• Pitch to the top and differentiate down:

  • Make sure the model both challenges your most able and supports underachievers.

  • Make explicit reference to assessment standards. As you can see, the difference between a grade 6 and a grade 7 is...

1. De-mystify WAGOLL. Student should feel like it is an attainable model.

2. We (should) know assessment threshold standards. Our students should know.

3. Assessment literacy helps students to become confident in recognising and applying good academic practice

4. Our DPR is built on assessment threshold standards. This must translate into our teaching in order to be purposeful and enhance learning.

The curse of knowledge

A cognitive bias. This is when teachers find it difficult to teach something because they have not considered the difficulties a student might face when learning the topic for the first time.

Consequences: Students clock out. Learning is affected.

Solution:

• Consider student misconceptions/HFE and tackle head on.

• Script delivery to simplify the language and avoid this curse!

The curse of the Bluffer

This is when we aren’t experts when teaching something. To ‘save face’ and without skilling ourselves up, we teach it anyway. And we don’t teach it well.

Consequences: This is often the cause of student high frequency errors or common misconceptions. This is harder to unteach. So much so we have a whole descriptor for it in our EDI framework!

Solution:

• Apply quality subject specific CPD

• Deliberately practise your delivery

1. KNOW what exactly makes the difference between assessment thresholds in your subject.

2. Intellectually prepare for this.

3. Front load your instructions with means of participation.

• The ‘Curse of Knowledge’ & foundational knowledge in teaching by Miss D Cox