Supplementary memorandum from Lord Filkin
CBE, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families,
Department for Education and Skills, and Paul Goggins, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Correctional Services and Reducing
Reoffending, Home Office
IN Q786-787, BARRY
SHEERMAN ASKED
WHETHER RITALIN
WAS USED
TO TREAT
ATTENTION DEFICIT
DISORDER IN
PRISONS
Ritalin is a mainstream accepted treatment for
Attention Deficit Disorder and when offenders on Ritalin enter
custody, prescriptions are continued. In addition, it can be prescribed
as a specialist intervention when deemed necessary, as is the
case with patients in mainstream society.
IN Q783-784, VALERIE
DAVEY ASKED
FOR DETAILS
OF THE
RESEARCH BEING
DONE INTO
HOW BEST
TO TEACH
BASIC SKILLS
The National Research and Development Centre
for Adult Literacy and Numeracy are running a suite of five inter-linked
studies on effective teaching and learning practice in reading,
writing, numeracy, ESOL and ICT, funded by the European Social
Fund (ESF). The projects run from 2003 to 2006 (ICT March 2005)
and they build on methodological insights from the influential
American Institutes of Research report, "What Works Study
for Adult ESL Literacy Students".
The projects aim to identify "what works",
that is, the teaching activities that help to develop and improve
the language, literacy and numeracy skills of adult learners.
Research will identify correlations between teaching interventions
and learners' progress and attainments, and, in particular, the
classroom and instructional variables that can be correlated with
improving learners' language, literacy and numeracy development.
Details of the five studies are as follows:
Reading (Greg Brooks, Sheffield University)
The aims of this project are to investigate
(a) the range of approaches to the teaching of reading to adult
learners, (b) changes in learners' attainment and attitudes, and
(c) the correlation between the two, and to make recommendations
for effective practice, for intervention studies and for increasing
learners' employability. The research questions are:
— What is the range of naturally occurring
variation in the teaching of reading to adult learners in England,
and what are the correlations between different practices and
changes in learners' attainment and attitudes.
— What are the implications of this
for teaching, initial teacher training and CPD, for employability,
and for policy.
Learners' attainment and attitudes will be measured
at three points (pre, mid and post), and teaching sessions observed
systematically, in about 70 classes in order to achieve a pre-test
sample of about 500 learners, with a target post-test sample of
at least 250. Statistical analyses will correlate variations in
pedagogy with changes in learners' attainment and attitudes.
Initial findings regarding the profile of classes
indicate that the largest age-group represented is the 30-49 year-olds.
55% are women. 52% said they had no educational qualifications
although 61% had taken a course in the last two years.
Writing (Sue Grief, LSDA)
Building on phase 1 undertaken in 2002-03, this
project will investigate the correlations between classroom practice
in the teaching and learning of writing in adult literacy provision
and the progress of learners as they develop the skills of writing
and their confidence as writers. The data collected will be both
quantitative and qualitative. Statistical analysis will be used
to correlate pedagogical approaches with learners' progress.
The project aims to:
1. analyse the relationship between classroom
practice in relation to the teaching and learning of writing used
within adult literacy programmes and:
— the progress made by learners in the
skills of writing at word, sentence and text level;
— change in learners' attitudes towards
themselves as writers and their ability to use writing in their
everyday lives;
2. further analyse and describe reasons for
the effectiveness of strategies for the teaching and learning
of writing used by teachers and learners;
3. produce a report on the findings of the
studies that can inform practice and policy in the teaching of
writing;
4. produce and disseminate a toolkit for
teachers that can support effective practice in the teaching of
writing; and
5. identify questions for further research
on the development of writing skills in adult literacy and implications
for learners' employability.
Phase 1 of this project involved a process of
reviews, to inform the design of research tools for phase 2. A
report on this process, which included current practice with teacher
and learner focus groups, and consultations with practitioners,
managers and researchers in the field of adult literacy, has been
published by NRDC.
Key points include the high value placed on
the mastery of spelling and punctuation by learners, in contrast
to teachers' emphasis on the expression of ideas. Findings also
suggested a number of variables that may be significant to the
teaching and/or learning of writing—these will tested in
phase 2: authenticity of materials and communication; collaborative
approaches; making the process of writing explicit to learners;
contextualisation of writing tasks and the relevance of teaching
and materials to learners' lives.
