Teaching Students to Learn

“A focus on standards and accountability

that ignores the processes of teaching and

learning in classrooms will not provide the

direction that teachers need in their quest

to improve” (Black and Wiliam 1998),

“What is needed is a classroom culture of

questioning and deep thinking, in which

pupils learn from shared discussions with

teachers and peers.”

“What emerges very clearly here is the

indivisibility of instruction and formative

assessment.” (Black and Wiliam 1998)

“An effect size of 0.4 would mean that the

average pupil would record the same

achievement as a pupil in the top 35% of

those not so involved.”

“An effect size gain of 0.7 would raise the

score of a nation in the middle of the pack

of countries [on PISA] to one of the top

five.” (Black and Wiliam 1998)

“The way in which test results are reported

to pupils so that they can identify their own

strengths and weaknesses is critical.”

“For formative purposes, a test at the end of

a unit or teaching module is pointless; it is

too late to work with the results.” (Black and

Wiliam 1998)

“Students in a fixed mindset thought one

disappointing grade measured their ability

and their performance never recovered.”

“Students with a growth mindset believe

that their abilities can be developed, and

so their major goal is to learn.” (Dweck

2007a)

“Students with a growth mindset were significantly more oriented toward learning goals. Although they cared about their grades, they cared even more about learning.”

“Students with a growth mindset showed a far stronger belief in the power of effort. They believed that effort promoted ability and that was effective regardless of current ability.” (Dweck 2008)

“In a survey we gave to parents, over 80%

of them thought that it was necessary to

praise their children’s intelligence in order

to give them confidence in their abilities

and motivate them to succeed.”

“Our research shows that this is wrong.”

(Dweck 2007a)

Students who were praised for

‘intelligence’ became overly concerned

with how smart they were, seeking tasks

that would prove their intelligence and

avoiding ones that might not

Students who were praised for ‘effort’

remained confident and persisted through

difficult tasks more effectively (Dweck

2007b)

“In the majority of examples we studied marking was usually conscientious but often failed to offer guidance on how work can be improved.”

“In a significant minority of cases, marking reinforces underachievement and under-expectation by being too generous or unfocused.” (Black and Wiliam 1998

“While formative assessment can help all

pupils, it yields particularly good results

with low achievers by concentrating on

specific problems with their work and

giving them a clear understanding of what

is wrong and how to put it right.” (Black

and Wiliam 1998)