A Study into the Improvement in the Mathematical Academic Attainment of Low Attainers in Year 7 (11 – 12 year olds) when Accelerated Learning is used as a Teaching Pedagogy in the Classroom

Abstract

As a practitioner with over 20 years of classroom experience, I felt that low attainers in mathematics had a fear of failure and that this had a negative effect on the pupils‟ academic attainment. In order to address this I instigated a pilot study with low attainers in year 7 using accelerated learning.
The pilot study used descriptive narrative to capture the teacher‟s and pupils‟ responses and in the vignettes presented the reader will see how these fears were addressed. Statistical analysis of pupils‟ academic attainment demonstrated unequivocally that pupils in the experimental group had improved more than the pupils in the parallel control group.
As a researcher I realised that this warranted further investigation however, this pilot study was conducted as a practitioner and needed to be placed into a more rigorous academic framework. In this context, causes of low attainment, key theoretical principles and practical intervention strategies that address these causes are discussed. These theories and strategies are categorised under 3 key elements of environment, communication and memory. The suitability of accelerated learning as a teaching pedagogy is also discussed.
As a research practitioner I carried out two case studies and actual lessons are described capturing the teachers‟ and pupils‟ responses. Statistical analysis shows that in approximately 70% of the cases the academic attainment of the low attainers improved more than the pupils in the control group.
A toolbox that can be utilised in effective teaching and learning was developed. The tools are underpinned by the key theoretical principles and practical intervention strategies and are expressed in terms of the three key elements; environment, communication and memory.
In conclusion the pilot and case studies provide strong evidence that the mathematical academic attainment of year 7 low attainers improves when accelerated learning is used as a teaching pedagogy.