Creative recall testing: activity idea

Following from my previous post about the value of recall testing, I used this activity as a creative way to apply the findings of research to my thinking classroom.

1. Prepare a list of key terms or phrases derived from the previously studied material. Cut these up onto individual cards or pieces of paper and hand out to students (who should be in small groups e.g. 4's) face down in a pile (shuffled, the cards not the students obviously!).
2. Students take turns to reveal a key term and explain to the group it's relevance, meaning etc. Students should create a pile of any terms which cannot be confidently elaborated on, or where there is any disagreement. This pile highlights points for later clarification (make sure there is sufficient differentiation in the terms included).
   
3. Once students have covered all the terms (around 16 if they are in 4's) they should look in their notes to answer their own queries. Circulate to ensure you pick up any common or unexpected issues to explore as a class.
   
4. Finally ask students to choose a group member to rotate to the next group in an agreed direction. This student will strive to find the answers to any remaining queries generated by their group. Students may rotate around each group before their queries are answered if one exchange is not sufficient.

This task was valuable as it was engaging, ensured the group collaborated towards a common goal, gave each student opportunity to take part in a recall test without feeling like they were being tested and allowed opportunity for teacher and self assessment of understanding and consolidation of learning in an active student-centred task. The whole task took about 25 minutes which left time for a written task in this 1 hour lesson.

The value of recall testing in the modern classroom

According to research carried out by the University of Washington (Roediger, Karpicke 2006) "Taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but also enhances later retention". The study in question showed that participants who undertook several recall tests retained more information (long term) than participants who completed further study of the material without taking the further recall tests. What can we - or rather students - do with this information in and outside of the classroom? The modern teacher, committed to providing students with opportunities for deep learning and extension may have turned their back on simple recall tasks to assess retention of concepts, especially at A Level. In the words of the researchers "testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it". As teachers we often try to encourage students to test themselves regularly, to improve retention and future learning, but this finding might just give this advice a bit more weight!

Using Bruner's spiral curriculum to teach A2 Psychology

When an A Level curriculum is organised into chunks to be worked through in a set order, there is always the risk that retention of early topics is compromised. This can mean that revision taking place at the end of the course is unproductive. It seems that what should be a time for extension ends up resembling re-teaching, as students have forgotten the topic they first studied. The spiral curriculum (as inspired by Bruner) is offered as a solution to this in the teaching of KS3 and 4 Maths - revisiting concepts and skills regularly building on previous learning. I propose that a mini spiral curriculum can overcome the difficulties facing students in retaining weighty topics in a subject like A Level Psychology. I plan to approach this in in 3 layers. Round 1 opens the students eyes to the concepts, key terms and the fundamental proposals of theorists of the topic in hand - hinting at research findings and issues to spark interest. Round 2 explores where this knowledge comes from by focusing on research design and the role of evidence in science. Round 3 gives students opportunity to apply their knowledge of approaches, issues and debates in Psychology and develop their analytical skills in both verbal and written form. In theory, memories of the concepts in the 3 topics studied will all be relatively more recent than in the traditional topic by topic delivery of this unit. This approach can be applied to any topic or unit of study in any subject area. Watch this space to find out how it goes!