Class Teaching

Blog of the week

Inclusion by Design is a new piece from Phil Stock at Greenshaw Research School in which Phil explains how the school created a framework for structuring teaching so all pupils can achieve, thrive and belong.

Durrington Research School Resources:

There are two new entries from the Durrington team this week:

1. Our Co-Director, James Crane. Shares some guided practice brightspots he has seen from around Durrington and one from his time doing a triad visit at Dorothy Stringer as part of out Brighton Project.
2. Our other Co-Director, Ben Crockett, reflects on some recent work he has been doing as part of our partnership with the Ogden Trust looking at how you can utilise the explore tool and implementation framework to ensure enrichment is purposeful.

We are delighted to say that Durrington High School has become a Steplab Hub School and we will be hosting a day to demonstrate how we have used Steplab systems to support our PD model. You can find out more about the day and how to sign up here.

Other useful links:

Secondary School Specific:

From “Dunno” to Dialogue: Why Oracy, Why Now?” is a great new piece from our colleagues at Blackpool Research School which shares the work of St Mary’s Catholic Academy  in supporting its students talk about what they know with clarity and confidence.

Cross Phase:

Daniel T Willingham explores the idea that “today’s kids have reduced attention spans” and suggests its more about students more readily choosing not to pay attention rather than being unable to.

Jade Lauricourt, Assistant Maths Hub Lead and Primary Mastery Specialist, talks in depth about the importance of language in addressing the disadvantaged gap.

 “Closing the Curriculum Chasm – Bridging the Transition Gap: A Blue print for Curriculum Continuity” – Alex Fairlamb talks about the challenges of ensuring curriculum continuity between KS2 and KS3 and how her teams have been working to overcome this.

As a school, we are aiming to implement our Teaching PIPS with fidelity. An integral part of this is affording teachers the time to fully understand the purpose of each principle and then unpick the nuance of what this might look like in their classroom, while keeping the core components consistent with the whole-school approach.

To support our implementation, we are using Steplab to identify strong practice and provide teachers with targeted and actionable feedback. In this blog, I am going to share some of the bright spots I have seen while we have been working on our guided practice. If you would like to know more about the wider evidence around guided practice, my colleague Ben Crockett has written a very useful blog on its importance here.

Buce Gurgen – Science

As I entered the room, there was a 100% participation ratio in the “you do” phase of the practice. Buce was actively observing the students at work, checking that all students had made a start on the task and providing a more detailed scaffold for the one student who required additional support. It was clear that all students were using the “we do” worked example to support the procedural knowledge required to access the task.

The real strength of this guided practice was the level of metacognitive modelling that had gone into the “we do” phase. All of the students I spoke with could not only articulate the step-by-step process required to structure their response, but they could also explain the how and why behind each step. Some students were even able to highlight aspects they had previously struggled with, explain why this was the case, and describe what they would do differently next time.

Maddie Foster – English

A particularly strong aspect of this lesson was the understanding of how the “we do” and “you do” phases of guided practice can be intertwined through a carefully structured scaffold. This scaffold can then be gradually removed or adapted to support the metacognitive regulation underpinning the task. Maddie implemented this very effectively through the use of mini whiteboards.

Students first identified a key theme from the text, selected a key word or quote that supported this theme, and then outlined their interpretation of what the writer was trying to convey. They then used their mini whiteboards to begin their independent extended writing task, applying similar processes to different themes, quotes, and meanings from the text.

Pablo Bernal – Spanish (Dorothy Stringer)

On a recent school visit through our Brighton Project at Dorothy Stringer, I observed some exceptional “we do” phase practice in Pablo’s Spanish lesson. Pablo was developing students’ spoken language, addressing common misconceptions linked to a specific prefix. This was modelled by exaggerating pronunciation differences and highlighting subtle auditory cues.

The “we do” phase then involved a paired task, where students practised pronunciation in a range of contexts. There was 100% participation from all students in the room. Pablo then followed this with a choral response task to further reinforce understanding of the nuance associated with the prefix. Again, all students were actively involved.

