- being coached;
- gaining access to theoretical ideas which can help them understand and
develop their practice.
1 Making a start
This section contains two tasks that can done in either order. They are valuable
because they can provide some first-hand experience which will help in building
further understanding in the rest of the unit. From the response that you get from
pupils you can begin to judge whether there are already important foundations in
the school or whether you are starting from scratch.
3 | Key Stage 3 National Strategy| Pedagogy and practice
Unit 16: Leading in learning
© Crown copyright 2004
DfES 0439-2004
Task 1
Reflecting on your school 20 minutes
Do you recognise these issues in your school?
How are they being addressed?
Sometimes people reinvent the wheel. To avoid this:
- informally ask around to find out which departments or individual teachers are
interested in teaching thinking skills and which have developed experience
and expertise;
- more formally consult senior managers with responsibilities such as
Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, and Professional Development to build up
a profile of interest and expertise in thinking skills across the whole staff. Don’t
make too many assumptions as there may be Newly Qualified Teachers or
teachers nearing retirement who should be included.
Task 2
Getting the pupil perspective 30 minutes
Much of the research evidence suggests that pupils do not develop a rounded
view of what schools and education are for.
Select a class, perhaps in Y7 or Y9, and interview a small group (3–4) of pupils
centred on the question:
What do you learn in school?
Their first response will probably be a list of subjects. If pressed further they may
mention particular topics and possibly issues raised by PSHE, assemblies and
extra-curricular activities. With more probing they might begin to discuss how
they learn. Some further questions that might help are:
In what subjects do you learn the most?
Do you learn anything about how you learn?
Are there any connections between what you learn in different subjects?
Task continues
