Three Ways to Improve Our Disagreements

Resolving subjective differences can be challenging, but being able to think deeply about complex issues and communicate why we think a certain way is an important skill for students to develop. Steven Campbell-Harris shares some approaches to move beyond intuitive responses to difficult questions.

‘New York is the capital of America.’ I was on my way to school when I heard a boy arguing up ahead. He turned to the rest of the group and intoned with authority. I edged closer. Most of the others were in agreement, chiming in with ‘yes, of course, it’s New York.’ One boy, however, insisted that they were wrong. ‘Washington DC is the capital’, he said. I listened for a while before intervening. ‘Actually, Washington DC is the capital city of America.’ At that moment, the debate was over. An authority figure had settled it. Nothing left to discuss. They walked on momentarily in silence.

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      string(5761) "The digital age has brought with it a rapidly changing and often unpredictable media landscape. Heightened accessibility to media sources means that everyone is increasingly aware of the world around them—adults and children alike. As educators, we have a responsibility to ensure that our students are trained to identify reliable news sources, understand a range of perspectives and be receptive to current affairs outside the classroom walls. Teaching current affairs often lies within the remit of Humanities lessons, but there is no reason that it cannot be incorporated into other lessons such as science and maths. The challenge is ensuring that current affairs teaching remains neutral and engaging. While the media landscape can be challenging to navigate, nevertheless, training students on how to effectively dissect the news will help them develop key critical thinking skills which will strengthen their social and cognitive development, and translate into the world outside the classroom.Teaching current affairs neutrallyThe Socratic method of teaching is considered the world’s oldest and most powerful way of fostering effective critical thinking skills. Socrates’ method places emphasis on the power of asking questions to encourage a student to self-evaluate and arrive at an answer independently, rather than simply conveying information in a hierarchical teacher–student manner. The method stimulates key critical thinking skills, such as self-evaluation, risk evaluation, accountability for one’s own reasoning and seeing the bigger picture of a problem or situation. As an English teacher, the importance of the Socratic method resonates with me since pupils often look to me for a ‘right answer’ on texts we are studying. By facilitating discussion through well-focused questioning I am able to steer students away from the concept of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ answers in literature, instead nudging them to consider a plurality of equally viable interpretations.The Socratic method gains particular significance for teachers looking to teach current affairs in an appropriate and accessible manner. As I’m sure many teachers will agree, broaching current affairs with a class of young people can be a challenge. Time constraints, on top of the fact that it can be overwhelming to address contentious topics while remaining as neutral as possible, means that the subject area is often overlooked. However, encouraging students to think through their own reasoning on a topic helps teachers to navigate the line of neutrality, and will enable pupils to digest real world issues by considering how it impacts them and those around them.By stimulating critical thinking skills with the Socratic method, we encourage students to take a sustained interest in current affairs. As educators, part of our job is to nurture this interest by drawing students’ attention to real and relevant news in an age-appropriate and exciting way. Teaching current affairs should be creative and inclusive of many perspectives—indeed, reflecting the world itself. Bringing variety to the classroomA resounding lesson that I have learned as a teacher is the significance of a varied and dynamic school day, in terms of both content and format of lessons. In the same way that the Socratic method encourages a student to think through different outcomes independently, lesson formats should facilitate independent exploration, reasoning and discovery.To demonstrate this, at Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy, we recently participated in a current affairs enrichment programme, held in partnership with The Week Junior magazine. The programme was designed to be enjoyed by our Year 7 and 8 students and aimed to help them make sense of the world’s most important and exciting news and events.  Our goal was to empower students to form and share their own opinions on news and current affairs topics, boosting their literacy, debating and critical thinking skills.During the programme, I found that teaching current affairs in an interactive way unlocked students’ critical thinking skills. My students got stuck in to a range of activities, from gaining first-hand journalism career experience with The Week Junior’s editor Anna Bassi, to diving into lively debates about current affairs using the news resources available. These debates were integral to the students’ development and proved key to exercising their critical thinking skills, for several reasons. Taking part in active discussions means a student must identify their opponent’s argument and quickly gain a nuanced understanding in order to respond effectively. Engaging orally rather than in written format, the student must consider how to convey a convincing argument in a way that can be understood by their peers. Finally, learning how to ‘disagree’ in this way is vital to developing essential social skills, as students understand that they are accountable for their own reasoning, and they learn to exchange ideas in a way which is mutually respectful—something which translates fundamentally from the classroom to the wider world.During the enrichment programme, students also took part in a Roving Reporter Competition, which turned them into mini-journalists. I found here that debating and reporting go hand-in-hand. Whereas debate sessions encouraged students to rapidly respond to new perspectives in a group environment, the Roving Reporter Competition enabled them to experience researching a topic independently, before channelling their ideas into a concise piece of writing."
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Teaching Independence with Current Affairs

