There is strong evidence that peer tutoring, as a form of cooperative learning, has a positive impact on tutor and tutee outcomes. However, little previous research has been reported as to the differential effects of engaging in cooperative learning in dyads for peer tutors and peer tutees, respectively. A randomised controlled experimental study…

The unexpected advent of a global pandemic and, in the UK, as part of the government response to control the spread of the virus, the closure of schools with just 48 hours' notice, meant many English teachers were faced with entirely new pedagogical, curricular and technological demands. This article reflects on the experiences of five English…

Cognitive science-informed approaches have gained considerable influence in education in the UK and internationally, but not much is known about how teachers perceive cognitive science-informed strategies or enact them within the contexts of their everyday classrooms. In this paper, we discuss the perceptions and experiences of cognitive…

Social anxiety has been linked with adverse consequences for adolescents in education, including low self-efficacy, poor academic attainment and difficulties with social functioning. However, studies have not considered the phenomenon from an educator's point of view. We set out to explore the perceptions of secondary school teachers concerning…

Despite their essential role in learning, the cognitive and affective underpinnings of student self-assessment are not yet well understood. This research responded to calls to examine how students in K-12 contexts think and feel while engaged in evidence-informed self-assessment activities (i.e., self-assessment processes). We drew on a framework…

Promoting engagement is crucial for encouraging student participation, interest, and learning in mathematics. Student engagement has been conceptualized as interrelated types comprising behavioural, emotional, and cognitive characteristics. Cognitive engagement, our focus in this paper, relates to students' psychological investment in learning and…

Curriculum design is a domain that infrequently forms a discrete element of initial teacher training, or continuing professional development for music teachers in English secondary schools. Classroom music teachers, teaching Key Stage 3 (KS3) learners (11-14-year olds), are, however, required to design their own curriculum. Teachers are…

School systems across the world are working to make the classroom more inclusive for all children, regardless of their origin and capacities, so that they have equal opportunities for quality learning. It has become essential to integrate students with special needs into mainstream formal education and they are, increasingly, enrolled in regular…

Independent work and silent classrooms appear to be part of a wider discourse adopted by some schools across England and promoted as good practice by England's Education Secretary. This paper explores the effect of grouped and individual seating on the engagement of four boys in small group sessions teaching the English Language GCSE. Observations…

The present article reports research conducted during 2018 in a secondary school in South Yorkshire, England with a class of 11-12-year-old boys and girls and the class teacher of religious education (RE), in consultation with the head and deputy head of the RE faculty. The focus of the project was on the extent to which existing research findings…

This work applies a cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) framework to understand how the outcome of a high school laboratory task may be positively influenced without making changes to the hands-on practical task itself. Informed by cognitivism, novel practical instruction videos that were based on the same video but had different audio…

It is natural to assume the languages classroom to be a key site for the construction of learners' linguistic and multilingual identities. Yet, an underlying assumption exists that this will occur regardless of whether teachers explicitly raise learners' awareness about the nature of language and how language is implicated in their lived…

Critical thinking is an essential skill for life-long learning, and, given its increasing importance as a graduate attribute, it is vital to evaluate how educational systems can best improve students' critical thinking through their curricula and classroom practices. This study evaluates the differences in the critical thinking skills of students…

The concept of cultural literacy as a dialogic social practice celebrates alternative perspectives. Navigating multiple perspectives in dialogue requires high 'tolerance of ambiguity' characterised by a positive, open and flexible attitude towards uncertainty. This article aims to explore how provisional language is used in classroom dialogue to…

One remarkable feature of the contemporary school landscape in England is the number of schools that have chosen the co-operative framework to shape their work and relationships. When a group of schools decides to become a co-operative trust, leadership challenges arise both in the process of establishing an inclusive collaborative cluster and in…