This was then followed by a low-stakes quiz, completed in silence, which began to assess understanding of meaning—effectively acting as a well-designed “you do” phase.

Across all examples, the most effective guided practice combined clear modelling, high levels of student participation, and deliberate scaffolding that supported both procedural understanding and metacognitive awareness.

James Crane

Co-Director of Durrington Research School

Welcome back – we hope you have had a restful Easter break and are feeling refreshed and ready for the summer term!

Blog of the week

A great piece from Adam Boxer on “Building a high participation classroom: key steps” in which Adam explores how we can avoid the unfortunately common occurrence of students not “being in the room” with us we explain, model and question them.

Durrington Research School Resources:

There are two blogs from before Easter on the Durrington team pages, both from Co-Director Ben Crockett:

1. On our research school blog page Ben talks about the differences between experts and novices and the implications this has for guided practice.
2. On our classteaching page Ben shares some of the excellent examples of guided practice seen round Durrington in recent weeks from experienced senior leaders, to ECTS and TAs.

If you are interested in signing up to any of our training courses then take a look at what we have to offer via this link. Take a look at what some of our delegates on “Literacy: Key to social equity” program have to say about their experience so far here.

Other useful links:

Alexa Davies writes with London South Research School about her schools experience and work with using comparative judgement and AI to support marking of writing at primary, KS3 and A-Level.

Gary Aubin as ever writes with great clarity around how to support our SEND students – in this blog he provides tips for how SENDCo’s can be drivers of teaching and learning for pupils with SEND.

Lee Wheeler, talks about “the learning engine” while focusing on the sticky issue of getting spaced and retrieval practice to actually work in the classroom.

Car Hendrick has written a free guide on responsive teaching for UNESCO.

Thank you:

James, Jody and I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has engaged with us here at Durrington Research School so far this year; whether that be reading or contributing to our blogs or attending our training! We hope you all have a restful break over the easter period!

Durrington Research School Resources:

There are two blogs from the Durrington team on our classteaching page, both from Co-Director Ben Crockett,

1. On our research school blog page Ben talks about the differences between experts and novices and the implications this has for guided practice.
2. On our classteaching page Ben shares some of the excellent examples of guided practice seen round Durrington in recent weeks from experienced senior leaders, to ECTS and TAs.

If you are interested in signing up to any of our training courses then take a look at what we have to offer via this link. Take a look at what some of our delegates on “Literacy: Key to social equity” program have to say about their experience so far here.

Other useful links:

Our co-head at Durrington, Shaun Allison, revisits a previous blog he wrote about his wife’s former chemistry teacher (Ted Clarke) and following Ted’s sad passing reflects on how so much of his approaches remain relevant today.

Paul Kirschner reposts an outstanding piece form Daniel Wilingham considering “what needs to be on the table when considering implementing an intervention in education?”

Key Stage 3 – From Stepping Stone to the Powerhouse  – a reflection on the importance of challenging the narrative around KS3 as a waiting room for GCSE studies.

The EEF has recently published a report on the Early Years Pupil Premium, alongside news tools to help settings spend funding effectively.

Blog of the week:

I found this piece by Harry Titley, director of rugby, Burton RFC, on how he is using hinge questions as part of his coaching really interesting and is slowly building up a bank of hinge questions to use in future training.

Durrington Research School Resources:

There are two blogs from the Durrington team on our classteaching page, both from Co-Director Ben Crockett,

1. On our research school blog page Ben talks about the differences between experts and novices and the implications this has for guided practice.
2. On our classteaching page Ben shares some of the excellent examples of guided practice seen round Durrington in recent weeks from experienced senior leaders, to ECTS and TAs.

If you are interested in signing up to any of our training courses then take a look at what we have to offer via this link. Take a look at what some of our delegates on “Literacy: Key to social equity” program have to say about their experience so far here.

Something from our colleagues at London South Research School:

Transform reading fluency in your classrooms while leading the way in national research.

