Transcript Slide 1

“Why are we doing this Sir?”
Using the Foundation strand to motivate pupils and
raise achievement from lesson to lesson
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(How can we make the starts of lessons more challenging, fun and
worthwhile and help pupils make real progress?)
Before 5.30pm we will
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See how more purposeful lessons are linked to
the way they actually start
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Develop an understanding of many different
and varied ways of starting lessons to
encourage greater motivation, engagement and
challenge.
Pacey starts can be crucial
Per lesson
Over the Key Stage 3
1 minute saved
2 hours saved
2 minutes saved
4 hours saved
3 minutes saved
6 hours saved
Common ways of starting a
lesson
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Sit down and get your books out
Copy the date and title then listen to teacher
Quick recap on the previous lesson
Take the register
Answer a few brief questions before the lesson
fully develops
Stand behind your chair
Hand books out
Waiting for silence
But “fun” and pacey starters can
quickly lose their appeal with staff
and pupils
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Head of Geography (Nottinghamshire) said
“I realised very quickly that it was important
to have a wide variety of starter/plenary
ideas as possible to prevent them from
becoming stale.”
How do their brains work?
Three brains for the
price of one!
1. The reptilian brain
(brain stem) deals with the
5 F’s
(i) Fight
(ii) Flight
(iii) Flock
(iv) Freeze
(v) Sex
Think of the intelligence of a
newt..stay alive and try to have
sex….or an undergraduate!
How do their brains work?
Three brains for the
price of one!
2. The limbic system
(emotional brain) deals
with emotions
(i) Long-term memories
(ii) Experiences emotions
How do their brains work?
Three brains for the
price of one!
3. The neocortex (Thinking
Cap) deals with
(i) Speech
(ii) Processing new information
(iii) Abstract thought and
reasoning
What tasks do we use to start lessons?
If you put the emphasis solely on
winning people will first try to cheat.
And secondly, they will try to win
with the minimum of effort because
that shows that they are even better.”
Professor Cary Cooper…clearly seen those lads at the back
of your classroom!
The ideal learning state
High
Challenge
Low
High
Low
Stress
Activity…the High ChallengeLow Challenge game
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High challenge refers to the extent to
which “high-order” thinking is
demanded by the starter activity
Activity…the High ChallengeLow Challenge game
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How did you differentiate between what
was a “high” or “low” level challenge
activity? (Remember “Bloom in your
classroom?”)
Which were the tricky ones to position?
Why?
Apart from challenge, what else can make
starters particularly effective?
What did Bloom discover?
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Evaluation being able to judge the worth of material against stated
criteria. Sees pupils judging, assessing comparing and contrasting
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Synthesis being able to put together separate ideas to form new
wholes, or to establish new links
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Analysis being able to explain how the various parts fit together, infer
and analyse
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Application using learnt information, ideas and skills in new
topics/situations.
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Comprehension where pupils start to understand the basic information
so that they can explain it
Knowledge or recall of bits of “stuff”…..can be the foundation for
higher levels of thinking
Goldilocks and Bloom
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Knowledge…Whose porridge was too sweet?
Comprehension…Why did Goldilocks like Little
Bear’s bed best?
Application…What would have happened if
Goldilocks had come to your house?
Analysis…Which parts of the story could not be
true?
Synthesis…Can you think of a different ending?
Evaluation…What do you think of the
story?
Was Goldilocks good or bad? Why?
Activity…the High ChallengeLow Challenge game
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(i)
Challenge is not the only factor in an effective
start to the lesson…
Pace…with focus on thinking and learning
rather than on the business of the activity.
(ii) Interaction…essentially the pupils are
active.
(iii) Involvement…be wary of the “Put your hand up and
tell me what we did last week” syndrome setting in.
Activity…the High ChallengeLow Challenge game
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Challenge is not the only factor in an effective
start to the lesson…
(iv) Connecting with prior learning..
”Do you remember when…?”
