Some Things I've Tried

The in conclusion 8 weeks have got been the busiest I've e'er experienced. There's been lots of factors at play to brand this current specially exhausting, both at schoolhouse as well as at abode - it doesn't assist that my 17 calendar month former immature adult woman nonetheless doesn't slumber at night! H5N1 interruption is much needed. Half term also provides a practiced chance to reverberate on roughly novel things I've tried this term.

Source: The Guardian/ Ros Asquith

1. Famous Five
This is an thought from Gems 35. It plant similar this:

1. Before each Year 10 lesson, I write the words 'Famous Five' on the board.
2. As my students brand it I have got a starter activity ready for them. 
3. Under the championship Famous Five, I write the names of the first of all v students to settle downward as well as start working. They LOVE existence on this list! It's getting harder to select the Famous Five because they've all responded thus good to this.
4. At the destination of the lesson I say, "If you're on today's Famous Five listing you lot tin larn out now, the remainder of you lot pack upwards as well as stand upwards behind your chairs quietly". The Famous Five dash out of the room.

The funny affair is that roughly of these students have got registration inward the same room directly after my lesson, thus they have got nowhere to rush off to! They simply similar the glory of existence Famous Five. 

This has been a actually successful inaugural to minimise faff at the outset of my lessons. Also, because it's a fleck dissimilar to what they're used to, it has helped me construct a practiced human relationship alongside this class. Huge thank you lot to Emma Mccrea for sharing the thought - hit read her original post to encounter how it plant for her.

2. Assessment 

I've been doing variety of sources and keep the format consistent - each quiz is xv minutes long as well as consists of 12 multiple pick questions.

These quizzes have got chop-chop conk an established routine. Most students have got total payoff of the 'open book' dominion - during the examine I encounter them looking dorsum through their exercise books at notes as well as examples. This encourages practiced complaint taking during lessons.

I degree the quizzes A, B or Not Yet (inspired past times this post from Sarah Hagan). If a educatee receives a 'Not Yet' as well as thus they haven't demonstrating sufficient agreement of the theme thus they have got to have got roughly other quiz after schoolhouse the next week. Of class at that spot has to hold upwards remedial activeness betwixt receiving a 'Not Yet' as well as resitting the quiz - these students either encounter me for assist after lessons, or I ship them links to Corbett Maths or Hegarty Maths videos.

My first of all quiz resulted inward xiii Not Yets as well as entirely 8 As. H5N1 worrying disclose of students couldn't multiply decimals thus I taught the theme to the whole cast in ane trial again using a dissimilar approach. The results were much improved inward the retake.

These quizzes entirely have got virtually xxx minutes to score - inward those xxx minutes I gain a valuable insight into my students' understanding. I promise that these regular depression stakes quizzes volition encourage my students to rest focused, have got practiced notes as well as seek support. Do read Kris Boulton's post 'How tests learn as well as motivate' which inspired me to start doing these quizzes. So far it's been a slap-up success.

3. Modelling Good Work 

Every classroom inward my subdivision has a visualiser. Unfortunately none of them seem to travel (probably due to recent software updates) thus this foiled my invention to utilise visualisers this twelvemonth to demo examples of educatee work. Instead, I have got photos of practiced travel piece I'm marking. There's no indicate inward telling students that they should laid their travel out amend without giving examples.

I've been trying this out alongside my Year 12 class. They're studying S1 as well as we've been working on summarising information (eg hateful as well as criterion divergence of continuous data). It's slowly to brand accuracy slips inward these calculations as well as students who neglect to demo clear workings inward exams could destination upwards scoring no method marks.

The painting demo below is an instance of a student's respond to a criterion divergence enquiry - I showed this photograph to the cast when I returned their most recent homework. Few students inward this cast had received total marks for this question.

It's non perfect, but this educatee has definitely got the correct idea. He's drawn out the whole tabular array clearly as well as written downward the formula for criterion deviation. He's shown intermediate steps as well as his workings are really slowly to follow. If entirely all my students laid their travel out similar this - the worst examples were those who tried to squelch their workings into the margin of the enquiry newspaper ('Fermat-style' workings). I promise that past times showing practiced examples to the class, the character of travel volition improve. I'll written report dorsum on this subsequently inward the year!

4. Communication
At my previous schoolhouse the entirely straight communication I had alongside parents was on Parents Evening. I never called, emailed or met alongside parents. At my novel schoolhouse every instructor recognises the importance of engaging parents as well as this is done really effectively across the school. I decided to engage the parents of my Year 10 students past times means of an introductory electronic mail at the start of term, followed past times half-termly newsletters. Here's my first of all newsletter:

I've included an update on what we've been studying, praise for students who've done specially well, information virtually membership of the Society of Young Mathematicians and more.

I'd been planning to hit a newsletter similar this for years thus I'm glad I finally did it. I found this MathedUp post encouraging - it includes a lovely instance of a newsletter produced past times Mo Ladak which is worth a look.

As Jim Riley (@tutor2u) said when I shared my newsletter on Twitter, "Most parents mightiness non tending - but if simply ane or 2 do, it is all worthwhile".

So that's it - 4 ideas that seem to hold upwards working well. I'll weblog in ane trial again subsequently this twelvemonth to update you lot on whether these initiatives conk along to hold upwards effective. Thanks for reading!