Guidance, ideas and examples to support schools in developing their curriculum, pedagogy, enrichment and support for more able learners, within a whole-school context of cognitively challenging learning for all. Includes ideas to support curriculum development, and practical examples, resources and ideas to try in the classroom. Popular topics include: curriculum development, enrichment, independent learning, questioning, oracy, resilience, aspirations, assessment, feedback, metacognition, and critical thinking.
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Posted By Jemma Sherwood,
11 February 2022
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Based on a post originally published on Jemma Sherwood’s website, The World Is Maths.
Back in 2017 (where does time go?) I wrote this post on the importance of vocabulary, where I argued for including subject-specific (what we tend to refer to as ‘tier 3’) vocab more in our lessons.
Since then I’ve obviously thought more about this and, following on from conversations with David Didau, I wanted to get down another observation.
In my experience, maths teachers can have a tendency to underestimate two things:
- The vocabulary our pupils can cope with.
- The effect of bypassing the correct vocab.
Let me elaborate.
The vocabulary our pupils can cope with
Our pupils are capable of learning lots of words. They learnt to speak as youngsters and acquired thousands of them, but we know that many of them don’t move past the basic or intermediate literacy skills to those they need to access more advanced material (Shanahan and Shanahan, 2008). Something happens to many students at secondary age whereby their language acquisition falters. If that is the case, then it falls to us to accept that we’re not teaching them this as well as we could. We must maintain the highest of expectations of all our pupils and part of that is building language acquisition into our lessons such that it is both integral and normal.
What do integral and normal look like? Integral means you value language acquisition as an essential part of your teaching, that you understand its necessity in an education. You seize every opportunity to teach new words, you make pupils practice them – saying them out loud, using them in sentences in context – and you carefully build this into what you do. Normal means language acquisition teaching isn’t an add-on and it’s not over-complicated. We don’t need fancy worksheets and analysis of etymology (although etymology is fascinating and all students should meet it). If we make the teaching of language (or anything, for that matter) too onerous or time-consuming it won’t happen properly. It must be a simple, everyday occurrence, as normal as anything else we do.
When the teaching of language is integral and normal you see that pupils are able to learn really rather complex and specific vocabulary very well and this, in turn, allows them to think more precisely and to communicate more clearly.
Returning to the paper referenced earlier, the authors spent some time talking to mathematicians, scientists and historians to determine what reading looked like in each discipline. There were specific elements of reading that were valued to a different extent by each. The mathematicians valued close reading and re-reading, specifically because reading in mathematics is linked to precision, accuracy and proof. I particularly like this quote:
Students often attempt to read mathematics texts for the gist or general idea, but this kind of text cannot be appropriately understood without close reading. Math reading requires a precision of meaning and each word must be understood specifically in service to that particular meaning.
If we want to take our students on a pathway to being mathematical, thinking like a mathematician, we should build in language acquisition and precision reading as a principle of this.
The effect of bypassing the correct vocab
Something I see very regularly in classrooms is teachers avoiding using correct vocab, I think (from conversations I’ve had) because they are worried that particular vocab will make it harder to understand a concept. This is best explained with an example:
Teacher: A factor is a number that goes into another number.
How many times have you said this? I know I have! I think it happens because of a perception that a “simplified” definition makes this word accessible to more pupils. However, I would argue that we are making the word specifically less accessible in doing this.
What does ‘goes into’ really mean? As a novice without a strong mathematical background I could interpret this in a number of ways. However, if my teacher tells me, “A factor is a number that divides another number with no remainder”, or similar, and accompanies this with examples and non-examples, I can make more sense of the word from the start. Moreover, if my teacher regularly refers to the word ‘factor’ alongside this definition, and asks my peers and me this definition, and gets us hearing it and rehearsing it, then I start to associate the word ‘division’ with ‘factor’ and I am less likely to confuse it with ‘multiple’. Eventually, it will become part of my fluent vocabulary.
In ‘dumbing down’ a definition, we work against understanding rather than for it. That doesn’t mean we have to go all-out Wolfram Mathworld* on our pupils, but it does mean we have to consider the implications of our own use of language and how we can make small changes that have a positive impact. It’s worth taking some time with your team to discuss where else we have a tendency to bypass proper vocabulary or definitions, and think about the specific negative effects this will have on our pupils. How can you, as a team, work towards increasing your pupils’ language acquisition and precision? What ideas or concepts do you want them to automatically associate a certain word with? Design your instruction towards that aim.
*“A factor is a portion of a quantity, usually an integer or polynomial that, when multiplied by other factors, gives the entire quantity.” Mathworld
Jemma Sherwood is a Senior Lead Practitioner for Maths, and the author of How to Enhance Your Maths Subject Knowledge: Number and Algebra for Secondary Teachers. Find out more about Jemma on her website, or follow her on Twitter.
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Posted By Hilary Lowe,
08 November 2021
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NACE Research and Development Director Hilary Lowe explores the relationship between language and learning, and the development of language-rich learning environments as a key factor in cognitively challenging learning experiences.
“We use language to define our world, while at the same time the social world in which we live defines our language. The structure of language and the variation we find within it depend both on the social world as well as the ways in which we create an identity for ourselves and the ways in which we build relations with others. Understanding how language both constrains our thoughts and actions and how we use language to overcome those constraints are important lessons for all educators.” (Silver & Lewin, 2013)
We are sometimes so busy talking in classrooms that we forget about the centrality of language for learning. It is for this reason that this blog post focuses on what is arguably a neglected area in the training of teachers: an understanding of the primacy of language in the learning process, of the link between language and higher-level cognition and high achievement, and the critical role of teachers in developing high-level language skills at all stages of schooling.
The development of language and literacy has long been a tenet of the National Curriculum as well as a significant area of research. Research such as that from Oxford Children’s Language (Oxford, 2018; 2020) has continued to emphasise the importance of linguistic wealth, and the link between paucity of language and academic failure and diminished life chances.
The notion of ‘oracy’ has been less visible in policy developments but has received more recent attention through, for example, the survey undertaken by the Centre for Education and Youth and Oxford University (2021) and the Oracy APPG Speak for Change Inquiry report (April, 2021). The APPG inquiry found that the development of spoken language skills requires purposeful and intentional teaching and learning throughout children’s schooling. It also found that there is a concerning variation in the time and attention afforded to oracy across schools, meaning that for many children the opportunity to develop these skills is left to chance. The inquiry concluded that there is an indisputable case for oracy as an integral aspect of education. The conclusions also emphasised the primordial place of oracy for young people and the critical role of employers, teachers and Ofsted in trying to ensure that these skills are developed to a high level.
In the first phase of NACE’s research initiative Making Space for Able Learners, which focuses on cognitive challenging learning, we were delighted to find examples of effective practices in language development and use, which led us to a renewed interest in the significance of language and discourse in high achievement. The schools in the project which demonstrated consistently excellent practice and high achievement for their most able learners had a systematic and systemic approach to the development and use of high-level language skills alongside wider literacy and oracy development (see below for examples). Some background: language, thinking and learning
The interaction between thought and language has long been the subject of research and academic debate. The thesis that natural language is involved in human thinking is universally well supported, although research into language and cognition often makes reference to ‘strong and weak theories’ of this thesis. Research suggests that higher-level language processes hold a pivotal role in higher-order executive and cognitive activities such as inference and comprehension, and indeed wider expressive communication skills.
