How we Learn (approach & Pedagogy)

At Barnsole Primary School, we believe that learning should be active, supportive and inclusive, so that every child can succeed. We focus on three key principles that shape how children learn in every classroom: working together through Kagan Cooperative Learning, strengthening learning through Retrieval Practice, and adapting teaching to meet the needs of all pupils. These approaches help children build confidence, deepen their understanding and develop secure knowledge over time, ensuring they are supported, challenged and encouraged throughout their learning journey.

1. Kagan Cooperative Learning:

Kagan Cooperative Learning is not just about pupils working together, but doing so in a structured, collaborative manner. Developed by Dr. Spencer Kagan, this approach focuses on creating classroom activities where pupils are interdependent and responsible for each other’s learning. Key features include:

• Positive Interdependence: Pupils rely on each other to achieve a shared goal.
• Individual Accountability: Each pupil is responsible for their learning, ensuring no one is left behind.
• Equal Participation: Activities are structured so that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute.
• Simultaneous Interaction: Multiple pupils participate at once, increasing engagement and participation rates.

By integrating Kagan structures into our classrooms, we cultivate an environment where pupils actively engage, communicate, and support one another's learning journey.

Here are summaries of the four Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies we use at Barnsole:

1. Timed Pair Share:

   • Setup: Pupils are paired up.
   • Process: Each pupil gets an equal amount of time to share their response to a question or topic with their partner. The partner listens without interruption. Once the first pupil's time is up, the roles are reversed.
   • Purpose: Ensures equal participation and allows each pupil to articulate their thoughts.

1. Rally Robin:

   • Setup: Pupils are paired up.
   • Process: Pupils take turns providing answers or responses to a question or topic in a rapid, back-and-forth manner. For example, if the topic is "fruit," the pupils might alternate saying "apple," "banana," "cherry," and so on.
   • Purpose: Encourages active participation from both pupils and helps generate a large number of ideas or responses quickly.

1. Round Robin:

   • Setup: Pupils are grouped in teams (typically 4 pupils).
   • Process: A question or topic is posed. Pupils take turns sharing a response within their group. Just like Rally Robin but applied to slightly larger groups.
   • Purpose: Ensures that each pupil in the group has an opportunity to share, promoting equal voice and participation.

1. Rally Coach:

   • Setup: Pupils work in pairs.
   • Process: One pupil (the "doer") solves a problem or answers a question while explaining their thinking out loud. The other pupil (the "coach") listens, provides feedback, and offers encouragement or suggestions. Once the task is done, roles are switched.
   • Purpose: Promotes peer tutoring, active problem-solving, and verbalization of thought processes. Helps pupils to not only understand a concept but also be able to teach it.

Each of these strategies fosters active participation, collaborative problem-solving, and equal voice among pupils in a classroom setting. They are often used to break up traditional instruction and inject more interactive learning opportunities.

2. Retrieval Practice & Adaptive Teaching:

Remembering information is an important part of learning, and Retrieval Practice plays a key role in helping children know more and remember more. This means that in every lesson, children are regularly asked to recall what they have learned before, including key knowledge from the previous lesson as well as learning from earlier weeks, terms and years. Research shows that when children are encouraged to recall information from memory, rather than simply re-reading it, their learning becomes stronger and lasts longer. This approach helps pupils build secure knowledge that they can access more easily in the future.

At Barnsole, retrieval practice is used regularly across the school to support long-term learning. Every classroom from EYFS to Year 6 has a Brain Box, which contains cards with substantive (the key facts and knowledge pupils learn) and disciplinary (how pupils think and work as historians) questions linked to key history topics. Each week, children are asked these questions in a supportive way, through low-stakes quizzes, games and Kagan strategies, rather than formal tests. Questions may link to current learning or previous year groups, helping pupils revisit and strengthen what they already know. By regularly retrieving information, children are supported to move knowledge into their long-term memory, building confidence and understanding over time.

What is adaptive teaching?

At Barnsole, we believe adaptive teaching is about knowing our pupils well and responding thoughtfully to how they learn. It means teaching ambitious curriculum content to all pupils while remaining flexible in how that learning is delivered. Rather than relying on fixed approaches or assumptions, teaching is shaped by careful attention to pupils’ understanding and progress.

How does adaptive teaching work in the classroom?

Adaptive teaching is responsive and purposeful. Teachers regularly check pupils’ understanding through questioning, observation and discussion, using this information to make timely adjustments within lessons. This includes adapting explanations, modelling, scaffolding, questioning, pace or support in response to pupils’ needs. These adjustments help pupils to stay engaged and supported as learning unfolds, reducing the need for later intervention.

Is adaptive teaching the same for every child?

Learning is not a one-size-fits-all process. While pupils work towards shared learning goals, the route they take may differ. Some pupils may need additional guidance or structure, while others may benefit from greater depth or challenge. Adaptive teaching allows teachers to respond to these differences without lowering expectations or limiting ambition.

How does adaptive teaching support inclusion?

Adaptive teaching plays a central role in inclusive practice. By focusing on removing barriers as they arise, pupils are supported to access learning alongside their peers wherever possible. This approach values high-quality teaching as the foundation for all learners and ensures that support is based on pupils’ current needs rather than labels or assumptions.

Why do we value adaptive teaching?

We believe adaptive teaching leads to stronger understanding, greater confidence and improved outcomes for all pupils. This approach means our pupils are not only learning information but also becoming confident, independent learners.

By integrating this pedagogy with approach, our pupils develop not only secure knowledge but also the skills needed to work with others, communicate effectively and think carefully about their learning, preparing them well for future learning and life beyond school.