THINKING POLICY - Cloud Object Storage | Store & Retrieve …€¦ ·  · 2016-06-23Teacher: Well stop thinking and listen to me! ... ^If you say you can, or say you cant, ... knowing

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THINKING POLICY

METACOGNITIVE SKILLS Are

“Thinking about Thinking”

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METACOGNITIVE SKILLS

Are “Thinking about Thinking”

CONTENTS

THE FRAMEWORK Page(s) 3 Framework for teaching Page(s) 4 Model Framework THE ETHOS Page(s) 6 Thinking skills policy Page(s) 7 Thinking Ethos Page(s) 8 I can… Page(s) 9 Attitudes Page(s) 10 Model and Question Page(s) 11 Thinking Do’s and Don’ts Page(s) 12 Encouraging and Discouraging adults Page(s) 13 – 14 15 Essential Elements MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Page(s) 16 – 21 The Theory of Multiple Intelligences THINKING SKILLS, THINKING PRACTICE Page(s) 23 How are we going to teach thinking skills… Summary Page(s) 24 Infusion Page(s) 25 Daily Infusion Page(s) 26 Modelling by thinking aloud Page(s) 27 Accelerated Learning: The Big Picture Page(s) 28 Accelerated Learning: The Learning Cycle Page(s) 29 The TASC Wheel Page(s) 30 The TASC Wheel: Children’s Version Page(s) 31 Children’s Thinking Skills Page(s) 32 Children’s Thinking Skills: Learning Script, Pre-Task Page(s) 33 Children’s Thinking Skills: Learning Script, Post-Task Page(s) 34 Differentiation through Questioning Page(s) 35 – 42 Model for Learning QUESTIONING Page(s) 43-49 Good Questions

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A framework for teaching should: Make thinking skills explicit in the curriculum

Adopt a coaching style to teach thinking

Operate within a metacognitive perspective

Develop collaborative learning in both face-to-face and computer

mediated learning.

Encourage good thinking habits or general dispositions

Generalise the framework beyond a narrow focus on special skills to

encompass the whole curriculum and concepts of “thinking

classrooms” and “thinking skills”.

“What a child does in co-operation with others he will learn to do alone” Vygotsky

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Mercian Educational Trust THINKING SKILLS

MODEL FRAMEWORK

There will be 4 core strands to the teaching of thinking.. Thinking Community Culture

Thinking Culture Dispositions and habits of good thinking will be created. This should permeate the whole school. Teachers and support staff will be encouraged to be independent thinkers, seeing issues and proposing solutions. “Thinking” must be part of the hidden culture of school life, permeating all aspects. “Investing in people” will underpin and reward this work.

Thinking skills Thinking skills will be explicit throughout our curriculum. There will be a distinct ethos in all lessons of questioning, modeling, challenging and making explainable conclusions. In each lesson we will ask: “what did we learn and how did we learn it”.

Infusion The regularly planned use of thinking diagrams will make thinking explicit in subjects.

TASC The TASC wheel will be used on a Half-termly basis for a targeted subject area.

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THE ETHOS

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THINKING SKILLS POLICY

Mission Statement….. “Fostering a desire to be a life- long learner”

We want to avoid: Teacher: Gary what are you doing? Gary: Thinking Teacher: Well stop thinking and listen to me!

“The principle goal of Education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done – men who are creative, inventive and discoverers. The second goal of education is to form minds which can be critical, can verify, and not accept everything they are offered”. Jean Piaget (1989)

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THINKING ETHOS Mercian Educational Trust (MET) directly teach our pupils knowledge and skills. We aim to “make a difference”, ensuring pupils leave us with the ability to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We cannot predict the weightings of skills and knowledge will be required to ensure a high quality of life experience in the future. To maximize out pupils’ potential, and to ensure the greatest opportunities possible we also have to develop good quality thinking so pupils have the three R’s:

RESPONSIBILITY RESOURCEFULNESS RESILIENCE

Thinking Skills must become a centre point for curriculum development. MET should have an evident, observable thinking culture. This culture will be throughout the school and experienced in relationships between teacher and pupils, but equally between teachers, teachers and parents and openly to those who enter our community. The current age seeks quantifiable outcomes, benchmark measuring that informs “value for money” and “value added”. Whilst celebrating success in these measurable areas, MET recognizes that a thinking culture has a higher intrinsic value and also asserts that this culture leads to higher “standards” without always being quantifiable.

