Implementation Roadmap – A Practical Plan for Change
How to lead this shift step by step, measure progress, and sustain new habits across your school.
This is the doing page of our Classroom Talk series, built on the process from our Effective Implementation Hub.
It works at two levels:
- Single Classroom Track – one teacher, one class, now.
- Whole-School Track – leader-led, phased roll-out across subjects or phases.
You’ve already explored the why and what of talk in: Current Reality, Structure First, Modelling Talk, Lesson Design for Thinking Talk, Leadership & Culture, and Early Years. This page turns those insights into sustained change.
Before You Begin: Reflection & Readiness
Pause before planning. Let your classroom (or school) reality speak first. Implementation is learning in motion, not the absence of mistakes.
- If I could improve one thing about how students talk in my lessons, it would be ________ because ________.
- What gets in the way? ________. What might make it easier? ________.
- Which active ingredients from our guides are missing or inconsistent right now?
Phase 1 – EXPLORE (Weeks 1–2)
Purpose: Diagnose, clarify, and define exactly what you are trying to change. This is where your reading from the Classroom Talk guides becomes a clear picture of your starting point.
Step 1 – Describe your current reality
- Observe 2–3 lessons (your own or others’). Estimate % teacher vs student talk.
- Who talks most? Who stays silent? Are responses recall or reasoning?
- Which ingredients (structure, modelling, reasoning) already exist? Which are missing?
The biggest barrier to purposeful talk in our setting is ________. This limits learning because ________.
A girls’ school told every teacher to “use more open questions.” Within a week, lessons were lively but unfocused. They’d skipped diagnosis. After short observations and student interviews, they found students didn’t know what a ‘good answer’ sounded like — and reset their plan around modelling first.
Step 2 – Identify your non-negotiables
From your reading, list the active ingredients of effective classroom talk. These are core practices you’ll later monitor. The table is just an example — adapt it to your context.
| Active Ingredient (Example) | What It Looks Like in Practice |
|---|---|
| Structured routines | Clear, repeatable structures (Think–Pair–Share, No-Hands-Up, Mini-Debates) with visible “Talk Start / Talk Stop” cues. |
| Rehearsal time | Students prepare ideas with a partner before answering publicly (quick 20s rehearsals). |
| Modelling | Teacher “thinks aloud,” demonstrating how to reason or disagree respectfully. |
| Questioning for thinking | Prompts like “Why?”, “What’s your evidence?”, “Who disagrees?”; follow-ups that stretch thinking. |
| Inclusive participation | Everyone rehearses before one speaks; cold-calling + pair work bring in quieter voices. |
| Safe culture | Errors welcomed: “Let’s try another way.” Curiosity over correctness. |
- Which of these are already visible in our classrooms?
- Which need deliberate practice or shared routines?
- What additional ingredients (e.g., bilingual talk, visual scaffolds) matter in our context?
A rural secondary realised they were strong at pair work but weak at modelling. Their goal became: “Model reasoning aloud once in every lesson.” Small step, big shift.
Step 3 – Define your starting goal
By the end of this term, I want students to ________ more effectively because ________.
Example: “Students will spend at least 25% of lesson time in structured talk using reasoning stems.”
Phase 2 – PREPARE (Weeks 3–4)
Purpose: Turn insight into a feasible, concrete plan. Keep it small and realistic.
Step 1 – Choose your single focus
Select one routine or questioning move to master (e.g., Think–Pair–Share, No-Hands-Up & Cold Call, “Say It Again, Better,” or “Why?/Evidence?” prompts).
The routine we will start with is ________ because it helps students to ________.
An English-medium school launched four routines at once. Teachers felt overwhelmed; students were confused. Next term they focused only on Think–Pair–Share. By Week 4, 80% of teachers used it fluently.
