Challenging Learning

Challenging Learning offers advice and techniques for helping children of all ages develop into confident, thoughtful and independent learners. Based around the acronym ASK (Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge), this essential guide explores attitudes, skills and knowledge to learning. It considers the strategies that can help teachers to challenge their pupils to think more skilfully and logically and how to develop these techniques more effectively. Drawing on the latest research from some of the most respected experts in the field, Challenging Learning encourages independent thinking and a spirit of inquiry in pupils of all ages. Through the use of rich examples of classroom interactions, this book offers strategies that will help pupils to produce their own thoughtful conclusions, develop their own concepts, examine logic and remain open to alternatives. Highlights include: effective teaching strategies including FACTS, the Teaching Target Model and the Learning Pit Models; up-to-date research and theory from leading experts; practical suggestions and principles to help you design and develop your own lessons. For everyone living or working with children – particularly teachers, parents, carers and youth workers - this book shows some of the best ways to enhance children’s learning, including how to question, praise, give feedback and encourage more effectively.

Better questioning for better learning Questioning is a process that sparks discussion and encourages deeper thinking. Effective questioning builds on students’ natural curiosity, moving them out of their comfort zone and into the learning zone in a purposeful, accessible way. It also models the process of good thinking and fosters a culture of high expectations. Like any skill, questioning takes practice. With this insightful guide, you’ll reframe your thinking and fine-tune the three essential questioning skills—know your intent, plan your responses, and stay purposefully silent—to elicit noticeably improved responses from students. Features include · Questioning sequences that work in any discipline · Techniques for deepening learning through questioning · Organizational strategies for pair, small-group, and whole-class dialogues · Best practices for balancing questioning, thinking tools, and strategic silences · Exercises, activities, and review and reflection sections High-quality questioning supports a culture in which students are not only challenged, but expect to be challenged, and where they flourish intellectually. Through your questioning, you’ll give them the tools they need to become thoughtful, confident, and independent learners.

Using feedback to enhance learning Feedback has the potential to dramatically improve student learning – if done correctly. In fact, providing high quality feedback is one of the most critical roles of a teacher. But if feedback is not done correctly it can have a minimal – or even negative effect – on learning. Challenging Learning Through Feedback provides educators with the tools they need to establish clear learning intentions and success criteria in order to craft high quality feedback and avoid common feedback mistakes. Readers will learn When feedback is (and isn’t) working How to design feedback so that it answers three essential questions Strategies for crafting clear Learning Intentions and Success Criteria How to teach students to give high quality feedback to themselves and others Written by educational innovators James Nottingham and Jill Nottingham, this book is full of specific examples for educators who want to understand the qualities of excellent feedback and how to craft it. "Feedback – a noun or a verb? A separate practice or an integral part of the learning process? Something we do ‘to students’ or ‘with students’? The Nottinghams sort it all out for us – the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and ‘how’ of the process and the practice of feedback." Barb Pitchford, Co-author Leading Impact Teams: Building a Culture of Efficacy (2016) "Finally a practical book on feedback for teachers! It is written with the teacher in mind, lesson plan in hand, and relevant to all in education. The perfect school-wide study book!" Lisa Cebelak, Education Consultant Grand Rapids, MI

Using classroom discussions to teach good habits of thinking Classroom discussion has a major effect on student learning. In fact, dialogue is one of the best vehicles for learning how to think, make moral decisions, and understand another person’s point of view. Research also indicates that most teachers talk too much in the classroom and don’t wait long enough for students to respond. How do we improve the quality of classroom discussion? Challenging Learning Through Dialogue transforms the most up-to-date research into practical strategies that work. Readers will learn How to build in more "wait-time" for better quality thinking and questioning from students How to use dialogue to teach reasoning, collaboration, and good habits of thinking The three types of dialogue and how to teach the most effective version: exploratory talk Dozens of practical strategies for exploratory dialogue Global examples of fun ways to teach dialogue An innovative new instructional strategy called Classroom Mysteries Written by an internationally known team of educational innovators, this book is for all educators who aim to use effective classroom dialogue to engage students in learning. "This valuable book is a must for teachers and families who wish to have their children learn to think and communicate with greater precision and clarity." Arthur L. Costa, Ed. D., Professor Emeritus California State University Sacramento and Co-Director, International Institute for Habits of Mind "James Nottingham’s work on Challenging Learning is a critical element of creating Visible Learners. This new series will help teachers hone the necessary pedagogical skills of dialogue, feedback, questioning, and mindset." John Hattie, Professor & Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute University of Melbourne

Dialogue is one of the best vehicles for learning how to think, how to be reasonable, how to make moral decisions and how to understand another person's point of view. It is supremely flexible, instructional, collaborative, and rigorous. At its very best, dialogue is one of the best ways for participants to learn good habits of thinking. There is also substantial evidence that teachers currently talk too much in classes, often only waiting .8 seconds after asking a question before jumping in with the answer if a student doesn't quickly volunteer. This book guides teachers through the different types of dialogue and how they can be used to enhance students' learning.

Using classroom discussions to teach good habits of thinking Research shows that classroom discussion has a major effect on student learning. So, how do we get students to talk more? Challenging Learning Through Dialogue transforms the most up-to-date research into practical strategies that work. Readers will learn How to build in more “wait-time” for better quality thinking and questioning from students How to use dialogue to teach reasoning, collaboration, and good habits of thinking The three types of dialogue and how to teach the most effective version: exploratory talk Dozens of practical strategies for exploratory dialogue Global examples of fun ways to teach dialogue

Embrace challenge and celebrate eureka! Challenge makes learning more interesting. That’s one of the reasons to encourage your students to dive into the learning pit—a state of cognitive conflict that forces students to think more deeply, critically, and strategically until they discover their "eureka!" moment. Nottingham, an internationally known author and consultant, will show you how to promote challenge, dialogue, and a growth mindset through: Practical strategies that guide students through the four stages of the Learning Challenge Engaging lesson plan ideas and classroom activities Inspiring examples from Learning Challenges across the world If you and your students focus on grades alone then rich learning opportunities might be missed along the way. A more rigorous and exploratory path to learning leads to a deeper understanding of concepts. When students experience The Learning Challenge, learning lasts for a lifetime. "Nottingham shows us how to use generative concepts as focal points for engaging deep student thinking and discourse. His visual model of ′pits and peaks′ helps us realize that cooperatively grappling with cognitive conflicts in the pit is necessary to eventually reach new peaks of understanding. Nottingham provides a wealth of strategies, tools and examples to aid the teacher. The vast array of questions to stimulate student thinking is second to none." H. Lynn Erickson, Educational Consultant Author, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom, 2nd ed. "Nottingham has provided a clear, concise, and research-based approach to creating cognitively challenging classrooms that captivate, activate, and invigorate learners. This book takes every reader through the learning pit, challenging their prior beliefs, and leads them to construct and consider an innovative way to promote stronger and deeper learning for their students." John Almarode, Professor of Education & Co-Director of the Center for STEM Education and Outreach James Madison University, College of Education, Harrisonburg VA

Jumpstart meaningful learning for students with new Learning Challenge lessons Twenty new lessons, created to accompany The Learning Challenge, provide teachers with everything needed to run thoughtful, dialogue-driven challenges for elementary school students. Each compelling and developmentally-appropriate lesson invites young students to think, to be reasonable, to make moral decisions, and to understand another person’s point of view—all critical skills in today’s complex world. Detailed lesson plans help teachers facilitate rigorous discussion around topics of current importance and include activities and techniques that encourage students into the “Learning Pit” to explore ideas and uncertainties with others through dialogue.