Some Things I've Tried

The lastly viii weeks have got been the busiest I've always experienced. There's been lots of factors at play to brand this stream especially exhausting, both at schoolhouse in addition to at abode - it doesn't assist that my 17 calendar month erstwhile immature adult woman nonetheless doesn't slumber at night! Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 suspension is much needed. Half term also provides a adept chance to reverberate on simply about 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 create for them. 
3. Under the championship Famous Five, I write the names of the firstly v students to settle downwards in addition to start working. They LOVE beingness on this list! It's getting harder to select the Famous Five because they've all responded thence good to this.
4. At the halt of the lesson I say, "If you're on today's Famous Five listing you lot tin larn out now, the balance of you lot pack upward in addition to stand upward behind your chairs quietly". The Famous Five dash out of the room.

The funny affair is that simply about of these students have got registration inward the same room at 1 time after my lesson, thence they have got nowhere to rush off to! They simply similar the glory of beingness Famous Five. 

This has been a actually successful first to minimise faff at the outset of my lessons. Also, because it's a chip dissimilar to what they're used to, it has helped me create a adept human relationship amongst this class. Huge thank you lot to Emma Mccrea for sharing the thought - arrive at 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 in addition to consists of 12 multiple selection questions.

These quizzes have got chop-chop conk an established routine. Most students have got total wages of the 'open book' dominion - during the show I encounter them looking dorsum through their do books at notes in addition to examples. This encourages adept greenback taking during lessons.

I degree the quizzes A, B or Not Yet (inspired yesteryear this post from Sarah Hagan). If a pupil receives a 'Not Yet' in addition to thence they haven't demonstrating sufficient agreement of the theme thence they have got to have got simply about other quiz after schoolhouse the next week. Of course of didactics at that topographic point has to live remedial activity betwixt receiving a 'Not Yet' in addition to 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 firstly quiz resulted inward xiii Not Yets in addition to exclusively 8 As. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 worrying publish of students couldn't multiply decimals thence I taught the theme to the whole course of didactics 1 time to a greater extent than using a dissimilar approach. The results were much improved inward the retake.

These quizzes exclusively have got most xxx minutes to grade - 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 stay focused, have got adept notes in addition to seek support. Do read Kris Boulton's post 'How tests learn in addition to motivate' which inspired me to start doing these quizzes. So far it's been a swell success.

3. Modelling Good Work 

Every classroom inward my subdivision has a visualiser. Unfortunately none of them seem to function (probably due to recent software updates) thence this foiled my conception to utilise visualisers this twelvemonth to present examples of pupil work. Instead, I have got photos of adept function spell I'm marking. There's no signal inward telling students that they should ready their function out improve without giving examples.

I've been trying this out amongst my Year 12 class. They're studying S1 in addition to we've been working on summarising information (eg hateful in addition to criterion difference of continuous data). It's slow to brand accuracy slips inward these calculations in addition to students who neglect to present clear workings inward exams could halt upward scoring no method marks.

The pic below is an instance of a student's answer to a criterion difference enquiry - I showed this photograph to the course of didactics when I returned their most recent homework. Few students inward this course of didactics had received total marks for this question.

It's non perfect, but this pupil has definitely got the correct idea. He's drawn out the whole tabular array clearly in addition to written downwards the formula for criterion deviation. He's shown intermediate steps in addition to his workings are really slow to follow. If exclusively all my students ready their function out similar this - the worst examples were those who tried to mash their workings into the margin of the enquiry newspaper ('Fermat-style' workings). I promise that yesteryear showing adept examples to the class, the character of function volition improve. I'll study dorsum on this afterwards inward the year!

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

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

I'd been planning to arrive at a newsletter similar this for years thence I'm glad I finally did it. I found this MathedUp post encouraging - it includes a lovely instance of a newsletter produced yesteryear 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 1 or ii do, it is all worthwhile".

So that's it - 4 ideas that seem to live working well. I'll weblog 1 time to a greater extent than afterwards this twelvemonth to update you lot on whether these initiatives conk on to live effective. Thanks for reading!