Helping students be smarter than they think they are

CASE STUDY

Paul Durnall

Head of History

St.Peter’s Catholic School

Solihull

14 yrs teaching

THE ISSUE“The main problem I had with my high ability Year 11 History class was that even my A* students had difficulty recalling basicinformation which is fundamental to higher level understanding and analysis both in the classroom and in examination conditions. I also felt that their revision skills when they were studying independently were not as developed as they could be.  They were too used to teachers revising with them in after school sessions rather than managing their own learning.

Treaty of Versailles

French and British people wanted to see Germany punished harshly.

Wilson wanted to make the world a better place and to create the League

of Nations. Lloyd-George wanted to protect

British trade and protect the British Empire. Clemenceau wanted security

for France from a future German attack.

Clemenceau wanted a harsher treaty, Wilson thought it was too harsh, Lloyd-

George received a hero’s welcome but later regretted it and thought it would make

Germany want revengeFrench and British people supported the

treaty. Some British people thought it was too harsh. Germans hated the treaty as it

took 10% of their land, 12.5% of their population. They hated war guilt, limits on their armed forces, the Polish Corridor, the

fact they had no say in negotiating the treaty.

Treaty of Versailles

Nobody was satisfied with the terms.

Caused long lasting anger in Germany, contributed to

Hitler coming to power and to the start of the

Second World War.

1 Second Versailles

THE INTRODUCTION OF DAVID“When David came in, the students were obviously a little sceptical initially, however, once they had seen the power and immediacy of the techniques that were being demonstrated then they were fully engaged. The difference in their recall once they had been taught simple, practical techniques was extraordinary.  In my role as a Head of Year I have spoken to parents of students who took part in the session and they reported that their youngsters came home full of enthusiasm about what David had done with them.  Other students whose brothers and sisters were in the session have mentioned to me about what they have been told about David’s techniques.”

Image Creation Principles

WeirdAnimateThree DimensionColourHumourExaggerateSenses

Image Creation Principles

WeirdAnimateThree DimensionColourHumourExaggerateSenses

Use the acronym WATCHES to

remember them

THE USE OF MEMORY TECHNIQUES“The memory techniques have revolved around adapting the Journey Technique to allow students to remember key stages in the Liberal Welfare Reforms and the campaign for Votes for Women.  I have used multi-sensory techniques to tie memorable phrases and images to each event, students have responded well to this concept. I have used acronyms to help students remember key concepts and important details about topics.”

Memory in the classroom

NUWSS in 1897 is led by Millicent Fawcett

Lady with a tap (faucet) on her face (which also doesn’t work - but don’t force it!) – the tap is where her nose should be and four drops of water are leaking out, each with a number in them 1, 8, 9 and 7. 

Acronyms for common issues eg, to differentiatebetween the Suffragists, NUWSS, and the Suffragettes, WSPU

NUWSS (moderate)  NiceUnassumingWomenSuggestingSome Changes

Memory in the classroom

WSPU (militant)WomenSmashingPanesUp

Memory in the classroom

Bulgaria Sofia

Australia Canberra

Shoulder blade Scapula

Tibia Shinbone

book =

livre

newspaper =

zeitung

Mind Mapping

Exercise

Count the dots

Exercise

Count the dots

. . .

..

..

...

.

.

.

.

.

. . ..

.

..

.

. .

.

..

. ..

. .

.

.

How many were there?How many were there?

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

How many were there this time?

How many were there this time?

THE USE OF MIND MAPS“I have applied the mind maps in a number of ways.  Firstly I used them to introduce and re-cap a topic, using them as a starter and a plenary, in the plenary removing key words and phrases to allow

the students to demonstrate what they learnt during the lesson. I have also used them as a method of revision, providing students with mind maps of varying levels of completeness and allowing them to add their own key words and images to personalise their learning experience.  Finally I have used them as a tool for planning extended answers which can be applied to examinations.”

ANALYSIS

NUMBERS

LOGIC

SEQUENCE

LINES

WORDS

LISTS

SPACE

RHYTHM

IMAGINATION

DAY-DREAMING

DIMENSION

WHOLENESS

COLOUR

14 Brain Skills

Exam question

GCSE HISTORY B (MODERN WORLD)PAPER 2THURSDAY 14 JUNE 2007

6 Study all the sources.

‘The Suffragettes did more harm than good to the campaign for votes for women.’

How far do the sources in this paper support this statement? Use details of the sources and your knowledge to explain your answer. Remember to identify the sources you see. [12]

THE BENEFITS OF USING THE TECHNIQUES“The benefits of using these techniques have been clear to see, students are engaged and are able to recall information more easily than I have seen previously in my 14 years teaching experience. Ihave enjoyed creating the resources and they are easy to adapt to different topics and age groups.  Suddenly when planning any new topic my first instinct is to start drawing a Mind Map!  Other staff who are using these methods are equally enthusiastic and can see the

real, tangible benefits which they deliver!  All of the techniques work; it is just a matter of overcoming your belief system which will try to convince you that because you didn’t learn this way youcan’t teach this way!!!  I know I feel slightly embarrassed when using an ‘old style’ Power Point with my classes as I now realise this isn’t working with the way their brains learn.”

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