“Education should have its own intrinsic value for the individual and not be about training skills needed for the economy”. Mr Christopher Woodhead, former Chief inspector of Schools

“In times of change learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

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I CAN At the core of our ethos must be an “I can” culture. “The good teacher invites you to like yourself, to take pride in your work, and expects a great deal from you.” Each teacher needs to generate a positive and supportive learning environment. At MET there are areas of pupils experience over which we have little or no control. We may not be able to impact on levels of poverty, have little influence on the consistency of care for pupils outside school hours, or have a direct influence to improve patterns of relationships with families – it is not within our gift, nor perhaps is it our responsibility. We operate within out remit, but so positively with high expectations, and without allowing all other impacting variables to be an excuse for inaction. “If you say you can, or say you can’t, either way you be will right”. Henry Ford

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ATTITUDES Learning will be about searching out meaning and imposing structure. Pupils will go beyond given information, dealing systematically yet flexibly with novel problems and solutions. Pupils must adopt a critical attitude to information and argument and communicate those effectively. High quality thinking must have a degree of endlessness and uncertainty to permit learners to impose meaning or to make judgments or to produce multiple solutions. Thinkers will need time and opportunity to talk about the thinking process. They should make their own thought process more specific, reflect on strategies and hence gain self-control. Teaching will need to be followed by practical activities, dialogue, reflection and discussion with peers and adults. Open mindedness to issues is crucial – questioning, predicting, contradicting, doubting is not only tolerates, but pursued. There are implicit issues for teacher development and teacher thinking as well as learning communities.

We need to develop children who can willingly:

Question Use critical skills Create Problem solve Evaluate outcomes Appreciate

There is a challenge for a personal development here. Do we fall short ourselves at times of the skill we are aiming to teach? There can be fear that “thinking” is somehow an intellectual pursuit. It is a life skill we all need and utilise. “I believe in intuition and inspiration….At times I feel certain that I am right while not knowing the reason…Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world” Albert Einstein

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Teachers should

MODEL AND QUESTION

We have to teach the thinking base and practice the appropriate forms of questions. We already have the appropriate styles in our Literacy and Numeracy lessons. While pace and expectation remain relevant, the other curriculum areas the need for extended thinking time is important. It is not enough to “paint a picture” in Art, or “play a game” in P.E, the introduction and reflection is important.

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Thinking Do’s and Don’ts

THINKING DO’S…

That’s an interesting idea. Tell me about it. How did you reach that conclusion? Its nice you can think of it yourself Have you thought of some alternatives? Try it first yourself, if you need help, tell me. That’s an imaginative idea. That’s a good question. I’m sure you can get it right.

….AND DON’TS

Where did you get that silly idea? Don’t ask such stupid questions! Cant you ever get anything right? Try to act your age. It’s not going to be as easy as you think. Why don’t you ever think? Is that all you can do/say/think about? Whoever heard of doing it like that? Why don’t you ever think before you speak

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Encouraging and Discouraging adults

ENCOURAGING ADULT

Allows time

Challenges child to try out new ideas

Optimistic about outcomes Deals as an equal

Focuses on child’s learning

Defers judgment

Stresses independence

Speculates along with

Uses open ended questions

Sees learning in mistakes

Available for help

Follows child’s interests

Accepts child’s decision

Actively listens

Shows a real interest

Assumes it can be done

Encourages play

Values creative ideas

Is available Shares the risk

DISCOURAGING ADULT

Rejects new ideas

Promotes dependence

Domineers

Authoritarian Pessimistic

Devalues suggestions

Cross examines

Impatient

Lacks interest

Limits time

Critical

Disapproving

Acts as superior

Inattentive

Predetermines response

Imposes decisions

Makes fun of

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Mercian Educational Trust: Thinking Skills

15 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

1. Classrooms for learning The optimal conditions for learning are “high, sustained cognitive challenges but low stress”. Classrooms need to be safe havens for learning where pupils are free from the threat of intimidation, put-down or isolation.

The classroom environment itself should reinforce positive attitudes towards learning. Visual display places above eye-level and accessible from all parts of the room will reinforce recall by as much as 70%. Organize generic groupings of key words above eye level and make reference to these are part of teaching.

2. Connect to what is already known Provide pupils with a summary of learning objectives, key words and the questions they will be able to answer by the end of the unit. Use “safe” strategies to check for understanding. Build in hypothesis and speculation as frequently as possible. Encourage maximum discussion about positive outcomes before beginning an experiment or task.

3. High expectations throughout Teacher expectation shapes performance. Your expectations will be passed on to the pupils you teach – consciously and unconsciously. Have high expectations of yourself and the pupils always. Challenge and test limiting beliefs and their associated patterns of behaviour.

4. Use the BASIS model to build and maintain positive self esteem Pupils and teacher with low self esteem do not fulfill their potential. Pay attention at school, classroom and individual level to the five elements of positive self-esteem: Belonging, Aspirations, Safety, Identity and Success.

5. Positive use of language: Change “I can’t” to “I can” Create opportunities for all pupils to experience success and reinforce that success through positive, immediate and educative feedback. Help pupils re-frame negative and limiting beliefs into positives.

