Why do we challenge

Begin by providing a description of the word before asking students to create their own description and example in their own words. Using visuals to accompany the word as a memory cue helps students to remember the work. Ensure that students engage with academic vocabulary on a regular basis through discussion, word games and vocabulary notebooks to consolidate knowledge.

Yet few schools have cracked the homework problem. If truth be told, many of us can forget to set homework or set something rushed just to keep up with the homework timetable. However, getting homework right makes such a difference to the challenge culture. Homework gives students greater freedom to demonstrate what they really know and produce quality work.

If students know that they are expected to complete a set number of the homework challenges by the end of the topic, then this stops the arbitrary setting of homework at inconvenient times.

A note of caution: sometimes students are given homework tasks that seem challenging because they require students to work independently on a project over an extended period of time. While these homework projects can be a lot of fun, many students struggle with such open-ended tasks.

If students are producing a piece of homework over a sustained period of time, make sure they are provided with clear structure and steps to success so they can self-regulate. Whatever approach you take, embedding a stretch and challenge model in your classroom takes time. Students may struggle at first with the increased demands placed upon them.

However, if you stay resolute and communicate with students the changes you are making and the benefits these changes will bring, they will end up appreciating your high expectations of what they can achieve. Please view our Terms and Conditions before leaving a comment. Toggle navigation. Home Best Practice Article. Written by: Debbie Light Published: 28 June Image: iStock interesting strategies to incorporate in all lessons. Stretch and challenge in practice — Debbie Light offers some practical strategies to raise the bar in your classroom for all pupils Implementing a stretch and challenge model in your classroom requires teachers and students to recognise that learning should be difficult.

Academic vocabulary Varying levels of literacy is one of the most significant factors in how well a student will do at school.

Conclusion Whatever approach you take, embedding a stretch and challenge model in your classroom takes time. Debbie Light is an advanced skills teacher and a deputy head in a London secondary school.

Ultimately, how we individually and communally respond to Challenges will determine our future. As problems become increasingly complex and pressing, the need to develop a generation of engaged Learners equipped to identify Challenges and develop innovative and sustainable Solutions is crucial. When faced with a Challenge, successful groups and individuals leverage experience, harness internal and external resources, develop a plan and push forward to find the best solution.

Along the way, there is experimentation, failure, success and ultimately consequences for actions. By adding Challenges to learning environments the result is urgency, passion, and ownership — ingredients often missing in schools. The strength of CBL is ownership. They go above and beyond expectations. Apple Developer Academy. It was the first time in my life that I felt I was learning at my maximum capacity. If student engagement is the problem … then getting them projects where they get to be active in class is definitely the key to the solution.

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During a math lesson, this might sound something like:. Teach students how to recognize and utilize resources around them , such as:. Teachers need to remember that appropriately challenging work should be challenging. In order for students to persevere, they must learn to navigate struggle.

Years ago on a bright spring afternoon one of my wise kindergarten students taught me a key lesson: the importance of being a careful coach. Our exchange happened, ironically, during a lesson designed to help students practice a repertoire of problem-solving strategies, independently, ahead of the year-end math assessment. The room buzzed with purpose and focused attention, all 28 kids working independently and energetically. As students worked I traveled around the room, reinforcing the many skills and creative strategies I noticed them using.

As one child finished telling me about their inventive use of graph paper, I noticed Kevin across the room peering skeptically at his manipulatives, his gaze shifting up to a nearby anchor chart and back again. Assuming Kevin was in over his head, and without a second thought, I rushed over to save him from what I deemed to be imminent frustration—or worse, failure. The interaction went something like this:. Maybe by size rather than color? After dismissal that afternoon, I recommitted to pausing my teacher assumptions and approaching my coaching conversations with greater curiosity.

To support my growth, I typed up some open-ended prompts and taped them to the back of my clipboard:. You can start by reflecting on your own teaching style , current teaching practices, and potential strengths and opportunities you have when facilitating student-directed learning. To gauge where to begin, try answering the following questions for yourself:.

It can be challenging to help students see missteps and misconceptions as imperative parts of learning. If your students are struggling with struggle, try revealing the value of mistakes through guided reflection prompts that help kids articulate the outcomes of challenge and perseverance:. As a veteran teacher who will be retiring next year, thank you for this article!

Academic choice which is really best practice, always was…will replace these administrative mandates. Now watch my kids flourish!!