PPPB – Pose, Pause, Pounce and Bounce

PPPB – Pose, Pause, Pounce and Bounce

Resource sourced from @TeachersToolKit

Can you find your inner Tigger and bring it to the classroom? Can you do ‘what Tigger does best’ and bounce?

PPPB is a simple but sophisticated AfL questioning technique to help teachers move from good to outstanding practice. It readily addresses the issues of differentiation and encourages teachers to take the risks and put the ownership of the lesson onto the pupils. The teacher is the facilitator within this technique and helps tease out understanding.

The technique stems from Winnie the Pooh….

Which Winnie the Pooh Character are you in relation to questioning techniques?

Pooh-bear

Despite being naïve and slow-witted he is a friendly and sometimes insightful character who is always willing to help his friends and try his best. His good intentions can sometimes make things worse and other times solve a problem.

Owl

Owl believes that he is the most intelligent animal in the wood and most of his friends agree, but he is really quite scatter brained. He often rambles on into long-winded speeches and frequently uses words that his friends don't understand.

Rabbit

Rabbit is friendly but arrogant and irritable friend who thinks himself the smartest animal in the Wood. He insists on doing things his way and is obsessed with rules, planning and order.

Kanga

Kanga is a kind-hearted, docile and motherly character. She takes great care of Roo, and is constantly concerned with his well-being, whether that means caring for him or trying to keep him out of trouble.

Eeyore

Ever-glum, slow-talking, sarcastic and pessimistic donkey friend who has trouble keeping his tail attached to his bottom.

Piglet

He is a kind, gentle and small animal who is ordinarily quite timid, but with Pooh by his side, he often overcomes his fears.

Tigger

He loves to bounce, especially bouncing on others. He is full of energy, likes to have fun and is so overconfident that he thinks that any task is "what Tiggers do best".

Why use PPPB?

The strategy encourages teachers to take risks and tease out the “learning” in the class. It takes away the closed questions that commonly happen within classrooms and provides an easy way to present open questions. It is also a useful way to differentiate learning experiences and differentiating objectives by varying your questioning techniques.

How does it work?

1.      Pose

Make the class aware of the new approach to questioning. Insist on pupils hands being down before the question or a series of questions are delivered, ensuring that you ask the students to remain reflective. Pose all questions to the whole class and not individuals.

2.      Pause
The difficult part, you need to stop talking and ask the class to hold the thought and think and rethink their opinions and ideas. If the students are on board and captivated take a calculated risk and try holding the silence for a little longer. Push the boundaries and keep the pupils reflecting for as long as possible.

3.      Pounce
Plan in your mind that you are going to ask before speaking with the class. Then pounce and insist the answer to the question comes from student A or student B, directly and as fast as possible. Nip any comments or noises from other students in the bud and hold a captivated learning audience. If a pupil is struggling decipher the support needed and potentially bring in student B to help.

4.      Bounce
This is the important, key and fun part… Ask another student their gut reaction and opinion to student A’s. This is when the bounce begins and irrespective of whether student A’s answer is correct or incorrect the pupils in the classroom are debating the key idea.

Ensure that all your students understand ‘a’ concept. Test it before moving on. Try it tomorrow. Don't accept student E or student K shouting out the answer to maintain pace or behaviour. Don't allow student T to answer the question because (you know they won't let you down and) they will help you move on during an observation lesson!

Danielle Bartram 

Resource sourced from @Teacherstoolkit