6. Allow for processing time The younger the learner the longer needed to assimilate the information, consider questions and formulate a response. In one research survey 68% of questions were asked – and answered – by the teacher! Encourage re-processing by embedding questions. Encourage predictions and speculation through paired shares. Avoid multiple questions and questions which only reward recall.

7. Describe the behaviours Class and school rules should be few in numbers and framed positively. Describe the behaviours you want and not the behaviours you do not want: reinforce positively when you get them. Be specific. Praise on the ratio of 4 positive unconditional strokes to

each negative. Separate the person from the problem behaviour. Catch them being good, catch them being successful and let them know it.

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8. Personal performance goals Each student learns how to set personal performance goals and regularly uses them. Start with informal personal targets then move – via the school planner – to formal targets. Use contributions, academic performance, behaviour, attendance, punctuality, neatness, accuracy or any other criteria to reflect on personal performance. Note the accumulated targets in the back of word books and use them as a basis for review for improvement. 9. Teach and provide the language of goal setting and performance review Boys particularly benefit from language work to help describe feelings, emotions, behaviour, motivation and responsibility. Use circle time and other opportunities to structure such opportunities. 10. Big picture first: preview and review Utilise the brain’s attention systems and particualry recent and immediate experiences. At the beginning of every lesson give the overview. Say how it connects with what has gone before and how it will connect with what is to come. Encourage pupils to informally and collaboratively review their recollection of the key learning from the previous session. Make this school policy. Build in participative review in diffusion times in lessons. 11. Optimise use of time Optimal time on task is guided by the formula of chronological age plus one. For 14 year olds, 15 minutes on tasks, then some sort of review or reflection activity involving use of language for 2-3 minutes then back on task. Start on time. Finish early, pack up then go back over the work together for 2-3 minutes. 12. Maximise language exchange Add language to doing. Create groups to maximise the use of language in a wide variety of contexts. Have pupils explain to each other what they are doing and why. Give them active listening roles: reinforce with key words and key texts: include essential vocabulary in the back of exercise books or project folders. Use the language of the exam papers and teach pupils to spot likely questions. 13. Group work for learning From the earliest mix the groups. Use individual, pair, share, present. 14. Input in three ways Reinforce all the information you provide visually, auditorally and kinesthetically. This assesses all learners, makes their new information distinctive and thus memorable. Reinforcing in three modes requires the learners to generate their own understandings. 15. Immediate feedback Provide safe means for pupils to give and receive educative feedback. Use fin activities for feedback loops and use these to check understanding. Encourage pupils to share with each other. Make all feedback – written and spoken – constructive.

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Multiple Intelligences

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The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

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Naturalist Linguistic Mathematical and Logical

Visual and Spatial Musical Intrapersonal Interpersonal Physical/ Kinesthetic

Those with a developed naturalist intelligence will:

It is likely that a person with a well developing linguistic intelligence will:

A learner who has a well developed mathematical and logical intelligence will:

A learner with visual and spatial intelligence will:

A learner with a musical intelligence will show some ability to:

Those with a developed intrapersonal intelligence will:

The interpersonal intelligence expresses itself through an ability to:

A developed kinesthetic intelligence is exhibited by:

Have an affinity to nature/be attuned to

the natural environment

Learn through listening, writing, reading and

discussing

Demonstrate an ability to understand and

manipulate abstract symbols to represent concrete objects and

concepts

Be able to visulaise easily and imagine

scenes readily

Discern pattern in sounds and enjoy

experimenting with them

Be aware of their thoughts, feelings and

emotions and seek explanation fro them

See issues from diverse perspectives

Exploring through touch, movements,

manipulation and physical experience

Be conscious of the interrelatedness of the environment, time and

change

Be responsive to the potential of the written

and spoken word to persuade, amuse,

convey information, construct meaning and

entertain

Be good at solving logical puzzles and

working out sequence

Be good at maneuvering when this involves

manipulating self or body through space

Show sensitivity to mood changes in sounds and be able to pick out individual instruments

Attempt to find solutions to

philosophical questions

Form, build and maintain a variety of

social relationships with others

Learning by doing

Be interested in wildlife/pets

Imitate or mimic the linguistic idiosyncrasies

of others

Be familiar at an early stage with the concepts of time, space, quantity, number and cause and

effect

Be able to construct, build or conceive three-dimensional objects or

‘imagine’ their unfolded construction

Be susceptible to changes in their own

state as a result of listening to music

Have an accurate picture of themselves

Know and understand the thoughts, feelings,

attitudes and behaviours of others

Enjoyment of field trips, model building, role

plat, video production and collections

Be able to recognise, name and catergorise

different animal species/types of

plants/trees/flowers

Be enthused about developing their own

application and understanding of

language

Discern the patterns in relationships

Learn through seeing and observing and be able to memory-map

Enjoy improvising and playing with sounds of

different sorts

Be consistent in living to and applying a set of personal values and

beliefs

Work in teams and contribute to their positive dynamic

co-ordination, sense of timing and balance,

dexterity, grace

Show an understanding of weather patterns and

‘read’ weather signs

Be a better than average communicator in written and spoken modes and be an attentive listener

