Include activities that allow more than one possible approach, interpretation or solution. Instead of immediately directing students towards one expected response, ask: “What other possibilities can you think of?”
During discussions or collaborative activities, encourage students to suggest original examples, explanations, scenarios or ways of approaching a topic. A simple prompt such as “Can you think of another way to explain, represent or approach this?” can open space for different ideas.
Help students transform an initial idea into a plan, product or solution by considering its purpose, relevance and feasibility and by revising it in response to feedback. Ask: “Which part of your idea is strongest?” and “What could make it clearer, more useful or more feasible?”
When appropriate to the learning objective, allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through a story, model, illustration, analogy, performance, simulation or digital product. Ensure that the chosen format provides sufficient evidence of the intended learning outcome.
Provide opportunities to use imagination and original thinking not only in artistic activities but also in mathematics, science, languages, social topics and practical problem-solving. For example, ask: “How could you represent this idea through a model, analogy, scenario or design?”
Use authentic, practical or hypothetical situations in which students can identify the problem, consider different possibilities and develop their own approach rather than reproduce a prescribed procedure.
Invite students to propose several approaches and consider their advantages, limitations and likely consequences before deciding which one to test. Ask: “Which solution seems most promising, and what makes you think so?”
Provide opportunities to use experiments, models, simulations, prototypes, calculations or trial-and-error processes to examine whether a proposed solution works. Encourage students to decide: “What result would show that this solution works?”
Encourage students to use observations, evidence, results and feedback to identify what worked, what did not and how the solution could be adjusted or improved. Useful prompts include: “What would you keep?”, “What would you change?” and *“What would you test next?”***
Encourage students to explain how they understood the problem, why they chose a particular approach and how they tested it. When their solution differs from the expected one, explore their reasoning before judging it as incorrect.
Help students recognise when a previously successful approach may be useful in a different subject, practical activity or everyday situation, while considering how it needs to be adapted to the new problem. Ask: “What is similar to a problem you have solved before, and what is different?”
Use meaningful texts, data, arguments, situations or case studies that allow students to identify relevant information, distinguish individual elements and explore how they relate to one another.
Invite students to identify suitable criteria and use them to group, sequence or structure information. Instead of always providing the categories in advance, ask: “What criterion could we use to organise this information?” or “What criterion did you use to group it in this way?”
Provide activities in which students examine similarities and differences, compare alternative interpretations and consider the relevance of the evidence supporting them. Simple prompts such as “What is similar?”, “What is different?” and “Why does this difference matter?” can guide the comparison.
Ask students to consider whether information is sufficiently supported, whether individual claims are consistent with one another and whether important evidence or alternative explanations are missing. Encourage them to distinguish between *what is known, what is assumed and what still needs to be verified**.*
Encourage students to describe the criteria they used, the evidence they considered and how they reached their conclusion. Instead of rejecting an unexpected interpretation, ask: “What evidence led you to this conclusion?” Then consider whether the interpretation is logically coherent and supported by the available information.
Help students apply systematic evaluation to information encountered in different subjects, digital media, everyday decisions and unfamiliar situations. Ask: “Where else could this way of analysing information be useful?”
Create space for students to draw attention to details, differences or recurring features that affect the meaning or interpretation of a text, image, process, situation or set of data. Ask: “What have you noticed that may change how we understand this?”
Encourage students to use recurring relationships to anticipate what may happen next or propose a possible explanation. They can then compare their prediction with further evidence and consider whether the pattern continues to hold.
Allow time for students to review a text, calculation, design, experiment or practical product and identify inconsistencies, omissions or elements that do not match their intention or the task criteria.
Invite students to identify where a similar structure, sequence or relationship appears in another topic, subject or practical situation and consider how this connection may support understanding or problem-solving.
Students may contribute by identifying a distinction, inconsistency, missing element or connection that helps the group refine an explanation, solution or product. Their observation should be explored rather than dismissed as insignificant or overly detailed.
Allow students to contribute these strengths when they find them relevant, but avoid repeatedly assigning them the role of checking everyone’s work, finding errors or identifying patterns for the group.
