This Issue‘Making Learning Stick’Effective revision techniques

Making Learning Stick

Thursday 3rd March

No cheating!

Making Learning Stick

Aims of the session- ‘Making Learning Stick’• To explore how we make students think about material• To provide practical strategies to take back to classrooms• To consider schemes of learning and support departments with

medium/long term planning• To consider revision strategies being used to support students• To generate discussions and share ideas

Making Learning StickPart 1Strategy 1: InterleavingStrategy 2: Spaced retrieval practiceStrategy 3: Embedding LearningPart 2Revision ideas

‘Memory is the residue of thought.’

‘Teachers must plan lessons and assessments that make students think

and pay attention.’

‘People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless the

cognitive conditions are right, we will avoid thinking.’

How do we really make students think about material?

Learning v Performance‘The most effective teacher is the teacher who focuses

on embedding knowledge – the teacher who knows when and how to move students from surface learning, to deep learning.’

Andy Tharby (2015)

Strategy 1: Interleaving

Interleaving skills rather than topics

Revision Idea- for teachers and students

Benefits• Opportunity to return to content more regularly• Potentially promotes better retention• Opportunity to assess the same skills in different contexts• Can lead to improved exam performance

Students using interleaved practice performed worse than their counterparts using block practice during the practice session but performed better when tested at a later date.

Dunlosky et al (2013)

Idea 1Interleave different topics/ novels/ periods/ exam papers throughout your scheme of learning.

Idea 2Interleave within a lesson. Teach a particular topic, break and cover something else, come back to the topic that you covered at the start of the lesson.

Idea 3Tell students, you MUST use knowledge of this topic and ALSO topic X in your responses/ answers this lesson.

Idea 4Through feedback. Students to look back at the feedback they received on a previous piece of work and apply advice and what they learned from the feedback to the current work, even in a different topic, particularly if a skill is similar.

Interleaving

Strategy 1: Interleaving

How much of this already happens in your lessons/department?How could you incorporate this into your department/

lessons/revision programme?

Strategy 2: Spaced retrieval practice

Strategy 2: Spaced retrieval practice ‘Going back over stuff’

•The reviews force retrieval.

•Retrieval creates learning and embeds in the long term memory.

•It also enables students to practise pulling information into their working memory.

The Ebbinghaus Curve

Spaced retrieval practice

Idea 1Pre-test, re-test, final test. Give students a test before they have even started learning the topic/ unit. This helps frame the learning, which enables them to learn better, and then continue to test in order to embed the learning/ knowledge in memory.

Idea 2- Rewind TestsStart your lesson by testing material from the previous lesson or the previous topic, or even a topic from last year. (Tests can be in the form of true/ false, pub quiz, multiple choice, mind-mapping, fill in the gaps, exam questions, definitions. Basically anything that requires retrieval from memory rather than using resources)

Idea 3Ask students to complete mind-maps on previous topics, without using their books. They are forced to retrieve what they know and identify gaps in their knowledge for themselves. This conscious awareness of what they know and don’t know will help learning stick, and will force them to revise what they don’t know.

Idea 4Students could produce a test with answers for a previous topic, without using any books or resources. They can then use books to check their questions and answers for accuracy once they have finished.

Idea 5Drop in tests without revision and preparation time. This could be of a topic that was studied months ago. The need to retrieve the information from long term into working memory is what locks it in the long term memory.

Idea 6Cumulative exams and quizzes. These test a mixture of what’s currently learned and what’s been learned previously. This combines spacing and interleaving and encourages hard thinking.

Idea 7Think about how you introduce any tests. Talk through the science behind testing and the evidence with students. Encourage that this is an effective means of learning, and is not a chore! If they believe, their independent study will be more effective.

Idea 8The Cornell System. During tasks and note taking in lessons, students draw a column at one side of their page where they enter key terms or questions along the way. They can then test themselves at a later date by covering the bulk of their work and leaving themselves with key terms to explain and define and questions to answer.

Idea 9When students complete a test or exam after each question they give a score out of 5 to show how confident they were that they knew the answer. This is useful for you and them to know how much they think they know in comparison with what they do know.

