Using a Framework of
6 Key Principles to Increase the
Effectiveness of Smaller Classes
Maurice Galton
Faculty of Education,
University of Cambridge UK
Seminar on Small Class Teaching –
Leadership for Learning
June 2010 Hong Kong
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Six Principles to guide
improvements in practice
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Clear statement of learning objectives
Extended questioning during whole class discussion
More active pupil participation
Increased cooperation between pupils by working in pairs
and groups
• Less use of corrective and more informing feedback
• More use of the assessment for learning approach
Whenever possible exploration precedes instruction and examples are
situated in contexts that are meaningful to the pupils
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Justification for the Six Principles
1. Empirical: John Hattie’s meta analysis of
numerous studies shows that following
these principles results in gains in
attainment of the order of 0.5 effect size.
2. Theories of learning (particularly social
constructivist ones) predict many of these
empirical findings, particularly the idea
that ‘talk drives learning.’
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First Key Principle: Specifying
learning objectives
 Too often objectives are specified only in terms
of the content or task (e.g. To count in tens from
one to a hundred, to memorise the words of a
song/poem)
 Teachers need also to consider the purpose
behind these activities. Is it to facilitate problem
solving (counting) to aid comprehension
(recitation) etc?
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Some key action words when
specifying learning objectives
Low level (transmission): to recall, define, identify,
state, recognise, name, list, measure
Medium level (application): to use, show, perform,
explain, illustrate, predict, interpret
Higher level (understanding): to classify, design,
organise, compose, discover, summarise,
conclude, separate
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Some key questions when specifying
learning objectives
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Have I not only described the activity but also its
purpose?
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Have I described the purposes in terms of expected pupil
behaviour using action words?
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Have I linked the stated objectives to appropriate use of
teaching methods? In general the higher the level the
less direct instruction and the greater use of teaching
strategies based on the six principles.
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Second Key Principle: Extended
questioning during class discussion
Much questioning consists of rapid exchanges
between the teacher and an individual pupil. In
promoting higher level objectives pupils need to
partake in more thoughtful discourse. This
requires teachers
 To provide some ‘thinking’ (wait time).
 To use encouraging phrases such as,
“Interesting. Can you say more?” “Does anyone
else want to add more?” rather than repeating
the first answer.
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Some key questions about
extended class discussion
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How many pupils generally participated?
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Were thinking times sufficient?
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Did the pupils’ responses indicate that more than simple
recall was taking place?
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Did my (the teacher’s) responses help to extend
discussion?
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Third Key Principle: More active
pupil participation
When endeavouring to apply newly acquired
knowledge to novel situations pupils generally
find it easier to gain understanding through
‘learning by doing’. It helps if
 The context is a familiar one
 Ideas are shared through activities such as
‘brainstorming’, creating ‘concept maps’, etc as
a form of initial scaffolding
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Some key questions about
active pupil participation
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As far as possible was the task situated in
a context which was meaningful for the
pupils?
Was there some initial exploration of the
pupils’ ideas before activity began?
Was the task sufficiently motivating?
Did pupils demonstrate understanding by
reaching reasonable conclusions?
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Fourth Key Principle: Increased
cooperation between pupils
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Group and pair work often fails because
There is not sufficient academic challenge.
Organisation allows only some children to
actively engage in the task.
Rules of cooperation have not been established
and are not re-enforced.
Class does not engage in a debriefing session in
which they discuss how well they worked
together etc. and ways of doing better next time.
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Key questions about increased
cooperation between pupils
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Was adequate time allowed?
Did the task allow most of the pupils to
actively participate for most of the time?
Were pupils reminded about the rules (e.g.
taking turns, listening carefully etc.)?
Did the class have a chance to discuss
how well they worked as a group/pair?
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Fifth Key Principle: Less use of
corrective and more informing feedback
 Much feedback consists of showing pupils
where they went wrong and then
providing the right answer (corrective
feedback)
 Feedback can also be used to help pupils
to learn how to spot their own mistakes
and eventually to self-correct (informing
feedback)
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3 Kinds of Feedback
1 About Self: should focus on effort rather than on
person. Thus ‘That’s a good try’ rather than ‘Well
done’. Purpose is re-enforcement.
2 Task processing: (informing) ‘Where have you
got to?’ ‘What do you think may have gone
wrong?’ ‘What are you going to do next?’
Purpose is self-regulation.
3 Evaluative: (corrective) most powerful when it is
about faulty interpretation rather than supplying
missing information. ‘Show me how you got that
answer’ rather than, ‘ You need to do it like this.’
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3 Kinds of Feedback: Effect sizes
Task processing
self-regulation (informing)
cues
Self
re-enforcement of effort
praise
Evaluative
corrective
0.95
1.10
0.94
0.14
0.37
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Key questions about less use of
corrective and more informing feedback
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Did I praise effort as well as success?
Did my questions help pupils to spot
where they went wrong or how they could
improve their work?
When correcting a piece of work did I get
the pupil to show me how s/he arrived at
the answer?
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Sixth Key Principle: Use of the
assessment for learning approach
 Assessment for learning makes use of
formative assessment in order to diagnose
pupils’ learning difficulties and thereby
provide the required teaching to remedy
these deficiencies. At its lowest it employs
techniques such as ‘traffic lights’ to sort
pupils into groups for attention. At its best
it is personalised and caters for individual
needs.
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Key questions in the use of the
assessment for learning approach
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Were the forms of classroom organisation
sufficiently flexible to allow groups of pupils
with similar learning needs to come together?
Was much of the formative assessment based on
what pupils said and did rather than what they
wrote?
Did I build these oral assessments into a pupil
profile?
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Professional Development
 In facilitating teachers’ paradigm shift in
pedagogy, the approach of “Learning Circles”
has been crucial. Both inter-school sharing across
subjects and intra-school sharing of pedagogical
issues, which focuses at any one time on a specific
aspects of pedagogy, allows teachers to observe
and evaluate each other’s classroom practice and
thereby enhances the participants’ professionalism.
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Some Indicators of Success
What a school Principal might look for
1. Teachers shift from interactions with pupils which are brief and
random to those that are longer and more sustained.
2. Lessons often provide opportunities for pupils to explore their
ideas before formal instruction begins.
3 There is an increase in the proportion of pupil talk, much of it
occurring between pupils.
4. Teachers become skilled at assessing pupils’ understanding on
the basis of what they say rather than what they write.
5. Teachers are prepared to change classroom layout to meet the
requirements of different learning tasks and different kinds of
learning talk.
6. Pupils are required to reflect critically on the procedures and
methods used when actively engaged on tasks.
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Key References
Hattie, J. (2005) The paradox of reducing class size
and improving learning outcomes, International
Journal of Educational Research, 43 (6) 387-425.
Hattie, J. and Timperley, H (2007) The Power of
Feedback, Revue of Educational Research, 77
(1):81-112.
Watkins, C (2003) Learning: A sense-makers guide,
London: Association of Teachers and Lecturers
(ATL).
Wood, D. (1998) How Children Think and Learn,
Oxford: Blackwells.
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