Maurice Galton

Some Characteristics of Effective Science Teaching

Summaries English In this paper, the authors summarize the main findings which resulted from a recent major research study of the processes and products of science teaching in English schools. For the purpose of this study, a Science Teaching Observation Schedule (STOS) was developed by means of which the intellectual transactions taking place between teacher and pupils during science lessons, can be recorded and analysed. Using STOS, the teaching behaviour of some 94 teachers of biology, of chemistry and of physics was studied. On the basis of this, three main styles of science teaching were identified. These styles are described and discussed both in terms of their educational effectiveness (as measured by pupil achievement) and in relation to the implementation of modern school science curricula.

The National Curriculum: can small schools deliver? Confidence and competence levels of teachers in small rural primary schools

Abstract Recent calls for primary schools to provide specialist expertise across the curriculum have presented a particular challenge to small schools (roll < 100) whilst other survey evidence has shown low levels of confidence amongst primary teachers in several curriculum areas. One strategy adopted by small schools to increase access to such expertise has been the formation of clusters. This paper, based on data from two rounds of questionnaires to headteachers and teachers, relates small schools’ teachers’ confidence and competence self‐ratings, and choices of curriculum support strategies to four levels of cluster commitment. Confidence and competence ratings were generally high but the expected positive relationships between self‐ratings and cluster levels were only partially supported by the data. Explanations based on the process of cluster development are offered.

The effects of changes in class size on teacher–pupil interaction

Abstract This chapter examines the changes in teacher–pupil interaction which occurred when teachers from the state maintained sector, with classes containing around thirty children, were provided with the opportunity to teach classes of approximately half that size. This was achieved either by “buddying” each of these teachers with a partner from a private school or by employing an extra teacher to take half of the large class. The results of the observation of these lessons showed increases in the types of interaction which previous research has shown to be positively correlated with increased pupil achievement. These increases, however, were not statistically significant. The chapter, therefore, concludes that before future experimental studies are carried out, there is a need for training designed to maximize the use of these key teacher–pupil interactions in small class settings.

Teachers' Assessments of Primary Children's Classroom Work in the Creative Arts.

Summary The primary aims of this study were to derive a taxonomy of the constructs used by primary teachers in assessing childrens work in visual art, music and creative writing, and to investigate the extent to which these constructs can be used consistently by different teachers. They were operationalized in the form of a series of rating scales derived from repertory grid type analyses of teachers’ descriptions of arts activities and artistic products. In two pilot studies and a main study, which included two in‐service day conferences, teachers from 17 primary schools evaluated childrens products from activities which were operationally defined as either structured or unstructured in each of the three artforms. Statistical analysis of the ratings revealed three clear findings, namely (1) that there was a high level of intercorrelation between individual teachers’ ratings of different pieces of work across all scales, (2) that there was a high level of intercorrelation between the different rating sc...

Classroom Practice and the National Curriculum in Small Rural Primary Schools

Abstract With the introduction of the National Curriculum primary teachers have come under increasing pressure from the Office for Standards in Education and other government agencies to change the ways they teach. However, the research evidence is equivocal as to the changes which have taken place at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 over the last 5 years. This article argues that part of the problem stems from the way that characteristics of classroom organisation, such as whole‐class teaching, have been defined in various studies. From case studies of nine rural schools in which systematic observation and pupils’ diary records were collected, an attempt is made to chart the changes in classroom practice over a decade and to compare these findings with other recent studies.

Systematic Classroom Observation: British Research

Summary A survey published in 1970 by Simon and Boyer, two American researchers; contained some 79 ‘observation systems’ ‐ sets of instructions or categories which the researcher can use to note down what is happening in the classroom he is observing. Of these, only two were British in origin. The information for this article is derived from a survey of 41 native British systems currently in use (Galton, 1978). In contrast with most of the American studies, which are geared to formal classroom climates, many of the British studies are concerned with the more flexible type of classroom and teaching methods. This perhaps will be one of the distinctive contributions of British researchers to this field, where there is always a danger that formal methods of teaching will receive more attention and seem more productive simply because, by their very nature, they are more amenable to observation and validation. At the same time, much of the British research is simply descriptive, and there is a need for more stu...