Vygotsky (1978) writes that "[…] children solve practical tasks with the help of their speech, as well as their eyes and hands" (p. 26). In Vygotsky's view, speech is an extension of intelligence and thought, a way to interact with one's environment beyond physical limitations: “[…] the most significant moment in the course of intellectual development, which gives birth to the purely human forms of practical and abstract intelligence, occurs when speech and practical activity, two previously completely independent lines of development, converge.” (p. 24).
This higher level of development enables children to transcend the immediate, to test abstract actions before they are employed. This permits them to consider the consequences of actions before performing them. But most of all, language serves as a means of social interaction between people, allowing "the basis of a new and superior form of activity in children, distinguishing them from animals" (p. 28f). Vygotsky wrote, "human learning presupposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them" (p. 88). Language acts both as a vehicle for educational development and as an indispensable tool for understanding and knowledge acquisition.
In the classroom, therefore, we need to attend to the development of higher-level language processes as explicitly as we do to substantive subject skills and knowledge.
The functions of language in education
The various functions of language most pertinent in the classroom include:
- Expression: ability to formulate ideas orally and in writing in a meaningful and grammatically correct manner.
- Comprehension: ability to understand the meaning of words and ideas.
- Vocabulary: lexical knowledge.
- Naming: ability to name objects, people or events.
- Fluency: ability to produce fast and effective linguistic content.
- Discrimination: ability to recognize, distinguish and interpret language-related content.
- Repetition: ability to produce the same sounds one hears.
- Writing: ability to transform ideas into symbols, characters and images.
- Reading: ability to interpret symbols, characters and images and transform them into speech.
(Lecours, 1998).
All of these functions are key components in the teaching and learning process. Teachers and students use spoken and written language to communicate with each other formally and informally. Students use language to comprehend, to question and interrogate, to present tasks and learning acquired – to display knowledge and skills. Teachers use language to explain, illustrate and model, to assess and evaluate learning. Both use language to develop relationships, knowledge of others and of self. But language is not just a medium for communication – it is intricately bound up with the nature of knowledge and thought itself.
What does this mean for cognitively challenging learning?
For the development of high levels of cognition and to achieve highly, pupils need to develop the language associated with higher-order thinking skills in all areas of the curriculum, such as hypothesising, evaluating, inferring, generalising, predicting or classifying (Gibbons, 1991).
In an educational context it is through iterations of linguistic interactions between teacher and student – and peer to peer – that the process of advancing in learning and knowledge occurs. As Hodge (1993) notes, with limited time in the classroom, teachers often spend much of the available time conveying information rather than ensuring comprehension. This reduces the opportunities for a range of linguistic interactions and for learners to acquire and practise the higher-level language skills associated with high achievement. Planning and organising teaching and learning therefore needs to allow for an increase in opportunities for rich language environments and interactions alongside a cognitively challenging curriculum.
In the NACE research project school visits, we witnessed numerous incidences of highly effective and consistent practices in classroom discourse which clearly contributed to the achievement of highly able learners. These included:
- Teachers modelling advanced language and skilled explanation and questioning;
- Pupils being taught the language of skills such as reasoning, synthesis, evaluation;
- Frequent use of ‘dialogic’ frameworks and enquiry-based learning;
- The use of disciplinary discourse and higher tiers of language;
- Instructional models which include and prioritise the above.
Examples of effective, language-rich learning environments from the project include:
- Portswood Primary School: focus on the early development of vocabulary, language and talk. Teachers use sophisticated language to communicate expectations and learning.
- Alfreton Nursery School: teaching develops skills of concentration, as pupils focus on a central stimulus/object and formulate “big questions”. There is also an explicit focus on team working with reference to reasons “why we can agree to disagree” and the importance of listening. The teacher follows these pupil-led ideas in later sessions.
- Glyncoed Primary School: a challenging curriculum is achieved through planning and delivery of problem solving-based activities, extended and cognitively demanding tasks, and pupil choice. Teacher talk and high-level and qualitatively differentiated questioning, rich dialogue and cognitive talk is in evidence. Excellent modelling and explanations are also pervasive.
- Greenbank High School: pupils are stimulated by differentiated questions prompting them to test hypotheses, make predictions and transfer their knowledge to new contexts. As a result, pupils are working at a strong, sustained pace.
You can read more about the project and order copies of the report here.
Improving the quality and nature of linguistic interaction and discourse within the classroom can better equip learners to engage in cognitive challenge. Learners thus equipped can also move more effectively from guided practice to independence and self-regulation. Teachers working with more able pupils must have a clear pedagogical strategy in mind, with discourse and well-planned questioning an integral part of that strategy. By using a highly interactive pedagogical model, which is language-dependent, teachers get rapid feedback about how well knowledge schemas are forming and how fluent pupils have become in retrieving and using what they have learnt. Working with the most able learners, the quality of questioning and questioning routines must provide the teacher with diagnostic information and the pupils with increased challenge.
Creating language-rich schools and classrooms: implications for teacher development
The development of language is too important to be left to be ‘caught’ alongside the rest of the taught curriculum. We need to give it explicit attention across the curriculum, alongside subject knowledge and skills. To do this expertly teachers should have access to professional development opportunities which give them insights into substantive areas of language acquisition and development – including what that means at different ages and stages and for learners of different abilities and language experience.
NACE’s future CPD and resources will therefore focus on issues in and strategies for language development for high achievement, including:
- Case studies of NACE evidence schools with excellent practice in language for high achievement;
- The language needs and characteristics of different learners, including the most able;
- Creating language-rich school environments;
- Approaches to teaching and learning for language development;
- EAL learners;
- Developing a whole-school language policy.
Schools accredited with the NACE Challenge Award are invited to join our free termly Challenge Award Schools Network Group events (online) to share effective practice in this and other areas. View upcoming events here, or contact communications@nace.co.uk to learn more about NACE’s work in this field and/or to share your school’s experience.
References
- Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group, Speak for Change, oracy.inparliament.uk, 2021
- Centre for Education and Youth with Oxford University Press, Oracy after the Pandemic, cfey.org, 2021
- Gibbons, P., Learning to Learn in a Second Language, Primary English Teaching Association, 1991
- Hillman, D. C. A., https://www.quahog.org/thesis/role.html, 1997
- Hodge, B., Teaching as Communication, Routledge, 1993
- Hodge, G. I. V. and Kress, G. R., Language as Ideology, Routledge, 1999
- Lecours, A. R. et al, Literacy and The Brain in The Alphabet and The Brain, Springer-Verlag, 1988
- Lowe, H. and McCarthy, A., Making Space for Able Learners, NACE, 2020
- Oxford Language Report, Why Closing the Language Gap Matters, OUP, 2018
- Oxford Language Report, Bridging the Word Gap at Transition, OUP, 2020
- Silver, R. E. and Lewin, S. M., Language in Education: Social Implications, Bloomsbury, 2013
- Vygotsky, L. S., Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes, London: Harvard University Press, 1978
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Posted By Ann McCarthy,
06 October 2021
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NACE Research & Development Director Dr Ann McCarthy shares key principles for effective assessment planning and practice, within cognitively challenging learning environments.
