Guided Practice Together
Independence is the destination, not the starting point. Before students work alone, have them practise with peers in structured steps, checking each other's responses at every stage before moving forward.
The strategy, as published
Exactly as it appears on the card
Part of Students as Learning Resources in 02 Formative Assessment, where it sits alongside its neighbouring strategies, the infographic and the thinking for the whole area.
Why you might use it
The problem it may help with
Between your model and independent work there is a gap, and pupils fall into it at predictable points. Structured practice with peers, checked at every stage, puts a floor under that gap: nobody moves to step four carrying an unnoticed error from step two.
The card's first line sets the frame: independence is the destination, not the starting point.
What it might look like
One version of it, in a classroom
Learning to balance chemical equations, pairs work through four equations one at a time, comparing answers after each and resolving disagreements before the next. The teacher circulates listening for pairs who agree on a wrong answer, since those are the errors that will not surface on their own.
Try it
A way to begin
Take a practice set you already use and add one rule: check with your partner after every item, not at the end. The per-stage check is the difference between guided practice and marking each other's finished work.
What to notice
Reading what happens
- Pairs who agree quickly on wrong answers. Peer checking catches disagreement; confident shared errors need you.
- The point where the checking starts to slow pupils who are ready to work alone. That is the signal to remove the structure, not tighten it.
Things to think about
Before and while you use it
- The staging does the work here. A check at the end of a whole exercise arrives after the errors have compounded; a check at every stage is what stops them compounding at all.
The wider thinking
Where the evidence sits
Guided practice with a high success rate before independent work is one of Rosenshine's principles of instruction, drawn from studies of what the most effective teachers actually do. The card’s attribution stands as published: Rosenshine.
The fuller picture, sources included, is in further reading and evidence for Formative Assessment.
Keep exploring
Where next?
Back to this strategy in 02 Formative Assessment, across to what you're trying to improve, or into all 144 at once.
Want to take this further?
Support is available
Pedagogy First gives you a starting point. If you want support exploring how approaches like this can work across your school, trust or professional learning programme, that work is available.