Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction Effective teaching and learning in action

Rosenshine outlined ‘17 instructional procedures’ within his research paper – no fads here, rooted in evidence.

This series of toolkit sheets will take you through the principles using Sherrington’s four strands and you will notice close links to our work on retrieval practice, metacognition and cognitive load theory. You will also recognise current practice here as it is not new but principles that have stood the test of time. ‘They are familiar and teachers trust them’ (Sherrington, 2019). Regular application of these principles will lead to more effective teaching and learning.

Effective questioning is at the heart of effective teaching. It sits at the top of the list for things that teachers can and should improve.

It is at the frontline of formative assessment

It is a key tool in responsive teaching

Plan to ask a lot of questions and check for understanding

Learners should be able to explain what they have learned

Check the response of all children (do not let anyone dominate, hide or be overlooked)

Provide corrections

Tom Sherrington gives the following repertoire of questioning strategies (see book below):

Cold-calling Try making ‘no hands up’ the expectation. Select children to respond based upon your knowledge of the class.

No opt-out Do not allow pupils to opt-out by saying ‘I don’t know’. Move to others or provide the right answer but then go back to this pupil.

Say it again, better When first responses are half-formed, give a second opportunity to refine the answer. Add prompts (‘try again, make sure that you…’)

Think, pair, share A well-established strategy used in mist of our classrooms. Now try probing, cold-calling etc. at the end

Whole class response Try mini whiteboards, multiple choice, practice sentences, calculations. Engage with responses, adjust your teaching accordingly…

Probing Go further…How do you know that? Can you give an example? How is that connected to x? Does anyone agree? Disagree? Why? Is there a different way to say the same thing?

Recommended further reading:

SSF SCITT website www.ssfscitt.org.uk resources page has several links and resources. This includes a link to Rosenshine’s original research paper.

‘Rosenshine’s Principles in Action’ by Tom Sherrington is a highly recommended text. In this short and easy to read guide (for busy teachers), Sherrington demonstrates how the principles can be put into practice in the classroom – promoting effective teaching.

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Questioning

Effective teachers ask more questions from more pupils in greater depth, checking for

understanding, involving all learners and exploring thinking processes and

misconceptions as well as correct answers (Rosenshine)

Questions are only as good as the answers that they elicit. Suggested common errors:

Asking too many questions at once

Asking a question and answering it yourself

Asking questions of the most-able/dominant pupils

Asking a difficult question too early in the sequence of events

Asking irrelevant questions

Always asking the same types of questions (ie.. closed ones)

Not using probing questions

Not giving pupils the time to think

Not correcting wrong answers

Ignoring answers

Failing to see the implications of pupil answers

Failing to build on answers

Other effective questioning tactics to try:

Structuring (Signposting) Providing clues for answers during explanations, indicating the type of answer expected

Pitch and putt Think of ‘pitch and putt’ golf. You chip the ball onto the green, as close to the hole as

you can get it, and then roll it in with you putter. You must pitch the questioning and the correct intellectual level and use language appropriate to the group

Directing and distributing Undirected questions often lead to chorus answers and lack of control. The same

individuals will answer each time. Direct questions at individuals/groups and ensure that you distribute your questions across the class

Pausing and pacing Do not be afraid to wait for answers – allow pupils time to think. Drill questions can be

asked quickly. Sometimes deeper questions may be asked at the end of a lesson so that pupils have a long time to think (perhaps until the next lesson). Consider pace alongside classroom management. Spending too long teasing out answers may cause other members of the class to lose interest.

Wait time has to be increased to several seconds in order to give pupils time to think. Everyone should be expected to have an answer and contribute to the discussion. In this way all right/wrong answers can be used to develop understanding. The aim is thoughtful improvement rather than getting it right first time.

Prompting and probing Follow up questions when the first answers are inappropriate or inadequate. Prompts

contain hints (‘Think back to when we learned about…’) while probes require more precise or detailed answers (‘Tell me a bit more about…’).

More examples of probing questions are:

Does that always apply? Can you give me an example of that? How does that fit in (relevance)? You say it is x, which particular kind of x? What are the exceptions? Why do you think that is true? Is there another view? What is the idea behind that? Can you tell me the difference between the two?

Listening to replies We respond to answers in various ways. We often ‘skim’ listen to responses if

preoccupied and should work towards active searching for answers within a response.

Responding Our responses signal enthusiasm, excitement, interest, boredom or indifference to

what pupils have to say. Do we build upon a response, echo part of the answer, correct the answer by paraphrasing the pupil’s response or probe further?

Sequencing questions There are many ways of sequencing questions. The most common are displayed below: Extending and lifting The circular path – a series of questions which leads back to the initial position

From narrow to broad and recall to thought

From broad to narrow A path of questions all of the same type

A backbone of questions with relevant digressions

The random walk (may be due to lack of planning,

disorganisation or very distracting children)

Are you ‘prepared’ to ask questions?

What can I ask the class? What should I ask the class? What do I want my pupils to learn? How do I want them to learn it? How will I find out whether they have learnt it?

WAIT TIME Wait time has to be increased to several seconds in order to give pupils time to think. Everyone should be

expected to have an answer and contribute to the discussion. In this way all right/wrong answers can be used to develop understanding. The aim is thoughtful improvement rather than getting it right first time.

To download and view this poster by Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli, go to https://teacherhead.com/2018/10/19/rosenshine-re-ordered-a-poster-by-olicav/

To download and view this poster by Oliver Caviglioli, go to www.teachinghow2s.com/blog/principles-of-instruction