Introduction
We launched this blog in March 2012. Since then, we’ve given a large number of conference presentations and seminars in different countries aiming to explain our concept of “Demand High” teaching. We’ve met lots of people with lots of opinions and this has really helped us become clearer and more focussed. Thank you for all the interest you’ve shown. This page sums up where we think we have got to by June 2012!
What is Demand-High?
Demand High asks:
- Are our learners capable of more, much more?
- Have the tasks and techniques we use in class become rituals and ends in themselves?
- How can we stop “covering material” and start focusing on the potential for deep learning?
- What small tweaks and adjustments can we make to shift the whole focus of our teaching towards getting that engine of learning going?
What Demand-High is not
Demand High is not a method and it is not anti any method. We are not anti-Communicative Approach. We are not anti-dogme. We are not anti-Task Based Learning.
We are simply suggesting adjustments to whatever it is you are already doing in class – ways of getting much greater depth of tangible engagement and learning.
Does Demand-High mean making everything more difficult?
Demand-High is not the traditional idea of making things more difficult in ways that did not help the majority of students (e.g. setting exercises that were too hard). When teachers did that they were probably trying to help, but were out of touch with our learning needs and therefore caused us to struggle, and with limited result. This is un-doable demand.
We are proposing a demand that comes precisely at the point where the learner is capable of making their next steps forward – and helping them to meet that demand, rather than avoiding it. This is doable demand.
What we want to investigate
We want to explore:
- How can I push my students to upgrade their language and improve their skills more than they believed possible?
- How can I gain real learning value from classroom activities that have become tired or familiar?
- What teacher interventions make a real difference?
- How can I shift my preoccupation from “successful task “to “optimal learning”?
- How can we transform “undoable” or “low” demand into “doable demand”?
- What is the minimum tweak necessary at any point in any lesson to shift the activity sideways into the “challenge zone”?
- What attitude and action changes would lead to “Demand-High” teaching in my classroom?
- What is the demand on a teacher to become a “Demand High” teacher?
What we hope this blog will offer
Over time, we would like to offer a wide range of practical tools for teachers and trainers.
- Observation tasks that teachers can take into peer observations
- Ready-made Seminars for trainers to address these issues
- Descriptions and videos of DH Classroom Management interventions
- Practical lists of Demand High “tweaks” (to add onto what you normally do)
- Articles to read and discuss. Experiments to try out in class.
Adrian Underhill & Jim Scrivener
Hi Adrian and Jim,
Have you considered the impact of learner motivation on achievement of potential? Dornyei’s concept of Future-Self Guides suggests we focus overtly on our learners’ individual goals, and incorporate this into our course content and everyday teaching. If this increases motivation then it also increases success, and allows teachers to have higher expectations in terms of learner performance.
What do you think?
Steve
I’m stepping into a classroom tomorrow for the first time post maternity leave and was searching for something to read to give me a liitle boost. I found it here this morning! This blog is just what I needed. Thanks for a really great read guys. I look forward to reading more
Kylie
I am quite interested in this concept as you have described it. A variety of reliable approaches in the classroom helps ensure the greatest amount of learning; therefore I am eager to hear more about Demand High. I’ll be reading! Ryan
Jim Scrivener, you’ve been with me all these 9 years in this business. Yours was the first book I reached for as a teacher trainee and I benefited greatly from it. Now this web blog! I’m excited and as someone always trying to go the extra mile to make “it” happen for my students, I’ll be keeping in touch with this great concept page. Let the lions rage. Thanks big time!!!! Janek, Czech Republic
I think this is something I would like to explore in Young Learner Pedagogy, now that there has been a shift away towards engaging our YLs in activities with linguistic validity. It falls in line with Krashen’s i+1 principle and Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. I can’t wait to learn more about how to demand high.
I’m giving a presentation on demand high for YL at the international house YL conference next week and ill be sending a copy of everything to Jim to share on here if he wishes
Kylie Malinowska
Hi Kylie and everyone,
I wondered if you’d given the presentation you mention in your post above yet. At the moment, I’m doing mod2 for Delta and toying around with the idea of DHT for my experimental lesson. I’m a little unsure because of the possible shortage of info out there. The whole ‘meme’ totally resonates with me and I almost feel it’s something I’ve been doing, or trying to do (successfully or not) for some time – hence wanting to investigate it further. Do you, or anyone else have any words of advice that may help me decide whether to go ahead or not?
Thanks.
Interesting the frequency of negatives and questions in this description – an awful lot of saying what it is not and asking what it might be but very little of what it actually is.
I think the point of this blog is to present some ideas and then see where it goes from there. Rather than telling us what they think we should do, Jim and Adrian are just sowing a seed and then leaving it up to the rest of us to take it further.
If you’re looking for answers or a new method to follow, this blog isn’t for you. But if you’re looking to explore some of the things that are wrong with ELT these days and consider/suggest/discuss possible solutions, you may find it quite useful.
It reminds me of a well-organised “scaffolding” in the ELT classroom and not only…
Hi Jim
I have just watched two short talks: the IATEFL interview with you anda TED talk by Ken Robinson about creativity. It seems to me that what you are asking teachers to do is think creatively about how to get more ‘mileage’ out of an activity; how to help learners to stay engaged, remember and learn. It was WONDERFUL to hear this. As a teacher educator in a university I tried for ten years to encourage my students to do what I called ‘stretching’ an activity. My more creative and courageous students got it! Many others didn’t. Many teachers like the security and ease of tightly planned materials. Colleges run assessment -focussed programs with little flexibility. Teachers fret about ‘covering’ ( whatever that means) material. In the last 10 years the focus has moved away from HOW students are learning to ticking boxes.
Lets hope your ideas inspire teachers to be a bit more creative.
Hi there, Jenny. An encouraging view and surely one to be cherished! Nevertheless, “creativity” doesn’t come natural to many teacher-colleagues I have come across (and yet it should be one of the preconditions of a good teacher!). Anyway, the impending question of “How to set free one”s creativity?” could start off another discussion on this great DH blog . PS. Interested in seeing where this blog will take us:-)
Fiona Farrrugia
EF school Malta – April 14 2013
I think this is a great idea and works very well in a classroom. We are actually encouraged to do this by our head teacher Alexandra Bianco. She an inspiration to us all and is always reminding us to challenge our students. I find that when you do they remember grammar much better.
I read the Facebook reference to DHT last week, and had a serious think about what I was doing in class. I do a little DHT, but not enough. Inspired by the read, I’ve made a conscious effort to challenge the students and have them take at least one step out from where they are with many tasks – and it has been really rewarding. It is obvious from the response that they are enjoying the extra challenge, and find learning benefits in the activities – good reasons to continue.
Re comments above about the sometime lack of creativity in teaching staff – no excuse! There are so many web sites offering so much free material that every teacher should have a wealth of creative, interactive, inspiring and interesting material at their fingertips!
Wonderful – and very interesting. Reflection tasks could be incorporated into the blended learning environment to incorporate demand high learning, I think. Nice, this has given me some good ideas on how to incorporate demand high into the curriculum, or at least provide it as a suggestion to teachers in the online environment and inside teacher training manuals etc – thank you!
I am glad that there are some good people out there that ask themselves the very same questions that have been bugging me since I started this profession. Pushing the students to a level that they themselves had not thought of achieving should be any teacher’s ideal. So I’ll be reading on…
Hi Adrian and JIm,
Just found your page – I’m a slow learner! It looks very good, I’ll follow it, and I wish you the best.