Following two academic years of uncertainty and alternative arrangements for teaching and assessment, the conversation regarding testing and assessment has become increasingly important. Upon return to the routines of day-to-day classroom teaching, schools have had to find ways to assess knowledge, progress and understanding achieved through distance learning or redesigned classroom practices. For older pupils there has been a need to provide evidence to examination boards to secure grades and guarantee appropriate progression routes. This inherent need to provide checks and balances before pupils’ achievement is recognised can become a distraction from the art of teaching. In fact, Rimfield et al (2019) found a very high agreement between teacher assessments and exam grades in English, maths, and science.
- Could we examine less often and use classroom-based assessment more often?
- Should we rethink testing and assessment and their position in the learning process?
Testing vs assessment
The terms test and assessment are often used interchangeably, but in the context of education we need to recognise the difference. A test is a product which is not open to interpretation; it uses learning objectives and measures success achieved against these. Teachers use tests to measure what someone knows or has learned. These may be high-stakes or low-stakes events. High-stakes tests may lead to a qualification, grading or grouping, whereas low-stakes tests can support cognition and learning. Testing takes time away from the process of learning and as such testing should be used sparingly, when necessary and when it contributes significantly to the next steps in teaching or learning.
Assessment, by contrast, is a systematic procedure which draws on a range of activities or evidence sources which can then be interpreted. Regardless of the position teachers hold regarding the use of testing and examinations, meaningful assessment remains an essential part of teaching and learning. Assessment sits within curriculum and pedagogy, beginning with diagnostic assessment to plan learning which best reflects the needs of the learner. A range of formative assessment activities enable the teacher and pupils to understand progress, improve learning and adapt the learning to reflect current needs. Endpoint activities can be used as summative assessments to appreciate the degree to which knowledge has been acquired, alongside varied and complex ways in which that knowledge can be used.
Assessment might be viewed in three different ways: assessment of learning; assessment for learning; and assessment as learning. The choice of assessment practice will then impact on its use and purpose. Regardless of the process chosen and the procedures used, the teacher must remember that the value of the assessment is in the impact it has on pedagogy and practice and the resulting success for the pupils, rather than as an evidence base for the organisation.
NACE research has shown that cognitively challenging experiences – approaches to curriculum and pedagogy that optimise the engagement, learning and achievement of very able young people – will have a significant and positive impact on learning and development. But how can we see this working, and what role does assessment play? When planning for cognitively challenging learning, assessment planning should reflect the priorities for all other aspects of learning.
A strategic approach to assessment which supports cognitively challenging learning environments
When considering the place of assessment in education, teachers must be clear about:
- What they are trying to assess;
- How they plan to assess;
- Who the assessment is for;
- What evidence will become available;
- How the evidence can be interpreted;
- How the information can then be used by the teacher and the pupil;
- The impact the information has on the planned teaching and learning;
- The contribution assessment makes to cognition, learning and development.
Effective assessment is integral to the provision of cognitively challenging learning experiences. With careful and intentional planning, we can assess cognitive challenge and its impact, not only for the more able pupils, but for all pupils. Assessments are used to measure the starting point, the learning progression, and the impact of provision. When working with more able pupils, in cognitively challenging learning environments, the aim is to extend assessment practices to include assessment of higher-order, complex and abstract thinking.
When used well, assessment provides the teacher with a detailed understanding of the pupils’ starting points, what they know, what they need to know and what they have the potential to do with their learning. The teacher can then plan an engaging and exciting learning journey which provides more able pupils with the cognitive challenge they need, without creating cognitive overload.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has joined with others to recognise the importance of cognitive science to inform interventions and classroom practice. Spaced learning, interleaving, retrieval practice, strategies to manage cognitive load and dual coding all support cognitive development – but are dependent on effective assessment practices which guide the teaching and learning. The best assessment methods are those that integrate fully within curriculum teaching and learning.
Assessment and classroom management
It is important to place the learner at the centre of any curriculum plan, classroom organisation and pedagogical practice. Initially the teacher must understand the pupils’ strengths and weaknesses, together with the skills and knowledge they possess, before engaging in new learning. This understanding facilitates curriculum planning and classroom management, which have been recognised as essential elements of cognitively challenging learning. Often, learning time is lost through additional testing and data collection, but when working in cognitively challenging environments, planned learning should be structured to include assessment points within the learning rather than devising separate assessment exercises.
When assessing cognitively challenging learning, pupils need opportunities to demonstrate their abilities using analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. They must also show how they use their existing knowledge in new, creative, or complex ways, so questions might include opportunities to distinguish between fact and opinion, to compare, or describe differences. The problems may have multiple solutions or alternative methodologies. Alternatively, pupils may have to extend learning by combining information shared with the class and then adding new perspectives to develop ideas.
Assessing cognitively challenging learning will also include measures of pupils’ abilities to think strategically and extend their thinking. Strategic thinking requires pupils to reason, plan, and sequence as they make decisions about the steps needed to solve problems, and assessment should measure this ability to make decisions, explain solutions, justify their methods, and obtain meaningful answers. Assessments which demonstrate extended thinking will include investigations, research, problem solving, and applications to the real world. Pupils’ abilities to extend their thinking can be observed through problems with multiple conditions, a range of sources, or those drawn from a variety of learning areas. These problems will take pupils beyond classroom routines and previously observed problems. Assessment at this level does not depend on a separate assessment task, but teaching and learning can be reviewed and evaluated within the learning process itself.
Assessment in language-rich learning environments
Language-rich learning environments support cognitive challenge, high-order thinking and deep learning for more able pupils. It is therefore inevitable that language, questioning and dialogic discourse are key elements of formative assessment. They allow the teacher to assess learning in the moment and adjust the course of learning to adapt to the needs of the pupils.
Assessment in the moment, utilising effective questions and dialogic discourse, does not happen by accident, but is planned into the learning. When planning a lesson, the big ideas and essential questions which will expose, extend and deepen the learning are central to the planning and assessment. When posing the planned questions or creating opportunities for discourse, pupils need time to formulate their ideas and think before discussing the responses and extending learning with their own questions and ideas.
Within the language-rich classroom where an understanding of assessment is shared with pupils, the ownership of learning can be passed to them. The teacher will introduce the theory, necessary linguistic skills, and technical language, using these to model good questions and questioning techniques. More able pupils will develop their own oracy, language and questioning techniques, and then develop them together. Through regular practice and good classroom routines, pupils gain the confidence and skills to ask ‘big questions’ themselves and engage in dialogue. At this point, discussion and questioning becomes an effective mode of ongoing assessment. As pupils explain their thinking, misconceptions or gaps in knowledge will be exposed, allowing the teacher to assess, support learning, and encourage deeper thinking.