London South Research School and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) are recruiting 120 state-funded primary schools to participate in our Fluency Focus Efficacy Trial.

Fluency Focus is a 20-week, whole-class reading intervention for Year 5 pupils, designed to improve reading fluency and overall attainment. Schools deliver reading fluency lessons once a week over two terms, in place of a normal reading lesson.

Participating Year 5 teachers and an SLT champion receive:

• one day of training, followed by ongoing support via coaching
• everything needed to teach (PPTs, texts, pupil workbooks, teacher guide) – no planning needed!

We are recruiting 120 primary schools in London, the South East, the East & West Midlands and the East of England, with schools randomly assigned to an intervention or control group.

Why take part?

Fluency Focus has already been trialled in over 50 schools and has been shown to significantly improve both teacher and pupil confidence in fluent reading. It’s a codified system for teaching reading through fluency that both teachers and children enjoy. In fact, every single teacher in our pilot reported improved pupil confidence in reading. You can read the full, independent EEF Evaluation Report here.

You can also check out the programme website and the EEF trial page for more information.

Complete our Expression of Interest form below to find out more and join one of our information briefings.

Register your interest today!

Other useful links:

Jamie Clark refers to the work of Bill Rogers to talk about behavioural leadership.

Shaun Allison reflects on the impact of enabling Durrington leaders out to visit high performing schools as a part of their PD.

Neil Almond, who I have had the pleasure of listening to more than once, talks about what all secondary teachers need to know about reading.

Joel Kenyon talks about Hinterland teaching and the power of stories in the science curriculum.

This term is flying by and as we approach the final week of term we thought it was an opportune time to reflect and celebrate some of the excellent “guided practice” (our current Teaching PiP focus) going on across our school. Below are some of the great examples I got to see on my walk around today, and also some other shoutouts from other colleagues.

Dropping in on April’s drama lessons I am always amazed by the quality of the “you do” practice continually on show. Students were practing the first part of their independent piece. They were all clear of the technqiues they should deploy sugesstng this has been clealy modelled and explained to them, but I particularly enjoyed how during the “you do” practice you made effective use of the time to give task specific feedback so students could improve their work as they went.

I unfortunatley missed the “I do” practice of Steve Bloomer’s and Ani Grimes’ lessons, however you can tell that it must have been done excellently smply by the way that when I spoke to students they were able to clearly articulate what they needed to do to be successful and how they should actually go abut achieving this. In Steve’s lesson I particularly like how he reverted back to some “we do” guidance with individual students during the “you do” phase as they became stuck, helping them to unstick themselves (and/or the sewing machines!) without doing it for them. In Ani’s lesson I really enjoyed how Emily Smith (the TA) was also supporting students practice by asking the table she was working wiht questions as to why she or they were doing their task in a certain way and which would be best.

The experience was really similar in Alex Cann’s PE lesson, in which students were practicing their tabel tennis skills in match situations. As the student’s independently practiced Alex moved round the room and gave feedback and praise to students. In Kim Fuller’s basketball lesson I particulalry liked how Kim set out the success critiera/means of participation for students before they went into their “you do” practice by reminding them of the skills they had leaned previously and her expectation that these be incoroporated into the “you do” practice.

Lianne Allison, Deputy Head and line manager of Science, has also been out looking at guided practice in her subject area. Just a fewLianne Allison, Deputy Head and line manager of Science, has also been out looking at guided practice in her subject area. Just a few examples of the great practice can be seen below from her drops in on Michael Kyle, Jemma Galton and Steph Temple.

As ever there were excellent examples of guided practice in English as well, with Steph remarking on the excellent practice seen in Lucy Wood’s and Georgie Wilks’ lessons last week.

Keep your eyes posted for next weeks installment when will be sharing some more guided practice bright spots!

Blog of the week:

A great piece from Nick Hart aimed at curriculum/subject leaders and how they can structure their work around anchoring concepts.

Durrington Research School Resources:

There are two blogs from the Durrington team on our classteaching page.

