‘NO OPT OUT’

I came across a useful video clip on the ‘Teach like a Champion’ blog. The clip is entitled ‘A Masterful No Opt Out by Denarius Frazier.’ It is a recording of a teacher using the ‘No Opt Out’ questioning technique very effectively. It might be an idea for teachers to try and use this technique as a form of ‘deliberate practice’ within lessons.

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Metacognition

I came across a useful article on the VESPA Mindset twitter feed entitled “Strategies for teaching metacognition in classrooms.” Metacognition is thinking about thinking and can be used to improve student learning. The following is quoted from the article “Recent shifts in pedagogy have emphasised the importance of encouraging students to figure out how to be independent, self-regulated learners. The teacher cannot be there to hold their hand beyond school. This demands that students reflect on their learning in meaningful ways. It also requires students to be critical analysts of their own thinking in order to overcome complex or unexpected problems.”

‘Magic Whiteboard Sheets’

In the past I have used ‘Magic Erasable Whiteboard’ sheets in the following way:

1. I set a past exam question
2. I break the question down into separate sub categories
3. I split the students into groups of four or five and give each group a sub category to work on, asking them to make as many points as possible.
4. Once the group have made as many points as they can do on their sub category, they move onto another sub category and see if they can add anything to it.
5. All of the groups work their way around the separate sub categories.
6. Ultimately, they end up back to where they started and complete a presentation for the rest of the class based on their sub category.

‘Job Interview’ technique

The ‘job interview technique’ can be used as a good assessment tool within a wide range of subject areas. This idea was kindly shared by Phil Hensman, and is well worth exploring.

“Five things I wish I knew when I started teaching.”

Cate Brett kindly shared a link to a short article entitled “Five Things I Wish I knew When I started Teaching.” It covers issues such as motivation, engagement, and marking/feedback.

Revision strategies

This is a useful article based on revision strategies entitled “top 10 revision strategies,” considering the use of a variety of methods including flashcards, quizzes, as well as ‘exam wrappers.’ It might be an idea for us to use these strategies, as well as promote the use of them with our students, especially the second years, given that a lot of them will be completing assessments in February.

Should you wish to read the full article, I have included the link below.

http://www.theconfidentteacher.com/2018/01/top-10-revision-strategies/