Kate Wall
Kate's research interests revolve around supporting teachers and learners in talking about experiences of learning and teaching. She is particularly interested in methodologies for gathering pupils' views on curriculum and learning, with a particular focus on:
o visual methodologies for gathering the learners' perspective of teaching and learning
o learners' views on how they learn and their thinking about learning (Metacognition)
o ways in which teachers can be supported in generating talk about learning with learners
o learners' reflections on ability grouping strategies
o learners' experiences during the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies
o how ICT can facilitate talk about learning
o the experiences of learners identified as having special eduactional needs in the primary school
o learning to learn: its meaning and its application in schools for all learners
o practitioner enquiry through action research as a method for supporting teacher learning about the teaching and learning process in their classrooms
Phone: 0191 3448344
Address: School of Education
Durham University
Leazes Road
Durham
DH1 1TA
o visual methodologies for gathering the learners' perspective of teaching and learning
o learners' views on how they learn and their thinking about learning (Metacognition)
o ways in which teachers can be supported in generating talk about learning with learners
o learners' reflections on ability grouping strategies
o learners' experiences during the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies
o how ICT can facilitate talk about learning
o the experiences of learners identified as having special eduactional needs in the primary school
o learning to learn: its meaning and its application in schools for all learners
o practitioner enquiry through action research as a method for supporting teacher learning about the teaching and learning process in their classrooms
Phone: 0191 3448344
Address: School of Education
Durham University
Leazes Road
Durham
DH1 1TA
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Papers by Kate Wall
We have gained interesting insights in to the limitations and potential of the cartoon format and a sense of the semiotic frame of this activity through a first level analysis where we have mapped the data set in terms of the ways in which they used the cartoon template, the broad themes of the cartoons presented and the demographic characteristics of the participants. There are some indications that the age and gender have an impact on the kind of learning illustrated. The ways in which we introduced the activity and the questions and perspectives of the students about their involvement raised important methodological and ethical issues for the team.
We have generated conceptual maps which offer us a bewildering menu of options for further analysis, to the extent that we fear being paralysed by too much choice. We are tantalised by the idea of an image grammar for understanding this work – but is this a quixotic enterprise? We will present a range of interpretations from an ongoing immersion process and reflect on participatory methods to validate our understanding with the students who produced the cartoons.
The project includes more than 40 schools, including both primary and secondary age phases, from four socio‐geographically different regions in England. This paper present the methodological challenges and initial findings from using visual methods to investigate to what extent students in the project are interpreting these dispositions using a visually based methodology (Prosser, 2007) and will evaluate pupils’ interpretations and understandings of the Rs and how they relate to their learning.
Teachers were asked to invite their students to draw their own representations and interpretations of the Rs and submit them to the Campaign for Learning as part of a competition in the first term of the project. All of these drawings will be analysed by the University team. The data for this paper is therefore drawn from the visual representations submitted by the students for the different dispositions. Analysis will be conducted by the authors as an iterative process of theory and construct generation (Glaser, 1992) using the common themes and representations used by the students. These will then be used to create a classification of students’ views of learning as supported by this framework.
Can the networks of influence between practitioner enquirers be predicted by their professional context, age of learners or subject discipline?
If the complexity of a heterogeneous network is unpredictable, is this a potentially chaotic or creative situation and how can this be mapped?
This project is rooted in the belief that the teachers’ voice is paramount; therefore an action research methodology has been used. Moreover this methodology is one in which the teachers can identify their own research focus as well as their own intervention methods. The locus of control is firmly in the teachers’ domain rather than academia’s. However, to avoid criticisms of un-generalisable findings, as common research tools are introduced to the different action research case studies in schools, then conclusions can also be drawn across the whole national sample; thus becoming a persuasive tool for influencing practice and policy makers. This paper will explore the methods by which the different case studies are supported, the partnership that has developed between University and schools and the way that professional learning has evolved.
I will locate my thinking alongside a definition of metacognition which allows direct parallels to be drawn with common language around teaching and learning, ‘reflective and strategic thinking’ (Moseley et al. 2005). By highlighting some of the practices that I have seen in classrooms as part of the Learning to Learn in Schools and Further Education Project (Wall et al. 2010) that are supportive of metacognitive development then I will argue that constructing teachers in the role of metacognitive role models is not a massive leap in theory or practice, even if it does need a shift in how that practice is described and understood in practice. I will suggest that there are certain values and principles, arising from the epistemology of practitioner enquiry, that underpin the development of metacognition. This requires an openness from teachers and an authentic engagement with their own learning trajectories as well as the immediate learning about teaching and learning that occurs in classrooms every day. Finally I will focus on action research as a process that can support changes in practice, facilitate constructive dialogue about learning and therefore enable teachers to recognize their potential as metacognitive role models.
This keynote will explore the practices associated with developing metacognitive awareness. Using exemplification from real classrooms, we will explore the environment, the community dynamics and the roles and dispositions of learners and teachers when the dialogue changes from an emphasis on outcomes to process. In a practical session Kate will ask you to reflect on your own learning, its peaks and troughs, and consider how these experiences might be shared to support others’ learning journeys and what the consequences of this sharing might be.
`Both the style and the content of this book would seem to make it an excellent core text for PGCE or undergraduate level courses in teacher or student teacher research...It offers an easy-to-follow research approach that allows true reflection on practice' - ESCalate
Action Research in the Classroom is an essential guide for any teacher or student-teacher interested in doing research in the classroom. The authors map out an easy-to-follow action research approach that will help teachers improve on their professional practice and evaluate the needs of their pupils and schools for themselves.
The process of professional enquiry is an approach that helps teachers to respond to challenges and actively engage with the complexity of their working lives. This book sets out to enhance teachers' problem-solving skills and locate their own activity in a wider context, leading to opportunities to develop practice.
Numerous practical tips and examples of real-life action research projects from a range of types of schools make Action Research in the Classroom a must-have text for all teachers and students of education.
Subject Areas: Action Research in Education | Action Research
This book is based on the Campaign for Learning’s Learning to Learn in Schools Action Research Project, which is examining how to help pupils learn most effectively in order to give each one the best chance to achieve his or her full potential
This book is based on Phase 3 of the Campaign for Learning's Learning to Learn in Schools Action Research Project, which examined how to help pupils learn most effectively and so give each one the best chance to achieve his or her full potential. Phase 3 develops the outcomes of Phases 1 and 2 of the project, which have previously been published in Teaching Pupils how to learn and creating a learning to learn school.
The primary objective of the Learning Environments Campaign is to challenge those involved in the leadership, design, planning, resourcing and management of Britain’s schools to provide innovative and effective learning environments.
The overarching brief for the literature review contained the following questions:
– What makes a good school (physical) learning environment?
– What impact do (physical) school learning environments have on student behaviour, motivation, learning and achievement?
– Which components/elements of school learning environments make the most difference to pupil behaviour, motivation, learning and achievement, and why?
– What evidence exists to indicate the relative balance between the physical environment and the emotional and cognitive environments on pupil behaviour, motivation, learning and achievement?"
The project targeted schools in four areas of England: Birmingham, Devon, London and Manchester. It was delivered by the Campaign for Learning, with assessments carried out by Durham University. Delivery started in September 2012 and finished in October 2013.
The project was evaluated using a randomised controlled trial, which compared the interventions to a ‘business-as-usual’ control group. It is important to note that it was eligibility for the animation course, not participation, that was randomised, so the results must be regarded as estimating the effect of being offered the animation course (alone or in combination with teacher training, as appropriate) rather than participating in it.