We have had the Hinchingbrooke Approach to Teaching (H.A.T.) for two years; it includes ten general features of high-quality teaching that are largely based on Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction and, from those, subject teachers have created department-specific versions: The Hinchingbrooke Approach to Teaching English/Geography/Music/DT etc…We think the H.A.T. Is serving us well because it is based on common-sense, widely accepted principles that have been tailored by subject experts at our school in line with the characteristics of their subjects – in my experience, people are comfortable with being held to account for things they have played a major part in creating. And the H.A.T. should lead to a high minimum standard of teaching in every subject.
But the H.A.T. is designed essentially for teachers; it is not designed for the students – and that is where the Hinchingbrooke Approach to Learning (H.A.L.) comes in. The H.A.L. IS written for students, in language designed to be accessible to them all. Here are its 5 key headings:
1. We pay attention
2. We think hard
3. We try to remember
4. We fill in the gaps
5. We retrieve regularly
There is more detail in the work we will do with our students – for example: we will emphasise the importance of practice when we describe thinking hard, trying to remember and regular retrieval; and we will highlight the impact of quizzing when we talk about retrieval (the testing effect) – these are important details to be talked through among ourselves as staff first and then with our students, during next school year.
Why do this?
How many schools make clear to their students, in accessible language, the key aspects of the learning process? I think we should – it’s mostly why we are here, after all. I’m not talking here about the complex chemical processes that occur in the brain when learning happens; I’m talking about easy-to-understand and easy-to-do things for all children and young people. No expensive technology required. No one hundred complicated steps to remember. I do think that every young person should be equipped with key knowledge about how they can learn well – this is what the H.A.L. aims to be.
I would like every young person to be able to describe our 5 key parts of the learning process by heart. But knowing a thing could or should be done and actually doing it are two different things. That’s our great challenge as teachers and support staff and school leaders: to get all our students paying attention, thinking hard, trying to remember, filling in the gaps, and doing regular retrieval – as a matter of habit.
Once everyone is safe, there is surely no better work to be doing in a school.
