‘Most of the thinking that happens in our classrooms is hidden from us. As teachers, we get to shine a light on a fraction of it. The more we uncover the better, as it allows us to adapt based on what we find, but even the most proficient formative assessment routines will still only scratch the surface.
Therefore, the endeavour to direct student thinking is both a vital one, but also shrouded in uncertainty. We do our very best to fill the minds of our pupils with what we want them to learn, but ultimately our classrooms are not Orwellian dystopias, and so we can’t actual control what they think about.’
Think about the last time you felt like you were really learning something. Chances are, your brain felt a little tired, right? There’s a famous quote by educational researcher Robert Coe that sums this up perfectly: “Learning happens when people have to think hard.”
The trick in a classroom is finding that perfect sweet spot: making things tough enough to spark deep thought, but not so difficult that students completely give up.
If you want to move away from students just passively listening and nodding along, here are a few ways to get them working their mental muscles:
Hard thinking requires immense mental energy; the human brain consumes roughly 20% of the body’s daily calories. Because working memory is strictly limited, extraneous distractions must be eliminated:
This blog was written by Bretta Townend-Jowitt, Education Consultant and Trainer.
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