IOE Insights

Less is more? The back and forth over class sizes has been an enduring debate amongst many in the teaching profession. Professor Emeritus Peter Blatchford calls for a fresh look at the issue.

An IOE veteran of three decades, Professor Blatchford shares with Dr Humera Iqbal his early experiences cutting his teeth in longitudinal research at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, teacher training, and his key focus, unpacking the findings of the world’s biggest study into the effects of class size as well as two decades’ of research and review.

This forms the basis of Professor Blatchford and Dr Anthony Russell’s book ‘Rethinking Class Size: The complex story of impact on teaching and learning’, which examines how class size affects many areas of the pupil and teaching experience and outcomes.

Dr Iqbal also finds out how and why the gap in views of class size effects exist, the implications the research has for policy and practice, and to what extent this needs to be examined in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/nov/one-size-fits-all-closer-look-classroom-numbers-rftrw-s06e02

Please take our 2-minute podcast survey and let us know what you'd like to hear on future episodes: https://bit.ly/rftrw-survey

How has the pandemic affected local schools and communities?

UCL does an enormous amount of work locally to make its research accessible and to reduce inequalities in the education system. Professor Louise Archer joins this Coronavirus: The Whole Story episode alongside host Vivienne Parry and experts from the Faculty of Engineering Science to explore why now, more than ever, supporting schools and communities is vital.

Guests:

More info: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/coronavirus

Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/podcasts/coronavirus/transcript-episode-27

If you’ve got a question about the pandemic you’d like UCL researchers to answer, please get in touch by emailing UCL’s Communications and Marketing team on [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.

You would expect straightforward answers to what seems to be such a straightforward question. Dr Keri Wong finds out from Dr Rebecca O’Connell as to why this may not be the case.

For almost two decades, Dr Rebecca O’Connell has dedicated her career investigating the impact of food practices and policies in the UK and internationally. From 2014 to 2019 she led the ‘Families and Food in Hard Times’ study comparing how and what young people and families eat in Portugal, the UK and Norway as they navigate difficult economic times. Dr O’Connell shares key findings and lessons learned from the study, particularly how families on low-incomes are trying to get by and what policymakers should be doing to address these problems.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of food insecurity has also been headline news in the UK, and shed light on the ability of families to feed their children during this time. Dr O’Connell unpacks how this is currently playing out, especially since the government’s views on free school meals and welfare payments have come under heavy scrutiny from charities and football star Marcus Rashford.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/nov/whos-responsible-making-sure-our-children-dont-go-hungry-rftrw-s06e01

Please take our 2-minute podcast survey and let us know what you'd like to hear on future episodes: https://bit.ly/rftrw-survey

New digital processes are changing how garments are designed and developed. From wearable electronics to motion capture, to crafting a pattern on a virtual mannequin, what does rapid digitisation in fashion education and industry mean for touch? Has the role of touch and tactile material engagement in the garment design development process been fully understood yet? How does one go about studying touch practices in the contemporary fashion studio?

Full show notes and links: https://in-touch-digital.com/2020/10/20/fashioning-digital-touch/

More podcasts from the IN-TOUCH project: in-touch-digital.com/category/in-touch-podcast/

We're almost there. 2020 has been incredibly challenging, to say the least. But we're glad you're still here with us.

This season we'd like to give a very warm welcome to our newest member of the team, Dr Keri Wong! We've got her kicking things off with a chat with Dr Rebecca O'Connell about food poverty and free school meals in the UK, which has been front and back page news, largely thanks to the advocacy work of footballer Marcus Rashford.

Dr Humera Iqbal will be speaking to Professor Peter Blatchford about his research on class sizes as well as Professor Moses Okech on his work in improving education outcomes in Africa.

Our production team will then bookend the season and share their highlights from this year's episodes.

If you haven't already, we'd really appreciate it if you could please complete our 2-minute listener survey to help us bring you the best podcast possible: https://bit.ly/rftrw-survey

Thank you as ever for listening and subscribing!

For several decades, ‘school improvement’ and ‘raising standards’ have been high on the education policy agenda. The prescriptions have evolved – from national initiatives to school-led efforts, and from a mantra that teacher quality is all, to a greater acknowledgment that leadership and management (and funding, and an evidence base for practice) also matter.  

Are we any closer to these goals, and have the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic opened up a different kind of debate on supporting standards and schools?

Guests and full show notes: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/events/2020/oct/virtual-event-what-if-we-wanted-more-effective-school-improvement

In association with tes

Professor Elaine Unterhalter joins our podcast to discuss gender equality in education in Africa and beyond with Dr Humera Iqbal.

We begin by hearing about Professor Unterhalter’s fascinating personal and academic journey, raised in an activist family in apartheid South Africa, working with the ANC (African National Congress) and forming a vision of the country post-apartheid through the lens of education, and through to her current role at UCL.

Professor Unterhalter’s current research focuses on the ‘capability approach’, a conceptual framework developed by Professor Amartya Sen. We also hear about how this can be applied to address concerns facing education and international development, as well as how we can understand the policy challenges arising from COVID-19 drawing on the approach’s core concepts.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/oct/how-connecting-capabilities-can-challenge-inequalities-gender-education-and-covid-rftrw-s05e04

Take our 2-minute survey to share your thoughts about our podcast: https://bit.ly/ResearchPodcast

Professor Julie Dockrell speaks to Dr Rob Webster about how speech, language and communication are foundational to learning and achievement. What happens when a child struggles with these skills?

Slow progress can be hidden by the logistics and pressures of the current school system, making oral language delay a less well-recognised disorder, which is in turn less supported as children move up through school years. Disorders such as development language disorder (DLD) represent the most extreme end of difficulties.

Rob and Julie discuss reasons why some children might be slower than others to develop skills in this arena, and how they can be supported to overcome difficulties. We also hear examples of techniques that teachers can employ to create more opportunities for oral language development during classroom activities.

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/oct/overcoming-oral-language-barriers-learning-rftrw-s05e03

Take our 2-minute survey to share your thoughts about our podcast: https://bit.ly/ResearchPodcast

As the situation evolves rapidly and rules seem to change, we're talking about isolation - coming out of it, and going back into it, how to cope mentally and emotionally. What can astronauts teach us about dealing with isolation? How can we enable safe interaction among young people? Can digital touch help?

Join Vivienne Parry as she speaks with UCL experts:

This podcast is part of the 'Coronavirus: The Whole Story' series from UCL Minds. More episodes here: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/coronavirus

Access the transcript for this episode: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/podcasts/coronavirus/transcript-episode-21

Professor Gemma Moss talks to Dr Rob Webster about what research has uncovered during COVID-19 and what this means for our education system moving forward.

The pandemic has shone a light on the role of schools and their place in the community. You may have come across instances where teachers have gone above and beyond to ensure the welfare of children and their families by trying to meet gaps where existing health and social services have fallen short.

In order to make sense of all this, Professor Moss has led a study to track teachers’ responses to COVID-19 during lockdown and the reopening of schools. Over 1,600 teachers across England took part, with the results providing a series of insights that cannot be ignored.

The pair also discuss what happens next - is it a return to business as usual? What are the alternatives? How do you cater for a more resilient education system?

Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2020/oct/how-far-does-teachers-duty-care-go-rftrw-s05e02

Take our 2-minute survey to share your thoughts about our podcast: https://bit.ly/ResearchPodcast