Assessment for Learning made engaging and purposeful

Visual Assessment Using Active Learning techniques benefit students greatly as discussed in the introduction to this chapter, and creating opportunities for using this method with assessment really does produce excellent results. Students who work with assessments on this level eventually gain a concrete understanding about: •    the various components of an answer; •    how to [...]

The Big Idea: Make it sticky!

Extract from Exam Class Toolkit – how to create engaging lessons that ensure progression and results (Watkin & Ahrenfelt) Sticky = understandable, memorable and effective in changing thought or behaviour. Two big questions needs to be addressed by teachers each lesson: What’s the point of the lesson? Why should it matter – will it matter [...]

IPods in the Classroom

Alex: It works because you have to really think about the topic as a whole, not only goof-around, but actually plan and consider all your key points. Because we talked about how to structure the podcast and about, like, pitfalls, we knew that we had to make it ‘visual’ and tell a story so people [...]

Make learning purposeful, memorable and powerful: part 1

“The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers. These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys”. Daniel H. Pink[1] Teachers in [...]

Make it ‘Sticky’: how to create memorable lessons

Sticky = understandable, memorable and effective in changing thought or behaviour. Two big questions needs to be addressed by teachers each lesson: What’s the point of the lesson? Why should it matter – will it matter to the students? It may seem obvious to many but it can be easy to forget when you have [...]