Ask students to recall details, sequences, relationships or earlier explanations that may be relevant to the current task, and encourage them to use this remembered information when explaining a conclusion, comparing situations or solving a problem. Instead of asking only “Do you remember this?”, try: “What do you remember that could help us here?” Encourage students to distinguish between what they remember confidently and what should still be checked.
Invite students to recreate a sequence, process, visual arrangement, route, spoken explanation or set of relationships and then compare it with the original. This allows them to use their memory while also noticing what was retained, changed or omitted.
Encourage students to identify connections between the current topic and earlier lessons, texts or experiences. Ask: “Where have we encountered something similar before?” or “How is this connected with what we learned earlier?”
Encourage students to reflect on whether they remember particular kinds of information especially well, such as visual layouts, spoken wording, sequences, locations or spatial relationships, and how this strength may be useful in different learning situations.
Allow students to contribute remembered information when it is useful, but do not make them responsible for remembering instructions, dates or details for others. Strong memory should not lead to the removal of written information, reminders or other available supports.
Create space for students to contribute concepts, examples or connections that may deepen the topic. Rather than asking them to display everything they know, try: “Is there anything from your knowledge of this area that could help us understand the topic more deeply?”
Use a brief initial task, discussion or other form of pre-assessment to identify what the student already understands. When mastery is demonstrated, reduce or omit repeated introductory work rather than requiring the student to complete it again.
Instead of giving more work of the same kind, invite students to analyse a case, interpret evidence, evaluate a claim, design a solution or connect their knowledge with another subject or practical situation.
Offer questions and tasks that go beyond recalling additional facts and invite students to examine nuances, exceptions, competing explanations or unresolved issues. Ask: “What becomes more complicated when we look at this more closely?”
When the learning objective is to practise a skill such as describing, explaining, comparing, presenting or arguing, allow students to apply that skill to a topic they know well. For example, if students are learning to write a clear and well-structured description, they may describe an object, process or place from an area of their expertise rather than all working with the same prescribed subject. The topic may differ, but the intended skill and assessment criteria remain the same. This option is appropriate when the topic serves as a context for practising the skill, not when understanding specific subject content is itself the learning objective.
Students may use their expertise in peer tutoring, collaborative problem-solving, demonstrations or the creation of learning resources. Make this contribution voluntary and purposeful, and avoid repeatedly assigning the student the role of expert or making them responsible for others’ learning.
Invite students to contribute examples, questions or perspectives from areas that genuinely interest them. A simple prompt such as “Is there something you are interested in that connects with this topic?” may reveal links that the teacher would not otherwise recognise.
When students are practising a skill such as researching, presenting, comparing or creating an argument, allow them to apply it to a topic that interests them. The topic may vary, while the intended skill and assessment criteria remain the same.
Begin with a familiar area of interest and help students identify connections with new concepts, subjects or perspectives. Ask: “How is this similar to something you are already interested in, and where does the comparison stop working?”
Offer longer-term investigations, projects or questions that allow students to follow their curiosity, examine different sources and develop their ideas over time. Use intermediate goals or short reflections to ensure that sustained engagement leads to deeper understanding rather than only the collection of additional facts.
Encourage students to reflect on what enables them to remain involved, such as choice, challenge, relevance, independence, feedback or a clear purpose. Ask: “What helped you stay engaged with this task, and could any part of that be useful in another situation?”
Allow students to decide when they wish to draw on a particular interest. Avoid requiring them to use the same topic repeatedly, present it to others or become the classroom expert. Interests may change over time and should open learning opportunities rather than restrict students to a narrow role or subject area.
Use discussions, questions, explanations, storytelling, interviews or short presentations in which students can use spoken language to contribute relevant ideas and perspectives. Rather than valuing only frequent participation, focus on whether the contribution supports the purpose of the activity.
Ask students to describe how they understand a concept, reached a conclusion or approached a task. Prompts such as “How would you explain this in your own words?” or “What led you to that conclusion?” allow oral communication to reveal understanding rather than only recall.
Students may demonstrate their knowledge through an oral explanation, recorded commentary, interview, discussion or presentation when spoken communication provides appropriate evidence of the intended learning outcome. This option should not replace written work when writing itself is the skill being assessed.
