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The Neale Wade Learning Cycle
The Neale Wade Learning Cycle is grounded in the very best educational research currently available. We want to ensure that all we do is supported by robust evidence-based research, so that we are confident that we can have a long-term impact on our students’ learning.
We want to prioritise what we know will work, so the Neale Wade Pedagogical model is based broadly on Barak Rosenshine’s Ten Principles of Instruction, but also on research findings provided by the EEF on Literacy and Metacognition and Daniel Willingham’s 2009 book: Why Don’t Students Like School.
Link to the Neale Wade Learning Cycle
Learning is organised into the following four phases. These may take place over the course of one lesson or several lessons in a sequence, but the structural premise will be the same:
Contextualising – This means that learning is put into a wider context, so that students can develop their knowledge. This is a part of the lesson where previous knowledge is revisited, where memory and understanding are checked, and where any new learning is carefully introduced and explained. This might be done through quizzing, mini whiteboard activities or key word recall. Connections to current knowledge are clearly signposted during this phase, so that students can build and develop ‘mental models’ which move them towards being more ‘expert’ in each subject discipline.
Modelling – This is the point in the lesson where the teacher will make explicit for students exactly what they are aiming to produce. This might involve talking through an example piece of writing, highlighting a thought process, or demonstrating a new skill. The process of tackling a task, using metacognitive talk and narrated thinking, is crucial here if students are to make progress towards independence.
Scaffolding – During the lesson, there may be opportunities for collaborative learning, so that students can work together to build confidence when approaching unfamiliar tasks. Teachers may provide success criteria or guidance, such sentence starters or a writing frame, to support and guide first attempts. There may also be frequent feedback to ensure clear progress towards the end goal.
Independence – By the end of the lesson, students should have grasped the new learning and are able to apply it unaided. This part of the lesson will consist of independent practice to work towards the new skill becoming automatic, so that learning is in depth, rather than superficial.
Video link to Neale Wade Academy Learning Cycle
The Neale Wade Learning Cycle is not a tick box exercise, nor is it a ‘list’ of features expected in every lesson. Teachers will select the strategies appropriate to their subject and topic at the time. For example, having a ‘Do now’ does not make a lesson ‘good’, nor does the absence of a ‘Do now’ make it ‘not-good’. The learning taking place, and students being able to articulate what they know, or independently demonstrate what they can do, are the indicators that good learning is taking place.