Priorities for effective assessment
Within the classroom, the teacher needs to use assessment:
- To understand what the pupils know already;
- To promote and sustain cognitive challenge and progression:
- To measure the impact of both the teaching and the learning;
- To adapt practice in a timely manner;
- To support, extend and enhance learning;
- To examine how effectively the knowledge is used in new, varied and complex contexts.
Assessment has the potential to support pupils as learners as they will:
- Understand the nature and purpose of activities so that they can benefit from them;
- Appreciate the demands of learning;
- Engage in the learning journey;
- Develop their own cognitive skills and learning attributes;
- Take action to improve themselves;
- Take ownership of learning;
- Become increasingly autonomous and self-regulating.
Assessment is not a separate part of teaching and learning, but should be planned within the teaching. Assessment should not distract pupils from learning, and learning should not be framed to meet assessment criteria. Assessment is not about data gathering and organisational checks, but it should lead to enriched learning and refined practice with teachers and pupils working together to achieve an exciting learning environment.
What next?
This year, NACE is focusing on exploring effective assessment practices within Challenge Award-accredited schools. We hope that many schools will participate in this project, to provide evidence and share examples of effective assessment: what works, how, and why? By sharing our expertise with others we can move the conversation about assessment forwards and provide exciting and engaging learning for our pupils. To find out more or to express your school’s interest in contributing to this initiative, please contact communications@nace.co.uk
References
- Education Endowment Foundation (2021), Cognitive science approaches in the classroom (a review of the evidence)
- Rimfield. K, et.al. (2019), Teacher assessment during compulsory education are as reliable, stable, and heritable as standardized test scores. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 60(12) (1278-1288)
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Posted By Gavin Illsley,
30 June 2021
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Gavin Illsley, Head of Programmes, English-Speaking Union
Spelling or poetry, complicated maths, explosive chemistry, or predicting the Bank of England’s interest rates. In so many aspects of school life, competitions can be part of a vibrant culture of learning. The English-Speaking Union (ESU) believes that oracy should be at the heart of every classroom, and oracy competitions can help bring it to the heart of every school. Read on to find out more about the ESU’s approach to competitions, and how to register your school for participation in future contests.
1. Competitions provide focus for year-wide activities
While the end result may be a team of three or five students going to a competition, the process is an opportunity to bring oracy to much larger groups. Many of our participating schools use competition season as a time to get everyone involved in oracy activities – the entire school could enter the first round of our Performing Shakespeare competition, while teachers often use our ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition as a chance to get everyone giving speeches in class. You can even run your own internal qualifier events.
The successful teams and individuals can be role models and exemplars – there’s no better assembly highlight than a winning team showing off their newly polished oracy skills!
2. Competitions give different ways of engaging with skills
Oracy activities can be intimidating for some students, but very often taking a slightly different approach can make a student feel more comfortable and confident. Wrapping presentation and speech within part of a dramatic performance is helpful for some, while others find their feet in the controlled role of a public speaking chairperson. Finding the right way for an individual to express themselves can unlock achievement in other areas.
3. Competitions provide challenge
All students deserve access to oracy education but, for those who are particularly keen or engaged, classroom opportunities might not be enough. Public speaking competitions give students a place to stretch themselves and take on bigger challenges. Tackling peers at local, regional and even national levels means there’s always more to reach for.
This can also provide a useful outlet for the students, who may otherwise behave in a disruptive way as they try to maximise speaking time in class at others’ expense.
4. Competition can be a motivator
Some people hate running laps of a track, but give them a ball and an opposition and they’ll run all day. Similarly, with oracy, competition can be a great source of motivation.
All steps – preparations, practice, performance – can be given a boost by the chance to compete, progress and win acclaim. As Simon Porter, headteacher at De Aston School in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, says: “The students really enjoy the competitions. They get to have their voice heard on important topics and it’s been transformative for their confidence and their self-esteem.”
5. Competitions are social and interactive
Public speaking competitions are all about interacting with other students both within a class or year group and from a broad range of other schools, right across the country. Debaters will go head-to-head with opponents, and public speaking teams will host and welcome speakers from other schools as part of the contest.
This benefits students as learners, as they can observe how others approach similar tasks, share ideas, and use their words and actions to motivate and inspire. It also benefits students from a social and emotional development perspective. Engaging outside of the competition itself is a chance (for teachers too!) to meet others with similar passions, share and chat. This is something that teachers often comment on, pointing out that students typically have very little opportunity to talk to other children their age whom they don’t already know. “It’s nice that they are experiencing, very clearly, schools that are from a very different background, seeing the differences, and also knowing that there isn’t as much of a difference as they previously thought,” says Grace Aldridge, teacher, Kensington Aldridge Academy.
Sign up!
Sign up now for the English-Speaking Union’s national competitions: Performing Shakespeare (Y7-9), the ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition (Y9-11) and the Schools’ Mace debating competition (Y7-13). All have trained judges and offer extensive feedback opportunities. More details and the registration form can be found here and supporting resources to help train and develop your students can be accessed here.
About the English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union is an educational charity working to ensure young people have the speaking and listening skills and cultural understanding they need to thrive. Our debate, public speaking and cultural exchange programmes help young people to engage with the world, to speak more confidently and to listen to and understand different points of view. These skills improve young people’s attainment, emotional intelligence and social skills, helping them to live their lives to the fullest. To find out more, visit esu.org
Upcoming opportunities:
Read more about upcoming ESU opportunities here.
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Posted By Ann McCarthy,
17 November 2020
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Dr Ann McCarthy, NACE Associate and co-author of NACE’s new publication “Cognitive challenge: principles into practice”.
When you’re planning a lesson, are your first thoughts about content, resources and activities, or do you begin by thinking about learning and cognitive challenge? How often do you consider lessons from the viewpoint of your more able pupils? Highly able pupils often seek out cognitively challenging work and can become distressed or disengaged if they are set tasks which are constantly too easy.
NACE’s new research publication, “ Cognitive challenge: principles into practice”, marks the first phase in our “Making Space for Able Learners” project. Developed in partnership with NACE Challenge Award-accredited schools, the research examines the impact of cognitive challenge in current school practice against a backdrop of relevant research. What do we mean by ‘cognitive challenge’?
Cognitive challenge can be summarised as an approach to curriculum and pedagogy which focuses on optimising the engagement, learning and achievement of highly able children. The term is used by NACE to describe how learners become able to understand and form complex and abstract ideas and solve problems. Cognitive challenge prompts and stimulates extended and strategic thinking, as well as analytical and evaluative processes.
To provide highly able pupils with the degree of challenge that will allow them to flourish, we need to build our planning and practice on a solid foundation.
This involves understanding both the nature of our pupils as learners and the learning opportunities we’re providing. When we use “challenge” as a routine, learning will be extended at specific times on specific topics – which has useful but limited benefit. However, by strategically building cognitive challenge into your teaching, pupils’ learning expertise, their appetite for learning and their wellbeing will all improve.
What does this look like in practice?
