At Witheridge Academy, we believe that mastering key terminology and concepts is essential for deep learning. Speak Like an Expert is a regular session where children revisit and consolidate their understanding of crucial vocabulary and ideas from across the curriculum. This initiative is designed to ensure that knowledge is not just learned in the moment but is remembered and built upon over time.

Drawing inspiration from the work of educational psychologist Daniel Willingham, particularly his book Why Don’t Students Like School, as well as principles from Cognitive Load Theory, we understand the importance of revisiting prior learning to strengthen memory and comprehension. Willingham emphasises that memory is the residue of thought—meaning that the more often students actively engage with what they’ve previously learned, the more likely they are to retain that information.

Our approach is further informed by the Learning Model from the Walkthrus framework, which breaks down the process of learning into five key stages:

1. Building Knowledge and Experience: We begin by ensuring children have the foundational knowledge needed to understand key concepts.
2. Securing Attention: We use strategies to capture and maintain children's attention, helping them focus on the important content.
3. Processing in Working Memory: During sessions, children engage with the material actively, processing information in their working memory, which is crucial for learning.
4. Storing in Long-Term Memory: Repeated exposure to and engagement with key ideas helps transfer information from working memory to long-term memory.
5. Generative Processes: Finally, children are encouraged to apply what they know, making connections and using their knowledge in new contexts.

By carefully following these stages, we ensure that children are not only exposed to key terminology and ideas but are able to deeply understand and retain them. This approach is embedded in our curriculum through regular Speak Like an Expert sessions, where children revisit key concepts from lesson to lesson, term to term, and year to year, ensuring long-term retention and deeper understanding.

In addition to this structured learning model, we incorporate fun, engaging activities such as games like 'snap' and 'pairs' to remind children of what they’ve previously learned. We also provide opportunities for more formal articulation of knowledge, where children are encouraged to deliver speeches or explain definitions, reinforcing their ability to speak confidently about what they know.

You can support this process at home by using the resources we provide, giving your children the chance to revisit and consolidate what they've learned in school.

We hope you’ll be amazed by how much your children can remember and articulate with confidence!