Baseline and Bonuses for the I Do and We Do phases of a lesson
Where you could start, and where you could get to
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I am obsessed with the modelling phase of a lesson. I have written before about the work I did with a department to develop a shared approach to worked examples. Here, I want to examine the order in which a department or an individual teacher might introduce various features and techniques to their modelling. I will do this using the idea of Baselines - the minimum that needs to be in place to see some benefits - and Bonuses - where you could take this once the basics are sorted.
Usual disclaimer: All of this is my opinion, but it is based on my privileged position of watching 100+ lessons every month. And I am only talking about secondary maths lessons. Who knows if this is valuable in different phases and across different subjects?
I Do
I advise assessing prerequisite knowledge before an I Do. This is important because it means we do not have to do so during the I Do. Instead, we can focus on giving a clear explanation that builds upon what we have established students already know.
Baseline: A teacher-led, clear and concise explanation, with live modelling
I have written before about the dangers of co-constructed Do Nows where the teacher asks students questions as they plot a path to the solution together. I much prefer a teacher-led Do Now with a clear and concise explanation that the teacher has thought about and - ideally - rehearsed in advance.
I also like this explanation to be accompanied by a live model instead of an animated PowerPoint that the teacher clicks through. Live modelling allows the teacher to control the pace and students’ attention better and helps reduce the disconnect between what the teacher is doing on the board and what students will be asked to do shortly themselves.
Bonus #1: Checks for listening
A clear, concise teacher-led I Do will always take less time than its coconstructed counterpart. But that doesn’t mean that we should assume we have students’ attention for that relatively short period of time. Dropping in some checks for listening into our I Do gives us data on whether students are listening, helps sustain their attention, and provides a confidence boost to students who most need it. Once you are used to checks for listening, they don’t break up the flow of your explanation as much as you may fear.
Bonus #2: Silent Teacher
We can go through the I Do twice, but the first time, do it in silence. This initially feels weird, but it can significantly impact students’ attention as they focus intently on our writing and gestures, putting the pieces together and trying to predict what we will do next. I wrote about Silent Teacher here.
After Silent Teacher, we can give our clear, concise explanation. We can talk students through the stages of the worked example they have just watched unfold, explain each step and check students are listening.
Bonus #3: Rehearsal
The jump between paying attention and being able to do something yourself can be significant. A Turn and Talk rehearsal after the I Do can be a great way to bridge the gap. Give students, say, 10 seconds each to talk through the steps of the worked example with their partner, and then swap roles. This opportunity to rehearse the steps and listen to someone else’s recollection can set them up for the We Do that follows.
We Do
At this stage of the process, we have no idea if our students have understood a word we said. So, now it is time to check. We need a question similar enough to the I Do that it checks understanding of the same concept but different enough that it still requires some thinking.
Baseline: Ask students to complete the We Do on mini-whiteboards
I cannot think of a reason not to do this. We have just introduced a new idea and need data immediately on whether students are on the path to understanding. Circulation takes too long, Cold Call and hands-up give us just one data point. No, let’s see the responses of all our students by asking them to complete the We Do on their mini-whiteboard.
Bonus #1: Step-by-Step
To make the mini-whiteboard check useful, we must ensure we can take in all the data. A good way to do this is to ask students to show just the first line of their working and assess that. If all is well, confirm the answer on your board and then ask students to add the next line of working to their mini-whiteboards, and so on. Step-by-Step gives us the best chance of seeing our students’ work, allows us to diagnose exactly where in the process students are struggling, and gives all students several opportunities to feel successful instead of just one if they do the question from start to finish.
Bonus #2: Tick Trick
Why do just one We Do, when you can do two? Give the students a second example, but ask them to complete this in their books. Then, when you go through the answer use Adam’s Boxer’s Tick Trick: If you have written precisely this for line 1, give yourself a tick. Give yourself another tick if you have written precisely this for line 2. And so on
This forces students to focus on the structure and working out instead of the final answer, helping to build solid foundations for setting their work out going forward.
Assess the Tick Trick by asking students to swap books with their partners so they can check they have allocated the correct number of ticks. Then, ask whose partner got 7 ticks, 6 ticks, etc.
Bonus #3: Variations
Why do two We Dos when you can do several? Now students are on a roll, you can mix things up a bit. Tap into the power of Variation Theory by asking some What If? questions. What if the 4 becomes a 5? How would that change your working out and your answer? What if the 5 becomes a 5x?
Students can answer these questions on their mini-whiteboards, rubbing out and changing only the parts of their work and the solution they need, drawing their attention to the critical feature that has changed and its effect on the outcome.
Push the students as far as you can during Variations - stopping only when students start struggling - and you will find you enter the independent practice phase of the lesson not needing to do quite as much consolidation work - leaving more time for problem-solving - and far better informed as to which students you need to go over and give support to.
A few words of caution
I truly believe in this process of modelling in maths. I have seen it work in multiple contexts. But I am under no illusion that it is hard to do. My advice - whether you are an individual teacher or a department taking this on - is to nail the Baseline versions first. This gets you 70% of the way. Then, and only then, begin to introduce the Bonuses that excite you the most and that you think your students will respond best to.
Good luck!
How close is this to what you do?
What do you agree with, and what have I missed?
Let me know in the comments below!
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Thanks so much for reading and have a great week!
Craig
I would like to hear a bit more about introducing "turn and talk" in lessons. My first thought is that it will create unnecessary barrier by allowing students talk and go off task. Could we hear more about effective ways of introducing this? I am talking introducing this in challenging school, not a grammar school or across top sets.
I really enjoyed this article. It is so clear, as I have come to expect from your writing. One thing though, in the second paragraph of the "I Do" section, you write about co-constructed Do Nows. Should this be co-constructed I Dos?