| Let’s say you’re convinced that hands up for answering questions is a bad thing, and getting children to answer questions with a partner will help children pay attention in lessons. Let’s say you think it really important that all the children in your school answer every question with a partner – so they have to think out loud, reason, argue, disagree, confirm an opinion – and respond to every question, in every lesson throughout the day. Teachers will not only have to become adept at asking challenging, thought provoking questions (that’s a big blog for another day) but also, more prosaically, know how to stop children quickly, quietly and calmly. This might be easy for an experienced teacher but a nightmare for a newly qualified teacher. | 