Be capable of mathematical thinking:

eg; formulate arguments based on hard data,

gather evidence, estimate, build models and make hypotheses

Know the effect that the movement of gears or pulleys have on other things around them

Show an interest and some facility for playing

a musical instrument

Value personal growth and development

Communicate effectively verbally and non-

verbally

Concern over improvement in physical performance: rehearses

movement

Be conscious of and support environmental issues/the

impact of human intervention in the natural

environment

Have a predominantly auditory

representational system

Seek to find harmony and order in his or her

environment

Anticipate the movement of an object, such as a ball in space

Have a sense if rhythm and be able to respond

to music by dance or drama or composing

Be self-motivated and enjoy quiet reflection

time

Listen, acknowledge and respond to the views of others

Demonstrating creativity through physical movement and

expression

Be comfortable in different types of natural

environment

Have a talent for interpreting and

constructing graphs, maps or other visual

media

Be curious about music and seek to develop

their own categories and preferences

Utilise journals and diaries

Influence others Often restless

Multiples of intelligence: Howard Gardner, 1993

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THINKING SKILLS

THINKING PRACTISE

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HOW ARE WE GOING TO TEACH THINKING

SUMMARY

There will be 4 parts to our teaching of thinking:

Infusion and S.P.E.L.L. Thinking Diagrams (Mapping) TASC Wheel Learning Diary (see appendix)

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INFUSION

We will be using an infusion approach across the curriculum: Using thinking diagrams to make thinking explicit Developing a thinking vocabulary through talking, questioning and reflecting

The benefits of the infusion approach are:

Thinking skills are matched directly with topics in the curriculum. Content instruction is invigorated thus leading to deeper understanding. Classroom time is used optimally Teaching for thoughtfulness is directly supported across the curriculum Transfer of learning can be more easily promoted in other areas of the

curriculum and reinforces at later stages. Types of thinking to be consistently addressed by the teacher in planning, challenging and questioning: Sequencing, ordering information Sorting, classifying, grouping Analysing – part/whole, compare/contrast Drawing conclusions, giving reasons for conclusions Generating new idea, brainstorming Relating causes and effects, designing a fair test Problem solving, thinking up different solutions Testing solutions Planning Making decisions, weighing up pros and cons

S.P.E.L.L Pupils will be provided with a rich variation of planned learning activities that match the requirements of the Foundation Stage. This will give the teachers and adults opportunities to model questions and provide challenge for pupils. “To introduce into one thing is a second thing which gives it extra life, vigor and a new significance” Webster’s Dictionary

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DAILY INFUSION

Each individual lesson: “What did we learn and how did we learn it?”

A constant awareness by being explicit about the thinking process involved.

Modelling, the teacher aloud, “thinks aloud”, while working through a problem, or composing a letter/report/poem etc

Discussions on use of dialogues, also involving analysis of the process of arguments to be effective:

- Paired - Groups - Class

Emphasis on personal learning skills: Orientation (to the set tasks or problem) Planning ahead Monitoring one’s performance during task completion to identify sources of

difficulty Checking Revising Self-testing

Challenge pupils to: 1. Summarise or put into their own words what the teacher or another

student has said 2. Elaborate on what they have said 3. Relate the issues of content to their knowledge and experience 4. Give examples to clarify or support what they have already said 5. Make connections between related concepts 6. Restate the instructions or assignment in their own words 7. State the question at issue 8. Describe to what extent their point of view on the issues is different from a

similar to the point of view of the instructor, other students, the author etc 9. Take a few minutes to write down any of the above 10. Write down the most pressing question on their mind at this point. The

teacher used the above strategies to help students reason through the questions.