The research identified three core areas:
1. Design and management of cognitively challenging learning opportunities
In the most successful “cognitive challenge” schools, leaders have a clear vision and ambition for pupils, which explicitly reflects an understanding of teaching more able pupils in different contexts and the wider benefits of this for all pupils. This vision is implemented consistently across the school. All teachers engage with the culture and promote it in their own classrooms, involving pupils in their own learning. When you walk into any classroom in the school, pupils are working to the same model and expectation, with a shared understanding of what they need to do.
Pupils are able to take control of their learning and become more self-regulatory in their behaviours and increasingly autonomous in their learning. Through intentional and well-planned management of teaching and learning, children move from being recipients in the learning environment to effective learners who can call on the resources and challenges presented. They understand more about their own learning and develop their curiosity and creativity by extending and deepening their understanding and knowledge.
2. Rich and extended talk and cognitive discourse to support cognitive challenge
The importance of questions and questioning in effective learning is well understood, but the importance of depth and complexity of questioning is perhaps less so. When you plan purposeful, stimulating and probing questions, it gives pupils the freedom to develop their thought processes and challenge, engage and deepen their understanding. Initially the teacher may ask questions, but through modelling high-order questioning techniques, pupils in turn can ask questions which expose new ways of thinking.
This so-called “dialogic teaching” frames teaching and learning within the perspective of pupils and enhances learning by encouraging children to develop their thinking and use their understanding to support their learning. Initially, pupils might use the knowledge the teacher has given them, but when they’re shown how to use classroom discourse effectively, they’ll start to work alone, with others or with the teacher to extend their repertoire.
By using an enquiry-orientated approach, you can more actively engage children in the production of meaning and acquisition of new knowledge and your classroom will become a more interactive and language-rich learning domain where children can increase their fluency, retrieval and application of knowledge.
3. Curriculum organisation and design
How can you ensure your curriculum is organised to allow cognitive challenge for more able pupils? You need to consider:
- What is planned for the students
- What is delivered to the students
- What the students experience
Schools with a high-quality curriculum for cognitive challenge use agreed teaching approaches and a whole-school model for teaching and learning. Teachers expertly and consistently utilise key features relating to learning preferences, knowledge acquisition and memory.
Planning a curriculum for more able pupils means providing a clear direction for their learning journey. It’s necessary to think beyond individual subjects, assessment systems, pedagogy and extracurricular opportunities, and to look more deeply at the ways in which these link together for the benefit of your pupils. If teachers can understand and deliver this curriculum using their subject knowledge and pedagogical skills, and if your school can successfully make learning visible to pupils, you’ll be able to move from well-practised routines to highly successful and challenging learning experiences.
Taking it further…
If we’re going to move beyond the traditional monologic and didactic models of teaching, we need to recast the role of teacher as a facilitator of learning within a supportive learning environment. For more able pupils this can be taken a step further. If you can build cognitive challenge into your curriculum and the way you manage learning, and support this with a language-rich classroom, the entire nature of teaching and learning can change. Your highly able pupils will become increasingly autonomous and more self-reliant. They’ll become masters of their learning as they gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter. You can then extend your role even further, from learning facilitator to “learner activator”.
This blog post is based on an article originally written for and published by Teach Primary magazine – read the full version here.
Additional reading and support:
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Posted By Christabel Shepherd,
10 December 2019
Updated: 10 December 2019
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Christabel Shepherd, Executive Headteacher of Bradford’s Copthorne and Holybrook Primary Schools, shares 10 tried-and-tested approaches to developing Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.
"They just haven’t got the words!” This is something I have heard a number of times in my teaching career. As all teachers know, the consequence of children ‘not having the words’ means they are unlikely to be able to express themselves clearly. They may not be able to get the most from the experiences we offer. They are often judged by individuals beyond the school as lacking ability. They may display frustration and a lack of self-belief which, in turn, can lead to low levels of resilience and, in the case of many of the children I’ve taught, a tendency to be passive learners.
Above all, the vocabulary gap exacerbates social disadvantage. We have all seen the effects that result when children don’t have the words they need to truly express themselves, and to paint a true and vivid picture in the mind of a reader or listener. We also know that a focus on oracy and ‘closing the vocabulary gap’ opens the doors of opportunity for children and allows them to soar.
Challenge for all
At both the schools I lead, ‘challenge for all’ is a non-negotiable and at the heart of our ethos and vision. Both schools are members of NACE, and we believe that providing challenge for all our learners develops ability, raises aspirations, engenders resilience and is a key feature of a high-quality education.
Central to providing ‘challenge for all’ is a focus on high-quality language acquisition and use by pupils. How can we challenge learners effectively if there is a notable vocabulary gap, especially in terms of pupils’ knowledge, understanding and use of Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary? How can we embed higher order questioning and higher order thinking skills if the children can’t access the language?
Teaching Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary
I think most of us feel comfortable teaching Tier 3 vocabulary. It’s usually technical, often subject-specific, and we teach this in a very direct and focused way through a rich curriculum where key words and their meaning are explored and used in context.
Tier 2 vocabulary can be more difficult for children to grasp. It often expresses ‘shades of meaning’ which can be extremely subtle, and much of it relies on an experience and understanding of root words, prefixes and suffixes. As teachers, we are so used to experiencing these words or skilled at working out what they mean that we may assume they and their meaning are familiar to children too.
It is vital, therefore, if we want our children to engage effectively with the whole curriculum, articulate their thoughts, learning and aspirations, and access real challenge, that we have a whole-school focus on closing the vocabulary gap. We must directly teach and promote the understanding and use of Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.
If you visit Copthorne Primary, where this approach is fully embedded, you will find wonderfully articulate young people. Our children are confident, active learners who relish a challenge and are not afraid to question adults, direct their own learning and express their views and opinions. Just being in their company for a few minutes makes my day.
Take a look at the Copthorne Pupil Parliament on YouTube (it’s just four minutes). Most of the children you’ll see arrived at the school with no English and are now able to think and speak fluently in at least two languages. Here’s how we do it…
1. Five-minute stories
Present children with three or four age/stage-appropriate Tier 2 words. The words must be those they have met before or have roots, prefixes or suffixes which they have experience of. Give them five minutes to write an engaging short story which must include the given words. This gives children the opportunity to use these words in their correct context, applying their developing knowledge of the shades of meaning, whilst developing long-term memory of the vocabulary. We adapted this idea from Chris Quigley who suggests using this strategy with words from year group spelling lists. Similarly, Tier 3 vocabulary can be developed by asking children to use a given selection of words in a summary about their learning in a particular subject.
2. Silent discussions
Get learners to discuss a topic through written communication only, using given Tier 2 or 3 vocabulary.
3. Model the language
When modelling writing, act out how to ‘think like a writer’, justifying and explaining your word choice, especially around synonyms from Tier 2. 4Talking school Provide opportunities and groupings for talk in every subject to ensure it absolutely pervades the whole curriculum. For example, try talk partners, debating, school council, drama or film-making. Use the ‘Big Questions’ resources at oxplore.org to promote debate and encourage the use of high-level vocabulary in context.