1. Deputy Director Jody Chan shares some bright spots from her lesson drop ins this week and talks about some of the excellent teaching she has seen across our own school and another school she has visited this week.
2. Co-Director Ben Crockett talks about the theory behind I/we/you guided practice and how the ensure it is done effectively in the classroom, linking to the concept of cognitive apprenticeships

If you are interested in signing up to any of our training courses then take a look at what we have to offer via this link. Take a look at what some of our delegates on “Literacy: Key to social equity” program have to say about their experience so far here.

Something from our colleagues at London South Research School:

Transform reading fluency in your classrooms while leading the way in national research.

 London South Research School and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) are recruiting 120 state-funded primary schools to participate in our Fluency Focus Efficacy Trial.

Fluency Focus is a 20-week, whole-class reading intervention for Year 5 pupils, designed to improve reading fluency and overall attainment. Schools deliver reading fluency lessons once a week over two terms, in place of a normal reading lesson.

Participating Year 5 teachers and an SLT champion receive:

• one day of training, followed by ongoing support via coaching
• everything needed to teach (PPTs, texts, pupil workbooks, teacher guide) – no planning needed!

We are recruiting 120 primary schools in London, the South East, the East & West Midlands and the East of England, with schools randomly assigned to an intervention or control group.

Why take part?

Fluency Focus has already been trialled in over 50 schools and has been shown to significantly improve both teacher and pupil confidence in fluent reading. It’s a codified system for teaching reading through fluency that both teachers and children enjoy. In fact, every single teacher in our pilot reported improved pupil confidence in reading. You can read the full, independent EEF Evaluation Report here.

You can also check out the programme website and the EEF trial page for more information.

Complete our Expression of Interest form below to find out more and join one of our information briefings.

📩 Register your interest today!

Other useful links:

Tom Sherrington talks about his experience of Discovering Oracy through a training day with Voice 21.

Carl Hendrick argues the case for vocabulary instruction as an engine of comprehension and equity.

Ben Cooper talks about how miniwhiteboards can act as more than just a mechanism for “show me”, but also as an external memory field

Blog of the week:

Blog of the week goes to Kate Jones at Evidence Based Education reflects on the run up to the exam season and how students should be using “responsive revision” to ensure they are as prepared as possible.

Durrington Research School Resources:

We have two new blogs from the Durrington team on our classteaching page.

1. Deputy Director Jody Chan shares some bright spots from her lesson drop ins this week and talks about some of the excellent teaching she has seen across our own school and another school she has visited this week.
2. Co-Director Ben Crockett talks about the theory behind I/we/you guided practice and how the ensure it is done effectively in the classroom, linking to the concept of cognitive apprenticeships

If you are interested in signing up to any of our training courses then take a look at what we have to offer via this link. Take a look at what some of our delegates on “Literacy: Key to social equity” program have to say about their experience so far here.

Other useful links:

Two blogs from Chloe Butlin at the EEF on the importance of oral language and effective teaching of it

1. What does the evidence base tell us about effective oral language practice?
2. Talking the talk: teacher and leader views on embedding oral language across the curriculum

Chris Such and Abbie Williams at Steplab introduces their “reading steps” as a clear, evidence-informed approach to teaching reading beyond phonics.

Great blog from Matthew Evans on KS3 assessment. This piece is a follow up from a blog we have recently highlighted on the weekly roundup, and looks at the importance of considering the purpose of KS3 assessment.

Somehow managed to miss this blog back from early February from Professor Becky Allen on durable mastery – moving beyond the idea of learners just doing the same performance but later to learners being able to retrieve and use ideas after time has passed under changes conditions.

At Durrington we are always focusing on improving teaching and learning across the school. We have a set of Teaching Principles that underpin our core classroom routines. These principles are organised into different ‘guidance cards’, each focusing on a specific aspect of effective teaching.

Since September we have had a whole-school focus on several of these guidance cards. In this blog, I want to celebrate some of the excellent teaching I have observed across our school this week. I will also mention another school I had the pleasure of visiting.