Provide opportunities to explain the same idea in different ways, for example to a classmate, a younger learner or a specialist audience. Ask: “What would you need to explain differently for this audience?” or “Which details are important for this purpose?”
Encourage students to organise key points, use relevant examples and make relationships between ideas clear. Brief planning, rehearsal or feedback can help them consider: “What does the listener need to understand first?” and “Is there anything that needs further explanation?”
Help students recognise how spoken communication may need to change across classroom discussion, collaborative work, formal presentation, practical activity or everyday interaction. Encourage them to reflect on which approaches were effective and how they could be adapted elsewhere.
Do not automatically expect verbally confident students to answer first, present every group product or speak on behalf of others. Give them a genuine choice about when and how they contribute, and continue to provide alternative ways of participating and expressing understanding.
Use short responses, explanations, reflections, questions, reports or digital discussions in which students can communicate relevant ideas through writing. Focus not only on the length of the text, but on whether it expresses meaning clearly and serves the purpose of the activity.
Ask students to explain in writing how they understand a concept, how they reached a conclusion or how they approached a task. Prompts such as “What led you to this conclusion?” or “How would you explain this idea to someone who is unfamiliar with it?” can be answered through a short written response, reflection or learning journal, allowing students to demonstrate their understanding and reasoning through writing.
Students may demonstrate their knowledge through a written explanation, structured response, report, dialogue, blog post or digital text when writing provides appropriate evidence of the intended learning outcome. This option should not replace spoken communication when oral communication itself is being assessed.
Provide opportunities to communicate the same information in different ways, for example as an explanation for a classmate, a formal report, an instruction or a short public message. Ask: “Who will read this, and what do they need to understand?”
Encourage students to review whether their main idea is clear, whether information is organised logically and whether examples and details support the intended message. Rather than correcting the text immediately, ask: “Which part is already clear, and where might the reader need more explanation?”
Help students recognise how writing changes across subjects, digital environments, formal assignments and everyday communication. Encourage them to consider which strategies remain useful and which need to be adapted to a different purpose or format.
Do not automatically assign students with strong writing skills the role of group note-taker, editor or person responsible for producing the final text. Sharing their skills should remain voluntary and should not make them responsible for correcting or rewriting other students’ work.
Allow students to use gestures, facial expressions, body position, movement, visual cues or demonstrations to emphasise, clarify or complement meaning in discussions, presentations, role-play and practical activities. Ask: “How could you make your meaning clearer without adding more words?”
Use images, video, drama, social situations or practical demonstrations in which students can identify relevant visual and physical signals and consider what they may communicate. Encourage them to explain which cues informed their interpretation.
Students may use a demonstration, mime, sequence of movements, visual arrangement or role-play to show their understanding when these forms provide appropriate evidence of the intended learning outcome. They should not replace spoken or written communication when that specific form of communication is being assessed.
Provide opportunities to explore how gesture, facial expression, posture, pace and spatial positioning can reinforce, modify or sometimes contradict spoken meaning. Ask: “Do your words and nonverbal signals communicate the same message?”
Encourage students to consider which signals are appropriate and effective in a presentation, collaborative activity, informal interaction or practical demonstration. Emphasise that the meaning of nonverbal signals may vary across people, situations and cultures.
Encourage students to explain which visual or physical cues informed their interpretation and to consider other possible explanations. When the meaning is important, they should use the wider context or respectful clarification rather than relying on one signal alone.
Do not expect students with strong nonverbal awareness to interpret other people’s emotions, monitor group dynamics or mediate misunderstandings. Their observations may contribute to learning, but they should not make them responsible for understanding or managing others.
Use discussions, explanations, stories, interviews or audio materials in which students listen for a clear purpose and respond by summarising, questioning, connecting or applying what they have heard. Instead of simply saying “Listen carefully,” ask: “What is the speaker’s main point?” or “Which information will be important for the next task?” Effective listening should not be judged only by eye contact, stillness or silence.
Encourage students to connect ideas expressed by different speakers, identify areas of agreement or difference, or extend a previous contribution. Ask: “Which idea would you like to build on?” or “How do these two contributions connect?”
Provide opportunities to listen for the main idea, specific details, a sequence, evidence, instructions or a particular perspective. Before the activity, ask: “What do you need to listen for this time?”
