September 2006
Welcome to September’s edition of the Alite newsletter. This month Alistair Smith passes on some coaching tips; we reveal how being an infovore is essential for the progress of the human race; we focus on introducing e-learning across the school; and to conclude, we encourage you to eat more curries to benefit your brain power!
Alistair Smith shows us how coaching techniques advocated by the Football Association could be useful for teachers too!
Alite are the designated learning consultants to the English Football Association. We are often asked what this involves. In a nutshell we are contracted to work with the FA to modernise their training and coaching provision across all their activities.
The Football Association has responsibilities in the national game, refereeing, football medicine, football fitness, performance psychology and child protection. Alite works with each. The main focus of our work for the last four years has been to design a philosophy of learning which can permeate the FA. We describe the philosophy through a set of values and coach behaviours which then underpin all coaching and training. A Generic Tutor Training qualification is now mandatory for all those delivering FA programmes.
As this piece goes to press we will have completed the first filming sessions for a new FA Learning video which promotes a player centred approach to coaching with development and learning at its core. The video will include interviews with coaches, players and parents and will show coaches at work in school playgrounds, public parks, Charter Standard Clubs and the academies of a number of professional clubs. The video will show how development and learning sit together in football coaching. Here’s the essence of what we want football coaches to know about learning. Ask yourself how different it is from what teachers should know!
One
Football at all levels is about problem solving. At the highest level the problems posed by opposing players and teams are more complex, more demanding and less predictable. Top players and top teams pose more problems and find faster solutions. It’s as simple as that! Great learning involves problem solving. This can be informal - such as working out how a ball will bounce back off a wall – or formal, with a coach setting a similar problem in a 3 v 3 game about angles.
Two
No one ever learned anything of lasting value without being actively engaged in the process. Great learning requires the active engagement of the learner. Sustaining active engagement requires the coach to sell the benefits of the session to players, link it to their longer term development needs and give them variety: vary the conditions, the way you convey your message and the activities themselves. Most important of all, involve the players.
Three
The best learners ask the best questions. Great players ask ‘what if?’ Again this happens informally – ‘what if I step over the ball and drag it back?’ It also happens formally when a coach suggests some tweaks to a player’s repertoire. Supplying all the answers in a pre-packaged way kills curiosity - limit interventions, especially error spotting. Too few coaches are prepared to allow the ‘what if?’ question.
Four
No one ever got better without trying to! Structured practice is essential. According to Professor Michel Howe, an educationalist, it takes about 10,000 hours of structured practice to even begin to consider a future as a concert level pianist. Disabuse young players and their parents that it is all about being ‘gifted!’ Being gifted is not enough. Rehearsal of the basic skills through a progression of varied challenges will be necessary. However, space out and revisit the rehearsals. Apply the little and often is best principle.
Five
It seems a truism to add that - no one ever got better without wanting to! Coaches should not try to double guess what motivates a young player. Better to focus on removing the things which will de-motivate. All meaningful learning involves taking risks but we do not take risks if the consequences of failure are perceived to be too high. As we mature we can learn to tolerate hostility, uncertainty and even humiliation if we feel the risks are worth it. However with young players an atmosphere of hostility will inhibit any type of self expression and risk taking. So our fifth and final principle is that great learning which sustains over time takes place in environments which are conducive to risk taking. Young people need consistency of response in their lives from a mature adult. A coach becomes a role model and a mentor when he or she makes it safe for learners to take risks.
We pass on the message that the great coaches are developers and learners and combine all of the above. Don’t be fooled by the public image of abrasive, noisy and aggressive touchline coaching seen on television screens. Behind all of that a learning philosophy is slowly creeping in!
Infovores in our Classrooms
Fantastic news!
Our classrooms are full of young people who have an innate desire to learn something new.
Scientists, Irving Biederman (of the University of Southern California) and Edward Vessel (of New York University), call them 'infovores'.
In a report in American Scientist, they explain how they discovered that when acquiring new information human beings tap into the neural pathways responsible for reward and pleasure - the same pathways as those affected by drugs such as heroin. They believe that endorphines are released in the brain at the moment at which we get the 'click' of understanding.
Think about the pleasure we get from visiting a new place or reading an article in a magazine or newsletter. We are designed to be infovores. We are programmed to gain as much information as possible in case it has some practical use for us in the future. In fact, even if something does not have any practical use it is still important for us to pick it up. This is because people we regard as knowledgeable and/or intelligent are generally perceived as better mates. Being an infovore is, therefore, essential for the progress of the human race.
