Anglophone group

I recently used the Placemat Strategy during a teacher workshop.

At the end of the session, one of the teachers came up to me and said that she had really liked the activity because it gave everyone a voice.

She explained that she is a little bit of an introvert, and that having the opportunity to write down her ideas first meant that she could organise her thoughts before sharing them with the group.

Her comment really stayed with me.

It made me think about how often we ask students to contribute by putting their hands up or speaking immediately, and how many students might have valuable ideas but simply need a little more thinking time or a different way into the conversation. It also made me think about the importance of creating different ways for students to participate.

Here are three strategies I have been using for some time:

One of the biggest challenges we face as teachers is giving students time to think deeply.

We want our students to be curious, ask questions, investigate ideas, make connections and develop their own explanations.

But we also have a curriculum to cover, learning objectives to meet and assessments to prepare for. And time is always limited.

So often, we end up explaining things ourselves because it’s quicker. Or we save inquiry activities for when we’ve finished teaching the content.

But what if inquiry didn’t have to compete with curriculum coverage?

Over the past few weeks, we've had some wonderful conversations during our InTA masterclasses and professional discussions!

We've explored how AI can make differentiation more manageable, how to help students move from anxiety to agency, and what we can do to help them become truly ready to learn.

What did I particularly enjoy?

We didn't just leave with plenty to think about, but also with practical ideas we could actually try in our classrooms.

And then there were all those thoughtful questions, shared experiences, and moments when someone suggested a completely different way of looking at things…

For me, that's what makes InTA so special: learning from one another!