26 Mar 2019

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      string(5656) "classroom, and theyshould improve the content and descriptive power of writing, as pupils becomesifters and sorters of narratives and genres.It is also an idea to start, at least with some pupils, with an illustration before readingthe passage, such as the image on the following page. Show the pupils the image andask: Can you invent characters for this setting? What do you notice about the building?The latter kind of open question tends to produce more creative responses thana more specific one. When comments are made about the shutters or the balcony,this can be followed up either by the teacher or across the class in a dialogic way.Sometimes, I ask the pupils to write a brief paragraph summing up the atmosphereof the setting, teaching them about inference and innuendo. They then compare theirdraft with Stevenson’s with delight and are switched on to the language rather thanrestrained by it.The more able can go much further. They can read a much longer extract anddevelop drafts which relate character to setting more coherently, imitating theadventure genre that Stevenson himself made famous. The teachers with whom I haveworked all call it a fine judgement whether the whole class are ready for the longerextract, but what seems most consistently successful, in terms of outcomes, has beento pitch as high as possible but have the access resources ready if and when pupils getstuck. Support is then coming at the point of genuine need and may just as likely be forthe most able pupil in the class! It should be a healthy struggle.87Vol 7.1School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLiteracyExtending learningExtracts are only tasters, but they do enable the kind of focus needed for deeperanalysis and appreciation. The enjoyment of language and literature pupils experiencethrough the extract above will hopefully help teachers lead them to other celebratedadventure stories of the era, such as Treasure Island or Kidnapped. Why not track thegenre through its development from these early adventure novels to the slightly later‘Swallows and Amazons’, and maybe even modern series like ‘His Dark Materials’ or‘Artemis Fowl’?The need to bring whole texts to life is critical, but tasters, pictures, graphic novels,role play of scenes and a range of thinking skills all support access at an age when it’sall too easy to be put off. Some of the following simple techniques have supportedengagement and new learning in ways which stimulate enquiry for the learner:■ Use Philosophy for Children to support literacy. Consider, for example: why do welike adventure stories? Is it essential to have a hero or heroine in a story?■ Establish a signal for risk-taking and feedback on progress. I call these moments‘Wings to fly’ moments.■ Organise evidence circles, in which all conversations must refer to the text andpupils choose each other to debate an argument.■ Try continuum lines – ask pupils to stand along an imaginary line to assess a view oropinion based on evidence.88Vol 7.1School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLiteracyRemember, ‘in dialogic classrooms, teachers and students act as co-inquirers,collaboratively engaging in a generation and evaluation of new interpretations of textsin order to “gain a fuller appreciation of the world, [them]selves, and one another”.’1Exploring poetryContemporary and classic poetry also plays a substantial role in the new curriculum,and should be explored with children as young as seven. Recently, I worked with pupilsreversing the lofty heights of Tennyson’s ‘The Eagle’ to write about the flight up fromthe ‘wrinkled sea’, devising sunset scenes inspired by Harold Monro’s ‘Great City’, andunpicking the Pied Piper’s journey from Hamelin to Koppelberg Hill and writing aboutwhat really happened inside the mountain.Taking ‘The Pied Piper’, after I supported access using the single image of ‘horseswere born with eagles’ wings’, there was a whole explosion of ideas and imageryaround the kinds of creatures that the children may have found inside the mountain.Our readings of parts of the poem were then received with interest, and some pupilsimitated Browning well in their inventive poetry.The best lessons on poetry I see tend to be when teachers are using objectivesthat teach specific aspects of a poem – whether a narrative technique or perhaps theeffect of stanza length – but showing how the technique contributes to the poem’smeaning. 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Leadership

