How we have grown a culture of great teaching at our school.

1. Growing a culture of
great teaching
Shaun Allison - @shaun_allison
Andy Tharby - @atharby
Durrington High School, West Sussex

3. • Graded lessons.
• Differentiation by task.
• Measuring learning in a lesson.
• 3 part lessons.
• “All, most, some” learning objectives.
• Triple impact marking.
• Music for learning.
• Student centred learning.
• Pace, pace, pace!
• Progress arrows.
• Talk-less teaching.
• OFSTED checklists.
• Word search starters and similar!
• PLTS.
• VAK.
• Brain gym.
• Group work.
• Independent learning.
• Green pen marking.
• Flipped learning.
• Discovery learning.
• Cross curricular project based learning.

4. Wisdom of
great
teachers

5. Wisdom of
great
teachers
Educational
research &
cognitive
science

6. Wisdom of
great
teachers
Educational
research &
cognitive
science
Great
Teaching

8. Challenge

9. Explanation
• New knowledge should be
tethered to existing knowledge;
• New learning should be
introduced in clear steps and allow
for limited capacity of the working
memory;
• Abstract ideas should be made
simple and concrete in the
listener’s mind.

10. Modelling
Model the creation of
products/procedures
Deconstruct expert/peer
examples and use
worked examples

11. Practice
1. Practice for fluency – so
that we achieve
automaticity
2. Purposeful practice – so
that we practice at the
outer reaches of our
ability

12. Questioning
1. To test understanding of a new
concept.
2. To deepen and develop
understanding.
3. To ensure that students take a
share in the cognitive work of
the classroom.
4. To help you form and sustain
your classroom culture.
5. To create curiosity.

13. Feedback

14. “Tight but loose”

15. “Common Language”

16. “Meaningful for all”

17. “Supports purposeful practice”

18. “Not about best practice or evidence
based practice”
It’s about
• Effective practice.
• Evidence informed
practice.

20. “We need to stop doing so
many good things”
Dylan Wiliam

21. “This year we’re going to
focus on teaching &
learning”
A number of school leaders

22. Variety of teaching practices with a range of
effectiveness
Shared understanding about
what great teaching looks like
- 6 Principles
‘Tight but loose’ approach in
the classroom

24. INSET Days
• Explicit explanation for each of the 6 principles

25. Blog of the week
• Focus on what other teachers/leaders outside of
our school are thinking.

26. 15 minute forum
• How are our teachers using the 6 principles in
their classroom?

27. EduBook Club
• How do educational books support our work
around the six principles?

28. Staff CPD Library
• How do educational books support our work
around the six principles?

29. Journal Club
• How does the research support our work around
the six principles?

31. Sutton Trust – What makes great teaching?
Quality of instruction. This includes effective questioning and the use of
assessment by teachers. Specific practices, like reviewing previous
learning, providing model responses for students, giving adequate time
for practice to embed skills securely and progressively introducing new
learning (scaffolding) are also found to improve attainment.

34. Research bulletin
• How does the research support our work around
teaching and learning?

35. Informal conversations
• Drip feeding the principles

36. Lesson observations
• No judgement – formative – based on the 6
principles

37. New staff induction
• Alignment with the six principles

38. New staff induction
• Alignment with the six principles

40. Subject Planning & Development
Sessions
• What are we teaching in this subject over the next
fortnight and how do we teach it well?

41. Feedback
• What feedback is most effective in your subject?

42. Bright Spots
• How are teachers implementing the six principles
in their classrooms?

43. Using data usefully
• What does the data tell us? Is this backed up in
lessons? What can we do about it?

44. Teaching Talk
• Short videos that capture teachers talking about
their teaching

45. Teachers blogging
• Teachers reflecting on their practice and writing about
it.

46. Practitioner Research
• Bespoke masters programme that allows staff to
explore areas that they are interested in

47. Leadership Matters
• Provide the conditions for teachers to focus on their
core purpose – great teaching.
• Provide the conditions for middle leaders to focus on
their core purpose – reducing variation and growing
excellence within their teams.

48. Is it working?
Staff retention
• Last 3 years…
• 32 NQTs….
• 30 are still with us.