Spring week 6

Mentor materials

Observation discussion - effective questioning to extend and challenge pupils

Teaching techniques to focus feedback on

Interaction:

Observation

Outcome:

To have planned and practised effective questioning to extend and challenge pupils.

Stimulus

In your last mentor session, you worked with your teacher to plan effective questioning into a lesson. Observe your teacher as they deliver this lesson. You may wish to focus on your teacher’s ability to:

• Avoid self-report questions - ask questions that directly assess pupil understanding of the material being taught
• Check whole class understanding
• Provide appropriate wait time after asking a question to allow pupils to generate a response
• Not complete pupils’ answers
• Ask follow-up questions to extend and challenge pupils
• Provide scaffolds for pupil talk to increase the focus and rigour of dialogue

Praise, probe and set precise actions

The following practise should be focused around the outcomes of the probe and precise actions, so that it is specific to your teacher’s developmental needs. However, below are some practise ideas based on the online study content to support you if needed.

Plan and practice ideas

Work with your teacher to support them to improve their questioning. You may wish to focus on one or two of the areas outlined above.

Key questions and talking points

1. When should you check for pupil understanding?
2. What are the different ways you can check pupil understanding?
3. How can you use questions to extend and challenge pupils?
4. What scaffolds could you provide for pupil talk to increase the focus and rigour of dialogue?