His main book was when the adult changes, everything changes

Emphasising social interaction

Collaborative learning

1. Consistent, calm adult behaviour

2. First attention for best conduct

3. Relentless routines

4. Scripted interventions

5. Restorative follow-up

The gap between what a learner can do alone and with help – and the importance of scaffolding by more knowledgeable others.

Discovery Learning - a stress on independent exploration.

Pros: Greater independence, check for a more accurate understanding. Perhaps builds better independent learners?

Observing modelling, imitating behaviour and attitudes.

Stimuli - Responses

Rogers outlines various preventative strategies to minimise inappropriate behaviours, and to guide students towards appropriate behaviours. 

Teachers leverage modelling to demonstrate skills and behaviours they want students to adopt.

Independent exploration and discovery by the learner.

Less emphasis on social interaction, more emphasis on the child working by themselves

Restorative practice

Positive praise

Creating a culture of behaviour

Adults modelling good behaviour

Relentless routines

Calm approach

Scripted restorative behaviour

When the adults change, everything changes

In simple terms, he argued that children learn best through social interaction and culture.

Young children talk to themselves (“private speech”) to guide their actions — over time, this becomes inner speech, helping them manage impulses and follow instructions.

Teachers can encourage this by modelling self-talk strategies (“First I do this… then I check…”).

E.G Everyone is being too noisy

calm adult behaviour

first attention for best conduct

relentless routines

scripting difficult interventions restorative follow-up

Supported by Bandura's bobo doll experiment which showed children learnt from positive role models

Establish and maintain consistent routines for behaviour management e.g. seating plans, fairness, greeting students at the door, behavioural contracts, using names. Prioritised mutual respect and knowing children as individuals.

Relevant ITT/ECF Standards - 1.1, 7.1, 7.2

Counter Theories/Theorists:

-Montessori approach - child led with adult support

-Assertive discipline (Lee & Marlene Canter) - teacher control (not threatening) - authoritarian

-Retributive Justice

-Kounins - the best way to control behaviour is to teach well

-Grades and Praise kill intrinsic motivation (Kohn, 1957)

Teaching Maths, using times table grids and place value columns, so that students who may struggle can still achieve however without struggling, enabling them to reach further than they may feel they are at a brick wall

Tayloring talks and visuals for students that may need it

In PE, three heat zones 1) Warm 2) Hot 3) Blazing, enabling learners to feel that they can engage in the lowest level of PE, then they can try for themselves higher level exercises.

Having conversations that are relatable to them, personalising this for students.

He also discusses partial agreement, where you use words such as 'maybe' and 'but' to resolve conflict in a gentle but assertive way.

Counter-theory 1: Piaget suggests that children learn better through interactions with the world and other children as opposed to instruction from a more intelligent adult.

Counter Theory 2: Cat 4 tests as a predictor of academic performance and how children learn. Fixed model of student attainment.

How does it impact classroom practice?:

1. Teachers do not place limits on how much a student can achieve.

2. Tasks organised to offer apropriate challenge to all students, with required scaffolding.

Parallels with theories of Bandura

Bandura's theory involves external factors (rewards, reinforcement extrinsic motivation) whereas Rogers argue that emotional and psychological needs are met (intrinsic motivation).

opposing theories focus on relationships, emotions. behaviour is communication of needs. applicable in the classroom, aims for positive respectful classrooms, structure before relationships.

Counter - Constructivism - behaviour from social interaction

Bridged the gap between behaviourism and cognitive psychology

The Bobo Doll experiment - children who saw modelled behaviour towards the doll negative or positive, copied this behaviour.

The concept of self efficacy - emphasised the need for self belief. Central to social cognitive theory - describes a dynamic interaction between a persons behaviour, environment and personal factors.

How does this link to the classroom - modelling positive behaviours, peer modelling, give students achievable goals to build confidence. As teachers - promoting self efficacy as it is linked to intrinsic motivation.

Key concepts

Importance of social interaction and culture in learning

Children learn through guided particpation with more knowledgeable others

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which describes the difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can achieve through guidance.

(Piaget outlines stages of development)

Importance of the environment may also impact a child's behaviour.