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MODELLING BY THINKING ALOUD

THINKING DIAGRAMS

These will play a major part in our enrichment curriculum, starting themes and topics, adding to them and completing them: What are thinking diagrams? Thinking is a hidden mental process and we need to develop methods for making it more explicit. Thinking diagrams outline the sequence or pattern of steps for a particular thinking activity thus making them more explicit and transparent. For example, a thinking diagram for decision-making invites the pupil first to consider all the options related to the discussion (suspending judgement at this stage), then each option is taken in turn, pros and cons are listed and then weighed up, before and action is decided upon. Both students’ own decisions and the decision making of literacy or historical figures can be evaluated in this way. Benefits of thinking diagrams At first sight, thinking diagrams may seem rather laborious as a teaching strategy but they have important advantages for teaching thinking. They help to make the steps in thinking more explicit for both pupils and teachers. They slow down the thinking process so that pupils have time to grasp what might be involved. They keep an external record of earlier steps in the thinking process so pupils and teachers can more easily look back and reflect on the earlier stages and the whole process. They can be used for work with individual pupils, groups and whole class teaching. Thinking diagrams can be simplified or make more complex depending on the age and level of the pupils. Teachers can construct their own diagrams to suit different thinking activities. They can be used as prompts for subsequent work by pupils and as the basis for assessing written work. A Thinking Vocabulary It is important that pupils are regularly encouraged to ask their own questions, rather than just answer them. What do we want to know? Examples: “Suppose”… “Imagine”… “Try to predict”… “What would happen if”… “I’m puzzled, my question is”… “Think of another solution”… “What is the conclusion? Why?” Questions and Questioning “What do you mean by that?”…. “Can you put it another way?”… “Can you give me an example” … “How can we find out?” … “What would happen if?”… “What are your reasons?”

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ACCELERATED LEARNING IN PRACTISE: THE BIG PICTURE

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ACCELERATED LEARNING IN PRACTISE: THE LEARNING CYCLE

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What do I

know

about this?

What is

the task?

What are my goals? What

am I trying to do? What

are the obstacles? What do

I need to do this? What do

I need to know?

How many

ideas can I

think of? Who can help me? Where

can I find out more? What

do other people think? Hoe

can I find this out? Is there

another way to do this?

Which is

the best

idea?

What will happen because

of my decision or action?

What are the arguments

for and against? Which are

the most important ideas?

What are my plan?

Let’s do

it!

How do I check my

progress? Am I doing this

correctly? Is my plan

working? What do I do

next?

How well

did I do?

What have I done? Could I

do better next time? Did I

solve the problem? Did I

work as well as I could?

Would I do it differently

next time? Did I work well

in my group?

Let’s tell

someone

Who can I tell? How can I

tell or present? What

should I say? How can I

explain? How do I interest

someone else? Do I have

the right information

What

have I

learned?

How have I changed?

What do I think and feel

now? How else can I use

what I’ve learned? How

would I do this again?

THINKING THEME THROUGH TARGETED CURRICULUM PROJECT

One curriculum subject, every half term, will be planned utilising the Thinking Wheel. Across the year staff will plan to ensure the wheel has been used has been used across subject areas including: Science, History, Geography, R.E, P.H.S.E, D.T, P.E, ICT.

What information do I

have? How much do I

understand? Have I met

this before? What

questions can I ask?

Gather/Organise

TASC

Identify

Generat

e

Decide Implement

Evaluate

Communicate

Learn from

experience

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CHILDREN’S VERSION

What do I

know about

this?

What is the

task?

How many

ideas can I

think of?

What have

I learned?

Let’s tell

someone!

How well

did I do?

Let’s do it! Which is

the best

idea?

Basic thinking

skills are mostly

developed in

primary schools

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Children’s Thinking Skills

Encourage children to become aware of their learning through active participation

Plan

Apply Do

Review

Their thinking needs to be a reflective process

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Children’s Thinking Skills Learning Script –

Pre-task:

1. Do I know what this task is about?

2. Do I know how to go about it?

3. Can I see what the end of this task is?

4. Am I going to be able to complete this task?

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Children’s Thinking Skills Learning Script –

Post-task:

1. What did I learn?

2. What did I like and dislike about the activity? 3. What did I find easy? 4. What did I find difficult? 5. How can I do better next time?

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Differentiation through questioning: Questions to be highlighted in planning (see from page 55 for further expansion about questioning)

HIG

H –

sho

w in p

lan

nin

g a

s: H…

L

OW

– s

ho

w in p

lan

nin

g

as:

L …

ME

DIU

M–

sh

ow

in

pla

nn

ing

as:

M …

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Model for Learning

Create an effective ‘Climate for Learning’ The link between emotions (how we feel about ourselves) and cognition (how we think) and how these two affect pupils’ behavior is becoming increasingly clearer. Anxiety immobilises many of the systems we need for learning. Not only do pupils learn best when they are in a positive state but it also helps them to respond appropriately to learning challenges. To recognise that emotions act as the gatekeeper to pupils’ thinking is one of the keys to improving pupils’ performance and to raising standards. While teachers so not always intentionally put pupils under negative stress, many of our daily classroom practices unintentionally act as a barrier to learning because there is a fine dividing line between ‘challenge’ and ‘stress’. 3-Part lesson – Part One: Introduction

Activate prior knowledge – What might pupils know already? Learning is partly dependent upon teachers providing opportunities for pupils to work at tasks which are in advance of their developmental level. Furthermore, it is important to connect ‘new’ learning to what the pupil already knows and understands. The brain constantly seeks patterns of meaning based on those patterns that have already been processes i.e known and understood. Recognising and building on this innate pattern-making facility is a powerful starting point for teachers when they introduce new learning material to pupils. It is important to ensure that the present learning experience can be linked to: - previous learning experiences -what is about to be learned Therefore, teachers need to find out what pupils already know and understand (eg prior learning) and build on it. In some cases this may involve undoing some flawed understanding and challenging pupil’ mental models before more sold foundations can be laid.

