9 | Key Stage 3 National Strategy|Pedagogy and practice
Unit 1: Structuring learning
© Crown copyright 2004
DfES 0424-2004
4 Principles for structuring a lesson in
episodes
An effective lesson will be organised into a sequence of distinct learning episodes
with a beginning (teacher input), a middle (activity for pupils) and then a quick
check for understanding before moving to the next episode – until the end of the
lesson, at which there might be a longer review time. Pupils remember more from
the beginning of a learning activity than they do from the middle. They also learn
more from the end of the experience than they do from the middle. It follows that
with slower learners or challenging classes it is beneficial to create lots of
beginnings in a lesson.
When you decide how many episodes to cover in a lesson, and how long each
should be, try not to exceed the concentration span of your pupils. It has been
suggested that the average concentration span corresponds roughly to
chronological age plus one or two minutes. With challenging classes take this
figure as a maximum – so, for example, keep episodes under 12 minutes for Year 7
pupils.
Each episode should have a distinct purpose and distinct outcome. Planning for
smooth transition from one episode to the next is important. This can often be
achieved by establishing classroom routines or using signals that pupils recognise,
such as the phrases ‘eyes on me’ or ‘now move to your home groups’. It takes
time to establish these routines. They need to be introduced, then used consistently.
Task 7
Considering the research 10 minutes
Read the summary of researchon pages 22–23.
Highlight those areas of the research that you think are the keys to helping you
improve lesson design for either yourself or your department.
Do you think your lessons are better structured in one key stage than the other?
If so, consider why this might be so.
Task 6
The ‘good lesson guide’ 10 minutes
Watch video sequence 1c. Listen to what some Year 10 pupils consider
constitutes a good lesson and then the teacher describing how his school has
developed a whole-school approach. The result is that pupils have consistent
expectations about their learning in all lessons. This consistency has contributed
to improved behaviour.
When you have watched the sequence, reflect on how this compares with your
lessons. How do you ensure consistency?
