CGS Research/Read/Reflect #30
A regular round-up of the most interesting research, blogs and podcasts, shared by Mark Roberts, Director of Research at Carrickfergus Grammar School.
Research:
As the debate around technology use in the classroom continues, it’s worth revisiting a unheralded study from 2024 by research carried out on Norwegian university students by Van der Weel and Van der Meer. Comparing brain electrical activity in students handwriting versus typewriting, they found that when handwriting ‘brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard’. They point out that existing research ‘indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas… are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning’. Consequently, Van der Weel and Van der Meer conclude by urging ‘that children, from an early age, must be exposed to handwriting activities in school to establish the neuronal connectivity patterns that provide the brain with optimal conditions for learning.
Read:
Reading aloud and grappling with demanding texts, in subjects other than English, is rightly identified by Mary Myatt as a key feature of an ambitious Key Stage 3 curriculum. An important benefit of reading challenging texts is that they offer a doorway into developing students’ disciplinary literacy. A recent excellent, short blog by RE specialist Joanne Harris considers how her school encourages students to ‘Think Like a Theologian’ and offers advice on reading sacred texts in the secondary RE classroom. It may be subject-specific, but there’s a lot of useful ideas here for teachers of other subjects too.
Reflect:
The ‘Mind the Gap’ podcast grows from strength to strength, with the most recent episode being essential listening. English teacher and explicit teaching expert Tom Needham offers a brilliant, nuanced overview of Siegfried Engelmann’s work and how it can be applied effectively in the classroom in ‘Teaching Through Examples: The Power of Direct Instruction’.
Thanks for reading,
Mark