Improvement Cycle

Hey

Oh for the simple life… but till then, more on the simple model…

Big idea 🍉

The Simple Model of Teaching has the potential to keep our focus on the things that matter most for learning, and to grow our expertise around them... but only if we use it well. Here's how, in four steps (on a loop):

1/ Identify lever: Think about each of the 7 questions... which area has the greatest potential to improve student learning? It can be helpful to have a coach or a colleague support you with this: it's sometimes hard to see our own practice clearly.

2/ Zoom in: Each of the simple model questions is a broad area of teaching, not a strategy. We need to zoom in and flesh out a clear goal (eg. call for silence) to work on over several weeks, and then zoom in further to identify one tiny part of that goal to work on each week (eg. hold silence once it arrives).

3/ Clarify good: The clearer the target, the faster we hit it. Ask an expert to talk through their planning, or demo an effective technique. If no-one’s around, then get your hands on a video (ideally with an accompanying deconstruction).

4/ Reps + feedback: In many ways, teaching is a bundle of habits, and so improvement is a habit change effort… which can only happen through sufficient repetition: dozens of reps, not a handful. Supercharge the result with feedback between reps: from an observer, from filming yourself, or from impact data.

And then repeat. Find a way to integrate improvement into your daily work rhythm. Keep it small so it can happen little and often, ideally weekly or fortnightly. And watch improvement inevitably accumulate over time.

Note All of this is easier, and more fun, with others: which is why coaching and group PD work so well.

🎓 For more, check out this paper on PD & Cognitive Load. 

Summary

• The Simple Model of Teaching can help us focus on the things that matter most for learning, but we need to use it effectively.

• Effective improvement means zooming in on specific areas to work on, clarifying what good looks like, and harnessing repeated feedback.

• Improvement is most effective when it is little and often, integrated into our daily work so that progress can build over time.

Little updates 🥕

• Research on 4-day school weeks in 1 US state → finds they did not support teacher retention, although new hires tended to be more experienced.

• Pilot study on motor learning → finds that 4 weeks of training improved motor skills but did not change synaptic density or brain structure.

• Research on phonics programmes → connects teaching letter-sound links to improved decoding, but warns that some links can create confusion.

• Meta-analysis of homework research → highlights that feedback quality is more strongly associated with student learning outcomes than quantity.

• Make your school smarter → ask your leader to get you Snacks PRO