Ownership

WOTW: Modelling

The research: Learners do not instinctively know how to revise. Our pupils are keen on flashcards but often overcrowd them with a block of writing. Equally, they may just read, or read and highlight, which are both very passive means of revision. By modelling a revision technique, we get them started on their revision homework in class, giving them a more focussed start to what they will do at home.

Want to know more? This article on effective flashcards that do more than just make you memorise material: https://www.learningscientists.org/blog/2016/2/20-1

or this video on using Quizlet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQEdX0giqCA

https://www.learningscientists.org/learning-scientists-podcast/2019/2/20/episode-37-bite-size-research-on-learning-to-learn-effectively

Guided practice

The research: It is normal to explain something, model some examples, set an activity and still see some students still unsure or not taking to their work with quite as much confidence as we may like. In between the explanation and the independent activity, researcher Barack Rosenshine suggests that we should carry out extended ‘guided practice’ to build students’ confidence in the task they’re doing, allowing them to take full ownership of it. Think of it as ‘rehearsal time’ in which the teacher vocalises the steps involved in the upcoming problem, and the pupils follow. Rosenshine suggests we should guide this practice, reducing the help gradually, and aim to achieve an 80% success rate before allowing students to carry on with independent practice.