The ‘Pose, Pause, Pounce and bounce’ (PPPB) technique structures questioning into four key stages to ensure that pupils have thinking time, that a range of pupils is selected and that pupils work together collaboratively rather than competitively, exploring ideas and building on each other’s responses. It aims to enable teachers to explore pupils’ ideas, to tease out understanding and develop higher order thinking. It aims to differentiate learning experiences for pupils and move away from closed questioning. “The best questioning probed pupils’ knowledge and understanding, with follow up questions that helped pupils to explain their thinking in depth and refine initial ideas.” As yet there is little by the way of academic research...
The ‘Pose, Pause, Pounce and bounce’ (PPPB) technique structures questioning into four key stages to ensure that pupils have thinking time, that a range of pupils is selected and that pupils work together collaboratively rather than competitively, exploring ideas and building on each other’s responses. It aims to enable teachers to explore pupils’ ideas, to tease out understanding and develop higher order thinking. It aims to differentiate learning experiences for pupils and move away from closed questioning. “The best questioning probed pupils’ knowledge and understanding, with follow up questions that helped pupils to explain their thinking in depth and refine initial ideas.”
As yet there is little by the way of academic research on PPPB, however, there is much research within the key techniques that underpin each stage. Pose: higher order questioning.
Pause: wait time. Pounce: hands down and random child selection. Bounce: involving multiple pupils.
Pose – Teachers ask both lower and higher order questions for different reasons, the PPPB technique aims to promote higher order responses. “Lower-order questions require children to remember, and higher order questions require them to think. As a general rule, lower-order factual recall questions tend to be closed with a single right answer… Higher order tends to be open – with a range of possible responses.” Hastings. Higher order thinking is triggered when a pupil is faced with an unfamiliar problem and it involves the application of logical, reflective and creative thinking skills.
Pause – The next stage of the technique rests on silence and holding the pause however uncomfortable. This stage is essential to the success of the technique and draws on Mary Budd Rowe’s research findings that increasing the wait time improved the number and quality of response. “For lower order recall, three seconds was the optimum wait time, while more than 10 seconds produced even better results with higher order questions”. Her research also found that extending the wait time between the pupil giving the answers and the teacher commenting on it allows pupils to revise or develop their response and encourage other children to contribute.
