Religious Studies and the Key Stage 3 Strategy

1. Religious Studies and theKey Stage 3 Strategy Sarah Barnett

2. What is the KS3 Strategy? • The strategy was introduced with the aim of raising standards • It aims to strengthen teaching and learning across Key Stage 3 • It aims for teachers to become more effective so that pupils improve in what they know and learn

3. Principles • Focus on teaching • Provide challenge • Make concepts and conventions explicit • Structure the learning • Make learning active • Make learning engaging and motivating • Develop well paces lessons with high levels of interaction • Support pupils’ application and independent learning • Build reflection

4. The strategy included fourteen modules- • Planning and Assessment • Teacher repertoire- Questioning, explaining, modelling • Structuring learning- starters, plenaries, challenge, engagement • Knowing and learning- teaching thinking, thinking together, reflection and big concepts and skills

5. How does this impact onReligious Studies? • The three elements of questioning, explaining and modelling are key to any good lessons and are often paramount to a good Religious Studies lesson • So many of the concepts taught in Religious Studies are imbedded in theology, philosophy and ethics and so require the full teachers repertoire to ensure pupils fully appreciate them

6. Explaining • What are you trying to explain? • What key things should pupils understand/know if the explanation is to understand? • What examples, analogies, stories, visual aids or other devices will you use in the explanation to help pupils understand?

7. Over to you! • How would you go about explaining the following to a class? Trinity Sacrifice Pilgrimage Prophet Sacred/holy

8. Questioning • Questioning is important as it is the most common form of interaction between a teacher and their class • Questioning is a the key method of altering challenge • Questioning is an immediate way for a teacher to check the effectiveness of teaching

9. What is effective questioning? • Make use of open and closed questions- Closed questions- check knowledge and understanding Open questions- Have more than one possible answer, if used successfully it takes pupils • Allows pupils to ask their own questions • Effective questioning can only occur in an environment where pupils feel secure to take risks or be tentative

10. Top Tips • Treat questions seriously • Give pupils time to think • Allow pupils time to research answers • Provide structure to help pupils answer • Encourage pupils to question and help them find answers to these questions • Treat answers with respect

12. Over to you! • In pairs I would like you to take it in turns to ask each other questions about your half terms • Remember to use open and closed questions • Try to use some of the examples in the previous slide!

13. Modelling • Is a powerful teaching strategy • The teacher is ‘expert’ demonstrating how to do something whilst thinking through the process aloud • Examples of modelling include- writing an account constructing a mind map evaluating a concept

14. Effective modelling • Specific • Explains underlying principles • Shares thinking • Involved pupils • Provides pupils with a chance to practice new skills whilst they are fresh • Supports first attempts with scaffolds • It is a bridge to independent work

15. Over to you! • Modelling is a way of helping pupils develop written skills- • EG explanation, analysis and evaluation • Think and note down- • How you would model pupils writing a written response explaining the idea of pilgrimage • How you could model an evaluation on the issues of abortion

16. Conclusion • The strategy is huge with many strands • Improve teaching and learning • Effective planning • Effective questioning, explaining and modelling • Effective teaching and learning