Thetford
All teachers had used talk partners in 2s and sometimes 3s. They adapt to different children, although some find it hard to converse (SC: make 3s!). Children are excited to work with new children, they build good relationships. One teacher had parental interference about their child’s partner.
Talk partner success criteria are used to refer to. Compliment slips are not used but these are given to each other verbally.
Note taking had eased the cognitive load:
When doing shared writing, I gather ideas from the children, my LSA is writing them on the flipchart and all the children have their whiteboards. As I cannot take all ideas they are encouraged to take notes on their whiteboards, record vocabulary and sentences which they could use in their writing. This has been really impactful as all ideas are then seen as valid, children’s confidence in writing has increased and everyone is engaged. This has eased the cognitive load.
Julie Farraway Drake Primary School