English

Rosie Beaven used a brilliant “3, 2, 1, eyes on me” routine to gain the full attention of the class. She then paused momentarily to ensure that every student was focused before moving on. Students used mini whiteboards to answer a question about their opinion on the ending of a book. There was 100% participation—every student had an opinion and could articulate it. At the end of the task, students held up their boards and Rosie used questioning very effectively to help them extend their responses.

Jackie Bradley was preparing a class for a written task. Again, she ensured she had the full attention of every student before explaining the activity. Jackie then gave a very clear explanation and asked several students to restate the task and give examples of what they might include in their answers before beginning. Checking understanding in this way set students up well to be successful.

Ollie Sawyer was reading aloud to the class while every student followed along in their own book. If a student momentarily lost focus, Ollie used subtle, non-invasive strategies to refocus them. Ollie used their voice extremely effectively to bring the story to life and keep students engaged. At key points, Ollie paused to ask questions to check understanding. These were not superficial recall questions but instead explored the deeper meaning of the text. Students were then given a series of questions to answer. The task was clearly explained and cold calling was used—with effective pause time before naming a student—to check understanding before students began.

Maths

Helena Paver modelled clearly how to find the tangent on a graph. Students then worked on a worksheet and every student was fully engaged—Helena didn’t even need to ask for silence as students naturally worked quietly. She circulated effectively around the room, marking and supporting students. Her movement around the classroom was so unobtrusive that it did not distract others. When she noticed several students were stuck on a particular question, she paused the class to clearly explain the approach before allowing them to continue.

Ed Marshall ensured that his Year 7 class completed their Do Now activity in complete silence. The questions were structured so that they gradually increased in difficulty. Ed circulated around the room live-marking students’ work, speaking quietly so as not to disrupt others. When reviewing answers, he focused particularly on questions where several students had struggled. He addressed a common misconception and explained how to tackle it, before giving students an opportunity to attempt a similar question.

Geography

Tom Richards was introducing new vocabulary to his class. He displayed the word and used choral rehearsal, giving every student the opportunity to say it aloud. Students were then given a shared definition, supported by images that illustrated different examples. There was clear enthusiasm as students discussed the photographs and why geography is such a fascinating subject.

Sam Atkins used two photographs to stimulate thinking. Students recorded their ideas about the images on mini whiteboards while Sam circulated around the room, asking questions to help develop their thinking. Students then used paired talk to discuss their interpretations. This was clearly a well-established routine, as students immediately began discussing their ideas with confidence.

A Visit to Varndean School

I also visited Varndean School in Brighton this week, where I saw an excellent example of think–pair–share being used to support metacognitive talk.

Students had just completed a listening task and were reflecting on their performance. They were asked to consider the strategies they had used, how successful they were, whether they had made any mistakes, and why these might have occurred. Students first thought independently and then shared their reflections with a partner. It was a powerful example of how we can support students to become more self-regulated learners.

Common Strengths

While I saw many examples of excellent teaching this week, several common strengths stood out:

• Teachers used clear routines to gain attention, ensuring every student was focused before continuing.
• Cold calling was used frequently, alongside explicit expectations that everyone should be thinking.
• Teachers allowed effective pause time before selecting students to respond.

Several of the teachers mentioned in this blog are ECTs or RQTs. What really stands out about these colleagues is their openness to feedback. They actively seek it out, respond thoughtfully, and implement it effectively in their lessons. For anyone involved in professional development, this is the dream.

Why is guided practice so important?

Imagine turning up to your first driving lesson…you open the door and take the driver seat; the instructors looks across motions for you to start the car and proceeds to say “have a go”. The chances are things aren’t going to go particularly well; driving a car is a complex process and as a novice you would need guidance on how to do this task effectively (and safely). Our students our generally novices in our classrooms, and while an absence of guided practice may not be as fatally dangerous as the above example, the same principle applies – our students have one shot at education and they therefore are deserving of high-quality guidance to ensure what they practice is good.

