Classroom Practice

Classroom Practice (Standard 4 – ‘Plan and teach well structured lessons’)

Learn that…
Learn how to…
1.      Effective teaching can transform pupils’ knowledge, capabilities and beliefs about learning.

2.      Effective teachers introduce new material in steps, explicitly linking new ideas to what has been previously studied and learned.

3.      Modelling helps pupils understand new processes and ideas; good models make abstract ideas concrete and accessible.

4.      Guides, scaffolds and worked examples can help pupils apply new ideas, but should be gradually removed as pupil expertise increases.

5.      Explicitly teaching pupils metacognitive strategies linked to subject knowledge, including how to plan, monitor and evaluate, supports independence and academic success.

6.      Questioning is an essential tool for teachers; questions can be used for many purposes, including to check pupils’ prior knowledge, assess understanding and break down problems.

7.      High-quality classroom talk can support pupils to articulate key ideas, consolidate understanding and extend their vocabulary.
 
8.      Practice is an integral part of effective teaching; ensuring pupils have repeated opportunities to practise, with appropriate guidance and support, increases success.

9.      Paired and group activities can increase pupil success, but to work together effectively pupils need guidance, support and practice.

10.   How pupils are grouped is also important; care should be taken to monitor the impact of groupings on pupil attainment, behaviour and motivation.

11.   Homework can improve pupil outcomes, particularly for older pupils, but it is likely that the quality of homework and its relevance to main class teaching is more important than the amount set.
Plan effective lessons, by:
·        Observing how expert colleagues break tasks down into constituent components when first setting up independent practice (e.g. using tasks that scaffold pupils through meta-cognitive and procedural processes) and deconstructing this approach.

And - following expert input - by taking opportunities to practise, receive feedback and improve at:
·        Using modelling, explanations and scaffolds, acknowledging that novices need more structure early in a domain.

·        Enabling critical thinking and problem solving by first teaching the necessary foundational content knowledge.

·        Removing scaffolding only when pupils are achieving a high degree of success in applying previously taught material. 

·        Providing sufficient opportunity for pupils to consolidate and practise applying new knowledge and skills.
  
Make good use of expositions, by:
·        Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues how to use concrete representation of abstract ideas (e.g. making use of analogies, metaphors, examples and non-examples).

And - following expert input - by taking opportunities to practise, receive feedback and improve at:
·        Starting expositions at the point of current pupil understanding.

·        Combining a verbal explanation with a relevant graphical representation of the same concept or process, where appropriate.  

Model effectively, by: 
·        Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues how to make the steps in a process memorable and ensuring pupils can recall them (e.g. naming them, developing mnemonics, or linking to memorable stories). 

And - following expert input - by taking opportunities to practise, receive feedback and improve at: 
·        Narrating thought processes when modelling to make explicit how experts think (e.g. asking questions aloud that pupils should consider when working independently and drawing pupils’ attention to links with prior knowledge).

·        Exposing potential pitfalls and explaining how to avoid them. 
Stimulate pupil thinking and check for understanding, by:
·        Discussing and analysing with expert colleagues how to consider the factors that will support effective collaborative or paired work (e.g. familiarity with routines, whether pupils have the necessary prior knowledge and how pupils are grouped).

·        Receiving clear, consistent and effective mentoring in how to provide scaffolds for pupil talk to increase the focus and rigour of dialogue.

And - following expert input - by taking opportunities to practise, receive feedback and improve at: 
·        Planning activities around what you want pupils to think hard about.

·        Including a range of types of questions in class discussions to extend and challenge pupils (e.g. by modelling new vocabulary or asking pupils to justify answers).

·        Providing appropriate wait time between question and response where more developed responses are required.
Notes

Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below.
 
Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. 

Other key definitions can be found in the introduction

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