Creative approaches to teaching texts from the past

21 Sep 2015

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      string(5753) "“The limits of my language are the limits of my world,” said the great 20th century philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein. He adds, “Language is much more than a communication medium, it is a shaper of reality. Teachers, who are figures of authority and tone-setters, name situations and through the choice of their diction and syntax will create limitations and affordances. Keeping language mindful, open to possibilities, inclusive and positive is vital. The challenge is to remain metacognitively conscious of the power of language at all times so that the reality we shape is what we want it to be. When we stop thinking, the language we produce can be sloppy, deterministic and prejudiced.” Wittgenstein’s thought-provoking words made me begin to think about my own use of language. Just a few years ago, I was co-teaching in a middle school language arts classroom. The students in our classroom were all certified in special education with a variety of disabilities and therefore receiving direct instruction to remediate their deficits. The pre-prescribed literacy program that we were to teach from was entirely scripted. The program told students when to ‘listen’, ‘look’, and even ‘think’. Students would sit in class, day after day, knowing exactly what was coming next by simply looking at the next page in their workbook, which repeated the same sequence of instructional steps over and over with different content. Students would follow along (not all of them) and respond like robots. Something didn’t feel right. I wondered if I could change the way vocabulary words were traditionally introduced and practiced? I wondered if I could change rote responses by asking open-ended questions and creating an opportunity for students to form new ideas to enhance their learning according to their own abilities? I quickly realised that it wasn’t a matter of swapping one word or prompt for another rather one approach for another. The changes needed to be made were really a shift in thinking.Fortunately for my students, something better came our way – a book called Creating a Culture of Thinking. A Culture of Thinking, defined by Harvard University researcher Dr. Ron Ritchhart, is “a place where a group’s collective thinking as well as each individual’s thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as part of the regular day-to-day experience.” Dr. Ritchhart believes that building a ‘thinking culture’ within our schools is the key to better learning. He discovered eight cultural forces that can shape a culture of thinking and contribute to powerful learning and deeper understanding. While all eight cultural forces are always present and working in tandem, the cultural force of Language stood out for me as a place to zoom in on initially, not only to create a culture of thinking but to support and improve the language skills of students. I got my hands on a resource related to the Cultures of Thinking project titled, 7 Types of Language to Incorporate in Your Classroom. I became excited about the many possibilities to harness language. Just as we prepare for the content and learning opportunities we offer, we can also plan for the specific language moves, questions and phrases that will best promote thinking and understanding. I began to focus on the things I said. I would plan and record questions to press for thinking until they became a habit and felt natural to ask. I would display specific language stems and use the 7 Types of Language to Incorporate in Your Classroom document to prime my language for each class. I learned that our words can shift students’ perceptions of themselves and of their learning, and alter an entire classroom culture. Further, words and phrases hold considerable power over classroom conversations, thus over students’ literate and intellectual development. I quickly began to notice the subtle yet powerful effects of my language. Here’s what happened as I directed myself to the 7 types of language.The Language of CommunityWe began using the pronouns ‘we’, ‘our’, and ‘us’. When we use those pronouns, we align with our belief that learning is a social endeavor and that we are in the learning experience together. A key language move on my part was swapping, “I would like you to…” with, “We might consider…” I began to notice students moving from passive recipient learners to active participatory learners who were in control of their own learning. I would often ask, “Where do we go from here?” hoping students would see themselves as part of a community of learners, rather than being dissociated. “Language works to position people in relation to one another.” (Davies and Harre 1999; Langenhove and Harre 1999). Language of InitiativeTeachers love strategies. We live and breathe strategies, everything from brushing our teeth to writing an essay. We often teach our students strategies often, and that’s not necessarily a bad idea. I always wondered if students were using the taught strategies once they left my presence. I always dreamed of following my students to another class and observing them putting a taught strategy into play in another context, placing them in the driver’s seat. It still felt like I was directing though. I still caught myself offering, “Next you need to…” or “Remember we learned…”. I later learned that knowing and implementing a taught strategy is still different than acting strategically. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

