The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is recruiting schools to trial immersive training by the Royal Shakespeare Company to help primary teachers develop writing motivation.
The research project is one of 11 the EEF is launching to look at different approaches to improving outcomes in primary writing and secondary maths.
Year 5 teachers would attend five days of training in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the project, learning how to integrate techniques such as role play and choral readings into their lessons.
Techniques that teachers might learn to help their pupils interpret Shakespeare and boost their writing may include games, freeze frames and soundscapes.
Building evidence base
EEF is looking for 1,500 schools to take part in the 11 projects, which are intended to build the evidence base on how to best improve outcomes in these areas.
Five are supported by the Department for Education’s Accelerator Fund and three by XTX Markets.
One of the secondary maths projects would train Year 10 students as peer coaches, then pair them with Year 7s to deliver one-to-one maths help over 10 weeks.
Emily Yeomans, co-chief executive at the EEF, said: “It is no secret that most schools across the country are struggling under tight budgets, concerned about the impact this may have on supporting effective education and motivated teachers.
“These projects offer a way for school leaders to explore new teaching approaches in their settings, bolstering professional development for their staff, all while helping to build a wider evidence base on what works.”
All the projects will be independently evaluated to estimate their impact.
Another of the projects is a professional development course for non-specialist key stage 3 maths teachers, developed by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.
Another programme focuses on addressing foundational gaps in maths knowledge for Year 7 pupils.
Improving writing outcomes
One of the projects is a whole-school programme aimed at improving writing outcomes for pupils aged 4-11. It will bring in one-hour lessons to introduce pupils to a range of diverse texts and develop their skills through interactive activities.
There are also two early years research projects. One provides professional development to reception teachers to help them improve early maths teaching; another is a 25-week small group intervention aimed at improving language skills.
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