High challenge, low threat in the classroom
Well hello there, and welcome to update #135!
We can sometimes make things too easy for our pupils and students in the mistaken belief that they won’t be able to cope with demanding work.
In fact they can!
Pupils themselves say that they enjoy challenging work, as long as they feel supported.
When pupils going into Year 6 were asked what they thought about ability tables, their responses related to the level of interesting work they were given:
The ‘more able’ enjoyed being the bright ones and having special challenges set by the teacher.
The middle group were annoyed that they didn’t get the same work and challenges the top group had, but they had realised that there were only six seats on the top table.
The ‘less able’ were affected the most. They felt dumb, useless, they thought they would never be allowed challenges as they usually worked with a teaching assistant.
They liked the sound of some of the challenges the top group had, but they knew they would never get the chance.1
What is happening here, is that interesting, demanding work is being rationed.
These assumptions are based on flawed notions of what children are capable of.
All our pupils deserve access to a rich, beautiful curriculum and it's possible if we create conditions for high challenge and low threat.
In a new webinar ‘High challenge, low threat in the classroom’ I walk through the elements of creating conditions for all pupils to feel confident doing demanding work. I’ll be sharing examples from primary and secondary.
Access with an annual or group subscription
Until next time
Mary