Strategy 2: Spaced retrieval practiceHow much of this already happens in your lessons/department?

How could you incorporate this into your department/ lessons/revision programme?

Strategy 3: Embedding Learning

Learning v Performance‘The most effective teacher is the teacher who focuses

on embedding knowledge – the teacher who knows when and how to move students from surface learning, to deep learning.’

Andy Tharby (2015)

The bigger picture

• “Framing the Learning.” (Rutherford 2005) In simplest terms, framing the learning means that the teacher provides a framework or context for the future learning that will take place by letting students know what they will learn, how they will go about learning it, and how they and their teacher will know that they have successfully mastered what they were supposed to learn.

• Research shows that content is learned and remembered better if students understand the point of what they are learning. Make it clear to them how each topic fits in to the bigger picture.

• Making as many links as possible between your different topics will enable students to fit the learning into the bigger picture, and this aids memory.

• ‘Learning requires repetition.’ (Carpenter 2014)

• ‘Students need to encounter on at least three occasions, the complete set of the information.’ ‘If the information was incomplete or not experienced on three occasions, the students didn’t fully learn the concept.’ (Nuthall, The Hidden lives of Learners.) In 85% of students tested as part of the research, this was the case.

• ‘To avoid forgetting, we need to overlearn.’ (Willingham 2008)

• Caveat: Misconceptions and wrong answers are remembered if they are made 3 times.

The Power of Three

Idea 1Introduce key words/ concepts at the start of the topic/ unit. This could be through using a glossary, test, key

words list, exam question. You will then revisit when you get to that point in the topic. And then again during plenary and revision.

Idea 2Use modelling and exemplar answers frequently. Not only does this help teach skills and application, it exposes

the students to the material an additional time.Idea 3Plan three different tasks in a lesson to ensure that students are exposed three times to the material but have to

think about it in three different ways. E.g. teacher explanation, questioning, source, reading, exam question, mind-map, paired discussion, written work. Ensure that they have understood correctly each of the three times.

Idea 4Ask students to summarise their own piece of work in a different way, this could be a good feedback task or

extension task. E.g. Say it differently. Present it differently. This makes them revisit and consolidate and think hard / differently about the topic.

Embedding learning

Idea 5When questioning a group, ask the same question in a range of different ways, a number of

different times. Press students to link to other facts/ parts of the topic so that there is exposure to those topics also. Repetition of the subject content will reinforce memory.

Idea 6Use sets of hexagons (http://pamhook.com/solo-apps/hexagon-generator/) with key facts and

vocab from the whole course. Students have to tessellate like a honeycomb. They are forced to find and make links across the topics and explain them. This hard thinking will help embed the learning. Evidence says that the more complex links, the better the understanding.

Idea 7Tell students that they typically need to study for 20% longer again once they have learned

something to truly remember it. When revising, they should also test themselves until they NEVER get it wrong or miss things rather than stopping once they get it correct.

Idea 8Think carefully about the tasks set. If you ask students to learn about X but through the medium of

Y. e.g. learn about oxbow lakes by writing a newspaper article, much of what they will be thinking about is the article then some of the learning or thinking might be lost.

Strategy 3: Mastery learning/ embeddingHow much of this already happens in your

lessons/department?

How could you incorporate this in your department/ lessons?

Break- 10 minutesDiscussion with other departments What are other departments doing to ‘make learning stick’?

What revision strategies have other departments implemented?

Exam Preparation

How are we preparing students for the forthcoming exams?

Modelling/teaching of examination room meta-cognition and self-regulation

Teach the students how to think about their own learning more explicitly.

Or put simply…what should they be thinking from the moment they open the paper.

Set aside 5 minutes at the start of the exam/past paper in which the students aren’t allowed to answer the questions. Instead they go through the paper from start to

finish thinking about what they need to do at what point.

Marginal Gains?

Time management; encourages students to work ‘to time’ and save some to plan and check. Should avoid spending too much time on one question and know which to prioritise (QWC)

Plan of action; take some time out to look over the paper, they know what to expect and what not to expect (4/8)

Reinforce key messages; Plan!

