To better challenge our young learners, and appeal to different abilities in the classroom, teachers must incorporate mastery and development tasks in the classroom. ‘Tasks’ include everything you ask students to do for example, questions and answers, activities or projects.
Mastery Tasks (which develop lower-order thinking skills) are mastered by all learners in a short period of time regardless of prior learning. Developmental tasks (which develop higher-order thinking thinks) stretch and empower learners and develop cognitive skills. This provides a more enriching classroom experience.
Reformulating teacher questions also increases the level of challenge. Research shows that 60 % of teachers’ questions involve remembering, 20 % are procedural, and only 20 % encourage thinking.
Finally, encouraging learners to choose their level of challenge (rather than teachers dictating it) and reflect on their choice fosters a sense of ownership and progress.

Session participants will be better able to:
- include mastery and developmental tasks in all lesson stages
- reformulate questions to encourage higher-order thinking
- encourage learners to choose and reflect on the level of challenge

After the interactive talk, the interactive workshop will include:
- teachers will reflect on their classroom experiences in order to identify areas for development
- teachers will analyse classroom tasks and activities in terms of the thinking skills developed/not developed and make suggestions for improvements where relevant
- teachers will participate in a task and implement techniques covered in the interactive talk
- teachers will outline an action plan to develop their own teaching with their own learners.

Speaker bio texts
Claire Steele
I’m Claire and I have worked in EFL/ESL as a teacher, trainer, manager and consultant worldwide, but mainly in the UK, Australia, Colombia and Greece. I have always been interested in inspiring students and teachers, so teacher development has always been my area of interest and career path. I’ve been very privileged to have worked with teachers all over the world in their contexts. I’m interested in student-centred learning, fostering creativity and critical-thinking in the classroom, reflective practice, and adapting materials to create a more dynamic and engaging learning experience. I also actively support inclusive classroom practices for all English teachers and students.

Sarah Smith
I’m Sarah and I have worked as an EFL/ESL teacher in Senegal, Japan, Ecuador and Turkey. I was a teacher and mentor in Thailand and France and am now based in Greece where I initially worked as an academic manager and a teacher trainer. My areas of interest are teacher training and development, reflective practice, student-centred learning, holistic child development, incorporating life skills in the classroom and encouraging a sense of progress through learning to learn techniques. I am also an advocate for inclusive classroom practices which provide a safe learning environment for all teachers and students.

Veranstaltungsart

Fortbildung

Fortbildungsart

Tagung

Ausbildungsstunden

7

Dozenten

Michael Croasdale, N.N., N.N., Anna Schönbach

Leitung

Anna Schönbach

Standort

Speyer

Veranstaltungsort

Pädagogisches Landesinstitut Rheinland-Pfalz
Butenschönstraße 2
67346 Speyer

Termine

Module

Veranstalter

Pädagogisches Landesinstitut Rheinland-Pfalz

Gültigkeitsbereich

Online

Anmeldeschluss

15.09.2022