Invite students to paraphrase what they have heard and ask for clarification when meaning is uncertain. Useful phrases include: “Have I understood correctly that…?” or “Could you explain what you mean by…?”
Help students recognise how listening may differ in a classroom discussion, lecture, collaborative task, interview, practical activity or everyday conversation. Ask: “What helped you follow and respond effectively here, and what might need to change in another situation?”
Do not automatically assign students with strong listening skills the role of note-taker, mediator, confidant or person responsible for remembering and explaining everything discussed by the group. Their listening may support shared learning, but should not make them responsible for other people’s communication or wellbeing.
Use collaborative tasks in which students’ contributions need to be combined to produce a shared explanation, decision, solution or product. Ask: “What does the group need from each person in order to move forward?”
Encourage students to listen to different ideas, identify useful connections and combine contributions rather than simply presenting their own part. Prompts such as “Which idea could you build on?” or “How could these suggestions work together?” can support genuinely shared work.
Provide opportunities for students to agree who will do what, how the parts will be connected and how they will check their progress. Roles may be selected or adapted according to the task rather than assigned permanently according to perceived strengths.
Invite students to compare suggestions, explain their priorities and agree on relevant criteria for making a shared decision. Instead of aiming only for quick agreement, ask: “How did the group decide which option to use?”
Ask students to identify what helped the group work effectively, what made coordination difficult and what they might do differently next time. A useful prompt is: “What did the group achieve together that would have been more difficult individually?”
Help students recognise how cooperation may need to change in a short classroom activity, a longer project, a practical task or an online environment. Encourage them to consider which approaches remain useful and which need to be adapted.
Do not repeatedly assign cooperative students the role of organiser, mediator or person responsible for ensuring that everyone participates. Their ability to support teamwork should not make them responsible for the behaviour, emotions or learning of the whole group.
Use peer tutoring, paired discussion, demonstrations, collaborative problem-solving or student-created learning resources when explaining the content can support both learners. Make clear what the student is being invited to explain and what the shared learning goal is.
Invite students to consider what the other person already knows, what may be unfamiliar and which example, wording or representation could make the idea clearer. Ask: “What does your partner need to understand first?” or “Could you explain it in another way?”
Students may combine spoken or written explanations with examples, questions, diagrams, models, demonstrations or step-by-step guidance. Encourage them to choose the approach that best suits the content and the peer rather than simply repeating the original teacher explanation.
Invite students to consider what the other person already knows, what may be unfamiliar and which example, wording or representation could make the idea clearer. After the explanation, give the peer an opportunity to restate the idea or apply it to a simple example. This can help the student recognise whether the explanation was useful and what may need to be explained differently.
Invite students to consider which parts of their explanation were effective, where the peer needed further clarification and what they might change next time. Ask: “What helped make your explanation clear and useful?”
Create opportunities for students to exchange expertise, strategies or perspectives so that peer support does not consistently flow in one direction. A student who explains one topic may learn from the same peer in another area or contribute in a different way later.
Do not repeatedly assign students the role of tutor, helper or substitute teacher because they explain effectively. They should not become responsible for a peer’s progress, behaviour or completion of work, and supporting others should not replace their own learning opportunities or the guidance provided by the teacher.
Allow students to return to a task after a setback, use feedback, reconsider their approach and improve their work rather than treating an unsuccessful first attempt as final. Ask: “What would help you re-engage and move forward?”
Encourage students to reflect on what helped them move forward after a setback, such as seeking assistance, taking a short pause, breaking the task into steps, changing their approach or drawing on encouragement from others. Help them consider when the same strategy might be useful in another task or context. Ask: “What helped you move forward, and where else might this be useful?”
Recognise that resilience may involve changing an ineffective approach, asking for help, taking a pause or choosing a different route. It does not mean continuing in the same way regardless of the difficulty.rd, not simply enduring difficulty for as long as possible.
A resilient student should not be expected to tolerate avoidable barriers, repeated failure or inappropriate conditions. Continue to provide guidance, adjustments and support; resilience should help students recover from difficulties that arise, not justify creating or maintaining them.