Vygotskys theory suggests scaffolding children can reach cognitive abilities beyond what they would achieve alone, however Piaget focuses on self initiated discovery biological constraints.

Counter argument theorist

Piaget

Pupils progress through 4 developmental stages; sensorimotor (birth to 2 yrs), preoperational (2-7 yrs), concrete operational (7-11 yrs) and formal operational (11+ yrs)

Piaget sees language as a product of cognitive development rather than vgitskys argument that language is the primary tool for cognitive development.

-Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

- Language and Thought

- More Knowledgeable Other

Vygotsky’s main idea is that learning is a social process.

He believed children learn best when they interact with adults, teachers, or peers who can guide them — not by working completely alone.

- learning happens best through guided interaction

-He argued that children’s thinking develops through these interactions, especially through language, which he saw as the most important tool for learning. Talking, questioning, and explaining help pupils organise their thoughts and build understanding.

Teacher standards :

1 -Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils.

3- Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge

4- Plan and teach well structured lessons

5 -Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils

Uses positive language

Giving students choices

Shared responsibility among all staff, clear expectations and restorative practises rather than punitive discipline

Contrasting

BF Skinner - behaviour is shaped by its consequences and promoted use of reinforcement and punishment to manage behaviour

External control - system of rewards and sanctions

In our schools

Detention but must have restorative conversations at detention

Boarding school different and not consistent approach - pastoral and exceptional circumstances often come into play

1 - Consistent, calm adult behaviour

2 - First attention for best conduct

3 - Relentless routines

4 - Scripting difficult interventions

5 - Restorative follow-up

He also promotes learning through models, teachers that promote positive behaviour and act as role models, observers are more likely to adopt those behaviours.

Sociocultural theory

Zone of proximal development

Scaffolding

Culture

Social interaction is essential

Learning leads development

No fixed stages

Culture an influence

Language is a fundamental tool for thought

Jean Piaget

Cognitive Development Theory

Social interaction is useful but not essential

Development enables learning

Four stages:

-          Sensorimotor (0-2). Senses and actions

-          Preoperational (2-7). Symbolic thought and language

-          Concrete operational (7-11). Logical thinking. Conservation. Cause/effect

-          Formal operational (12+). Abstract/hypothetical thought – complex concepts

Children build understanding through schemas – “mental framework

Pupils need to be challenged but not continually fail as they lose motivation to learn. Children thrive in the Zone of Proximal Development.

Use of scaffolding within lessons.

Disregards the individual and the possibility that they can rise above social norms such as gifted students. - (Lui & Matthews 2005)

Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory does not seem to apply to all social groups. Social groups may not be equal and learners may be different. (Lui and Matthews 2005)

5 pillars of pivotal practice

1. Calm and consistent behaviour

2. First attention to best conduct

3. Relentless routines

4. Scripted interventions

5. Restorive follow ups

Believes each of these are important when creating a behaviour management system.

Based off teacher pupil mutual respect and a child led approach.

Practical reflection: I would pick up on the latecomers, noisemakers and students off task, at the expense of reinforcing the good behaviour of the majority.

The 7 key applications are:

• Behavioural modelling

• Self-efficacy

• Reinforcement and punishment

• Collaborative learning

• Self regulation

• Problem solving modelling

• Self-assessment and self-reflection

• Goal setting

High expectations, modelled leading to consistent behaviour done repeatedly

Structure, routines, positive norms, taught behaviour, high expectations, consistent consequences with boutique exceptions...these are the building blocks of every effective classroom and school I have visited, whether they cater for the youngest or the oldest, the most advantaged or the most in distress.

In contrast, Piaget believed that development precedes learning; a child must be at the right developmental stage to learn. Piaget argued that children are active learners who construct knowledge through individual, independent exploration, with cognitive development occurring in universal, innate stages.

1. Consistent, calm adult behaviour

2. First attention for best conduct

3. Relentless routines

4. Scripted interventions

5. Restorative follow-up

Dix argues consistency is key across all students but perhaps doesn’t account for SEND students

Dix promotes restorative follow ups conversations while counter theorist Skinner emphasises the need for rewards/punishments.

