Introduction

 

The Curriculum at Springfield Junior School has been devised to meet the needs of our children. In order for this to be successfully delivered and to maximise the impact it has, we have carefully considered the teaching pedagogy used.

 

Our learning model at Springfield Junior School is based on the three stands of curriculum. pedagogy and child development and it is supported by our school drivers of creativity, aspiration and pupil voice.  This learning model is evidence based and pulls together educational research from a number of different strands, and the voice of our children, to ensure a bespoke learning offer which enables our children to flourish and thrive.

 

 

For the mind does not require filling like a bottle, but rather, like wood, it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth.

Plutarch

 

Springfield Pedagogy – Our approach to the delivery of the curriculum

 

At Springfield, teachers use a combination of teacher-led and child-led approaches in their classrooms.

 

Teacher-led approaches

• Direct instruction
• Modelling
• Low stakes quizzing
• Scaffolding questioning
• Drilling
• Lesson structure

 

Child-led approaches

• Enquiry based learning
• Questioning
• Roleplay
• Mantle of the Expert
• Pair/group work
• Expeditionary-based learning

 

Teacher-Led Approaches

Modelling and live modelling

As the expert, the teacher will demonstrate - or ”model” - what they expect the child’s work to look like. This might involve using pre-prepared examples to dissect with the class, as well as “live modelling” (completing a task in front of the class, perhaps using a visualiser). When live modelling, the teacher may also model the thinking process behind the task, and take input from the children.

Prepared models could be examples of student work that the teacher has chosen. This could be something that the teacher uses in the middle of a lesson, as a student produces it, or from a previous lesson.

Low-stakes quizzing

Low-stakes quizzes are a type of informal assessment that is conducted frequently, and has no bearing on the children’ final assessed mark for a unit or course. Children’ responses will instead be used to inform teaching. Questions are usually multiple-choice or closed-answer.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding involves offering targeted support to help children complete independent work. This might take the form of sentence prompts, mind maps, essay plans or teacher-led explanations of the thought processes behind an idea. Types of scaffolds vary depending on the phase or focus of the class.

Adaptive teaching

Teachers check on children’ needs through gathering information on what children do and don’t understand. Examples of adaptations could include:

 

•  New information broken down into smaller steps
• Additional explanations and examples.
• Additional forms of teacher support
• Additional stretch questions to extend or removal of support

 

Adaptive teaching is not distinct tasks for different groups or lower expectations. It is identifying key content that children might struggle with and options to support or stretch.

 

Further details for adaptations to teaching can be found in the SEND Policy and Information Report.

Questioning

Questioning occurs in both teacher-centred and child-centred approaches, but the types of questions may differ. With a teacher-led approach, questioning may be used primarily to monitor children’ understanding and correct misconceptions. Types of questioning technique might include: cold-call questioning, dialogic questioning, oral-drill questions, open questions, closed questions and questioning using the Bloom’s Taxonomy of remembering, applying and evaluating. 

Hinge questions and key questions could be planned as key formative assessment points; if children are unable to answer these questions, teachers can plan reteaching to eliminate misconceptions.

Drilling

The term ”drilling” refers to the use of repetition to support the memorisation of information. It might involve: call and response (sometimes called choral response) or repeated practice of written responses.  Resources, such as a counting stick, may be used to prompt the required responses.

Self-quizzing

Self-quizzing involves children testing themselves on a topic they have already covered with a teacher, either as a homework task or an independent task in the classroom. A knowledge organiser may be used to support this activity. 

Structuring of the Curriculum

 

Many of our subjects have a prescribed format for lessons which incorporates the elements described in the policy so far.

 

In Maths, we have a 6-stage lesson sequence for most sessions which include:

 

- Recall - either in books or on WB.

- Instruct - Modelling a method, problem solving technique, reasoning skill (consider

what manipulatives and/or representations will expose the mathematical structure)

- Practise - Working with a partner - on whiteboards (with

manipulatives/representations if appropriate) to allow for maximum AFL opportunities

- Consolidate - generally independent

- Revise (different context if possible)

- Apply (reasoning and problem solving)

 

In subjects that follow the CUSP modules for planning, the sessions include 6 phases. Teachers may go through the sequence from Explain to Apply more than once before combining the learning at the end to deepen children’s understanding. This avoids giving children too much information and too many instructions that overload the working memory. Please note; The attempt section is low stakes – the ‘we do’ part of the session which can be active and encourages pupil talk. 

 

 

Child-Led Approaches

Enquiry-based learning

In enquiry-based learning the teacher sets the children a task, or poses a question, and then facilitates them in their discovery of information. The teacher may provide children with books or technology needed to uncover the information. They may also teach the thinking skills needed to determine whether information is reliable or relevant.

Enquiry-based learning may be split into four categories: confirmation inquiry, structured inquiry, guided enquiry and open inquiry. 

Some enquiry-based learning activities include: field work on a school trip, research projects, research for context, group work presentations and other experiment-based tasks.

Questioning

Teachers may refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy in their questioning to encourage children to draw on what are known as “higher order” thinking skills - asking children to analyse or evaluate, rather than simply recall information.

Role play

Role play may be used in a variety of subjects with children of all ages. For example, children may be asked to act as customers and cafe owners as a way to practise addition and subtraction in a real-world context.

Mantle of the Expert might be considered a more intensive role play experience. In this approach, children take part in an immersive role play, where they are tasked with a problem and positioned as experts who have been asked to find the solution. For example, a dinosaur egg is discovered in the playground, and the children take on the role of archaeologists to take care of it.

Teacher/Child in role or question and answer sessions (Hot-seating)

This involves the teacher taking on the role of a character, who children then have the opportunity to question, in order to understand a concept in more depth. The children themselves may not take on roles, but the teacher must respond to them in character.

Expeditionary-based learning

In this approach, children go outside the classroom to find real-world examples of what they’re learning about. For instance, if children are learning about coastal patterns, they might go to the coast to try to observe these patterns for themselves.

 

Pair work and group work

In pair work or group work the children work collaboratively on an activity with peers. The make-up of the groups may be decided by the teacher or chosen by the children. Sometimes the activity will have a defined outcome and allocated roles for each member of the group. Alternatively, it could involve a more general research task, in which children determine the outcome. The teacher may take on the role of facilitator, while the children are in charge of their own learning.