Use investigations, projects, practical tasks or extended assignments in which sustained effort contributes to a developing and valued outcome. Allow students to build on their work over time rather than limiting them to short, disconnected tasks.
Provide opportunities to respond to feedback, revisit difficult parts and develop an initial attempt rather than treating the first version as final. Ask: “What have you improved so far, and what will you focus on next?”
Encourage students to remain committed to the goal while changing the method when necessary. Persistence may involve trying another strategy, seeking guidance, using available resources or dividing the task differently rather than continuing in exactly the same way.
Invite students to reflect on what helped them continue, such as a clear purpose, manageable steps, visible progress, feedback, choice or encouragement. Ask: “What helped you keep working towards this goal, and could it help you in another situation?”
Students who persist should not automatically receive more tasks, be expected to continue without breaks or support, or be praised for enduring unsuitable conditions. Persistence should support progress towards meaningful goals, not become an expectation to keep going at any cost.
Use meaningful tasks in which new information, conditions or perspectives require students to reconsider how they proceed while keeping the overall goal in view. Ask: “What needs to change, and what can remain the same?”
Provide opportunities to use an established strategy, skill or understanding in a new subject, task, format or practical situation. Encourage students to consider which parts can be transferred directly and which need to be adjusted.
Give students space to respond to feedback, unexpected results or changing requirements by modifying their plan, method, communication or contribution. Changing an approach should be recognised as purposeful adaptation rather than inconsistency or failure.
Offer opportunities to contribute in different ways across discussions, collaborative activities, practical tasks or projects. Roles should vary according to the purpose and situation rather than becoming fixed expectations.
Encourage students to reflect on what changed, how they responded and which adjustment helped them move forward. Ask: “What did you adapt, and where else might a similar response be useful?”
Adaptable students should not be expected to accept repeated last-minute changes, continually adjust to others or manage unclear conditions without guidance. Clear information, preparation and appropriate support remain important even when adaptability is a strength.
Allow students, where appropriate, to propose a question, select an approach, set a personal goal or decide how to develop their work. Ask: “What would you like to achieve, and how would you like to begin?”
Invite students to connect learning with a personal goal, value, real-life use or intended audience. A meaningful purpose may support motivation even when the topic itself is not a strong interest. Ask: “Why might this task or outcome matter to you?”
When students wish to develop an idea, investigation or piece of work further, allow them to decide where additional time, attention or revision would be most valuable. Provide space to pursue greater depth, complexity or application rather than simply assigning more work of the same kind. Ask: “Which part would you like to develop further, and what do you hope to achieve or improve?”
Encourage students to reflect on what helped them initiate and sustain action, such as personal relevance, choice, challenge, curiosity, responsibility or a clear purpose. Ask: “What made you want to begin or continue, and could something similar help you elsewhere?”
Self-motivation may vary across tasks, situations and periods of time. Continue to provide clear expectations, feedback, adjustments and opportunities for encouragement, and avoid rewarding initiative primarily with additional work.
Within clear task expectations, allow students to adjust their pace, take a brief pause, seek clarification, change the order of steps or try a different approach when this helps them work effectively.
Invite students to consider whether their current approach or response is helping them move forward, including when they receive feedback, encounter disagreement or obtain an unexpected result. Ask: “Is your current approach helping, or what could you adjust?”
Encourage students to reflect on what helped them manage their attention, effort or response and when a similar strategy might be useful elsewhere. Ask: “What worked for you here, and where else could it help?”
Self-regulation may vary across tasks, environments and periods of time. Continue to provide clear expectations, guidance and appropriate adjustments, and do not make students responsible for regulating the behaviour, emotions or participation of others.
Within clear learning goals and expectations, allow students to make decisions about how they organise or carry out a task, for example by choosing an approach, sequence, tool or working arrangement. They may take responsibility for a clearly defined task or stage of work, while the teacher remains available for agreed guidance or check-ins. Independence can involve managing part of the process rather than completing everything without support.
Make different forms of support available and allow students to identify what they can manage independently and where assistance would be useful. Ask: “Which part can you manage on your own, and where might support help?”
Encourage students to reflect on which decisions, strategies or forms of support helped them work independently and how these might be adapted to another task or context.
