Banksy ‘A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to’

© Let’s Think in English

What is Let’s Think in English? Fortnightly lessons with key stage three. Discussion of an unfamiliar text with open ended, challenging questions. Groups of three. No praise. (That’s interesting, Thank you for that) Draws on research that people learn most effectively when exploring ideas together. (Kings College, London) Develops higher order thinking skills.

Why do we do it? Creates self belief. Increases resilience. Facilitates their learning, with students taking ownership, rather than spoon feeding. Helps students to develop reasoning skills and develops higher order thinking skills. Increasing the ability to express ideas.

90% of students said that their confidence has improved when they see texts that they have not seen before. I like it, it makes me think of things I’ve never thought of before. Sometimes I think we should do a lot more discussions at school. It’s getting us to do something that we’re not used to. LTE is definitely something I look forward to. I love LTE.

Things that you could try… More discussion work with open ended, challenging questions. Students talk through unfamiliar texts, situations or resources with fewer scaffolding strategies than we would normally use. No praise for discussion work.

Hopeful outcomes Raising confidence and resilience in looking at unseen texts. Increases confidence and skills in unfamiliar assessments, linking to the format of the GCSE exams. Being able to use the skills gained in other areas. Using the key vocabulary in other areas. (I would like to build on…I would like to argue against…) Continued cognitive development after the sessions have ended.