(v) Arouse pupil curiosity and intrigue…are they
thought provoking?
(vi) Can include brief, small-group activities.
I’d like you to think about what you think were the three most
important things which you can remember about….which we did
last week. Turn to your partner and explain what you have
chosen and why?”
But what is the BIG picture
you’re trying to create?
For example…
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
What’s the exciting, intriguing and challenging enquiry that
encapsulates the Geography starter?
What’s the bigger aims/focus and direction for the Modern
Foreign Language lesson.
How does the science starter fit into a more fun, challenging
and rigorous series of lessons.
But what is the BIG picture
you’re trying to create?
Starter activities work best when they are placed
within challenging and fun sequences of lessons
(See art/geography examples)
Main enquiry covering a series of lessons over a period of weeks perhaps
Starter
Starter
Starter
Can you spot the dodgy
questions?
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They must capture interest
Focus on real worthwhile aspects of
that subject’s thinking, concepts or
processes
Result in a tangible, lively, substantial
and enjoyable “outcome activity”
through which pupils can genuinely answer
the key question
Can you spot the dodgy
questions?
1.
Electricity
2.
Weather patterns over Europe
3.
Do different people in different countries respond the
same to natural disasters?
4.
Telling the time in French
5.
How would you cope if you were lost in Paris after
missing the school coach?
6.
What structures do musicians use to organise sounds?
7.
Tempo
8.
School trip to the art gallery
9.
How effective is the art gallery in portraying the different
styles of painting from the 20th century?
10.
When did the French Revolution happen?
11.
Why do we still bother to study the French Revolution?
Starters can be quiet and
reflective.
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
For example
See RE example (This is RE!)
Geography Inference Chart
History source evaluation
Looking at successful starters
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Use Handout 7.3 to list the ways these
teachers create
Engagement
Pace
Challenge
•After watching the video compare your list
with at least two other people.
Handout 7.4 highlights some of
the points you might have made
Theme
Engagement
Specific devices and strategies used
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
Pace
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Challenge
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Problem built into task
Unusual routines
Objectives and values made explicit
Interesting activities (novelty, curiosity and
relevance)
Sensitivity to concentration levels
Expectations made clear
Use of “conscripts” rather than volunteers
Pupils able to join in as they each arrive
Very precise time targets (Look for the 3’s, 5’s
and 7s-the magic numbers according to A.
Smith)
Focus on pace and thinking and learning
Time targets reaffirmed
Competition
modelling
Absence of usual “scaffolding”
Open ended questioning
Speculative questioning
Using difficulty as a way of motivating-”This is
going to be hard.”
Increasing levels of complexity
What does David Beckham have
in common with Albert Einstein?
Einstein
Beckham
Answer…
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He is just as intelligent!
Don’t panic!!
Explanation coming up
So what does David Beckham
have in common with Albert
Einstein?
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They are equally
intelligent…but it
is not being
suggested that
they were
intelligent equally
Multiple Intelligences
What this really means…
Logical/Mathematical
(i) Puzzles
(ii) Charts
(iii)Graphs
(iv)Analysis
(v) Forecasts
(vi)Predictions
Imaginative use of this model
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Logical/Mathematical in English
M-KD= (KM)
Macbeth minus King Duncan equals King
Macbeth-but not for long, so put it in
brackets
What this really means…
Interpersonal
(i) Group work
(ii) Team work
(iii)Interviewing
(iv)Chat shows
(v) Drama
(vi)Teaching others
(vii)Group leading
(viii)Group co-ordinating
Imaginative use of this model
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(i)
(ii)
Interpersonal
This can free yourself up to work with
those who really need your support.
Buddy-up systems
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Intrapersonal
WIIFM’s?
Empathy
Emotional
Metacognition
Target setting
Hypothetical…What if?
Imaginative use of this model
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
Intrapersonal
Encourage reflection…”Well
done…how did you do it?”