Independent students may still benefit from collaboration, feedback, adjustments and guidance. Their ability to manage aspects of their learning should not lead to support being withdrawn or to an expectation that they complete all tasks without assistance.
Allow students to choose between relevant options, such as an approach, topic, role or next step, and explain what each choice involves. Ask: “Which option would you choose, and what is important to consider?”
Invite students to follow through on a clearly defined decision, task or role and consider how their contribution affects the shared outcome. Responsibility should be appropriate to the student and the situation, with guidance remaining available.
Create space to consider what influenced a decision, what resulted from it and whether anything should be adjusted next time. Ask: “What worked as you expected, and what might you decide differently in a similar situation?”
A willingness to take responsibility should not make students accountable for the behaviour, learning or success of others. They should be able to reconsider a decision, ask for help and learn from mistakes without losing access to guidance or support.
Use maps, plans, diagrams, models, construction tasks, geometry, movement or practical activities in which students can interpret positions, directions, distance, scale and relationships between parts. Ask: “What does the spatial arrangement help us understand?”
Allow students to communicate routes, layouts, structures or changes in position through sketches, maps, models, gestures, coordinates or verbal descriptions. Ask: “How could you show where the parts are in relation to one another?”
Provide opportunities to connect two-dimensional and three-dimensional representations, maps and real environments, or the same object viewed from different positions. Ask: “How does this representation relate to the actual object or space?”
Students may contribute to planning a route, organising a layout or interpreting a spatial representation, but should not automatically become the group’s navigator, map-reader or designer. Strong spatial awareness in one context should not lead to the removal of clear directions, accessible materials or other support.
Include activities involving drawing, measuring, cutting, assembling small components, manipulating tools or materials, using laboratory equipment or producing detailed practical work. The precision required should contribute to the learning goal rather than serve as an additional task without purpose.
When appropriate to the learning objective, students may produce a detailed drawing, labelled model, diagram, construction or physical product. Ensure that the product provides relevant evidence of the intended knowledge or skill, rather than assessing neatness alone.
Invite students to apply controlled movements in increasingly varied or complex activities, for example by working with different instruments, materials, scales or levels of detail. Encourage them to consider: “What adjustment would help you work more precisely with this tool or material?”
Students may choose to contribute to precise construction, measurement, illustration or assembly when this supports a shared task. Their contribution should be combined with the work of others rather than treated as a separate decorative or technical role.
Do not automatically assign students all drawing, cutting, assembling, handwriting or detailed technical tasks because they perform them accurately. Fine motor strength should not make them responsible for the appearance or practical completion of the group’s work.
Include activities in which students use visual information to guide actions, such as constructing a model, positioning or assembling objects, measuring, drawing from observation, carrying out an experiment, using tools or participating in movement-based activities.
Provide opportunities to observe the result of a movement and make immediate adjustments to position, direction, speed or force. Ask: “What do you notice, and what could you adjust to make the action more accurate?”
Invite students to apply this strength when working with different objects, instruments, materials, digital interfaces or practical situations. Encourage them to consider which aspects of their coordination remain useful and what needs to change in the new task.
Students may choose to contribute to activities requiring accurate visual guidance of movement, but should not automatically be assigned all practical, technical or movement-based tasks. This strength should not make them responsible for completing the physical parts of a group activity for others.
Include activities in which subtle differences in sound, colour, texture, shape, movement, smell, temperature or other sensory information contribute to observation, comparison, investigation or practical work. Ask: “What difference do you notice, and why might it matter here?”
Students may draw on sensory information when describing an object or process, comparing materials, interpreting an artistic work, monitoring an experiment or evaluating a practical product. Encourage them to explain how the sensory detail supports their conclusion rather than simply identifying it.
Provide opportunities to compare increasingly subtle differences and to consider which sensory cues are relevant in different subjects or situations. Ask: “Which feature helped you distinguish between these examples, and where else could that observation be useful?”
Do not automatically assign students the role of checking sounds, materials, products or environmental conditions for others. A student may notice sensory information very precisely and still experience some sensory input as overwhelming or uncomfortable. Strong sensory awareness should therefore not lead to the removal of adjustments or opportunities to regulate sensory exposure.