Planning for challenge
Key issues addressed by the study
• This study explored:
– the extent to which pupils are challenged in their work
– the most effective strategies for promoting challenge
– teachers’ perceptions about challenging pupils
The key elements of the study
• This study included:
– a survey which found out about pupils’ perceptions
about challenge
– a literature review which looked at the evidence for
constructing challenge in the curriculum
– focus groups where teachers discussed their
experiences of constructing challenge
The survey: pupils’ experience of
challenge
• A significant proportion of pupils felt that
they were under-challenged in their school
work.
• In 2008, 31% of secondary pupils said that
lessons were not too difficult for them. By
2010, this had risen to 58%
• There was some correlation between pupils
finding lessons hard and their (self-reported)
attainment level. So those who found their
lessons hard seemed to be attaining at a
higher level.
The literature review: promoting
challenge
• A number of strategies
were found to be effective
for promoting challenge.
These were teachers
– encouraging pupils to take
responsibility for their
learning
– building on pupils’ starting
points
– using strategies such as
collaborative problem
solving
The literature review: taking
responsibility
• Encouraging pupils to
take responsibility for
their learning was found
to be effective for
promoting challenge. This
involved teachers
– taking a more facilitative
role
– planning tasks that
revealed the points at
which it was possible to
step back and let pupils
work independently
The literature review:
pupils’ starting points
• An effective way of promoting challenge was
building on pupils’ starting points. This involved:
– finding out what pupils knew and could do already by
using diagnostic tasks
– designing tasks and resources that built on this
• For example, teachers used a test to find out
about pupils’ understanding of a concept in
algebra. They then provoked ‘cognitive conflict’ by
asking the pupils to do the same task using a
different method. The teachers helped the pupils
resolve the ‘conflict’ by organising group
discussion of the new concepts and methods.
The literature review:
collaboration and inquiry
• Using collaborative problem solving was found
to be effective for promoting challenge. This
involved:
– changing pupils perceptions of learning from being
about receiving knowledge to investigating issues
– developing pupils’ group work and thinking skills
• For example, teachers encouraged pupils to
generate their own questions and enquiries in
science lessons. They discussed their ideas
with their peers and used a computerised
database to help them with their
investigations.
The focus groups: teachers’
experiences of planning for challenge
• The teachers identified a
number of issues in
planning for challenge.
These included
– the difficulties in identifying
pupils’ starting points
– concerns about overchallenging pupils
– knowing when to step- back
The focus groups: identifying pupils’
starting points
• The teachers thought that
identifying pupils’ starting
points could be difficult
because of a lack of time
to:
– listen to pupils’ explanations
in depth
– observe pupils carrying out
activities
The focus groups: strategies for
identifying starting points
•
The teachers suggested a
number of strategies which
could support the identification
of pupils’ starting points. These
included
–
–
–
–
refraining from doing most of the
talking
asking probing questions
planning structured written tasks
that ask pupils to record what
they already know
developing pupils’ skills so that
they can work independently
whilst the teacher carries out
observation
The focus groups: over- challenging
students
• The teachers thought that
over-challenge could result
in the pupils:
– losing confidence and selfesteem
– becoming disinterested
– behaving disruptively
– developing misconceptions
The focus groups: strategies for
overcoming the risk of over-challenge
•
The teachers suggested a
number of strategies which
could help reduce the risks
of over-challenge. These
included
–
–
–
developing an ethos where it is
‘okay’ to be stuck or ‘fail’ at a
task initially
building up a relationship of
trust by being upfront about
the nature of the challenge
stepping the challenge so that
it gets progressively more
difficult
The focus groups: stepping-back
• The teachers thought that
knowing when to step-back
could be difficult because
– it was hard to let go
– there was a lack of time to
help pupils develop the
independent learning skills
that they needed
– the students might develop
misconceptions
The focus groups: strategies for
stepping-back
•
The teachers suggested a
number of strategies for
stepping-back. These
included
–
–
–
helping pupils develop
independent learning skills
explaining to pupils that they
were expected to work things
out for themselves
structuring tasks so that the
learning was scaffolded and
students were not completely
left to their own devices in the
early stages
What was the size of the study?
• The surveys involved over 2000 pupils from over
60 schools in 2008 and 2009, and over 8,000
pupils from over 100 schools in 2010
• The literature review involved consideration of
7000 studies from which 45 studies were
identified in-depth data extraction.
• 52 teachers from across England took part in the
focus groups. The groups included teachers with
a primary and secondary background who had
responsibilities for maths, English or science.
How was the information gathered?
• Three online surveys of pupils were carried out
over consecutive years
• A review of research into how teachers
construct challenge was carried out. This
systematically identified 45 studies. The findings
from these studies were synthesised into a
literature review.
• 6 focus groups were held with teachers to
explore the findings from the review
How can teachers use the evidence in
this study?
•
Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their
learning was found to be effective for promoting
challenge. The teachers suggested that it was important
to help pupils develop independent learning skills.
• You might like to discuss with a colleague how you have
you made these skills explicit to pupils. Which skills do
you think your pupils particularly need to develop?
Which skills do your pupils think they need to develop?
• How do you structure tasks so that the pupils are
encouraged to take an increasing level of responsibility
for their learning?
How can school leaders use the
evidence in this study?
• A significant proportion of pupils felt that they were
underchallenged.
• To what extent do the students in your school feel
challenged? You might want to work with your
leadership group to design a questionnaire or
classroom activity which will help you gather this
information.
• Teachers found it difficult to step-back and let
students take responsibility for their learning.
• Could you provide opportunities for staff to discuss
strategies for stepping back? How could you support
staff in using these strategies?
Follow-up reading
• CUREE (2010) QCDA Building the evidence baseConstructing challenge in the curriculum: teachers’ views
of the difficulties and risks involved and ways of
overcoming them. (unpublished report)
• CUREE (2010) QCDA Building the evidence base student
data- final report. (unpublished report)
• CUREE (2009) QCDA Building the evidence base –
challenge review report. Coventry: CUREE