This routine has 4 questions that offer a structure to help students reflect on the resource or idea they’ve been engaging with. They can be used within a lesson or at the end of class – potentially as an “exit ticket”, with students jotting down their thoughts on index cards before leaving.
1. What is the most important point?
- Encourage Reflection: Prompt students to think about the central idea or takeaway from the lesson, resource or discussion. Ask them to consider what they would highlight if they were summarising the session.
- Use Examples: Share a few examples of what might qualify as “important points” to guide their thinking (e.g., main concepts, themes, or arguments).
2. What are you finding challenging, puzzling or difficult to understand?
- Normalise Uncertainty: Remind students that it’s okay to find aspects of the material challenging and that grappling with confusion is part of the learning process.
- Encourage Specificity: Prompt them to be specific about what is puzzling. For example, ask them to think about particular terms, concepts, or connections that are unclear.
- Facilitate Support: After collecting responses, you can group students based on similar challenges to discuss their questions and seek clarity together, fostering collaborative problem-solving.
3. What question would you most like to discuss?
- Prompt Curiosity: Encourage students to think about questions that ignite their curiosity or concern regarding the topic or ideas being explored. Remind them that these questions can lead to deeper exploration.
- Model Questioning: Share a few examples of thought-provoking questions to inspire their own (e.g. “How does this concept apply in real life?” or “What are the implications of this idea?”).
4. What is something you found interesting?
- Encourage Personal Connections: Prompt students to reflect on what resonated with them personally during the lesson. This could be a fact, an idea, a discussion point, or an example that caught their attention.
- Invite Sharing: After they write down their thoughts, invite students to share their interesting findings. To promote a sense of engagement and curiosity within the class.
- Explore Further: If a particular point sparks a lot of interest, consider dedicating additional time in a future lesson to explore it in more depth, highlighting the importance of honouring the issues and ideas that are important to students.