How to get more A and A* grades in your subject…….EB

Create a culture of success…route to AS level for set 2 Create a culture of success…route to AS level for set 2..build on previous success stories…..relentlessly use current success stories in lessons…..NAME OF STUDENTS…..YOU can do this too…..do you want to be part of this groups success? Motivation and BELIEF that they can succeed….then tools to succeed Empathy….and encouraging grit and resilience at all times……hard work over a period of time leading to success (Dylan William)…..small steps exam questions ‘AS GCSE’topics…..that was a set one question etc They have to be able to believe in you…..project confidence and trade relentlessly on previous success…..if that class could YOU certainly can.....relentless drive for high standards You have to know how to get them there….open questioning reactive flexible lessons…..pause bounce pounce off piste down the slope of the best or last higher order question / solution….effective questioning and learning to GIVE THE students TIME TO THINK and respond....no hands up Know the syllabus inside and out….relentlessly hammer core skills….teach harder topics through introducing in taster starters or plenaries….clear explanations and stopping regularly to give the ‘meta’ for techniques….how does this link into the bigger picture of the topic and subject?

Marking for the exam board Planning backwards for A2/GCSE to Y7 Marking/feedback (SIR) and in built time to do it Students as teachers Group work in strength cohorts or stronger in each group…carousel Peer marking and AFL – make them experts on the marking criteria

Student led lesson / mini-lesson… Student led lesson / mini-lesson…..be careful to give the ‘meta’ as often students are good at giving the details of each section not making links and giving overall picture to class....really motivating for others to try and do better in next research topic Taster of next topic to early successfully finishing students......can lead to increased motivation for others to join them......or whole class at end of lesson....homework as preparation for next topic Students at highest level to circulate helping others in small groups....if they feel this is their choice.... more later

Group tasks and extensions Have individual whiteboards to hand for some quick fire questioning and eliciting of key points as preparation for group work. Individuals can then work at their own level. Giving space for learners to think individually as part of group work can also create effective stretch, for example:Create STOP and THINK mid task reflection points and ask individuals to consider: What am I practising or learning in this group work task (skills and knowledge)? Where else can I use this skill or knowledge? What question occurs to me right now? The stretch is in my head Choose group tasks to improve weak areas.....e.g. spelling monitor for the one who is strong on content but can be careless with accuracy.....most learners, even strong ones, have something they need to work on......have ILP learning grid to hand Carousel activities are great flexible activities with many variations...students or teacher can choose level of difficulty and do some or all of tasks then teach other groups...can test at end or test each other...make up questions for each other using higher order thinking Can choose groups in bands of similar strength or mini-classes......try to set a task that pushes them and give an explicit instruction or task to challenge, query and use higher order questioning/ thinking skills. Could use prompt cards with suggested questions or question stems or challenging extension questions prepared, either on cards or on lesson plan. There is automatic stretch for learners if they are working with others around or above their own level of knowledge or skills. This often has a positive effect on group dynamics and the quality of work produced in the group task.

Feedback to stretch individuals within group work Could use group work as a chance to give feedback to individuals via post it notes or stickers, related to their ILP targets and other wider learning goals. It helps to have a summary grid of those to hand. Try to make sure your suggestions stretch your stronger students as well as develop your learners who need more support, so tailor each comment carefully. Encourage self-assessment as part of group work tasks: how well did learners complete the task? And work within their role? You could prepare self-assessment checklists at varying levels of complexity tailored to individual needs.

The extension task Strong learners often finish fast and to a good standard. What could provide a motivating stretch at that point? Ask them to make up three questions to check understanding of the last task. This can be done as a competition with you choosing the best three to ask the class afterwards. Get them to predict which three main points you are going to recap from the group task....could be a quiz. Points scored for getting it right, if the learners respond well to an element of competition. Have a fun follow up ready – a game, quiz, vocabulary box activity......stretch and challenge box Vocabulary Box If the extension task is something that learners perceive positively it feels like an incentive to produce high quality work in good time....more challenge not more work!!!! Stretching learners without punishing them!

“If you work well and complete this task, you will have 15 minutes to get ahead with your homework.” For some learners, this goes down well as it saves them time later on at home.....then give them a reflection question or fun extension activity on a card or sheet to take home, which is optional....surprising how often taken up by students Give choice in follow up task. Some tasks could involve something practical in the classroom or something creative, e.g. Working with another student to display others’ written work or make a poster summary of the unit. You can include communications skills work in this, e.g. Negotiating, delegating, collaborating etc. Stretch can be about developing skills- communication, social and analytical- and not just about loading on more content. Student can use notes and come up with any queries for you, to see if they can catch you out. Then sit down and do a quick Q&A slot with them, giving some personalised attention.........beat the teacher......come up with any questions related to recently covered content and then have a full class Q&A slot with the teacher in the hot seat. Other students can then be involved in additional question formation as well. The challenge here is to find something the teacher can’t answer or gets wrong! Get the students to move on to next level in text or on computer....highly competitive interesting and motivating for other students Give a personalised short feedback task with a follow up chat with yourself. Ask the learner to note down on a post it note two things they have learnt in the session or topic, one query they have and one thing they need to practise further. Then take the time to chat it through, deepening reflection on how to improve. Strong learners need some personalised feedback and attention too and sometimes they can get neglected as we focus on pulling up struggling student

The use of questioning Plan questions that will stretch and target them carefully to get maximum learning for most people. Research suggests that in questioning teachers tend to stay at the levels of recall and comprehension for most of the time. Deep learning requires work at the higher levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation, and we can build that into our questioning slots during plenaries, be they mid session or end of lesson. Questioning is such a fast cognitive process that it can be difficult to change your spontaneous style of questioning. It can be helpful to plan a few meaty questions that require learners to identify key points and how they link to wider learning. The planning process can help us to ask thought- provoking questions that are well-worded, at critical points in the lesson, instead of relying on our own ability to pull them out of the hat. Think about questions that will stretch your strongest learners. Sheet on open questioning