5. Language-rich environment
On every display, pose key questions using the appropriate technical vocabulary. This includes a ‘challenge’ question using Tier 2 vocabulary. Expect a response to the questions from the children. Display an appropriately aspirational (Tier 2) ‘word of the week’ in each classroom. After they’ve worked out its meaning, encourage the children to use it in their talk and writing and find its synonyms and antonyms.
6. Weekly vocabulary lessons
Take an object or theme and, using pictures, sound and film, support children in developing their high-quality descriptions using Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, as well as more metaphorical language.
7. Reading across the curriculum
Maximise every opportunity in all subjects to teach reading skills and explore Tier 3 vocabulary in context. Use guided reading as an opportunity to really explore and pull apart those ‘shades of meaning’ for Tier 2 words in a range of text types. This allows for those rich conversations about specific word choice, meaning and effect.
8. Reciprocal reading
Introduce pupils to a whole-class text in small, manageable chunks. At the same time, thoroughly explore all new Tier 2 vocabulary. Encourage the children to use the words’ roots, context and any relevant existing knowledge to clarify meaning. Taking the time to explore misconceptions in reading and vocabulary use is a key feature of reciprocal reading and stops children from ‘glossing over’ words they don’t recognise.
9. Headteacher’s book club
Introduce extended guided reading groups for more able readers in Y5 and 6. Issue a challenging text to learners, along with an initial focus, and give pupils two to four weeks of independent reading time. Then meet together to share afternoon tea, discuss the book and explore new Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary. Encourage the children to use the new words in their writing and talk activities.
10. Year group writing events
Stage events such as an alien landing to stimulate pupils’ imagination and provide a specific context for the use of given Tier 2 and 3 words.
This article was originally published in Teach Reading & Writing magazine.
Christabel Shepherd is a NACE Associate and Trustee, and Executive Headteacher of Copthorne and Holybrook Primary Schools. She has extensive experience of leading on school-wide provision for more able learners, having used the NACE Challenge Framework to audit and develop provision in two schools, with both going on to achieve the NACE Challenge Award. Christabel regularly contributes to NACE's CPD programme, as well as delivering bespoke training and consultancy to help schools develop their provision for more able learners within an ethos of challenge for all.
Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.
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Posted By Charlotte Bourne,
16 October 2019
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Charlotte Bourne, Deputy Head of Learning at Shakespeare’s Globe, shares four places to get started with the free online resources developed by the theatre’s education team.
As well as being an iconic cultural venue, Shakespeare’s Globe provides free resources for schools, supporting teachers to create learning opportunities that provide challenge for all. With materials available for teachers and learners across all phases, our education resources are designed to:
· Offer flexibility within the teaching of Shakespeare through active approaches, rehearsal room techniques or technology – giving opportunities for children to flourish across a range of domains;
· Add breadth to learners’ understanding of vocabulary through interrogating language choices;
· Add depth to leaners’ understanding of the relationship between Shakespeare’s texts and their contexts;
· Use them as a springboard to wider learning opportunities, such as homework projects or longer-term investigations.
Each year we also run a “Playing Shakespeare” microsite which tracks a production as it is developed and performed. This year’s microsite is dedicated to Macbeth (details below).
Ready to go deeper with Shakespeare? Here are four places to get started…
Great for an introduction to Shakespeare or a focus on context, the Globe website’s ‘Discover’ zone provides a wealth of information on: the history of Shakespeare’s Globe(s); factsheets about Shakespeare's world; blog posts from the Globe; music at the Globe; ‘ask an actor’ podcasts.
Our fact sheets – on Shakespeare, London, writing plays, actors, indoor theatre, special effects, the first Globe, playhouses, audiences, and costumes and cosmetics – are particularly useful for introducing students to Elizabethan and Jacobean contexts in an accessible way at KS2, and can easily be adapted to your lesson objectives. For example:
· Support the development of critical literacy skills: “We have very few accounts of how the audience behaved, and most of them are about ‘bad’ behaviour. This probably tells us more about what was considered ‘news’ than about how audiences behaved all the time.”
· Introduce learners to how performance conditions impact on texts: “There were practical reasons why some plays were better suited to indoor theatres. Indoor theatres had a small stage (about half the size of an outdoor theatre’s stage). There were also stools allowed on the stage: the most expensive seats, where rich ‘gallants’ sat to be seen as well as to watch. This gave the actors far less space for big battles or crowd scenes. On the other hand, the smaller space and the candlelight enhanced a play’s magical effects.” This could be followed by an investigation into which of Shakespeare’s plays learners think would suit each type of theatre.
An interactive filmmaker for desktops and tablets, Staging It aims to help learners understand Shakespeare’s texts from a director’s perspective and offers the option to virtually stage a scene at the Globe.
Actors are filmed performing a moment of a play on the Globe stage. Each line of their speech is shot four times, each time performed in different ways (happy, flirtatious, defensive, etc.). Students decide which clips to add to the dynamic storyboard to build a final scene. They can then interrogate the choices they made, and the impact of these on how each character is perceived.
These resources support students in recognising that the text is a conscious construct, shaped by the context in which it is received – vital preparation for GCSE English that can be introduced at KS3 through this resource.
Follow-up questions can be used to support the development of critical thinking: How am I looking at this character? What leads me to have this viewpoint? What does my viewpoint ignore? Is there another way to look at them? How might [a different culture/gender etc.] view them? Which of these possible viewpoints makes the most sense given the text? This could be modelled in advance by the teacher, as “revealing the thought processes of an expert learner helps to develop [these types of] metacognitive skills” (EEF, 2018).
The Globe’s website for teachers, Teach Shakespeare provides hundreds of learning resources in multiple formats: photos, video clips from previous productions, synopses, audio interviews, fact sheets and schemes of work. Designed with input from teachers, the site can be searched by age range, play, format, or purpose (e.g. lesson plan/exam revision). No signup is needed to access the resources.
Many of these resources incorporate rehearsal room techniques. These have experimentation, collaboration and reflection at their heart, and encourage students to make their own discoveries about the text.
For example, this resource suggests the activity ‘walking the line’ to investigate Shakespeare’s use of metre: foot up on unstressed syllables and down on stressed syllables, noticing and commenting on irregularities in the ‘Gallop apace’ speech in Act 3 Scene 2 of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The ‘commenting’ is particularly important, because it is the collaborate nature of reflection that helps further the metacognitive talk referenced above. We provide video clips showing the actors undertaking some of these techniques, to model the insights that come through actively exploring the text in this way.
This site provides a gateway to all our previous production-specific websites created as part of the Playing Shakespeare project, each of which tracks a production from rehearsal to final performance. This year’s microsite is dedicated to Macbeth, with previous productions covered including Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew. Each of these sites contains photos, interviews with the cast and director, design briefs, articles and teaching activities.
The interviews with cast members give students the opportunity to unpick the texts in performance – a key aspect in appreciating the form. Listen to several Macbeths discussing their interpretations, for example, can help students understand that, unlike a novel, a drama text is incomplete on the page.
