Season Two, Episode 4: The power of precision
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of precision in questioning and participation techniques in the classroom, featuring insights from Adam Boxer.
Summary In this second part of their conversation with Adam Boxer, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain move from behaviour and presence into the micro-detail of questioning, participation, and formative assessment. Using a retrieval practice clip, Adam unpacks how tightly structured classroom talk—particularly through “name at end” questioning, deliberate wait time, and systematic student selection—ensures every student is cognitively engaged. The discussion highlights how seemingly small choices in questioning routines shape accountability, attention, and the flow of classroom thinking. Adam reframes familiar ideas such as “cold call” and “no opt out” into more precise, actionable language, arguing that naming strategies clearly improve teacher implementation. The episode also explores “looping” as a formative assessment technique, where teachers return to students to probe understanding and track learning in real time. Beyond technique, the conversation turns to subject knowledge, with Adam suggesting that while it matters, classroom control and participation structures are foundational. The episode closes with a broader reflection on professional learning, teacher buy-in, and…
More episodes of Chalk Dust
- Season Two, Episode 10: Professor Anna Stokke on Effective and Engaging Math(s) Instruction
- Season Two, Episode 9: Every Class is a Reading Class
- Season Two, Episode 8: Getting Hands-On
- Season Two, Episode 7: Everyone can learn mathematics with John Mighton
- Season Two, Episode 6: The Knowledge Rich Classroom of Laura Stam
- Season Two, Episode 5: The choreography of learning
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