Developing Quality Talk in the Classroom
with Intelligent Learning DVD Programme
In 2007 Shirley Clarke led a Learning Team for teachers in the North Tyneside
Education Action Zone. The team comprised thirty teachers, two from each of fifteen
schools (13 Primary Schools & 2 Secondary Schools).
The focus was an Action Research Project entitled Formative Assessment: Weaving
the Elements Together. We were very pleased with the progress we made in terms of
moving on with AfL and embedding some of the key strategies, especially improving
Questioning and establishing regular use of Talk Partners.
Another major focus of our EAZ is to promote Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset to
raise aspirations and achievement (see Teaching Thinking & Creativity vol 8:5).
Children with a Growth Mindset see their intelligence as something that can be
improved through learning (“It grows and grows….”). They also tend to be unafraid
of challenge, welcome feedback, react to failure by trying harder and can resistance
negative peer pressure. We feel that promoting a Growth Mindset and improving
speaking and listening skills will give our children, especially those in areas of high
deprivation, an improved chance to become independent and well motivated learners.
Following the Learning Team, we were keen to maintain the collaborative work
through our Network Learning Community, which is a key part of an EAZ. The
Network meets once or twice a term for two hours, usually 1.00-3.00 with supply paid
by the EAZ. We were enthused by the difference that Talk Partners and more
effective questioning was making to establishing a truly Collaborative Classroom
Climate and we wanted to develop this further by focusing on improving the quality
of talk in our classrooms.
Last year I came across Steve Williams’ DVD based programme: Intelligent
Learning – The Dialogue of Active Minds. I was immediately impressed by the
programme, especially the high level of discussion taking place in the classrooms
with children as young as Year 4.
In June 2008 we reconvened the Learning Team to share how we were progressing
with AfL and to view Programme 1 of Intelligent Learning, which introduces the
teachers involved in the project and its aims: to promote curiosity, independent
learning and thinking skills through quality dialogue in the classroom.
Following our viewing of Programme 1, we asked our teachers to consider what
might be gained by using the programme and what the disadvantages might be, using
the grid (fig 1).
Fig 1
Devoting more time to questioning (by pupils), concept development &
quality dialogue
advantages
Higher order skills that can be used in all
areas
Extending all abilities – deepens learning
Children feel as though they are leading
their learning
They find out about the bits they are
interested in as their questions are
answered
Learning becomes more child centred and
relevant
Addresses real issues
Need to improve speaking & listening –
this is a good framework
disadvantages
May not involve all children – some more
vocal than others
Pressure to cover curriculum - time
Competes with time for other initiatives
such as MFL & P4C*
Unsure how easy it will be to use this
with KS1
* We soon realised that P4C and the Community of Enquiry approach are actually an
integral part of Intelligent Learning, so this aspect became an advantage, rather than a
disadvantage.
We also asked the teachers to consider the following discussion points in the light of
the introduction to Intelligent Learning (programme 1)
Intelligent Learning - Programme 1
Discussion Points
Fig 2
What do pupils who can think and learn for themselves do that is
different from those who can’t?
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They have a clear idea of what makes a good question and why
They know how to ask good questions
Can make connections using concepts
Explore thinking through dialogue with others
Use exploratory dialogue as a model for thinking and writing
Are able to explain their thinking by giving reasons
Are able to learn with and from others
How do we ensure a good balance between teaching for remembering
and teaching to enable intelligent learning?
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“Good thinking involves turning the chaos of information and experience into
meaning” – Steve Williams.
Teacher interventions, at the right time and at the right level, are crucial
By teaching the principles of Intelligent Learning we empower our pupils to be
more active learners, who will naturally absorb and remember more
The overwhelming majority of our group were keen to move forward with our work
as a learning community and felt that it would be useful to use Intelligent Learning as
a focus for our agreed aim to extend and develop quality talk.
My colleague Angi Gibson (Deputy Head & Y6 Teacher at New York PS) and I then
looked at the materials supplied with the DVDs. It quickly became apparent that,
while there were some useful articles and notes for individual teachers to read to
support their planning, there was a need for some much simpler and more accessible
discussion notes to enable a large group such as ours to make progress together. We
felt that some of the concepts were quite difficult to grasp so there was a need to
reinforce and illustrate the points made in the programmes. We therefore decided to
create our own discussion notes to use with the programmes.
On a more positive note, we were very impressed with the quality of the video clips of
lessons and the dedication and commitment of the teachers involved. The teachers are
seen with classes from Y4 to Y9, which was ideal for us as we are a cross-phase
group including both primary and secondary teachers. We therefore decided to use the
programme as the main focus of our work for the next two years, starting in March
2009 with the second programme of Intelligent Learning, entitled
Intelligent Learning – Programme 2
“Encouraging Good Questioning: The Dialogue of Active Minds”.