Engage the learner – How will I hook the pupils? The first five minutes of any lesson is an optimum time for learning. The beginning of the learning experience is when the potential for learning is at its greatest because pupils’: -concentration levels are relatively high -feelings of anticipation can be positively exploited Teachers need to make the most of the beginning of the lesson by creating starter activities (related to key learning objectives), which arouse curiosity and use novelty to help establish high levels of engagement and motivation. Extrinsic motivation – when

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pupils respond to gain some sort of reward has a tendency to have short-term benefits. Engaging pupils’ internal reward systems (intrinsic motivation) has longer lasting effects and encouraging pupils to cope with higher levels of challenge. For pupils to make adequate progress, they need to work regularly in advance of their prior attainment.

Teachers can enhance pupils’ intrinsic motivation by: - Providing pupils with learning experiences which are appropriately challenging - Engaging pupils’ interest and curiosity - Giving pupils a degree if control over the learning situation - Ensuring there is enjoyment and success in learning - Highlighting the benefits

Share purpose and success criteria – What will pupils learn? How will they show their learning?

It is important to provide an overview of the lesson and to explain the purpose of the lesson as a whole and how it fits in with other lessons…the big picture.

Pupils need to know what it is they will have achieved by the end of the lesson and how the tasks that are going to do help them to achieve the objectives of the lesson. When pupils understand clearly ‘what’ they are going to learn (the learning objectives) and ‘how’ they are going to learn (processes they will use) they are more motivated and inclined to make better decisions about how they will tackle particular tasks. Teachers need to make sure pupils are clear about the success criteria i.e. ‘What I’m looking for.’ It sometimes beneficial for pupils to accept responsibility for their own learning by suggesting how the teacher – and they themselves – will know whether the learning objectives have been learnt. This can be an opportunity for the class/group/individual target setting. It is important that teachers separate explanations about the learning content (what you want them to learn) and learning tasks (strategies/approaches/methods pupils will need to use). For example:

- Say what pupils are going to learn and how they are going to do it - Make the learning strategies explicit so that pupils are clear about the processes of

learning - Provide visual information to support explanations to ensure understanding - Check for understanding at each stage of the explanation - Be specific and clarify what a successful outcome might look like

3-Part lesson – Part Two: Middle Enable and monitor understanding – Which activities will help pupils to learn

effectively? Are they learning? When introducing pupils to new ideas and skills, teachers should take into account the particular characteristics and needs of the pupils in their classes. These considerations

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will influence lesson planning in terms of the teaching styles used, the range and type of activities, time management, sequencing etc. As mentioned earlier, the beginning of the lesson is the optimum time for learning. However, as the beginning passes into the middle, so they advantageous ‘learning state’ begins to wear off. It is, therefore important to provide variety in this part of the lesson. “Not only do multi-activity lessons maintain interest and generate their own pace, they continually recreate the feelings of anticipation and heightened concentration associated with the start of an activity, and so improve learning. The impact of a multi-activity lesson is particularly acute when the activities themselves are very different. Not only does it keep the students guessing and interested, it ensures that the needs and interests of the children with various preferred learning styles are being met.” (Hughes 1999) According to Rita Dunn, every person has a unique learning style – as individual as their signature. This shows itself in the way each learner begins to concentrate, processes and retains new and difficult information. Ginnis (2002) urges that teachers should not become fixated on one model and suggests not every model will suit every teacher. Given that everyone uses more than one style of learning, teachers need to become ‘sensitised’ to differences rather than attempt to pigeonhole pupils. While pupils will underachieve of constantly required to work outside their preferred style, they need opportunities to develop other models otherwise their potential for development will be restricted. By organising classroom experiences acorss the different learning styles, teachers provide a structure for incorporating variety and challenge into the school day. However, over the years researchers have found that teachers’ own learning styles tend to influence the way they organise a topic/unit of work; the teaching methods and resources they select.; the type of tasks they plan and how they assess and evaluates pupils’ learning. 3-Part lesson – Part Three: Plenary – Final part of the lesson

Communicate understanding – How will pupils show what they have learnt? When pupils demonstrate or articulates their learning it helps to construct and/or consolidate their understanding. Teachers need to provide frequent opportunities for pupils to show and to check out their understanding. ‘Mini-plenaries’ throughout the lesson are useful to monitor pupils’ progress, make adjustments and provide support where necessary. In ensuring inclusive curriculum access, a key issue for teachers is the extent to which pupils are enabled to use a variety of ways to communicate their knowledge, skills and understanding. For example, where conventional recording presents a barrier which

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alternative methods are employed e.g ICT, visual representation etc. Key questions to ask are:

- To whom and at what point will the pupils demonstrate their understanding? - Are pupils able to demonstrate their understanding in accordance with their

preferred learning styles? - Is the demonstration of understanding differentiated so that all pupils are

enabled to participate? - Is it ‘safe’ for pupils to practice/tale risks to extend their thinking?