So why is it that the children we teach may not always be keen to lap up the information we are imparting? Because our basic instinct is survival and our infovore behaviour is turned off if we are preoccupied. For example, if we feel threatened, frightened, hungry or if we have other goals.
Biederman and Vessel tested how our brains respond to new, visual stimuli. They showed a series of pictures to a group of people and asked them to state which pictures were of interest and which were not. The same images were presented several more times and their interest declined. A second group of people were then shown the pictures but asked not to comment - this time their responses were measured using a brain scan. The response was the same; brain activity was higher with the more interesting pictures, but declined each time a picture was seen again.
The scientists believe that this decline in interest is down to what they call "competitive learning". Many of the neurons that are activated on the first viewing of an image need to be freed up so that they can look for more new information. Consequently, they are not involved in subsequent viewings. As infovores, if our hunger for new information becomes starved we become very quickly bored.
The scans showed that most brain activity of the subjects took place in the part of the brain where visual information engages memory, known as an 'association area'. It appeared that the people tested preferred the pictures with which they could make a connection. If an image brought forth a memory, it was more likely to be rated as highly interesting. Bringing this into the classroom, we see the importance of encouraging pupils to draw on previous knowledge and skills when learning something new.
Some people might argue that the research does not appear to apply to children. We all know how happily children can spend time doing something repetitive without become bored. For example, a younger child may ask to read the same book "again, again, again" until s/he knows the words off by heart. And, if permitted to, an older child may play computer games for hours apparently repeating the same task without any sign of boredom.
However, if you ask the younger child what the story is about, she is likely to show a lack of understanding. Many readings later, after the 'click' of comprehension and the reward of endorphines released in the brain, she is likely to put that book aside and request a different one 'again, again, again'.
The older child in front of the computer game is being rewarded each time she moves up a level. However, if you sit her in front of the screen without the control she is highly likely to become bored rather quickly. When we are younger we need to develop skills such as fine motor skills as well as taking in new information. Not that we would recommend gaining those skills from hours in front of a computer screen!
Biederman and Vessel only used visual stimuli in their tests, but they believe that they would be likely to get similar results using visual stimuli.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About E-Learning But Were Afraid to Ask
Jonathan Morris tells us how he is currently working on ‘marrying’ e-learning with dynamic classroom practice to ensure a motivating learning environment second to none at St Paul’s Catholic College.
Too often it can be forgotten that ICT is another learning tool, a means to an end across the curriculum, rather than simply ‘an end’. At St Paul’s, ICT has been developed into an effective medium. Our results at Key Stages 3 and 4 are excellent – 85% A*-C at GCSE, KS4 CVA 1022 and our CVA at KS3 puts us in the top 3% nationally; these are a real result of bringing together excellent resources with excellent teaching.
In 2002 St. Paul’s Catholic College, Haywards Heath could be described as a ‘good’ Catholic College which educated ‘nice, confident’ students. Results were ‘OK’. The Head wanted to revolutionise the College’s provision to create a learning experience which provided a ‘better education today, than yesterday’. What followed were key appointments to drive forward dynamic methods of teaching for learning, coupled with the Head’s relentless and often frustrating mission to move the school into a state-of-the-art campus.
The relocation of the College to its new site in Burgess Hill (2004) provided us with the perfect opportunity to invest in an innovative e-learning environment and vision, central to the design and infrastructure of the building, and following many months of planning and ‘fact-finding’ visits to other schools. Our building is, therefore, equipped with state-of-the-art technology including powerful servers, wired and wireless network and more than 250 desktop computers with flat-panel monitors. Every teaching room throughout the College is equipped with an interactive whiteboard, projector and sound system. All teachers, learning support staff and study supervisors have been provided with a laptop and are fully trained to use the interactive whiteboards. Staff receive regular professional development to continually improve their ICT competency, and in-service training is geared towards delivering enhanced learning and teaching through the use of e-technologies. In 2003 the College appointed an E-Learning Leader from the staff, and the following year added an E-Teaching Leader, the latter with responsibility to train staff and research into developments in whiteboard use.
The E-Learning Vision
Electronic Whiteboards, Laptops and the VLE
Our e-learning vision was reinforced through three main scaffolds, these being:
1) all students would have a laptop to access electronic resources
2) our own Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and
3) electronic whiteboards in all teaching rooms.
