Classroom-based Interventions Across Subject Areas Research to Understand What Works in Education

1. An Introduction to Classroom-based Interventions Across Subject Areas

Gabriel J. Stylianides and Ann Childs

2. Double Stimulation for Reluctant Readers: A Literature Circle Intervention in a Secondary School English Classroom

Daniel Brocklehurst and Ian Thompson

3. What are the possibilities and limitations of small-scale, mediated classroom interventions? Two cases from Modern Foreign Languages

Laura Molway, Trevor Mutton, Robert Woore and Katherine Porter

4. Who is doing the questioning? A classroom intervention in secondary science classrooms to promote student questioning

Alexandra Haydon and Ann Childs

5. Developing science explanations in the classroom: the role of the written narrative

Richard Taylor and Judith Hillier

6. Developing talk in mathematics classrooms

Jenni Ingram, Nick Andrews, Jo Rudd and Andrea Pitt

7. The role of practitioner research and publication in developing a cumulative and critical tradition of research in classroom-based interventions in history education

Katharine Burn, Jaya Carrier and Anna Fielding

8. ‘Mapping-out’ the inferential relations of the subject content of geography lessons: a planning intervention for pre-service teachers to inform teaching and learning

Roger Firth and Ali Strutt

9. The Problems and Possibilities of Conducting Small-scale Classroom-based Randomised Control Trials in Contributing to Evidence-based Practice: One school’s Experience

Elizabeth Samuel, Christina Watson and Ann Childs

10. Commentary– Classroom-based interventions in different subject areas: Sharing meaning across researchers and practitioners

Merrilyn Goos

11. Commentary- Interventions in education: origins, theoretical perspectives and challenges

Shirley Simon

Biography

Gabriel J. Stylianides is a Professor of Mathematics Education at the Department of Education and a Fellow of Worcester College at the University of Oxford, UK. He is the convenor of the Subject Pedagogy Research Group and has conducted a number of intervention studies with a focus on mathematics. He was an Editor of Research in Mathematics Education and is currently an Editorial Board member of the Elementary School Journal and the International Journal of Educational Research.

Ann Childs is an Associate Professor of Science Education at the University of Oxford, UK. She is joint course leader of the science strand of the Post Graduate Certificate in Education and Director of Masters in Teacher Education (mathematics and science).

Review 1 Clare Brooks, Institute of Education, UCL, UK

The book is a very interesting proposal. The editors are right that there is nothing like this in the field, and that this highlights a real need for a greater discussion about classroom interventions in the subject disciplines. The main audience would be educators predominantly in the secondary school context and teacher educators. I would imagine it would be recommended reading on Masters programmes in education and teaching, unless identified as main text for specific courses.

In the current political climate in England, I think the interest in subject pedagogy is likely to grow. The focus on successful interventions is also unlikely to diminish and has broad appeal. The current situation with teacher recruitment is also likely to mean that more non-specialists find themselves with curriculum and pedagogical responsibilities and so something that makes achievement through the subjects clearer will be of value. I think another strength is that the book will be of interest to teachers and teacher researchers who are interested in the methodology behind classroom interventions and understanding how and why they are successful.

To ensure the book appeals to teachers across the spectrum of subjects, it is important that the key themes of the book are foregrounded in each chapter. The editors must ensure the focus of the book is on the methodological perspectives of the classroom interventions, the interventions themselves and what they reveal, or the idea of cross-subject working. [Editors agreed and already planned for this – strong overall intro and chapter introduction flagging key themes]

Do you recommend that we should publish this book?

Yes I think it will make an interesting addition to the field and I would certainly buy it and read it.

Review 2 Ian Davies, University of York, UK

There is a real need for this book. The questions the authors are addressing are extremely important. The audiences for this book would be wide-ranging – certainly PGCE trainees, master’s students, teachers and researchers from a number of different subject areas. I would imagine that this will be seen as essential reading in many PGCE courses. An appreciation of the link between theory and practice, research and pedagogy etc., are required.

The authors are addressing very important, fundamental matters. The ‘what works’ agenda, the relationship between schools and universities, the nature of expertise offered by academics and professionals are all central to this project. I suspect that the rather vacuous approach of recent years in which some expressed the view that we have had enough of experts will (thankfully) recede and we will be able to explore properly the nature of professionalism informed by academic and scholarly insights in the service of young people’s learning.

-Major strengths and distinctive features:

The book tackles fundamentally important ideas and issues. The team looks strong. The process for generating and reviewing the work looks very good.

-Elements that would make this volume a unique or essential resource:

The above make this a unique and essential resource

-Weaknesses and the necessary modifications needed:

I think the final 2 chapters will provide some very valuable insights. But at that point the collaborative (research-professionalism) link seems to break down somewhat. Could there be a more explicit form of partnership represented in those final chapters? I do not think the proposal has any significant weaknesses. [Editors agree and planning for this].

Do you recommend that we should publish this book?

Yes. Without doubt.