A few years ago, I read an article that has stayed with me since, and our current focus on “Guided practice – I/we/you modelling at Durrington has prompted me to return to it. The article in question is by Allan Collins et al and is entitled “Cognitive Apprenticeships: Making Thinking Visible”. While Collins and colleagues do not use the phrase I/we/you the premise of their article focuses on this idea. They note that historically teaching and learning was accomplished through apprenticeships – we taught our children how to grow crops or tailor clothes by showing them how and them helping them to do likewise. While there are obvious differences between apprenticeship and formal school learning, the perhaps most obvious one is that in the apprenticeship model learners can see the processes of work, while in schooling the practice of problem solving and writing is often non-observable. As such the paper argues, perhaps fairly that often too little attention is paid to the reasoning and strategies that experts employ. Guided practice in the form of I/we/you modelling provides a vehicle for replicating the apprenticeship model of learning in the classroom by showing the novice (student) how to do task and then slowly turning over more and more responsibility until the novice is proficient enough to accomplish the task on their own. Collin et al term this methodology as “cognitive apprenticeships”.

How do we ensure guided practice is effective?

Before the guided practice:

The I/We/You model provides the scaffold and opportunity for the teacher (expert) to bring to the surface their thinking, and then gradually hand over the reins to the novice student. Another major difference between the traditional apprenticeship model of learning and school learning, is that apprenticeship models are rooted in the real world and the benefits of following the example set is clear and obvious. As a result, prior to beginning an I/We/You model it is important that the teacher is explicit about what is about to happen and why it is important. The teacher should also ensure they have the full attention of the class.

“We are about to go through how to create a climate graph. Begin able to draw and interpret a climate graph is vital for understanding the different characteristics of climate zones. I will show you how to plot both precipitation data and temperature data on the same axis. I am going to need your full attention while I model this, so I want all eyes on me in 3,2,1.”.

During the “I do”:

A common issue with the I do section is that it can take too long, resulting in passive learners which manifests in students losing focus. During the “I do” staff should monitor the attention of the class and redirect as appropriate. It is vital that during this stage staff verbalise their thought process as they approach the task. While a pre-written model may seem appealing, the act of live construction in front of the students is vital. If we use pre-done models, we run the risk of what I like to call the “Bleu Peter” effect in which students see a perfect model appear at the click of a button- serving to further mask the processes of the expert.

“I have used the phrase “in the figure” as the question has said I need to refer to information about Hurricane Mitch, however you can also see I have used the phrase “this is similar to” which allows me to link to my own case study of Hurricane Sandy.”

During the we do:

During this stage teachers need to share the thinking load through co-construction of a similar problem to the “I do” model – this could be a similar equation for example or a second paragraph in an extended piece of writing. During this stage it is important to maintain student attention and thought ratio through cold calling on students to assess students understanding of the steps required for success. These questions may focus on the relevant subject knowledge required and/or explore students metacognitive processes.

“So, what will be the first sentence we will write…. Freddie? Why would we start our sentence like that…Hannah? After this what we will need to do…. Ben? Why do you need to include that? Is there any alternative you could have used…Sophie?”

Having completed the “we do” model it is important to formatively assess the whole classes understanding before allowing them onto independent practice.

During the you do:

It may be necessary to support cognitive load as students begin the you do section. Much like a driving instructor will still have their own controls for safety and may provide prompts/cues teachers may need to support students by providing scaffolds such as worked examples or sentence starters. The skill of the teacher is to judge when to remove these supports to avoid over reliance. The teacher also needs to clearly define the means of participation – students should be clear of the time frame, success criteria and working conditions for completing their practice. As students write teachers should take this opportunity to circulate and provide live feedback, however fight the urge to jump in and provide immediate support – remember a little bit of struggle isn’t a bad thing.

“So, remember to use the checklist to track if you have included all the necessary information and followed the correct structure. There is a sentence starter on the board you can use to start the second paragraph. You have 10 minutes to complete 3 developed points about the social impacts of Hurricane Sandy. This should be done independently and in silence.”

Ben Crockett

Co-Director Durrington Research School