What does the research say?

Rosenshine’s Principles of InstructionRosenshine suggests that excellent teaching contains ten key characteristics.

Characteristic number 1: Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning: Daily review can strengthen previous learning and can lead to fluent recall.

Research findingsDaily review is an important component of instruction. Review can help us strengthen the connections among the material we have learned. The review of previous learning can help us recall words, concepts and procedures effectively and automatically when we need this material to solve problems or to understand new material. The development of expertise requires thousands of hours of practice, and daily review is one component of this practice.

In the classroomThe most effective teachers in the studies of classroom instruction understood the importance of practice, and they began their lessons with a five-to eight-minute review of previously covered material. Some teachers reviews vocabulary, formulae, events, or previously learned concepts. These teachers provided additional practice on facts and skills that were needed for recall to become automatic.

But what might this look like in the classroom?a. Recap questions / Zip test

(@PranPatel)

A short test with a maximum of 10 questions. Questions begin with ‘What’, ‘Who’, ‘Which’ or ‘Where’ to support basic information retrieval. For example:

1. Which two energy types are generally wasted?

2. Efficiency must be between which two numbers?

3. Which colour t-shirt should you wear on a hot summer’s day?

ETC

The answers are then shared and pupils green pen their responses by ticking the ones they got right; correcting the ones they got wrong; filling in the ones they did not complete and

b. Memory Platforms (@atharby) https://reflectingenglish.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/memory-platforms/

Developing the idea of recap questions, the first 10 minutes of a lesson are dedicated to a memory task – a task in which each individual, on their own, is compelled to retrieve stuff from their memory without recourse to any cues of materials.

The quizzes appear something like this:Q1-Q3 – retrieve key knowledge from last lessonQ4 – retrieve key knowledge from last weekQ5 – retrieve key knowledge from last termQ6 – retrieve key knowledge from last lesson and connect it to knowledge from last term

For example:

Research into Practic

e

adding further details that come up through discussion.

1. Which word is missing from this line? “I sit in the _____ of the wood, my eyes closed-“

2. What is the hawk from the poem a personification of?

3. What does the hawk now hold in its foot?4. What did the hare in Bayonet Charge

symbolise?5. Which character from An Inspector Calls

is said to be ‘cold’ in the opening stage directions?

6. Which character from Of Mice and Men does the hawk most resemble?

c. 5-a-day (@TLPMsF)Similar to recap questions and memory platforms but five questions only and the questions test different skills of the syllabus: recall, comprehension and analysis so that students are recapping all necessary skills as well as core knowledge.

d. Retrieval grid (@87history)Adaptation of memory platforms. Each student is given a 3x4 grid. Each grid has a question on it that students are meant to answer. Some questions are from last lesson, some from last week, some from the last topic and some from last year. The students get more marks the longer ago the they learnt the topic. Read more here: https://lovetoteach87.com/2018/01/12/retrieval-practice-challenge-grids-for-the-classroom/

e. Fragment sentences (The Writing Revolution)

A great one for recall but also for developing core literacy. Provide students with a fragment sentence (an incomplete sentence) and ask them to re-draft creating a complete sentence. You may provide students with the subject OR the verb OR a dependent clause. For example:

f. Graphics and pictures (@markenser @mrcarterhistory)

Providing students with an image or a historical source, for example, and asking them to link to or develop drawing on prior knowledge.

g. Contrasting statements (@paulrya16277404)

Give pupils two statements based on the previous lesson or previous topic. Ask pupils to identify the differences between the two: what evidence could be deployed for each perspective and the value of each argument?

h. Jeopardy (@melwardnz, @rainman_d81)

Use the game ‘Jeopardy’ to add a competitive element to recall. Organise pupils into teams and have a series of questions worth different values to answer. The team with the most points at the end wins.

i. Explode a quotation (@SusanSEnglish)

Giving pupils a quotation from a previous

j. MCQs (@daisychristo)Retention questions using a multiple choice format with key distractors to really test student

lesson and asking them to ‘explode’ by identifying meaning and key techniques as well as links to theme and context. This is then fed back onto the board.

recall. For example:

k. Fast questions (@LynetteHarte)Use a song to increase pace and speed of pupil responses to questions. Identify 5 quiz style questions to address core learning of last lesson. Place the over-arching title on the board and for the duration of the song, pupils add their answers, thoughts, ideas to the board to review their learning. Introduces an element of fun and collaboration.

l. Quotation recallUseful for English especially, give pupils 10 quotations and the start of these quotations only. Pupils then have to fill in the second half of the quotation. This would also work for key facts from other subject areas. For example:

m. Mini-planning grids (@LauraLolder)To get pupils used to potential exam questions, providing pupils with a question and a mini-planning grid to create a plan for their response. Again, this is an English example but would work well for other subject areas.

n. Thought-shower additionsAt the start of a topic, ask pupils to thought shower everything they know about the topic you will be studying. Each lesson ask them to revisit this thought-shower, adding to their initial knowledge. Use a different coloured pen to show the progress they have made.

o. PlickersPlickers is an online tool which supports MCQ quizzing. Using the website and the app,

p. Correct the false informationI saw this idea and saved it (author please let me know so I can credit you). Provide pupils

MCQs can be created. Each pupil is assigned a card and then when a question is asked, students hold the card in a particular way to support their answer and the teacher can scan student responses with a camera which logs the answers and provides immediate feedback.

with a series of statements. Ask them to correct the false information provided. Really tests understanding and knowledge