Twenty-eighth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

This paper focuses on a pilot project designed to improve both reading and cultural literacy in a targeted group of students preparing to take national English exams in the UK. The project is designed to improve GCSE English language results by increasing concentration, cultural capital, active engagement in reading and analysing a piece of writing. The project is an extension of a study—Let’s Think in English—that has proven results of increased literacy scores in primary and secondary schools. However, our target group is comprised of vocational students in a further education college, predominantly 16-18 years old who have experienced multiple attempts at passing the GCSE exams and have not succeeded. The goal of the project is to address the areas where students need to develop skills, knowledge, and mindset in order to improve their chances of success in the exams. For this reason, we design lessons that incorporate reasoning patterns, prior knowledge, and inference, helping to go deeper as more complex ideas are gradually introduced. The lessons are designed to encourage students to actively engage with the text on an intimate level in a way that gives them ownership of the experience as they make decisions about what they think. The paper presents both quantitative and qualitative evidence of outcomes based on assessments and observations from class experience.