Bill Rogers approach falls in between Dix and Skinner as he promotes clear boundaries and consequences but with an additional sympathy touch.

• Learners can only process a small amount of new information at once

• Instruction must reduce cognitive overload

➡️ This directly aligns with Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller)

2. Learning = Moving Knowledge into Long-Term Memory

• True learning happens when knowledge is:

  • Stored

  • Retrieved

  • Applied automatically

➡️ Practice and review are not repetition, but memory strengthening

3. Novices Learn Differently from Experts

• Beginners need:

  • Explicit instruction

  • Clear models

  • Guided practice

• Experts can handle discovery and problem-solving

➡️ Inquiry works after, not before, foundational knowledge

Core Concepts of Schön’s Theory

a)Reflection-in-Action

This is thinking while teaching.

• Occurs in the moment, during the lesson

• Involves noticing something unexpected and adjusting immediately

• Fast, intuitive, and often tacit

b)Reflection-on-Action

This is thinking after teaching.

• Happens after the lesson

• More deliberate and analytical

• Leads to planning changes for future lessons

c)Professional Knowledge-in-Use

Schön distinguishes between:

• Espoused theory (what teachers say they do)

• Theory-in-use (what they actually do in practice)

Use in mathematics:

Donald Schön’s theory of reflective practice can be applied in mathematics teaching by enabling the teacher to respond intelligently to pupils’ thinking in real time (reflection-in-action), such as adapting explanations, representations, or pacing when misconceptions or disengagement emerge, and by evaluating the effectiveness of these decisions after the lesson (reflection-on-action) to refine future planning. In mathematics, where learning is often non-linear and misconceptions quickly affect behaviour and confidence, Schön’s framework supports professional judgement that goes beyond rigid methods, allowing teachers to integrate subject knowledge, assessment insight, and behaviour management to improve conceptual understanding and engagement.

- Promoter of being a reflective practitioner. His innovative thinking around notions such as ‘the learning society’, ‘double-loop learning’ and ‘reflection-in-action’ has become part of the language of education.

• Learning through the 'learning society' that we learn through our environment and peers .

• Learning on the loss of the stable state, implies that modern life is changing fast and we have to adapt together as a 'society' within the learning culture/environment we are in. This element of learning is useful in a subject like geography as it is a dynamic and changing subject based around physical and human components.

Practical implications - ask ‘what will students think’ rather than ‘what will they do?’ Allowing thinking time is therefore crucial.

Reducing cognitive overload - small chunks of info at a time. Practice regularly - such as retrieval.

• Learning is most effective when teaching is explicit and well-structured.

• New knowledge should be taught in small steps to reduce cognitive load.

• Teachers should model skills and thinking before pupils practise.

• Understanding must be checked frequently through questioning.

• Pupils need guided practice first, then independent practice once secure.

• Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction are ten research-based strategies designed to enhance teaching effectiveness and improve student learning outcomes.

• Rosenshine states that teaching must account for the limited capacity of working memory. He explains that when too much information is presented at once, students are unable to process it effectively.

• Rosenshine’s 10 Principles of Instruction

• 
  

  1- Daily Review

  • Begin each lesson by reviewing previous learning.

  2- Present New Material in Small Steps

  3- Ask Questions

  • Check understanding regularly.

  • 
    

    4- Provide Models

  • Show worked examples or demonstrations.

  • Helps students understand the process before trying themselves.

    5- Guide Student Practice

  • Supervise and support practice early on.

  • Give feedback and correct errors immediately.

    6- Check for Understanding

  • Continuously assess comprehension.

  • Adjust teaching if students struggle.

    7- Obtain High Success Rates

  • Aim for most students to succeed during practice.

  • Builds confidence and motivation.

    8- Provide Scaffolding

  • Give hints, prompts, or structured support.

  • Gradually remove support as students become more skilled.

    9 - Independent Practice

  • Students practice on their own to reinforce learning.

  • Helps consolidate knowledge and skills.

    10- Review and Reteach

  • Regularly revisit previous material.

  • Ensures long-term retention and mastery.