Evaluate understanding – How will pupils know what they have achieved?

Pupils should receive feedback on their learning based on the degrees to which they have achieved the intended outcomes. Success criteria, which has been discussed during the first part of the lesson, will provide the means of evaluation/ pupils need to know what they have done well and what they need to do to make further progress i.e areas for development. It is important that learners have opportunities to reflect and revise their understanding. Current thinking about effective learning recognises the importance of learner taking increased responsibility for their own learning. Opportunities for metacognitive reflection – where the learner monitors and evaluates his/her own thinking encourages pupils to become self-aware and self-regulating. Through metacognitive learning becomes ‘portable’ (Fogarty) which enables pupils to transfer and apply their learning to other curriculum areas and real life situations.

Review the learning – How will I consolidate and/or extend their learning? Pupils should be enabled to review their learning and should connect progress with their personal targets and the intended outcomes of the lesson. During review, pupils should not only look at what has been learned but also how it has been learned, as this will encourage independence and responsibility. Create opportunities for regular review during and at the conclusion of each learning experiences (mini-plenaries) – it is vital to long term learning and recall. “Within 24 hours of a lesson ending, upwards of 80% of the material is ‘lost’. Regularly reviewing information ensures that recall is dramatically improved. Trying to learn without regular review is like trying to fill the bath without putting the plug in”. (Hughes 1999)

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The Three-Part Lesson:

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SCAMPER list for creating ideas:

Substitute Who else instead? What else instead? Other place? Other time?

Other material? Other approach?

Combine Bringing together? Unite with another? Combine ideas? Combine purpose?

Adapt What else like this? What ideas does it suggest? Can it be adjusted for purpose?

Modify Magnify? Minify? Multiply? What to alter? To add? Change colour, form, shape, motion, other changes?

Put to other uses

New ways to use? Other uses if modified?

Eliminate What to remove, omit or get rid of? Part or whole?

Rearrange Try different pattern, layout or scheme? Turn it around, upside down, inside out? Try opposites?

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Drawing Drawing is a wonderful way of making thinking visible. A child may not find it easy to express thinking in words but can always attempt to express it visually and find it easier to understand something in visual terms. We are primarily visual animals, over half of the brain’s capacity is taken up with processing visual stimuli (beware any book on thinking or learning which is expressed only in words). The words of Edward de Bono have illustrated the considerable ability of young children to generate ideas through drawing.

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Questioning

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Good questions

What is a good question? A good question is an invitation to think, or to do. It

stimulates because it is open-ended, with possibilities and problems. A good questions is productive, it seeks a good response. A good question will generate more questions. What forms then do good questions take?

Questions that focus attention can be the most productive. “Have you seen?”

“Do you notice?” “What is it?”. Such questions can open up areas of investigation and help them to focus attention on particular details. Children are natural players of this game, “What’s that?” “Look at this”, “Come and see”. The first simple observations can lead to a spiral of questions that probe reasons, evidence and assumptions.

Questions that force comparison help to focus attention in more specific ways. Invite children to judge or assess for themselves by asking such questions as “How many?” “How long?” “How often?” “How much?”. Carefully phrased questions can help children compare like with like, to classify more closely and to bring order to the variety of their experience.

Questions that seek clarification can often help children focus on what they really mean by considering further the words they use. “What do you mean by?” “Can you explain further?” “Can you give me an example?” “Can you show me?” “Can you put it another way?”. Such questions can help children to think about their thinking and to develop what they mean.

Questions that invite enquiry include “What do we need to know?” “How can we find out?” “Can you find a way too?” “What would happen if…?”

Questions that seek reasons often ask for some sort of explanation. “How did you know?” “Why did you say that?” What are your reasons?” “What is your evidence?”. Reasoning questions help children to reflect on their own experiences, their own answers/ a reasoning questions invites further elaboration. “Why do you think that?”. The answer to this question will always be right even if there is something wrong with the child’s thinking. The child knows what she/he thinks, and to find this out we will often need to ask the child.

