The New Teach Like a Champion?

OmerPazar,HeadofPhysicsCCS

Tips for Teachers: Enhancing Teaching with Over 400 Simple Ideas

As educators, we all know that teaching is a complex task. It involves not just imparting knowledge to our students, but also motivating them, engaging them, and inspiring them to learn. And while we may have years of experience under our belts, there is always room for improvement. That’s where Craig Barton’s “Tips for Teachers” comes in - it contains over 400 simple ideas that can help us enhance our teaching and make it more effective.

The tips in the book come from two sources: the fantastic guests on Craig’s Tips for Teachers podcast, which include education heavyweights like Dylan Wiliam, Tom Sherrington, and Daisy Christodoulou, as well as talented teachers who are not household names; and what the author has learned from working with amazing teachers and students in hundreds of schools around the world.

The tips are arranged into themed chapters, with a logic to the order of the tips within each chapter. While some tips reference others earlier in the book, each tip is standalone, allowing readers to pick up the book and dive straight into a tip that interests them.

One issue that can arise is when students get stuck on a task or problem during Phase 4 (SLOP) of the CST Playbook and don’t know what to do next. This can lead to frustration and disengagement, which can ultimately hinder their learning progress. Fortunately, there are ways to address this issue, and two tips that have been particularly helpful are Tip 70 parts 4-5.

Teaching students what to do when they are stuck

Tip 70, part 4 suggests teaching students what to do when they are stuck. As behaviour expert Tom Bennett points out, if students’ default reaction when stuck is to raise their hand and wait for the teacher to come over, not much learning is happening, and behavioural issues may arise. To avoid this, establish a routine for what students should do when they are stuck. I have told students that if they are stuck, they should describe clearly where they are stuck on their mini-whiteboard. This makes it easy to scan for common misunderstandings.

Using mini-whiteboards

Tip 70, part 5 suggests using mini-whiteboards to support the book work used during Phase 2 (Presenting new materials) and the CST curriculum booklets used during Phase 4. Book work is a great way to encourage mass participation, but it can be challenging to check for understanding in a reliable way. Asking one student what they got, or asking if anyone got something different, can be unreliable as it relies on confidence, honesty, and effort from the students. Instead, ask students to copy their final answer on their mini-whiteboard and hold it up when ready. This provides a more reliable check for understanding, and you can focus on the answers that are most important.

I recently tried using Tip 70 parts 4-5 in my class, and I found them to be incredibly helpful. By teaching my students what to do when they get stuck, I was able to keep them engaged and focused on the task at hand, rather than getting frustrated and disengaging. Additionally, using mini-whiteboards as a way to check for understanding was much more efficient and reliable than traditional methods. I highly recommend giving these tips a try in your classroom to see if they can help your students stay engaged and motivated to learn.

In conclusion, “Tips for Teachers” is a valuable resource for educators who want to enhance their teaching with simple, practical ideas. While it may require experimentation and frustration to adapt the tips to one’s own situation, the effort will be worth it. As Craig states, “Teaching is complex, but there are simple ideas we can enact to help our teaching be more effective.”