Cogito ergo sum Thinking for Learning in the

Cogito ergo sum? Thinking for Learning in the MFL Classroom Chris Harte

By the end of this session we will… • Have discussed thinking and assessment • Understand the ideas underpinning Thinking for Learning strategies • Look at the Af. L opportunities we are afforded in Tf. L lessons • Have a practical idea of what a “Thinking Skills” lesson may look like • Have a go

Are your students… • • Independent enquirers Creative thinkers Team workers Self-managers Effective participators Reflective learners ?

The MFL Framework: research background– some of the findings Even many able pupils have an insecure understanding of grammatical structure Pupils do not know how to improve their skills Many pupils do not know how to pronounce words correctly Listening and the reading of longer texts areas of major difficulty Pupils often do not understand the meaning of high frequency words The behaviour of pupils in MFL lessons is worse than in other subjects

Foundation Subjects (taken from the KS 3 MFL Strategy Briefing) Principle The action Structure the learning Use starters, plenaries and a clear lesson structure Make learning active Provide tasks in which pupils make meaning, construct knowledge and develop understanding and skills through problem-solving, investigation and enquiry Focus the teaching Plan to objectives and ensure pupils know what they are going to learn and why.

Foundation Subjects Principle The action Develop well-paced lessons with high levels of interaction Use collaborative tasks and talk for learning Support pupils’ independent learning Use prompts, frames, other forms of support and targeted intervention Build reflection Teach pupils to think about what and how they learn and involve them in setting targets for future lessons

Variety of experience • Move away from the “tyranny of the topic” • Thinking Skills lessons can be based around a topic but come at it from a different angle • We can only assess higher thinking skills by giving the pupils a chance to use them!

Aim of Thinking for Learning Strategies • To develop pupils’ thinking processes to a qualitatively higher level (teaching them to think for themselves) • To provide pupils with a language and structure in which they can articulate their understanding (metacognition) • To bridge across curriculum areas so that pupils can use a common approach to problem solving

Why Tf. L in MFL and Af. L? • Breathing space to examine what the pupils are thinking • Teach skills as opposed to content • To help children to deconstruct language and understand that language is something with underlying patterns and rules • To give pupils the opportunity to learn from each other • To promote active involvement in their learning, ENGAGING THE LEARNERS • To give a common vocabulary to thinking

The Model Structure for a Tf. L Lesson Putting the Launching Challengin g learners to think! High level group talk Activity Debrief Transfer of skills from one context to another activity in context Bridging Metacognitio n – getting pupils to talk about their thinking

It’s a Mystery… • Good for teaching the skills of skimming and scanning • Encourages pupils to sort the relevant from the irrelevant • Encourages pupils to engage with texts and to read for detail • Invites pupils to make links between disparate pieces of language and to infer meaning • Engaging because pupils have to search collaboratively for evidence

Living Graph

What’s the catch? • Reduction in the use of target language – this may be a small price to pay if a Tf. L strategy brings about increased engagement and enjoyment as well as improving linguistic skills and understanding “the big picture” • Pupils who are used to right or wrong answers may find the absence of clearly correct answers frustrating

Where do I start? • Not every lesson should be a thinking skills lesson! • Start small and aim for organic growth • Share your experience and talk about what you do, this will help you to reflect on what is effective and what needs working on