Less is More

how streamlined teaching builds stronger thinking

In classrooms crammed with content and competing demands, it’s easy to fall into the trap of teaching more, faster. But true learning doesn’t come from overload, it comes from focus. By reducing extraneous cognitive load and delivering spear-headed outcomes, we create the conditions for deep learning, an environment where students respond with depth, nuance, and ownership, and in an increasingly “standardised” world, this approach nurtures something rare: individual thought.

I’ve never been an advocate for more - more content, more drafting, more testing. In my experience, more often compromises quality (not to mention my own sanity). My initial commitment to reducing cognitive load was driven by self-preservation: as a neurodivergent teacher, I could only take on so much before it my “creative chaos” became unsustainable. This streamlined approach helped me manage the demands of intellectual rigour in the classroom - but over time, I saw that it didn’t just support me. It profoundly benefitted my students, too.

Reducing Cognitive Load

In simplifying my own teaching practice, I became more attuned to how students process and retain information. Cognitive load theory asserts that when we bombard learners with too much at once - disjointed tasks, overly complex instructions, or irrelevant content - we hinder their ability to focus on what really matters. By stripping away what is unnecessary and foregrounding essential knowledge, I saw students begin to engage with material more deeply. They weren’t drowning in information; they were thinking. Reducing extraneous load isn’t about lowering expectations - it’s about removing the mental clutter so that working memory can be spent on analysis, insight, and meaningful connections.

Spear-headed Teaching Outcomes

A clarity of focus naturally evolved into more spear-headed, intentional planning. In QCAA terms, it meant moving away from broad, scattergun coverage and towards explicit teaching anchored in specific cognitive demands. Rather than attempting to cover everything a text could offer, I honed in on what students needed to do with it - analysing, synthesising, evaluating. By backward-mapping from assessment objectives and making learning intentions transparent, students weren’t just consuming content; they were being equipped with the tools to shape meaningful, differentiated responses. In essence, teaching became less about the text and more about the thinking.

Deep Learning

Deep learning begins when we shift the centre of gravity from the teacher to the student. It’s not about delivering more content from the front of the room; it’s about creating the conditions for students to draw upon their own knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Too often, we underestimate how much our students already know - or could know - if given the space. This kind of learning demands intellectual rigour, not in the quantity of information delivered, but in the quality of thought invited. It asks teachers to become comfortable with silence, to resist the urge to fill every pause, and instead allow time for genuine thinking to occur. When students construct their own meaning and articulate it in their own words, learning becomes durable. Differentiation flows naturally from this approach - because student responses are unique, and the learning is theirs. The more ownership they feel, the more deeply that knowledge embeds in long-term memory, and the more likely it is to resurface when it counts.

Uniqueness in an Increasingly Standardised World

In an increasingly standardised world, I find myself yearning for a criterion that rewards uniqueness - not just accuracy. Too often, our systems reward sameness: formulaic structure, rehearsed responses, regurgitated facts. But the most memorable student writing doesn’t echo a teacher’s words; it reveals an individual voice. That’s the kind of thinking I want to cultivate. For me, QuoteCards were never about memorisation - they’re not cheat sheets or model answers. They’re provocations. Springboards. Invitations to think differently. Used well, they can open up debate, stretch interpretation, and empower students to craft ideas that no one else in the room has considered. I know some teachers worry that using these cards might limit student thinking, but I believe the opposite is true: the tool doesn’t inhibit creativity, the way we frame it does. It’s up to us to create the conditions where students want to stand apart, to trust their instincts, and to see difference not as risk but as reward. Especially with Shakespeare, where every quote is a constellation, rich with meaning, our role is not to decode it for them, but to give them the telescope.

How QuoteCards can help

When the pressure of external exams mounts, the instinct is often to teach more - to cover every dot point, assign every past paper, fill every silence. But transformation doesn’t come from cramming; it comes from clarity. QuoteCards: The Student Workbook and The Teacher’s Guide are built on the belief that less - when purposeful - leads to more powerful thinking. These tools help teachers shift from content overload to conceptual depth, and give students the confidence to trust their own voice. In the final stretch of exam preparation, what students need isn’t more noise, it’s the space to think, the tools to shape original responses, and the belief that what they have to write is worth writing.

Tips for Teaching Less with More Impact

• Reduce cognitive load

• Strip away non-essential tasks or content

• Simplify instructions and focus on one concept at a time

• Use visual scaffolds to support working memory

• Spear-head teaching outcomes

• Backward map from assessment objectives

• Focus lessons on one or two cognitive verbs (e.g., analyse, evaluate)

• Align activities with specific thinking skills

• Foster deep learning

• Ask open-ended questions and allow genuine wait time

• Resist the urge to over-explain - let students wrestle with ideas

• Prioritise thoughtful responses over quick answers

• Encourage ownership

• Offer choice in how students express understanding (e.g., discussion, writing, creative synthesis)

• Embed reflection and metacognition into tasks

• Celebrate when students take intellectual risks

• Nurture uniqueness

• Model original, interpretive thinking in your own responses

• Frame “different” as desirable, not dangerous

• Use tools like QuoteCards as springboards for personalised, imaginative responses