Many teachers are now aware of the need to improve questioning in their classrooms
and some are focusing on student questions rather than their own questioning. But too
often we rely on a vague shift of emphasis from closed to open questions or from
hands up up no hands up routines for answering questions. Programme two
emphasises the need to plan opportunities for student questions consistently so that
they become an integral part of all lessons, rather than something we do from time to
time when we remember.
In the first part of programme 2, Tim (Y5), Sarah (Y4) and Doug (Y9), teachers in the
programme, demonstrate the value of using the Community of Enquiry approach at
the start of a topic. Pupils work in pairs to discuss their response to a stimulus and
think of questions that they would like to ask about the topic. These questions are then
recorded by the teacher and the class vote to choose the one question that they would
like to discuss. Good questions that are not discussed at this time are valued, written
down and returned to later in the topic. The teachers also encourage and make time
for more general and philosophical questions as well as those specific to the
curriculum. It becomes clear in the video clips that this approach engages students and
encourages them to relate the work to their own and their family’s experience.
Sarah’s lesson with Y4 uses “Willy the Wimp”, by the popular children’s author
Anthony Brown, to bring out the personal concept of powerlessness, which is further
explored in programme 3. She explains how using the children’s own questions gives
them a lot more ownership of the topic. If they have asked a question that has
prompted an investigation, they are far more likely to remember it and be enthusiastic
to find the answer.
Doug’s History lesson with Y9 on the First World War invites students to think about
the personal concept of war and strife by relating it to their own experience of conflict
(bullying for example). As Doug says, if the teacher asks the question, there is a
certain amount of teacher pleasing, ie trying to find the answer they think the teacher
wants, whereas if the lesson focuses on the students’ own questions, it becomes much
more student-centred and engaging. This approach also brings to light what students
already know about the topic, which helps the teacher plan the right level for future
work.
Doug’s students explain in interviews how they feel about asking questions in class,
how they deal with peer pressure and how the right collaborative classroom climate,
created by the teacher, can put them at ease to pose and answer questions, explore
their thinking and make mistakes, without fear of being laughed at by their peers. This
is an important part of the Growth Mindset that we are seeking to promote in our
classrooms so that students are not afraid to have a go, have the confidence to speak
out in group and class work and don’t give up when the work gets difficult.
The other main area of focus in this programme is looking at ways to collect and
analyse questions with students. They are encouraged to categorise questions and
reflect on them, thus building up their knowledge of key words relating to
questioning. Here we see Tim working with a Y7 class on a topic on Kenya. He gives
the pupils a selection of photographs of different aspects of life in Kenya, and asks
them to compare and contrast the pictures and then come up with three questions
about what they see on the cards. He then encourages them to use the grid below (fig
3) to record their research progress and the questions they come up with. It is
interesting to see how the teacher allows them to research the answers to their own
questions (he does not attempt to answer them himself) and how these answers then
lead to further questions, which in turn lead to extension tasks for the higher
achieving students. Once again their questions lead their learning and they are valued
and recorded, so that the teacher can return to them later in the series of lessons. This
skill is built on further in programme 3.
Fig 3
Facts
Further Questions
Other Questions the topic
answers
At the end of programme we asked our teachers to plan in pairs their strategies to
encourage quality talk in their classrooms over the next term. We also asked them
what student actions would indicate an increase in quality talk? A selection of their
responses is shown below in fig 4.
Intelligent Learning Programme 2 – Planning Sheet
Encouraging Good Questioning: The Dialogue of Active Minds
Name(s): examples of teachers’ responses
I/We will encourage quality talk in our classroom(s) over the next term
with the following actions:
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Provide opportunities for quality talk through “Community of
Enquiry” sessions linked to contextual learning topic
Analyse questions in categories
Supporting children by using starter cards (Foundation Stage)
Question Tree on wall
Provide a stimulus from which children pose questions
Build into our planning
Allow time to reflect on questions and celebrate good questions
Display student questions
Build a trusting environment – add to our classroom rules
Create a display of what makes a good question – revisit it regularly
Use of questioning at start of a topic to personalise learning
Introduce “Best question of the day”
Planning is led more by student questions
The following student actions will indicate an increase in quality talk in
my/our classroom:
 Categories of questions displayed around classroom with examples –
children able to add their question to correct display
 Quality discussion in peer & self assessment
 Wider participation
 Deeper levels of thinking and understanding
 Interactive display on questions
 Increased confidence to ask questions
The teachers’ evaluations of our network session on Intelligent Learning Programme
2 were extremely positive and they were enthusiastic about continuing with the
programme. We work with different age groups and in different ways and some of us
feel we have a long way to go before we achieve the high level of classroom dialogue
that we see on the DVD clips. But we are determined to give our children the
confidence to express their ideas in an articulate way, which we know will help them
to organise their thoughts before starting on a piece of writing. More importantly, the
ability to articulate their thinking and asking the right questions are key life skills if
our pupils are to maintain their high aspirations throughout their working life.
Gerry Miller
EAZ Consultant
North Tyneside EAZ
Gerry.Miller@northtyneside.gov.uk