Effects of a Cognitive Acceleration Programme on Year 1 pupils (Updated)
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Thinking skills
How were the teachers prepared for the intervention?
A central requirement of the programme was that teachers had a good understanding of the theory and practice of cognitive acceleration activities. The authors considered that the implementation of cognitive acceleration depends critically on effective pedagogy and so believed that professional development is always required.
All the teachers received training which incorporated the following elements:
- a six-day course of in-service training; and
- three or four visits to their schools for coaching by members of the research team.
The programme was designed to give teachers plenty of practice in the critical areas of generating cognitive challenge and encouraging social construction and metacognition. The coaches all had extensive experience of working with practising teachers in this field and used the method of cognitive acceleration itself to develop the staff.
