‘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.

‘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.

TeachMeet on Assessment

By Matt Smith

Our latest TeachMeet saw 22 teachers from a wide range of subject areas discuss assessment.  Some of the ideas presented are outlined below.

Quick Marginal Gains – Number 2

By Corinne Gough

When doing a short (say 20minute, 10 questions) test to check on understanding of a recently taught topic,