  
  

Preoperational Stage: From 2 - 7 years, children begin to use language and develop memory and imagination. Thinking is still intuitive and egocentric. More independent.

Concrete Operational Stage: From 7 - 12 years, children can perform operations on concrete objects and mentally manipulate them. They can understand conservation and think logically about physical objects.

Formal Operational Stage: Characterised by adolescence and adulthood, this stage involves abstract thinking and the ability to reason about hypothetical problems.

Collaborative Learning: Adapt independent tasks into collaborative activities, to encourage social learning.

Guided Practice: Apply the "I do, we do, you do" model to gradually reduce support as pupils gain independence. (I know this is Rosenshine but can be applied as a Vygotskian tool)

Attention - noticing behaviour

Retention - remembering the behaviour

Reproduction - being able to copy it

Motivation - have the opportunity to apply it themselves.

Links to vicarious reinforcement - more likely to copy a behaviour if they see others being rewarded for it.

Counter arguments for this are that children learn through discovering the world and their own independent learning rather than adult instruction or the adults knowledge being taught.

These interactions provide guidance that support the child to use and build upon previous knowledge and ensure they are challenged and stretched but not overwhelmed.

Social context and cultural tools affect this.

His work highlights development as a social process and not an independent process.

Key concepts: children learn through observation and imitation.

Learning happens via vicarious reinforcement.

People model role models.

A teacher needs to become a role model for students, which can be achieved by being friendly and respected.

• Piaget saw it as an individual concept and they learn individually not a social concept

• If it is an individual basis then culture and social context won’t matter which differs from Vygotsky

• Proposes a very solitary concept to behaviour

Mainstream primary - model interactions and model behaviours, helping children understand the rules and routines

• social learning

• language as a tool for thinking

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

• scaffolding through interaction

This fits EAL almost perfectly because EAL students develop language through participation, modelling, peer discussion, guided questioning, and supported academic talk.

Inclusion through EAL means:

• students are not removed from learning

• language development happens inside the curriculum

• peers and teachers mediate understanding

• learning is collaborative rather than deficit based

  Sample activities: Reading Circles / Peer-checking system / modelling thought processes / structured classroom talk (for Economics / Business - discussions using authentic texts)

Which through my PE and Outdoor Adventure lens is naturally supported. Students reflect on the weather, their preparedness, their problem solving skills as well as having practical conversations.

1. Sensorimotor Stage (0-2y)

2. Preoperational Stage (2-7y)

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11y)

4. Formal Operational Stage (12y+)

Lessons can be altered to link to the students' cognitive development stage.

E.g. Year 4 students - logical thinking using concrete resources

His ideas are present in my practice as I:

• use pair and group activities to help students practise speaking and share ideas.

• support learners with prompts, modelling, and scaffolding during tasks.

• plan activities that challenge students but are still achievable with support.

• encourage classroom discussion to build confidence, language skills, and critical thinking.

His theory is useful because it encourages active, collaborative learning and helps students build their confidence.

In my SEMH maths teaching, I apply this through modelling, scaffolding and breaking learning into manageable steps, gradually removing support as students gain confidence and independence.

For trainee teacher this applies to us adapting lessons on the spot and thinking on our feet. We also reflect with our mentors each week about our lessons in order to improve and learn

This means students need hands on opportunities and chances to explore. Being at a SEND school lots of continuous provision to support exploration. Children also need real-world experiences, this is something my school is very passionate about, using real-life experiences e.g. going to the shops to learn about money rather than doing it in the classroom. There is also a need for teachers to be curious and promote this in children, teachers must be passionate in order to support children's curiosity.

• Learning is constrained by working memory

• Prior knowledge assists whereas explicit instruction helps newer learners

• Scaffolding allows for more complex tasks in learning

• Modelling and thinking aloud externalises thinking among students

• Practice and retrieval are key to strengthening memory

His work is similar to that of Piaget, Bruner and Sweller.

• Enactive representation

• Iconic representation

• Symbolic representation

Different ways of how learner process and store knowledge.

Adapt learning dependent on individual students' current mode of representation to increase understanding.

Linking to scaffolding - new concepts need enactive representation, then iconic, finally symbolic as understanding develops

Known quotes/ideas:

"memory is the residue of thought" - meaning humans remember deep and meaningful thoughts over repeated exposure.

