
Monitoring
processes and
identifying
errors
teaching as
scaffolding
44
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
45
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 the46
better our results.
Six key principles to keep SCT on
track
Communicate
Use assessment
learning goals to
class in terms of
process not
outcomes
Provide more
thinking time
during
questioning
Boost
participation
during class
discussions
to inform future
instruction
Give feedback
which helps pupils
to sort out their
own mistakes
Develop cooperation
between pupils by
pair/group work
47
Small Class Teaching: The next
steps
48
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.
49
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
50
Factors promoting successful professional
learning communities
Offers intraschool as well
as inter-school
sharing &
support
Takes place
over a lengthy
period
Involves
collaboration
with peers,
mentors &
outside
experts
Provides
resources &
opportunities to
practice new
ideas
Takes account
of contexts
(school
environment,
pupils etc)
Addresses key
issues in
curriculum &
instruction
Must be linked
to specific
content areas
51
LEADERSHIP & LEARNING
52
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.
53
LEADERSHIP &
ACCOUNTABILITY
• According to MacBeath
(2008) today’s school
leaders are often “more
concerned with accounting
than learning, with
compliance than with risktaking and with public
relations than with the
quality of student
experience,”
54
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.
55
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
56
Where learning and leadership meet
Learning
Leadership
Is an activity
Is an activity
Is about change
Is about change
Is both individual
and distributed
Is both individual
and distributed
57
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
think—because of their success—that they know everything.
(Hesselbein, et al., 1996, p. 78)
QAD, EDB (2008)
58
58
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.
59
Leadership for Learning
Shared
leadership
A focus on
learning
Dialogue
Mutual
accountability
Conditions
for learning
60
Leadership is exercised
not at the apex of the
organisational pyramid
but at the centre of the
web of human
relationships.
(Joe Murphy, 1994)
61
leadership
Organisational
learning
Professional learning
Student learning
62
leadership
Organisational
learning
Professional learning
Student learning
63
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)
64
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 don’t say I’d love to do innovation but I can’t afford to
because of ……..
They’ve just got on innovating and doing exciting things and
running very good schools - exciting places for teachers and
kids to be in.
(David Hargreaves)
65
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.
66
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: What’s in it for schools? London:
Routledge.
Wood, D. (1998) How Children Think and
Learn,Oxford: Blackwells
67