1. Why we use this as a strategy for developing creative thinkers
No hands up
Why we use this as a strategy for developing creative thinkers
Focus School Stockport Campus 2015

2. Only when you want to ask a question!
In every classroom you have the inevitable issue of the same two or three children dominating answering.
Without knowing it you have created a classroom where understanding your students progress has just been made harder.
Our plan is to only use hands up when a student wishes to ask a question.
Focus School Stockport Campus 2015

3. Focus School Stockport Campus 2015
Methods
Lolly sticks- always easy and quick
The mini white board is excellent- it is not as modern as you think- children having been doing it on slate boards for years!
Random name generator software- maybe a bit more age appropriate for older students- I personally don’t think they care as much as we think they do about this.
Focus School Stockport Campus 2015

4. Focus School Stockport Campus 2015
Value
- It teaches children that their ideas have a value.
- It encourages teachers to move towards asking open rather than closed questions.
- It encourages pupils to take risks, knowing that it is ok to make mistakes, but not OK not to contribute.
- It means that more children play an active role in class discussions.
- It forces children – (by self-policing) - to be engaged. This is because to have nothing at all to contribute becomes embarrassing. In our school, it is not humiliating to make a mistake, but it is debilitating to have nothing to say;which is only ever the result of not talking to a partner.
Focus School Stockport Campus 2015

5. Focus School Stockport Campus 2015
The teacher uses it to
Create a culture of engagement and inclusion.
Manage students sensitively; know your class and you know how to use this strategy
Add to the culture of ‘no opting out’.
Engender a true spirit of engagement and participation.
Focus School Stockport Campus 2015

6. Use it well; use it consistently
If it is half hearted, only done intermittently it loses its value. Every student should expect to be questioned but never know when.
This alone, creates a heightened interest in the classroom and if you mix it with Bloom’s and higher order questioning then the outcomes are incredible
Focus School Stockport Campus 2015