Writing hinge-point questions

Leader’s agenda

1. Start

   1Introduction

   5 min

   1. a.
      Make sure lesson observation partners are sitting next to each other.
   2. b.
      Hand out the agenda.
   3. c.
      Share the learning intentions of this workshop. We are learning to:

      • share successes and failures, and support each other
      • write good hinge-point questions
2. +5′

   2Starter activity

   5 min

   1. a.
      Ask each teacher to think of something that one of their colleagues did this year that supported them. Each teacher has a maximum of 30 seconds to tell the group what it is, and no one can ‘pass’.
   2. b.
      Use the stopwatch to keep time, and choose respondents at random (e.g. name cards). Everyone must be involved in this activity.
   3. c.
      When it is not their turn, the teachers’ role is active listening.
3. +10′

   3Feedback

   25 min

   1. a.
      Ask everyone to open their personal action plan. Explain that each teacher sends you a copy of their plan (“Copy my plan”, on their device) so you have a record of what they said they would do between sessions and can follow up next session.
   2. b.
      Ask each teacher to write about a technique they have tried since the last workshop and complete the first section of the plan (two minutes). It helps to have their personal action plan from the last meeting to hand.
   3. c.
      Choose someone to be the challenger and give them the role of the challenger sheet. During the feedback, the challenger’s role is to challenge the feedback each teacher brings, getting everyone to think 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 to feed back at random (e.g. name cards). As each teacher feeds back, the others actively listen, then discuss the points raised if there is time. Everyone must be involved in this activity.
4. +35′

   4Improving hinge-point questions

   20 min

   1. a.
      Remind everyone that hinge-point questions are difficult to develop, but teachers improve with practice, and it is easier to do in pairs or as part of a group. Good-quality questions can be reused.
   2. b.
      Distribute handout 2.7.1 (Writing a good hinge-point question). Give everyone time to read through the first section, and emphasise the five bullet points.
   3. c.
      In threes, teachers write a hinge-point question. They have ten minutes for this before sharing their questions with the whole group. If a trio cannot decide on a topic, give them one of these to choose from:

      • understanding the difference between adjectives and adverbs
      • knowing the difference between 2D and 3D shape names
      • understanding the difference between compounds and mixtures
      • contraception methods
   4. d.
      After ten minutes, bring the whole group together and ask each trio to pose their hinge-point question, with the others deciding whether students could get the right answer for the wrong reason (five minutes).
5. +55′

   5Personal action planning

   15 min

   1. a.
      Using their personal action plan, each teacher chooses one or two techniques they are going to use during the next month (before the next workshop), 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.
      Give out the peer lesson observation sheet for the teacher and the observer to use. Both keep a copy as evidence for performance management – there will be no centrally held copies. The teacher being observed fills in their sections first; the observer then completes the observation and question sections during the lesson. Afterwards they discuss the feedback and each completes their agreed sections.
   4. d.
      Ask pairs to arrange when the peer observations will take place (they can be for a whole lesson, or just 20 minutes at the start, middle or end of a lesson).
   5. e.
      Choose two or three teachers at random (e.g. name cards) to share with the group what their partner is planning.

   Your school’s technique menu: choose one or two

   Teachers tick theirs in their own action plan, on their device, and copy it to you before they leave.

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

   What each technique looks like in class
6. +70′

   6Summary of learning

   5 min

   1. a.
      Ask everyone to name something that someone else said in the workshop that they found interesting or useful.
   2. b.
      Choose teachers at random (e.g. name cards).