What students do

Peel the Fruit

Begin at the surface: What do you notice? Then move deeper: What can you explain? What questions emerge? What connections can you make? What complexities are becoming apparent?

Peel the Fruit

Move progressively from surface observations towards deeper understanding and complexity.

What students do

Connect – Extend – Challenge

Connect: How does this connect with something you already know? Extend: How has it extended your thinking? Challenge: What is still difficult, uncertain or unresolved?

Connect – Extend – Challenge

Explore how new learning changes or challenges existing understanding.

What students do

3–2–1 Bridge

Before learning, record 3 words, 2 questions and 1 analogy or metaphor. Repeat afterwards. Bridge: Compare the two responses. What changed? What connections can you make between your earlier and current thinking?

3–2–1 Bridge

Capture thinking before and after learning and build a bridge between the two.

What students do

Question Starts

Generate questions using stems such as: Why…? What if…? What would change if…? How might…? What is the evidence for…? What would happen if…? Select interesting questions to explore.

Question Starts

Generate better questions to open up a topic rather than close it down.

What students do

Compass Points

E – Excited: What excites you? W – Worrisome: What concerns you? N – Need to know: What information do you need? S – Stance: What is your current position or suggestion?

Compass Points

Examine an idea or proposal from several directions before deciding what you think.

What students do

The 4 Cs

Identify a connection to something you know, a challenge or idea you question, an important concept, and a change in your thinking or actions.

The 4 Cs

Reflect on learning through connections, challenges, concepts and changes.

What students do

Chalk Talk

Write a question, problem or idea where everyone can see it. Students respond silently in writing, adding ideas, responses, questions and connections. Afterwards, examine the emerging patterns.

Chalk Talk

Create a silent conversation where everyone's thinking can become visible.

What students do

Circle of Viewpoints

Identify people or groups who may see the issue differently. Choose one. I am thinking about… from the perspective of… I think… A question I have from this viewpoint is…

Circle of Viewpoints

Explore an issue through the perspectives of different people or stakeholders.

What students do

Generate – Sort – Connect – Elaborate

Generate ideas. Sort them into groups. Connect related ideas and explain the relationships. Elaborate by adding examples, explanations or new ideas.

Generate – Sort – Connect – Elaborate

Build a map showing how ideas and concepts relate to one another.

What students do

See – Think – Wonder

See: What do you notice? What catches your attention?
Think: What do you think is going on? What makes you think that?
Wonder: What questions does this raise? What would you like to know more about?

See – Think – Wonder

Look closely, interpret what you see, and develop questions.

What students do

Colour – Symbol – Image

Choose a colour representing the central idea, a symbol capturing something important, and an image representing the overall concept. Explain the reasoning behind each.

Colour – Symbol – Image

Represent an idea in three different ways and explain your choices.

What students do

Headlines

Capture the most important idea in a newspaper-style headline. What would your headline be? Why did you choose it? Revisit it later and consider whether it should change.

Headlines

Distil complex learning into the idea that matters most.

What students do

I Used to Think… Now I Think…

I used to think: What did you previously think or assume? Now I think: What do you think now? What changed? What experience, evidence or idea caused the shift?

I Used to Think… Now I Think…

Make changes in understanding explicit.

What students do

Claim – Support – Question

Claim: Make a claim or interpretation. Support: What evidence or reasoning supports it? Question: What remains uncertain? What questions does the claim raise?

Claim – Support – Question

Build and examine an argument rather than simply stating an answer.

What students do

The Explanation Game

Notice: What do you notice? Explain: What might explain it? Reason: What makes you think that? Alternatives: What other explanations might there be?

The Explanation Game

Move from noticing something to developing and testing possible explanations.

What students do

Step Inside

Choose a person, stakeholder, object or system represented in the situation. What might they perceive? What might they know or believe? What might they care about? What might they wonder?

Step Inside

Step into another perspective and explore how the situation might look from there.

What students do

Think – Puzzle – Explore

Think: What do you think you know about this? Puzzle: What questions or uncertainties do you have? Explore: How could you investigate these questions?

Think – Puzzle – Explore

Uncover what students already think and what they want to investigate.

What students do

What Makes You Say That?

Ask students for an interpretation, idea or answer. Then ask: What makes you say that? Encourage them to identify the evidence, experience or reasoning behind their response.

What Makes You Say That?

Move beyond answers by asking students to reveal the reasoning behind them.