Alexander Harris

The SEND system is broke. Any teacher knows this. Overdiagnosis Inadequate training Inconsistent provision Insufficient alternative schooling places Outdated language and perspectives Nowhere near enough time or money Hopefully @TomRees_77 and his team can start sorting it.

A short post about "Cold Call" Cold Calling is a questioning strategy that I first read about in Teach Like a Champion 2.0. I used to use the term a lot when delivering training/INSET, but I tend to avoid it now for three reasons: 1. Some people are irrationally triggered by it as a term for political and ideological reasons 2. Lots of people think they understand it, but don't 3. TLAC includes a number of different variations, which makes it difficult to discuss and debate with people who haven't read it For me, the key takeaways from reading and learning about Cold Call are A. That the teacher is in complete control of who is being asked questions, and has a justification for why particular students are asked particular questions. I think there are simple rules of thumb that can help teachers make these decisions in the classroom. I wrote more about that, including the rules of thumb in these two blogs: achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/202… achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/202… B. That the teacher puts the name of the student at the end of the question, every time. This is to ensure all students are constantly paying attention, and know that they could be asked a question at any point. I wrote more about that here: achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/202… I'd encourage people to read TLAC and the blogs above if they have a problem with Cold Calling. It's a strategy designed to help teachers get the most out of their students in a range of lesson phases, and isn't particularly difficult to implement sensibly and sensitively. It's not rocket science, it isn't evil, and it's a guaranteed way to improve your questioning.