Step 2 – Map your active ingredients into the plan
| Active Ingredient | How It Appears | How to Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Rehearsal time | 20-second pair rehearsal after key questions | 5-min peer snapshot |
| Modelling | One “think-aloud” reasoning per lesson | Observation notes |
| Sentence stems | Visible on board, bilingual | Walkthrough photos |
| Supportive culture | No grading of talk; errors explored | Teacher reflections |
Which two indicators will tell us, within 6 weeks, that this change is taking root?
Step 3 – Build your implementation team
- Teacher track: find one colleague to swap short peer visits.
- Leader track: 3–5 person Implementation Team across phases/subjects.
- Set a weekly Talk Clinic (20 mins): one success, one challenge, one next step.
Staff were hesitant to admit struggles until the coordinator opened by sharing his own failed lesson (silence despite TPS). The room relaxed; genuine learning began. Safety beats strategy.
Phase 3 – DELIVER (Weeks 5–10)
Purpose: Teach, test, and refine the routines with supportive coaching.
Step 1 – Teach talk like a skill
Model, rehearse, feedback, repeat. Students need to see, hear, and practise the behaviours you want.
- Have I modelled a high-quality spoken response this week?
- Did students get time to rehearse before I cold-called?
Pair talk was added to every lesson; it sounded busy but answers stayed shallow. Video showed there was no modelling of reasoning. Teachers added one 45-second think-aloud each lesson; depth of responses rose within three weeks.
Step 2 – Support, don’t supervise
Look for evidence of progress, not perfection. Use 5-minute snapshots: rehearsal? stems visible? quieter voices included?
The headteacher left one positive observation per visit (“Every student rehearsed before answering”). It felt like encouragement, not inspection. Participation rose 30% in two months.
Step 3 – Adjust as you go
- What worked better this week? What did students struggle with?
- What one tweak will I try next lesson (timing, stems, cue)?
| Challenge | Real-World Adjustment (Bangladesh) |
|---|---|
| Class of 70 feels chaotic | Fixed partners + visible timer for 20-second talk turns |
| Students shy in English | Bangla rehearsal, English share-out |
| ‘No time’ perception | Integrate talk into content: “Explain your method” |
| Noise anxiety | Teach “Talk Start / Talk Stop” hand signals |
Phase 4 – SUSTAIN (Weeks 11–12 and beyond)
Purpose: Make talk a habit, not a project.
Step 1 – Embed in systems
- Add a “Talk Step” to lesson plans.
- Include talk in staff induction.
- Run a termly “Talk Week” for peer visits + case sharing.
- Celebrate consistent practice, not just dramatic wins.
Progress faded mid-year. The school introduced Talk Captains (students who prompt peers to use stems). Engagement revived within weeks without extra teacher workload.
Step 2 – Monitor what matters
| Indicator | How to Collect |
|---|---|
| Talk ratio | 5-min stopwatch sample |
| Stems visible | Walkthrough tally / photos |
| Pair rehearsal | Peer snapshot |
| Reasoning language | Sample student talk/writing |
If I walked into my own classroom unannounced, what evidence shows that talk is now a normal part of learning?
Step 3 – Reflect & reset
Hold a short review: What changed for students? Which ingredient slipped? What’s the next small improvement goal?
After exams, routines disappeared. Instead of restarting everything, leaders asked which routine was hardest to maintain. Time was the issue, so they paused new admin tasks for two weeks — and talk returned. Protect the practice before chasing perfection.
Suggested 12-Week Roadmap (sample)
| Week | Focus | Observable Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Explore | Baseline talk data; list of non-negotiables |
| 3–4 | Prepare | One-page plan; first Talk Clinic held |
| 5–6 | Deliver | Routine visible in half of classes |
| 7–8 | Deliver+ | Questioning + rehearsal embedded |
| 9–10 | Deliver | Quieter voices heard consistently |
| 11–12 | Sustain | Talk embedded in plans; reflection shared |
Keep learning & connect the dots
- Classroom Talk – Series Home
- Effective Implementation Hub
- Join the EBTD newsletter for monthly Bangladesh-based examples and templates.
Implementation isn’t the absence of mistakes — it’s the presence of persistence. Start small. Reflect weekly. Celebrate progress.
