Student voice: questioning

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
      • use feedback from students to improve our teaching
   4. d.
      Explain that the order of the workshop is changed today so that the students can give feedback to the group at the start of the meeting and then go home.
2. +5′

   2Starter activity

   5 min

   1. a.
      Welcome the students and explain to them that teachers meet regularly to improve teaching and learning.
   2. b.
      Students and teachers introduce themselves.
3. +10′

   3Learning from students

   20 min

   1. a.
      Distribute handout 2.8.1 (Questioning – feedback from students), the sheet given to the students a month ago when they agreed to give feedback to teachers.
   2. b.
      Ask the students to explain how teachers’ questions help them learn better. They can mention subjects or teachers in a positive way.
   3. c.
      Invite teachers to ask the students questions. This is not the time for any teacher to tell students anything or contradict them: teachers should listen to the students’ views and ask questions that help clarify what works well and what would be even better if.
   4. d.
      If a student or teacher dominates the conversation, ask someone else to speak (you can choose at random, e.g. with name cards).
   5. e.
      If the conversation lags, use prompts like these:

      • What works well: could you give an example of a lesson when all students were answering questions?
      • What works well: do most of your teachers give students time to think before answering a question?
      • What works well: tell us about a lesson where the teacher used a whole-class response system (like mini whiteboards, thumbs up or down, or traffic lights).
      • Even better if: when does questioning not help you learn? (No mention of teachers’ names.)
   6. f.
      After 15 to 20 minutes, thank the students and ask them to leave.
   7. g.
      Ask the group (or get a picture from what they say after the students leave) whether listening to the students was:

      • very helpful
      • helpful
      • not particularly helpful
      • of no help at all
   8. h.
      After the workshop, email the administrator to let them know which students came and how helpful it was to hear their views.
4. +30′

   4Feedback

   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.
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, 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 think of something they learned from the students who have come to the workshops.
   2. b.
      Choose teachers at random (e.g. name cards) to explain what they learned.