Using the subtext
Using QDO is a straightforward example of being proactive. It creates a purposeful atmosphere. Not only does everyone know what’s happening, but the subtext of the lesson places you in charge, rather than the pupils. Children don’t know what subtext is and they can’t see it explicitly (that’s why it’s called subtext)-, but it matters very much. Compare the two possibilities. You set a task; you don’t QDO. They listen, they start to work, then find
they don’t understand. They start asking questions. Apart from interrupting the lesson momentum, this creates a subtext which is saying, ‘You haven’t explained this properly. You haven’t thought it through. Your planning is inadequate. We are having to make sense of your failure to explain. We’re not overly impressed.’ The children probably aren’t thinking this; but they’re almost certainly feeling it.