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Guest Author: Catherine Lester

Catherine Lester is a primary teacher and coach at an academy trust in South London and Surrey; LinkedIn Catherine Lester, X @catlester7, 

As an Aussie, I’ve got a soft spot for a good pie—and this one is no exception. While it might not be filled with steak and gravy, this P.I.E. (Provision, Impact, Evidence) is a powerful, and satisfying, tool for improving classroom practice. . At this time of year, as many of us are putting the finishing touches on our school development plans, this framework is my go-to for sparking meaningful conversations.

I first came across this simple but effective framework during a training session with Challenge Partners and have been using it ever since. It provides a clear structure that helps us move from identifying a problem to seeing real, measurable change in the classroom. In essence, PIE helps us, as teachers and coaches, to ask the right questions at the start of any improvement cycle.

The PIE Framework: A Recipe for Success

When we begin a new improvement initiative, we can use the PIE framework to guide our thinking and our conversations with colleagues. It helps us map out a clear path from intention to outcome:

• Provision: What is the learning problem we’re trying to solve? What specific provision will we put in place? (i.e., what will we try?)
• Impact: What are we expecting improvement to look like? How will we know if it’s working, or if we need to refine or change our approach?
• Evidence: What evidence will we collect to prove the impact?

Let’s be honest, we all have a million things on our plates, and it’s easy to jump straight to a solution. But PIE encourages a more thoughtful, evidence-based approach that helps us avoid the dreaded ‘initiative overload’ and focus on what truly makes a difference for our students.

Serving Up a Slice of PIE: A Real-Life Example

Last year, I was talking with a colleague who was concerned about a lack of student enthusiasm and participation during their reading lessons. It was always the same few confident children who raised their hands and the teacher worried that others were disengaging. I offered to visit the class and see things in action so we could talk it through.

It was true. Even though the text—a fantastic story about Greek Gods and Goddesses —was exciting and well-pitched, it just wasn’t landing with all the students. It was a classic learning problem and a perfect opportunity to use the combination of our PIE framework with Teaching WalkThrus.

Solving the Problem: The ‘P’ for Provision

Our first step was to clearly define the problem: we needed to raise the level of participation from all students during reading lessons. We believed that by gaining and maintaining their attention, we could achieve this. We used a simple Time on Task collection sheet (inspired by Jim Knight’s work on instructional coaching) to gather some initial data and see which students were participating and which parts of the lesson were the most successful.

With a clear goal in mind, we looked at what we could put in place. Armed with our trusty Teaching WalkThrus guidebooks, we settled on two key routines: ‘Front Loading Behaviour Management’ and ‘Developing Reading Fluency’.

We decided to start with introducing the first three steps of the reading routine—teacher modelling, echo reading, and paired reading—and explicitly explain our expectations for participation at each step. 

Measuring the Goodness: The ‘I’ for Impact

Our primary goal was to see all pupils participating in the three new steps of the routine. I’ll admit, this was ambitious and it took a lot of practice! I volunteered to go first so my colleague could see how the class responded. From this we would see what needed to be adapted or changed. We started with the text they were already reading, Athena, The Story of a Goddess. Great story, but I was up all night practising the pronunciation of the names of all the gods and goddesses!

Not only had participation levels risen, but over time, we were noticing that students read more smoothly, with better expression and pace, as they became more confident. Also by actively engaging with the text, students were able to answer comprehension questions more accurately and with greater detail, both verbally and in writing. 

So were these two routines making a difference? Yes! Not only did the data from our time-on-task sheet confirm it but the enthusiasm and participation rates were clear to see in the classroom. The students were reading with newfound confidence and truly looked like they were enjoying themselves. My colleague grew in confidence too and shared their findings with the whole staff at a meeting, showcasing the power of this focused, evidence-based approach.

The Proof is in the Pudding: The ‘E’ for Evidence

Looking back, we probably would have chosen a different text to start with. We quickly realised that during the echo reading section, the students could only manage one or two sentences at a time. This improved over the eight-week period but it showed us that we needed to take our time to embed the routines and expectations.

When we ran the Time on Task data collection again, the results were clear: a marked improvement in student participation. However, what was even more powerful was the qualitative evidence. The students told us that reading lessons were now more interesting because everyone had a chance to read out loud. 

My colleague now uses this routine in other subjects like History and RE. They were a little apprehensive at the start, but by focusing on Provision, Impact, and Evidence, we were able to celebrate success, adjust as needed, and truly make a positive change for the students. It’s a framework that delivers on its promise, every single time.

So, next time you’re faced with a school improvement challenge, consider reaching for a slice of PIE. It’s a recipe for success that’s well worth the effort.

References 

Knight, J   2022  The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching    ASCD,  Alexandria, Virginia USA 

Sherrington T  2021, 2022  Teaching WalkThrus Volume 2 and 3   John Catt Educational LTD 

Caviglioli  O