Identify a focus; What is the question asking (easy to confuse this with LA)

Identify nuances of the Q; this is about Janice NOT Harriet

Annotate with acronyms; save time later so they can develop depth and detail

Identify command verbs; e.g. ‘name’ means just that…no need to waste time explaining

Identify mark allocation; identify & explain two… (6) = 1 +2 twice!

Reinforce key messages; Link! Link! Link!

Benefits:

•Students feel more confident, because they feel ‘in control’ of the paper. Ownership!

•A reduction in the number of silly mistakes that students are making.

•It’s a great example of marginal gains – making lots of small improvements to make a big difference to overall exam performance.

•Students are encouraged to discuss with their peers what they are thinking about when tackling particular questions – this stimulates further thinking.

•Less waffle – students write concise answers that get straight to the point.  This is especially true of A*A students.

•Answers have a logical structure.

•Students should score an appropriate number of marks per question and not missing simple marks.

•Less time wasted = less rushing to get it finished!

•It’s a break from content led revision.

A reduction in the number of silly mistakes that students are making.

Reduces confusion over the focus of the question.

It’s a great example of marginal gains – making lots of small improvements to make a big difference to overall exam performance.

Planning answers & checklist; students take a lot of convincing that planning is necessary. I told them a checklist for the QWC q. was essential, they didn’t do it. I marked to a checklist, they still did not do it, I gave them a plan in the form of a checklist…

Less waffle – students write concise answers that get straight to the point.

The are planning, this means they are better able to structure their answers logically.They have taken the time to plan therefore are able to think about the order the write it in.

Answers have a logical structure.

Students should score an appropriate number of marks per question and not missing simple marks.

2 marks for describe means I need 2 parts to my description!

Less time wasted = less rushing to get it finished! PIESF; Annotating with key acronyms means they waste less time trying to recall later.

It’s a break from content led revision. I love talking about my subject areas…

Students feel more confident, because they feel ‘in control’ of the paper.

They gradually develop the confidence to annotate the paper without worrying about being ‘told off’ by an invigilator.

I couldn't agree more!

As a sociology teacher I have to strike the balance between 'the stuff they have to learn' and 'the skills they have to demonstrate', and it's a difficult balance to get right. I also have to communicate that message to the students. Without a secure knowledge-base, how can the students demonstrate the skills of analysis and application effectively?

"Critics would argue that a knowledge-led approach detracts away from deep learning, problem-solving based teaching strategies. I see it

as a false dichotomy; students need both- they can’t solve problems until they have the prerequisite knowledge required to solve them.“

Knowledge Organisers

All students have to be able to solve a problem whether the subject is problem-based or whether the problem is how to

achieve marks in an exam.

How do I show the examiner…?

Essential you must know/be able to say/do this. (E/D/maybe C)

Key points to develop your answers and demonstrate the assessed skills. (C/B)

Top level stuff! Will help you to compete with other candidates and gain top marks

Quick & easy to prepare tests/revision; simply blank out words or leave space for written work the print on A3. Hand out a few lessons later.

Links to examples…

• https://classteaching.wordpress.com/2015/05/24/knowledge-organisers-in-science/

• http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/2016/01/17/knowledge-organisers-better-than-learning-objectives-and-great-for-building-retention/

Contents pages“The best revision guide is a well-organised exercise book or folder”Shaun Allison

Benefits• It gives students a much greater sense of pride and ownership

over their work.• It helps them to organise their work – making revision easier.• It makes them review their work and think about it – because

they have had to summarise each lesson.  This in itself is great revision.

• It encourages them to discuss their work.• As they are given new books for each topic, they have a fresh

start – this seems to ‘revitalise’ them and kick-start a renewed focus on presentation (possible cost implication here – but buy thinner books!)

• Students can put a number beside each topic on their contents page to rate their understanding of each topic.

www.quizlet.com

www.memrise.com

Revision strategies:How could you incorporate these into

your department/ lessons?What other revision strategies do you

use?

• Look at your schemes of learning, how could you introduce/ incorporate interleaving or spacing?

• Think about a lesson you are teaching tomorrow. Will you give the students ample time to master/ embed the learning before moving on? How will you know? What could you do differently?

• Think about how you are going to structure your revision sessions as we approach the exams.