There are research articles on particular plays, written for a KS3-4 audience moving to focus in more detail on the relationship between text and context. These provide a rich exploration of writer's craft that cannot be separated from context, and can be used to model the integrated approach to this required for higher-level literary analysis.
Our Macbeth 2020 website has launched and will begin tracking the production in January!
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Posted By Helen Green,
08 May 2019
Updated: 06 August 2019
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In April 2019, Dubai’s Hartland International School became the third school outside the UK to gain the NACE Challenge Award, in recognition of high-quality whole-school provision for more able learners. Amongst the school’s strengths, the Award report highlighted Hartland’s innovative and wide-reaching enrichment programme. Here, Gifted and Talented Coordinator Helen Green shares 10 challenging enrichment activities to try in your own school…
At Hartland International School we believe in the potential of all children to achieve. All students are given access to enrichment activities as part of the school day, four days a week, and many of our more able learners are invited to specific sessions targeted at their strengths and interests. It is an innovative programme which supports our aim of stretch and challenge for all.
All teachers are expected to deliver one or two enrichment activities, depending on their timetable; these sessions are planned for and monitored for consistency and value. Our sports provider delivers sessions to all students once a week. All enrichment activities are financed by the school, except those involving external providers (for example skiing and sailing).
Based on our experience of delivering a diverse and ambitious enrichment programme, here are 10 challenging enrichment activities to engage your more able learners…
1. Debating
Debating is an engaging, active learner-centred activity. Reasoning, research and public speaking are just some of the positives behind learning how to be a great debater. From planning an argument (even if you don’t agree with it), to choosing your words wisely, debating will help you take on whatever life chooses to throw at you. It is always good to have a debate showcase to aim for. Consider collaborating with other schools to hold a debate morning, where students can practise what they have learned over the course of the enrichment course. Alternatively, inviting experts in can also be very motivating (for example through an organisation such as Debate Mate, who offer training as well as running showcase debates).
2. General knowledge
The importance of general knowledge reaches far beyond books and exams. Whether in the classroom or the workplace, good general knowledge can help in all walks of life. Having general knowledge about different countries and geographies helps students to form a perspective about the world and a culture that may be different from their own. In a school with over 60 nationalities, this is especially important to us. This enrichment activity should be offered to all interested students; often it is the more creative students who surprise us with their quest for knowledge of their surroundings. This year we have found resources from Quiz Club to be really useful in supporting children in developing their general knowledge, as well as many library- and research-based enrichment sessions, in preparation for competitions with other schools.
3. Critical thinking
Critical thinking at a critical age… In this enrichment course, learners are taught to reason, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Through maths games and problem solving, critical thinking activities aid in making sense of maths problems and develop perseverance in solving them. This enrichment is particularly suitable for higher-ability mathematicians ready for a challenge.
4. Latin for beginners
Learning Latin encourages non-linear, outside-the-box thinking, as well as promoting greater focus and patience. This enrichment could be offered to highly able readers to enhance their enjoyment of literature. However, there are also some really fun Latin for beginner courses around (for example Minimus “the mouse that made Latin cool”), which would appeal to many students.
5. Biz kids
Many students have aspirations to run their own business and young entrepreneurs should be encouraged and supported to brainstorm their ideas; produce and market their product; and of course sell to the consumer. There are many ways to run this enrichment, from a Dragon’s Den-style approach to a young entrepreneurs programme which encourages students to develop their entrepreneurial skills. We spent a term developing, marketing and producing our products and ideas and then sold them to fund further ventures at the end of term.
6. Cooking through literacy
Most young people enjoy the challenge of cooking. If you have cooking facilities in your school, a great way to engage students in reading is to combine a cookery and reading enrichment activity. The Little Library Café has some great resources to facilitate this – providing recipes that are linked to a book, with a short note from the author. Students should be given ample time (maybe while their items are cooking) to be able to read and discuss the book and evaluate why the author chose to include the food in their writing. This is one of our most popular enrichments!
7. Research projects
Through detailed research on a project of interest to them, students develop critical thinking expertise, as well as effective analytical research and communication skills, that are incredibly beneficial. Ultimately research is essential to the development of our globalised society, so this is a great skill to develop from an early age. We find that our more able learners really embrace the challenge of research, being able to evaluate their findings and learn in depth about an area of interest.
8. Lego design challenges
At Hartland, we believe everyone can be good at maths; it is a set of skills that can be learned and practised. Through engineering and design challenges using Lego – such as designing transportation devices, musical monsters, bridges and ultimate playgrounds – our pupils are encouraged to be open-minded and flexible, thus developing the growth mindset that is so important to developing young mathematicians. The challenge for educators is to encourage this mindset and flexibility so that it stays with these young learners throughout their time in education and beyond.
9. Literary Society
Our Literary Society is an invite-only club for adventurous and keen readers in Years 8 and 9, designed to stretch and challenge students who have demonstrated an interest in literature. It combines great stories with stimulating discussion and probing debate. Each week students participate in discussion and activities that are intended to help them display their intellectual and independent thinking skills whilst discovering new literature. It is a safe space where they can explore and discuss without the worry of assessment or judgement. Students at Hartland have recently chosen “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett to discuss. The aim is to invite various guest speakers and other teachers to join and inspire our discussions. We are also hoping to link with a secondary school in the UK to collaborate across the miles.
10. Hour of code
During our coding enrichment, students create animated stories and interactive experiences while learning essential programming concepts with Scratch, such as developing their logic skills; improving their understanding of algorithms and learning how to debug their code. This drag-and-drop, creative environment developed by MIT uses sprites and code blocks to set a foundation of computational thinking. In addition as part of their gaming project, students managed to recreate popular games from the 1980s such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders. Although this is a challenging activity, many students thrive on this challenge and thoroughly enjoy the experience.
Read more: 7 ideas to enrich your curriculum for more able learners
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Posted By Natasha Goodfellow,
14 February 2019
Updated: 08 April 2019
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Oracy skills underpin all areas of learning and life – and they certainly shouldn’t be taught only to those who join the school debating club, argues Natasha Goodfellow of the English-Speaking Union. Build oracy into every lesson with these five simple activities – suitable for all learners, phases and subjects.
Think about what you’ve done today. How much time have you spent talking, explaining, listening to deduce meaning or ease conflict? How much time have you spent persuading people to your point of view, or to do something you want doing, versus writing essays or doing maths?
Most communication is verbal, rather than written. And yet oracy receives much less attention in the school curriculum than literacy and numeracy. Even in schools which pride themselves on their oracy results, too often the teaching happens in debate or public speaking clubs as opposed to lesson time.
Why make oracy part of every lesson?
While a lunchtime or after-school club can be a good place to start, participants will generally be self-selecting, precluding many of those who might benefit the most. It’s far better to introduce an oracy element into every lesson.
As good teachers know, oracy is about far more than speaking and listening alone. Oracy activities encourage learners to voice and defend their opinions, to think for themselves and to listen critically. And, perhaps most importantly, they build confidence and resilience. However able an individual may be, it’s one thing to argue a point in an essay; it’s quite another to do that in person, in front of an audience, with others picking holes in your arguments, questioning your thought processes or your conclusions. And it’s another leap again to review the feedback and adjust your opinion or calmly concede that you may have been wrong.