In order to manage the introduction of laptops and development of e-learning materials, a three-year strategy was put in place. Materials for Year 7 and 12 were completed in 2004-05, Years 8, 10 and 13 during 2005-06 and Years 9 and 11 for 2006-07. Year 7 and 12 students were offered the laptop scheme in 2004-05 and students in other year groups are also welcome to opt into the Scheme if they wish to do so. An impressive 95% of Year 7 students joined the Scheme in its first year; so far, 572 students out of approximately 800 students have joined the Scheme in total (at the time of writing two year groups were not formally ‘in’ the scheme). Students with laptops bring them into College on a daily basis for use in class. Coinciding with the gradual implementation of the Laptop Scheme was the preparation of e-learning materials for the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). To assist staff with the creation of e-learning materials, the College has employed a full-time Web and E-Learning Materials Developer. Crucially, curriculum time is also given to staff to develop e-learning materials or meet with the E-Learning Materials Developer.
Laptop Support
In the summer of 2004, we expanded our IT Department to include a specialist Laptop Technician, qualified to support students with technical difficulties with their laptop hardware and configuration. The Laptop Technician was credited with Toshiba Repair Centre Status in November 2005, meaning that we are certified to carry out on-site repairs of faulty Toshiba laptops still under warranty. This lessens the time that students are without their laptops should they become damaged or develop a hardware fault. During the forthcoming year we plan to look at ways to extend laptop repair services to the wider community, possibly by including the repair of commercial hardware.
Supporting the St Paul’s Community
In order to encourage further shift towards an e-learning culture, we created a new role to develop ICT Skills within the St Paul’s community. This role is concerned with the continual development and training of staff, students and parents in novice, intermediate and advanced ICT skills. Further courses and support will be offered to parents during 2006 and will cover the VLE, internet, email and Office applications for those who would like to improve their confidence, and ICT literacy to better support their child. It is planned that early next year our technicians will also be available for home support for parents and students with a College-issued laptop to resolve technical problems in situ, for example, broadband and wireless configuration.
Developing E-Materials
With the help of the E-Learning Materials Developer, staff continue to create fantastic classroom resources and curriculum tools that meet the visual, auditory and kinesthetic needs of our students. To compliment our recently attained Sports College Status, the PE Department has been working on a rich library of resources for the VLE from video clip instructions for basketball to interactive diagrams for hockey and football team tactics. The History Department has created audio clips for their entire Year 8 course on the VLE so that students, especially those with Special Educational Needs, are able to access the same curriculum inclusively and more independently. The Geography Department brought their Extreme Cold Unit to life with video clips of the Antarctic, video instructions and audio exemplar work. Almost all departments now have assessment and exemplar work on the VLE so that parents and students are supported in reaching their targets. All the resources (and every department has created e-courses for the ‘target years’) are available ‘anytime anywhere’ for all our students, whether they have a laptop or not.
Expansion of the use of VLE
This academic year will see a trail of different functions of the VLE. Several departments are now regularly using the forums for collaborative work. The role of the VLE for assessment submission, marking, recording and communicating with students and parents is also being explored, as, although there are existing provider’s suggestions for fulfilling online e-assessment, we have yet to find the solution that is meaningful and practical for all.
Communication with Parents
The Website and Email
Over the past year we have been working to improve communication and the accessibility of information for the whole St Paul’s community. This has largely been achieved by the redevelopment of a sophisticated College website, used to disseminate information to stakeholders and act as a ‘one-stop shop’ for anyone looking for information about our College. The College views the website as an evolutionary piece of technology, as the Senior Management Team and onsite Web Developer are continually looking at new and innovative ideas. Further to the website, St Paul’s has also been trialing the delivery of College letters by email to gradually replace the expensive, laborious and unreliable distribution of paper based letters.
Support for Income Assessed Families without ICT Access
St Paul’s is in the process of auditing ICT access at home via an online questionnaire with the intention of providing some level of support, perhaps financially or through the provision of second-hand hardware. The College believes this will go a long way to ensuring the equity of access to e-learning on the VLE from home.
Professional Development Centre
March 06 saw the launch of our Professional Development Centre, offering consultancy services, courses and materials to other schools. The College had already delivered courses for local schools in 2005 and delivered Inset to Hampshire’s Local Education Authority and we recognised a need for training teachers in e-learning delivered by currently practising colleagues who had ‘lived through’ the initial pedagogical and practical anxieties and who now were extremely proficient e-learning practitioners.
