Hinge-point questions

Leader’s agenda

1. 5′
2. 5′
3. 25′15:40
4. 20′16:05
5. 15′16:25
6. 5′

1. 15:30

   1Introduction

   5 min15:30–15:35

   1. a.
      Hand out the TLC agenda.
   2. b.
      Share the learning intentions of this workshop. We are learning to:

      • share successes and failures, and support each other
      • use hinge-point questions to find out what students know at some point in a lesson.
   3. c.
      Give the group some feedback from the exit cards they completed at the end of the last session.
   4. d.
      Tell the group that you will choose people at random using a soft ball throughout this workshop.
2. 15:35

   2Starter activity

   5 min15:35–15:40

   1. a.
      Ask everyone to think of something that happened at school in the last month that made them feel good; it could have been in or out of the classroom. Each teacher has a maximum of 30 seconds to tell the group what it is, and no one can ‘pass’. When it is not their turn, teachers should be actively listening.
   2. b.
      Use the stopwatch. Choose respondents by throwing the soft ball to one person, who speaks and then passes the ball to another person to speak, and so on.
   3. c.
      Everyone must be involved in this activity, and you will need to stop people after 30 seconds.
3. 15:40

   3Feedback

   25 min15:40–16:05

   1. a.
      Hand out ‘my personal action plan’. Remind the group that each teacher keeps their own plan, and that you will keep a copy of each one at the end of the workshop so that you have a record of what they said they would do between sessions.
   2. b.
      Ask teachers to write about a technique they have tried since the last workshop and complete the first section of the planning sheet, including who observed them using the technique. It helps to have their personal action plan from the last meeting to refer to (2 minutes).
   3. c.
      Choose someone at random to be the challenger and share the challenger’s role with them. During feedback, the challenger challenges the feedback that each member brings, to get everyone thinking about formative assessment, with questions like:

      • What’s formative about that?
      • What did you do with the information you collected?
      • How did this alter your teaching?
      • How did this benefit student learning?
   4. d.
      Give each person two minutes to share with the group, choosing teachers at random using the ball. As each teacher feeds back, the others listen actively, then discuss the points raised if there is time.
4. 16:05

   4Using hinge-point questions

   20 min16:05–16:25

   1. a.
      Explain that a ‘hinge’ in a lesson is a point where the teacher has to make a decision about what to do next. The more evidence the teacher has about the level of students’ understanding, the better the chance of making the right decision, so the question the teacher asks (the ‘hinge-point question’) needs careful planning. Hinge-point questions are difficult and time-consuming to develop, but a good hinge-point question now will still be a good question in ten years’ time, and is likely to work for any teacher.
   2. b.
      Distribute handout 1.6.1 What makes a good hinge-point question? Allow time to read it individually, then discuss each of the five points as a group, making sure that everyone understands point four (5 minutes).
   3. c.
      Distribute handout 1.6.2 Some examples of hinge-point questions. In pairs or threes, teachers evaluate each question against the criteria in point four of handout 1.6.1, then choose one of the questions to improve. Choose two or three teachers at random (using the ball) to feed back their improved question to the group (15 minutes).
5. 16:25

   5Personal action planning

   15 min16:25–16:40

   1. a.
      Using ‘my personal action plan’, each teacher chooses one or two techniques they are going to use during the next month and what they will do less of (teachers will need pushing on this).
   2. b.
      Pair-share: each teacher spends two minutes sharing their plan with their partner, then they swap.
   3. c.
      Hand out the peer lesson observation sheet for the teacher and the observer to use. Each keeps a copy as evidence for performance management; there will be no centrally held copies.
   4. d.
      Ask pairs to arrange when observations will take place (they can be for a whole lesson or just for 20 minutes at the start, middle or end of a lesson).
   5. e.
      Choose two teachers at random (using the ball) to share with the group what their partner is planning.
   6. f.
      Keep a copy of each teacher’s personal action plan so that you can follow up at the next session.

   Your school’s technique menu: choose one or two

   • Strengths and weaknesses discussion
   • Model papers
   • Choose-swap-choose
   • WALT, WILF, TIB

   What each technique looks like in class
6. 16:40

   6Summary of learning

   5 min16:40–16:45

   1. a.
      Ask three people, chosen using the ball, to name something they learned at the workshop. Do not allow answers to be repeated.