New lessons in stating the obvious

RESEARCH by “experts” at Durham University informs us of a new breakthrough in our understanding of teacher-pupil relationships: lavishing praise on pupils may be detrimental to learning. It has also been discovered that teachers with strong subject knowledge and understanding make a bigger impact on students’ learning, making this one of the key ways of improving results. Another is the quality of teaching, which includes good assessment of pupils’ work. The report found that praise that is meant to be encouraging and protective of low-achieving students can give a message of the teacher’s low expectations. The evidence also shows that “reverse psychology” may be at work: if children are criticised for doing badly in a project, they can take this as an indication that their teacher believes in their abilities.

Researchers also found there is little evidence that grouping students by ability, either by putting them in different classes, or separating them within lessons, makes much difference.

How will teachers respond to all this other than by emitting an exasperated sigh? Is it not ob- vious that teachers with strong subject knowledge improve student learning? It is hard not to have some sympathy with the teaching union leader who noted that his colleagues are “all too familiar with the fads and fashions regularly promoted as the latest ‘formula’ to improve teaching only to see them debunked and replaced by some other magic solution shortly afterwards”.

Marking work accurately and credibly, giving praise where praise is due and knowing your subject: the basic elements of what makes a good teacher never really change.