We cannot avoid the questions that young children ask. As they grow older children often grow out of the questioning habit. This may be due to inhibitions brought on by others such as the unresponsiveness of adults, or the scorn of peers, or from a drying up of the natural curiosity that makes the young child such an avid learner. Whatever the reasons we need to fight this tendency to accept rather than to ask. We need to foster a curiosity and encourage the questioning child.

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Modelling ‘Good questioning’

1. Ask questions yourself, “I wonder why”? Share your curiosity, reveal your doubts, be open about the things you do not know. Be a model for the questioning mind.

2. Find books, objects and materials that stimulate curiosity. What you find

interesting will not necessarily of course interest the child. Curiosity can however become infectious.

3. Encourage children to bring you objects of interest. Children’s curiosity can be fired by the most ordinary and commonplace things. The tattiest piece of beachcombing debris can become an object of fascination and awe. Simple equipment like a magnifying glass and microscope can extend and enrich a child’s observations, adding exciting detail to the familiar and mundane. Help create a collection or “cabinet of curiosities”.

4. Expose children to productive, provocative and open-ended questions. Teachers can include these questions on classroom displays for children to read, reflect on and explore further. A problem corner can be established where a question of the day or week can be on offer with materials or books to stimulate thought and action. Children can be asked to pose their own questions. But beware of the danger of overkill, of being overly-enthusiastic, overly-demanding. As one child begged “Don’t ask me another questions, or I’ll die”.

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Questioning

Some reasons for asking questions:

Arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topic Focus attention on a particular issue or concept Develop an active approach to learning Stimulate pupils to ask questions of themselves and others Structure a task in such a way that learning will be maximized Diagnose specific difficulties inhibiting pupil learning Communicate to the group that involvement in the lesson is expected Provide an opportunity for pupils to assimilate and reflect upon information Develop reflection and comment by pupils on the responses of other members

of the group, both teachers and pupils Afford an opportunity for pupils to learn through discussion Express a genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of the pupil Encourage thought, understanding of ideas, procedures etc Check understanding, knowledge and skills Gain attention Review, revise, recall, reinforce Aid management, control etc Give everyone a chance to answer Allow bright pupils to encourage others Involve shy pupils

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Some common errors in questioning

Asking too many questions at once

Asking a question and then answering it yourself

Asking questions of only the most able/most likely to answer pupils

Asking a difficult question too early

Asking irrelevant questions

Asking the same type of questions

Asking questions in a challenging way

Not indicating a change in the type of questions

Not using proper questions

Ignoring answers because they were not what you expected or wanted

Failing to see the implication of answers

Failing to build on answers

Not correcting wrong answers

Discuss: Which of these errors do you think you may have made in the past few weeks?

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Developing the skills of questioning

Open and Closed questions Open questions offer an opportunity for explanation, reflection and analysis to move to a deeper understanding….higher order thinking. Closed questions have only one correct answer which is usually very short….lower order thinking. “Open questions make pupils think, and tell the teacher more about what the pupil has learned. Closed questions, particular those requiring yes or no answers, usually require little thought. They are likely to be guessed with at least 50% success…and so the teacher cannot assume that successful learning has taken place.” (Petty, G. 1993) Wait time When teacher extend the time they wait for pupils to respond, for example to 5 or 6 seconds, the following was found:

The length of pupils’ responses increased The number if unsolicited, but appropriate answers, increased Failure to respond at all decreased Confidence appeared to increase The incidence of speculative thinking increased More child to child interaction occurred Children made more inferences and presented more evidence for what they said The number of questions asked by the children increased Contributions by slower learning pupils increased Disciplinary problems decreased

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Strategies to improve your questioning techniques

1. Allow processing time. The younger the learner, the more time they need to assimilate the question.

2. Provide processing cues, such as “in a minute I’m going to ask you about….”

3. Cue responses to open ended questions e.g “There is not a simple answer to this

question…I want you to consider alternatives”.

4. Ask the pupil to repeat the question to you to allow time for processing.

5. Encourage ‘outcomes’ thinking by asking questions such as “what will the finished piece of work look like?”

6. Change the balance of talk from 80% teacher talk towards 20% teacher talk and

80% pupil talk.

7. Use follow up questions to take the thinking to a higher level…Why?...How do you know?...Explain why….

8. Use numbers to put challenge within a question eg “Can you give me three

examples of…”

9. Preface your questions with an individual’s name.

10. Ask pupils to explain their thinking when they give an answer by asking “What made you think that?”

11. Provide extending questions, such as “What other alternatives did you

consider?”

12. Reflect back by stating “So, what you’re saying is….”

13. Ask children to summarise and speculate.

14. Provide opportunities for pupils to explain the processes they used, as well as describe the outcomes of their work.

15. Use “Think…Pair…Share”. Allow individual thinking time, discussion with a

partner, and follow up with whole group discussion.