The term 'assessment' is commonly assumed to mean &'testing&';. Summative tests, such as national curriculum tests or GCSE examinations, are used to classify students numerically and to compare them with each other. These formal tests tend to be infrequent, isolated from normal teaching and learning, and carried out on special occasions. The meaning of 'assessment for learning&', the focus of this study, is quite different.

‘Independent Learning’ is often linked with other approaches to learning such as ‘personalisation’, ‘student-centred learning’ and ‘ownership’ of learning. Discussion of independent learning frequently arises in the context of important issues such as pupil-teacher roles and relationships, and the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in learning.

There are many ways of grouping pupils each with their own particular strengths and weaknesses. Able pupils seem to benefit from working with less able pupils because they are encouraged to explain what they know/think. In this situation the less able pupils get to know about new ideas and if the group ethos is supportive they feel encouraged to speak .

Rote learning, rote writing... we get what we teach. For example, according to evidence cited in a recent study, if we’re not careful, students rely on their teachers’ and textbooks’ interpretation of historical events rather than work from different documents to make their own interpretation of an issue.

For the past two years, the Standards Unit Mathematics Team has been working with over 200 teachers1 across 40 organisations nationwide to develop and improve the teaching and learning of mathematics in the learning and skills sector. The approaches and materials contained in this resource are the result of this work.

To help pupils become independent learners, it can help if you give them activities that support them to think for themselves. You can also use talk to develop pupils' learning, by pushing them to think hard and then getting them to apply their understanding in the next activity.

Believe it or not, something as simple as using hand gestures, matched to the message, can make a real difference to the way students learn and perform.

Small-group discussions have been strongly advocated as an effective teaching approach in school science for a number of years. But what do we really know about whether and how small-group discussions work?

Formative assessment involves a combination of activities aimed at targeting teacher and student actions increasingly precisely upon the next steps in learning for individuals. It involves dialogue that provides information about students' understandings that helps teachers and students interpret the effectiveness of the activity and tailor subsequent activities using that knowledge. Activities that contribute to formative assessment include different approaches to detailed feedback, teacher questioning and peer and self assessment in the light of learning goals and explicit criteria.

We all know that praise and how we use it can make a big difference to pupils’ learning. But the findings from a study of 109 year four students in two schools suggest that type of praise may be more important than rate of praise and that praise is effective when it provides specific information - which could, for example, be directed at pupils’ effort, or the particular strategies they use.

Teaching thinking is one of the real growth areas in schools and colleges. Thinking skills are often embraced enthusiastically by teachers but there are now so many different approaches that while we may be familiar with one or more of the individual techniques (e.g. Odd One Out, Fortune Lines, Living Graphs, Mysteries, Memory Mapping, Mind Mapping), few of us have an overview of the range of approaches involved and how they work and connect with each other.

Working with leading researchers, trainers and teachers, the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics is undertaking a year-long review of current attitudes, practices and influences across today’s mathematics education. In this evidence bulletin, we take as our starting point some of the key principles for effective teaching of mathematics.

Teachers can support the development of skills for enquiry and critical thinking through the use of new technologies in the history classroom.

Children’s learning has always fascinated educationalists. Recently, news in the press of Michael Shayer’s startling research finding that children are apparently less able than they used to be, has fuelled interest in learning behaviours and the teaching strategies that promote learning.

Pupils who have been taught to use thinking skills (reasoning strategies) often have better problem-solving skills and improved attainment. They are also usually better at working collaboratively to problem-solve and are able to make their reasoning more explicit than their peers.

This study explored how students behave, learn and interact with each other when they work in small groups to solve maths problems and what difference teaching students how to collaborate makes to their learning.

How do students behave, learn and interact with each other when they work in small groups, and what difference does teaching students how to collaborate make? This Australian study investigated the effects of cooperative learning (a non-traditional approach) on 223 Grade 9 students (age 14 years) as they worked on mathematics problem-solving activities. The students worked in either structured groups (where they were taught how to communicate and cooperate with each other) or unstructured groups (where they were simply placed in groups and expected to work together).

Peer tutoring is a method of in-class teaching in which same-age or older children are trained to support their peers in learning. It can provide educational benefits for both the tutors and the tutees, and is seen by many as one of the most effective, enjoyable and practical ways in which to deliver individual learning.

The Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) programme was a successful thinking skills intervention. The thinking skills strategies introduced in this programme were found to improve pupils’ learning and attainment science and also in English and maths.

Studies have shown that teachers play an important role in praising pupils and that levels of pupil on-task behaviour increase as teachers increase rates of praise. The findings from this study suggest that specific praise can make a significant difference to pupils' learning.

Schools implementing cognitive skills in maths saw over half participating classes achieve larger than expected maths achievement from year 7 to year 8 and significantly higher GCSE pass rates in maths than in control schools (0.8 of a GCSE grade higher).