Instructions

• There are three areas for you to develop your classroom practice.
• Click on each one to go to a summary of what you will learn, what success looks like and ideas for practice.
• Select one of the ideas for practice from each area to try out in your classroom.
• This will require some additional planning either individually or in collaboration with a colleague.
• You should also evaluate the effectiveness and impact of this in discussion with your mentor.

The intended outcomes of this activity are for you to:

Learn that:

• Secure subject knowledge helps teachers to motivate pupils and teach effectively.
• Ensuring pupils master foundational concepts and knowledge before moving on is likely to build pupils’ confidence and help them succeed.
• Anticipating common misconceptions within particular subjects is also an important aspect of curricular knowledge; working closely with colleagues to develop an understanding of likely misconceptions is valuable.
• Explicitly teaching pupils the knowledge and skills they need to succeed within particular subject areas is beneficial.
• In all subject areas, pupils learn new ideas by linking those ideas to existing knowledge, organising this knowledge into increasingly complex mental models (or “schemata”); carefully sequencing teaching to facilitate this process is important.

Learn how to deliver a carefully sequenced and coherent curriculum, by:

• Being aware of common misconceptions and discussing with experienced colleagues how to help pupils master important concepts.

Learn how to support pupils to build increasingly complex mental models, by:

• Discussing curriculum design with experienced colleagues and balancing exposition, repetition, practice of critical skills and knowledge.