Pupil voice: comfortable and uncomfortable learnings for teachers

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Pupil Voice

Authors

McIntyre, D., Pedder, D., & Rudduck, J. (2005) University of Cambridge

Publisher

Research Papers in Education, 20 (2) pp. 149-168

Introduction

What can teachers learn from listening to their pupils?

Many teachers are starting to consult their pupils to help them find ways of improving the teaching and learning that goes on in their own classrooms. This study explored the experiences of six teachers and their pupils. The researchers interviewed thirty-six Year 8 pupils individually about three lessons and fed back the pupils’ comments to their teachers. They then interviewed the teachers about their reactions to their pupils’ comments and investigated the use the teachers made of the ideas with their current and subsequent classes.

The researchers found considerable agreement between pupils in their views of teaching and learning. They preferred lessons that were less teacher-led and appreciated interactive teaching that gave them ownership of their learning. They also wanted more opportunities to collaborate with their peers.

The teachers felt that many of their pupils’ ideas were sensible, practical and educationally desirable. Their responses to the pupils’ suggestions fell into three types: two teachers grew increasingly enthusiastic about the benefit of consulting pupils, two experienced success in the short-term, but did not continue to make use of pupil consultation, and two teachers’ experiences of using pupil consultation were unsuccessful.

We think reflecting on these teachers’ experiences will help practitioners consider how they might use pupil consultation to develop their teaching and their pupils’ self-awareness and confidence in their learning.

Keywords:
United Kingdom; Secondary schools; Pupils; Pupil voice; Teaching and learning; Teaching styles

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What did pupils suggest helped them to learn? How did the teachers select which ideas to use? What happened when teachers tried using their pupils’ ideas? What can be learned about pupil consultation from the teachers’ experiences? How was the study designed? What are the implications for practitioners? Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader Pupil voice: comfortable and uncomfortable learnings for teachers This digest found in Pupil Voice Send to a friend Word doc 60KB Printer friendly Collate for later Authors McIntyre, D., Pedder, D., & Rudduck, J. (2005) University of Cambridge Publisher Research Papers in Education, 20 (2) pp. 149-168 Introduction What can teachers learn from listening to their pupils? Many teachers are starting to consult their pupils to help them find ways of improving the teaching and learning that goes on in their own classrooms. This study explored the experiences of six teachers and their pupils. The researchers interviewed thirty-six Year 8 pupils individually about three lessons and fed back the pupils’ comments to their teachers. They then interviewed the teachers about their reactions to their pupils’ comments and investigated the use the teachers made of the ideas with their current and subsequent classes. The researchers found considerable agreement between pupils in their views of teaching and learning. They preferred lessons that were less teacher-led and appreciated interactive teaching that gave them ownership of their learning. They also wanted more opportunities to collaborate with their peers. The teachers felt that many of their pupils’ ideas were sensible, practical and educationally desirable. Their responses to the pupils’ suggestions fell into three types: two teachers grew increasingly enthusiastic about the benefit of consulting pupils, two experienced success in the short-term, but did not continue to make use of pupil consultation, and two teachers’ experiences of using pupil consultation were unsuccessful. We think reflecting on these teachers’ experiences will help practitioners consider how they might use pupil consultation to develop their teaching and their pupils’ self-awareness and confidence in their learning. Keywords: United Kingdom; Secondary schools; Pupils; Pupil voice; Teaching and learning; Teaching styles