De-bugging our System along the Way
Certain obstacles are bound to arise along the way. Here’s how we overcame ours:
- ICT Competency of Staff – this may well be a challenge facing any school looking to take on such fundamental changes within the school environment. However, St Paul’s now has exceptional practitioners of ICT. We achieved this by first of all giving everyone (non-teachers too) a laptop. We then audited their skill level and tailored specific training for them during twilight and whole day Inset sessions. Two members of staff were given responsibility and time for this training. They were carefully chosen, that is, they were not the ‘computer whizz-kids’, but approachable colleagues who were sensitive to the anxieties that some had. This training is ongoing for new and established colleagues alike. We are currently launching an 'Attainment Levelling' scheme for whiteboard use, which directly targets improvement in practice through the Performance Management scheme.
- Virtual Learning Environment – there were issues over the structuring of courses and the interactivity of the product we had contracted to. We liaised closely with the provider, which included some frank and challenging meetings, to obtain extra training for ‘champions’ within our staff team to cascade throughout the College. Regular contact with senior people at the VLE provider was established so that we could influence their product development and design to make the VLE more staff- and student-friendly.
- Time – for colleagues to write whole year courses we had to provide time for them. At a financial cost, we decided to overstaff the college, thereby allowing timetabled time for each department to write courses.
E-Learning and the Accelerated Learning Cycle
“We don’t want Jonny or Jessica looking at a computer screen all day every day and then throughout the evening” was the most common concern parents shared with us as we consulted and informed our intake parents of our e-learning plans. We could reassure them that neither did we! We still have the same, transparently clear, Learning & Teaching policy that we had prior to our ‘e-revolution’, which demands that VAK learning is present in every lesson. Students no more look at a computer screen than they did a text book or exercise book. We are crystal clear that ICT is merely a tool towards the ‘end’; the ‘end’ being, of course, learning that will engage, motivate and prepare them to become contributors to our contemporary world at work and in society. If Accelerated Learning is about engaging students and motivating them towards ‘better’ learning, then e-learning is simply a tool that facilitates this process. The fact that, with laptops and other mobile technologies, VAK needs can be met and that feedback and assessment can be instant and permanent adds further weight. Students love to interact with technology and the immediacy of accessing learning via technology really suits the younger mind. Recently we have instructed colleagues that if the e-learning resources they are planning do not significantly assist in at least one aspect of the Accelerated Learning Cycle, then don’t spend time creating it! This focusing has been helpful in directing them towards what makes a ‘good’ e-learning resource. It has helped departmental colleagues to focus in on their own strengths and encouraged increased collaboration between individuals and departments. Equally as important is the need for as many e-resources as possible to be interactive, thereby avoiding ‘death by presentation!’ In short, our approaches to Learning & Teaching have remained the same in terms of standards. We do not want to minimise the role of the teacher in the educational process. What e-learning does provide, however, is another extremely powerful ‘tool’ to add to those developed via the work of Alite and other inspired colleagues to make learning dynamic and relevant for people today.
Conclusion
We have witnessed in school a shift towards greater independent learning, and technologies are starting to change the way students learn and communicate with staff and each other. E-learning is one, not the only, reason for the school’s significant improvement. We do not believe we are there yet. We will never believe this. Sometimes our journey has been a little fraught and we are happy to share these difficult times with anyone embarking on a similar journey. But, essentially, the time and effort have been well worth it as we see young people becoming more confident and motivated in their learning, which is, of course, what our job is all about.
Improve your brain… eat a curry
It seems that your waistband isn't all that eating curry could expand. A recent investigation has shown that turmeric, a key ingredient of many curries, can improve the brain-power of elderly people.
Turmeric contains curcumin, which is an antioxidant. Reports suggest that curcumin prevents the build up of amyloid plaques in people with Alzheimer’s disease. (Amyloid plaques interfere with nerve function, thus causing the symptoms of Alzheimer's.)
Researchers at the National University of Singapore wrote in their paper: "In view of its efficacy and remarkably low toxicity, curcumin shows promise for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease." They did, however, state that their conclusions were still tentative.
Furthermore, previous trials have suggested that turmeric could prevent the onset of alcoholic liver disease. So maybe allowing yourself a beer with your next curry isn't all that bad either?