Shaping Reality with the Language of Thinking

10 Oct 2018

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      string(354) "Year 5 teacher Roz Porter Tibbey, from Grafton Primary School in London, explains how delivering the NewsWise programme has helped improve pupils’ critical literacy and engagement in the news. She shares her experience and the impact teaching critical thinking through fun and engaging lessons has had on her pupils."
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      string(5693) "We as teachers, are seeing children absorbing information from many different sources online. As the rise of digital and social media is transforming their experience of news, they have to be able to process material from a wider variety of sources than ever before. For many, the online world is a convenient and instantaneous source of information, but they aren’t often able to assess how reliable a story is, especially with the increasing presence of advertising and algorithms which have a big influence on the content they see on their newsfeeds and search results.It’s essential that teachers are able to give children the confidence and the skills they need to make sense of the avalanche of information available to them online and what is happening in the world around them. Introducing practical and fun ways of engaging with the news and encouraging pupils to challenge what they read and see is a great way to help them feel confident in separating fact from opinion, challenging disinformation and have their own values and opinions.To develop pupils’ news literacy, we participated in the NewsWise programme, run in partnership with The Guardian Foundation, National Literacy Trust and PSHE Association,which provides a set of cross-curricular news literacy resources, experiences and support for schools, aimed at teaching 7 to 11-year-olds. Within this module of learning, I took away several ways of working to get the best out of our pupils.Reflecting on how news is portrayedOur school was lucky enough to participate in face-to-face training which gave our staff practical tips and ideas on how to make digital and critical literacy a whole-school focus, not just for my Year 5 class. Tips included: ways of getting pupils excited about the news, ways to develop their understanding of the news, promote meaningful discussions about real-life issues and use real news reports as models for writing. By asking pupils to reflect on the way news is portrayed, it teaches them to question, evaluate and think independently about the information in front of them – skills they can apply to all aspects of day to day life as well as their studies.Having noticed that many of our pupils seemed disengaged with the news, whether that’s because they feel it’s not accessible to them or they aren’t interested, we were keen to try and re-engage them and develop their critical thinking. When we saw the diversity in the different activities and resources NewsWise had to offer, from workshops to journalist visits to the online suite of resources and lesson plans on a diverse range of topics, we thought this would be a fun way to introduce news literacy to our pupils. What’s great is the lesson plans help support our English and PSHE teaching as well as they are matched to the English and PSHE curriculum. For example, one of the lessons which explores bias helped our pupils develop their English skills of debating, comprehension and writing balanced arguments, for and against an issue. It allowed them to have open and frank discussions and analyse language used around bias in real life issues, turning to their own experiences of bias and when they may have been biased themselves. A few of the students highlighted their own sporting experiences where they’ve felt a referees decision was unfair and we looked at how that made them feel, really driving home how important it is for reporters to write news stories fairly.The training really highlighted why it is so crucial to teach children about the news, beyond simple comprehension of articles and writing news reports. Children need to learn how to navigate what is real and what is not, how to understand fact, opinion and bias and feel that news is for them too, in order to empower them to be able to challenge, form opinions, and engage with the world around them.Becoming fake news detectivesHelping children understand how the news is made is crucial to dispelling their fears around the creation and proliferation of fake news. So we turned the classroom into a newsroom! Pupils had their own journalist name badges and Training Journal provided as part of the NewsWise resources which included a tick list of skills such as: proofreading reports and spotting the difference between fact, opinion and speculation (which the children found particularly tricky). We worked to deadlines, just as in a real newsroom, but with the sounds cue of a news intro jingle and lighting changes to show that the deadline for an activity had been reached.Not only that, to kick start the programme, the NewsWise team delivered a workshop for our pupils, in which they had a go at identifying fake news by using their news navigator tool. This tool teaches them to: Stop and think about whether they’ve heard of the source, does anything look unusual, are there any spelling mistakes? Question whether the report is balanced, is it trying to make you believe or do something, is it misleading? Check whether the report is factual, are the facts supported by evidence? And finally, Decide whether it’s something they would share with others or whether it’s biased? This helped them to work through two really tricky examples. One was about a Canadian zoo who received a fine after taking a bear out for ice cream which turned out to be a real story and another about McDonald’s scrapping one of its most popular products which was a fake one. They found these examples particularly amusing and challenging which spurred them on to keep practising with other examples.What’s more, we were delighted"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Creating A News Literate Generation

9 Apr 2020

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