CONTRIBUTORS


New Year’s resolutions in the classroom


In her regular column this month, STEMtastic! founder KIRSTY BERTENSHAW offers a topical look at New Year’s resolutions in the classroom.


While education is the ultimate aim of schools, your students’ emotional wellbeing is also important. Setting New Year’s


resolutions together can promote both of these aims. It can also be an opportunity to incorporate curriculum content, combining learning and thoughtful reflection. Whole class resolutions


Deciding on resolutions as a class gives support to each student to achieve the aim by the end of the year. This could be to support a certain charity through the year, or maybe to have a joint aim relevant to that class. The New Year’s resolution could be written in a colourful way, and the class’s efforts displayed as a reminder for the coming year. Subject-relevant resolutions


Subject-relevant resolutions are a little like a learning objective but larger than a single goal, for example, learn and recite all the times’ tables from 1-10 by the end of the academic year. Make sure to include regular opportunities to practise, including games and quizzes to encourage and enable the achievement of the resolution.


Resolutions can be incorporated into curriculum-based lessons as an extra learning outcome. For example, in a science lesson, students could write a personal resolution on a piece of filter paper using lemon juice or sodium bicarbonate, leaving it to dry and turn invisible. They can then reveal their resolution using universal indicator and a paint brush. This is a temporary message, and the paper will dry, hiding the resolution and keeping it private. This means they can write a declaration of intention and revise or learn about acids, alkalis, and indicators at the same time. In a language lesson, the resolutions could be written in a different language or students could be given examples of resolutions for them to translate.


For a maths lesson, students could be encouraged to write a general resolution then make a quiz to reveal the answers, like a code breaker puzzle where each mathematical answer represents a letter. The class could be given an example version to work out first and demonstrate how the puzzle works, before attempting their own and swapping with a friend to test them. There are many examples of code breakers for maths topics available for free online.


For an English lesson, the importance of punctuation could be demonstrated and practised using resolutions. Give some examples of sentences that have incorrect punctuation or missing punctuation for students to correct, for example, ‘this year I will complete my homework earlier, than it needs to be done’, or ‘I will try to be kind thoughtful and helpful.’


Personal aims


New Year’s resolutions can be personal and aimed at developing individual character. The resolution could be kept private between the student and the teacher, not being used as a marking opportunity but as a reflection of the emotional development and wellbeing of the student. These can be opportunities to self-reflect and be honest about individual struggles. The teacher could demonstrate a few choices of resolutions they are considering for themselves, for example, remember to think before getting angry, use kind words, ask for help when needed, get more sleep during the week to focus properly during school. If a personal resolution is written, then students should be allowed time to reflect on it regularly, and amend it as appropriate through the year. There is no limit to the number of New Year’s resolutions, so students could make both personal and academic resolutions, although communication is required between teachers to ensure students aren’t overloaded with them.


Kirsty is the founder of STEMtastic, an education consultancy with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths www.stemtastic.co.uk


January 2023 Inclusive questioning for


SEND learners In her column this month looking at all aspects of SEND, regular contributor HANNAH RIX, SEND English teacher and co-founder of Readingmate Ltd, looks at inclusive questioning in a SEND context.


Questioning is an essential part of


teaching. It enables teachers to conduct formative assessments of progress and learning, aids cognition and critical thinking skills as well as challenges thinking. So, how can teachers differentiate questioning without making students feel excluded or different from their peers?


To incorporate questioning effectively, appropriate, and thorough planning needs to take place to ensure you’re catering to your individual student’s needs and learning styles. Quality over quantity is paramount to ascertain the learning that’s taken place and will prevent students from having question fatigue. For students that have complex or additional needs, here are some strategies that can facilitate questioning in your classroom: Supportive environment – to make all your students feel at ease and comfortable with sharing their opinions and ideas, it’s essential that there’s a climate of respect in your classroom. This means making every voice feel heard, respected, and honoured. Additionally, a ‘no hands up’ rule will ensure that your students expect to be asked a question and will mean that a more even representation of ideas are shared.


Get comfortable with silence – awkward silences can be the stuff of nightmares for students. But this doesn’t have to be! Put yourself in your students’ shoes and remember that for them to respond to your question in a measured and considered way, they will need thinking time. For students with additional needs, this may be slightly longer than most. To ensure your class are comfortable with this, you can model silences when they ask you questions and if they query it, you could simply say ‘I just need a moment to think’. Something as simple as silence can have a huge impact on how your students’ approach not only answering questions but also how they have conversations too! Use a range of questions – using a variety of open-ended and closed questions with all your students will ensure that they’re all feeling equally challenged. If you’re always asking one student close questions and another open-ended, they will become frustrated and even embarrassed as they’re not being treated fairly. Another method I like to use which can eliminate peer pressure if students don’t know the answer is ‘phone a friend’. Simply ask one student a relatively difficult open-ended’ question which they can begin to answer, and they can nominate a friend to help them answer it. This way there’s no pressure on any individual and it can also build a collaborative learning environment. All of us use fantastic questioning without giving it any consideration but it’s worth giving your questioning a little audit to ensure that your students are getting the most out of your teaching. Start by asking yourself: • Am I incorporating questioning into my planning? • Do I use a range of question styles with all my students? • Are there any other methods I could use? • Does my classroom have a supportive environment for my students? • How can I make the most of silence whilst questioning and answering?


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