Vital Vocabulary: putting research evidence to work

The importance of using research evidence to improve teaching and learning is discussed. The need to critically assess and question evidence is emphasized to avoid confirmation bias. The focus on improving vocabulary teaching in a primary school is described, including the identification of tier 2 vocabulary and the development of a consistent approach to introducing new words. The unintended consequence of students using new vocabulary without consideration is addressed, leading to a professional development cycle to improve teachers' subject knowledge and modeling of high-quality classroom talk. Vital vocabulary, putting research evidence to work. Navigating your way through a sea of evidence can be a daunting task, but it can reap real rewards for our pupils, helping us to make meaningful improvements to teaching and learning. But when considering evidence, it is important to get beneath the surface of it, to focus on the how as well as the what, asking questions such as do the principles that underpin this approach and make it effective in other settings mean it could be impactful in mine? Before deciding on a strategy to improve vocabulary teaching across our primary school, we made sure to read widely. Throughout this exploration phase, it was important to keep questioning and critically assessing the research. We were careful to safeguard against cherry-picking evidence that confirmed our preconceived ideas about what best practice might look like, interrogating sources thoroughly to make sure we identified the best way forward. After reviewing the EES teaching and learning toolkit and improving literacy guidance reports, we came to wonder whether our children were exposed to a variety of rich language regularly enough and if our vocabulary teaching was explicit and consistent. As educators, we are aware that while pupils may be able to decode words accurately, they can only fully understand these words if they are already in their vocabulary, they have repeated exposure to them and they have been taught how to use them in new and varied contexts. With this in mind, we created an implementation plan that would support and guide us in improving the teaching of vocabulary across the whole primary phase. As a team, members of SLT and lead teachers from each phase, we decided that we needed to put in place a more structured way of introducing new vocabulary and ensure that this was applied consistently across the whole school. We decided to start with identifying tier 2 vocabulary and plotting out the sequencing of when it ought to be taught. Then we developed a consistent script how it ought to be introduced. We monitored our progress by looking at how children's vocabulary developed, the range of words they were able to use verbally and in their writing across a range of different age groups. An unforeseen consequence of the teachers' increased focus on vocabulary emerged. We noticed that children were using all the new vocabulary that they had learned, but not in a considered way, making a piece of writing less successful. As a result, we had to go back and revisit how to ensure every new word learned earned its place. So how did we do this? We planned a six-week professional development cycle that developed teachers' subject knowledge and focused on teachers' modelling high-quality classroom talk through critically appraising shared rights. The children could then make more considered choices about the vocabulary they were using.