"working memory is limited" - meaning only a small amount of info can be stored, reducing cognitive load.

Most famous books:

"Why Don't Students Like School?" - 2009 - how cognitive science can improve teaching.

"Outsmart Your Brain" - 2023 - a practical student-focused book

"Raising Kids Who Read" - 2015 - helps parents create supportive reading environments

Piaget’s theory is especially relevant in SEN settings because many children benefit from practical, hands-on learning opportunities rather than relying only on verbal instruction or written work. In my classroom, this is reflected through sensory activities, practical tasks, and interactive learning experiences that help children understand concepts more clearly and retain knowledge more effectively.

For example, children are encouraged to explore resources physically, use visual aids, engage in play-based activities, and participate in sensory experiences. These approaches support understanding by allowing children to learn through action, which aligns with Piaget’s belief that children construct knowledge through experience. Hands-on learning can also help children with communication difficulties, autism, or developmental delays by making learning more accessible and meaningful.

Piaget also recognised that children learn at different rates, which is important in SEN education. In my teaching practice, activities are adapted to meet individual needs so that children can learn in ways that suit their developmental stage and abilities. This helps create an inclusive environment where all children are supported to achieve and build confidence in their learning.

He is most famous for developing and defining the term 'scaffolding' and also for his proposal of a 'spiral curriculum'. Scaffolding involves the teacher delivering a carefully designed programme, reducing the assistance to the learner over time. A 'spiral curriculum' is when the subject/area is revisited at intervals, at a more sophisticated level each time.

In my school, our Maths curriculum and our RE curriculum both have a very obvious spiral structure.

Bruner also developed the idea that there are three ways learners experience/represent a task: enactive, iconic and symbolic. This is the concrete, pictorial, abstract model with which we teach mathematics across primary.

During his time in Oxford, Bruner worked on early language development and acquisition - he argued that this took place through meaningful carer/child interactions with scaffolding provided by the carer.

However, Bandura highlighted that to improve one's self-efficacy, it is important to develop ot through practice, the experience of achievement (which was specified as the most important), witness success by ones similar to themselves and verbal persuasion, although without experience to back it up, persuasion can have a limited effect.

• working memory is limited in capacity

• can handle 4-7 items at once before experiencing 'cognitive overload'

• link to practice: use scaffolding, modelling and application practice when introducing new terms/concepts

• support the movement of concepts into long-term memory via spaced retrieval (in line with Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve research)

For this reason, I need to adapt tasks so that they do not become barriers to learning. I carefully balance activities that require guidance and support with tasks that pupils are able to complete independently. This approach allows me to scaffold learning effectively and support

Piaget theorised children's learning into four stages.

Sensorimotor( upto age 2) pre operational(2-7) concrete operation (7-11) but the most interesting Formal operational (12+)

The formal operational theory looks at the building on previous learning and the ability to "join" information to have a light bulb moment. Allowing abstract thinking and hypothetical scenarios. Giving the child the ability to problem solve by balancing and applying previous knowledge and changing behaviour with new leanrnt information

Daily review - to encourage fluency through quick retrieval.

Present new material using bite size chunks

Scaffolding and providing models

Ask questions and check students understanding

Guide students understanding and obstain a high success rate.

• Cognitive Load Theory

• working memory limitations

• reducing unnecessary processing

• explicit instruction

• sequencing information carefully

For EAL learners, cognitive load is doubled:

• learning content

• decoding academic English simultaneously

So inclusion is not just “putting students together.”

It requires:

• visuals

• chunking

• modelling

• reduced extraneous language

• dual coding

• guided examples

• explicit vocabulary teaching

  ACTIVITIES (for Business/Economics):

  simplifying Economist texts

• diagrams

• modelling chains in Economics

• structured writing frames

• careful sequencing

• accessible LO language

Key ideas:

• scaffolding

• spiral curriculum

• discovery learning (carefully guided)

• building from prior knowledge

  Activities:

  Revisiting concepts repeatedly

• language develops cumulatively

• support is gradually removed

• learners gain independence