Outcomes will include a research report and
a toolkit for teachers of adult literacy developed in conjunction
with the reading project; these will be available in 2006.
Numeracy (Diana Coben, Kings College)
This project has developed the following research
instruments: teacher interview schedule, learner interview schedule,
classroom observation schedules which comprise of an open-ended
schedule, an "episode" schedule and a reflective observation
schedule, learner attitude questionnaire, learner background questionnaire,
numeracy assessment instrument, researcher handbook. A selection
of the Skills for Life Survey test items is being used
in the assessment instrument, under licence.
Emerging findings are as follows:
— Learners made highly significant
gains between the two testing occasions, accompanied by a small
positive change in attitudes.
— Overall, however, no significant
differences in progress were found between different classes and
teachers;
— Of all the learner background variables
(ethnicity, first language, age, qualifications in mathematics,
numeracy course at work, age left school, gender, employment status,
motivations for attending the course), only two variables, ethnic
group and first language, seem to have a significant impact on
learner progress. Learners whose first language was not English
made more progress than learners whose first language was English,
although this may reflect the extent to which their initially
poor grasp of English impeded their performance at the first administration
of the test.
— No significant correlation was found
between higher class scores and teachers' years of teaching experience
to adults, or to their level of qualification.
— Learners' reasons are multiple and
complex but can be categorised under two main headings: for instrumental
reasons and for self (in fact, "self" can be further
sub-divided into "mathematical" and "social"
reasons).
— Although the majority of learners
say that they can get by with the mathematics they know at the
moment (a finding in line with that of the Skills for Life survey
of need (DfES 2003), some still want to learn more.
ESOL (Mike Baynham, University of Leeds and Celia
Roberts, Kings College)
This project is observing classes in seven venues
in inner and outer London, as well as Kent, and in seven venues
in the Leeds/Bradford/West Yorkshire area. The lessons take place
in colleges of further education, adult education institutions
and in community-based organisations. The levels range from Entry
1 to Entry 3, with the majority being at Entry 2. A total of 70+
learners in London and 70+ in West Yorkshire are being assessed
in the first round of observations.
Research questions set by this project are:
1. What is the range of naturally occurring
variation in the teaching of ESOL to adult learners?
2. What correlations can be established between
different pedagogical practices and learners' progress?
3. What is the impact of course length and
intensity on student achievement?
4. What lessons can be drawn for effective
pedagogical practice in adult ESOL?
Classroom observations, assessment results and
interviews with learners and teachers have led to some interesting
early messages. Classes showing progress tend to have a high degree
of learner involvement, including learner collaboration: "talk
is work". Materials from authentic sources or those that
are learner-generated are also associated with learner involvement
and progress.
It was also found that ESOL teachers are faced
with the challenge of responding to extremely diverse learner
needs. A class may contain some students with a high level of
education in their first language, alongside those whose education
has been severely disrupted or recently-arrived refugees. The
key question is not merely "what does effective practice
look like?" but "effective practice for whom?"
ICT (Harvey Mellor and Maria Kambouri, Institute
of Education)
Prior to the Effective Practice study a range
of observational studies were carried out looking at the use of
ICT in adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL classrooms. Findings
include a broad spectrum of integration of ICT into basic skills;
at one extreme, it was seen as just another teaching tool, at
the other, an important new literacy. It was also found that most
teaching consisted of a group presentation followed by an activity
supported by individual tutoring.
The findings informed the development and testing
of effective strategies for the use of ICT in these fields through
a series of trials under the Effective Practice stydy. The project
team are looking BOTH for development of literacy and numeracy
skills, AND for development in ICT literacy skills.
A range of teaching interventions were studies,
from e-portfolios to community provision, digital video and family
numeracy. Learners were assessed in October 2004 and will be again
in March 2005 using a specially developed ICT test and either
a literacy or a numeracy test. Tutor development will me observed
through critical incident interviews.
Tutors have noted a strengthened belief in a
learner autonomy learning methodology and a greater confidence
in experimenting and using new technology with learners to achieve
specific goals.
|
