Developing metacognition – how to get unstuck
Sometimes when the children are doing their work, they will get stuck. At Talbot Primary School, we teach the pupils that this is actually a positive experience that they should embrace.
If learners never got stuck, then the work they are doing is likely to be too easy and therefore won’t be challenging them. Therefore, getting stuck on something harder means that the children are attempting new learning that is stretching them. Moreover, getting stuck does not mean an end to learning, it is just a point in time. The children are taught that, when they get stuck, there are many ways they can help themselves.
Year 4 thought about these ideas and came up with a list of different ways to ‘get unstuck’. These included using classroom resources, asking a friend for help, trying a different strategy, asking an adult for help or by simply being courageous enough to have a go. By using these approaches, it makes learning more memorable and means the next time the person encounters a similar problem, they know just what to do.
