Pillar 2: Understanding the content

2.1 Knowing the Curriculum

have a deep knowledge and understanding of the subjects we teach and how this builds across the curriculum.
consider how pupils will interpret and think about knowledge being taught and anticipate misconceptions.
structure knowledge into an appropriate sequence of learning tasks to aid with understanding.
present knowledge in an appropriate way (connect verbal and visual stimuli) to aid learning and retrieval.

staff are all enthusiastic learners and should be experts in our own subjects as well as those that we teach.
teachers should actively seek opportunities to further their own subject knowledge and use this strong base of the curriculum to carefully anticipate preconceptions.
the design and layout we use to present knowledge, along with the order in which we teach it to pupils, is vital to successfully building schemas.

teachers feel confident and enthusiastic in their teaching which is reflected in the children's attitudes towards their learning.
pre/misconceptions are successfully anticipated and planned for.
knowledge is presented to learners in a purposeful and connected way.
children successfuly build schemas and ensure their learning is retained in the long-term memory.

follow a clear lesson structure following Rosenshine's principles of I, We, You as an instructional model.
model worked examples with subject specific vocabulary and language structures such as stem sentences and sentence starters.
utilise variation theory to provide children with multiple representations and examples of what a concept is and what it is not.

a backward fading model of I, We, You is an effective instructional method to withdraw teacher input in order to allow a graduated learning process.
combining conceptual understanding, procedural proficiency and factual recall secures deep and balanced learning.
using variation theory principles can allow teachers to direct children’s attention and anticipate their responses and identify misconceptions.

children's cognitive load is reduced allowing them to access new, difficult or unfamiliar concepts gradually.
children achieve a higher success rate and are confident learners.
children form deep and long lasting learning.

have a fluent knowldedge and a flexible understanding of the curriculum which allows us to plan for and anticipate misconceptions.
deliver small amounts of new material at any time and guide student practice of new material.
regularly question and check for student understanding and facilitate discussion.
provide varied explanations and multiple representations, analogies and examples.

considering children's possible misconceptions at the planning stage equips teachers with pre-formed, clear explanations and a range of examples.
providing guided practice after teaching small amounts of new material whilst checking for student understanding throughout can help limit the development of misconceptions.
regular verbal feedback feedback ensures that children do not inadvertantly store partial information or a misconception in their long-term memory.

children make fewer errors and have a higher success rate.
children have fewer long term misconceptions.
where misconceptions arise they are swiftly attended to and dispelled with examples, supplementary examples and counter non-examples in line with conceptual variation.

teach to the top by scaffolding access to appropriate and challenging learning objectives.
identify areas of new learning that will need to be unpicked and explored thoroughly in a variety of ways.
provide resources to scaffold support for all learners, using them as tools to success.
build learning in small coherent steps, using appropriate scaffolds which can then be systematically removed.
explicitly link difficult points and new learning to prior knowledge.

careful scaffolding fosters confident, independent life-long learners.
attending to difficult points will enable the children to acquire new knowledge and skills effectively.
using concrete materials and visual images alongside verbal instruction supports deeper understanding.
resources and manipulatives provide tangible experiences of abstract concepts and help all learners construct connected knowledge.

children's cognitive load is reduced allowing them to access new, difficult or unfamiliar concepts.
children experience success as a learner, promoting growth mindset and fostering a thirst for knowledge.
children acquire transferable understanding having used concrete resources and are able to solve problems and apply their knowledge & skills when questions are presented in an abstract form.
children build connected schemata and have the opportunity to master a subject.