No Hands!
I recently attended a conference, Dylan Wiliams: Embedding Formative Assessment, as part of a school cluster group. His five strategies were not new to my teaching practice, due to my earlier professional development experiences in school. However, it was a reminder of the reasons why formative assessment is so important for quality teaching / raising pupil attainment, and also, how attending such a conference is a motivational reminder to continually change your practice for the pupils you serve.
So no time like the present. He said every classroom should be a, 'No hands up classroom,' which he backed up with researched evidence and a common sense ideal. The fact that if children do not know when they may be asked to comment: they will listen more, then respond with meaning, due to being engaged. If they do not understand the learning - it can then be further taught. Good formative assessment working and informing.
I tried it - Professor Wiliams is right. During the literacy lesson 'No hands up was enforced'. The keen pupils were fidgety and the not so keen were wary/nervous. That's what they told me anyway. The reality was we were all engaged, discussion was meaningful, everybody had something to contribute and the independent written outcomes were accurate and made sense.
I am now changing my practice and embedding a strategy that has had an immediate impact on pupil achievement.
Thanks to the cluster group for organising quality CPD!
