Teaching for effective learning3.2 Foster deep

understanding and skilful action

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Design activities that lead students to grasp concepts and deepen their understanding

‘ Chunk ‘ the work. Serve it in small, palatable, accessible pieces

Can you incorporate various ways of approaching the subject matter – text, visuals, play, thinking activities?

Can you keep the real life application of the knowledge in front of them and entice them to consider that?

Can you find a cool site or software which will facilitate their learning and thinking?

nasa

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Pose open questions with no right or wrong answers

Evoke students’ emotions

Can they imagine, reflect?

Can they act and research from a range of sources and perspectives?

Have you suggested challenges and possibilities they could try?

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Encourage self-testing and self-appraisal

Get them to make flashcards to test their knowledge

Use Google docs or Twiducate to elicit feedback

Check along the way to see how they are going.

Do they know where their learning gaps are?

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Teach explicit strategies for higher order thinking

Can they define what they are doing and how they are going about it?

Can they give examples of what they are learning or easily locate information?

Do they know what questions to ask?

Story boarding helps plan complex assignments

Provide them with generic questions and watch how they extend them.

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Guide students in searching for patterns and relationships

How does this relate to what they have previously learnt?

How does this connect with other subject areas?

How is this applied in the real world?

How can they reference the patterns so they remember them?

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Use precise language

Teach them the vocabulary for specific subject areas

Teach them the language constructions for certain types of activities

Teach them the difference between formal and informal language

Show them how to source good explanations and meanings

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How can you make the most of the technology they can use for learning?

Can you think of productive uses for web enabled mobile phones and other pocket devices?

Are your students cross platform or are they only competent on one OS and one piece of software?

Are they able to use all sorts of software and applications competently?

Do you let them suggest good ways of doing things too?

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Value student input

Seek formal and informal feedback

Offer opportunities for feedback when they reflect on what they are doing

Allow them to ask questions and offer productive suggestions

Use sites like Twiducate to create a safe online opportunity to canvas opinion.

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Set SMART goals

S - specific, significant , stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

ProjectSmart

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Strengthen connections in the brain

Practice

Repeat

Use video

Pre and post test where appropriate

Use graphic organisers

Connect ideas

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Encourage concept attainment

Is it an insect or not? Who is in the group?

Allow them to see or determine what the attributes are.

Make it a little more complex and challenging

Can they apply their knowledge in a different context?

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Guide and support learners to achieve a level of mastery

What are all the perspectives?

Does this make them feel or see differently?

Can they reproduce and use the information they have learnt accurately?

What is the next step along the way to knowledge and higher level learning?

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Practise the four ways of knowing

How can they describe or define this?

What examples can they cite?

How does this impact on them and their life?

Can they express it as a picture, piece of music, story..

Propositional, Factual, Personal, Conceptual

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Work with authentic problems and issues

How is this learning being currently used to solve world problems and issues?

What discussions are going on in the planet with regard to it?

What applications does this learning have right now?

Is this a new version of what we previously used to do? Why?

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