Stretch and Challenge

Teaching and Learning resource
This poster can be used as a display or a summary in teachers’ planners.
Stretch and Challenge is a vast aspect, throughout the lesson, ongoing, it’s every question we ask, it’s every question we choose NOT to answer by sending back the questions, it’s a whole attitude to keep students hooked throughout the lesson.
Ask yourself:
Am I helping students think harder, or just work longer?
Is this task stretching thinking, or simply filling time?
Am I doing the thinking for them, or sending it back?
Am I building independence, or dependence on me?
Who is doing the cognitive heavy lifting in my classroom?(That familiar feeling: “I’m working harder than my students.”)
And this next question is everything.It’s the key question I ask when I plan a lesson and the main thing I look for when I visit a department or observe teaching. For me, it’s a clear indicator of a successful lesson:
Am I challenging with care, or am I keeping students busy in the classroom until I’m ready to move on? Or until their parents finish work and come to pick them up.What is the purpose of school?
Are students growing because of what I’m doing or are they simply being kept occupied?

Because there is a profound difference between doing and thinking,between real learning and the illusion of learning. So let’s explore together the difference between doing and thinking.