With regular practice, what might initially seem uncomfortable or impossible is soon recognised as simply another skill to be learnt. Happily, it’s all part of a virtuous circle – the better learners are at speaking, the better their written work will be. The firmer their grip on the facts, the more convincing their arguments. And, ultimately, the more they are challenged and asked to think for themselves, the more rewarding their education will be.
Here are five simple oracy activities to incorporate in your daily teaching:
1. Balloon debate
Display a range of themed prompts on the board. For instance, in chemistry or physics you might choose different inventors; in PSHE you might choose “protein”, “fat” and “sugar”. Ask the class to imagine they are in a balloon which is rapidly sinking and that one person or item must be thrown out of the balloon. Each learner should choose a prompt and prepare a short speech explaining why he/she/it deserves to stay in the balloon. For each of the items listed, choose one learner to take part in the debate. The rest of the class should vote for the winners/losers.
2. Draw a line
This activity works well for lessons that synthesise knowledge. For example, you may use it to recap a scheme of work. Draw a line on the board. Label it “best to worst”, “most certain to least certain”, or whatever is appropriate. Learners should copy this line so they have their own personal (or small group) version. Introduce items – for example, in geography, different sources of energy; in history, difference sources of evidence. As you discuss each item and recap its main features, learners should place the item on their own personal line. In small groups or as a class, learners can then discuss any disagreements before placing the item on the collective class line on the board.
3. Where do you stand?
Assign one end of the room “agree” and the other “disagree”. When you give a statement, learners should move to the relevant side of the room depending on whether they agree or disagree. Using quick-fire, true/false questions allows you to swiftly assess understanding of lesson content, while more open questions allow learners to explain and defend their thinking.
4. Talking bursts
At appropriate points in a lesson, ask individual learners to speak for 30 seconds on a theme connected to the subject in hand. This could be in a colloquial mode – an executioner arguing that hanging should not be banned, for example; or a more formal mode – such as a summary of the history of capital punishment. Begin with your more able learners as a model; soon the whole class will be used to this approach.
5. Praise and feedback
Finally, make time for praise and feedback – both during oracy activities and as part of general class discussions. Invite comments on how speeches could be improved in future, and recognise and celebrate learners when they make good arguments or use appropriate vocabulary.
Natasha Goodfellow is Consultant Editor at the English-Speaking Union where she oversees the publication of the charity’s magazine, Dialogue, and content on its website. She has worked as an English teacher abroad and is now a writer and editor whose work has appeared in The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Week Junior.
NACE is proud to partner with the English-Speaking Union (ESU), an educational charity working to ensure young people have the speaking and listening skills and cultural understanding they need to thrive. The ESU’s Discover Debating programme, a sustainable programme designed to improve listening and speaking skills and self-confidence in Years 5 and 6, is now open for applications, with large subsidies available for schools with high levels of FSM and EAL. To find out more and get involved, visit www.esu.org/discover-debating
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Plus: for more oracy-based challenges to use in your classroom, watch our webinar on this topic (member login required).
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Posted By Gail Roberts,
03 December 2018
Updated: 23 December 2020
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Gail Roberts is the More Able and Talented Coordinator at Challenge Award-accredited Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, and a Golden Ambassador for Parliament. In this blog post, she shares seven simple steps to transform your classroom into a heated debating hall…
In 2017 I had the privilege of spending four days in Parliament as part of an education programme for teachers. This really opened my eyes to how important it is for our young people to fully understand our democratic system, issues in the UK and wider world – and to develop the confidence and skills to articulate their opinions and critically analyse what is being said to them.
These are skills we shouldn't take for granted. As Alan Howe points out in this recent contribution to the Oracy Cambridge website, somewhere between 25% and 60% of adults (depending on which survey you consult) say they have a fear of public speaking – putting this above visits to the dentist and even death in our list of terrifying prospects. This anxiety, Howe argues, is avoidable – and is likely to be "directly related to the way that experience of ‘public speech’ is limited earlier in our lives by what happens in classrooms."
Of course, there's more to public speaking or debating than simply having the confidence to speak in front of others. Developing debating skills brings a broad range of benefits for all young people, including more able learners – including increased confidence and self-esteem; expanded vocabulary choices; strengthened skills in standard English and message delivery; the confidence to form and voice opinions (and to change their mind!); active listening skills; ability to build on others’ ideas and to articulate arguments effectively; and an awareness of social etiquette and behaviour for respectful and thoughtful exchange.
These skills can be extended to enrich and develop learning across all areas of learning, as well as providing key life skills – the confidence and ability to speak in front of a range of audiences; to form decisions independently rather than “following the crowd”; to recognise and analyse bias; to “read around” a subject and research thoroughly on both sides; and to engage in discussions when faced with those holding opposing views.
Keen to get your learners debating? Here are seven steps to get started…
1. Log on to Parliament TV
To get started, choose a live or recorded debate to watch online via the House of Commons or National Assembly for Wales websites. Discuss the language used, the conduct of the speaker, standard forms of address and body language.
2. Choose a controversial topic
Challenge learners to choose a topic of debate that will fuel discussion. Spilt the class into “for” and “against”. Give them time to discuss the reasons for their views within each group.
3. Clarify key points
Padlet is a free online platform which I’ve found useful at this stage in the process. Challenge learners to present their views in a few convincing sentences using a range of oracy techniques for impact – for example, rhetorical questions and direct appeals to listeners. Post these statements onto your Padlet wall for the whole class (and any other invited audiences) to view.
4. Evaluate
Invite learners to critically evaluate the posted views, and to think of responses to the views put forward by the opposition.
5. Record, listen, improve
Using the audio setting in Padlet, learners can record their statements, listen back and make improvements. This gives them time to ensure intonation, expression, silence and tone are used effectively, before they enter the debating zone.
6. Commence the debate
Set up your classroom so the two groups are facing one another. Position yourself centrally to chair the debate – once learners are familiar with the process, they can take it in turns to be Chair. Establish the ground rules. Anyone who has something to say, stands. The Chair then invites him/her to speak. The rest of the class sit and listen. Once the speaker has sat down again, repeat. It is best when the pace is kept fast. Encourage learners to address the opposition rather than face the Chair, and to speak and respond without using or making notes – the preparation stages should mean they have a good foundation of ideas and persuasive techniques to draw on.
7. Reflect and relate
At the end of the debate ask if anyone has changed their opinion. Allow learners to swap sides. Discuss who or what persuaded them to change their mind, and how/why. Discuss how these examples and strategies relate to real-life situations such as politics or advertising.
Gail Roberts is the MAT Coordinator, Maths Coordinator and Year 5 teacher at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School in Monmouthshire. She has worked in education since 1980, starting out as an NNEB with children with severe difficulties in basic life skills, and gaining her NPQH in 2007. Llanfoist Fawr gained the NACE Challenge Award in 2017, in recognition of school-wide commitment to high-quality provision for MAT learners within a context of challenge for all.
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