Which bits did you learn quickest and
why?
How would you feel if….? (Geography
and the rain cycle)
Science experiments
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Visual/spatial
Learning maps
Posters
Highlighter pens
Symbols
Icons
Instructive display work
Imaginative use of this model
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Visual/spatial
We have a better memory for pictures
than we do for words (see “From the
land of the gods”)
Using colour improves our memory
Mind-mapping
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
Body/physical
Role play
Making models
Movement
Acting
Practical
Walking through the learning
Imaginative use of this model
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Body/physical
English Dept used “Go high” and “Go low”
when developing a new area of learning.
Happy-sad continuums.
Moving around the classroom (Trenchestable example)
Science lesson (solar system in the hallmoving to Holst’s “The Planets”)
Maths…Jumping from column to column
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Musical
Rhymes
Raps
Jingles
Songs
Background music
Imaginative use of this model
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(i)
(ii)
Musical
Creates the right kind
of atmosphere for
learning
Examples (Bach’s
Goldberg
Variations/Pachelbel)
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
Verbal linguistic
Debates
Stories
Discussions
Poems
Word games
Speeches
Diary entries
Imaginative use of this model
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Verbal/linguistic
Class discussions (think carefully
about your enquiry question)
Radio commercials
Poems to help with remembering key
concepts
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
Naturalistic
Going out of the
classroom to learn
Classifying into
family groups
What this really means
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(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Naturalistic
Varying your classroom environment (Battle of
Hastings out doors?)
Which animals would Disney use in a cartoon
version of Macbeth?
Persecution of other groups through Darwin’s
eyes?
Emily Davison throwing herself in front of the
horse from the horse’s point of view
Amazonian rainforest through the eyes of the
creatures living there and dying there
Be aware
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We tend to teach and start lessons
according to the way WE prefer to
learn.
Wear your creative thinking hat
a. How can we incorporate music into
Art lessons?
b. Can we use these models to
evaluate our current schemes of
work?
c. Would Mozart have been happy just
doing Music one hour a week?
WARNING…Watch
out for the
potential problems!
What do you think
are the potential
problems that
starters can bring?
WARNING…Watch
out for the
potential problems!
1. Take too long or even take over
the whole lesson!
2. They can lose pace and
direction and lack clear learning
outcomes
3. Too quick a pace can lose
pupils who need extra thinking or
speaking time
WARNING…Watch
out for the
potential problems!
4. Can bore the more able if you
are not careful!
5. Become a fixed routine that
bores
6. Can be derailed by the arrival
of latecomers
So if those are the problems,
what are the solutions?
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They need careful planning and preparation
so that everyone (teacher and pupils) see the
purpose of the activity
Remain focussed on the purpose of the
starting activity
Use a variety of activities to get the lessons
started
So if those are the problems,
what are the solutions?
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Skilful teacher questioning, coupled with
thinking time. (Bloom’s ideas are really
useful here)
Effective use of classroom support
Adding extra challenge for some by
increasing the complexity or sophistication
of the activity
Looking at successful
starters…Sequence Two
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Making sure you can take something
away to use back in your classroom.
Watch these teachers and record on
Handout 7.5 how you could use some of
these techniques with a class.
The keys to successful starters
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To avoid over running plan this as a discrete
element of the lesson.
Ensure that your starter activities contribute
directly to the overall lesson objectives
Choose starters that best fit your BIG picture
planning
Make sure that your starter activities show
progression over time!
Second to last slide…the keys
to successful starters
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Use varied and unusual routines to create
motivation. (Think of Alistair Smith and
Multiple Intelligences)
Plan for a brief conclusion at the end of the
starter to consolidate the gains made
Ready for more?
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Why not trial three different types of starter that
you have not used before with the one class over
the enquiry/lesson sequence?
Follow this up with a departmental discussion
about how these might be incorporated into a Year
7 scheme of work for next year
Also during this meeting discuss what other
colleagues have been trying out.