Teaching young people at different levels in same class harms learning

A column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk

IT used to be that Scottish education was one of the best in the world. Indeed, it produced such inventors as Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone), John Logie Baird (television), Alexander Fleming (penicillin) and James Watt (steam engine). This year, three out of six physical science Nobel Prize winners were educated in Scotland (Fraser Stoddart for chemistry and David Thouless and Michael Kosterlitz for physics). But this year’s Programme for International Assessment (Pisa) results seem to show a gloomy picture of declining standards amongst 15-year-olds when compared with other nations, with a particularly steep decline in science. Why?

I don’t think it can be the children themselves. The Scottish students we teach in St Andrews are highly motivated, well-educated and understand the importance of their chosen subjects. The pupils surveyed in 2015 have not arrived yet but a major drop in attainment is very unlikely to arise because of a sudden change in pupils. Nor is it the hardworking, talented and highly motivated teachers who do their very best for their pupils. Major changes like this are almost always due to system or structural change. The pupils surveyed were largely the second cohort to take National 4/5 under Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). CfE has so much promise but its over-rapid and shambolic introduction disadvantaged pupils.

The much increased assessment load associated with CfE may be one reason for the poor performance but a prominent issue concerns multicourse teaching, which involves teaching two or more sets of pupils studying for different qualifications by the same teacher at the same time. This works in rural schools with small numbers of pupils where significant individual help is possible but in other schools teachers are unable to meet the needs of their learners.

The difficulties are especially stark in science as safety dictates that a teacher’s full attention must be given to those carrying out practical work. In addition, the content and learning objectives for units in National 4 and 5 and Higher are quite different Multicourse teaching is common; according to a Scottish Secondary Teachers Association survey reported in December, 2015, 47 per cent of teachers were teaching classes with pupils aiming at two different qualifications and 23 per cent had multi-course classes aimed at three.

A more detailed survey by the Royal Society of Chemistry Education Division in January found that 73 per cent of National 5 chemistry classes had pupils studying for other qualifications (46 per cent with National 4, 19 per cent with National 3 and 4 and seven per cent with Higher, while 21 per cent of Higher courses being taught are multi-course).

More telling are the views of teachers on how well they could support pupils in multi-course classes. In National 4/5 classes 69 per cent responded “not at all” or “not very well”. This rose to 99.5 per cent when a Higher class was involved.

Units in National 4, 5 and Higher have very different contents and outcomes. Despite this, they were given the same names by diktat from higher levels in the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) but against the express wishes of those designing the imaginative courses. Seeing the same names for units at different levels, a headteacher will assume they are similar and can be taught together. Sometimes this has been done when it is unnecessary. One teacher reported that they had two classes, one with 17 Higher pupils and three National 5, the other two Higher pupils and nine National 5. Why not have dedicated Higher and National 5 classes?

John Swinney, as Education Secretary, has recognised the problems over assessment and the narrowing of the curriculum and is trying to address them, although care must be taken that the proposed remedies are not swamped by the plethora of concurrent initiatives. A strategic approach incorporating independent evaluation is urgently required. The Government and the SQA have been made fully aware of the problems caused by multi-course teaching by the Learned Societies Group, Education Scotland, the Royal Society of Edinburgh Education Committee and others. The SQA was warned that multi-course teaching could be expected to arise due to the courses adopting the same unit titles at a meeting nearly six years ago.

I am certain that sorting out the problems of CfE by reducing the assessment load, restoring a broad curriculum, including interdisciplinary learning and only having multi-course teaching where is it essential will allow for excellent courses that will again make Scottish education the envy of the world. David Cole-Hamilton is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews and a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Education Committee.